by Solange Lopes | Jul 7, 2014 | Career
Black woman innovator – thegrio.com
Happy Monday! Yes it is Monday (just in case all the nerves in your body haven’t signaled it to you yet!)
As we’re starting a new week, all groggy from the week-end, we tend to drift back into old routines and work habits. And as we are bound to find out, old routines do not exactly produce new results, especially not at work.
While many of us nurture a creative, entrepreneurial mindset, we tend to leave it in the back of our minds when we come to work. Unless we are in creative fields, and even then, innovation tends to take a back seat in favor of more conventional, template-based work outputs. And we wonder why so many of us are bored silly at work…
Introducing innovative change at work isn’t easy, some will argue. Try to change the status quo? Impossible!, others will retort. While there certainly are rather strong barriers to corporate change and innovative solutions’ implementation, there is an even greater need to work better and smarter. So how does one bring innovation to work:
1. Identify a need! Wherever there’s a need, there’s at least one opportunity to bring about innovation. Are your policies and procedures in need of serious updating? Is the system constantly spewing out out of date data? Is the process too manual and inefficient? Look around you and identify factors that stand in the way of more effective and efficient work, and try to address these!
2. Think outside the box! In the era of templates, politically correct phrases and cookie-cutter mentalities, original thinking is in high demand, especially at work! Add value by bringing new solutions to old problems. Instead of continually re-inventing the wheel and perpetuating lasting inefficiencies, find adaptable remedies to everyday problems. From creating a database to maintain file records, to automating a cumbersome manual process, look at your work with fresh eyes and use the tools at your disposal to build innovative systems!
3. Offer a solution! People love solutions, especially those that can make their lives easier! So if you’ve noticed inefficiencies in the process and have been thinking of ways to work around them for more effective results, speak up! Approach it as a suggestion rather than an imposition, and offer to help improve the process!
Are you bringing innovation to work?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jul 6, 2014 | Career
what is your source? – leadingladiescafe.com
Happy Sunday!
In our new Sunday Spirit feature, we are digging deep into what, or whom, as corporate sisters, inspires, motivates and guides us, not only on our career paths, but also on this journey called Life. As much as we’d like to separate work and life, and judging by how much success we’ve had at it, it is pretty obvious that none of us can deny the inter-dependency between our own spiritual life journeys and the various forms and purposes our work comes to embody.
As we’re starting this new feature, we’re asking ourselves the simple, yet complex question: “What is your source?” What, or whom, do you go to for nurturing, inspiration, motivation? What feeds your mind and your spirit? Where does your strength originate? And in the same token, what feeds your fears and your insecurities? What is YOUR source?
Without knowing who we are, and where our supply of energy, strength, or lack thereof, it is indeed hard to find the motivation, strength and energy to keep going, especially when the going gets tough? And as much as we sometimes think we do know ourselves, it may take at times a serious nudging of our spirit to help us find out what really drives us. And to consider whether we’ve actually picked the right source of inspiration and motivation.
I have the intimate conviction, in my heart of hearts, that GOD is my sole source and supply. Yet, and in the same way I have to continuously keep straightening my priorities, I also constantly have to ask myself this question: “What is my source?” Because as much as I know the answer, I also know life’s distractions can easily make me forget what’s essential.
As you prepare for a new week and re-focus on your source, priorities and goals, and even if you think you know the answer, it may be worth it to check in with yourself today. And tomorrow, and the day after…
What is YOUR source?
Happy Sunday!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jul 6, 2014 | Career
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News round-up – huffingtonpost.com
Happy Sunday! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July week-end, and is enjoying whatever’s left of it. And despite the fact that we all really need a day between Saturday and Sunday (and we’re seriously thinking about petitioning for it), it is still Sunday, and as we’re trying to annihilate any thought of this upcoming Monday, here’s what we enjoyed reading this past week:
- In honor of the 4th of July, the Huffington Post shows us 50 photos that prove America is totally beautiful (and we couldn’t agree more!);
- In other great 4th of July week-end news, the 2014 Essence Festival was and still is going on full speed in NOLA, featuring great, inspirational members of our community. I loved this Essence article about songstress Alicia Keys and our favorite nerd land lady Melissa Harris-Perry educating women;
- Struggling between your entrepreneurial guts and your day job obligations? Lifehacker tells us to channel our inner entrepreneur to excel at work;
- In the midst of all the pay gap controversy, the Washington Post revealed this week the male female pay gap remains entrenched at the White House;
- We all went “Wow” (sometimes followed up with interjectional phrases we’ll spare you from reprinting today) when we heard about the Hobby Lobby ruling. The Huff Post tells us how 9 women reacted to the controversial ruling;
- On a positive historical note, as we look back on the 1964 Civil Rights act, Forbes provides us with great leadership lessons from Admiral Michelle Howard, the highest ranking woman in naval history;
- Still looking back at the Civil Rights Act’s 50th anniversary, this Colorlines article depicts the current workplace environment where, unfortunately, segregation remains;
- Last but not least, our own The Corporate Sister asks the question as to whether business casual hurts minorities and women.
And to motivate you as you get ready to go back to work tomorrow (yes tomorrow is Monday!), check out this video from Global Montreal TV channel featuring Women on the Fence’s founder Erica Diamond:
Happy Sunday!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jul 3, 2014 | Career
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Imperia Pied a terre wedges – $140 – katemiddletonstyle.org
Our coffee break’s fashion pick today is a royal one! If, like myself, you are a fan of Kate Middleton’s fashion picks, then you may recognize these Pied a terre slingback espadrille wedges in black and off-white.
Featuring a canvas upper and bucle slingback, this espadrille wedge is a classic stunner! And with its raffia style and wedge heel, you can literally stand in these the entire day!
IT’S $140 at dunelondon.com, and is
Kate Middleton wearing Imperia wedges – star style.com
available in red, navy blue, black and off-white. And as we’re getting ready to celebrate the 4th of July, I would probably go for the navy blue or red pair! Perfect at the office or on week-ends, this one is truly a royal pick!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jul 3, 2014 | Career
Technical cotton trousers – $125 – cosstores.com
Lunch break, and time for a bit of corporate fashion around the office! I’ve been on the hunt for lightweight, cotton trousers for summer that do not necessarily fall into the “cropped” or capri” category. Love, love these technical cotton trousers from COS for their summery, yet classic and professional-looking cut! One word comes to mind when I look at these pants, and it’s “fresh”!
The clean and easy cut (and did I mention the delicious sorbet hue) of these trousers, made from technical cotton-mix with a bit of stretch, is perfect for warm days at the office. They are loosely shaped and look pretty comfortable on a hot summer day! They are $125 at cosstores.com!
For those of you who have not heard of COS before, this H&M-owned label has been at the origin of much fashion frenzy in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, before opening its digital doors for US online shoppers. As for a brick and mortar store, the first one is slated to open this Fall, although reports have not exactly been confirmed. And if you’re wondering what all the hoopla is about this COS fashion thingy, read this older Vogue article, and munch on this one too to calm your fashion nerves.
The Corporate Sister.
