Blog Archives
Millennials, here’s why it’s time to wake up!
Today I was on NPR sharing my perspective on millennials in the workplace. Here is what I shared during the “Perspectives” segment:
Here is a link to the audio file
Here is the transcript:
Imagine how I felt, three weeks into my first job out of college and facing the thing that strikes fear into the hearts of employees across the nation. It was time for my performance review.
I wasn’t scared though, I was excited. I was expecting that my boss would give me a big raise and promotion. I was stunned when the first words out of her mouth were, “Aaron, you seem like a bright young man, but I am not sure if you even know how to do your job.” I was crushed. I thought I was doing well at work, but in reality had no idea what the working world was like.
In fact, my misguided expectations were way off. I had expected that it would be like everything else I had done in my life; that I would be given an opportunity and then rewarded for being a part of the team.
My fellow millennials, it’s time for us to wake up. The working world is not like our homes were growing up. Our bosses won’t accommodate for us like our parents did and we won’t be recognized just for showing up. It’s time for us to take action instead of just waiting to be given the careers of our dreams.
Older employees complain about our lack of engagement and inability to take on responsibility and follow-through at work. I for one hate having this stigma associated with me and know that we are better than this reputation. We are creative, enthusiastic and agile, with exciting ideas and new ways of thinking.
We need to take ownership of our careers. No one is going to hand it to us on a silver platter. We will have to earn it with consistent hard work and results. We must be coachable, willing to listen and learn from advice coming from all angles. We must be more self-aware, understanding our natural sense of entitlement and impatience that cause us to give up when we face adversity or skip around between opportunities because we will only settle for the ideal situation. Instead, we must have perspective and realize that the lessons we learn now will help us when we do find our passion.
Don’t just wait for someone to hand you the career you want. Go out there and take it.
With a Perspective, I’m Aaron McDaniel.
Does anyone have their own perspective that they want to share?
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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One Sentence You Should Never Say at Work
Our jobs can be challenge amidst all the change that invariably is happening at our companies. Whether we are at a fast growing start-up, a huge corporation adapting to new market conditions and competitors or somewhere in between, odds are this is a reality of work.
No matter what your job, company or industry, there are certain principles we all should strive to uphold. From driving results to people fast learners, all have their own level of importance. One of these key categories is our attitudes. Not only will out attitudes affect the quality of our work, but it also will affect how others view us.
It makes sense to maintain a positive attitude. Besides motivating ourselves to push-on in adversity, it helps us look good amongst the team. While a negative attitude can manifest itself in many ways, from small comments like, “this new policy sucks!” to “there is no way we are going to solve this problem!” there is none worse than when you say (and think), “it’s not my job.”
When you have this 4-word mentality, you are a poison to your team. It shows you have the mentality that you have sectioned off your work and the value you bring to your company to a tiny box that is determined by your job description.
Here are 3 reasons you should never even think the words “it’s not my job”:
- It limits you from career growth- If you are constantly concerned about how little you need to do to fulfill your job responsibilities or are only interesting in doing what you were initial hired and explicitly told what to do, then you will not inspire others to believe in you and your abilities. You won’t be given any new and exciting opportunities and later (if not sooner) your days will be relegated to mundane tasks that don’t matter as much to the future of your company.
- You won’t learn anything new-If you have a “it’s not my job” mentality, your work days will not be exciting. You will most likely get caught in the routine things that you are comfortable with (truly successful people are willing to regularly step outside of their comfort zones).
- You are being a selfish non-team player- If you are being asked to do something or see an opportunity to complete a project that may be outside of the scope of your job, odds are it is needed because there is no one doing it today. In almost every case it will help your team.
Note: This is especially true when you are working on a small team, in a new growing area of your business or are at a start-up. I once founded a start-up with a friend of mine. Routinely my business partners would say “it’s not my job.” Besides annoying me to no end, I was like, “there’s only two of us, so if it’s not your job then whose job is it?!?! Mine?”
When facing tasks that are outside of the scope of your job or that you are not familiar with, use the following 3 steps to help you contribute rock-star results:
- Partner with someone- If there is a group that does have expertise in something you have been asked to work on, bring them into the fold. Not only will you get their expertise and buy-in, but you will learn more in the process and get the work done faster. Plus it will show good teaming, something all bosses like seeing.
- Do your research- If you are asked to do something new and outside of the normal scope of your job, odds are the right way to do it won’t just come to you. Research ways to do the task and look for sources of the information you need to do a great job
- Ask for help-If you aren’t able to find a partner who has the task you have been asked to do as part of their job and if you research efforts are fruitless, ask for help. Make sure to ask to the right person (preferably someone other than your boss), and show them the work you have done and how you think you should do the task instead of just blindly saying “tell me how to do this.”
Take ownership of the work you do and take new work that may be outside of the comfortable scope of your job as an opportunity to grow and learn. It will help you develop a solid personal brand.More than anything else, if you do say “Ok, I’m happy to help,” instead of “it’s not my job,” then people will take notice and before you know it you will be receiving new and exciting career opportunities.
What’s a something YOU think someone we should never say at work?
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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“Expect Delays”
An early morning a couple weeks ago I was headed to a work conference. It ended up that this conference wasn’t at the typical convention center or hotel. Instead, it was located at a retreat out in the woods. While scenic, the road leading there was naturally winding and heavily wooded.
At one point, where the road narrowed to one lane in each direction, there was one of those electronic signs on the side of the road that typically flashes a multi-part message. In this case, there was only one part to the message displayed. It simply read, “Expect Delays.”
From my experience, these signs usually offer justification as to why there would be a delay. It might read “Road repair ahead.” And then “expect delays” following. But this time I did not. The sign just said “Expect Delays.” Normally I would have passed by this kind of sign paying little attention, but in this case (maybe due to the early hour or the peaceful surroundings) I found a deeper meaning in the message.
Time and time again (in our careers and lives in general) we make plans. We think through all the possibilities and details, catching as many variations as we can think of. Despite this analysis and planning, we are often wrong. Things don’t go as planned.
In my career (and life), I have found that many times when “things not going as planned” it involves something taking more time than I would have expected. I generally get impatient, expecting faster results. This often leads to me giving up, or at the very least not give my 100% in following up and seeing things through.
Unfortunately, this feeling (and response) is something that plagues many millennials like me. We are used to instant gratification and feedback. We are used to getting things when we want them, how we want them. Success in your career (and life) just doesn’t work this way.
It is important for us to be patient when we embark on a journey to accomplish a goal. Whether it is something big like starting a company or something as simple as completing a project at work, realize that things won’t go as planned. Delays will invariably creep in, and if we aren’t ready for them, then we run the risk of giving up before we ever reach our goal.
While it is key to understand and anticipate delays, it is important to go one step further. We must build resiliency. The moment we get knocked down, we must get back up. Every delay that comes our way is an opportunity for another lesson that will help us avoid obstacles in the future (or at the very least will help us get over them faster).
We must also actively look for solutions. To beat these “delays,” we have to find ways to overcome them. Whether it be testing out a new strategy or flat out asking for help, it is better to fight through obstacles and delays instead of letting them happen to us.
As you drive down the road of your career, make sure to keep an eye out for delays. Often times there won’t even be a sign that tells you when or why they are coming. Remember not to just let these delays happen to you. Use them to your advantage. Take away key lessons, they will help you be smarter and more successful further down the road.
Just because you expect delays doesn’t mean that you have to like it. Meet these delays head-on; overcome them and carve out new roads of your own to explore.
What do you think about the “delays” that you face?
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
This article was originally published in the Personal Branding Blog
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Is Taking It Easy a Good Thing?
As Ferris Bueller said in the 1986 movie, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” This was true then and is even more true now. Over the Labor Day weekend, I took it’s purpose to heart and did some thinking.
Our lives as professionals (or otherwise) are full of meetings and emails, commitments and distractions. For many, striking the balance between work and play can be a hard line to walk and something that is never quite mastered.
For me, this is especially true. Besides a full time corporate job, writing books, and managing my entrepreneurial ventures, I want to make sure to spend time with friends, travel and volunteer in the community. In the process of having to take care of a lot of business, the byproduct is generally busyness. With spouses, kids, aging parents and more, there is not much time left for anything else.
Recently I was cleaning out some files at home when I came across an article that my godmother had sent to me a couple years ago. It was a brief prose by Alexander Green called In Praise of Idleness.
This essay really made me think.
Looking back, I have seen how busyness has adversely affected both my concentration and decision making ability. A couple years ago, I was balancing a full time job and running two businesses, not to mention a number of other personal and community involvements. I found that my mind constantly jumped from one commitment to the next. Because of the shear number of things on my mind I found that I was looking for fires to fight. I would prioritize the most important thing with the nearest deadline and would focus on completing it as soon as I could to go on to the next thing. This was good in terms of getting many things done fast, but it affected the quality of my work. My judgment was clouded and I made some decisions that, in hindsight, were pretty stupid. They led to some failures in my businesses.
I needed to remember what Green states, “downtime is an energizing force.” He continues to reference how “idleness leads to contemplation, creativity, and inventiveness.” Taking this time creates clarity.
While it is something that I do still struggle with, I have been able to see the benefit. Whether it is setting aside 15 minutes in the middle of the day to take a walk (or at least get away from my desk) or if it is keeping one weeknight or weekend day free from commitments to have some downtime, I continue to see benefits from this. Create that time, maybe not a siesta or afternoon tea but a break at some point during the day
As Green references, there are many examples of how down time is a good thing. From Churchill’s “economy of effort” to Mark Twain, even these successful people understand the benefit.
The second step in the right direction (after setting time aside regularly) is to simplify. Think about why you are doing something, and don’t just take on commitments for the sake of being busy. Focus on what is important, and be excellent at fewer things. Steve Jobs made Apple amazingly successful through simplicity.
So remember, it’s ok to be a “loafer,” “slacker” or “bum” every once in a while. This idleness can create the clarity you need to be to reach your goals.
;
When do you think being “idle” is a good thing? (if at all)
;
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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You Gotta Hit the Curveballs
As we reach the latter end of the dog days of summer, as a baseball fan, I think about the impending pennant races and excitement to come as the fall approaches.
Recently, I was at a baseball game and watched as one of the players from my home team (the San Francisco Giants) battled against the opposing team’s pitcher, fouling off 7 or 8 balls before getting a solid hit to left field. These types of at-bats happen all the time in the major leagues, but for some reason this one stuck with me.
I realized how the type of mentality this batter had was exactly the mentality of those who are successful in their careers (and I would venture to say, in their lives in general).
For those not familiar with baseball, hitting a moving ball thrown at you from a little over 60 feet away at speeds as fast at 100mph is not easy. In fact, it is considered by some to be one of the hardest things to do in all of sport. With something coming at you so quickly, it is important to anticipate.
Not all balls that pitchers throw are fastballs straight down the middle of the plate. Many are curveballs (that change directions on their way toward the batter) or are change-ups, that look like fastballs but are as much as 20mph slower than the same pitcher’s fastball. As a batter, if you use the same swing and believe that every ball thrown would be a fastball, then a large portion of the time you would be swinging and missing.
In our careers, things aren’t always straight forward (fastballs). Many times things quickly change (change-ups) or something unexpected happens that we have never experienced before (curveballs). To be successful, we can’t always assume that things will be straightforward. We can’t assume that we will always get the next promotion opportunity. We can’t assume that if we always consistently produce the best results that rewards will flow to us in-kind. To be successful, we must anticipate curveballs and expect the unexpected.
What good baseball players (and this particular batter from the game I recently watched) do is strategize and look for a specific pitch. Depending on the count (number of balls and strikes), the game situation and the pitcher, the batter will make a plan for the pitch he thinks will be thrown. He will prepare for a low or high ball, a ball thrown inside or outside. This is analogous to goals that we set and opportunities that we look for. Often, however, the pitch you guess is not the pitch thrown.
Good players not only make a strategy according to where they think the ball is going, but more importantly, they make sure that they have a way to make contact with the ball even when what they anticipate is wrong. In the game I watched, this batter defended against the unanticipated pitches by “fouling” them off (where he would make contact with the ball but would hit it off a sub-optimal part of the bat, making the ball land outside of the field area).
Pitch after pitch, he received balls that were either unexpected or not what he was looking for. Yet he kept his at-bat alive, waiting for the pitch he really wanted.
The career equivalent is patience and resiliency. We will all face adversity and obstacles (i.e. the unanticipated or undesirable pitches) and it is important that we are able to persevere and wait for the moments where we can be truly successful. Yet we must get through all the other obstacles before we are faced with the right opportunity. For this batter it took over 10 pitches for him to find the one he was looking for, and he still needed to foul-off the others to get to the right pitch.
Finally, the batter connected with the ball and got on base. Eventually the batter ended up scoring and represented the go-ahead run that won the game for his team.
Remember to strategize to determine the opportunities you want (the pitches you are looking for) and more importantly, be able to persevere and be patient through all the obstacles you face (the pitches that are hard to hit). Eventually if you keep your at-bat alive, you will find the pitch you are looking for and will get a hit that may very be the success that defines your career.
Do YOU think being able to hit the curve balls matters?
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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The best question a manager can answer: “Why?”
Here is an article that was recently published on the Personal Branding Blog of which I am a contributor to… http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/the-best-question-a-manager-can-answer-why/
Let me lay out a situation that most of those that work at almost any company are familiar with: Company management undergoes a reorganization and change is coming. The change can be vast including entire groups or functions going-away, leaving hundreds or thousands without a job) or could be something slight, like people have to work on an upcoming Saturday.
Corporate leaders are (rightfully so) worried about big things like, will this new strategy and organization structure cause the company to lose momentum? Or, will this change cause us to lose profit or become vulnerable to our competitors? Yet one thing that does not receive as much thought is how to “break the news” to all the employees. For most, it’s as cold and calculated as sending out a company announcement via email, and then letting the chips fall where they will. This lack of thought about communicating change can be disaster because (quite simply) people talk.
When people talk two things happen, (1) they get distracted and no longer focus on their work, and (2) they come up with some of the most creative conclusions as to why things changed and the rationale behind the new system. Most of the time these self-crafted answers are based on wrong assumptions or are just completely rationalized and made up by someone who is ill-informed.
In managing people, I have found that the best way to deal with change (and basically the changing of any policy or rule that is set) is to answer the question that is often disregarded by managers; the question “Why?”
Managers can wrongfully think, “I’m the boss and I know why I needed to make this change. My employees just need to focus on the new way we are doing things so we can reach the new goals I set for them.” Instead, effective managers don’t just tell their people that a change has been made, but they offer rationale behind why the change was made.
For example, a friend of mine’s company had an entire team that was focused on making products for and selling to a certain industry. One day, it was announced that the team would no longer be focused on this industry but instead would be targeting international customers. Along with the announcement, some people’s job would be eliminated and some would have to move to Europe and Asia. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the announcement. There was no why.
Left to their own devices people spent a great deal of time and energy speculating whether the change came because of something going on in the industry (which appeared to be growing) or a new opportunity that came about internationally, and beyond. The company did not share that this industry focus was not profitable or that the cost of paying experienced people on the team was causing the company to lose market share in other product lines because there was less money for marketing. The reasoning could have been anything, but the bottom-line is that it was not shared.
The beauty about sharing why with your employees is because it allows them to move on. It’s like ripping off a band-aid. It may hurt, and they may disagree with the rationale that you used in making your decision, but at least they understand your reasoning.
Telling the why behind a decision allows people to feel like they are important and deserve to know. Instead of de-motivating them, it allows people to focus more on their work and can even empower them to work better and smarter because they will naturally look for new ways to support your rationale for making the decision in the first place. If you talk to the team about the purpose behind a cost cutting measure you are instating, they will begin to uncover additional ways to cut costs in other areas (often times without you even asking them to). They will work smarter and in a way that is mindful of why the decision was made, while you will get better results.
While it is important to use tact and put the right “spin” on the reasoning behind your decision, make sure to share the why with your people and not just what the change is. It can mean the difference between achieving the result that you are hoping the change would create and total failure and low morale. Remember the answer the question, “Why?” even if you aren’t directly asked.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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Say “No” to Good, Say “Yes” to the Best
Here is an article that was recently published on the Personal Branding Blog of which I am a contributor to… http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/say-no-to-good-say-yes-to-the-best/
It seems that in our lives there is a constant tug of war going on between finding simplicity and all of the complexity that is thrown at us. From our jobs to the endless amount of information that is thrown at us each day, it can be hard to focus in on what is truly important.
The moment that we think we have everything organized and figured out, a change comes our way and we are forced to have to juggle one more ball with the many others we struggle to keep in the air. This “change” (aka an extra ball to juggle) can come in the form of unexpected and sad life events where you are thrown a load of new responsibility to opportunities to for new career or exciting adventure.
The desire to have a simple and targeted direction is a constant goal of mine. I find myself going through times where I take on new and exciting opportunities and others where I look to “cut the fat” and only focus what is important to me at the time.
The question naturally arises, which is better; to take on more things, give back more, contribute more, accomplish more (reticent of the whole notion that busy people get stuff done), or to focus on only one thing and be the best at it (and make it your brand)? This is the classic dichotomy between focusing and doing one or a small number of things right (ala Apple) or to cast a wide net and do many things, some successful and some a failure (ala Google).
I have concluded that the answer to this question comes in two pieces. One answer is that while simplicity is a good thing, “it depends.” The other answer is that you “have to do it this way,” (referring to going through complexity to get clarify), or in other words it’s always a process.
To address the first piece, it depends on personality. I am the type that probably could not do just one thing. I would get bored out of my mind. Success takes time, patience and a bunch of steps to get there. If I was doing only one thing, then as I would wait for each step to play out I would feel like I am wasting my time being idle. Whereas with numerous things going on, I can occupy my time with another project or commitment until the other one is ready. At the same time though, doing too many things means that important parts to each project can be overlooked and nothing gets your full attention and passion- which means that everything is less successful than it could be.
The other piece involves process. It is interesting to see how those that truly find their calling or passion go down a path that involves testing out many interests and opportunities, only to focus on what rises to the top (the “top” items either being what garners the best results or what you are most passionate about). It is almost as if you have to experience all the crap and distractions to find what truly inspires you.
In various strategy projects for work, I find myself going through a two-side reverse funnel. I start with a simple understanding in mind then dive into endless research and background (the more complexity the topic has, the dirtier this gets). At certain points, I think about how there can’t be a right answer since the question is too hard and there are too many details. Yet, when you push through this the answer then becomes obvious and you shift to a more focused and simpler conclusion. What really matter rises to the top and becomes clearer.
I am in the middle of that process right now. Over the last couple of years, I have become focused on a large number of activities, 10 to be exact. Besides my full time job, this includes entrepreneurial ventures, community service activities and other life commitments. Recently I hit that point where I felt there was no answer. I was doing too much and lacked focus. Most of my activities were successful but none singularly reached that top echelon of success that I strive for. I realized that it was time to narrow the funnel down more. 10 were too many.
In focusing and finding this simplicity some of the items were easy to knock off the list, I had less interest in them or the amount of time they took for the results created made getting rid of them obvious. But others were harder to get rid of. I enjoyed doing them and saw a benefit I got out of them (and with many of them I was able to help other people), but they distracted a bit.
Not long ago I had a mentoring discussion with a family friend who has been a successful executive in various tech industries, most recently spending the last 10 years as a VP at Apple. He seemed to encapsulate the right mentality to have in saying that other tech companies would kill for some of the products that Apple left on the cutting room floor over the years. He said that Steve Jobs focused everyone on saying “No” to good to say “Yes” to the best.
While you will need to go through a process and you will deal with a great deal of distractions as you do it, you will reach a place of simplicity where what you really want to do will become apparent. Remember, though, that like any process, this fight between complexity and simplicity will continue to come and go.
I am still in the process of “simplifying” and while I have a few more items to knock off the list, I find my mind clearer to be able to identify what the “best” really is. I have had to say “No” to a couple really good opportunities (which has been a bit against my nature), but I know that this will help me not only better identify the “best” when it comes along, but it will also help me be passionate and ready to put my whole self behind a select number of things once simplicity allows me to focus on them.
Remember that simplicity is a good thing, but it often takes going through a whole lot of complexity to get there. As a rule, remember to “say no to good to say yes to the best.”
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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Senior Year In The “Real World”
Here is an article that was recently published on the Personal Branding Blogof which I am a contributor to… http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/senior-year-in-the-real-world/
For those who remember the good old days when we were still in school…
Freshman year is when you are just getting acclimated. Sophomore year, you start to figure things out and gain some confidence. Junior year is about hitting your stride and performing well, and then senior year is about planning for the next step. In High School this next step is applying for and deciding on the college you are going to and in college it is interviewing for and selecting your job. But what happens during your senior year of the “real world?”
The real world
We have been programmed to think in these 4 year cycles, and so it is natural to get a bit antsy about the job you are in, and the career track you are taking around 3-4 years post graduation. For many, this is when they take the GRE, GMAT or another standardized test and head off to graduate school. This may be right for some, but just because this feeling comes over you does not mean it is time to quit your current job to join the Peace Corp or head back to school. Use the onset of this feeling as an opportunity to reflect and evaluate. Keep in mind, though, that it is ok to determine that your “current path” is still the right one.
In the process of investigating this trend, I interviewed young professionals who reached senior year of the “real world,” and 4 years after graduating took the opportunity to refine their career paths. They shared some key insights into the types of challenges they faced and what they have done to be successful thus far in their careers.
Insights of seniors of the “real world”
One young professional, whom I will call Steve, worked in professional services and decided to go back to get a masters degree. The other, whom I will call Wendy, has worked in public relations and advertising, and changed companies around the 3-4 year mark.
Steve noted that his biggest challenges in the corporate world were, “not getting bored or complacent [and] deriving pleasure from the work that [he did].” This is something we all struggle with. Often times, it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for some of our tedious day-to-day job responsibilities. Moreover our bosses often do not explain the importance of the role that we have, so it feels like our contribution is lost in the shuffle.
Wendy’s challenges related to the stark differences between school and work. “Understanding the completely new lessons that were never taught to you in college [and] that personal relationships matter more than an objective evaluation of your work” were both major challenges she encountered. In corporate environments the person with the best “grades” (i.e. highest quality work) does not always get the largest raise or the biggest promotion.
When it came to preparation for the corporate world each had very different responses. When asked if she was taught in school how to be successful at work Wendy replied, “no, definitely not. College taught you facts, studies, the concept of academia, and it encouraged learning for learning sake… but no one ever sits down with you and says, here’s how the working world works.” Steve, on the other hand, expressed that “the interaction and team work with your peers and professors” was closely related to how work environments function. While there is some crossover, there is ultimately a large gap between skills taught at school and skills necessary for career success.
The 4-year mark
No matter what career path you choose or how much you think college prepared you for the corporate world, a distinct change happens about 4 years after graduation.
Wendy elaborates, “I know I definitely got antsy at 4 years. I suddenly felt like I needed a big change and overhaul of my career to indicate some sort of progress. We’re so used to seeing an achievement or clear next step every 4 years that when you suddenly realize that you don’t have that kind of ladder anymore, it can seem incredibly frightening. The first 4 years were more like a whirlwind. I had no concept of time or balance. When you’re in school, everyone else is as well. You’re subjected to the same cycles of class/weekends/ studying/partying/midterms/finals. Once you’re out of school, these cycles are lost and I think most people continue searching for that type of relativity with their peers – therefore they seek schooling again or grow antsy to start a new chapter.”
Steve related this cycle to a progression of emotions ranging from, “excitement to being overwhelmed to struggling to enlightenment then empowerment, to complacence to boredom and finally to confusion… then back to excitement” when starting something new.
Please remember that these feelings are totally natural, and do not merit changing your name and moving to the woods or having to run back to the safe haven of a university when you feel them. As Steve appropriately states, “problems you encounter while working (including the feeling of needing to break away and do something new) aren’t as well-defined as they are in your textbook. Get comfortable with ambiguity!”
The other key to working through this cyclical feeling is to find variety in what you do. This variety may come at work (joining a committee or taking on a new project) but often it comes outside of work in the form of a community organization, a hobby or a side business. Make sure to explore these before deciding on a drastic career change.
Most of all, remember that your career is not a sprint like a class you take for one semester, it’s a marathon made up of many cycles of varying lengths of time (often not in the 4 year increments we are used to). It is also normal to not have your career path and life figured out a couple years after graduation. It takes time and can be a bumpy road. The key, as Wendy points out is to “be patient and most importantly – be self aware.” Understanding the feeling you get during senior year of the “real world” is the first step in ensuring you make the right choices build the right foundation for a wildly successful and fulfilling career.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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Sometimes A Great Brand Is Not Enough
Here is an article that was recently published on the Personal Branding Blogof which I am a contributor to… http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/sometimes-a-great-brand-is-not-enough/
As many of my fellow contributors have written, the personal brand you create is one of the most important determinants of your success both inside and outside of the workplace.
We have talked about how it takes time and many steps to build up a strong reputation (let alone the work that goes into maintaining it). There are many ways to get there, but ultimately it is a laborious (yet rewarding) task no matter what path you take.
Your brand can’t survive without results
All of this great advice aside, your personal brand is almost completely worthless without one thing; Results.
You may be very likable or have some unique skill or story that sets you apart from the rest, but without continual results to back up this “hype,” your brand isn’t all that valuable.
Anyone who has ever had a sales job before can relate to this. And for those that haven’t, sales is all about the business that you close. No matter how great your results were last year, last quarter or last month, it is all about the here and now.
You could be an incredible organizer, a keen communicator and a tenacious influencer, and it can be all for not without results. Results is really the bridge between theoretical and practical. I have seen many sales people that have great sales skills. Being someone who understands (in theory) all the steps you need to close a sale, how to read your customer, and how to overcome obstacles does not always lead to getting the customer to sign on the dotted line. Getting results is about “walking the walk” (and not just “talking the talk”). In the realm of taking a picture, it is like setting up the perfect angle with the perfect shutter speed and lens, but producing a bad print. It is like creating a great set of ideas for your boss but then failing to present them well. It is about finishing the job and following through.
The key component is “continual”
In the workplace, there is a proliferation of the “what have you done for me lately” attitude. A job well done yesterday is forgotten in the midst of the deadlines and pressures of today. While this can be hard to swallow at times, it is important for us to realize and adapt to this.
As I mentioned above, the key word in relating to driving results is “continual.” Getting results just once will rarely carry you forever. You need to show consistency.
The reason why continual strong results are so important is because of how fragile your brand is. We have all heard countless examples of people that were at the top of their games who crash and burn because of one mistake or because their ability to produce results dissipated. If you do well when you first get into a job or a role of leadership but the results taper off into terrible outcomes, then your brand will be tarnished. Moreover, as we have seen from the falls of the mighty, this negative mark always remains as a footnote (if not a headline) in the minds and records of others.
No matter how strong or well establish you are or how solid your brand is, I urge you to be mindful of the results you bring in. We are all allowed to have a bad day now and then, but if you let your focus and effort drop, you face a slippery slope. What begins as a little slip-up can cause significant reputation damage, causing you to have to rebuild what was once a strong personal brand all over again.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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The One Thing That Can Make You Successful
May 16
Posted by Young Professional's Edge (YP Edge)
153. That’s the number of work emails I received yesterday. And that doesn’t even account for the 45 emails that I had to write and send (nor does it factor in my personal email accounts). Pair that with 5 hours of conference calls and an end-of-day deadline and you have a pretty packed day. Then add in Facebook updates, tweets, text messages, news, TV, phone calls and staying up to date on blogs and articles (like this one) and you start to realize how packed with information a normal day is.
For many of us, this type of constant communication and bombardment of information is typical. It is also robbing us of our time. Beyond depending on these forms of communication and sources of information, we feel like we are “out of the loop” if we spend even a few moments disconnected from them.
While these forms of communication and information sources keep us in the know, they keep us from fully living our lives. They also create clutter and challenge our internal filters that tell us what is worth our time and what wastes it. It also creates a bunch of clutter as we access information from many places and are getting more and more distracted from what is important while the trivial replaces what matters.
Do you really need to monitor that Twitter feed or does it distract you from engaging in an important face-to-face conversation with someone? Do the 20 RSS Feeds giving you various forms of advice really help or do they become a chore or time waster?
What we really need to do is get rid of the clutter. Instead of seeking loads of information, seek simplicity. Take some time to shut things down and just think.
I have found time and time again, that when I resist the urge to become distracted by the various forms of communication and sources of information out there, I begin to listen. I start to listen to those around me and most importantly, I begin to listen to myself.
When you take a step back you start to ask questions like, “is this thing I am doing really getting me closer to my goals?” or “is all this added complexity really helping or distracting me?” things begin to get clearer.
With the publication of my second book approaching, I took some time to conduct a self-inventory. I realized that only a small subset of my activity promoting my first book produced a vast majority of the sales. I became so wrapped up in having to check off boxes and having a presence on every medium that I lost track of what was truly important: getting my message out and helping people.
I am not here to say that all this information and these social platforms are bad, I am just saying that in moderation (a la the age-old advice of Aristotle) it can be incredibly valuable but too much can be damaging.
This “disconnected” time will help you realize what is important and what to eliminate. It is remarkable the ancillary things we do that keep us from reaching our goals, preventing us from spending our time on what is important.
Take time to unplug and ask yourself whether what you are doing now supports your personal and professional goals or whether you are becoming your own biggest obstacle. Instead of adopting the complexities that life has created, seek simplicity and clarity.
Don’t come up with 20 goals to reach. Odds are, focusing on 20 things at once will stop you from accomplishing any of them. Pick 3 or 5 and align your efforts and activities on that targeted list.
Seek simplicity and welcome the moments of clarity that come from when you unplug, take a step back and listen. This is the one thing you can do to make you successful at anything you want to accomplish. Whether a personal issue or complex group project, suddenly complexities will be replaced by an identification of what you need to do to reach your goals; a key first step in finding success.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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Posted in Commentary, Philosophy
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Tags: Best Practices, communication, Mindset, Young Professionals