Biz Bits
The Business > Biz Bits
The latest essential buys for business travelers.
Up Close and Personal
QuickCam Ultra Vision
$129.99 www.logitech.com Video calls made with the new QuickCam Ultra Vision will be twice as clear as calls made using conventional cameras, thanks to the five-element glass lens, Logitech RightLight2 Technology and RightSound for echo-free audio. Since it features a 1.3-megapixel sensor and even HD wide-screen format, you’ll have to doll up before your next cyber-meeting.
Business on the Big Screen
Fujitsu LifeBook C1410
From $1,199 www.fujitsu.com
Th e arrival of the Fujitsu LifeBook C1410 is a blessing for value-conscious business travelers in search of a reliable notebook.
Th e 15.4-inch screen is 30% larger than conventional displays—great for viewing spreadsheets or watching DVDs on trips away. And the extended battery life (up to 11 hours) makes it a high performer, at a very reasonable price. Powered by the latest Intel Core Duo Processor, it handles demanding applications easily and can also be equipped with Bluetooth wireless technology.
Bookshelf
The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness
Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval (Currency/Doubleday $17.95)
With a foreword by Jay Leno, this book— already creating a buzz at such publications as Businessweek and Newsweek—is promoting a backlash against ruthlessness and a revolution in kindness. Th e authors are the founders of one of the fastest-growing ad agencies in the country, and put their success largely down to one thing: being nice. So learn from their wisdom, as they outline in a quick and easy read how to put “the power of nice” into daily use.
The Write Stuff
The Titanium Inka Pen
$89.95 www.inkacorp.com Th e sturdy Titanium edition of the popular Inka Pen is as light as a feather and all-weather friendly—ideal if your business takes you outdoors (or even underwater!). Th e sleek, cylindrical pen writes at any angle, temperature and altitude and is adjustable in length.
Beyond Reason
This month Nikos Mourkogiannis, leadership adviser and senior partner at a global consulting firm, publishes Purpose: Th e Starting Point of Great Companies (Palgrave MacMillan, $27.95). Th e book explains the importance of having a visionary sense of purpose in an organization and in creating a community of motivation among your employees. So does your company lack purpose? Here are the telltale signs that it may:
1. There appears to be a morale problem in the company, often accompanied by a feeling among employees that the top management cannot or will not “walk the talk”—that they do not really believe what they say.
2. There are calls for a new strategy. Sometimes this means there is a need for a completely new direction, sometimes just a need for reassurance—a rediscovery of the foundations of the current strategy.
3. There are problems implementing the new strategy. The segments to be targeted have been identifi ed, the action plans developed, but action—the right action—does not follow.
4. There are reputation issues. However much the chief executive declares integrity as a core value, and despite the best efforts of the PR department, newspapers continue to report on a series of scandals.
5. There is a window of opportunity for a new direction—for example, a new leader has been appointed, which creates an expectation that the company will rediscover its sense of focus.
6. There is a major structural change that forces a reexamination of the company’s strategy and the employees’ sense of direction and identity.
The Closing Bell
