by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

Looking for inspiration? Check out the Ladies Who Launch blog for stories from women who left the corporate world to launch their own businesses. This week’s blog theme is "Leaving Corporate America," a subject near and dear to my heart.

Whether you’re looking to start your own multi-national or looking to learn how to start a dog massage business, this is a great resource.

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by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

Average CEO compensation was up 16% in 2005, according to a new report from a corporate watchdog group. Interestingly, of the 12 companies with the most highly paid CEOs, eight underperformed their peer groups while their CEOs took home betweeen $83 million and $295 million in 2005.

I guess CEOs answer to different performance evaluation criteria than the rest of us peons do.

Celebrity CEO Barry Diller of IAC/Interactive took home the biggest compensation package in 2005 — raking in $295 million (including salary, bonus, exercised options, and other perks). Capital One Financial CEO Richard D. Fairbank was close behind with $249 million in compensation. Check out the full list of highly paid CEOs.

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by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

When you need to laugh at the insanity and inanity of office life, look no further than NBC’s brilliant "The Office." Inspired by the groundbreaking British show, the U.S. version of  "The Office" has more than come into its own.

Steve Carell’s Michael Scott is the perfect annoying boss. Rainn Wilson’s Dwight Schrute is that creepy, way-too-serious coworker that really might go postal one day. It’s clear that some of the writers on this show have actually spent time in an office. How else could they have come up with such hilarious episodes about diversity training, "Take Your Daughter to Work Day," and the ridiculous world of business conferences?

Unfortunately, my office was never quite this funny. We definitely had our share of laughs, though (in between crying jags). "The Office"perfectly captures the dark humor and absurdity of modern office life. The show also gets bonus points from me for being set in beautiful Scranton, PA. I grew up near Scranton so the show’s "Scrantonicity" really hits home. Needless to say, the shout-out to the Scranton Anthracite Coal Museum was a big hit in my house.

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