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"The only thing that stands between a man
and what he wants from life is often merely
the will to try
it and the faith to believe that it is possible."
-
Richard M. DeVos
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Is Your Image
Hindering Your Career Growth?
Wondering what’s
holding you back from getting a
senior position in your company?
Take a look in a full-length mirror:
The problem may be the image
reflecting back at you.
Work as a Spiritual Experience
I don't know about you, but when many people hear the word spirituality, they
conjure images of monks, candles, religion, and perhaps even incense. Few
picture a day in their work life, completely enjoying what they do, feeling
totally fulfilled and as if they are making a difference in the world.
The true nature of spirituality goes
beyond mysticism and magic, and
finds its roots in very practical
day-to-day activities.
Office life can have its ups and
downs, but having to endure a
jerk can make it miserable.
Office jerks take on many forms,
and thus require creative
strategies for dealing with
them.
When Your Boss Won't
Share the Spotlight
Everyone has
dealt with a credit-stealing
coworker. And while wrestling
recognition for your hard work
and bright ideas from a
glory-grabbing colleague can be
tricky, you can usually resolve
the situation by tactfully
confronting the individual or,
if that fails, bringing the
issue to the attention of your
manager.
But what do you
do when your boss -- the person
who has significant control over
your career -- is the one taking
credit for your ideas? After
all, being too direct or going
over his or her head can get you
into trouble. Following are a
few strategies that might help.
Do You Know Your KASSIs?
Thoughts on Individuality in the
Workplace
Of the 22 keys to a
meaningful workplace, the one that
seems to stir up the most raw
emotion is "self-identity" -- the
driving desire most people have to
exert their individuality in the
workplace.
Achieving the flow of great
performance
... Are there things
we can do in our own lives to create
our own Messiah equivalents on a
smaller scale?
Part of the answer lies in a concept
called "flow." Made famous in his
book by that name, author and
psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
explains: "The best moments usually
occur when a person's body or mind
is stretched to its limits in a
voluntary effort to accomplish
something difficult and worthwhile."
When Fear Strikes the Workplace
Did you see all those rats?"
My friend John was remarking on the
latest cringe-inducing scene from
TV's "Fear Factor." If you've seen
the show, you know how it works:
Contestants face a series of
nerve-rattling, stomach-turning
activities, and the winner walks off
with big bucks.
John couldn't get over the rat
scene. "Each person got strapped in
a pit and had to stay there for four
minutes with hundreds of crawling,
nibbling rats. It was terrible." He
started laughing nervously.
"That's how I feel when I'm at work,
like I'm in a rat pit," he said.
"It's that scary."
Over the years, John has told me all
about the organization where he
works. It's a market-research firm
known for its high-IQ workforce, but
among insiders, it's seen as a place
where threats and punishment are
routinely used by managers to "get
things done."
Quitting With Class
Leaving a job is an
exciting yet nerve-wracking
experience.
On one hand,
you're anxious to start the next
phase of your life and likely
thinking more about your new job
than your current one. But, on the
other hand, you don't want to burn
any bridges with your current
employer.
Handling those
final days with grace can be the key
to getting valuable references and
maintaining a professional network
that you've worked hard to build.
Preparing
physically, mentally, emotionally
and spiritually for new job can
limit the stress that is associated
with the change.
Change, even positive, exciting,
beneficial,
seizing-a-great-opportunity change
creates and environment of stress.
And, if there were
storm clouds brewing,
alligator-filled swamps boiling,
backstabbing cutthroats plotting, or
don't get it bosses at the old site;
the "nervousness" might be stronger
than if the last job experience had
been happy.
Making Change
Profitable ...
Working Well With Others
A 20-year study at Stanford
University examined the career
paths of thousands of executives
to determine the qualities they
had developed that enabled them
to move ahead rapidly.
Researchers concluded that there
were two primary skills that
were indispensable for men and
women who were promoted to
positions of great
responsibility.
http://www.Assessment.com/MappMembers/Welcome.asp?AccNum=06-6609-000.00
Mention work-family
balance and you think of a trade-off:
something gained for something lost.
What are some more positive ways both
men and women can handle the balancing
act? In a Möbius Leadership Forum, three
experts—a professor, a rabbi, and a
practitioner—weighed in.
by Susan Berkley
Looking for a job? Know someone who is?
Know a young person ready to hit the job
market this summer? Recruiters and
potential employers use phone interviews
to narrow their list of prospects and
are ruthless about dumping the duds. A
good first impression on the phone is
the first step to a personal meeting
that can lead to a job (or a sale!).
Here are some tips .
How to Be an Extraordinary Employee
If you want an extraordinary income, you
have to transform yourself into an
extraordinary worker. Here are six ways
to do that:
Conflict:
Constructive or Destructive?
What creates conflict in
your organization? Different views on business decisions and
strategy? Disagreement about tactics? Poor relationships and
personality clashes? Conflict occurs for many reasons. But, by
changing how you respond to conflict, you can reduce its harmful
effects and maximize its useful ones.
"If it is well managed,
conflict can have positive outcomes," says CCL's Brenda
McManigle. "Conflict can lead to better decision making, expose
key issues, stimulate critical thinking and fuel creativity and
innovation."
Starting Off a Perfect Career With a
Great Job
I've read many books about job hunting.
Most of them were full of bad advice.
What they explained (sometimes well,
sometimes poorly) was how to do well
what everyone else is already doing.
When you're competing with hundreds of
qualified people for one good job, doing
what everyone else is doing - even if
you do it especially well - won't get
you the job. Why? Because the person to
whom you are sending your resume is
getting dozens or even hundreds just
like yours !
When writing resumes, most people do
exactly the same things. They emphasize
their strengths, hide their weaknesses,
and make all the same claims:
Read on ...
How to Send a Thank You Note After the Interview
Often
people forget or fail to send thank you notes after interviews. I recently
interviewed ten people who all went on to second interviews; all ten did not
send a thank you note. Had one of the ten sent the note, they would have set
themselves apart from the pack.
Read on ...
Twitch speed. Keeping up with young workers.
Reaching Younger
Workers Who Think Differently
By Marc
Prensky
“Every parent, educator,
and manager knows that "Nintendo children"--those born after 1970 and raised on
video and computer games, Walkmans, the Internet, etc.--are different.
Unfortunately, the Gen-X discussion has focused mainly on the youths' supposedly
short attention spans and attention-deficit disorders, ignoring or
underemphasizing what is perhaps the most crucial factor--that this under-30
generation thinks, and sees the world, in ways entirely different from their
parents.
…
Speedwise, we effectively give them depressants. And then we wonder why they're
bored.
…technology has emphasized and reinforced certain cognitive aspects and
de-emphasized others. Most of these changes in cognitive style are positive. But
however one feels, it's important that managers (as well as educators and
parents) recognize that these changes exist so that we can deal with the younger
generation effectively.
Below are 10 of the main cognitive style changes, which raise a number of
important and difficult challenges. We have already begun to see the development
of new business structures, ideas, and products that take into account under-30
employees' cognitive changes and preferences. It is likely that the full impact
of these changes will not be felt until the younger generation fully comes to
power, just as the movies were impacted by the coming-of-age of George Lucas and
Steven Spielberg. That time is not far off…. “
Read the whole article
The Job Search and the Web
"... the Web can make preparation and searching less tedious.
There are thousands of sites with information from interviewing
techniques to resume and cover letter writing. I’ve included
just a few of those sites in this issue’s article as a starting
point for the serious job-seeker.
When writing a resume, here are a few things to remember: ..."
Read on ...
10 Tips for
Young Professionals
About the 'Real' World
By Karen Woodward
in the
Wall Street Journal
I worked in Hollywood for 10 years as an assistant to studio
executives as well as "talent." I've seen a lot, and all kinds
of people. As I'm sure most can imagine, the film industry
attracts some very odd types. I've also been on the hiring side
of the desk, and it's astounding what some people will say and
wear at the office. Here is my advice to 20-somethings about the
"real" work world.
Article continues
Get Out of Town! 5 Tips for Lightening
Your Workload So You Can Take a Vacation
You work hard. You covet every day of vacation
you're entitled to. So why aren't you using them? According to Expedia.com's
annual "Vacation Depravation" survey, nearly one-third of Americans do
not always take their vacation days. In fact, Americans are likely to give back
more than 421 million unused vacation days in 2005.
Before blaming your job for forcing you to
surrender your precious time off, take a look at your own habits at work and
home. The best way ensure that you don't forego a single well-deserved day on
the beach, on the slopes or just relaxing at home, is to increase your personal
productivity. By tweaking the way you work and structure your day, you can get
more done in less time and feel good about it. Best of all, you will never have
to say no to a vacation again. Here's your five-step game plan for seizing
control of your time and boosting your personal productivity:
Article
continues
Behind the Magic
How do stellar sellers work their magic? From the first cold call to
closing the deal, discover the top sales secrets of some seriously
successful salespeople.
By Chris Penttila
Read
the article
Women at the top
It started, as most discussions of this
kind do, with a common lament: "How do we keep highly skilled,
talented women executives from opting out of the workforce?" It
ended with the four women charged with commenting on this nagging
dilemma talking about the need for more flexible schedules. Yes, we hear
that a lot, not only in the executive ranks, but in all walks of the
work life. We hear it constantly. We hear it from women and we hear it
from men.
But yesterday, we heard about it in terms of the executive suite,
where some women manage to break through the glass ceiling that
continues to exist in our business culture. Co-sponsored by The Week
and The Conference Board, "Women in Power: Views From the
Top," featured Catherine Kinney, president and COO of the New York
Stock Exchange; Dr. Caroline Kovac, general manager, Healthcare and Life
Sciences, IBM Corp.; Shelly Lazarus, chairman and CEO, Ogilvy &
Mather Worldwide; and Suzy Welch, co-author, along with husband Jack
Welch of Winning, and former editor of the Harvard Business
Review. The discussion was moderated by none other than CNBC's
"Money Honey" Maria Bartiromo, who expertly navigated the
conversation.
The panelists, guided by Bartiromo, discussed a wide range of topics
from corporate scandals and governance issues to balancing work and
family, to China, the productivity of the U.S. workforce, and biotech.
It was as topical a discussion as you could ever wish for from four
women who, while they are in very different businesses, can relate to
one another's climb to the top. But what the Minute found most
interesting was the work/life balance discussion.
Article continues
Exploiting
the Gender Gap
By WARREN FARRELL
Carlsbad, Calif. — Nothing disturbs working women more
than the statistics often mentioned on Labor Day showing that they are paid
only 76 cents to men's dollar for the same work. If that were the whole story,
it should disturb all of us; like many men, I have two daughters and a wife in
the work force.
Read
the whole article
7 Tips for Leaving the Office Earlier
by Laura Stack,
MBA, CSP
Personal
Internet surfing at work costs Companies over $300 billion a
year
According to a new survey by America
Online and Salary.com, summarized by Dan Malachowski, the
average worker admits to wasting 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday,
not including lunch and scheduled break-time. The survey
indicates that employees are wasting about twice as much time as
their employers expect. Salary.com calculated that employers
spend $759 billion per year on salaries for which real work was
expected, but not actually performed.
The biggest distraction is personal
Internet use by 44.7% of the more than 10,000 people polled.
Socializing with co-workers came in second at 23.4%. Conducting
personal business, "spacing out," running errands, and making
personal phone calls were the other popular time-wasting
activities in the workplace.
Read the
whole article
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Bronwyn
Ritchie's
