Certain skills are ubiquitous for career success regardless of profession or employer. It is always important to be noticed and stand out from the crowd. You can do this by:

• Creating efficiency by developing shortcuts, simplifying or automating;

• Solving people issues with customers, clients and workplace colleagues;

• Saving money by reducing costs and/or increasing revenue;

• Saving time by speeding up development and production to offer products or services faster than others do; and

• Being innovative by creating new concepts that keep you and your employer in the forefront of your field.

Other Bytes

Here are some of the things going on in and around the engineering community:

• In today’s business environment, it is increasingly important for management and employees to understand the diversity of national, corporate and vocational cultures. Success requires perceptiveness and adaptability. In “Cultural Intelligence” (Harvard Business Review, 82(10): 139-146, 2004 www.hbr.com), Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski provide tools to help you identify your strengths and offer training techniques to help you overcome your weaknesses. Their research is based on a survey of 2,000 managers in 60 countries. As the authors define it, cultural intelligence is “an outsider’s seemingly natural ability to interpret someone’s unfamiliar and unambiguous gestures the way that a person’s compatriots would.” The authors discuss the cognitive, physical and emotional/motivational components and go one step further, equipping readers with the ability to distinguish between behaviors produced by the culture in question and behaviors found in all people.

• Traditionally, company acquisitions and mergers have taken place to gain access to new markets, products and services or a customer base, or to acquire intellectual property. In “How Talent Stacks Up as a Deal Driver” (Mergers and Acquisitions; 39(8): 11-14, 2004), Joan Harrison adds another dimension. The author suggests that in some cases, an acquisition may be made to acquire skilled human resources that cannot be found elsewhere. Human capital is a vital component of any organization. The author discusses many of the important factors related to acquiring a company, one of which is retaining productive employees.

• Many believe the strength of the American economy is the result of the United States to attract the brightest minds from around the world. Creativity and competitive success go hand in hand. In “America’s Looming Creativity Crisis” (Harvard Business Review; 82(10): 122-136, 2004; www.hbr.com). Richard Florida discusses his belief that the United States may be on the verge of losing its competitive edge by throwing that strength away. Other countries are aggressively luring creative people away as they increase their spending on research and development. The author concludes that in order for the United States economy to remain strong, the business community must take the lead to ensure that global talent can move efficiently across borders and education and research get funded at higher levels. Wherever creativity goes, economic growth will surely follow.

• The winners of this year’s Asian Innovation Awards were selected based on creativity and innovation; quality of execution; and the potential impact on the quality of life. The Gold Award went to a group in Singapore who developed a biodegradable plastic mesh to patch head wounds. The Silver Award went to a New Zealand team who devised a computer program that reduces the time it takes to conduct a complicated eye test for diabetic blindness and glaucoma. The Bronze Award went to the Grand Hyatt Singapore Hotel for developing an efficient air handling system. The Global Entrepolis@Singapore Award went to a Mumbai (India)-based company that developed software that monitors banking transactions in real time and helps banks cut costs and improve efficiency. Read more about these awards in Far Eastern Economic Review (167(42): 35-43, 2004 www.feer.com).

• BusinessWeek’s annual ranking of the top U.S. and International MBA Programs was published on 18 October (BusinessWeek; #3904: 61-81, 2004; www.businessweek.com). Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management topped the ranking, followed by the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. Students and recruiters viewed educational institutions known for stringent academic standards as the best. This issue is particularly valuable to those interested in seeking an MBA, as a number of other articles provide useful related information.

• Self-managing teams are found in 79 percent of companies listed in the FORTUNE 1,000. In “How to Lead a Self-Managing Team” (MIT Sloan Management Review; 45(4): 65-71, 2004; http://web.mit.edu/smr/), Vanessa Urch Druskat and Jane Wheeler discuss leadership factors necessary for success based on their study of 300 self-managing teams. Among other things, they found that one of the most important factors for success is the quality of the team’s link to the organization. The external leaders who had contributed most to the team’s success excelled at managing the boundary between the team and the larger organization. This process required behaviors that can be grouped into the four basic functions: relating, scouting, persuading and empowering.

• Getting more value from knowledge is one of many challenges that organizations face. One way to increase efficiency and productivity is to ensure that employees can find what they need, when they need it. There is a tremendous cost tied to times when employees cannot find knowledge that they need; they waste time searching for non-existent knowledge or recreating knowledge that is available but cannot be located. In “Learning from the Internet Giants” (MIT Sloan Management Review; 45(4): 79-84, 2004; http://web.mit.edu/smr/), Leigh Weiss, Marla Capozzi and Laurence Prusak discuss lessons learned from three innovative Internet giants — Google, eBay and Amazon.com, on how to get more value from your organization’s knowledge.

• Are self-employed workers more satisfied with their jobs compared to wage and salaried workers? Don Bradley and James Roberts discuss this question in “Self-Employment and Job Satisfaction: Investigating the Role of Self-Efficacy, Depression and Seniority” (Journal of Small Business Management; 42(1): 37-58, 2004; www.be.wvu.edu/serve/bureau/jsbm). Their research was based on the “National Survey of Families and Households 1987-1998/1992-1994.” They found that the association between job satisfaction and self-employment depends on both the quantity and quality of time invested in the business. The self-employed report higher levels of job satisfaction than others. The article provides the implications of the authors’ findings as well as directions for further research.