management

Persistence – Don’t leave before the miracle happens

May 10, 2012

I learned the hard way that the primary key to success is not talent. It isn’t brains, looks, or education. It isn’t any of the things that you are taught growing up. No, the key to success at any level is persistence. To succeed, one needs to continually strive to get what they want. And when I say continually strive, I don’t mean work harder, etc., I mean picking yourself up when knocked down and continuing the fight until you get what it is you want and to expect and learn from your failures. Some people call it suit up and show up. When I was a freshman in high school in 1776, I played soccer on the school’s soccer team. I didn’t go out for soccer because of some deep love of the game. No, as an American I played soccer because I knew it would force me to get into excellent physical condition for my first sport love, basketball. Even then I understood my own shortcomings and knew that if I didn’t have someone or something driving me to workout, I would not have been in good enough shape for basketball. Before each practice, our soccer coach made

Career advisors (aka In-flight Consultants)

May 9, 2012

I have had far too much experience in my career with people who believe everything that they see and hear is fact, before actually doing any research to find out the truth. I have had bosses, co-workers, subordinates, and friends who will declare something as fact when the facts are actually in opposition to their point. I will give some examples of someone’s perception being their reality. Some years ago there was a new fad in toys called pogs. It was a game where you would try to flip disk shaped pieces of plastic into a cup. Our CEO at the time came back to the office and said he had a conversation with a 16 year old kid on a flight who told him that pogs were the next big thing. A 16 year old kid? Our CEO then ordered the toy buyer to go out and corner the market on pogs. He directed him to buy millions of dollars of the stupid little game. The buyer argued that we should test the product before buying that many, but the CEO over-ruled him and forced him to move ahead. Well, I’m sure by now you have guessed the end

The Best Management Personalities

May 7, 2012

As I have studied careers, business, and management over the years, I have come up with four personality types of leadership. The first is positive, the next two are neutral to negative, and the fourth is a disaster. The first management personality type is the manager who wanted to be the boss, and once there, likes being the boss. This personality type is normally very qualified for the job. They have a comfort level around their employees and around their peers. This is a very effective manager. The second and more neutral personality is one that wanted to be the boss, but once their hates it. They campaigned or pursued the job for much of their career, and in fact may have spent many years preparing for it. But, once there, for some reason they found that they really dislike or hate the job. Maybe they don’t like the politics. Maybe they don’t like dealing with or directing people, maybe they were very good at the job they had, but found management was not what they thought. This manager is effective, but not great. The third management personality is also neutral to negative. This boss who doesn’t want to be

Are you ready for your Interview!?!

April 30, 2012

So, you've spent hours and hours searching job boards for openings. You contacted all of your friends, joined social sites like LinkedIn, and expanded your network. You've read my book "The Professional Guide to Creating a Killer Resume" and tweaked your resume to the point that you are really happy with it. And you've sent it out more than a dozen times. All that hard has work paid off and you've finally received a call back. They want you to come in for an interview. Yikes! Are you ready?

What does your resume say about you?

April 15, 2012

I have read thousands of resumes in my career as a C-level executive. To be honest, I usually read the first couple of lines and scan the job titles of the candidate in an effort to glean what I am able to as quickly as possible. Do you know why? Not because I am too busy or too lazy to read them. No, it is because they are often so boring and poorly formatted that I can hardly get past the first few lines. Read me! To get hiring authorities to read your resume, candidates must find ways to create an eye appealing format. Whether you are an entry level candidate, or a senior executive, the first two people that read your resume are generally completely unqualified to make a determination as to whether or not you are qualified for the position for which you are applying. Executive Recruiters or internal HR staff only know on a superficial level whether your qualifications match up with the requirements of the job. Normally, knowing that is that is the job of the hiring authority, but only if your resume has passed on to them through the hands of the first level gate

Divide and Conquer Management Style

April 13, 2012

I guess you could say that all managers can be put into general management styles. Some are funny. Some are yellers. Some are dictators. Some manage by committee. Some never communicate face to face, but via email. So I suppose that since people are different, so should there be a variety management styles. One of the most dysfunctional management styles I have seen is what I call the Divide and Conqueror manager, aka the D&C. The D&C is a manager that chooses to have no structure in his life. He conducts no staff meetings, no structured one on one discussions, any meetings that are scheduled are without an agenda and normally called at the last minute so you can’t prepare. Pssst…got any gossip? The D&C likes to walk around a facility and get his information by talking to junior staff, mid-managers, or in some cases, complete strangers. He asks for opinions, dismisses fact, and tries to piece together the “truth” much like I would imagine a cold war era CIA agent would but getting his information from a variety of enemy sources named Natasha and Boris. The agent or the D&C never believes anything his direct reports tell him, and

Should you ever take a counter offer?

April 11, 2012

The great thing about looking for a new job is that you will eventually find one. You get to enjoy the rush and stress of interviewing, the code words you have to use to break away from work so you can go on an interview without burning a vacation day (dental appointment = interview), and finding that one person you trust to tell them how it went!! When can you start? Then comes the moment of truth when you get the offer. The compensation is a little less than you wanted, but 15% more than you make now, and you don’t have all that baggage from your current job to carry along with you. Nope, when you start the new job, you have all the credibility and respect you deserve. But then you go into your manager and say “Frank, I have some bad news. I have taken another job.” You then prepare for the worst. You think old Frank is going to erupt into a cacophony of expletives telling you how ungrateful you are!!!! But, no. He looks sad. He isn’t happy, but he isn’t mad. He is, how should I say it? Disappointed. Why would you leave him?

Praise in public – criticize in private

April 8, 2012

How often have you seen it? The belligerent, screaming boss who ridicules the staff in front of everyone. Maybe you’ve seen in a restaurant. The owner is ranting at the waitress in front of customers. Maybe you have been in a store heard a supervisor make a quiet, snide remark at a cashier for something he did. Maybe your boss lost his temper at work and screamed at you in front of you co-workers for doing something wrong. Maybe you are that kind of boss. Maybe you “dress down” your employees in staff meetings, or make fun of them in front of your boss. Maybe you make them look bad in front of customers to make yourself feel better about yourself. Is that you? Click here to Subscribe to Direct your career! by Email There is no place in business for that sort of behavior. Whenever you as a fully functioning manager are required to handle a sticky situation, it is incumbent upon you to handle it privately, quietly, professionally, and in a dignified manner. People who are treated with dignity will accept your critique in a dignified manner. People are ridiculed will harbor resentments that will affect their future

Do only what YOU can do, not what you both can do

April 3, 2012

As employees traverse the career ladder, they are always faced with an interesting dilemma. Because they are often spawn from the same river as are their co-workers, they usually have the same or similar skill sets. Unfortunately, the newly promoted co-worker must have a toolkit of somewhat superior skills, therefore the promotion. The dilemma they face is to not fall onto the superior skills of their former position as a matter or course, but to step up to their new, albeit higher calling. People under pressure cannot help but to fall back onto their instincts. If they are good accountants, they cannot help but to fall back on being a good accountant when things get tough, even if they are now head of accounting. But, if the new head of accounting is being a good accountant, who is being the new head of accounting? The point I make is that if you are doing things that your subordinates are capable of doing, who is doing the job that only you can do? Here is the bottom line, if you are a Chief of something, only YOU can be the chief. If you are the Head of something, only you can Head it up. But, if you are performing the duties that

Most managers have no right being in management

March 23, 2012

Many, if not most of the managers that I have ever met do not belong in management. Most people have some sort of shortcoming in their personality ranging from moodiness to flat out moon howling. When those people are then empowered to be entrusted with the livelihood of others, those shortcomings come shining through. So much of what is wrong with business today is based on this problem. A middle manager, with tremendous authority can affect the performance of the entire business because of the affect he has on his team. Sexual harassment, idea stealing, low productivity, creativity crushing managers normally fly so far under the radar that they can operate this way for years before being found out. And, during that time they surround themselves with people just like themselves so that when they are found out and replaced, their replacement is often as bad as the boss. So what can be done? I think what has to be done is for businesses to undertake a military style leadership program where leaders are continuously evaluated for their fitness to lead. The military trains their leaders in a never-ending quest to weed out weaker leaders, and to promote strong ones.

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Career and Management