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Seven Survival Tips for the Newly Independent

Feb 11, 2009

I suspect that we are all engaging with former colleagues, friends and family members that have recently been furloughed from the corporate world. A few that I have spoken with are struggling to adapt to the new reality and are finding themselves floundering as they struggle to replace the comfortable routine of getting up and going somewhere with wandering around the house wondering what to do and where to start.

Here are some ideas that I’ve either learned myself over time or have gained from others that have mastered the around of working and managing themselves without the services and security of a mother ship. I would love to hear your suggestions as well

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No Leadership Training Budget, No Problem. Nine Tips, No Charge

Feb 10, 2009

As someone who is passionate about leadership development, it is heartening to see articles like the one that ran recently in the Wall Street Journal, indicating, “Despite Cutbacks, Firms Invest in Developing Leaders.” Good for these businesses and the leaders. The notion that it is always time to work on identifying and grooming leaders is healthy. However, if you happen to work in one of the firms that is not as fortunate or as enlightened as the ones highlighted in the article, don’t despair. You don’t have to have a stinking budget to improve your team’s/firm’s leadership development practices. You do however, have to have your head screwed on straight about this process, and you need to be committed to executing on it as a core, everyday part of your job.

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The Five Tripping Points of Emerging Leaders

Feb 5, 2009

A colleague used the phrase Tripping Points in conversation the other night to describe what leaders and management teams go through in attempting to take businesses from one level to the next. Firms and teams run into natural Tripping Points in the form of infrastructure and know-how as they work to grow a firm from start-up to $10 million or from $10 million to $25 million and so on. I can easily apply Tripping Point thinking to the challenges that we as professionals face in advancing our careers and in particular, in developing as leaders. Awareness of your prospective Tripping Points is an important first step in creating your personal and professional development plan.

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Five Tips for Leading Change When You’re Not In Charge

Jan 30, 2009

As I continue on my career respite from managing a business that’s not mine, I’m increasingly conscious of the significant gap between the needs and ideas of employees and the attention and interest of senior managers. There are so many remarkable ideas and thoughts on improving performance that never see the light of day that it is staggering. I offer five suggestions for driving change when you’re not in charge. I’m hoping that readers will add a few more of their own.

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The Case of the Rapidly Shrinking Attention Span

Jan 28, 2009

Are we losing our ability to focus? Maybe. Maybe we never had it, and it is the exception instead of the rule, but it just seems so much harder in this environment to focus on an issue and work through it to creative, complete solutions. We’re too busy racing from one sound-bite opportunity to another, focusing our precious gray matter on topics for nanoseconds before the next interruption comes along.

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The Words of Leaders

Jan 21, 2009

We were discussing the failure of many organizations to stop old ways of doing things, even in the face of overwhelming proof that the old ways don’t work. My student mentioned that the appointment of a new CEO last year had at first been encouraging until it was clear that nothing would truly change. This unfortunate event is all too common.

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Monday-The Best Day of the Week, the Inauguration and Podcasting

Jan 19, 2009

Most people that I know just hate Mondays. You don’t even have to take a survey to confirm this point. Just watch people in their cars on the way to work or take a look around the faces buried in newspapers on the train. Here’s the short-list of why Mondays can be your best friend:

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Where Do I Go From Here?

Jan 16, 2009

Not surprisingly in this economy, a great number of people are busy plotting their next career and life steps. Whether prompted by a layoff, a threat of a layoff or the recognition that conditions can all too easily result in a layoff; I’m listening to many people who are dancing with the idea of a shift in direction. Some have already pulled the trigger. Similar to the theme in my post the other day on Beating the Economic Blues, it is critical to do something…to take some form of action when change is on your mind.

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