Books for Business
It may be hard to admit, but perhaps it's been a while since we picked up and read a good book. It might have been even longer since we have read a business book that can help us in office life. Books are wonderful resources for improving oneself and one's business. Here are four books that anyone in business can benefit from reading.
Turn This Ship Around
by L. David Marquet
A fantastic resource for learning about empowering leadership in the business world, Fortune Magazine called this book "The best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution." It helps that the author was a former submarine captain!
The Innovator's Dilemma
by Clayton M. Christensen
Strategy is vital for a business to be successful, and this is the aim of The Innovator's Dilemma. Christensen challenges conventional wisdom business may have and shows when it is time to veer off the normal business path. This book explains about disruptive innovation and why companies fail when they ignore this concept.
Good to Great
by Jim Collins
Good to Great goes into depth about how great companies are able to sustain success over long periods of time. Collins also focuses on success from companies that were not born to be successful right away. This is a great read to see how good companies, mediocre companies, and even bad companies can capture and endure greatness over time.
Awaken the Giant Within
by Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins breaks down how we can master our emotions, our work relationships, and our finances. This is a wonderful book for empowering ourselves to take control of everything in our life. We all have goals, but this is a perfect resource for helping us to focus to achieve our ambitions.
Do you have any favorite books that improve your office and business life? We would love to hear them!
Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/11/08/the-12-best-business-books-of-all-time/18659453/
http://eventualmillionaire.com/10books/
EON Backpack Drive for the Salvation Army
Thanks to generous donations and the volunteer efforts of our employees, EON was proud to help the Salvation Army send local students back to school this fall supplied and ready to learn! We were able to provide over 500 filled backpacks with school supplies including pencils, paper, crayons, markers, folders, glue, scissors and more, to Colorado children in need. Below are pictures of our EON volunteers filling backpacks in our warehouse and distributing them at the Salvation Army.
Back to School Mentality for the Office
For many of us, going back to school was an exciting time of the year. Just because we may be out of school now, it doesn't mean we can't still get excited about this time of the year! Here are some tips on how to find joy with a simple back-to-school mentality at work.
Supplies!
It always felt amazing to to start the school year with sharpened #2 pencils and a backpack full of supplies. We too can have this feeling of a fresh start with great potential by having the right supplies for our office and for our jobs. Now is a good time to take inventory and figure out what we might need, from writing instruments and paper products to desk accessories and breakroom supplies.
Attitude
Going back to school was an automatic refresh, the start of something new and great! We can apply this blank-canvas idea and the notion of starting over with our business goals. If our career goals or business plans have not gone as expected, now is a perfect time to revisit those goals and adjust or make new plans for ourselves.
Reconnect with Customers and Coworkers
Part of the fun of going back to school was seeing our friends and teachers once again. In the working world, we too can get excited about reconnecting with customers and coworkers. Now is the perfect time to hear about our contacts' summers and catch up.
With your back-to-work mindset, let EON help provide the right supplies and office solutions for the upcoming year!
The Importance of Lumbar Support
What is Lumbar Support?
Most of us have heard the term "lumbar support", but may not know what it is or why it really matters. People often slouch forward in their office chairs and cause strain on the lower back, also known as the lumbar region. The lumbar part of our spines is the most susceptible to wear and injury, so it is vital that we have excellent lumbar support in our office chairs. Lumbar back support helps assist the natural inward curve of our lower backs.
Types of Lumbar Support
One of the best tools for lumbar support is an office chair designed with ergonomics in mind. Often, an ergonomic office chair will have a lumbar support curvature built right into the chair, or offer adjustable back support. Portable lumbar support is also an option if we use many different office chairs throughout the day. Lumbar cushions tie into the back of our office chairs, and are designed to support the lower back.
Positioning the Office Chair for Lumbar Support
Here are some excellent tips from Spine-Health.com on how to position our office chairs for optimal lumbar support:
- The office chair should have elbow supports to avoid strain on the neck. Elbows should be able to comfortably rest on the elbow supports at a right angle.
- Knees should be bent at a right angle, with a footrest to elevate the feet while sitting in the office chair, if necessary.
- Eyes should be able to look straight ahead at the computer while seated in the office chair.
- Ears, shoulders, and pelvis (hips) are kept in alignment
- Natural inward curvature of the lower spine is maintained
Do you have any tips for getting great lumbar support? We would love to hear them!
How to Work on Vacation (If You Absolutely Have To)
Summer vacations are meant for relaxation, but sometimes our work seems to follow us at all times. A study from Entrepreneur Magazine has found that 60% of people do work while on vacation. Here are some tips to help us through our vacation if we have work that absolutely must be done.
Specific Work Times
An important first step if we need to work on vacation is to set a limit for ourselves. We are on vacation for a reason, so it's important that we use the majority of our time to relax and enjoy ourselves. We can set aside a small block of time to work each day and let our coworkers know of this time frame, so they know when we will be checking in. We should try to limit ourselves to working no more than 2 hours straight, and it's important to turn off work notifications on our phone.
Keep it Simple
Ideally we will have somebody covering at least some of our responsibilities while we are away. When we are working, we should stick to simple tasks such as checking emails and following up with certain people. Vacation is no place for long and complex projects, so we should try to delegate as much we can before we leave.
Unplug When It's Too Much
It's important to remember that we are on vacation in order to unwind, and that if we don't have to work to do, we shouldn't be forcing it on ourselves! If not checking email or voicemail at all is stressful, then we should at least try to check only once a day. On the other hand, it's easy to get stressed out if we are checking email or voicemail too much while on vacation. We know instinctively when work is becoming too much on vacation, and at that point need to unplug and enjoy ourselves.
Do you have any tips for balancing work with vacation? We would love to hear them!
Sources:
http://lifehacker.com/how-to-work-while-on-vacation-without-going-crazy-692360328
Returning to Work from Summer Vacation
Summer vacations are a wonderful thing, and are very much needed at certain times. While we value vacation time, the catch-up work that ensues can be even more stressful than the work we missed! Here are some tips to make the vacation transition a little more smooth.
Ease Back In
While we might think we need to hit the ground running at 100 miles per hour when we return from vacation, this might actually be counterproductive. Chances are we're still a little jet lagged from our trip, and it's important not to burn ourselves out right away. Whenever work is feeling overwhelming, we should take plenty of short breaks to keep our brain functioning properly. We can also reach out to our team for help if we have too much responsibility on our plates when we return.
Bring Back a Souvenir
We assume our vacation ends when we return to work, but it doesn't exactly have to. By sharing memories and bringing in a souvenir, we can elevate our happiness level. One good trick is to change our computer wallpaper to a picture we took on vacation. This will bring back happy memories and put us in a good state of mind.
Plan Ahead
This may be the most important step upon our return from vacation. Ideally, we should plan out our return tasks before we take our vacation, but that can certainly be a challenge. At minimum, it's good to start getting organized for the upcoming post-vacation week a day before returning to work. By doing errands such as grocery shopping in advance, we can free up a lot of time to get ready and come back to work strong!
Do you have any tips for returning from summer vacation? We would love to hear them!
Sources:
http://www.coreinfotechnology.com/blog/7-tips-for-returning-to-work-after-your-summer-vacation/