A couple weeks ago, I wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post's Next Great Pundit contest. They received nearly 5,000 entries. I did not make the final cut this time around but I had fun doing it. The following is the piece I wrote.
(more)Although you have strong credentials and experience, you are not one of the people selected to move forward. Most likely sometime during your career these words or similar have been directed to you. At first, you are numb and react as professionally as you can but the truth is it hurts and takes the wind out of you. Provided it was a job, you were seriously interested in pursuing.
(more)There are all kinds of poop. Baby poop, oh they are so cute. Rabbit poop from little bunnies. Bird poop, very annoying on a clean windshield and the most egregious, dog poop. If you have ever stepped in it, this blog is for you. If not, your day will come.
(more)Every leader, in a decision-making situation, has two or three people they trust explicitly to provide them advice and counsel. These people are in the unique position to influence power. As such they themselves have power.
(more)In a tough economy with companies going under and others reducing staff, searching for a new job or your first job, for recent college graduates, is a challenge. One aspect of job search that I believe not enough people seriously consider is relocation. Companies are slow to hire and to limit your job search to one or two geographic areas is to do just that, limit your possibilities.
(more)The phrase "it is like watching sausage being made" has been used to describe the legislative process of the federal government. When I heard it used I was uncertain what was meant by the statement. What was there about making sausage that drew this comparison? I decided to learn more about how sausage is made.
(more)Many companies publish a statement of values to let their employees, customers, government, investors, community, etc., know the principles that guide how they do business. For example, doing the right thing and do what is right are expressed values of Southwest Airlines and Lockheed Martin, respectively. Wait these look the same. Am I confused? A lot of time, effort, thought and money went into developing these value statements yet, how different are they.
(more)One of the toughest jobs to fill in an organization is the top job. People have a strong opinion about the top person's leadership qualities and capabilities and the results achieved. If they believe the predecessor did a great job they will likely want someone with similar qualities. If not, they will seek the opposite. Either way, the choice is the same, someone inside, or someone outside the organization.
(more)You emerged at the end of a long interview process that involved many people, took several months and you were told an offer is coming. However, after a few weeks you are told that due to some changes in the company, they will not be filling the position, at least for the time being.
This reminds me of a Seinfeld episode when George was trying to dump his girlfriend and used the line "its not you it's me" to try to get out of the relationship. Is this what this company was doing?
(more)Let me tell you what happened to me this week said a woman to her friends at the table next to us. My boss called me into his office and told me "You are just not getting it done for me this year." Her friends were stunned. She went on to say it was especially hard to take given she had a great year the previous year. I thought how many people are hearing similar words this year about their job performance. I also wondered whether this boss was being fair.
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