Valuing your business by the bottom line is certainly important, but what about valuing your business by its values? Workplace values go unnoticed until a major corporate scandal rocks the business world. When Enron’s accounting fraud was brought to light, commentators highlighted the major disconnect between the company’s stated values (communication, respect, integrity and excellence) and what actually happened behind closed doors. There’s no better time for your organization to have a serious conversation about what being a value-centered company looks in action. ... [more]

Office safety training may seem unnecessary if you work in an office like ours. Each day here at OpenSesame, we sit at our desks typing furiously on our laptops. It seems the greatest occupational hazard we face is carpal tunnel, or - at worst - bruises from a broken office chair. But safety training becomes more important when your ‘office’ is an 18-wheeler... or a team of 14 sled dogs. OpenSesame seller J.J. ... [more]

If you’re interested in the answers to questions about what makes a movie profitable, how to succeed in the entertainment industry, and which steps you should take to protect intellectual property, Von Johnson’s The Business of Entertainment courses are immensely helpful. Von Johnson has worked in the film industry for over 30 years. His extensive work with The Walt Disney Company, Turner Broadcasting, Universal Television, ITC Entertainment and a VOD start-up in Silicon Valley has resulted in a personal network of highly successful creative and business people alike, such as former Disney Studios Chairman Peter Schneider and Randy Greenberg, executive producer of Cowboys and Aliens. When UCLA Extension approached Von about creating courses about the business side of the entertainment industry, he gladly accepted. This opportunity allowed him to combine his personal expertise with an extensive network of industry contacts to create excellent courses that provide practical guidance and suggestions for establishing a successful career in the entertainment sector. ... [more]

In the modern workplace, time is a scarce commodity. While email has made communication faster and easier, without proper maintenance our email inboxes can become another source of workplace stress. Applying the proper tools to inbox organization will help you to use email as the powerful communication tool it is meant to be. ... [more]

Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is an international bestseller - bringing a framework for personal change and effectiveness to readers’ personal and professional lives. The OpenSesame team is no different. At the OpenSesame office, we meet every Friday to discuss The 7 Habits - focusing on how we develop as individuals to make OpenSesame a successful company and a pleasant place to work. Our key metrics are certainly important to us. Around the perimeter of our office statistics flash on flat screen monitors affirming progress towards our goals, and alerting us to the areas requiring improvement. But we recognize that without having a similar anchor in personal values to guide us, all the metrics in the world won’t help OpenSesame achieve its full potential as a company. We need to reflect where our personal successes and failures lie in order to develop a deeper understanding of what we need to change in ourselves to be more successful professionals. ... [more]