Get out of the way, daddy wants to see the floats!

Are parades really for children?

Years ago I went to the parade for my small suburban town with a group of adults and kids. My son was just about to turn two so I figure he would enjoy the sounds and activity. Firetrucks, cheerleaders, candy and some well decorated floats.

I found myself filled with a sense of pride as the armed forces cars drive past; standing up taller, puffing out my chest.

I found myself evaluating the cheerleading squads and identifying the loose ones, one ones that should not be in skirts and really, how much energy do you have as you cheer for the cross-town game.

Six minutes past the leading police and fire department vehicles my two year old son is already board but was moderately entertained by the family next to us while I felt compelled to stay and keep watching. So I started to question, why do we really go to parades and why are we, as adults, so interested in them? 


Break down the different types of participants that were in there.

Social activity clubs from school (e.g. Football, soccer, rugby, band, cheerleading)

We are watching these in remembrance of our youth and in the hopes of what I child will be. One of the guys we were with leaned over to remind me about his great 'almost pro' freshman football experience, I revisited some amazing moments in gymnastics in grade school. This is the reflections of what we could do and remembering when people would be excited about what we do day to day, now we just work. With that I look down at my son and explain to him the significance of him playing baseball in the future and what it will mean to our time together when he is a boy schout; I am sure he was intently listening as he drooled in his stroller, fast asleep.

The Attention Whores (e.g. Homecoming king & queen, politically elected, candidates and clowns)

No, I don't see much difference in the people in that list, do you? These are the people who won't stand on the side lines and enjoy things, they need to have attention focused on them to enjoy the day. These are the people that will use the phrase "don't rain on my parade" because to them, that is it, MY parade, not OUR parade. They need to be dressed up with music, energy and entertainment because on their own, we wouldn't care. Their saving grace is they are normally tossing candy into the crowd.

The Pride Groups (e.g. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, religious groups, Millitary Forces, Fire and police)

They are the organizations that make us happy to be part of something greater, and if it isn't for us there is normally just a hushed underhanded comment. Otherwise you look at these groups with admiration and remind yourself you should get involved in helping the world more. Last is...

The Chance to Change Your Life (e.g. shriners, red hat society, church groups)

These are the 'now do something ADULT' options and you really should embrace them. These are the people that, at the core of their mission, are trying to better society in their view of beter. Isn't this the core of what we are as parents, people who now have a responsibility to better the world we are handing off? At least take a picture as a note to yourself to look at their website or calendar, that you really want to be a better person and make the place you live a better place.


Parade Announcers Take Note these are the reasons we go to parades, these are our thoughts as the participants pass. Put them in this order and help make your community a better community.


Parents get your kids from the first group as they finish the parade, distract them as you reverse up the parade route and they won't notice the attention whores and finally find a seat to show them the last two sets of participants. Then explain to them why it matters so much that they are involved, why you want to be involved and why we are going to come back next year to see this again.


See you after that last police car passes and we all flood the streets...

Alton Brown is Smarter Than Most CEOs and TV Personalities

My father will tell me over and over, 'If you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got.'

That goes for:

• falling off skateboard ramps
• talking to girls
• spending / saving money
• buying cars
• work & my career in just about every aspect.

Every time you change something, you impact the end result.  In business, we decide we are moving to quickly to look at WHAT we changed that made the difference and more concerned with fixing the fallout or basking in the adulation of the win. 

It is time to explore the use of a scientific tool in the business world with all the data already sitting in a corner waiting to be tapped. We have experiments, we just don't document them and often, people are not honest about the variables, effort and thus results.

So where can we look to for examples and variations?  The news is now digital, there are plenty of business articles & books out there and of course there are blogs, us spewing our minds from the perspective of what we have experienced.  With that in mind, I am going to make an effort to add more retrospective views on situations and the point I think they changed direction, the variable.  This is loose on the scientific part since the variables are plenty in daily life and we are focusing more on the research.

What is the scientific method at its core?

A seven step process to getting where you want to be.

1. Question; build your 'what if'.
2. Research; utilize what others already have learned/experienced.
3. Hypothesize; If we <insert change here> then <result> will happen.
4. Test; In business this is more of an implement/take risk idea.
5. Analyse and Conclude; Determine if your change got the desired result.
6. Proclaim the result; If your hypothesis was true state 'I knew it all along' or, conversely, 'Here is what I learned'. Don't take the easy way out and say I would have been right but something else made it happen different.
7. Report on it; Who cares if you learned something, add to the greater good of the knowledge that exists in this world.

Want a more detailed, simplified, actual version of the Scientific Method, check out ScienceBuddies to occupy a little more space in your brain. I was inspired that this method does apply to the office by a great research project that was done involving personal happiness and giving people envelopes of money covered on Ted.com.

Here is how the steps can apply more to business life and not just the IT guys in the corner, although some of them can use a refresher on the scientific method. (I'm talking to you Mr. 'we are going to have to re-image your laptop' for any damn problem.)

Step 1 Question Development

This is the day to day decision making we do at work. What if...

• we hire a less skilled member and train them instead of paying for a sales-pitched expert?
• send the team home early every so often?
• do just enough testing instead of being thurough?

You have these questions coming at you every part of the day, these are not the problem. It is identifying the one you want to learn & teach from and tracking it, documenting it and growing from it.

Step 2 Research

You have the internet right? So fire up your modem (anybody else hearing 9600 baud sounds in your head) and start typing away. Do the research on your phone while waiting for a train, sitting in the meeting nobody is on time for, whatever. Searching on what you would use as the headline for your report would be a good starting point. "Is it worth developing a skill instead of hiring it in?' might bring a few decent results from your search engine of choice... I tried it, it does... go ahead, verify it, I'll wait.

Satisfied, ok on to...

Step 3 Hypothesize

This is where you take your question, stack your research on top of it and proclaim you are going to use your environment to determine just how genius you are. So from the ones above I would have:

• IF I hire a less expensive, semi-skilled employee and train them then I will have a productive worker that cost less in the first 2 years than hiring that skill set in.
• IF the team leaves early on slow days and let them work remotely then I can increase morale and get more out of them on a regular basis.
• IF we test basic functionality then the additional, rarely used features will go unconfirmed but we would save time.

That seems pretty straight forward so on to the next item.

Step 4 Test

In the business world, this would mostly consist of implementing the change or observing what happens AS the decision has been implemented.  Your organizations is rarely going to let you set up a control group and a hypothesis group of employees to do the same job.  This is where we are going to be questioned by the scientific community on the validity of our results but this is the best measure we have right now or implementing change so we roll with it.

Step 5 Analyse & Conclude

Look back at your belief at the beginning, look at what happened, OK, now look at it again and be honest with yourself.  You are likely clouding your judgement so go ask somebody else to confirm they saw what you saw.  This is the point you have to be honest with yourself and say, 'meh, that didn't work', without giving yourself the option to dismiss it because of another variable.

Step 6 Proclaim Your Result

This may be a personal proclamation as in an email to yourself or a note stating a recognized behavior or a discussion at a team meeting.

Step 7 Report It

Figure out how you are going to do this during these experiments / learning exercises / growth opportunities.  It may be as simple as writing a blog entry or journal page about it or something as formal as a report to a superior or colleagues for their understanding.  This will give you some sense of finality to it and a growth for next time.

Cost to Business of the Scientific Method


To perform true experiments inside of a business structure would be significantly costly and not tolerated by stakeholders, executives and clients; that is what colleges are for. What I am proposing is use a similar approach, acknowledge the multiple variables but don't dismiss every problem as NOT MY FAULT. At the end of every corporate experiment do some documentation so you, and maybe others can learn from it.

Teach, Learn, Build Relationships at Work

Did you know there is somebody in your office that likes to collect gems, play the kazoo and ride a unicycle? There may be.

In the age of a mobile workforce, globally distributed teams and 'stay in your lane' organizations it is all that more important that we develop a persona/image within the organization.  (I HATE that phrase by the way and it deserves it's own conversation.)  Take an interest you have, discuss it amongst the people you talk to every day, it isn't important if you are the best, you are building a learning group here.

Why is this important?

Companies are product factories.  You take the information they have, use your smarts on them, create product, rinse repeat. For human enjoyment  (read: better work environment) we need to interact, build relationships and look forward to conversations beyond 'nice weather', and 'how is your work going?'.  When I am in the office/city with a few people that share my interest, I send them an email, come see them at their location and we talk about our topic and a little work.  This is networking for the sake of sanity.

OK, but what are good ideas?

I am the worst guitar player in our company potentially, but I talk to a group of guitar players weekly about what they are studying.   I know something about investing, but I have learned plenty from people I am talking 401k investing with, and researching topics so I can teach others.  Right now I am communicating around my new found passion for motorcycles and before that it was cycling.  I find people that are into both and want to talk to me about these passions as well.  Spending your day hearing about data can put you in a trance, break that up with a bit of a conversation about an upcoming ride and your day became much more interesting.  These become your driving conversation starter for coffee, lunch or a quick break.

Sample ideas:

investing/401k, fishing, knitting, brewing, cycling, motorcycles, musical instrument, computer building, foreign language.

I have discussed with HR departments about forming groups within the organization and have found most are OK with it as long as you avoid a few things.

• Don't use company funds for anything involved (buying them all lunch)
• Hold meetings / discussions on non-work impacting time (e.g. lunch or after work)
• Keep them aware of any HR relevant concerns that may happen during these events.
• Make it clear to those attending 'This is NOT a company sponsored/involved gathering.'

We want examples.

Figured you would...

1. Guitars - There are about five of us in my company who talk weekly about guitars, current lessons we are working on and equipment.  This is more of a relationship builder and a motivator to keep picking up the guitar that sits in the corner of the room that may otherwise be collecting dust. 
1. What I get from it - Motivation to keep practicing and people to bounce ideas off of in an interest to keep learning.  My life schedule doesn't allow for a weekly lesson schedule with a teacher.
2. What others get from it - Everybody likes to teach and show other how to do things.  Not to mention, it is great to find a group member that understands the passion for just picking up a stick & strings and making something flow from it.
2. 401k & Mutual Fund Investing - We have an email group that talks weekly on topics and meets monthly for lunch to decide topcis for the coming month.  We also offer a competitive environment where we track % change year-to-date to give a motivation to stay aware of your position and see where you relate to others.
1. What I get from it - I learn more about the topics I already know and am motivated to keep on top of my investment portfolio.  I have learned a few new topics as well that I was not aware of.
2. What others get from it - First, same as myself, they get the motivation to continue keeping on top of their 401k investments.  Second, they are learning to get better knowledge about something they have little experience about it. Third, people learn they are not alone in knowing just a little about this thing people say drives your future so much.

So there are some limitations, right?

Don't be afraid to be different, but do avoid trying to form the 'Left Handed, Left Leaning Financial Investors Club' or 'Bondage Fanatics Play Group' at work, they just cause to much exposure and are opposing topics.

Basically anything that is politically dividing or emotionally polarizing should be avoided, you don't need that kind of turbulence in your life or work environment.  While on the topic, don't allow gossip, conspiring or poor performance to be part of these topic groups.  There is no place for 'Did you hear about the blowout Manager X and Director Y had?', that is not part of your topic and not productive to a professional team.

Riding Your Motorcycle Through a Cubicle

You have a job, you do it every week but where are you going, where are you trying to take your bit of the organization? Declare you will get off your ass and make a difference by having destinations in mind. How many different things have we learned in life where they tell us 'look straight ahead', 'look where you want it to go', 'point and shoot'. The most recent one I have found is the logic in my motorcycle class and I have been applying it to many different situations in my life (e.g. ex-, raising a child, hobbies & improvement)

How learning to ride a motorcycle applies to your professional life... (the simple rule of cycling, business and life spelled out.

"Look where you want the motorcycle to go, don't look at the obstacles and look about 4 foot high, not at the ground."

So what does this mean to a man on a motorcycle? Don't look at the car opening his door, you are going to hit it. Don't look at your front tire, look off in the distance four feet up. Keep your head up, you will be amazed at what you catch if you trust your peripheral vision.


That is all well & good, but how do you apply it to business? Which of these sounds familiar:

• My email determines my todo list each morning.
• I figure out what I am going to do this week after our meeting.
• I have a stack of things on my desktop to take care of this week.
• I don't really plan my week, I fight fires.

You are a car pool passenger in a 1998 Ford Explorer! Technically you are getting somewhere but really, this is the least meaningful and least enjoyable way to spend the majority of your waking hours.

Wouldn't you rather feel the wind flow over your knuckles, feel the vibration of your career engine between your legs and know that the only way your course is going to change is your hands and body lean into the turn and change course?

Look where you are going is key; you can move around the everyday and delegate with more confidence if you know where you are headed. I recommend a four key behaviors.

1) WEEKLY - Reserve one of those nifty little conference rooms your company paid so much to have loaded with technology and $600 chairs. When you schedule the meeting call it something entertaining like 'mid-April documentation kick-off', especially if you have to reserve it with somebody else. (*for those that work from home / hotels, wipe erase markers work great on mirrors too)

What to do in there : scribble words, lines and links... then take pictures of it.

1. Write any key projects / efforts you are (want to be) working on.
2. Write 2 words for each responsibility you have.
3. Any dream idea that comes to mind gets a space up there too.

Don't know how to mind map? Check out some great resources including IQMatrix for a primer, Mind Tools, which has an available computer tool to use or iMindMap, sit back and absorb it in the below video and then check out the group that is taking mind mapping to the next level, ink factory.

2) QUARTERLY ISSOLATION - Go into isolation. Hop on Priceline, bid on a room near you at 50% of what it retails for, pack yourself an overnight bag (including 2 notepads, pencils, pens, scotch tape and your toothbrush) and do some great work. Leave these items at home / in the trunk: phones, tablet and laptops. You want to be alone for a block of time where you are forced to think, write, think, summarize, rinse, repeat. The ideal here is to be writing out project plans, meaning of life statements, how you invision the perfect anything... That is where this blog started from, some of the neatest projects on my teams and some of the major changes in my life happened this way.

I actually keep my personal phone with me but only listen to the voice mails left and only respond to texts that say 'I'm starting to worry are you alive?', with a response of, 'Yes, at a industry conference.' Try different areas of the hotel for inspiration, the pool area, lobby, the bathtub in your room, if they have an unoccupied conference room, business center, banquet room... I recommend staying out of the bar. Start Mind Mapping however you want, about anything. I have a few of them going at once. And you did 'disconnect' yourself so leave the damn TV off. As you are writing, create a list of follow up items to research or act on once you are reconnected. Arrange your note pages on walls with the tape you brought for browsing. Break up your time in increments... (e.g. 60 minutes random brain storming, 15 minute organization, 30 minute focused storm, new location, 30 minutes focused storm on another topic, 60 minutes random storming, new location....)

3) VALUE WHITE BOARDS - I love these things, they work like my mind.... idea over hear, great idea there, now something great in blue, another thought in red, erase the just OK options, continue. The key is to not let these become semi-permanent. These are tools to get what is in your (individual or the groups) thoughts out for display. They are to be organized elsewhere so rogue cleaning crew or other great minds don't erase what you have on the board without you having it somewhere. I take pictures using my camera phone and block out 30 minutes after a meeting to put them in electronic format.

4) GO UNDERCOVER BOSS ON THEM - I managed a 3 shift operation and would occasionally work 2nd or 3rd shift to see what they were doing during these shifts, also, what happened during 1st shift they felt they needed to call me about. I learned what I had not prepared my team to do and what training / methods were not being communicated from shift to shift. I have found some dead weight this way, I have also discovered a rock star or two but mostly what I have learned is every team can improve.

"You can teach smart people to do just about anything." I read that quote recently and fully believe it. With all the information work we do, we need to reorganize the shelves in our mind, find the gem we need to put into action and make sure we are feeding our soul with what we are doing. Look forward using these four tools to enhance your perspective and take control of your team, your focus and your happiness.

Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is, Invest Conciously

F' it, be a Conscious Investor

The depth of my investigation into a fund/stock is often limited but I do like to think I invest with some moral guide points.

I invest in U.S. Organizations when the economy is having issues and internationally when we are doing good. First, for the bounce back effect gaining me larger profits and second, we like to help an underdog. This is a reasonable risk, not 40:1 odds.

I tend to pick more small- and mid-cap funds which provide for developing businesses.

I don't limit myself to companies I will or won't invest in but I am a big fan of segment based investing (e.g. Technology, pharmaceutical) which is why I am disappointed to see we are heavily limited this year in our options for industry specific funds in many company 401k offerings.

Fund fees (what the fund manager is taking as payment) are limited as far as a 401k is concerned due to restricted options… but if I am debating two funds, I do take this into consideration.

So, yes, I let my conscience talk to my checkbook during evaluations because I want to know that I am not tied to 'Baby Labor, Inc.' because a big win for me is meaningless without some positive impact on the world. That being said, I will not invest in the 'Sinking Environmentally Friendly Fund'.

Mutual Fund 401k Basics

Front Page Information (the basics)

Mutual funds are investments made up of smaller investments inside based on the focus of the mutual fund. A fund is managed by the a fund manager (Fidelity) and a group of people at the company are responsible for adding and removing stocks to the mutual fund based on the purpose of the fund and stock performance. Then, they take your money in the fund and automatically invest it for you.

Large Cap (4 options) Funds that invest in big corporations, generally they have a value of $8 million or more. Generally these are the big, steady companies which will not have huge growth in performance but are less volatile. They invest in companies like Apple, Exxon, Discover, Google, Red Hat.

Mid Cap (3 options) Funds that invest in companies valued between $1 million and $8 million. They invest in companies like Microsoft, Best Buy, Abercrombie & Fitch, Oracle.

Small Cap (3 options) Generally invest in companies with a value under $1 million. These are going to be more active as far as value because companies will grow quickly or die in most cases. They invest in companies like Regis, Wesco, Spectrum Brand Holdings, Team Health Holdings. Most you will not be familiar with.

International (2 options) Mutual funds that invest in company stocks around the world.

Specialty (1 option) Specific categories to invest in. The only option here is an investment in real estate organization's stock funds.

Blended (many options) This is the auto-pilot option, pick the year you expect to retire and the Fidelity team adjusts the risk of the fund as it approaches your retirement. (e.g. They search for large gains from higher risk options while you are in your 20s & 30s. As you Are in your 50s the fund focuses on steady, small growth.)

Income (1 option) This is a bond investment option of Corporate bonds. More secure in troubled times than stock investments but also limited in gains based on this.

Short-Term Investments (1 option) This is a Money Market account, safe, secure, akin to a savings account.

I used the Fidelity website & Yahoo Business pages as reference for this.

Book Review Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business by Patrick Lincioni

If you have anything to do with meetings and people, read this book. It really doesn't take that long to read and while I am still out on the entire 'fictional story to explain a business concept', this one has stuck with me since I first read the book a few years ago.

This book breaks it down for WHAT you should be expected to bring to each meeting and what you should expect to get out of each meeting. From an organizational perspective, it also has encouraged me to do two major time changing things in my life, a) I will not hold a meeting without publishing an agenda first and then following it up with a notes/action items email and b) I will gladly refuse to attend a meeting without a published agenda. I now recoup about 4-5 hours a week regularly because of this and am starting a behavior pattern that will hopefully improve the organization.

Book Review: The Hamster Revolution

The Hamster revolution by Song, Halsey & Burress

I want to say something good about this book, about how I have taken some of the core concepts to heart or maybe that it inspired me to start writing better emails but I can't. Heck, I would even like to tell you this book (being the 3rd of this kind I have read) was not the one that convinced me I do not need to read any more of these professional improvement books that boarder on manipulating story rather than conversation about the topic.

Here are the details in a nut-shell:

• Lead by example, write better emails and people will follow
• Kindly correct your colleague's emails, make subjects clearer and summarize their points
• Drop the crap, no more 'It would be our department's utmost pleasure to assist you' and other political crap. You know it is crap when you get it, others know the same. Help me be productive or you are really just a barrier towards my goals for the day.
• Provide & encourage private feedback on emails and pre-reading of drafts by an extra set of eyes.

This isn't world changing news, get the rose sunglasses off, realize the people you interact with would rather have things happen properly and efficiently than get their egos stroked. If there is a meeting at 2 PM tomorrow to discuss process improvement in our department that is all you need to say. I do not need to hear the inspirational essay that you want to base the new direction on or the epiphany you had that revealed all things wrong while vacationing with your family in some lake resort town 4 hours away. I need:

2 PM tomorrow we have a brainstorming meeting where we will identify:

1. Hindering processes that prevent us from being the best
   
2. New opportunities to serve our customers
3. Time frames for removal, change or implementation of these new processes.
4. Individual responsibility for driving each of these within the group.

Now onto the story format for professional books.

I can easily appreciate that you need to stand out in the market and being just another boring dead tree with page after page of a)fact b) discussion of fact is not going to get you written up as a breath of fresh air but these are getting goofy. I was with them on the concept of the newly hired executive because I always wondered what went on in those conversations at the top levels of management. I dug the idea of the film student, inspired by his craft, to reshape meetings. (If you do not know what books I am talking about, I will get the reviews out if they are not hear already.) But a stinkin' hamster walks into office? The is more an opening to a sad, politically correct joke to replace the 'A walks into a bar' of my father's generation than a motivational texts opening. Completely ridiculous and screams 'buy me and take me home, I am more than a book to scan at your local Borders while sipping your latte.' I almost want to do the library I borrowed this from a favor and use it to start my next bonfire with it. Three author's and this is the best opening they came up with? I hope your other works are better.

Comments on the current state of India in Time June, 2006

This is an old magazine that I finally pulled out of the drawers and read through. The information is now a year old so there were only a few things I wanted to take out of it.

Initiative represents Bombay's- and India's- advantage over its competitors "it's people who make countries, not governments".

The above quote sticks with me because it may very well be what gives any one group an advantage over another. If we think back on the history of America we had one advantage over the rest of the world, we took initiative and did things. This can be said too for just about anything from a high-school that invests heavily in its football team to an individual that suddenly finds themselves ahead of everybody they once associated with... the only difference is somebody took initiative and did it first.

So now the question becomes, can they keep it and how do we make sure we are able to ride their wave of initiative? Change, change what you do, change professions, find an open market and feed it. This is so important because taking a chance is what America has been known for (Think Wild West) and good or bad, we need to drive change, not just ride it. Act as an individual if you must but drive the society and have others help you move change through new initiatives.

---

Globombed (by Wipra): Outsourcing of a job. I used to work for a NOC in California but it was globombed and I relocated my family here to Texas and I now work in a Data Center.

---

We realized no one was going to descend from the heavens to solve our problems, and we were going to have to do it ourselves.

Anything I could say about this comment is already said in the first section.

Book Review: Leadership and Self-Deception

Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute

This is the best opener to a way of changing how you think about professional conflict and common goals. The only problem this book has in my opinion is the closing conversation talks about additional learning the lead subject must undergo. As the reader, I was rather disapointed these additional lessons are not in print anywhere.

I always struggle between the cut-throat 1980's image of American business and the Eastern philosophies that interest me so much. I look at some of the things we do on a regular basis and have to ask 'why?' Things this book is not saying:
Business needs more heart
Ill gotten gains will rot your soul
Getting ahead is not about leaving people behind

360 Degree Leadership

1. Lead yourself exceptionally well (emotionally, time, priorities, energy, thinking, few words, personal life)
2. Lighten the bosses load, do your job well
Tell others (upward) what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
Go the extra mile
3. Do what others won't
4. Do not manage, Lead
Facilitate change
5. Relationship/Chemistry
Know their priorities
Prep for meetings 10x
Clarify purpose to speed progress

1. Do the tought jobs
2. Pay your dues
3. Work in obscurity
4. Succeed with difficult people
5. Put your self on the line, not them or the company.
6. Make no excusses.
7. Do more than expected
8. Help others
9. Never say that is 'not my job'
10 Take responsibility.

U.S. Companies that fully Embrace ITIL

• Procter & Gamble
• Shell Oil
• Visa

ITIL V3 Books coming soon...

Vol I Introduction to ITIL
Vol II Service Support
Vol III Planning to implement Service Management
Vol V ICT Infrastructure Management
Vol VI Application Management
Vol VII Security Management
VolVIII Software Asset Management
Vol IX Business Perspective
Vol X ITIL Small-Scale Implementation

Money Magazine Corporate Ladder Quiz

1. You've just taken a new job in an unfamiliar organization and are anxious to make a good impression and rise quickly. The best way to do this is to:

Results: The best answer is b, because people who solve problems get noticed for all the right reasons. Ignoring the political climate altogether as in c, is unwise, because you'll never be able to anticipate an enemy you don't see. Meanwhile, a is even riskier. Become too embroiled in office intrigue and you tend to overlook a crucial fact: The people who have clout now may not have it later, or vice versa. Why choose sides now?

2. You've come up with a great idea for cutting costs, boosting efficiency, or improving customer satisfaction, but you've described it to your boss, and she just doesn't seem interested in pursuing it. You:

Results: The best answer is c -- not only is it the most likely to persuade your immediate boss, but even if she tries the idea and it flops, the approach makes her an ally you could keep for life. Don't go with b; it's just an excellent way to shoot yourself in the foot. And a shouldn't even cross your mind: Power is never achieved without a quality Reardon calls "relentlessness" -- an unwillingness ever to take "no" for a final answer.

3. A manager one level above you does you a very big favor--for example, saves you from a layoff or puts in a good word for you that helps you get your dream job. Your response is to:

Results: If you chose b, you're well on your way to understanding the secret handshake: People in power rarely get there, or stay there, by losing sight of who helped them along the way. That's why a is just not sufficient. As for c, it's downright dangerous: Never let anyone pressure you into returning a favor, even a very big favor, if it involves an ethical or moral lapse or could otherwise damage your career or reputation.

4. In a meeting with several of your peers and a few people more influential than you are, someone makes a pointed remark that might--or might not--be construed as a significant criticism of your work. You:

Results: By far the most effective way to handle this is b, but make sure to keep the conversation brief, brisk, and businesslike, and listen carefully without getting whiny or defensive. The only way c will help is if your peers know more than you do about what's going on and whose stock is up or down -- and if they do, that's a bad sign right there. And, to be frank, a is for losers.

5. You're a middle manager now, but you hope someday to be CEO. Your natural inclination is to base your decisions on the consensus of the group. In order to prepare yourself to move up, you:

Results: The best answer here is a, followed by b. In her book, Reardon identifies and describes in detail four distinct leadership styles, with most managers having some characteristics of each. In some companies, she writes, "the most effective leader is one who doesn't appear to be leading at all." Figure out what is the most widely respected style in your particular organization -- and, if the people at the top approach leadership in a radically different way than you do, consider moving to another company. Square pegs do occasionally fit into round holes, but the higher you go, the less likely that becomes.

Top 10 "Boss Gifts"

* Let friendship develop, don't force it

* allow employees to demonstrate reliability without oversight

* address conflict

* remain modest

* be decisive

* reflect before making decisions

* delegate

* maintain steady energy level

* be open to influence

* be professional

Then emphasize how many of the traits on the surveyed employees' "wish" list that your boss does possess:

* Trust in one's employees

* Honesty/authenticity

* Great team-building skills

* Effective coaching skills

* The ability to say "no"

* A broader perspective

* Patience

* Decision-making skills

Career Advancement Without Experience

Published:	August 9, 2006
Author:	Julia Hanna

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5471.html

Stretch work strategies

The researchers identified four successful tactics for obtaining stretch work that were common to both groups:

• Differentiate competence. Anyone hoping to advance must distinguish his or her performance on the job. This is particularly true, however, for contract workers—because they are paid for each short-term job, their employers are likely to subject their work to close, frequent evaluation.
• Acquire referrals. Because high-tech contractors tend to work with a number of clients, brokers, and fellow contractors, they enjoy a broader social network from which to draw referrals than most permanent employees. In the film industry—where most hiring is done based on a production manager's previous experience with an individual—referrals are a vital aspect of getting any job, particularly if it stretches a worker in a new direction.
• Framing and bluffing. "This is one of the most creative attributes for obtaining stretch work," O'Mahony notes. "People who are good at presenting their prior experience in a way that allows for an easy translation to the desired job can narrow the gap between their past experience and future capabilities." Adopting a hybrid job title to identify oneself—"director-screenwriter," for example—can also help establish authority in more than one area.
• Discounting. Accepting pay below the market rate is a temporary disadvantage some contract workers are willing to accept, if it means gaining the experience and exposure that will lead to a new position. One technical writer put it this way: "I turned down solid offers from three companies, all paying over $100K a year…I would take a job at $55K if they're using a totally new technology so I learn something…It's like playing pool…You hit the green ball with the white ball, and the point is to place the white ball to get the next shot. So I take that job in order to learn skills for my next project."

Creating a Positive Professional Image

Q&A with:

Laura Roberts

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4860.html

Q: What are the steps individuals should take to manage their professional image?

A: First, you must realize that if you aren't managing your own professional image, someone else is. People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace. It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish.

Be the author of your own identity. Take a strategic, proactive approach to managing your image:

Identify your ideal state.

• What are the core competencies and character traits you want people to associate with you?
• Which of your social identities do you want to emphasize and incorporate into your workplace interactions, and which would you rather minimize?

Assess your current image, culture, and audience.

• What are the expectations for professionalism?
• How do others currently perceive you?

Conduct a cost-benefit analysis for image change.

• Do you care about others' perceptions of you?
• Are you capable of changing your image?
• Are the benefits worth the costs? (Cognitive, psychological, emotional, physical effort)

Use strategic self-presentation to manage impressions and change your image.

• Employ appropriate traditional and social identity-based impression management strategies.
• Pay attention to the balancing act—build credibility while maintaining authenticity.

Manage the effort you invest in the process.

• Monitoring others' perceptions of you
• Monitoring your own behavior
• Strategic self-disclosure
• Preoccupation with proving worth and legitimacy

PM Network Vol 20 Notes

PM Network Vol 20, 4: April 2006 p. 24

Behavioral interview

- ‘past behavior is the best predictor of future success’

- Themes like success failure and focus on topics such as persuasion, conflict management and interpersonal relations.

- Create story around accomplishments

- Beginning (restatement of prob) middle (actions you took) and end (result)

Panel interview

- Prioritization and demands

- Answer in order

- ‘I’d be happy to answer but if you don’t mind, I’d like to answer this other question first.’

- Expect follow up questions

Case interview

- Analyze business problem, hypothetical

- Define problem and explain process for solving it

PM Network Vol 20, 4: April 2006 p. 39

More persuasive	They’re able to argue and convince others of a particular viewpoint
More outgoing	They’re more talkative and noisy
More innovative	They’re ready with lots of ideas
More achieving	They set higher goals for themselves
Less modest	They’re ready to talk up their own achievements
Less conventional	They want to do things differently.

PM Network Vol 20, 4: April 2006 p. 46

Change Management activities

Quantitatively benchmark the assumptions so that progress made toward setting realistic expectations can be measured. Rate the problems by strongly disagree to strongly agree

_ the implementation will be difficult

_ my job will be easier after the implementation

_ the project change will make my job more secure

_ I expect a few problems in the first few weeks

_ consumers will see the change’s benefit almost immediately

_ we will not have to work as much overtime

_ we will be more confident that stock is available when we take an order

_ the changes have nothing to do with me

PM Network Vol 20, 4: April 2006 p. 64

Inverted pyramid style of communications for update

Punch line: Most critical concern is stated, “Eighty five percent of the testing worked”

Current status: “The project is 10 days behind”

Next steps: tell not only the problem but the solution. “We can recover three days of the delay but not all five if Bill Smith works overtime for a week.”

Explanation: “We did the tests but it didn’t work as planned.

PM Network Vol 20, 4: April 2006 p. 66

Ask the right questions in beginning or evaluating a project

- What specific corporate strategy or business initiative is the project linked to?

- What value does the project provide?

- What are the measures for quantifying the success of the project?

- What are the shutdown conditions of the project?

- What are the implications of doing nothing?

PM Network, Vol 20, 5: May 2006 p. 20

Building a better relationship with authority

- Listen to your leader’s heartbeat; hallway conversations & dreams personally and professionally.

- Know your leader’s priorities

- Catch your leader’s enthusiasm; promote their dreams and visions

- Connect with their interests

- Understand their personality; opposite opinion is OK as long as goals and values match up.

- Earn their trust; positives fund the account, negatives detract.

- Work with their weaknesses; identify these and provide a balance to them.

PM Network, Vol 20, 5: May 2006

Risk management

Is it financially stable and secure? Look at balance sheet for risk tolerance.

Can current business operations continue alongside forward-looking project work without substantial disruptions to either? Evaluate project on impact to other projects and ongoing operations.

What are the to-level execs tolerance for risk and commitment to completion? Support of sponsors who are likely not to leave or strong, multi-exec support.

PM Network, Vol 20, 5: May 2006 p. 76

Leader of the Pack

1. How do you interact with people on a regular basis?
2. Are you negative or critical?
3. Do you empower others or try to micromanage and control?
4. Do you try to develop and support people?

ORFALEA CENTER FOR GLOBAL & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SPECIAL EVENT: Former President William J. Clinton and Entrepreneur Paul Orfalea

For those that are interested, this was a rather interesting conversation on globalization and you can watch the web-cast as a replay. This is a good conversation on many things about global business and U.S. relationships. While I try not to be political here, had this conversation occurred prior to his campaigns, I would have voted for him... Ofcourse, President Clinton would not have had the knowledge or foresight to discuss these topics without this experience.

The best I can do here is paraphrase him until I am in a place where I can rewatch the broadcast but the statement was something to the effect: Do not overlook philosophic thought and possible facts due to your blind grasp on your ideology. Thank you, thank you, thank you for somebody in the political world finally saying it is OK to change your position if the facts in front of you have changed. This should hold for most things in your life as well.

All professionals should be encouraged to change their minds and be able to relay the reasoning for such a decision. An unchanged position submerges an individual to far into their ideology to think clearly about advancement. While changing your mind is a good think, you must be able to provide the reasoning for it as well. If you can not provide a process logic to reach the new destination the philosophical logic is not sound and a lack of supporting evidence makes your perspective easily dismissable as ideological fodder instead of deductively reasoned logic.

Time Off and Representing Yourself

While I have been absent, I have not forgotten about my blog. There was a bit of complication regarding my M.B.A. and I had to retake a class which occupied time so I could not read anything recently.

Next1Up's advice for people, remember that all your text on the internet will eventually become searchable. Remember to represent yourself in the best possible light by expressing yourself professionally and supporting arguments if you want to state a contrary opinion. Most of the people in this make-up class were remedial enough in their writing that it would be hard for me to grant any of them an interview. Limited knowledge of a topic, lack of supporting information and failure to abide by the rules of grammar made philosophical discussions with them impossible. I wish them the best and I hope they grow in their respect for themselves to improve their professional image.

Speaking of professional image, the holidays are hear and my advice is watch your consumption. Company/Customer Holiday parties are not the place to get drunk, go to the bar afterward with a group if that is your desire but regardless of what you hear, these impressions stay with people. This goes the same for anybody that accompanies you. My advice extends into the food as well. Eat something before you get there so you can spend your time talking with everybody instead of shoving your face with appetizers made of contents you have not heard of.