What are you working towards?

I've been enjoying Tony Hsieh's memoir Delivering Happiness about how he grew and sold LinkExchange and then grew and sold Zappos.  In the book, he describes the deal that he made with Microsoft as part of the LinkExchange sale.  His portion of the sale would be $40 million.  He received 80% at closing, but to help with the transition, he was required to stay with the company for one year to receive the remaining 20%.  At first, he dutifully went to work and sat around checking email and taking long lunch breaks as he put in his time.  After a short period of time he realized how bored he was, and realized how

Buy the book

I've read or listened to about 25 books this year.  I can't get into fiction books, so they've all been business/management/marketing/motivation/sales/entrepreneurship books.  The most influential book I've read this year, no question, has been Seth Godin's Poke the Box.  (I wrote a little summary of it here.) Amazon has cut the price of the book to

Get off the bunny hill

The temptation to stay on the bunny hill
The bunny hill is the nearly flat run closest to the parking lot at every ski resort in the world.  Bunny hills are designed for first timers to have a relatively safe place to learn how to use their bindings, control their edges and use chairlifts. 

The temptation of the bunny hill is to get stuck in an endless loop of taking one more run before moving to the advanced runs.

Catching edges forever
 The problem with waiting until you are ready to move up is that you may never be ready.  You can refine and practice and focus, and you'll still occasionally lose your balance and fall. The non-intuitive truth of snowboarding is that it is actually easier to stay in control at higher speeds.  At reaaaaally low speeds, it's tough to stay on one edge or the other. 

Learn the basics, then get to the steeps
The bunny hill has an important role.  It's good to practice getting on

Getting your money's worth out of school

The cost of going to school is tremendous.  Obviously.  The increasing cost of tuition and books regularly make headlines. Many people are deciding that college isn't worth the high cost.  Those that choose to attend are left feeling pressure to minimize costs and increase the returns on their investment.

When I was in school, I had two friends that were clearly trying to get their money's worth out of their investment.  We'll call them Stan and Miles.


Goods and Services
Stan had an approach that still makes me laugh.  When he realized how much he was paying for every day at the university, he decided to reclaim the price of his tuition in goods and services.  Every time he

Increasing Your Chance of Excelling

I believe the idea that to excel in life, you should spend as much time as practical doing the things that you are exceptionally good at.  (I was partially influenced by Marcus Buckingham's books First, Break All The Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths.)

I’ve noticed in my own life that at the core, my talents don’t change much over time. Finesse in using talents and the applications in which talents are used may both change in time, but the very core of the things at which you excel, the types of activities that you are drawn to, will probably change very little. 

An Exercise to Identify Your Talents

Here’s a useful exercise that I came up with one evening  as I was trying to sort out

Don't wait to be asked

The kitchen was a mess and I had a justification for a celebration, so I took my wife and kids recently to one of my three favorite pizza places in Albuquerque: Mario's Pizza.

Unexpected service
The waitress was friendly and outgoing.  After the usual routine of taking drink orders and then coming back to take our food order, she reappeared again with a small plate of croutons, sliced cucumber and ranch dressing.  She didn't even ask if we wanted them.  She knew that any parents at a restaurant waiting for food with little kids would want them.


Doesn't that seem like such an obvious thing to do?  Yet that has never

LinkedIn with a purpose

It's rare right now to read a business-related article without hearing some mention of social networks. (Here's an interesting one from Fast Company about Audi.)  Businesses are struggling to use these networks effectively. Individual people are still experimenting with them for their own professional advancement.
At first I was skeptical of LinkedIn.  "What the heck are we going to use this for?" But as my network has grown and as my valuation of my business contacts has increased, I've found a lot of use in this third social network.  Here are tips on how I am benefiting from LinkedIn.

Keep your network meaningful
On Facebook, I'll only add someone as a friend if I would feel comfortable talking with them about what my kids are going to be doing this weekend.  On LinkedIn, I'll only add someone

You're so lucky!

Let me introduce you to one of my best friends and one of my favorite people in the world, Drew Danburry.

Drew has done what most musicians fantasize about.  He has played on stages across the US and around Europe.  As a folk musician that funded his dream by making connections on MySpace and then playing shows in every venue, house or dorm hall that he could get into, Drew made fans everywhere he went.  Drew is self taught on the guitar, keytar, and accordian.  He has never taken voice lessons, although he has been told several times that he should. 

But you can't do that!
He has recorded albums and given them away.  He has driven around the country in a car that shouldn't be trusted at freeway speeds. He has been an example to me of not preparing for the future at the expense of the present.  (Or like one of my other heroes once said, "Consider the lilies of the field...)

"You're so lucky!"
In the midst of Drew's adventures, he frequently heard people tell him how lucky he was. Obviously his life was good: traveling , playing in front of fans,

Who can you trust?

It can be a tough thing to pursue a big dream.  There's always risk involved: risk of giving up a typical career, risk of looking silly when your dream doesn't work out, risk of dying alone and destitute when society shuns you for your unappreciated perspective.

We're social creatures.  In every aspect of our lives, in one way or another, we crave validation.  We want to feel like what we think and do is normal, or okay, or appreciated, or innovative.  As much as we might like to think that we are each individual islands, we all need some kind of recognition.  Where we go for this validation has a big impact on who we become.

You Can't Please Everyone
Some people require validation from the masses.  Some people are only comfortable when a majority of their acquaintances approve of their choices. Remember, though, that appealing to the largest group is how we got Jersey Shore, American Idol and

Are you comfortable with what you have?

Last week I met with a very good electrical engineer that had a good grasp of his project and a plan for completion. He spoke about some new equipment that would be very helpful in finishing his tests. Once he decided what he wanted, he was leaving it to someone else in the group to request the funds. "I don't get into that..." he said, making clear his discomfort when talking about money.

I wished that he would get into that,

When I Grow Up

I frequently ask what people what to be when they grow up.  I've been surprised to learn over the years that VERY FEW people are able to give a specific answer for what they want to do.  All this time I thought it was just me...

Images copyright Ambrose Portraits 2011.  Used with permission.

 

My Career Options
So, I may have mentioned this before: I don't really know what I want to do when I grow up.  A technical sales person? A photographer? A travel guide? A comic book writer?  A hit man?  These are all

Rare traits

In my experience as a recruiter and from talking with friends that hire their own employees, I have learned that there are three traits that are very rare, and thus very valuable.  These traits are, in order of increasing rareness:

1. A personality that can be trusted in front of customers - AKA The Ability To Look Someone In The Eye, The Ability To Not Say Inappropriate Things, or The Ability To Not Ramble In Conversation.
2. A technical mind - Evidenced by the confidence and patience to learn new ideas EVEN if it requires math, programming concepts, circuit design, mechanical knackery or modifying your Windows registry.
3. Ownership of problems -  It's easy to find people that can be cogs in a large corporate machine.  America is full of people that lean on "policies" and hold up a process when they don't know the answer and don't know who to ask. It's really hard to find people that will roll up their sleeves and not back down until the problem is solved.

The first and second traits are relatively common in isolation.  If you have any two of these traits, you are a rare person.  If you have all three, mix in a little initiative and find the people that are looking for you.

Sponsorship

After watching a recent Nike commercial that (literally) spotlights some of my favorite skateboarders, I was thinking about what it means to be sponsored.  Paul Rodriguez, Omar Salazar and Theotis Beasley have made it about as far as any skateboarder could dream to go.  Being paid to skateboard for an international company with bottomless pockets and being filmed in exclusive locations that are aired on primetime television are the dreams of little kids practicing in driveways across the world.


You can see the video I'm talking about below.  As you watch it, think about what they did to get there.

Pomodoro: Getting things done 25 minutes at a time

You know those un-fun days at your desk when you have a lot to do, but don't want to do any of it?  When I have long lists of mundane tasks that seem way less interesting than checking (again) what people are saying on Facebook?

A simple technique
I came across a little online club a couple of years ago that celebrates a productivity tool called the Pomodoro technique.  (They explained that pomodoro was italian for tomato.)  You can get all the info straight from the source here.  Keep reading after the jump to get my take on the technique.

Book Review: Poke the Box by Seth Godin

The Author

Seth Godin is the author of a wildly popular blog and thirteen books.  Though his professional background has been in marketing, his advice spans product development and personal development as well.  Mr. Godin has built his career on thinking big and changing everything. His newest book is an evolution on that theme.

Poke the Box

Do something.  Try it out.  See what happens.  See if you get what you want.  If you are wrong, make some adjustments and try it again.  This is the main lesson in Poke the Box.  We, as a people, have forgotten how to start things.  We have become very good at turning the crank and supporting the status quo, but have become nearly incapable of trying something new.

Read the rest of my review... after the jump. 

The non-all-important resume

As a student, I spent a lot of time working on my resume.  I met with several counselors for suggestions.  I reworded sentences endlessly.  After meeting with each advisor, I'd change paragraphs to bullet lists and back to paragraphs.  I bought special cotton paper.  I fussed over fonts and formatting.  I adjusted the size and justification of my name.  And looking back now, it was probably all a poor use of time. 

As with any document, before creating a resume, you need to identify two things:

1. What is your purpose?
2. Who is your audience?  

I can only speak for my own experience.  I spent two years as a university recruiter for a 3000-employee technical company and also served on the recruiting team for a small IT start-up. Let me tell you what wasn't important to my recruiting team... after the jump.

Effective Networking Part 2

There’s a right way and a wrong way

Networking the wrong way is slimy. The wrong way is self centered.  The wrong way won’t get you very far. The wrong way is the person that is only interested in connecting with people that will benefit him/her. 

The right way is helpful.  The right way is generous.  The right way is the person that meets as many people as he/she can so that everyone benefits. 

If you’re not sure whether you’re doing it the right way or the wrong way, here’s a little test you can employ that is 100% accurate. Ask yourself if you’re being sincere.  Are you forthcoming with your intentions?  If you’re being real, then keep it up.

How to do it

There are unlimited ways to grow your network.  Here’s the basic strategy: constantly strive to meet more people.  When you meet someone new, look for a way to connect with him or her on a personal level.  To seal the deal, find a sincere way to do the person a favor.  Then stay in touch.

Everyone else benefits

Networking can be a lot of work and can take a lot of concentration.  Here are some of the benefits that make it worth the effort:

1.       Life becomes more fun.  A rich life is one that is shared with a variety of people.

2.       The more connections you have, the more help that you can offer to others.

3.       The better connected you are, the more opportunities that will be available to you.

Have you benefited from expanding your network far outside your circle of friends?  Join the discussion in the comments.

Effective Networking Part 1

Every good opportunity has come from people I knew

Starting with my first job in my career, every new opportunity has come from a relationship with someone I knew.  The best jobs, the kind of jobs you really want, don’t make it to the job listings.  The interesting, challenging jobs that require thinking will never be listed in the Help Wanted ads or recruited for at career fairs.  The open-ended jobs that require responsibility and innovation will always be given to someone with whom the hiring manager has a relationship.

That sounds unfair to people that don’t have any contacts.  It did to me when I was a student and my classmates were being offered internships from friends of their parents.  “Must be nice,” I’d think to myself as I spent my afternoons online applying for summer positions.  But the reality is, there’s no point feeling bitter about it or feeling left out.  Networking is the great career equalizer.   Anyone can do it and everyone should. 

I'll give one example... after the jump.

Clear your inbox, clear your mind

What do you do with your groceries when you get back from the store? 

At my house they sit on the kitchen table for a while. My wife and I pretend to not see them as we wait for each other to put them away.  Before the end of the day, though, they get put away in the refrigerator, cupboards and pantry in the garage. 

Cluttered kitchens
What if we didn't put them away?  Ever? It's ridiculous to think of us digging through bags that were organized by cart-pushers whenever we need the cumin.  You can't enjoy a meal eating at a table that is covered with paper and plastic, and we'd likely end up eating our meals in the living room, until the couch and coffee table would get covered when my wife returns from Trader Joe's next week.

So, as I said, we put the groceries away.

Out-of-date emails
So why are our inboxes overflowing with emails from several months ago?  It's not a lot different.  If you don't put your emails away, but instead work out of your inbox, your inbox will NEVER be cleaned out, and things you need to do will get overlooked.  Guaranteed.

I've got recommendations on how to handle your daily flood of emails... after the jump.

The limit on technical degrees

I like the idea of a two-year technical degree. They are immensely practical.  They take less time (and less money overall) than four-year bachelors degrees.  They usually have a large percentage of time spent in hands-on labs.  Having a two-year degree is much better than having only a high-school diploma (which is much better than having no diploma.)

You can't get there from here
The problem with having a two-year degree is that the ceiling is much lower than it would be with a four-year degree. Or, in other words, the ladder to where you want to go may not reach down to people with two-year degrees.

As with any life decision, you have to first ask yourself what your goals are.

Let me illustrate with a tale of two friends... after the jump.
______

Read more »

Career options are like flocks of girls

Disneyworld crushes
As a teenager I discovered a phenomenon that seemed unique to flocks of girls in public places.  From thirty feet away, any group of girls my age was appealing.  The larger the group was, the less closely  I looked at any one of them.  I once chased down an all-girls marching band at Disneyworld, completely infatuated with all of them.  Only after chatting up the whole group and verbally committing to spend the afternoon with them did I realize that not any one of them was actually that cute.  (Shallow?  Yes.  But then again, what else are you supposed to build a relationship on during spring break at Disneyworld?)

Late in my college years, I found that girls en masse are not the only ones to exhibit this phenomenon.  Career paths are very similar.

How to find the keepers... after the jump.

The Worst Advice That You Hear a Dozen Times

Everybody hears it, so everybody repeats it.

When trying to choose a major to study in college, the common advice is:

"Study what you find interesting" or "Think about which classes you enjoyed in high school. Study those topics."

What awful advice.
The reality is that college is only for four or six or twelve years. The rest of your life will continue on for the rest of your life.

Ignore the bad advice

Here's the issue: When I was in high school, I really enjoyed my English classes. I enjoyed them a lot. I kind of liked the reading, and I kind of liked analyzing what we read, but I absolutely loved getting feedback on the papers that I wrote. I loved the attention and the praise I got from my teacher. I loved having my friends read my papers and tell me what a great writer I was.

I was three semesters into college when I realized that what I had enjoyed about high school english class had nothing to do with a career in writing. In high school, I was one of the best writers in my class. Everything I wrote was comparatively awesome. In college, I was competing (in my head) against the best writers from all the other high schools in the area. I was no longer a standout. I no longer got the praise that I had enjoyed. My friends didn't care to read my papers anymore. What little I knew of the writing industry told me that professional writers will often receive even less praise. Editors are not frequently lavish with praise to writers for simply remembering to cite specific examples or for using proper thesis statements.

Another way to pick a career... after the jump.