What Your Boss Really Wants From You
CEOs tell me that they want people:
-Who are full of ambition and goals.
-Who sing—well, silently hum—at work.
-Who stretch themselves every day and who always have new challenges they’re hankering to take on.
-Who get an emotional kick out of any accomplishment.
-Who are juiced (in the nonsteroid way) every morning to get …
Be Yourself, Unless You’re A Jerk
There WILL be stress in your business life. The heat of the moment can cause you to do something that un-does years of good work. So be really careful in the following when the going gets tough:
-Don’t be overly convinced of your own importance.
-Don’t think you are the “exception to the rule” in …
Job Interviewing is a Two-Way Street
Often when job interviewing you focus on getting across your qualifications in technical expertise. From talking with hundreds of executives actually doing the interviewing, this is what they tell me they are really interested in:
-Is he lazy?
-Does she have common sense?
-Does he have fire in the belly?
-Is she qualified?
-Is he …
Basic Life Advice That Matters
My grandniece is four and she and I were talking about her future. (Just kidding. I was thinking about her future in her presence.) In case I’m not around to give her advice when she might be willing to listen I decided to write it down now.
With over thirty years as an executive coach …
The Real Reasons for Networking
The Wall Street Journal reports that 94 percent of successful job searches happen through networking. As John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas says, “Time and again people work very hard and are good at what they do, but they don’t know anybody. They put their heads down and spend no time developing social …
Choose Carefully as Your Words Brand You
I’m really sorry to have to write this caution but be very, very careful what you say. Any one can be offended by absolutely any thing today.
You can present a six-hour workshop and say one word (and not even a bad word) and lose a portion of your audience because they disapprove of the …
How to Increase Your Value Today
People who are intellectually curious and constantly learning have greater economic value to themselves and their organization. So learn a little (at least) about everything that you can. Take advantage of every opportunity your supervisor offers (and ask for more). But most importantly, make learning your responsibility.
Those who make a habit of learning things …
We All Matter
We all think we’re different but there are more similarities than differences between us. What is most universal is most personal. Most everyone:
-feels not fully understood
-is the center of their own universe
-wants to see what they own go up in value all of the time
-wants to be appreciated, to feel powerful, …
Make Business Personal
People like to say business isn’t personal but it is personal. All of life is people personally interacting with other people. Work is people interacting with people but with money and title attached to it. Personal doesn’t mean inappropriately intimate; you needn’t border on sexting.
If you connect on a human level you more quickly …
If You Don’t Have A Sense of Humor, Get One
You will not succeed without a sense of humor. Many CEOs have told me they see humor as a test to whether they want to work with and be around a person. Good leaders aggressively seek out an amusing angle in dealing with others, whether through light humor in a serious situation or the careful …