Special Report on Contingent Staffing: Contingency Plan | workforce.com
Staffing company officials say the pace of contingent job growth suggests a shift toward more use of temporary labor at the expense of permanent jobs. Companies had to fire thousands of workers during this downturn and are leery of ramping up permanent employment too quickly. They can more easily downsize again if they hire mainly temporary employees.
EconomPic: Productivity Down… Is this Finally the Employment Bottom?
Click through and read the article. There is an interesting series of charts on productivity.
This chart may not be as scary as you might think.
Scary or Not Scary?
The New Kindle: Smaller, Faster, Cheaper
OK. Now I want one.
Not Here Yet
Scary Charts have historically been focused on the US economy but I couldn’t resist posting this chart.
Have a nice meeting with your CTO.
The Stuxnet Sting – Microsoft Malware Protection Center – Site Home – TechNet Blogs
Saturday mornings are a great time to catch up on the news. I regularly follow nearly 100 RSS feeds through my reader. The number and content type change periodically as my personal and business interests evolve (or when I forget my Adderall). When I came across this article I was surprised not about the content but more so about the fact that my computer security RSS feed stopped working.
I hate that when that happens.
Free Management Consulting Tip of the Day
Ask your tech guys if your remotes can infect the corporate systems using this sneaker net USB memory stick method.
I don’t know is an unacceptable answer.
Stuxnet spyware targets industrial facilities, via USB memory stick – CSMonitor.com
“We have not seen anything like this before aimed directly at the industrial control system environment,” says Walt Boyes, a control systems security expert and editor in chief of Control magazine. “It’s a clear-cut case of industrial espionage. We don’t know its ultimate aim yet.” But, he says, the attack is aimed specifically at the company that sells the lion’s share of industrial automation software to the electric power sector in North America and Western Europe. “That’s really scary,” Mr. Boyes adds.
I am still holding out for lower prices on my Ebook reader of choice. Besides I like dead tree versions of books.
Amazon: Kindle Books Now Outselling Hardcovers
E-books have hit a significant milestone. In each of the last three months, Amazon reports that sales of books for Kindle have outpaced the sale of hardcover books, and that growth is only accelerating.
In a statement, Amazon says that, “over the past three months, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 143 Kindle books. Over the past month, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 180 Kindle books.”
Worst Home Sales Numbers Ever « naked capitalism
If you are not a regular reader of Yves Smith, you should be.
The hidden trend in the monthly jobs report — and what it means for you | paulacaligiuri.com
There is a big change on the horizon in the way we should conceive of the concept of jobs – and it is dramatically changing how job security will be created in the future. For many, jobs of the future may be more like multiple income generating activities (or gigs) where we leverage our talents and skills. Job security will no longer be derived from being employed 40 hours/week. Rather, it will be something we create for ourselves when our talents and skills are in demand.
This is a mind shift.
The emphasis of the future will be on the skills you bring, rather than the job you occupy. There will be a far greater focus on self-management of both our skills and our network, two critical components of career success. Possessing more sought-out skills and having a strong network will be related to more income opportunities, whether working for a single organization or as an independent contractor.
Perhaps we need to take a collective deep breath and realize that, while change is afoot, this free agent mentality may also come with some upsides:
- You will now have tremendous flexibility to plan and grow your own career, no longer relinquishing career management to an employer.
- You will now have the ability to craft your sources of income across multiple opportunities if this is what you chose to do.
- You will now have the opportunity to engage in a career that fits with your life – and not vice versa.
Thanks Paula. I could not have said this better myself.
Managing the Productivity Paradox – HBR IdeaCast – Harvard Business Review
This is an HBR IdeaCast podcast interview with Tony Schwartz, president and CEO of The Energy Project and author of The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working.
Take 15 minutes and learn a little about ultradian rhythms and the way we work.
lifeunderwriter.net 
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