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Fairy Tales and Fables for the Workplace
Tweet Share on Facebook November 13, 2009 CommentThe Little Boy Who Cried Wolf (Before Monday): “We need this report done by Monday at the absolute latest. I don’t care what you need to do to meet that deadline, but get it done.” Fast forward two weeks after Monday: “Oh, your report? We haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
[See 10 career mistakes I've made.]
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5 Habits for Creating a Career You Can Love
Tweet Share on Facebook November 12, 2009 Comment (1)The career you have today is the cumulative result of the choices you have made up until now. The career you have next year, or 10 years from now, will stem from the choices you make starting today.
Some of those choices will be conscious, while others will be the result of ingrained habits. And when you develop the right habits, they can be a powerful force in propelling you in a positive direction. With that in mind, here are five habits that will move you toward a career you can love:
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Hey, Bosses: When an Employee Resigns, Be Nice
Tweet Share on Facebook November 12, 2009 Comment (7)I know that the number one reason people leave a job is because they have a problem with their manager. Managers know this too, and as a result some of them take a resignation personally. They shouldn't.
But, wait! Didn't I just say that people quit because of their managers? So, shouldn't managers take it personally?
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9 Ways to Overcome Being Overqualified
Tweet Share on Facebook November 11, 2009 Comment (10)Nothing is more frustrating than applying for a job you want and being told you’re "overqualified." You figure that, "Hey, if I’m willing to take this work—work that my skills and experience clearly show I am more than capable of doing—then employers should be thrilled to have me."
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When Fear Grips Business Development
Tweet Share on Facebook November 10, 2009 Comment (3)I am a serial entrepreneur. I start companies. So far in my career—a couple of home runs, a double or two, maybe a single. Never a strikeout. A fly out maybe.
For the past three years, I have been working (nights and weekends) on a new company with a colleague. We have spent well into six figures, not accounting for our time. "Incubating" and "sweat equity" are the terms now in vogue. This is a new business in the publishing space—a niche market easily in the hundreds of millions, (or, as much as $10 billion, according to some estimates).
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5 Signs You May Be a Bad Coworker
Tweet Share on Facebook November 9, 2009 Comment (15)I get a lot of mail at Ask a Manager from people consumed with fury over habits their coworkers have—habits that I bet most of those coworkers aren't even aware of.
Here are five signs that you might be the one pushing your coworkers to the limits of their sanity:
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10 Career Mistakes I've Made
Tweet Share on Facebook November 6, 2009 Comment (1)Unless your career has been an unblemished rise to the top, you can probably identify a few mistakes (or maybe more than a few) made along the way. Here are some of mine:
1. Charting a path from A to B to C to D without giving much thought as to whether I'd like B and C. That is often a very bad move, because although D may be nirvana, B and C are where a lot of time is spent.
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7 Steps to Sustain a Career Change
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2009 Comment (4)If it's time for a career change, to a path that energizes and inspires you, try this. Grab a magic wand (an invisible one will do), close your eyes, spin around three times, wave the wand and say, "Wobbity bobbity, fibbity fun, when I open my eyes, career change be done!" Really. Do it. I'll wait.
[See how to change your work and the world.]
How'd that work? Not so well? Bummer. It looks as if you'll have to do it the way everyone else does it—one step at a time. Here's the reality: Real substantive change doesn't happen with the wave of a magic wand. Success requires commitment, effort, and persistence. It unfolds over time. It's easy to come out of the starting gate sprinting full speed toward change. But this isn't a sprint. You have to be in it for the long term. Here are some tips to help you maintain momentum on the way to a career you love.
Pick a path you care about. Imagine two paths. One of them you pick because other people will admire it, or because that's where the money is, or because of external expectations. The other lights a fire inside of you. It energizes you to even think about. A big part of maintaining momentum is about feeding the energy to keep you moving forward. When you aim your efforts toward something you really care about, you get energy from the pursuit. It's also a lot easier to take the inevitable bumps and bruises along the way when you experience them in pursuit of something you love.
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What to Expect When Across-the-Board Layoffs are Coming
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2009 Comment (2)My company just announced "across the board" layoffs. Does that really mean that 5 percent of every department will be cut? The announcement said the entire company will be affected.
Not knowing the inner workings of your company, I can't say for sure what the management has planned. However, in general, it's unlikely that the same percentage will be cut from each department.
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How to Survive a Bad Boss
Tweet Share on Facebook November 4, 2009 Comment (11)Have you heard the one about the boss who made his assistant check his sandwich every day to be sure it didn’t contain tomatoes? Or the boss who always worked weekends and put dated notes on everyone’s desk saying, “I was here. Where were you?”
