Video: Suze Orman, How You Can Protect Your Money (Today Show)

Financial expert Suze Orman talked about steps people must take in our worsening U.S. economy on the Today Show on November 21, 2008. Foremost, we must stop spending and, if in debt, we must get out of debt.

November 21, 2008 | Filed Under Money and Finance | 1 Comment

Video: 60 minutes Interview with Obama 11-16-08

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CBS News 60 Minutes interviewed U.S. President Elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama on November 16, 2008. Steve Kroft conducted the extensive interview which was taped on Friday in Chicago. Of great interest is what Obama and his administration plan to do to address the worsening economic crisis and this was discussed at length. Obama affirmed commitment to helping homeowners …

One area that I’m concerned about, and I’ve said this publicly, is we have not focused on foreclosures and what’s happening to homeowners as much as I would like. We have the tools to do it. We’ve gotta set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes. [...]

..And the auto industry, but not with a “blank check.”

So my hope is that over the course of the next week, between the White House and Congress, the discussions are shaped around providing assistance but making sure that that assistance is conditioned on labor, management, suppliers, lenders, all the stakeholders coming together with a plan what does a sustainable U.S. auto industry look like? So that we are creating a bridge loan to somewhere as opposed to a bridge loan to nowhere.

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The interview had a personal side as well, as both Obama and his wife talked about the transition to the White House. Being leader of the free world is, after all, the ultimate work from home job.

(CBS) Kroft: I know that from talking to you, you’ve said that this has put a lot of, you know, your husband’s involvement in politics has put strains in your marriage from time to time. He’s about to take over the most pressure packed job in the world. But he’s also gonna be home, right?

Michelle Obama: Oh yeah. He’s got a big office at home now.

You know, this entire year and a half has brought us closer together as a family. And we managed to stay close and become even closer with Barack gone most of an entire two year period. And now we get to be together under the one roof, having dinners together. And, you know, I envision the kids coming home from school and being able to run across the way to the Oval Office and see their dad before they start their homework. And having breakfast. And he’ll be there to tuck them in at night. And, you know, again, you know, there’ll be moments of deep seriousness and times of great focus. But, you know, we’ll be together doing that. And that gives me reason to be very excited.

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And no interview would be complete without an update on the Obamas’ search for a dog for their daughters.

Is Data Security a Barrier to Telecommuting?

We have the technology for data transfer, but what about data security? Carl Weinschenk examines this pressing issue:

For telework proponents, there certainly is good news in CDW Corporation’s latest survey. For instance, it says that 14 percent of private sector employees telecommute and 17 percent of federal folks work at home. Seventy-six percent of private companies offer remote work support – an increase of 27 percentage points from last year – and 56 percent of federal agencies do as well.

Security remains the top concern of 42 percent of federal and 27 percent of private IT pros. Over 80 percent of the professionals in both groups said that they rate their security systems and procedures as effective. More than half in each group – 56 percent of federal and 74 percent of private – authenticate machines and people separately. Almost 70 percent of employers provide the computers and equipment that telecommuters use.

This is all good. The question, however, is whether it is enough.

For a while, it was axiomatic that telecommuting was the wave of the future. Then the common wisdom shifted, and telework became a disappointment. The reality is that telecommuting can find a way through almost all the doubts and obstacles that skeptics throw in its way. People will goof off if they work at home? It’s possible to compare productivity and incentivize people to work at the appropriate level. (Indeed, in this economy, the incentive should be that they keep their job.) Telecommuting hurts team building and cooperative projects? New software alleviates a lot of the problems of a dispersed work force.

The only immovable barrier, it seems, will be security, simply because what is at stake in that discussion is so much greater: A worker not generating as much work at home as at the office or who feels isolated is too bad. The loss of sensitive data because a home computer is poorly protected is a potential crisis. It is important to note that the CDW study focuses on the attitudes of IT professionals. Of course, it is possible for them to say that they feel the organization is adequately protected. The key, however, is how the CEO and CFO feel. (More.)

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April 3, 2008 | Filed Under Telecommuting Trends | Leave a Comment

“The Job” (Video)

Telecommuters, take a three-minute break and watch “The Job” and see what your commuting colleagues are confronting. We can thank Screaming Frog Productions for this brilliant, satirical short film.