How to Deal with Office Politics
Like it or not, office politics is a fact of life in any work place. It is something that you need to understand and learn how to deal with in order to achieve success in your organization. If you learn how to master office politics, then you can be sure that you will climb the …
Just Stop Talking
I have recently chosen to not work with a new salesperson from a vendor that I’ve worked with for years. Why? They wouldn’t stop talking. As much as I’d like to learn more about you to develop a long term sales relationship, if you’re looking to sell to me, or anyone, you’ve got a lesson …
Three Secrets to Sounding More Confident In Your Writing
Mediocre writing teems with timidity and hesitation. That’s why it’s so boring. Weasel words and loopholes abound, because the authors are so afraid of making a mistake and looking bad. As a result, the author comes across as lacking in confidence and unsure of their ideas.
There are three ways to sound confident in your …
Why Women Falter In the Face of Opportunity
PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ chairman and senior partner Bob Moritz was sent to Japan, after a slow start in his career at the firm. It was about six years into his tenure, and he really did not want to go. When he arrived, he had a difficult time even trying to fit in with his Japanese colleagues. Everything …
How To Write A White Paper That Doesn’t Suck
Your White Papers are a marketing asset that is meant to build trust and generate leads. Your web visitors provide you with their contact details and in return they receive valuable information. Someone is offering you a relationship of trust, they are providing to you information about themselves and in return have an expectation: a …
Avoidable Mistakes – Protect Your Personal Brand
I was talking to a CEO recently who told me that executives who send her emails featuring spelling mistakes were one of her pet peeves.
The no-nonsense CEO is aged in her early 60s so she hails from an era when correct spelling and grammar were a given unlike today. She told me she is …
How Dramatic and Defensive is Your Personal Brand?
As you may know, I have the great honor of teaching for a major university in a special program to re-launch young managers who have not been successful in their careers. Either their jobs have simply gone away, they’ve been eclipsed by someone better prepared or somehow just not made the inroads they needed to …
Personal Brands: Clap, Laugh, Yell Bravo
Paid to clap? Paid to wait at a stage door and clamor for autographs? Paid to laugh, gasp and otherwise do the right thing in the audience? Yes. It’s a job. At the Moscow Bolshoi ballet, you may find yourself sitting among those who show up to admire, in exchange for free tickets and other …
Don’t Turn Off Those Who Can Help
I had lunch with a friend recently – a talented marketing manager who is not loving her job in a professional services firm.
We had only just sat down when she started moaning and groaning. “Where is my ideal job Kate? Tell me what I should do?”
Okay, I realize I am a career coach …
Mr. Smith Recommended I Contact You…
I was recently asked about how to use another person’s name (referral) in one’s networking efforts. When using another’s name in your networking efforts – you are tapping his/her reputation – his/her personal brand – to help open doors for you. While having referrals are like gold when networking, it is important to remember some …