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Monday Quickie – The One Behavior Which Separates Great From Average Employees

11/25/2019

 
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 We’re constantly bombarded with a litany of articles, studies and discussions highlighting the generational differences in the workplace.  These discussions often confuse and mislead readers by zeroing in on ‘key characteristics’ which supposedly define a generation while subtly stereotyping it at the same time. One of the topics that comes up often in these discussions is what makes for a good employee.  This topic has permeated the business world for decades long before Gen-Z and Millennials entered the workplace over the last 10+ years causing a current day telenovela in the business world.
 
While the generations entering the workforce, and or exiting for that matter, may have a difference of opinion on what they want out of their careers and what they need in order to be happy in their jobs, there is one common trait which is synonymous with all generations and all employees for that matter.  This common trait, or behavior, defines what a good employee is regardless of the stereotypes and or characteristics which accompany the respective generation.
 
When we take away generational characteristics, race, religion, gender and everything else used to categorize and therefore sort and stack people we’re left looking at people’s actions.  Their behaviors.  What I’ve found true over the years is behavior is indicative of the true nature of a person, not their words.  If we say one thing but then do (act) another, our behaviors become the defining force for who we are, not our words.  This is certainly true for employees and their effectiveness as we look at whether an employee is ‘great’ versus ‘average’, or worse.
 
So, what’s the difference between a great employee and an average one?  An employee who excels versus one who mails it in operating at a mediocre level of performance.  The difference is a little behavior known as INITIATIVE.
 
I know what you’re thinking, “that’s not groundbreaking information.  I’ve known this for years.”
 
While we may know this, or have seen it in person, what’s remarkable are the number of people who actually deploy ‘initiative’ in their jobs. 
 
In my 15 years’ of business experience, of which 13 of those years have been in management, and 4 owning a business, I’ve experienced both first and secondhand the difference initiative makes in an employee and leader.  When we strip away all the categories and demographics, mentioned above, this behavioral trait is the one that keeps rising to the top distinguishing the great performers from the average, mediocre and under performing employees.
 
Initiative is everything! 
 
What does initiative look like in a business setting?
 
When I think of great initiative in the work place the first thing that comes to mind is a situation I witnessed firsthand with an employee of mine several years ago.  We had a client who was flying into Orange County to visit with several suppliers, our company being one of them.  My employee, Megan, took it upon herself to pick up our client at the airport, coffee in hand, and bring them to our office for the meeting.  Talk about service, yet her initiative to provide a great experience for our customer didn’t end there.  She also took the client out to lunch in Laguna Beach (our client was from Idaho and had never seen the amazing beaches of Laguna).  The client had also forgot to pack a bathroom bag for their travels so Megan took him to Target to pick up a couple items.  After all this was done Megan shuttled him back to the airport. 
 
Yes, this was an amazing effort by Megan yet what made it truly remarkable and just as memorable was the fact that she did this all on her own.  She didn’t ask for permission; she just took it upon herself to deliver top notch service.  Memorable service at that.
 
I still think about the initiative Megan displayed during this time and marvel at how impressive it was.  Needless to say the client sent us an overwhelming email of appreciation thanking Megan for her time and willingness to shepherd him around.  He said and I quote “It was the best business trip I’ve been on, I appreciate you [Megan] taking the time to ensure I had a good visit.”
 
While that story sounds great it’s certainly not the norm. 
 
Rather than focusing next on the lack luster initiative most employees display at the office perhaps its better use of your time and mine to discuss the ways an employee can change their mindset and actions to better align with an initiative based work approach.  Consider the following:

  1. The next time your company, your boss or the department you work for needs something which you are capable of handling or solving, even if it is outside of your job description, say ‘YES’ and get involved
  2. Don’t ever let your boss find you without work to do; always seek out the next opportunity, next project, next chance to advance the company’s interest and therefore your own
  3. Be proactive in making your boss look good; when you act with the company’s best interest in mind and make your boss look like a rockstar for having an amazing employee on their team (even if they don’t deserve the accolades) it will inevitably make you look good in the process
  4. Speak up or get out – if you are in a meeting make sure people know you were there and had an opinion, if you went through a whole meeting and didn’t offer anything constructive to the conversation you attendance was a waste of time for you and the others in the room
  5. Go out of your way to help someone at work, it doesn’t matter who, so long as you can help make them look great, improve their project or council them through a tough discussion
  6. Find a problem and solve it, then put a one page executive summary together and present it to your boss; if you managed to save the company money in the process be sure to cover this
  7. Find a way to make a memorable impact with an employee, someone in leadership, a client, etc.  Whatever it is you do make sure it’s genuine
  8. If you’re struggling with your job ask for help immediately, don’t wait until its too late
 
 
Key Takeaway:
Possessing good initiative at work makes or breaks the quality of employee you are and often times how you are viewed in the organization.  Are you a blessing to your team and company or are you dead weight?  Having good initiative is the one behavior you can 100% control which in turn can directly impact in a positive way your job and career.
 
Action Item:
Stop making excuses for why you don’t act at work.  Next time you see a problem or issue come up at the office which you are directly or close too take a chance and stand up and get involved.  People who say ‘YES’ I can do that rather than ‘someone else can do that’ frequently experience better career 
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Monday Quickie - 8 Entrepreneurial Lessons That Changed My Career

11/4/2019

 
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As a child I dreamt of being a business owner. While the other kids in the neighborhood were talking about being pro athletes I always imaged myself starting a business.  At the spry age of 10 I opened my first business in the early 90's in my parents basement in rural New York selling used skateboard parts.  It was exciting!  I had a business sign which proclaimed ‘Sk8 Parts’, a rack to display my shoddy products for sale and even a chair to sit on while waiting for the sales to come rolling in.  After a summer being in business I had only made one sale a set of dirty and worn out skateboard wheels for a measly fifty cents to a kid down the street.  That sale bought me a pink panther ice cream from the neighborhood ice man.  While the business didn’t rocket me to instant success like I had envisioned I was hooked on the idea of being a business owner in the future so I could buy the whole ice cream factory, not just one pink panther.
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As I got older I tried my hand at inventing all sorts of things, products that I thought would get me rich, if I could only figure out a way to sell a few million of them.  First it was a gaming chair, then workout towels and even a handheld flashlight projector.  My entrepreneurial dreams ended at the time with a website I tried to start in 2006 that would allow people to ask questions and get advice based off real life business situations they were dealing with.  That was a $2k boondoggle which went nowhere. 
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It wasn’t until the summer of 2015 that I would find my way, diving head first into entrepreneurship by starting Square-1 Engineering.  Thankfully I had a lot of help from many close people around me (wife, parents, friends) who all were incredibly supportive.  Four years into my current entrepreneurial journey I’ve learned and experienced firsthand many things which have helped me navigate my way to present day.  Of all these experiences, learning lessons and awareness gained there are eight which have brought about the biggest positive impact in helping me weather the entrepreneur start up storm:  

1.Get A Mentor
This is the single second best decision you’ll ever make in business.  The first best decision is to become an entrepreneur.  Mentors have experience which you can learn from helping you avoid mistakes along the way. 

2.Support Gets You Over The Hump
Make sure those close to you understand your vision and support it.  They don’t have to buy in 100% but if it’s you against the world there are going to be some very long nights in store.  If you are married it’s vital your spouse understands the opportunity and supports it, even in the down times.

3.Some Things CAN Wait
Some people will tell you it’s important to write a business plan, vision, mission, blah blah blah, right away.  Unless you’re in a situation where you need to ask for capital to start the business the best thing to do is put those things aside and focus all your efforts on how to make money.  Ultimately being an entrepreneur means you’re selling something to someone so the more time you spend on how you’re going to get paid for the product or service you’re providing the better off you’ll be.  

4.You Can’t Be Everything to Everyone
I failed miserably here.  When I did start to get customers I tried to offer them everything under the sun in order to get their business.  Some times it worked, often times it created a nightmare for me as now I had to deliver the goods.  Never over promise, you’ll most likely end up under delivering.  Find one or two areas you can become an expert in, one or two problems you can solve for your customers.  Do that and only that before you start getting into other areas of opportunity.

5.Having a Plan-B is Dangerous
I’ve read countless articles about “the power of having a ‘plan-B’ ” or an alternative course of direction.  I hate that advice.  As an entrepreneur if you don’t believe in what you’re doing and have a plan-B set up in case you fail you’re almost destined to set yourself up for disappointment.  I’m not saying it’s not important to plan ahead for bumps in the road but if you’re going to start a business that should be your one and only focus.  Anything other than a mentality of success has no place for you.  Visualize to materialize.

6.Outsource Work
The first several months I attempted to handle all the accounting and finance portions of the business only to realize two things: 1 – I’m not good at it nor do I like it; 2 – I created more problems than I remedied.  Best advice I got was to pay the money to get a reliable CPA that understood my business and could help scale it up by making good decisions.  Best money I’ve ever spent was a CPA.

​7.The Power Of Saying ‘No’
Crucial to your success as an entrepreneur is the ability to politely and professionally say ‘no’.  Similar to ‘you can’t be everything to everyone’ saying ‘no’ is harder than it sounds.  Naturally you want to say yes to everyone, making everyone around you happy, especially if it’s a customer.  Unfortunately, when we do this we get pulled in a hundred directions which causes us to deviate from our destined course.  If you are asked to do something and it doesn’t align with your top 2 or 3 priorities politely decline and thank the person for the opportunity to be considered, even if it is a customer.

8.Breathe, It’ll Be Okay
Very few things in life actually have the ability to stop you from moving forward in your new business.  When bumps in the road momentarily derail you (you will experience plenty of bumps along the way) take a deep breath and be thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow as a professional.  Stephen Covey put it best when he gave us the 90/10 principle:
 
“10% of life is made up of what happens to you, 90% of life is decided by how you react.” – Stephen Covey

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Monday Quickie - Turn Your Job Interview Into a Successful New Career

9/30/2019

 
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​It’s exhilarating, yet marginally terrifying!
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You’ve got butterflies in your stomach.  Butterflies of excitement, or is nauseous butterflies?  These feelings, normal as they may be, describe two life experiences: job interviewing and dating.  The butterflies of interviewing for a job are often characterized as the same response we get when interviewing.

Ever wondered why a first date feels like a job interview?  Knowing the answer to this can make or break your ability to turn your interview into a successful new career.

They feel the same, seem the same and often produce the same outcomes because a job interview and a date in fact one in the same.

While that may sound like an unpopular parallel to draw hang with me a moment while I explain why dating and job interview is one in the same.  Just as important, why it’s important to understand this and how it impacts your experience and ability to land the job you're interviewing for.

Let’s start with the obvious – people make decisions largely based on feelings. 

Did you know the majority of the time we making hiring decisions based off of one thing – how much or little we like a person.  This has been studied time and time again producing the same outcomes.  We’ll hire someone who may not check every box we need for the job from a function or experience perspective but if we like them as a person we have a tendency to overlook a lack of experience.  We do this because we’re wired to think, operate and act based on our unconscious biases which control our perspectives on race, education, economic status, personality, values, etc.  Simply, if we can relate to the person, we’ll have a tendency to want to hire them more often than not.

Ironically, this is the same exact process we use when searching for a mate and going through the dating process.  When we’re on a date we’re sizing the other person up as quickly as possible to determine ‘is there a reason I should see this person again?’.  Simply, can I relate to them?
We have a positive bias towards people who are similar to us and therefore a negative bias towards people who are different than us.

We don’t often associate first dates and job interviews as one in the same however the more we look into each experience and how we act during them we come to find that both of these human interactions are eerily similar.

How does knowing this information help me with dating and interviewing?  The better we understand the psychology of these interactions, our feelings on them and how we make decisions we can approach each situation with better perspective and hopefully end up on the other side with a better outcome.

Let’s look at the similarities between dating and job interviewing and how each of them impacts our decision making process.

- First Impressions:
This is the holy grail of decision making when it comes to whether or not we like someone initially.  Failure to have a good first impression will more often than not result in a second interaction never making the calendar.  Psychologists call it "thin slicing."  Within moments of meeting someone, we’re deciding and making assumptions on all sorts of things about the other person, from status, intelligence, career success and even promiscuity.  This can be as quick as 7 seconds!  What that means is that everyone is trying to put their best foot forward, which can make things tricky because often times both parties are wondering if the person they’re talking too is the ‘real’ John Doe or the in-character John Doe.
 
- Chemistry:
You know it when it exists.  Things just seem easy.  You laugh more, you tend to lean in closer to the other person more often and you even overlook potential red flags because your gut is already invested in the other person long before your brain has had a chance to catch up.  On the other hand, when chemistry is lacking you feel like you’re on a date from hell.  It’s awkward and painful, causing you to wish you had an escape route pre-planned to get you out of the date or interview.
 
- Communication:
Communication is much more than just verbal, it also includes nonverbal cues like the unspoken word and body language.  Ever been in an interview and eye contact communicated more in 4 seconds what a 10 minute conversation could accomplish?  I’ve been there and it’s a powerful experience.  When our verbal communication is locked in sync it can feel like we’ve been friends for years.  When communication struggles it feels like pulling teeth to have an average conversation.  Both people may be speaking the same language but it seems as if one person is speaking Russian while the other is a Mandarin linguist.  We become bewildered and confused, not exactly a great start towards building a solid relationship.
 
- Commonalities:
“Wow, I went to USC as well.  Fight On!”  “You’re from Handsome Eddy, New York also?  What a small world.” Finding common ground during a first date or a job interview can immediately disarm both parties allowing more casual conversation to occur.  Bonding takes place over the things we find out we have in common such as our love for golf, knitting that fabulous turtle neck sweater for the holidays or volunteering for a similar cause.  It doesn’t really matter what it is so long as we have a shared interest.  Most of us don’t realize when we’re in these moments what we’re looking for is something we already know and like – ourselves.  When we struggle to find something in common with the other party it has a direct negative impact to the chemistry we’re trying to build on.
 
- Perception vs. Reality
As the date and or job interview continues we inevitably begin to ask question to get to know the person in hopes of better understanding them and what they bring to the table.  Many times what happens during these exchanges is we get a glimpse into a person that isn’t very real at all.  I don’t believe people do this on purpose, at least most people, however the fact of the matter is in a first date and job interview we are doing our darndest to put our best foot forward.  As a result, people can often times misrepresent themselves for who they are and what they’re all about.  This is similar to the honeymoon stage where only after a period of time we’ll be able to know if the person today is the same tomorrow.
 
- Emotion
Love at first sight!  Let’s face it, emotion is a part of every first date and job interview, but it can also help us or hurt us in our decisions.  Help us in that if we become emotionally invested in the other person it allows us to overlook small red flags that otherwise might get in the way of us making a decision that could be good for both parties.  Emotions can also hurt us because if we experience something which causes our ego or pride to be damaged we then make decisions that aren’t in the best interest of the interview or date because we’re focused on protecting ourselves.
 
- The Angle
“What’s he really all about?”  ‘The angle’ is described as the feeling when a person has ulterior motives.  This happens both in interviewing and dating.  Candidates are angling to get a job, sometimes presenting themselves in a light which makes them appear more qualified than they really are.  Employers also do the same by upselling the career opportunity to entice candidates to consider the role even though the actual work might not be nearly as glamorous as how it was made out to be, or the company may not be the best place to work.
 
Key Take Away:
People by their very nature go about experiences, such as first dates and interviewing for jobs, in a fairly predictable way.  While the outcome might be out of our control, the way we go into the experience and how we handle ourselves during the experience greatly influences the outcome.  Knowing this information, first dates and job interviews are similar, can help you go through each experience with a broader perspective allowing you to make better decisions for yourself and potential career or company.

Action Item:
Next time you find yourself on a first date or job interview remember that these human experiences are designed to see if it is worth it or not to have a second go around.  The best approach is to just be yourself, as a result you’ll find that your interactions with others are far more valuable to you and the person on the other side of the table.

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Monday Quickie - Breakthrough Leadership Advice Compliments of Drucker

8/25/2019

 
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Are you an effective leader? 

​If you answered ‘Yes’, how did you come to that conclusion?  Did you base your answer off your company financial performance,  goal achievement track record or your wonderful employee morale? What if Peter Drucker himself had an opportunity to review your leadership work, do you think he would come to the same conclusion? 

If by chance you are new to the philosophies and teachings of Peter Drucker I highly suggest taking some time to familiarize yourself with his works.  Short and sweet – Drucker is considered the godfather of business leadership and is responsible for much of what we know today on how effective leaders work and operate.  His works redefined leadership through the 60s, 70s and 80s and we still refer to his teaching on the daily today.

What makes for an effective leader?  Let’s ask Drucker himself.  ‘The Effective Executive’, a leadership book for the times and originally published in 1967, provides eye opening insight on exceptional leadership in ways which broke the mold back then and continue to do so today.  ‘The Effective Executive’ provides a straight forward, simplistic guide to “getting the right things done” for people in a leadership capacity.  What I found amazing about this book is how relevant and simplistic Drucker’s advice is, even for today’s purposes 52 years later in a business world that is far different from when these thoughts were put to paper.

So, what is it then that makes for an effective leader?

All too often I find people enjoy making the topic of leadership how-to’s overly complicated.  Maybe they do that to sell more books or to justify their new and insightful leadership methodology.  For me, I’ve found the more simplistic something is the better chance I have in understanding it, implementing it and continuing to act on it as a new habit. 

Drucker’s approach to leadership success and effectiveness is simplicity at its best.  He identifies the following five core competencies successful leaders should have as a part of the fabric that guides them through their daily work:
  1. Managing Time
  2. Focus on outward contributions, gearing efforts towards results
  3. Knowing where and how to mobilize strength for best effect
  4. Setting the right priorities
  5. Combining #1-4 with effective decision making

Humbly, I’d like to offer up a 6th leadership core competency to add to Drucker’s list:
  1. Empathy. Modern day leadership requires emotional intelligence, or simpler put and ability to be empathetic and understanding of others, especially ones employees.

While this list may seem incredibly simple, I can tell you from personal experience it’s anything but that.  Often times the most simplistic things in life can be the most difficult to master.  Why?  Because it takes discipline.  Though these concepts may be easy to understand, the difficultly comes in the form of holding oneself accountable to doing it above all other things.  That’s the tough part! 

“Intelligence, imagination and knowledge are essential resources [for a leader], but only effectiveness converts them into results.” – Peter Drucker

Being disciplined to doing the right thing at the right time is certainly easier said than done.  So much so that Drucker identifies that the number one reason for leadership failure is the inability or willingness to change with the demands of and expectations of the new job.

Key Take Away:
The leaders’ who are willing to change and adapt while being disciplined to doing the right things at the right time are the ones that will be the most effective.

Action Item:
Read Drucker’s book ‘The Effective Executive’.  Regardless of your job title the insight you’ll gain from his timeless approaches to leadership is worth every minute you spend reading it.
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Monday Quickie - Turn Around Your Career Slump in 8 Steps

7/1/2019

 
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Twice in my career I've been in a slump.
 
Statistically I'm not sure where that puts me in comparison to others having to do with 'career slumps' however I can openly and honestly admit those two experiences were incredibly challenging and equally as eye opening in my personal and professional development. 
 
What is a career slump?
 
It can be a lot of things. A career slump can be a period marked with stagnation, little to no growth, periods of failure, challenges with our mindset and passion to succeed.  Career slumps are all of these things and perhaps none of them at the same time, it just depends on your situation. A career slump could include mediocrity, boredom for extended periods. Lack luster attitudes and or a general malaise where we 'mail it in' on the daily. These are characteristics of a career slump.
 
What I've learned from my two career slump experiences was it was near impossible to get out of it until I understood what got me there in the first place.
 
I'm nervous talking about this. Being vulnerable on a stage like social media isn't necessarily an enjoyable walk in the park yet I've learned that many others share my same struggles so I choose to offer my experiences in the hope that it helps others. Sharing also helps me understand myself better and become more confident with who I am, what I'm capable of and what my 'why' is for doing what I do.
 
There, right there. That's the answer! Getting out of a career slump isn't some magical experience or event that gets you back on track, its sharing and talking about what you're experiencing, how you're feeling emotionally and being aware of how that's impacting you and your career. Whether we want to admit it or not all of us at one point or another will experience a career slump. No one is perfect and times of strife in this life, more accurately our careers, are inevitable. 
 
The key is to dealing with a career slump is acknowledging it, accepting that it’s real then acting to change it.  Similar to the psychiatric process called the ‘five stages of grief’ how we handle dealing with a career slump is a process of admittance, understanding and then action.  It's a lot of soul seeking and working through your feelings to try and understand your mindset and what brought you to your present place.
 
Here's what has worked for me:
 
1. ADMIT: Recognize and admit things aren't great. Say it out loud.
 
2. PRESENT STATE: Ask yourself how you feel in this moment. Write it down.
 
3. EVENTS: Trace back the last 6 months to a year and unwind your experiences, successes, struggles to understand the chain of events which brought you to your career slump
 
4. DIGEST: Sit on this information for a couple days. How does it make you feel? Do you now know why you're in a slump?
 
5. SHARE: Go find two people to talk with. Share with them your situation and present feelings on the matter. (I know...this is a lot of talk about feelings and emotions. Sounds awful, right. The quicker you can get beyond that the quicker you'll find yourself on the road to confident successful empowered you)
 
6. KEEP GOING: Keep sharing your experience with people. The more the better. You'll begin to notice the more you talk about it the better you feel and more accepting you are of the situation.
7. TRANSITION: Now that you know what's going on start out every day with 20 minutes of mindset activities to get you on the road to a positive you (workout, yoga, meditate, do your favorite activity, listen to music, sit in silence, etc.)  It’s all about cultivating a positive mindset which drives who you are and your actions for the day in front of you. 
 
8. ACT: commit to yourself that the experiences you had leading up to your career slump don’t define who you are.  In fact, they make you better!  Now is when we need to make some changes to our career.  Implement a new office schedule, get rid of work if you’re overloaded, take on a new project to get yourself out of your comfort zone.  Maybe you need to find a new job!  Whatever it is, the new you, the new focus must be different than what you were doing the past month.
 
If we change nothing about our actions and mindset we’ll continue to be who we were during the slump.
 
This eight step process doesn’t happen immediately but you'll begin to notice a change in your overall outlook and mindset after a couple weeks of this. Keep it up, don’t falter. As positivity and empowerment come back into your life so too will your energy to kick ass and take names in your career.
 
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Monday Quickie - Should You Consider Getting a Professional Certification?

3/4/2019

 
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​I recently read an article on careers and education which asked an interesting question – “do any of these [career certifications in a particular trade, skill or software program] make a real difference in a job application?”
 
On the surface this question had some great merit.  My initial thoughts were, “Great question.  Of course they do!  People need advanced training and knowledge in order to operate at a high level.”
 
As I continued to read on a perplexing question of my own began to form which gave me an interesting perspective on the article I was reading.  “Does this article, which talks about the importance of choosing the right professional certification, entirely miss the bigger picture?”
 
Survey says - Yes, I believe the article misses the bigger picture!
 
I’m a strong proponent character will always trump competency.  Why?  You can’t teach character, but you can teach competency all day long.  Similar to application versus theory. Application [the ability to apply yourself] in my opinion is a much more vital characteristic for most professionals than theory [an academic or textbook understanding of something] alone.  Over the years I’ve worked with hundreds of engineers spanning pretty much every discipline there is in the world of product development and product manufacturing.  To do this day I’ve yet to find one person who excelled in their career with a heavy doze of competency and theory yet was lost on the character and application side of things.
 
So what’s the point?
 
The article mentioned above fails to see the bigger picture.  Yes, professional certifications such as CQE, EIT, PMP, PE, Six Sigma, Certified Auditor and Lean, all have their place.  They give their newly found owners a badge of honor which can be used to gain new opportunities and win career advancements. 
 
What a certification doesn’t help us with is being good at our job or keeping that job, for that matter.  Technical certifications don’t teach you how to necessarily be a better professional, or human being for that matter.  They don’t teach you how to communicate thoroughly and fully, and they certainly don’t teach you how to be a good team player, one that is flexible and capable of adapting to each situation.
 
The reason certifications can’t offer this is because that’s not their MO.  Communication, thoughtfulness, being a team player, etc. these are all personality characteristics which can’t be studied from a textbook.  One may surmise that these characteristics can be learned on the job or through a mentor, yet I will tell you in my experience you either have it or you don’t.  Most people by the time they’ve become a young adult and landed in their profession did so with a personality and set of characteristics which were long set in stone.  Changing them, well let’s just say walking on water might be an easier feat to pull off.
 
Key Take Away:
Before you consider getting a certification make sure go beyond asking yourself the standard questions of, “do any of these [certifications] make a real difference in a job application?”  Ask yourself, “if I get this certification can I raise to the occasion professionally to really make it worth my time?”  It’s a tough question to ask of oneself.  Most won’t be able to do so, and answer honestly, yet those who can may find they save themselves in a position either saving a lot of money and time or taking hold of an opportunity to elevate oneself to the next level.
 
Action Item:
If you’ve done some reflection and still believe obtaining a certification is right for you and your profession seek out 2-3 professionals in your industry and specialty which have at least 20+ years in the business.  Learn from them.  Ask them what it takes to get to their level?  What do they wish they had done differently?  When they are hiring new employees, what are the key things they look for in the A+ candidate.  Once you get done with your little industry Q&A you’ll have a better appreciation for what’s actually needed and what’s more of a nice to have.  
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Monday Quickie - The Best Lesson I Learned About My Career

2/11/2019

 
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As we grow in our profession, we naturally pick up things here and there which aid us in operating as a professional.  These little nuances of professional life often times can’t be learned in a class room setting or text book, especially when it comes to behavioral tips like how to handle yourself in certain situations, shaking hands and introducing yourself at a networking event, overcoming challenges, etc.
 
Over the course of my career one of the best sources for information and perspective have come through mentors.  I’ve been blessed to have four (4) mentors throughout my adult life, each of them providing a different perspective and approach that I’ve been able to utilize to craft my own personal style of ‘me’.  For what it’s worth, I’m grateful beyond words to these four people for instilling in me valuable lessons about life, family, work and relationships.
 
Through these relationships I’ve learned a vital lesson that I will carry with me throughout my career, which is:
 
The only person responsible for your career is YOU.
 
Each one of my mentors have preached this lesson, using their own approach to reinstate the fact that we [you and I] are ultimately in charge of our own careers.  No one else.  Not our parents, not our teachers and certainly not our bosses.  It’s a universal truth I’ve tested now dozens of times and I still get the same outcome – it’s up to us, not them.
 
When we develop a mindset of self accountability we learn that it is in fact up to us [you] to drive our careers in the direction we want them to head. 
 
When people aren’t responsible for their own careers it shows up sounding like the following excuses: “my boss didn’t do anything for me”, “that’s not my job responsibility”, “I didn’t know I could do that”, “no one told me that was possible”, “that mistake wasn’t my fault” and on and on.
 
Casting aside the multitude of excuses we can drum up, once we learn it’s our ultimate responsibility to drive our careers it then becomes easier to ask for help while navigating the many facets of a career.  Once we ask for help and start getting it we remain in the drivers seat asking questions, following up and initiating conversation.  As a result we take responsibility for the outcomes.  What comes from this type of mindset and approach is an increasing attitude and desire to improve, learn and grow. 
 
Key Take Away:
Asking for help and guidance is a big step.  It means you want to improve yourself, congrats as you’re already ahead of many people around you.  When you ask for help from someone, whether that be a mentor, boss, teacher, friend, it’s up to you to drive that interaction.  It is your responsibility to drive the communication, follow up and request for direction.  Don’t sit back and wait for that person to do the work.  They are there strictly as advisors to give feedback and perspective, you must put in the time and effort.
 
Action Item:
Spend some time in a quiet place thinking about your own career and how you’ve gotten to where you are.  Happy with the present circumstances?  If you still have more you want to achieve go get yourself a mentor asap.  A good place to start is www.micromentor.org.  It’s a free service, one I wholeheartedly endorse. 
​
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Monday Quickie: Become Unstoppable In Your Career

11/26/2018

 
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How often do you hear someone say “I’m going to be (or am at present) great at my job”, yet when you begin to peel back the onion we learn the difference between being great professionally in the spoken word is often VERY different than being great in action and execution.

​Why is this?  For starters, it’s easy to say we want to be great in our career, achieving success along the way.  Make lots of money, have the prestigious title, corner office and be free in all sense of the word.

What isn’t so easy or talked about enough is what it actually takes to be successful in a career.  It’s also worth noting that success can be very different from one person to the next.

Behind the scenes, successful careers always have three things in common:
1. failure and set backs
2. strong work ethic
3. support

The reason why there is a discrepancy between the ‘talk and action’ paradigm to a successful career is it just isn’t easy to be successful.  If it was easy to be great in your career, reaching monumental levels, everyone would do it.  Yet, the reality is not everyone is interested in putting in that kind of work ethic or commitment, regardless of what their mouths may say.

Of the three commonalities which make up a successful career the one I’ve found to be most influential is #3: SUPPORT.  Most people who have reached success in their career will tell you they didn’t do it alone; what is common is to hear these people talk about others who have influenced them, guided them and been a shoulder to cry on during the hard times.

Want to become unstoppable in your career?  Get a MENTOR!

No matter where you are in your career having a mentor is highly advisable as it can be the difference between you navigating the waters of a successful career versus drowning in the murky depths of the rat race.  Mentors aren’t just strategic career advisers, they’re the professional voice of reason whispering notes of encouragement, big picture perspective and even accountability.

Mentors provide highly valuable insight and support to professionals of all ages, such as:
1. Business savvy
2. External perspective
3. Confidant (listener/ sounding board)
4. Accountability
5. Comfort zone demolishers

Key Take Away:  Mentors have the ability to guide you through the peaks and valleys of your career while providing you with insight that will help make important career-based decisions.

Action Item:  Put together a list of the attributes you would like to get help with in your professional career and the ideal type of person that could help you with it.  Check out www.micromentor.org for access to thousands of professionals interested in getting connected with you to help guide you on your professional journey.  Micromentor is a non-profit organization that acts like an online dating service paring people who are interested in mentoring with people who need a mentor.  I’ve been connected with a mentor now for almost 3 years and it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my professional career.
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The #1 Thing That Will Change Your Career (It Isn’t Hard Work)

9/10/2018

 
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​The biggest fallacy in business: if I work hard I’ll eventually get to where I want to be.

​While hard work and a myriad of other competency-based characteristics are certainly important in growing ones career, they play second fiddle to the #1 most important thing that drives our careers.

Recently I found myself engaged in a discussion I hear all too often:

“I’ve been trying to land a job doing (insert job title) but I’m not getting any responses from my job applications online.”

This was coupled with:

“I’m trying to break into (insert industry) but I have no direct industry experience and am having a hard time with people taking my capabilities serious without industry experience.”

​Both of these situations and the people involved are experiencing the same thing – they haven’t built or leaned on the appropriate people to help them with their career quest.

Enter in the #1 career advancement driver: RELATIONSHIPS

The people which make up your professional ecosystem are ultimately the ones who will make the difference in your career, not just hard work.

Back to our scenario above.  Applying to jobs on the internet, or the black hole of death as I commonly refer to it, does have its merits, yet by no means are online job boards the best place to land your dream job.  Online job boards are built to do one thing and one thing well – weed people like you out.  According to Robert Meier, President of Job Market Experts, only 2% of candidates applying for jobs online actually get an interview.

My personal experiences have shown that many people find the online job board process frustrating, cumbersome and verging on a galactic time suck.

If we can’t rely on online job boards, what options do we have?  Enter back to the stage our good ole friend ‘Relationships’, our #1 suitor for career advancement.

Your education, hard work and perhaps charm will only take you so far.  Relationships, the people above you, below you and your peers, are the ones that stand to make the biggest impact in your career.  When we are in school, soon to graduate and looking for our first opportunity, it’s people that give us the chance, not necessarily our stellar academic performance.  Our grades may assist in getting us to the conversation however the driver behind making the decision is someone who wants to give you a shot. 

Same can be said in corporate America.  I remember the first time I was going for a management promotion.  My boss at the time told me, “it’s not the people above you that will promote you, it’s your peers and people who report to you.”  That really struck home because if my boss were to ask my peers and employees what they thought of me and the response he got was less than stellar the likelihood that feedback would impact my forward progress in my career is likely to be substantial.
When you’re neck deep in your career often times it’s who you know, not what you know.  The ‘who you know’ opens doors, ‘what you know’ helps you facilitate the work at hand, not landing the job itself.

What many professionals miss out on is the importance of building lasting professional relationships.
Not every relationship has the capacity to turn into something that is special and will impact your career however if carefully practiced and made a priority it is certainly possible several of your professional relationships overtime can produce fruitful results for both parties involved.

Why is it then people don’t spend more time and energy in building their ecosystem of professional relationships?

Answer: because it isn’t easy nor is it quick in producing results.

Relationships take time and investment.  The best relationships have a ‘pay-it-forward’ mentality where both people see the bigger opportunity to help one another without quid pro quo.  If you’ve ever read the book ‘Go Giver’ by Bob Burg, it also happens to be my favorite all time book on life and business, you know that relationships and the power of doing for others often times sets the stage for incredible life experience to come.  This of course is true in business.

Relationships are hard to foster over long periods of time.  It takes trust, consistency and energy.  Yet when done genuinely relationships have the power to open doors that may not have been available without it.

​If you’re read this and feel like it’s time for you to step up and grow your ecosystem of professional relationships follow these steps to get on the glory road of professional relationships.
1. Understand what your WHY is for building relationships? (most importantly, what can you offer to others in the process?)
2. Identify 2-3 professionals within your circle of influence, take each of them out to coffee for the purpose of building a better, tighter and more collaborative relationship
3. Go to industry networking events
4. Rinse and repeat (a couple in-person meetings or events is only the start; build into your schedule 2-3 times a month where you make it a priority to meet with people)
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More Jobs Available Than People Unemployed

8/6/2018

 
You read that right.  For the first time in decades there are more jobs available than the actual number of people that are on unemployment. As of July 2018  there are 6.3 million people in the US on unemployed, the equivalent of 3.9%.

​Axios
, an online media company, shared yesterday we’ve officially crossed the barrier of more jobs available than people suitable or ready to fill them.  Our economy also continues to boom as we’re in the longest job growth period on record, now 94 straight months.  
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How can this be?  If the economy is doing so well and there are so many jobs available why is it we still have so many people unemployed and why aren’t those which are unemployed taking the available jobs?
ANSWER: The American workforce is changing, changing in TWO BIG WAYS:
 
1. Sedentary Lifestyle: we’ve become a society of professional sitters.  The average person now sits, yes – sits on their keister, upwards of 51 hours and 44 minutes a week. It’s such a dramatic change in our society and workforce that some are now calling ‘sitting’ the new cigarettes.  We’ll leave the health aspect of sitting to another article.

For younger generations this lifestyle is their only perspective on working and it’s beginning to have a significant impact on our economy as it’s changing the jobs they’re taking, or willing to consider.  Jobs which are considered physically or mentally demanding aren’t at the top of the pecking order and those industries are having an incredibly difficult time getting new blood to join the ranks. (construction; farming; trucking; skilled trades like plumbers, electricians, mechanics; emergency services; law enforcement, etc.)

The change to a seated society tells us something else.  As a society we are moving away from a ‘do-it-yourself hands on’ society where we’re focused on production to a society of ‘creative typists’.  The new skilled trade is programming, not plumbing. 

Today’s emerging workforce wants to be close to technology and feel good movements while being free of work which may be construed as physically or mentally taxing.   Getting your hands dirty on the job is out, sitting inside with the AC and nap-pods is in!
 
2. The Skill-less Unemployable: No one likes to think that there are people out there which don’t have skills or aren’t employable, it’s un-American.  Yet it is becoming an increasingly frightening reality.  The second reason our workforce is changing is there are a growing number of unemployed workers that are finding themselves unable to take advantage of the volume of job opportunities on the market due to their skills or abilities becoming out dated.  Out of date just like the baloney sandwich my mom used to make for my lunch in grade school.

No one eats baloney sandwiches anymore, so if you didn’t adjust your skills with the growing times, moving to turkey or tofu, you got left behind.  And left behind without even realizing it, holding a moldy, crappy sandwich (your skills) in the process.

Those who are unemployed at present are largely in part just not employable.  Of course, there is always the exception to this rule however the growing majority of people who are unemployed just don’t have current day marketable skills to function in an environment which increasingly demands technology proficiencies.  With national unemployment rates under 4% it tells us that those who can work are working and those who can’t – well they’ll continue to experience hardships trying to find jobs in a marketplace that is increasingly unforgiving and more expecting of people’s capabilities.
​
As a result, the gap continues to widen whereas those who have been unemployed for some time trying to find work will continue to experience much of the same.  The stigma attached to unemployment, the longer you’ve been out of work the more likely it is you will remain out of work, is a harsh reality for those unemployed.  With so much opportunity to be had in the marketplace people who are unemployed for longer than a month or so find themselves having to develop colorful explanations as to why they weren’t working to hopefully appease prospective employers.

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    About the Author

    Travis Smith is the founder and managing director of Square-1 Engineering, a life sciences consulting firm, providing end to end technical project services to companies which design, develop and or manufacture products in Southern California.  He successfully served the life sciences marketplace in SoCal for over 15 years specializing in engineering services, consulting, project outsourcing and leadership development. In 2019 he was recognized as a ‘40 Under 40’ honoree by the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce as a top leader in Orange County, CA.

    Travis also serves as Chairman, Board of Directors for DeviceAlliance, the only Southern California based medical device non-profit professionals organization and member of the University of California Irvine's Division of Continuing Education Advisory Board for Medical Product Development.  He holds a business management degree from California State University Long Beach and is a graduate of the Southern California Entrepreneur Academy.

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