7 tips for designing your workspace
Creating a welcoming, functional workspace is essential to being successful when working from home. These seven points outline how to design a workspace that's efficient and motivating, while reflecting your personality.

Many people reminisce about the days when deals were done with nothing more than a handshake, yet today's litigious society dictates a more sophisticated (and legal) approach to doing business. This certainly holds true for group travel, where one tour package alone could involve multiple transactions and see tens of thousands of dollars exchanging hands. "Getting it in writing" is the travel industry norm, and group leaders need business acumen and negotiation skills to deal with contractual transactions. Those who don't embrace this approach may take unnecessary risks.

The older I get, the more difficult it is to fill out new hire paperwork. Of course, we ask for the new hire's birthdate. And more and more often, we hire people who were born after I graduated from high school. Yes. That makes me feel old.

You may have a LinkedIn account, adding new information periodically, and utilizing this technology to make new connections. Or, you may have started a profile way back when, and by now have forgotten your username and password. You're not alone. However, your LinkedIn profile represents you, and your brand. If a potential client looks up your profile, and it hasn't been updated in two years, it doesn't reflect well on you.

Customers are taking complaints to social media as never before, and nervous organizations are struggling to respond. Most are doing it badly. People have been griping online for a long time, of course, but amplification tools now spread the message with breathtaking speed. With the help of hashtags, Facebook pages, and petition sites such as Change.org, one person's bad experience can explode into a global news story in less than a day—particularly if others have similar complaints.