Ideas To Make Your Workplace Sustainable and Green

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Ideas To Make Your Workplace Sustainable and Green

Running an organisation is no cakewalk. Managing clients and delivering on the due deadlines is one just one side of the story. But, it also involves several costs-latent and glaring. You have your employees to think about. The salaries, the bonuses, appraisals, benefits and the like make for just one fragment of the entire picture. The other piece consists of paying for several utilities like workspace rent (if you do not happen to own a workspace), catering to the electricity bills and things like those. Thus, it is clear that running a workspace involves paying quite a price (like, literally). And, truth be told, half the amount on the bill comes from paying the electricity bill.

A workplace consumes several units of electricity. Some of the usage might also be unnecessary. But, we do not realise that because we are so caught up with our work that it becomes difficult even to catch a breath. And in the midst of this hullaballoo, where the Earth’s resources are being depleted, and we are facing a tremendous energy crisis, it is important that we gear attention towards the idea of sustainable living. In this article, we have tried to put across a few ways in which we can make our workplaces sustainable and green. The onus for doing so is not only on the employers or the owners of the workspace but also on the employees. Therefore, waste no more minute and read on.

Allow Nature To Light Up The Space

Now, this might not be possible throughout the day, but it is definitely a thought to be entertained. Most work hours begin in the morning and end in the evening. Thus, you could make use of the natural light for your work at least in the first half when the sun is shining brightly outside. Obviously, there is very little that you can do when the day is all gloomy. But, on the other days, try avoiding artificial light as much as possible. Switch the lights off and see how the amount on your electricity bill comes down. It is a great energy-saving tip, and you should definitely try it out.

Check For Cheap Power Plans

More often than not, we fail to live sustainably and end up spending more energy than usual due to our ignorance and inability to acquire new knowledge. There are several cheap power plans available around you; but, you yet go for the one that you stumble upon first without any research. There’s even sites you can visit that compare business electricity prices quickly, so there’s no excuse for not doing any research. Remember that there is no glory in being inane and uninformed. Check for the plans and subscriptions around you and only then choose a befitting one for your workplace or household. Check https://strøm365.no/stromleverandorer/akraft/ to find more cheap power plans for your office and be an aware consumer.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Ideas To Make Your Workplace Sustainable and GreenTry To Talk Your Employers Into Choosing Laptops Over Desktops

If you are an employee, you must try to talk your employers into switching over to laptops from desktops. Desktops need a continuous source of electrical energy to run, which obviously is not a brilliant idea when you are trying to cut down on the consumption. But laptops can run on batteries for a minimum of eight hours. Therefore, you must see to it that you have the option of working on laptops in your office.

If you are an employer, then you must try to replace the desktops with laptops so that your employees do not have to come over to you to talk about the move. You could be one step ahead of them already.

Do Away With Outdated Electrical Equipment

Be it air conditioners, ovens or desktops, keep tending to them, upgrade or replace them when the parts start ageing. Old electrical systems use more than the usual units of electrical energy. Therefore, if you keep using the old models and decide against upgrading the parts, you are going to receive a severe blow on your bill. You could also consider recycling your old electrical parts or appliances to make use of everything at your immediate access and reduce wastage as much as possible.

Get Some Plants To Brighten Up The Space

Now, we know that this is not directly related to the entire ‘saving energy’ drill, but we are looking at making workspaces sustainable and green. Therefore, try getting some plants that can thrive under the shade and brighten up the space. It is always alleviating to look at some greenery during stressful work hours.

Conclusion:

People make saving energy sound like a big deal when, in reality, all it requires is some conscious actions on our part. Small gestures can amount to significant differences, and we must only understand that before it is too late. Our planet can stretch itself beyond normal. But, everything has a threshold. Therefore, we need to act now before we are beyond damage reparations of any kind.

Why You Need Both Knowledge and Wisdom

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Why You Need Both Knowledge and Wisdom

If just being the smartest person in the room was enough, then no smart person would ever fail.

But failure lurks around every corner for all of us. It’s hard to believe in our youth, but time reveals how little ‘d’ democratic failure can be. It stalks all of us sometimes, and it finds us often in life unless we figure out how to thrive and how to avoid the land mines.

It takes wisdom to figure that out. And though a handful of us get wisdom early in life, most of us acquire it from a struggle or two or ten. Many times, these difficult moments are of our own making. As we successfully work through those trying moments, wisdom imprints itself and becomes a guard rail against ever failing like that again, whatever it may be. There is safety in wisdom.

When we studied wisdom for our new book, we found many interesting qualities that it has versus knowledge. For example; Knowledge may change as times change, right? What we learned in college may not apply anymore in the current business environment. New technologies and new leadership styles are needed to succeed and win. Those changes are moving at an ever-increasing pace, and so knowledge can be quite fluid. It requires us to chase it and try to catch it to keep from falling behind.

Wisdom, on the other hand, turns out to be static and true in all generations. Get wisdom and you can use it for a lifetime.

So, how do you get knowledge and wisdom?

The knowledge part is easy. Your childhood and young life are filled to the brim with school of one kind or another. You are taught by people who know more than you and who most likely care about you. You go to college and we are surrounded by doers and achievers who understand the competitiveness of the world and how to win by outdoing other doers. You listen. You make notes. You read books. You get knowledge.

Then, you leave college, go to work, and use your knowledge to start making money, usually without a great deal of wisdom and foresight. For example, nobody in college told you that money and power can be dangerous if you let them become your primary focus. See also ENRON. A room full of the best and the brightest decided to take their chances and ignore the sirens going off in their heads. The carnage of that decision was strewn across the media. Billions of dollars lost. Suicides and jail time. Bad things tend to happen when we only have knowledge without wisdom.

Our research regarding wisdom took us back to purportedly the wisest man in history, Solomon. As we studied his life and teachings we wondered over and over again why he is not mentioned and written about more often. He was a smart businessman. He was historically wealthy, probably in real money the richest individual ever on this planet.

If you remember the story, Solomon was offered anything he wanted by God himself. He didn’t choose money or fame. He chose wisdom. And, interestingly, the other things he didn’t ask for just came as part of the deal with that request. He got very famous and rich. And wise.

As we read through the book of Proverbs that he penned we found a lot of wisdom, not surprisingly. Though written millennia ago, most of it sounds like something you would say this very day to someone you were counseling to keep them from making a big and costly mistake.

For example, be careful what kind of company you keep. Bad company corrupts good morals. Did your mother ever tell you that? I’ll bet she did, and she was right. Groupthink is a real thing. It’s why gangs can get their members to kill other gang members and rot in jail for it. It’s why a terrorist can be talked into blowing themselves up for a cause. Bad decisions don’t usually come upon us like a tsunami. They happen by inches. Hang out with people who consistently tell you a lie and pretty soon you start believing it. The business pages are filled with cautionary tales about this one piece of wisdom alone.

Solomon talked about money corrupting us, too. He understood firsthand the perils of great wealth and the pitfalls that had to be avoided. Bottom line: It’s OK to have money. Don’t let it have you.

And, the same can be said for power. Being in charge is an opportunity to do good, to serve others in your organization and community. It’s not there for you to use and take advantage of for your own gain. People don’t follow narcissistic leaders unless they are forced to. But they will follow a servant leader into hell and back every time.

Get the picture? We spend a lot of time and money getting educated and acquiring knowledge. We should spend at least that much effort acquiring wisdom because together the two are the jet fuel that leads to a great and profitable life.

About the Authors

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Drew HissDrew Hiss launched his outsourced payroll and HR technology solutions company, Checkdate Solutions, in 1994. He merged Checkdate Solutions with payroll industry leader Paycor, stepping away from the company in 2008 and serving on its board for eight years.

Drew founded Acumen in late in 2015. Acumen is a catalytic iron-sharpening-iron environment forged from the fiery furnace of entrepreneurial battle, marketplace survival and integration of the timeless wisdom of the ages.

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Dan CooperDan Cooper co-founded ej4, a video-based online training company, in 2003 and was its CEO until selling it in 2012. He then took his leadership and technology experience to work on and in the Sparklab startup business accelerator as well as leading change management and profit building initiatives for mid-market companies.

Today, he is the President and partner of Acumen, an accelerator community experience built for CEOs and Owners of strong and growing companies. Dan is also a certified Executive Coach credentialed through the International Coaching Federation.

Dan and Drew are the authors of a new book, Sharpen: A Guidebook for Business Ownership and Adventures in Leadership.

Interesting Power Generation Facts You Should Know

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article |Power Generation|Interesting Power Generation Facts You Should KnowPower generation is one of the most important industries in the world. Our world needs power, and it is crucial for us to generate enough to power our homes and cities efficiently. There are many different types of power such as oil, gas, wind, solar, and nuclear; and all of these are generated in different ways and have their own purposes.

Today we are going to explore the latest power generation technologies and share some interesting facts about power.

1. Coal power plants emit something called Fly Ash, and this substance is 100 times more radioactive than a nuclear power plant of the same size.

2. William Kamkwamba powered a whole village with a homemade windmill. After reading about windmills at his local library, he built a windmill out of scraps and powered his entire village in Malawi.

3. Denmark is one of the most efficient wind power users in the world, and in 2013 on the 28th October, wind power was generating enough energy to power 122% of the county’s needs.

4. The UK is known for its love of a good brew. There is a power station inside a mountain called Dinorwig station whose sole purpose is to cope with the spike in power usage during the ad breaks on TV when people switch on their kettles.

5. Sweden asks for trash for Norway to use their Waste-To-Power plants, because they are so good at recycling that they never have enough to use.

6. Nuclear power is always associated with disasters such as Chernobyl, but they actually save lives every single year. Lower air pollution caused by less coal usage has saved over 1.8 million lives between 1971 and 2009.

7. In 1963, all private power companies were bought by the Quebec government. This has since led to the ability for them to focus on renewable energy sources, and right now hydroelectricity accounts for 96% of power in Quebec. As well as this, energy rates are some of the lowest in North America.

8. Hydroelectricity powers 99% of all Norway, this is the highest rate in the world.

9. The Titanic was a tragedy, and it should be known that engineers stayed on the ship to keep the power running to allow others to escape. No engineers made it off the ship.

10. If you are ever locked up in Brazil, you can reduce your sentence by riding on an electric bike to power a nearby village.

11. Termites might be America’s best hope for renewable energy in the future. It has been found by The U.S. Department of Energy that termites produce 2 litres of hydrogen every time they consume a sheet of paper. They are efficient and they could be a great way to power the country.

12. France produces a lot of nuclear energy, and because it is in surplus of the needs of the country, they export it to others and make a generous profit.

Is Cold Calling A Beneficial Way To Drum up Business?

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Cold Calling|Is Cold Calling A Beneficial Way To Drum up Business?Cold calling is a difficult tactic to master when looking to drum up business as it can be seen to may as a harsh way of selling. But for those that have already expressed interest, is it really such a bad idea? With a number of strategies as well as the best times for cold calling, could it be the secret your business needs to drum up sales? In this article, we will be looking into whether or not this is the right way to drum up sales for your business.

Gets Your Business Noticed

Though this is considered outdated by some businesses, the act of cold calling can still be a highly effective way of getting your business noticed. Whether this is with customers or through a long term B2b cold calling strategy, you are getting your name out there to a number of other businesses, providing them with insight into the product or service that you are looking to offer.

Gives A More Personal Touch

Though email marketing and social media are highly efficient ways of drumming up business, there are other options such as cold calling that give a far more personal touch. Though this can generate the initial lead, this can then blossom into more interest and lead to a conversion later on down the line allowing you to develop a relationship between you and the customer. This is beneficial for a sales team as this allows them to take a general interest in a client or business and help to sell them a package that will help them to achieve their long-term goals.

Can Be Used Alongside Social Media Campaigns

Social media campaigns are a great way of drumming up business but using cold calling to contact those that have downloaded an E-book or provided you with their phone number through a website can be the perfect way of drumming up business. Though this will be a challenge depending on the target audience that you are looking to reach, this can be an efficient way of drumming up leads for your business and even acquiring new business later on in the process. Though this is a lengthy process, there is a success rate you gain from cold calls that are yet to be replicated by emails or social media campaigns.

Is Highly Beneficial For Inbound Sales Strategy And Lead Nurturing

Inbound sales strategy is crucial when you have made the first call as you want to be sure you are able to close the sale. Whether this is converting the lead through regular phone calls or you decide to organise a meeting to go over new proposals, this can all lead to your business acquiring new clients. When dealing with b2b clients, it is important to keep this as professional as possible as this is likely to be a long-term investment and even the potential of repeat business for a product or service.

Whether you are looking to use cold calling as a new tactic for your sales team, or you are looking to cut back on the use of this potential outdated sales trick, there are a number of benefits that come along with cold calling.

Three Popular Workspace Solutions That Could Be The Answer to Your Prayers

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Workspace Solutions|Three Popular Workspace Solutions That Could Be The Answer to Your PrayersThese days, offices come in all shapes and sizes. From virtual offices to hot-desking and leased floor space, it’s getting more difficult to be sure you’ve chosen the optimal solution for your needs, especially if your business is growing fast. If you feel a little intimidated by all that choice, these tips will help you work out what type of office space would suit your company best.

Leased Office Space

Once your business is properly up and running, it is possible that you will have special requirements that don’t fall within the realms of your standard serviced office offering. If you’re excited by the idea of designing your perfect office from scratch (everything from IT infrastructure to décor) you may appreciate the chance to begin with the blank canvas that is leased office space.

Leased office space only really becomes viable when future projections for your business suggest that you have a few years of secure trading in the pipeline. Renting your own workspace may not be particularly cost-effective if you aren’t in a position to sign a long-term lease, which would lower the overall cost. It’s also worth bearing in mind that you will have to manage every aspect of your office, which can be challenging if you’re used to the service office environment. Everything from carpet cleaning to ordering stationery and performing maintenance tasks will fall to your company. Depending what you’re up for, you might like to investigate outsourcing options. For example, to ensure you avoid IT disasters, look into customized managed IT.

Coworking

Working flexible hours according to an international clock is the norm nowadays, and if you’re hoping to retain your top performers, taking flexible hours into consideration could be beneficial. This is just one of the many reasons why startups are flocking to the countless coworking spaces that are popping up in cities all over the globe. These super convenient, and often extremely stylish, serviced workspace locations pride themselves on a community atmosphere, were people from all industries work together in a shared space. Most locations stay open 24/7, allowing you to come and go, as your schedule requires. Leases tend to be extremely flexible, with short term options as standard. Most of your needs are taken care of, from wifi to good coffee. The coworking demographic can be characterized as motivated, ambitious and young, so if you and your team would benefit from a competitive atmosphere with fantastic opportunities for collaboration, coworking could be ideal for you.

Virtual Office

A virtual office is, in a nutshell, running your business from home, or a far-out location while acting as if you have a well-located office. If this sounds like a good idea to you, don’t feel ashamed by the pretense: the virtual workspace solution is helping countless emerging startups fake it till they make it. Until you have your own real office, you’ll suffer from the lack the credibility that stops you from competing with bigger companies. A virtual office lets you put a professional business address on your letterhead, with the option to receive calls to a landline number monitored by a remote team, answering as if they were your employees.

Whether you’ve just launched a startup or you’re the owner of a mid-sized company, securing the ideal workspace for your business is not easy with all the options on the market. These pointers will help you narrow things down a touch.