Careers are a funny thing. We define them individually and as a society. We talk about “retirement” after 30 years of work. Yet, the math on this equation doesn’t realistically work. If we start work in our early 20’s, retirement would be in our early 50s. Yet, we...
There was a post a while back that touched on our lives happening in eras (or chapters). Here’s a snippet of my perspective from that post: “I think the idea of eras has a more magical feel than chapters. Same concept, different perspective. I wonder what would happen...
Yesterday, I turned 55. To celebrate, I decided to create a list of 55 of my favorite blog posts (from the 385 I've published) to jump start your personal development. The look back reminded me of the topics I’ve dug into in the last two years. You’ll see that...
Fast Company recently published an article titled “The Resume is Dead. Here are 3 Reasons Why I Never Ask for One When Hiring”. The author brought forward resume challenges like the inability to understand soft skills, work ethic, and creativity. Going beyond the...
Our personal brand is all about how we are perceived by others. What do they say when we aren’t around? How do our skills, actions, and attitudes align? What message do we communicate. Sometimes we can tie ourselves in knots trying to figure out how to express our...
Yesterday, I wrote a post about becoming a "Me-EO" The post had me thinking about personal branding and being in charge of our career development. I wondered why this has always been a part of my journey and haven't seen it in others. Then, I remembered an article...
Today, nearly 60% of the workforce is comprised of knowledge workers. By the end of 2023, Gartner predicted 39% would be working hybrid. The pandemic brought on the Great Recession. Followed by Quiet Quitting. And, more recently, Coffee Badging - you swipe into the...
We’ve all heard the saying “you don’t know what you don’t know”. I didn’t realize that this came from psychology. The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias that occurs when people who lack knowledge and skills have an unrealistically optimistic view of their...
I’m starting to realize the benefits of re-reading for business. Concepts shared by thought leaders 20-30 years ago are just as applicable today. This might not be the case in areas like technology, but it does ring true in organizational design and...
I’ve been writing about work contracts training and why this needs to happen. R/GA is officially piloting the type of program that could set a benchmark for the future. In the summer of 2023, they released news of a new program called /ASSOCIATES. Now, in Q2 2024, I’m...
I heard someone say that “coming of age” happens at many moments in our lives. Typically, the phrase is associated with the time we move from childhood to adulthood. A transition from one phase to another. Yet, there are many points in life that we make transitions....
There are many situations when we want to highlight our strengths. Performance reviews. Job interviews. LinkedIn profiles. Resumes. Just to name a few. The challenge we often face is how to highlight our uniqueness without bragging. My Perspective I’ve come across...
I’ve covered the concept of planting seeds twice in the past – here and here. The first post was when I was introduced to the idea and the second tied to our careers. These followed the philosophy of this quote: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by...
There is a framework that is credited to Jack Balousek, former president of True North Communications. He said there are three phases of our life – the phase when we are learning, the phase where we take that learning and earn, and then the phase where we return what...
Creative work is full of scary things. Sometimes we do scary things, and the outcome is positive. Other times, the scary event doesn’t turn out well. When things take a negative twist, “scary” can drop the “y”, and turn into a scar. That scar makes the thing we did...
Creative work is full of scary things. Really, any kind of work can be scary if you strive to change the status quo. Without roadmaps of “how it’s always been done” there is no certainty. My Perspective The less we know about a situation, the scarier it can be. There...
Yesterday, we focused on the scientific side of resistance. Resistance holds electricity back. Resistance is measured in ohms - Ω. Resistance transforms electric energy into heat energy. The energy doesn’t go away…it is transformed. My Perspective The summary above...
Resistance has several meanings. In electricity, it’s the force that hinders movement of electrons. Like this: This is equation to calculate resistance: Resistance (measured in ohms - Ω) = Voltage (measured in volts - V) / Current (measured in amps – A) Voltage is the...
As the professional landscape evolves quickly, we evolve the direction of our careers. We take on new assignments. We take new positions – maybe even at a new company. We complete projects we love and sometimes a few we don’t. We take classes or spend time online...
There are many important elements in a play. The setting. The cast. The costumes. The props. The storyline. The acts. This morning, I started thinking about how this structure parallels career considerations. The Considerations Setting – The setting describes the type...
Often, people look to managers and mentors to guide their careers. Both are great resources for encouragement, feedback, and ideas. Yet, when it comes to our careers, we need to make sure we are in the driver’s seat. No one else knows what we are looking to achieve...