February 2010 TED presentation by designer Tom Wujec. How do groups collaborate differently to solve “The Marshmallow Challenge?” And why do recent business school graduates tend to under perform kindergartners?

Learn more about The Marshmallow Challenge.

Great presentation by Devdutt Pattanaik at this month’s TEDIndia conference. Interested in learning how India’s business perspective may differ from that of the West? Gain a better understanding from Indian mythologies.

East vs. West

Photo: Oberazzi

As the business world becomes more global, the likelihood of interacting with someone whose primary language is not English becomes much greater. At the same time, it seems English is quickly becoming the universal language of not only business, but also diplomacy, education and the sciences. As a future MBA and a native English-speaker, is there any real business benefit for me to learn a second language?

I’d like to think yes.

Even if many people around the world have a basic understanding of English, they may feel very uncomfortable when talking to a native English speaker. In my limited travels to Europe, I’ve tried to at least make an effort to communicate in the local language first, no matter how poorly. It seems that not expecting everyone to speak English helps make people feel more comfortable, and more willing to offer to speak English.

Secondly, studying a language is more than learning vocabulary and pronunciation. Equally important, particularly in business, is learning about cultural traits, as well similarities and differences with your own culture. Is it considered rude to shake hands at a business meeting? Or to smile at a member of the opposite sex? Such cultural knowledge could be invaluable in an international business setting.

Finally, the process of learning a new language can help strengthen your English communication skills. I’ve recently had the opportunity to do some volunteer work tutoring native Spanish-speakers in adult English as a Second Language classes. First, I’m surprised at how much Spanish I’ve remembered, even though I haven’t studied it for a number of years. Second, thinking about things like sentence construction and subject-verb agreement in Spanish naturally leads to a better understanding of such things in English. As a result, I feel my English communication skills have actually improved.

So, what are the best second-languages for a native English-speaker to learn for business?

Given global trends and my own personal experiences, I’m leaning toward the following:

• Spanish – previous experience studying; spoken in many countries around the world; growing population within the United States, as well.
• French – some similarities to Spanish; prevalent throughout Europe, Africa and parts of Asia; likely that individuals involved in international business would speak either English or French, if not both.
• Chinese – Growing importance in global economy; huge population; difficult for English-speakers to learn; Mandarin dialect spoken by more people, Cantonese dialect spoken over greater geographic area.

Any experiences in learning these, or other, languages for business or personal use? Are products such as Rosetta Stone effective? Has knowing a language other than English been an asset for your career?

For non-native English speakers, what are your experiences in dealing with native English speakers in the business world?

Great presentation by Dan Pink in July 2009 on what really motivates employees:

Given the length of (and the number of layoffs during) the current recession, employee morale has taken quite a hit. In many companies, those workers fortunate enough to still have jobs are seeing larger workloads and smaller paychecks. If this sounds familiar, here are five things you can do at work this week to feel better:

• Set a small goal, celebrate achieving it – if you’re stressed out by the bottomless stack of paperwork on your desk, set a goal to finish x before lunch…and then treat yourself to something special when you do.

• Get to know one co-worker better on a personal level – take a few minutes to find out what a co-worker did over the weekend; it’ll take your mind off of work, and help you feel more like you’re part of the team.

• Volunteer to work on one small, extra project that you can be proud of – suggest a solution to a small-but-annoying problem, and then take the lead on solving it; not only could it help you get out of your daily rut, but also your boss will appreciate your initiative.

• Ask for constructive feedback from your boss – workers that don’t know what’s expected of them or how they’re perceived around the office should be the most worried about layoffs. Be proactive and ask for feedback on a recent project as part of ongoing, open communication about career development and your role in the organization.

• Learn something new – whether signing up for company-wide training or teaching yourself a computer shortcut, you can keep your mind fresh and upgrade your skills at the same time…increasing your own productivity, and making yourself more valuable to the company.

What other suggestions do you have to be a happier, more engaged employee?

Photo: Sarah Sturtevant

Now that August is here, I should really start working on the stack of books that I wanted to read this summer:

• Peter Drucker, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Stewart Friedman, Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life
• Thomas Friedman, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew America
• Laurence Gonzales, Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
• Jacqueline Novogratz, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World
• Jerry Weissman, Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Edition
• Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World

A few of these were recommendations from Josh Kaufman’s excellent Personal MBA reading list. If you’ve read any and can recommend one that I should start with, please let me know.

What are you reading this summer?

Great panel at TweetCamp San Antonio on July 18, 2009, discussing ways to use twitter from a small business perspective.

Today’s job report showed that the unemployment rate continued to climb in June, reaching a 26-year high. Making things worse for those looking for work is the fact the some employers are choosing to ignore unemployed applicants and recruiting workers that are already employed elsewhere, as Dana Mattioli discovered for an article in The Wall Street Journal:

“We are always looking for the very best of the industry, which happens to be people who are still employed.”

- Bobby Fitzgerald, restaurant owner

From the employer’s perspective, a worker that has survived multiple rounds of layoffs in this economy would certainly appear much more attractive than one that has not. Additionally, employers are increasingly relying on informal networks and sites such as LinkedIn to reach potential candidates, rather than recruiters or employment web sites. And employees that were fortunate enough to keep their jobs likely have had to pick up the work loads of multiple former colleagues, often in an environment of frozen wages or reduced benefits, making a new opportunity welcome. That leaves the unemployed out of luck, and frustrated.

On a somewhat related note, Liz Wolgemuth recently wrote that many workers, especially younger employees, are planning to begin a  job hunt as soon as the economy recovers. It seems that many employers have not been sympathetic to their workers’ struggles during the recession, and the workers are keeping notes. An informal survey of my coworkers echos such feelings: most feel slighted over how they have been treated the past few months, and plan to move on once companies start hiring. Do you plan to look for a new job when the economy turns around? Is your company prepared to lose additional human resources?