I got into my profession at 20 and became a manager at 24.   Some people were still trying to find themselves or figure things out at that age.  I had  friends who were still going to college or switching jobs at 24, but I had a plan.  In order to accomplish what I felt I needed to accomplish-climbing the ladder was the only path for me.   I know I am different, but I didn’t realize what others saw till later in life.  About a year ago, I ran into a high school girlfriend.  I had not had a conversation with the girl in more than 15 years and we were discussing this and that, our lives, kids, careers, […]

Growing up I had this friend who was always trying to make money by doing every get rich quick scheme he could think of.  Remember when stuffing envelopes was the thing that sounded so easy and profitable?  All you had to do was stuff envelopes and you could make millions! Needless to say, he never got rich off of doing that or several of the other things he tried.  He had to, reluctantly, actually work in order to make money.  Life isn’t easy. If we could, we would naturally want to take the path of least resistance. If someone offered you the opportunity to make more money and be more successful by doing less work, we would all jump on […]

One of the most important things in being a manager of people is the ability to connect. Not just with your employees, but with your peers and customers.  If you are not able to create an environment that breads inclusion, you end up missing the mark with people and this then creates exclusion and confusion.   I, as a manager of people, try to find common ground for education.  I try not to use examples or lessons that wouldn’t make eye contact with everyone.  I don’t like to use analogies that wouldn’t connect with certain people because of their background, age, race or sex.  It’s often a challenge, but one of the keys to being a good manager is the […]

Recently a great friend of mine called me for some career advice.  He was weighing his options on wether or not to take a new job or stay with his current employer.  When the new company offered him more money than he was currently making, his old company matched it in an effort to keep him.  He was on the fence and too close to the situation and needed an outside opinion to help process everything.    It’s amazing how that happens.  You work at a place for years and suddenly, when someone else shows interest in you, you finally get offered the amount of money you wanted or you feel you should have gotten prior to another company showing […]

I meet a lot of people in my profession.  I shake so many hands in a given day, that it is a necessity to have a vat of hand sanitizer on the corner of my desk.   I would like to think that one of my better qualities is my ability to be memorable.  Whenever meeting someone new, especially in business, it is important to leave them with a lasting impression.  If they too meet tons of new people in a day-how will you stand out from the pack?  What makes you memorable?  They need to walk away with at least one positive takeaway from the brief or extensive conversation.  Not Ten. They just need one.  It’s important to be […]

You should never pass up a teaching opportunity.  If you are knowingly doing this – shame on you.  If you are someone in need of learning more (that’s all of us) and do nothing to attain that knowledge – shame on you as well.  Education needs to be both shared and sought. In my life, every minute of every day is tied to some sort of sales pitch.  From my wife trying to sell me on getting a new car- to record companies pushing new artists-to account executives trying to convince me to do more or something unique for a client-to a bunch of random “pitches” from various people throughout my day.  It can, at times, be a bit over […]

A very talented friend of mine was recently fired from his job.  At the end of the day, one could make an argument that the people the company kept were not as talented as he is and anyone, from the outside looking in, could look at the situation as unfair and ridiculous. Not me.  I can see why they did it. If employers are not looking to change over or fix a situation, then they are looking for cohesion.  Many employers say that they want to employ “trailblazers” and people with “out of the box ideas”.  What they really want is cohesion.  A system.  A group that shares one idea.  Even if that idea or philosophy prevents them from taking […]

The common mistake many successful people make is, that when they start to see great gains in what they do, they freeze up in an attempt to not ruin what they created.  They feel that by doing the same thing over and over again , they will be able to hang onto their momentum and live off that successes forever.  You will be successful, but for how long? Continuing to do the exact same thing over and over again will put you in a rut and cause your “product” to become stale.    This, as you know,  is not healthy.  Yes, you certainly don’t want to derail the success you created and alter too much of the “secret sauce” that […]

We all need a vacation or at least a break from the daily routine (fill in the words to Chicago’s “hard to say I’m sorry”).  It’s healthy and you deserve an occasional breather.  We all need to go to the Bahamas and drink something with an umbrella in it at least once in our lives!  That’s not what this is about. This is about the people who go too easy on themselves.  Those who give rewards and passes when they don’t deserve them or when they are counterproductive to their goal. “I can cheat on my diet tonight because I was so good for the past 2 days”.   Chances are you were not all that great for those two […]

New year.  New resolutions.  New hope and people looking to make a fresh start.  It’s a starting point for change in some people’s lives and a new beginning of sorts.  There is always new hope attached to the changing of the calendar.   Yet, some people never change.   You go into the new year with thoughts, ideas, resolutions on how THIS year will be different! This will be the time that you finally make that change, lose the weight, finish that project, get the promotion or kick that guy to the curb! Then August rolls around and chances are you still haven’t made that change, you weigh the same if not more, the project is still sitting there, you’ve […]