Category: work

The “You Pie Chart”

A basic rule of investing is that you should build a diversified portfolio that includes different asset classes – stocks, bonds, cash – and different holdings within each class – stock in different companies, a bond ladder, CDs – to give you exposure to gains in different sectors and some downside protection when times get tough. That’s a great strategy for the money you already have, but what about the money you still hope to earn? Does your money come from different sources, or is your entire livelihood dependent on one stream of cash? What happens when the drought comes and the stream stops flowing?

Here are a couple of thoughts to consider on how you can start building some stability into your income portfolio (all of it in your household) and reduce the risk of dependency on your employer.

First, if you are married, look at ways to diversify careers and industries within your family. My wife just finished nursing school and is launching a new career as a Registered Nurse. I don’t work in healthcare, so we have some new found diversification (and an extra paycheck).

Second, brainstorm on ways to create alternative income streams. Unless you are in an employment situation that forbids outside business activities, chances are good that you have skills that you can turn into a side business. I have a close friend who turned a talent for woodworking into a small business making custom pet feeders. Another leveraged public relations skills into a side consulting practice.

Third, network like crazy and give freely of yourself and your knowledge. The more you do to help people with no expectation of return, the more likely you are to get help when you need it. You may also be presented with opportunities that would never have come your way otherwise.

Think about your income the same way you think about your investments. Remember those colorful pie charts that came in your 401(k) package? More color means more diversification. Is your income portfolio one color, or a safer and more satisfying rainbow?

Next up: Thoughts on brainstorming and turning the exercise into a business.

Face to Face

You have a great résumé and you have found a job listing that sounds like it was written just for you. You send off a perfect cover letter and the best possible thing happens: you get the call and a recruiter wants to schedule an interview.

Now what? Are you ready to sit for an interview and follow up?

First, how much time have you spent preparing for easily anticipated questions? When the recruiter, HR manager or hiring manager sits with you, how will you respond to these questions?

  • Please, tell me about yourself and your career.
  • What accomplishments from the last 12 months are you most proud about?
  • Give me details on how you grew sales/reduced expenses/improved profitability as you claim on your résumé.
  • What is your greatest strength? How about your biggest weakness?

Are you going to be ready for these questions, or will you just hope for the best and see what happens? Your competition will prepare and practice and have a portfolio of answers in mind to answer these and other questions. How well do you know yourself and how well can you tell your story in a compelling way that will make the interviewer want to hire you?

Here are a couple of ideas to help you get ready:

  • Research the company you are hoping to join. Complete an Internet search for “(Company Name) interview questions.” That may give you some insight into the questions you will face. Glassdoor is a potential resource to check.
  • Write out your answers to common questions and read them out loud. Do they sound convincing? Try recording your voice – your smartphone probably has a voice recorder – and listen for enthusiasm, energy and conviction. Is it there? No? Try again.
  • Know your résumé from top to bottom. Even if you paid someone to write it for you, this is your life and your career. You need to get committed. (An aside: You can either be involved or committed. When it comes to a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved. The pig is committed. You want to be the pig).

If this still leaves you feeling unprepared, get some help. You have come this far. Making an investment in interview coaching can help. Whatever you decide, get ready, because your time to sell yourself face to face is coming.

Errors & Outcomes

Everyone makes mistakes. That is no revelation, for sure. Not everyone learns from those mistakes, though. If you don’t take risks and push the envelope of your own performance, you may never make mistakes, at least not serious ones. But if you are constantly challenging yourself to reach for higher performance and exploring new opportunities, you will fall. Sometimes you will fall hard. The outcome of these experiences is the measure of their worth.

When you make a mistake, or suffer a total failure, what do you take from the experience? Is your reaction one of withdrawal and muttering under your breath? “I am never going to take a risk like that again.” Or do you reflect on what went wrong, what went right and how you could do better in the future? Growth and development do not come from taking the easy road.

What risk can you take today that could lead to the next breakthrough or the next big flop? No matter the outcome, you will learn something if you take the time to reflect and look for the learning opportunities. Don’t be afraid to take a chance and scrape your knees. That’s why they make Band-Aids. Just remember to learn from and repeat the successes while avoiding making the same mistakes in the future.

Small Steps

Clay Shirky’s Cognitive Surplus makes the point that we have more free time available to us than humans at any other time in history. One statistic that illustrates the point is that the amount of time we spend watch television continues to increase. What if we didn’t waste so much time observing and actually did something? What if we used some of this reserve brain power for some activity, rather than passivity?

I started working with a new client this past week. He is a young man in Los Angeles, and has accomplished much. He has not reached his 30th birthday. Getting to know him, I understand why. He has been entrepreneurial and has been involved in creating value, building businesses, studying and networking – and not wasting time – since he was at least 12 years old.

What are your dreams? How can you see your life better than it is today? Maybe you have a goal of helping other people, improving your relationships with your family or friends, getting fit or starting a business. How could you take your cognitive surplus and move in a direction that can improve your life? The answer does not lie in another reality TV episode, that’s
for sure. What small step can you take right now that moves you even the slightest bit towards your goal? Make the move and take the step.

More than a Microwave

If you are a leader, you probably have had to consider employee engagement and motivation. I was involved in a conversation this week about this, and some of the points made brought me back to some basic business education material: Herzberg’s Motivation Theory. Why? The talk was all about how an extra microwave in the break room would make a big difference in the employee experience. Sorry, it doesn’t really work that way.

Herzberg published his theory in 1959, and it has been a foundational topic in business education since then. Why, then, do some believe that environmental improvements will make a big difference? Maybe because simple changes are quick, easy and cheap, allowing the manager to check the box – “Yes, we did that” – and move on. These leaders should not be surprised, though, when employees don’t bow and say, “Thank you, sir, for the new tables in the employee lounge. I will never leave this company.” Having the right flavors of Doritos in the vending machine may eliminate a demotivator, but it will never drive engagement.

Herzberg’s theory went on to say that there are important motivators that influence people to work hard, including recognition, responsibility, advancement and the work itself. Other leading organizations also use the organization’s mission as a touch point for employees, hoping that the reason behind the work will improve engagement (think pharma: saving and
improving lives). I have personally seen and experienced this in organizations in different industries, and knowing the bigger picture and the “why” behind the work can sometimes be the fuel to help employees make it over the next steep hill.

Pay attention to the basics and eliminate elements that frustrate employees, but understand the limited upside of the efforts. To realize significant results, there will have to be significant effort. Recognition, strong cultures of trust and teamwork and genuinely engaged leaders focused on the needs of the employees will create great results, but these all take hard work. Rest up, re-energize and start the real job of a leader: empowering and engaging employees to deliver on the goals of the organization.

Just in Case

As the economy recovers and more news stories bubble up with messages about new jobs and opportunities – as opposed to the tales of despair to which we have become accustomed – more people are thinking about change. Rather than white-knuckled grips on their current gigs, no matter how miserable the conditions, some are allowing themselves to think that there are alternatives. Must I stay at this job because I need the benefits? I haven’t had a raise in two years, but what choice do I have? Those questions are being overshadowed by hope and dalliances to consider better choices. Green shoots, anyone?

So what happens when you get a call, text, tweet, email or invitation over lunch to send your resume? As in: “I know some people who are looking for someone with your skill set.” Do you shoot it over from your Android, ping them from your iPhone, or just mumble something like, “Yeah, so, I need to refresh it, so I will get it to you soon…”? Then you scramble, writing and editing through the night, ultimately serving up something that looks like yesterday’s leftovers.

Professionals who are serious about career growth are getting ready. They are preparing to market themselves in a way that reflects well on them and their accomplishments. They are ready just in case that next great opportunity comes their way. Are you?

Doing the Hard Work

Fair warning: this is about my wife Carin’s graduation today. It is an understatement to say that I am proud of her as she graduated from St. Vincent’s College in Bridgeport (CT) with a nursing degree. What started as a casual conversation about three years ago culminated in the walk across the stage, the handshake and the diploma.

Roll back three years.

Me: So, what kind of work do you think you might do after the kids are in school full time?

Carin: I don’t know.

Me: Have you ever thought about nursing? You are amazing with your hands, something I noticed when you have to care for the kids.

She took it from there. She inquired, applied, enrolled, got 75 pounds worth of textbooks, studied, studied and studied some more. And passed! But there is more to the story. As she was taking full time classes, she also worked in the medical center as a Student Nurse Technician, a title that really means Nurses Aid and amounts to bed pans, commodes, soiled linens and the other work that the nurses don’t want to do – or don’t have time to do – themselves.

She did that work, did it well and got noticed. She worked as if she already had the Registered Nurse job. She carried herself that way, treated her patients and coworkers well and responded in tough situations in a way that was above her title and pay grade. She was offered a Registered Nurse job.

I am amazed by what she has accomplished and by her demonstrated determination to succeed. She has worked hard and has earned the prize. Congratulations, Carin! I am proud of you and we can all learn something from what you have done. The world will be a better place with you caring for others as a Registered Nurse.

Maximize Yield

I met with a brilliant scientist last week who took time from her schedule to explain her work to me and some of her success measures. An important measure is the yield realized from the various steps in her processes. Each step needs to deliver the most usable product for the next, so there is something valuable at the end of the chain. Avoiding explosions is good, too.

This effort is very similar to the work the people do when they are looking for new jobs. The seeker’s mission is to increase the probability that she will make it through the long and painstaking hiring process by maximizing the yield of everything she does. This means taking nothing for granted and working harder than everyone else to secure a job offer. Here are a few reminders on how to do this.

Customize your Communication. Every job opportunity needs communication that is tailored to the message’s recipient. If you will not take the time to customize your cover letter, resume and all other correspondence, someone else who is willing to do the hard work will get the offer while you stare at your not-ringing telephone.

Network in Person. LinkedIn is great, but it doesn’t replace face-to-face relationships. If you can’t meet in person, make a quick phone call. Have a pre-written message to deliver to voice mail.

Thank You. Mom taught you to say it. Do it every time someone is generous enough to give you some time. Did a contact take your call? Follow up with a thank you email. Did you get an interview? Send a well written thank you note or letter by snail mail. Don’t overlook this step. It shows that you follow through and pay attention to the details. Many of your competitors will not do this.

Ask for Feedback. Should you be fortunate enough to get an interview but not the job, and you talk with a person about the decision, ask for feedback about your interview and what the hiring decision makers thought were your strengths and weaknesses. You may learn something that will help you next time.

Just as my scientist friend works to maximize yield at every step of the way, think about how you can maximize the yield of the work that you are doing. Are you doing everything possible to increase your chances of success? Or are you taking shortcuts and inviting a potential job search blow-up?

Leadership: Royals & The Rest of Us

Friday, April 29, 2011 was an important day in the United Kingdom and provided some escapism for over two billion people around the world who watched some or all of the coverage of the royal wedding. William and Kate fulfilled their roles perfectly, giving the world an opportunity to share fleetingly in their lives, courtesy of high definition television and world wide media coverage. It was fun.

William and Kate and the rest of “The Firm,” as the royal family is sometimes called, clearly live a life much different than us commoners. For one, we don’t have an army of aides ready to fluff our dress or hold our gloves. Though they have a leadership role in their country, and have a vested interest in keeping the monarchy alive and well, that lifestyle is not one that we should expect in any leadership position to which any of us might aspire. Quite the contrary.

Leadership in our world, as we carry out our activities at work, in our homes, in civic and religious life, or in any other pursuit you might mention is better defined by our service to those we lead, rather than the servitude we might mistakenly expect from our followers. If you are a leader who expects curtseys and bows as you walk down the hall, I’ll bet that your list of followers is small.

The most successful leaders, leaders that we want to follow, are those whom help us reach our potentials by challenging us, encouraging us and helping us secure the resources we need to be successful. The body of work on servant leadership is enormous, and it doesn’t describe anything that we see as “Royal Watchers.” Enjoy the fairy tale, but leave it as that: a fun story that someone else gets to live. Now get back to leading your followers by helping them succeed.

What Papa John Says

You’ve seen the ads. Papa John’s Pizza advertises with the tagline telling us that better ingredients make better pizza. The same idea applies to our careers and the reputations we earn as we live our professional lives. Better accomplishments and results lead to a stronger history, a potentially superior résumé and a more valuable professional reputation.

How can you be sure that you are doing everything possible to create this scenario of outstanding accomplishments that go into a sterling résumé? Begin with the end in mind. If you want a résumé that will open doors, you have to do the hard work to have the accomplishments and results you will need. Here are a few thoughts on how you can make it happen:

Working with Others: Are you respectful and demonstrate a willingness to work hard to advance the goals of the organization, or is it all about you? People will appreciate your partnership and support. They will also see through phoniness and self-centeredness. For which attributes do you want to be known? Who is going to give you a reference? What will they say?

Own Your Results: Every organization has a scorecard. For-profit or non-profit, there are key metrics that measure and define success. If you are in charge, you own the numbers. Do they tell the story of a high-achiever? Do they say something less?

Lifelong Learning: Our economy is knowledge based. Think about the work that you and your friends and relatives do every day. How many of them work as laborers? How many work in jobs that require thinking, planning and cutting-edge knowledge? Are your skills fresh and valuable?

Professional Affiliations: Almost every field has an associated professional group. Seek out the best one in your industry and get involved. This relationship can also help you stay on course to achieve your learning goals. 

Think about the quality of the ingredients in your career history. If you want them to be more significant, make changes. Unlike a bad meal that goes in the trash, you can make changes today to change the mix, the story and your career success. But it’s up to you to make it happen.