Layoffs Leading to Data Theft

Who doesn't get a bit angry when they get laid off from a job? Certainly it is one of the worst aspects of being an employee. Not only are you losing your job, but you are losing it in most cases not because you are a poor employee, but because your company isn't doing well, or they aren't running it well. Often times they come with out much warning. Many times you may even feel like you have a somewhat secure position that will last for a while and go out and long-term credit commitments like engagement rings, or even a home only to find yourself out of work. So...what do you do when that happens? Some people would like to turn turn to data theft if they thought they could get away with it.

In a poll of 226 workers on Wall Street, 58 percent said they would download sensitive corporate data as a pre-emptive move in case of job loss. Forty percent admitted they have already done so, according to Cyber-Ark, a Massachusetts-based IT security firm.

It is easy to see why on Wall Street. If you are in a sales position and you have a contacts list, you almost certainly will want to take it with you. After all, you probably built the list. Those are your clients, and they are working with you.

According to those polled, the data they would take includes customer and contact databases, plans and proposals, product information, and access and password codes.

Sixty-two percent of workers said it was easy to sneak company information out of the office. Nearly half said they would use a memory stick, while others said they would use e-mail, encrypted storage websites, CDs, and even cameras.

It isn't as prevalent in smaller businesses, but simple deterrents can be used according to Adam Bosnian, Cyber-Ark's vice president of products and strategy.

"Let employees know that you're going to keep an eye on your sensitive information, even if you don't put a software solution around that," Bosnian said. "That's a very low-cost and very effective way for small businesses to deter theft."

10 New Years Resolutions for Business

No matter how great of a year your business had, there are always ways to improve it aren't there? Of course there are unless you are just too prideful to notice. Since Christmas has just passed I have started seeing New Year's resolution shows on tv already just the next day so I figured I'd see who has put something aout about it online in the business world.

Didn't take long. David Javitch has created a Top 10 list of New Year's resolutions that focus entirely on emlpoyeed management. Here's a couple for a tase:

1. I will work smarter. Can you identify three things you can do to be more efficient and effective in your current job? Is your staff spending too much time on e-mail, for example? Too much time returning phone calls? Does it interrupt their work too frequently? Sometimes, those job inefficiencies are not very obvious. However, if they can specifically identify them, then those inefficiencies can be eliminated and staff can become more productive. This can increase work satisfaction as well.

2. I will increase my working network in and out of my immediate area and inside and outside my company. Can you encourage your staff to get to know more people? Can you meet more people not just to say hello, but to find out what they do, how they do it and what skills they use to be productive? Let them know about your traits, abilities and interests, too. Ask yourself if you can you interact with them to mutually benefit both your jobs. Can you include them in your circle of contacts so that you can call on them when you need a favor, a contact, or a reference? The reverse should be true as well.

Social Network Marketing: Etiquette for Businesses

There is a big difference between having a Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. page for personal use than for business, but some still seem to make the mistake of doing the same things on the business side. Internet marketing is a lot easier than people tend to make it out to be. Sure if your expertise is treating Plantar Fasciitis, and you never took a computer class in your life it might seem difficult to get involved in socail networks. The way places like Facebook are set up though makes it extremely easy for anyone to set up their own page.

One of the biggest problems with people that are "new" to the internet, or at least socail interaction online is the tendancy to be very annoying. Yes...that is simplistic, but think about when you first got e-mail and you were the person that sent out forwards to 50 people at a time. Only new people do this regularly and end up being put on their own friend's ignore lists because of it. This has become something that many businesses tend to do when they get into social networks as well. Don't do that. You are a professional and people don't care about chain letters. Besides, it doesn't help you to do things like this because it has NOTHING to do with your business. LEave the comedy for your own time, and to the professionals.

Although that isn't why I wrote this post initially, the annoying factor is something people should understand. We get so much information sent to us o a daily basis that if you just add more "crap" to our lives we aren't going to want to have anything to do with you. People dislike spam for a reason. It is untargeted, and it isn't wanted. We don't want things from people we don't know, and we certainly don't want things from businesses that should be kept for private use. Especially if I am going to try and network with you. HAve some self control. Yeah the internet is really cool, but we already know that. You aren't the first to send it to us, and you won't be the last. Just don't send us things that have nothing to do with your business, and our relationship with your business.

Ahem...now that is out of the way take a look at some simple ideas to keep you grounded in the social networkign community. Learn to interact with the people that interact with you in the ways they interact with you.

Smart Small Business Cost Cutting

While the economy is beating the life out of some of our busniesses many are starting to panic, but at what cost? Cutting costs is always a priority, but when things are not going well it become even more important. The problem is that many small business owners cut things that will hurt them in the long run to save a few dollars now.

Certainly it is advisable to find a bit better deal with cheap auto insurance for your company car, but what other things can you do to ensure that you are not cutting the wrong things?

Take a look at some common sense suggestions for cost cutting here.

Getting Employees to Love New Technology

If you are before Generation X, or Z, or whatever they call us now, you probalby find new technology overwhelming. Many employees find that technology quite overwhelming as well. Trying to get them to embrace changes that help your business can be daunting at times. They either are just too overwhelmed to learn it, or they simply can't grasp it. The days of simply pumping out Kohler faucets with arcane technology is slowing passing us by. Now employees are supposed to adapt with the new technology environments they are put into. Either that or they become obsolete.

The most common mistake in implementing new technology occurs when the selection comes solely from the top, says Stephen Andriole, a former chief technical officer who teaches business technology management and corporate strategy at Villanova University's business school. Employees bristle at being force-fed new ways to do their jobs, especially if the technology is difficult to use and actually makes those jobs harder in the short term. "Many users will happily nod their head as the technology gets deployed," Andriole says. "But within days, they have figured out ways around it so they can do their job the way they always did, which results in a big waste of time and money all around."

Here. Here. Employees are actually a lot more creative than we give them credit for. When they are so used to doing things a certain way, usually they DO ffind a way to revert back to the old way because it is simply easier for them to do it that way. In the long run that doesn't help them, or the company if they continue to shelve new, and better technology to do their jobs.

How do you get them to not only use, but love that new technology? Take a look at this in depth report on how to implement new technology in your business, and how to get your employees to use it successfully.

Managing Your Business: NFL Style

I always like when someone uses something like football to describe the process of running a business. Certainly I love the use of catch phrases and people who use sayings every time they talk like coaches do. "We have to play a full 60 minutes", "We need to pound the rock", "That guy has a motor", etc. Nothing better than phrases you can use in everyday life to show that you don't like to actually think of things yourself.

If you watch the NFL you may not see it all the time, but the game is a manager's dream. The process of the vbuilding and running a football team is much like a business. This guy talks about how the NFL mirrors a business, or at least lessons you can learn about simple business concepts by seeing it in the NFL.

Whether you produce ball lock pins, or you are a financial advisor, seeing things in simplistic terms like he says is kind of important. Only a businessman could think of business all the time when they watch sports. Surely, his mind works that way and many of ours do too. Seeing opportunity, or seeing how to prevent loss in business in other aspects of life is somethng that we should notice in everyday life.

Marketing: Barack Obama Style

It doesn't take a marketing guru to understand that Barack Obama ran one of the best campaigns in political history. Since it is now over, and the success of winning has been achieved it may be time to take a look at just what he did, and see if it will help your business to emulate some of his strategies. Certainly when you notice that someone has come from a virtual unknown to president of the United States in less than a few years, you have to take notice of how they did it. Doesn't matter if you are motorcycle accident attorneys, doctors, or running a business out of your home. A lot of what he did can be done by anyone using the internet.

I'm not going to butcher this great analysis done by Maisha Walker at Inc.com. She has the same interest I do in evaluating the campaign that won a rpesidency. She does a very good job at pointing out the massive campaign he set forth, but at the same time if you look at it closely you can see how much of it you can do yourself, and at very little cost.

Entrepreneur Magazine Growth 2.0 Conference

Yes we are still in the Web 2.0 era. Whether you are trying to build sites for community interaction on something as far out as diet pills, or a site that has video to share, we are still in that era of the web. Of course there is more to business than just the internet. Tha tis why Entrepreneur.com is holding an FREE annual conference in which they give entrepreneurs some much needed advice while still trying to scoop up the web crowd with the 2.0 moniker ;).

Entrepreneur Magazine Growth 2.0 conference will be held December 9th, 2008, and is still open for you to attend. Instead of me basically telling you everything you can find out in that link you may as well just head over there asnd see for yourself all that is being offered. They do have some internet love as the guy that wrote "Rich Dad" is going to be appearing at the conference. Drefinitely something you don't wnat to miss if you are able to attend.

Recession Success Stories

There is always opportunity in every economy. A recession is no different. You can always make money in the stock market no matter how bad it is doing. You just have to know what youa re doing to do it. Whether you are making las vegas hotel reservations to try and get rich playing poker and win your financial freedom, or you are workign on a business, there is opportunity in a recession. It will end eventually. Then you become stronger than you were even in a recession.

Throughout American history there have been those that have found big profits when things go bad. That is because they understand what is needed at the time. That is because they run a good business and they know how to get things done. Take a look at the 17 Recession Success Stories outlined here for some examples.

How to Lose a Deal in China

It is sort of part of business, and even movie lore now that learnign about foreign culture just enough to make a deal is always there. You see it when some business guy meets with a Japanese CEO to try and make a deal, in some restaurant with modern furniture, and then he accidently uses the wrong word to say something which totally offends the Japanese CEO. The deal goes south, and the guy is left scratching his head as to what he did wrong.

With the way the world is now you may be more inclined to be making a deal in China these days than anywhere else. A good article on how not to screw that deal up is here. They picked 3 things that should keep you from killing a deal in China. Things that will make you look like aq fool, or just plain offend someone.