In Hanoi, countdown events will begin at 7 p.m. on December 31 at the Ly Thai To flower garden and the August Revolution Square in downtown Hoan Kiem District.

There will be an electronic music concert featuring big V-pop names such as Soobin Hoang Son, Toc Tien, Min, Tuan Hung, and Da LAB band at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square by the iconic Hoan Kiem (Sword) Lake. Cultural activities and folk games will be on in the nearby pedestrians-only zone.

Ho Chi Minh City, the countrys largest city, will ring in the New Year with firework displays, a 3D lighting show, and a musical countdown.

The 15-minute fireworks displays will begin at midnight at the Landmark 81, the country's highest building in Binh Thanh District, and at the Thu Thiem Tunnel area that links Districts 1 and 2 and Dam Sen Park in District 11.

On December 31 and January 1 nights there will be a lighting show using 3D mapping techniques at the city Peoples Committee office in District 1. Downtown streets will be decorated with lights.

A concert by pop star Son Tung M-TP will be held on the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street on New Years Eve.

Foreign tourists walk on Bui Vien pedestrian street in downtown HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

In Da Nang, the countrys third largest city and a popular tourist destination, there will be celebrations at the September 2 Square.

A 15-minute fireworks display will light up the sky at 9 p.m. after the countdown party. For many years, the central city, famous for its annual international fireworks festival, has been popular with foreign tourists.

HCMC, Hanoi and Da Nang are among 100 most visited destinations in the world, according to the annual Top City Destinations Ranking report released last week by the U.K.-based global business intelligence firm Euromonitor International.

Da Nang rings in the new year 2018 with a fireworks party on Han River. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong.

The ancient town of Hoi An, a neighbor of Da Nang, will also have lots of events.An Hoi Sculpture Garden will host an event at 9.30 p.m. featuring an arts performance, a lottery and a singing contest. There will be a fireworks display near the Hoai River.

In the south central province of Ninh Thuan, a grand music festival and a fireworks display will take place from 9:30 p.m. at the April 16 Square in Phan Rang-Thap Cham, the capital of Ninh Thuan.

An art program will be held at Phan Thiet, home to the popular resort destination of Mui Ne in the neighboring province of Binh Thuan, from 8 p.m. at the Nguyen Tat Thanh Square, followed by a fireworks display.

The UNESCO heritage site of Ha Long Bay will host a concert featuring well-known pop singers and DJs at the October 30 Square from 8 p.m.

Around 5.2 million foreigners visited Ha Long Bay last year, or 30 percent of the countrys 15.6 million foreign tourist arrivals.

Phu Tho Province, around 100 kilometers to the northwest of Hanoi, and home to the famous Hung Kings Temple, will welcome the new year with fireworks displays and art programs.

Letting off fireworks has long been a tradition during important festivals and major national celebrations like Reunification Day on April 30 and Independence Day on September 2.

As disposable incomes rise and the country becomes increasingly open to the outside world, Vietnamese have begun to celebrate foreign festivals likethe New Year,Christmas and Halloween with enthusiasm.

The countrys GDP growth is among worlds highest over the past decade. Vietnams GDP growth of 7.02 percent this year exceeded the parliaments target of 6.6-6.8 percent as well as forecasts by several international organizations.

Global real estate consultant Knight Frank earlier this year said the number of extremely rich individuals in Vietnam is set togrow at the fastest rate in the world,by 31 percent in the next five years.

New Year's Eve party in Bui Vien - the backpackers' street

See the rest here:

Vietnams top tourist destinations ready to ring in New Year - VnExpress International

Toronto Raptors fans react to their team's first NBA title inside Jurassic Park, an open air viewing space outside Scotiabank Arena that became the epicentre of Toronto fandom during the playoffs.

With 2020nearly here, it's time to take a look back at the biggest news stories of the year in the Greater Toronto Area and what a spin around the sun it's been.

To reflect on 2019,CBC Toronto has curated a list of some of the year's most talked-about headlines.

The Raptors' incredible NBA championship win has to be a contender for story of the year in Toronto.

The team's incredible playoff run;Kawhi Leonard's unforgettable buzzer-beating shot;$120,000 courtside seats and a victory parade attended by more than a million fans the Raps made headlines for three straight months.

It was a chapter of sports history that Toronto will never forget.

While many people seem ready to forget her, it's impossible to reflect on the year that was in news without mentioning 'chair girl.'

For some reason incomprehensible to most people,Marcella Zoia, 19 at the time, decided to throw a folding chair from the balcony of a downtown Toronto highriseonto the streets below.

A short video of the toss made Zoia instantly infamous. In November, she pleaded guilty to one count ofmischief endangering life. She is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Like any other year, there has been no shortage of tragedy in the GTAin 2019. But one, in particular, hit Canadians especially hard.

Riya Rajkumar, 11, was the subject of a late night Amber Alert onFebruary 14.

Hours later, the Brampton girl was found dead in a basement apartment where her father lived.Roopesh Rajkumar, 41, was charged with first-degree murder in her death, but died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in hospital just a few days later.

Riya was remembered as a beautiful, lively young girl who "touched a lot of lives" in her short life.

Premier Doug Ford's government captured the country's attention during a whirlwind year in Ontario politics.

Its first budget in April set the stage for major changes in hot-button areas of policylikehealth care, autism treatment and services, public transit and education just to name a few.

Ford's aggressive agenda has sparkedclashes with influential interest groups and even led the province to walk back some of its movesin the face of staunch opposition.

There were also some more outlandish controversies, like a plan to purchase a $50K custom van for the premier and his teamto travel in and a number of eyebrow-raising patronage appointments that preceded his chief of staff's resignation.

Oh and, of course, the province changed the slogan on Ontario licence plates.

It'sa tale of workplace rivalry gone dangerously overboard and one that, apparently, lots of Canadians could empathize with (for lots of different reasons, we assume).

Matsa Beliashvilisaysthat she went through "hell" as her one-time co-worker at theEsteLauder counter in the downtown Hudson's Bay location allegedlytainted her drinking water with Lysol cleaning sprayon multiple times over several months.

Beliashvili, then 33,hadbouts of nausea, headaches and skin irritations, she said. In some instances, she had to take days off work because she felt so ill.

After security cameras caught her co-worker in the act, police charged the woman withone count of administering a noxious substance with intent to cause bodily harm and one count of mischief to interfere with property.

It was a whirlwind affair that began with a Saudi teen barricaded in a Thai hotel roombravely defying the laws of her country, and against long odds, refusing to return to her allegedly abusive family.

Just days later, Rahaf Mohammed al-Qununwas on Canadian soil, flanked by smiling officials and local service providersamid the flash of cameras a swift resolution to a story that could have had a very different ending.

The #SaveRahaf campaign would have been impossible without help from an online group of like-minded Saudi women who campaigned for women's rights online.

In a one-on-one interview with CBC News, the teen opened up about what she'd been through.

"I was exposed to physical violence, persecution, oppression, threats to be killed. I was locked in for six months," she saidin Arabic, describing what happened after she cut her hair, something her family was strongly against.

"I felt that I could not achieve my dreams that I wanted as long as I was still living in Saudi Arabia."

With a little detective work and help from a DNA test, an Ontario woman recently found three sisters and a brother she never knew she had.

This is a story about the strength of familial bonds and love between siblings that captivated readers across Canada.

It was a big year for homegrown GTA talent.

In July, it was announced that Mississauga'sSimu Liu will be Marvel's first Asian-American superhero on the silver screen.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsis slated for release in 2021.

Liualso plays Jung onthe CBC sit-comKim's Convenience.

Video

That same month, Mississauga teenMaitreyi Ramakrishnangot news that she had beat out 15,000 competitorsto snag the central role in Mindy Kaling's new Netflix comedy series.

She was at home in her dining room when Kaling best known forThe OfficeandThe Mindy Project and co-creator Lang Fisher called to give her the good news.

Inspired by elements of Kaling's own upbringing, the series is said to be a coming-of-age tale centred on Devi, a modern-day, first-generation Indian-American teen.

One of the things Ramakrishnan is most excited about is that the series will tell stories through the lens of a youngSouth Asian woman growing up in North America.

"I'm a firm believer that if you don't see what you want in the media or in the world in general, you should go out there and be that change and take up that space," she said.

"Go after your dreams. Don't stop for anyone," she told CBC News.

If you, like an ever increasing number of Torontonians, live in a highrisebuilding or near one, than you can probably relate to this story on some level.

In February, residentsof a century-old historic building downtown told CBC Toronto they were fed up withtheir neighbours vomiting andtossing bottles, bones, and cigarette butts down onto their balconies.

"It's a beautiful building, but it's a shame," said Richard Blundell, who lives in a fifth-floor penthouse unit in the building.

As home to one of the busiest airports in North America, the GTA serves as the setting for all kinds of hellish travel stories.

This year, Canadians were particularly interested in the ordeal of David Kitchen and his fellow passengers aboard a flight to Victoria. The weary travellers boarded the Air Canada plane at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday but didn't take off until almost 3 a.m. the next day.

You read that right: they spent nearly seven hours stuck on the tarmac.

"The underlying thing is there was just really no communication," said Kitchen.

About a month later, passengers on a Sunwing flight from Toronto to Cancun had their own infernal air travel experience.

On the night of Aug. 24 on Lake Joseph in Ontario cottage country, Linda O'Leary was driving a boat involved in a crash that killed two people,Gary Poltash, 64, and Suzana Brito. 48. Both were on a vessel that was struck by O'Leary's boat and they suffered fatalhead trauma in the collision.

The wife of entrepreneur and media personality Kevin O'Leary known for his cantankerous on-screen personaO'Leary's case garnered a lot of public interest.

She has since been chargedwith careless operation of a vessel under the Canada Shipping Act. If found guilty, she could face a $10,000 fine. Themandriving the other boat, Robert Ruh,and is charged with failing to exhibit a navigation light while underway.

CBC News reported in November that the OPP sayO'Leary had alcohol on her breathin the hours following the crash. She says she was a given vodka beverage by someone after the collision.

O'Leary is scheduled to be back in court in January.

Sometimes among the deluge of discouraging headlines it can be easy to lose sight of how dynamic and interesting Toronto can be.

At the beginning of 2019, Toronto unveiled a stacked container market built on a 2.6-acre plot of city-owned land that had been vacant for years.

The complex at 28 Bathurst St. eventually opened in the spring and remains a popular spot near the waterfront.

The more than 100 recycled shipping containers house dozens of businesses.

Lots of CBC readers said they were happy to see an otherwise vacant space used for something a little more stimulating.

See the original post here:

These were the stories that got Toronto talking in 2019 - CBC.ca

Today

Conor Scott The Sunflower, Belfast

Andy White The American, Belfast

The Unholy Gospel Band, Both Barrels Betty, Drew Hamill Band etc The Liggers Ball, Kellys, Portrush

Saturday December 28

Joshua Burnside, Jarlath Henderson Duncairn Arts Centre, Belfast

Daithi Voodoo, Belfast

The Skallions The Glassworks, Derry

Sunday December 29

Acoustic Dan The Black Box, Belfast

Tuesday December 31

The Bonnevilles, Swall Monkey, The Peculiar etc The Errigle, Belfast

The Vibes, Amy Montgomery, The Skallions etc Suited & Booted, The Empire, Belfast

Space Dimension Controller, Phil Kieran Voodoo, Belfast

Friday January 3

Dea Matrona The Black Box, Belfast, 1pm

Ryan Robson-Bluer Oh Yeah, Belfast

Cup O'Joe Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast

Saturday January 4

Nine Below Zero The Black Box, Belfast

The Utopia Strong Ulster Sports Club, Belfast

Tuesday January 7

Gary Edward Jones Something About Simon, The Black Box, Belfast

Thursday January 9

King Creeper, Anto & The Echoes, The Caged Hearts etc The Empire, Belfast

Friday January 10

Paco Pena The MAC, Belfast

Glasshouse Bowie's Berlin Trilogy, The Black Box, Belfast

Saturday January 11

And So I Watch You From Afar Jettison, The MAC, Belfast

Blue Rose Code, Malojian The Black Box, Belfast, 2pm

Martin Stephenson & The Daintees The Black Box, Belfast

David Keenan The Empire, Belfast

Rixe, United Bottles, Takers & Users, The Jollars Oh Yeah, Belfast

Rhys Lewis The Glassworks, Derry

Sunday January 12

David Lyttle, Joseph Leighton The Black Box, Belfast

Friday January 17

Elder Druid, Slomatics, Nomadic Rituals etc Voodoo, Belfast

Snow Patrol The Limelight, Belfast

Portico Quartet The Black Box, Belfast

Happy Out Nerve Centre, Derry

Saturday January 18

Badly Drawn Boy The Black Box, Belfast

Altan Duncairn Arts Centre, Belfast

Saint Sapphire The Speakeasy, Belfast

Rachael Boyd, Junk Drawer, Conor Mason Figure 8 by Elliott Smith, Oh Yeah, Belfast

Sunday January 19

The Darkling Air The Black Box, Belfast, 2pm

Tuesday January 21

Petrol Girls, Sister Ghost McHugh's, Belfast

Ryan Bingham The Black Box, Belfast

Excerpt from:

Gig guide: Live music for the week ahead - The Irish News

By: Kerry Pipes and Helen Bond | 380 Reads 3 Shares

A solid franchise development program starts with doing the little things right--all the time, every day, with every prospect. Those "little" things are more important than ever because, by the time you hear from them, today's prospects are more educated about your brand than ever before.

This year's annual Mystery Shopping Survey found that while franchisors have more opportunities than ever to connect with qualified prospects, their challenge is making those connections count. To do so, successful franchisors must have systems in place to keep pace in a 24/7 digital world where prospects form opinions about brands long before they make contact.

"The way prospects research brands has evolved. The ability to conduct most of their due diligence online gives them plenty of information to vet brands," says Therese Thilgen, co-founder and CEO of Franchise Update Media, which mystery shops conference attendees each year. "An opportunity exists to engage with prospects before the first phone call takes place."

In the 2019 annual review of franchise recruitment best practices, researchers evaluated brands by directly calling them from information provided on their development websites; submitting online forms from those websites and grading the subsequent phone call response; thoroughly reviewing each brand's development website elements; grading each brand's social media activity and effectiveness; and measuring franchisee satisfaction.

This year's mystery shoppers were Michael Alston at Landmark Interactive (mobile); Art Coley at CGI Franchise (telephone); Rick Batchelor at Qiigo (social media); Don Rush and Ben Foley at Franchise Update (websites); Jayson Pearl at ServiceScore (website response); and Michelle Rowan and Eric Stites at Franchise Business Review (franchisee satisfaction). Culled from their extensive research and analysis, the following is a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of franchise recruitment today.

Smartphones continue to surge as the most popular way for franchise prospects to begin their research. Among Landmark's findings for 2019:

"To connect with consumers on the ever-changing world of small mobile screens, we have needed to rethink how our websites and mobile apps are designed," says Michael Alston, president of Landmark Interactive. "That quick and reliable connection translates into high-quality prospects who are ready to learn more about exciting franchise concepts."

Landmark's mobile findings also reinforce the need for development teams to have robust systems in place to respond to inquiries whenever they're received. Landmark's study of daypart data suggests that more than two-thirds of prospects are in shopping mode outside of regular business hours. Overall, 67% of new investment prospects researched franchises and initiated contact during nights and weekends. This means that for every 10 daily leads, the odds are that only three are generated during the 9-to-5 workday.

"Knowing that part of the problem is a round-the-clock scheduling challenge, sales teams can adjust their process to better address the daypart differences," Alston advises.

Given the time zone differences in the U.S., the task is even tougher for brands that centralize franchise recruitment. For East Coast prospects, 66% initiated contact on nights and weekends; on the West Coast it was 71%.

"We don't advise texting or calling anyone back at 2 a.m., of course," says Alston. "But knowing when a lead was generated can help sales teams prioritize appropriately so that no one falls through the cracks."

Recruitment teams continue to struggle with picking up the phone and calling prospects back, according to this year's results gathered by CGI Franchise. "We do the phone mystery shop to analyze the responsiveness of recruitment teams to an actual live person raising their hand and saying 'I want to learn more' about a specific brand," says Art Coley, CEO of CGI.

"Brands have become, more than ever, spoiled and complacent. It takes a lot for someone to pick up the phone and say they want to learn more. Why are we not answering the phone and responding back to them in a timely manner?" he asks.

Overall, CGI's evaluation uncovered lower performance scores for brands responding to telephone inquiries from potential prospects and found less of a personal touch than in previous years. "The big brand websites look like they are too big to care, with no way to reach them," he says. "They shouldn't become too big to grow."

This year the CGI team called 125 franchise brands, each caller posing as a qualified lead seeking information about franchising with the brand. The mystery shoppers measured how brands did with their initial response (receptionist/qualifier/appointment setter/director); information obtained (timing, location, financial, personal, etc.); emails and text communication; and overall responsiveness.

Brands were called three times at all hours at different times of day. Instead of seeing calls returned within the first 24 hours, Coley found an increased use of automated response and texting tools. In some cases during business hours, he says, it appeared that brands intentionally did not answer the call and instead called back within minutes.

In their research, the mystery shoppers at CGI were looking for the following:

Coley offered four recommendations to improve performance in this critical aspect of franchisee recruitment:

The business world is experiencing a massive shift in consumer buying behavior, and franchising is no exception. That's why online brand perception is critical, says Rick Batchelor, CEO of the franchise marketing firm Qiigo.

Batchelor and his team shopped 145 franchise brands and evaluated 2,600 Facebook posts, measuring fan counts, engagements, and posts as they applied to franchise development.

"For example," he says, "we looked at things like fan count--the count of the number of fans a Facebook page has. Then, for comparison, we calculated the national average for all the metrics among the brands."

The general idea, says Batchelor, was to determine how a brand engaged with its consumers, looking at the following factors:

Unquestionably, social media continues to change how business is conducted, and franchise recruitment is not immune. Local social media marketing, online reviews, and other consumer opinions affect franchise development efforts. Brands that engage their consumers benefit from more cost-effective franchise development leads.

Recommendations resulting from his research, says Batchelor, include the following:

"Franchise prospects are much more sophisticated today," says Batchelor. "Consumers research your brand long before they decide to reach out to you."

A new pair of mystery shoppers took on the task of measuring franchise recruitment websites this year. Franchise Update's Director of Technology Ben Foley and Web Developer Don Rush expanded how websites were evaluated this year, adding new categories and more granularity to previous years' categories.

By the time today's franchise prospects arrive at a brand's website they already have a lot of information. That's why it's critical for franchise opportunity sites to be performing at optimal levels and providing as much relevant information as possible to potential franchisees.

In addition to researching a brand's franchise opportunity pages, potential prospects also are researching how brands are interacting with their customers. Thus, prospects should be able to move easily between a brand's franchise opportunity site and its consumer site. Amazingly, 100% of brands surveyed had hard-to-find links from the consumer site to the franchise opportunity site.

"Key Content" measurements remained the same this year (including a dedicated About page, an investment chart, benefits of the franchise, earnings claims, FAQs, etc.).

The "SEO Readiness" metric--which includes items such as title tags, meta description, Open Graph tags, and social image--was expanded to include more points of assessment. Likewise for "Website Usability," which included factors such as franchise content accessibility from the home page, process of learning, security and privacy), effective use of technology (video, online chat, responsive website, invasive popups, etc.), and overall site presence.

"We expanded on those last two sections with data that is important in today's web development world," says Foley. "GDPR, privacy, and security concerns are at an all-time high with web users. Mobile is now the dominant player and social media marketing is the latest frontier for generating traffic. And having your site sharable is critical to your digital marketing success."

The researchers found near uniformity among brands in three distinct areas. 1) Nearly all websites were responsive (mobile-friendly); only two were not. 2) Nearly all sites were fully secured (https); however, a few had https but also had other unsecured elements that resulted in a non-fully secure site. 3) A majority of the franchisors used a unique website for franchisee recruitment.

Other observations by the website shoppers were that very few brands used a full application form. Instead, most relied on a short form with basic contact information; a few used a short form with a financial qualifier, time frame, or lead source. Nearly all websites were functional and easy to use, but did not have a cookie policy in place. Nearly all websites included links to their social media.

The following is a list of the items that should be included on a brand's website for prospects, and how well the brands shopped by our researchers did this year (by percentage of those who included the items and/or did it well):

In the end, the overall scoring breakdown is as follows, with 89 as the top possible score. Only two brands--Sport Clips and Tropical Smoothie Cafe--scored above 80; and 17 either had no website or were not a franchise.

The good news is that the brands that scored the highest used proper basic search engine optimization and employed good use of technology on their sites, such as video testimonials. Their websites were easy to navigate and content was well laid out.

The commonality among franchises with lower scores was a lack of information provided, such as benefits of their brand, requirements, investment information, franchisee testimonials, and frequently asked questions.

"These are the areas that could use improvement," says Foley.

ServiceScore focused on evaluating the website responsiveness of 133 brands or multi-brand franchisor parent companies. Researchers submitted a lead form to each, positioning themselves as a qualified lead. This year a new item was added to get a sense of how frequently brand qualifiers are mentioning at least one differentiator about their brand.

"In other words, giving at least one reason for the prospect to take the next step versus the competition," says Jayson Pearl, president of ServiceScore. "This was based on the observation from years past that often screeners aren't taking advantage of actually having a candidate on the phone to engage with them and share something special about their franchise offering. They're just asking a few screening questions, or worse, just calling a candidate to tell them that an email is coming and ask if they have any questions."

Here are some of the key metrics from ServiceScore's mystery shopping:

"We know that candidates today have researched a brand before they 'raise their hand' to ask it to tell them more through an online form submission or a call to a franchise development line," says Pearl." There's a great opportunity for brands to take advantage of this to find out what sparked the prospect's interest and share and reinforce those attributes that are special and unique."

Additional findings ServiceScore unearthed included the following:

"A best practice we're seeing--and a growing trend over last year--is from brands re-directing the site to engaging information that allows the viewer to spend more time on the site learning about the brand," says Pearl.

Franchise Business Review (FBR) researched 71 brands representing 25,799 business outlets. A total of 7,894 franchisees completed an independent survey consisting of more than 50 questions related to their business performance, satisfaction with their brand, and general business demographics. Results were compared with benchmark data from about 25,000 franchisees representing more than 330 leading franchise brands across all industry segments.

Satisfaction was measured across eight key areas: training and support, franchise system, leadership, financial opportunity, core values, franchisee community, self-evaluation (franchisee performance), and general overall satisfaction. Overall, the Franchise Satisfaction Index score of the Franchise Update group (69.4) was very close to the FBR Franchise Sector benchmark (71.7), which represents data from those 330-plus franchise brands in the benchmark group.

Nearly 8 in 10 (78.2%) of franchisees in the Franchise Update test group would recommend their brand to others. Brands earned high marks for franchisee enjoyment, general satisfaction, community engagement, and the belief in the honesty and integrity of their franchisor. The group scored lower when it came to the financial opportunity their franchise provides, training and support, innovation and creativity, and how well senior management involves franchisees in important decisions.

Of the three major industry sectors researched (food, retail, and services), FBR found that food franchise brands ran 5% to 10 % lower in franchisee satisfaction overall.

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Shopped for Success: Annual Mystery Shop of Recruitment Practices Reveals Strengths and Weaknesses - Franchising.com

PROVO, Utah, Dec. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Maybe it's no surprise to learn success in 2020 won't hinge on luck. But a new study shows success in the coming year will also not be the result of the decisions you make or your natural talent. New research from VitalSmarts, a Top 20 Leadership Training company, reveals that the most important factor to your success in 2020 is your habits.

According to the study of more than 1808 workers, people attributed nearly 46 percent of their career success to having the right habits. That means a person's simple, routine behaviors were more than twice as critical to their success than even the decisions they made (22.5 percent). And for those who feel they're simply not cut out for the job; the good news is habits far outweigh natural talent (24.6 percent). It's likely no surprise, that habits also trumped good old-fashioned luck, which people attributed to only 6 percent of their success.

"When it comes to success, nothing trumps good habits," said Emily Gregory, lead researcher and VP of Product Development at VitalSmarts. "No amount of luck, talent, brains or good decisions can compensate for your habits and your routines. And that is good news for anyone looking to make changes in 2020. Ultimately, you're just a few habits away from success."

The study asked workers to rate their success in five different areas of life: career success, economic success, physical success, inner success and parental success. They were then asked to estimate how influential habits, talent, decisions and luck were in contributing to success in each of those areas.

And it turns out, habits weren't only influential in a person's career but they also had a disproportionate impact on success in every area of life. On average, respondents attributed around 50 percent of their overall success to having the right habits. They attributed only 5.8 percent to luck and also said their habits are more than twice as important as the decisions they make (24.7 percent) or their talents (19.5 percent). Additionally, the more successful a person rated themselves in a particular area of his life, the more he attributed his success to having good habits.

And while there are likely keystone habits for success, what's surprising is that many of the habits people attributed to their results are less heroic than they are simple. For instance, some of the career habits respondents felt made the difference between success and failure include:

"A lot of these habits are what we call Trigger Habits," says Gregory. "While they seem small, they actually trigger a series of other powerful habits. For instance, 'Thinking yes before saying no,' is likely to create a habit of being less impulsive, more thoughtful, and even more visionary and creative. In fact, many of the good habits successful people have at work carryover into their personal life."

So instead of agonizing over every decision, counting yourself down and out because you aren't as gifted as the next guy, or even wearing your lucky socks to work each day, Gregory and her team at VitalSmarts recommend creating new, simple habits that will jump start your workplace performance. The skills to learn and adopt new habits are taught in the training course The Power of Habit, which is based on the New York Times best-selling book of the same title by Charles Duhigg.

3 Tips to Learning New Career Habits in 2020:

About VitalSmarts: Named a Top 20Leadership Training Company, VitalSmarts is home to the award-winning Crucial Conversations, Crucial Accountability, Getting Things Done, The Power of Habit, and Influencer Training, andNew York Timesbest-selling books of the same titles. VitalSmarts has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and trained more than 2 million people worldwide.www.vitalsmarts.com

SOURCE VitalSmarts

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Resolving to Find Career Success in 2020? New Study Says Habits Trump All--Even Decision-Making and Talent - PRNewswire

Too often, high-achieving professionals are frustrated, desperately trying to balance aspects of their lives that simply do not exist in a state of equilibrium.

A body or object is said to be in equilibrium when the sum of the forces acting on it is equal to zero. But I believe there is no magic organizational skill and no amount of planning or self-care that makes this possible. Work-life balance is, for many, a mythological concept because we attempt to expend equal effort where unequal effort would bring success.

Even as the literal concept of spending equal amounts of hours at leisure as spent at work became largely disregarded by well-meaning companies (that never had any responsibility to structure the lives of their employees at home), the phrase insists the only way to "have it all" is to have professional and personal success in equal measure. This unhealthy and unattainable standard can lead to an almost constant feeling of failure.

Here's how I coach clients to demote balance from its mythical, idealized status and develop a clear vision of a well-integrated life that honors individual circumstances and journeys:

Begin with the end in mind.

In his book The 8th Habit, Dr. Stephen Covey wrote, "People are working harder than ever, but because they lack clarity and vision, they aren't getting very far. They, in essence, are pushing a rope with all of their might."

Refining your vision is more than setting smart goals; it reaffirms who you are, puts your goals into a larger framework and context and moves your ideas into the real world. Your personal vision should not be a one-time, specific goal or target that can be met and discarded. It serves as a guide for activities over time; these activities are specific actions that can be adjusted based on circumstantial interpretation, and they should always move you closer to the abstract vision.

Writing the vision is important, as it gives body to the intangible as you design the life you're seeking. Ask yourself what you want your life to look like in one, two or five years, and include as much detail as possible. What are you doing? Who are you with? How do you feel? Vision is the foundation of intention. Your responses create the basis for your vision and the standard by which you will set your goals and tasks.

Break free of standards that are not your own.

I was initially surprised by how frequently executive coaching clients measured their present and future success against standards they didn't set themselves. We all have expectations that come from well-established scripts of how things are or should be in the world.

However, conforming to an ideal of balance or success simply because you believe people in your circle or reference group think you ought to is personal treason. From my perspective, this self-minimization fails to recognize individual conditions or ambitions, constraints or strengths and causes you to wage an internal war against yourself in the form of negative self-talk or other self-deprecating emotions.

When designing your vision, it is critical that you eliminate anything that does not represent the life you desire. It doesn't matter who wants it for you; they cannot achieve it and deliver it to you. If your dream career is to be a data analyst, it doesn't matter that you have been told you'd make a fantastic corporate attorney.You cannot integrate your life in a way that brings peace if there are standards that are warring against your personal vision.

Prioritize rather than compartmentalize.

Once you've developed your vision and identified the standards against which you should measure your progress and success, you can begin to prioritize based on your lifestyle and needs. Rather than siloing each aspect of your life, develop strategies to prioritize within your blended lifestyle.

When you compartmentalize, the limits of 24 hours in each day require you to de-prioritize goals and tasks that might be significant in an effort to give equal time to items that can wait. Without a plan, it's easier to fall into a reactive cycle rather than staying proactive toward your personal vision.

Prioritization might require a decision to forgo something you enjoy or deciding to work on the task that gets you closer to your own goals when everything on your list feels crucial. Compartmentalizing might cause you to work a full eight-hour day feeling the need to give 100% to the work compartment when a five-hour day would give you extra time for dinner and a strategy session with a mentor. If you're in reactive mode, its easy to overlook times when youre falling away from your priorities. This is when mindfulness becomes a true ally and time-management tool.

Embrace renewal as an intentional strategic practice.

Because life does not exist in equilibrium, we must approach renewal as a time to realign. There are so many forces working within our lives daily, staying upright and true to our "north" can be exhausting. Taking a moment away from all work modes renews our energy levels so we can continue and opens our minds for a creative spark.

Mindfulness is a time-management tool. It ensures we are expending time validly. The beginning of any control over our lives begins with identifying our treasure, developing our talent and prioritizing our time. This is where harmony and peace are found and perhaps what we might call "balance."

Read the original here:
Getting Past The Pressure And Myth Of 'Work-Life Balance' - Forbes

If youre looking to break into a career that makes the most of your financially-savvy skill set and start you on a course into the world of business investment, the job of a financial analyst may be for you.

Thinking you want to break into the field is all well and good, but what is a financial analysts role in a company? How do you become a financial analyst and what kind of degree do you need to succeed in the industry?

Financial analysts work to determine the viability of purchases and sales, and help guide their clients' or managers' investment decisions. They use their knowledge of a company and the markets financial state to recommend potential avenues of growth, improvements to performance and possible pitfalls to avoid when making either an acquisition or sale.

The role of a financial analyst is vital to the success of an investment enterprise.

Regardless of the size and focus of the company you choose to work for, youll find yourself delving into critical business matters as their financial analyst. You may deal with shareholder interests, stock viability and availability, growth expectations, the fluctuation of market values, industry competition, areas of opportunity and a variety of other issues influencing the direction an investor may take. Further, these issues will likely change over time, be added to or eliminated as the company, client base and market evolve.

A financial analyst is charged with providing company leaders with the information they need to make strategic decisions. Your research and analysis skills will be utilized often and intensively, as you'll be digging into financial data, business trends, weighing the values of companies, and providing reports to allow your managers to make their decisions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) breakdown of the role. Additionally, you may be called upon to meet both with your own leadership team and those of the companies you're called on to review. Interpersonal and communication skills will be important to succeeding on this career path.

Finance is a part of every business and most large corporations have financial analysts on staff. Financial analysts may also find job opportunities wherever investments are handled in banks, securities firms, and insurance companies, the BLS notes. You don't have to tie yourself to one specific company, however. You can find work within the business media and research houses that provide independent data.

As you grow within your career, you might find yourself further specializing within your chosen avenue of financial analysis. According to the BLS, some of these options include becoming a portfolio manager who assumes responsibility for the management of a company or clients investment portfolio, a fund manager who deals specifically with hedge or mutual funds, a ratings analyst who focuses on evaluating the ability of an entity to repay debt, or a risk analyst who determines the inherent risk of an investment, guiding the decision on whether or not to pursue it.

Whatever path you choose to take, financial analysts hold a valued role in the business world. The BLS reported an average median pay of $85,660 per year in 2018 and jobs are expected to increase at a rate of 6% (on par with the national average) through 2028.

Youll need some important skills to bring to the table as a financial analyst, but having a good head for crunching numbers or even personal success with investing isnt going to be enough. Potential employers will want to see credentials, which means the place to start is an education.

Data gathered by the BLS shows that a bachelors degree is necessary for any position within financial analysis. Kristin Regis, associate dean of business at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), said that job listings will often require a degree in finance, though a related field like accounting may be acceptable.

While taking courses will help build the skills youll need to break into the financial analysis field, there are a number of opportunities you should consider taking advantage of outside the classroom.

Reach out to connect with a career advisor early on so they can help to guide you alongside your academic advisor. Its never too early in your degree program to team up with the career department and youll have the benefit of all their insider knowledge of events and programs offered by the school that could complement what youre learning in class.

See if there are any organizations you can become involved in to start building connections with fellow students, instructors and industry professionals. This will be the foundation of your professional network. Join a finance club if your school doesnt have one, ask an instructor or dean how to get one started, Regis said. Join a finance association such as the American Finance Association or the Association for Financial Professionals and start networking in your desired field many associations offer student rates.

There are also opportunities to broaden your knowledge of the industry while keeping abreast of developing news that pertains directly to your field. Consider getting yourself a subscription to the Wall Street Journal (which also offers a student discount), said Regis. Even small steps like this are a great way to start getting ahead on the road to becoming a financial analyst.

Sarah A. Easley '12 '18G is a professional content writer and proofreader. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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What Does a Financial Analyst Do and How to Become One - Southern New Hampshire University

(photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photo Office)

As a small business owner of a toy company in Brooklyn, and a working mother who employs a nanny and a house cleaner, I am standing up in support of the Paid Personal Time bill under consideration in the New York City Council. This piece of legislation would ensure that over a million New Yorkers, including domestic workers and other workforces, would have the right to paid vacation time, something I take for granted as an employer.

One of the biggest motivations I had to be self-employed, was to have the right of having paid time off. I knew that by working for someone else, the right to paid vacation days wasnt secured.As an employer and working mother, I can take the time I need to care for myself and be present for lifes special moments taking my kids to their first day of school, seeing them graduate. I wouldnt miss these moments for the world and its inhumane to think that some of the hardest working people in our city who need a break the most are denied this right.

I know firsthand how an investment in workers pays dividends for employers. The success of my business and the caring environment at home for my children both depend on the hard labor of all my employees.

At home, I provide my nanny almost six weeks paid vacation per year. I am also considering providing paid time off to our house cleaner in 2020 and have already started the conversation with her about signing up to Alia, a benefit program that provides paid time off to house cleaners.

At work, my business provides 16 days of paid vacation time and sick days annually to nine full-time employees. Additionally, my business partners and I are in talks to offer paid personal time to our two part-time employees next year.

While these high-road practices definitely impact our bottom line, it pays off in the loyalty and dedication of our workforce. I know that having a happy and well-rested team contributes to the successful and productive results for my company. We all win.

Passing paid personal time, we are also advancing womens rights. From my 11 employees, 10 are women. As women, we know what it feels like to not be respected as a worker. For example, in the United States we dont have a law to ensure paid maternity leave, affecting millions of working mothers and their children. My company, however, provides 12 weeks of paid parental leave for full-time employees.

With Paid Personal Time we have an opportunity to set standards for gender equality. All employees should be treated as full human beings who have lives outside of work. For example, in November, which is the beginning of the high season for our business, one of my employees took paid personal time for her wedding. Our team came together to make that possible by preparing our strategy in advance and making sure other employees could cover her daily tasks.

As an employer, I strongly believe we can be good employers and have a successful business. I want my employees to balance their job with showing up and honoring the other aspects of their lives. If my employees feel treated with dignity and respect, they will be happier and more fully themselves. My family and business benefit from it too.

I understand that passing Paid Personal Time would demand that we add more vacation time required by the law, and that it might create an additional financial cost. However, it would also mean that families will take time off to eat in restaurants, go shopping, travel, and provide an injection to our local economy. I want my business to reflect my values in treating people with respect no matter what. I accept that this is the ethical cost of doing business and know that at the end I am building a strong and loyal team of employees.

When I became an employer I knew I wanted to do the right thing for my employees.

For all of these reasons, I urge the City Council to pass Paid Personal Time and bring our city up to the standards of London, Paris, Tokyo, and other places that already guarantee this right for all workers. Lets all make the necessary commitments recognizing equality and fairness for all workers and employers.

*** Emma Katz is a member of Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network since 2018, the CEO of Hazel Village, a toy company located in Brooklyn, and a resident of Jackson Heights, Queens.

*** Have an op-ed idea or submission for Gotham Gazette? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Paid Personal Time is the Right Thing To Do - and Benefits Both Workers and Employers - Gotham Gazette

Stressful school day.

Every month, over 13,000 people visit my education magazine for one article only, entitled Alternatives To Teaching.

In 2012, I wrote this article with no other reason than to help other teachers. This piece has been on page one of Google for the past five years, which tells me teachers are looking for work outside of the classroom more than ever. Also, I used this opportunity to create a teacher support group, as new teachers arrive daily to join our conversations, look for help, and need career guidance.

A recent analysis, run by Center of American Progress, shows that teacher preparation programs have demonstrated an incredible enrollment decline over the last eight years in almost every State. Teachers and students are facing mental health challenges in record numbers, and if we dont do something different soon, its quite possible our education system is only going to face more serious challenges.

Im sure youve noticed some of these headlines over 2019, including but not limited to:

Teachers are either looking for new schools, different opportunities, and ways to utilize their skills in different settings. Whether they want to start their own business, join an education organization, or even jump into the corporate world, they need a positive, unique digital footprint as well as an effective and unique personal brand.

As a teacher myself, I can understand the problems teachers are facing today. However, today, their concerns are even more more challenging due to technology, perceived expectations in society, and student pressure and stress. The demands of a teachers role keep growing. They are not making enough money to survive without a second job, many claim administrators dont support them, and various students and teachers face a host of obstacles that seem impossible to overcome.

In the meantime, a strong lack of leadership and mentor support programs for new teachers are just some of the other reasons educators are trying to move out of classroom.

Also, parents are changing, and they realize they have other choices rather than the public or private education system. In fact, there are about 2.5 million homeschool students in grades K-12 in the United States right now, according to The National Home Education Research Institute.

All of these red flags are critical signals.

I had the chance to chat with my colleague, Marietta Gentles Crawford. Crawford is a writer, and a personal brand strategist. She is also the author of From Nine to Thrive: A Guide to Building Your Personal Brand and Elevating Your Career. Crawford also runs her company, MariBrandsFORYOU, where anyone can read and learn about her unique branding tips.

In this interview, which has been edited and condensed for reading purposes, we discuss strategies for teachers who want to learn about personal branding, what it is and how it works.

We also chat about about how educators can make their way toward a possible new career pivot using these tips.

Robyn Shulman: What is a personal brand?

Marietta Gentles Crawford: A personal brand is the sum of your strengths and characteristics that are unique to you as an expert in your field.

Shulman: Can you elaborate?

Crawford: Sure. A personal brand can make you stand out from other people who have similar skills because it consists of your personality and life experiences that have shaped a certain point of view.The act of personal branding is about reputation management. Reputation management means consistently showing unique attributes in everything you do, in-person and online.

Shulman: What can a personal brand do for educators in the real-world?

Crawford: A personal brand can help teachers establish authority, build powerful relationships, and add value to the people they help.

Shulman: Why do you think teachers need a personal brand today now more than ever?

Crawford: Teachers need a personal brand now more than ever because it's easy to put themselves in a box.

Shulman: Can you elaborate?

Crawford: While there is a range of professions, being a teacher is something many people are familiar with because most youth went to school. For example, you can probably remember being a student, or if you're a parent, you have a child who is in school.

Shulman: Basically, the view of a teacher from the outside is that of only a teacher, correct?

Crawford: Yes, the general consensus is that a teacher is someone who works in a classroom and teaches a particular subject or subjects to a specific range of school-aged students.

If you work within the profession, you know that teachers do more than teachpreparation, planning, and work happenoutsideof the classroom.Since various skills go into being a teacher, teachers must have a clear idea of their strengths to stand out for opportunities.

Not an easy job.

Shulman: Can you give me an example regarding how teachers can change their thought-process in order to pivot their careers?

Crawford: Yes, for example, if you're a middle-school math teacher, it's not enough to focus solely on teaching strong mathematical skills, and the various topics you may you teach.

Shulman: How can a teacher make more out of who they are, and what they can offer?

Crawford: Regarding personal branding, it's crucial to stress other skills such as creativity, patience, use of advanced learning methods, and quantifying student success.

Shulman: What if teachers want to pivot outside of the four classroom walls?

Crawford: For teachers who are looking to transition outside of the classroom, in addition to knowing their strengths, they need to clearly communicate how these strengths are transferrable in other areas, whether in education management, or corporate training and development.

Shulman: How can they go about sharing their skills outside of the classroom?

Crawford: Instead of focusing on specific tasks as a teacher, they can focus more on skills that tie to results. It's about connecting the dots between how the educators unique experience and personality traits can lead to the success of an organizationwhether it's within a school or a private company.

Shulman: What is the first step for teachers to begin building their brands?

Crawford: The first step is to always begin with a self-assessment. This means that teachers should take the time to evaluate their skills. They need to be honest about their strengths and their weaknesseseven skills that are useful, but can burn them outwhich is known as your burnout attribute.

Start in small steps

Shulman: Whats a good way to self-reflect and progress?

Crawford: A good way to get a gauge of this information is to get feedback from people teaches know in different capacities. Then, they should assess if there's a discrepancy with how they see themselves versus how they believe others see them. Once they have a clear idea of their potential brand, they can begin to define their overall message.

Shulman: What are some questions teachers should ask themselves?

Crawford: Some questions can include: What am I passionate about? What are my core beliefs as a professional?

These questions can also help teachers shape their message. For example, a branding message might be: "Students should be free to learn in a creative environment that best supports their needs," or "An innovative work environment encourages employees to deliver their best and grow professionally."

Shulman: Most people say that creating a personal brand takes a great deal of time. What are your thoughts?

Crawford: The misconception is that personal branding is time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be. It's more important to be consistent.

The great thing about teachers is that it's natural for them to know how to teach, and a big part of personal branding is teaching what you know. Teachers are the ultimate leaders when it comes to having a positive impact, so it shouldn't stop in the classroom.Also, they know how to chunk their limited-time.

Shulman: What are some places you recommend for teachers to build their brands?

Crawford: They can use social media platforms like Linkedin, Facebook, and Medium to share their expertise to market their skills and be of service to others.

They can use industry trends in education or another industry of interest such as writing prompts or talking points to start a conversation.

And, they can build their brand in as little as thirty minutes a day.

Shulman: How can teachers build their audience?

Crawford: Teachers should build their audience in a way that makes them feel the most comfortableusing methods that best highlight their skills.

Shulman: Can you provide an example?

Crawford: Sure. For example, video is a highly recommended personal branding platform, but if teachers not comfortable doing video or they couldnt commit, they can begin writing.

Shulman: How can they best implement this new practice?

Crawford: To save time, teachers can start small, and pick one method and one social media platform to focus on as they begin to share their knowledge.

Shulman: How can teachers use their brands to find new opportunities?

Crawford: They can start using their brand to create new opportunities when they are intentional and consistent about communicating their message and expertise.

Teachers should make sure they are marketing themselves online. They can create things such as a LinkedIn profile or a website that highlights their unique traitswhat makes them different from others, not the same.

Again, focus on unique skills and personality traits, and strip away the title of being a teacher. They can use stories as examples that highlight how they have managed critical situations with their skills.

Shulman: Whats your best piece of advice for our readers?

Crawford: Educators have great personal branding potential because their natural skill is teaching. Remember, personal branding is not only about self-promotion; it's about being of service.

And, teachers can do this by showing what they know, and helping others learn because that's what they do best, inside and outside of the classroom. Once they present themselves as brands outside of a specific school or position, the opportunities can be limitless.

See the rest here:
Why Teachers Need A Personal Brand And How To Create One - Forbes

Pittsburgh native Lisa Loftis is the living embodiment of what another Pittsburgh native once said: "The thing I remember best about successful people I've met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they're doing." While Mr. Rogers may not have recognized the phrase "automated decisioning," he would have recognized the enthusiasm, curiosity and pride Lisa brings to her work.

Over her 25-plus year career in the customer experience field, Lisa has acquired deep knowledge of the many technological pieces of the puzzle but has never lost sight of the human (read: cultural) challenges that lie at the center. In her monthly columns she shares her experience, her curiosity and her insights into this ever-evolving field.

What's your proudest accomplishment personal or professional from 2019?

What makes me happiest is that I have both the personal and professional flexibility needed to be present to help my mother (and previously my dad) as they age. Splitting time between Arizona and Pittsburgh is not always fun and can be disruptive to life in general but it is probably the most rewarding thing I have ever done. This would not have been possible during my over 25 years of road-warrior consulting and is my living embodiment of the fact that change happens for a reason.

What gives you hope in the tech world today?

In these turbulent times, where it often feels like humanity and compassion are in short supply, theData For Good movement is a shining star. Data for Good encourages the use of data in meaningful ways to solve humanitarian issues around poverty, health, human rights, education and the environment. I am proud to be part of a company that is helping to drive the use of analytics to change the world for the better. Our free crowdsourcing app, GatherIQ, enables both individuals and companies to get involved in this vital, global movement by contributing data, analytics and more.

Which of the articles you wrote for CMSWire this year was your favorite and why?

This is by far the hardest question in the list because the topics were all so timely and fun to write about this year. Since I have to pick, my favorite is Innovation and Alignment A Customer Experience Leaders Harmonic Convergence. Not only did I get to reference Machiavelli and the ancient Aztecs in the same article (LOL), but aligning the organization and overcoming cultural obstacles for CX has been a personal soapbox issue for the last 30 years. The fact that this is still a problem for so many companies attests to both its difficulty and its importance for success in CX.

If you could wake up tomorrow and be an expert in one thing, what would it be and why?

Wilderness survival. I love to hike and mountain bike and wish-list items include thru-hiking the Pacific Coast Trail, the Te Araroa and going rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon. Actually knowing how to survive these experiences would be a plus.

What is your favorite part of the work you do?

I love the variety that my job affords me. Researching new topics, the front seat to watch trends unfold, gaining a deeper understanding of how martech products (ours and others) actually work rare is the day that passes without me learning something new.

What's an important story you'll be tracking in 2020?

The continuing focus on automated decisioning in digital transformation and CX. According to Futurum Research, by 2030 agility and extreme automation will be the twin pillars of CX. Both Gartner and Forrester agree. Gartner has coined the term continuous intelligence and Forrester the phrase the dawn of digital decisioning and both advocate for analytically-powered automated decisions to increase agility and improve personalization. This was my trend to follow last year (I was a little early on that) now the momentum is significant and the possibilities exciting.

What advice would you give someone starting out in your field today?

Learn analytics it is the future of everything.

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2019 Contributors of the Year: Lisa Loftis - CMSWire