6 Ideas to Help You Move Forward on What Matters

May 3, 2012 By 12 Comments

Dream Catcher

Note from Art. Every once in awhile it’s nice to break from pure management and leadership writing and focus on our human condition. This is one of those posts…with some great help from a few friends.

Whether professional or personal, it seems that most of us carry around ideas and dreams that inspire us and give us hope for our future.

It’s fun to listen and watch as  people talk about their ideas. Their faces light up, their voices grow in enthusiasm, and for a moment in time, nothing else matters but the thought of the dream.

And then reality sets in, the glow fades, the energy level drops and the idea or dream is placed back in the closet and the door firmly shut, not to be opened until some undetermined time in the future.

Frequently Encountered Dreams Locked In Our Mental Closets and Cellars:

  • There are the unwritten books that many claim to have in them…waiting for the proverbial pen to paper or keys to keyboard.
  • There’s the career switch to a field that helps those we care dearly about or that leverages what we know in our heart of hearts is what we were meant to do.
  • I’ve lost count of the number of people who want to be in business on their own. Oddly, a fair number of those profess to wanting to own and operate Hot Dog stands. I suspect the simplicity of the business and the pleasurable (not necessarily healthful) thoughts that hot dogs evoke, are drivers on this latter one. The stand may just be a metaphor for something simple and fun.
  • It’s the degree…long postponed that is so critical to gaining admission to whatever professional game we are trying to enter.
  • It’s working on the skills…public speaking or writing, that are limiting factors in our progression.

Granted, some dreams…like certain wines have to age a bit before they can be opened and acted upon appropriately. There’s a time when conditions are just right. Mostly however, dreams…ideas we believe in or projects we want to pursue, must be seized, prosecuted and pursued with vigor…even if it’s at the pace of 15 minutes per day.

Dreams, like certain wines, go sour with too much time in the bottle.

I talk to people with big professional ideas…with dreams every single day. Most people have dreams they are interested in pursuing, but haven’t found the time to get going. Some are in pursuit, and while stressed and time challenged and slightly sleep deprived, they are happy and excited. Others are chronic achievers…they’ve cracked the code on getting going and on finishing (two very different challenges).

Instead of trotting out some motivational clichés, I polled those people who are in progress on achieving a major professional or life goal…and those who have cracked the code and have become serial achievers. Here are 6 ideas they served up to help all of us get it in gear and get going in pursuit of our dreams.

6 Ideas To Kick You in the Rear and Get You Moving:

1. Read the obituaries. I read the obituary page every morning and focus on the ages of those who have passed. I then wonder what there unrealized dreams were. Frankly, it scares the hell out of me…it scares me straight into action.

2. Kill the Cable. I cancelled the cable subscription. I was a chronic reality show watcher, and I realized that while I was watching these dumb but addicting shows, my own reality was slipping away.

3. Socialize Less to Manufacture Time. Like everyone else, there’s never enough time in my life. At first, all I could do was get up 15 minutes earlier every day, but eventually,  I worked on cutting out the useless stuff that sucked the time out of my days.  Now, don’t ask me to go to lunch…don’t ask me out for coffee, because I’ll say no. I don’t even feel guilty saying “no” anymore. I’m on a mission and that’s mission time.

4. Color Your World in Sticky Notes. I’m a Project Manager by background, so I use my own tools to plan my work. Simple and visual work for me. My office wall is covered in yellow sticky notes. When I achieve something, I draw a big red X through the item on the note, but leave it up. It reinforces progress or my need to make more progress.

5. It Starts with a Note or a Call. I’ve learned that there are always people on my path towards a goal…and instead of wondering what they think, I reach out and call them.  I’ve been thinking about getting my Ph.D. for the last decade, and I’m no closer today. I reached out to a Dean of a program I’m interested in and delicately broached the issue of my advancing age. He laughed and offered tongue in cheek that I was a little young (at 51) compared to the oldest in the program, but that my youth could be overlooked.

6. Hire Someone Who Doesn’t Care About Your Feelings or Excuses. Another offered: I hire a coach who doesn’t care about my excuses…but who delicately (like a sledge hammer on a railroad spike) reminds me of what it is I wanted to do and why I’m not getting there.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

A body at rest tends to stay at rest. Action begets action. Chances are, the idea has fermented in your mind long enough. Get it in gear and get moving before someone uses you as an example of how not to achieve.

If you’ve cracked the code on moving ideas and dreams into actions and achievements, consider sharing your ideas and helping move all of us along on our journeys.

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Art Petty is a Chicago-based management consultant focusing on strategy and leadership development. Art regularly speaks on innovation in management and leadership, and his work is reflected in two books, including the recent, Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development. (download a free excerpt at Art’s facebook page.)

Art publishes regularly at The Management Excellence blog at http://artpetty.com/blog/

Prior to his solo career, Art spent 20+ years leading marketing sales and business units in systems and software organizations around the globe. You can follow Art on twitter: @artpetty and he can be reached via e-mail at art.petty@artpetty.com

 

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Career, Professional Growth Tagged With: , , , ,

Weekend Career Focus-Invest in Your Professional Survival Skills

February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Too many people are caught seemingly by surprise (for some odd reason) that all bets are off on promises of on-going employment. I regularly hear from people who must have missed the memo that employer loyalty expires every pay period.

These good people wake up, learn their employment is ending and wonder what to do next with their out-dated skills, weak networks and limited professional brands. Lack of preparation for this unfortunate but very real and all-too-common occurrence, makes a bad day worse. 

The time is now to start taking steps to strengthen your skills, network and professional brand.   

5 Must Do’s that Might Just Save the Day (and your career):   

1. Regularly Reassess the Marketability of Your Marketable Skills.  If what you know and what you’ve done don’t readily translate to something that helps solve a burning problem for someone else, it’s time for help. A good acid test: “If I had to make a living on my own doing what I know, would anyone pay me for my services?” If you can’t come up with a resounding yes, it’s time to invest in yourself.

2. Get Current. If you earn a pass on question #1, but the last time you took a refresher program was during the Reagan era, it’s time to get back into learning mode.  Find professional associations, your Alma Mater or any organization that can help bring you up to date.  And then do it.

3. Jump-Start Your Network. Make a list of the ten people you believe can help you immediately if you are in job trouble. If you’ve not kept up with these contacts and if you’ve not been giving (contacts, leads) along the way, it’s time to recognize that your network is your lifeline and that your line may not be there when you most need it. Reach out, reconnect, share something of value/interest. Establish dialogue and offer support long before you need it.

4. Use LinkedIn as your professional networking tool. Build a professional profile and keep it fresh as you expand your skills and add to your portfolio of professional content (#5). And here’s a piece of advice you will thank me for later: NEVER use the generic invitation when reaching out to connect. Always personalize your invitation when asking other to connect. The generic invite is a sure sign that the user is clueless. A tailored message shows respect and offers important context for the recipient.

5. Google Yourself and Get to Work. If nothing comes up, or, if things you don’t want your prospective employer to see are visible, it’s time to get to work. Read blogs in your profession or industry, and offer comments on leading blogs in your industry. Author a white paper.  Start your own blog. Join an industry organization. Volunteer to speak at industry events. Do things that get you out of your office and into the world where other influencers and potentially valuable networking partners can be found.  Content builds brand in this world.

And while you are doing all of this, remember to lock up your own domain name. Yes, your name. That’s “must have” professional real estate for this era.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

All of us should be working on the above items every day.  Nothing beats having current skills, fresh and valuable network contacts and a strong professional brand when you need it. Priceless.

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Career Tagged With: , , ,

“I finished my MBA. What’s Next?” A Few Do’s and Don’ts for New MBAs

June 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

All over the U.S., there’s a fresh new crop of MBA graduates leaving behind their books and case studies, and in some cases, preparing to rediscover their families after several years of their noses buried in books and their fingers glued to their keyboards. A key question on their minds is, “What’s next?”

Putting aside for this post any thoughts you might have of the value of the degree in or you belief that MBAs might fit nicely in line with the lawyers singled out by Shakespeare, these individuals have worked hard and invested a great deal of time and someone’s money in achieving this milestone.

Their expectation (realistic or not) is that the degree will mean something in the workforce. They are looking for it to help open doors, remove career barriers and lead down new paths.

The Reality: “Congratulations, Now, Let’s Get Back to Work!”

There will be ceremonies and speeches and parties, and perhaps even a few rounds offered up by coworkers at local watering holes.  Bosses will congratulate the new graduates, and then work life will return to normal and June will melt into July, and in many cases, not much will change for the now former students.

Great Expectations?

A common question people ask of students nearing their degree completion is, “What are you going to do?” There’s almost an implied understanding that the now pedigreed professional will look for a new position in or out of their company, as a means of monetizing or at least leveraging the degree. Some do just this, and view the end of school as a phase-gate leading to something beyond what they’ve been doing thus far.  Others hope/expect their organizations will recognize their new enhanced value and offer an increased challenge as a means of knocking down their sudden career wanderlust.

In too many cases, there’s a lot of hoping, false expectations and plotting to leave that adds some toxicity into the celebratory waters of June. An alternative might well be for everyone to adjust their attitudes and expectations just a bit, and for the MBA graduates to recognize the need to ramp up for the next round of professional development.

7 Ideas for New MBAs following Graduation:

1. Keep your feet grounded in reality. Accept that there’s no immediate mantle of legitimacy or wisdom bestowed upon you as you shake hands and grab the diploma. You’re a work in process, just like the rest of us.

2. Do congratulate yourself for having the intestinal fortitude it takes to complete your degree while working, balancing family responsibilities and all of the other challenges of life. Believe it or not, your current and many future bosses will view your accomplishment not so much as remarkable or rare, but rather as a sign of your tenacity and ability to stay-the-course.

3. Don’t expect a promotion just because of the degree. I’ve heard of this happening, but degree-triggered promotions are rare. In the case where they occur, its usually more due to a good on-going professional development plan than anything prompted out of response to your graduation.

4. Speaking of professional development plans… . Do sit down with your boss and refresh your professional development plan. If your plan is clear, good…conduct a status update and reiterate your willingness to take on more.  If there is no plan, it is reasonable at any point to show interest in doing more, however, the MBA milestone is a nice discussion prompter. Do use the occasion to very professionally indicate how excited you are to have completed the degree and how motivated you are to have the extra time, insights and tools to dedicate to helping the firm.

5. Don’t even remotely hint that unless you are promoted you are gone. Especially in this economy, where regardless of degree, buyers hold all of the power.

6. Do accept that the completion of your MBA is the beginning of your next apprenticeship as a leader and a professional. Grad school doesn’t teach you how to lead, nor does it turn you into a great strategist, a future CEO or a management innovator.  You’ve apprenticed on the tools…mostly the science of management (hey, no jokes about the dismal science, please!), and you’ve got a license to begin applying them.  The real work of learning to lead and learning how to create value for your stakeholders has just begun.

7. Do recognize that your primary task is how to make yourself more valuable to everyone around you. Now that you are no longer distracted by school, it’s time to answer, “What have you done for us lately?”

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Congratulations! I’ll buy the first round and then tomorrow, we’ve got to figure out how to thump competitors and survive and thrive in this incredibly complex and fast-moving world. Sure hope you paid attention during that class.

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Career, Professional Growth Tagged With: , , , ,

The Millennial View: Why Job Hunting is Like Dating

April 27, 2011 By 6 Comments

Note from Art: Eric Rodriguez is the author of The Millennial View here at Management Excellence. His periodic posts provide insights into the career and business pursuits of a young professional striving to navigate our challenging world.

You sit at home looking at your smartphone, your palms are sweating, you wait in anticipation that the woman you met last Thursday will call you back. She told you she was interested, you said the right things, you shined your shoes, you gave off the right body language, and you shouldn’t worry because she told you she would call you today, and today’s Monday, right?

Monday passes, Tuesday ends, Wednesday’s over, and finally on Friday night you receive an email stating, “We’re sorry, but you have not been selected for the position.” It feels like you just got dumped and it’s moments like these that make you relive your worst breakups.

Job searching is like dating and I can relate to these feelings because for the past couple of months I have been trying to transition into a new career. It hasn’t been easy and sometimes it feels like I stand a better chance of scoring a date with Katy Perry than I would to land a new job – ok I’m exaggerating.

Here are four thoughts on why job searching is similar to dating:

Thought #1: If you don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend job, the worst thing you can do is obsess over it.

According to CNN a job seeker can be out of work for as long as 39 weeks. It’s a long time, and if a job searcher constantly thinks about their unemployment it starts to plant negative thoughts about their ability to get a job.

Like dating, a job seeker has to put himself or herself out there and let employers know that they’re available. But, once someone has done all they can do in relation to a job search, it’s important to do something else to take their mind off the job search. The longer you think about your unemployment the less confident you’ll be in yourself. This shows on a date and it shows during an interview.

Thought #2: When you’re single looking for a job you may meet many different people employers before you find someone who wants to commit.

The majority of job seekers are not going to find the right career on the first try, although a few lucky people do. It’s just like dating, a job seeker is going to meet a lot of interesting people, and some job seekers may even picture themselves having a future with one of them.

It’s dangerous to think that one job or one person may indeed be the one you’re looking for. Interviews are like dates, they’re either fun or horrifying, but they don’t mean anything until a job seeker gives someone a solid commitment. A prospective employee can meet a lot of employers in their job search, but it’s important to keep on looking (even if there are future interviews scheduled) until the right job is offered.

Thought #3: Rejection sucks

When an employer doesn’t call when they say they will or when a job seeker receives a rejection letter it hurts. Nobody likes rejection, but that’s the practice companies engage in – only one person can get the job and like dating a company is going to go with the right fit.

The best way to deal with rejection is to accept it because nothing in life is ever guaranteed. Rejection is beyond our control, but one day the right job will present itself.

#4: The right person job is out there!

This thought comforts me when I am looking at classifieds on Indeed. There are many stories of people who have landed a good job, but it does take effort and a commitment to keep searching no matter how bleak things may seem. If a job seeker looks regularly they’re going to find something, it may not be in the immediate future, but they’ll get the right job.

Winston Churchill said, “Never, never, never give up!” this is the right attitude to take in both a job search and in life. Always remember when dating or looking for a job, that it’s usually the last person you meet before you find the right fit.

Filed Under: Career, Marketing Yourself Tagged With: , , ,

Leadership Caffeine: When Leading is an Unnatural Act

March 8, 2011 By 15 Comments

One of the interesting outcomes I’ve observed when engaging truly thoughtful people in the process of understanding the role of a leader and the commitment required for success, is that some people decide it’s not a good fit.

They decide to become great followers instead of great leaders.  And they feel relieved.

We Tend to Make Saying “No to Leadership” Difficult:

I’ve learned from a number of individuals who walked to the edge of the leadership path and then turned back, that we often make it difficult for them to say, “no.”

  • There’s pressure inside organizations to show growth and increase contribution by taking on formal leadership responsibilities.
  • Yes, there are still working environments where the only way to increased financial reward is through directly managing others.
  • In our zeal for the support and development of great leaders, we (existing leaders, leadership writers etc.) tend to mythologize the role of the leader and position it as an aspirational goal for everyone. Leadership is built up to be the noble end-goal, while the decision to not pursue a leadership life is to carry a negative connotation…a kind of Scarlett Letter that brands the individual for everyone to see.

Three Key Reminders for All of Us:

1. Not everyone should lead. Some people lack the skills and appropriate intelligences (social and emotional) to lead. Others simply want to cultivate their skills in an area they are passionate about, and a voluntary or forced decision to move away from that passion is like a prison sentence.  As a promoting manager, it’s your job to help assess all of these issues. Don’t force people into unnatural roles.

2. More money is a lousy motivation to lead. Do I really have to explain this one? For those of you working in firms where the compensations structure was defined in the 1950’s, it’s time to start pushing for something that eliminates the dollar need and greed as motivation to pursue a leadership role. Start with a dual-track system that supports professional and financial development for leaders and individual contributors.

3. Great leaders require great followers. You don’t win championships in sports without critical role players, and you don’t win in the business world without people committed to working and contributing according to their strengths.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Perhaps it’s time to start offering “followership” training and mentoring along with all of our leadership offerings.  Kudos to those who decide that leading is not for them. No more unnatural acts, please.   It’s OK not to lead.

Filed Under: Career, Leadership Tagged With: , , , , ,
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