career coach

Should you go back to school for your MBA?

March 18, 2012

Many of my career clients often ask me if they should go back to school for an MBA. Most of the time they are asking as a result of some negative experience they just suffered. It usually comes while they are looking for a job and aren’t getting offers, or even interviews. Probably Not Generally, my answer is no, don’t go back. Why would I discourage someone from getting more education when the conventional wisdom might say otherwise. Well, it is because you must examine your motives whenever you do anything. If you are going back to school because you feel the additional knowledge will make you a better employee, then yes, you should go. But, if you are using it to add a pedigree to your resume, then forget it. The MBA might get you in the door and could possibly get you to the finals, but your work experience and the chemistry you create with the hiring authority is what will get you hired. I am not a big fan of the industry of higher education. College is a business. The business of college is to collect tuition, turn out graduates, and recruit new ones. There are two

Birds of a feather – why we hire who we hire

March 17, 2012

Many years ago, I attended a business seminar in Florida. In between the major speakers, were small “break-out sessions” where like minded people could discuss topics of particular interest to them. These sessions were called “birds of a feather” meetings. For my younger readers, there used to be a common saying that went “birds of a feather, flock together”. Basically, it meant that like minded people always seemed to hang out together. I never forgot that concept, because it is the basis for social order, even in business. That is flocked up! Managers and employees seem to “flock together”. Most managers hire people with whom they are comfortable. They seem to have the same values, work ethic, and general overall view of the world. In general, they are usually not much smarter or less intelligent than the boss either. Basically, most managers hire themselves into key positions. Normally, if not taken to the extreme, this concept works out fine. It is especially effective if the boss himself was a good hire by his boss. But, what if he was not a good hire. Well, then all hell can break loose. I was employed by a company once where several of

Managing Projects with a “Honey Do” List

March 16, 2012

Have you ever heard of a “honey do” list? It is the much maligned list of chores that your spouse compiles each week for you to do on Saturdays, as in “honey do this” or “honey do that”. The term implies a nagging spouse who simply won’t tolerate her lazy, beer slugging husband doing nothing all day. Well, I would disagree with that characterization. The honey do list is a wonderful tool. It is an opportunity to set expectations with your spouse, or your business partner. It is a written contract between her and you that says “If I do these things for you today, I will have been deemed successful in your eyes.” The only demand I have of the honey do list is that my wife put it in the order that she wants me to do them. In the past, I would work the list in my order, only to find that we were not on the same page in terms of importance therefore creating disappointment in her, and a feeling of frustration in me. Once the honey do list is done for the day, and assuming you have a healthy relationship (and a strong heart) the

Respect for your new company’s history

March 15, 2012

Any time I have changed jobs, I have made it a priority to demonstrate my respect for my new company’s history and culture. What I mean by that, is that I believe it is very important to assimilate yourself into your new company, and to show respect for the successes that your new company has had to get it to where it is today. That respect for the company shows respect for the people who built it. So often I have seen new employees, brimming with enthusiasm continually refer to their previous employer. How often have you heard someone say “well, where I used to work, we …”, or “at Acme Company, we would never…”. Everyone does that on occasion, as the experience gained at prior employers is what you probably got you the new gig. But, if you wear out the phrase “where I used to work”, you will begin to isolate yourself and irritate your co-workers. I have the co-workers mumble “well, if Acme is so great, why don’t you go back?” Where I used to work, we did it this way! If you need to refer to your past to make a point, a very innocuous, less

Do you have gratitude in your attitude?

March 12, 2012

A young, 21 year old college student asked to meet with me yesterday. He was ending an internship and wanted to ask me several questions that might help him when he entered the real work force next year. He asked me all the normal questions about how I achieved my success. He wanted to know about my family, and if I considered myself successful. I answered those questions with rather stereotypical responses which seemed to satisfy him. Then, he asked me something which surprised me a little bit, and my answer seemed to surprise him too. “So Mike, I really appreciate your time today. You’ve really helped me. I have one more question for you. What life lesson or advice would you give a 21 year college student?” he asked. I sat for a second and said “Be grateful for everything you have and don’t waste time wishing for the things you don’t. Celebrate your health. Appreciate your family, friends and the love you have in your life. If you have a car, be grateful that you do, and don’t waste time being sad it isn’t better. If you take the time to be grateful for what you have, God,

No one can make you happy….

March 10, 2012

I had a pretty normal childhood. I lived very middle class in a nice house in the New Jersey suburbs. I had everything I needed, although we were far from spoiled. Growing up at the Jersey Shore, I loved summer. I loved the beach, the sunshine, the freedom and pretty much everything about summer. I still do. Conversely, I hated the end of summer with as much energy as I loved summer itself (I guess I still do). Every year on Labor Day, my father would winterize our swimming pool. He had to bleed the water out of the filter, drain the pool a little bit, add some winter chemicals, and put on the pool cover. He also had to gather up all of the pool toys and put them in the storage shed until spring. It was the ceremonial end of summer, and it depressed me greatly. One such Labor Day at the ripe old age of 12, I was surprised to see my Dad outside in the backyard performing his ritual version of the Aztec Autumnal Equinox – also known as closing the pool. It hit me very hard that summer was actually over, and I would be

Just suit up and show up

March 9, 2012

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Thomas Alva Edison When I first heard that quote, I thought it was an utterly ridiculous concept, even if it did come from one of our greatest inventors. Surely he was wrong, and in fact genius was a God given talent that allows those in possession of it to breeze through life by lending their divine gift to society in order to solve the world’s problems without lifting hardly a finger. Perspiration? No way. I know you have been taught how many failures our greatest heroes have had to endure before they reached the heights of their success. I know you have heard of the lack of education that some very successful people have had, but yet they seem to overcome it and become our greatest thinkers. And, I know you have heard or know of the man that starts a sandwich shop, landscape company, or car wash and is able to turn it into a multi million dollar success with a thousand dollars borrowed from an elderly aunt. But how? I will tell you – perspiration. By working at it long and hard. By perspiring 99%. I was taught to get up, suit up, and show up every day. I often tell my employees to give me a

What It’s Like To….Walk Into An IT Disaster

March 8, 2012

– Mike Anderson & Stephanie Overby, CIO Everywhere I go, IT is the butt of jokes. “You want something from IT, it’s either $1 million or 12 months.” Or, “I’d call the help desk but it’d be four days before they’d get here.” I’m not surprised to hear the cracks. I’m a turnaround CIO. CEOs hire me to clean up their IT messes. But what is surprising is that the biggest IT disasters have been ones where the CEO didn’t even realize there was a problem. Or didn’t realize how easily it could be fixed. The worst situation I ever saw was at a company that had grown dramatically during the dotcom era. Half the IT staff were contractors who had worked there upwards of a decade. The company was paying them twice what they would have paid in-house employees. The mainframes went down three or four times a day, the warehouse software was buggy, financial applications didn’t work and the ERP system was a monster to maintain. And, of course, there was a giant backlog of IT projects. There was a lot to do, and a new CIO has a very short honeymoon. You have to deliver some kind

Do you check your Spam Folder?

March 7, 2012

Most email systems have built in spam filters. Since we all get so much junk email, also known as Spam, yahoo, gmail, and Outlook all try to filter out email that appears to be Spam. Unfortunately, Spam filters are not perfect and allow some Spam to get through, and filter out legitimate email that you do want to read. History of the term Spam (credit Wikipedia) “Spam” is a popular Monty Python sketch, first televised in 1970. In the sketch, two customers are in a greasy spoon café trying to order a breakfast from a menu that includes the processed meat product in almost every dish. The term spam (in electronic communication, and general slang) is derived from this sketch. The sketch was written by Terry Jones and Michael Palin. It features Terry Jones as The Waitress, Eric Idle as Mr. Bun and Graham Chapman as Mrs. Bun. The televised sketch also featured John Cleese as The Hungarian and Michael Palin as a historian, but this part was left out of audio recordings of the sketch. Only three and a half minutes long, it builds up into a semi-argument between the waitress who has a menu limited to having Spam

Do you want it fast, good or cheap – pick two

March 6, 2012

One of the more frustrating experiences I used to suffer as a new manager was when people in authority used to make these ridiculous demands that could not be met. Mathematically speaking, they wanted to put ten pounds of discarded cellular by-product into a container capable of handling exactly half that amount. Ok, I will write slower – ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag. Anyway, we all know this simply can’t work. Unfortunately, it seemed that they really didn’t care about the math. They probably learned that from their bosses, who learned that from their bosses, etc. And since that is what their bosses expected of them, and that acron didn’t fall from the oak, that is what they expected of you!! So, when I first heard the concept of “you can have it good, fast or cheap – pick two” I grabbed onto it and wouldn’t let go. Here is how it works. Below you will see a triangle that says good, fast and cheap. I say you can have two. If you tell me you want it good and fast, it is not going to come cheap. Why? Because most likely I am going to

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Career and Management