Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Just Not a Cool Brand - Was that Wal-Mart's Sin

"You only took in $2000! Let me see your drawer slip."  That's what one checkout clerk yelled over to another at Wal-Mart in central Connecticut this afternoon.  She was very concerned about how much the register across the way was ringing up because the total went into determining employees' quarterly bonuses."

Yes, bonuses at Wal-Mart.

Oprah - Recommended New Year Resolutions

Oprah is in trouble.  And the most alarming part of that is that her fans are turning on her.  For instance, Tina Daunt reports in CAUSE CELEBRE that those who used to love Oprah unconditionally are now downright annoyed about her aggressive push of Barack Obama.  On her website Oprah.com, there are comments such as "Let the American people form their own opinion, Oprah."

Career Voodoo - Casting Spells on the job, in our own businesses, and more

Call it charm, charisma, streetsmarts.  Those who have "it" cast spells in the wild new world of work.  Good things, ranging from promotions to new clients, come their way, seemingly effortlessly.  That "it" is emotional intelligence [EI]. And it can be learned, explains presentation coach and communications consultant Jane Genova in her free e-book "Our Emotional Intelligence: Wisdom from the Jersey Girl for on the job, our own businesses, and more." You can download it here.

Your Blog - Your Personal Brand

The beauty of weblogs or blogs is that they can be configured into any format, tone, and content. There really are no rules.  That makes them perfect to be the front-line vehicle for our personal brand.  As management expert Tom Peters warned us years ago - way before the work world really went volatile - we are our personal brand.  We are no longer employees or someone's vendor.

Oprah As Starry-Eyed Schoolgirl

Is 53-year-old Oprah having the typical midlife crisis or is she on the verge of losing it all? Already she has lost her long-term boy pal Stedman Graham.  And that could be just the beginning.

Brad Pitt - Things Could Go Easier for The Big Easy

Brad Pitt could be following in Angelina's philanthropic footsteps.  According to the January 7, 2008 edition of GLOBE, Pitt is considering running for mayor of New Orleans.

2008 Resolution: Publish That E-Book

Those of us in professional-services firms are getting it: Why not publish an e-book instead of posting another white paper on our websites or figuring out ways to attract more traffic to our blogs.  After all, a book is a book.  It creates immediate credibility.  It is a new excuse to contact prospects, clients and those on our networks.  And, who knows, a traditional publisher might come to us and want to re-issue it under its imprint.  There's nothing to lose and plenty to gain.

The Jersey Girl Tells How to Get Emotionally Smart, Fast

Think about it:  Tony Soprano had to have been born and brought up in New Jersey.  Otherwise he wouldn't never have had those acute social smarts.  Tony rarely missed a trick and if he did it wasn't for long.  He sure did figure out that Big Pussy had probably flipped.

Holiday07 Tipping Point: E-Cards as Cool

THE NEW YORK TIMES says that sending E-Greetings this holiday season is okay.  But we who live online, do business primarily online, and socialize online have experienced Holiday07 as the tipping point in snail-mail v e-mail.

Queen Elizabeth aka The Firm Turns to YouTube

In "The Diana Chronicles," Tina Brown zeroed in on how vulnerable the institution of The Royals aka The Firm is to changing times, economic downturns and a population who finally becomes bored with the dysfunctions of the Windsors and their spouses and ex-spouse.

Always alert to threats to the family business, Queen Elizabeth has embraced new media.