Category: General

Dancing Butterflies and Job Security

A friend called last week, and from his earlier email I could figure out why. The re-org his company started 2 years ago finally hit him. He’s been with them 12 years in senior global roles, 25 years professional experience, sterling academic, work and legal credentials, cross culturally sharp. He called to see if I…
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The Song Is You..

Which, by the way, was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein.. I’d written in my recent blog on “How to Find a Job” of the importance in being comfortable when looking for another position, in knowing how to talk about yourself with poise. It bears repetition. I find many executives tongue-tied when it comes…
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The smart-ass syndrome, 5 ‘do not’s’

My one strong piece of advice to those entering the work force; don’t be a smart-ass. Here’s what smart-asses do at work: [list] Do not take instructions well. Work is about doing what you’re asked to do-the way the boss or the company wants it done. If you want to do it differently, build it…
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Transitioning to 2013; a buyer’s guide

The end of 2012 approaches, and we transition to the next year very soon. At the stroke of midnight the clock ticks, and we “start” 2013. An easy transition, no? There are personal transitions of business which necessitate more thought-and where [I think] it gets interesting. Transitions of: [list] New job in the same company…
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Send In The Clones??

Many corporates believe that in order to build a high performing team, hire top talent, in turn they’ll attract their own ilk, et voila, problem solved for talent acquisition. The best hire the best, right? Mediocre talent hires even worse talent. That’s the thinking, and has been ingrained in management. This is, of course, nonsense,…
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There is no war for talent–not in Asia, anyhow

The ‘war on talent’ was coined by McKinsey in the late ’90′s, for which they made a simple demographic assumption about talent in the US and Europe. With a low or negative birth rate, there would be less people to take over from the baby boomers, and not enough people to fill the job opening,…
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The tree in my patio

As the US election comes down to the wire, the two sides remain firmly against the other. There was a time when there were political ‘adversaries’, not political arch-enemies that make everyone spew venom. Which somehow made me think of the tree in our backyard. Go figure.. We moved into our flat 3 1/2 years…
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It’s not all about you

One comment I could often give C level people I speak to is that “It’s not all about you” (something I also say to my kids at certain intervals). Let me explain. The word I dance with is ‘humility’, which I’ll simply define as ‘understanding not everything that happens for the better is because of…
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Networked or overworked?

What is your network? How large is it? How varied, how supportive for you is your network? If you think this is a simple exercise or question, you probably don’t have the right network yet. It amazes me how many ‘senior’ business people are less than interested about building, cultivating and maintaining their professional network…
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Please please me

I had coffee last week with a woman who is General Counsel for a US based consultancy. She reminisced about her first job 20-some years ago, working with a senior partner in a law firm who was a notorious SOB. His reputation was to intimidate and grind down those who were supposed to help him.…
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