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Strategy: 4 Techniques that will Make you a Better, more Confident Negotiator… Use your “BATNA” as a Secret Weapon. It Stands for the “Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement”

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Whether you’re looking to nab a deal with a new client or ask for a salary increase, you could benefit from learning some proper negotiation technique.

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As Google HR boss Laszlo Bock notes in his book “Work Rules!,” a reluctance to negotiate may also be a major factor on the persistence of the gender pay gap in the US.

In an oft-cited Carnegie Mellon report from Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever from 2003, they found that among the university’s recent business school graduates, 57% had attempted to negotiate a higher salary in their first job, while only 7% of women did.

And even if you’re an aggressive negotiator, you may be making some common mistakes.

We spoke with University of Michigan Ross School of Business professor George Siedel, who has taught negotiation classes around the world and the Coursera course “Successful Negotiation,” to learn how anyone can become a better negotiator.

Here are four essential tips.

Listen.

A negotiation isn’t simply offering a deal and accepting either a “yes” or a “no” after a chance to persuade the other side.

“Good negotiators are the ones who walk into a deal in listening mode,” Siedel says. He recommends that you ask plenty of questions to understand where the other side is coming from and what they’re trying to get out of the deal.

You should be trying to gain the upper hand through the accumulation of knowledge regarding the deal at hand rather than just focusing on the sound of your own voice.

 

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Ease into it.

“You need to know the other side before diving in,” Siedel says, adding that Americans traditionally have a harder time than people of other cultures accepting this.

If you and your team are meeting with representatives of another company, consider meeting them for drinks or dinner the night before the negotiation. If it’s just you and you’re going to see your boss to negotiate a raise, ease into it with some chit-chat. It’s about building trust and easing tension.

Siedel says that his friend moderated a border dispute between Peru and Ecuador. This friend had the two nations’ prime ministers enter a room to talk and two generals do the same. After a long time passed, the two generals returned looking upset. They told Siedel’s friend that they wasted their time chatting about the medical condition that both of their daughters had rather than discussing the topic at hand.

He responded by telling them that their discussion was actually a huge success in moving the negotiation further, since they realized the other side was human rather than just a rival.

Go in with a clear sense of what you want.

“The richest people in the world go into a negotiation knowing exactly what they want,” Siedel says.

Before entering the negotiation, determine your target point, which is your ideal situation. Balance this with a reservation price, which is the point that you won’t cross. If you’re in a position to sell, this would be the minimum you’re willing to part with your assets. And if you’re in a position to buy, this would be the maximum you’re willing to spend.

Don’t be caught off guard by anything the other side proposes, and don’t get manipulated beyond your limits.

Have an alternative prepared.

One of the fundamental aspects of Siedel’s course is using your “BATNA” as a secret weapon. It stands for the “Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement” and refers to what you have to fall back on if the negotiation results in no deal.

If you’ve got a strong BATNA, you should let the other side know. In the course, for example, Siedel says that if Ford approaches a supplier it may say that if they do not agree on a price Ford is happy with, then it will take its business to one of five other suppliers it is ready to go to. If you can’t use your best alternative as leverage, refrain from explaining it to your opponent.

Siedel also recommends trying to find your opponent’s best alternative (or lack thereof) so that you can attempt to use it against them.

If you’d like to go beyond the fundamentals but don’t have time for Siedel’s class, you can check out his book, “Negotiating for Success: Essential Strategies and Skills.”

Businessinsider.com | April 14, 2015 | 

\http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-be-an-effective-negotiator-2015-4#ixzz3XNbDEjDb

Your Career:How To Look For A Job Without Your Boss Finding Out…The Conventional Wisdom Says that You Should Keep your Job Search a Secret from your Employer.

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The conventional wisdom says that you should keep your job search a secret from your employer. If your supervisor finds out, she will think your head is no longer in the game. She’ll stop giving you choice assignments, she won’t pick you for the team that’s prepping for the presentation at the annual meeting in Aspen, she won’t send you to the industry conference in Hawaii and if you have a salary review coming up, she won’t advocate for a raise.

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In this story I’ll tell you how to protect yourself from these bad outcomes. But first I must note an alternative scenario: She could realize that she’s in danger of losing you and offer you a raise and a promotion so you won’t leave. That’s happened here at Forbes more than once.

Nevertheless, in most instances it’s wiser to keep quiet about your job search until you have an offer letter in hand. At that point you can give your current bosses a chance to keep you. Also many people embark on a job search only to realize that the position they have is better than the new opportunities they discover. If you want to stay put, it’s usually best not to rock the boat.

Example: Greenwich, CT career consultant Debra Feldman, who works mostly with C-suite executives to put together search strategies, had a computer programmer client at a Chicago data analytics firm. He was the president of his company, which was taken over by Nielsen. After the acquisition, he found himself pulled into endless meetings instead of pursuing his true love, coding.

Feldman helped him run through several opportunities, including a job in India. But he realized his job wasn’t so bad and had irreplaceable perks, like the fact that he could bicycle to work. After a six-month search he decided that he didn’t want to make a change after all. “He decided the grass was really not greener,” says Feldman. “He figured out that he could manage internally to shift to a different situation where he was happier.” If he had let his job search get out into the open, it could have damaged his status at his old job and made it tougher to make that lateral move.

But there was an upside to his search. He did what we should all do all the time: He got out and networked with influential people in his field, building relationships that could bear fruit in the future. “The best kind of stealth job search is to develop contacts who will recruit you,” says Feldman.

In other words, if you’re great at maintaining your professional network, you won’t have to engage in the difficult and time-consuming process of seeking out contacts in companies where you might want to work, laboring over so-called “pain” letters that lay out what you can do for those companies, imposing on people and convincing them to take time out of their busy days to meet with you.

Instead those great opportunities will come to you and it will be much easier to take the advice I’m about to dole out below. Example: Our crackerjack young career writer Jaclyn Smith had stayed in touch with another top Forbes writer Jenna Goudreau, who had become the careers editor at BusinessInsider. Jenna came to Jaclyn and offered her a great new job that Jaclyn took. It even happened to me once when a former colleague recommended me for a position at CBS News that I sometimes regret that I turned down.

Here are tips for keeping your job search secret. Some of them may seem painfully obvious but Feldman says that people routinely fail to follow them.

1. Don’t use your work email or phone. I admit I’m guilty of this, blithely assuming that my employer isn’t burning up time searching through the 50-100 emails I write a day. But I’m being a fool. My boss could easily detect my actions and use them against me.

If your phone is not company-issued, go ahead and use it but if you have a company BlackBerry, buy yourself a personal phone. Hillary Clinton may claim it’s a pain in the neck to have more than one email address, but even I, one of the world’s most tech-challenged people, have figured out how to get both my gmail and Forbes account on my personal iPhone and Macbook Air (full disclosure: the Genius at the Mac store actually set it up for me).

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  1. Use headhunters but swear them to secrecy.Most recruiters are discreet but it doesn’t hurt to be crystal clear about wanting them to be careful not to reveal your name until things get serious. The recruiter could be working for your present employer.

3. Don’t use sick days for job interviews. I had a long argument with Feldman about this. Call me unethical but for a colleague who never gets sick or takes personal days I don’t see the harm in saying you’re under the weather on a day you have an interview. But Feldman insists that not only is it wrong, you could get caught. “It’s a benefit, not an entitlement,” she says. “What if your boss wants you to conference into a meeting by phone at 10am? Are you going to say you’re too sick?” Take a vacation day or a personal day. You don’t have to explain yourself.

4. When possible, schedule interviews when you’re not supposed to be in the office. Personally I am not a fan of breakfast meetings but that can be the best time to make a connection. Feldman says she has had several executive-level clients who have interviewed while traveling on business. “Many of my clients will coordinate their travel and meet in airports,” she says, “or they schedule a layover.” One Feldman client, now a chief information officer at a financial services company, regularly attends the World Economic Forum in Davos and had meetings there. He wound up leaving Minneapolis for a job in Frankfurt.

5. Don’t come to the office dressed differently than you usually do. We have a casual office at Forbes but in the summer I like to alternate jeans with nicer work attire like black silk pants and a blouse. If you do that, it won’t draw attention to your business look. But I’m surrounded by tattooed graphic designers and web developers who wear t-shirts and hoodies. They’d best change after their job interview. On the other hand, maybe web developers can take a page from Mark Zuckerberg’s book and go to an interview in a hoodie. Personally I’d say put on a tie.

6. When you update your LinkedIn profile, undo the “Notify your network” button on the right side of the page. I’m ambivalent about this piece of advice, since the smart folks among us update our profiles frequently to list new accomplishments and changes like promotions. But it’s probably best to play it cautious. Adding recommendations, which you should do, is a red flag.

7. Don’t tell your work friends or your brother-in-law. You need to have confidantes and ideally, mentors, to help you sort through your job search strategy and potential opportunities. But you need to make sure they can keep quiet. Work friends are dangerous as confidantes, though I’m proud to say I succeeded once in not only keeping a fellow Forbes writer’s job interview secret but convincing him he should go on the interview in the first place when Money magazine called, even though he was happy at Forbes. He got the job, which included a healthy pay hike and a step up to more opportunities.

8. Don’t post on social media. As my 18-year-old might say, “Thank you Captain Obvious,” but many of us are so Facebook- and Twitter-addicted we can’t help ourselves from blurting about what’s exciting in our lives. Even an oblique update like, “Watch this space for some exciting news,” can be a give-away. As with email, I have a hard time thinking my boss is going to waste time looking at my FB postings, though we are friends and Feldman says many bosses regularly check their colleagues’ social media postings. I’m probably being naïve, especially since I work in media.

9. Don’t print your résumé out at the office. More obvious advice that Feldman says too many people don’t heed. Go to Kinko’s or buy yourself a printer. “You need to assume a job search is going to cost you money and you can’t avoid it,” she says.

10. Get recommendations from past colleagues and managers. If you’ve been in the same job for a long time, your previous bosses may not remember you all that well. Look to colleagues and managers who have moved on from your company but know your work well, and of course tell them to keep your search on the down low. Another obvious piece of advice that some people don’t heed: Do not ask your current manager for a recommendation.
11. Don’t slack off. It can be very tough to keep up with your work when you’re looking for a job, which can seem like a full-time job itself, especially if you need to write proposals or in my business, story memos. But if you suddenly stop performing at work, people will know something is up.

If your supervisor catches you in the act, be honest and try to open up a discussion about your current role and how you might improve it. Describe the new challenges you’re seeking. That could lead to more happiness where you’re not expecting to find it.

But most important, assiduously keep up your network. Go to conferences, publish papers, establish a personal website, send interesting articles about your field to people you meet at events, grab drinks and coffee with former colleagues, and as they say, never eat alone. I confess I find this advice wearying and even somewhat unrealistic for many of us. But if you can do it, it most certainly will help your career.

Forbes.com | April 14, 2015 | Susan Adams 

Strategy: How To Stand Strong When Facing Adversity…It’s Funny How Sometimes the People you’d Take a Bullet for are the Ones Behind the Trigger.

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It’s funny how sometimes the people you’d take a bullet for are the ones behind the trigger. Actually it’s not that funny at all…it’s really sad when it happens to be true. It’s unbelievably hard when someone you love and respect and consider a friend does something to hurt you deeply. It’s downright brutal.

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I’m sure many of us have been through times where this has happened. We are betrayed by someone we once trusted and believed in, and that we thought trusted and believed in us. Then we find out later that this person we would have literally taken a bullet for is the one standing behind the trigger pointing the gun at us. It is a horrific experience to go through.

Whether it happens at the hand of a once valued friend or coworker, or a beloved family member, or a former spouse we once gave our heart to, or a business partner we once trusted…betrayal by anyone we once cared about is one of the most heartbreaking things to recover from.

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It becomes even harder to recover when that person goes on to do all they can to slander you, spread lies about you, and try to paint a picture of you that couldn’t be farther from the truth of who you are. But what can you do? You can’t force them to stop lying about you and slandering you. I suppose you could take legal action, and sometimes you might not have any other choice than to do that, but at the end of the day everyone loses in lawsuits except for the lawyers. So what then can you really do? I’ve put a lot of thought into this subject lately and here is what I have decided:

First and foremost, you have to accept the fact that you can’t control the lies other people will tell about you, and the more you try to the more frustrated you will become.

Second, remember that the only thing you do control is how you react to their lies. Don’t ever stoop to their level. Don’t pay them back by spreading lies and slander about them too. The only revenge you can allow yourself to get is to leave them behind to wallow in their misery while you simply move forward with your life.

Third, you have to accept that the most you can do to show the world who you truly are is to try every day to live your life in such a manner that anyone who truly knows you won’t believe their lies.

Fourth, never forget that what other people think isn’t what should matter at all – the only thing that matters is what God (or the universe, or whatever higher power you turn to) thinks, and what you know in your heart God thinks about you. That’s it. As long as you know God is proud of you then you don’t need to worry about anyone else’s opinion of you because God is the only one with a perfect knowledge of who you are and what you’ve done…everyone else is just guessing. God is the only one equipped to pass righteous judgement on you and thank heavens for that!

Fifth, is the one great lesson that we can learn from the unfair treatment we receive from others, and that is: Never allow yourself to judge someone else by the negative opinion of others! Recognize how horrible it made you feel when someone judged you unfairly or when believed lies and slander about you.

When you hear someone spreading lies or sharing mean gossip about someone else, stop yourself from taking their word for it. Always remember that you shouldn’t believe the unkind things you hear about someone are true just because someone with venom toward them said they are.

“What’s that?… You heard a bunch of stories about me? From someone who hates me?…Well then it must be true…!”

At the end of the day you can always tell when someone is miserable in their own life because they spend their life looking for ways to destroy someone else’s. When people betray you, spread lies about you and slander you, you simply have to make the decision to remove them from your life…and you can’t allow yourself to mourn the passing of these people from your life because the only purpose they serve is to drag you down.

“Life is like Twitter TWTR -1.14%. You can’t control what people say and do. You can just follow or unfollow them.”

My advice is this: Unfollow them. Then move forward with your life doing the best you know how to do, surrounding yourself with positive people who believe in you and inspire you. And never forget that you are amazing!

~Amy Rees Anderson (follow my daily blogs atwww.amyreesanderson.com/blog )

Leadership:10 Success Habits that will Dramatically Improve You/Your Business…Successful People Strongly Believe in Something & are Driven to Manifest It.

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In order to achieve success, you need to adopt the habits that will drive you to the top.  Successful people strongly believe in something and are driven to manifest it.

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Their path is so strong that it keeps them true to their ideas and principles, despite the inevitable times of adversity and disagreements.

Related: 5 Weekend Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Financial gain is not the sole definition here. “Success” means a deep commitment to the pursuit of the fullness of life.  Along the way, the following ten habits of success will serve to improve all areas of life, both personal and professional.

1. See the value in every detail.

To be successful, emphasize the results of your actions. Pay attention to each action as you strive for success and invest meaning and value into each step.

Any action lacking a clear purpose leaves you vulnerable to reacting to unexpected challenges. So, make a habit of directing each detail of your business toward your larger visions and goals. Train your mind to do the things that are especially hard and challenging.

When each detail has value, you have control over making it bold, determined and full of purpose. It is through this detail that you carve out your own personal fulfillment.

 

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2. Practice mental clarity.

Avoid getting bogged down in mental tasks. Learn to make quick and conclusive decisions. Mental clarity makes it easier to see which decisions bring you closer (or take you further) from your goals.

Before altering a decision, however, carefully consider the pros and cons of any change. Impulsiveness may lead to disaster. Any time you change a previous decision, use the opportunity to learn what needs to go better next time, and further clarify the details that will meet your standards.

Making decisions quickly and changing decisions intelligently leads to balance.

Related: Your Comfort Zone Is Killing Your Success

3. Listen by sensing messages, not just hearing them.

Listening takes a tremendous amount of self-control, to not only check your own impulses for getting what you want, but also analyzing those you work with to understand what is really being communicated.

Make a habit of paying less attention to the surface messages people convey and instead listen for what is underneath.Tune in to your gut to “sense” other people’s emotions and feelings. Most of what they communicate is nonverbal. Truth is often expressed through body language, tone of voice, eye contact and touch.

Without the discipline to listen and sense the underlying messages, you may derail your success and see it get “lost in translation.”Student Sitting and WritingFlickr / Patrick Gage Kelley

4. Make lists.

Adopt the habit of writing down what you want accomplish for the next day, week, month and year, then prioritize the list. This way, you’ll effectively allocate the time necessary to each task in accordance with its importance.

Remember that a list is a contract. The moment you write things down, you have agreed to make these things happen. Action items in written form are closer to being accomplished than are the things you merely think about.

5. Write down your thoughts in a journal.

Writing out your thoughts is a useful habit for translating your thoughts into tangible form. Writing gives perspective to what you want, where you are at, what things you do not want to repeat and what needs to be accomplished, to get to your goals.

When you write, the left brain is distracted by the task, making room for the more innovative right brain to express your out-of-the box, creative ideas which are necessary to navigate your way through your goals.

Journaling itself is the ultimate practice for finding perspective in solving problems.There is no better way to come up with practical solutions than to spend time ironing out patterns, successes, failures, improvements and the generation of new ideas.

6. Love what you do.

All the elite success stories we see, from Oprah to Bill Gates to Walt Disney, are people doing the things they most want to do, and earning substantial income as a result. To emulate these people, you must commit to channel your work in a direction where that work adds value to society.

Financial worth is merely a side benefit — a reflection of the value you have added to other people’s lives.

7. Be willing to pay the price.

Success takes sacrifice. Develop the habit of “showing up” — consistently and every day. Be committed to the long haul and be willing to expend unlimited time and energy working toward your goals.

There is no path to success through laziness. Many entrepreneurs are not as successful as they could be because they aren’t willing to “pay the price” to reach those higher levels of commitment.

Make it a habit to identify the distractions you need to give up that consume time but add no tangible value to your life or business. Place those distractions into the category of leisure and commit to putting work responsibilities first, and leisure second.

The number one focus in success is achieving the goals you set to get there.

8. Practice self-coaching.

Entrepreneurs who are exceptionally successful make a habit of maintaining a positive inner dialogue, so make positive self-talk your habit. You can either talk yourself through challenges or talk your way deeper into them.

Negativity takes no effort. That type of lackadaisical attitude has no room in your life. Adopt a positive outlook to be successful. This does not mean you have to be happy all the time, just that you do not let negative emotions drag you down.People Running MarathonFlickr / Chris Brown

9. Engage in physical activity.

There is no better way to clear your mind, connect with your creativity, increase your brain chemistry and improve your sleep quality than to engage in physical activity. Make it a habit to increase your “aliveness” and improve your health, happiness and longevity.

The brain gets tired when engaged in constant mental activity, while physical activity is a necessary pick-me-up. So engage in some type of physical activity every day.

10. Give back.

To be truly successful, you need a life mission that reflects your desire to make a significant difference in the lives of others. Your main motivation should not be money. The non-monetary purpose of your career is what will bring you the happiness, self-satisfaction and significance you are striving for.

Be clear on why you want to do what you do. If you are plagued with a hunger for money alone, then that is what you will be: plagued. Find the deeper purpose of your vision and drive it to better the lives of others.

In reality success is not something to be enjoyed by the select few. We all have equal opportunity. The main differences are limited to motivation, will, effort and habit. Therefore, be someone who attains success by being bold, determined, patient, creative and independent. Good habits lay the groundwork for your ability to make it to the top.

Related: Peter Thiel: Luck Is Just an Excuse For Not Working Hard Enough 

 

Businessinsider.com | April 13, 2015 | SHERRIE CAMPBELL, ENTREPRENEUR

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244651#ixzz3XE3AbHiC

Leadership: 3 Ways To Motivate Your Team In The Changing World Of Work…Leadership Today Demands both Influence & Inspiration. Which Require a Commitment to Meet People Where they Are.

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As the pace of change accelerates across the workforce, there’s a significant need for leadership to step up. Yet as the “Workforce 2020” study from Oxford Economics uncovered, barely half of surveyed CEOs said their leadership knows how to inspire and empower employees. That’s not going to cut it.

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Where Leadership Styles Come From

In my life, two learnings have shaped the type of leader I’ve become more than others – one from childhood, the other from parenthood.

As a native of South Africa, I grew up during both the apartheid era and the Rainbow Nation under Nelson Mandela. I watched a new chapter in the history of my country unfold before my eyes. I saw how a leader could unite people in spite of vast differences – color, socioeconomic situation, and life experience – to build a nation committed to reconciliation and transformation.

How many of you have taken the online quiz “what’s your superpower?” (Guilty.) Nelson Mandela’s superpower was revealed in the way he connected with people to engage and motivate them to work for a better life. Not just for themselves, but for others. And while I can say that’s not the superpower I apparently have, it’s something I work to emulate every day.

 

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Leadership today demands both influence and inspiration. Which require a commitment to meet people where they are. Nelson Mandela said it best, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

Another key influence on my leadership style is something very personal, my two sons, now ages 8 and 11. They remind me I’m required to embrace an ever-changing balance of power and influence – both as a parent and in the workplace.  Access to information, data, and social networks has changed the dynamic in both. My boys ask questions, give opinions, and regularly question my authority (sound familiar?)  – empowered by that access to information. So just as I as a parent must adapt my style to match the exhausting pace at which my children learn and absorb the world around them, I have to do the same thing in business when dealing with my team.

So while leading may not be as easy as it used to be, successful organisations don’t panic by change – they embrace it.  As the world of work evolves, so must our approach to leadership

Effective leaders inspire and motivate talented employees to maximize their potential. And that’s never been more important, as our work forces become more diverse and more globally dispersed than ever. One day I may call an office in London or San Francisco my work location, the next it may be my kitchen table, and soon after a client’s office or British Air row 11.

To stay connected and motivated, employees need a simpler, standard way of collaborating and communicating – whether full-time or contingent, co-located or virtual, the youngest generation or the oldest.

Certainly there’s no “one size fits all” solution. But technology today is simplifying the landscape for employees and companies. Here are three things I keep in mind:

1. Keep things simple

When it comes to managing talent in this global and hyper-connected economy, simply automating old processes for recruiting, payroll, time tracking, expenses, and the like won’t work. Instead, you need simpler, standardized processes to motivate and align employees with business goals. And every faction of the workforce – full-time employees, a growing contingent workforce, and leadership – must be considered when determining whether you’re making the business simpler and not just more automated.

 

2. Invest in your employees

Today’s workforce does not yet possess the skills needed to keep up with technology advancements. Companies are complicit – too often talking about how to develop talent rather than actually investing in it. The “Workforce 2020” study found that only 40 percent of employees are given the opportunity to expand their skill sets. That’s not enough at a time when entire industries are obliterated with each advent of new technology.

What’s the answer? Creating a workplace culture that encourages learning starts at the top. Leadership teams must understand that new skills cannot just be acquired just through hiring – a very expensive and inefficient propositioncosting in the 1.25 to 1.4 times base salary range. Better to give your current employees easy access to resources that are relevant, insightful, and engaging – anytime and anywhere. The technology is there to support this: social platforms for collaborative learning and development, programs that track learning progress, and open content MOOC-style courses from the top content providers and universities around the globe.

 

3. Maintain a focus on customer success

Nothing unites a team better than customer success. Remember how your young kids were motivated by rewards to try harder? I can say a certain candy bar worked miracles in my house. With customer success at the center of everything you do, I believe organisations will innovate faster and more often, delivering better products and service, and helping customers remove complexity from their own businesses. The result? Happier customers and happier employees.

This story also appeared on the SAP Business Trends community.

 

Forbes.com | April 13, 2015 | Mike Ettling

Your Career: Google HR Boss Shares his Best Advice for Succeeding in Today’s Workplace…In the First 10 Years of your Career, Try a Lot of Different Things

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Since Laszlo Bock became Google’s senior vice president of people operations in 2006, the company has grown from a workforce of 6,000 employees to 60,000.  Today, it has more than 70 offices across 40 countries and receives more than 2 million job applications every year.

laszlo bock google

–  Bock says not to specialize before you turn 30.

Neilson Barnard/Getty ImagesLaszlo

In that same time, it’s secured a comfortable No. 1 spot atop several rankings of the best places to work.

Bock recently spoke about his new book about Google, “Work Rules!,” with venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Beyers (an investor in Google since 1999) for a podcast episode of Voices of KPCB.

At one point in the conversation, Doerr asks Bock to share his best career advice for a knowledge worker, and Bock has an unorthodox answer, which we’ve edited for clarity:

The conventional wisdom on how to manage your career is to specialize. They talk about the T-Model, where you finish school and you spend your first 10 years specializing, and then 10 years out you get good, and then you become a general manager (that’s the top of the T). I have completely the opposite view.

Because everyone’s doing that. So if you want to win, you need to do something different.

In the first 10 years of your career, try a lot of different things. Don’t overthink it. Experiment. Work in different companies. Be in a startup; be in a big company. Work for a branded company; work for somebody nobody’s heard of. Work for a nonprofit. You’re going to get a level of breadth that somebody who’s specialized won’t have.

Ten years in, by the time you’re around 30, you should declare your “major.” That’s when you decide here’s “what I want to be when I grow up,” and you specialize.

If you want to be a user interface designer, you’re going to be competing against a bunch of people who have been doing that for 10 years, and they’re a dime a dozen. You’re going to come in having done something like working for a historical society or having traveled the world, and you’re going to be different.

Because you’re different you’re going to have an advantage with the insight you can bring. The cool things are happening at the intersections of fields, not deep, deep, deep in a field — with a few exceptions.

And then in your next 10 years, you accelerate.

In the third decade of your career, you sort of reap the rewards. You’re C-level in a company, or you’re a founder. And you just do your own thing.

Businessinsider.com | April 3, 2015 | 

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-laszlo-bock-best-career-advice-2015-4#ixzz3XBO2DGvt

 

Strategy: 5 Email Lessons Every Employee Should Learn From The Sony Hacking Incident…Here are 5 Lessons Every Employee Should Understand when it Comes to using Company Email

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Almost everyone in the world has heard about the incident where Sony Pictures Entertainment became the victim of a cyber attack and sensitive information was leaked to the public, including internal company emails. While this situation highlighted the issue of cyber-security, it also provides a good warning for all employees on the use of email in business.

girl-typing-on-computer-5

Here are five lessons every employee should understand when it comes to using company email:

Lesson #1: Assume no expectation of privacy.Emails you send using your employer’s email system are generally considered to be company property. So be aware that your employer could potentially read every email you send.

Like this Article ??  Share it !   First Sun Consulting, LLC- Outplacement/Executive Coaching Services, is Proud to sponsor/provide our ‘FSC Career Blog’  Article Below.  Over 600 current articles like these are on our website in our FSC Career Blog (https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/)  with the most updated/current articles on the web for new management trends, employment updates along with career branding techniques  .

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Lesson #2: Don’t assume your employer’s email system is secure. Employees at Sony Pictures thought that no one except the intended recipient would ever see their emails. Unfortunately, that was an incorrect assumption and the insensitive and inappropriate content of some of the leaked emails wreaked all kinds of havoc. To be on the safe side, assume your work emails are not secure and that the system could be hacked.

Lesson #3: Be a role model of professionalism in every email. Think before you send anything via email and consider the repercussions that could occur if the email you’re about to send gets published for anyone in the world to read. Strive to make every email you write a representation of your high level of professionalism, character and integrity.

Lesson #4: Avoid email for sensitive communications. Decide if the topic for discussion should be live or via email, especially if it’s of a sensitive nature. It’s okay to send an email follow-up after a meeting to ensure attendees are aware of the required action items, but don’t use email to gossip, badmouth others or share your personal opinions – especially if they’re negative.

Don’t use company email to send non-company “stuff” such as goofy cat videos or pictures of your latest beach vacation. And this should go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: NEVER write anything in an email that could legally compromise you or your employer, such as comments about someone’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or anything that falls into the category of “protected classes” under state laws.

Lesson #5: Consider a conversation instead of email. Over 108.7 billion business emails were sent and received every day during 2014, according to research by The Radicati Group, Inc. That’s an average of 121 daily emails for business users. You might think a live discussion will take longer than sending an email, but for many topics, a quick telephone call or walking over to chat with a coworker will take less time and also help you avoid multiple back-and-forth emails.

Bottom Line: Email is a tool used by almost every business and employee in the world. It can be a wonderful communication device, but use it responsibly and respectfully so you won’t inadvertently damage your career.

~ Lisa Quast, author of the book, Secrets of a Hiring Manager Turned Career Coach: A Foolproof Guide to Getting the Job You Want. Every Time.   Join me on Twitter @careerwomaninc

Forbes.com | April 13, 2015 | Lisa Quast 

Strategy: 12 Highly Influential People Share the Morning Routines that Set them Up for Success…Leaders have Crafted Morning Rituals that Maximize their Energy, Productivity, & Creativity all Day Long

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Whether you’re up-and-at-’em when day breaks or stumbling out of bed, the way you spend the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day.  That’s why many leaders have crafted morning rituals that maximize their energy, productivity, and creativity all day long.

We asked a mix of high-profile CEOs, authors, investors, and entrepreneurs: What is your morning routine? Read on to find out what they said.

 

Kara Goldin, CEO of Hint Water, checks email immediately after waking up.

Kara Goldin, CEO of Hint Water, checks email immediately after waking up.

Kara Goldin

Kara Goldin.

Goldin wakes up at 5:30 on the dot every morning and heads directly to her inbox, which gives her a clear understanding of what the rest of the day will be like.

After that, she embarks on a hike with her husband and dogs through the Marin hillside of California. While this may seem like a nonessential step in her morning routine, Goldin says it’s absolutely crucial.

“Without my hike, I feel unbalanced,” she says. “I need this time to clear my head, connect with what I love, and center myself so that I can handle any challenge that might come up in the day ahead.”

Read more about Kara Goldin’s morning routine here.

Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and investor, has a three-hour morning routine that gets him ready for the day.

Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and investor, has a three-hour morning routine that gets him ready for the day.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk.

Vaynerchuk, cofounder and CEO of VaynerMedia, plans his mornings down to the minute.

First thing, he catches up on the news: ESPN, Business Insider, and a news aggregator called Nuzzel.

Next, he communicates with his massive Twitter following: “I search my handle and try to find anything I might have missed from the night before, or even that morning, considering my European and Asian bases. I respond to as many people as possible.”

The most unique aspect of his morning routine, however, occurs in the car on the way to the office: He calls his mother, father, or sister, depending on who he spoke with last.

“I catch up with them. Talk to them. Just learn what they’re up to,” he says. “I really value those small moments.”

Read more about Gary Vaynerchuk’s morning routine here.

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Scott Adams, the creator of ‘Dilbert,’ designed his morning routine to maximize his creativity.

Scott Adams, the creator of 'Dilbert,' designed his morning routine to maximize his creativity.

S. Miles

Scott Adams.

The first 20 minutes of Adams’ day are exactly the same, every day. Putting his physical body on autopilot “frees his brain for creativity.”

Concentrating his creative hours in the morning makes sense for Adams. “My value is based on my best ideas in any given day, not the number of hours I work,” he says.

In his home office, he enjoys a delicious combo of protein bar and coffee. “I give myself this ‘treat’ knowing I can be trained like any other animal,” he says. “And I want to train myself to enjoy waking up and being productive. (It totally works.)”

Read more about Scott Adams’ morning routine here.

Billionaire John Paul DeJoria starts his day the same way, no matter where he is.

Billionaire John Paul DeJoria starts his day the same way, no matter where he is.

Kevin Winter/Getty

John Paul DeJoria.

DeJoria, the cofounder of Patrón tequila and Paul Mitchell hair products, starts every morning with five minutes of quiet reflection.

“Doesn’t matter where I’m at, which home I’m in, or what hotel room I’m visiting,” he says. “The very second I wake up, I stay in bed for about five minutes and just be.”

During those five minutes, he tries to be truly “present,” and is grateful for what he has.

After that, the day begins: He examines his calendar for the day, checks in with his assistants, and makes any pressing phone calls.

One thing he doesn’t do: Email. “I know, I’ve been told I’m a bit old school, but it all gets done just the way I need it to,” he says. “It allows me to focus on the most important things that need my attention.”

Read more about John Paul DeJoria’s morning routine here.

Executive Brad Lande became a morning person with these five habits.

Executive Brad Lande became a morning person with these five habits.

Brad Lande

Brad Lande.

Lande, head of Birchbox Man, wasn’t born a morning person.

After a series of life changes — starting and selling a business, getting engaged, going on a meditation retreat, buying a home — Lande realized that the little things, like your morning routine, can have an effect on your health and well-being.

Now his morning routine has five key steps:

  1. Hot water with lemon
  2. Meditation
  3. Yoga
  4. Face oil
  5. Breakfast smoothie

“I did not arrive at them overnight,” he says. “I discovered them along the way, and they have shifted my mornings from a sleepy blur to a clear awakening.”

Read more about Brad Lande’s morning routine here.

‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary checks the international markets the moment he gets up.

'Shark Tank' investor Kevin O'Leary checks the international markets the moment he gets up.

Courtesy of Kevin O’Leary

Kevin O’Leary, a.k.a. “Mr. Wonderful.”

O’Leary, who is also the chairman of O’Leary Financial, wakes up at 5:45 a.m. to check the Asian and European bond markets.

“Good investors don’t stay in bed in North America with strings untied overseas, because if something happens in London or Tokyo while they’re sleeping, everything could change,” he says.

After that, he works out for 45 minutes while catching up on some business TV: “Your health is one investment that is guaranteed to pay dividends!”

Then he’s off to the office by the time the markets open at 9:30 a.m.

Read more about Kevin O’Leary’s morning routine here.

Andrew Yang, CEO of Venture for America, keeps his a.m. routine simple.

Andrew Yang, CEO of Venture for America, keeps his a.m. routine simple.

Courtesy of Andrew Yang

Andrew Yang.

The first Yang does when he wakes up? Push the dog off him.

Next he’ll check on his wife and son. If his son is awake, he’ll spend time with him before heading to the office. If not, he hits the gym.

If he needs an a.m. pick-me-up, he’ll open a memo file on his phone and record three things he is thankful for. “The things I’ve typed on other days are still there,” he says. “It’s a long list. Always helps.”

Read more about Andrew Yang’s morning routine here.

Executive Kat Cole drinks 24 ounces of water every morning when she wakes up.

Executive Kat Cole drinks 24 ounces of water every morning when she wakes up.

Kat Cole

Kat Cole.

Cole, group president of FOCUS Brands, which includes Auntie Ann’s, Carvel, and Cinnabon, has a morning routine that varies depending on whether she’s at home or on the road.

But no matter where she is, she always starts her day by drinking 24 ounces of water, a habit she picked up when she was traveling in eastern Africa doing humanitarian work.

“We are so lucky to have access to clean drinking water, and I think about how grateful I am for that almost every day,” Cole says.

Her routine also includes exercise, and often a breakfast or coffee meeting as well.

“Talking, learning, and thinking with other humans creates a purposeful start to any day,” she says.

Read more about Kat Cole’s morning routine here.

NFL Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton has followed the same morning routine for decades.

NFL Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton has followed the same morning routine for decades.

Fran Tarkenton

Fran Tarkenton.

Tarkenton, who is also founder of GoSmallBiz.com and Tarkenton Companies, swears by his consistent a.m. routine.

“Sticking to a routine has always brought me clarity of thought, a positive mindset, and most of all, successful results for the rest of the day,” he says.

Every morning he consumes a wide variety of newspapers: “I’ll read every part — domestic, foreign, business, sports, even the parts that might bore me a little — because feeding my brain is an absolutely essential part of my day,” he says. “And by reading a diverse selection of papers, I get different viewpoints and different perspectives on all the things that affect me, my life, and my business.”

He also takes cares of his dogs, partakes in some light exercise, and eats a healthy breakfast. Each aspect of his routine is important in its own way. “And they all have one thing in common — they make me more productive so that, in turn, I can do more for anyone I come in contact with throughout the day,” he says.

Read more about Fran Tarkenton’s routine here.

Cal Newport, author of ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You,’ heads outside right when he wakes up.

Cal Newport, author of 'So Good They Can't Ignore You,' heads outside right when he wakes up.

Cal Newport

Cal Newport.

After waking up, Newport stops only for a glass of water before heading outside with his dog.

During their walk, he’ll listen to audiobooks and do pull-ups at a local playground.

“This time of year, it’s dark when the walk starts, but I don’t mind the solitude,” he says. “For me, interesting thoughts have a tendency to emerge when the rest of the world is quiet.”

When he arrives home, he employs a hack that allows him to stay on top of non-work productivity: He’ll dedicate 20-30 minutes to household tasks, like paying bills or researching a contractor for a project.

“This simple morning habit allows me to stay (reasonably) on top of these obligations while expending a minimum of energy in making decisions about what to work on and when,” he says.

Read more about Cal Newport’s morning routine here.

Cheryl Bachelder, CEO of Popeyes, created a morning routine that makes her a better leader all day.

Cheryl Bachelder, CEO of Popeyes, created a morning routine that makes her a better leader all day.

Courtesy of Cheryl Bachelder

Cheryl Bachelder.

Bachelder is a self-professed night owl, so she has a designed a morning routine that gets her “in the right frame of mind for the day.”

She starts her day with music, a tradition she has continued from childhood, which gives her purpose and reminds her of her family.

Bachelder also spends time reading in the morning, as well as writing on her blog.

“To have the energy to lead, we need to be restored and prepared before we get to the workplace,” she says. “When I honor these routines, it makes a big difference in the day.”

Read more about Cheryl Bachelder’s morning routine here.

Nir Eyal, habit-change expert, has a morning routine that starts the night before.

Nir Eyal, habit-change expert, has a morning routine that starts the night before.

Nir Eyal

Nir Eyal.

Nir Eyal, author of “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products,” says that following a morning routine helps him keep on top of what’s important.

“I’ve learned through personal experimentation that sticking to a morning routine improves the work I do and the life I live,” he says.

Eyal starts his morning the previous night: A timer shuts off his internet connection at 10 p.m., and he charges his phone outside of his bedroom.

This gives him more time to spend with his wife, and ensures that he gets to bed at a reasonable hour.

Read more about Nir Eyal’s morning routine here.

 

Businessinsider.com | April 12, 2015 | 

http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-share-morning-routines-2015-4?op=1#ixzz3X6bH5g00

Strategy: 7 Habits of Organized People…Organized People aren’t Born; They’re Built. Here are the Habits that you can Cultivate to be just like Them.

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We all know that one friend or coworker who is super-organized. The person who is punctual, finishes projects with time to spare, and always knows exactly where to find what they need when they need it.  Instead of  hating that person, why not figure out how they do it?

BusinessChange

“Organized people are not born; they’re built,” says John Trosko, founder ofOrganizingLA, a Los Angeles-based organizing firm. “The people who emerge as ‘organized’ use a variety of tools and methods to accomplish their goals and priorities in life.”

Their systems become habits, says Trosko. Here are seven things organized people do on a regular basis to stay on top of it all:

1. ORGANIZED PEOPLE SEEK OUT TOOLS

From kitchen timers to smartphone technology, organized people find tools that can help them make the most of their day, week, and year, says Trosko.

They use mobile phone apps with pop-up reminders, for example. They also use timers to help visualize the passage of time. And they break down tasks into smaller chunks and take short non-work-related breaks in between, which increases their overall productivity.

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2. ORGANIZED PEOPLE SET PRIORITIES

Instead of having an overwhelming number of commitments and little idea where to start, organized people have a clear sense of what’s important, says Lisa Zaslow, founder of Gotham Organizers, New York City-based professional organizers.

“They know what their goals are, what needs to be done when, and what can be put off,” she says. “They start the day with a clear plan of their ‘MITs’—their ‘most important things.’ And they review their plan throughout the day and adjust as necessary.”

3. ORGANIZED PEOPLE HAVE LESS STUFF

The golden rule of organization is to have as little as possible to organize, says productivity expert Hillary Rettig, author of The 7 Secrets of the Prolific.

“They figure out what the core of their professional and personal missions are and eliminate all else,” she says. “They will still have stuff to organize, but they’ve made the job doable.”

4. ORGANIZED PEOPLE CHOOSE SIMPLE SOLUTIONS

When organizing systems are complex, they often go unused. Trosko says organized people use simple tools that make an easy job of putting things away.

For example, baskets hold receipts that need to be filed, bills that need to be paid, and books that are waiting to be read. A hook by the door makes it convenient to hang up a coat. And bowls and trays near an entryway will keep keys and wallets in one place.

5. ORGANIZED PEOPLE PRACTICE MAINTENANCE

Organization requires continual upkeep, says Zaslow: “You don’t go to the gym, get in shape, then cancel your membership,” she says. “Being organized is the same.”

Organized people will take a few moments each day to put things back in their proper places. They might archive an email, for example, or put away papers.

“They don’t drop things in a random pile ‘just for now’—it’s always now,” says Zaslow. “The tiny amount of time it takes to do this is vastly less than the time it takes to look for something that wasn’t put away properly.”

6. ORGANIZED PEOPLE REGULARLY PURGE

Situations change and formerly useful things become unnecessary. Instead of letting clutter sneak up on them, Zaslow says organized people periodically purge. They clear out their files when the drawer starts to get full, for example, and they toss the notes for the project that was canceled.

Zaslow says she once had a client who would buy a new filing cabinet each time one got full: “By the time she called me to intervene, she had file cabinets in her home office, guest room, upstairs hall, den, and basement,” she says. “Needless to say, most of the information was out of date and irrelevant.”

7. ORGANIZED PEOPLE PROJECT THEMSELVES INTO THE FUTURE

Using a two-person mind-set—present self and future self—can help you stay organized, says Lorie Marrero, founder of the Clutter Diet, an online organizing program. She likes to think of her future self when she takes care of small tasks right away.

“If I walk through a room and see a mess, I will say, ‘I bet if I do those dishes now my future self will be so much happier later,” she says. “That motivates me to do those favors for my future self.”

Marrero says organized people also think into the future when they add activities to their calendars: “They ask: ‘What could I do before, during, or after this appointment to improve it?’” she says. If they need to prepare for it, bring something to it, or follow up after it, they schedule it now and put it on their task list.

Fastcompany.com | February 2, 2015 |