Dardis Communications

Nov 01
2

Exciting News From Dardis, Inc.

By | Dardis News | No Comments

It has been an exciting season for the staff at Dardis, Inc.  Our 2013 Classroom to Career internship program wrapped up with our top intern bringing in nearly $16,000 in three months.  We are now actively recruiting students for our summer 2014 program and developing the resources and tools needed to keep Dardis growing into the future.

We are pleased to report on two developments that prove Dardis, Inc. is here to stay:

New Dardis, Inc. website is now live

Dardis, Inc. encompasses a family of companies, each with different services and value.  We recently launched a new website describing each of these elements to provide a more comprehensive picture of Dardis.

This website serves as an umbrella to detail each business unit:

  • Dardis Communications:  Our executive training program designed to teach leaders how to speak as well as they think and convey the essence of professionalism they need to succeed
  • Dardis Academy:  Our student training program that combines advanced communication skills training with a paid internship
  • Dardis Apparel:  Our apparel business which is based on exceptional product, great price and convenience

Check out the site today and be sure to share any feedback with us!

New distribution center nears completion

Our new apparel distribution center in Dyersville is nearly complete!  The 25,000 square foot distribution center in Dyersville’s 20 West Industrial Park will ship and store professional apparel for Dardis Apparel, a component of our comprehensive approach to developing clients’ professional image.

Founder Greg Dardis:

“I’m very excited to be building close to where I grew up,” Dardis said.  “I love the area, the people and everything about back home. We looked at a number of possible locations, and Dyersville came out on top.  I was impressed with the Dyersville Economic Development Corporation and their dedication to helping businesses thrive. We’re looking forward to this next phase of our business and the opportunity to be part of this progressive community.”

Dardis Communications has offices in Chicago, Des Moines and Coralville.

Sep 27
0

Find Your Inspiration At Work

By | Leadership | No Comments

Successful business leaders need a strong financial background, leadership skills, the courage to take risks and a strong moral compass, but the truly successful leaders boast one additional quality – inspiration.

Inspiration looks different for each individual, but all inspired leaders are intrinsically motivated by something greater than him or herself.  Gender and age play an important role, as well, based on a recent survey of LinkedIn members.  The survey showed that women younger than 29 tend to feel less inspired in general than their male peers, but women older than 65 feeling considerably more inspired than men.

LinkedIn went one step further too add context to these results, asking 60 LinkedIn members the simple question, “What inspires you?” The answers may be inspiring in themselves:

  • Richard Branson, Founder at Virgin Group
    “My professional inspiration has no separation from my personal inspiration:  it is people who will stop at nothing to make a positive difference to other people’s lives.”
  • Naomi Simson, Founder, RedBalloon
    “Tell me I ‘cannot’ do, be or have something – and that is the surest way to inspire me into action.”
  • Jim Whitehurst, CEO at Red Hat
    “Most of us are inspired by our family, friends, and colleagues–as I am–but the thing that most inspires me is problem solving.”
  • Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Twitter, Inc.
    “Reading has been my favorite pastime since my earliest memory, and in my adult years books have become some of my greatest inspirations.  I read more than 200 books a year, and most of these books are non-fiction.”
  • Steven J. Thompson, CEO at Johns Hopkins Medicine International, Senior Vice President Johns Hopkins Medicine
    “You need to do more than plod along that safe and known track.  You need to be ready to switch tracks, and to inspire people to follow you when you do.”

At Dardis, we encourage our clients and our students to find their inspiration in their current jobs, as well as their future careers.  We are in the business of training current and future leaders, and our most successful candidates are inspired by what they do and see every day.  Our training through Dardis Communications and hands-on sales experience through the Dardis Academy provides a solid base for clients and students, but motivation and the drive to succeed stems from inspiration.

Spend a few minutes today thinking about what inspires you.  What cause are you strongly connected to?  Which leaders, family members or friends have left an impression on you?  What gets you excited at work?

By identifying these motivating factors, you will be on your way to an inspired (and successful) career.

Photo credit: Nimish Gogri

Sep 20
0

Fashion (and Career) Advice You Can Trust

By | The Dardis difference | No Comments

Our Dardis clothiers are proud to serve as trusted menswear experts for clients nationwide.  From fabric to fit, we know how to make you look your best in a professional setting.  Our products are made with the highest quality materials and most importantly, at the best possible price for you.

We combine fashion expertise with a thorough understanding of the power of a professional image.

Successful people have an awareness and appreciation for professional image and “looking the part,” and our educated clothiers share that knowledge directly with each of our clients.

Our professional image advice comes from more than a decade of training executives through our sister company, Dardis Communications.  The training we provide is proven to be effective in developing effective speakers and respected leaders in companies of all sizes.

You can find career advice anywhere, from the Internet, family members or a thick step-by-step guide at your local bookstore.  Each avenue can provide value, but it’s important to rely on the experts, like Dardis Communications, when preparing for a promotion, new role or when looking for a development opportunity.

Not all advice can be trusted.  Check out Forbes’ “6 Career Tips You Should Put In The Shredder,” for example.  You may have heard these recommendations before, but as the Forbes article states, some advice can be wrong if taken too literally.

  • Don’t argue with the offer.
  • Don’t take risks with your career.
  • Keep your resume on one page.
  • Find a company you can work at forever.
  • Show no weakness.
  • Don’t spend company money.

Through our Classroom to Career program, we educate groups of young leaders to be effective sales people and strong speakers.  The Dardis Academy training program gives students the competitive edge that they need to succeed in the marketplace.  And our clients can’t help but notice.

“I love Dardis!  Yes, the product quality is very good, but I especially like the service.  The students offer great suggestions on clothing options and pairings, which is a huge benefit for some of us who are challenged with what looks good together.  I’m hooked!”
– Chad Furlong, Senior IT Manager, University of Iowa Foundation

So whether a Dardis representative is leading an individual consultation or helping you with your presentation skills, know that Dardis is proud to provide the foundation that will serve you in your career and help you achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.

Photo credit: Ram Karthik

Aug 16
0

The ultimate balancing act

By | Food for thought | No Comments

Have you ever attended a Little League baseball game and seen a parent pacing behind the bleachers on his or her cell phone spouting financials and business updates? Or have you personally rushed through a quick dinner at home to log-in for a webinar with colleagues in Asia-Pacific?

The business world becomes more global every day, requiring employees to stay more connected than ever, often affecting personal commitments and family time.

At Dardis, we regularly interact with business leaders who constantly struggle with maintaining a healthy work-life balance. While professional success requires time and diligence, a burn-out mentality of 14-hour work days and constant travel can have an opposite effect. When work interferes with one’s personal life, relationships can also suffer, leading to lower employee satisfaction and presumably less engagement.

So how can employees – from entry-level positions to the executive level – maintain that elusive work-life balance? To Caryn Seidman Becker, chairman and CEO of CLEAR, employees can have it all. She wrote in a LinkedIn blog post:

“You can ‘have it all,’ but each person needs to define their personal ‘all’ (what makes you happy), because you can’t have everything. For me, my ‘all’ is quality time and focus for my family and my company. A lot gets eliminated—girl dinners, many gym workouts, me time—but I still love my ‘all.’ It is not work-life balance—it is all intertwined. It’s simply life.”

Balancing work and personal commitments is a constant juggling act, but here are five simple steps for moving you closer to a healthier work-life balance:

  1. As Seidman Becker illustrated, prioritize your commitments and define what makes you happy. When you must cut into personal time or eliminate activities, do not cut from this list.
  2. Read those around you. If your spouse consistently complains about your long work hours or if your kids suffer from your absence, it’s time to reevaluate and implement steps to achieving a healthier balance.
  3. Schedule downtime. No one can go full speed non-stop, so make time, even during the workday, for a short walk or lunch.
  4. Identify your go-to people. If you schedule is overloaded, know who you can delegate to, and if you’re on vacation, designate a trusted colleague to fill-in during your absence.
  5. Adapt to your work seasons. Most industries have busy and slow seasons. Take advantage of your slower seasons by dedicating more time to family and friends.

By making a commitment to a healthy work-life balance, you’re already on your way to being successful in the workplace and at home.

 

Photo credit: By KVDP, Shokunin, Aungkarns (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

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