Horseshoe Chamber Blog

Following a recent bout of research, sales execution and analytics firm Qvidian has released its findings on the efficacy of salespeople. If the research is accurate, nearly two-thirds of salespeople fail to meet their quotas. Subsequently, nearly 90% of businesses polled say that improving overall quota attainment is their biggest priority, ranking only behind increasing lead win rates. Sales Take Time, Persistence For salespeople, the biggest cause of failure is lack of persistence. Most leads aren't going to be converted on the first sales call, yet 48% of salesmen and women give up after the first phone call. A whopping 72% give up after the second phone call. In short, most salespeople are not giving leads the time to mature that they so badly require. This undoubtedly plays a r...

United Auto Workers Union Local 2865 (UAW) is launching a salvo of complaints against the University of California. The unfair and hostile labor practices complaints filed by the UAW on Monday bring the total complaints against the university for such infractions to seven in only six months. The latest volley comes after 22 student protesters were arrested at the Santa Cruz campus of the University of California. Following their complaints of intimidation and unfair labor practices falling on deaf ears, teaching assistants set up a strike, protesting UC's backward practices for two days before riot police arrived to quell the uprising. Work to Pay Ratio, Intimidation Tactics Are Nothing New Complaints filed by the UAW and student protests are nothing new for the University of Californi...

According to the Workplace Safety and Health Council, ergonomic health issues like strained backs caused by heavy lifting, numb wrists resulting from typing too much, and stiff necks from desk hunch, all cost Singapore a staggering $3.5 billion each year. The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as the understanding of the interactions between humans and systemic elements--how people interact with the spaces that they inhabit. Ergonomics applies the data, principles, theory and methods of studying such interactions to optimize a person's well being and their system performance--it improves these interactions. For example, an ergonomic chair would provide proper back support to avoid the spine misaligning, which allows a person to work more comfortably and get more thi...

A growing number of restaurants and food service companies are making a commitment to offer consumers locally grown food items. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture is gathering more data on locally sourced food than ever before, and as the 2014 Locavore Index shows the number of farmers' markets, CSAs [Community Supported Agriculture], and food hubs are increasing," Vermont's Bennington Banner reported Monday. Farm-to-school programs and chefs favoring and purchasing local foods are more popular than ever. JJ Gonson, chef and owner of catering company Cuisine en Locale, purchases all fruits, vegetables, food items, and ingredients locally -- from Maine -- whenever possible. When Gonson's in a bind, she'll order foods from the New England region. She will not prepare any menu selections ...

Watches that do more than just tell time might have seemed like something from the distant future, if not just James Bond’s closet, than anything else. However, the development of smart watches, which feature many of the same capabilities of smart phones that have become a must for individuals who want to always stay connected, is changing that perception. Today, smart watches are being synced to smart homes and can be used to turn the lights on and off or arming and disarming security systems. “But in 2014 the smart home flood gates are opening, and lately it seems there’s news practically every week of a new smart watch/smart home integration,” notes Michael Wolf. “The smart watch is a logical control device for your surroundings because, chances are, it’s always a glance away, ...

Over half women report being harassed at work, CNBC reported Wednesday. Specifically, 52% of women in the workplace reveal coworkers sent inappropriate texts or emails, said something sexual or disparaging, or touched them without permission, according to a new British survey with 25,000 participants. The survey, CNBC continues, is the largest of its kind. Workplace harassment does not stop there. "[Further] examples of bullying and harassment ranged from being deliberately undermined – which more than one in four respondents reported – to victimization, or the intentional blocking of career progression, which more than one in six said they had experienced," CNBC explains. According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), asking for sexual favors in exchange...

Sleep deprivation may make for funny sight gags on sitcoms (think baggy eyes, messy hair, zombie kitchen coffee marches), but in the real world, it's no laughing matter. Just ask any of the three-dozen passengers aboard the Chicago Transit Authority subway train that crashed into an escalator at O'Hare International Airport last month. The train's operator had nodded off in the control booth, investigators from the National Transport Safety Board found last week. As a result, she lost control of the eight cars she was in charge of, causing the train to plow through a barrier and hop up a station platform before coming to a final stop atop the escalator. It took cleanup crews nearly four days to remove the train from the scene, and damage is estimated at $6 million. The most troubling a...

The quest for affordable dental care leads many to search outside the United States for a better price on some procedures. And lately, more and more Americans are heading south to find a great dental deal. Mexico is seeing a resurgence of patients lately. Many Americans had been shying away from our southern neighbor due to an escalation in drug-related violence. As the violence declines, the number of bargain-seeking dental patients is once again on the rise. The American public has long bemoaned the high cost of dental care in this country. And the passage of the Affordable Care Act and its notable lack of dental coverage has only added fuel to the fire. If a better deal is to be had within driving distance of home, patients are likely to take advantage of it. But there's more on th...

If you mentioned how this past winter was particularly dark, exceptionally gloomy and incredibly snowy, no one in America would argue. Even the folks in the most tropical of paradises -- namely, Florida and California -- saw snow and brisker temperatures, which means no one was truly safe from the wrath of the winter. But now, spring is officially here, and so far, that's meant good news for the real estate, retail and automotive industries. According to the latest reports from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), there's plenty to celebrate in the manufacturing industry as well. Earlier this week, the ISM released its newest numbers for the month of March, which found manufacturing growth in the United States was up to 53.7%, up slightly from its 53.2% February number. This expa...

On December 3, three-year-old Finley Puleo Boyle of Hawaii had a heart attack while visiting the dentist fell into a coma, and died a month later. As the toddler had no underlying problems with her heart, the medical examiner ruled that the sedatives she received before her root canals and cavity fillings were what most likely killed her, causing her heart attack. "Immediately following the lidocaine injection, the decedent became unresponsive and went into cardiopulmonary arrest," wrote Dr. Christopher Happy, the Chief Medical Examiner. According to Dr. Happy, Boyle received five different drugs prior to her dental procedures, which included laughing gas, a local anesthetic, amongst a few others. However, dental sedation has caused the death of at least 31 children over the past 15 or so...