3 reasons you need more than success to be awesome

3 reasons you need more than success to be awesome3 reasons you need more than success to be awesomeDuring my fur months in the FBI Academy, I shot over 3,000 rounds of ammo in firearms training, spent untold hours in the gym building up enough muscle to pass the fitness test, and endured an endless number of mock interrogation sessions.We spent hundreds of hours practicing real life situations so that when we hit the streets with our badge and gun as newly minted FBI agents, we would be successful.It didnt take me long in the real world of hard knocks to understand that practice doesnt always make perfect. Just because Id practiced how to be a federal law enforcement office in training, it didnt mean Id be successful. Those long hours of practice were not enough if I lacked the other attributes Id need for ultimate success.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThe 10,000 hour rule po pularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his bookOutliersreally rankles me.He seduced readers into thinking that practice does make perfect- if we just keep hammering away at it along enough.To begin with, just because we put 10,000 hours into an activity it doesnt mean weve made progress and become an expert. We all know people who have shuffled to work every day for 40 years, punched a time clock, and put in well over 10,000 hours. Many of them were neither successful nor an expert. To become an expert means that we move the marker down the line to show progress has been made.We all understand how failure provides ample opportunity for growth and progress, both personally and professionally. What we fail to understand, however, is that its very difficult to learn from success. Too often, success is where we stop on our journey to the realization of our full potential. We settle for where we found success rather than pursue what is truly meaningful to us.Here are 3 reasons you need more th an success to be awesome- in both life and business1. Success lulls us into complacencyOne thing FBI agents learn early on in training is its not the streets or guns that will kill you- complacency is what will put you in harms way Always be alert and aware of what is going on in your environment.When you pursue things you love, it produces passion, and passion brings motivation. If youre to the point where you just go through the motions, complacency has set in. Complacency is where you go to wither up and die.The biggest battlefield in the world goes on inside our mind. Its the place we make life and death decisions about the way we live, whats meaningful to us, and what were willing to do in order to live the life we want.Complacency will cause you to stray from the path of growth and progress, which may not sound like a death sentence at first. But it is where you will go once you no longer care about improvement, either in business or life.The tragedy of life is often not in ou r failure, but rather in our complacency not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities- Benjamin E. MaysHow To Make It Work For You Go back to the drawing board and write down what truly inspires you to get up every morning. To be effective, it must transcend money or success. You may make money and achieve success along the way, but remind yourself of why you love what you do. Be a student of your passion and youll jettison complacency from your mindset.2.Success makes us overconfidentLook no further than Alan Greenspan and the financial meltdown in 2008 for an example of how success can make us overconfident. In October 2008, Greenspan admitted to Congress he was shocked that his financial models had failed. He no longer looked at them with a critical eye because theyd worked in the past.Alexander Pope once said that a little learning is a dangerous thing. Studies have shown that jus t a little learning is enough to make people feel theyd learned the complete task. Its called the beginners bubble. My training at the FBI Academy gave me just enough knowledge to feel overconfident in my abilities. What I quickly learned is that I needed more than my puerile successes at the Academy to be an effective FBI agent I neededmental toughnessto keep going, whether or not I felt confident, if I wanted to make a difference in my profession.After we move up a few notches on the ladder of success, the beginners bubble is replaced by a victory bubble. Our success leads us to believe were better decision makers than we really are. It also fails to remind us that the market and environment around us constantly change.Researchhas found that doctors learning to do spinal surgery usually do not begin to make mistakes until about their 15th iteration of the surgery. Similarly, new pilots rarely get into accidents, but their accident rate begins to rise until itpeaks at about 800 fli ght hours, where it begins to drop again.The biggest challenge after success is shutting up about it- Criss JamiHow To Make It Work For You Overconfidence is a common character flaw in those who lack humility. To be humble is not to think less of oneself, but to think of oneself less. Work to develop your emotional intelligence. If you do, youll be more aware of yourself and others around you. Emotionally intelligent people focus outward as they absorb more information about the people and situation around them.Are you mentally tough? Take thisFREE mental toughness assessment.3. Success causes us to ignore adviceIf were successful and in a lage of authority, we tend to shut down criticism or those with opinions that differ from our own. We place more weight on our own opinion than on the opinion of others because weve used our judgement to get to where we are in life.And it works Until it doesnt.When you ignore the advice of others, you may miss innovations, fail to recognize a dip in the market, or ignore the rumblings of a demoralized team. Maybe you had the winning formula back in the day, but times have changed. You may need to update your views on how to make progress in an environment that constantly changes direction.There are many reasons why successful leaders dont welcome advice from others. First, the ego takes a hit because you admit you dont have all the answers. Well, that just means youre human so get over it. Second, advice often means change, and no one welcomes change except babies- and thats only because they know what to expect. But change is the breeding ground for growth and progress.Every person that you meet knows something you dont learn from them- H. Jackson Brown JrHow To Make It Work For You Seek feedback because its the best path to improvement, growth, and success. When you ask for advice and feedback, it shows everyone that youre willing to learn and become better. And that is always progress.This article originally appeared on L aRae Quy.

Is it possible to re-engineer a sick company culture

Is it possible to re-engineer a sick company cultureIs it possible to re-engineer a sick company cultureA healthy company culture can be a draw to an employee choosing a place to work. Its also essential to how a workplace functions Harvard Business Review recently wrote that culture influences how people spoke up or if they didnt.A bad culture can make the news for example, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank recently promised to improve his companys culture after a Wall Street Journal articlechronicled strip-club visits and inappropriate treatment of women at the company. But what happens when a once-happy workplace culture becomes negative?C-Space is a Boston-based company with several international offices that works directly with consumers to co-create new products for brands like Heinz, Bank of America, and Samsung. When things went wrong with their company culture, reports Quartz at Work, they decided to audit it, coming out on the other side with a series of slogans to live and w ork by. And when that went wrong? They went back to the drawing board and did it again, proving that culture is continuously in flux.Starting out as a smaller startup called Promise, they were acquired by an advertising firm Omnicom in 2012, and then merged with another company, becoming C-Space. Thats when things started to feel wrong. By the end of 2015, 30% of the staff had left, and just 56% said they felt proud to work there.Design for livingThe first four tischset of slogans that the culture committee employees from different areas and levels of the company came up with includedOnly accept awesome.Ive got this.On the surface, the meaning was clear. Only accept awesome meant to do your best work, and accept only the best from your coworkers. Ive got this meant taking ownership of a task or project.Yet, after about a year, employees began to embrace the mantras a little too much to the point that they became corrupted. Only accept awesome had created a new culture of overwork . Ive got this led to tasks going to the wrong people as over-eager employees wanted to be seen performing well.Do-overThe culture had changed, but not for the better. So C-Spaces culture committee brainstormed two more slogansOpen up and listen.Tell it like it is.While two sentences cant change a group of people, they did reportedly help. If anything, the C-Space experiment shows how delicate company culture is, and how difficult it is to engineer a group of people working together. Perhaps the best solution is not changing course completely, but the Japanese workplace concept of kaizen, which means, simply, continuous improvement.

Conference Brings Together Professionals from Heat Transfer, Fluids and Nanotechnology Fields

Conference Brings Together Professionals from Heat Transfer, Fluids and Nanotechnology Fields Conference Brings Together Professionals from Heat Transfer, Fluids and Nanotechnology Fields Conference Brings Together Professionals from Heat Transfer, Fluids and Nanotechnology FieldsRegistration is now open for the 2016 Heat Transfer, Fluids Engineering, & Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels Conferences (HT/FE/ICNMM 2016), which will bring together researchers and engineers from the fields of heat transfer, fluids and nanotechnology in Washington, D.C., this July. This year marks the first time since 2012 that the three major ASME events - the Summer Heat Transfer Conference (SHTC), the Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting (FEDSM), and the International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels (ICNMM) - will be co-located. HT/FE/ICNMM 2016 will take place from July 10 to 14 at Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.One of the highlights of the join t conference will the celebration of the Fluids Engineering Divisions 90th anniversary, which will be observed with a number of special activities to be held during meeting, including the Fluids Engineering Division (FED) Anniversary Banquet on July 12, as well as a luncheon lecture by C.D. Mote, Jr., president of the National Academy of Engineering on July 11, a panel discussion federal funding opportunities in fluids engineering also schedulumineszenzdiode for July 11, the FED History Lecture on July 12, and the presentation of the Freeman Scholar Lecture by Goodarz Ahmadi, the Robert R. Hill prof of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at Clarkson University.Other plenary speakers scheduled to give presentations during the joint conference include Narayana Aluru, the Richard W. Kritzer Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Joseph T. Arcano, Jr., technical director of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division C. Thomas Avedisian, p rofessor of mechanical engineering at Cornell University Vijay K. Dhir, dean of engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles Mohamed Gad-El-Hak, Inez Caudill Eminent Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University Arun Majumdar, the Jay Precourt Professor in the department of mechanical engineering at Stanford University James L. McGrath, professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Rochester Patrick Phelan, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Arizona State University and consultant Patrick J. Roache.Attendees of HT/FE/ICNMM 2016 will also be able to take part in several technical tours during the event, including tours of the George Washington University ME Lab, the University of Maryland Thermofluid Laboratories, the NASA Goddard Thermal Branchs Heat Transfer Laboratory and the Fluids Branchs Cryogenics Laboratory, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. There is a separate registratio n fee of $50 for each technical tour.A special workshop focusing on measurement uncertainty will be offered on July 10. The six-hour workshop, which will be led by Barton Smith of Utah State University and Douglas Neal of LaVision Inc., will provide attendees with an introduction to measurement error and uncertainty, and cover such topics as uncertainty of a single variable, propagation of uncertainty using Taylor Series and Monte Carlo methods, a priori uncertainty quantification for experiment planning, and a posteriori uncertainty quantification. Advance registration for the Measurement Uncertainty Workshop is $75 for ASME members and $100 for non-members. On-site registration is $100 for members and $125 for non-members.For more information on the 2016 Heat Transfer, Fluids Engineering, & Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels Conferences, or to register, visit www.asme.org/events/htfeicnmm.

New IAM3D Challenge Introduces University Students to 3D Design and Printing Skills

New IAM3D Challenge Introduces University Students to 3D Design and Printing Skills New IAM3D Challenge Introduces University Students to 3D Design and Printing Skills IAM3D Challenge Introduces University Students to 3D Design and Printing SkillsASME has launched a competition, the ASME Innovative Additive Manufacturing 3D (IAM3D) Challenge, which is intended to help provide undergraduate engineering students with the 3D plan and printing skills theyll need when they enter the workforce, while competing for $10,000 in prizes.To take part in the competition, which is open to mechanical and multi-disciplinary engineering undergraduate students around the world, students are asked to either re-engineer existing products or create new designs that minimize energy consumption or improve energy efficiency. A panel of judges will evaluate the student teams on how their designs demonstrate ingenuity, the application of sound engineering design principles, and the leveraging of additive manu facturing technology to address a broad spectrum of industrial, manufacturing, and humanitarian challenges.Working prototypes of the top 30 designs will be printed to their submitted design specifications and the students who designed them will be invited to the ASME 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Montreal, Canada, where they will present their designs and business case to the judging panel.The Challenges 30 semi-finalists will be announced by Aug. 31. A $2,000 top prize will be awarded in five categories best overall design best innovation best re-engineered/multi-disciplinary, collaboratively designed product best freshman design and best verbal presentation. Other prizes include $5,000 honoraria for team faculty member advisors and travel subsidies for semi-finalists to attend the final round of the contest at the 2014 Congress.Individual students or teams of up to three students are invited to register for the IAM3D Challenge, at http//go.as me.org/IAM3D, until May 1, 2014. Each team must have a faculty member advisor recommend its project. There is no limit to the number of entries per university, however.For more information on the ASME Innovative Additive Manufacturing 3D Challenge, visit http//go.asme.org/IAM3D.

1099 Employee Benefits Freelancers Must Keep in Mind

1099 Employee Benefits Freelancers Must Keep in Mind1099 Employee Benefits Freelancers Must Keep in MindIn the last decade, the world of work has changed dramatically. Talent is rapidly shifting from traditional 9-to-5 bro roles to whats being called the gig economy. People now have the choice to use their abilities to freelance and work independently. Instead of W-2 roles, mora people are gravitating to 1099 roles. According to a report include MBO Partners, by the year 2027, mora than half of American workers (58%) will have had some experience as independent contractors. Whats causing this shift and what are the benefits that freelancers should know about when accepting projects as a 1099 contractor? Are there specific qualifications and how can a freelancer apply for these benefits? The Rise in the Gig Economy There are several factors that have created the perfect environment for freelancers working under 1099 contracts. The first and most obvious includes technology advance s that have made it possible for anyone to create a freelance career. Between cloud computing that puts software and information into the hands of everyone and social networks where people can connect for collaborative efforts, there are no limits to the types of freelance ideas that are out there. More people work from mobile devices, like laptops and tablet computers and cell phones. Its common to see droves of freelancers working on their laptops in every coffee shop or outside in the fresh air of a public park. Many freelancers work from comfortable home offices where they can juggle the responsibilities of both personal life and career. The second reason that 1099 work has picked up rapidly is a changing attitude of working professionals who value work-life balance more than climbing the corporate ladder. The 2015 Worklife Challenges Across the Generations report published By EY indicated that ... 24% of weltumspannend workers would take a 10%pay cut in order to be able to tel ecommute. It also showed that one-third of global workers believe work-life balance is becoming more difficult. Excessive overtime and a lack of flexibility lead more people to leave their jobs. During the recessionary period which hit the world hard in 2007 through 2010, millions of workers were displaced from their former careers. The unemployment rate, which formerly sat around 5%, doubled to over 10% by October 2009, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor. With so many people out of work for extended periods of time, many turned to freelance work to make ends meet and have continued to do so successfully. Employee Benefits Available for 1099 Freelancers As a 1099 independent contractor, there are multiple benefits. Outside of the freedom and flexibility of working on projects of ones choice and interest, employee benefits are often available for freelancers. One area where 1099 workers can get the most support has to do with income taxes, which allow for the write off o f various business expenses. The Internal Revenue Service allows U.S. self-employed individuals to claim the costs of using a home office, office equipment, computers, office supplies, fees for advertising, fees for hiring subcontractors, utilities, use of a vehicle for work purposes, and more. Some companies that hire freelancers have opted to offer limited benefits such as the use of a company computer, group health insurance, dental and vision coverage, access to a retirement savings plan, paid time off, educational benefits, travel and corporate discounts, and other perks. Profit sharing can be factored into 1099 work arrangements, with a certain percentage of earnings delivered when work is completed. Even if a company doesnt offer formal benefits to contractors, there are certain advantages to being independent vs. an employee. For example, the ability to request a contract for a specified period of time is considered a plus in an age when most employees dont even have 100%cer tainty they will have a job in a few months. The other advantage is that if the project ends or if there are conflicts with the company, the contractor can easily move on to another client project by ending the contract. Freelancers can also obtain benefits through freelance organizations, professional organizations, and through market exchanges. How 1099 Contractors Obtain Employee Benefits While freelancers can obtain benefits through freelance organizations, professional organizations, and market exchanges- asking about 1099 employee benefits is a good idea at the start of the working relationship. Many companies dont advertise benefits for contractors, but they may provide limited access to their group plans. An example of this is a group supplemental insurance plan that offers low-cost access to hospital indemnity care, cancer coverage, life insurance, auto and home insurance, and pet insurance. The contractor may be able to purchase a dental and vision plan to augment a current self-employed healthcare plan. If a contractor has to travel as part of his or her duties, its perfectly acceptable to ask for a corporate discount or partial reimbursement for travel fees, meals, and accommodations. A 1099 contractor may be eligible for a fleet credit card to pay for gas for a work vehicle. Other costs that a contractor can negotiate for can include dry cleaning services for required clothing or uniforms, and reimbursement for required footwear or safety equipment. VISA and immigration administration and housing fees for taking a contractor role in another country can be paid for as an added benefit. Learning benefits are becoming more popular with contractors, such as being sent to industry related conferences or classes that the company pays for. It could be to earn a required certification, to maintain certification, or to improve on existing skills. While most companies reserve college tuition programs for full-time employees, contractors who work with a company for an extended period of time may be able to have some of their expenses covered for books and test fees. Applying for 1099 Employee Benefits When negotiating a new contract, its reasonable to ask about potential benefits. A contractor should look at the entire relationship and responsibilities before accepting a 1099 role. If a job requires large amounts of travel, then it makes sense to request benefits in this area. If the job requires overseas work, then housing and immigration costs will be of major concern. If a job requires the use of expensive software or computer equipment, asking the company to furnish these elements makes the most sense. Bear in mind too that if you are taking a contractor job through a staffing agency, they generally have a wide variety of standard benefits to offer. You can get low-cost health insurance, supplemental insurance, life insurance, retirement savings plans, access to pay cards, training opportunities, and paid time off. The co ntractor should request information and apply for any benefits that he or she will need to make the career experience a positive one. Waiting until the next open enrollment period wont be enough. Asking in advance of accepting a 1099 role is the smarter way to go. The contractor will need to complete enrollment documents just like any other employee, but the employer will designate the status as being 1099, and any premiums due from the contractor will need to be paid in advance each month.

Google Resume Reviews & Tips

Google Resume Reviews & Tips Additionally, you will have a cover letter with exactly the same design. Now, its much simpler to create an ideal CV with the assistance of some relevant applications. The problem with resumes may be the true actuality that its near unattainable to represent yurself about the exact same collection of paper. Job application or CV or maybe cover letter is currently an important component our academics together with the specialized lives. Using the Google Resume Simply click where you wish to edit, delete the dummy text and begin typing. Highlight the text youd love to use the formatting to. After that, be certain the formatting appears great regardless of what program its opened in. While the formatting is comparable, there are a number of differences worth noting. Google Resume Options The bot is currently prepared to be introduced to the world Its possible for you to add short and complete description about your bot. The 1 downside to in ternet document systems such as Google Drive is that you have to have accessibility to the web to use them. There are lots of keyboard shortcuts in Google Docs to accelerate editing. A big plus for people that like hands-on methods to enhance their workflow is Google Apps Script. There are plenty of techniques you can utilize to find Google resumes of people in a particular site. Lets look at a mixture of free Google Docs and Microsoft Word templates. Creating a Google account is completely free and takes just a couple of seconds. If youre a regular Google Assistant user and are already using the recently launched Routines feature, youll be pleased to hear that you may now opt to continue your audiobooks when you awaken or initiate your commute. Revision History The Google Docs Revision History feature is beneficial for job seekers because it permits you to find any preceding changes which have been made to your Google Docs resume. Google Docs exports documents in numerous for mats, making it simple to submit the right file type to a hiring manager. The download files also consist of social icons that are editable in Adobe Illustrator. Opportunely, google docs has a solution for it Today, reference checks and Google searches are simpler than ever. mora than a few companies have created add-ons that youre able to download with resume or CV templates, usually at no cost. With the usage of Smart Resume Builder, you will prevent the mistakes while making CV that might cost you a great job Read More, here are several resume templates that it is easy to adjust to meet your requirements. When your account is completed, you are going to have access to the Resume Builder. Now-a-days many such resume templates can be found the net to use. Employing a resume template is now an acceptable and smart practice for numerous reasons. Based on how niche the work opening is or how specific the location is, you will want to try several approaches to locate the cand idates you desire. Several businesses are now conducting their job searches on the internet to save costs. When youre trying to find work, may rely on only one solution to recognize careers. Youre not restricted to the particular search terms utilized in the examples. Sign in in case you experience an account. Nobody really knows, but its very reasonable to assume that theres a hyperlink. To begin with, Google doesnt know youre specifically hunting for area codes. To begin testing bot in simulator you may write or click Talk to my test app. Life, Death, and the Google Resume Our resume contractor is the simplest method of create a resume which will help you receive a fantasy work. Look around, inside the business youre at and elsewhere. A resume builder resembles toilet paper. Once your resume is prepared to go, you will wish to be sure to receive it in front of as many employers as possible. Someone states that resumes are dead and it is necessary to have social media , but practice indicates that recruiters continue to find applicants resume, choose mora relevant ones and just then connect with applicants. When you have prepared and submitted your resume to an employer the hope is you will be requested to attend work interview to talk about further whether youll be suitable. From that bit of paper, the employer was supposed to guesswhat kind of person youre in the present and what sort of employee youd be later on. In addition, some employers might request a cover letter to accompany your resume.

Off(ice) Naps the Case for Sleeping at Work

Off(ice) Naps the Case for Sleeping at Work Sleeping off the jobor what Ill call off(ice) napping (my meld of office napping and hockey player off-ice time)should include more than sleeping at home on the train commute home or on a grassy knoll in the park across from your office during a lunch break.It should also include sleeping at your work site, like the naps these Chinese workers are taking on an onsite grassy ocean-side knoll in Haikou, Hainan Islands largest northernmost citya tourist springboard to bluer beaches, such as famed Yalong Beach, at the islands southernmost shores.Whether their boots are for working at, on, next to or in the sea, these ladies appear to be sleeping at the job, but while off work, i.e., sleeping off the job, rather than sleeping on the job, which leid only sounds worse, but also is worse, since it can get you canned, if you are not paid as a guinea pig in sleep experiments.Moreover, sleeping off the job is aptly anal ogous to sleeping off a bar binge, both suggesting recovery as well as the responsible venue, just as off(ice) nap does.The Case for Off(ice) NapsAlthough many countries, such as Mexico and China, have traditions and policies that encourage workplace napping on breaks, and despite reported health benefits of midday naps, e.g., a 37% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease, cardiac failure and death, the institutionalization of off(ice) naps in the West lags far behind its establishment in other countries and cultures. Nonetheless, that health benefit seems to be enough of a reason to allow, and perhaps encourage, off(ice) naps.But there are more good reasons for napping off the job In a 2009 Seidman Business Review article, A Case for Naps in the Workplace, Jitendra M. Mishra suggests that napping is a natural low-cost way to increase worker productivity.Despite widespread resistance to the idea, Mishra maintains that the concept of napping is going through a slow evolution because of the concerns about the bottom line, reduced productivity, and profits due to sleep deprivation, which is estimated to cost U.S. businesses $18 billion annually.This reassessment of a place for off(ice) naps is timely, given evidence that Mishra cites suggesting that sleepy workers are dangerous, less productive, and a major source of increased health care costs and corporate liability.As particularly dramatic examples of the dire consequences of sleep deprivation, Mishra notes that disasters such as Three Mile Island, Bhopal, and Exxon Valdez were all associated with workers suffering from a lack of normal sleep.However, Mishra points out that, despite strong traditions in China, India, Italy, Greece, North Africa and Latin America, and accumulating evidence supporting the case for off(ice) naps, less than one percent of companies allow employees to a nap on the job.(Perhaps a good nights sleep or off(ice) naps would help some of them have a (re)fresh(ed) perspective abou t the benefits of such naps.)Nonetheless, to the extent that it has been implemented, Mishra reports that workplace napping is producing very positive resultsIn Australia, workplaces allow naps for firemen, truck drivers, doctors, and interns. It is interesting to note that David Johnson, managing director of Deloittle Consulting Companyin Pittsburg, feels his company has increased productivity due to a nap-room. They love it, they lap it up. (OConnor, 2004) Craig Yarde, President of Yarde Metals, feels that napping contributes to higher sales, higher productivity, efficiency, and reduced turnovers. Anthony and Camille of Boston University conducted a survey and found that 70% of the1,000 respondents admitted that they nap at work and it benefits them. Gould Evansinstalled 10 by 12- foot nap rooms and according to its spokesperson, there is no stigma attached to those using it.Workers at Gould Evans found that napping helps them getrefreshed and revitalized (Meyer 2001).Inemuri the Japanese Semi-SleepWhen other workplace cultures are a fusion of traditional folk and modern office ways, the nap may take a peculiar compromise form, blending the custom of naps with taboos against them. For example, the Japanese recognize and practice a hybrid of sleeping off the job and sleeping on the job, which they call inemurito be asleep while present. The rules governing inemuri (pronounced eee-neh-moo-ree) are strictYou have to remain upright, e.g., you cant rest your face on your keyboarda rule designed to preserve the appearance of engagement.Your company rank has to be very high (or, less commonly observed in my experience during my years in Japan, very low).My own firsthand experience in formal meetings confirms these rules. On one occasion, while I was the Director of grenzberschreitend Studies at a Japanese womens college, the rijicho (pronounced ree-jee-choh)the top corporate boss, who had flown in from Tokyowas presiding over and speaking at a meeting for all key p ersonnel. At some point during his talk, one of the attendees immediately to his right, but at ninety degrees to him (as befitting the highest-ranking subordinate), appeared to nod off, eyes shut as tight as the seams of a fried dumpling.Although the staff member was a full prof of the highest rank, I was puzzled, indeed, amazed, that he would do that and that no one tried to nudge himespecially since he was seated right beside the boss (who was generally, and rightly, feared by all employees).When I whispered my puzzlement to a colleague at my side, he, also discreetly whispering, told me that such apparent napping is in fact a sign of great respect, indicative of deep concentration and appreciation of the rijichos deep and important ideas.Yes, he really said thateven if it was only to help the professor save (napping) face. Anyway, no one elseincluding the rijichoresponded in any way to the napper.Although I didnt buy the explanation at all, I could see that general acceptance of such a cover story would be essential to the successful institutionalization of inemuri.Following that logic, the deeper the bosss ideas, the deeper the sleep should be, with the full comatose sprawl like that of the Chinese ocean-side women being the ultimate form of profound homage and respect.Ironically, in their full sprawl, those Chinese workers were apparently more alert than the Japanese professor appeared to be (despite the dubious concentration claim made on his behalf). Rather than being poster children for the worlds exhausted, bone-weary laborers, some of those women were not only awake, but cheerily humming under their work hats (which probably make great resonance chambers for on-the-job karaoke).The Case for Leaving Work EarlierOne argument against sleeping off (or semi-on) the jobironically aimed at precisely the same Japanese culture that encourages itwas offered by a foreigner working in Japan, as a comment about how Japanese office workers will stay much longer th an necessary, if only because they slack-off a lot during the work day and because leaving first is considered a sign of insufficient diligence and respect for colleagues or the boss My co-workers dont need to work the hours they do. If everyone left for home earlier, then the hour nap before lunch wouldnt be needed, the newspaper could be read at home, or the chat could be done in the more pleasant surrounding(s) of a coffee shop.The pressure to not leave first or before others, especially to not leave before the boss was enormous in the offices in which I worked. The ritualization of this norm is encapsulated in the rigidly prescribed verbal exchange between anyone who dares to leave prematurely O-saki ni, shitsurei shimasu (Leaving before you, I am very rude.)to which the scripted reply is always O-tsukaresama. (You are/must be very tired.)That ritual was tedious and tiresome enough for me to want to close my eyes (and ears) for some well-deserved inemuriwhich, however, would pro bably have backfired on me.My Japanese colleagues would probably have interpreted that as deep meditation on and respect for the ritual and its rules.__________________________Note This is one in a series of articles by Michael Moffa, written while on the road, on the scene and on the job in China, autumn 2012.Photo Michael Moffa