Rana Florida Columns: Work

Trump’s “Muslim Ban” (Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”) has set in motion will be an unqualified disaster for American business and the economy. In his first press conference after the election, Trump modestly declared that he would be “the greatest job producer God has ever created.” Between the trade war that he is igniting with Mexico and China and his immigrant ban, he is setting the stage for an economic catastrophe that will make what happened in 2008 look like a hiccup.

Tips for surviving the holiday party!

President Obama, in your final days, the world needs your voice more than ever. If not for the sake of your own legacy, then for the sake of children who learn from their leaders, you must speak up. It’s time you urge the electoral college to exercise their rights.

Both U.S. presidential candidates were flawed. Rightly or wrongly, Hillary seemed like an entitled elitist to one set of voters; Trump like an intolerant, corrupt, prevaricating bigot. Some might say we got what we deserved.But here’s why those of us who didn’t vote for Trump are still sick over it.

The risks of being an entrepreneur are all too real. From cash flow issues and product differentiation to scaling the business—8 out of 10 start-ups fail within 18 months. I asked a group of new entrepreneurs the same questions about their challenges and lessons learned, and here’s what they shared.

Rana Florida on supporting women in the workforce and what the current crop of presidential candidates have to say about the crisis of women in the workforce–and the productivity gap that their low participation is causing.

At the DX Intersection event, The Design Exchange celebrates an individual or partnership that exemplifies creativity, outstanding talent, and innovative vision. Rana Florida interviews this year’s DXI awardees interior designers, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg

The bigger an industry grows, the more need for disruption it seems. Fast and nimble, flexible and innovative, don’t work in bureaucracies that are bogged down with rigid processes and procedures, and where the customer always seems to come last. I can think of any number of industries that are ripe for disruption. Here are five of the softest and juiciest targets.

Future presidents and CEOs are more alike than you’d think. Use these leadership secrets from contenders for the biggest startup of all, America.

So much energy and space goes to waste after quitting time. 10 unconventional ideas for putting your office’s off hours to use.

So from now until January 5, Please Do Not Disturb!

Skip the gift cards. What your employees really want from you is to stress less.

About 500,000 new U.S. companies are launched every month with over 11 million entrepreneurs. But how many are successful under the age of 10? Well, you’ve heard the saying “It’s never too late.” but for this trio of kidpreneurs, “It’s never too early!”

Most people think a Great Idea — a breakthrough discovery, a killer app — will make them wealthy beyond their dreams. But successful entrepreneurs know that Great Ideas are a dime a dozen. True success lies in the execution. Given the choice between a great idea and a limited execution team or a mediocre idea and a brilliant execution team, most great business leaders would choose the latter.

Working mothers (and fathers) are making significant contributions to the U.S. economy and the companies that employ them, but they are doing so without the support that they need. Flex-time and other pro-family policies are not simply a “nice” thing that businesses can do for their employees. They make business sense too, as they reduce employee turnover.

Bands and startups have a lot in common. Sleepless nights, fueled on caffeine and adrenaline, they both have a lot at stake and chances are they’ve sacrificed a lot to get to where they are. Success in a hyper competitive marketplace relies on a number of strategic factors. Here are 15 simple tips to ensure your startup is a number one hit.

Starting with just $150,000 in venture capital and a $50,000 line of credit, Warby Parker has emerged as a fashion giant, selling over a million pairs of designer eyeglasses. More than that, it’s made the world a better place, donating an equal number of eyeglasses to needy people in the developing world while maintaining a net zero carbon footprint — and earning a substantial profit for its investors. I sat down with co-founders Neil Blumenthal and David Gilboa in their New York headquarters and talked to them about start-ups, risk-taking, collaboration, creativity, and entrepreneurialism.

Rana Florida’s video interview with Musical legend Sheila E.

If you are afraid to ask for a raise, you are not alone. Most people, no matter how self-confident they are, feel quite anxious about this issue. But good work should be rewarded and most companies know that great talent is hard to come by and turn over costs are expensive. If you’re doing an outstanding job, your bosses will do what it takes to keep you. All that you need is a plan. Here’s one you can carry out in ten easy steps.

The Creative Class video series celebrates innovative creators across disciplines. This week features Bob Ezrin, one of the most commercially successful producers of all time. He’s worked with many of the world’s most important contemporary artists including: Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, U2, Peter Gabriel, Deep Purple, KISS, Jay-Z, Julian Lennon, Nine Inch Nails, Taylor Swift, K’naan, will.i.am, Elton John, Lou Reed, Rod Stewart and many others.

We all need to change our mindset and get up off our behinds. Whether your office is in a suburban industrial park, an urban skyscraper, or in your own home, it’s slowly but surely killing you. Be sure to schedule your next meeting as a walking one.

In just three short years Paddle8 an innovative marketplace infusing technology and art has held hundreds auctions with over $100MM in bidding activity and raising over $25MM for charities. This Creative Class video features CEO and Cofounder Aditya Julka about what it takes to launch a successful startup.

Whether it’s to meet suppliers or vendors, to analyze the customer base, assess the competition, or attend forums and events, entrepreneurs know that in order to succeed, they must travel. But when too much work, too many client presentations, and too many other needs all demand your attention at once, the added stress of dealing with the minutiae of travel logistics can hinder that very success. Here are my top 10 travel tips.

The MBA used to be a pre-requisite for a corporate job, a ticket to a high salary, more or less for life. But our economy has shifted; corporate loyalty has waned and those once coveted jobs, are both harder to come by and far less secure. The MBA remains more or less the same but a new kind of MBA is required to prepare students for these new volatile, uncertain economic currents. The emphasis needs to be less on getting a job and more on creating jobs for yourself and others.

Zappos, the Internet shoe retailer is eliminating job titles, replacing their traditional corporate bureaucracy with a holocracy, an organization that revolves around the work that needs to be done rather than the people who do it. The goal of team members and colleagues is to add value, skills and expertise. Managers can and should enable and even unleash their people, but they cannot control them.

More than half of all startups fail within five years. And it is a well-known fact that failure is constant in entrepreneurship. The fashion business is highly competitive; so how do women’s clothing designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of the fashion label Greta Constantine ensure success? “Think global but always act like a startup.” Their company got off the ground in 2006 and can be found in far-flung locales such as Dubai, Paris, London, Moscow and Madrid.

While there’s no doubt that some women are on the rise, the majority of us are still struggling to be valued professionally, financially, politically, and culturally, around the world and here at home. Whether it’s our fault or not, it’s time to ban together, stand up or take the driver’s seat and fix this.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with President Bill Clinton.

Don’t disappoint your family or friends by getting stuck in the office. Here are some tips to ensure you get to take your vacation on your schedule.

An astounding 70 percent of employees are not engaged or inspired by their work. Clearly management bears a large part of the blame. In my upcoming book Upgrade (McGraw-Hill, September, 2013), I write about business’s leadership crisis. The traditional top-down approach, in which the boss sits at the top of the pyramid and orders the underlings to work harder, is no longer flying.

With smartphones, people can snap a #Selfie and share it with their network of friends or followers in an instant. With Facebook, Instagram, PicMonkey, Twitpic, TumblrPic and Pic Stitch everyone can be their own photographer, artistic director, and graphic designer, choosing the desired filter and crop, adding text, icons, and Emojicons. Everyone is curating their own content.

To get a leg up on the competition, here are ten job hunting tips for college graduates to ensure a successful career launch.

Thirty-seven million Americans at 3.5 million workplaces will participate in the 20-year tradition of Take Your Kids to Work Day this Thursday. The goal of the day is not to transform the workplace into a circus or a playground, but to get children interested in what the workplace really is.

Many employers spend millions of dollars to upgrade their technology and software but skimp when it comes to providing their employees with formal skills development, apprenticeships, on-the-job learning, ongoing education, and other programs. They’re making a big mistake.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s recent decree abolishing telecommuting is a gigantic step backward at an important time for women.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Amanda Burden.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Sir Ken Robinson.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with David Stark, President and Creative Director of David Stark Design and Production.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with multi-platinum-selling singer, songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress Nelly Furtado.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with world famous contemporary art collector, Mera Rubell.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with management guru, Don Tapscott.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with one of France’s — and the world’s — most innovative chefs, Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Bottega Veneta Creative Director, Tomas Maier.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Frank Toskan, the co-founder of MAC Cosmetics.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with visionary architect and designer Peter Marino.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with tennis star, Andre Agassi.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with modern day super-activist, Jamie Drummond.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Chairman & CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, entrepreneur Dr. Peter H. Diamandis.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with IDEO’s CEO Tim Brown.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with American popular culture artist Kenny Scharf.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States.

This newest installment of Creative Spaces gives 10 key tips on how big corporate brands can earn street cred or a cool factor to get the early adopters on board.

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives. This week’s question has to do with business location.

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives. This week’s question about is about team building retreats.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland.

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives. This week’s question about designing the perfect office.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with world renowned architect and designer Zaha Hadid, one of Forbes magazine’s “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” and Time’s “100 People Who Most Affect Our World.”

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives. This week’s question examines the best business books.

This newest installment of Creative Spaces celebrates the imagination and originality that goes into retailer branding and partnership efforts.

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives. This week’s question discusses getting more flexibility at work.

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives.

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives.

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Dan Pink,author/speaker/journalist.

Thursdays at the Huffington Post, Rana Florida, CEO of The Creative Class Group, shares her conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, personal lives, careers, and more. She also answers readers’ questions about how they can optimize their lives.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with Espresso King Ricardo Illy.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. This week’s conversation is with media and sports pioneer Mark Cuban.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more. A conversation with CNN anchor and chief business correspondent Ali Velshi.

Rana Florida conversations with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders about how they manage their businesses, relationships, their careers and more.A conversation with Mario Batali, chef/author/entrepreneur in here featured.