It's that time of year again; the holidays are upon us in all of their festive glory including being invited to countless parties. It seems everyone wants some of your attention and invitations to holiday events come from all directions. One particular party you do not want to miss is your employer's party. Given how close the big day is you have probably already attended your company Holiday Party.

Most of these sorts of events include some alcohol. Perhaps we should be calling it the yearly harassment party. While I'm sure it wasn't your employer's intent, free alcohol and a jovial atmosphere sometimes mix to create less than festive environments for victims of sexual harassment. Read on to learn what you need to know about this unfortunate and intrusive form of discrimination.

What Is Sexual Harassment?

There are two basic forms of sexual harassment. There is “quid pro quo” which translates into English from Latin as “this for that.” Some other common expressions with equivalent meaning including “tit for tat” or “you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.” If you've been the victim of sexual discrimination then perhaps you've heard that last one. The other common form which is a bit less overt is a “hostile work environment” caused by, or the result of sexual advances.

Regardless of politics or policies, you must start thinking about growing your business in 2013

As I look around the world of business, I see an environment that has pushed the pause button. After a divisive and exhausting election season, it is no wonder that American business owners and executives seem to be in a holding pattern. The country spent many tiring months debating its future direction, and now we have emerged from that electoral fight and appear to be headed straight off the fiscal cliff. It is enough to make anyone want to buckle their metaphorical seatbelts and prepare for a bumpy ride.

But taking a wait-and-see attitude toward future economic developments will only put your business further behind in 2013, whichever way the political and economic winds blow. Instead, businesses should be harnessing the power of strategic marketing planning to better prepare for a successful year to come.

The luxury jewelry customer is changing -- Winning brands will adapt to their changing demands 

No doubt you've seen the latest headlines on Tiffany & Company, like this from the Wall Street Journal, Tiffany Again Cuts Outlook, with its report that profits dropped 30 percent on "weaker demand, weighed down by high precious metal and diamond costs."

 In studying the analysts' reports, it looks like Tiffany, which has historically led the luxury jewelry industry, continues to pursue strategies that worked successfully in the past, but may not be appropriate for today's changing and challenging jewelry market.  If Tiffany is set in its ways and keeps repeating its 'same-old, same-old' strategies, it gives more adaptable companies an opportunity to capture market share lost by Tiffany.

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Unity Marketing's latest Luxury Tracking Study finds dramatic changes in the luxury jewelry market

In our most recent survey of luxury jewelry customers, we found that the share of luxury consumers who purchased jewelry rose from 13 percent to 15 percent.  While this measure of demand still lags the 18 percent tracked in 2010, it points to people's willingness to shop once again for jewelry items.

Costco stocks many name brands and gourmet foods that appeal strongly to the wealthy

Apparently in an attempt to show that the Romneys are not all that different from average Americans, the presidential candidate's campaign has made an effort to let voters know that the Romneys enjoy shopping at Costco (a quick Google search of "Romneys Costco" bears this out).

However, PMP author and Luxury Market expert, Pam Danziger explains that Costco is consistently the only discount retailer that attracts more ultra-affluent consumers (HHI > $250K) than lower-income shoppers (HHI $100k-$249.9k).

According to Danziger, these affluent consumers are excited by the hunt for name-brand bargains. They will put up with long checkout lines and the big-box format in order to get access to such a wide variety of quality items at deeply-discounted prices.

Signals of disengagement behavior 

Has this ever happened to you? You’re in a meeting, and it’s going well. You can tell because of the positive body language that your colleague has been showing you. And then, something happens – you’re not sure what -- and everything changes.

In business communication, engagement and disengagement are the most important signals to monitor in the other person’s body language.

Engagement behaviors indicate interest, receptivity, or agreement while disengagement behaviors signal that a person is bored, angry, or defensive. Here’s how it looks from head to toes:

When someone is disengaged, the amount of eye contact decreases, as we tend to look away from things that distress us and people we don’t like.

Aretha Franklin SPELLS out “R-E-S-P-E-C-T!” for a reason. Ms. Franklin spells it out because many simpletons can only handle a letter at a time. For example, a dinner guest with rudimentary dining skills may respect that he is not to burp at the table; however, he may put his paws on your plate if ya got something he ain’t. With the hub-bub of the world today, a nice nudge on what is deemed respectful is sometimes needed.

Giving respect to your customers is especially important for your business. And the great bonus is that if you learn better how to treat your customers well, you will also know how to treat well anyone else you encounter - friends, relatives, and prospective customers. Remember the following acts of reverence in dealing with customers: