by Solange Lopes | Feb 19, 2014 | Career |
Corporate diversity
Diversity has now been hailed for years as being the catalyst for good business and governance. For promoting women to the top of the career ladder to fostering inclusiveness in companies when it comes to minorities of all kinds, be they race, gender, or sexual orientation-related, diversity has been on the corporate minds and media mouths of many a corporate pundit. As a corporate sister and a Black woman, I welcome the focus and emphasis on diversity because of course, it should have been a universal value for all since the beginning of times, but primarily because it benefits me. And in this era of profit and positively affecting the bottom line, let’s keep it real, who doesn’t want to work for their own benefit? Well, let’s keep it real, I know I do, and so do most, if not all, corporations around…
As an employee, a double-minority, and a voice in the community, I am not ashamed to say that I benefit from diversity initiatives, for all the right reasons, that is…Where the color of my skin and my gender stood in the way of success at first, now my work is recognized fairly, and my contribution appreciated. Where I feared standing out from the professional crowd and being noticed for who I really was, now my unique experience, perspectives and insights are viewed as advantageous to the business as a whole. And it doesn’t just work for myself, and so many others like me…
As a business-minded CEO of my life, family and career, I can also see how diversity is not just a winning value for employees like myself, but also and maybe even more so, for corporations themselves. One of the most important values I teach my own children is that in order to gain respect, one must give respect. And that when we respect and honor differences in all individuals, we are able to see the best in all of them. And when we can tap into the best, unique and ground-breaking potential in people, we actually, even more so than those whose strengths we were able to tap into, end up winners! It’s no wonder that the most effective leaders are not necessarily the smartest, but the ones who know how to hire and retain the smartest talent they can find!
In today’s era of keeping it profitable, corporations can certainly gain from keeping it real! By investing in diversity and being outspoken about it, corporations can tap into what is now the reality of business. They can unearth the incredible, many times unseen talent of this world, and put it to work for their own advantage. Not only can they, like CVS Caremark, do right and feel right about decisions such as foregoing billions of profit selling cigarettes for the sake of better health, but they can also so right by their bottom lines by effectively tapping into the diverse consciousness of their workforce and clientele!
Because we always knew diversity was a winning value for all, we just may not have realized how much of a winning value it can actually be, not just yet…
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 18, 2014 | Career
Colorblock topper – Anntaylor.com – $198
Spring is not exactly in the air…but it’s in our dreams, and also in our plans as we prepare to turn the clocks forward in a couple of weeks…So for our lunch break today, we are swooning over this colorblock topper from Ann Taylor, which is not only an elegant, tailored alternative to the timeless trench coat, but a unique take on toppers. I love the band of neutrals at the bottom of the topper, which makes this topper go with basically everything you wear, and can go from work to play in a cinch…Plus the 3/4 sleeves really take us into string…
It’s $198 at Ann Taylor. Psst: Ann Taylor is still having 50% off on all sale styles, no code needed…
Seen a great, work-appropriate piece you’d like to share? Please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 18, 2014 | Career |
vibevixen.com
Hope everyone had a great week-end, and enjoyed the great President’s Day sales yesterday! Well, for those of us who are still shopping, here are some more sales that are going on for a few more days…
- Ann Taylor is having 50% off on all sale styles, no code needed;
- LOFT is still having 60% off all sale styles as well;
- The Limited is having 40% off on all full-price items, and 30% off on all sale items;
- Lord & Taylor is still offering 20% off regular and sale, 25% off clearance plus extra 10% with your LT Card and promo code PRES;
- New York & Company is still having its Semi-annual Pant Event, buy one get one free!;
- The shoe clearance is still going on at Nordstrom, with 40% off discounts;
- Speaking about shoes, 6pm is still having its winter clearance event, with up to 60% off on some brands;
- Banana Republic is offering 30% off TODAY ONLY with code BR30;
- At Bluefly, you can get 40$ off $200, use code GET40;
Enjoy!
Heard of any other good sales? Chime in…
by Solange Lopes | Feb 18, 2014 | Career |
Professional transitions – huffingtonpost.com
In today’s professional world where career loyalty is an endangered professional species, frequent career transitions have become the norm. Whereas professionals used to remain in the same company for their entire careers, nowadays, millenials abhor career stagnation, opting instead for transitional paths and redirected steps to get to the top.
Today, you can no longer judge someone’s resume by the longevity of their tenures but rather by the breadth and width of their experiences. And that experience may not only span throughout many companies, but even through numerous fields and disciplines…
As thriving professionals and corporate sisters, how are we to handle the new norm? How do we manage both those transitions we willingly and strategicall choose, as well as those that are somewhat imposed to us?
I once watched a great contorsionist during a Cirque du Soleil show, and remember being amazed at the unbreakable flexibility of their limbs. He could bend whichever way without any sign of pain or over-extension whatsoever, while still displaying the most incredible grace under pressure. Each movement was synchronized with the next in a gracious continuum that looked like it was always a single act. Yet when you looked closely, you could decompose each micro movement into the overwhelming sum of its components.
And so are professional transitions. As seemingly individual as they may appear, the secret to building success out of the modern and fragmented careers of our times, is to graciously combine all our professional transitions into a seamless career continuum. To instill a flexible, adaptive approach to non-conventional career paths. To favor successful professional transitions, as unconventional as they may be, rather than opting to stay put in unproductive and un-gratifying professional settings.
The Corporate Sister
by Solange Lopes | Feb 16, 2014 | Career |
Reading the news online
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Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a restful Sunday, what with all this snow that is just slamming us on the Northeast…Well, if you’re still snowed in today, then just grab a hot cup of cocoa and enjoy our reading suggestions for this week…
- Black Enterprise is confirming to us that high emotional intelligence is indeed linked to effective leadership;
- The Daily Muse is sounding off on a controversial piece of advice, and advising you to not follow your passion if you truly want work you love…hmmm;
- Time Magazine, in partnership with Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In organization, is offering us real images of real women doing real things in and outside of work, instead of the usual cliches we’re so over;
- Daily Worth is tipping us off on 17 FREE apps that will help cut our monthly bills, while confirming what we always knew but weren’t sure how to go about, that we can get almost everything we want, for less;
- Afraid of leaving money on the table? Forbes Woman tells you how to negotiate your salary successfully;
- It’s tax season! HuffPost Money advises you on whether you should file your own taxes or hire a CPA;
- Last but not least, our own The Corporate Sister tells you how to beat the competition before 9am, and in honor of Valentine’s Day, examines the love-hate relationship between women of color and the corporate world.
Happy Sunday, and happy reading!
The Corporate Sister.
