News: Fenorris Pearson: Finding the Right Corporate Champions

by Fenorris Pearson, CEO – Global Consumer Innovations, Inc

No matter how many people work at your company, it only takes one or two people to change the game you’re playing. Choosing your alignments on the job can make all the difference in your career. In fact, forging alliances in the workplace is a lot like getting elected: it’s not the most popular candidate who wins, but the one who has proven himself/herself to be the most influential.

In terms of voting power, finding the right alignments is about courting individuals with the most votes that count. In other words, you can have all the friends in the world, head the Cheer Club, lead the league in strike-outs on your company softball team and generally have the popular vote, all without winning the election. Just ask Al Gore, who won the popular vote in the 2000 election, but lost the Electoral vote.

These viewpoints are most certainly capitalist. When you’re in a corporation, democracy doesn’t help you win the favor of your co-workers; your outcomes are determined by your relationships with key decision makers – those one or two consummate executives who have the most influence on your future with the company.

The corporate alliance is a very intimate one; for better or worse, you could be aligning yourself with someone who is very visible, influential and known throughout the company. A consummate executive also remembers that it’s not just the ally you’re courting, but everyone in his or her network.

Click to read.

News: People Fight Over Stimulus Money

Scuffles erupted as several thousand Detroit residents jockeyed, pushed and shoved Wednesday to get free money being offered to only 3,500 of the city's recently or soon to be homeless.

Several received medical treatment for fainting or exhaustion while frantically trying to obtain the applications for federal housing assistance. The long lines and short tempers highlighted the frustration and desperation that Detroit residents feel struggling through an economic nightmare.

The line around Cobo Center, a downtown convention center, started forming well before daybreak. Anger flared within a few hours as more people sought out a dwindling number of applications for the program.

Members of the Detroit Police Department's Gang Squad and other tactical units were called in for crowd control. Several people reportedly passed out from exhaustion and had to be treated by emergency medical personnel. Some minor injuries were reported, and no arrests were made.

 

Click to read.

Fenorris Pearson: What Matters at the Top of the Corporate Ladder?

by Fenorris Pearson – CEO Global Consumer Innovation, Inc

Despite a growing number of women and minorities in the workplace, the directors of corporate boards remain mostly white and male, according to a new report on Fortune 100 companies. Women and minorities together account for less than a third of the directors on more than 60 percent of the boards examined, according to the report. African Americans represent 7% of all corporate board members.

In spite of these grim statistics, there is a great deal of hope for the possibility of women and minorities sitting in positions of authority. The more you perform and the higher you go up the corporate ladder, the less color matters. The truth is that corporations are seeking individuals who can enhance the bottom line. A good corporate manager doesn’t care if you are black or white, as long as you deliver the green.

Click to read.

Black and Corporate: Fenorris Pearson Explains How to Find a Mentor in your Company

by Fenorris Pearson, CEO – Global Consumer Innovation, Inc. 

Even when I was a Vice President at Dell Computers, one of the most cutting edge companies on the planet, our problems remained the same. The variables changed, but the bottom line always came down to figuring out how to sell to one customer at a time. Reaching this critical objective becomes more complex as technology changes and the world becomes more advanced. As complacent as we’ve gotten with new technology and global opportunities, this much has become clear: what got you here won’t get you there. In fact, what positioned you here, might not even keep you here…

…At least, not without a sponsor.

These days competition isn’t just stiff, it’s rigid. You need every advantage you’ve got, particularly if you’re a recent grad, female or minority. Think hard work, an MBA and a well-rounded resume will get you to the top? Think again; that might be what got you here, but to get there – the proverbial corner office or CEO’s chair – you’ll need more than just a spotless resume and a 4.0 GPA; you’ll need a sponsor.

Click to read more.