Requiring Skills Over College Degrees for Employee Placement

 Once upon a time, people were hired for jobs based on the skills they had for doing the job and the desire to learn new tasks via on-the-job training.  In the same line, people received career  promotions based on their knowledge of the company values, personal productivity, ability to supervise work tasks, flexibility to step when an employee was out, and accountability to reaching company goals.    

Then came the idea that college degrees were more important than actual ability when hiring new employees or promoting within the company.  After all, they could attend training to learn company values and work processes.  For some jobs the subject of the degree was key, for others the type of degree did not matter so much as as having the diploma.  Training organzations grew to fill the demand for in-house trainng.  At the same time, Human Resource officers were touting "general studies" as a rounded education that would result in a more relevant and modern work force. Followed by training departments being the first department to go if the company had to do lay-offs because products or services were not selling.

As higher education became less educational, the any degree at the Bachelor level and generic MBAs no longer  help companies move forward and meet their goals, the age of "certification" and "specialization" came about.  In other words, companies were returning to requiring skills necessary for immediate success on the job.  Harvard Business Review says "Skills requirements will overtake degree requirements as the'paper ceiling crumbles." in 9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2024 and Beyond.  Finally, managers and Human Resources decide it is time to return to hiring for skills over eduction. This is not a move backwards, but a return to common sense for business success.  Forbes agrees "Changes in hiring practices that emphasize selecting candidates with the specific experiences and skills needed for a role, rather than qualities such as educational attainment or age, are a part of the industry's response and will continue to be a strong trend." in their article The 10 Biggest Business Trends For 2024 Everyone Must Be Ready For Now.  

Great List of Business Management and Success Quotes

Inspirational quotes are used in motivational speeches, business presentations, and training sessions as a way to drive home the desired  principles.  People remember quotes that resonate with them or are from famous people they respect the opinion of.  

This post is the beginning a few success quotes that will resonate with most business owners and professional people.  Starting with the Will Rogers quote ("Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.") in the image, which applies to anyone with a vision or purpose - whether it is personal or professional.  Mr. Rogers is basically saying if you have an idea to implement or a job to do, get moving on it or someone else will and you will get left behind feeling crushed by your lack of momemtun.  

I want this to be a good list that continues to grow as a great reference for others.  Please feel free to add your own favorite quote to the list by including it as a comment on this post.  

"If you don't drive your business, you will be driven out of business." - B. C. Forbes

"Great companies are built on great products." - Elon Musk

"And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department." - Andrew Carnegie

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." - Colin Powell

"First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate people." - Leo Rosten 

Low Value Programs Killing Business Is Killing Jobs

Do things that create profit matter for business anymore?  Does a little money from the government outweigh the value of business reputation or the big money from customers?

 It seems that the writer of the Forbes article  "The Business Case For Diversity (DEI) May Be Backfiring" thinks it should not matter as much as the feelings of potential employees - not current staff.  If a company does not value generating profit, then how can it afford to keep or hire employees?  If it does not have innovative, trust-worthy, flexible, and qualified personnel; how can a business succeed?  These programs are not resulting in qualified hires, instead they have led to experienced employees complaining about and leaving some companies.  Most employees complaining said they felt less valued so their productivity, creativity, quality, and participation in teamwork suffered.  Those employees then exposed why they left and showed samples of training matierials in videos and on social media.  That exposure led to customers finding out, about the programs that were vastly different from what they valued and then looking for alternative companies to fill their needs.

Still want diversity and equality?  "Why Diversity Programs Fail" in Harvard Business Review says to stop forcing re-written EEO-type initiatives based on race or gender, instead promote volunteer training and mentorship.  The studies this article shares show people get along better working together equally, rather than being told what to do or not do based on gender or race criteria. It now seems that diversity and equity programs tend to divide people instead of increasing inclusiveness, motivation or unity.  The technology areas seem to be suffering the most due to falling quality in systems because of limited qualified candidates in quota related hiring.  So why do government agencies want force or reward these programs?  Why do consultants still push the programs if they do not meet the client's needs? Are the consultants hurting the economy by personally getting richer if their client companies profilts decline or start on a path of going-out-of-busines?  

Understand these terms and the history:

• DEI =Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion  - 2021 Executive Order  
• Government subsidized on-the-job re-training to promote exclusion
• Government sponsored education prior to joining workforce to discourage equality
• Education substituted SEL & CRT (mutation of Karl Marx's Critcal Theory) 
• EEO =Equal[ity] Employment Opportunity (jobs) - 1964 Civil Rights Act of Congress
• Open education and job options to promote a diverse workforce at all levels  

What is the difference between Equity and Equality?  Basically, some are treated differently or all are treated equally.  The majority of people want to be treated equal to others, a few want to be better than others, while none want to be less than others.  Most workers find these forced re-training programs more divisive, not inclusive.  So which kind of employer should companies try to be?  Common sense says treat everyone the same. If not the same, at least based on productivity and responsibility instead of some physical trait that they have no control over. Will businesses expect education to change or will they continue to look for certifications rather than degrees for competent people?  Will human resources have to go back to looking for qulaiied workers tather than some abstract number?

If installing these programs adversely affects ingenuity, morale, productivity, motivation, or profits; will it kill business?  If businesses get boycotted when customers find out they are doing this newest training, will that affect their bottom-line profits?  After seeing what this program does to business, should this acronym be redefined as Death to Empowerent and Innovation? (Or as recently published Discrimination, Exclusion, Indoctrination in Twitter MEME as well as the trending hashtags #DeathToDEI and DEIisDead...)  If businesses die, where will people work?  Logically, when there are less businesses, then there will be less jobs.  Less jobs means killed jobs, which means fewer opportunities for employment.

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Real Marketing Options for Every Business

 

If you have tried lots of marketing options presented in articles or given to you by "next generation" advisors, have you had success?  Maybe a little, but probably not a lot.  So did you waste your money on marketing?  Again, maybe a little if you learned what not to do but for sure if you are still listening to people who are giving you the wrong advice for the type of business you have.  What works for big businesses may not work for small businesses.  What works for selling retail products direct to consumers/customers - does not work for selling products and services to corporate clients.    

If your company is a small business, instead of hiring a consultant, try some of the ideas in 14 Cheap and Effective Small-Business Marketing Strategies.   Notice this article does not mention social media until option 10 and then only as a way to continue the efforts from other options.  Do not jump on a social media platform immediately because someone told you it worked for them.  To be effective  social media must provide something for the reader and must target the people you want reading your posts.

• You may also want to check out blog posts on Marketing via: Website, Blogging, and Video Media  or On-line Press Releases and Article Directories for more more tips related to options 5-10 in article above.

If you are Business to Consumer (B2C) retail seller or service provider, 7 Tips for Consumer Marketing emphasizes digital areas such as ecommerce stores and social media for brand awareness.   The article briefly explains the basic differences between B2C and B2B marketing.  It targets getting customers and repeat business through special offers , customization, and using various strategies to market and grow your business.

If you are Business to Business (B2B) product or service provider, according to The Ultimate Guide to B2B Marketing you should to concentrate on understanding your competition and the standard sales cycle to actually get sales.  The guide compares B2B and B2C marketing differences in a simple chart.  It also explains what you must do before marketing and then explains how to build a multi-faceted marketing strategy.  Social media is more for business brand awareness and most likely will not directly result in sales, but it can be the first place corporate leaders and buyers may find out about you if your marketing plan is done well.  

• B2C or B2B, you may also want to check out blog posts on Marketing via:  To Blog or Not to Blog…that is the Expert’s Question or What Is the Best Alternative for Social Marketing?
  

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Business and Politics: Boycott Likely, BUYcott NOT

Even as many corporations see great losses and a few go bankrupt, their leadership is still failing to recognize that politics in marketing for business is not a good idea.  Using ESG index and DEI initiatives as indicators for business is driving too many out-of-business by alienating customers and landing on "Go Woke Go Broke" boycott lists. Those alienated customers are now looking for entrepreneurs who start-up businesses with either the opposite politics or preferably no politics at all.

Business magazines, newspapers, and blogs are taking note and urging companies to return to concentrating on profits over politics.  

• Newsweek article "As 'Woke' Businesses Face Right-Wing Wrath, Culture War Capitalists Cash In" emphasized  consumers are "are likely to boycott over a political position they don't like but are not likely to "buycott" over stances they agree with." Newsweek also published  "Now Conservatives Embrace Boycotts and Regulations" and "Go Woke, Go Broke? Millennials Say It's True" which suggests this generation greatly disagrees with the supposed new marketing genius of young Gen-?.  
• In blog post "Go Woke, Go Broke: 8 Examples of Companies Facing Consequences," a digital marketing professional explains "From a business mindset, politics should be a big no-go zone. If you are silent about an issue, you might receive pressure from a few activist groups, but things will likely quiet down soon enough, and people will forget about it."
• New York Post shared a former CEOs opinion in article "Woke, Inc: Why I’m blowing whistle on how corporate America is poisoning society." where he notes "... the answer is to do the hard work of rediscovering who we really are."
• The liberal-left VOX media website admits "ripple effects of conservative consumer activism are real" in finance and business article "The conservative boycott playbook is kind of working."

If businesses want to survive, company leadership needs to stop listening to bad advice, research the facts, and understand that politics in marketing can kill their profits and possibly drive them out of business.  Corporate leadership needs to get back to basic business concerns and strategic planning based on items key to success.

Some companies claim they are supporting social issues  because their human resources think it might get younger people to be interested in working for the organization as employees. But, does it get loyal or competent employees? Which matters most to the bottom line - customers or employees?

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Is Your Company Failing?

COVID shutdowns caused a lot of small businesses to fold during and after, even though a few entrepreneurs seemed to flourish (especially those that provided delivery services) through it.  Bigger businesses upgraded their websites to increase online sales and went to Zoom meetings (and contine to do so for travel cost savings) to keep things going.  

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Although people are supposed to be back-at-work now, there is still a crisis in the world of business as inflation rises, regulations increase, and the economy has not yet recovered.  Large and small companies continue going under for various reasons.   

Wondering how to tell if the company you work for or the business you own is about to go out-of-business? 

Check out these articles for employees:

• Signs Your Company Might Soon Go Belly-up from ZD Net
• 9 Red Flags that Layoffs or Closings May Be Imminent on Otterwize blog

Check out these articles for owners :

• The 4 Most Common Reasons a Small Business Fails via Investopedia (1. Financing Hurdles, 2. Inadequate Management, 3. Ineffective Business Planning, 4. Marketing Mishaps)
• Why Small Businesses Fail: Top 8 Reasons for Startup Failure by ZenBusiness 

Who Controls American Business, Media, or Government?

Do you ever wonder who really controls American business, media, or government?  For business: you might say it is American entrepreneurs starting new enterprises, or you may think of those running franchise opportunities in America and abroad, or you may say the rich citizens who already own big successful companies.  You may even look at Wall Street to see what is currently on-top or research billionaires to determine what they are into.  For media: you might think along the technology lines of social media (aka Big Tech), or entertainment media (aka Hollywood), or you might consider journalistic pursuits (aka Main Stream Media).  For government, you may believe in "we the people" democracy as the major stakeholder or the republic and who laws are created to protect.

For every example, you are most likely thinking it is United States citizens who have achieved the American dream.  Some may even consider international and global reach as the people in control.  Then there are those that worry Communist China is really the one gaining control of American business, media, and government.  Is the USA hurling towards crisis inspired by a new type of economy based on marketing propaganda instead of quality products and preformance-based service? If it is USA citizens (native-born or legally naturalized) controlling corporate strategy, the American dream will continue to grow.   If it is not, then either environmental and growth restrictions of globalization or communist government-owns everything will be the future resulting in the crushing death of the American dream.  

Who do you think controls American business, media, or government?  Is de-globalization the answer to save USA or European businesses?  Share your thought in comments on this blog post.

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Are Social Media Outlets Hiding Information From Users?

In the past few years, we have learned that most social media providers are not about their users or about promoting free speech as was designated as their original purpose for existing.  No, they are a business with customers who are not necessarily the same as their users.  Most social media outlets are about profit through advertising dollars and promoting the beliefs/values of the outlet's owners.  Social media  platforms keep changing who they allow to voice opinions on their networks and what they will allow the remaining network audience to see.   A few of these actions may be directed at preventing "misinformation" or encouraging  "disinformation" to appease the government or other powers, but more are about controlling what facts social media users see. Whether hiding select information is done at the direction of owners, advertisers, or politicians is not shared with their users.  

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Well-known social media platforms continue hiding information from users by constantly changing how the information is displayed.  When hiding started in 2020, Facebook users were encouraged to either view a "fact check" or "alternative view" article first before clicking through to what they wanted to view.  Twitter did something similar with a friendly warning pop-up when users wanted to share "questionable" items and forcing user to choose to continue by clicking option in pop-up or outside of it to cancel communication.  Now, the user sometimes also may click an additional option on the post to see one-time view of the article image link or video link.  To prevent the complaints, users are allowed to go to a "security" option to turn-off the platform's latest change or opt-out of tracking history. 

     Example of Twitter Popup when Retweeting Website/Articles 

     Example of Twitter Text on select Website/Video as of 3-4-2022 

     Example of Twitter Text on Blocked Video Sites as of 6-1-2022

     Example of Twitter to Change View Settings (from above) to Prevent Blocking 

     Example of Twitter Terms to End Accounts for ANY/NO reason effective 6-10-22

Are these new changes letting users control more of what they see or is it still about the social media outlet keeping control of that?  Will users take the 2nd or 3rd click/step required to see the hidden information from selected sites?  Will other platforms choose to change "sensitive" view options that make it sound like users will see pornography instead of platform-deemed "questionable" information.  Are social media owners hoping users will not exercise their personal choice by making the extra effort to click again?  Is the reason platforms are requiring the extra clicks so they can track user choices better or find out what is most popular topics?  Will any of it make a difference to owner's profits, advertiser's bottom-line, or to the user's free speech?  Do social media users still have the option to gather their own facts and form their own opinions? 

Articles and videos continue to get blocked, not because they have been individually "fact checked," but due to the main URL of the .com/.net/.org being targeted for reasons known only to the social media provider.  Or in the case of a video, it might it be a particular YouTube (and competitors), TV, or cable channel suppression.  So where do users go to find truth/facts or lies/fiction now?   

Yes   that's a lot of embedded questions above that are definitely NOT hidden from view!  Why?  Because  questions make you think.  If you think, then you can form your own opinions.  Sharing opinions in an acceptable and respectful way is allowed freedom of speech. The user should have the opportunity to decide, not the social network outlet.  History will tell us if the user's decision is important to the platforms they use.

NOTE:  Twitter changed ownership in 4th quarter 2022, now transparency of past and current processes is ongoing under the new management that is promoting "freedom of speech" but not necessarily freedom of reach?  See December 2022 deletions and solutions articles plus January 2023 infographic, regarding #TwitterFiles compiled data of free speech suppression and hidden truths for political reasons currently being ignored by mainstream media news that proves partisan censorship. 

ADDED NOTE: What about Facebook/Meta Media Mix? FB uses a little italicized i to make it look like users can get more related topic information, but often it tricks people by showing a list of prejudiced articles that express the social media owner's views. Although, upon occasion, it will share if a link site has/hasn't an FB page or other recent videos from that site only if it is "news" site.  But they still limit or outright  block free speech of most vocal conservatives, medical experts, Christians (formerly religious freedom to Bible), and politicians that do not buy into Zuckerberg's obvious malarkey meant only to get FB owner more money - not actually help people. In 2021, Facebook Admits in Court That ‘Fact Checks’ Are Just Opinion - in other words, what the boss wants communicated or NOT.  Then the following year, at Congressional hearing, Facebook CEO blames the government for selected censorship.

Google is no longer in the social media game, but are they a "Big Tech" who is still censoring topics in searches and pushing political ads as actual news? What about those MSN searches, will their AI bots censor even more?

UPDATES: Did DNC government try to crush USA citizens' FREE SPEECH?  Will it ever be fully restored on social media platforms? Will the government and "Big Tech" try to do it again?