Articles

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

Some career experts say that the day you start a new job you should begin planning for your next job. And you know what? You should! Just make sure that you stay focused enough on the job you were hired for that you succeed and excel in that position before looking for the next one.

Surefire Ways Not to Get Promoted
1. Don't plan your day. Go to work each day without a plan in mind.
2. Do the minimum. Have the attitude of "they don't pay me for that."
3. Rely on your current base of knowledge. No need to learn new skills.
4. Voice your complaints. Be vocal about what you don't like at work.
5. Don't share the credit. Put your name alone at the top of successful projects.
From Dr. Donald E. Wetmore's The Productivity Institute

Promotions are not a given. It used to be that workers progressed along specific career paths during their careers, but the impact of technology, globalization, and flatter organizational structures, has changed that paradigm. Today, employees have to create and manage their own career paths -- through one or multiple organizations. And remember that a promotion is not always an upward path. Sometimes -- especially in today's business environment -- you may need to make a lateral move to position yourself for a later upward move.

How do you develop your promotion plan? Incorporate these 10 strategies into your plan.  Continue Reading »

By Valarie Washington

Leadership is a set of actions and the demonstration of skills that helps one build strong working relationships, inspire team collaboration, and influence others to great RESULTS.

These five strategic actions will firmly establish you as a leader and help you position your team or organization for success.

1. PREDICTING
The faster change is predicted, the slower change appears, so leaders must be able to identify the trends that will affect where "we" are today and what "we" must do to ensure our success tomorrow.

Predicting trends means recognizing patterns, signs, and signals of change and then using the information to develop possible scenarios for the future. The act of predicting allows leaders to focus on opportunities and plan responses rather than simply reacting to problems as they arise.

2. VISIONING  Continue Reading »

Getting what you want out of life takes more than talent and persistence. You must know when to break with convention and which rules can be broken as part of the journey. There’s no need to be ruthless or arrogant in order to achieve this. However, you must be willing to challenge conventional wisdom and to do whatever it takes. when I first began studying successful people, I realized that their strategies could work for me, too. So set about your journey with these ideas in mind.

Find Your Passion

Many people start out with a passion – a dream – and then spend their lives pursuing it. Others take the time to notice the activities that bring them joy or excitement along the way. There are several steps you can take to determine where your passion lies.  Continue Reading »

How many careers would you say you have had to date? One? Two or more? In America, our parent’s generation seldom considered changing careers. The career model for their time was to join a company, work their way up through the ranks by virtue of promotions and retire with a great pension. Loyalty to the company was the byword, with an expectation that this quality would be valued by the company. At their retirement party, they might even get a gold watch and be sent on their way to care-free golden years. Changing careers was not even on the radar screen for most professionals back then.

Today, companies see a potential issue if a professional has not changed careers at least once. By careers I mean moving from one field to another, or moving to different industries and functional positions within a field.  Continue Reading »

Clarity of vision is a key component and critical success factor to achievement of your dreams. We often embark on our life’s journey simply moving from day to day without a specific plan or even written goals and objectives. As you move through the days and hours you find that the years skip merrily along, while the days take their toll. Without a plan you simply accept and react to daily events without the merest idea of how you attract people and events. Wandering from moment to moment in reactive mode you awake one day wondering how your life evolved into the unacceptable reality and existence you dislike so much. Another moment passes and you find yourself in another decade of your life wondering how you got there. You are like a ship adrift without a map, without a purpose, without a destination. You wonder “is there still time? Can I still achieve my dreams? What were my dreams? Were they my dreams or the dreams of another? Is it still possible to reach my destination?”  Continue Reading »

When you are in a leadership position, honesty and integrity are infinitely more important than the words you say. These two traits are as important to your survival as air, food, and water. Honesty and integrity, in addition to being fundamental ethical values, are core business leadership competencies, particularly in these post-Enron, post-WorldCom days. A critical necessity for these competencies is the tone at the top. What is the character of the leadership team? Once this is determined, expect the organization’s culture to follow suit. Often leaders don’t realize how closely they are being watched by their staf , customers and suppliers. Just about every organization sets out information on its mission, vision, and values – perhaps on its Website, perhaps in its marketing materials....
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They’ve always been a very special group in that they arrive with lots of energy and ambition. We’re finding that the Gen Y MBAs have a need to plug-in to an organization in a meaningful way. - Leah Reynolds, national practice leader for Total Reward Communication, Deloitte Consulting, LLP.

They are entering the workplace with high expectations, a keen eye for global-ization, are highly connected and bring innovative, creative ideas. They have never known a world without microwaves and connectivity, and World War II is ancient history, well in the past. Unlike previous generations they question au-thority and technology is the equivalent of a light switch. It’s expected...
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Confidence: The word conjures up images of self-assurance and belief in ones’ self. Self-confidence is inward security. It basically means that your source of security comes from within yourself, you're confident in your integrity to your own value system. It is not congruent with doubt or fear.

I think that Franklin D. Roosevelt hit the nail on the head when he said, "Confidence thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them, it cannot live."  Continue Reading »