Have you ever taken a step back to look where you are in your career? Do you have yourself positioned to move forward if you so choose to? Sometimes advancing is easier than you think.
Just the other day, I reconnected with an old friend. Currently working at a Help Desk she expressed an interest in both Project Management and Business Analysis, IT related.
Here is what I told her I saw based on previous experience: Continue Reading…
“Your largest wealth-building asset is your income. When you tie up your income, you lose.” ~ Dave Ramsey
Does it take money to make money?
Income represents money you can invest to make more money. If you tie up all your future income, you will always be living in the past. As Dave Ramsey tells his listeners every week, you cannot jump at an opportunity without the necessary cash on hand. Continue Reading…
This is part 2 of 2 blog post reviewing my initial experience with the collaborative workspace, Gangplank.
Pack your lunch and stay a while.
Based on my first visit to Gangplank, I decided to commit to spend more time there. So I returned the next Wednesday. This time I got there much earlier than during my first visit and found out I was in time for “Brownbag“. Not having a full understanding of what was going on, I was intrigued as to what it was. This day was a open panel discussion held between the “anchors.” After listening to the discussion and researching what a “brownbag” actually is, I found that it’s where Gangplank invites leaders in the local community to share the success they’ve enjoyed, and challenges they’ve faced in their careers. In this particular case, Gangplank refers to anchors as
“companies that base their operations out of Gangplank, with permanent desk space for multiple employees. Each anchor is involved in Gangplank planning meetings, as well as contributes to the community through donations, services, etc.”
Trust is built through engagement. Continue Reading…
The other night a friend and I were catching up. We usually go back and forth about our favorite sport teams (here is where I lose a few readers… Go Tigers!, Go Wings!, Go Blue!), exchange a few of the latest laughable videos that are floating around on the web, and then wrap up with some profession related topics, questions, comments, and/or gibberish. These usually start fairly late at night and then go onto late/early hours into the morning. I get blamed for sidetracking my friend, who apparently only works late at night.
Catching up and sharing.
So as we are going through our motions, Dave (friend) realizes that I have recently moved from the southwest Florida region to the metro Phoenix, Arizona area. The topic of work, school, and significant other get mentioned, we chat a bit about all three and then he proceeds to give me a few names of some contacts in which he knows that are of IT, SEO, and WordPress relation. One of the contacts and links he sent me pointed me in the direction of a collaborative community called “Gang Plank.” I took a quick peak and bookmarked the webpage to come back to after our chat. Upon further review, I happened to notice that the areas of focus seem to pertain to many of my passions: collaborative exchange, conceptual innovation, music, and many other areas in which harness the creative mindset. So I slated some time for their Hacknight which is every Wednesday night from 6pm to 9pm.
Let’s go check out Gang Plank! Continue Reading…
Co-author of the best seller Freakonomics, Steve Levitt, took the stage at the World Business Forum to share stories about tax fraud, passing gas, and prostitution. This was definitely not a typical economics discussion, but a great storytelling experience. He expressed how some of the best ideas in business today are also the simplest ones.
“The best ideas are the simplest ones, and after you hear them they’re totally obvious, yet they evade us for years and years and years. You don’t have to be Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking to have great ideas. You just have to think and keep your eyes open.” ~ Steve Levitt
He said the problem most businesses have is that they don’t make time to step back and think about things like academics within the organizations. Continue Reading…
Co-founder of Altimeter Group, Charlene Li, spoke on the first day at the World Business Forum. She passionately expressed the value of social technologies.
“Social technologies are all about the relationships you can form.”
Here are a few items of interest and advice from Charlene Li: Continue Reading…
Six weeks ago, I received an invitation to be a featured blogger at the 2010 World Business Forum, which is being held October 5th and 6th at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Come to find out, this is an invitation-only opportunity offered to a select group of top business bloggers, and establishes a membership amongst the WBF10 Bloggers Hub.
As I read over the invite, I was uncertain if it was actually true. I expressed gratitude for kindly extending the invitation to attend the forum and asked why I was chosen to attend, as for I felt that I had yet to contribute anything of significance to the leadership community. Micheal Singer replied with: “I found your blog on someone else’s blogroll, and I took a brief look and liked what I saw. We’re looking for interesting viewpoints. And while many of our bloggers have institutional ties and recognition, etc., we also want some new voices. This is a great opportunity to stretch your voice and reach some new people if you want the opportunity. It’s that simple.” Continue Reading…
“There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there.” - Lee Iacocca.
The man who fathered the Ford Mustang and resurrected Chrysler from financial oblivion wasn’t born knowing how to pull off those magic acts, he learned them. While at Ford, he initiated careful research about how American demographics and the financial wherewithal of consumers would change during the 1960s. He listened to smart people tell him what the country needed, and delivered a classic automobile.
Repeat proven results and continue to build on them.
Years later at Chrysler, Iacocca landed at a corporation in turmoil. Careful analysis showed that the company was in such dire straits that extreme measures would have to be taken to save it. Iacocca ended up needing loans from the government to keep Chrysler afloat. But once he got the money, he revived the company.
When we really listen to others, we learn more about ourselves and our abilities to help others achieve their goals.
In each case, the “big dogs” for Iacocca were the demands of the business: the need for new thinking at Ford and absolute need for a survival plan at Chrysler. These dogs forced Iacocca to listen to them follow them, and ultimately steer him in directions that would benefit both companies.
We gather facts by listening, both with our ears and out eyes. Once the facts are in place, we can then make decisions that help everybody around us.
Managers who wag the dog make decisions without letting the facts tell them what’s right. Managers who take the opposite approach usually get the treats.
How important is it to you for other to listen while you are discussing an important topic? If you sense that you don’t have the listener’s full attention, how do you handle it?
