Thank You Letters

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Entrepreneurship porn paints pretty picture, glosses over danger

Entrepreneurship porn paints pretty picture, glosses over dangerEntrepreneurship porn paints pretty picture, glosses over dangerTomas Chamorro-Premuzic has been teaching MBA students for mora than 15 years.When he first started teaching, all his students wanted to work for corporate giants like Goldman Sachs, IBM, and Unilever.A decade later, Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon were the big draws.Now, he told me when we spoke by phone in July, the vast majority tell me, You know, Im going to be a startup guy. Im launching something. Im going to create the next big X, Y, Z.Who are we to crush their spirits? Chamorro-Premuzic said. But I think we have a responsibility to inform people that the probability of attaining that is really, really, really low, and that to actually attain it, theyre going have to sacrifice so many things.Today, Chamorro-Premuzic is a psychology prof at Columbia University and the chief talent scientist at Manpower. In one of the opening chapters to his 2017 boo k, The Talent Delusion, he explains why many ambitious young Americans today would be better off working for an established company than trying to build their own business.And yet many of these young Americans are hypnotized by stories of entrepreneurs who, against the odds, made it big. Even if theyre not prepared - personally or professionally - to launch a business, they forge ahead anyway.People feel like, Oh, I have an idea. I dont like the idea of having a boss. Im going to be the next Elon Musk, Chamorro-Premuzic said. Its not that easy.Telling people youre an entrepreneur is sexyThe rate of new-company failure in the US is unclear. In 2017, USA Today highlighted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing that about 20% of new businesses survive longer than one year. In fact, according to BLS data, that number hasnt budged since 1995.But entrepreneurship is notoriously hard to define. Do mom-and-pop businesses count? Or is it just high-potential ventures? Failure is even harder to define What if a startup pivots or downsizes?Still, Chamorro-Premuzics observations about entrepreneurial overeagerness are echoed by academics and business people alike.Morra Aarons-Mele, the founder of Women Online and The Mission List, appears to have coined the term entrepreneurship porn in a 2014 Harvard geschftlicher umgang Review article, to describe an airbrushed reality in which all work is always meaningful and running your own business is a way to achieve better work/life harmony.In the article, she makes the point that entrepreneurship is hardly as liberating as it can seem Starting a company doesnt mean being freed from the grind it means that the buck stops with you, always, even if its Sunday morning or Friday night.When Aarons-Mele launched her companies, I just wanted to make a living, she told me, and she knew that I just never wanted to go an office again for 10 hours a day. But a couple years in, something changed.I drank the Kool Aid, Aarons-Mele said, of being not just an entrepreneur, but a woman entrepreneur. It was sexy. She started going to conferences and speaking at events for founders.It was only after I realized that I did not want to scale, that really becoming this sort of entrepreneur with a capital E would make me have to live a lifestyle that I didnt want, that I became a happy small business owner instead.Aarons-Mele knows firsthand that the word entrepreneur can sound infinitely more appealing than small-business owner. She suspects that can play a big role in peoples desire to scale their company, and quickly. That is to say, entrepreneurship can be as much about the founders ego as anything else.Its a very American thing to be an entrepreneur, Aarons-Mele said. Small business implies small. Its a lot of what ambitious people might even want to escape versus create.Too many aspiring founders think entrepreneurship is about diving inThen theres the problematic notion that starting a business is all about ta king risks.Theres something a little bit inherent in a lot of founders psyches of, Youve just got to dive in, that its the type of thing that you cant go and learn about before you do it, said Noam Wasserman. The common misconception is that you have to fail, learn from that, zupflmmel yourself back up.Wasserman is the founding director of the Founder Central Initiative at the University of Southern Californias Marshall School of Business. When we spoke by phone in June, he told me that this myth heads off at the pass any of that inclination to go and learn before you go and dive in.Wassermans observations recall those of Wharton professor Adam Grant. In his 2016 book, Originals, Grant wrote that, contrary to popular belief, the fruchtwein successful entrepreneurs dont quit their day job to start a company. One University of Wisconsin study found that entrepreneurs who kept their day jobs were 33% less likely to fail than those who dont.Recent research also reveals just how importan t it is to wait until you have enough experience before building a company.An MIT study found the average age of a successful startup founder is 45. The study authors found that work experience explains much of the age advantage. They write in the Harvard Business Review, Relative to founders with no relevant experience, those with at least three years of prior work experience in the same narrow industry as their startup were 85% more likely to launch a highly successful startup.Indeed, Chamorro-Premuzic said that technical expertise in the area where youre founding a company is one of the most underrated attributes of a successful entrepreneur.Its your baby, your everythingI asked a few entrepreneurs to tell me about their experiences, about how entrepreneurship porn had (or hadnt) influenced their decision to launch a company.Sophie Kahn took a relatively cautious approach As she told Business Insiders Libby Kane, she kept her job at Marc Jacobs while developing the plans for AUra te New York, the jewelry company she co-founded with Bouchra Ezzahraoui and thats raised $2.6 million. Entrepreneurship, she learned, was both harder and easier than shed anticipated.Harder, because its truly all-consuming and you never ever have a day off. Its your baby, your everything, and always with you, she wrote in an email.And easier, because it doesnt feel like work in the sense that its your passion and you want to work on it, and of course since youre free to make your own choices and set your own schedule.Jen Rubio left her job at Warby Parker a few years before cofounding direct-to-consumer luggage company Away, which has raised a total of $81 million. But Rubio says she and her cofounder, Steph Korey, another Warby Parker alum, learned a lot from their experience there Being on the ground floor of an early-stage startup with that mentality allowed us both to build something entirely new every day, Rubio wrote in an email.Rubios best advice for anyone considering starti ng a business is to be really specific about why youre doing it and what problems youll be able to solve in a meaningful way for your customers dont start a business just because you think you have have a great idea.Passion can become your perilAnother persistent myth about entrepreneurship is that, once youve got the product and financing in place, the people stuff will come naturally. Many entrepreneurs, Wasserman said, are completely oblivious to the importance of the people side - i.e. who you hire and how you manage your company.For example, some entrepreneurs figure that theyre already best friends with their cofounder, so everything should be fine. Unfortunately, those happen to be the least stable of founding teams, Wasserman said.But perhaps the most destructive misconception around entrepreneurship is the importance of passion.At the start of every semester, Wasserman asks his students How important is passion for the entrepreneurial magic?We get a resounding, Passion is critical. Passion is going to be the main ingredient that is going to enable me to go and succeed as a founder, Wasserman said. Then he presents them with a case study that drives home to them that passion can become your peril.Specifically, Wasserman said, passion can mislead you into thinking youre readier to start a company than you are, or make you believe that your idea is more valuable than it is. You have to really go and grab the founders by the lapels and have them think deeper about these people issues, Wasserman said, where the person that theyre dealing with is themselves.This article first appeared on Business Insider.

5 Authentic Workplace Strategies for Countering Seasonal Affective Disorder

5 Authentic Workplace Strategies for Countering Seasonal Affective Disorder5 Authentic Workplace Strategies for Countering Seasonal Affective DisorderDoes it seem as if once-perky employees are wilting like week-old birthday balloons? And youre getting more and more manager reports that staff members find it hard to stay motivated throughout the day? At the start of fall, HR managers across the country often see a sudden shift within their workplaces.Its not their imagination. Its Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Its a side-effect of the fall and winter season for the 6 percentof the population affected by SAD and the 14 percent that suffers from a lesser fasson of seasonal depression known as the winter blues.SAD has been a workplace issue since 2010 when U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled SAD was an admissible workplace disability. Ever since, HR teams have been working hard to figure out what they can do to make their workplaces more productive during this season .While you cannot (and should not) attempt to diagnose or treat this illness within your workplace, here are five different approaches you can implement to create the most welcoming and productive work environment for staff members suffering from SAD1. Counter SAD with Sunlight and Bright Light TherapyThe underlying cause of SAD is still being studied, but experts agree that it is related to decreased access to high-quality sources of sunlight. Depending on your geographic location, theres not much you can do about it being darker during the winter months. However, you can combat SAD by helping your employees get as much sunlight as possible when it is available.Encourage employees to eat lunch outdoors or take walks on clear days. If its in the budget and fits the calendar, host an outdoor potluck or field trip to a local park before the weather turns too cold. Activities that promote socialization and sunlight will go a long way towards lifting the mood.If possible, find alternati ve light sources. Invest in bright light therapyfor common areas and conference spaces. For a one-time cost of a few hundred dollars, you could literally bring sunshine into your geschftszimmer for many seasons to come.2. Brainstorm Creative Solutions for Physical SymptomsHeres a typical list of symptomsemployees suffering from SAD might experienceLess energyTrouble concentratingFatigueGreater appetiteIncreased desire to be aloneGreater need for sleepWeight gainThink of ways to lessen behauptung side-effects. For example, to counter employees feeling less energized, you might be able to offer discounts on group exercise classes at a local gym a few days per week. For employees who have difficulty concentrating, encourage your management team to express openness to increased breaks throughout the day. You could also offer flexible schedules for those who need more time to complete their work.Not every morale booster needs to be a budget-blaster, but its important to invest time and a ttention into your employees during this season to build trust and encourage year-round productivity.3. Educate Your Management Team and Embrace the EAP While many symptoms of SAD are physiological and are brought on by the changing season, counseling and group therapy can bring comfort to employees dealing with those symptoms.Educate your managers to identify symptoms of SAD in employees and encourage your employees to take advantage of their Employment Assistance Program (EAP) whenever they feel overwhelmed or depressed. Within reason, make sure managers allow flexible breaks to attend these appointments.While it may require an adjustment to the normal work schedule, the quality of work and quality of life your employees experience will be enhanced by properly positioning EAP benefits.4. Offer Alternatives to Sweets and CaffeineSugar and caffeine both have a reputation as a quick energy boost. But did you know that they are in fact depressants? And that consuming food or drink wit h either can significantly worsen symptoms of depression? Unfortunately, this means that your office treat bowl and never-ending coffee pot may have a lot to do with deepening or worsening the symptoms of SAD.While you wont get far trying to ban chocolate or coffee from the workplace, you can make small changes that will encourage your employees to make better choices.Start by encouraging employees to consider the benefits of avoiding sugar and caffeine. Then invest your office treat fund in healthier snack alternatives such as non-legume mixed nuts, organic string cheese and pre-cut vegetables. These activities will keep your budget intact and help your employees make smarter nutritional choices during the winter months.5. Consider Flexible SchedulingMany people who suffer from SAD cite morning and evening darknessas a major factor in feelings of depression. Arriving at work when its dark and departing from work when its dark makes it seem like the winter months merge into one long , dark day.To help your team get more sunlight and come to work more energized, consider offering flexible scheduling or flex time for each department or team.While some workplaces simply do not lend themselves to flexible scheduling, there are many professional services that do. Allowing employees to arrive to work later, arrive earlier and depart later, or work different hour sets during the day might help them jumpstart productivity and avoid long periods of presenteeismor showing up to clock in but not being as effective as usual. Your employees may benefit from adopting this schedule a few times per week.While most of us are looking forward to the good things that come with the changing seasons- apple cider, pumpkins, and holiday celebrations, just to anthroponym a few- the fall season brings with it something else entirely for many employees and managers in the modern workplace. If you are concerned about the impending effects of SAD within your workplace, consider implement ing some or all of these ideas so that you and your team can enjoy the good things that come with the fall and winter holiday season.How are you preparing your workplace for the mood changes that come with the winter months?