One of the most curious and confusing trends in recent times is the business dressing down culture. A fad from California and dot.com start ups in the 90s, it has spread with  the viral persistency of fast food outlets to other geographies. We started with casual Fridays, an employer’s way of showing the caring and human sides of their corporate natures.  In many organisations this has evolved now into…

The growing beard and designer stubble trend There is no doubt facial hair is on trend in my part of the world at least. A quick look around my MBA classroom, TV shows and a recent series of interviews, was a clear testament that designer stubble and beards of various shapes, sizes and design are adorning an increasing number of male faces. From David Beckham, to…

Why technology has made making a fresh start more difficult once we have damaged a professional reputation. Reputation has been a topic covered by many thought leaders and philosophers from  Shakespeare, to Socrates and more recently Warren Buffet who says:  “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think  about that,…

According to research carried out by international organisations such as Manpower and Deloitte, there are many indications that after a period of cautiousness brought about by stringent economic times, a high percentage of employees will now be open to new job opportunities. The numbers range from 66% – 84%, but whichever one you take, they…

How makeup is impacting the workplace I was facilitating a meeting in Paris some years ago and one delegate asked about women, makeup and career advancement. Is makeup a career issue? In a professional world driven by gender stereotypes  – of course it’s an issue for both men and women. There wasn’t time to go…