Dear Readers,

The joyful, jolly Christmas spirit is upon us. For those of you who still haven’t done their shopping, think about the persuasion, marketing, advertising and sales pitches that happen around you in the stores and shopping malls. We are overwhelmed by hundreds, even thousands of marketing/advertising messages every day of the year, but Christmas is that special time when this stream of information quadruples. We have prepared some solutions to help you out in the modern shopping maze:

TIP#1: First of all don’t get talked into buying something you don’t need.

TIP#2: Running out of ideas for the perfect gift? Watch the video below:

TIP#3: Focus on the person and their interests, not making a bang with the prize or size of the gift.

TIP#4: If you decided to stay home and order online, make sure to read the BBC article about your Christmas online shopping rights.

Most importantly don’t forget: CHRISTMAS IS NOT ABOUT THE GIFTS! Its about happiness, being together with your family and making great memories.

On behalf of the BEM team have a wonderful Christmas time with all the joy and great atmosphere!

VOCAB DICTIONARY
1. Joyful – radosny
2. Jolly – wesoły
3. Christmas Spirit – atmosfera świąteczna
4. Sales pitch – prezentacja/proces sprzedaży
5. Shopping mall – supermarket
6. To overwhelm – przytłoczyć/przytłoczony
7. To quadruple – powiększyć 4 razy
8. Maze – labirynt
9. To talk someone into – namówić kogoś/przekonać
10. To make a bang – zrobić hałas/zamieszanie/zwrócić na siebie uwagę

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Dear Readers,

Last time we discovered how positive thinking could bring better results in both life & business. Now it is time to explore the other side of the coin – what if you are negative?

A lot of the times business is less about processes, policies or technology, it’s about the people. You might make lifelong friendship with one of your co-workers and hate somebody else’s guts at the same time. The former boosts productivity as you have a helping hand, there are no conflicts and things get done. However, the latter relationship always leaves you high and dry with that report or presentation at 2AM in the morning.

One company has taken a closer look at the importance of human relations in a work environment. Their study & results revolutionised the way they operate and perform today. SuccessFactors (the one I mentioned) has a 0 tolerance policy for being rude to your work colleagues or not fitting into the organisation as a whole. Through developing a system, generally known as the “no-jerk” rule, SuccessFactors ensured to eliminate slackers and “in your face” situations. Whenever an employee spots violations of their“14 rules of engagement code” they flag it up directly with that person or the CEO. One of them has recently brought it up to the CEO himself being a “jerk.” In other companies this would have been his last word before being let go, here he has received praise for it.

The case study of SuccessFactors may be controversial and seem unrealistic to take into action at your workplace, however the tripled market growth, boost in sales, new client recommendations and overall development of the company demonstrate that it has not been such a bad idea after all.

Chris Dargiewicz

Vocab dictionary:

1. Explore – zbadać; odkryć
2. Other side of the coin – druga strona medalu
3. Lifelong –  dozgonny
4. Hate somebody’s guts – nienawidzić kogoś
5. Former – pierwszy w kolejności; poprzedni
6. Latter – drugi w kolejności; następny
7. Operate – sposób prowadzenia
8. Perform – wykonywać; działać
9. 0 tolerance policy – zasada “zero tolerancji” dla danego zachowania
10. Rude – niegrzeczny/niemiły
11. Fit into – pasować; należeć do
12. As a whole – jako całość/w całości
13. Jerk – kretyn
14. Eliminate – wyeliminować; pozbyć się
15. Slacker – próżniak
16. In your face – brak szacunku; bycie bardzo bezpośrednim
17. To spot –zauważyć; dostrzec
18. Engagement – zaangażowanie
19. Flag sthg. up – zgłosić; zaalarmować;
20. Bring sthg. up – przytoczyć
21. To be let go – zostać zwolnionym
22. Praise – pochwała
23. Take sthg. into action – przejść od słów do czynów
24. Tripled – potrójny
25. Market growth – rozwój rynkowy
26. Boost – wzmocnienie; przyśpieszenie
27. Sales – sprzedaż
28. Demonstrate – demonstrować; pokazywać
29. After all – mimo wszystko

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Welcome again,

The latest issue of  “Business English Magazine” casts a positive light on the global business world in 2011. After a tedious period of months followed by continuous cutbacks and budget restraints, entrepreneurs and companies are beginning to finally catch their breath. As the international economy begins to recover, it brings up the question of emotional attitude towards business and life in general.

An Australian writer, Rhonda Byrne, described some of the psychological processes that influence our everyday lives. In her book “The Secret” Rhonda writes about the law of attraction, which can be simply defined as: “whatever you think, you shall receive”.  A big part of the author’s research is our subconscious and how it influences events in our lives.

Nowadays it is hard to stay afloat and upbeat amidst all the negative press the news brings to us daily. However, it is up to us how we respond to the reality that surrounds us. Positive thinking is not only trying to convince yourself that its all great out there, but largely about self-confidence, having goals and dreams and most importantly – acting on them.

So next Monday instead of dreading negative situations that might come up this week, think of how can you leave a positive mark at your company.

Vocab dictionary:

1. Cast positive light – prognozować pozytywne spojrzenie/perspektywę
2. Continuous – ciągły;
3. Cutback –  ograniczenie;cięcie budżetowe
4. Restraint – powściągliwość;umiar
5. Entrepreneur – przedsiębiorca
6. Attitude – nastawienie;podejście
7. Influence – wpływ;oddziaływanie
8. Attract – przyciągać
9. Inspiring – inspirujący;motywujący
10. Shall – powinienieś/aś
11. Subconscious – podświadomość
12. Afloat – utrzymywać się na powierzchni
13. Upbeat – entuzjastyczny
14. Amidst – wśród;między
15. Up to – zależeć od
16. Convince – przekonać
17. Largely – głównie
18. Act on – podjąć działanie
19. Leave a mark – zostawić ślad

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Dear Readers,

Welcome to our first BEM blog post! For the readers of “Business English Magazine“ this will be an additional space to learn about the latest business news, ideas and interesting facts. If you are new to BEM, feel free to join the conversation.

Our first subject is about „personal development/growth“ and starts with the famous quote „A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step“ by a Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu. BEM works hard on delivering quality business English materials to you, that are up to date, relevant to modern business world and applicable in everyday life. All of this helps to develop your English skills, as well as grow as a person, inspired by the ideas we share. That’s what this blog aims to become in the online space.

Self develpoment

In order to be successful we have to work together towards a shared goal: improving our English language abilities & widening our business knowledge horizons.

There are dozens if not hundredths of motivational/personal growth speakers, or what they are sometimes called “gurus” out there. Among them the most well-known is Tony Robbins. He is one of the most successful and inspiring business coaches, having worked with many celebrities including former US president Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Tiger Woods.
You can learn about his background here:

http://www.squidoo.com/tony-robbins-lifecoach

Tony over the last 3 decades of coaching has developed many inspiring and effective audio-programs and has written several motivational/coaching books. One of them is “Personal Power”. The basic concept of the book is that you are in charge of your attitude towards life/work/play situations and the results you achieve are entirely up to you. Tony uses the term “state” (of emotion) that we are constantly in. It might be happy/sad/motivated/unmotivated etc.
He says: “The emotional state that you’re in determines your behaviour and performance. You are always responsible for your own states.”

Learn more by visiting:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/36266477/Tony-Robbins-Personal-Power-trainleaders-social-media

How this relates to BEM and this blog?
To get value out of this blog you need to focus and be motivated to read it, come back to it and there will be lots of distractions around you along the way.
Throughout future blog posts we would like you to stay with us and follow our “1000miles journey” into the latest business news/ideas. That is the recipe for business English skills development, as well as extending your current business horizons.

We hope that this journey will be interesting and valuable to you,
Please let us know if you have any ideas/suggestions/opinions for future posts.

Vocabulary:

1. to start off with – rozpocząć od
2. up to date – aktualne/zaktualizowane
3. relevant – trafny;stosowny;związany z tematem
4. applicable – odpowiedni;dający się zastosować
5. to aim to become – stawia sobie za cel
6. a shared goal – wspólny cel
7. former – były; poprzedni
8. to develop – stworzyć;rozwinąć
9. inspiring – inspirujący;motywujący
10. several – kilka
11. to be in charge of – zarządzać; kontrolować
12. attitude towards – podejście/ustosunkowanie do czegoś
13. it is up to you – zależy do Ciebie
14. to determine – ustalać;definiować;
15. performance – wyniki/rezultaty (np. w pracy)
16. recipe – przepis

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