Career Anxiety

Do you struggle with career anxiety? What I am asking is whether you have a sense of uncertainty about your career goals or what career best fits you? If you do, don’t worry because I believe 75% of the world struggle with this. And to be frank, the universities do not prepare a younger generation to truly understand their long-term goals albeit it sometimes they are difficult to plan for at such a young age. However, I do believe our system can improve. I do believe we can help a younger generation gain some insight as to what they could potentially do for a career based on thoughtful mentoring and not hiding from the fact that it is hard to know what the next decade will bring. All I am trying to emphasize in this brief blog is that career transitions and career planning for young people is nearly non existent and that is a shame. No wonder young people go to college and soon find themselves searching for a job after graduation only to never work in a career for which they studied in college. Why? I would suggest that we adults have not talked enough with them about choices; their strengths; personality; and all other facets of career goals outside of their selfish desire to make lots of money. Sure, that is a goal but it should not be the driving factor. What is money when you hate your job, feeling frustrated and fatigued? Such result will make ever other aspect of thier lives miserable. Better to be in a career planning mindset that is filled with meaning than career-schizophrenia, if you know what I mean.

Being an Entrepreneur

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to create a product or services that solved a problem? I have many times. When I begin thinking about the problem and practical solutions, life gets the best of me. My 9-5 job takes over my mind as well as the most important part of my life, my wife and family. The desire to solve a challenge in the world is much easier than making it happen. The truth is being an entrepreneur is hard. Hard in the sense of the time needed to be devoted to all the components and resources necessary to make an innovative idea come to fruition. I have heard, however, that if an entrepreneur’s idea is successful, the next idea is not as challenging. Perhaps the day will come when I can see one of my many ideas become reality. Until then….I will keep working to provide for my family and find ways to give back to others. To me, that is an important part of being on earth. What I have should not be only for me. But I should find it in my heart to be giving and generous with what I have. If an innovation does get “legs” one of these days, I hope it will be a solution that gives back to teh broader world and helps those who need support.

The Real Reason You’re Having a Hard Time Getting Things Done at the Office – WSJ

I have found this article to be spot-on.  For the most part, I work from home but once did work “9-5” in an office environment.  Looking back, I really enjoyed the interactions with colleagues and still excelled at my work.  Currently, when I do head down to HQ for meetings, it is good to see everyone, but I find myself not being as productive.   The chit-chat is nice because it fills my socializing cup.  Yet, I am more distracted because I agree with the writer of the article, that my muscle memory for office work is weak.   Will I ever go back to the office?  At this point in my career, I wonder whether that will ever happen.  Besides, in the consulting world, an individual can be quite effective working entirely remotely if they have the self-imposed work ethic of beign a self-strater.     Source: The Real Reason You’re Having a Hard Time Getting Things Done at the Office – WSJ

A Leaning Tree

When I first saw the tree leaning against my neighbor’s fence, I knew it was finally time to do something about it. That tree had been dead for quite some time, but I kept ignoring it because it was in one of the farthest places on my property. But, one day when I was cutting the grass, I looked over from my tractor and noticed how the tree was now leaning and could potentially create a cascading problem. It could not only damage my neighbor’s fence but their shed which was not too far from away. Not only would I need to pay for a new fence but the damage to the shed. All I could think about at that moment was how I should have taken care of that tree some months earlier. If I had only cut it down when I first saw how dead it was and in an upright position, I would not be in this predicament now.

This is such a great reminder how important it is for us to take care of those areas in our lives that need attention when they need attention rather than putting it off. When we are looking at our CQ and our feeding and weeding plan, be sure to address those areas which are not “upright and unhealthy”. Take care of those areas of your life that need attention before you reach a point when you wish you had addressed it earlier. What “trees” are learning in your CQ plan that you need to revisit and adjust? Are there areas in your life that you once were doing well but have neglected but now realize it is time to re-engage?

38 Smart Questions to Ask in a Job Interview

Source: 38 Smart Questions to Ask in a Job Interview

The Three “P’s” Important for CEOs to keep a Priority.

For some time now, I have been pondering about some of those I am privileged to work for and those I co-labor with. One of those individuals is the CEO. Boy, what a tough role to be in but also a position that has great potential to create and initiate tremendous progress. Yet, for those who have the honor to be in a CEO position, there is much to consider if their goal to bring growth and opportunity to their company. What then are the critical components a CEO should focus? My suggestion is to focus on three important components of all great companies: People, Profits, and Possibilities. In my opinion, when a person has the privilege to truly navigate the direction of a company, they need to take care of the People of the company. And, I would strongly suggest, that in all board meetings or upper management discussions, the state of the people must be reviewed and addressed before any other business. Why? Simple, the success of any company comes from its people. If the people are not cared for or placed as center to its success, it will only be a machine and not a producer of goodwill for both its clients and its employees. Second, the profits to loss need to be discussed, obviously. There can be no doubt that one report needs to be reviewed, discussed and perhaps dissected to determine how the company can increase revenue while also keeping in mind how best to care for its employees. Thirdly, which is really the heartbeat of a CEO’s key role, is to ponder the possibilities. These possibilities are all about the future. The possibilities are about dreaming of growth and becoming more profitable. It is about increasing the revenue and even instituting possible new products and/or services that increase not only the value of the company but energize and inspire employees to give their all. There is so much to be said here regarding the key employee-facing role of the CEO and not just a dreamer/planner. But I will say here that ALL CEOs MUST be inspirers and communicate often to their employees about the state of the company or else they will create their own stories which will unfortunately be unfounded and could create divisiveness and a debilitating workforce. All CEOs out there, care for your people in the midst of concern for profits and the possibilities. And, inspire your people with consistent communication or else…..

Selling in a COVID world

It is amazing how the landscape of business development has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic was thrust upon the world. With its mysterious and sneaky onslaught, it has taken away businesses and livelihoods, to say the least. But now that life is somewhat getting back to pre-COVID life, what are businesses to do about reengaging with their sales and business development? I have been in sales for the las 15 years and from my personal experience, the only true way to get back to business being healthy is to sell as you once did. For sure the pandemic has changed how some people or businesses sell their goods, but in the consulting world it is all about build a level of trust and comfort with the clients considering your services. I do think selling a physical product can be sold through virtual meetings and the occasional face-to-face visit. When it comes to selling consulting services it is always about the right fit and that perception can only be accomplished with a personal and professional visit, in my opinion. The tried and true selling method that will always give you an increased win rate is the face to face meeting. To be honest, I don’t have real analytics about this but my guess is that over my years of selling services in the biologics and pharmaceutical industry my win rate has been about 90% when I have visited potential clients verses 50% when I have only had a phone conversation or only replied to an RFP without a visit. Selling in a COVID environment has been challenging. But, as new remedies become available to limit the effects of this virus; companies begin to open their offices for at least a hybrid model of office hours; more employees start to answer their phones or at least reply to introductory emails; and companies begin to hire or rehire staff, the face-to-face selling style will come back to win the day. And, I need to say, cold-calling, although tedious and time-consuming is the only way to sell consulting services. Why? because your potential clients don’t trust marketing messages. They trust people and when those people are a right fit for their needs. Those messages can only be truly accomplished initially face-to-face.

Um… let me think about this for 1 second.

Source: Barbados offering 12-month remote-work incentive to attract visitors

See Yourself in the Distance

This past week our family took a brief vacation to an area of the country that has lots of lakes. And, a couple of the activities we enjoyed was kayaking and taking an historical boat tour around one of the most notable lakes in the area. As I was listening to our our host on the history tour, I couldn’t help but look into the distance over the water surface of this particular lake and think about a couple questions, “I wonder what is down that way in the distance? I wonder what life was like around here several decades ago?” Those questions made we also think about our lives. When we are journeying through life too often we are enamored, and some times overwhelmed, with the here and now. Or, we become so concerned with what is coming up in near future. Unfortunately, because of the pace of life, we don’t take the time or due diligence to think far into the future to see what life might be like for us. It is this mindset though that is necessary to begin processing a purposeful journey. We need to foster a mindset that strikes a better balance between today and tomorrow. Our minds and actions need to have fun today which helps guide our future to be fulfilling instead of being surprised one day when we find ourselves in a place we didn’t want to be or imagined being.

The other realization which once against firmly makes me a purposeful person is the second question I asked of myself on the boat trip. When I personalize the questions it boils down to the simple fact that I want to leave a good legacy for my loved ones and perhaps others. When they think back on my life I hope they think of a man who helped others, was a man of integrity, generous and giving, and a person who lived by convictions and not caving to others ideas just because it was easy.

I want my life to mean something. I want my life to be fulfilling. I hope you want that too.

Atul Gawande: Want to get great at something? Get a coach | TED Talk