Category Archives: Attitude

Heal work pebbles – the Dr. No method

Posted on December 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

The best defense against the atom bomb is not to be there when it goes off. (unknown)

The team leader I disliked personally the most was a good project manager.  One redeeming social skill was that he knew about Doctor No.  When he was asked to add just a little more to a project he would agree and then ask what he got to drop to make up for adding that little bit.  He did it religiously. He didn’t just say, “No,” he used the Doctor No approach. He asked the person adding work to tell him what else he could say “No” to. He turned the person giving him the work into Doctor No, a healer.

I hate firefighters–people who commit a project to disaster.  The most difficult problem for firefighters is to say, “NO!”  It is hard to refuse to carry a mountain as it is thrust upon you one pebble at a time by smiling friends.  Still, you MUST gently refuse the pebbles.  The best way I have found to refuse pebbles of additional work is to require the person handing you the pebble to tell you which other pebble you can drop. They become Doctor No and fix your time and resource problems.

The velvet glove on the steel fist comes in handy here. As the person trying to hand you the pebble tells you how small it is, you have to clearly tell them it will not get done unless they tell you what else to drop.  When they say, “You decide,” tell them, “I won’t do your task unless YOU tell me what to drop.” If you absolutely can’t get them to let you drop something, you then decide to drop something.  Tell everyone by voice AND memo what will not get done due to the specific additional burdens placed on you.  Then “don’t do” what you said you wouldn’t do.

Does this apply to job hunting?  Absolutely.  I will give you more information on job hunting than they can possibly apply in a day, week or month.  Doctor No is about prioritizing.  If you ask me what order to do things in, I’ll tell you.  Otherwise I expect you to figure out what is most important and drop the rest.

Doctor No is about setting priorities.  It is a nice way to get the people overloading you to help unload some of the burden.  Turn those people into Doctor No. Let them be the healer.

Something To Do Today

Most people are afraid to try the Doctor No approach.  Try it out the first time with a smaller project, something thrust on you that really is not that significant.  Don’t say, I’ll try to get that done and then stay late to finish it.  Ask the person to help you figure out what to drop instead.  If they won’t tell you what to drop, tell them it won’t get done until they open up a hole in your schedule for you to do it.  Then don’t do it.  Your pebble pushers need to find out you are serious.

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I hate firefighters – are you one?

Posted on December 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll fight to the death for your right to die in a fire of suspicious origin. (unkn)

“Jim barely went home for the last two weeks.  He saved the Membership Project.  Our customer was screaming because of the implementation problems.  We are giving Jim a bonus and a week of vacation for his efforts.”

Jim is a firefighter and an arsonist.  He led a project down the path of failure.  When his inept leadership nearly sank the whole division, the manager two levels above him stepped in and salvaged the project at implementation.  Jim worked like crazy.  His whole team did.  It really bothers me when guys like that get praised and rewarded. In some companies that is the culture.

Has an emergency caused you to work nights and weekends?  Did a job you were the finalist for disappear because of a disaster? Was it filled by a firefighter who is an arsonist?  Do your bosses know the arson root of a lot of job fires?

Root causes of job arson are going to be a continuing subject for a few days.  Career building and job hunting both have firefighters who are also arsonists. Don’t think you are safe because you are job hunting.  It is amazing how many job hunters destroy their own chances of success.

Something To Do Today

Make a list of the times you have had to work late and on weekends due to unforeseen problems or disasters.  There is probably an arsonist somewhere.  Who is it?  Make a list of arsonists.

This list may help your job hunting.  It can help you see how you aid and abet arsonists.  That tendency may be why you have missed more than one job.  People can smell it on you.  People who worked with you will innocently let others know you are an arsonist.  Are you?

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Time management

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Liar research day – instructions at the end

Posted on December 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

The inability to forget is infinitely more devastating than the inability to remember. (Twain)

“Five wasted years due to a liar.  I was promised equity, part ownership, and then they sold the company without giving it to me.  I was robbed. I will never trust anyone again.  Now I’m in it for the money.  I’m in it for me.”

He has the skills to succeed, but who would hire him for an honest corporate level job now? He broods on wrongs done to him. His attitude and morals are shot. He is sure everyone lies and cheats. Every time he sends me a resume, it has incredible lies on it.  He only remembers the bad, never savoring the good.

Some places will hire him for sales or sales management because of an undeniable track record.  But will he cheat the customers or help them?  Will he ever be a customer centered salesman again? He will be fired soon.

I have kept in contact with him for years and he has never recovered. He refuses to move on mentally. Morally he remains disfigured, brooding, and unreliable.

There are a lot of people like him. I ask these scarred souls, “How soon did you figure out your boss was lying?”  Usually the answer is, “I found out 3 months (or days) after I started.  But then it was too late to take another job.”  I ask, “Why didn’t you get the promises in writing?”  The answer is always, “I didn’t think I needed to.  He kept telling me he would do it.” (Your boss wouldn’t do what he promised, so you trusted him??)

Time to forget that you were cheated.  You made two mistakes:

  1. You decided to keep working for a liar, and
  2. You decided you didn’t need promises in writing from the liar.

What you should do is learn from the two lessons above and move on.  Refuse to work for a liar again.  Get promises in writing.  And now start remembering all the good people you have known.

Good people attract good people.  You will find that people who tell the truth in business don’t mind putting their promises in writing.  As a matter of fact, they prefer putting promises in writing so that there is no dispute later about what they promised.

Now forget how you were robbed.  That was one bad boss.  No need to tell the story over and over.  Frankly forgive him.  If you are suing him, let your lawyer worry about it.  If you aren’t taking him to court, drop it completely.

Learn from your mistakes.  Continue trusting people.  Get promises in writing.  Learn the right lessons and forget the pain.  You’ll be happier.

Something To Do Today

Liar research day.  Who do you know who says they were robbed in a job or business?  Come on.  You probably know a few.  Ask them the two questions:

  1. How soon did you figure out he was lying and why did you stick with him so long?
  2. Did you get all those promises in writing?

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Your great idea is worth….

Posted on December 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

The most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will. (Thomson)

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.  (Goethe)

I got a furtive phone call from a candidate a decade ago, “Bryan, this idea can make you a fortune.  I don’t want to tell it to you unless you promise me half the money you make from it. This will make you rich.”

I answered, “You want half of my business for an idea?  Great ideas are wonderful.  I have them all the time.  What I need are people who can execute great ideas.  Will you quit your job and risk everything to make your idea work?  Will you be content to be rewarded only after your idea is making money?”

“Well, no.  Listen Bryan, if you do it, you will make a fortune.  You only have to give me half.”

Unable to keep the idea to himself, he eventually told me that his idea was to bring cheap programmers from India to the United States.  It was a great idea. One I was approached with literally every day by phone or email.  And many people made their fortune doing it.  I just needed someone daring enough to take the idea and run with it. I needed someone to execute the idea.

Do you have a great idea?  If you have the guts and energy to gather supporters around you and execute that great idea, you will have the ride of your life.  It can be done in your present company, a new company or your own company.  Make sure the idea and your plans are big enough.  As many companies fail from a big idea executed in a small way as from a small idea executed in a big way.

Write down your plans.  Get people to critique the idea. Use criticizers to figure out how to do things better.  When someone says, “It can’t be done,” consider the source.  Go out and make things happen.  Life will never be the same for you.

Something To Do Today

In your job journal write down all the great ideas you have.  Do it in a separate section.  Discuss your ideas with people who can help you make them happen.

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Guerilla gardening, jobs and job searches

Posted on November 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka” (I found it!) but “That’s funny.” (Asimov)

I was down to 5 blueberry plants.  I had more in the past.  I love blueberries.  Because of the varieties I have, I get to pick them for 2 months each year.

I decided to plant.  I didn’t have the $200 in my budget for the plants I wanted.  So I looked up how to grow my own blueberry plants.  The instructions included mist boxes, planting medium, hormones, infections, mold and other horrible things. I wasn’t about to grow them that way.

Guerilla gardening was the only real possibility.  I spent a couple of months thinking about the problem.  I looked up some things about houseplants and roses.  That spring I gave some fresh ideas a try.

I cut 22 budding branches from blueberry plants of 6 different varieties. I dug holes in the deep leaf compost of the blueberry garden and planted them.  Then I covered the cuttings with jars. The jars keep the moisture level high around the cutting.  It gives the twig a chance to develop roots.

I took off the bottles a month after planting the twigs.  18 of the 22 blueberry cuttings looked like they would survive.  Alas, they didn’t.  I took the jars off too early.  But guess what?  I’m going to try again.  This time I will leave the jars on another month or two.

Guerilla gardening triumphs again. Not only will we save $200, the new plants will grow just as well as mail order plants.  Mine won’t be yanked out of the ground and sent by mail to us.  They will just keep on growing where they are.

Can’t get a reply on your resume? Why not come up with a guerilla campaign – a series of things you can do to get a job.  Do something more than just sending a resume.  Pick a company or 3 that you really want to get into.  Now figure out how to get to know the people who would be your coworkers and hiring managers.  Emails, phone calls, mailing them a bag of M&M’s or inviting them to lunch can all be a part of the campaign.

Unable to get the resources you need at work? It could be an opportunity to shine.  Think of ways to get the job done at low cost.  What resources can be diverted for your project? Study alternate ways of getting the job done. In Spanish “guerilla” means little war.  Figure out how to win each project as a little war of its own.

If your project succeeds, tell your boss in your weekly report.  If it fails, tell him all the alternate approaches you considered.  Let him know you are trying to get essential tasks done with less resources.  He will appreciate it.

If you are job hunting, the guerilla projects that succeed go on your resume.  The companies you apply to will want to know how you can make projects succeed without a budget.  They are eye catching advertisements for your intiative.

Something To Do Today

Take a project you want to do, but don’t have resources for.  List 10 possible ways to make it a guerilla project. Do some research and list 5 more ways.  Is the result worth the effort if it works?  Then make the effort.  Succeed or fail, you will learn something.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Finding jobs, Perseverance

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I make the milk – getting credit

Posted on November 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

I believe that every right implies a responsibility, every opportunity an obligation, every possession a duty.  (Rockefeller)

With up to 9 kids (we have 10) at home, we drink a lot of milk. There isn’t enough room in our 2 refrigerators to keep enough fresh milk.  We use powdered milk instead.

Every morning I get up early and write.  When I am done I make breakfast for myself.  The milk is usually gone.  Sometimes I grumble a little.  Why is it always me?  Everyone uses it.  Can’t they make it too?  Then I go ahead and make the milk.  Occasionally  I remind my wife that I made the milk.  She can’t leave me for another man. He might not make the milk in the morning. (Truth be told: she makes it more than I do, but I can’t have her believing I am totally useless.)

Do you “make the milk” at work?  Are there indispensable chores you do?  Then you need to remind your boss of them every week or at least quarterly.  Put them in your weekly, monthly or quarterly reports to your boss. He needs to be reminded.

Since you are reporting what you do as routine every week, you better add what the extra things are that you do every week. Write how you saved money, speeded things up, or made a customer happy.  Don’t forget to include training you gave or received.

There is no way that your boss can possibly know all the important things you do.  He has his own job.  Giving him a weekly, monthly and quarterly report reminds him.  It also gives him a weekly opportunity to think of new projects to give you.  It forces him to think of your career.

Make the milk. Then make sure you get the credit.  It really will help your career.

Something To Do Today

In your job journal make a list of the things you do every day, week and month.  What do you take care of so your boss doesn’t have to worry?  Keep adding to the list.  Friday, write up the list and give it to your boss.  You may just surprise him with how much you did this week.  Okay, maybe not this Friday, but how about tomorrow?

(I wrote this years ago. Laura and I still have 9 kids and grandkids living at our house. We are down to one refrigerator.  I make milk every morning for my daughter Merrilee to have on her cereal.  The other kids can fend for themselves, and do very well at it.)

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Perseverance, Promotions, talent, Time management

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a successful email

Posted on November 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

There’s no secret about success.  Did you ever know a successful man who didn’t tell you about it? (Hubbard)

A simple thank you email was sent out by a candidate for a top level job.  I got a copy.  It helped set that candidate apart from all the others in a quiet way.  The next day that email was replied to with an invitation for an in-person interview.   That’s a successful email.

I admit it.  The email did NOT get him the interview.  His phone presence, background, cheerfulness and “can do attitude got him the reply.  Still, the email helped.

100 applicants for a job is not unusual.  Phone interviews with 10 solid candidates is common.  Often the choice between the top 3 candidates is only based on chemistry, the feelings of the moment.  So what can you do?

  1. Send a thank you by email after every interview.
  2. Also send a paper thank you.
  3. Dwell on the positive.
  4. Never complain about a previous job, boss or coworker.
  5. Tell interviewers what you like about the job.
  6. Ask for the next interview or for the job.

In the interview be the type of person you most like working with.  After the interview, be thankful.  That=s an unbeatable combination.

Something To Do Today

Who are the two successful people you most like working with?  Make a list of the reasons why you like working with them.  What can you change about yourself to add their one or two best traits to your own?

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The guy who invented running

Posted on November 18, 2010 | 2 comments

An expert knows all the answers – if you ask the right questions.

 

Jim Fixx passed away in 1984.  Some obituaries said, “The man who invented running died.” Before his book, The Complete Book of Running, jogging and running were not sports.  They were just weird.  Jim Fixx didn’t revolutionize running, he just brought it acceptance.  In 1977 his book was the best selling non-fiction hardcover book ever. He is a legend in the running world.

Every month I run across at least one or two people whose names are synonymous with excellence in their field.  Hailed as legends and gurus, they aren’t necessarily the brightest people, but they are smart.  What they have done is study extensively, had a few successful projects and published a few articles or a book.  If the field is broader, they get involved writing the certification tests in their discipline. They all command a 30% to 100% earnings premium compared to people who are merely better than they are.

Hiring managers feel embarrassed to admit they don’t know who these people are.  It is obvious from their resumes that they are the “go to” guys in their narrow field.  I have to emphasize, these guys are smart, but not geniuses.  They have figured out how to be impressive.  They have psyched out managers, consultants and experts.  They have become the gurus in their field.

Can you become the legend or guru in your field?  How about in your company?  In your team?  Your name can become synonymous with a particular subject.  You may have to teach a few classes, write an article or a training course.  What can you do to become a legend?

Something To Do Today

Who are the gurus in your field?  Ask them how they built their reputation.  Scared to call them because they wrote a book?  Truth to tell, authors are human too.  They will succumb to the rapt attention of an informed audience.  Call them, email them or write to them.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, Promotions, talent, Time management

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Confronting your boss the right way

Posted on November 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

Cynicism is not realistic and tough.  It’s unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don’t have to try.  (Noonan)

“You don’t have the guts to fire me,” he told the president.   The company president left and took a 30 minute timeout.  Upon returning the boss said, “Do you want to say anything?”  The answer, “No. I’m right.”  The reply was, “You’re fired. You have half an hour to clean out your desk.”

The guy was shocked.  In his heart of hearts he knew he was right so he made a few calls to shareholders to get support.  In half an hour the boss returned and said, “I gave you half an hour and you are not gone yet.  You can walk to the door with me now, or I can call the police.”

It’s a true story.  I recruited his replacement, who is still there.

Here are the mistakes this guy made:

  1. He challenged his boss’s authority
  2. He called his boss a coward
  3. No apology was offered for vicious insubordination
  4. An open attempt to create a mutiny was started
  5. There was no backing down.

How do you deal with your boss’s mistakes?  I admit I have done every single one of these wrong things to a boss or two of mine in the past.  Luckily my rebellion was much milder.  I never got fired for it.  I didn’t get promoted either.

Some great ways to confront your boss are in How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie.  You will find it enlightening.

Don’t see if you can get fired.

Read.

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Glass Ceilings

Posted on November 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read, “President Can’t Swim”.  (Johnson)

True story: She can’t get a promotion.  Not even a bigger title.  The “Good Old Boys” all admit she is doing a great job.  She saves the company literally 5 to 50 times her salary every year.  She will never be promoted.  It is because she is a woman.  I know her.  I know her company.  There is no way up.  Even shooting her boss will only get a different man promoted ahead of her.

She can make her own life a living hell by suing the company.  She will lose even if she wins.  They would figure out a reason to fire her in a few years and then she would have a hard time finding a job.

There are two ways to deal with a glass ceiling.

  1. Go around it.
  2. Get a new job.

1. Go around it

To go around the glass ceiling you need a mentor.  It is doubtful that your own boss will really help since he isn’t helping you now.  Invite someone 2 or 3 levels above you to lunch.  At lunch, don’t condemn your boss. Ask for help to grow.  Write down the advice you get.  Set up an appointment to have lunch again in 3 to 6 months.  Go over your progress with the person.  Report on how you have improved.

Scared?  Do you have to go to the owner, CEO or chairman of the board?  Do it anyway.  What have you got to lose?  You may be surprised that the person that far above you really wants to help winners like you succeed.  And if they refuse to help, try method 2.

2. Get a new job

Keep your old job as you search for a new one.  Chronicle your accomplishments in a job journal.  Report to your boss every week on your progress at work even if he doesn’t want to see it.  Take the reports and put your greatest accomplishments in your resume.

Network, contact recruiters, apply to good jobs at good companies.  Set criteria for moving and when you find the job, move.

Something To Do Today

Seriously ask yourself, “Why haven’t I been promoted this week?  Why haven’t I gotten a raise or a bonus this week?”

Now write down in your job journal what you can do to get a promotion, raise or bonus as quickly as possible.

Will that make you happy?  Is that what you really want?  If yes, go do it.  If no, better figure out what you really should be doing.  There is no time like the present to change your life.  You get to be happier longer if you change today.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Perseverance, Quitting or Fired

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