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Your #Career : 8 Steal-Worthy Secrets of Power #Networkers …Since There are So Many Different Platforms for People to Market Themselves these Days, You Have to Find Ways to Cut Through the White Noise & Get Noticed

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You’ve no doubt heard it a million times: Career advancement is as much about who you know as what you know—and that’s exactly why being a powerful networker is so important. But mastering this crucial skill requires more than just schmoozing over cheese platters and exchanging business cards. There’s actually an art to it.

 

“Since there are so many different platforms for people to market themselves these days, you have to find ways to cut through the white noise and get noticed,” says Ivan Misner, Ph.D., author of “Networking Like a Pro.”

When done skillfully, networking can not only open the door to plum job opportunities but it can also help land new clients and tap talent for future hiring. And what better way to learn the ins and outs of such skillful networking than to go straight to power networking pros for their tips on how to land on someone’s radar—and stay there.

Power Tip #1: Give Before You Receive

One of the biggest networking mistakes people make is jumping the gun when asking for a favor. One cardinal key of successful networking: Give before you can get.

“I can’t emphasize this enough—if you want to form a relationship with another person, you first need to show them how they’ll benefit,” says professional relationship development expert Keith Ferrazzi, author of “Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time.” “You usually bring a small gift to a dinner party, so why wouldn’t you offer a potential ally a token of generosity when you meet?”

And according to Ferrazzi, it needn’t be elaborate either. The gesture can be as simple as forwarding a relevant article or providing an introduction to someone who can further the person’s own interests.

So when can you comfortably turn the tables and ask for help? It’s a judgment call. But seeking favors too early can turn your contacts off—and risk damaging any positive collateral you’ve stored up. “People often say, ‘Hey, it doesn’t hurt to ask, right?’ ” Misner says. “But if you ask before you’ve established a relationship, then you are destroying the opportunity to cultivate one.”

So think of networking like a bank account—you have to make deposits and shore up social capital before making a withdrawal. Case in point: One of Misner’s contacts called him up every month or two to ask how his latest project was going and whether he could pitch in. After reaching out several times over a year, he told Misner he had a favor to ask. “I replied, ‘Yes!’ ” Misner says. “He hadn’t even told me what he needed, but he’d invested so much in our relationship that I was happy to do it.”

 

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Power Tip #2: Ask for a Strategic Introduction

If there’s a specific person you’re hoping to connect with, do some Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn sleuthing to see if you have a contact who knows that individual directly, or at least knows someone who works for the same organization.

Explain your game plan to your contact—you’re a huge fan of the company and would love to build a strategic relationship with such-and-such key player—and then ask if the person might be able to introduce you at an upcoming networking event.

“If you can find it, a third-party endorsement will give you a powerful edge,” Misner says. “It makes you stand out, and lends you credibility.” And the more credibility you have, the more likely that person will trust that you’re worth his time.

 

“People are always chasing bright, shiny objects, but I’m a firm believer in doing six things a thousand times, not a thousand things six times.”

Power Tip #3: Don’t Just Collect Cards

In the game of networking, you’re going for quality, not quantity—so simply focusing on beefing up your Rolodex will backfire.

Misner recalls meeting a young woman who claimed to be a pro networker. Her “brilliant” technique? She and her business partner would split the room in half, amassing as many business cards as possible. They’d then enter all the info into a database and email their new contacts. “Essentially, they’d spam people,” Misner says. “Using networking like a face-to-face cold-calling opportunity is a huge error.”

Instead of casting a wide net, direct it toward cultivating deep personal connections. “People are always chasing bright, shiny objects, but I’m a firm believer in doing six things a thousand times, not a thousand things six times,” Misner says.

To do this, Ferrazzi recommends creating a relationship action plan for every professional goal that you have—be it landing a new job or building up your client base. Make a list of people who can be instrumental in helping you achieve that success: friends, co-workers, people you’re hoping to meet, and even individuals you admire and just follow online.

“Write down why each person is important, and how you would categorize the strength of your relationship on a scale of zero to five,” he says. This will help you develop a strategy to pursue your goals—and home in on getting help from the right people.

 

Power Tip #4: Follow Up—and Then Follow Up Again

After clicking with a powerful new connection, too many people drop the ball—failing to check in post-meeting and never leveraging the new relationship.

So try this strategy from Kim Marie Branch-Pettid, C.E.O. and president of LeTip International, a business networking and referral organization. Immediately following a conversation with a person of interest, Branch jots down a number from 1 to 10 on the back of their business card, indicating their potential to help her advance in her career. For anyone who scores a seven or above, she adds a brief note about them, such as “trip to London, 3-year-old son, starting a new job.”

The next day, Branch sends an email to the person, saying that she enjoyed the conversation, and references one of her notes, like “Have a great time in London!” Finally, she assists in some way, by sending a link to an interesting London travel article or offering to introduce the person to a friend who works at the same company they just joined.

And don’t forget to maintain the connection. “In order for your relationships to become more robust, you need to ‘ping’ your network on a regular basis,” Ferrazzi says. “Create a schedule for keeping in touch, whether you set aside X amount of time each day to networking, or reach out to X number of people each week.”

 

Misner used the technique to land a coveted interview with mogul Richard Branson. After learning that Branson had launched a nonprofit called the B-Team, Misner used the nugget as his “in.”

 

The frequency and depth of your interactions depends on the strength of the relationship. For casual connections, the occasional retweet or Facebook comment might suffice. For deeper ones, think along the lines of a thoughtful email or meetup.

Power Tip #5: Suss Out Your Contact’s Passions

Before meeting someone you’d like to develop a relationship with, do an online search to uncover what they’re truly interested in, from charities they support to any awards they’ve received.

“Doing your homework shows a sincere interest in the other person as an individual, and not just as a business contact,” Ferrazzi says. “It also helps you understand how you can be of service—if you can offer something specifically geared to what’s important to them, they’ll be more open to connecting with you.”

Misner used this technique to land a coveted interview with Virgin mogul Richard Branson. After learning that Branson had recently launched a nonprofit called the B-Team, Misner used the nugget as his “in.” During a run-in with Branson, whom he’d met once before, he said, “I understand you’re doing something called the B-Team. Tell me about it.”

“He lit up,” Misner remembers. “I asked him how I could be of help with the project, and suggested interviewing him for my blog.” It was a win-win networking move: Branson’s charity got some extra airplay, while Misner landed his interview.

Power Tip #6: Deepen Your Network Pool

The more similar someone is to you, the more comfortable it feels to connect, which is why networks are, by nature, homogenous. “We tend to hang out with people like ourselves—the same gender, ethnicity and academic background,” Misner says. “But diversity is key to growing a strong personal network.”

So seek relationships with totally different people who can introduce you to brand-new social clusters. Not only will you gain access to potentially influential individuals whom you’d otherwise might never meet, but you’ll stand out from the pack.

For example, Misner is a member of an organization of women business owners. They allow men to join, so he asked a female friend to sponsor him at a meeting. “Everyone remembered me because I was one of two or three guys there,” Misner says. “I ended up getting a lot of business out of it.”

One important way to diversify is to “network down.” Most people concentrate on networking up—building a rapport with someone higher than yourself on the ladder. But it’s also smart to connect with savvy junior people in your industry because they might end up being portals of intel that can boost your career down the line.

 

Just like you wouldn’t give any Joe Schmo a job reference, you also shouldn’t add LinkedIn requests from strangers.

 

Power Tip #7: Don’t Overly Pimp Your Profile

If your LinkedIn page is open like a 7-Eleven, and you’re accepting invites from everyone and their mother, you could be putting your reputation on the line.

Your LinkedIn contacts are a reflection on you, and it’s implied that you’re vouching for someone’s skills by connecting. So just like you wouldn’t give any Joe Schmo a job reference, you also shouldn’t add contact requests from complete strangers.

Likewise, “You should only reach out to someone via LinkedIn if you have a connection in common,” Branch says, adding that you should write a message when asking to connect, rather than using LinkedIn’s form letter. And if you don’t have any shared connections, it’s better to get in touch via a more personal email or letter.

Power Tip #8: Seek Common Ground

There is a shortcut to fostering a new relationship with real roots: Figure out what you and the other person have in common—whether you went to the same school or both love to snowboard.

“Focusing on the similarities between you is a quick way to develop a rapport,” Branch says. “So don’t be afraid to ask personal questions that let the individual speak about him or herself: Where are you from? Do you have kids?”

Then it’s your turn to open up. One of Branch’s associates made several powerful connections after mentioning that she had been jumping out of airplanes since she was 14. People who have skydived (or are interested in trying) are instantly drawn to her—it’s like a built-in launching pad for cultivating a strong relationship.

 

Learnvest.com | July 22, 2014 | Molly Triffin

#Leadership : A Retired Navy SEAL Commander Explains 12 Traits Effective #Leaders Must Have…Just as Discipline & Freedom are Opposing Forces that Must be Balanced, Leadership Requires Finding the Equilibrium in the Dichotomy of Many Seemingly Contradictory Qualities Between One Extreme & Another.

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Jocko Willink is the retired commander of the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War: US Navy SEAL Team Three Task Unit Bruiser, which served in the 2006 Battle of Ramadi.

 

Retired Navy SEAL Task Unit Bruiser commander Jocko Willink.

In his new book “Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win,” co-written with his former platoon commander Leif Babin, he and Babin explain the lessons learned in combat that they’ve taught to corporate clients for the past four years in their leadership consultancy firm Echelon Front.

During his 20 years as a SEAL, Willink writes that he realized that, “Just as discipline and freedom are opposing forces that must be balanced, leadership requires finding the equilibrium in the dichotomy of many seemingly contradictory qualities between one extreme and another.” By being aware of these seeming contradictions, a leader can “more easily balance the opposing forces and lead with maximum effectiveness.”

Here are the 12 main dichotomies of leadership Willink identifies as traits every effective leader should have.

‘A leader must lead but also be ready to follow.’

Willink says a common misconception the public has about the military is that subordinates mindlessly follow every order they’re given. In certain situations, subordinates may have access to information their superiors don’t, or have an insight that would result in a more effective plan than the one their boss proposed.

“Good leaders must welcome this, putting aside ego and personal agendas to ensure that the team has the greatest chance of accomplishing its strategic goals,” Willink writes.

‘A leader must be aggressive but not overbearing.’

'A leader must be aggressive but not overbearing.'

Echelon Front

Leif Babin and Willink when they were deployed in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006.

As a SEAL officer, Willink needed to be aggressive (“Some may even accuse me of hyperagression,” he says) but he differentiated being a powerful presence to his SEAL team from being an intimidating figure.

He writes that, “I did my utmost to ensure that everyone below me in the chain of command felt comfortable approaching me with concerns, ideas, thoughts, and even disagreements.”

“That being said,” he adds, “my subordinates also knew that if they wanted to complain about the hard work and relentless push to accomplish the mission I expected of them, they best take those thoughts elsewhere.”

‘A leader must be calm but not robotic.’

Willink says that while leaders who lose their tempers lose respect, they also can’t establish a relationship with their team if they never expression anger, sadness, or frustration.

“People do not follow robots,” he writes.

‘A leader must be confident but never cocky.’

Leaders should behave with confidence and instill it in their team members.

“But when it goes too far, overconfidence causes complacency and arrogance, which ultimately set the team up for failure,” Willink writes.

‘A leader must be brave but not foolhardy.’

'A leader must be brave but not foolhardy.'

Courtesy of Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Task Unit Bruiser SEALs look up at an Apache flying overhead Ramadi in 2006.

Whoever’s in charge can’t waste time excessively contemplating a scenario without making a decision. But when it’s time to make that decision, all risk must be as mitigated as possible.

Willink and Babin both write about situations in Ramadi in which delaying an attack until every detail about a target was clarified, even when it frustrated other units they were working with, resulted in avoiding tragic friendly fire.

‘A leader must have a competitive spirit but also be a gracious loser.’

“They must drive competition and push themselves and their teams to perform at the highest level,” Willink writes. “But they must never put their own drive for personal success ahead of overall mission success for the greater team.”

This means that when something does not go according to plan, leaders must set aside their egos and take ownership of the failure before moving forward.

‘A leader must be attentive to details but not obsessed with them.’

The most effective leaders learn how to quickly determine which of their team’s tasks need to be monitored in order for them to progress smoothly, “but cannot get sucked into the details and lose track of the bigger picture,” Willink writes.

‘A leader must be strong but likewise have endurance, not only physically but mentally.’

'A leader must be strong but likewise have endurance, not only physically but mentally.'

Courtesy of Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Navy SEALs on a roof overlook in Ramadi in 2006. (Faces have been blurred to protect identities.)

Leaders need to push themselves and their teams while also recognizing their limits, in order to achieve a suitable pace and avoid burnout.

‘A leader must be humble but not passive; quiet but not silent.’

The best leaders keep their egos in check and their minds open to others, and admit when they’re wrong.

“But a leader must be able to speak up when it matters,” Willink writes. “They must be able to stand up for the team and respectfully push back against a decision, order, or direction that could negatively impact overall mission success.”

‘A leader must be close with subordinates but not too close.’

“The best leaders understand the motivations of their team members and know their people — their lives and their families,” Willink writes. “But a leader must never grow so close to subordinates that one member of the team becomes more important than another, or more important than the mission itself.”

“Leaders must never get so close that the team forgets who is in charge.”

‘A leader must exercise Extreme Ownership. Simultaneously, that leader must employ Decentralized Command.’

“Extreme Ownership” is the fundamental concept of Willink and Babin’s leadership philosophy. It means that for any team or organization, “all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader,” Willink writes. Even when leaders are not directly responsible for all outcomes, it was their method of communication and guidance, or lack thereof, that led to the results.

That doesn’t mean, however, that leaders should micromanage. It’s why the concept of decentralized command that Willink and Babin used in the battlefield, in which they trusted that their junior officers were able to handle certain tasks without being monitored, translates so well to the business world.

‘A leader has nothing to prove but everything to prove.’

“Since the team understands that the leader is de facto in charge, in that respect, a leader has nothing to prove,” Willink writes. “But in another respect, a leader has everything to prove: Every member of the team must develop the trust and confidence that their leader will exercise good judgment, remain calm, and make the right decisions when it matters most.”

And the only way that can be achieved is through leading by example every day.

Businessinsider.com | October 22, 2015  |  

#Strategy : 24 Life Skills every Functioning Adult Should Master…We’ve Put Together our Own Handbook of Sorts, Which Lists Many of the Skills you’ll Need to Survive as an Adult in the Modern World.

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Life is funny.  No one gets a handbook upon turning 18, complete with all the rules they’ll need to memorize and competencies they’ll need to acquire.  Somehow you’re just supposed to know that you should have more money coming in than going out and you shouldn’t wear a fuzzy orange sweater to a job interview.

Fortunately, we’ve put together our own handbook of sorts, which lists many of the skills you’ll need to survive as an adult in the modern world.

It’s based on the Quora thread, “What are some of the most useful skills to know?” as well as scientific research and expert opinion.

We can’t promise we’ve outlined every skill, but if you’ve mastered these, you’re off to a good start.

VFS Digital Design/Flickr

1. Accepting feedback gracefully

“For most of us it is hard to hear how we made a mistake or could have done something better,” writes Quora user Pedram Keyani. “An amazing skill (which you can learn through practice) is to set aside your emotional response in the moment and focus on the information presented to you. Some of it will be valid and some of it invalid but let your brain decide that, not your ego.”

Depending on what kind of feedback you’re receiving, there are different strategies for responding with a cool head. For example, if your boss points out what she thinks is an error and you’re not sure she’s correct, you can say, “I hadn’t thought of that, and I’m going to look into it right away.”

Daniel Goodman / Business Insider

2. Apologizing sincerely

To err is human — but to craft a believable apology isn’t a universal skill.

The apology “needs to be sincere, not qualified, not quantified, and also needs [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][to] outline how X will not happen again,” Keyani says.

According to one CEO, there’s a six-step strategy for successfully saying you’re sorry:

1. Act quickly.

2. Apologize in person. 

3. Explain what happened. 

4. Show how you are going to avoid the problem in the future. 

5. Apologize.

6. Make restitution.

Keyani gives an example of what you might say if you were tardy for an appointment:

“I’m sorry I was late for the meeting. It must have been frustrating because you spent a lot of time preparing and got up early. I did a poor job accounting for traffic and didn’t give myself enough buffer. That is my bad and I’m going to give myself an extra 10 minutes instead of five moving forward.”

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Flickr/DncnH

3. Managing your time wisely

There will probably never be a time in your life when you aren’t juggling multiple personal and professional priorities. Time-management skills are a must, unless you want to feel constantly frazzled.

Perhaps the most important time-management lesson is that you should stick with one task at a time. Research suggests that multitasking is generally counterproductive, because the brain expends energy as it readjusts its focus from one activity to another.

You’d be wise, too, to limit the hours you spend working. Decades ago, Henry Ford discovered that productivity started to decline after employees logged more than 40 hours per week. Other research suggests that, after three weeks, 60-hour workweeks become less productive.

Daniel Goodman / Business Insider

4. Using keyboard shortcuts

“Since most of the work we do nowadays involves computers,” says Arpit Jain, “using keyboard shortcuts definitely gives you an edge and saves you a lot of time.”

Jain posted a list of some of the handiest shortcuts in her Quora answer. For example, simultaneously pressing the “Alt” and “F4” keys when using Microsoft windows lets you close a selected item or program. Keep the list somewhere close to your computer at work to supercharge your productivity.

Flickr/frankieleon

5. Saying ‘no’ respectfully

Many of us fear the word “no” because we don’t want to let other people down. But when you’re already swamped and your coworker asks you to take an hour to help him with his project report, “yes, of course” might not be the best answer.

“It might sound a cliché, but saying NO when needed can save you lot of time, confusion, guilt, attachment, commitments, stress and other social evils,” writes Yogi Raj.

There’s another Quora thread dedicated to learning how to say “no,” where Eva Glasrud writes, “we routinely overestimate the cost of saying ‘no.'”

According to Glasrud, the best way to muster up the confidence to turn down a request is to recognize that “[t]here are some things you can never have back. Your time, your health, your virtue, your life. Don’t mess around with those things. It’s fine for people to ask — most likely, in their mind, they’re trying to help introduce you to a great person or opportunity or meaningful cause. And it’s just as fine for you to say ‘no.'”

pedrosimoes7 via flickr

6. Empathizing with others

A number of Quora users mentioned the importance of learning to empathize with other people — to listen to them and try to see things from their perspective.

Psychologists say empathy is a fundamental part of human interaction. In fact, people who lack the ability to empathize and take an interest in other people are often narcissists.

Business Insider

7. Communicating through body language

“Sometimes your body language tells people everything they need to know before you ever open your mouth,” writes Dean Bokhari.

Experts have highlighted specific body language techniques that can make you more likable. For example, don’t break eye contact with your conversation partner, even after they’ve finished speaking. And make sure not to fidget or touch your face too much, which can give the impression that you’re lying or anxious.

You can also read other people’s body language to help figure out what they’re thinking and feeling. For example, if they mirror your body language, the conversation is probably going well. If they smile but there are no crinkles around their eyes, they might be faking it.

NBC

8. Making friends in any environment

Mayeesha Tahsin says she thinks of forming relationships as a skill, as opposed to leaving things to chance.

That skill is especially important to develop during young adulthood, once you’re off the college campus, where it’s generally easy to forge close friends.

One way to make friends as a grown-up is to trade confidences. Research suggests that “self disclosure” predicts liking, closeness, and relationship building. Another, surprisingly simple, tactic is to simply spend more time with the people you’d like to befriend. According to the “mere exposure effect,” we tend to like things and people we’re familiar with.

Melia Robinson/Business Insider

9. Mending your clothes

Button popped off your shirt at work? There’s no need to panic if you’re handy with a needle — which you should be.

“Learn how to stitch that button to your shirt collar or sew back the tear on your sleeve from the edge of the table,” writes Zehra Alvi. “You will save a lot of money by just knowing how to handle that two-centimeter sword.”

Flickr/Nacho

10. Speaking a second language

Learning a second language “opens up the mind to an entirely new way of thinking,” says Noe Villela. You’ll notice and appreciate parts of the world you never before experienced.

It’s also possible that learning a new language can make you smarter — though the jury is still out on this issue. Some studies have found that being bilingual can improve cognitive skills, butmore recent research disputes these findings.

One of the best ways to learn a new language is through immersion. Get started with this free online tool that replicates the immersion experience.

Flickr / Kate Hiscock

11. Sticking to a budget

“It’s amazing how many people can’t do the simplest of things — like balance a checkbook, fill out a tax form, make sure that there’s more coming in than going out, [set] aside reserves for contingencies,” writes Miles Fidelman.

Let’s start with “mak[ing] sure that there’s more coming in than going out,” which is essentially about adhering to a budget. We recently rounded up the best budgeting tips from readers who have shared their budgets with Business Insider.

For example, you’ll want to anticipate any major costs in the near future – like if you’re planning to have a kid or go back to school. It’s also wise to set aside an emergency fund with several months’ worth of expenses in case the unexpected occurs.

Adactio/Flickr

12. Using basic Photoshop

There’s no need to call in a professional to touch up the headshot you’re posting to your personal website — you can do that yourself, using a few basic Photoshop tools.

“In the professional world few things have helped me more than knowing Photoshop,” says Brad Sanzenbacher.

You can sign up for a free 30-day trial here, or download the free app for iOS that lets you retouch photos.

Flickr / Giuseppe Milo

13. Spending time alone

As an adult, you should be able to spend a full day alone without going crazy for want of social interaction.

Take a tip from Quora user Sanzenbacher, whose partner travels often for grad school:

“I approach being alone with a very specific list of things that only I want to do. I go to weird museums, see movies that only I want to see, take mini-road trips, or see bands that only I like.”

If you’re planning to live alone, which many Americans do today, you should accept that you will occasionally feel lonely. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or upset by, but it might be a signal that you should incorporate some more socializing into your daily schedule.

Jon Gosier/Flickr

14. Public speaking

You may not ever be required to perform in a Superbowl halftime show, but you’ll almost certainly be tasked with making presentations at work. For that reason, it’s important to hone your public speaking skills.

“[T]he ability to speak confidently to a large mass of people is a skill to be learnt,” writes Ramachandra Bhakta. “It makes a lasting impression and brings you to the notice of several people at once.”

If the mere prospect of walking your coworkers through a Powerpoint gives you nightmares, there are strategies to quell your fear. One research-backed tactic is to reframe your anxiety as excitement, which can make you seem more competent and persuasive. You can also strike a “power pose” before the presentation — one example is to stand with your legs wide and your hands on your hips, to make you feel more like a leader.

Reynermedia/Flickr

15. Negotiating

Several Quora users cited negotiation skills as important for any professional.

If you’re negotiating your salary (which you should do), the best strategy both for getting what you want and still coming off as friendly is to ask for a range including and above your target number. For example, if you’re aiming for a $100,000 salary, you’d suggest a $100,000 to $120,000 salary.

Another trick is to frame your proposal in terms of what you’re giving the other person as opposed to what they’re losing. So instead of saying, “I want $10,000 for my car,” you’d say, “I’ll give you my car for $10,000.”

Flickr / Rainer Stropek

16. Cooking basic meals

You don’t need to be Julia Child to sustain yourself, or to impress fellow guests at a potluck.

“Know how to cook at least five dishes,” writes Erin Nakano O’Quinn. “These are likely to be dependent upon the culture you live in, but be able to cook at least one vegetarian dish, a breakfast dish, a dish that you can serve to a group of people, a dessert, and a starch. Try to be able to do these without a cookbook, and you can look like a rockstar wherever you go.”

Flickr / University of Exeter

17. Making small talk

Conversation skills always come in handy, whether you’re chatting up cuties at your local bar or networking at a professional conference.

One of the most important rules of making small talk is to demonstrate interest in your conversation partner and let him share information about himself. Another tactic is to flatter your partner, so that she feels better about herself after having spoken to you.

Getty Images / Omar Havana

18. Backing up your electronics

Having your phone die or your computer stolen is nerve-wracking enough. Saying goodbye to all your important information with those gadgets is even worse.

Be responsible and back up your data.

PCWorld has a comprehensive guide to backing up pretty much everything, including what exactly to back up and how often to do it. And we’ve rounded up all the tools you’ll need.

University of Exeter/Flickr

19. Asking for help

There’s nothing shameful about asking for a little advice or assistance, especially at work.

In fact, research suggests that soliciting advice can make you look more competent. That’s likely because people feel flattered that you turned to them in the first place.

If you’re looking for general career advice, entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss told Inc., it’s best to ask someone who became successful quickly and against the odds, instead of someone with a more conventional story.

Shutterstock

20. Picking up a date

Approaching an attractive stranger and starting a conversation is a terrifying prospect for pretty much every normal person.

But there are ways to reduce both your anxiety and the chance that you’ll come across as a bumbling fool.

One study found that men tend to prefer direct approaches, like “You’re cute — can I buy you a drink?” Women, on the other hand, generally prefer more open-ended questions, like “What do you think of this band?”

Very few people in the study said they preferred standard pick-up lines — so it’s best to avoid those, no matter how clever you think you are.

Shutterstock

21. Dressing appropriately for a job interview

We’re not supposed to judge books by their covers, but it’s no secret that hiring managers judge job candidates by their appearance.

So avoid wearing too much makeup and definitely don’t show up wearing a hat. Instead, you’ll want to dress relatively conservatively. Even your shoes should be clean and tidy.

The color of your clothes matters, too: According to a CareerBuilder survey, blue and black are the best colors to wear to a job interview, while orange is the worst.

Phalinn Ooi/flickr

22. Waking up on time

In college, rolling out of bed five minutes before class starts and showing up late because you stopped to get a latte is (sort of) understandable.

In the professional world? Not so much. Pull it together and figure out a personal strategy for getting up and out the door on time.

It really starts with your nighttime routine — so try doing something relaxing like taking a hot shower or meditating before bed.

In the morning, experts generally advise against hitting “snooze” and going back to sleep. Instead, hit the snooze button once and use the time until your alarm goes off again to turn on a lamp and do some light stretching.

WPA Pool/Getty Images)

23. Giving a good handshake

One poll found that 70% of people don’t feel confident in their ability to give a proper handshake.

But when you meet your company’s CEO for the first time, you don’t want to present her with a limp noodle — especially since a weak handshake suggests that you’re insecure.

The best shaking strategy is to get a good grip, with your elbow nearing a right angle. Be sure to smile and make eye contact as well.

REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

24. Power napping

You’ve heard it a thousand times: Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep a night.

But pressing work deadlines, family obligations, and the siren call of your Facebook newsfeed mean that you probably don’t get as much sleep as you need.

Enter the power nap. It’s just 10 minutes long and you sit slightly upright, so that you don’t wake up groggy from a deep sleep. This brief rest period can leave you feeling refreshed and alert.

Hopefully you work at an office with nap rooms — if not, you can always head to your car or a vacant conference room.

Businessinsider.com | October 21, 2015 | 

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#Strategy : 12 Tiny Transformations That Will Improve your Life…The Biggest Reminder of All, Is that Live in a Society Driven by Notions of Scarcity Where we’re Taught that There is Never Enough of Anything: Money, #Jobs, Natural Resources, Time, or #Success.

/in /by

Have you also realized that we often spend all day thinking about what we’ll do when we get home and then when we get home we spend all evening thinking about the next day?  The scary thing is, if we spend our lives this way, we never truly live. If we keep projecting ourselves into future scenarios that will never transpire the way we envision, we lose out on the only real opportunity to get closer to the life we dream about: the right now.

I can’t say it happened overnight.  I’ve been on a journey to achieve greater mindfulness and calmness for some time now, especially because it’s not something most of us can switch on or off and suddenly stop being a part of the “next!” generation whose answer to most things is to just keep scrolling, clicking, and updating to discover what’s better (and driving ourselves insane in the process).

 

With this prevailing mentality rushing us onto the next thing, I found it was a huge challenge to suddenly start paying attention to a simple but daunting exercise: keeping my body and mind in the same place at the same time.

Have you also realized that we often spend all day thinking about what we’ll do when we get home and then when we get home we spend all evening thinking about the next day?

The scary thing is, if we spend our lives this way, we never truly live. If we keep projecting ourselves into future scenarios that will never transpire the way we envision, we lose out on the only real opportunity to get closer to the life we dream about: the right now.

Once we understand that in each moment we’re being given the opportunity to actively create the life we want, minute by minute, day by day, then and only then can we truly begin to live.

This is where I’m at — the beginning of this understanding — and these are the 12 simple and transformative practices that have made the greatest difference in achieving a new-found personal happiness and sense of peace. They’ve helped me turn down the noise, feel more centered, and reignite my capacity for kindness and empathy.

Flickr/momentcaptured1

Leaving early for things.

I really don’t like when other people are late, and I really don’t like myself when I run late. The easiest remedy for this is to take control of the single aspect of our ever-more-flaky society that I’m actually able to control: my own behavior.

Leaving with plenty of time to arrive at my destination puts me at ease, knowing I’m doing the right thing by not making someone else wait on me, and I also have time to enjoy the journey there.

I’ll walk a new route, stop in a shop, and resist the urge to run if I hear the subway coming. Life can move so much slower if you allow time for it to do so.

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Flickr/Marco Klapper

Non-resistance in crowds and traffic.

Just let the other guy go first. Instead of pushing your way onto the train first, step aside and let others disembark. Instead of trying to merge aggressively ahead of traffic, let a couple cars pass first.

Life is only a combat zone if you contribute to it, so reduce your stress, think of these as acts of kindness, and let the busy-bodies get out of your way.

Try it for a day and see if you feel a weight lifted off your shoulders when you stop putting up a fight in these relatively unimportant situations.

Flickr/John Ragai

Incorporating acts of kindness into your diet.

Along with taking deep breaths and letting the lady on your right merge during rush hour, make an overall effort to be more kind. Kindness to others contributes to a sense of accountability to one another, which in turn helps manifest and maintain calmness.

I started with smiling at the person next to me on the subway when I sat down or holding doors for others without expecting a thank you. Then I moved on from strangers to loved ones: picking up the dinner tab, surprising mom with a little something, you get the idea.

A lot of people emphasize doing random acts of kindness for strangers, but it’s equally as (or even more) important for the people you care about most.

Flickr/Magic Madzik

Eating at a table.

It may sound silly, but one of the best things I’ve started doing is being mindful when I eat my meals.

I don’t multi-task, I don’t use my cell phone, I don’t take calls, I don’t have lunch at my desk, I don’t do my make-up during breakfast, I just sit and eat — even if I’m alone.

I also try to schedule meals with other people as often as possible. In his How to Live to 100 speech, Dan Buettner shares the all-important principle that our health hinges on more than just what we eat, but how and with whom we eat.

By all means, eat organic, increase your daily intake of fruits and vegetables, reduce sugar, meat, alcohol, and coffee, and eliminate processed foods, but also be conscious of food as a social and even meditative practice.

Matt/Flickr

Living well below my means and saving money.

Both of the greatest gurus of Western and Eastern civilization, Buddha and Aristotle, preached the principle of moderation as the key to happiness.

Andrew Carnegie, in “The Gospel of Wealth,” writes that the wealthy should view themselves as custodians of excess revenues and agents to act on behalf of their “poorer brethren.”

Ostentatious spending is wasteful, supports a contagious breed of consumerism, and offers no path to long-term happiness. A thoughtful savings regime promotes selective purchasing behavior that values money as a resource, not a quick-hit commodity.

Francisco Osorio/Flickr

Monitoring for self-defensive thoughts or actions.

Many people live life on the defense, which is a direct product of our ego, the part of the brain that houses the self-created concept of who we are and leads to feelings of scarcity and incompleteness.

It is always focused on the past or future and is perpetually seeking what it needs outside, creating a compelling future but not a compelling present.

It devotes its energy to proving who we (think we) are and defending ourselves against anyone who threatens that sense of self. It is based on separateness from everything else and everyone else. It creates “plans” for our happiness that come from money, fame, and success instead of what we already are.

We can be held hostage by our ego, driven often by fear, struggle, guilt, attachment, competition, and survival. Monitor for that kind of “ego thinking” and acknowledge and accept that areas of deep insecurity it usually reveals.

Flickr / Keirsten Marie

Eliminating TV watching and exposure to media advertisements.

Surveys show that heavy TV watchers are less happy on average than non-TV viewers and other studies have shown an inverse relationship between TV consumption and social trust, an important ingredient for a thriving society.

TV is addictive because, for the most part, it portrays a convincing mirage of reality where everyone is unrealistically better looking, funnier, more intelligent, and more successful. It’s harmful for our self-esteem and prevents us from engaging more deeply in our own imperfect, but present realities.

To the extent possible, I also try to limit my exposure to advertisements that promote purchasing things I don’t need or drawing false connections between material goods and values or outcomes.

Instead, I focus on my outlets for creation: writing, publishing, photography, and running a small business.

Flickr/Nicole April

Having an aggressive reading regimen.

Every day I read for a minimum of one hour before bed. When I’m traveling, this surges to 3 or 4 hours during the morning.

I stick to mostly non-fiction from reputable authors that educate me about something and prevent distraction by unimportant things: TV, social media (above maintaining my blog audience), fashion, many news headlines, and shopping.

A distracted society runs the risk of ignoring or underestimating the more powerful truths and challenges about our existence.

Flickr/Giuseppe Milo

Looking at problems differently.

The Buddha once said that everyone has 83 problems — and the 84th is our wish to have no problems.

Try this tactic the next time things don’t go your way, something one of my favorite authors, Nick Williams, advocates that instead of getting upset, ask yourself, “What am I being called to understand here? What would be the most loving and compassionate response in this situation?”

We can use challenges to either take us off track or to teach us love and forgiveness, so why not choose the latter?

Flickr/Minoru Nitta

Incorporating meditation into my daily life.

All the latest yoga and meditation rage is on to something: these practices work. I find meditation is kind of like going to the gym — you absolutely dread going at first, but you’re always glad you went and you even start craving it after awhile.

I read Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “The Miracle of Mindfulness,” which helped me get started, and now use the Headspace app to find a few minutes for quiet and observation every morning.

Flickr/ellyn.

Doing a daily gratitude exercise.

I’m not one of those people who keep a “gratitude diary” or anything quite so regimented, but taking a few moments to be thankful has gradually become an important part of my outlook and something I naturally remember to do when I’m feeling stressed, upset, or even when something wonderful is happening.

Thomson Reuters

Positively interpreting life’s gray areas.

This one’s my favorite, and we’re all guilty of failing here.

Think about the people laughing at the bar and vaguely looking in your direction — are they laughing at you? The guy you like who didn’t text all day — is he over you already? The lady who snapped at you for bumping into her on the train — what’s her problem?

All of these situations that offer no direct explanation are opportunities most people take to assume the worst, beat themselves up, and develop negative ideas about people around them.

Instead of being like most people, assume the best in people and interpret things positively: the bar-goers are just having a good time, your new crush is busy at work like everyone else, and the cranky lady might have a sick husband at home and deserves a dose of extra special kindness from you.

As Richard Bach says, teaching is simply reminding people of they already know.

And the biggest reminder of all, my friends, is that we live in a society driven by notions of scarcity where we’re taught that there is never enough of anything: money, jobs, natural resources, time, or success.

This is the opposite of what we need to do to be mindful, happy, and calm. Instead of looking around and seeing what’s lacking, we need to look at our lives and see the abundance of all that is already present. Once we do that, we can finally come alive.

Businessinsider.com | October 20, 2015 | Elaina Giolando, Life Before 30

 

Your #Career : Dale Carnegie Said you Can Ask Yourself a Basic Question to be Less Anxious…In Circumstances like These, There’s No Magic Panacea that Will Stop your Thoughts from Spiraling Out of Control or Alleviate the Physical Manifestations of your Fears.

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Being anxious is a fundamental part of being human. But there are certain situations in which your rattling nerves can take a terrible toll on your ability to function normally. Maybe you haven’t gotten a full night’s rest or eaten a proper meal in weeks because you’re convinced that your business is going under any day now.

APDale Carnegie.

In circumstances like these, there’s no magic panacea that will stop your thoughts from spiraling out of control or alleviate the physical manifestations of your fears.

Yet there is a psychological exercise that can help reduce some of that anxiety, thereby helping you address the root cause of the problem because you’re able to think more clearly. It’s based on an anecdote from Willis Carrier, founder of the modern air-conditioning industry, and it’s cited in “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living,” a 1948 book by Dale Carnegie.

Carnegie’s also the author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”

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Here’s how it breaks down:

1. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?”

2. Prepare to accept the worst.

3. Figure out how to improve upon the worst, should it come to pass.

Carnegie outlines how the exercise helped Carrier break out of a nervous rut. While working for the Buffalo Forge Co. as a young man, Carrier found that a new gas-cleaning service his company provided wasn’t as effective as he’d hoped.

“I was stunned by my failure,” Carrier told Carnegie. “It was almost as if someone had struck me a blow on the head. My stomach, my insides, began to twist and turn. For a while I was so worried I couldn’t sleep.”

At some point he realized that worrying, while understandable in this situation, was relatively counterproductive. That’s how he landed on the three-step exercise.

First, he realized that the worst that could happen was that his company would have to remove the machinery that wasn’t working and lose the $20,000 they’d invested.

Next, he accepted that potential outcome. The company could qualify the loss as the cost of researching a new strategy.

Finally, he figured out how to improve the situation. If the company bought $5,000 worth of new equipment, they could resolve the issue.

Ultimately, that’s exactly what the company did, and they ended up making $15,000, because the additional equipment proved effective.

As Carrier told Carnegie, “[W]hen we force ourselves to face the worst and accept it mentally, we then eliminate all these vague imaginings and put ourselves in a position in which we are able to concentrate on our problem.”

In other words, when you’re worried, it’s like walking around in circles in a dark room. When you accept the potential negative outcome, it’s as if someone turns the light on and enables you to find the exit.

Businessinsider.com | October 20, 2015 | 

#Leadership : 5 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Relationship With Your #Boss (& Your Next Boss)…The Simple Fact is That the Relationship Between #Bosses & the #Employees they Oversee has Changed Significantly Over the Past Several Decades.

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“A great boss changes your career. Carefully consider your boss and be prepared to take an ‘innovator’ role yourself–it’s not just up to them to reveal themselves it’s up to you to ask the questions.”

 

 

As offices across the country close out a week marked by celebrations of “Boss’s Day,” now is a great time to consider your relationship with your current boss–could it be improved, or maximized in some way?–or what kind of notes you might want to strike with your next one.

“The most important driver of employee engagement is the relationship they have with their immediate manager,” says Piera Palazzolo, Senior Vice President of Dale Carnegie Training. She says the most successful relationships are those where bosses and employees really get to know one another.

“That’s different from years ago, when you weren’t supposed to ask any personal questions. Those lines are blurred now, people want you to care about them, particularly if there’s something going on in their lives that might affect their performance.”

To that end, we checked in with Palazzolo and LinkedIn Careers Expert Nicole Williams about what you can do right now to get a faltering relationship back on track, get the most out of an already positive one, and plan for what you might want out of your next one.

1- The simple fact is that the relationship between bosses and the employees they oversee has changed significantly over the past several decades.

“An employer feels they need to work hard to keep you at the company,” says Williams, adding that at the same time, “the expectation is you won’t need as much guidance and hand holding.”

Couple that with the changing nature of office environments that now include a new generation of employees with totally different work styles, and your boss has a lot on his or her plate.

“In terms of command and control this generation is much more apt to question their boss’s judgment, and the expectations for bosses are higher. They’re expected to be more empathetic and in-tune with what this employee’s needs are.”

For some bosses, particularly those who came of age in much more formal, hierarchical work settings, this may be a tall order. Eliminate the guess work and learn to be super direct about your bosses goals for you and your team, and how you can best meet them. Ask specific questions about their communication style and preferences.

“The easiest way to is to find out and ask,” says Palazzolo. “‘How often should I check in with you? If I come across a stumbling block, what’s the best way to reach out to you?’ Find out. Don’t guess. Make sure you’re understanding exactly what’s expected of you.”

 

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2) Personal lives are a bigger part of the workplace now–but not all bosses are on board.

Both Williams and Palazzolo emphasize that bosses and employees that get to know each other tend to form more supportive teams.

“By and large the best boss-employer relationships have a level of personal depth. You have a level of empathy and can help look out for one another,” says Williams.

But not all bosses want to hear about your weekend or the problem you’re having with your brother-in-law. In that case, you have to find other ways of communicating and forming bonds. Williams suggests breaking the ice by asking about your boss’s previous work experiences and what they learned in other positions, which allows for reflection and honesty without the pressure of talking about your current workplace.

And when it comes to conversations about that current workplace, ask open-ended questions to try to learn what they want, then pin down your to-do list with more specific queries.

“A lot of anticipation is required,” says Williams. “Whenever possible, clarify asking what it is that they want. Pose it from the perspective of, ‘I want to help you to perform.’”

3) It’s okay if your boss plays favorites, but be strategic as to how you play back.

Lots of bosses have their pet employees–the ones they get along with particularly well, the ones they know they can dump extra projects onto, the ones who just to seem to curry favor for no particular reason. If this sounds like your manager, consider how you can be strategic in developing a positive, confident relationship.

Insecurity and anxiety, says Williams, don’t just ruin romantic relationships.

“Desperation sneaks into professional relationships as well, and ‘Like me!’ tends to backfire. Hold back, and let your performance be the key to ingratiating yourself. You’re not even talking about what you’re bringing to the table, you just bring it.”

And don’t forget about forming strong relationships with  your coworkers, particularly if your boss’s affections are distributed arbitrarily. Performing as a strong team player and an independent leader is a great way to distinguish yourself.

“When other people like you, that triggers to the boss that you might be someone who’s worth paying attention to.”

 

4) Know when it’s time to part ways with a boss who’s holding you back. 

It is possible to develop a productive relationship with a challenging boss, but it’s also important to know when it might be beneficial to move on.

“Choosing your boss is really important in terms of your career,” says Williams. “You can have a bad boss and learn as much as you can from them, but if they’re starting to impede your morale, and you can’t separate this bad boss from you and your performance, that’s a warning sing.”

5) Considering a new job? Don’t forget to think about what kind of boss you’d like to have, and be on the lookout for that. 

Knowing what kind of person you’d like to work for can be an important key to your success, and while it’s not always something you can truly control, you can be on the lookout for hints as to what kind of manager a person might be. Williams recommends paying careful attention during interviews to a person’s office, their behavior in an interview setting, and what kinds of questions they ask.

An entrepreneur, or a boss with an “innovator” personality, for example, will be someone who will challenge you continually and present new opportunities for growth–but they won’t necessarily manage you actively, you’ll likely have to do a lot of the leg work.

“The innovator’s office is generally speaking a mess,” says Williams. “This person is more likely to check their email or smartphone over the course of a conversation. You can see their wheels turning. They talk more about themselves.”

A boss who’s less comfortable with forming more personal relationships, meanwhile, is less likely to “have personal photos. All of [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][their] office supplies have to do with the office, you don’t get any indication of personal interests.”

“The kinds of questions they ask you help indicate what management style they have. Someone who’s more ‘ice queen’ will ask a lot of open-ended questions about what you’ve done in the past, what kind of responsibility you’ve had, “says Williams, whereas “A micromanager wants to know specific details.”

Additionally, Palazzolo recommends finding out more about the person’s history with the company, particularly their tenure.

Ultimately, the best thing you can do for your relationship with your current or future boss is to view it as something that requires active management and development for maximum benefit.

“A great boss changes your career. Carefully consider your boss and be prepared to take an ‘innovator’ role yourself–it’s not just up to them to reveal themselves it’s up to you to ask the questions.”
This is an update of a post that appeared previously.

Follow me on Forbes and Twitter.

Forbes.com – October 18, 2015 |  Kathryn Dill , FORBES STAFF

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#Leadership : 7 Things That Make Great #Bosses Unforgettable… #Google Knows that People Don’t Leave Companies; They Leave #Bosses.

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Once again, Google has topped Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. This marks Google’s second year in a row at the top of the list, and their sixth victory overall.

 

Most people assume that Google tops the list because of their great benefits and all of the fun and perks that they pack into the Googleplex. But that’s just part of the equation.

Google knows that people don’t leave companies; they leave bosses. But unlike most companies, who wait around hoping for the right bosses to come along, Google builds each Googler the boss of their dreams.

Their people analytics team starts by researching the qualities that make managers greatat Google. They’re the managers everyone wants to work for. Next Google built a training program that teaches every manager how to embrace these qualities. Once managers complete the program, Google measures their behavior to ensure that they’re making improvements and morphing into managers that Googlers want to work for.

 

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Google is building bosses that are so good, they’re unforgettable. And why do they do it? In the words of Laszlo Bock, Google’s SVP of People Operations, “Our best managers have teams that perform better, are retained better, are happier — they do everything better.”

Indeed they do. Unforgettable bosses change us for the better. They see more in us than we see in ourselves, and they help us learn to see it too. They dream big and show us all the great things we can accomplish.

When I ask audiences to describe the best and worst boss they have ever worked for, people inevitably ignore innate characteristics (intelligence, extraversion, attractiveness, and so on) and instead focus on qualities that are completely under the boss’s control, such as passion, insight, and honesty.

Google’s program isn’t the only way to become a boss people want to work for. Any of us can study the unique qualities of unforgettable bosses to learn valuable skills.

1. Great bosses are passionate. Few things are more demotivating than a boss who is bored with his or her life and job. If the boss doesn’t care, why should anybody else? Unforgettable bosses are passionate about what they do. They believe in what they’re trying to accomplish, and they have fun doing it. This makes everyone else want to join the ride.

2. They stand in front of the bus. Some bosses will throw their people under the bus without a second thought; great bosses pull their people from the bus’s path before they’re in danger. They coach, and they move obstacles out of the way, even if their people put those obstacles there in the first place. Sometimes, they clean up messes their people never even knew they made. And, if they can’t stop the bus, they’ll jump out in front of it and take the hit themselves.

3. They play chess not checkers. Think about the difference. In checkers, all the pieces are basically the same. That’s a poor model for leadership because nobody wants to feel like a faceless cog in the proverbial wheel. In chess, on the other hand, each piece has a unique role, unique abilities, and unique limitations. Unforgettable bosses are like great chess masters. They recognize what’s unique about each member of their team. They know their strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes, and they use these insights to draw the very best from each individual.

4. They are who they are, all the time. They don’t lie to cover up their mistakes, and they don’t make false promises. Their people don’t have to exert energy trying to figure out their motives or predicting what they’re going to do next. Equally as important, they don’t hide things they have the freedom to disclose. Instead of hoarding information and being secretive to boost their own power, they share information and knowledge generously.

5. They are a port in a storm. They don’t get rattled, even when everything is going haywire. Under immense pressure, they act like Eugene Kranz, flight director for the Apollo 13 mission. In the moments after the explosion, when death looked certain and panic seemed like the only option, Kranz kept his cool, saying, “Okay, now, let’s everybody keep cool. Let’s solve the problem, but let’s not make it any worse by guessing.” In those initial moments, he had no idea how they were going to get the astronauts home, but, as he later explained, “you do not pass uncertainty down to your team members.” People who’ve worked for an unforgettable boss often look back later and marvel at their coolness under pressure. That’s why, 45 years after Apollo 13, people are still talking about Eugene Kranz and his leadership during that crisis.

6. They are human. And they aren’t afraid to show it. They’re personable and easy to relate to. They’re warm. They realize that people have emotions, and they aren’t afraid to express their own. They relate to their people as a person first and a boss second. On the other hand, they know how to keep their emotions in check when the situation calls for it.

7. They are humble. Since these bosses don’t believe they are above anyone or anything, they openly address their mistakes so that everyone can learn from them. Their modesty sets a tone of humility and strength that everyone else follows.

Bringing It All Together

For many unforgettable bosses at Google and elsewhere, things clicked once they stopped thinking about what their people could do for them and started thinking about what they could do to help their people succeed.

Inspire. Teach. Protect. Remove obstacles. Be human. If you cultivate these characteristics, you’ll become the unforgettable boss that your people will remember for the rest of their careers.

Who is the greatest boss you ever worked for? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

 

Forbes.com | October 15, 2015 | Travis Bradberry

 

Your #Career : What to Do If you Think you’re About to Be Fired…Employees Often See the Signs a Termination is Coming Long Before it Actually Happens. Supervisors Avoid Them. Coworkers May Even Avoid Eye Contact.

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In Many Cases, a Worker is Subject to Repeat Disciplinary Meetings & May Even be Cautioned that If Behaviors Don’t Improve within a Certain Time Period, Dismissal is Guaranteed.

Employees often see the signs a termination is coming long before it actually happens. Supervisors avoid them. Coworkers may even avoid eye contact. In many cases, a worker is subject to repeat disciplinary meetings and may even be cautioned that if behaviors don’t improve within a certain time period, dismissal is guaranteed.

But whether an employee is braced for being fired or it comes as a complete surprise, the impact is usually just as devastating.

In instances where an employee sees it coming, it can be easy to wonder if action can be taken to prevent it from happening. Here are a few things you can do if you fear termination of employment is in your immediate future.

Don’t assume

Before you start desperately scrambling to save your job, take time to figure out what brought this fear on in the first place. Are you listening to rumors or is it just a general feeling in the air? Unless you’re absolutely certain your job is in jeopardy, don’t approach your employer or initiate any fact-finding missions with your co-workers.

Instead, spend your energy working as hard as you can to do the best job possible. If you’re concerned about your performance, speak to your supervisor about what you can do to improve without mentioning your fear of being fired. You’ll likely gain valuable feedback that you can put to use.

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Change your behavior

Of course, the best thing you can do is change the behavior that might lead to the end of your employment. Do you perpetually miss deadlines or turn in substandard work? Is your negative attitude impacting the employees around you?

Take time to determine the behaviors that are putting your job in jeopardy and do everything you can to prove to your employers you’ve changed. Pay close attention to your business’s superstar employees and ask for their advice. You’ll likely find your coworkers are more than happy to help a struggling team member, especially if you phrase it in a way that indicates you look up to them.

Clean up

When it becomes fairly clear your days are numbered, go through your work-issued devices and remove any personal information. Clean up your email inbox, as well. Your employer likely will lock your accounts on the day of your termination, so if you have any personal information you need, save it and take it home.

Begin discreetly taking home personal items like knickknacks and family photos, since you’ll likely be asked to box everything up in mere minutes before being escorted from the building. Try not to make your clean-up effort obvious to avoid alerting coworkers and supervisors to the fact that you’re preparing for a speedy exit.

Stay classy

No matter what happens, remain professional and classy at all times. The coworkers who watch your exit today could be the very people who help you later in your career.

Aside from maintaining your reputation, being professional is much more likely to lead your employer to think he might have made a mistake than being unprofessional, which only confirms the wisdom of the termination. Even after you’ve put the termination behind you, refrain from maligning your former employer in any way. This only reflects poorly on you.

A termination can be grueling, but if you take the right steps, you may be able to avoid it. If you can’t avoid it, you should still take measures to make the process as painless as possible.

Being fired can actually open the door to opportunities you never would have had otherwise, leading you to your next big challenge.

John Boitnott is a journalist and digital consultant who has worked in TV, newspapers, radio and internet companies in the U.S. for 20 years. He’s an advisor at StartupGrind and has written for NBC, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur, USAToday, and VentureBeat, among others.

Businessinsider.com | October 12, 2015 | John Boitnott

#Leadership : How Successful People Make Smart Decisions…With so Many Decisions Taking Up Each Day, Learning to Prioritize Them & Make Them Effectively is Essential to your Success & Happiness.

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Your days are filled with a constant stream of decisions. A study from Columbia University found that we’re bogged down by a good 70 decisions a day.

 

Some decisions are minor, like what to eat, which route to drive to work, or in what order to tackle tasks. Others are more difficult, like deciding between two job offers, whether to move to a new city for someone you love, or whether to cut a toxic person out of your life.

With so many decisions taking up each day, learning to prioritize them and make them effectively is essential to your success and happiness.

While I’m familiar with many strategies successful people use for effective decision-making, what follows are the cream of the crop.

They Turn Small Decisions Into Routines …

Decision-making works like a muscle: as you use it over the course of the day, it gets too exhausted to function effectively. One of the best strategies successful people use to work around their decision fatigue is to eliminate smaller decisions by turning them into routines. Doing so frees up mental resources for more complex decisions.
Steve Jobs famously wore a black turtleneck to work every day. Mark Zuckerberg still dons a hoodie. Both men have stated that these iconic images are the simple result of daily routines intended to cut down on decision fatigue. They were both aware of our finite daily ability to make good decisions, as is Barack Obama, who said, “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing, because I have too many other decisions to make.”

… And Make Big Decisions In The Morning

Another great way to beat decision fatigue is to save small decisions for after work (when decision fatigue is greatest) and to tackle complex decisions in the morning, when your mind is fresh. When you’re facing a stream of important decisions, a great trick is to wake up early and work on your most complicated tasks before you get hit with a bunch of distracting minor decisions (phones ringing, e-mails coming in). A similar strategy is to do some of the smaller things the night before to get a head start on the next day. For instance, lay out your outfit at night so you don’t even have to think about it when you wake up.

 

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They Pay Attention To Their Emotions

There’s an old saying: “Don’t make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions,” and it definitely rings true. Successful people recognize and understand their emotions (including their intensity and impact on behavior) so that they are able to look at decisions as objectively and rationally as possible.

Unfortunately, most people aren’t good at managing or even recognizing their emotions.TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that only 36% of us are able to accurately identify our emotions as they happen. Strong decision makers, on the other hand, know that a bad mood can make them lash out or stray from their moral compass just as easily as a good mood can make them overconfident and impulsive.

They Evaluate Their Options Objectively

When really wrapped up in a decision, successful people weigh their options against a pre-determined set of criteria because they know that this makes decision-making easier and more effective. Here are some helpful criteria to consider: How does this decision benefit me? How does it hurt me? How does this benefit ___? How does it hurt ___? Does the decision reflect my values? Would I regret making this decision? Would I regret not making this decision? Does this decision reflect my values?

They Sleep On It …

Sleeping on your decision ensures that you have clarity of thought when you approach it the next day. It also allows time for your emotions to run their course. When you act too quickly, you tend to react, but when you give more focus and time to your decision, you expose important facets of it that you didn’t see before.

… But Not For Too Long

Successful people know the importance of gathering as much information as they can, but at the same time, they make certain not to fall prey to analysis paralysis. Instead of waiting for the moons to align, successful people know that they need to have a timetable to follow in reaching their decision. Once they set that date, they are motivated to do their homework and some soul searching in order to meet the deadline.

They Use Exercise To Recharge

The stress of a major decision naturally produces cortisol, the chemical that triggers the fight-or-flight response. Cortisol clouds your ability to think clearly and rationally. When you find yourself stressing about a decision, try exercising. As little as 30 minutes is all it takes to get a good endorphin-fueled buzz and to return to mental clarity. Exercise also helps you get past that fight-or-flight state by putting the cortisol to practical use. Research shows that long-term exercise improves the overall functioning of the brain regions responsible for decision-making.
They Always Go Back To Their Moral Compass

Successful people know the importance of sticking to their morals when making an important decision. Morals serve as trusted guides when your emotions are pulling you in a different direction.

They Seek Outside Counsel

When approaching a decision, we have a natural tendency to pick an alternative and then to gather information to support that decision, instead of gathering information and then choosing a side (this is called confirmation bias). A great way to beat confirmation bias is to seek outside opinions and advice from people who bring different perspectives to your situation. Their perspectives help you weigh your options more objectively and to spot your subjective or irrational tendencies.

 

Forbes.com | October 7, 2015 | Travis Bradberry