The Right Fit: How to become the Obvious Choice
August 31, 2010
For the last couple of months, I’ve been speaking at ProNet Charlotte on the idea of “The Right Fit”. ProNet is a free career center for professionals located in Uptown Charlotte, NC. One day, AnnMarie Young, Chief Marketing Problem-Solver for ProNet, and I were talking about the dreaded phone call after an interview. You know the one where the recruiter calls saying, “You were an awesome candidate but we were looking for someone who’s a better fit.” Your response, “What the heck!”
Here’s the really interesting part. It the same kind of comment every business owner/salesperson hears when they don’t make the sale. So this question of “right fit” extends way past the job hunting situation. Accepting an offer, whether a job offer or buying a service or product, is based upon how we think it “fits with our need”. Acceptance hinges on believing it will make our life easier, better, more ..... Read More
Living Your Dreams - 8 Words To Success
July 27, 2010
Last week I spoke to a group of 6 th – 12 th graders. They were attending a one week college preparation course offered by the Charlotte Housing Authority called Raising The Bar . I speak to a lot of executives and leaders and there’s no harder crowd than 50 pre-teen and teenagers at 4:30 p.m. on a day where the temperature is hovering around 98 degrees. Talk about a tough crowd!
As a speaker, you don’t always know when you’ve done a good job. If you’re a parent with kids in this age group then you know just how hard it is to know whether they’re listening. Parenting, teaching and coaching are acts of faith. Every time you speak to someone you are taking a leap of faith that what you have to offer is just what they need. It’s like the song… “He may not come when you want but God is always on time.”
I started the speech saying, “you may not remember anything I have to ..... Read More
Declare Your Independence
June 27, 2010
On July 4, America will celebrate Independence Day. It's known as the day America told England we're taking our ball and bat and going away. And OBTW, we don't want to play by your rules anymore.
So as the week goes by what tyranny are you saying good bye to?
Here's my 5.
TV commercials, magazines and any other messages that say unless I’m a size 0 I’m not sexy or worthy of love.
Allowing others to define me. This week I don't want to hear anything about you're too upbeat, too straightforward, your personality is too big, or you're got the right stuff to make it but I'm not going to help you because you'll get it on your own. Oh this brings me to number 3.
I declare independence from back handed compliments. You know the veiled compliments that are really slaps. “You're so beautiful who would take you seriously in business?” Or “you’re so bold to let your natural gray show. Most ..... Read More
If Delivering Results Is the Goal… Why Are You Missing the Mark?
June 25, 2010
June is a great month. For many it’s a time of celebration. School’s out, vacations and family reunion season starts. But it is also a time when we are looking at our goals and our results over the first half of the year. Now I’m willing to bet if you’re reading you are either A) having a panic attack, B) thinking “I still have time – no worries or c) thinking “Goals: A painful exercise in futility”.
Achieving results or performance is a simple idea. But over the years, it has been complicated by frankly a lot of people selling products based on poor or bad science to a bunch of people who don’t know better. And that lack of knowledge on what works is costly. The Gallup Organization estimates businesses lose about $350 billion (yes BILLION) in productivity annually.
So what do the numbers mean to you? Well, according to Gallup’s survey of employee engagement about 54% ..... Read More
The Peter Principle Revisited
December 6, 2009
Do any of these comments sound familiar? Have you said them about someone? Have they been said about you?
“I’m working with a number of managers who just don’t have the right stuff to get the job done. With one of them, I’m trying to tell him how to manage his people and he just can’t get it. Ever heard of the Peter Principle? Well he’s the poster child for that concept.”
“They hired me to bring new skills and knowledge to this place. My boss doesn’t know anything about how to deliver on this project. She can’t teach me anything. So why doesn’t she just get out the way and let me do my job?”
“I got promoted because I am good. I know how to do this project but I can’t get my team to do what I want. We have meetings and I tell them what I want to have done until I’m blue in the face. They have a bunch of excuses as to why we ..... Read More
Is Sarah Palin A Poster Child for Success?
November 20, 2009
This week Sarah Palin’s books hit the market and talk about a fanfare! Whether you love her or hate her (and there are few who are in the middle) you have to admit she makes us all take a deep breath and ponder what does success means today .
On the one hand, she has a following in conservative groups because she says what they’re thinking and stands up to the “liberal media and liberal agenda”. Political movers and shakers in the Republican Party are all aghast that she just won’t go away quietly. And her book, which sounds like a tell all on the makings of a presidential candidate, is causing a firestorm of conversations.
So what are the lessons on success we can learn when you step out of the emotionalism surrounding her? Who really defines what is successful – the public, leaders in an organization or the person? After years of research we know success is defined by the individual. So…What ..... Read More
Knowing Success is Knowing Your Purpose
November 2, 2009
Most of my readers know in addition to being a coach I am a public speaker. My latest speech is entitled “Managing Your Career in a World of Chaos”. During the presentation I spend time engaging my audiences in what is driving the changes that are making it more difficult to live a great career and the 5 things they can do better manage their career. Although I’ve received great reviews one lingering questions keeps popping up on the review sheets. “How do I find clarity on my purpose and my passion?”
Most of us don’t think too deeply about these questions because on the surface it seems like a fairly easy question to answer. We often think our purpose is to serve others. But who should we serve, what do we have to offer and how would we know we’re doing well? If you can’t answer these questions then spend a little time reflecting on what are you passionate about and are you living the best life you can.
..... Read More
Is Your Sense of Well Being Undermining Your Success?
October 27, 2009
Is Your Sense of Well-Being Undermining Your Success?
We are so busy every minute of the day. We get a lot of things done. Most of the time we get some much done we think we’re doing fine.
But in the silence of your mind do you ever have those moments when you feel like you’re losing it? Are you totally overwhelmed, or feeling like everyone’s getting on your LAST RAW NERVE?
When you look back over the last month do you ever wonder how did I get it all done? Often times we simply just get it done and what doesn’t get done just wasn’t important right!?!
But what if the fact that you do get it all done is really undermining your success?
Medical costs for women are 68% higher than for a man. Those higher costs are due in part to the fact that we bear children. But the majority of the costs are associated with our stressful lives and the fact that we have taken on more that ..... Read More
Networking - 5 Tips to Keep Your Game on Point
September 11, 2009
Networking - 5 Ways to Keep Your Game on Point
We’re all looking to stay at the top of our game. After all, in these times it’s a high stakes game. But what does it mean to “Keep your game on point?” For some it’s about keeping a job or growing your career. For others it’s about living your dream life – smart, successful kids, healthy lifestyle and being in a loving relationship. No matter how you define “your end game”, what’s important is to know no one is ever successful without the help of others. Success is all about relationships. And building relationships is the number one reason to Network. So Like David Letterman’s Top Ten I’m going to give you my top 5 tips on how to keep your game on point.
5. Network –Like Nike - Just Do It! Truly successful people do it often. They're always building relationships that allow them to get ..... Read More
People Are Your Greatest Resources - Oh Really??
April 24, 2009
You can always tell what’s important to people by simply looking at what they spend time doing. The things and activities we don’t like we tend not to pay attention to and don’t spend much time on. Right? So then why do business leaders say people are their greatest resource in achieving and maintaining a competitive edge and yet spend the so little time investing in themselves and their employees?
Being polite most of the time, I can tell you it doesn’t win me any points with executives when I tell them I don’t believe them. But I’m here to say, the emperor has no clothes on. Ask yourself, over the last 10 days where have you spent your time? How much is it on cash flow, customer acquisition and retention, improving your supply chain? I’ll be you know exactly what your sales were for the last three months but do you also put the same level of meticulous effort on managing and developing people?
As a coach and former HR executive I’ve heard ..... Read More
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