Good Looks, Marines, Genetics and Knowledge

On this Tidbit Tuesday, the first order of business is to plug my podcast today where we'll talk about how your physical appearance in the workplace impacts your success. If you think I’m talking about just women, forget it. We’ll also talk about how a man’s height (or lack thereof) affects his chances for raises and promotions. Author Gordon Patzer, who wrote “Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined,” will be my guest. One interesting note: Can you be too good looking to be successful?

Now, for a couple of other items:

Where did you get those blue eyes? There is a growing concern among employees that an employer’s access to genetic information about them may lead to discrimination in the workplace, according to Pepper Hamilton, a multi-practice law firm.
Although advances in genetic research have resulted in benefits such as helping to predict one’s predisposition to a disease – allowing people to take proactive steps to protect their health – these developments have also brought renewed attention to the implications of genetic testing for the workplace.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill, but the Senate has not yet voted on it. The act would protect people against discrimination based on their genetic information in health insurance and employment-related matters. In addition, 41 states have passed laws that protect individuals from genetic discrimination by insurance companies, and 32 states have enacted laws that protect individuals from genetic discrimination in the workplace.

A round of applause, please: The Wounded Marine Career Foundation program aims to help wounded and disabled Marines and Navy corpsmen land jobs in the film industry. Forbes has written about it, and how more than 8,000 returning wounded soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq face daunting challenges in findings jobs.
“The Wounded Marine Training Center for Careers in Media program consists of a specialized training center, where more than 30 film industry professionals will share their video and photojournalism expertise with participating wounded Marines,” says the Web site.

We're so not on the same page: From NewlyCorporate.com: "Knowledge is a curse because the more you know, the harder it is to talk to someone who doesn’t know the same things. Basically, someone afflicted with the curse of knowledge is someone who is unable to clearly communicate the topic on which they are an expert. They are so entrenched in their area of expertise that they can’t possibly imagine someone who doesn’t also know those things. The sender of the communication speaks at one level, and the receiver just isn’t ready for it. Victims of the curse tend to use long sentences full of jargon. The results can be dissastrous. Imagine giving your elevator speech to the CEO and having that CEO reply with a blank stare because you just went way over his head with details."




del.icio.us

Smash the Ladder and Build Your Own!

Thousands of years ago, news often was carried by word of mouth. Peddlers, travelers and soldiers moved from place to place, telling those they met what was happening elsewhere in the world. Although certainly not a speedy way of getting the latest news, it served its purpose for those times.

Now, we're in an era where, with the touch of a computer key, we can be connected to the world in an instant. Still, our longing to hear news from the mouth of a human, to interract with them and offer our opinions, has led to an explosion in podcasting.

According to a guest on Peter Clayton's Total Picture Radio, there are 18.5 million listeners of podcasts, a phenomenal growth of 285 percent last year.

As a journalist, I refuse to think about a world without newspapers, but it's clear to me that people want to also be informed in other ways. Since it's my mission to try and be part of sharing news and information that will help others in some way, I've decided to launch a podcast.

Of course, I'm no fool and wanted to partner with someone who I believed shared my vision and would help me along on this new venture -- and also would be a lot of fun. Diane Danielson of the Downtown Women's Club, fit the bill and happily, she agreed to take this journey with me.

Our show is called "Smash the Ladder with Anita and Diane." We chose that name because we believe the old way of working is changing because of a variety of factors. On the show, we're committed to offering information on navigating this new and evolving workplace, and providing advice and insight from experts we believe will help you smash the traditional workplace ladder and build your own.

We've already done a test run of the podcast. We had great fun doing it, and despite a technological glitch in the beginning, I think we did a good job of telling our audience who we are, where we're going with the show and previewing some of the future guests.

On Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. CST, I'll be speaking live with Gordon Patzer, author of "Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined."

We're going to talk about if the way you look matters in the workplace, and how your own perception of yourself affects your success. I've already written about this in an earlier post, but there's lots more to talk about, so it should be a lively and provocative show. And the best part? You can call in and add your comments. If you can't stop by during that time, the show will be available anytime, and you can even download it on your MP3 player or add your comments later.

Finally, if there's a topic you'd like to see discussed or a question you'd like answered, send Diane or me a note and we'll do our best to get it on the show.






del.icio.us