6 Ways To Protect Yourself From Hackers

By Chubb.com 

here was the last public place you visited that had Wi-Fi? These days, nearly every coffee shop, library, airport and hotel offer a way to access the internet from your cell phone or other mobile device. That means the information you have on your phone could be available to hackers in the area – unless you’ve taken steps to protect your data. Here are a few recommendations from the University of Michigan:

1. Don’t access personal or financial data with public Wi-Fi.This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people check their bank accounts or make purchases with a credit card while using public Wi-Fi. It’s best to do those things on a secure connection.
2. Turn off anything you don’t need.Hackers can use certain features on your phone to get at your information, location or connection. So, instead of keeping your GPS, wireless connection and geo-tracking on all the time, just turn them on when you need them.
3. Choose your apps wisely.Only download apps from trustworthy sources that have established a good reputation. Make sure you update your software and apps regularly and get rid of old apps you don’t use.
4. Use a password, lock code or encryption.Make sure your passwords are at least eight characters long, with a mix of upper and lower case, and include numbers or other characters, and never use the auto-complete feature for passwords. You can use the storage encryption feature on your phone to protect your private data, and set your screen to timeout after five minutes or less.
5. Be skeptical about links and attachments.If you’re not sure about the source, don’t use the link or open the attachment.
6. Trace or erase.Make sure your data is secure if your mobile device is stolen or lost. You can set up your device to lock itself after a pre-set number of failed log-in attempts.

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Elevate Your Life & Career with Serendipity

By Mary Wallace Jaensch, Chief Design Officer, Last Big Gig 

Serendipity is not a quality or objective that many of us consider relevant or appropriate when thinking about moving our careers and lives forward. Like good luck, we consider it a random happening, not to be counted on for achieving specific goals and objectives.

However, many innovators, inventors, and disruptive thinkers often mention the role that serendipity has played in their success and accomplishments. “Fact is, inventing an innovative business model is often mostly a matter of serendipity,” notes Gary Hamel, influential business thinker, Forbes magazine. So perhaps it’s time for the rest of us to consider including “serendipity” in our box of tools to elevate our own careers and experiences!

So is there a way to include serendipity—the appearance of something good that you weren’t looking for—in your planning and career scenarios? Yes, but not in the usual way that most of us think about planning. With serendipity, you have to create the space, time, and opportunity for it to happen and then be alert to recognize it when it appears. Too often, we are so focused on our plans that we gloss right over the serendipity that might have gotten us to where we wanted to go faster, easier, and more effectively.

Experiment with serendipity in your life and career, and see where it takes you!

1. Identify times when serendipity has created new opportunities for Take a few minutes and think about when serendipity—something good that you weren’t actively seeking—occurred in your life. What factors made it happen? How did it feel? How often does it occur?

2. Make time and space for Let go of the need to plan and fill every moment in your life with activities, actions, or distractions—this is key to opening the door for serendipity. Find 10 minutes each day to breathe, relax and daydream—see what new ideas and opportunities emerge!
3. Acknowledge and enjoy the serendipity in your life. Be more conscious of the serendipity in your life. What good thing has come to you unexpectedly, by your being in the right place at the right time, or even by reacting to a situation in a certain way? Celebrate the richness and fun that it adds. Cultivate it and more will occur, bringing new possibilities within your

 

How To Build A Successful Team

Business leaders agree – building your team is often the most grueling part of founding a business. After all, what is a leader in the absence of a champion team to lead? The health and prosperity of your company depend on finding the right Team Members, whose skill and spirit align with your mission. The tricky part is perfecting the process by which you locate winning talent and secure their employment. From there, retention must become a focal point – not something to be left up to chance.

A winning team is an incalculable asset for your company, for a number of reasons. As a business owner, the best thing you can do is ferry your company to a state at which it can fly on autopilot – where business is successfully carried out, even in your absence. This frees up your time, liberating you so that you may work on your business, without always being needed within it. It is also critical that there is a good team dynamic in place, not only to minimize conflict, but to ensure that the company runs at peak performance. Ideally, you want a flawless client experience to be compulsory, on account of the prowess of your Team Members.

A winning team is an incalculable asset for your company, for a number of reasons. As a business owner, the best thing you can do is ferry your company to a state at which it can fly on autopilot – where business is successfully carried out, even in your absence. This frees up your time, liberating you so that you may work on your business, without always being needed within it. It is also critical that there is a good team dynamic in place, not only to minimize conflict, but to ensure that the company runs at peak performance. Ideally, you want a flawless client experience to be compulsory, on account of the prowess of your Team Members.

So, what goes into the construction of this optimal team? These truisms capture two essential components that business leaders would do well to remember:

• Hire the ….

To continue reading, please visit ForbesBooks.com

4 Questions To Determine Where To Keep Your Valuables

By Chubb.com

If you’d like to keep your important papers and small valuables away from burglars, fire or natural disaster, here are four questions you can ask yourself to determine whether you should store them in a bank safety deposit box, an in-home safe, or both.

1. How valuable are your items?If items are not replaceable or very valuable, such as expensive jewelry or special documents, you’ll want to keep them in a bank safe. If they are not as valuable or can be easily replaced, an in-home safe is probably good enough.
2. How often do you need these items?If you only use items, such as fine jewelry, on special occasions, a bank safe may work well, but if you use them nearly every day or at least once a week, a bank safe would be inconvenient and a good in-home safe may be a better idea.
3. Will you be away from home for an extended period of time?If you’re planning to be away from home for an extended period of time, be sure to put all of your valuables in a bank safe. If you’re gone for a weekend or a couple days, you probably don’t need to go to that length, and an in-home safe will work fine.
4. How secure is your in-home safe?If you use an in-home safe, make sure it has a tool and torch resistant rating of 30 minutes or more (TL-30/TR-30), is too heavy for a burglar to carry or is bolted to the floor or home structure. If your safe doesn’t meet these requirements, you may want to keep your valuables in the bank safe instead.

 

New Dell Research Ranks 10 Cities Globally On Ability To Foster Women Entrepreneurship

Reveals rankings and provides recommended blueprint action plans for Austin, Boston, Mexico City, Toronto, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Singapore 

TORONTO – July 16, 2018

News summary

• Dell advises city leaders, entrepreneurs and policy-makers on how to improve conditions that enable women-owned firms to thrive
• Developed a deep dive analysis on the barriers and opportunities for women entrepreneurs accessing Capital and leveraging Technology to scale
• Revealed 10 Women Entrepreneur (WE) City Blueprints designed to spotlight actions a city can take to improve the ecosystem for women entrepreneurs
• The Dell WE Cities Index is the only global, gender-specific index that looks at a city’s ability to attract and retain women entrepreneurs

Full story

At the 9th annual Dell Women Entrepreneur Network Summit (DWEN) kicking off today in Toronto, Dell unveiled new diagnostic tools for local governments and policymakers to help enable women entrepreneurs to succeed.

Built on the findings of the 2017 Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index Dell, with research partner IHS Markit conducted a deep-dive analysis’ on the barriers and opportunities for women entrepreneurs accessing capital and leveraging technology to scale. Dell also developed 10 city blueprints designed to spotlight actions a city can take to improve the local ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.

“Women’s entrepreneurship rates rose globally by 13 percent in 2017, reflecting broader momentum of increased female representation across the public and private sectors in many regions around the world. However, access to capital and technology, as well as cultural and political barriers, continue to limit the success of women-owned businesses,” said Karen Quintos, executive vice president and chief customer officer at Dell. “With the release of the WE City Deep Dives and Blueprints, city leaders and policymakers can confidently move from ‘analysis to action,’ accelerating positive change that allows women entrepreneurs to thrive – which benefits local communities, wider society and the global economy.”

“According to extensive data and analysis, when barriers to women entrepreneurship are removed, there is a dramatic uplift in a city’s economic prospects,” said Cris Turner, vice president of Government Affairs at Dell. “The WE City Deep Dives and Blueprints offer insights on what cities on the list can learn from one-another and encourage political action to attract and support women entrepreneurs at the local level.” 

WE City Blueprints

The WE City Blueprints look at areas of strength and areas of improvement to provide city leaders and policymakers with data-driven research and recommendations on how to foster high-potential women entrepreneurs. Blueprint cities include:

• Austin
• Boston
• Mexico City
• Toronto
• London
• Amsterdam
• Sydney
• Tokyo
• Sao Paulo
• Singapore

WE City Capital and Technology Deep Dives

Capital and technology are critical for scaling any business, but women face unique challenges with both. In 2017, only 2 percent of venture funding went to female founders. Based on the qualitative analysis of the WE Cities Index and insights from members of the DWEN network, many women entrepreneurs are not leveraging innovative technologies to scale their businesses. The WE City Capital and Technology deep dives uncover:

• How women entrepreneurs are accessing capital, using technology
• How different regions are accessing different sources of capital, using technology
• Industries that women entrepreneurs gravitate towards and how it impacts access to capital and technology
• How access to capital and use of technology differ across leading cities

 WE Cities Ranking and Methodology

Built on the past six years of Dell research on High Potential Women Entrepreneurs (HPWE), cities were ranked on five important characteristics: capital, technology, talent, culture and markets. These pillars were organized into two groups — operating environment and enabling environment. The overall rating is based on 72 indicators; 45 of these (nearly two-thirds) have a gender-based component. Individual indicators were weighted based on four criteria: relevance, quality of underlying data, uniqueness in the index and gender component.

The 50 cities were ranked as follows:

1. New York City
2. Bay Area
3. London
4. Boston
5. Stockholm
6. Los Angeles
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Singapore
9. Toronto
10. Seattle
11. Sydney
12. Paris
13. Chicago
14. Minneapolis
15. Austin
16. Hong Kong
17. Melbourne
18. Atlanta
19. Amsterdam
20. Portland (OR)
21. Berlin
22. Taipei
23. Pittsburgh
24. Tel Aviv
25. Copenhagen
26. Vancouver
27. Houston
28. Johannesburg
29. Barcelona
30. Seoul
31. Munich
32. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
33. Nairobi
34. Dublin
35. Warsaw
36. Belfast
37. Milan
38. Beijing
39. Tokyo
40. Bangalore
41. Kuala Lumpur
42. Sao Paulo
43. Dubai
44. Shanghai
45. Mexico City
46. Lima
47. Guadalajara
48. Istanbul
49. Delhi
50. Jakarta

About the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network and Annual Summit

As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell is committed to help power the success of entrepreneurs by developing technology solutions that enable human potential. Through the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network, Dell supports and nurtures a community of female entrepreneurs by providing access to technology, networks and capital.

Dell is excited to host the 9th annual Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) Summit in Toronto from July 15-17, 2018. More than 150 female founders, CEOs, dignitaries, Dell Leaders and more will convene to connect and discuss today’s pressing topics. Through inspiring keynotes, informative panels and innovative workshops, the 2018 DWEN Summit will be the go-to resource for support and solutions that facilitate entrepreneurship. It is Dell’s mission to bring vital knowledge and tailored technology for women-led companies small and large.

About Dell Inc.

Dell Inc., a part of Dell Technologies, provides customers of all sizes – including 99 percent of the Fortune 500 – with a broad, innovative portfolio from edge to core to cloud. Dell Inc. comprises Dell client as well as Dell EMC infrastructure offerings that enable organizations to modernize, automate and transform their data center while providing today’s workforce and consumers what they need to securely connect, produce, and collaborate from anywhere at any time.

 

 

New York City Comptroller: Lack Of Diversity, Bad For Business

By Scott M. Stringer

Dear Friend —

The lack of diversity in the corporate world, especially at the top, is no secret.

Just two years ago, only 21% of boardroom members at S&P 500 companies were women, 7% were African American, and Hispanic or Asian American board members each only accounted for 3% of board members.

These disparities aren’t just wrong, they’re bad for business. Often, they’re the result of board elections that are more like coronations of the same old board, again and again.

As a long-term investor in thousands of major U.S. companies, we have a stake in making sure these companies are strong for decades to come. And the fact is, corporate boards with independent and high quality directors from diverse backgrounds are better for the long-term success of our portfolio companies.

That’s why we launched the Boardroom Accountability Project – to shake up corporate culture and strengthen the companies in our portfolio.

In 2014, we made our first push for reforms. We called on companies to establish “Proxy Access,” a powerful tool which gives long-term investors the ability to nominate boardroom directors. In only three years, our push brought Proxy Access from just six, to over 520 U.S. companies – and it’s now the market standard.

On the heels of this success, we took another step forward by launching Boardroom Accountability Project 2.0 – a nationwide call for transparency and refreshment in the boardroom.

We engaged companies to release data on the gender, race, and skill composition of the corporate board, and put this information in a “matrix” table, to give investors a bird’s eye view of the quality, diversity, and independence of board members.

Historically, this information is rarely – if ever – made public. But in less than a year since we launched, we’re already seeing unprecedented results:

• Over 35 companies are now telling us not only the skills of those making important oversight decisions for the company, but also details about both the gender and race/ethnicity of their directors.
• Dozens of companies are publicly committing to include women and people of color in the candidate pool for every future board search.
• And these conversations are changing boardroom culture in a real way. Since this initiative began, 49 of the companies we targeted have elected 59 new, diverse, and high quality candidates.

These issues are too important to ignore. There is simply no excuse for companies to hide information about who is sitting around their boardroom tables and not to embrace the highest board quality and diversity for their companies and their investors.

But these steps forward are encouraging. They show that the corporate world is starting to hear what investors have known all along: being transparent and inclusive is not just the right thing to do – it’s a strategy for financial success.

I’ll keep you posted,

Scott 

Take The Meeting: A Fresh Approach To Time Management

By Peter J. Strauss

As a business owner, you know that your time is your most valuable resource. As a result, you make every effort to control it. You say no to meetings and cut extraneous obligations. You have strategies to help you stay focused, avoiding all distraction and interruption. You have systems in place so that you can diligently—even relentlessly—tackle the items on your to-do list. Yet there still do not seem to be enough hours in the day to get it all done.

What if I told you that there is another way to approach time? Rather than attempting to control it, what if you decide to flow with it? I learned early on that a key to success is being able to adapt to new information as it comes in. Each moment has the potential to provide the gift of new insight and solutions to problems. But in order to benefit from them, you have got to give yourself time to take in the new information, process and integrate it, then develop an action plan. You have to flow with time, not attempt to control it.

You may be thinking, “Sounds great, Peter, but where do I start?”

Read the full article at ForbesBooks.com.