BOSTON |
Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:30pm EST

BOSTON (Reuters) – If you want to institute a “no whining” rule in your organization, there are two mindsets to encourage in your people, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (http:\www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

“We’re all grown-ups here, right? Then why do teams still whine? It’s part of the human condition to complain, but it doesn’t have to derail your group.

When people on your team get frustrated and need a sympathetic ear, do the following:

1. Insist on accountability. Don’t allow people to present a problem without attempting a solution. Advise them to do what they think is necessary to achieve results.

2. Encourage positivity. If the whining is about fellow teammates, encourage the group to work with each other to better understand the nature of the problem, and then create a joint solution. Remind them that most people aren’t intentionally difficult.”

- Today’s management tip was adapted from “The No Whining Rule for Managers” by Ron Ashkenas.

(For the full post and to join the discussion, see: “The No Whining Rule for Managers” by Ron Ashkenas.

Article source: PRNewswire

LOS ANGELES |
Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:26pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Jersey Shore” star Snooki and Charlie Sheen have topped a poll of nightmare celebrity Valentine dates, and few people want to cuddle up with Ashton Kutcher on February 14 — at least, not on film.

According to a Valentine’s Day survey by Yahoo’s OMG! website, 30 percent of men would rather be single than take Snooki, aka Nicole Polizzi, out on Valentine’s Day.

And newly-single Kim Kardashian didn’t do much better, coming second in the nightmare female celebrity date survey of 2,001 people.

Snooki’s “Jersey Shore” pal, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, was just behind Sheen on the women’s choice of bad Valentine’s Day dates.

Kutcher, also newly-separated from his actress wife Demi Moore, didn’t do much better.

According to a separate Valentine’s Day survey on movie website Fandango, Kutcher was voted the worst romantic comedy film actor. Sarah Jessica Parker of “Sex and the City” fame was voted worst romantic comedy actress.

Top of the movies to avoid was Paris Hilton’s 2008 effort “The Hottie and the Nottie”, which was voted the worst romantic comedy of all time on the Fandango survey, followed by “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.”

Dream celebrity dates for Valentine’s Day had few surprises; George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston remain tops, while the most romantic movie to see on the day for lovers was “The Notebook” followed by “Titanic”, according to Yahoo’s OMG!

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Article source: PRNewswire

By Alicia Powell

NEW YORK |
Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:34am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Celebrities launching fashion lines don’t always transfer their fame to runway success, but a sprinkling of big names such as Victoria Beckham, Gwen Stefani and twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are becoming seasoned campaigners.

All four have collections showing during this week’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, and while none are as respected as top American designers, they have earned loyal followings by carving out niches, paying attention to tailoring and showing collections away from the glare of the key catwalks.

Celebrities who have tried their hands at fashion have often been criticized or quickly closed their collections. Jennifer Lopez and Lindsay Lohan both struggled, and Kanye West’s recent clothing line debut in Paris was lampooned by some.

In the often prickly and elitist world of fashion, stars of movies, music and TV looking to join the club are measured by sometimes harsher standards than up-and-coming or little-known designers, according to experts such as Tracy Taylor, U.S. editor for online fashion magazine Net-A-Porter.

“It’s more difficult for a celebrity to launch a clothing line. Honestly, the eyes and ears of the world are on them,” Taylor told Reuters, adding that it was not only customers but “the eyes of this rarified group that almost is unattainable for celebrities — and that’s to be a fashion designer.”

Being a Hollywood star is wrapped in style and image, so naturally many celebs stray into the world of fashion, she said.

“There’s nothing cooler these days than to be a designer. Being a celebrity is great, but I think a lot of them who fancy themselves well-dressed and like to put their best foot forward … hold designers in high regard.”

ORIGINALITY, TAILORING AND TARGETING

But fame alone, does not bring success. In fact, the crucial elements for celebrities to win fashion fans are often the same as for designers without well-known faces or names: originality, flawless design and knowing their target audience.

Rachel Zoe, who found fame as stylist to celebrities before becoming a reality TV star with “The Rachel Zoe Project,” has a clothing line showing this week in New York. She told Reuters that crossing over was “the most terrifying thing I’ve done in a really long time, besides childbirth.”

Designing a collection is far riskier than being a stylist or critic. “I’ve always been in the audience,” Zoe said. “To then have my collection out on display for everyone to see, my

Article source: PRNewswire

NEW YORK |
Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:23am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and if you are thinking about popping the question, online travel advisor Cheapflights (www.cheapflights.com) has come up with a list of the top 10 places to propose that may help you to get the romance and the “Wow!” factor right on the day. Reuters has not endorsed this list: 1. Whitsundays, Australia

Heart Reef is a naturally formed heart shape in the Whitsundays and it’s reassuringly inaccessible. The way to see it is to take a helicopter or seaplane journey and propose mid-air. We prefer Lindeman Island, most of which is national park. Ignore the Club Med resort if you like and head to the summit of Mount Oldfield, just 212 meters above sea level, from where you can spy Hamilton, Whitsunday and Haslewood islands and perhaps see whales and dolphins in the crystalline waters. 2. London, United Kingdom

A private capsule on the London Eye with truffles and champagne is one way to do it, but our suggestion is the 17th-century Monument that stands in the heart of the City of London. Climb the 311 stone steps to the top – as generations of others have before you – and see the city laid out in all its ancient-meets-cutting edge glory. The candle with its fiery orb was built to mark the Great Fire of London. There’s nowhere better to suggest love’s eternal flame or a brand new start. 3. Paris, France

No, not the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe, glorious as they are. The Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) were much loved by writers such as Baudelaire, Balzac, Hemingway and Sartre and our favorite spot for a proposal is a shady one by the Medici Fountain. Commissioned by a king’s widow in the 17th century, the focal point is the statue of Acis and Galatea, the young lovers watched over by the powerful Polyphemus. 4. Verona, Italy

“In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.” Shakespeare lovers will know that Romeo and Juliet is set in the Italian city and there’s a balcony at Juliet’s House (off the Piazza delle Erbe) that is said to date from those times – but don’t be fooled. It was added in 1936. Forget about the Casa di Giulietta and take a stroll through the Giardino Giusti instead. From the lofty tower of the Renaissance garden are gorgeous, tower-dotted and timeless views of Verona. 5.

Article source: PRNewswire

AMSTERDAM |
Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:25am EST

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A portrait of a veiled woman cradling a wounded relative in her arms, taken in Yemen by Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda for The New York Times, won the top World Press Photo prize Friday.

The photograph captured a moment in the conflict in Yemen, when demonstrators against outgoing president Ali Abdullah Saleh used a mosque in Sanaa as a field hospital to treat the wounded. But judges said it also spoke more broadly for the Arab Spring.

“The winning photo shows a poignant, compassionate moment, the human consequence of an enormous event, an event that is still going on,” Aidan Sullivan, chair of the jury, said of Aranda’s photograph, which won World Press Photo of the Year 2011.

“We might never know who this woman is, cradling an injured relative, but together they become a living image of the courage of ordinary people that helped create an important chapter in the history of the Middle East.”

Reuters photographer Damir Sagolj won first prize in the Daily Life Singles category with his photograph of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung on a wall in Pyongyang.

(Reporting by Sara Webb; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Article source: PRNewswire