New Execs on the Block
Companies, like pasta sauce, can have too much seasoning. A
study by C. Carl Pegels, a State University of New York at Buffalo
professor, indicates bringing on seasoned executives helps grow
your company only up to a point. You'll do better recruiting
slightly younger executives, as long as they're not wet behind
the ears.
"[You] don't need someone in their 50s or 60s,"
Pegels says. "Junior managers-who are going to be in their 40s
or late 30s-show better performance."
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In his study, Pegels analyzed 25 publicly traded airlines. He
compared the demographics of these firms' executives with their
financial performance over a four-year period-including return on
investment and stock market performance.
The results highlighted two other significant trends.
Executives' longevity in their jobs was also a performance
indicator. The less time they'd been in a position, the better.
(Alas, Pegels' study did not identify an optimum amount of
time.)
The other key factor the study uncovered: "The less
variation in age, the better [executives] work together,"
Pegels says-especially if they don't have many gray hairs
between them.
Stretch Your Time
OK, class. The word for today is "relax." You say
you're too busy? Nonsense, says Darrin Zeer, author of Office Yoga: Simple Stretches for Busy
People (Chronicle Books). A little stress reduction is
exactly what you need to attack your busy day with a clear head.
Let's learn how to get it done without wasting your valuable
time, straight from the book:
At red
lights: "Sit back, relax and roll your head in
circles. Shrug your shoulders up and down, breathing in rhythm as
you do."
At your
keyboard: "With your hands in prayer position, move
in all directions and stretch. Squeeze your fists tight. Stretch
fingers wide. Interlace fingers and rotate hands."
In an empty
elevator: "Place your right hand on a wall. Stand
up straight and bend your left leg back. With your left hand, hold
your toes and pull your foot to your buttocks. Breathe, hold,
release and switch sides."
At the
photocopier: "Place your hands on the edge of the
copier. Stand back with feet apart. Drop your head and chest.
Breathe and relax your shoulders."
While watching
TV: "Sit on floor. Bend your legs and bring the
soles of your feet together, close to your body. Grab your feet
with your hands, and gently lower your knees. Raise your chest and
breathe."
Business writer Chris Sandlund works out of Cold Spring, New
York.
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