Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Most people take the path of least resistance.  It is human nature.  People want the maximum amount of return from the least amount of effort.  Most of us want Warren Buffet money with a Jimmy Buffet lifestyle.   

Is it wrong to be this way?

That is a trick question.

Physical work does not guarantee financial prosperity (these days it does not even guarantee financial comfort).  The work ethic that John Calvin espoused has no foundation in reality.  Working long hours does not make you a good person.  Working long hours does not guarantee success.  Yet most of us feel a sense of guilt when we are out of the office.  All of us have been taught that hard work will lead to success.  While this axiom is true today, the concept of hard work has changed. 

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

CareerBuilder’s CEO Matt Ferguson has published his top career trends for 2007.  Here are the highlights:

Bigger Paychecks
To motivate top performers to join or stay with their organizations, employers plan to offer better compensation packages. Eighty-one percent of employers report their companies will increase salaries for existing employees.

Sixty-five percent will raise compensation levels by 3 percent or more while nearly one-in-five will raise compensation levels by 5 percent or more.

Nearly half of employers (49 percent) expect to increase salaries on initial offers to new employees.

Thirty-five percent will raise compensation levels by 3 percent or more while 17 percent will raise compensation levels by 5 percent or more.

More Flexible Work Arrangements
Work/life balance is a major buzzword among U.S. employers as employees struggle to balance heavy workloads and long hours with personal commitments.

Nineteen percent of employers say they are very or extremely willing to provide more flexible work arrangements for employees such as job sharing and alternate schedules. Thirty-one percent are fairly willing.

More Promotions
With the perceived lack of upper mobility within an organization being a major driver for employee turnover, employers are carving out clearer career paths.

Thirty-five percent of employers plan to provide more promotions and career advancement opportunities to their existing staff in the New Year.

Better Training
In light of the shortage of skilled workers within their own industries, the vast majority of employers — 86 percent — report they are willing to recruit workers who don’t have experience in their particular industry or field, but have transferable skills.

Seventy-eight percent report they are willing to recruit workers who don’t have experience in their particular industry or field and provide training/certifications needed.

This is all good news for you.  If you are looking to advance in your current company or looking to make a big move to a new company, 2007 looks like the perfect time to take your shot.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

From p. 119 of Jack and Suzy Welch’s book: Winning: The Answers:

“Point Blank:  HR should be every company’s killer app.  What could possibly be more important than who gets hired, developed, promoted or moved out the door?”

Having the right people makes a big difference in any company.  It doesn’t matter what business you’re in.

Period.

 

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

One of the ways to maximize your value in the Individual Economy is to get an advanced degree.  Free Money Finance has a great post on this topic today.  Here is the money quote:

“The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing includes a chart that lists expected lifetime earnings per education level. The chart lists various education level and what people at those education levels can expect to earn throughout their lives (according to the U.S. Census Bureau.) The results:

• Some high school, no diploma - $1,000,000
• High school diploma or equivalent - $1,200,000
• Some college, no degree - $1,500,000
• Associate degree - $1,600,000
• Bachelor’s degree - $2,100,000
• Master’s degree - $2,500,000
• Doctoral degree - $3,400,000
• Professional degree - $4,400,000

Just to be clear, here’s how Wikipedia defines professional degrees:

In the United States and Canada, professional degrees refer to academic degrees that are specific to a particular vocation or profession. Law school (JD or LLB), medical school (MD and DO), engineering school (BSc. or BASc. in Engineering, BEng., MEng., and DEng.), dental school (DDS and DMD), veterinary school (DVM), business school (MBA), physical therapy school (DPT), pharmacy school (BSc. in Pharmacy and Pharm.D.), schools of social work (MSW), art school (MFA), seminary (M.Div.), and architecture school (MArch) are examples of institutions where professional degrees can be earned.”

At the end of the day, getting an advanced degree pays off if you leverage the education you receive.  Just like everything else in life, education is what you make of it.

Thanks once again to FMF for the info.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

A key quality that most successful people have in common is an awareness of just how much power they possess to cultivate their own happiness. Aristotle said, “Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient.” Self-sufficient people are able to provide for their own needs. They do not expect anyone else to chart their course to success. Instead of waiting for the boss or the HR department to offer them opportunities for advancement, they seek them out actively. Rather than standing around and waiting for new people to approach them, they take chances and extend themselves in social situations, making introductions and getting the conversation going. Others appreciate their proactive approach to life, and their efforts reward them with leads, connections, and opportunity.

Be mindful of how much control you have over your own happiness and success each day. You decide how much rest to get, how to manage your work for the day, how to interact with coworkers, how to approach your boss about a raise or a promotion, which company to work for, how quickly you will rise through the ranks, how much money you will earn. No one can take this power away from you. Only if you relinquish it and put your power in someone else’s hands does he hold any sway over your future. If you are following the path someone else has prescribed for you, take back your life and start making decisions that have meaning for you. Successful people are never content to let anyone else be responsible for their future.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

In planning your future, always keep in the forefront of your mind your individual talents, abilities, and goals. Don’t let yourself be limited by your surroundings. For example, if you work for a company that offers minimal opportunity for advancement, find ways to finesse that system to your greatest advantage, or look elsewhere for opportunities more in line with your aims. If all your colleagues are content Workplace Warriors, stamping that timecard and performing the same repetitive tasks day after day, counting the days and years till retirement, that doesn’t mean you have to settle for that. The value that you generate in your career is completely transferable, wherever you go. Remember that everything you do to advance your career stays with you. Don’t let anyone else set your benchmarks. Decide for yourself, and make it happen. Successful people are loyal first of all to themselves. They know that they must be their own best advocate and seize opportunities, rather than waiting for them to fall in their laps.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

An acquaintance of mine has just started her own business, and she told me she had spent several days designing a banner ad. She says design is not her strong suit and she was really struggling with getting it right. My advice was to hire a graphic designer to do the job. She doesn’t need design skills for her job, so there’s not much reason to do it herself, considering how much time she’s investing. She can most likely find a professional to create an excellent banner ad for less than $100. If she wants to save money, she can seek out a design student who might charge less. Hopefully, the attention she draws to her site and the resulting business will yield much more than what she invested.

I strongly advocate seeking out whatever help you need for yourself, your career, your business, and your goals. In addition to providing resources, the mere presence of these advocates provides encouragement and motivation to keep you moving forward. Seeking out services and support for personal betterment is almost always worth your money and effort.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Robert is an acquaintance of mine who works in a small office of a handful of people. Though he enjoys his finance work there, he feels limited, both in terms of salary and advancement possibilities. Each person in the company does a certain group of tasks, and Robert imagines the employees are fairly well set in what they do there. I do not necessarily agree that he need be limited, and here’s why:

Impact. Because Robert interacts with each of his business partners every day, he has constant opportunities to perform well and have his great work be noticed. He can make strong personal connections with his coworkers and supervisor, and the trust he earns will increase his business partners’ receptiveness to new ideas from him. When problems arise that no one else can solve, Robert has the opportunity to intervene and demonstrate individual value. He has already saved the day on several occasions when a coworker had computer troubles and the on-call tech support person was out of reach. Robert’s no IT expert, but he knows his way around a computer well enough to solve most common problems. In a large corporation, it can be difficult to make a strong impression, but in a small company, it’s impossible not to, for better or for worse.

Growth. Successful small businesses are poised for growth. Companies that are extending their reach and seeking new business need all kinds of input from their employees. Those with a mind for marketing, customer service, public relations, development, or finance will have a lot to contribute in these times of growth. Often, the boss won’t want to go to the trouble of hiring a marketing person, for instance. Instead, he will call on his current employees for their ideas. This kind of flexibility, of course, leads to personal growth, the expansion of skills, and the development of personal equity.

Because of the unique possibilities small businesses offer, I do not believe that anyone working for one has to be limited to narrow opportunities and a humble salary. A small business owner who has employees she values and trusts is likely to compensate them fairly and allow them opportunities to grow with the company.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

A Management Maverick is someone who moves forward and implements solutions without the support of his internal and external customers. Occasionally, this results in great success. More often than not, though, he creates an undesirable issue for the company. The Management Maverick’s main obstacles to success are:

He does not consistently create value. Successful people know that true value lies in finding solutions to other people’s problems. Making decisions and taking action without any input or support from your business partners is not a lasting strategy. You must establish yourself as a key figure in the organization, and a big part of this is being actively involved with your coworkers and helping them solve their problems.

He does not demonstrate the value he does create. His own perception of the value he creates is greater than the perceptions of his customers or supervisors. If your business partners are not aware of and supportive of your work, their appreciation will never cycle back to reward you. Your personal brand helps distinguish you and amplify your success far beyond what is possible when no one knows who you are and what you’re all about.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

The Cycle of Continuous Improvement is not a program from which you graduate—it is an ongoing process. An excellent way to make sure you’re maintaining momentum in this cycle is to do something each week (or each day, if possible!) in each phase of the cycle.

Personal Situation Analysis
To orient ourselves so we can travel to new destinations, we need to know where we are now. Check in with yourself frequently about how you’re doing, what your strengths are, and how you can improve your career skills. What feedback are you getting from others? What is producing the best results for you?

Value Creation
As often as possible, generate new value and solve problems for people. Someone who does this constantly is a tremendous asset to anyone. Set goals, reach them, and then set more. Stretch yourself into new areas, and keep learning all the time.

Value Demonstration
Everybody’s busy, and unless you let people know what a great job you’re doing and how you’re progressing, there’s no guarantee that anyone will notice. Keep people informed of the ways in which you’re advancing and improving. Let your boss know that you are ready and able to handle new challenges and solve problems within the company.

This cycle is the core of Career Intensity. Stay on track with it, and you will create great personal equity and success.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Who is the judge of your success? How do you know when you’re on the right track? While it’s certainly wise to pay close attention to the feedback you’re getting from your customers, business partners, and friends, you must be the real and final judge of your success. No one but you knows precisely what you want and how you plan to get it. A superachiever is often celebrated, but she commonly goes through periods during which she herself is her sole supporter. This is why it’s so important to pursue your passions and believe in your goals. You must believe in yourself, come what may.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Sometimes, no matter how hard we work to generate and demonstrate value, our employers either do not appreciate what we offer or do not reward us for it. If you are working for a company that does not acknowledge your contributions, facilitate or encourage promotions, or negotiate fair pay increases and benefits, you should probably move on.

One of the most significant challenges employers face right now is finding great talent. The best companies compete for top talent and reward their employees generously for sticking with them. Just as you shouldn’t settle for friends who don’t appreciate you and add value to your life, or a romantic partner who doesn’t respect and honor your needs, you should not settle for an employer who doesn’t value your work and reciprocate your efforts and investment.

You have a lot to offer, and you can find a great employer who will appreciate and reward you for your talents and contributions. Why waste time in a business relationship that doesn’t challenge and inspire you to grow when you could be creating enormous value and enjoying the benefits?

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

I am a firm believer in business karma. What you put out into the business world always makes its way back to you, often ten-fold. The way you present yourself forms the mental impression that others have of you. If you are assertive, friendly, positive, and determined, your business partners will see you that way. When someone needs a person who is proactive and persistent, you will spring to mind. Conversely, if you are a disgruntled loner who complains frequently, others will be inclined to skip you over for opportunities.

When you do good things to help your colleagues and customers, they remember and are much more likely to reciprocate at some point in the future. Personally, I have found that the good things I’ve done for people, especially the ones for which I expected no reward, have paid off tremendously, at times when I least expected but most needed a boost. If you point yourself in a positive direction and position yourself for growth, this process seems to occur naturally.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

These days, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, those between the ages of 18 and 32 years of age will hold up to eight different jobs, on average. Loyalty to the same company for one’s entire working life is a concept that has almost faded out of being, as has company commitment to providing life-long employment. This is the age of the individual.

The core value of any money-making organization is its own best interests and profitability. Therefore, putting your fate in the hands of a self-interested organization is not a wise move. The kind of person most vulnerable to the hiring and firing whims of employers are Workplace Warriors, those who provide essential services but little individual value. Intrepreneurs, risk-averse individuals who thrive in a corporate structure, are the most secure, as they offer unique talents that are not easy to replace. Their loyalties are first of all to themselves. They leverage their skills to provide invaluable services and make themselves indispensable. Even if they are fired (though they rarely are), they won’t have much trouble finding great work in the future, since they spend their careers generating portable individual equity.

Whether you want to strike out on your own and start your own business or you feel more secure in a corporate framework, I encourage you to be primarily loyal to yourself. Develop your skills, educate yourself, grow, and shape yourself into a priceless asset to your company and clients. In this scenario, everyone wins.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Whatever is going on in your life, however hard it may be, no matter how difficult, tedious, or dead-end your job may feel, remember that you are always in control. You are in control of yourself, and you are the top strategist in your individual economy. The equity that you build in yourself, through training, experience, relationships, innovations, and ideas, is portable. No one can take these things from you, and you can take them with you everywhere you go. Even if you feel as though the world around you is falling apart, don’t stop creating and generating your own personal value.

You could waste a lot of time complaining about the situation, or you could move ahead in spite of it, leave it behind, or work to change it. In the first scenario, you’re gaining nothing and losing a lot of energy. In the second and third, you’re improving your career and creating and exercising skills that will serve you in every area of life.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Small Office Media points us to a simple but powerful idea put forth at Recruiting.com:

“Successful businesses are successful because they focus on cash flow and profit. They do this by solving their customers’ problems. Most self-made, successful business people got this way by solving their customers’ problems.”

Whoever your customer is—client, colleague, supervisor—the best thing you can do for him is solve his problems. Once you have done that, and particularly after you have done it reliably for some time, you earn his trust and gain good will.

While education, certifications, and experience can only help, these are not what is important to most customers. Most people aren’t actually that concerned about what you’ve done before, or even how or how much you’ve been trained. What they really care about is what you can do for them now.

This is not to say that training isn’t important. The more tools you have to solve problems, the better off you are. But for those of you considering shifting into a new career, taking on new projects, or trying things you have only rudimentary experience doing, I encourage you to go for it. Discovery learning—learning along the way—is an excellent way to get your foot in the door, and it also happens to be an effective way to learn. Focus on quality and solving problems and you can’t lose.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

A CNN Money article on office pet peeves reports that the most irritating element of the corporate environment is “condescending tones”. Offices are full of ego and politics. One great advantage to being your own boss is having the freedom to choose your business partners and refuse the ones who subtract more than they add to your success.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Described and showcased in this article and slide show is the history of the cubicle:

“Robert Oppenheimer agonized over building the A-bomb. Alfred Nobel got queasy about creating dynamite. Robert Propst invented nothing so destructive. Yet before he died in 2000, he lamented his unwitting contribution to what he called ‘monolithic insanity.’

Propst is the father of the cubicle. More than 30 years after he unleashed it on the world, we are still trying to get out of the box. The cubicle has been called many things in its long and terrible reign. But what it has lacked in beauty and amenity, it has made up for in crabgrass-like persistence.”

The article touches upon the theme of telecommuting:

“Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican whose Virginia district is home to many federal worker bees, has made telecommuting his pet project. ‘There is nothing magic in strapping ourselves into a metal box every day only to drive to an office where we sit behind a desk working on a computer,’ he told a congressional committee.”

These days, we are not bound to cubicles or even office buildings. Your career and work situation are what you make them. Full- and part-time telecommuting, freelancing, and running your own business are all feasible options that may offer more benefits to you than traditional employment schemes.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

A few days ago we discussed The Individual Economy.  In case you don’t remember, in the Individual Economy the value created by an individual becomes personal equity and it is portable.  Different industries have flirted with assessing the worth of an individual in a fashion that recognizes his or her ability to create value. The Sports and Entertainment industries have long been a part of their own version of The Individual Economy.  A great athlete or gifted actor can command a premium for his/her services. 

Where the sports/entertainment comparison breaks down is in the market-based nature of those industries.  There are only a few individuals who can throw a baseball 100 miles per hour or bring a fictional character to life to the extent that people lose themselves completely in the film.  The rarity of the talent drives the value of the individual. 

This leaves us with two burning questions:  How does the average person maximize the value they create?  and How do they make certain that everyone knows that they have this value creation ability?  These are the very questions that I set out to answer in my book: Career Intensity: Business Strategy for Workplace Warriors and Entrepreneurs.

As I reflected back upon my own career, I noticed that the most successful individuals I encountered were able to consistently outperform their peers.  I talked with many of these folks and I noticed that they followed a strategy of continuous individual improvement throughout the course of their careers. This strategy consisted of three critical components:

• Assessing themselves and their position within the context of their environment (conducting a personal situation analysis)
• Creating value for their customers (both internal and external) 
• Promoting their ability to create value 

The people who followed this continuous career improvement strategy went on to become superachievers.

One of the goals of Career Intensity – the book and The Career Intensity Blog is to share this strategy with as many people as possible.  As we continue our discussion of success in The Individual Economy, I encourage you to help spread the word about this infectious model for success. In the long run, when we help others, we also help ourselves.

The discussion on this topic will continue in the days and weeks ahead.

 

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Mary Sullivan and Jeff Cornwall both brought to light some interesting information last week.  They both pointed us to a report by the Herman Group that says:

“As employers move through the next 10-15 years, they will discover that concentrating on individuals will be considerably more productive than pushing any one-size-fits-all concept. Employees seek, expect, even demand the personal attention. Their attitudes will drive employers, and then others, to correct their deficiencies. We will see this shift from groups, teams, and classes of people in practically all aspects of corporate life.

Job descriptions will disappear. Replacing them will be role descriptions and individualized “Expectations Statements”. No longer will we attempt to force square pegs to fit into round holes. People will be hired for attitudes and competencies, then trained to build their skills even further. Their training will match their jobs, giving them confidence and satisfaction. Additional training will support job expansion.

Compensation will also be tailored to each employee, rather than paying everyone in the same position the same amount. People, who come to an employer with higher skills, even if those skills are not utilized in their current jobs, will be paid commensurate with those skills. As employers pay more attention to performance management, merit pay will be given more attention. Benefits packages will be designed for each individual employee and his or her family.

Supervisors will engage in more serious performance management, linking individual expectations with individual results. Accountability will be pushed downward in smart organizations, building a greater sense of personal ownership of results.”

This is a utopian success model for what I describe in Career Intensity as The Individual Economy.  In the Individual Economy the value created by an individual becomes personal equity and it is portable.  There is no more need for loyalty to companies as the individuals who provide the most value will always be in high demand.  In a corporate environment these individuals will be called Intrepreneurs.  In small businesses these folks are entrepreneurs.

On the flip side of the coin we will find Workplace Warriors and Management Mavericks.  These individuals provide limited value and will be subject to the same conditions that currently exist in the corporate environment today. 

This is precisely the reason that each and every person must take charge of their own future.  The Individual Economy will reward Intrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs while all others will be stuck in jobs that show little dramatic improvement over the status quo.

For more information, please review the Career Intensity Matrix by clicking here.

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