Employment issues

What People Think of You REALLY Matters

2012-01-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

When you think of your own personal brand, what comes to mind?

Now more than ever our personal brands matter critically, in our ability to carve out any semblance of long-term job security.

So, what do people think of you? If you asked 4 or 5 of your closest friends, professional peers, and business relations what words they'd use to describe you, what would they say? GO AHEAD...do it! It's a great learning experience on the road to self-exploration.

At the end of the day, we only have our word to stand upon. Based on the thousands of interactions I've had these past 4 years as a career coach and business consultant, many people are failing miserably. I'm developing a program on "Business Ethics." When I tell people they laugh, like it's a joke.

Let's start with today's used car salespeople...RECRUITERS. Do you receive emails from recruiters, placement agencies, or search firms about supposed job opportunities that has absolutely NOTHING to do with your background, skills and qualifications? At the end of the e-mail, they say: "If this position isn't right for you, can you share this with others in your network?" They are basically spamming and phishing us, asking us to help them do their jobs and find others for them to send to their clients.

Have you received a call from a recruiter asking if you're interested in a job they are looking to fill? They discuss their client's needs and the requirements with you, then you send them your resume and they promise to forward it to the hiring organization and let you know.

Weeks then months go by, you never hear from them after repeated efforts to obtain a status. Finally you reach them and they dismiss your application by saying their client wasn't interested, your background wasn't an ideal match. What about a courtesy call back?

Ethics and professional behavior matter in our personal and professional lives. Have you ever said to someone you had no intention of following up with: "I'll get back to you?" knowing full well you'll never call them back? WHY? Because it's those little WHITE lies that are so easy to tell, rather than the embarrassing truth?

What happened to dealing in truth with all our personal relationships and professional correspondence?

Just this morning I was scheduled to give a FREE coaching session to a potential client. She Tweeted a reply to a re-tweet I sent her on Twitter, so I responded with a message confirming our call. Then I emailed her 2 times within the half hour after our scheduled time when I never heard from her. NOTHING. This is the type of behavior that destroys people's perceptions of you.

Are we so busy with intensive work schedules and overlapping family, work and personal responsibilities that we've lost all sense of decorum in dealing with others?

What happened to the Golden Rule (LUKE 6:31) "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

There are far too many unethical behaviors that can potentially destroy your brand. Here are only a few examples:

* Companies offering extended unpaid internships.
* Plagiarism.
* Lying on your taxes, resumes.
* Falsifying professional credentials.
* Construction companies ignoring codes, taking shortcuts.
* Mortgage robo-signings.
* Producing/marketing dangerous products.
* Legalized gambling.
* Police misconduct.
* Accepting bribes.
* Piracy: stealing others' intellectual capital.
* Vulture Capitalists.
* False/inaccurate job postings.
* Division I College athletics & big time money.

How do you know if something is the right thing to do? Ask yourself a simple yet poignant question: “If I choose to go through with this decision, would I mind seeing it reported on the news tomorrow?” If the answer's YES then you proceed. If you're still not sure then ask yourself four (4) key questions:

1) Does my decision match the organization’s vision & mission statements?
2) Would it be good for customers?
3) Would it be good for the organization?
4) Would it be good for me?
(From Gretchen Morgenson)

So, don't forget that how you engage people speaks LOUDLY to your ethics, beliefs, and values which in turn creates perceptions that people have about your personal brand. In today's volatile world with rampant unemployment, stressed schedules, and rapidly changing personal obligations our BRAND matters more than ever.

- Ethan
The Compassionate Coach
www.TheChazinGroup.com

We've Survived Worse Times Than This!

2012-01-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

Here we are just ONE week into the New Year, and you'd swear by all the DOOM & GLOOM being propagated that the year was already an abject failure.

There is NO disputing that times are still extremely difficult for many. The unemployment rate is 15-20%, not the ridiculously unreliable 8+% "official" rate being lauded by the Obama Administration. One in four Americans work in contract, consulting, temporary, NON-PERMANENT positions, and the average American will change jobs 8-10 times in their careers.

It certainly doesn't add to a sense of confidence that things will improve, in a presidential election season in which candidates running for the Republican nomination are spewing hatred and venom at each other and the Obama administration. There doesn't seem to be any counter or protest being put up by the media, the Republican National Convention or the population at large to focus the debate on the important challenges we face.

It's also not very encouraging that the Occupy Wall Street movement has fizzled without the effect of building an alternative political figure to run against our 2-Party dysfunctional political system.

However, despite these times of uncertainty and pain, America has ALREADY lived through much tougher times, and come stronger as a result!

Consider this:

"Out of every crisis, every tribulation, every disaster, mankind rises with some share of greater knowledge, of higher decency, of purer purpose. Today we shall have come through a period of loose thinking, descending morals, an era of selfishness, among individual men and women and among Nations. Blame not Governments alone for this. Blame ourselves in equal share. Let us be frank in acknowledgment of the truth that many amongst us have made obeisance to Mammon, that the profits of speculation, the easy road without toil, have lured us from the old barricades. To return to higher standards we must abandon the false prophets and seek new leaders of our own choosing.

Never before in modern history have the essential differences between the two major American parties stood out in such striking contrast as they do today. Republican leaders not only have failed in material things, they have failed in national vision, because in disaster they have held out no hope, they have pointed out no path for the people below to climb back to places of security and of safety in our American life.

Throughout the Nation, men and women, forgotten in the political philosophy of the Government of the last years look to us here for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth.

On the farms, in the large metropolitan areas, in the smaller cities and in the villages, millions of our citizens cherish the hope that their old standards of living and of thought have not gone forever. Those millions cannot and shall not hope in vain."

Know who said this? Ron Paul? Barrack Obama? Tim Geithner? Bill Clinton? Herman Cain?

NOPE! FDR did, in his address to the Nation accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 2, 1932.

The bottom line is, we've seen times like this, and we've overcome them before. It may seem dire but we will come through these challenges as a stronger Nation. We ALWAYS have!

Examples of success in business and industry, corporate social responsibility, the Green movement are all around us, as eager, energetic visionary leaders are rising to drive America forward into the 21st Century. Too bad nobody is reporting the successes being achieved in the United States. Just a few examples:

* New marketing, social media start-up's like Groupon, LivingSocial, IMShopping,and BuyWithMe;

* Social networks for entrepreneurs like Entrepreneur Connect, PartnerUp, StartUpNation, and Go BIG Network;

* Small business success stories like Quadlogic Controls, Back to the Roots LLC, Laughingstock Design, Pillow Bar LLC, Sanctuary T, Mr. Bigshot, etc.

The list of modern day American entrepreneur success keeps rising. WHY?

More and more professionals,seniors, and college graduates who are either out of work, frustrated by their time spent in Corporate America, or looking to fulfill their dreams are pursuing their passions and interests.

Let's hope this trend only continues. THIS is how America will dig itself out of this funk!

Here's to a happy, healthy and SUCCESSFUL 2012!

What Makes You Happy Can Make You Rich

2011-12-21T08:39:00.000-08:00

One of the perks of working with so many different people is, I get to help folks from diverse backgrounds to conduct personal assessments into what they value, and then help them to pursue the dreams that they left behind years ago.

While many people refuse to follow their passions when then gave up on obtaining their dream job, I get to coach my clients how to figure out what they do best and what they love to do, then where those two overlap, we have identified their DREAM job which I teach them how to pursue in their next job.

With so many highly qualified people out of work, under-employed, and struggling to make ends meet, now is the PERFECT time to come up with a new definition of "wealth."

While America struggles to reinvent itself, now is the perfect time to adjust our notion of success. Can we alter our prevailing definition of the wealth as the successful acquisition of materials objects to a new concept of success as doing what's best for others?

We are already witnessing a change in what we value, with the proliferation in social corporate responsibility not as a PR goodwill ploy, but as a sincere effort made by organizations to have a positive impact on society. We see it in the Green movement, the increase in micro-lending, a relatively new societal pursuit for alternative energy/fuel sources, a more ethical treatment of animals, a movement to preserve our natural resources, etc.

Instead of arguing that you can't pay your bills by chasing your dreams (those interests/hobbies that you pursue on the side), I would argue that each of us should make a renewed effort to reconsider that what we enjoy doing "ON THE SIDE OUTSIDE OF WORK" that fulfills us, COULD be our next full-time employment opportunity.

What do you do to make you happy? Coach Little League? Volunteer in your church/synagogue? Serve on your children's school Board? Lead fundraising efforts for community projects?

So many people are doing this now as we pursue second careers. As our nation struggles to create jobs, each of us will have to create our own jobs, to ensure we are employed in the future.

So I ask: "What makes you happy?" It can make you rich, if you pursue it with passion and intensity.

How do you accomplish this? Create a list of all the things that you love to do. then, create a second list of the things that you do really well. Where these two overlap, you have identified your DREAM job. Once you find those things that could constitute your future calling, you need to develop an action plan.

This action plan will include all oft he steps required to turn your dream job into your next job. List all the actions, start and end dates, prioritize with a 1-3 ranking with 1 being critical To-Dos, priority 2 items are the things you must get done in a short period of time, and the 3s are the things you need to get done. Identify the contingencies for each action, those things that will prevent you from completing those tasks.

An additional step in conducting a successful personal assessment is to figure out which types of organizations you would like to work for. what are the values that matter most to you. Pick five key adjectives that you think define you. Next, create a short list of the top 4-5 things that matter most to you in your next job. Some things you might be pursuing include: creativeness, variety, ability to take risks, personal growth, positively impacting society, recognition, work-life balance, etc.

Next, complete a personal job search marketing plan. Here's what you need to include on this 1-2 page document:

Your Name
Your Address
City, State, Zip code
Tel. (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Cell (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Email: JaneDoe@gmail.com
LinkedIn profile: http://xxxxxxxxxxx

Section 1 - Summary of your professional qualifications:

I possess X years of experience in Industry 1, Industry 2, and Industry 3, with core competencies in:
* Competency 1
* Competency 2
* Competency 3
* Competency 4

Section 2 - My Target Job Functions and Job Titles Include:
Function 1 Function 2 Function 3 Function 4
Job Title 1 Job Title 1 Job Title 1 Job Title 1
Job Title 2 Job Title 2 Job Title 2 Job Title 2
Job Title 3 Job Title 3 Job Title 3 Job Title 3
Job Title 4 Job Title 4 Job Title 4 Job Title 4

Section 3 - The Key Responsibilities That I am Seeking Include:
* Responsibility 1
* Responsibility 2
* Responsibility 3
* Responsibility 4

Section 4 - My Ideal Company Characteristics and Locations Are:
Key Company Attributes Ideal Job Location
Entrepreneurial culture, small start up, and condones calculated risk-taking NYC, Northern / Central NJ, etc.

Section 5 - Target Industries and Organizations I might like to work for:

Industry 1 Industry 2 Industry 3 Industry 4
Organization 1 Organization 1 Organization 1 Organization 1
Organization 2 Organization 2 Organization 2 Organization 2
Organization 3 Organization 3 Organization 3 Organization 3
Organization 4 Organization 4 Organization 4 Organization 4
Organization 5 Organization 5 Organization 5 Organization 5
Organization 6 Organization 6 Organization 6 Organization 6

By achieving your DREAM job you will experience an entirely new experience in your next job...HAPPINESS. And that's a priceless position to be in these days.

You're worth PENNIES on the DOLLAR

2011-11-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

It's true! Research shows that $.75 on EVERY dollar that employers spend on employees is wasted.

Here's why: when a person is hired to fill a position, they provide a set of solutions by performing certain tasks within an organization.

Few organizations that I have coached/consulted actually conduct an assessment of the individual's core competencies, to expand the job description to include all of the skills that you possess and the things you do REALLY well (core competencies.)

If you are really strong in say 6-8 key areas, your job may only allow/require you to use 2-3 of those skills in your day to day roles and responsibilities. That's 25% of your full talent potential.

According to a Global Workforce Study conducted by Towers Perrin in March, 2008, only 21% (1 in 5) of the employees surveyed are “engaged” in their work, and 38% admitted being partly to fully disengaged. Engagement was defined as employees willing to go the extra mile to help their company succeed.

The other things you do really well and maybe are most passionate about remains dormant...UNUSED in that organization that is paying you for your collective experience, training and skill sets.These wasted skills when applied to EVERY employee could be the difference maker in organizations remaining competitive, esp. in times like today when precious resources CANNOT be squandered.

In a 2008 study by Resources Global, 80% of global HR leaders believe the “war on talent” is a key & enduring business issue in the next ten years. How can this be reconciled against employer claims that there is a lack of qualified/skilled labor? It can't!

What if organizations took a DIFFERENT approach to talent management...

What would happen if your company constantly assessed its people's strengths, took active steps to expand their talents and skill sets through training, moved their employees into other jobs to make BETTER use of their untapped talents, and created opportunities for employees to experience the entire organization by conducting job rotations, work-sharing, and cross-functional team-based work flows?

Taken to the extreme, organizations could create entirely NEW roles for each employee, in order to take advantage of their many unused talents, skills, and passions?

It is relatively EASY to conduct a human capital audit for each of your employees.

You match the employee roles and responsibilities in their current job to their core competencies. Once yo identify their unused talents, you create a mini career development plan to determine the time frame their manager to incorporate those unused talents that the manager and employee agree to incorporate into their daily workflow. There are tools that you can rely on to help you manage this MATCHING process. I've developed a Human Capital Audit web application that helps organizations to do this.

“…at a time when companies are looking for every source of potential advantage, the workforce itself represents the largest reservoir of untapped potential.”
- Julie Gebauer, Towers Perrin Managing Director

By matching employee skills to their daily job requirements, organizations would develop a workforce filled with top-performing employees (the Jack Welsh model with only type A - Star employees.) You would create an entirely engaged, motivated, and passionate workforce.

That in turn would foster a higher level of employee loyalty, retention, and a wealth of new ideas creation flooding your organization with new products and services, more effective ways to find, keep, and up-sell clients, more efficient operations, reduced costs, better inventory management, quality control measures, etc.

Think of the commensurate benefits gained by organizations that embraced such talent management practices. You would have much higher employee attendance, greater productivity, stronger financial performances. you would have a world filled with world-class organizations like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Disney, SAS, Boston consulting Group, Hasbro, Wegmans, Cisco, etc.

* 88% of U.S. workers consider themselves creative BUT only 63% said their positions were creative.

* 75% of survey respondents thought their employers valued creativity.

* One in five said they would change jobs, even if it meant LESS money to be MORE creative.

(Survey conducted by IPSOS Research in 2007 to 564 adults commissioned by the Fairfax County, VA Economic Development Authority for the 2007 National Conference on the Creative Economy.)

Instead, many organizations remain content to achieve relatively low returns on their aggregate investment in their workforce. This is especially true when you factor in ALL of the costs associated with employees such as: recruiting costs, salaries, benefits, training and professional development, social security and other expenses mandated by law, equipment, utilities, rent/mortgage costs, insurance, and incidentals.

Only when organizations realize their employees are the GREATEST asset and work to cultivate that resource for competitive advantage will they unleash the full potential of their workers.

Ethical Organizations Are MORE Profitable!

2011-11-09T11:26:00.001-08:00

Organizations that do good are more successful in the markets they compete in. Stated bluntly: Companies that do right...do better!

As a business coach, I always remind my clients if they implement ethical practices, it will have a direct POSITIVE impact on their bottom line. It turns out, there is an entire field (heck a global "Who's Who") of organizations that prove this is TRUE.

Check out this year's list of 110 companies that have been awarded the prestigious "World's Most Ethical Companies" distinction.

These organizations, which represent a broad range of sectors/industries, have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past three years, during the Great Recession.

What does it mean to lead an ethical organization?

First off, you don't just HAVE an ethical organization...you BUILD it!

You start by defining the organizational values and beliefs that are important. This step seems to get lost with most of the entrepreneurs and start-ups that I consult with. However, it is often EASIEST to include ethical behavior/morality as part of the organization's BUSINESS plan BEFORE a business is formed, then grows and becomes entrenched in its artifacts and hard-wired behaviors.

More than anything else though, ethical organizations are created by ETHICAL LEADERS!

Ethical leaders can be identified and are placed into positions based on the specific innate traits and skills they possess/exhibit. The qualities they possess are courage, generosity, modesty, benevolence, fairness, justice, self-control, and sociability.

Ethical leaders display a keen sense of altruism by promoting the best interests of others (most notably their followers), at the expense of ethical egoism or acting in their OWN best interests. They are "hardwired" towards utilitarianism - the act of creating the greatest good for the greatest number of people. They always try to maximize social benefits while minimizing societal costs.

According to Ronald Heifetz: "Leaders help their followers confront and overcome conflict by effecting change."

Robert Greenleaf's extensive research into the field of ethical ("servant") leaders found the following:
* Leaders should be attentive to the concerns of their followers, and empathize with/nurture and care for them.
* Leadership is given to people that should serve others.
* Caring leaders always help followers become more knowledgeable, free, and autonomous.
Social responsibility to care for the have-nots.

Simon (Sinek) says GREAT leaders ask: "Why...What...How?"

A field of leadership study called the STYLE approach assessed how ethical leaders actually behave. Ethical leaders with a strong employee orientation engage followers (direct reports) with a strong human relations focus. These leaders care about their people (also referred to in leadership studies as the "consideration" approach.)

Given the importance of caring leaders in developing ethical organizations, why are so many institutions run by poor leaders? The answer..."they're NOT!" They are MANAGED by people that were given positions of immense authority not based on their ability to lead but some other factor(s). The practice of putting people that are ill-equipped to lead into top positions has a special name...it's called the "Management TRAP."

If ethical behavior is a straight path to profit, why are so many heads of organizations ethically "challenged" these days? I mean, the list (of unethical organizations) goes on and on...British Petroleum, Bernie Madoff, News Corp, Monsanto, Exxon/Mobile, Halliburton, Adelphia, Global Crossing, Worldcom, Arthur Andersen, Enron, Phillip Morris... Clearly, while being ethical has a direct correlation with success, unethical organizations can turn a buck or (a few billion.)

An outgrowth of ethical business practices can be found in corporate social repsonsibility and the Green Movement. This is not the same thing as organizations putting a positive spin on their activities only to achieve goodwill/positive PR. Rather, ethical organizations exhibit a genuine concern/passion for positively impacting society long after they're gone.

The take-away for organizations is, even if you don't care about practicing ethical behavior for altruistic reasons then I propose your organization pursue them as a means of staying competitive.

Some great resources to explore this topic further:

* Joanne B. Ciulla: "Ethics, the Heart of Leadership."
* Robert Hoyk & Paul Hersey: "Ethics and Employees."

So...what do you think?

Use Social Media to Build Your Personal BRAND

2011-11-05T10:47:00.001-07:00

Social media is all the rage these days. You see it EVERYWHERE! Virtually the whole world is one global online social networking village, between the 800 million users on Facebook and 120 million on LinkedIn.

How can you build your personal brand in this global network, without having your voice drowned out?

First, you need to understand that social media is another marketing platform through which you can extend your personal brand. Define your core competencies, values, beliefs, qualifications, and interests. Your strategy to build your brand online should supplement/suport your offline networking activities an more traditional marketing efforts (PR, print, broadcast, outdoor advertising, direct mail, etc.)

To that end, you MUST develop a strategic social media plan that integrates with your marketing plan and includes the following:
* A comprehensive and COMPELLING definition of your personal brand in significant detail with core messaging including your value proposition, core competencies and unique selling proposition - WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE?;

* The segments you plan on targeting;
* The 3-4 industries you wish to pursue;
* Industry associations, networking groups, blogs, events, think tanks, consortiums, journalists, and subject matter experts.

Armed with your strategic social media plan, you need to limit the scope of your approach so it is manageable. Begin by completing your FREE profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and MeetUp. Commit to investing 15-30 minutes eac hweeknight and 45 minute to an hour each weekend day for 1-2 months.

You will need to create your own website and blog to serve as the core of your social networking efforts. Two of the more popular blogging services that are both FREE are Google Blogger and WordPress. WordPress is a much more robust publishing platform. There are many free seminars/workshops/courses offered online and near you that can help you get started.

A blog is a recuring regularly scheduled article you publish on specific topics. The typical length is 600-800

Understand that there are certain guidelines you should follow when developing your social media strategy. For starters, it's NEVER about the QUANTITY or size ofyou network but the QUALITY of your online relationships. A great TOP-10 list from Shama Hyder Kabani's: "the zen of social media marketing":

* Decide where you stand on the types of relationshispyou wnat to have and the kind of information you want to disseminate.
* Determine what constitutes social media and the social networking resources you can utilize.
* Clarify who owns what when it comes tothe content you create directly or repurpose/republish from others.
* Keep all your confidential information PRIVATE.
* Decide who is responsible for creating, distributing, and monitoring as well as performing analytics to gauge your social media ROI.
* Dictate the rules of engagement without being a dictator.
* Address taboo topics.
* Have a system for monitoring the social sphere.
* Make training easily available for all foyour employees that are tasked with being social media ambassadors in your organization
* Have a crisis plan - see Blackberry!

There are a Gzillion resources out there toget started. A random list of the more popular ones include:

All top
Digg
Mashable
Social Media Today
Delicious
Postling

How Work is Killing the American Worker

2011-09-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

The #1 Killer of American Workers Is... THEIR WORK.

It's TRUE! According to Center for American Progress, American workers are the most OVERWORKED developed nation IN THE WORLD.

* In 1960, 20% of American mothers worked. Today, 70% of all American children live in households where ALL adults are employed.

* The U.S. is the ONLY country in the Americas WITHOUT paid parental leave benefit. The average is over 12 weeks paid leave anywhere other than Europe, and 20 weeks in Europe.

* American workers work 137 hours a year more than Japanese workers, 260 hours more a year than British workers, and 499 hours a year more than Frenchworkers.

* In the US 85.8% of males work more than 40 hours a week, and 66.5% of females work more than 40 hours a week.

The increased work demands placed on American workers take a tremendous toll over time, as we struggle to maintain a healthy family/work/self balance. There is even a field of study dedicated to the phenomenah of overworked Americans. Some relevant boosk that have been written on the subject include:

* The White-Collar Sweatshop by Jill Andresky Fraser.
* The Overworked American by Juliet Schor.
* The Working Life by Joanne B. Ciulla.

Being overworked can lead to more stress that manifests itself in the following ways:
* Fatigue
* High Blood Pressure
* Heart Disease
* Substance Abuse
* Lost Time With Loved Ones
* Spousal/Child Abuse
* Anger Management/Road Rage
* Early Death
* Suicide

There is only 168 hours in the week. One way to deal with stress is to understand what is causing it. To effectively do this, keep a STRESS journal, or log of things that create stress in your life for THREE days. To get a better handle on your time management, I suggest you use a calculator to determine a starting point for your persdonal work/life balance.

The demands we face in trying to manage our time, keep our calendars in order and have time to ourselves manifest itself in increased stress levels. Stress takes a tremendous toll on individuals emotionally and physiologically in the form of:

Fatigue
High Blood Pressure
Heart Disease
Substance Abuse
Lost Time Not Spent With Loved Ones
Spousal/Child Abuse
Anger Management/Road Rage
Early Death
Suicide

You need to find the time to make your own personal time. Some strategies to this include:

* Pick a time of day that is ALL yours. Communicate to all there are NO exceptions .
* Rediscover your interests/passions.
* Make time to exercise to increase your energy level and makes you MORE productive.)
* Slowly introduce more activities that are important/special/relaxing to YOU.
* NURTURE YOURSELF - Eat healthy, get MORE sleep.
* Seek professional help – does your employer offer an Employee Assistance Program?

I have developed a new suite of programs for organizations to help their employees in the following areas:

* Manage Chaos to Sieze Opportunities
* Work/Family/Self Balance...It IS Possible
* Time Management: OWN Your Calendar
* Reduce Stress...to Your Health!

Contact The Chazin Group to obtain more information on these exciting new programs.

The UGLY Truth About America's Jobless Economy

2011-07-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

Based upon the MANY conversations that I've had with people about America's jobless economy the last few weeks, it is clear that we are LONG past due the time required for an honest conversation about the HORRIFIC state of America's "JOBLESS" economy.

Our economy has been transforming at a tremendous rate of change since we evolved from a post-Industrial manufacturing society to an information and technology-driven market.

Entire industries have been transformed due to advances in technology (most notably the Internet.) Sectors of our economy such as printing & publishing, advertising, retail, accounting, manufacturing, banking, and financial services have all been transformed. Significant transformation demands the kind of new skills, training, certifications, and knowledge that threatens the entire American workforce.

Making matters significantly worse for America' workers, the myopic short-term profit centric focus of our business "leaders " has led to tremendous employee layoffs through outsourcing, off-shoring, downsizing, right-sizing and re-engineering as they pursued a scorched earth policy of seeking the cheapest available labor. We have become a society where there is no such thing as job security and the "contract" between employees and employers no longer exists.

The new "REALITY" for America's workers.

The average American worker will now change jobs 8-9 times in their career (and the number is on a rapid rise.) One in four Americans can now be classified as contract/independent workers or consultants who are employed on a full-time basis and have ZERO guarantee of steady income.

The state of America's workforce is SO bad, that wee can't even determine an accurate accounting for our nation's unemployed since so many people that are ready, willing, and able to work have given up on looking for work. Pick a number....how about 15-20% unemployed? The truth is, no one (especially the Bureau of Labor Statistics) knows for sure!

Remember the buzz in the media about a "recovery?" Well, it seems that recovery helped large corporations and the top 2% of America, but passed over the rest of us. Large companies have been performing quite well, but are hell bent on hording cash and paying senior executives exorbitant bonuses. No jobs creation there! Meanwhile, smaller companies (including the many I consult with) continue to struggle to meet payroll and keep their businesses afloat. Hire new employees? No way! They continue to be forced to operate with skeletal staffs they've had in place for several years since the last round of layoffs.

Insurance companies, banks, and credit card companies continue to prey on the balance of Americans that are in financial distress. This is where the public debate should be framed, and yet we hear nothing but the shrill sound of two parties not willing to compromise on a relatively minor issue of raising America's debt ceiling.

The bigger issue is a lack of American leadership in politics, education, and business. For 40 years our leaders have taken the easy way out, kicked the can down the road and passed up on countless opportunities to move America forward. Well, that can is at the end of the road. Where do we go from here?

THIS is the broad debate that needs to happen NOW.

The fundamental question that DEMANDS a new kind of visionary American leadership to answer is this: "How can we put Americans back to work?"

For three years, I have been working with all sorts of people from High School students to the mature workforce on ways to bulletproof your career in these turbulent times. There is an "across-the-board" fear at MOST levels of our society that people cannot find meaningful work, and our future is destined to be worse than today.

How did we bankrupt our future? How can we create jobs for our High School students and college graduates and a meaningful future for our children? When 2% of Americans control a majority of our nation's wealth through Lobbyists and special interests, we are in danger. When a grassroots Tea Party movement of less than 10% Congressional representation can derail a nation's political agenda, we are in danger. When our children finish well below the students of other nations in math and science proficiency...we are in danger.

Until an entirely new visionary leadership arises at all levels of our American education, political, and business systems, we are merely shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic American jobless recovery.

Women's World Cup Final Has GREAT Lessons for All

2011-07-14T05:26:00.000-07:00

This Sunday at 2PM Eastern Time, I will be glued to my TV watching the US women play the ladies from Japan for the 2011 Women's World Cup championship.

AND I HATE SOCCER!

So why will I sit and watch, riveted by EVERY play? As a career coach and business consultant...I SIMPLY HAVE TO!

I ask you...has ANY other international sports competition brought together two more positive world role models for us to learn invaluable life lessons from than this game? It is truly RARE that a sporting event holds nearly universal appeal for teaching all the most important lessons on life, competition, teamwork, professionalism...YOU NAME IT!

On one hand is the lady's team from Japan.

Hollywood could NOT have scripted a more improbable, against all odds David victory against Goliath win than when Japan beat a tournament favorite and host nation lady's team from Germany. As a "reward" Japan got to face a VERY strong team from Sweden in the semi's where the Japanese team was outsized 5'-4" to 5'-8" average per player by the Swedes...AND Japan STILL WON to continue the team's phenomenal tournament play, in advancing to the finals.

The Japanese team plays for a nation still healing from a massive earthquake and the evacuation that followed due to the threat of multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns. The team has exhibited a "JUST WIN" mentality throughout the World Cup. They have taken on every adversary no matter how seemingly over-matched and has come through victorious.

The team lends credence to the notion that it's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. And they are already winners for how they have performed.

And then there are those crazy American ladies...

Favored to play in the finals before the tournament even began, they were a collection of stars that had won everything in their path as they racked up international wins. But clearly they likely had not faced adversity and may not have had to play as a truly unified team as when they faced the team from Brazil.

They ran into a Brazilian team that was up to the challenge of playing David to Team USA's Goliath themselves. Brazil outplayed the US in the first half. Coupled with truly horrendous, heinous anti-American officiating the USA ladies faced a horrible position of having to play one player short a majority of the game.

As spectators we got to watch a team of stars rise to the occasion on a global stage.

Team USA put aside any egos and individual goals through clarity of focus on ONE goal...winning a championship! They pushed ahead and seized every opportunity and broke through against Brazil then they followed that win with a victory against France, for a date in the finals.

There are so many parallels for these two teams and so much that they represent that is best in sports. And can be in all of us. Can you see NFL and NBA players/teams performing like this (or the MLB and NHL, for that matter?)

Players on both sides elevated their games, put aside their personal needs, changed positions (roles), had the widespread support of their Nations behind them, all while exhibiting the highest levels of sportsmanship/professionalism as they pursued their lifelong passions.

On the American side, there was great coaching (management) by Sundhage, players becoming leaders (Wambach), rising stars who achieved success when called on to step up (Morgan and Cheney), and unbelievable saves from a woman named Hope Solo (how IRONIC!)

BOTH teams represent the highest standards of excellence regardless of the outcome.

Tune in to ESPN on Sunday at 2PM ET. For all those invaluable LIFE & CAREER lessons.

When Was The Last Time You YO-YO'd?

2011-07-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

What was the last thing you did for fun that made you happy?

When was the last time that you smiled for no reason at all? Did you jump into a game of jump rope with complete strangers? Walk into a sprinkler...with all your clothes on? Laugh so hard that what you were drinking came out of your nose? Maybe you bought a YO-YO just to have some fun?

This is not an esoteric blog post about reclaiming a lost youth. I am amazed and shocked at the increasing level of anger and hatred that seems to be going on in every town of America. You see it on the streets outside our homes, all the way to Washington, DC and the tone of our national political debate. It's PERVASIVE.

The other day I was walking my daughter to her swimming lesson. We got halfway across the street when the light changed colors. We hurried across, but a woman in the car at the red (now green) light honked at us, I guess for slowing her down. As we got onto the curb I turned to her, smiled, and waved as if to say "thanks for your patience." What was her response? She honked again and flipped us the bird...you know, that finger you show people to express your extreme ill-will.

Sure, as an isolated incident we can laugh it off. But these past few years these exchanges of random hostility are becoming all too common. You hear it in the tone of people yelling at servers in restaurants, service staff in stores, people waiting in line for movies.

We are the nation of walking TIME BOMBS, and it makes me wonder how this extreme stress that we all deal with given the uncertainties of our jobs, our homes, and family security, how this is manifesting itself in our own health and personal relationships.

You have to wonder how this rising tide of anger is affecting levels of alcohol and drug abuse dependency, spousal and child abuse, road rage, obesity, the divorce rate, violence in our schools in bullying, conflicts in the workplace such as harassment. It truly is all inter-related.

Clearly the prolonged strain on our society of double digit unemployment, jobs being outsourced and off-shored, our failing education system, our two-party political state of hatred and ineffectiveness...these are all leading us down the road to ruin through anger and unhealthy living.

So, what can we do to reclaim a sense of individual calm, quiet, peacefulness, and a bit of (dare I say it?) happiness?

For starters we can all re-discover what made us happy as children. In honor of July 4th, use the extended weekend to play with a yo-yo or a slinky. Go buy some bubbles, jump in a pool fully clothed. Buy a used saxophone or trumpet, take an art class, pick up that old guitar. Find a friend or stranger to play tennis with. Take a basketball out to the courts and shoot around. Go to the movies by yourself in the middle of the afternoon. Heck, celebrate with a huge tub of popcorn and a soda.

Make a pact with yourself to treat EVERY person you come into contact with in the most civil and friendly of terms, whether a best friend, strained family relation, or complete stranger. You aren't doing this for others...it's for yourself.

While you're at it, spend some time this weekend thinking about the dreams you had when you were younger. It is NEVER too late to revisit your passions. It is certainly NEVER too late to be happy. Try skipping with a child, niece, or nephew, draw chalk on the sidewalk. Go bike-riding.

Take this pursuit of happiness a step further. Remember what you dreamed of doing for a living before you settled on a career of failed hopes and dreams. Rekindle the passion. Find what you are REALLY passionate about AND that you are really good at. Where those two worlds collide...that is your DREAM job. Go for it! If you don't know how, find someone that can help you.

I dare you. No...I DOUBLE dare you.

HAPPY JULY 4TH!

Don't Count America Out, Sweetie

2011-06-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was working on-site at a client's office to develop a coaching and mentoring program to deliver to her employees.

While we were sitting together discussing the course outline, she asked me out of the blue: "Why are you so down on America?"

Talk about your 'out of left field' question. I was blown away.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

So she tells me: "Your last few blogs have been so critical of America. Do you think our best days our behind us?"

As a consultant I've learned to be a straight shooter while mastering the art of evasiveness simultaneously. In her case bluntness was expected.

"I find it hard to dispute the facts," I replied. "For starters, 15-20% of Americans are unemployed, one in four Americans can be categorized as contract/independent workers without the benefits of full-time employment, entire industries are imploding and transforming, and our skyrocketing debt may bankrupt future generations," I answered.

So, yes I am bearish on America right now.

She smiled this ear to ear grin and she said to me: "Sweetie, these are all serious issues but nothing we haven't seen before. We'll manage, like we always do. You're forgetting," she said. We are Americans. This is what we DO."

And that was that.

The trouble is, I keep thinking about the state of America, our short and long-term prospects especially for our children, not to mention my job seeker and small business clients.

But we HAVE seen this before. It's what "creative destruction" as defined by Joseph Schumpeter in his book: 'Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy' is all about. A special thanks to Ray O'Connor for introducing me to this awesome read.

You see America shifting gears now with a surge in new business pursuits around alternative, fuel sources, green technologies, cloud computing, etc. While Best Buy, Blockbuster, Circuit City declare bankruptcy, Netflix, Google, Facebook, Apple continue to shine.

Yes, American students continue to drop down the ranks in global math and science skills rankings. On the flip side, more and more college students are banding together to form business ventures while they are in school. They've seen what has happened to their parents and grandparents. They understand that future employment post graduation is no longer a certainty.

In times of great upheaval and crisis, new opportunities continue to present themselves. So perhaps it is not so foolish to discover a renewed faith in America. Times have been tough these past few years, but perhaps the best is still yet to come, with the right leadership politically, academically, and in business and industry.

Need another perspective? Check out what David Brooks had to say in his op-ed article: "Relax, We'll Be Fine" that appeared in the New York Times on April 5, 2010.

Let's not count America out. We are a nation of DOERs.

Wanna Succeed? Don't Commit to ANYTHING

2011-06-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

Why is it that so many people make commitments to others that they have no intention of keeping? You know all those little white lies... "Sure I'll call you," "I will get back to you on that," "You'll hear from me either way," or one of my all-time favorites - "Of course I can get that to you by then."

It doesn't matter whether you do this out of a passive-aggressive nature or are simply swamped with LIFE. No matter what the intention, poor follow through makes you look bad. This is exacerbated when it is a FIRST impression, and can have a significant NEGATIVE impact on the impression you make with others. The only way to avoid this is...DON'T DO IT.

We are known for our actions. Living a life of "Do as I say, and not as I do" smacks of hypocrisy. Granted we live in the "ME" society and we are all busy to the umpteenth degree. However, not responding to someone especially when you made a commitment to do so reflects a lack of courtesy and poor values.

You do NOT want to become someone that is known for these less than stellar behavioral tendencies. If you take ownership of following up with someone, then do so. If not, do not make the commitment to do so. By acting this way you demonstrate a lack of respect for others.

So, how can you ensure that you follow through on everything you commit to?

1) STOP and really think before you make the commitment.

Don't be too quick to say "yes" to something. Think about the work on your plate and whether or not you have the bandwidth to take on the additional work. Ask for time before you get back to someone with an answer on a commitment. They will appreciate that much more than if you immediately agreed to do something and then NOT delivered on the promise.

2) Try to delegate more and ask for help when needed.

Think of other people that you can assign tasks to that can do a better job, are closer to the information required to complete the project, and can complete the task in a more timely fashion.

3) Take good notes of meetings you attend.

During meetings jot down all of the information that you will need, in order to complete any actions you commit to completing. It helps to capture any commitments you make on your weekly task list and project plans. Use start and end dates for each task, the specific requirements, people that can help you complete the tasks associated with a project, the task's status, and any contingencies that threaten to prevent you from completing the task on time.

4) Create template responses.

If you are expecting overwhelming responses to your communications, then you can always create canned responses that, at a minimum let people know when they can expect to hear back from you.

5)Manage other people's expectations.

Let people know when they can expect your feedback. If it becomes clear as you approach the deadline to respond and you know you will not be able to make the deadline, then let them know you will need to set a new deliver-by date.

6) You can always bow out of the commitment, if all else fails.

If you simply cannot get back to someone, respond to their inquiry, or complete the task, then you owe it to them to let them know that you won't be able to follow through on your commitment.

So whether you receive a call or email from a potential vendor, supplier, or someone looking to offer your organization services, or you are a recruiter or HR professional responsible for responding to job seekers and candidates, there is a MORE professional way to act then ignoring their communication. It's called follow up and follow through...and it leads to greater career success.

Embracing Our FAILURES For Future SUCCESS

2011-05-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Why are we so afraid of failure?

Why do we rationalize the THREAT of failure as a valid excuse to NOT pursue our wildest dreams and aspirations?

Like all other things, it probably started when we were young. Remember playing team sports and our parents teaching us that losing was synonymous with failing and failing was bad...very bad?

Slowly and bit by bit that fear of failure has stayed with us and grown inside. Maybe it was the threat of the unknown and all the failure tied to the unknown that prevented you from pursuing your passion. Maybe it was the fear of getting on stage that kept you from trying out for the drama club, or taking up a musical instrument for fear of performing in public? How about the fear of getting rejected that stopped you in your tracks from trying out for that sports team?

As we got older many supposed experts, from our High School guidance counselors to parents, friends, and family, all told us what classes to take (and avoid), what activities to pursue (and avoid), what majors to pursue (and avoid), relationships to pursue (and avoid),and jobs/careers to pursue (and avoid) until we became the preconditioned risk-averse individual that may define you today.

It's not as if we need others to tell us all the things we can't do. We are good enough at it ourselves. Psychologists have coined the term "head trash" to explain the fact that 65% of all the things that each person says to themselves ABOUT THEMSELVES is negative!

How do we break out of this vicious cycle of self-loathing and fear of failure that prevents us from taking the risks needed to succeed in new ventures?

Is the fear of the unknown and all its potential failure keeping you anchored to a job that you hate? Have you been stuck in the same industry that you have absolutely ZERO no interest in and passion for, just because there's comfort in the familiar?

As trite as it may sound now is the ideal time to cast aside those fears of failure and embrace change, take risks, and seek out success. Start small. Set quantifiable "stretch" goals for yourself, both personally and professionally. A stretch goal demands your very best performance and still there is a great likelihood you won't accomplish it. but hitting 85% of your stretch goal is better than 100% of SAFE goals that never challenge yourself to grow by pushing through your comfort zones.

Consider what the risk is to you that is associated with all the lost opportunities of you not undertaking a challenge due to the risk of failure. They add up tremendously!

Identify the worst case scenario of what failure looks like and compare it to the potential rewards if you are successful. It's called a COST-BENEFIT analysis.

Understand that even if you fail there is tremendous growth through learning, acquiring self-confidence, developing new skills and becoming more comfortable embracing personal risk. Perhaps it would help if we take failure for what it is...part of the process of learning and growing.

“There is no failure. Only feedback.” –Robert Allen

Failure is simply one component of succeeding and most of us separate it as a separate outcome when in fact it's directly tied to and required for being successful.

“Failure is an event, never a person.” – William D. Brown

Too many people associate the event of failing with the intrinsic sense of our own self-worth. In fact, we get conditioned to make our own sense of self-worth connected to the OUTCOMES of our actions. When an idea we have fails, it shouldn't have any reduction in our self-esteem but it can be hard not to let that happen. We internalize that feeling of failure way down inside, like WE were that idea that failed.

What to do???

But you don’t need to think that way. If something you try doesn’t work out, it doesn’t mean you're a failure. It just means you’re actively experimenting, that you’re trying, and you’re learning as a result. In that regard, the expression to be a failure (or successful) doesn’t make any sense.

Always have a contingency or fall back plan. Call it a plan "B" so if plan A "FAILS" there is comfort in having a fall back to relive the stress/fear of failing.

Seize the moment and act today! There is no time like the present. The new normal is 15-20% unofficial unemployment, 1 in 4 American workers can be classified as contract, consulting, or independent. Millions of Americans in their 30s to 50s are turning their untapped passions and talents into life-altering career transitions.

As Les Brown has famously said: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars."

Cold Calling: A Sure Fire Way to NOT Get Results

2011-05-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Be honest...do you actually ENJOY making cold calls (or mailing letters or emailing) complete strangers, inquiring about potential job opportunities? Me neither!

It's extremely scary, threatening, and stressful…ESPECIALLY when you don't have a formalized strategy to guide you through the process. The two greatest barriers to effectively contacting strangers through calling are FEAR and a LACK OF FAITH that you'll be successful in your calling efforts.

That's because cold calling is doomed for failure.

Think about it! In today’s job market unemployment runs rampant (unofficially as high as 15-20%.) Entire industries (banking, financial services, printing, publishing, advertising, retail, music, printing, manufacturing) are struggling for survival. Technological advances evolve constantly and at such a tremendously fast pace that it affects even the most effectively run organization's ability to develop, offer, and deliver products and services.

ORGANIZATIONS DON’T KNOW WHO THEY NEED

In this time of constant uncertainty, few if any organizations can successfully determine which jobs they are going to have a (continued) need for.

The odds of you calling someone that knows NOTHING about you (and that you know little about) and asking her/him if they have a suitable position for you at precisely THAT moment and getting a “MATCH” is truly daunting.

NETWORKING SUPPORTS YOUR CALL EFFORTS

Networking is a proven strategy that you can leverage to find people you should be pursuing opportunities to meet with by leveraging your social AND professional networks including: your family, friends, family of friends, and friends of family that can help you identify the people that you would benefit from speaking with.

Enlisting the help of others is most certainly NOT a sign of weakness or failure in your search. Rather, tapping into your network is a CRITICAL job search tool that supports your job search efforts by removing the need for “COLD CALLING.”

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO WORK?

Successful outcomes are achieved through RESEARCH.
The greatest determining factor to how successful your phone call will be lies well before you ever pick up the phone and call. It has the research you do.

THE 18-32 CAMPAIGN STRATEGY

In my work coaching people on the most effective job search strategies, I teach a strategy that requires you to maximize the likelihood that you will “CONNECT” with the person they contact when you call them.

You MUST have 3 or 4 industries that you are interested in. For each industry, you should identify 6-8 organizations to learn as much about as possible.
Find out what products they make/services they offer? Who are their top competitors? Who are their clients? What are the top 2-3 challenges they face in growing their business? What are their goals?

As an aside cold calling doesn't only apply to job seekers but also those people in sales positions responsible for generating new business.

WHO WOULD YOU REPORT TO?

You also need to find out who the person is that you would report to in the ideal position that you can identify for yourself there. There are plenty of resources that are available for publicly traded companies, non-profits, newly created businesses.

HERE IS THE KEY TO PHONE-BASED INQUIRIES:

Your goal when you call them is to set up a SPECIFIC day AND TIME to meet to explore ways that you can help them to resolve their TOP BUSINESS challenges AND achieve their goals by “creating” a position that DOES NOT CURRENTLY EXIST.

With so much information available to you through the Internet it takes minutes to find background information on the individuals you are targeting such as: where they graduated from High School, college and graduate school, volunteer work/community engagement, their professional affiliations and memberships, articles they're written, panels they participated in, professional awards and accomplishments, certifications and speeches they gave, elected positions held, etc.

Once you identify those 18-32 organizations and the people you would speak to, create a CALL SCRIPT. In order to ensure success you need to rehearse. Use a mirror to make sure that as you rehearse your CALL you are smiling. That will have a positive effect on the cheerfulness in your voice.

DEVELOP A CALL SCRIPT THAT WORKS FOR YOU

Let’s say you are an accountant with experience in the furniture industry and you have targeted a furniture company in Long Island (La-Z-Boy, for example) to explore opportunities as a senior Accountant. Here’s how the flow of a call to their Chief Financial Officer would work:

Hi FIRST NAME. My name is YOUR NAME.

I see that La-Z-Boy is currently in the midst of combining THREE furniture product lines. I am an accountant with experience helping furniture companies such as Ashley and Jennifer Convertibles combine product lines and extend their product offerings.
I would like to schedule 15-30 minutes with you in the next week or two to chat about ways that I can help you to accomplish the goals of 1) combining product lines; and 2) developing the accounting procedures in advance of launching this new line of contemporary furniture. When would you have some time to meet with me?

Be prepared for an “INTERVIEW” during your call.
The research you did will prepare you to answer their questions effectively and explain how your background and experience will help them: 1) make money; 2) save money; and / or: 3) improve their operations, which will MAKE or SAVE them money.

GET A DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBER

If you can’t find the person’s telephone number, call their office main number either before or after normal business hours (8am-6pm) and get their automated voice system. You want to search their employee directory for the person’s NAME to get their telephone number. Once you get their telephone number, call them early in the morning or towards the end of the day. Research shows that the best days to call are Tuesdays and Thursdays.

AVOID LEAVING VOICE MAILS

Try not to leave a voice mail message. If you can’t reach them during one time of day, try another. Try three times before you leave a voice mail in which you identify yourself at the beginning with your telephone number, then use your script, and close with your telephone number. If you don’t hear from them in 3-4 days, call back but try not to leave another voice mail.

PRACTICE...PRACTICE...PRACTICE!

Happy Easter/Passover & Other Brain Droppings

2011-04-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, May 3rd I will be presenting "Brand New YOU: Sell Yourself for Career Success" to alumni at William Paterson University. Why? In today's transformational job market, you MUST know how to package (and SELL) YOURSELF for career and professional success.

Tuesday, May 10th I am presenting an entirely new program on "Critical Thinking for Career Success" to the staff at NY Hospital Queens. According to noted English philosopher Bertrand Russell: "Many people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do."

I prefer to think of critical thinking like Albert Einstein who famously stated: "Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which they were created.”

On Wednesday, May 11th I begin teaching a course on Brand Identity at Baruch College Continuing and Professional Studies. Speaking of which, I was in New York City going to Baruch and I walked by the following:

Is it me, or are the rats in NYC getting bigger and bigger?

I've been having A LOT of conversations with business owners and entrepreneurs about whether people should spend their invaluable time trying to build a brand ONLINE. The most common argument for NOT investing the effort goes something like: "Well, how much business are YOU getting from all your efforts."

As someone who spent most of his career in various marketing roles, I understand the point completely about seeing a tangible return on your TIME investment. However, it's a bit like the CHICKEN & EGG argument, or a classic CATCH-22. you have to build a brand presence online to compliment your in-person brand, and then results i.e. new client acquisition will follow.

I suggest you begin by building your Linked In profile then leveraging the Groups and Discussion function. Build a Twitter presence, develop a blog, use Facebook for your business and career pursuits, and integrate them with each other for your online brand as well as tying them into your offline personal branding efforts. As a job seeker or business owner the first question you always should be asking is: "HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT ME?"

Have a GREAT Easter weekend.

Are You Ready to be RIF'd?

2011-04-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

Today's blog was inspired by conversations I had with three people this week who were all blind-sided when their employment was terminated.

For those keeping score at home, the latest acronym for heartless employee terminations is RIF, short for (yet another) "reduction in force."

The following is a list of tell-tale signs that you should be concerned about your short term employment safety. CAVEAT: there is no such thing as job security.

- How "NECESSARY" are you?
- Could a college graduate perform (a large portion of) your work?
- Can parts of your job be delegated to others?
- How aggressively/successfully have you promoted yourself across your organization?
- Are you working with any of the "Rising Stars" in your company? Are you one of them?
- How is your relationship with your boss?
- How is your bosses reputation? Her relationship with her boss?
- How expansive is your professional network?
- Are you active in your industry associations?
- what are you doing to be recognized as a subject matter expert in your chosen field?
- Have you been published?
- Have you served on panel discussions? Have you spoken at industry events?
- Is your work day monopolized by "busy" work?
- Do you CONSTANTLY update your skills?
- How connected/plugged into the office rumor mill are you?
- Is your employer changing their business model?
- Do you frequently offer to help on cross-functional teams or take on additional roles and responsibilities?
- Has your Team / Department budget been frozen (again?)
- Has there been a recent round of layoffs?
- How was your last performance review?

Even if your job is safe, the best time to explore other opportunities is when you ARE employed. It doesn't mean you should plan on leaving your job TODAY. However, it never hurts to know what your "VALUE" is.

The average American worker changes jobs 8-9 times throughout their career. You should ALWAYS be developing a core set of transferable skills for your personal career contingency plan.

What do you think?

If All The World's A Stage DON'T Get Kicked Off

2011-04-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

I attended a presentation earlier this week that happened to be so bad, it made me walk out well before the speaker was finished. Even though he was talking on a topic I have spent most of my career doing, I assumed there would be a few nuggets of useful information. Turns out you should NEVER assume...I and many others in attendance were extremely disappointed.

The speaker started a half hour late and spent the allotted time providing a bare minimum of remotely useful information. Further, he made a few bragging claims about how successful he was. I wanted to scream: "Gee, that is great for you! Why are you here again?"

I found out later that I was not alone in my early exodus. Approximately half of the people in attendance followed me to the exit doors.

Normally, I would let this sort of thing slide by EXCEPT...I am noticing that more and more presentations that I attend are about as exciting as watching paint dry!

This is a topic near and dear to my heart. You see, I make my living as a professional presenter. I've spoken to hundreds of High School students, military personnel, inmates (yes, convicts!) mid-career changers, senior executives...even SALESPEOPLE. While I may not be trained in the performing arts and as such most definitely no great Thespian, I DO know how to keep an audience focused, in touch with me and interested in what I have to say.

So I find this trend of awful presenting to be quite alarming. It is NOT enough to be a subject matter expert or well versed on the topic you present on. You have to be engaging. You have to provide PRACTICAL advice customized to your audience so they can take away your advice and recommendations and implement them that same day to use in their job, at work, on their business, with their patients..etc. A great tip is practice voice modality. Your tone should not be reminiscent of watching dust accumulate on venetian blinds. If you do a lot of public speaking, why not take a public speaking course. Better yet, enroll in an acting class.

If you are developing a program start out by asking: "what am I going to convey?" Why should someone leave their job and devote their precious time to come hear you speak? What new knowledge are you going to provide? What can they learn from you that they can't learn anywhere else? It may sound simple, but the garbage being passed off as expert commentary is alarming.

It is a disgusting trend where presenters divulge the BARE MINIMUM of "FREE" information as a loss leader. There is NO transparency. It is crystal clear that their intent is ONLY to hook attendees into paying for their consulting service.

In my opinion, there is going to be a huge backlash if this trend continues.If all the world is a stage, many of these imposters are going to get the proverbial hook.

What do you think?

Only a Few of Anything REALLY Matter

2011-03-30T18:39:00.001-07:00

Whether you are a business owner or salesperson trying to please your customers, a comedian attempting to win over a tough crowd, or a politician trying to win votes, it is an entirely NATURAL human desire to want to pay attention to/focus on (and try to please) EVERYONE.

Today's business tip is inspired by the notion that LESS IS MORE or:

"You can make ALL of the people happy SOME of the time and SOME of the people happy ALL the time, but you can't make ALL of the people happy ALL of the time."

Need proof? Let's go back a 100 years...

Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist who studied the income distribution of citizens in Switzerland around 1900.

He found that a relatively small percent of the population controlled most of the countries' wealth (sound familiar, fellow Americans?)

During the 1940s an American named Dr. Joseph Juran expanded upon the work done by Pareto, by studying significant numbers of data from many different industries and case studies. He found that a relatively small number (20%) of the total were always critical, and a majority of the data (80%) was relatively unimportant.

Dr. Juran discovered that this mathematical formula had nearly universal application. So, what that means is the Pareto Principal dictates that:

* 20% of your customers are responsible for 80% of you sales, revenues, and profits.

Looked at another way, if you were to categorize your customers in terms of their loyalty to your offering and satisfaction with you, nearly 75% can be defined as "mercenaries." While they have high satisfaction with (they purchase) your products and services, they have little loyalty to you and will leave you in a heart beat if they find a cheaper price, newer model, etc.

A much smaller segment (no more than 20%) of your customers can be considered loyalists. They are highly loyal to and satisfied with you. NO MORE THAN A PALTRY 5% can be considered "raving fans" or "apostles."

A raving fan is a customer that sticks with you through thick and thin. They are 100% loyal to you and thrilled with your brand. They tell anyone and EVERYONE they know about you and they provide you with a constant pipeline of referrals.

They are the "unpaid sales reps" of your business who behave like Loyalists BUT they also provide you with much needed input/criticism that helps you to continuously improve your offerings.

The challenge we face is create an action plan to find apostles in your customer base. You do this by moving your customers up the three step sales ladder from prospect to Raving Fan/Apostle. You initially have to convert them during the first step from a prospect into a customer. During the second stage, you migrate them to the more lofty status of repeat customer. At the highest level of customer engagement, you need to convert them from a repeat customer into a raving fan.

Conduct a needs assessment for your top non-apostle accounts, convince those clients to embrace/accept/implement your recommendations, and review their plan with them every 3-4 months. It will help you to write down the names of a few of your apostles. Think about those relationships. What did it take to convert them from repeat customers? What does it take to maintain a "raving fan" relationship with them? Which existing clients will you target to convert this year?

Start now! It takes time and special nurturing. Remember that less is more, and a handful of clients hold the key to your future success.

Bad Things ALWAYS Happen to Rip Van Winkels

2011-03-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's a sad but absolute truism that when you fall asleep at the wheel (or under a tree) for a significant length of time, bad things are sure to happen.

You SNOOZE, you LOSE!

For countries that fall asleep, bad things happen in the form of failing social services, exodus of jobs, atrophied infrastructure, failing education standards, a dwindling Middle Class, lack in global competitiveness, etc.

When organizations fall asleep, they lose market share, lose sight of their best customers' needs, stop making relevant products or offering services that matter, lose talented employees, and miss opportunities to enter new markets.

When individuals like Rip Van Winkel fall asleep, they wake up to find they spent a career in a job they hated. They miss out on opportunities to develop lifelong transferable skills, have their experience become outdated/obsolete, fail to keep up with the latest trends and developments, miss out on chances for promotions or lateral career moves, etc.

The question we all need to keep asking ourselves is: "how can I stop myself from falling asleep, by applying personal career insomnia?"

Phrased differently: "what can you do to not miss out on life's golden opportunities? Following are a few strategies that you can employ to stay wide awake:

* Pursue lifelong learning;
* Conduct a personal career exploration audit every 3-4 months;
* Hire a career or life coach;
* Go back to school - take classes or teach;
* Turn your passions into a career;
* Monetize your hobbies;
* Update your resume especially if you are happy in your current job;
* Network like a fiend to find out what other people are doing;
* Join relevant industry associations;
* Shake things up! Embrace change...try a new haircut/style, take up an instrument, try a new sport, sign up for an art class, or go see a movie by yourself;
* DON'T PROCRASTINATE!!! Set weekly personal goals;

We all have a tendency to get so caught up in the moment of performing our daily routine that with time it becomes nearly impossible to wake ourselves up.

Let this be your WAKE UP CALL!

My Dog Molly’s GREAT Career Advice

2011-03-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Molly, my two year old terrier mutt was looking over my shoulder as I began writing this blog. She yawned, licked herself, and was looking very bored and unimpressed.

I got a bit insulted at her lack of enthusiasm so I snapped at her: “Do you think you can do better?”

She jumped off the bed, onto the chair at the computer and started banging away on the keyboard furiously.

Since she almost NEVER exhibits that kind of enthusiasm for my work, I let her have a go at it. Turns out, her advice is brilliant!

So with a minimum of editorial changes (she doesn’t have thumbs so there were a lot of typos) I give you Molly’s tips for exceptional career success.

Time Management: Make Time to Lick Yourself

It’s not easy sleeping 20 hours a day and still accomplishing the most pressing business matters I face. So, I need to be economical and know my “up” and “down” time. I plan accordingly and stick to a schedule. I wake early EVERY day, to prepare for a day of napping AND barking at every noise outside our apartment. I manage to get in three good walks a day, fit in an hour of ball chasing at the park and ample time for licking myself. Do you have a well planned out routine and plan each day and week to accomplish clearly defined goals?

Be an Expert at Non-Verbal Communications

Without as much as a single word spoken, I can convey my constant desire to play fetch with the human (that’s Ethan) by dropping my ball at his feet constantly for TEN OR MORE HOURS EVERY DAY. It took a lot of work on my part, but he was finally trained. When he fails to respond - I bark (walk quietly and carry a big stick – or bark, I say!) then he focuses on me and I get what I want. It’s my way of saying “ball…ball…ball…ball…” loudly and clearly.

I am also quite capable of expressing my need for receiving affection. All I have to do is waddle over to any available human in the family then plop down next to them and ever so gently push my muzzle under their hand. I’ve trained them all to understand that means scratch me until I cuddle up into a convulsing fit of pleasure. It brings down their blood pressure, and it makes me feel REEEAAALLY good. It’s a WIN-WIN.

By paying attention to the subtle body language and non-verbal cues between your co-workers, partners, bosses, clients, and prospects you separate the terriers from the retrievers, and the most effective leaders from the ineffectual manager types.

Do YOU practice conveying your feelings, emotions, and desires without speaking? Are you adept at reading others’ non-verbal cues? If not…practice. Start by dropping a ball at a co-worker’s (or bosses) feet repeatedly…or something else. You’ll find it works wonders.

Relationship-Building Skills To Be the TOP DOG

This is a truly critical skill that is mandatory for successful career mobility and professional development. Trust me, I know. It’s taken me two years to build a reputation as the most demanding, ball-obsessed barking terrier on the block!

I make those nearest me feel special EVERY day. I greet my fellow pack (family) members at the door when they arrive home. Whether they’re gone for nine hours or 5 minutes, I wag convulsively in my excitement when they walk through the door, until I nearly fall over. It must work really well…they keep feeding me!

Do you do the same thing with your humans (whether employees or team members you manage?) I suggest recognizing their work and accomplishments, rewarding them, paying attention to them, and soliciting their ideas.

Well, that’s it for now. I have to go lick myself, take a nap, play some ball, and bark at the mailman.

Being Great DEMANDS Follow Up With People.

2011-03-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today’s business tip is really nothing more than a simple common courtesy, yet it seems to have become a lost art for many in today’s hyper-frantic 24x7 world in which we conduct business. It has to do with returning people’s phone calls, responding to emails, confirming you’ve received information others have sent you, and/or completing tasks that you agreed to as outcomes of meetings or working in teams.

We can get overwhelmed with work when we’re working harder than ever and putting in more hours. For many of us, our workload has increased significantly when we inherited the work performed by others in our organization laid off. But that does not justify refusing to extend others the courtesy of a call back, email reply, or status update on the work we agreed to contribute.

This failure to follow up may have something to do with a more subtle issue of deciding to be passive aggressive when we don’t want to talk to the person contacting us or we put off doing the tasks that were assigned to us or we volunteered to do. When this happens, our reputation demands we act in the most professional manner.

Whatever the motivation, when you make a commitment to follow up with someone or take on an action your decision not to follow through speaks volumes about you…and it’s not positive. Your reputational brand is a transferrable skill that you take with you. By establishing a proven track record of reliability and accountability, it becomes a part of your USP – Unique Selling Proposition.

A further motivation for having the professionalism to follow through on commitments has to do with the very small world that we live in. We all know Kevin Bacon through six degrees of (LinkedIn) interconnectedness.

When you make a bad impression with others (whether it’s with peers in your organization or acquaintances you know in your social or professional network) it can become a Scarlet Letter that brands you as someone that lacks respect for others.

So, is there someone you owe a call to? Pick up the phone and call them, or return those emails sitting in your in-box.

Consider it an invaluable step in your ongoing career and professional development.

Your Employees Hate You and They're Telling Everyone

2011-03-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

Psst! Your Employees HATE You and They're Telling People

In any place of work, employees have an annoying habit of talking to each another. Sure, they complain about their boss to their co-workers, but depending on how well (or poorly) their employer is treating them they may also talk to their friends and their family members.

So what, you ask?

Well, if that isn’t potentially damaging enough to your company, if they’ve been treated really badly they will keep talking to more people.

What if your employees are talking (negatively) about you to your competitors? Worse yet, what if they are complaining to your prospects or…GASP …your customers?
Are your actions as a manager (or boss) jeopardizing your business survival by unleashing a toxic sea of bad press through your employees’ collective ill will?
What are they saying…and where are they saying it?

Are your employees bad-mouthing your company on employment rant websites like Jobvent, JobGrades, WorkRant, and Telonu, or social media websites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace?

Yes? Then it is incumbent upon you to figure out why AND RECTIFY THAT!

Be honest. Are you personally or your organization guilty of the following?

• You haven’t given your people a bonus in years (or ever) even if they really deserved one. Did you reward yourself, your senior management team, even a select few employees you really like without regard to performance? Oh-oh!

• Have you even given your people a cost of living salary adjustment to compensate for increases in the cost of living? No? Danger, Will Robinson!

• Have you terminated people in the past two years, and made the workers you kept work harder by giving them additional responsibilities…at no additional pay increase? Do they work longer hours, or take work home with them to do nights and weekends just to keep their head above water?

• Have you stopped offering a holiday party,cut back on basic supplies (coffee, post-it’s toilet paper – don’t laugh! I’ve seen it) or forced people to share computers, phones, workspace?

The people that you laid off were friends of the ones you kept. Do you think that the ones left behind are motivated to work harder?

• Do you treat your people like children? For example, do you use software to monitor/track their use of social media at work? Do you limit their personal calls? Are you requiring them to sign in and out, limit their breaks and lunch time…whether they have abused workplace procedures or they are stellar employees?

• Do you exercise an autocratic leadership style that berates and belittles people, and demands they check in with you for every little action?

• Do you make them pay their own work-related expenses?

• Is your performance management/review process fair? Heck, do you even have one?

• How often do you communicate with your people? Do you encourage them, by telling them when they’ve done a good job?

• Do you ever do anything FUN for your people…a night out bowling? Afternoon pizza party? Throw bean bags at a blow up clown or darts at a board with your face taped to it?

Do you notice a THEME in this line of questions? Let’s say you’re “guilty” of some of these abusive employer actions. Is your answer to all these questions: “my people are lucky they are employed and receiving a paycheck?”

If that is your mindset and your firm keeps treating your people this way, rest assured they will leave you as soon as they get the chance.

Rather than punish your people for expressing displeasure in your horrible treatment, why not become a world class employer? Solicit their ideas all the time how to make your business better. Empower them to take calculated risks, and recognize them for their successes and their failures by learning from the failures.

What do you do to ensure that your people grow professionally? Do you challenge your workers to challenge themselves, think creatively, and act independently? Do you reward and recognize your workers? Do you communicate with them constantly? Have you promoted people?

By implementing a few of these strategies, you will become a preferred employer who has their employees’ ultimate respect and loyalty. Your people will run through walls for you, achieve amazing results, stay with you when times are rough, and help you not only survive but thrive in these transformational times. Your people will still talk about you, but it will be glowing rave reviews that create a strong reputational brand that will make top talent flock to you and the press cover what you do.

So, if you can’t be altruistic do it for purely selfish reasons.

Or, keep doing what you’re doing. I’m sure your workers like spending most of their days playing Solitaire, chatting on Facebook, and searching for a new job.

Put Your People's Untapped Talents to Work For Your Organization's Success.

2011-03-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

In nearly EVERY organization that I have worked for or consulted with, most employees have tremendous skills that AREN'T being utilized.

Here's why...

Nearly every organization hires its people to accomplish a set of pre-defined tasks associated with a job vacancy. They then force their employees to fit into the role defined by the job description.

However, if you look at every employee in your organization's core competencies, you will find that there are many untapped talents that each possesses that are not being used.

Rather than allow these skills to lie dormant, why not redesign their job to take advantage of the depth and breadth of background they possess through their: prior work experience, training ,education, language proficiency, customer service, cultural diversity, volunteer work, hobbies, interests, and passions.

The employee will feel more engaged which will make them feel happier and thus...MORE PRODUCTIVE! That will build a more loyal workforce, increase your employee retention rates, and reduce the significant recruiting costs associated with filling vacancies when people leave.

The beauty is, it only takes minutes to implement such a strategy - call it a HUMAN CAPITAL AUDIT.

Here is how you accomplish this...have every employee's manager sit with each employee and list the employee's primary roles and responsibilities for their current job in one column.

In the column to the right, list all of their top competencies. Then they should decide together which competencies are currently being used (you will be surprised how few of your people's collective top skills are being leveraged.) Then you design an action plan to begin integrating their most relevant skills into their job.

Assign a time-frame to begin using each unused skill. List any contingencies or barriers that will prevent them from accomplishing this in the agreed to time-frame.

Once you conduct this human capital audit for all your people, your organization will begin benefiting immediately from the unleashed talents that your people start leveraging in their day to day jobs.

In today's challenging business climate, the key to your organization's competitive advantage and long-term success is right under your nose...in your people.

Here's to your continued success in 2011!

Four Qualities the Best Organizations All Share

2011-02-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

Certain organizations understand that it is critical to transform themselves by only accepting great performance. There are four common characteristics that are shared by world class organizations in any industry. they are:

1.) Talent Management/Employee Best Practices: These organizations understand that pay is only one of many motivational tactics they can use to gain their employees’ loyalty. They run reward and recognition programs, and provide formal coaching and mentoring. They treat their partners like they were part of their organization, offer conflict resolution solutions through HR, and exhibit best-of-breed recruiting, on-boarding, retention and compassionate outplacement programs. They implement 360-degree performance reviews, and leverage human capital audits to match each employee’s core competencies with their job responsibilities to unleash their people’s untapped talents.

2.) A Strong Moral Compass: These organizations foster civility throughout their culture, aggressively encourage team-building, leverage inclusion, and promote a sense of collective employee social conscious/corporate capitalism by endorsing volunteer work. They offer their employees flexible work schedules and job-sharing rotation options, provide great benefits, and conduct women/minority/disabled employee promotional initiatives. They recycle, practice green initiatives, and stay ahead of EEOC compliance regulations.

3) Focus on the Future: They aggressively build and defend their intellectual capital portfolio (patents, copyrights, and trademarks), and create employee idea generation programs to solicit all the very best ideas from their people. At their core they constantly seek out ways to transform themselves from good to great. They ensure the survival of their business through business continuity efforts and succession planning, constantly assess Merge & Acquisition strategies for opportunities.

Further, they develop a culture of adapting and excelling in times of constant change by leveraging a wealth of problem -solving strategies. They embrace change and encourage their people to take calculated risks and try to fail greatly. They focus on the trends and developments in their own industries as well as technological advancements and marketing, sales, operations, and customer care "best practices."

4.) Communications: these organizations excel at communicating both internally and externally. their success in communicating all begins with their people, by holding regularly scheduled town hall meetings, management round tables, breakfast with the CEO, and management by walking around. they use intranets, webinars, daily/weekly emails, and fireside chats to keep all of their people knowledgeable. They assess performance constantly and not once a year.they embrace 360-degree reviews to have direct reports evaluate bosses and peers evaluate people they work with in other departments. These organizations are not afraid of sharing information with partners, vendors, suppliers, shareholders...even competitors! They communicate on a constant basis with their clients through client road shows, surveys, “mystery” shopping of their locations, customer care engagement etc.

the bottom line is, it is no longer a viable survival strategy to continue using command-control, top-down dictatorial run structures and accepting "just good enough" is no longer an option to ensure an organization's future survival.

Creative Problem Solving for a New Millenium

2011-01-23T05:34:00.000-08:00

Today's fast-paced world demands new approaches to problem solving. The ancient Chinese proverb: "If you only have a hammer every problem is a nail" highlights that we all approach problem solving with a preexisting set of skills, biases, values, and past experiences that might not apply to the new challenges that we find ourselves facing or may be insufficient in seizing new opportunities. We therefore need to expand our toolbox of solutions to approach problem solving in a fresh new light.

Today's blog is dedicated to providing sure fire ways to unleash your creative juices and add tools to your arsenal. Using the strategies below, you will be able to approach problems in a new way to conceptualize, analyze and implement new ideas.

Whether you're searching for new products or services, conducting a job search or thinking about transitioning to a new career, these sure-fire problem-solving strategies will help you to unleash your full potential.

SKETCHING: Remember all those times you doodled in class when you were bored by your teacher/professor? Well, turns out that sketching is a powerful tool to help your mind wander aimlessly while firing up those neurons. Keep a small notepad with you. You can sketch when the mood hits you, and jot down all those ideas as they pop up. In my daughter's school they call it "Stop and Jot."

BRAINSTORMING: This time-tested strategy works for a reason. You get a group/team together, have a moderator outline the problems and assess a myriad of solutions in a working group format. Brainstorming however has many flaws. More vocal, aggressive, and self-confident outspoken members tend to dominate the forum even despite effective facilitation, thus the quieter, more introspective players are blocked out and their ideas go unheard. One way to counter this natural group behavior that comes out in brainstorming is to pursue brainwriting.

BRAINWRITING: Overcomes the inherent shortfalls of brainstorming. With brainwriting the moderator asks each participant to write down 3-5 ideas to solve a problem. This is all done anonymously. Then the moderator collects their answers and passes them out so others can add ideas, thoughts, or question the initial respondent's list. You do this a few times and then get together as an entire group to go through each thread of ideas.

ASKING WHY: Ask anyone who has little children or has been around them, and they will tell you the most annoying question you can be asked over and over is..."WHY?" However, when you question accepted processes, systems, approaches, or ways of doing things you can force yourself and those around you to consider new perspectives. Along those lines, you can and MUST demand that it is no longer to answer any WHY with..."that's how we've always done things." That is an unacceptable answer in light of the unique challenges we face.

STARBURSTING: In a team, you start by writing down an idea, problem or challenge in the middle of a six-point star. Then you collectively answer each of the 5 W's and H (who, what, where, when, why and how.) Come up with as many potential solutions as possible without editing yourself. Then choose amongst the ideas that can be implemented.

PROVOCATION: Make a statement that is provocative and seemingly flawed on its face value, with the intent of sparking debate. For example, if you are leading an architect's team building a new commercial building, you might consider starting a meeting by saying: "the building we design doesn't need a roof."

The goal of provocation is to spark "What if" scenarios to support that (seemingly false) claim. Example, the building we design shouldn't have a traditional roof, but rather a roof with solar panels or green/eco-friendly feature to capture and re-use the energy from the heat of the sun.

METAPHORICAL THINKING: This creative problem solving exercise features combining two seemingly unrelated ideas, concepts, features, products in order to come up with new solutions. For example, if you were trying to determine the best way to apply the collective time your Team spends working on a task, you would blend the two seemingly unrelated ideas of TIME and MONEY.

REFRAMING MATRIX: The approach with re-framing is to force your team's participants to consider challenges using a different perspective than they typically use. This FOUR PERSPECTIVE approach forces them to consider the following:

The PRODUCT/SERVICE Perspective: Is something wrong with the product/service we offer?
The PLANNING Perspective: Is our business/sales/marketing plan(s) faulty?
The POTENTIAL Perspective: If we increase our workload, project focus, offerings, how will we achieve this?
The PEOPLE Perspective: Do we have the RIGHT people and are they working at the RIGHT tasks/in the RIGHT roles.

ATTRIBUTE LISTING: This exercise is ideal to help you identify new product and service offerings.

Start out by listing all the functional groups of offerings your company, department, team offers. For example, a Student Affairs Department in a college delivers services to students around student development, counseling, career services, housing, health & wellness, etc.

Your team will then list all of the different services/products offered in each category/group. For example, career services offered by Student Affairs includes job fairs, resume writing, cover letters, interviewing skills, etc. The goal is to mix & match different services in different categories to formulate new offerings.

The DO IT Approach:

"D" Define the problem
"O" Open your mind and apply creative solutions
"I" Identify the solution(s)
"T" Transform...implement the solution(s) using an action plan

WALT DISNEY CREATIVE STRATEGY: Walt Disney was one of the most creative and prolific business people and a true visionary in America's history. Not only was he a great visionary and creative genius, but he was also exceptional at using a formal process (neurolinguistic language programming) in order to get the most out of the people he worked for. Here's how he did it:

Have your team meet in a conference room or space. Have 3 separate areas. Start out in the DREAMER area. Every one must visualize a time in their life when they were a dreamer and came up with a tremendously creative idea. What did they feel like? What were they thinking? When everyone is done, move to the REALIST area. Everyone must think about a time in their career when they effectively planned, solved or executed a problem. What were they thinking? How did they feel? When time is up, have everyone move to the CRITIC area. Ask all the participants to think back to a time in their work life when they had to critically assess/determine if an idea or proposed solution would actually work.

Make the team go through this exercise 2 or 3 times, until they are confident that their approaches can stand up to the collective scrutiny of the team when they meet to discuss their findings.

Dare to be GREAT: Just being good enough can no longer be our goal to strive for, when so many of our business/industry, academic, and political systems are failing us. We need entirely NEW approaches. We need to demand greatness. Jim Collins in his book 'Good to Great' wrote that "Good is the enemy of great."

Steve Jobs who experienced the highest of highs and low of lows being fired from his job as CEO and founder of Apple wrote: "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work."

So, why not try to implement some of these approaches to problem solving. You'll be amazed how many actionable new ideas and solutions you can come up with.

Networking Skills to Get Everything You Want

2011-01-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

It never ceases to amaze me how few people there are that understand how to network effectively. Given how important it is to make a first impression, and how valuable our network of relationships are in our personal and professional lives, you'd think that more people would try harder to network effectively.

Well, no worries. Here are some strategies that you can employ in your 2011 networking activities, to win friends and influence people.

1) Develop a Strategic Networking Plan.

Whether your goal is to find new business opportunities or conduct an effective job search, you need to have a strategic networking plan. In the plan, your create a comprehensive profile of your target (whether its an employer, client, vendor, partner, supplier, etc.) Be as detailed as you can in your description. Include information about where they went to college (undergraduate and graduate programs), what industry associations do they belong to, what events do they attend, what conferences do they go to, what panel discussions are they going to participate in, where are they speaking/presenting at, what if any volunteer organizations do they support, what programs such as coaching/mentoring are they involved with.

You then want to create a plan on how you are going to get yourself "in front" of these people. You want to be at any and all events in your area that are attended by target clients/employers.

2) Meet People Through MeetUp.

Go to www.meetup.com and search for groups of professionals in your city/home town that share your professional interests and background and send a request to that group's organizer requesting to join these groups. Once you are accepted, you will receive emails alerting you to when the groups plan a networking event.

3) Research Event Attendees BEFORE You Go.

Once you accept an invitation to attend an event through MeetUp, go to LinkedIn and research the other registrants, to see if they are someone you want to target at the event. If these people fall under the profile of your ideal networking target on your strategic networking plan, memorize their face and one or two key things that you are going to make a point to bring up at the event.

4) People Like You MOST When They Talk About THEMSELVES.

Have you ever gone to an event and there is someone who trolls to crowd, stopping only for a second to hand everyone their business card? You know the type, the one who looks and acts like the used car salesperson. They don't bother to find out anything about you. How does that make you feel?

Instead, try asking those people that you researched beforehand some great probing questions like: "So, what do you hope to get out of tonight's event?" Another great question to ask your fellow networkers is: "Can you tell me what your ideal customer (or employer, if you are using the event for job seeking) profile is?" One thing my wife has taught me after 20 years of marriage...people LOVE to talk about themselves.

Don't spend more than 10 minutes speaking with any one person. The goal at networking events is a simple one...you want to make a connection, and find out enough just to see if you can help them. If so, ask for their business card and agree on who will take ownership of following up next, to schedule a follow up meeting.

5) Employ the "5-2-1" Rule of Thumb.

In networking you have to make an immediate impact with the people you meet. In the first five seconds, you have to say something about yourself and your personal brand that resonates with your networking peers. For example: "Hi, I'm Ethan the compassionate career coach." The goal is to say something that makes them say: "Wow, what does that mean."

That's the FIVE in 5-2-1.

Your answer to that should be no more than two minutes and make them so interested that you walk away from that encounter with them saying "I have to schedule an hour to meet with that person in the next week or two.

That's the TWO in the 5-2-1.

Then you schedule a follow up meeting either right there on the spot or you take ownership of reaching out to them later to set up that next meeting.

That's the ONE in the 5-2-1.

So the take away is, you want to approach networking strategically, be interested in learning about other people and taking every opportunity to get better at it.

How Poor Communication Leads to Lost Opportunities

2011-01-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

As we shoot out of the starting gate into a (hopefully) strong rebound year in 2011, I can't help but wonder if the collective poor judgments exhibited in the past by our not so stellar politicians, educators, and business leaders may doom us to greater failure at a critical crossroads in America's 21st century future.

Let me share with you a story that might shed insights into how our own actions lead to often missed opportunities due to nothing more than plain old poor communication.

Late last year I met for lunch with a client that I had served for two years. He is the Executive Director of a major industrial development organization in the NY Metro area. He leads a team of nine people that deliver a wide range of employee placement and business services to 1,400 organizations throughout New York City.

During our two year relationship, I had delivered training and development programs for his staff and coached him in key areas of running his business.

He wanted to meet before the end of the year, because he was considering a career move and wanted to brainstorm ideas before January. We talked about our mutual challenges (him in leading his organization, me in continuing to grow my business consultancy.) I confided that over the past 2 years I occasionally thought about closing shop and going to work for an organization. We parted ways in agreement that I would provide him with career transition guidance and continue working with his staff to deliver coaching.

A week later, he emailed me the link to a job opportunity for a Director of Continuing and Professional Studies at a university in NY. His message read: "What do you think of this?" That was all.

Well, given that I have worked with over 30 colleges and universities and deliver many career coaching and business consulting services to academic institutions, I thought he was sharing a possible job lead. I applied for the opportunity and emailed him to thank him for thinking of me.

He replied immediately. He said that he was thinking of the position for himself, and wanted to know what I thought about it. He then demanded that I rescind my application as a requirement for us working together in the future.

I immediately attempted to do so. I informed him that I wasn't able to withdraw my candidacy. I apologized profusely and attempted to explain the reason for the misunderstanding.

That was three months ago, and despite many attempts to contact him he has not replied.

So the lesson learned? Due to a simple misunderstanding, two people that had forged an excellent working relationship no longer do business together.

Many of the greatest challenges that we face in achieving success in the workplace, launching/growing a business, achieving effective partnerships, serving clients...all of these can be achieved by maintaining open, honest dialogs through effective communication.

How many opportunities have you lost out on, due to plain old poor communication?

Think about our dysfunctional 2 party political system, spending most of its time and effort fighting to thwart each others' initiatives? How about our business leaders who react to every challenge by initiating massive employee layoffs. How about our education administrators who scramble to develop policies to deal with falling American student performance with such foolish programs as No Child Left Behind?

So many of our problems can be reconciled through the power of open, ongoing and honest communication. Sounds like a GREAT New Year's resolution, huh?

Why 2011 Is Going To Be a GREAT Year

2011-01-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

Given the past two years, it might seem ludicrous to claim on 1/1/11 that 2011 is going to be a great year. On the one hand, many industries have been struggling and the historical drivers of new job creation (small business owners) are not exactly in a hiring mood given their company’s future uncertainty.

So how can I claim that 2011 is going to be a GREAT year…? The sheer power of positive thinking will create our own opportunities. For starters, let’s agree to replace the phrases “I CAN’T”, “I’ll TRY”, “I MIGHT” and “I HOPE TO” with “I WILL.”

We each deal with a psychological term called “head trash” in which research shows more than 65% of all the things we say to and about ourselves is NEGATIVE.

In order to break out of this two year slump our nation has been in, we need to all make a concerted effort to keep reminding ourselves how special we are and how much we each have to offer. It also requires a bit of reinvention nd VERY proactive changes be made.

We all need to remove those people from our network that serve as negative influences in our lives. Anyone (whether they be family or friend) that is a negative stimulus in our lives needs to be removed. We have the right to protect ourselves from these people that are always seeing the negative side of things, and/or trying to tell us what we cannot accomplish and remind us of our personal challenges. They are a cancer that needs to be removed before we can be free to rise up o our full potential.

We need to all make 2011 the year of significant action. It’s about figuring out what has been happening to our country the past few years and taking proactive steps to get our proverbial “house in order.” It’s about improving our family finances, improving our physical condition, improving our career situation, and positively impacting the lives of those we value most.

We will do that by setting realistic, tangible goals for ourselves on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Forget those silly New Year’s resolutions.

Instead, we will each develop our own personal marketing plan, create a job search pipeline, develop a list of key contacts to conduct informational interviews with, set goals on networking events, build an online presence through Facebook, LinkedIn, MeetUp and Twitter. Join relevant professional associations for the 2-3 industries you are interested in breaking into.

It means we all need to take classes, seek additional certifications and accreditations, learn a foreign language, investigate the industries we'd like to break into, seek out internships, offer to do volunteer work in your community, make key contacts, travel, work/study/live abroad, etc. Get going! Any action towards progress is desirable. We should all avoid the status quo and way we did things in the past! The one sure constant is change in 2011. Embrace it.

Dare to make 2011 GREAT and ignore all those negative people that want to focus on how bad things have been in the past.

Develop an Organizational Talent Management Plan

2010-12-20T15:48:00.001-08:00

World-class organizations understand that their people are their greatest asset, and therefore pursue aggressive strategies to constantly improve the overall talent level of their employees as a means of achieving lasting competitive advantage in the markets they compete in.

Following are some strategies that your organization can employ, as part of an integrated and effective talent management program that recruits, hires, trains, and retains top talent.

1. Always Be On the Lookout for Top Talent:

Your organization should constantly be on the lookout for potential new hires, even if they don't meet an immediate, short-term staffing need. You always want to be on the look out for talented people to bring into your organization. The most successful companies all maintain a constant vigilance in their search for top talent regardless of their immediate needs. Their philosophy with respect to staffing is, they can ALWAYS find a place for these stars who have established a clear track record of success in generating revenues, reducing costs, and improving organizational efficiencies for other organization.

2. Conduct a Human Capital Audit:

To unleash the many untapped talents of the people working in your organization, match every employee's core competencies to their job descriptions. Your management team and Human Resources should always be on the lookout for the talents that are NOT being used by all their employees, as well as key areas for each employee to receive additional training and development.

3. Develop a Reward & Recognition Plan:

Nothing builds up long-term employee morale and their loyalty to their organization more than rewarding and recognizing them for their work and contributions. Many short-sighted, poorly run organizations seem to think that recognizing an employee is giving them a paycheck. They fail to recognize their people's contributions and commitment to their organization. When the economy turns, people that have been overworked and under-appreciated will leave your company. Do you know who they are? How many are your rising stars who hold a key to your company's long term success?

4. Develop a Coaching/Mentoring Program:

The most effective way to leverage the talents of your more recent hires and longer term employees is to pair them up for formal coaching and mentoring. Your less tenured employees will have their ramp up time in learning the Ins & Outs greatly reduced, and will benefit greatly from the collective experience and insights that your more seasoned employees can share. Your more tenured workers will receive the benefits of feeling connected, contributing to your organization's success, and feel respected that their past experiences and knowledge are appreciated and still relevant in terms of training your future leaders.

5. Create a Idea Generation Lab:

In order to ensure your organization's long-term success, you should constantly solicit ideas from your staff, esp. those employees that are closest to the work processes, systems, clients, vendors, partners, and other stakeholders. Create a program to actively seek ideas from all of your employees. Reward employees or the ideas that have the greatest positive impact on your ability to serve clients, create/launch new products, come up with new service offerings,reduce costs, etc. This will improve morale and employee retention as positive side effects.

6. Employee New Venture "Intrapreneur" Program:

An excellent strategy that you can employ in order to prevent your best people from leaving to start their own entrepreneurial efforts is set aside funding to have them pursue new ventures while they (STILL) work for you. This is an exceptional way for your organization to retain your top talent, while building your company's intellectual capital portfolio of patents, trademarks, copyrights while simultaneously benefiting from your people's desire and knowledge to develop new product/service offerings.

7. Leadership/Management Development Program:

Create a formal program to develop your key people's leadership skills, and provide them with the tools, resources, knowledge and skills they need to manage others for success. This may be the single greatest potential to positively impact your bottom line. Rather than having to recruit outside talent to fill key leadership roles or recruit for new managers, cultivate the talents of your existing workforce and provide them with lasting skills to position your organization for success.

8. Develop a Succession Plan:

Create a formal strategy to identify the top talent in your organization that should be groomed/prepared for future leadership and/or management roles. This is especially vital for family run businesses or organizations led by someone that possesses most of the intellectual capital needed to run your organization over the long haul. Think of Jack Welch at GE when he identified Jeffrey Immelt to take his place, Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, etc.

9. Training and Development Program:

Create a formal plan to identify areas for each employee to be trained and develop their skill sets and knowledge base. Employees should have the skills they need to exceed in their current role as well as have a clearly defined action plan for managing their long-term performance, and a clear future career track within the organization.

A final note to owners and managers...

If your people are important enough to hire, then they can and must be leveraged as your greatest asset to achieve long-term success in the markets you compete in. Far too many businesses take the approach of pursuing massive layoffs during trying economic times. This is a cop out and very myopic strategy that costs significantly more to the organization in the long run then taking care of your workforce.

Far too often organizations hire consultants to come up with strategic recommendations and one of their first strategies is to suggest layoffs. This is a surefire path towards self-inflected long-term damage. Rather, take ownership in determining how your people can be leveraged. Expand their skills, provide them with additional resources, give them a greater stake in your organization's success, challenge them to come up with solutions or make changes.

How to Find a Job That DOESN'T Exist

2010-12-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

In today's job market with rampant unemployment, global competition, shrinking industries, and rapidly evolving technologies and business models, an entirely NEW approach to job searching is required.

This new job search strategy requires that you MUST focus on finding jobs that don't even exist. How can you do that? It's definitely NOT easy and requires an entirely new mind set as a job seeker, BUT...the results will prove much more rewarding than following the old traditional, conventional approaches that no longer work! Here's how you do it...

First off, it's critical that you match you background, values and belief system to the types of culture in organizations that would be attractive to you. It is important to note there are TWO types of culture in any organization. The first is called the FORMAL culture...consider it "aspirational." It's what they want to believe it is like to work in their company. That is what they say about themselves. It's called "spin" or PR. Take it with a grain of salt. The much more useful and instructive information is in the INFORMAL culture. You find that out by speaking with employees, ex-employees, industry analysts. What is it like if you got to walk around their place of business and just watch how people interact with each other? What kind of volunteer work do their employees do, what causes do they support, which politicians do they contribute to? This type of information is INVALUABLE. You find this by conducting informational interviews.

After you have conducted this personal exploration, you are ready to create an action plan. Target 3-4 industries and 6-8 organizations, companies, not for profits, agencies in each. That gives you a manageable search for 18-32 organizations.

Next, research everything you can about those organizations. Their key challenges, latest successes and failures, top competitors, key trends and developments in the markets they compete in. Are they publicly traded? Get their quarterly and annual reports from the SEC EDGAR website. What are analysts writing about them. Have any lawsuits been filed against them. What does their intellectual property (Trademarks, patents and copyrights) look like. How promising?

Next up...identify the person that you would be reporting to in those 18-32 organizations based on your ideal job working in that organization. Research everything there is to find out about that person. Where they went to school, the professional associations/organizations they belong to, any volunteer work they do, articles they wrote, panels they served on...everything!

Once you know as much as you can about them and the challenges they face leading the team in the organization you'd love to work in, write a script of how you would explain to them just how well you can help them overcome the challenges they face in one or or of the following THREE critical areas: 1) make their organization MORE money; 2) save their organization money, and/or 3) improve their organization's operational efficiencies, processes, systems, structure.

Now that you have a call script, pick up the phone and call them. Explain that you have done research and are in a unique position to help them overcome (list the top 1-2 challenges they face) and ask if they have 15 minutes to sit down with you to discuss that.

It won't work all the time but it will be MUCH more successful then responding to those nonexistent job postings on Craig's List, CareerBuilder, Monster, and Yahoo! Hot Jobs.

The Worst and Best Reality TV Shows

2010-12-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a LOT lately about the horrible state of affairs in America and often complain how pervasive reality TV is. I consider it a mind-numbing toxin that is dimming the collective brain cells of our human intellect. But then again, some reality TV shows make for GREAT viewing, even the ones that are PURE garbage.

So to be fair I went back and thought about all the reality TV shows that I have witnessed over the past few decades. Here is my list of the BEST and WORST of "reality" TV land. As always, these are listed in no particular order, just pure stream of consciousness. Let us know what you think. Which ones did I miss on? Which do you agree with?

Let's start with the "best." By best, I mean the most entertaining. Just like when you slow down to look when you drive past a car wreck across the divider on the highway I give you the "BEST" of reality TV:

The "BEST"
* Last Comic Standing (nothing better than really good comedy for my money)
* Master Chef / Iron Chef / Top Chef (how can they make such great food in 30 minutes with a can of mayo, ginger snaps, ox tongue and cherries...a caloric McGyver!
* Project Runway - I love it when it gets "catty"
* Dallas Cowboys cheerleader tryouts (ONLY because I'm a Cowboys fan!!!)
* Next Food Network Star
* Extreme Makeover - I love when they change someone's life in a positive way forever
* Dog The Bounty Hunter - he's a GREAT man
* Beauty and the Geek (proves there's hope for us all)
* America's Best Dance Crew (just because I like to move it, move it)
* American Idol (I love when the really bad performers get skewered)
* Cake Boss (I live in Hoboken so that's the only reason I need)
* The Apprentice (a nice case study on the most narcissistic, ego-maniacal freak in existence (yes, Donald I'm talking about YOU!)
* Celebrity Rehab - you shouldn't NEED an explanation 'cuz it's pure THEATER
* Dancing With the Stars (Emmet Smith and Michael Irvin...I'm still waiting on Troy Aikman to make an appearance so we have The Triplets.)
* Breaking Bonaduce & The Hasselhoffs - I get nostalgic for the 1970s & 1980s sometimes.

The WORST - These can also be the "best" depending on how you define BEST. Some of these make for the best entertainment value of anything on TV that's NOT created by Seth MacFarlane, South Park or the Jon Stewart show.

* The Real Housewives of ____ (does it matter which city they air this train wreck?)
* Keeping Up With the Kardashians (but ONLY because Kim broke up with Miles Austin.)
* 16 & Pregnant - This show is just plain wrong on SO many levels.
* A shot of love with tila tequila (1 & 2) - I'm all for personal branding when it comes to career and professional development. Just NOT HER!!!
* Kendra (because Hank Baskett was an Eagle.)
* Jersey Shore (can also be a "BEST." I shake my head sadly when I think of Snooki and repeat to myself..."Only in America.")
* Rock of Love (But I loved Brett in the Celebrity Apprentice.)
* Queer Eye for the Straight Guy - not all straight guys need 5 gay men to turn themselves into a catch.
* The real world - really...REALLY...it's the "REAL" world???
* Steven Seagal Lawman - he is just disgusting.
* Toddlers and Tiaras - but hey, it's real in Texas.
* Paris Hilton's my New BFF - she may just be the anti-Christ in not so subtle disguise.
* Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica (but only because I wanted Jessica and Tony Romo to work out.)
* My big fat obnoxious boss (reality TV's supposed to be an ESCAPE from reality, not a reminder that you left work and are sitting at home thinking about your..."Big fat obnoxious boss."
* Gene Simmons family jewels - I'm still upset they issued Kiss Alive II.
* Flavor of Love (sorry, it's self-explanatory)
* Bridezillas - and yet it can be instructive for any man getting ready to pop the BIG question.
* The Anna Nichol show (there should have been an intervention. In all seriousness...how sad her life was.)
* America's next top model - I watch with my wife and daughter, and scream at the TV that I want to tie each of the contestants down and force feed them a Big Mac.
* The biggest loser (they should gain the weight back then join comedian Ralphy May on tour.
* The Bachelor and Bachelorette: Hearing all the shenanigans that went on behind the scenes made me question the truthfulness of ALL my beloved reality TV shows.
* Survivor: forget all those "exotic" far away places, they should have been dropped into the sets of Mad Max, Escape from New York, or downtown Detroit.

Well, what do you think?

The Socially Unconscious Company Portfolio

2010-12-17T07:10:00.000-08:00

Has the American enterprises sold its soul in pursuit of the almighty dollar?

Since after World War II, American businesses have been driven by a relentless need to maximize profit. In the process, they fueled generations of ammoral business leaders that have been hell-bent on market place success, while satisfying their greed. Meanwhile, over decades of callous disregard for their employees the American worker has become a dispensible asset. The general public has suffered mightily through repeated financial schemes, dangerous products, and constant downsizing and off-shoring that has produced the 21st century global contract workplace of today with rampant unemployment.

Following is a random sampling of these ammoral, unethical companies that have pursued profit at the expense of our society's well-being. Granted not all are American owned, but what they share is a willingness and adept ability to harm our society. Remember, we are only talking about America here, not the damage inflicted by busines & industry on the rest of the world.

Would you invest in these companies? Do you invest in these companies? Would you consider a socially responsible stock portfolio if it meant smaller rates of return on your investments?

British Petroleum
Exxon
Blackwater
Altria Group (owner of Phillip Morris)
Adelphia
Global Crossing
Enron
Beretta/Armalite/Smith & Wesson (really, ANY gun manufacturer)
Tyco
Eli Lilly
Worldcom
Countrywide
Goldman Sachs
Anheuser-Busch
Wal-Mart
Phusion Projects (maker of Four Loko)

What do you think? Who should've been on this list?

There's plenty of blame to go around for the mess in our society caused by business and industry.

The Golden Rule of Job Search Networking Success

2010-12-15T17:29:00.001-08:00

In networking, it's not about who you know...but who knows you.

Think about it...if you know 10 people in your inner circle and each of those people know 50 people, then your network is actually 500 strong. Now, if you tell the 10 people exactly what type of job or employment opportunity you are seeking, then they are well prepared to mention you in any conversations that they have in their respective networks. Thus at any given point in time there are actually 500 potential conversations that may invariably lead to someone referring you for possible employment.

In order to maximize the likelihood that someone in your network can effectively "sell" you, it is your responsibility to convey to them the type of industries you are pursuing, the firms/organizations in each industry you are interested in, AND the type of informal culture that you would like to work in. By educating the people in your network to the type of employment you are seeking, they are in a better position to sell you to their contacts.

You should have a job search pipeline spreadsheet that you use to keep track of all your contacts. For everyone you meet, capture their contact information, who referred you to them, the status of your follow up with them, key deliverables or actions required, and any necessary follow up's.

If you are looking to re-enter the workforce, change industries or jobs, then it is critical that you conduct informational interviews, which really aren't interviews at all. You are researching people who do what you want to do or are in positions that you might report to them, and ask them to meet with you for 15-30 minutes.

The goal of an informational interview is to gather as much information as you can on the nature of the industry, key trends and developments, how they broke into the industry, what they love most/least about their jobs, what are the key industry events to attend, publications to read, conferences/trade shows, panel discussions you should try and attend, and who are the rising stars in their organization that might be good for you to talk to. Ask them what if any advanced degrees, training, accreditations, or skills are required in the job you are looking to break into.

Social media is an additional tool to leverage but not in lieu of in-person networking. In LinkedIn you can join up to 50 groups. Do it! Start discussions, raise questions, provide answers where appropriate so you can build your own personal brand as an acknowledged subject matter expert.

Instead of trying to be everywhere, use the laser rifle approach to networking ,not the shotgun approach. Develop a one page strategic networking plan, in which you define all of the attributes/characteristics of the person that you would be reporting to in the 3-4 industries and 6-8 firms you are researching, and then identify all the events, conferences, trade shows where you would find those people. THOSE are the events you want/need to be attending. Join as Many Meet Up groups of professionals in the 3-4 industries you are pursuing as you can manage.

As far as how to work an event, remember people like to hear THEMSELVES speak. After 20 years of marriage I FINALLY learned that from my wife. Ask them "Why are you here tonight" or "What are you trying to get out of tonight?" Use the 5-2-1 rule...it's something I heard once and is a great networking guideline. You must be able to say something VERY interesting about yourself in the first 5 seconds that gets them to say: "Wow, what does that mean?" so you can send a few minutes explaining. The reaction to your explanation should be: "That's great. We should set up an hour to meet and discuss this further. Thus..."5-2-1!" Spend no more than 10 minutes talking to each person. The goal of each conversation is to schedule as many follow up discussions as you can with people that match your strategic networking profile.

Happy Networking!

Overcoming the Depression of Job Loss

2010-12-11T06:00:00.001-08:00

Losing a job is one of the most traumatic events that an individual can go through, and can be as devastating as dealing with the loss of a loved one. You have to deal with it by giving it its proper due and that entails going through a mourning process.

Now more than ever we as a society are faced with some very serious challenges. 1 in 4 American workers can be classified as contract, independent, or consulting professionals who are not joined to an employer on a full-time basis thus don't have an anchor to feel a part of something. The average American changes jobs 8-9 times in their careers, so we constantly have to reinvent ourselves.

Some constructive strategies to deal with the Depression that can arise from job loss are provided below.

* Be honest with yourself. Admit that your Depression exists and address it head on.

* Remind yourself constantly that your self-worth is not tied to a job.

* Surround yourself with only positive, nurturing people in your immediate network. You must cut out all of the negative influences from your life (that includes family and friends) that are sources of negativity to you during this period in your life. Explain that you simply cannot bear to have any negativity around you as you cope with this traumatic time in your life.

* Stay active! Join a YMCA, gym, health club, or just go for a 30 minute walk every day. Remaining active will help you to prevent weight gain, which leads to the next recommendation...

* Avoid overeating! Understand that we often eat as a source of comfort with leads to weight gain and thus...further depression. This vicious cycle is especially common during the holidays.

* Set daily, weekly, and monthly tangible goals for yourself as pertains to your job search.

* Understand that all people create "head trash" for themselves. That means that @ 65% of all the things we say to and about ourselves is NEGATIVE. Fight that tendency and keep reminding yourself how special you are.

* Seek counseling. If the depression becomes severe enough to be debilitating then you absolutely must seek professional help.

* Begin networking to build a network of leads for job opportunities. Go to Linked In and MeetUp, identify the groups in your area that cater to professionals in the 3-4 industries that you are interested in seeking employment in then send requests to the group organizers to join those groups. Find the key trade and professional Associations in those industries and go to any meetings, events, and/or conferences to decide if it is worthwhile for you to join that organization.

* Go back to school: Take courses that will help you develop additional skills, credentials and competencies. Seek any and all appropriate professional development opportunities to make yourself more marketable.

* Consider doing seasonal/holiday volunteer work. It will sharpen your skills, help you to expand your social and professional networks, make you feel good about yourself, and preoccupy your mind from hooking into the "head trash" we ALL encounter.

* GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! We all can be held captives to our own forced imprisonment when we choose to avoid social contact/interaction. When you are struggling with feelings of Depression, it is the IDEAL time to lean on the people in your network that you value most for nurturing and support.

The BEST Holiday Gifts for Job Seekers

2010-12-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

This Holiday Season is the PERFECT time to give yourself or someone you know the ideal gift to help them in their job search. Here they are, in no particular order:

Membership to a health club or gym: The holidays are an ideal time to overeat even in the BEST of circumstances. For the roughly 10% of America's workforce that is "officially" out of work (the true number of unemployed is closer to 20%), Depression can set in easily. Overeating is a sign of depressed individuals seeking comfort through food. Give them a one year membership, or sign them up for their first 3 months.

Pay for Meet Up group networking events: Make them a coupon saying that you will pay for them to attend their next few Meet Up group networking events. Networking is a critical tool to add to the job seekers' arsenal. Some Meet Up group facilitators charge a registration fee to attend the events.

Bond Paper & Envelopes: Buy them a ream of 500 sheets of HIGH quality bond paper and matching standard #10 business envelopes. Throw in a roll of 100 stamps. They will need to send our resumes, cover letters, and other business correspondence. Help your job seeker position themselves for success by putting their best fut forward in their written correspondence.

Separate Phone for Business Use: Consider getting them an inexpensive phone and separate phone line through the phone company or cable company for them to use ONLY for their job search efforts. They can use that telephone number on their business cards, resumes, and leave their own pre-recorded message.

Hair Cut or Mani/Pedi: Consider buying them a gift card to their hairdresser or nail salon. The job seeker ALWAYS has to make a great first impression. A new haircut and/or manicure/pedicure will make them feel good about themselves. Consider buying them a gift card to your local spa, for a special treatment.

Work Portfolio: Your job seeker will need to display their work product, so a professional portfolio to hold their resumes, references, and other "salesmanship in print" materials is always a great gift. It may not be sexy, but it will help them build their own personal BRAND. And THAT is a gift that keeps giving.

Find Them a Career Coach: For many people the fear of not knowing WHERE TO START can be so overpowering it binds them in inertia. By paying for a few sessions with a career coach (get a personal referral, don't hire one blindly) can help your job seeker to get the focus they need to begin their search journey.

Online Career Assessment Tool: Give them an IOU coupon promising to pay for them to do a personality/value based assessment tool. Some of the better ones are:
- Myers-Briggs (www.myersbriggs.org)
- Keirsey Temperament (www.keirsey.com)
- Birkman Method (www.birkman.com)
- DISC tool for salespeople (www.onlinediscprofile.com)
- Herman Brain Dominance Instrument (www.hbdi.com)

Your Ear & Support: Being unemployed is an extremely stressful period in time up there with the loss of a family member. They do not need any additional stress or negativity around them. Provide them with a nurturing, positive environment. DO offer to help them, and give them your ear to bend. DON'T be judgmental. DO provide them with your unconditional support.

Meditation Tapes Buy them a gift card to iTunes or get them a tape of meditation or relaxing sounds. Buy them the CD to their favorite artist/performer/band.

Great Career Counseling Books: For example "Bulletproof Your Career in These Turbulent Times" by...me!
These may not be romantic, sexy, or FUN but they make GREAT gifts for the job seeker faced with finding their next job.

Have other gift ideas? Let us know.

The New Normal in America

2010-12-01T03:20:00.001-08:00

Does it seem like everything has been turned upside down in America these past 2 years? Welcome to the NEW NORMAL. We have no choice but to get used to double digit unemployment in the 21st Century global contract workplace. This is the logical outcome of nearly 40 years of myopic, short-sighted American policies in Education, politics, and business.

Some signs of our NEW "NORMAL":

The cost of a four year education skyrockets towards $200,000 yet many college graduates cannot find work, nor can they communicate efectively either verbally or in writing.

The average American will change jobs 8-9 times in their career, and nearly 1 in 4 American workers can now be categorized as contractors, consultants, and independent workers.

Entire industries are transforming / imploding (see banking, financial services, insurance, printing, manufacturing, retail, publishing, advertising) and new industries are rising from the ashes (green technologies, home aides/health care, business continuity, risk management, sports management)

Our infrastructure is crumbling, many states are near bankruptcy, and our children are falling behind the rest of the post-industrialized world in science and math skills.

Now more than ever we require visionary leadership to steer us towards a viable future. Yet our political leaders seem more focused than ever on answering to the deep pockets of special interests.

How can we take advantage of opportunities in this NEW NORMAL?
1. Embrace change
2. Develop transferable skills
3. Lean into your discomfort
4. Pursue a lifetime of continuous learning
5. Become a networking star
6. Act like a business owner
7. Always deliver service/value to others

Greatest Sports Movies EVER

2010-11-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here watching "Remember The Titans", and I got to thinking of the best sports movies that I have ever seen. The criteria is, there has to be tremendous entertainment value, you want to watch the movie over and over, and you share them with family and friends. So, here's my list. What do YOU think?
12. Brian's Song
11. The Longest Yard
10. Heavan Can Wait
9. Rudy
8. Miracle
7. Bad News Bears (the ORIGINAL)
6. North Dallas 40
5. Rocky I
4. Eight Men Out
3. Jerry Maguire
2. Hoosiers
1. Remember the Titans

A New Strategy for Job Seekers

2010-11-24T07:31:00.001-08:00

Given the upcoming Thanksgiving binge-fest, today seems like a perfect time to stop and reflect on some key lessons learned for the job-seeking populace.

You cannot attempt to job search using old strategies. Today's global contract workplace demands new strategies that position you for success.

FINDING YOUR DREAM JOB WHEN IT DOESN'T EXIST (YET)
Even in the best of times, no more than 10-15% of all available positions are advertised. Research shows that Monster, Career Builder and Yahoo! Hot Jobs contain no moe than 6-7% of all available jobs.

Rather than spending most of your time searching job sites, you would be much better served by identifying the 3-4 industries you are interested in pursuing. For each industry, find 6-8 firms that possess a culture that matches your values and belief system. Research as much as you can about them, and find the person you would be reporting to in the role you would want from them. Develop a script on how you will engage that person, then pick up the phone and CALL THEM. Tell them you have done research and can help them, and ask for 15-3 minutes to meet with you so you can explain how.

BE PREPARED TO SELL YOURSELF.
You have to be able to "sell yourself" like a product. To do that it is critical that you know your product features and benefits. Consider your past work experiences, your key skills, certifications and accreditation, language proficiency, software applications, experiences working/living/studying abroad, professional Association memberships, volunteer/community work, etc.

YOU ARE A SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEMS
You MUST be prepared to convince them how you can provide a set of solutions in three key areas:
1. How can you help them make money;
2. How can you help them to save money; and
3. How can you help them to improve their operational efficiency.

In today's global contract workplace the old ways of job searching no longer exist. After the Thanksgiving turkey day binge-fest, start thinking how you can sell yourself in a whole new way.

Our Crazy Relatives & "Uncle Joe" Biden

2010-09-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

Quick, what do they have in common?

You know “THAT” one relative in your family that everyone is afraid to have at family functions? The ones who others think are swimming in dementia or a bit “off. The people who are not afraid to speak their minds even if it means saying those highly embarrassing things others don’t want to hear, no matter how truthful and indisputable the facts.

When a 4-year old tells you you’re fat you don’t have big bones, or are carrying around pregnancy weight for 20 years…you’re JUST fat!

Like the crazy uncle in the family that has had a “few too many” at a party and divulges deeply guarded secrets to complete strangers, they say the politically insensitive, factually true things that most other people are too embarrassed to admit.

As we commemorate 9/11…now more than ever our country could truly benefit from that same straight talk, damn the consequences discourse if we REALLY going to turn around this great American train wreck.

For 40 years we’ve allowed our captains of industry and Wall Street tycoons to amass huge fortunes, at the expense of the American middle class. Decades of lack of thought leadership have led to a higher education system that most Americans can’t afford, and does a horrible job of preparing graduates for success. Our two-party political system see-saws back and forth between a constant power struggle with both parties incapable of working together for the greater good of our citizenry.
America has been in a 20-year “Holy War” between the Judeo-Christian path aligned on one side and Islam on the other.

Thoughtful, sensitive dialog has given way to vitriol and close-minded hatred. The recent furor over burning Korans and establishing a mosque at Ground Zero are flash points that have exposed this deep wound that has not healed.

Small businesses (500 or fewer employees) have historically created 95% of all new jobs in America. In these economic times, our government is doing nothing to help small business owners grow. We have allowed our banks, insurance, and financial institutions to rob us blind. Our large corporations have outsourced and off-shored nearly all of our American industrial competitive advantage. We cannot create enough jobs to support our society even as family life savings are being worn away.

This is a call for all those “crazy Uncle Joe Biden” types who are not afraid to ruffle feathers by sparking frank and candid discussions about the course we have been on since after World War II, and the way for America to regain its “MOJO.”

Where are those great public works projects. Why not return to glory days past when this Nation built things? What about that dashing Yankee spirit driving home new innovation and forging a path towards new industries?

Where are the Ralph Naders, Craig Venters, Howard Deans, and H. Ross Perots when we need a leaders who exhibit creative thinking to challenge our conventional thinking more than ever before?

What IS crazy? Following the same failed behaviors that have gotten us into this mess i nthe first place.

2010-08-26T13:04:00.001-07:00

The summer may almost be over, but given the awful state of the economy, the job market continues to falter, and there is NOTHING good on TV, NOW is a GREAT time to lose ourselves in the clssics! I submit for your viewing pleasure, my personal "TOP 10" list (in no particular order) of the greatest all-time films that many people I know have NOT seen. What are yours?

Breaker Morant

Gallipoli

Mad Max

Eye of the Needle

Ordinary People

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The China Syndrome

The Manchurian Candidate

12 Angry Men

What "Social Media" REALLY Means

2010-08-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

No matter where you are or what you're doing, we're constantly being bombarded with the importance of "social media" and "social networking." But, what does it all really mean? And how do you use it to your benefit in your every day life, whether finding a service provider, searching for a job, finding new clients, starting a career, making contacts in your personal and professional lives....how do you actually "DO IT?"

First off, it's important to understand that social media and social networking is all about making relevant contacts ONLINE to build a relevant community for whatever your ultimate purposes are.

For example, if you want to build a social network for keeping in touch with friends or family, finding a spouse/mate, or building "contacts" you would create a profile/register with social networking sites like Facebook (www.facebook.com), Unyk (www.Unyk.com), MySpace, Stumbleupon (www.Stumbleupon.com),Friendster, etc.

If your goal is to create a business/profesional network of contacts, then you create profiles in "business" oriented sites like LinkedIn, Vox, MeetUp, Bizpreneur, TakingItGlobal, 43Things,etc.

In either scenario, your goal is to build an online BRAND. You are creating and projecting an image of yourself as a product or service to deliver a set of solutions. Branding is all about making a promise with your networks to deliver a consistent experience that is invaluable, unique, and memorable - consider it your own personal marketing campaign to establish and maintain your USP...Unique Selling Proposition.

But you also need to be seen as a subject matter expert to build your ONLINE credit. So, that means finding people in your industries or Associations of peers, and "hanging out" where they do online. Follow the most popular bloggers in the industries you're interested in, post comments on their blogs and discussions, start your own discussions in LinkedIn, form Groups of your own, or start groups in MeetUp.

But wait...there's more! You want to be engaged in as many areas as possible, so you also want to research the Forums/Groups that are populated with people you want to meet. You can do that by joining all relevant groups in Yahoo(https://groups.yahoo.com) and Google (https://groups.google.com).

Before you begin registering on these sites, you'll need to create a comprehensive list of all the characteristics/key areas you want to use to define yourself. For example, if you are working on expanding your professional network using online media, you use all the combintations of relevant keywords that define you. Using myself as an example, I enter terms like career coach, career counseling, busienss coach, busiensscoaching, etc. when I create my online social network site profiles. Be sure to use all the phrases and all combinations of terms that define you.

You can ask people you worked for/with to give you recommendations to build the relevance of your professional profiles. Be sure to build the size of your network by expanding the number of people you invite to join you in your networks.

But it goes further. If you are a business owner, consultant or solo practitioner, you should be blogging on a regular weekly basis, have your own website, connect your blog with your website, and Tweet.

Social media ALSO requies you to apply these branding/marketing atrategies with your off-line or personal networking strategies. Again, with branding yourself it's all about being consistent.

My partner Sherley Duncan of GoldPlaceNYC says that using social media is like twirling in a circle and wherever you stop, you are opening doors to your personal and professional self ONLINE. It's a great metaphor.

My Year-long Ordeal With the GSA

2010-08-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

This is a story of pain, suffering, persistence, and ultimately...SUCCESS...well, of a sort!

Last July, I decided that I wanted to sell my training and professional development, and my business coaching services to the U.S. Government. The Government is supposed to have all this money, right? So why shouldn't I try to help train their people, and profit in the exchange?

First off, to sell "ANYTHING" to our Government, you have to submit what's called a solicitation (kind of like a proposal.) There are soliitations for hundreds if not thousands of products & services. In order to sell to the Government, you FIRST need to have certain things. You have t have been in operation as a business for 24 months. You need to be able to report two years' worth of financial performance for your business.

You also have to have your business registered with your state and have a taxpayer identification number. Next up, you also need a Dun & Bradstreet DUNS number (no worries, that's FREE.) Go to http://www.dnb.com.

So, it takes me MONTHS to get through the process of completing ALL of the written documents (imagine pulling your lower lip over the back of your head) struggling the entire way. There is no one to walk you through the process. You have to read the hundreds of pages worth of instructions yourself. There are no Cliff Notes or little yellow book: "Selling to the U.S. Government For Dummies."

After sbmitting my 25-page application last July, I received a rejection letter indicating the MANY areas that I incorrectly answered or failed to provide and information on.

So, being a glutton for punishment, I go back and rewrite the entire document (now approximately 50 pages LONG) and send it certified mail to the corrct GSA contract administrator in early July, 2010. Somehow, the document gets LOST on their end. I am informed that it really doesn't matter that they lost it, since as of July, 2010 all solicitations can only be submitted ONLINE.

About to give up, I get a call a few weeks ago from my GSA contractor that he has located my solicitation (sitting on a fellow staffer's desk). My GSA guy Joe (his real name) reviewed it, and gave me invaluable insights into additional areas I needed to fix. If not for Joe, I'd be DEAD!

I spend nearly a month completing it then save the document (now @ 100 pages)as a PDF then go to the website (https://eoffer.gsa.gov) to upload it. Turns out in order to send anything to the Government electronically, you need a digital certificate to authenticate who you are. So, I now have to pay $200 for the certificate, but in for a penny, in for a pound (of flesh!)

I get this electronic digital certificate a few weeks later, save all the documents then I go back to the website and hit another wall. For some reason they have me attempting to file the wrong solicitation - it's not for the right services I want to sell. After a half day calling their "HOTLINE" where I speak with a moron "Service Rep" who accuses ME of not following directions since they cannot answer my questions, I get a Supervisor that actually DOES know what she's doing. I finally get all my issues resolved.

So, as of 12:55PM Eastern standard time on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 I have now officially submitted a request to sell my services to the Government.

I even received an emal confirmation!

Can a rejection notification be FAR behind? STAY TUNED...

John Lennon's Song "IMAGINE"

2010-08-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

Now more than ever, we as a society need to start thinking like this...

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Great Resources for Biz Owners & Entrepreneurs

2010-08-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Following are useful resources for businessleaders, entreprenuers, professionals interested in starting their own business or executives looking for additional support:

1) Business Ideas
a. www.business-idea.com
b. www.coolbusinessideas.com

2) Women & Minorities
a. www.wbenc.org
b. www.NAWBO.org
c. www.sba8a.com

3) Industry Research:
a. http://forum.researchinfo.com
b. http://business.statelibrary.sc.gov/images/6/65/Business_Research_Workshop_Resource_List-SC.pdf

4) Business Resources:
a. Market Research
b. MapStat
c. www.BusinessBalls.com
d. www.timethoughts.com/goalsetting/vision-statements.htm

5) Customer Research/Surveys:
a. Zoomerang
b. Survey Monkey

6) Develop Strategic Plans, Business Plans & Financial Statements
a. NYC Business Solutions Center (SEEDCo): www.seedco.org
b. Small Business Development Centers
c. SCORE: www.score.org
d. http://articles.bplans.com/category/writing-a-business-plan
e. www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/index.html
f. www.onepagebusinessplan.com/about.html
g. www.ehow.com/how_4421284_format-income-statement.html
h. http://entrepreneurs.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_create_an_income_statement

7) General Management
a. www.businessmanagementdaily.com
b. American Management Assn.

8) Marketing & Product Development:
a. www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82498.html
b. www.persuasivebrands.com/showpagecontent.aspx?pagename=Brand_Definition
c. http://resources.bnet.com/topic/product+development.html
d. www.productdevelopmentstrategies.com/blog
e. www.slideshare.net/nusantara99/new-product-development-strategy
f. www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/managing-products
g. http://resources.bnet.com/topic/product+life+cycle.html
h. www.websitemarketingplan.com
i. American Marketing Assn.
j. Direct Marketing Assn.
k. Business Marketing Assn.

9) General Business Information
a. US Small Business Administration
b. National Business Information Clearinghouse
c. Microsoft Small Biz Ctr: www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/hub.mspx
d. CNN Money - http://smallbusiness.blogs.cnnmoney.cnn.com

10) Social Media
a. Mashable
b. SocialMediaGovernance.com

11) Entrepreneurial Pursuits
a. www.Inc.com
b. www.myownbusiness.org
c. www.Entrepreneur.com
d. www.Entrepreneurship.org
e. Smart Entrepreneur - www.smartentrepreneur.net
f. Entrepreneur Week: www.nycentweek.com
g. www.psw-ny.com/documents/WP1-BeforeNegotiations-031307.pdf
h. www.psw-ny.com/documents/WP4-StartUpMap-063008F.pdf
i. www.psw-ny.com/documents/PDF-WP3-InvestableBusCase-092506F.pdf
j. http://blog.entrepreneur.com
k. www.entrepreneurship.org/PolicyForum/Blog/post/2010/01/28/Tapping-your-
Entrepreneurial-IQ.aspx
l. www.elientrepreneur.com

12) Franchising
a. International Franchising Assn. www.franchise.org
b. www.masterfranchisewealth.com/4436.html
c. IFA Annual Conference - www.franchise.org/convention.aspx

13) Networking:
a. MeetUp.com
b. LinkedIn.com
c. National Small Biz Assn: www.nsba.biz
d. Chambers of Commerce
e. Rotary Clubs
f. Kiwanis Clubs
g. Twitter
h. StumbleUpon
i. FourSquare
j. MySpace
k. Delicious
l. Digg

14) Investors
a. www.youngstartup.com
b. NY Angels: www.newyorkangels.com
c. LI Angels: http://liangels.angelgroups.net

15) Business Incubators (NY fous)
b. Biz. Incubator Assn. of NY State: http://bianys.com
c. Brooklyn Biotech: http://research.downstate.edu/incubator.htm
d. NYC BioScience Initiative: www.nycbiotech.org/east_river.html
e. LI High Tech Incubator: http://www.lihti.org
f. Your local atrea Colleges & Universities

What resources would you recommend?

Sell Yourself for Career Success

2010-08-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

Build Your Personal Brand: A brand is something that is truly memorable, unique, and invaluable. What is your personal BRAND? HINT – it’s not a job title or functional area you worked in for most of your career. When you are competing with thousands of other job seekers with similar backgrounds, you MUST be able to set yourself apart through your USP.

Find your DREAM JOB: Align your Passions and Strengths: the areas that overlap between what you are best at and what you are most passionate about constitute the fertile field of a potential DREAM JOB!

Learn to sell yourself in 3-5 seconds during networking events as a set of 3-4 key bullet points that highlight your USP – unique selling proposition.

Develop a strategic networking plan: Identify who the person is that you would report to in your dream job, find out where they congregate in-person and online, and get yourself “in-front” of them.

The Marketing 5Ps of YOU: sell yourself using the traditional marketer 5-P mix of product (your features & benefits), price (know your worth), place (getting yourself in front of the right people (develop a strategic networking plan), promotion (how to sell yourself as a BRAND using your USP and Marketing 5Ps), and your packaging (dress for success.)

Develop your personal marketing plan including your core competencies, 3-4 ideal industries, 6-8 target firms in each of those industries (18-32 organizations you should be proactively targeting at any ONE point in time), your ideal employer culture with attributes, your ideal work locations.

Identify your personal product: the product of YOU is the comprehensive set of features and benefits including: your collective past & present work and life experiences, exposure to different cultures, experiences travelling and/or living/studying abroad, your subject matter areas that you studied in High School and college/University, certifications, training, accreditations, professional affiliations, volunteer work…EVERYTHING that makes you the person you are.

Get more exposure for yourself online by blogging, posting comments in discussions your peers and potential bosses are contributing to, submit articles to all of the relevant publications being read by people in the industries you want to target and potential employers, start groups in Meet Up and LinkedIn comprised of professionals that share your career objectives and interests.

What do you think?

When Did America Officially Sell It's Soul?

2010-08-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

As a career coach and business consultant, it is my mission to help people from all backgrounds to find their dream job, and teach business owners how to unleash the untapped talents of their workers, to gain competitive advantage.

It's a job that I love, and it took me twenty years to FIND. It requires me to always find the bright side of life, while I teach others how to turn life's lemons into lemonade. I am always encouraging people to reinvent themselves, pursue lifelong learning, build a portfolio of transferable skills, and develop strong social and professional networks. In these times, I also push people to market themselves and develop a unique personal brand as a selling proposition.

I must admit that it has become extremely difficult to continue to encourage others, to have faith that things will improve. So many aspects of the Great American Enterprise are broken these days. For starters, our banks and financial institutions have been stealing from Americans and lying to us about it for so long, that it has become an accepted part of the Great American lie. And we allow it to continue.

Michael Douglas's character Gordon Gekko in the movie "Wall Street" seems tame in comparison to the likes of today's "leaders" at Adelphia, Tyco, Enron, Global Crossing, Bernie Madoff, Goldman Sachs, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, AIG, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, etc.

For 30 years we have seen our manufacturing and industrial base erode, as American companies embraced the self-destructive policy of outsourcing, off-shoring, downsizing, and re-engineering what were deemed to be non-essential business fucntions. We were going to become a service and technology driven economy. Or so we thought. Guess what? We have become a post-industrialized nation that doesn't make anything anymore.

The Conference Board recently reported that America's college educated workforce dropped from its #1 ranking out of 36 industrialized nations in math and science scores, to a mid-tier ranking of #12.

Our american small businesses have for decades been a key driving force behind American jobs creation. Small business owners no longer have the incentive or financial wherewithall to hire new employees.

One in four American workers can now be classified as independent, contract, consultants, and more americans than ever before are living paycheck to paycheck. Most of our states are dangerously close to becoming bankrupt, and we as a society numb ourselves with an overdsose of reality TV to cope with it all.

When did we get like this? Why are we allowing a college education to cost $200,000? Why do we let ourselves be misled by a two-party political system that has stopped serving our needs and interests?

Unofficial uemployment rates are between 15-20%, and jobs traditionally filled by high school and college students are being staffed by workers in their 30s and 40s.

This needs to stop. We need a "Wake Up in America" program for the 21st Century. Who will lead us?

Gap Falls WAY Short on Customer Svc

2010-07-28T09:34:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, my wife and daughter went shopping at a major retail outlet center in northern New Jersey, an hour away from our home. They found themselves in a Gap store, and proceeded to purchase several items. My wife discovered this morning that the cashier left one of those anti-theft, plastic jaws of death attached to a pair of pants.

So, my wife calls the store this morning, to request that the store send her a return envelope with the postage pre-paid. She would send back the pants in that envelope, so they could remove the tag and return the pants to her. The Store Manager refused to do so. She told my wife that she needs to pay to have the merchandise shipped back to the Gap, then the Gap would either mail the pants back to her (one assumes sans security tag) or they would credit our account.

My wife tells the Manager that since the Gap employee failed to remove the tag, the store should mail us the necessary envelope with the return postage paid by them, to return the item. After refusing to accommodate her request, they tell my wife she should call Gap's Corporate HQ if she wished to file a complaint. Of course, the store manager doesn't have the Gap's corporate HQ contact details (it's GAP, 2 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA, tel. # 650.952.4400.

My wife calls Gap's Corporate Headquarters, only to be "greetd" by an automated response system. After spending an hour on hold, she FINALLY gets a live representative, who tells her she needs to transafer my wife to another "service" rep. Before my wife can object, she is transferred and of course gets hung up on.

Way to go, Gap! Congratulations on reaching the highest levels of American corporate service, held by such customer care-driven organizations as Dell, Verizon, Sears, and your local cable company.

Job Search Secrets Recruiters Don’t Want You to Know.

2010-07-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

Having been a recruiter and now running my own career coaching business, I have come to realize there are many cold hard truths that the recruiting industry and Human Resources professionals do NOT want you to know about the processes they employ to recruit candidates to fill vacancies in their organizations. In order to be able to deal with the potentially damaging psychological impact of conducting a job search, here are a few cold-hard truths you MUST embrace:

1. The ACTUAL unemployment rate in the United States is 15-20%, and one in four workers can now be categorized as contract professionals.

2. Summer work and seasonal employment that was ideal for High School and college students are being served by professionals in their twenties, thirties, and forties.

3. We DON’T want you to reply. Since so many job seekers are out of work, companies that post ads for positions they are looking to fill get overwhelmed with thousands of responses. So, they cannot confirm receipt of your resume if you apply for a job, or simply filter your resume out of their database and never respond to you EVEN IF YOU ARE QUALIFIED FOR THE POSITION. A Majority of the time when yo7u call to confirm receipt of the resume and cover letter you sent through the company’s official candidate process, they have no record of you.

4. The 3 top job sites (CareerBuilder, Monster, and Yahoo! Hot Jobs) account for no more than 6-7% of all positions. In the BEST of times no more than 10-15% of all positions were advertised. Now it’s MUCH less.

5. Most positions are already pre-qualified for internal hire fills but the company HAS to post the position for a period of time in order to remain in compliance with hiring guidelines established by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Human Resources have almost no intention of looking outside the organization for qualified talent.

6. Recruiters are generally NOT interested in the job seeker but focus their efforts on serving the clients who pay them to find candidates to fill their positions. Thus, Recruiters are not concerned about the needs of the candidate and are not interested in ensuring the candidates’ values and belief systems match those of the hiring organization. There is ZERO monetary incentive thus motivation for them to care about the candidates they place.

7. The Human Resources Department often refuses to respond to inquiries from job seeker candidates that apply for positions the company advertised as a general business practice.

8. Companies know it is illegal to hire unpaid interns for extended work arrangements but do so any way, in order to get FREE work out of contract employees.

9. Recruiters who claim they are placing your information in their candidate database for future consideration hardly ever do so. They receive so many resumes from qualified candidates that in this employer market they can discard information from highly qualified job seekers.

10. Many companies refuse to terminate the employment of abusive managers but simply rotate them around the company. Thus, if you get hired and report to an abusive Manager then file a claim, you yourself may get terminated for potentially bringing bad press to the organization.

11. In the job market of today, most companies think very little of employees. Workers are seen as disposable assets. HR thus creates cold and impersonal terms to de-humanize employees by referring to layoffs as downsizing, right-sizing, re-engineering, outsourcing, off-shoring, and now…RIF – reduction in workforce instead of admitting they are discarding their non-valued assets.

12. The fallacious assumption of JOB SECURITY. We live in the 21st century contract workplace. Americans change jobs 8-9 times, on average. There is ZERO loyalty in the employee-employer contract.

13. If not blatantly unethical, many GREY areas exist in recruiting that HR professions turn a blind eye to, in oreder to recruit top talent.

Great Websites For Entrepreneurs

2010-07-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

www.Inc.com
www.myownbusiness.org
www.Entrepreneur.com
www.Entrepreneurship.org
Smart Entrepreneur - www.smartentrepreneur.net
Entrepreneur Week: www.nycentweek.com
www.psw-ny.com/documents/WP1-BeforeNegotiations-031307.pdf
www.psw-ny.com/documents/WP4-StartUpMap-063008F.pdf
www.psw-ny.com/documents/PDF-WP3-InvestableBusCase-092506F.pdf
http://blog.entrepreneur.com
www.entrepreneurship.org/PolicyForum/Blog/post/2010/01/28/Tapping-your-Entrepreneurial-IQ.aspx
www.elientrepreneur.com

Signs You STINK at Customer Care

2010-07-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

If you are guilty of the following THOUGHTLESS acts, then there is a VERY real likelihood that you are awful at customer service:

You walk through a door and let it close without looking back.

You push through a door you can’t see through in a rough hard motion, not thinking there might be someone on the other side.

You don’t call people back or respond to emails in a timely fashion esp. when you know it is going to be an unpleasant conversation.

You tell people you “promise” to do something and often don’t follow through.

You say “give me,” “I want,” or “let me have” whenever you place an order.

You slow down at a stop sign but don’t come to a complete stop then go through.

You drive through an intersection where pedestrians are waiting without stopping to let them cross.

You hand items to people without making eye contact to make sure they are holding the item firmly or talk to others while you are doing something for someone while they wait for you.

You text while you are walking or driving.

You get on an elevator and let it close without looking to see if someone else is getting on behind you.

You never give up your seat to the elderly, children, or the physically challenged.

You speak loudly on your cell phone in crowded enclosed places.

You ask people “How are you?” and move on without waiting to hear a response.

These might seem like nothing more than questionable manners, but much of what the term “service” encompasses is delivering consistently exceptional experiences to your customers.

The Skills Needed Most for Career Success

2010-06-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

1.Perseverance: We all face challenges. The average American will change jobs 8-9 times in their career. The true measure of a person’s worth is defined by their ability to overcome adversity.

“There is no education like adversity.”
- Benjamin Disraeli

2. Natural curiosity: the pursuit of lifelong learning is a critical attribute when times change with the degree of rapidity we are experiencing in today’s turbulent world. You should always be looking to increase your skills by pursuing accreditations and certifications, learning a new software program or another language. Curiosity manifests itself in being a voracious reader, and in general having a natural curiosity towards the way things work, and how people operate (being a closet sociologist.)

3. Playing politics: understanding how to navigate the turbulent waters of today’s workplace is critical for long-term survival and success. We’ve all heard ad nauseum that very little of our success can be contributed to the actual work. It’s how we play the “game” that matters. Even if you hate doing that, it is important your learn how to do it well.

4. Embrace change: adaptability is a key for success. Entire industries like banking and financial services, printing, publishing, retail and advertising are imploding.

5. Having a moral compass: it is especially critical for small business owners to realize that their personal values and belief system are synonymous with their organization culture. Being able to match your personal values to an organization’s is the most critical factor in ensuring one’s job satisfaction. An entire emerging industry is growing around the ideal of promoting the social good. In the age of Enron, Bernie Madoff, Goldman Sachs, AIG, Lehman Brothers, and BP, what you represent is fast becoming more relevant than the products or services you offer.

6. Social extrovert: being liked goes a very long way towards building broad social and professional networks. Do people gravitate towards you or literally run from you?

7. Established personal brand: have you asked yourself: “what do I really stand for?” What is your unique selling proposition? What are the three or four key characteristics that most clearly define who you are and what you hope to accomplish?

8. Lean into discomfort: There are things we are mortified of doing, like public speaking for example. Being able overcome our fears is an absolute must, in order to ensure success in today’s global contract workplace. Research indicates that as many as 25% of all American workers are now classified as independent / contract / consulting. With jobs becoming more difficult to find/keep, people will be forced into opportunities that require them to go at it alone.

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."
- Dale Carnegie

The Top Five Reasons Your Business is Stuck.

2010-06-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

And Why You Can’t Seem to Fix It.

In today’s challenging business climate, it is hard enough to maintain and even grow your business. But there are five areas that you have complete control over, which you are probably failing at. Following are the top five reasons that most organizations are stuck, and likely can't get themselves out of the current economic calamity.

5. Your personal problem-solving skills are outdated: You are attempting to navigate your way out of this business climate using the same old approaches that worked before but won'y any longer. We live in unchartered times. The challenges we face are unique, and can't be solved with yesterday's solutions. It’s not enough to lower prices, fix operations, or lay off staff. In a climate in which our business, political, educational, and financial institutions are all broken we simply CAN'T continue to pursue business-as-usual approaches.

4. You haven’t aligned your core business functions: Face it, you do not develop your sales, marketing, product development and customer care efforts in isolation of one another. Your management team continues to treat these as stand-alone, separate entities when in fact they are all intertwined and need to be planned and budgeted for as a single entity.

3. Your strategy is no longer relevant: You continue to implement a strategy that was developed at an earlier time before circumstances changed so drastically. Marketplace conditions such as the rate of technological change and globalization of business & industry are changing at such a rapid pace that strategies cannot be applied beyond 3 to 4 month cycles in most industries.

2. You don’t know your customers: You continue to sell to your existing customers without truly understanding the challenges they face. When was the last time you took a top revenue client out for breakfast? Do you periodically join your top clients for a ride along, to shadow them for a day to learn their business and challenges they face? Have you conducted a lifetime value assessment to determine your most (and least) profitable accounts? Do you have a strategy to grow repeat business with existing clients and covert your repeat customers into apostles?

...and the #1 reason you can’t "unstick"your business in these turbulent times:

1. You treat your employees like “disposable assets”: Instead of elevating your people to their rightful place as your organization’s most valuable asset, you treat them like a commodity. You conduct periodic layoffs, and expect their loyalty to remain steadfast. Have passionate are you about constantly soliciting feedback from your people on how to improve your organization. Do you provide them with the autonomy, training and resources to make decisions independently? Do you have an idea generation program?

Do you reward and recognize your people? Coach and mentor them? Have you performed a human capital audit to match every one of your people’s core competencies with their job responsibilities? Do you constantly challenge your people? What about providing a great workplace? How often do you provide feedback? Do you have a 360-degree performance review program?

Until you unleash the tremendous untapped potential of your workforce, you will not be able to compete in today’s changing global business climate.

Are We Out of the Recession? Were We Ever in One?

2010-06-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

If you listen to the pundits talk about a supposed American “recovery” then no doubt you are aware that we have come out of this two year Recession. The experts point to a stock market that has rebounded, and an increase in the demand for certain goods. Supposedly the manufacturing sector has turned some sort of a corner, and some companies have even begun hiring again.

So, is it safe to safe we are coming out of the Recession?

What if we have not been experiencing a Recession at all, but something fundamentally and significantly different (and by different I mean…WORSE?)
When our unofficial unemployment rate remains stubbornly fixed between 15-20% and experienced professionals cannot find work after six+ months of aggressive searching, we have problems. When entire industries have imploded (banking, financial services, housing, printing, publishing, retail, advertising, and manufacturing) and we have outsourced all the business operations we used to excel at, there is something larger at play that is not being discussed!

What if we are at a societal crossroads where our educational, business, and political systems are no longer serving the needs of the average American? For example, students that at one time would not hesitate to consider college are now NOT considering college as a viable option due to the $200,000 price tag and no guarantee of post-graduation employment.

The average American student falls farther behind the rest of the industrialized world in science and mathematics proficiency. We live in the contract employee era. One in four Americans can now be classified as independent/contract workers and that number continues to spike upwards. People in their thirties to fifties cannot find work.

Are we really in store for better days ahead?

Small businesses used to be the lifeblood of any job-based economic recovery. 95% of all new jobs were created by employers with 500 or fewer employers. In today’s business climate, small businesses cannot afford to hire new workers and are going out of business at record levels.

Only now has the Obama Administration made a concerted effort to help save the American small business from going extinct. Our global banks and financial institutions continue to receive record bailouts. Apparently you can be too big to fail, but the guarantee of support from our Government does not apply to our small business owners.

Our two-party political system seems unable to come together to save our Gulf Coast from British Petroleum, or save our states from bankruptcy. The American Middle Class continues to erode and a greater percent of the American wealth pie gets concentrated in an ever shrinking upper class.

Are we witnessing a transfer of power from America to India and China, or are better days ahead in the form of a Great American recovery?

Was Charles Darwin a Career Coach?

2010-04-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

“I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection.”
- Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

Natural selection is the process by which those heritable traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations. It is a key mechanism of evolution.

Natural selection and the idea of survival of the fittest are key elements of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. As a Career Coach, I often wonder if there are lessons that we can learn, by applying this theory to today’s current turbulent job market. After all, survival of the fittest and the notion of adapting over time to ensure survival has a direct correlation with job seekers competing against one other in a constricted job market for extremely scarce jobs.

For example, using Darwin’s lessons of natural evolution, we would understand that applying the same outdated job strategies like responding to job classifieds, searching job websites, relying on recruiters, etc. only lead to career extinction. Instead, we need to adapt and evolve in order to survive today’s constantly changing Twenty First Century global contract workplace. Job seeker survival of the fittest demands adaptive strategies such as:
• Customizing every resume and cover letter you send;
• Contacting the people we would report to in the Department of an organization we want to work in, to sell ourselves for a job they don’t even know they know they need to fill that we’d be perfect for;
• Forget elevator pitches! You need to brand yourself like a product using your USP/value proposition;
• Developing your very own personal marketing plan; and
• Creating a strategic networking plan to follow.

Americans will be expected to change jobs an average of 8-9 times during their careers. The pursuit of lifelong learning and transferrable skills makes sense as an adaptation strategy, for workers to deal with unexpected marketplace trends, developments and circumstances. In Darwin’s theory, species changed over time and space. In the wild, the importance of adaptation is self evident when chameleons change colors in order to blend into their surroundings to hunt more effectively. What can be said of workers that pursue new skills only to realize too late that the skills they learned are no longer needed in our post-Industrial, service and technology-based society?

Survival of the fittest has just as much relevance in the workplace as it does on the Serengeti. It means you HAVE to develop a strategy for dealing with abusive co-workers and bosses. You need to develop a survivalist mentality when you combat peers that attempt to sabotage you by taking credit for your work, blaming you for their failures, or slandering your reputation. It demands you align yourself with advocates to partner against stronger foes for protection, as is done in the wild.
The phrase “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” has as much relevance in an office setting, as its counterpart “mutual symbiosis” does when a bird rides on a rhino to pick bugs off its back.

"Nature encourages no looseness, pardons no errors.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Adapting to your natural environment is something that career changers learn how to do out of necessity. Elongated body parts to reach food sources are examples of how species change over time. An equivalent approach taken by a job seeker might entail making a career transition from an industry that is dying (printing, publishing, or manufacturing) to one that is growing (nursing, healthcare, Green initiatives.) As a society we make decisions that hurt our long-term survival, such as cutting down rain forests, polluting our water sources, and destroying our natural resources. The direct parallel of business owners outsourcing, off-shoring, and re-engineering jobs is scary.

An example of adaptation in the wild is when animal (wolf or lion) is ostracized by its pack to the point where it is forced to leave and become a “loner.” A strong connection can be drawn to disenfranchised career professionals that leave jobs working for an employer in search of freelance, contract, and consulting roles on a “go-at-it-alone” basis. In fact, research shows that one in four Americans are making this choice and the number is skyrocketing. Why is this happening? We can point to the death of the employee/employer contract as organizations have come to view employees as disposable assets.

Parallels exist between carnivores that learn to hunt in daylight or nightfall and job seekers that constantly pursue lifelong learning by taking adult education courses, pursuing professional certifications/accreditations, licenses, or taking specific skills training in your field of study or an industry you want to transition to.

A question that Charles Darwin would have certainly asked is: “Are we better off today as a society through the adaptive changes we went through since World War II?” Our educational systems are failing, a majority of the population has no faith in our politicians, entire industries are imploding, our actual unemployment rate has soared to 15-20%, the divorce rate surpassed 50%, our Middle Class is dwindling, our children are obese, we can’t afford to care for our elders or send our children to college, and many of our states are dangerously close to bankruptcy.

Darwin's theory of evolution fundamentally changed the direction of future scientific thought, though it was built on a growing body of thought that began to question prior ideas about the natural world . Perhaps it is time for us to rethink the approaches we take to our 21st Century American Society, or we may find ourselves devolving even further.

The Power of Being a "Contrarian" Business Owner.

2010-03-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Does it seem like more business people are acting like lemmings these days? They gladly follow the herd ANYWHERE, even if it means heading blindly off a cliff in pursuit of outdated business approaches.

It does make sense to follow others blindly. It’s comforting to stick with the familiar and there’s safety in numbers. Plus, we all have a fear of the unknown. It requires a TREMENDOUS amount of creativity, courage and energy to buck conventional “wisdom” in the pursuit of non-conformity. That explains why many business owners and professionals alike cling to outdated (and often harmful) ways of doing things, when confronted with a turbulent business climate like we find ourselves in now.

If we all sit around waiting for business to improve, who is going to lead us forward? Conformists can’t. Conducting business from a conformist approach at Lehman Brothers, General Motors, AIG, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc. has led to widespread failures.

Our Nation requires contrarian leadership now more than ever. From Arizona to New Jersey, our states are becoming bankrupt. One in four Americans work in freelance, contract, and consulting jobs and the number will only climb higher. More than ten percent of Americans are unemployed (and many think the actual number is much higher.) The average American will be forced to change jobs 8-9 times in their career. Our cities are crumbling, and we’ve outsourced nearly all core competencies overseas. Entire industries like printing, advertising, publishing, retail, insurance, banking and financial services are imploding. Our two-party political system is dying. Now is NOT the time to accept the mediocrity that results from conformity.

Contrarians understand that the paradigm of work and the American enterprise itself has changed completely. We have seen the deterioration in the employer/employee contract. Businesses are faced with an extremely difficult lending environment, competition bombards us globally, and employees are accepted as disposable assets. It is times like these in which contrarian business owners LEAD with greatness.

Central to the contrarian business owner belief system is the fact that employees are critical to the success of an organization. They are not “disposable assets.” Contrarians NEVER subscribe to the myopic, short-term panacea of layoffs. While conformist business owners institute layoffs, contrarian employers invest even more in their EMPLOYEES in times like these. They throw away their job descriptions and find GREAT talent, without regard to positions. Contrarian business owners understand that you can ALWAYS find a place for truly talented people.

They don’t demand their people possess specific degrees or matriculate from certain academic institutions. Contrarians seek people who love to find solutions to problems, esp. problems that don’t even exist…yet. They thrive on teaching others, excel in chaotic environments that change constantly, don’t need constant hand-holding, and enjoy taking calculated risks when the potential reward is high.

You can spot a contrarian in an instant. They do crazy things like make all the Departments in their organization work together. Teamwork is most certainly NOT lip service to them, and it’s NOT relegated to a fancy picture in a frame in their lobby. Their organizations flourish with teamwork imbedded in everything they do. Managers of each Department have their objectives tied to other Departments. In the contrarian-run enterprise, the annual budgets of the Sales, Marketing, Product Development / R&D and Customer Care Teams are all developed and approved by each other. Heck, their budgets are tied to each other’s.

A contrarian is just as likely to hire circus folk, ex-convicts, military, High School drop-outs, retirees, and the physically/mentally challenged as they are an Ivy Leaguer. They pay more willingly, in order to recruit and hire the very best talent. They will even freeze the pay of their owners and senior management (or reduce it) in order to be able to afford to hire top talent at all ranks of the organization.

They go out of their way to make their employees feel special when they join their organization. They believe wholeheartedly in coaching/mentoring, training, recognizing, rewarding and promoting their people. A Contrarian does everything in their power to solicit ideas and feedback from their people ALL of the time. They even reward (and promote) their people for great ideas.

Contrarians understand deep down to the core of their Leader DNA that the PEOPLE closest to the work and their customers are in the BEST position to come up with new products and services. Their front-line employees know how to fix things and be more efficient. Contrarians seek ideas, input and direction from these employees constantly. Even better, they give their employees the tools, training, resources and AUTHORITY they need to succeed. Contrarians know how to get out of their people’s way, and WATCH THE MAGIC HAPPEN.

They “encourage” their people to fail GREATLY by taking huge calculated risks, and reward them with parties, gifts and raises for their “failures.” They cut back on their trade show expenses and take their employees on trips with those savings. Contrarians are crazy enough to set aside money to fund their people who are looking to start up their own businesses. The contrarian will go to great lengths to keep their talent, rather than let them leave to pursue their own business. They know it’s a great way to grow their own business by in effect acquiring a start up by staying “in-house.”

Being contrarian means increasing your marketing and advertising investments NOW. While competitors bury their heads in the sand, a contrarian boldly leverage these tools to achieve their goals. In a depressed market like we’re in now, they negotiate more favorable terms with advertisers, and KNOW their message will resonate more strongly when their competitors cut back their advertising. They march forward boldly in their contrarian confidence and send a message to clients, prospects, and markets that they are “in it” for the long haul.

In these turbulent times, only the business leaders that throw away the old ways will thrive. Contrarians understand that these times DEMAND we make emotional connections to employees, clients, partners, suppliers, and the media. For example, the Pareto Principal tells us all clients are not created equally. Your top 20% of your customers generate 80% of your revenue. Conversely, a relatively small number of customers demand a disproportionately large amount of your support team’s time and effort. A contrarian understands this, and cuts loose all those unprofitable clients who take time away from converting customers into repeat customers and repeat customers into apostles.

Contrarians don’t subscribe to today’s prevailing business “logic” that you need to take a wait and see approach. Contrarians relish the myriad challenges facing business owners today. Bold visionaries (contrarians) thrive on upheaval, and know how to turn chaos into opportunities and business profits.

Going For (Winter Olympic Gold) Success

2010-02-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

Don't look now, but our U.S. Olympic team is making history at the XXI Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as it blows away the rest of the field in total medal count.

At present, they lead with 32 medals, 6 more than Germany and 13 more than Norway. Some performance highlights by the Americans in these Winter Games include:

Bode Miller wins his first gold ever and his third medal in these Games, after nearly walking away from the sport a year ago;
Apolo Ohno has won three medals in Vancouver and now owns more Winter Olympic medals (7) than any other U.S. Winter Olympian;
Shani Davis became the first skater in Olympic history to win the 1,000 meter distance event in two Olympics;
Our woman's hockey team wins silver; and
The U.S. wins SIX medals in one day, more than any other country EVER achieved (5).

QUESTION: Don’t our Olympic athletes know that this is NOT supposed to happen? Our athletes don’t typically perform very well at Winter Olympics.

What has brought about this dramatic change in THIS team's results? Perhaps our athletes collectively brought an entirely new attitude and approach to these Games and said: “Forget the past, let’s dare to be great!” There is a tremendously powerful lesson that we can all learn from our athletes, and apply to our own business and professional efforts?

THAT GOT ME TO THINKING: What if each of us took the approach of: “No more excuses, we are going to dare to be great?” What if we each decided that it can NO LONGER be acceptable to strive to maintain the status quo? What if we ALL took our heads out of the sand and stopped waiting for the current economic storm passes?

What if we all decided to REALLY invest in our people, and began taking calculated risks with higher reward potential? What if we bucked the trend of cutting back on spending, to invest in cutting edge creative and effective marketing and sales strategies? Let our competitors shrink from the public eye. Our efforts will come through even louder as our competitors remain silent. What if we decided once and for all to tear down the processes that we established long ago (even the ones that aren’t broken), in a concerted effort to achieve Gold medal, world-class customer care, business operations, sales efforts, marketing campaigns, new product offerings, and strategic approaches?

What if it wasn't good enough just to stop laying off employees but we started restructuring EVERY employees' job description to leverage ALL their core competencies? If we can learn anything from our American Olympians, it’s that success is not measured in wins and losses, or Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Just ask the heavily favored U.S. woman’s hockey team. A gold medal loss 2-0 to the Canadians was shocking, but they won Silver. There is no failure or shame in achieving such lofty success. After all in life's winding road, it’s not about the destination but the journey. What lessons can be take away from the past two years of Recession?

If anything our Olympians might quote Einstein for us – doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is INSANITY. Apolo Ohno completely changed his skating style after winning medals at the last Olympics, and came up GOLDEN again. Only by daring to take a different approach can any of us hope to achieve Gold.

What do you think?

Should Undercover Boss Remain Hidden?

2010-02-10T11:31:00.001-08:00

Show Preview

Have you seen Undercover Boss? It’s the latest reality TV show that follows CEOs of companies as they go undercover to investigate their businesses. The first episode aired after the Super Bowl and focused on Larry Hughes, President of Waste Management.

On one hand, I guess you could say “it’s about time.” Presidents of corporations are FINALLY getting out there and seeing what it’s like for their employees on the front line.
But a part of me sees this all as grotesque reality TV. Am I the only one who sees this as too little too late? We’ve suffered through decades of leadership deficit in Corporate America.

CEOs have failed miserably at communicating with their people. They have lost sight of what it’s like to be their employees or their customers, vendors, suppliers, partners, etc. They have alienated their workforce by initiating massive layoffs, instituting draconian employee compliance programs, and overworked, underpaid, undervalued, and underappreciated their people for so long that this new emphasis on hands-on caring CEO smells of grotesquely insincere gesture.

So, CEOs are going undercover to find out what it’s like to work in their companies? Here’s an idea. Why limit it to only ONE week out in the field? Why not take THREE MONTH tour with 2-week job rotations across all of the areas of their company? While they’re at t, spend time with their key customers, top suppliers, most valued partners, and other stakeholders.

The fact that this show was even produced is yet another slap in the face to the American worker. This is like dropping a coin in the tin cup of the homeless man on the corner, a momentary morality speed bump. If CEOs of American businesses really want to know what it’s like to be an employee in their organization, ASK THEM! Here’s a novel idea. Implement truly valuable programs for employees. Solicit direct feedback from workers by soliciting their ideas constantly.

Offer valuable incentives through reward and recognition programs, and match junior-level staff with more tenured workers in coaching/mentoring programs. Ant to REALLY show you are a CARING CEO? FREEZE all senior management bonuses, commit to NO MORE LAYTOFFS for several years. How about implementing cutting edge training & development programs for the employees?

Start by communicating with each and every employee. Use monthly town hall meetings to speak from the pulpit on the state of your business. Hold quarterly video conferences. Implement weekly “Breakfast with the Boss” talks, and send Monday morning emails from the CEO?

We all know there is a void in corporate leadership. Let’s not add insult to injury for the American worker by implying CEOs care. That ship sailed a LONG time ago. The landscape of American enterprise is littered with the fecal remnants of Adelphia, Enron, Global Crossing, Bear Stearns, GM, Lehman Brothers, AIG, etc.

If you want to get lost in mind-numbing reality TV, check out The Jersey Shore. Leave Undercover Boss.

The Great “Catch-22” Facing Job Seekers Pursuing a Career Transition

2010-01-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Today’s job seekers looking to transition into a new field face the greatest of all Catch-22s imaginable… how can one obtain the experience needed to successfully transition into a new field, when people in that industry won’t hire you without prior experience in the industry?

While the challenge facing career transitioners may seem insurmountable, it is NOT. Conducting an effective career transition into a new vocation is a manageable task, ASSUMING you approach it with the right plan. The first thing one must do is conduct a complete self-assessment to identify your strongest skills that are TRANSFERRABLE.

Transferable skills are the talents that you have acquired in past jobs that can help an employer AND can be utilized in a number of industries, environments, or jobs. Experiences like volunteer work, hobbies, sports, previous jobs, college coursework, or even your experience living through significant life events provide such transferrable skills.

Ask yourself what your core competencies are. These are the skills that you are strongest at. Some examples of core competencies might include: customer service, retail sales, direct marketing, project management, foreign languages, bookkeeping, fundraising, etc.

Any skill is transferable; the trick is showing employers how these skills of yours apply to the job you are pursuing in this new industry and how your competencies are useful to them in one or more of the following three ways: 1) help them to increase revenues; 2) reduce profits; or 3) improve their operational efficiencies.

Another way to transition into an industry you do not possess experience in, is to approach your job search as if you are selling a product called “YOU.” Using this approach will enable you to understand your product “features and benefits” and learn how to market these selling points of your background to employers. Some of your features and benefits include: your education, continuing education coursework, training programs, certifications, language proficiency, cultural diversity, the time you spent working, living and/or studying abroad, awards and recognition you received, your special leadership qualities, and experience managing others, your community engagement earned through your volunteer work, etc.

Research the industries you are interested in breaking into from top to bottom. There is a wealth of information on most companies especially if they are publicly traded. Some excellent resources for company background information include: Hoovers, the Securities and Exchange Commission Edgar database of annual and quarterly financial statement filings (www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), the http://www.searchsystems.net/ public records database, http://www.thomasnet.com/ (for industrial and manufacturing firms), Dun & Bradstreet, The Motley Fool, etc.

Of all the strategies available to those seeking a career transition, none is more powerful potentially rewarding as the informational interview. The informational interview is a way to meet people who are either doing what you want to do in a specific job in that new industry, people you know through your network who work in the industry, or someone that manages a Department that you might want to work in within an organization in this new industry.

During your informational interview, you want to learn how they got their start in that industry, what they love most about their jobs, what industry associations do they belong to, what publications to they read, what events do they attend, what special training or classes they have taken etc. It is important to note that the informational interview is NOT an interview. You are not asking for a job. However, you can and should ask if they know one or two people they can suggest for you t o talk to.

It is NOT impossible to break into a field that you do not have experience in. Like any truly rewarding venture, it takes a strategic plan, hard work and perseverance, and a willingness to embrace strategies you might not be comfortable doing.

Make 2010 a Success: Return Those Phone Calls!

2010-01-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

Want to start 2010 on the right foot? How about returning those phone calls that you ignored or put off? You probably cut back drastically or avoided many business discussions last year, as you took a “wait and see” approach. Now is the perfect time to pull your head out of the sand and re-engage with those potential partners, suppliers, clients and vendors.

Make a prioritized list ranked from high to low of potential return on these people that reached out to you. Begin calling people back. You will be amazed at all the business opportunities that you have missing. You probably missed out on many special offers, discounts, lease renewals, restructuring terms on agreements, office space rental, and much more.

You road to success in 2010 should be all about making a comeback. Nothing prevents your own progress more than burying you head in the sand and hoping that external forces make your current business climate more favorable. Seize the moment…go into every potential discussion as a new opportunity to generate new revenues, reduce costs, of build strategic partnerships.

The longer you wait, the more likely the chance that the people who called you trying to pursue opportunities have moved on. Perhaps they contacted your direct competitors, as well. What if your competitors take advantage of those new opportunities instead of you?

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Don't sit on the sidelines hoping for Divine Intervention in the form of stimulus funding or that one RAINMAKER deal to materialize. Get on the phone, start talking to people. You were successful before by pursuing every opportunity, so...

Make it happen again in 2010!

What If All Your Job Search Strategies Are Wrong?

2009-11-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for a job, conducting a career transition, or re-entering the workforce?

If so, the odds are heavily stacked against you in achieving success. This is due to the tremendously high level of competition that currently exists for scarce work. Even worse, you are likely relying on outdated strategies that are by their nature doomed for failure. Today’s job market is unlike anything we have ever witnessed before.

Why? We are living through today 40 years of failed, business, political, and academic policies. The leaders of our industries have failed us. Not only have venerable, old established global institutions like Bear Stearns, AIG, Lehman Brothers, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae have struggled for their existence, but entire industries are collapsing as we transitioned from a post-Industrial to service and technology-based economy. Industries like advertising, printing, manufacturing, retail, automobile manufacturing, banking, financial services…all are going through significant transformation.

How can you bulletproof your career and conduct successful job searches in today’s 21^st century, global contract workplace? These times DEMAND that you use unconventional, non-traditional strategies.

Your goal should be to visualize your dream job. Identify all the attributes of what constitutes ideal work for you – then write that all down. Identify the six to eight organizations in the 3-4 industries that you are interested in, whose cultures match your values and belief system. Within these 18-32 organizations, you want to find the individual that you would be reporting to in this ideal job that doesn’t exist.

You will approach them directly with a sales pitch for how you are the ideal solution to resolve their challenges in this job that they don’t know they need to fill in their Team since it doesn’t exist. Your pitch should focus on how you will accomplish the following: 1) make them more money; 2) reduce their costs, or 3) improve their operations. You are the solution to what keeps them up at night.

The resume and cover letter are dead. That one minute elevator pitch is also irrelevant in today’s challenging job market climate. In their place, you need to sell yourself as a unique solution in 3-5 seconds, by developing your own unique personal brand.

Forget job postings. If they are posted, chances are hundreds if not thousands of job seekers have already applied to them. Instead, you want to pursue informational interviews. Find the people in those 3-4 industries you want to work in that do what you want to be doing or work in places you want to work, and ask them to meet with you for 30 minutes. The goal is to find out what do they enjoy most/least about their jobs, what is a typical day like, how did they find their job, what trade associations do they belong to. You need to build a career networking pipeline of highly qualified leads. You should have a personal networking plan, a document that details how you will get yourself in front of those people that you want to sell yourself to.

As you work on building a network, you need to thoroughly research yourself. Conduct a personal assessment online. You need to know how to sell yourself like a product, inside and out. What are your “product” features and benefits, in terms of experience, education, training, skills, language proficiency, etc.

Most importantly, you must stop relying on others to manage your search. Recruiters are fairly useless, and it is important to circumvent the gatekeeper (HR person) by going directly to the person you would be reporting to, in tat job that doesn’t exist that you are going to sell yourself as the best solution. These are the unconventional, non-traditional approaches that must be leveraged for job search success in today’s turbulent times.

Your body language speaks volumes, even when you don’t.

2009-11-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

You send out messages all the time and communicate with others without even speaking! The non-verbal cues you make convey all sorts of information to others about you. For example, avoiding eye contact conveys extreme shyness, and/or a complete lack of trust in others.
Folding your arms is a defensive posture (unless you’re cold) which alerts others that you may be angry, or just don’t trust them.

Keeping your hands in your pockets and playing with change indicates miserliness (being cheap.) Twirling hair in your fingers absent-mindedly sends a message that you lack professionalism or get bored easily. All of these non-verbal cues send out messages to others and can sabotage your attempt to make a positive first impression.

For example, repeated face touching (esp. your nose) indicates deception. Repeatedly checking your watch indicates extreme boredom and rudeness! Good posture is a sign of confidence and leaning in towards others as they speak conveys interest. Following are informative web sites you can reference, for advice on how to control your body language and convey the most professional demeanor:

Why Colleges and Businesses Don’t Work Together.

2009-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

You would think that if any two organizations were made for one another, it would be academic institutions and businesses. They have completely symmetrical goals after all. Colleges/Universities prepare their students to graduate as well-rounded people who are ready to dive into the workforce and achieve outstanding results immediately. Businesses are always looking for talented, well trained pools of qualified candidates to join their organization and make an immediate, pronounced positive impact on their organization’s success.

So why don’t these two organizations work more effectively together…especially in these turbulent times?

Granted some colleges have a fairly well developed network of contacts in business & industry that utilize their students on internship or co-operative education basis. Some schools can even claim that employers are hiring their students on a full-time basis in these trying times. But the relationship is built upon an underdeveloped, sporadic and non-continuous basis. Both fail miserably at developing any kind of a strategic partnership.

Most colleges seek organizations in their immediate market area, to serve as a pipeline for placing their students. Few schools bother to take the time or make the effort required to nurture a relationships with key businesses as a truly valued partner. Schools fail to become strategic partners of business and industry, when they fail to provide a significant level of service to the key businesses and organizations (trade associations, chambers of commerce, economic development corporations, business solutions centers, etc.) They often do not invest he time and effort required to learn a business's key products/services, the accounts that business manages, their business challenges, competitors, management team, etc.

A key issue in the approach that schools take in soliciting businesses is the nature in which they engage businesses in such a "decentralized" fashion. A university has many disparate departments all with differing goals and motivations that are soliciting businesses. The efforts made by these departments to reach out to business are often poorly coordinated and compete with each other.

A college may have its co-operative education department, alumni relations, career development center, business school, fundraising department, entrepreneurial center, and even different engineering departments solicit a business SEPERATELY. Rarely does the college or University target key businesses at the highest level. In fact, they hardly ever are aware how much at odds these departments are and the damaging mixed messages that this approach sends to the businesses they are attempting to partner with.

Even worse, colleges are myopically focused on applying poor metrics to determine their success in serving business & industry. They point to the graduation rates of their students in the aggregate as a measure of their success. Many academic institutions still subscribe to the outdated and erroneous belief that it is not their job to assist students in finding employment.

They hold to the outdated notion that their mandate is merely to deliver a “well-rounded” education for their students. Colleges and universities would be well served to perform a critical self-assessment as to their placement levels of students upon graduation in key timeframes within each field/major and concentration area of study.

Businesses also fail to leverage the relationship with academic institutions at the highest levels of strategic partnerships. They seek out college students as a source for cheap labor. They often fail to consider that schools can serve their long-term recruiting and staffing needs by providing excellent talent as a trial ground for making hiring decisions. They often provide poorly developed job descriptions, and bring in college students for highly glorified clerical work.

They see college students as a great source for labor to accomplish repetitive, administrative, and tactical work, but often fail to utilize student talent to help their grow their businesses. They fail to utilize the growing presence of entrepreneurial think tanks and business start up centers that many colleges and universities are now building, to serve small land mid-sized businesses in their launch efforts.

To overcome this tremendous lost opportunity, colleges should develop cross functional teams comprised of members from all the departments listed above. These cross-functional teams must be empowered to solicit long-term strategic relationship with businesses and trade associations. Businesses should view colleges and Universities as a tremendous resource for their strategic planning and new business development efforts. Open up their business plans, and engage the college across multiple levels to gain the maximum benefit of the relationship. They should have a strategic recruiting plan with a wide range of local area academic institutions that they strive to build strategic working relationships with.

How to "Unstick" Your Business in Turbulent Times

2009-10-08T15:48:00.001-07:00

If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, chances are you are struggling right now with ways to move your business forward. Clients have probably stopped buying your products and services, or drastically cut back on the business they were sending your way. You might be struggling to find new clients. You’re probably pulling out all the stops, to come up with creative ways to get your employees re-engaged and keep them motivated that things will turn around some time soon. Most likely, you yourself have doubts if things will turn around, in time to keep your business afloat.

Fear not! There are proactive steps you can take to move your business forward.

Take a cold, hard look at your client list. Identify those clients that are your most profitable. Build a “Best Customer Profile.” Be sure to write it down. That will become your target for identifying highly qualified SIMILAR contacts at organizations for you to aggressively target. Be as specific as possible to build a complete picture of your most profitable client.

While you’re at it, think about these clients that are your most profitable. Chances are, they are your most loyal customers. They always refer new business your way, speak well about the service you provide, and have provided you with testimonials. They are your “Apostles." Now's the perfect time to go on an apostle appreciation tour. Take these clients out to lunch. Let them know that in these trying times, you are here for them. DON’T ask for referrals. It’s a way for you to thank them for their support, and NOT a shakedown.

Next up…change your approach! When you do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome, it’s called “INSANITY.” Re-evaluate ALL of our systems, processes, and procedures. If the answer to why you are doing something a certain way is “that’s how we’ve always done it” then it’s probably time to tear that down and find a new approach. There are no SACRED cows…everything is fair game.

Create a networking plan. When you created a profile of your most profitable client you should have captured information on where these types of individuals met in professional Associations, clubs, organizations. You must identify these events and make a point of attending as many as you can.

Write! Write! Write! Become a subject matter expert on any and all topics that are near and dear to the hearts of your apostles and ideal customer profiles. Start by authoring blogs, articles, white papers, anything you can do to get your name in front of your ideal client profiles. While you’re at it…SHAKE THINGS UP! If you spend a lot of time in your office, GET OUT! Schedule as many meetings out of the (home) office as you possibly can. While you’re out, spoil yourself. Buy yourself something nice. Go to an afternoon matinee. Do something you wouldn’t normally do, just to say thank you to YOU!

Revisit your partner strategy. Which people that you know in your professional network have complementary products and services that fit nicely with your offerings. If you already have partners and there is no synergy then cut those relationships loose. While we on the subject of products and services.

Now is a great time to rethink your product and service offerings. Is there something you can offer that you aren’t? Ask your apostles on your appreciation tour.

Take an END-OF-YEAR look back NOW. Don’t wait for the holidays. You’ll be drowning in eggnog, Depression, and holiday distractions. Volunteer what little spare time you have to charitable organizations, not-for-profits, your local church, synagogue, homeless shelter, senior citizen center. Go back to school! Take a class, learn a new skill, or attend a Webinar. You should always find time to develop new skills.

Re-engage your industry trade Association, local Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, Toastmasters…whatever! Get involved on a Committee to plan for their end-of-year gala.
Now is NOT the time to stick your head in the ground and hope the tornado blows past. Stay focused, re-evaluate your business, keep active but working aggressively. Channel your efforts towards re-discovering your clients and the reasons you started your business.

Time to Rethink Celebrating Labor Day?

2009-08-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

Now more than ever seems a perfect time to question the relevance of Labor Day in America.

For most americans, Labor Day means little more than a calendar-imposed deadline signifying the end of summer and back to school. There is the mandatory end-of-summer barbecue of course, and the deluge of back to school sales.

But truly, what does Labor Day mean in these trying economic times with 9.4% of the population OFFICIALLY out of work.

The Unions that fueled the growth and expansion of our economy after WWII and the Industrial Revolution have lost much of their relevancy. This happened over decades, as our economy transitioned to a post-Industrial, technology and service-based workplace and we outsourced, off-shored, and sold off our ability to do most business functions.

Strong unions rose in many industries, from automobile manufacturing to retail, airlines, teaching, etc. This led to higher wages and compensation levels that forced american enterprise to fall behind other nations in their ability to compete in the 21st century global economy.

The two-way contract based on loyalty and trust between employees and employers, built on the promise of a hard days' work for honest pay no longer exists. In today's contract economy, workers have few rights. An economy drowning in an unofficial national unemployment rate close to 15% screams for a halt in the farce of "celebrating" this outdated holiday.

So, what does Labor Day truly mean? Most workers that have been downsized over the past two years have been forced to go at it alone. Many have been forced to attempt to start their own business. An entirely new industry called "accidental entreprenuers" has popped up featuring people that have gone into business for themselves.

College students that graduated at the start of this summer have witnessed companies lay off their parents and grandparents. Today's graduates, with no real job prospects of their own to pursue, are themselves becoming entrepreneurs. They are keenly aware that there is no such thing as employer loyalty.

Small businesses, the key force that has fueled new jobs creation during past post-recession periods are suffering mightily. The Obama Administration has done precious little to help small business owners survive these trying economic times.

So, let's not go through the bogus act of celebrating Labor Day another year. Just pass me the BBQ and give me another ice cold beer.

How Much Ill Will Have You Created?

2009-08-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

How often do you say you are going to deliver something to someone, only to end up getting it to them late or not delivering what you promised at all?

When was the last time you showed up late to a meeting, or missed one altogether?

Do people wanting to speak with you have to leave you numerous voicemails and email messages, which you never respond to?

Have you ever joined a conference call in-progress or missed it completely?
When you are working on a project in a team do you often hold up the others by missing key deadlines?

Be honest. Did you find answer these questions with an emphatic YES?

If so, you can bet that you have burned bridges with your social and professional contacts, by creating A LOT of ill will. You are not the only one with tremendous time constraints these days. We all struggle to balance home and work life commitments. Many people are juggling not only their own jobs, but the jobs they inherited when their company laid off their peers and pushed the work onto them.

So everyone is running at 150mph. It’s time you thought about scaling back your commitments and focus on a more professional commitment to your key work and social relationships. Re-establish your high standards of professionalism, by exhibiting more courtesy and respect in your dealings with others.

Perhaps you have joined too many organizations. Start by scaling back your networking efforts.

Then, rethink all of the cross-functional Teams you joined at work. Maybe it is time to scale back some of the extra-curricular activities you committed to in your community?

The last thing you want is the reputation for being a flake, known for making false promises and not being trustworthy in your dealings with others. If that is the perception others have of you, it doesn’t matter whether it is just or unjust.

You need to begin working VERY hard to re-establish your personal brand. Build up your reputation for being someone that others can count on. Treat others with the highest level of respect that you would hope to receive. It’s an investment worth making.

Your Company Dirty Laundry Has Never Been MORE Public.

2009-08-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

When they say the Internet is the great equalizer, they aren’t kidding. It has never been easier for potential employees to uncover your company’s background. This means the good…as well as the bad.

Employees have an entire arsenal of tools. One way they can find out what it is like to work for your organization is job vent websites, where your employees (ex-employees and current employees) can write about their experiences working there. Some websites include:

http://www.jobvent.com/

http://www.disgruntledworkforce.com/

http://www.furiocity.com/

http://www.jobacle.com/

http://www.tecross.com/

At a recent presentation that I gave in New York City to a group of entrepreneurs on how to start up a business in trying economic times, I struck up a conversation with a Business Analyst that worked for a consulting firm based outside Chicago, IL.

We got to talking about our beliefs in consulting. She suggested I have a dialog with the head of their recruiting team, in order to explore the prospect of contract work with them.

I scheduled a time to speak with that person, but first did some investigation…and here is what I found out:

· Their President was disbarred from practicing law in NY for soliciting a 16-year old prostitute;

· They had a class action lawsuit filed against them by 113 female employees claiming sexual harassment;

· They had a lawsuit filed against them by 400+ ex-clients they had bilked them out of money on bogus consulting services.

Armed with this information and other research, my one and only conversation with the head recruiter was very enlightening, to say the least.

If your company is interested in recruiting top-notch talent, it can no longer hope to hide behind its private company status. Lawsuits, liens, judgments, bankruptcies…none of this type of information can be swept under te rug and hidden from plain sight.

Gone are the days when proactive job seekers, potential partners, vendors, suppliers, etc. would have to go to a firm like Dun & Bradstreet to obtain this type of information on your company.

The information is publicly accessible and can be obtained in minutes with a quick search on Google. So you better be prepared to answer tough questions from job seekers looking to understand what ethics your company espouses, what it is REALLY like to work there and what sort o culture you have created.

What do you think?

Companies Ranked “Best to Work for” Not So Hot

2009-08-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

You see the lists all the time in newspapers, trade publications, online…the supposed “Best Companies to Work for”.

Given the economy’s continued woes, I decided to put on my job seeker hat and see what it would be like to try to contact these supposed best of breed companies, as a potential employee.

Nothing speaks to greatness like having someone express a tremendous interest in joining your company…or so I thought. I wanted to see what it would take to establish a dialog with them. The results would make your head spin.

I used as my list the 2009 Society of Human Resource Management “Best Companies to Work for in New York State” in the Small/Medium Category (15-249 Employees.) Since most jobs are created by companies categorized as small companies and you would obviously assume that a “Best Company to Work for” would be worth targeting, these are the companies I decided to pursue.

Of the list of 20 companies in NY State, I excluded those that were outside of the NY Metro area (my target area.) That left me with nine companies. I then researched these company’s core businesses, including their products and services, competitors, management, recent financial performance, competitors, etc.

Then I developed a VERY targeted cover letter to each of them, in which I addressed their specific business challenges. I offered my twenty plus years of strategic planning, marketing management, and new business development experience in B2B business environments. I also spoke of my expertise in providing solutions as a consultant to small and mid-sized businesses.

The results were disappointing TO SAY THE LEAST! Not ONE of those nine companies responded to my initial inquiry seeking an audience with that member of the management team. Nor did they respond to any of my subsequent voicemails and email follow-ups.

These are the Best Companies to Work For”? Welcome to today’s lack of professional courtesy workplace, as evidenced by the best of the best.

No wonder so many disgruntled professionals are leaving Corporate America to start their own business ventures or are checking out of the workforce completely.

Brand New YOU: Self-Promotion for Career Success

2009-07-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

You need to be able to tell your story in ways that differentiate yourself as a job-seeker or businessperson. This means defining what makes you UNIQUE.

In marketing parlance, your unique offering is referred to as your Unique Selling Proposition. Start by identifying your 4-5 major career SUCCESS STORIES. These are your marketing CASE STUDIES. These tell how you have delivered exceptional service and achieved outstanding results.

Next, build a rolodex of client / boss references – these are your testimonials. Have them handy, and keep up contact with these folks. Identify your personal FEATURES and BENEFITS. When you develop your own personal brand, it requires you to think about yourself as a product. and your personal PRODUCT features and benefits consist of such things as: the degrees you obtained, the academic institutions you attended (stay active through their alumni organizations), your certifications, continuing professional development, software skills, professional accreditations, industry Association memberships, volunteer work, the charitable organizations you are affiliated – any and everything that define and contribute to your personal BRAND.

You MUST find out what are your peers, bosses, and clients identify you with - whatdo they think of when they think of you as a brand. It's not enough for you to have a brand statement - you need to compare and validate your desired branding with the marketplace's perception of YOU.

An organization's brand is its one key differentiator and gives it competitive advantage by being associated as certain things by its customers. You MUST do everything in your power to defend your brand name aggressively. If any of your co-workers or employees in your organization are speaking negatively about you or taking credit for your work, confront them immediately.

Publish – publish – publish! Submit articles to the key publications that cover the industry or industries you work in or sell to. Maintain your very own blog on subjects that apply to your industry or business. Author or contribute to any white papers you can, that cover scholarly topics or key business trends. Publish a book – go the route of self-publishing, if you have to.
Participate on industry panel discussions.

Land a speaking slot at your industry Association’s annual national, regional, and/or local conferences. Offer to speak for free, if you have to. This will help you to become a subject matter expert on the topics that matter most to your career and professional development.

Actively promote yourself whenever and wherever you can in your organization – up and across the organization. Provide your elevator pitch in writing to all of the people in your social and professional networks sothey can sell you when they are in appropriate networking situations.

Industries Experiencing Rapid Growth Means Jobs

2009-07-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

Despite the continued dire state of the economy, not all industries are struggling. In fact, some industries are experiencing significant growth and with it, an upsurge in jobs creation.

* Turnaround Management & Restructuring Firms: companies in distress are turning to consultancies that possess the talent and expertise needed to help them with bankrutcy protection, restructure their business, sell off distressed businesses, renegotiate bank loans, navigate through M&A activity, and other areas of expertise.

* Construction: after decades of neglect, major Metropolitan areas are beginning to plan for and implement major upgrades to their infrastructure. Projects include highway expansion, bridge resurfacing, waterworks projects, and more. Architecture and engineering firms are the organizations to benefit and are experiencing a huge spike in hiring.

* HR Consulting Firms: as companies continuously outsource their non-core competencies, more and more organizations are turning to consultancies to manage their HR functions.

* Mortgage Foreclosure & Bankruptcy Law Firms: a necessary sign of the times. Now as always, go to where the jobs are. Don't debate the ethics. Look for job opportunities.

* Green Technologies: Enough said. Green collar jobs are popping up everywhere, from waste management to alternative energy, to recycling.

* Healthcare: the aging Baby Boomer generation places tremendous strain on our entire healthcare industry and managed care is the next great area for high job growth. There is high demand for home healthcare service providers, nurses and nursing aides, physician's assistants, and other managed healthcare service providers.

* Risk Management: the need for uninterrupted business continuity drives risk management industries and growth sectors.

* Business Continuity: Because of the 24x7x365 business enterprise, in a post-9/11 world there can be no network outages. Data centers, stock exchanges, hospital ICUs all need to operate without interruption. Data MUST flow uninterrupted across the global network.

* Security: We continue to be a world at war and with that, challenges persist to ensure global security. Consider support services like biometrics, night-vision and stealth technology, private security firms, defense contractors, military analysts, and other key stakeholders of the global military industrial complex.

* Network and Communciations Equipment: With the continued explosion in Web users, VOIP, and unified communications, it truly is all about bandwidth, data, video, and wireless. Look into systems integrators who aggregate back-end systems, middleware, and front-end applications into a single retrofitted architecture. Unified communications firms offer business-class phone, cable TV, Internet service and wirelesss...what's referred to as a quad-play. This means growth in cable and telecomm. Hardware had its time in the sun, and so did software. Now, it's all about the network.

Being Great…What Giving 100% Looks Like.

2009-07-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

These days, there is a pervasive aura of negativity that seems to surround us all. People seem to be giving the bare minimum, or giving up altogether. There’s a lot of talk about workers not engaging fully in their jobs, emotionally disconnecting from their workplace.

That got me to thinking…what does it look like when people give 100%? If there was a magical “checklist” to show you what 100% looked like, what would it include?

So, what follows is my list of key attributes that reflect what giving 100% is all about. There is an implied assumption at work here that if more people embraced and embodied the characteristics on this list, we wouldn’t need Government bailouts, huge stimulus packages, and foreign countries investing in the US. We’d be great again just by re-instilling the all-powerful, uniquely “Can-Do” American optimism that tomorrow will be better.
=========================================================

*You can succeed in environments of EXTREME change and distress, with little or no guidance, roadmap, or help.

* Going “above and beyond” is just part of a normal day’s routine for you.

* You are always thinking how to solve client problems?

* Do you seek out solutions to your client’s problems that they don’t know they have, or don’t even face…yet?

* How often do you find yourself saying: “I’ll get to that tomorrow?”

* Do you only have an “A” game?

* Are you truly sick and tired of hearing people making excuses or saying they are going to hold off from increasing hiring, advertising, marketing, expansion and other efforts until things ‘turn around’?

* What more would it take you to be great CONSISTENTLY?

* Do you go out of your way to take calculated risks and embrace failure?

* When was the last time you offered to coach or mentor a peer, or volunteer your time and effort?

* When was the last time you eagerly pursued a new skill for no apparent reason or immediate need?

* Do you often ask yourself….”What if…” all the time?

* How often do you get to work early and leave late?

* Do you have the ability to spot developing trends and developments to ride the wave of innovation and gain first to market status?

Well, that’s my list. How many of these can you check off on your “GREATNESS” chart? What other criteria do you set for yourself to measure your own greatness?

A Simple Way to Clean Up Our Economic Mess

2009-07-11T04:26:00.000-07:00

I got into a totally unanticipated discussion the other night with folks at a networking event in which I was the guest speaker, talking about ways that entrepreneurs can launch a successful start up in this Depression.

Our jovial conversation turned suddenly to the topic that is on EVERYONE'S mind these days - the awful state of our economy.

We started talking about the fact that none of the captains of our business and industry, namely the CEOs and Senior Management (C Suite) of our banks, financial, and insurance institutions have been punished for their crimes against humanity.

One of the women in attendance asked me why I thought none of the people in these organizations that have ben most responsible for the damage inflicted upon our economy and most American's short and long-term financial stability, have been convicted of crimes (except for Bernard Madoff.)

I said that our Administration won't/can't let that happen. Most of the folks in Treasuray, the Federal Reserve, Senate Finance Committee, etc. have strong personal ties with those in positions of power that caused most of the damage done.

Then I jokingly said: "Too bad we don't subscribe to public executions in this country." After a VERY awkward moment of silence, one man in our group said: "I'm glad you said that. I've been thinking it for a year now."

That got me to thinking. What if...

...we arrested the people that we knew were at the heart of all this pain and suffering? After a brief albeit entirely legal trial with due process and all, we found them guilty, sentenced them on the spot, and took only 1-2 weeks to schedule the public execution via beheading?

I have the perfect venue. You set up a guillotine in front of the charging bull at the south entrance to Wall Street.

You would want to schedule the beheadings a week or two in advance, to give the employees who work in these convicted leader's organizations and the investors whose lives they ruined, ample time to plan on being their. Of course you would want to broadcast it live over the Net in REAL time, so people in other parts of the country (or world) or people away on vacation can take time out to dial in, to observe our justice system at work.

It would serve a two-fold purpose of sending a STRONG message to those in other organizations to begin flying straight...plus it serves as entertainment, to get people away from their IDIOT box (the TV) and all that reality TV programming.

Am I being facetious? Yes. Is this the sort of thing that CIVILIZED society does...of course NOT? But I ask, do YOU have an explanation why those at the heart of creating so much destruction in so many people's lives get of scott free, while WE have all lost most of our retirement funds, 401ks, child college savings? Is it fair that our children, and their children, and perhaps THEIR children, will have to foot the bill for this mess for decades to come?

Is our current financial mess a natural manifestation of the GREED associated with our chosen capitalist society? Digging even deeper, why have ALL our institutions - FINANCIAL, BUSINESS, ACADEMIC AND GOVERNMENT failed us these past 30-40 years?

How did we allow this to happen? What would YOU do to turn things around?

Any Good News Out There

2009-07-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

The U.S. national unemployment rate hit 9.6%, its highest level in the last 26 years. California has started issuing IOUs and won't be able to repay them until October. Companies continue to layoff their employees in masses, and cut back on their advertising and marketing. Is there anybody out there that has a "SUCCESS STORY" to share, to counter this ever-rising negative economic tsunami? Aside from the bankruptcy attorneys and investment bankers, turnaround firms, and the mortgage forclosure bank specialists, is anyone witnessing growth?

Tell us what has worked for you, either in your job search or running your own business.

We'd love a bit of good news right about now.

Unleashing Untapped Employee Talent

2009-06-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Imagine being able to unleash the hidden talents and untapped skills of EVERY single one of your employees?

Imagine if every single one of your employees, from front-line staff to senior management, was 100% engaged, doing the work they were cut out for, contributing to the success of your organization by focusing on their core competencies. Can you envision the collective power you would unleash? No laggards…just a company filled with rising stars. Absenteeism would drop instantly, worker defections to your competitors would cease entirely. Entire Departments would start exceeding quotas.

You would become a preferred employer, and employee recruitment would be an exercise in picking the talent you wanted. Better yet, what if I told you this CAN be achieved and WITHOUT the tremendous cost and resource drain of investing in hard to measure training programs? That long sought after seat at the Management Table would suddenly materialize for you, the HR professional.

Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s not. There is a beautifully simple tool called a human capital development audit that you can implement immediately to achieve these results.
Here’s how it works…for each employee in your organization, you match the roles and responsibilities of the job they are employed in with their skills, core competencies, and experience. Be as expansive and broad as possible in identifying their skills. Consider their academic training, software skills, certifications, professional development, leadership, cultural diversity…everything!

After identifying all the roles and responsibilities that each employee is tasked with accomplishing, you then detail their skills. Use a spreadsheet and simply line up the roles and skills along one another in facing columns.

These should be obtained through interviews with the employee's manager, their current (and any past) managers, coaches/mentors, peers they have worked with, etc.

After that is accomplished you drill down to identify which skill sets that they possess that are NOT being utilized. In order to maximize the positive impact to your organization from an ROI perspective, you should prioritize those skills that they are NOT currently using, based on their ability to generate revenues, reduce costs, improve your organization’s processes, etc.

Next, you must develop an action plan for all of the highest priority non-leveraged skills that the employee possesses. For each untapped skill, set a timeframe for completion and any contingencies, or potential barriers that would prevent the employee (and their Manager) from making those untapped skills part of her newly redesigned job description.

For this human capital audit to work, it has to be embraced by your senior management, owned by Human Resources, and conducted for ALL departments and levels of your organization. It should be reviewed quarterly, and merit-based compensation plans should be developed for employees that integrate untapped core competencies into their new roles and responsibilities.

Most HR professionals that I have spoken with about this audit indicate it is not possible to implement. They claim it is a big time commitment, doesn’t seem to be something that can be quantified, in terms of impact to the organization.

I would argue that, in this challenging economic environment, even if you 'ONY' achieved a 50% increase in each employee’s productivity as a result of implementing this human capital audit, the positive potential impact to your company would be great. I guarantee that a 50% increase in your entire organization’s productivity will force Senior Management to take notice of Human Resource’s role as a strategic partner in driving value through the organization.

Networking NO-NOs

2009-05-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that you are receiving MUCH more invitations to networking events than you ever did before? It's no accident. With the job market in upheaval and so many people starting their own businesses these days, more people are pursuing more networking opportunities than ever before.

The problem is, many people DON'T know the first thing about working a networking event SUCCESSFULLY.

Instead of going into a networking event with the mindset that you are going to "sell" to people at all costs about yourself and/or your company products and services, try a different approach...

...ask people what the most critical challenges are that they face. Ask them how the depressed economy has hurt their prospects, their job search, their business. Find out from them what are the greatest challenges they face in growing a business, generating leads, introducing new products to market, advertising/promotions, retaining staff, expanding their business into new markets, etc. Your approach when it comes to networking is to be as interesting and interested in others as possible.

Research who will be in attendance before you go to a networking event. Most people have bios written about themselves, either on a social media site such as LinkedIn or Facebook, or they have a bio on their company website, a panel dsicussion they participated in, a professional Association they belong to, etc.

The more you learn about others beforehand and then during an event, the more likely you will be to make a great first impression. Always approach a networking event as an opportunity to build relationships and add value to others.

Someone who can help people resolve their own issues by generating revenues, reducing costs, improving processes, or just plain old solving others' problems will be extremely successful. If you take the approach of forcing yourself on someone, the desperation in your approach will come through loud and clear. People will almsot assuredly go out of their way to avoid you or choose not to pursue a relationship with you.

What are your thoughts? Any great networking tips or HORROR STORIES?

Why Customer Care Stinks in this Country

2009-03-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

Why is it that with jobs so scarce and so many extremely gifted people out of work these days, are the ones in the service sector (customer service, retail, and hospitality) so pathetically disengaged and horrible at their jobs?

Have you noticed that nowadays when you have someone wait on you in a restaurant, or go into a store to make a purchase, or go to a teller at your bank, or the super market, or the Post Office...etc, that the people in these "SERVICE" based settings that are tasked with HELPING ("serving") the public so sullen, inarticulate, lazy, foul-mouthed, and disengaged?

It used to be that receiving awful service was a 50-50 proposition. Toss a coin...heads you get passable service, tails you get a lousy experience. Now it seems like virtually EVERY experience you have is awful.

As we moved from a manufacturing, production-based economy to a service-based economy, you would have thought we would have gotten better as providing service. But in fact we've gotten much worse.

Why do you think that is?

When Do We Admit We're in a Depression?

2009-02-27T02:30:00.000-08:00

With all of the bad economic news we have been hammered with for the last year and a half, I wonder when we as a Nation can finally admit that we are in a Depression?

Certainly, there are no new Hoovervilles in Central Park (NYC), people have not been reduced to carrying money around in wheel barrels or jumping out of windows by the thousands. But when millions of Americans have quit looking for work, are working without insurance, and degreed professionals are struggling to maintain full-time jobs at a minimum wage, such a condition surely exists in spirit, if not in name.

When life savings are destroyed, retirement accounts decimated, future jobs prospects bleak at best, trusted manufacturing jobs a distant memory, and many once core American competencies outsourced to other nations and we have become a Debtor nation, we have to ask ourselves if we are in this nation's second Great Depression?

The nature of work has changed in our society. We have transitioned from a once proud Nation that built things, sent astronauts to the Moon and built a Great Society, to the Twenty First Century contract-based, shrinking economy. Loyalty from employers to employees no longer exists. The notion of guaranteed employment is gone. There is NO guarantee that our children or grandchilren will be better off than we were.

When many once proud American institutions from Lehman Brothers to AIG, General Motors to Fannie Mae teter on the brink of failure and require Government bail-outs for their survival, what should we call this period in American history if not a Depression?

What do you think?

The Need For a Human Capital Audit

2009-02-22T04:40:00.000-08:00

One of the most powerful tools available to small business owners is the "Human Capital Audit". The human capital audit is a process I teach business owners to use, in order to most effectively leverage the specific skill sets, past experience, and core competencies of each and every employee in the company.

For each employee, look at their current roles and responsibilities. Then, identify their core competencies. What are their key strengths? Based on their day-to-day functions, ask yourself which core competencies they are using. It is absolutely critical that each employee be placed in a position in which they are performing ALL of the tasks that they are most skilled at. Where you identify areas for your employees to begin doing new tasks that fall into their skill set "sweet spot", you need to develop a plan including a time frame to have them implementing these new skills, a set of metrics to measure their performance in these new areas, and identify the resources required to make this new part of their day to day functions a reality.

As you introduce these new skill sets into your people's repertoires, you need to also determine any contingencies that might affect their ability to perform these tasks, perhaps finding mentors and other training assets you can provide for them.

This is a very easy, highly effective and tremendously powerful tool to leverage in these tough economic times. But to make the human capital audit work for your company, it needs to be implemented across the ENTIRE company, form senior management to front-line personnel, and it has to be developed as a company process that is NOT punitive, but a way to make employees, happier, more engaged in the success of the company, and a means to increase employee retentiaon by aligning their work processes withtheir strengths and interests.

What do you think?

Our Visionary Corporate Leadership

2009-02-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

It’s been quite a decade for our Captains of American industry.

598k jobs were lost in January, the fifth striaght month that the American workforce lost more than 400k jobs. 2.6M jobs disappeared in 2008. That's more jobs than in any other year since 1945.

Let’s start our tour by checking in on banking, which is in a state of ruin. Their reckless lending practices have led to the current sub-prime mortgage fiasco, which began in 2007 and has turned the collective American dream of home ownership into a nightmare. American Insurance Group, at one time one of the world’s most powerful insurance companies, reported losses from the mortgage crisis of up to $5 billion.

Those bastions of visionary leadership in the financial services industry have not fared much better of late. For proof, one only has to look at Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, who had to go seeking investments from Asian and Middle Eastern Governments last year to improve their balance sheets. U.S. investment bank Bear Stearns collapse is epic, even by Depression-era standards. Its stock price dropped from a high of $169 to $2 last year, and it had to be bought by J.P. Morgan with backing from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

And then there is automobile manufacturing, struggling to compete and failing miserably for nearly thirty years with aggressive foreign competitors and shifting market conditions. It got so bad for GM last year that at one point it announced a $15.5B quarterly losses, third most in its 100-year history. Ford Motor Company announced a loss of $8.7B, Chrysler decided to stop leasing cars and trucks, and GMAC announced a $2.5B second quarter loss. Then GM and Chrysler went backing for cash to remain in existence in 2009.

Cable and telecom companies have practiced their own fair share of questionable business practices, such as price gauging their customers by charging them for hundreds of unused channels of content or burying inexplicable surcharges and taxes in overwhelmingly complicated monthly consumer statements.

Even more unsettling than the incompetence of American business leaders has been the seeming proliferation in a lack of ethics that American business leaders exhibit to excess. Senior executives at Enron, Tyco, Adelphia, Global Crossing, etc. merely reinforced the belief that business leaders use their companies as a tool to ensure their personal financial well being at the expense of their employees and all other considerations.

Given all of this bad economic news spread across the American business landscape, now seems an IDEAL time to ponder whether anyone in corporate leadership is awake at the wheel.
We have to ask ourselves who will step forward from today’s American enterprise to lead with vision? American companies seem devoid of any ability to combat global economic threats and paradigm shifts. The “C” suite of Corporate America is sputtering and flailing for a lifeline, grasping at desperate acts such as outsourcing and off-shoring many of their core functions. Their knee-jerk decisions are aimed solely at achieving ill-defined, short term gains. Business leaders in most industries and sectors seem to only have one solution to deal with rapidly changing economic challenges, that being massive layoffs.

Our military industrial complex is comprised of companies that (intentionally or not) allow significant military secrets to migrate to global powers such as China, India and The former Soviet Union as we outsource key top secret development to them as we pander to gain access to their markets.

All this begs the question, what is going on in the mind of the American CEO? The answer today remains the same as it did at the turn of the last century…the sole pursuit of profit at any and all costs. When will American business be driven by ethical visionaries with a moral compass and the fortitude to tackle problems with creative new solutions, make knee jerk reactions that only serve to ensure their own economic situation? Only time will tell, and unfortunately the business leaders guiding our future have not established a stellar track record to garner much hope.

If the chief executive of a company performs so poorly they are urged to resign by the company’s board, they are allowed to sail off in the sunset5 with golden parachutes of millions of dollars.

On the bright side, there is ONE industry that seems to be doing quite well for itself of late, as evidenced by Exxon Mobile’s second quarter 2008 earnings reached a record high of $11.68 Billion. British Petroleum also reported record second quarter 2008 profits of $9.46 Billion, as did Royal Dutch Shell at $11.56 Billion. It seems like the $4 per gallon gas threshold being breached in 2008 before coming back down to $2 didn't hurt ALL of America's industries.

At least we can drown ourselves in the mind-numbing insipid formulaic unreality of our reality TV.

Employee Training and Development Program

2009-02-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

Your people are your business. They are the heart and soul of your company’s brand, the front line facing clients, your image, the company’s face behind your products and services…everything! Therefore, a top priority for your business should always be the development of your employees.

Before you develop an in-house training and development program, you will need to conduct an up-front skills assessment to identify specific metrics that will be employed, in order to define a successful program and to objectively assess employee increase in some pre-defined level of performance before and after the employee completes the program. Some metrics to apply when assessing the success of the training program on employee performance include:

Increase in company standardized test scores
Increases in productivity
Feedback from program attendees’ managers
Improvements in performance as defined in specific skill categories

Some examples of how a Training Program can impact performance across the Functional areas of your business include:

Increase in data entry skills or a reduction in errors for administrative support staff

Increase in calls handled over a given time period, decrease in average per call time or increase in the number of calls successfully handled in a single session for customer care professionals

An increase in the number of records processed by medical billing professionals

The selection requirements used to identify standards for employee participants need to be documented and communicated to your entire organization, to foster an inclusive program. You need to avoid the perception of, or the actual preferential treatment of, certain departments by including all employees.

Two types of skill sets for development include hard and soft skills are ideal for development:

Soft skills: Communications skills, team-building, problem-solving, presentation skills, project management skills, negotiating tactics, etc. These skills cannot be measured quantifiably.

Hard skills: Task-oriented training to accomplishment specific technical requirements, measurable skill sets required from the job.

Training requirements vary by industry and by functional area so you will need to establish a program that adequately addresses the specific needs of a broad range of program participants. Some standards to apply include:

Manufacturing firms require skills in kaizen-style lean manufacturing processes, which demand entirely new skill sets for production line workers to acquire.

Companies in logistics management (ex. freight forwarders and shipping companies) need skills in all of the latest inventory management tracking and product flow management techniques.

Finance professionals need to remain on top of the latest applicable regulations i.e. Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, ACH Check 21 rules and regulations, etc.

Prior to each session, the candidates enrolled in the campaign should have their performance review evaluated, with an emphasis on areas identified requiring improvement. The Train Me program committee assigned to implement the program should also revisit each participants’ goals and objectives for the year, and the roles and responsibilities identified in the employees’ job posting in order to determine potential areas for development.

Dress For Success

2009-02-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

As you think about yourself as a product to be marketed to potential hiring managers, then dressing for success can be considered the PACKAGING. Some clients that I counsel consider their dress style to be reflections of their personal style and refuse to follow conservative guidelines as they feel it will marginalize them as individuals. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You want to distinguish yourself in terms of your professionalism, the way you carry yourself and the extensive research you conduct so that you come across as extremely qualified, competent, and heading in the right direction.

Here is the rub – before you ever get a chance to speak to a complete stranger in order to convey beliefs about you, they have drawn conclusions in the first few seconds of ever setting their sights on you. The opinions the draw about you immediately are based on your physical appearance, and just as importantly ,to what you wear, how you carry yourself, if you remind them of anyone, perhaps even the non-verbal cues you give off.

Here are some general guidelines on dressing for success strategies that apply equally to men and women:

Your dress as a whole should add to your appearance – not detract from it

Clothes should never detract from your business persona. If you want to be taken seriously you have to come across seriously in your PACKAGING

Everything should be neat, clean and shined – pay attention to all of the little details, as they add up.

Navy blue, medium to dark grey are best. Conservative color patterns are always a safe bet

Avoid bright, flashy colors as they detract from the image you are trying to convey as a professional

Wear comfortable clothing that doesn’t require any distracting adjustments – the last thing you need to distract you from focusing 100% on acing the interview is uncomfortable clothing that doesn’t fit you well

Use a minimal amount of perfume cologne. The sense of smell is people’s strongest sense. It has the power of conjuring up a lot of very strong connotations with people including: past boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses, family members, etc. and by association their past experiences.

Carry all of your paperwork in a briefcase and/or portfolio. It adds to the overall appearance of being organized and professional

Clean and polished conservative shoes – while male interviewers may not focus on the state of a candidate’s shoes, a female interviewer WILL. Studies show that women focus almost immediately on the condition of a candidate’s shoes.

Keep jewelry to a minimum – large and gaudy jewelry can serve a s a distraction and detract from your attempt to achieve an overall professional and competent appearance.

Practice good hygiene – nothing can serve to sidetrack a candidate’s chances for employment than strong body odor, stained teeth, bad breath. If you are a smoker, be sure to wear dry cleaned clothes, brush and use mouthwash the day of the interview, abstain from smoking. It’s a small price to pay if it means the difference between getting the job or not getting the job.

No visible body piercing – you might think it’s cool and articulates your originality/creativity. Chances are it probably will do nothing but freak the hiring manager out.

Well groomed hairstyle is a must

Manicured neatly trimmed fingernails – this falls under the category of paying attention to detail. How can you manage a $100 million budget it you can’t keep clean fingernails.

Winter coats cleaned and pressed

Professional umbrellas (no South Park or Scooby Doo patterns to detract from the impression you are trying to convey of being the consummate professional)

Allow time to dress with care and deal with any emergencies

Favorite color of most Americans is blue - it conveys trust, calm and confidence

Tips for women
Wear a belt if wearing skirt or pants with hoops
Style hair tastefully and professionally
Low conservative heels
Shoes color-coordinated with outfit
Blouse white or ivory are safest
Clear and conservative nail polish
No more than one hand on each hand
No purses carry a briefcase instead
No more than 13 total accessories

Tips for men
Over the calf dark dress socks
Wear a belt if wearing pants with belt loops
Professional haircut or trim
Clean shaven is a must
No earrings
Conservative Color coordinated shoes – black lace ups are best
Always stick with natural fabrics – wool, wool blend for suit, cotton for shirts, and silk for ties

Researching Employers in the 21st Century Workforce

2009-02-04T05:17:00.000-08:00

Long gone are the days of having to comb through shelves and shelves of books in the dusty, dark hallways of your local library to find relevant publications that can provide insights. The Dewey Decimal system and card catalog have been replaced by the ubiquitous Internet and 24x7x365 access to infinite background information on nearly every conceivable phase of a business’s operations.

How do you comb through this Galaxy of available information in an efficient manner, and find out what you need to know about the industries and companies that you are interested in pursuing?

The answer lies in three words: research…research…research.

Researching Yourself
First off, you need to understand that as you attempt to match your own values, needs, personality and ideal working environment you need to conduct a personal assessment of yourself. That can be accomplished by working with an outplacement firm or engaging the services of a career coach / employment consultant to conduct a personal assessment.

A few of the most notable assessment personality typing tools that are available to you online that you must complete, in order to have a better understanding of yourself include:

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator – MBTI (www.myersbriggs.org)
The Birkman Method (www.birkman.com)
The Keirsey Temperament Sorter (www.keirsey.com)

Researching Companies and Industries
There are countless resources available to you for conducting company and industry research. First, you need to realize that there are two types of information that you can gather about a specific company; its formal culture and its informal culture. You need to have an understanding of both, in order to target companies effectively.

The formal culture of an organization is their spin – what they attempt to convey about themselves. That is the information that they disseminate to the market through their public relations efforts, what their Senior Management says about themselves, and what their website says. IT IS WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THEMSELVES AND THUS THEIR ATTEMPTS TO DIRECTLY INFLUENCE WANT THEIR INDUSTRY THINKS THEY ARE.

The information they put out about their company is useful to the extent that it highlights what their company wants to be. It all starts with their mission statement and vision, and their policies towards hiring, employee retention, professional development, benefits, pay, philanthropic (goodwill) efforts they make in their local communities, Green policies, level of influence they attempt to exert in public policy, etc. It is the collective sets of values and emphasis that they are making to the markets they compete to and the business community at large. Therefore, there is significant value for you in understanding the FORMAL culture of the organization.

And then there is the informal culture. The informal culture of any organization is the actual environment that they have created through their systems and processes, office dynamics, actions they take in the marketplace. It’s how they actually operate, and what their culture is like when you are actually working there. In effect, it’s the “No Spin Zone” or the way things actually are when you begin working there.

For company press releases, check out www.prnewswire.com

To obtain background information on the company, start out with the Securities & Exchange Commission Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database of company annual 10K and quarterly 10Q Filings - (www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml).

For general information some great websites are:

Business.com - www.Business.com

Dun & Bradstreet: www.DnBreports.com

Hoovers Research: www.hoovers.com/research

Vault: www.vault.com/companies/searchcompanies.jsp

About.com - http://careerplanning.about.com/od/companyresearch/Company_Research.htm

Company overviews can be found on Monster.com - http://company.monster.com/a.asp

Zacks offers company investment research www.zacks.com (for investment research)

Some great online tutorials for you to obtain research on companies online:

www.learnwebskills.com/company

QuintCareers - www.quintcareers.com/researching_companies.html

The Riley Guide - www.rileyguide.com/jobsrch.html

For information on Manufacturing and Engineering industries start with:

Thomas Publishing - www.ThomasNet.com

For privately held companies an excellent resource is the MacMillan Directory of Leading Private Companies.

For research into professional Associations, check out the Encyclopedia of Associations.

The Death of Human Resources

2009-02-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

The HR Department still exists in Corporate America, but as an advocate of employees and defender against senior management abuses, the HR profession seems to have gotten away from the role it once served.

I am not quite sure when this happened. I have worked in the private sector for twenty years in many industries and company cultures. I have witnessed first-hand how Human Resource professionals act less as an agent of protecting employee rights. I have been downsized a number of times, when companies merged or when the economy turned sharply down as we are witnessing now. Through all of the periods of significant downsizing, right-sizing, re-engineering, off-shoring, outsourcing, and Union-busting, the HR profession has reminded relatively silent, despite the significant negative long-term impact to the American economy.

Another area in which the HR profession seems to want to remain silent, in my opinion, is in the area of employees being mistreated by Senior Management. This trend is even more alarming given the active role that HR served in the past in its defense of employee rights. In the past, HR seems to have been much more proactive in support of employee rights by ensuring that employers were in compliance with EEOC regulations, while defending employees against harassment, wrongful terminations, etc.

In the past few years, it seems much has been written about HR seeking a seat at the management table. But the critical question that begs asking is, how can HR earn that seat at the table?

The opportunity for advancement for American workers is another area in which Human Resources seems much less active than in the past. Employee human capital development programs like training and development, coaching and mentoring, and other employee development programs seem much more likely to be outsourced, or managed by corporate training departments, if they are still being offered at all.

One area in which HR seems to have become much more active is in the role of administrative gatekeeper, by processing paperwork, routing resumes, etc. Worst yet, HR is now tasked with enforcing draconian senior management directives by monitoring employer behavior by tracking employee personal email, the websites employees visit at work, the time employees spend out of office, on leave, vacation, etc. The term “draconian” applies to such management behavior as: not reimbursing employees for work-related expenses like travel, monitoring employee email, phone calls, and Internet activity even beyond what is expected, restricting employees from leaving early certain days to pick up children from school/camp/aftercare, etc. allowing employees to work in a “timeshare” basis, forcing employees to come in to the office 5 days a week.

When has HR actually driven cutting edge policies on flexible work plans, job-sharing, issue resolution/conflict avoidance, job rotations, retired employee hire-back policies, etc?

Is there still a belief that HR should be the functional area within the American business enterprise to humanize the employee experience in work environments? Are there still rights to be had by employees in the employee/employer “contract?” Are we truly at the end of one employer for a career IBM culture of the 1950s.

Who will speak for the employee, if not HR? The answer is no one. Is it safe to assume that the American workplace of the 21st century could do away with HR altogether (through outsourcing or elimination) and the impact to the American enterprise would be minimal?

Where was the outcry from the HR profession when banking and financial services firms were initiating scandalous abuses by charging clients excessive fees, falsifying financial documents, and running their businesses into the ground. Where were the senior HR managers when companies imploded in a whirlwind of ethical impropriety exhibited by the likes of Tyco, Enron, Adelphia, and Global Crossing?

HR needs to establish processes to monitor unethical behavior of a company at all levels, including senior management. They should push senior mgmt that it is in their best interest to be involved in monitoring work done by outside consultants, accounting and auditing firms that are engaged by senior management on a project basis. Why wasn’t HR the consistent whistle-blower against corporate excess of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000? The answer is that HR no longer possesses the sort of relevance that would enable it to have an impact.

HR staff should have to work on a rotational basis in cross-functional departments, and should conduct focus groups with front-line staff to understand the challenges these people face in serving the business. They should create Idea Generation programs to gather input from employees at all levels on how to improve the company’s processes, behaviors, benefits, employee programs, etc. Quarterly Town Hall meetings are an excellent tool for HR to leverage in order to enable senior mgt to report on the state of the company to all employees on a regular
basis.

I suggest that HR professionals do some soul-searching by asking themselves why they ever decided to enter the profession in the first place.

The challenge for senior-level HR professionals that wish to reverse these alarming trends is how can HR resume its role as social conscience and activist within their organizations? Stated differently, how can HR revisit the “HUMAN” tendencies that are required in world-class organizations? From a strategic standpoint, becoming a world class employer known for hiring, retaining and training/developing the best talent will give companies a true competitive advantage to help the firm survive through the most extreme economic downtowns as we are experiencing now.

Doing so will enable senior HR professionals to obtain their much coveted seat at the management table.

College Students Need Personal Mission Statement

2009-02-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

During your college career, your journey will take you through a world of self-exploration as you pursue your educational goals. At the end of your college career, you obviously hope to be well-prepared and well-rounded enough to find gainful employment and achieve success as you pursue your passions and interests.

To that end, a critical first step in your journey of career exploration is to be able to define what values and beliefs you hold most dear. The development of a personal mission statement is an absolute necessity for you to adequately prepare for a career in the highly volatile twenty-first century global workplace.

The personal mission statement is an elegantly powerful resource. It is simply a two to three sentence declarative statement about the ideals, values and beliefs you hold true. It defines your goals in your personal and professional career. Best of all, you can leverage it in order to match your ideals and what you are seeking in a career with the appropriate culture of an organization that matches your beliefs and values. It is succinctly, your elevator pitch, a summarized sales pitch of the product called YOU.

Thomas Moore said: “It isn’t enough that we have meaningful work. What is also required is work that satisfies the soul.” You can begin the process of writing a personal mission statement with a technique called “visualization”, a technique that world-class athletes use. Ask yourself what your ideal dream job would like. Where is the office located, what type of people would you be working with? What are you doing every day, what does your workplace look like. Will you be working alone or with a diverse group of people? Are you travelling? Working abroad?

After you have given this considerable time write it ALL down. A plan not written down is a dream. Once you write it down it takes on a life, a permanence that you can match your progress against. Next, identify all your likes and dislikes, things you are most passionate about. Have you been involved with any social causes? Think back on volunteer work you’ve done. Again, write this all down.

Your goal is to develop a mission statement that enables you to define your DREAM job. A dream job constitutes good work that will enable you to combine the following attributes: the ability to achieve excellent performance, the ability for you to express your ethics, and a pleasing sense of engagement (as defined by Howard Gardner, noted psychologist at Harvard University).

Next, you will need to evaluate your goals. Start with your classes, and academic focus. Then slowly expand that by thinking about all the jobs you’ve had, and times when you were working and you felt the most energized, fulfilled, and rewarded for the work you did. You will need to identify your strengths and areas for improvement, New Career Opportunities, identify Ideal Industries and Companies, and identify Your Working “Style”
Ask yourself what values and beliefs do you hold most dear. What principles do you choose as the foundation for the rest of your life, and your career by extension? What would I like to accomplish and contribute? What would I like to be? How do I fit into my family and community? What are my strengths?

Steven Covey defined the process of crafting one’s mission statement as: "connecting with your own unique purpose and the profound satisfaction that comes in fulfilling it." After you have done all of the above, you are ready to apply this to the following four-step process:

1. Identify Past Successes
2. Identify Core Values
3. Identify Contributions
4. Identify Goals

Complete this process and you will have your very own personal mission statement.

An example:

"My personal mission is to live completely, honestly, and compassionately, with a healthy dose of realism mixed with the imagination and dreams that all things are possible if one sets their mind to finding an answer.”

Your personal mission statement gives you a concise, effective elevator pitch summarizing what you define as your key life’s goals, values, and beliefs. This is a powerful summary of what you hold dear, that forms the foundation (along with your core competencies and success stories) of how you will sell yourself during interviews, in a confident and assertive manner.
Some excellent resources to help you on your way:

• Franklin Covey Mission Builder; www.franklincovey.com/missionbuilder/index.html
• Laurie Beth Jones, The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement For Work & For Life
• Richard J. Leider, The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work

Navigate Your Career In Turbulent Times

2009-02-03T18:18:00.000-08:00

It’s been quite a year for the American worker.

2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008, a higher annual rate than any year since 1945, and the official unemployment rate has passed 7.2% nationally. Even more troubling, this percent only counts people that have registered for unemployment. When you include those individuals that have given up looking for work, the total number of unemployed Americans jumps to nearly 14%. The official unemployment rate seems destined to surpass 8%, which would make it its highest since 1981 and confirm that we are in the midst of the worst recession in 27 years.

Compounding the long-term adverse effects, our twenty first century global workplace, mean a protracted dire economic picture for the U.S. when other key economic regions such as India, China, Eastern Europe and Latin America experience economic downturns of their own. There have been massive layoffs across many industries but esp. so in the NY Metro area within banking and financial services, insurance, and now retail.

The key question in 2009 with respect to employment has become: how one can keep their current job, find new employment, change careers, or re-enter the workforce.
Fortunately, these turbulent times provide the opportunity for people to re-assess their career path and find new opportunities, if they are willing to invest the significant, time, effort and introspection that are required. For starters, the most critical aspect of work that makes us happy and fulfills us is doing things that we love to do, are passionate about, and fit our core values. In short, we can all find our dream jobs, but it requires that we understand who we are and what are our core values and beliefs.

Conducting a personal assessment like the Birkman Method, Meyer-Briggs Type Indicator-Strong Interest Inventory, or Keirsey Indicator self –assessment tool is a critical way to obtain a greater understanding of what we are all about. Identify the things you have done in the past that you REALLY liked, and those parts of previous jobs that you have hated. The goal is quite simply to maximize the things you derive the greatest pleasure at. Before we can hope to match ourselves with the desired culture of a potential employer, we have to know as much about ourselves as possible.

Howard Gardner, a noted psychologist at Harvard University has identified “good work” as achieving excellent performance, with the ability to express your ethics through your work, with a pleasing sense of being fully engaged.

Another effective tool to utilize for the purpose of personal exploration is to conduct a “visualization” exercise. This entails thinking about all of the defining characteristics of what your ideal “DREAM” job would be. Write down answers to the following questions: what does it look like, what does the office look like, how are you commuting (or are you working from home), what do your co-workers, boss, and direct reports look like – their age, ethnicity, background, etc. Be sure you write it ALL down. A plan that is NOT written down is nothing but a dream. Once you have written down all the key components of your DREAM job, you can formulate a plan with strategies to achieve that.

Now is the ideal time to consider going into business for yourself, or finding friends or co-workers that are willing to go into business with you, assuming they share your interests, background, passions. We are in the midst of the contract-based economy, in which employer loyalty no longer exists. You have to be loyal to yourself, and there is no greater leap of self-fulfillment that you can make, then going into business for yourself and pursuing the 21st century entrepreneurial workplace.

Once you understand the ideal type of job setting that you would be most happy in, the next step is to identify three or four industries that match your interests, passions, hobbies, and core competencies. Within each industry, you need to identify a handful of firms (say 5-7), for a total of 15-28 organizations that you will learn everything you can about. Such a narrowly focused approach will enable you to learn as much as you can about these organizations including their key competitors, products and services, management team, past financial performance, etc. that you can best leverage by using in you7r customized cover letters, resumes, professional bios, your interviews, and other correspondence.

The single most effective tool for job searching is networking. Networking is telling all of your friends, family, family of friends, friends of family…everyone in your social network exactly what types of employment you are looking for, the industries you are keen on pursuing, and the companies within each industry that you have identified for follow up. At that point, you will need to be able to summarize the core essence of your “Unique Selling Proposition” – what makes you UNIQUELY qualified as the ideal candidate. Market yourself as a PRODUCT whose features and benefits are your background, past work experiences, your qualifications, core competencies. Further, you7 MUST be able to express that sales pitch of the product called YOU in a 30-second elevator pitch. Be sure to write your elevator pitch down and provide it to all of the folks in your network.

Then you need to begin conducting informational interviews. First, know that an informational interview is NOT an interview. You are identifying people that work or have worked in one of the companies in the industries you have targeted, and call them up to introduce yourself and ask them to meet with you for a cup of coffee for 15 minutes to talk about their experiences. It is fair game to ask them how they got their start in the industry, what their background is, what they love most/least about their jobs, what a typical day is like for them. It’s gathering background information into the informal culture of the organizations you want to work for. At the end of that informational interview, you thank them, ask if they know one or two other folks that it would benefit you to talk to, ask if they can facilitate an introduction, and then be sure to send them a personally handwritten thank you note right away.

Get personal business cards made up with all of your contact details on one side and your core competencies listed on the other. They can be purchased online (a box of 500 for as little as $9) at websites like www.VistaPrint.com. Make sure you have updated your references, being sure to inform people that you have listed every time you have an interview so they can expect to get a call checking on you. Consider attending relevant job fairs in the industry you currently work in plus the few you have targeted. Leverage all of your relationships with professional Associations and networking groups, and seek out any and every opportunity to attend conferences, trade shows, professional development courses, and ongoing skills development through lectures, training, Webinars, etc.

Subscribe to any and all free e-newsletters and sign up to receive free email alerts from key players in the industries and functional areas (sales, marketing, IT, HR, etc.) that are your background.

Given the state of the job market it very well might take a protracted length of time to find full-time employment. Consider other options such as contract and temporary work, volunteer work to avoid having lengthy gaps of no employment off your resume. Further you need to know that going through a prolonged job search can be a very emotionally trying experience. You need to make sure you are surrounded by only positive influences. Take extra special care of yourself, avoid addictive substances such as coffee and nicotine, and be sure to get plenty of exercise.