Janitor in Chief
Hours after class, I was still grading stacks of papers when Timo popped in to chat and to ask how long I would be. He was ready to lock up the building and on his way out of the classroom, he cleared away debris left behind by the students and straightened chairs as he went. I waved Good Night as I left school a few minutes later and noticed Timo tidying up the other classrooms as he made the rounds to turn out lights.
Timo’s cleaning efforts instantly struck a cord with me. What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, Timo is not the Janitor, he is actually the Dean of the School. But this is not an ordinary school, it is New Business School Amsterdam. NBS is a private enterprise; Timo and the Management Team are entrepreneurs. This is quite a shift from the typical bureaucratic academic institution, which brings me back to the trash. Continue reading »
Filed under Corporate, Entrepreneurship | Comment (0)
Are you dressed for the boardroom or the beach?
Corporate culture strongly influences the dress code for employees, but If you make the move to be your own boss, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate. Lately I have noticed that all entrepreneurs are not up to this particular challenge! The freedom to work barefoot from home some days may feel liberating, but don’t get carried away!
Believe it or not, the woman pictured was walking into a quarterly Business Breakfast Event for 250 people hosted by the municipality of The Hague. The program included a welcome by Mayor van Aartsen, followed by an annual award ceremony and a 10.000 euro prize for Business of the Year. There were no extenuating circumstances, the event was at 8:00 am, not an after work happy hour. The venue was a new office center, not an amusement park, and there was no theme such as luau or beach party, etc. Based on the facts, I can only wonder how a woman in her mid to late forties would choose a denim mini skirt, open toed espadrilles and a floral top with a plunging neckline for this business occasion. Women are scarce enough at these events; you don’t have to take such desperate measures to be noticed! Continue reading »
Filed under Entrepreneurship, Just for fun, Unsolicited Advice | Comment (0)
You’re Fired!
Love it or hate it, what can we learn from The Apprentice? Personally, I love the BBC version of “The Apprentice“. While Donald Trump’s original version is slick and features a fierce mob of “beautiful people” competing for one high powered job working with The Donald, the BBC version is much less glamorous, and not quite so high-powered. Continue reading »
