You’ve heard the ditzy blonde jokes. Yes, I know they are sexist if they only related to women. But, let’s see how they work for men and women. Well, do you wonder why so many pretty people – blondes and brunettes – excel in life even with low IQ’s? Well read on … “What does …
I’m an introvert. I became an engineer because I love solving problems. In most cases, this involved working alone to solve problems. Only one problem: silo thinking and doing is more often a career-ending problem. Unless you’re a certified genius, who’s made loads of money, pay attention to these caveats: First, what’s a silo? Think …
You’ve heard this from your employer: ‘People are our greatest asset!’ OK. What happens to employees or contractors, when there’s market turmoil and uncertainty? What happens when companies treat employees like LIFO inventory – last in, first out? We become cynical. So, the question that will confront many companies is: ‘Do we want happy employees and …
No kid I know ever dreamed that ‘I want to be a middle manager.’ Middle managers were traditionally the organizational backbone. They collected and communicated organizational memory, protocols, policies, and culture. There’s less interest and value in the past. Now, the focus is on the future. Technology is driving much of this. There’s no resting …
What work rules have changed for you? What’s your career metaphor? Do you have a career roadmap? What’s important to you about work? Are you secure with your work/career/job? Where would you like to be with your work/career/job? Are you a risk-taker or risk averse? Are you happy with your work, career, or job? And …
Change can come with breathtaking speed, leaving a company on the defensive and in financial trouble when it’s forced to catch up. Gary Goldstick, Business person Several years ago, there was an ad for Putnam Investments: “You think you understand the situation, but what you don’t understand is that the situation just changed.” Amen! …
END OF ENTITLEMENT ONCE YOU THINK YOU ‘GOT IT’, THEN … Read More »
The future of work consists of learning a living. Marshall McLuhan, Futurist I paid my dues! I worked 60 hours last week! I bailed out my team! My company, church, school, government owes me. How many TV shows can we watch that glorifies the victim mentality? For the last two decades, the entitlement and …
Starting a company is like going to war. Audrey MacLean Venture Capitalist We all have risk tolerances. We can be risk taking, risk tolerant, or risk averse. These also can change depending on the specific circumstance or objective. For example, I can be risk taking at work but in all family affairs, I am …
If you don’t know where you’re going, no path will take you there. Anonymous Work is often described in terms of a set of changing 1. Work rules; 2. Boundary conditions; 3. Tools, and 4. Expectations. Let’s look at each: Most of us knew our work rules, because they were presented to us in …
I am a geek-engineer. I believe that the geeks won. Geeks were once marginalized. They now seem to run the world. Why? The term geeks has a negative connotation. So, the media is now calling them quants – shorthand for quantitatives. Another best selling book calls them the ‘numerati.’ Regardless of the term, we live in …