Rule 1 Life is not fair — get used to it! Rule 2 The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. Rule 3 You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a …
I like work, career, and job lists. They distill experience. They are a quick read. There is the ‘ah ha’ moment with things that move us. I can refer to them. Also, they’ve been vetted and filtered through someone’s life experiences. Philip McGraw’s ‘Ten Laws of Life’ struck me as right on. Go over each …
Do you know who are the critical leaders and role models in your organization? What makes them effective and efficient? Or not? Do your managers know the present game (competitive) rules? And, do they communicate them to you? Do you want to go into management? Do you know the rules (wants, needs and expectations) of …
Over the last several years, your employer may have downsized, restructured, rightsized, transformed, teamed, and refocused itself. This may mean different things to you. You’ve been asked to do more with less. Your friends have been fired. You’re working longer hours. Your bosses are making stupid decisions. You’re getting paid less per hour than last …
In the future, it will become increasingly obvious that your competitors are just as clueless as you are. – Scott Adams, Dilbert creator So, you want to be a leader at school, work, ball team, or church? Do you have the right stuff? More and more, the ‘right stuff’ is getting in touch with your …
I know lots of technical wizards in healthcare, accounting, finance, and engineering. Only one problem! Many managers don’t have people skills. These nice folks went into professions thinking they could solve problems or help clients one-on-one. These are capable and good professionals. However, they reach a social ceiling in their work and career. Much like …
I like books that ‘tell it like it is.’ No sugar coating. If I want business placebos or palliatives, I can get them from our employees or contractors. Marshall Goldsmith – the consummate executive coach – came up with the 20 habits that stop us from getting here to there. Habit #1: Winning too much. …
The achievement of excellence can occur only if the organization promotes a culture of creative dissatisfaction. – Lawrence Miller, Business person I’ve found that senior executives don’t understand and can’t articulate today’s business paradigm shifts. They know things have fundamentally changed. They know their competitive rules are different. But, do they know what they’re …
My job is to disturb the system. I give people new ways to think. It’s more a matter of offering people different perspectives and influencing their thinking than trying to drive them. – Chris Turner, Xerox Business Systems I heard an executive give a talk at a conference recently. Every other word seemed to …
My job is to disturb the system. I give people new ways to think. It’s more a matter of offering people different perspectives and influencing their thinking than trying to drive them. – Chris Turner, Xerox Business Systems Years ago, I was running a project. The project was over budget and over schedule. Not good! …