Retweet: Three Words That Will Transform Your Career

May 31, 2013 by Leave a comment

Today we’re going to take a little different spin.  

Personally and professionally, I find a lot of value in LinkedIn.  I love seeing what kinds of articles people post.  Yesterday, I came across a quick read by Bruce Kasanoff (entrepreneur, writer, speaker) that really has a great message that we need to remember and act on (often).  As it’s short and to the point, I will post the entire article below or you can click on the link here to access it on LinkedIn.  Enjoy!

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Three Words That Will Transform Your Career

Every time you encounter another person, think: help this person. It’s not altruistic. Nothing else can so quickly supercharge your career and improve the quality of your life.

When you walk into Starbucks for a coffee, think help this person about the barista who serves you. Instead of being frustrated that he isn’t moving fast enough, see if you can make him smile. Better yet, tell him to keep the change.

When the phone rings on a busy day, don’t get frustrated by the interruption. Think help this person while you answer the phone. Doing so will change your demeanor, your thought process, and the entire interaction.

If you have a subordinate who isn’t pulling her weight, instead of criticizing her, every time you see her think help this person. This doesn’t mean let her slide, or ignore her shortcomings. It means help her either improve her skills or find a position better suited to her strengths. But don’t just brush her aside; really help her.

But wait a minute – I know what some of you are thinking. What about the people who take credit for other people’s work? What about the rich and powerful who have gotten that way by crushing others? Doesn’t their success prove me wrong?

Not at all. Sure, there are some people who take the exact opposite strategy. But it takes real skill and focus to succeed by being evil, and most of us just don’t have the fortitude to pull it off. For those of us with a soul and a heart, the only real choice is to succeed by helping others.

By first thinking help this person, you will change the ways that others perceive you. There is no faster or more effective way to change your interactions and relationships. You will be viewed as a positive, constructive, helpful and dependable person. People will think you are more perceptive, attentive and understanding.

That’s why this way of thinking is not altruistic; it is selfish, in the best sense of the word. The single best way to help yourself is to always be looking for ways to help other people. Sure, you’ll be making the world a better place, and in the course of your life you will help many thousands of people. But don’t do it because you ought to, or because it’s the “right” thing to do.

Think help this person because you’re selfish, and proud of it.

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Filed under Developing, Leading, Mentoring Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Graduation Wisdom for the Already Graduated

May 23, 2013 by 1 Comment

Photo May 23, 9 21 50 AM

My daughter’s pre-school graduation.

This week, I had the pleasure of watching my children graduate from their varying levels of primary school.  They are moments that bring instant pride to any parent and a few tears as you realize that your children are growing up (too fast) and you can’t do anything to stop it.  As I spoke with many friends that had children graduating high school and college, I was reminded of my own steps into adulthood and the excitement and wonder of the unknown that I felt.

Graduation is a time that is filled with hopes and dreams and potential for what the future holds.  It’s a time that the whole world is at your fingertips and you can literally step in any direction that you want……but which direction?  That’s the big question.

Fortunately, to help you decide, graduation is also an advice filled time.  Advice from parents and family.  Advice from friends and classmates.  Advice from teachers and counselors.  Advice from complete strangers.  Advice from…. [fill in the blank].  There is no shortage of advice during this time.  However, that doesn’t always help the graduate on taking their next step.

As I was reading through some articles this week, I noticed that several authors, CEOs, celebrities, and other famous folk penned “To the Class of 2013” articles.  Filled with what?  More advice.

But as I read many of these, I noticed two things.

First thing, there were several common themes that kept showing up over and over again.    What were they?  Passion.  Risk taking.  Relationships.

  • Passion – Find your passion, chase your passion, and capitalize on your passion.  The number one mention by far in the majority of articles revolved around passion.  You operate at a different level when you are passionate about what you’re doing.  You can feel it.  Others can see it.  It creates a positive impact on you and those around you.  Find passion in what you do – whatever it is.
  • Risk Taking – Stepping out there without a safety net is a terrifying thought, but with risk comes reward – the reward of personal growth.  This is why this topic had the second most mentions of the articles I read.  The authors very much encouraged their readers to step out, stretch and learn, fail forward, and experience.  Success is great, but life isn’t usually a series of successes.  Life is a combination of successes and failures.  How we learn from our failures and grow from them is what defines us – and this is what causes us to grow, evolve, and realize that we can do more than we ever dreamed.
  • Relationships – It’s all about people.  We live in a very connected society – and one that is connecting faster every day.  While we could choose to be isolationists and live alone on a desert island, the reality is that most of us rely on, work with, engage with people every day.  And these actions and interactions define us – how we communicate, how well we listen, how we are perceived, and how we invest in others.  If there is anything I’ve learned along my own journey – it’s that life is richer when shared with others.

Second thing, the advice wasn’t just for graduates – it’s for all of us.   The advice was timeless.  And you know what?  Sometimes we need a reminder to kick us in the pants and get us motivated and thinking right again. One of the worst thing that can happen when we enter the work force is to settle into a rut and stop growing.  Look back at those three themes above.  Regardless of where we are in our careers – we need to still work with passion, still take risks, and still build and grow relationships.  Is this your wake up call? 

If you’re interested in the articles follow the link here.  Of the articles however, one stuck out more than others.  And it wasn’t even an ‘article’ in the traditional sense – it was a slide presentation from Reid Hoffman – cofounder of LinkedIn.  I’ve embedded this presentation below.  In it, you’ll find that he calls out 3 secrets for highly successful graduates, which would be beneficial for you to look at – because again – back to the ‘second thing’ above – it’s for all of us.  Enjoy!

What advice do you have for the already graduated?

The 3 Secrets of Highly Successful Graduates from Reid Hoffman

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How to Deliver an Awful Evaluation

May 1, 2013 by Leave a comment

Warning:  Sarcasm and Satire Ahead

For all you bosses or aspiring bosses out there, giving annual evaluations is part of our job.  However, I’m sure we each approach this task differently.

So, I’m going to help you out here.  For all of you that like the easy path, believe that “less is more” when it comes to effort, and strive to disappoint and demoralize your direct reports, you’re in luck!  Because you’re about 50 words away from 25 tips on How to Deliver an Awful Evaluation.

Let me start by saying that doing all of the below will certainly get you the “Awful” ranking you desire. However, that’s a lot of effort.   So any combination of the following points should do the trick.

Let’s get started!

  1. Show up late.  What’s 10-15 minutes anyway?  It’s an exercise in patience.
  2. Don’t prepare….at all.  That’s a lot of effort….and your time is valuable.  Spend your prep time on more important things, like micro-managing.
  3. Base the annual eval on the last few weeks’ performance.  Hey!  The past is the past.  What’s important is right now!  You didn’t have time to capture all that other stuff anyway.
  4. Surprise them!  Grade them on things you’ve never told them about or give them scores they don’t expect.   Shhhhhh….your performance is a secret!
  5. Regurgitate their self-evaluation or a previous eval.  For those consistent performers, you shouldn’t have to do more than copy and paste.
  6. Don’t provide them their eval or any info ahead of time.  Why should they get to prepare?  You didn’t.
  7. Talk about yourself and make it all about you.  ….because it is, ALL about YOU!
  8. Talk about everything BUT their eval.  We can always get to it later.
  9. Yawn.  Nothing says “I’m interested in what you’re saying” more than you showing them your tonsils.
  10. Let them starve! – Who needs meat or substance in their eval?  Why should you give them anything actionable or constructive to work on anyway?
  11. Don’t provide specific examples of their behavior (good or bad).  Details, schmeetails.
  12. Gossip!  Talking about OTHER associates/employees performance shows them how much they can trust you.
  13. Be vague and try not to be too specific about expectations.  If they were really “that good” they’d be able to read your mind.
  14. Be insincere.  Callousness, coldness, and crassness show how much you really care about their development.
  15. Multi-task.  Check and respond to all emails and texts.  Maybe play a little Angry Birds too.
  16. Don’t allow them any time to talk or talk over them.  Why should they talk anyway?  This is YOUR time!
  17. Use the time to impress YOUR boss.  Show your boss how good you are by doing all of the things on this list.  They’ll be impressed!
  18. Yell and/or raise your voice.  A little intimidation always makes things go more smoothly.
  19. Roll your eyes.  This is an easy way to let them know what you think about what they’re saying.
  20. Cut them off.  Stopping them mid-sentence keeps the eval from going over the scheduled time.
  21. Read the eval to them…verbatim.   It’s not likely they know how to read anyway.
  22. Misspell things on their eval.   Thar’s no ned 2 spund tim on spalling.  Ur beeeng ufficnt wit ur tim.
  23. Conduct the eval in a public, distracting, noisy environment.  No better place to have a private conversation!
  24. Nod off.  Catching a few Zzzzz’s is okay – we’re only rehashing the past.

And my personal favorite.

25.  Lie.  You know, the opposite of being honest.  What does truth have to do with an eval? It’s all a matter of perspective.

As I’m sure you can tell, this list is not all inclusive.  There are many more things that you can do that will derail and erode your direct report’s confidence and trust in you.

Even better, once you deliver an eval in the manner prescribed above, your reputation will quickly precede you.  This means that any current or future direct reports (and their colleagues, and their colleagues,…) will know what to expect – which (as a disclaimer) – may ultimately help you free up a lot of time on your calendar.

Now, you’re all smart people.  If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be in the position that you’re trusted with.  So, I’m sure that you’ll use the above list wisely.

What else can you think of to deliver an awful eval?

Filed under Developing, Leading Tagged with , , , ,

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