Over the years I have researched and tried several models and success formulas. Some were very simple and involved little more than doing a good job and waiting to be noticed. (That never worked for me) Then there are the very complex models that are a compilation of traits of those who have achieved success. […]

This week the news media focused on the threatened government shutdown. Politics aside there were some great strategies and tactics employed by all sides to advance their goals. Soon you will see subtle variations of these strategies and tactics in the workplace. The political arena is the crucible where the art of organizational and personal […]

Hard work and perseverance are the bricks and mortar of building a successful career, but being able to attract and accept opportunities are the construction cranes that lift you to new heights. There are endless number of success stories of people being in the right place at the right time, and securing a ticket to […]

Strategy, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy deals with how one event affects others. Once only thought of as a military process, strategic planning is now a common political and business term. In its purest sense strategy looks at how elements are linked and provides a high level plan to achieve a goal. Until recently military strategies were […]

An ideal company considers the interests of the employees when making decisions that may affect their status or careers. This seldom happens in these days of lay offs and down sizing. Businesses say they are fighting for their very survival by cutting staff. Truth is that most companies are doing just fine. The economic downturn […]

Even leaders can gain from a mentor and mentoring comes in many forms. I am becoming a fan of the TV show Survivor. In many respects it is a microcosm that reflects leadership strategies. In my opinion the game of resembles the workplace. There are teams that compete against each other while each individual is […]

Are you the go to person in your office? There always seems to be someone in the office who is the go to person. No matter what the question, problem or task this person seems to be able to come up with a workable solution. Although valued for their knowledge and skills, they usually do […]

: Just being yourself should be good enough, but look at most successful people and you may notice they work very hard to present a desired image. Either consciously or subconsciously we all adopt the language and mannerisms of those that impress us. Just think of how many slang words and expressions have been added […]

This week I engaged in a discussion on how to best to demonstrate self-confidence.  Before we even got started there was a big discussion on what self-confidence really is.  The difference came down to the comparison between two widely held definitions.   The classic dictionary definition – confidence in oneself and in one’s powers and abilities, […]

The main reason we go to work is to make money. One of the primary goals of most workers is to increase their income. In most jobs pay increases come from raises and promotions. In theory the better we become at our jobs the more valuable we are to the organization. This especially true of […]

The stock market took a nosedive Friday (01/28/2011) and all reports pointed to the unrest in Egypt as the root cause. This made me stop to think that if the stock market can be affected by seemly-unrelated political events could there be a link between Egypt’s political unrest and US careers? Looking back over my […]

Most of us focus only on salary when negotiating our employment packages, but it is worth your time to evaluate what perks may be worth to you in both money and quality of life. There is more pressure than ever for businesses to hold down costs, with special emphasis on wages. It may be easier […]

With limited space, theaters use marquees to advertise what is showing. Often there are pictures or scenes from the production and short text messages to give an idea of what the show is about. The content on the marquee is chosen carefully to entice expectations and boost ticket sales. Your reputation is your marquee and […]

One of the most common overestimations we make is our ability to communicate effectively. Most of us have been communicating since birth to get our message across to others. An infant almost instinctively learns to get mother’s attention when hungry, in need of maintenance or attention. Usually this involves making an annoying noise (crying) until […]

The first couple weeks of the New Year are good time to examine your career goals and strategies. Taking time to reflect on how things went last year may give some ideas of teaks to be made to be more effective in the ongoing pursuit of established goals. Often just a small change in attitude […]

Among the many New Year Resolutions you make this year improving your  networking and interpersonal skills should be near the top of the list. Developing  a strong social and professional network of friends and associates is essential to    achieving most of your career goals. Almost everything you want in the workplace  depends on other […]

Making New Year Resolutions is a tradition for most of us. It is sure the hot    media topic for the swing week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. While the  mood of Christmas puts most of us in a festive mood, it also causes most of us to  be reflective on personal and professional […]

If the question “Should I attend the holiday office party?” even rises to a    conscious level you may have more issues than just the office party. Depending on your office culture, office parties may vary from very wild to    extremely dull. Most fall somewhere in the middle. Very few office parties leave  office […]

There is a lot of conventional wisdom and advice that says to be successful you must set goals and work hard to achieve them. Although setting goals and hard work may be essential to success, there seems to be something missing. Others add that you should have a plan to achieve your goal, a map […]

Many of us are caught up in situations that are less than ideal, and sometimes Thanksgiving highlights the negatives rather than accentuating the positives. So instead of giving thanks for all we have, we dwell on the negatives. Perhaps I am an idealist and think that Thanksgiving should be like a Norman Rockwell setting in […]