Godin Makes the Case for “Career-ology”

In his article, “If You’re An Average Worker, You’re Going Straight To The Bottom,” Seth Godin makes the case for being proactive about your career and professional development which is what Career-ology is all about!

. . . if you’re different somehow and have made yourself unique, people will find you and pay you more, Godin says.

Instead of waiting around for someone to tell you that you matter, take your career into your own hands. In other words, don’t wait for someone else to pick you and pick yourself! If you have a book, you don’t need a publisher to approve you, you can publish it yourself. It’s no longer about waiting for some big corporation to choose you. We’ve arrived at an age where you choose yourself.

Thanks again for the wise words, Seth.

Why I Emptied my Email Inbox?

For 2012, I resolved to keep my email inbox empty.  You might ask, “Why would anyone consider taking on such a challenge?”

The reason is simple: I feel like I have been losing the battle with my email . . . and it doesn’t seem to be getting better and there is data to support this uneasy feeling.  According to The Radicati Group’s Survey: Corporate Email, 2011-2012:

The number of emails sent per day continues to increase, despite growing use of social networking and instant messaging. In 2010 users were receiving an average of 72 emails per day, and sending an average of 33 emails per day.

The data is alarming, but what is more concerning is Read more

The Most Important 10 Minutes You’ll Ever Spend on LinkedIn

At the beginning of January, I posted Reading List: How to Master LinkedIn in 7 Days or Less, and noted that Jan Wallen’s book includes a tip that by itself is worth the price.  Well, Jan was kind enough to allow me to post her tip here.

Read the tip.  Read more

Seth Godin’s Email Checklist

Godin’s email checklist has been around for a few years, so you may have seen it.  If not, it is definitely worth a read.  There are too many recommendations to be practically used as a checklist, however, they are all good.  Here are the most important recommendations to consider for your professional email:

13.  Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).
14.  Could I do this note better with a phone call?
21.  Could this email be shorter? Read more

Save Our Inboxes! Adopt the Email Charter

This is as much about your personal effectiveness as a professional as it is a benefit to the universe. The Email Charter has some great recommendations for reducing the overall volume of email at the macro-level which can be applied to the individual-level, as well.  I’ve included a few other recommendations of my own here:

  1. Schedule time on your calendar to process all of the messages in your email inbox.  Your goal each week is to leave the office on Friday with an empty inbox!
  2. Don’t mistake your email inbox for a “to do” list (or worse) a project management tool.
  3. Professional relationships are not built via email.  Do you spend time face-to-face with the people who can help you be a successful professional– clients, managers, mentors?

The Email Charter was created in response to widespread acknowledgement that email is getting out of hand for many people. It started life as a blog post by TED Curator Chris Anderson and TED Scribe Jane Wulf. The idea struck a chord. More than 45,000 people read the post and it generated hundreds of tweets, comments and suggestions. That is how the final Charter was shaped. Some of the key contributors are listed here.

The Charter is a private, non-commercial initiative, a simple ‘idea worth spreading’.

Reading List: Mastering LinkedIn in 7 Days or Less

Jan Wallen's BookJan Wallen’s Mastering LinkedIn in 7 Days or Less  is a must read for LinkedIn newbies and experienced users alike.  Because of Jan’s extensive professional experience in Fortune 500 and Big 5 firms, her book focuses on the very practical aspects of utilizing LinkedIn to find a job, identify new clients and grow your business.

The book covers the basics from creating  your initial profile to searching for and connecting with people in your network.  As an extensive user of LinkedIn for her own business, Jan provides many of her own insider secrets, tools and services throughout.

There are specific steps for days #1-7 starting with determining your LinkedIn philosophy.  On Day #6, you’ll learn about The Most Important 10 Minutes You’ll Ever Spend in LinkedIn.  This information alone is worth the price of the book and the time spent reading it.  Each day covers a different topic and by Day #7, you will have had the full tour.  Some of the other important topics include:

  • Why LinkedIn shouldn’t be used as your electronic resume
  • Maximizing your LinkedIn profile with Recommendations & Answers
  • Determining your purpose and goals for using LinkedIn
  • Why to include the link to your LinkedIn profile in your email signature and how to get your “vanity” link
  • 10 Ways You Never Thought of Using LinkedIn

There are many books covering LinkedIn.  This is one of the best.

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Leadership Inspiration for 2010

Happy New Year!  For the start of 2012, here is a bit of leadership inspiration from Mike Myatt, Forbes.com contributor and a leadership advisor to CEOs & Boards, and author of the book Leadership Matters.

This One Leadership Quality Will Make or Break You

One of the most often overlooked aspects of leadership is the need for pursuit. Great leaders are never satisfied with traditional practice, static thinking, conventional wisdom, or common performance. In fact, the best leaders are simply uncomfortable with anything that embraces the status quo.  Leadership is pursuit – pursuit of excellence, of elegance, of truth, of what’s next, of what if, of change, of value, of results, of relationships, of service, of knowledge, and of something bigger than themselves. In the text that follows I’ll examine the value of being a pursuer…

The conclusion of the article says. . . “All leaders would be well served to go back to school on what I refer to as the science of pursuitology.” Read the full text here.

[Editors Note: I like Myatt’s new term: pursuitology.😉 ]

Reading List: “How to REALLY use LinkedIn” – 2nd edition Available for Free Download

Jan Vermeiren and Bert Verdonck have written the second edition of “How to REALLY use LinkedIn” and are making it available for free.  Vermeiren’s first edition is one of my top recommendations on the subject of LinkedIn.

The 2nd Edition has been completely revised and there are 53 extra pages which include:

  • Passive, active and proactive strategies for people who are looking for new customers, new employees or a new job.
  • How to be better prepared for offline events using LinkedIn.
  • A brand new chapter about how organizations can use LinkedIn (versus individuals) including the new LinkedIn Strategy Matrix© for Organizations.

Finally there is the new free “Video & Tools Library” with video tips, assessments, tools and webinar recordings.  The book can be downloaded for free from http://www.how-to-really-use-linkedin.com (the library can also be found on that website).

Learn to Adapt

The only constant is change.

This philosophy dates back to the ancient greeks and has never been more true than it is today.

As a professional, you MUST be able to adapt to change.  Organizations expand and downsize, markets gyrate wildly, partnerships emerge and dissolve.  Adaptability is a key success factor in your career and it is a skill you can practice and develop. Read more

Reading List: Working Identity

Working Identity – Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career by Herminia Ibarra is a must read for those currently in or contemplating a career transition or career reinvention. Ibarra is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD.

The book is not a “how to,” but instead offers a summary of Ibarra’s research focused on the question: how do people change careers?  Read more