I feel pretty, oh so pretty!!

His question surprised me a little bit. This employee, by his appearance alone never gave me, and I’m sure anyone else the impression that he wanted to be part of management. What I mean is that this gentleman was in his later 30′s, but looked like a throw back to 1965. He was bald on top, and what was left was long, un-styled hair that he pulled back into a pony tail. He had a very bushy mustache that never looked trimmed. He only shaved every two or three days, and had a perpetual five o’clock shadow. And lastly, he wore “ironic” tee shirts, faded jeans, and sneakers, canvas boat shoes actually everyday, that were well “broken in”.

The irony was that this man was very smart and very talented at his profession. The problem was that his outward appearance shouted “I don’t care. Down with the man! I am a non-conformist.” I know, I know….good for him! Stick it to the man!! We need more non-conformists!!! Well, maybe. But, the conformists still run everything.

Back to my friend. I thought about his question for a minute, while trying to temper my surprise. I decided I would try to break the news to him gently. I told him a story about me.

Garanimals

I told him that when I was younger, I loved to wear jeans and tennis shoes to work. I loved the comfort of wearing those old jeans. Those sneakers felt so good and put a spring in my step. I never worried about my appearance or the message I was sending to others with my appearance until a big boss said “Hey, Mike, no offense, but we are having a meeting with a customer tomorrow, can you break out some dress pants.” Wow! No one had ever said anything like that to me. I was the only one he said that to out of 5 of us that were meeting with the customer. I was a little embarrassed, but I got the message.

From that point on, I started wearing business casual clothes. I wore dockers and a nice shirt, with some casual leather, but comfortable shoes. I wore matching belts, and made sure the colors all worked. I no longer wanted to be a non-conformist, but instead wanted to succeed and get promoted, so I dressed like the people who had the jobs I wanted. I explained that it took me a little while to buy all the clothes I needed, but after a few months, I had 5 or 6 nice shirts and 3 pair of pants that I could mix and match.

My friend looked at me and said much to my amazement “Wow, that is way too much work. I guess I will just stay technical.” He left my office and went whistling back to work. I just smiled.

I want to succeed, not just survive!!

The point is obvious. If you choose to dress down or differently from your co-workers or the people who have the jobs you want, then you will be “classified” as a non-conformist. Admittedly, the quality of your work is way more important than your appearance, but your “presentation” plays a big role in what people think of you. You need to dress for the position you want, and the sooner you do, the sooner you will be noticed.

Hope this helps!

Leave me a comment or email me at mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com

The Romans Started It!

I think there are several origins of the phrase “don’t burn your bridges”, but the one I like the best was that Roman commanders would often order the burning of bridges after having crossed them to prevent their own armies from fleeing in the face of danger.  I found that pretty dramatic, and most likely pretty effective.  If a soldier tried to flee, he would eventually be backed up against the river, and simply have to fight, or die trying.  There was no going back.

While that may have been a pretty effective way to get unwilling men to fight, it has no place in your career.  People leave jobs for many reasons, but my research indicates that most people leave because they don’t like their bosses.  They generally like their job and their company, but their boss is simply too difficult to work for.  Since that is a decision which is often based in emotion and not fact, there may be a tendency for some people to want to express their displeasure with the boss directly to him, or if that is not possible, to your future former co-workers.

“Man, I am so glad I am finally getting out of this dump!  John is such an a-hole, and I plan on telling him that on my out.”  Yes, what a great feeling that would be to tell old John how he disrespected and abused you.   You could tell him that he never paid you enough.  You could even tell him his jokes were lame and you only laughed because he was the boss!  Yeah, that would be so great!!!

Don’t Light that Match

Yes, that would be so great and fortunately very few people ever follow through with that threat.  They generally work out scenarios in their heads where they tell the big guy off, and he just stands there dumbfounded.  Yeah, that would be so cool, wouldn’t it?  Uh, no!

The reality of the business world is that you must leave on good terms no matter what you think of your boss.   In today’s world, you need to keep all of your relationships healthy.   When you are leaving one job for another, it is especially important that you demonstrate respect for you staff, your co-workers, and your boss in particular.

As you proceed down your career path, the chances are you will change jobs about every 3 to 5 years.  If you do the math, that means that 3 years from now, your next prospective employer will probably contact the guy you just called an a-hole.  Your new employer may even have someone that knows good old John, and actually likes him.  Uh, oh!! Who gets the last laugh now?

“Hey John, this is Billy Drama from Associated Dry Heaving.  How are you today?  Listen, Lilly Flowers is applying for a position in Quality Assurance over here, and she has you guys down on her resume.  What can you tell me about her?”

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Now isn’t this an interesting predicament?  What is John going to say about you?  You never put him down as a reference, did you?  Why would you?  You burned that bridge, remember?  But, you don’t have to put him down as a reference because Billy Drama is doing what is called a “back door” reference.   He knows a guy!!  Get it?

“Hey Billy, long time no see.  Yeah, Lilly worked for me.  She was an ok employee, but what an attitude.   Don’t quote me, but she could be a real b@#tch at times. “

Nice.   You just lost the job because Billy Drama knows John better than he knows you, and will take his word for it about your character.  Plus you will never get the opportunity to rebuke John’s assertions.  You simply won’t get the job or an explanation why you didn’t.  That scenario can be played out many more times with just about anyone with whom you worked if you did not treat them well.

So how do you avoid that situation?

I Love You Man

What you need to do no matter what, is to treat people respectfully throughout your career.  I am absolutely not suggesting you be a doormat for anyone.  You are supposed to and are entitled to disagree with co-workers, but remember to do so respectfully.  You will reap the seeds you sew.

Upon having the opportunity to leave, leave with dignity no matter what.  Do not trash anyone, I mean anyone.  Do not become a “cancer’ in the organization for your last two weeks.  Many people develop what we called in the Navy “short timer’s attitude”.   That means that they don’t care about their work or your work.  The become just a little bit too candid with their opinions.  Avoid developing that attitude no matter what.

Take the time to visit with co-workers and staff members, making it clear how much you enjoyed working with them.  Now, I am not suggesting you go on a farewell tour, kissing random behinds in a misguided quest to repair damage you have done in the past.  Just visit with people to say good-bye and leave them a good feeling about you.

And when it comes to the big guy, be grateful for everything he has done “for” you, not “to” you.  Unless he is the devil himself, he has done something noteworthy.  He may cancelled out many of the good things with some bad behavior, but in all honesty, that simply doesn’t matter.  Accentuate the positive and dismiss the negative.  Here is an example of how to leave:

“John, got a minute?  I wanted to stop in and say good-bye.  I’ve enjoyed working with you.  I learned a great deal, and just want to thank you for the opportunity you’ve given me.”

Most likely he will be flattered and say something nice in return.  His last memory of you will be that you respected him and thanked him for helping you.  You didn’t lie or capitulate, you took the high road.  At the end, stand up, look him in the eye, shake his hand, and leave.

Do not send a company-wide email.  Do you not make a lot of noise.  Do not leave a ridiculous voice mail, or email out of office reply.

Just pick up your box and leave.

Bitter Pill?

For some, this form of exit is anti-climactic.  They have a deep, almost dark need to leave in a more ceremonious way.  Don’t do it.  Taking the high road feels so much better tomorrow than telling someone off does – I promise.  And, the next time you see John in the mall, he will be your former boss and not someone you dislike any longer.

I hope this helps!

Feel free to email me at mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com or leave a comment.

Mike

Why do we work?

We all work for money and there is nothing wrong with that.  Of course there are many more reasons for working, but at the end of the day it is because someone will pay us for our efforts.  There is also a natural expectation that not only will you be compensated for your contribution to the business, but at some time during your tenure your employer will give you a raise.  But, what do you do if your employer has not given you a raise for two, three, or even more years?  What can you do to get more money?

Most larger companies have a formal process for giving annual raises.  It often starts with a review (which I am not in favor of) and ends with you being told by your boss that you will be getting a 1, 2 or 3% raise.  You don’t really have much negotiating power during this process since it is has already been decided at a much higher level.   But, if you don’t believe you are being compensated fairly, you can use the information you will find later in this article to negotiate a larger raise with your employer.

The second way of getting a raise is if you are part of collective bargaining, or a union.  By joining a union, you authorize the union to bargain on your behalf and on the behalf of everyone in the union at one time.  The union reps and management will determine what raise and other benefits the entire  union will receive.  In that situation, there is no way to get more money outside of the negotiated union contract.

Some companies, usually smaller companies don’t have a formal review process or any process for giving raises.  Employees are given their initial compensation package, and you will not get a raise until you ask for one.  That can be a difficult and awkward thing to do, especially during these times of very high unemployment when simply having a job is a blessing.

Psychological Warfare

Before even considering asking for a raise, you must be prepared to demonstrate why you deserve a raise.  You must be confident in your presentation.  You must ask yourself why you think you do deserve a raise.  If you can’t answer that question, then don’t ask for one.  The answer cannot be that you haven’t gotten one for three years.  There is no motivation for your boss to give you a raise just because you are asking for one.  So, once you have a list of reasons why you are worth more to him now, you can proceed to requesting a meeting.

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Am I worth more?

To make the case that you are worth more, you must ask yourself what you have done to improve your value to the business.  Years ago, I had a salesman ask me for a raise.  She came in with a terrible, arrogant attitude that basically said “I want a raise, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”  I asked her why she thought she deserved a raise?  She had no justification for the request at all other than to say that she hadn’t had one in two years.   I suggested she go back and to review her accounts for the past year.  I wanted her to tell me what she did to grow the business that made her made her worth more to me.

She returned to her office and analyzed all of her accounts.  She tallied up the sales, the commissions she was paid, the margin (profit) we received on each deal.  I did the same exercise so I would know the answer as well.  After a week or so, we met again.  This time her attitude was much different.  She was more humble, apologetic and almost begging not to be fired because as it turned out, her grand total of sales was the same as last year, but her profit was way down.  In other words, keeping her cost me more money last year than it did the year before.  I had every right to fire her.  I didn’t of course, but she learned a valuable lesson and went on to focus on her worth to the business.  At the end of the year, her performance earned her a wonderful bonus.

If you are not in sales, you need to be able to demonstrate how you add value to the business.  Did you take on more responsibility?  Are you the go to person in the office?  Have you added to your education in a way that will help your employer?  If not, don’t ask.

I had an email administrator ask me for a raise once because after another associate left he said “I am the last man standing.”  He meant he was now the senior guy.  He didn’t get any more responsibility and nothing had changed.  I told him to test the market with his skills and see if can make more.  He did, and he couldn’t.  Don’t go down that road.

A business has one purpose – to make money.  I know that sounds harsh, but unless a business makes money, it will not exist.   Without a steady stream of sales, the business will cease to cover its costs, and die.  Remember that for the rest of your career.

Emotions

When you ask for a raise, it can be a very emotional thing to do.  You may feel like a child asking dad for money.   You may be afraid, frustrated, and even angry at having to ask.  Those emotions need to be sorted out before ever having the meeting.  Once you have successfully proven to yourself that you deserve a raise, you should not allow fear or any other emotion to influence the meeting.  Be calm, adult-like, and respectful.

You also need to be prepared for any outcome of the meeting.  Your boss may just say no.  He may get angry, or be embarrassed himself to discuss it.  He may give no explanation for his answer.  He may have his reasons, but while you deserve an explanation, he doesn’t owe you one.  If that is how it goes, do not lose your temper, and simply thank him for his time and leave.  You want to professional under any circumstances and not get yourself fired.

If he did say no, then you now have a decision to make.  If you really feel as if you deserved a raise and the answer was no, you need to decide if you still want to work there.  Do not rush into that decision.  Think about it.  Give it a week or so before deciding to start a job search, but the chances are you should leave.

On the other hand, if the boss says yes, be grateful, polite, and say thank you.  Don’t gush like a child, but never appear disappointed or as if you are entitled to it.  Remember how important gratitude is in everything you do.

Breaking the Bank

When you get the opportunity to talk to the boss, know ahead of time how much you want.  If you seem lacking in confidence at this point, your boss may decide to low ball you.  You will leave disappointed if you do that.  If this is a small company, it is basically money coming out of his pocket to give you a raise.

One way to decide how much you deserve is through market research.  You can look at sites like www.salary.com or even do job searches on www.monster.com to get an idea of how your compensation compares to similar jobs.  Two points of caution here:

1) Those sites are not science.  They are surveys that will give you a sample of approximately how much you may be worth.

2) You will never get a raise in your current job that will match what you might make by leaving.  I have no idea why, but businesses will never break the bank to keep you, even if they have to break the bank to replace you.

So, pick a number that you will be comfortable with, but that your boss will not gag on.  I cannot tell what that is, but most companies will not go higher than 10%, so be fair.  If you are really underpaid, you may want to leave anyway.

There is nothing wrong with asking for a raise.  The implied contract you have with your employer is that he will pay you for your skills, and your contribution to his business.  If you can prove that you have added value, particularly financial value, he will most likely see it your way.

Hope this helps! You can email me at mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com

Mike

Tests, tests and more tests

The first thing the doctor did was to request a number of blood tests.  He wanted to know about my cholesterol (both kinds), my blood count, and a variety of other chemicals in my body that are indications of my overall health.  Well, my cholesterol came back very high, and my blood pressure was also very high.  At one point it was 162 over 100.  Normal is any about below 120 over 80, so I was really not normal.

The next series of tests I underwent were a chest x-ray,  stress EKG and a nuclear medicine test.  The chest x-ray was a simple, standard shot of my lungs and heart.  The doctor was looking for any spots on my lungs, lung disease or structural changes in my heart, like an enlarged heart.  The x-ray came out normal.

I was scheduled for a stress EKG and nuclear medicine test.  I showed up at the office dressed in my best track suit and Nikes ready to sprint my way to a passing grade.  I started the test, walked a bit, and never broke a sweat.  Surely they can do better than this.  I am in amazing shape!!!  I never even felt my heart rate go up that high, then the test suddenly over.  No chest pain, no nuttin!  I am truly amazing for 56!!

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The nuclear medicine test consisted of a contrast dye which is injected into my veins.  Once the dye is pulsating through my body, a technician takes a great many different pictures of my heart and all of the blood vessels surrounding it.  I spent about an hour doing that, but I would not receive the results until my next doctor visit.

The Results

I returned to the doctor cocky as hell.  I was so confident he would just give me some antacids, slap me on the back, and send me home.  The doctor then proceeded to inform me that the chest x-ray, stress EKG, and nuke test revealed no problems.  I knew it.  I passed!!  Yay!!  It isn’t my heart!!!

“Wait” says the doctor.

It seems that these tests are not conclusive.  The only conclusive test is cardiac cathetarization.    That is a procedure where the doctor threads a probe from your femoral artery all the way up to your heart.  Once there, he starts looking for blockages in the coronary arteries that supply blood the heart muscle.  It is pretty routine, but a little scary.  Since the chest pain hadn’t gone away, I said yes.

Happy Cath Day!!

So, this past Thursday, September 2nd I went to the hospital to have cardiac catheterization.  I submitted to more blood tests, got naked, and slipped into a very stylish hospital gown that would not close in the back.  I was hooked up to a number of electronic instruments, had my temperature taken, had another EKG, and a nice man shaved me where they intended to insert the catheter (which is very close to where no man has ever touched me).

Next stop, the Cath Lab.

I was wheeled to the cath lab, and prepped even more.  The doctor arrived promptly at 7:30 a.m., and I was given some valium to relax me.   I was awake, but in a twilight state of mind.  I felt good, read that buzzed, as I relived 1975.    Shortly after my valium high began, I felt a bit of pressure on my thigh as my doctor inserted the probe.  After ten minutes or so, he told me he found a number of blockages in the arteries around my heart, but there were two significant blockages in the same artery that posed a threat.  One was 90% closed, while the other was 70%.   Even in my valium state of mind, I knew that meant I could have been months away from a heart attack.  I suddenly felt very mortal.

He told me he was going to put in a stent to open up the blockages, which he did.

My recovery

Shortly after the procedure, I was wheeled to recovery in the Cardiac Care Unit – CCU.  A number of people were there to help me move from the gurney to the bed, something I could not do myself.  I spent the night in the hospital, and the only complication I had to endure was some bleeding from the site of the injection, causing a big ugly bruise on my leg.

The good news is that I haven’t experienced any chest pain since having the stent put in.  I had experienced chest pain several times a day before the procedure, even while sitting.  So, I took this as a positive sign.

I came home yesterday, and decided to share my story with you.  I believe there is someone out there that may be experiencing this as well.  If so, get it addressed right away.  I had a friend who died 20 years because he chose not to get treatment.

I want to thank the nurses and technicians at Christus St Catherine Hospital and especially my cardiologist Dr. Mehta who saved my life and probably kept me from having a heart attack.  This experience has changed my life.  I will not have Wendy’s for lunch anymore.

The bottom line is to address your problems whether they are medical, relationships, or career, or spiritual.  I wasted a little time getting my problem addressed, but I never doubted that I would get things addressed.  I only have one heart, and had to get it fixed asap.

I hope you can take something from this story.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend in the U.S.

If you would like to know more, leave me a comment or email me at mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com

Mike

Pump Me Up
To be physically fit, all you need to do is eat food that is good for you. You know what that means. If not, go to http://thetennisdad.com/blog and my son Ryan will help you. Also, it means getting enough sleep, and limiting your alcohol consumption. I recommend you quit alcohol completely, but moderation is fine as well. And stop smoking. Today. For exercise, walk around the block to get your heart rate up. Use it or lose it!!

Emote with me baby
The next key is emotional fitness. This is a complex subject that I address in my book, but basically it means clearing up all of your emotional baggage. Address your relationship problems. Apologize to those you have hurt, get over the men or women who have hurt you, and resolve to address all future mistakes immediately. There is a lot to this to process, but making amends and dealing with mistakes quickly is very important to emotional well-being.

I See Dead People
The part of all around health is spiritual fitness. For the atheists, you can stop reading here. I have no interest in helping or hurting your cause. For the believers and agnostics, I want you to find a higher power. Believe that you are not the top of the food chain. Believe that an unseen force greater than you is conducting the orchestra. There’s more, but you will have to get my book or do more research if you want to learn about it.

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The key to health is that you must do all three of these things, and they must be done in this order:
1- Physical
2- Emotional
3- Spiritual

I know I have piqued your curiosity, so leave me a comment or email me at mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com

Have a great day!!

Mike

Surprise!!

I have had no bad experiences with reviews.  I haven’t had a bad review or a surprise review.  I simply believe that there is little if any value in this annual display of power whereby you are talked to by your boss about what should be discussed every single day of your career.  I cannot imagine what would happen if your boss actually said “Bill, on October 13th at 3:45, you came back a few minutes late from your break.  On January 3rd, the spreadsheet you gave me hand an error in it.  So, I have to give you a low grade, and therefore no raise.”

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Could you imagine the surprise?  Why wouldn’t he have told you in October, and in January?  Well, that is my point.  If he is a good manager, he would be communicating your performance everyday.  You would know every day where you stand.  What good is this ceremony.    It is a complete waste of time.

Evaluated Daily

Good managers perform reviews every single day.  Anytime you make a mistake, or conversely anytime you do something well, you should know it right away.   You should not be surprised by anything that would be said in a review, therefore making the entire process moot, or dare I say – BORING!  I think that if you are being evaluated each day, you should and would know at any given time where you stood.  Don’t you think that getting that information would help your performance each day?  Of course it would.  If you were told what to do to succeed, you would most assuredly do that more often.  And, if you were told not to make mistakes, you would do whatever you could to be more accurate.  Simple?  Yes, it is.  Unfortunately, too many bad managers need this formality to communicate with their staff.

Divide and Conquer

I think that the review process divides a team between those that get good reviews and those that do not.  Those that get good reviews, or what we used to call the pets are set aside from those that do not.  They are on a different list and actually perform as if they are not part of the “in crowd”.  It creates high school style cliques that cannot inspire team work.    The cool kids will stick together as will the not so cool kids.  There is no upside to foster these cliques, especially among adults.  The divide does becomes even larger as time goes on.

For Real Dude?

I do believe that the annual performance appraisal is a complete waste of time.   In a highly functioning company, you will know where you stand every single day.  I think that companies should abandon them completely dude!

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Have a great day!

mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com

http://www.directyourcareer.com

That is a very tough question that I can’t answer for you.  It is a completely personal choice based on a lot of factors.  I can also tell you that that question does not always come from high school seniors or college students either.  Many of my clients, men and women in the 40′s and 50′s still express the same concern. Their dilemma is very understandable since we really receive little or no actual guidance on this subject in our youth. High school guidance counselors are geared more to making sure you get into college if that is what you want to do.  Most people simply trip into their careers, or have their careers chosen for them by their parents.

What are you passionate about?

Choosing a job is not that hard. Anyone can do it. Just look around you and say “I want to be that when I grow up.” But, choosing a career that you will enjoy for a long time, if not the rest of your life is a true challenge.   It does take a little planning on your part though. The plan will also take on a different form depending upon your age and current financial needs.

The first advice I give anyone choosing a career or considering a career change is to write down the three great passions in their life.  I want them to actually sit down and consider what it is they love to do without consideration for whether it is a career or not.   Do you love music?  Do sports make your pulse race?  Do you enjoy caring for children?  Do you postpone other things to watch or play golf?  Do you love the theater, the beach, the outdoors, boating or cooking?  Are you the girl that all the other girls look to for advice on fashion?

What are your three passions?  What just made you smile thinking about it?

What is interesting about that question is that most people can write down one passion pretty quickly, but they have more difficulty coming up with number two and number three.  As you work on your list, you will start to realize that you have one really great passion that you could do every day forever if you could. That one thing that makes your pulse race just a little bit. That one thing that gets you excited and has gotten you excited at the very thought of doing it for most of your life whether you are 18 or 80.

Your passion can be a career

Once you decide what your passion is, the next thing you have to do is research that field.  Start thinking creatively about what jobs are available in that area.  Let’s use music as an example.  You love music.  You love the sound, the beat, the history of the artist, and looking for a deeper meaning in the lyrics.  You love being around bands and musicians, and you hang out with others that love music.  But what if you you can’t sing or play an instrument?  What if you have no real obvious talent in music?   Are you the person everyone wants to talk to about music?

If any of that is true, then what are some of the careers that are in the music industry other than performing? Are you a writer and could a start a blog about music? Are you good with your hands and could learn to make guitars or tune pianos? Are you a talented computer technician and could learn to mix music tracks or create samplings? There are dozens of jobs in the music industry that you might be able to use your second or third passion to combine into a career. You see where I am going now?  And plug in your passion every time I’ve written the word music.

Money, money, money

Now let’s discuss money for minute. If you start out looking for jobs that make a lot of money, you will end up becoming a slave to a job that you will absolutely hate some day. I know many doctors that are rich, and completely miserable.  I mean depressed.  Unless your true passion is making money, if you actually only work for the money, you will live for weekends and vacations, but hate Monday through Friday. That is not the way to live.

If you are starting out, don’t worry about the compensation. As you gain more experience, you will figure out how to make more money. The money will come to you – don’t chase it.  Expect nothing, but be grateful for everything you have, and you will get more.

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Starting over
If you are already experienced and thinking about changing careers, then you may have to downsize to make a career change.  You may have to take a pay cut.   Sorry, but if you really need to do this, that is your sacrifice.   Save a lot of money now so that your lifestyle will be less impacted.  Or, you can think about trying something part-time to learn the field and then branch out slowly on your own.  Either way it will be tough, but at the risk of being repetitive, do you want to be happy doing what you love, or trudging down a path of professional misery?  You have free will to do either one.

Whether you love health care, children, tennis or cars, all you have to do is say to yourself  “I love that.  I really love that.”  Once you do, you can start looking for the great jobs that support it and decide what your career will be.   So here is the bottom line, work at something you love and you will never work a day in your life.

Have a great day!!

http://www.directyourcareer.com/blog

email me at mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com

Boxing

I was watching boxing on TV one Saturday with my Dad as a young teen.  That was a treat back then because it didn’t happen very often and there was no pay per view (or Don King!). The match was going along swimmingly for one boxer, when his opponent suddenly hauled off and hit him with a low blow.  It looked intentional and hurts me now just to recount it.  I honestly wince as I play back that cheap shot in my mind.

After the affected boxer got his wind back, and his testicles descended back into their original anatomical position, the fight resumed. But something had changed. The boxer who’d been wronged no longer boxed.  He came out throwing these hay maker punches all the while leaving himself defenseless. The other boxer easily avoided the punches and counter punched with stiff jabs to the chin and body.  He started winning easily.  I asked my Dad “What’s going on? What is he doing? He was winning!!”   My Dad smiled and said “He’s angry.  He wants revenge.”

Revenge is mine said the Lord

I was shocked.  Didn’t he see what he was doing to himself? He was losing.  Another minute went by and the evil boxer knocked out our hero.   A devastating right hook to the chin, and he never saw it coming. …..8, 9, 10 you’re out.

Stay in Control

It is of paramount importance to control your emotions in work and in life. Don’t take compliments or criticism personally or too seriously. Don’t become emotionally invested in projects, decisions, or outcomes or you may just suffer the fate of our hero when you drop your guard after being kicked in the stones. Getting kicked does hurt, but getting knocked out hurts more.

Don’t drop your guard.

Let me know what you think!!

I have been studying and observing business and business people for more than two decades.  During that time, I have seen more than my fair share of personalities that find themselves managing people.   Some are perfectly suited to leading people, creating a business strategy, and artfully executing that strategy.  Others are miserable in their positions. They complain privately about their disdain for managing people and conflict, and have no idea how to create a strategy, and find themselves reacting to every brush fire.  They drive their teams, colleagues, and their own boss batty.

I think there are many reason for this, and I have come up with four personality types of leadership that I think demonstrate why some succeed and some fail. The first personality is the winner, the next two are neutral and pass as managers, but the fourth is a disaster.

Before explaining that, I want to first to discuss something called the Peter Principle.

The Peter Principle

The Peter Principle is a book written by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hill that theorizes that every employee will eventually rise to their own level of incompetence.   The point is that any human being, talented or not, will be promoted throughout their career until they finally reach the level that they no longer have what it takes to do the job, thereby reaching a level of incompetence.

The concept is intended to be humorous, not scientific, but does have merit.  Many of you have undoubtedly heard of or even experienced where an excellent employee doesn’t automatically make for an excellent, or even good manager.  Some managers are even cross promoted from one unrelated department to manager another. Maybe an engineer without experience is promoted to run the warehouse. That rarely works.

Let’s take for example, the case of Bob the Super Salesman.

Bob the Super Salesman

Bob is 37 years old.  He is the best salesman that Acme Dynamite has ever had.  He has sold millions of dollars of dynamite to Wile E. Coyote in Mr. Coyote’s never ending quest to end the run of the ultra-fast Road Runner.  Bob is loved by all of his customers, his co-workers, and the boss.  He basically can do no wrong in his job as super salesman.

One day the VP of Sales has an opening for a sales manager.  Everyone, including the president of the company believes that the best man for the job is good old Super Bob.    The VP approaches Bob, who has significant reservations about going into management.  He loves being a salesman.  He loves the chase, the planning, the execution and the close of each sale he makes.  He just isn’t sure and feels he is a born salesman.

The VP is positive that Bob is his man.  He too is a former salesman and essentially “sells” Bob on the idea (side note:  the easiest customer to sell something to is another salesman).  Bob relents and becomes the company’s new head of Dynamite sales.

What Happens?

In less than a year, Bob completely fails as a sales manager.  His employees, the team that used to love him, now hates him.  He no longer gets to go on the road selling his wares, but instead is all but chained to his desk.  He feels as if he has been sentenced to a prison term and has started looking for a new job.  Things are terrible until the VP finally realizes his mistake and puts Bob back into a selling position, where he thrives once again.

Bob was promoted to his highest level of incompetence.

This example of the Peter Principle plays out every day all across the business world.  Some people are natural leaders and great managers.  They are the “go to” guys in the department, or what some people refer to as the “glue”.  They don’t even realize they are leading because it is almost a God given talent as natural as eating or breathing.  Others could not lead if you gave them a map and painted a solid gold stripe on the road to follow, but they are fantastic in the support role in which they have excelled for years.

Four Management Peronalities

I think there are four significant management personalities. Each is briefly described below. Which one are you?

The first management personality type is the manager who wants 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. There are very effective managers.

The second and more neutral personality is one that wanted to be the boss, but once there, they hate 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 expected. This manager is effective, but not great.

The third management personality is also neutral to negative. This a boss who doesn’t want to be the boss, but once there finds they like it. For example, they like the trappings of power and the perks, but don’t really feel qualified for the position. This person is not very effective because while they love the job, they don’t really perform very well and their staff is more qualified technically than they are.

The fourth and most disastrous manager is the one that never wanted to be boss, and hates the job. This is the boss that was forced to take the job because they were there the longest or were quite possibly the most qualified. But, they never tried for it, and were comfortable doing whatever they were doing before they became the boss, and once there, they hate it. This manager stays in his office and the office just runs itself. This personality type is our Bob, the Super Salesman.

The goal for you is to either be the first personality type, or minimally one of the next two. If you are not in management, you need to hopefully find a manager who seems to want to be the boss and actually enjoys being the boss, and is happy in it.

If you are pursuing management, try to understand the Peter Principle and the Four Management personality types to see if you are suited to leading people. Don’t be in a hurry to get there. It takes talent and time to develop some of these skills, but if you are Bob, just say no if you really want to stay on the road you are on.

Hope this helps!!

Email me at mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com or you can leave a comment

Mike

How Long Will it Take
The first rule of thumb that people need to understand is that as a non-scientific rule of thumb, it takes about one month per $10,000 of salary to find that new job.   If you do a quick calculation, that means it would take about 6 months of job searching, sending resumes, and interviewing to find a $60,000 job.   That is pretty long, so it is important that you are organized.

Your Job Search is a Full-time Job
Second, depending on your current job status, looking for a job can be a full time job.   If you are currently employed, you can look part-time by searching job boards, answering, ads, and networking.  You can work a couple of recruiters in your industy, but don’t work with more than two or three.   If you are out of work, then work your job search for eight hours a day.

- Call and email all of your friends.

- Apply to every job that is even close to what you want, and go on interviews. You can practice interviewing by going on interviews for jobs you don’t want.

- Networking is the best way to find a job.   I wrote an earlier post about that which you should read, but basically it means telling people you know that might be able to help you that you are looking for work. Often a guy that knows a guy that knows a girl that’s hiring can get you an interview where a recruiter cannot. (Look for a future post on recruiters).

Stop and Smell the Roses
Keep your resume current.  Don’t wait until the last minute to throw it together. You will also be surprised how quickly your responsibilities change every six months.  For example, have you learned a new computer system, did you participate in training, were you part of a committee that designed a new process?  Stop and smell the roses to see what you have accomplished since you last updated your resume.  Also, read my post on formatting your resume for tips on that.

Job Boards
Work those job boards and forums.  They are fantastic for find opportunities.   Keep track of who you sent resumes to and follow up.   Use the free boards first like monster.com, but don’t be afraid to pay for one or two sites like theladders.com.  They are not that expensive and are full of great advice as well.

Shout from the Rooftops!
Don’t be afraid to tell your friends you are looking for work. Not co-workers, but outside friends. We all want to help you, but can’t if you don’t tell us what you are going through.

Ok, let me know what you think.

Leave me a comment or send me an email at mike.anderson@directyourcareer.com

Make it a great day!!