Cyrus McCormick

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus McCormick Cyrus McCormickGo West, young man, and grow up with the country. If any American ever benefitted from that sage bit of editorial advice it was the father of modern agriculture, Cyrus McCormick.McCormick built and traktement some of the earliest practical mechanical reaping machines, whichlessened the back-breaking burden of early 19th-century farm workers. He may notlage have invented the first such device, but he clearly was the first to locate the real market for it the large farms emerging across the American Midwest. While his competitors focused on farmers working the rocky, hilly farmlands of established eastern states, McCormick left his native Virginia and planted his flag in booming Chicago. The location gave McCormick a huge advantage, and his name soon became synonymous with innovative equipment for farm productivity.McCormick was born on a plantation in Rock County, VA, in 1809. He inherited his fixation on farming equipment from his father Robert, who purchased another mans early horse-drawn mechanical reaper design. For the next 30 years, he tried in vain to refine and commercialize it.Working with one of the familys slaves, Cyrus took over the project and by 1831 was demonstrating his improved horse-drawn reaper in nearby villages. He patented the device in 1834, but his design was no match for the areas varying terrain. Sales were nonexistent.Over the next five years, McCormick would focus mainly on other family geschftliches miteinander ventures while tweaking his reaper design as time allowed. After a second patent for modifications in 1845, he finally was selling a handful of reapers per year, all made by hand in his family machine shop.As his business picked up, he hired factories in cities across the Northeast to build his reapers. However, quality control became an issue and McCormick decided he needed a central facility to manufacture his equipment under his watchful eye.Cyrus McCormick built and sold some of the earliest practical mechanical reaping machines.McCormick was said to be an even better marketer than a mechanic, and those instincts helped him identify the ideal site for his new factory Chicago. McCormick realized that more and more of his orders were coming from large farms in Illinois and nearby states such as Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri, where three factors would make conditions ideal for mechanical farming equipment flat terrain, inexpensive farmland, and a small labor pool.While rival makers like Obed Hussey moved further east, McCormick would choose then-sleepy Chicago. The citys connections to rail and water transportation routes were just what McCormick needed to reach his eager customers across Americas heartland.McCormick began mass production in 1848, just before receiving a healthy konserve of good news and bad news. On the positive side, the California gold rush of 1849 further depleted the ranks of potential farm workers in the West, adding a sense of urgency to McCormicks reaper advertising. And because many of the gold-diggers used Chicago as a jumping-off point for their adventures, McCormick found himself an established figure in what was fast becoming a significant city. Soon enough, his was one of the largest manufacturing operations in the nation, selling some 4,000 reapers a year by 1856.But on the down side, his original patent for the reaper expired in 1848 and he ultimately lost his exclusive right to market his invention. In just a decade, more than 50 independent manufacturers were competing and spurring one another to innovate. He survived that setback by focusing on sales, customer service, and stealthy reverse engineering of competitive machines. He sold his devices at a fixed price and allowed customers to pay in installments. He guaranteed their performance and built a vast repair and customer training network. He tapped the power of advertising and began exporting his machines to Europe.The impact of McCormicks reaper was profound. Crops could be cut far faster than before, and with fewer farm hands to pay. By some estimates, about 75% of the U.S. labor force was connected to agriculture in 1820 by 1968, that number had dropped to just 5%. Displaced farm workers joined Americas westward expansion and contributed to the industrialization of the U.S. economy.Ironically, McCormicks huge success in business may have contributed to the end of the southern way of life he grew up with and held dear. As a Virginian, McCormick was loyal to the Confederacy during the Civil War. Yet his signature invention freed scores of young Northern farm boys from their duties on the family farm, enabling them to enlist in the Union cause without affecting agricultural output. The abundance of lower-priced food made possible by the reaper ultimately helped prolong the Norths fighting stamina while still producing valuable revenues from sales to the old world.McCormicks business had always been a family affair. His youn ger brother Leander was in charge of manufacturing, and another younger brother, William, handled the books and stood in as president when Cyrus was out of town. By 1879, his son Cyrus, Jr. joined the company after graduating from Princeton. He would soon take over the company and lead its evolution into the International Harvester Company in 1902.Cyrus McCormick died in 1884. By then, the city of Chicago had grown some 60 times larger than it was when he first discovered it as a place to do business. Its fitting that today more than 3 million people every year come to Chicago to do business in the citys vast McCormick Place Convention Center, named for one of its earliest industrial titans.Michael McRae is an independent writer.McCormick was not the first to build a mechanical reaper. But as the first to embrace the vast markets of the emerging American Midwest, he built a company that changed agriculture forever.

How to Make Your Internship A Success

How to Make Your Internship A SuccessHow to Make Your Internship A SuccessWe often hear a lot of discussion about what is the best way to become successful after graduating from college. We also hear about those who find jobs immediately after college and after many years of hard work, they end up becoming successful and a leader in their field. Oftentimes, it may seem that being in the right place at the right time is all you need to become successful. While finding a job or being in the right place at the right time is a great way to start out, theres lots more that one needs to do in order to attain success. Its All About Making Yourself a Success Individuals dont become successful because they found a job or even because they worked extremely hard they become successful because they use their unique knowledge, talents, and skills and arent afraid of failure. In other words, success is not something that is found, it is something that is made, and anyone can become successful by using the right formula. What does it take for success to happen? For students who achieve success in the classroom, does that mean that they will accomplish the same level of success in the real-world? Oftentimes it does. The reason is that finding an internship or a job isnt what makes someone successful it is the establishment of positive habits, a strong work ethic, and diligence that makes success happen. This Internship Success Guide is full of valuable information on what you need to do to become a success. Internships are a way for you to get the relevant experience required to get hired for a job as well as an opportunity to meet individuals and establish key business relationships and networking contacts that can last a lifetime. By understanding the importance of becoming a successful intern, you will be well on your way to discovering what it takes to becoming a valued employee or entrepreneur that can then lead you to success once you realize its all up to you to mak e it happen. Internship Success Guide Do what you love and the rest will follow. Even if you make tons of money, you will not truly be successful unless youre doing something you love. It is the passion and dedication that people put into their jobs that end up making the job successful. Establish short and long-term goals and be sure to write down your objectives on how you plan to reach those goals. Goals are extremely important for achieving success but, without objectives, you will not have a map on how to reach your goals. One of the biggest keys to success is knowing where you are going and mapping out how you are going to get there. Dont be afraid to do the grunt work. There are many lawyers, entertainers, and fashion designers who began their career doing errands and making coffee. For highly prestigious or competitive jobs it is the person who can focus on the goal, rather than the immediate task, that will get them through having to pay their dues by doing some of the grunt work. Always be willing to go the extra mile. Coming to work early and leaving late can alert an employer to the fact that you have a strong work ethic. In addition, its important to understand the work culture and know whats expected of employees who work in that particular company. Anticipating the needs of your supervisor can also take you a long way into becoming a huge success on the job. Learn something new each day. By reading the news, journals, and periodicals that individuals in the field are currently reading, you will be gaining so much more from your internship than just what you learn during the time you spend at work. Being an active learner on the job will help you to become a major contributor to meetings and individual discussions you might have with supervisors, management, and co-workers. Be sure to ask lots of questions. Asking questions as an intern is extremely important. Internships were designed for interns to learn and take in as much as they can duri ng the time they have working for the company. A good supervisor or mentor will encourage questions from their interns and will view them as individuals who are motivated and willing to take the initiative to learn as much as they can about the company and the job over the course of the internship which could end up turning the internship into a full-time job. Find a good mentor. Finding someone early on in your career to act as your mentor can help you avoid many of the pitfalls people encounter during the first year of any job. A good mentor is someone who takes an interest in helping you to become successful and is a relationship that grows over time and becomes mutually beneficial to both parties. Seeking out a mentor early in your career can make the road to success much easier to travel.

Get Success With Our Administrative Secretary Resume Template for Word

Get Success With Our Administrative Secretary Resume Template for WordGet Success With Our Administrative Secretary Resume Template for WordIntroduction Successful jobseekers all know how important it is to have a strong and wellDetail oriented administrative secretary with eight years of experience working with upper management teams. Dedicated to improving office workflow and increasing productivity. Highly effective communicator and well organized in all aspects of work. Perfect Your Skills SectionOnce hiring managers show interest in you through your strong summary statement, youll need to sustain that interest with a well-written skills section. Skills sections are short and usually organized as a bulleted list of no mora than eight skills. Each professional ability should be worded as a concise phrase, and periods should not be included. Depending on where youre interested in getting a job, the skills section for an administrative secretary may vary. Most companies look for can didates who have specific computer skills, office capabilities, and personality traits, like friendliness and flexibility. Its a good idea to review the job posting and learn more about the companys values while brainstorming possible ideas for this section. Additionally, check out the administrative secretary resume template for Word for additional ideas. Here are some top skills to include* Proficient in Microsoft Word and Access* Experience with scheduling* Helpful and positive attitudePolish Your Work History SectionThe next section of your resume is the work history, which is fruchtwein likely going to be the largest chunk of your document. Here, as shown in the administrative secretary resume template for Word, you can detail your most recent career accomplishments and history. Optimize this section by focusing on relevant career experiences hiring managers may want to know more about. You can get more ideas about what may be relevant to the job by reviewing the employers adve rtisement. If you know what theyre looking for, you can include related experiences from your own career. Use metrics to specify some of your accomplishments, and be sure to be creative with your work choice by starting each job detail with a strong action verb. Administrative Secretary, Umber AlliedMarch 2014 December 2016 Improved productivity in the management team by prescheduling all meetings and eliminating double bookings Saved the sale staff of 20 time by developing a well-organized online customer database that could be searched instantly Supervised 12 file clerks and secretaries in the office by reviewing their work Answered phones and transferred calls using a central phone system for more than 100 employees Administrative Secretary, Vance AppliancesJanuary 2009 March 2014 Updated the presidents daily schedule and social media accounts to reflect current promotions, increasing sales by 40 percent Wrote letters and other pieces of formal correspondence from the preside nt of the company Increased the efficiency of the administration team 70 percent by putting all files online Recognized staff members each month and organized office partiesRefine Your Education SectionAfter the work history, the resume closes with an education section that gives information about your readiness for the job. Candidates should include all college degrees and any industry-specific certifications or professional affiliations, as seen in the administrative secretary resume template for Word. Follow the lead of the work history section and organize all your details by date, starting with the most recent. Many companies dont require administrative secretaries to have four-year college degrees. Some organizations are looking for two-year college degrees or a completion of a vocational secretary school from potential job candidates. Other places may want administrative secretaries to have specific certifications in popular office software that helps them in their work. Here is an example of what to doCertificate of Completion 2011Frossfields Secretarial SchoolHigh School Diploma 2010Central High School, Highland, New York

Top trends in Seattle Hiring

Top trends in Seattle HiringTop trends in Seattle HiringTop trends in Seattle HiringIntelligence dug into whos hiring and for what in Seattle these days. If youre recruiting in this area, youll want to know what we found.Seattle is a bustling seaport that also conveys a prominent role in the information economy. Known as the Emerald City due to its lush surrounding greenery, the area is an important regional center with banking, high-tech companies, and consumer products. Seattle is home to several universities, Fortune 500 companies and a lively performing arts and sports scene with large employers in the aerospace and technology sectors. The biggest drivers of job growth are the Seattle metro areas retail, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and healthcare industries. In the past year this growth has been slightly offset by jobs shed in the manufacturing industry. Still, the area has created 74,000 new jobs over the past 12-months the unemployment rate was 5.0% in July 2016 which was just 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 4.9%.By July 2016, 2 million workers were employed in the Seattle area, and the market accounts for 75% of all Washington jobs posted on Monster. To give you some insight into what your recruiting competitors are up to, our Intelligence team analyzed data from the CEB TalentNeuron tool to identify which companies are posting the most jobs, and which jobs are most listed, and which jobs are most searched. Supporting Seattles job growth the positions most in-demand includes software application developers, registered nurses, truck drivers, marketing managers, and retail salespersons and supervisors.What are companies hiring for?Most Common Employment in SeattleRetail SalespersonsSoftware Developers, ApplicationsFood Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast FoodCustomer Service RepresentativesLaborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandMost In-Demand Jobs in SeattleSoftware Developers, Ap plicationsRegistered Nurses (RNs)Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-trailerMarketing ManagersRetail SalespersonsSeattle Jobs42% of available Seattle area jobs are for Healthcare, Technology, Sales and workersOf all open healthcare positions, 45% of available Healthcare jobs are for NursesOf all open technology positions, 46% of available Technology jobs are for Software EngineersOf all open sales positions, 38% of available Sales jobs are for RetailMost Common Seattle Jobs IncludeSoftware Developers, Applications employed 46,770Annual wage $122,260Registered Nurses employed 30,920Annual wage $81,630Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-trailer employed 15,510Annual wage $46,580Marketing Managers employed 4,830Annual wage $142,620What are job seekers looking for?Most viewed Seattle jobsSales Representatives, Wholesale and ManufacturingSoftware Developers and ProgrammersSecretaries and Administrative AssistantsCustomer Service RepresentativesMiscellaneous Business Operations Specialists (e.g ., Project Managers, Program Managers, etc.)Top Seattle job searchesSalesAdministrative AssistantReceptionistAccountingCustomer ServiceManagerHuman ResourcesWarehouseEntry LevelITWant to know mora about the top trends in Seattle hiring? Check out the Seattle Market Overview from Intelligence.Data finding are based on analysis of all available online jobs reported by the TalentNeuron tool and job seeking activity from more than 22 million unique visitors1.1comScore Media Metrix, 1Q 2016, 3-month average, (includes all US Mobile + PC traffic)

New Questions About Resume Education Format Answered and Why You Must Read Every Word of This Report

New Questions About Resume Education Format Answered and Why You Must Read Every Word of This Report Frequently, schools are going to have specific collection of needs they need to meet, and theyre going to be searching for candidates with strong experience supporting students with those particular needs. Read your revamped resume with an important eye to make certain it reflects you. The above-mentioned guidelines will permit you to get higher odds of getting the interest of your prospective employer. A number of the guidelines that you might follow in writing an education resume are given below. It is essential for special education teachers to stay up-to-date on current trends and teaching procedures. The education resume samples are helpful for various factors. To have the ability to immerse in the area of education, you are going to be asked to present a detailed sample education resume that will be evaluated by schools and other academic institutions. Before making yo ur education resume, you first will need to possess the competencies and qualifications that are essential for the business. The Good, the Bad and Resume Education Format Start preparing your Resumes when youre in the last year of your school. There are three sorts of resumes, each with its own benefits and pitfalls. Chronological resumes arent the very best fit for fresh graduates since they dont have a lot of knowledge in the very first spot. Short, one-page resumes are perfect for fresh graduates. Details of Resume Education Format Every work applicant knows the way to compose a resume. Make certain your statement aligns with the work description. Its imperative that you dont simply apply these resumes verbatim. Thus, these resumes are very good for the user. In an Internship Resume, an individual must pen down all of the training and abilities which have been given to the candidate. This vorlage will be beneficial for individuals seeking to have a job for a principal o f a school, assistant superintendents, and assorted others. Functional resumes are excellent for highlighting transferable skills which will be applicable to your new field of work. Most traditional resumes concentrate on your work experience, yet this format may not be the very best for people who are changing careers or only starting out. The Good, the Bad and Resume Education Format Employers dont need to waste time reading a great deal of meaningless babble. Its quite tricky for a fresher to have a job, so probably everything is dependent on the particulars resume. Instead of simply listing your duties and techniques, accomplishments show your value by explaining what youve done for a school in years past letting a possible school know what you could do for them later on. Let your education do the heavy lifting for the time being, even if you presently have a little work experience. The absolute most important consideration to keep in mind while you document your education is honesty. A teacher team lead, for example, has work experience for a teacher. Resume Education Format Features There are many benefits of presenting a resume in an ideal format because presenting ones resume in an ideal format including all the essential skills and qualifications, creates a fine impression in regards to the specific individual. As previously mentioned, you wish to decide on a resume format thats suited to your personal profile. Have a peek at these examples to choose which format is right for you. parte of creating an effective resume is deciding on the best format to inform your private story. Also show youre a well-rounded worker. If youre attempting to obtain work in accounting or finance you require averystrong resume. Unique kinds of work in the food service industry require resumes with a number of the exact same skills. Maybe you were lucky to land a great job in a good company that knows the way to deal with its employees. Hiring managers pre fer the reverse chronological since it is simpler to read. Job seekers deserve to locate decent content quickly. The jobs cover a broad range of services. Transportation jobs involve a lot of responsibility and your resume will want to reflect you can deal with that. Please get in touch with us if you would like us to add sample resumes for any particular category or whether you want to submit an example for certain category. If you wish to add additional info, you can. If you choose to use high school info, make certain its really robust and appropriate content. The above mentioned information is helpful for everyone who has some expert experience.

Details of Resume for Entertainment Writing Jobs

Details of Resume for Entertainment Writing Jobs Resume for Entertainment Writing Jobs - the Conspiracy So when the hiring company hasnt provided a salary for work, we look at salary data from related businesses and locations to think of a fair estimate for what you may count on. As its name implies, your principal job is to create professional resumes for your customers. If you are searching for resume writer jobs, were always open for cooperation. In addition, you can look for waitress jobs on Monster. Resume for Entertainment Writing Jobs Ideas You need to be able to have a notion of what sorts of jobs require what sorts of resumes. Moreover, it can be a career that takes you all around the world, or it may be the type of career which allows you to acquire a stable job with a neighborhood theater or television manufacturing company. In truth, it may be better if youre able to specialize in a specific market or niche. A media and entertainment resume could comprise posi tions from a broad number of industries. Locate a local career center, or check online to have a career assessment test and see ways to use the results to pinpoint the very best job match for you. So be sure you can write well. There are a lot of standard forms of resumes used to make an application for job openings. Freelancing provides the perfect respite, if youre one of many who is running the success-race in Freelance resume writing. Applicants with past work experience will probably be the most wanted, so make certain to incorporate all appropriate work experience on your resume. You dont necessarily must be certified to find work or obtain tons of clients as a freelance resume writer. There are a few things that dont belong on a resume for work. The Upside to Resume for Entertainment Writing Jobs You could either go to work for a resume company which uses freelancers to create resumes for their customers, or you might begin your own resume-writing enterprise. If s elected for additional evaluation, you are going to be contacted via email. Resume writing is more engaging and client-facing as you should work one-on-one with the customer. Try to make your own resume and sell yourself to prospective clients. Obviously, at the beginning, making money from your own company will be tougher than making cash with the sites above. Starting your own resume writing business or another sort of home business for this matter is an excellent idea if youve got the abilities and ultimately would like to be your own boss. Writing resumes for one more company might help you hone your writing skills while additionally providing a (hopefully) stable supply of income during the early days of your enterprise venture. Whenever you have your own company, you can put your own prices. Facts, Fiction and Resume for Entertainment Writing Jobs You most likely already have the equipment you are going to need a computer with word processing software alongside an onl ine connection. Your media and entertainment resume has to be tailored to your specified abilities and industry. Apart from this, you will also have to have excellent written and verbal English communication abilities. Youll also have to have excellent written and verbal English communication abilities.

How to Call in Sick to Work

How to Call in Sick to WorkHow to Call in Sick to WorkWe all have days when we feel too ill to come to work. We also sometimes have days when we just want (or need) a day off, and decide to take a sick day. Whether or not you are actually sick, the process of calling in sick to work is the same. You want to let your boss know as soon as possible, and keep the explanation of your illness (or fake illness) very brief. Tips for Calling in Sick to Work Choose the right method for contacting your boss. While people use the stichwort call in sick, you might not actually need to call your boss on the phone. Instead, you might send an email, a letter, or even a text. Make aya you know what your bosss preferred method of contact is. Check out some sample sickness absence excuse letters and emails to help you write your own. Call as soon as possible. Let your boss know about your illness as soon as possible. If you are feeling very ill the night before and know you wont make it in to work, you can send your boss a message that evening. Otherwise, tell your boss first thing in the morning. Keep it brief. Dont go into great detail about your illness. No one wants to hear the details of your flu or stomach virus. Keep your message short and to the point. Let your gruppe know. Consider sending another message to your department or team letting them know that you will be absent. This is especially important if you are working on a team project, or have a deadline coming up. Make sure they know you will not be available that day. Explain your availability. Let your employer (and perhaps your team members) know if you will be able to respond to email or do any other work while you are home sick. If you are too sick to check your email, say so. Mention any important information. Similarly, let your boss and your team know if there is any information they will need to know that day. For example, you might tell your boss, I am sorry I am missing the staff-wide meeting at 2 p.m ., but Ellen should have all of the data from our department. This kind of information will keep others from struggling in your absence. Follow up. Make sure you know whether your company requires you to complete any sort of follow-up documentation. For example, some companies require employees to bring a doctors note. Tips for Calling in Sick When You Just Need a Day Off What if you dont feel sick, but you simply need a day to relax and recharge? Your best option is to take a personal day. However, not all employers offer these. For example, many jobs in retail and other hourly jobs do not offer personal days. In this case, one option is to call in sick. In this case, you still want to follow all the same steps. However, there are a few more things you will want to keep in mind. Think about your timing. It is easier to convince your boss you are really sick when you pick a random workday. However, if you pick a Monday or Friday (or a day right before or after a holiday), your b oss might be suspicious that you are simply trying to extend your weekend. If you dont care which day you take off, you might try a day between Tuesday and Thursday. Avoid a phone call. Unless you are confident you can lie to your boss over the phone, you might want to avoid a direct conversation with him or her. Instead, send an email or text (whatever is preferable to your employer). If your boss would prefer a phone call, try calling early in the morningit will increase your chance of being able to leave a voicemail instead of speaking to your boss directly. Keep it very brief. You always want to keep a call about your absence brief, but in this case, keep it very brief. The more you talk, the more you will be lying, and the better your chances of getting caught. Simply say you are calling in sick. If your boss asks more questions, answer them, but keep your answers short. There are some excuses that work better than others when you need a day off from work. Dont tell anyone you lied. Dont tell any of your coworkers that you were not really sick. Even if they are your friends, you run the risk that one of them might tell your boss (on purpose or even on accident). Be careful with social media. A lot of employees have gotten caught faking an illness due to social media. They say they are sick, then they post a picture of their day at the beach, and then their boss finds out. Avoid posting anything about your fun day off on social media. This will prevent any information from getting back to your boss. Work hard afterwards. After taking a day off work, you always want to work hard to catch up on any projects. This is especially the case if you took a secret personal day. Show your boss that you are still a committed team member who can work hard and get the job done.

These are the top reasons why people quit their jobs

These are the top reasons why people quit their jobsThese are the top reasons why people quit their jobsThat coworker of yours who just handed in his resignation and is striding towards the exit with his belongings in an old printer-paper box could be leaving the building for any number of reasons. Especially in this economic climate a tight labor market makes people bolder, and more willing to take risks to get the job they really want. Compensation software company Payscale presented new research in a white paper about the top reasons employees leave.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThe top reasons people leave their jobs25% want more pay15% are unhappy at their current organization14% want to work at an organization more aligned with their values11% are relocating10% are unhappy their current position is not full-time7% want a promotion2% want a more flexible schedule15% oth erWhats better about the new job?Payscale then asked people who quit and found a new job what attracted them to that organization. The hands-down winner? Meaningful work.27% said the opportunity to do more meaningful work17% said increased responsibilities16% said increased pay for this position11% said workplace culture6% said nothing in particular, it was just a job6% said better benefits and perks5% said they wanted to work for a larger organization10% otherPeople generally find a new job that offers them what the last one couldntIt was found that the reason people leave is along the same lines with the reason that they take a new job. For example, with those who quit because they wanted higher pay, 38% of those respondents chose a new job that paid them more.And 46% of those who quit because they didnt have value alignment at their previous job chose a new organization because they would get to do more meaningful and engaged work.And for the group that quit because they wanted a promotion, 46% of respondents ended up with a job in a new organization that offered them more responsibilities.For those who quit with go-getting in mind, its a happy ending.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will ersatzdarsteller your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

At the intersection of food, influence, and leadership

At the intersection of food, influence, and leadershipAt the intersection of food, influence, and leadershipStill new to the art of deciding when to do what otzu sichs ask, children endearingly learn their usual way they play games.Simon says touch yur toes. Simon says do a jumping jack. Look at the sky. Laughter erupts as the pig-tailed girl eagerly looks up, then dissolves in giggles, realizing she goofed.For many of us, it was a rude awakening to become the boss. And we were elend giggling. We had imagined our new title would make us a grown-up version of Simon. So we started issuing requests. And learned fast that true power the ability to get things done through others - doesnt come on a silver platter along with the new business cards and office nameplates.The leader as hostageAs Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill puts it in her wonderful article, Becoming the BossNew managers soon learn that when direct reports are told to do something, they dont necessarily respo nd. In fact, the more talented the subordinate, the less likely she is to simply follow orders. (Some new managers, when pressed, admit that they didnt always listen to their bosses either.) After a few painful experiences, new managers come to the unsettling realization that the source of their power is, according to one, everything but formal authority.Or as one disillusioned manager put it in Hills article Becoming a manager is not about becoming a boss. Its about becoming a hostage.Todays need for complex corporate collaboration is rough on those comfortable with old-style command-and-control leadership. Colleagues juggle requests not just from their boss, but from other departments, leaders, suppliers, prospects, and clients. And they frequently have great discretion in how they handle those requests. They can tackle a task today - or next Tuesday. They can dive into an assignment with great creative gusto, or just cross the ts and dot the is in a perfunctory way.Factors incre asing that other IQ (influencing quotient)Odds are highest that people will do what a leader requests if she meets one or more the worlds most obvious power criteria if shes their boss if she has strong credentials if they know her rolleally and/or if she can inflict consequences for non-compliance.But there are far less blatant characteristics at work when it comes to weaving influence. If we scrutinize leaders who meet none of the above power criteria, yet who manage to change how we behave today, we stand to unearth powerful lessons on moving others in the directions wed like.Take one of my favorite behavior-changers Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivores Dilemma plus three other New York Times bestsellers. In 2010 he was the only food/ nutrition leader named to the magazines list of the worlds 100 most influential people. But his top influence credential is more personal he has changed what many of us put on our forks each day.Yet Pollan is not our boss. By his own admission, h is formal credentials are sketchy (hes got no nutrition degrees or research experience). We dont know him personally, and if we dont follow the food tenets in his books, there are no negative consequences.So why is Pollans influence in the food world so strong?In How Michael Pollan Actually Gets us to Listen to Him, Christine Champagne lays out five reasons people follow Pollans advice. Three of them offer leadership lessons to those of us who scramble hard on a daily basis to enlist others to do our bidding.1 SIMPLICITY In a world of shifting, often contradictory nutritional advice, Pollan is a breath of fresh uncomplicated air. Dont eat anything incapable of rotting. Or Dont eat anything your great-grandmother wouldnt recognize as food. Think Ronald Reagan and small government. Or Steve Jobs and great product design.2 HUMILITY Pollan is clear that hes out to learn, get his hands dirty, and succeed alongside us, not to lecture us or pose as the person with all the answers. To learn firsthand where our meat comes from, Pollan famously bought a 6-month old black steer in January 2002, then followed steer 534s life all the way to the slaughterhouse in June. As he puts it I dont think we like the voice of the omniscient I think we like much bettersomebody who is on a quest, and we want to know how it turns out. Leaders who highlight and celebrate how they and their teams are constantly learning create a great result more learning.3 DIRECT ENGAGEMENT Like many authors, Pollen admits to loving the solitude of writing. Yet like other successful leaders he pushes himself out the door (on a real and virtual basis) so others can get to know him wherever they are via Tv, magazines, at talks in lecture halls, on Twitter or Facebook, or on the street basically anywhere outside the book-writing ivory tower.Can these factors work for me?Can these 3 factors - which amplify Michael Pollans influence - make a difference for you and other leaders?Lets look at another highly influential voice in todays world of food drink that of Jim Koch, brewer of Sam Adams beer. Jim founded Boston Beer with his secretary in 1984 the company is now worth over $2 billion.Jim provides a living, breathing example of how leadership gains steam (or should we say, a rich head of foam?) when the three influencing factors described above are present. In a recent INC Video interview, simplicity, humility, and direct engagement are evident in spades in Jims responses.Simplicity We have a very simple rule about hiring that I think has enabled us to maintain a world-class group of people at Boston Beer Company. We never hire somebody unless they raise the average. If the answer is no, were not improving the company.Humility I never sold anything in my life until I had to put cold beer in my briefcase 31 years ago and go cold call on bars in Boston. I was scared to death. I didnt want to get out of bed the first day.Direct engagement On a new employees first day, I spend two h ours with them first thing in the morning talking about the companys mission, cultures, and values. Then at the end of the day, Ill spend another three hours with them tasting and discussing 30 different Samuel Adams beers. After about 20 beers, people feel really comfortable asking me any question they want.Yes, one way to a man (or womans) heart is still through his or her stomach, as evidenced by the number of Dunkin Donut boxes that find their way daily into corporate conference rooms.But when it comes to influence, simplicity, humility, and engagement beat donuts and even beer hands down. (Methinks Jim Koch credits the wrong substances for building loyalty and trust in him, including the courage to ask the Chairman crazy questions on ones first day of work. )So be sure youre dishing up generous servings of simplicity, humility, and direct engagement if youd like to get more done through others.And who doesnt?