JustSell.com offers a list of words to avoid in your qualifying activities (both written and spoken).  This is a pet peeve of mine so I was elated to see such a comprehensive list.  A few of my favorites, or should I say least favorite?

a lot
better
cheap
close
early
expensive
in a minute / second / while
occasionally
probably
soon
sort of
very

I would add “really” to the list.  Ok, why is this important?  I’ll let the JustSell guys explain:

Asked, “When can you have that for me?” in a business setting, a specific date and time is your best answer. Anyone in a leadership role will tell you that “soon”, “later”, or even “next week” doesn’t help them understand when you’ll have that for them. Say, “Tuesday before 10 am.” That’s helpful.

This is a tough one (your tough is probably different from ours, we understand). But minimizing your use of relative words can help you become much more effective and a better resource to your prospects, customers, and colleagues.

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Last week I posted on an article that discussed generational trends and specifically Gen Y and the effect of video game playing on their work habits.  Steven Rothberg from CollegeRecruiter.com added a comment to that post that I wanted to share.  Steven provides the most insightful commentary on Gen Y that I have read so I always consider his expert-level commentary.

I thought his comment on my post was as good or better than the original article:

Some may argue that video games are ruining the minds of this generation, but I feel that they’re not ruining the minds but instead changing them. The mind of someone of Gen Y age simply works differently than that of a Gen X’er or Baby Boomer.

Video games teach you how to think very quickly, collaborate (the most popular games are multi-player but even if you play single player mode you’re still collaborating with the computer), and executive decision making. Watch kids when they play video games. Yes they’re looking at the screen and can sit on the couch for hours but they’re also continuously talking with their friends and working together to solve problems. Sometimes they succeed and that’s great. But sometimes they fail.

The opportunity to fail is refreshing for a generation of kids who have grown up not being allowed to fail by their helicopter parents some teachers who mistakenly feel that everyone must succeed all of the time in order to have high self-esteem.

Now look at those same kids once they get into the workplace. You’ll find a group that is able to think quickly, decisively, and collaborate to reach goals which are optimal for the group. Sound familiar to their video game experiences? You bet.

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No question the economy is slowing down so this article from Forbes.com is not surprising:

The Conference Board found there was a total of 3,733,200 online-advertised job vacancies, a 0.6% decline from March 2007 and the first year-on-year fall in total numbers since the index began in 2005. The Board said the decline reflects a slowing in annual growth in 42 states, with 14 states showing negative growth.

Yes, I know, the index is only a few years old, but there is enough data to show the present-day trend.  Here is some anecdotal information from the survey:

The online-ad volume in California dropped 118,000, or 19%, below its March 2007 level. The volume of online-advertised vacancies in Florida (217,100) was 15% lower than the March 2007 level, while the volume in Texas (336,900) was up 8% and ads in New York (275,800) were up slightly (1.4%).

I would still caution against buying into the media hype about the “plummeting economy.”  The economy is dynamic so there are always going to be down cycles like the one we are in now.  However, some of the discussions are borderline ridiculous.  I read part of an article the other day stating that we are heading into another 1930’s era depression.  The hyperbole that surrounds economic reporting stills astounds me.

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