Work, success, and meaning at every stage of your career
A fascinating article appeared in Fortune Magazine online this week. It describes a document issued during WWII and declassified in the 1970s. It had been published in 1944 by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, the agency that preceded the CIA. It remained buried in obscurity until a few years ago when a consultant named … Continue reading How to Sabotage Meetings Like a Pro
The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who are on time, and those who are always late. Sociologists have actually studied lateness as it relates to cultures all over the world. Whole countries can be classified according to their perception of time and lateness. Traditionally, cultures are divided into monochronic (where time … Continue reading Be Late for Something Day is September 5 – oops.
Technology is changing at such a rapid pace that some economists have predicted the “end of employment.” Computers are able to do many of the functions that humans used to perform, from security and crime fighting to journalism. (Many of the routine game summaries you read in the sports section are actually written by software … Continue reading Race Against the Machine
One of the most common phrases you’ll hear in a job interview is the ubiquitous “I’m a team player.” Like any personal quality, “team player” falls on a spectrum, but almost no one talks about it that way. This is one of those characteristics where one end of the spectrum is good and the other … Continue reading Are You a Team Player?
As a career coach, I’ve met people who couldn’t understand why they hadn’t achieved the success they thought they deserved. In some cases, they are sabotaging their own success. Are you making any of these career mistakes?
I’ve been waiting to see what happens when Generation Selfie and the Working Establishment collide. This story was inevitable.
The title says it all; everything you think you know about rewards is wrong. What Kohn calls “pop behaviorism” is ruining performance at home, in school, and at the office.
Pink writes that both in sales and ordinary human interactions, people aren’t likely to be persuaded by your reasons. No matter how compelling your argument, they essentially must persuade themselves to buy, change, or take action.
One complaint I consistently hear from jobseekers is how brutal the application process can be. Candidates often put in hours of research and editing time to make sure their resume is targeted to the position. Most online application systems are slow and complex to navigate. And after all that effort, most companies don’t even acknowledge receiving the application.
Pink’s premise for To Sell is Human is that “Yes, one in nine Americans works in sales. But so do the other eight. Whether we’re employees pitching colleagues on a new idea, entrepreneurs enticing funders to invest, or parents and teachers cajoling children to study, we spend our days trying to move others. Like it or not, we’re all in sales now.”
Your Work, Your Way 