Great Tricks for Reading People’s Body Language By Travis Bradberry

Body language provides an amazing amount of information on what other people are thinking if you know what to look for. And who hasn’t wanted to read people’s minds at some point?

Why Having a Mindset Like This Can Land You a Hot Job Right Now By Clarke Murphy

As the CEO of an executive search firm, probably the question I get asked most often is, “What are the hot jobs right now?” When I answer off the cuff, I usually refer to some especially interesting recent searches. There is always a new and intriguing job title!

But when I sat down to think about it for this blog, I came up with two emerging categories of roles that I find truly fascinating — one that is developing quickly (a “fast burn,” if you will) and one that is developing at a steady but far less rapid rate (a “slow burn”). Individually, both categories are interesting, but, together, they show how the workplace is changing in very fundamental ways.
The “fast burn”: Digital 2.0
If Digital 1.0 was about hiring folks who could initiate digital capabilities, Digital 2.0 is about making sure digital is integrated into every facet of organizational life.
Within traditional industries, this is producing immediate opportunities for digital-savvy workers within virtually every discipline—from supply chain to corporate finance to customer service, to name a few examples. Similarly, within pure-play digital companies, greater organizational maturity means that the aforementioned disciplines have to get stronger and be more robust; thus the same mixture of digital and domain expertise is needed for those organizations as well.
Digital 2.0 also has spawned a couple of ripple effects that are creating additional categories of opportunities.
Renewed focus on growth
The sheer scale available through digital efforts has generated a greater focus on growth. It is no accident that we are seeing the rise of the chief growth officer at this particular moment in time. You may not think of the chief growth officer—who is tasked with roles such as brand building and alignment of conflicting internal agendas—as a Digital 2.0 executive, but the reality is that this role would likely not exist had the digital transformation not happened.
Effect of data
The rise of digital has meant that many companies are now in possession of tremendous quantities of proprietary data. What was originally viewed as a positive has become a meaningful challenge for many companies — who now define success as finding the subset of their voluminous data that can actually be acted upon to create business results.
This does not mean they should merely hire more data scientists, but, in fact, this creates opportunities for marketers who might develop added revenue streams or even business models based on what is learned from the data; operations experts who can streamline systems based on new data inputs; and human resources (HR) professionals who can mine employee engagement data effectively to produce better employee retention and satisfaction.
And remember—the advent of Digital 2.0 does not mean that every company is fully engaged with Digital 1.0. As many companies continue to hire a “productive disruptor” chief digital officer, the landscape for digital roles grows broader and more diverse by the day.
The “slow burn”: culture leaders
One feature of people I speak with from the smartest organizations is their passion about culture. In recent years, a small but growing group has begun to “put their money where their mouth is” and invest in executives whose mandate centers on shaping culture. Titles such as chief culture officer and senior vice president of people and culture are slowly becoming more commonplace on business cards and LinkedIn.
McKinsey & Company separates culture leaders into two groups—those who operate within HR and those who report directly to the CEO. In our experience, each group has a unique profile.
Culture leaders within HR
Culture leaders within HR are charged with positioning culture in the context of the broader human capital agenda of an organization. They work across areas such as employee engagement, performance management and total rewards to ensure that the “right” cultural messages are deployed across each piece of the human resources platform.
The skills required for such a role are both strategic and highly practical. Culture leaders within HR must be good at translating a single message to a wide variety of media—and must be truly thoughtful in understanding all the different ways culture is transmitted within an organization.
Culture leaders who report to the CEO
Culture leaders who report to the CEO have a somewhat different mandate—generally to either defend a strong culture during a period of rapid growth or to “fix” emerging culture problems. They generally serve as a public face of the firm’s culture, both internally and externally.
These roles require the ability to play to a large room (metaphorically speaking) while, at the same time, serving as the trusted advisor to the CEO on all things culture related. Like culture leaders who reside in HR, they are “people people,” but their efforts are contextualized within an even broader understanding of business strategy.
Digital 2.0 + culture leaders—what does it all mean?
Unsurprisingly, the skills required for these roles are as varied as the roles themselves. But when we look at these two categories of new roles together, an interesting picture of today’s organizations emerges.
In both cases, roles are springing up to help organizations both cohere and change at the same time. Integration and transformation have to occur not just simultaneously but synergistically.
This is a tall order.
So ultimately, when I think about the people these new roles will require, it is not a set of skills that I picture—but a mindset.
People are needed who are comfortable with uncertainty—and thrive there. They must be immersive in subject matter but willing to turn on a dime and learn new skills. They must be chameleons with a rock solid core.
Do you fit that profile?
KINGSMITH.

Curious Things That Will Kill Your Career By Travis Bradberry.

There are so many things that can kill the careers of good, hard-working people. Honest mistakes often carry hard-hitting consequences.
We usually only hear about the more egregious examples, such as when Yelp employee Talia Jane became an Internet sensation last month for writing a blistering post criticizing the company’s low pay and its CEO. To no one’s surprise, she quickly found herself out of a job.
Most people don’t go down in a blaze of glory like Talia Jane; they kill their careers in subtle, decidedly undramatic ways. And it’s a shame because it happens all the time.
A recent survey by VitalSmarts found that 83% of people had seen someone make a blunder that had catastrophic results for their career, reputation, or business, and 69% admitted that they themselves had done something that had damaged their careers:

• 31% said it cost them a promotion, a raise, or even a job
• 27% said it damaged a working relationship
• 11% said it destroyed their reputation

These numbers show how damaging you can be to your own career if you’re not careful. There doesn’t have to be a single, sickening moment when you realize that you just shoved your foot firmly in your mouth, either. Little things can add up over time and undermine your career just as much as (or more than) one huge lapse in judgment. The good news is that if you stay aware of them, these are all things that you can control before they creep up on you and kill your career.
Over-promising and under-delivering. It’s tempting to promise the moon to your colleagues and your clients, especially when you’re honest and hardworking and believe that you can do it. The problem is that there’s no point in creating additional pressure that can make you look bad. If you promise to do something ridiculously fast and you miss the deadline by a little bit, you’ll likely think that you did a good job because you still delivered quickly. But the moment you promise something to someone, they expect nothing less. You end up looking terrible when you fall short, which is a shame, because you could have done the same quality work in the same amount of time with great results if you’d just set up realistic expectations from the beginning. This is one of those situations where perception matters more than reality. Don’t deliberately undershoot your goals; just be realistic about the results you can deliver so that you’re certain to create expectations that you will blow out of the water.
Complacency. How long has it been since you proactively learned a new skill, reached out to your networking contacts, or even polished up your resume? If you can’t remember, you might have become a bit complacent, and complacency is a real career killer. It’s what happens when you’re just along for the ride and assume that nothing will ever change. But we’ve seen enough disruption—technological and otherwise—over the last few years to realize that change is inevitable. If you’re always too busy to learn something new or to expand your network, you’ve got your priorities mixed up. However, if you make continuous growth and development a priority, you’ll be ready for whatever comes your way.
Fear of change. Fear of change is complacency’s evil twin. It actively works to keep things the same. I’m sure you’ve seen this one first hand at work when someone uttered the dreaded words, “But we’ve always done it this way.” Things are changing too fast these days to latch on so tightly to the status quo, and the costs of doing so can be huge. In one survey, 91% of respondents said that the most successful employees are the ones who can adapt to the changing workplace. Change is a constant part of our lives, both personally and professionally. It doesn’t matter whether you think things should change or whether you prefer the old ways—change just is. You don’t have to learn to love it, but you do have to learn to stop resisting it and to start adapting to it.
Having an inflatable ego. Did you ever work with someone who had a string of successes and started thinking that they were the be-all and end-all of superstardom? Success is great. It definitely boosts your career, and it feels really, really good. The problems start once you let it go to your head. You start thinking that success is going to last forever and that you’re entitled to it. Never, ever be content with resting on your laurels. Once you start thinking that you’re the cat’s meow, you’re setting yourself up for very painful failure.
Losing sight of the big picture. It’s easy to become head-down busy, working so hard on what’s right in front of you that you lose sight of the big picture. But smart people learn how to keep this in check by weighing their daily priorities against a carefully calculated goal. It’s not that they don’t care about small-scale work; they just have the discipline and perspective to adjust their course as necessary. Life is all about the big picture, and when you lose sight of it, everything suffers.
Negativity. Sometimes when you’re feeling negative and down, your mood can leak out and affect other people, even if you don’t intend it to. You were hired to make your boss’s and your team’s jobs easier, not harder. People who spread negativity through their department and complain about the work or other people complicate things for everyone else. If people always have to tiptoe around you so as not to dislodge that massive chip on your shoulder, they are unlikely to be willing to do it for very long.
Low emotional intelligence (EQ). Everyone knows that you can get fired for being unable or unwilling to play nicely with others, but what trips up a lot of people is having a poorly developed poker face. If everyone can tell when you’re bored or irritated or that you think something a colleague says is stupid, this will catch up with you. Emotional outbursts, belittling others, shutting co-workers down when they speak, low self-awareness, and just generally being difficult are other ways that a lack of emotional intelligence will do great harm to your career.
Sucking up to your boss. Some people suck up to their boss and call it managing up, but that isn’t the case at all. Sucking up has nothing to do with a real relationship built on respect; it is sneaky and underhanded. Suck-ups try to get ahead by stroking the boss’s ego instead of earning his or her favor. That doesn’t go over well with colleagues who are trying to make it on merit. Yes, you want to bolster your relationship with your boss, but not by undermining your colleagues. That’s the key distinction here. For a boss-employee relationship to work, it has to be based on authenticity. There’s no substitute for merit.
Playing politics. Working hard to build strong work relationships is very different from instigating conflict, choosing sides, undermining colleagues, spreading rumors, and all of the other things that fall under the umbrella of “playing politics.” Again, it comes down to authenticity. If you find yourself sneaking around or if you’re embarrassed if some of your behind-the-scenes manipulations come to light, that’s politics. Stick to strategies you’d be proud to discuss in front of your colleagues.

Bringing It All Together

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that they can only damage their careers by making one huge misstep, but the reality is that it’s usually not that dramatic.
Have you seen people killing their careers? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
KINGSMITH.

What Should I Do With My Life? It Comes Down to 3 Questions Jack Welch.

Not long ago, we got a call from a bright young man whom we’ve both mentored for years. He’s 28, the graduate of a top-notch university with a degree in economics. His resume includes working at Morgan Stanley, and two years as COO of a Silicon Valley start-up that was sold to an e-commerce site. Our friend had the option of working at the site in a managerial role, but opted instead to spend time “finding himself.” Which was why he was reaching out.
“I just don’t know what I should do next,” he lamented. “A lot of industries and jobs interest me, but I can’t decide which direction to go, and I don’t want to make a mistake.”
Right off the bat, let’s agree this is a good problem to have when you’ve got great credentials and a bit of a financial cushion. But at its core, it’s a problem that lots of people with less of a safety net share. Indeed, in our travels around the world, one of the most common questions we hear is, “What should I do with my life?”
For several years, our answer has been to urge people to conduct what we call an “Area of Destiny” analysis, which is based on thinking first presented in the book “Live Ten: Jump Start the Best Version of your Life” by the New Jersey-based pastor, Terry A. Smith. Very simply, an AOD analysis impels people to seek a career at the intersection of two questions and their answers: What am I uniquely good at? and What do I love doing?
While we’ve seen Area of Destiny analysis guide some terrific careers, recently we’ve been motivated to add a third vector to it, namely, the question: What kind of skills are needed out there? Sure, we know the old saying is usually true: if you do what you love, the money will come. But we’re realists too. There’s no point chasing a career that no one will pay you for.
More important, however, we’d assert there’s another reason why this third vector is so crucial. When you do work that’s in high demand, your sense of purpose is heightened. Having an impact feels great; in fact, we’d say it’s a basic human need. And that’s why you should never make a career decision without knowing what skills are most urgently needed (and in many cases, lacking) in different industries.
Fortunately, such data has recently been collected and analyzed by information scientists at Strayer@Work, educational partners of the Jack Welch Management Institute. They used select data provided by LinkedIn from public member profiles in the US to create a real-time index that shows which skills are in high demand and short supply, and vice versa, in key industries. This unique tool both helps companies better understand the talent shortages they face, and allows individuals to map their own skills to gaps in the market as they design their careers.
Returning for a moment to our friend who called for advice, our conversation quickly ascertained that he was uniquely good at building teams. As for what he loved doing, the answer was “starting new companies,” particularly in the technology space. Then, using the index study as our source, we urged him to probe the third vector. What talent holes exist in tech? Could he fill them? If not, what would it take to acquire them? A transitional job? Additional education? Some of both?
Finally, we urged him to stop worrying about making a mistake. Careers are filled with wrong turns, or as we would rather describe them, “learning expeditions.” And look, in some ways, “What should I do with my life?” is a question you should never stop answering. The world changes; you change. But our three questions, taken together, are amazingly effective in giving you direction, again and again. Let go of your fear, and answer them.
KINGSMITH.

How Nice People Can Master Conflict By Travis Bradberry.

When you’re a nice person, conflict can be a real challenge. Not that mean people are any better at conflict; they just enjoy it more.
New research from Columbia University shows that how you handle conflict can make or break your career. The researchers measured something scientifically that many of us have seen firsthand—people who are too aggressive in conflict situations harm their performance by upsetting and alienating their peers, while people who are too passive at handling conflict hinder their ability to reach their goals.

The secret to effective handling of conflict is assertiveness—that delicate place where you get your needs met without bullying the other person into submission. Assertive people strike a careful balance between passivity and aggression (that is, they never lean too far in either direction).

How To Handle Conflict Assertively

It’s easy to think that nice people are too passive. While that’s often true, unchecked passivity can boil over into aggression. So there are plenty of very nice people out there who have exhibited both extremes of the assertiveness spectrum.
To be assertive, you need to learn to engage in healthy conflict. Healthy conflict directly and constructively addresses the issue at hand without ignoring or trivializing the needs of either party. The strategies that follow will get you there.
Consider the repercussions of silence. Sometimes it’s hard to muster the motivation to speak up when the likelihood is high that things will turn ugly. The fastest way to motivate yourself to act is to fully consider the costs of not speaking up—they’re typically far greater than not standing up for yourself. The trick is that you need to shift your attention away from the headache that will come with getting involved to all of the things you stand to gain from your assertiveness.
Say “and” instead of “but.” The simple act of replacing the word “but” with “and” makes conflict much more constructive and collaborative. Say, for example, that your teammate John wants to use the majority of your budget on a marketing campaign, but you’re worried that doing so won’t leave enough money for a critical new hire. Instead of saying, “I see that you want to use the money for marketing, but I think we need to make a new hire,” say “I see that you want to use the money for marketing, and I think we need to make a new hire.” The difference is subtle, but the first sentence minimizes the value of his idea. The second sentence states the problem as you see it, without devaluing his idea, which then opens things up for discussion. Saying “and” makes the other party feel like you’re working with them, rather than against them.
Use hypotheticals. When you assert yourself, you don’t want it to look like you’re poking holes in their idea (even when you are). Hypotheticals are the perfect way to pull this off. Telling someone, for example, “Your new product idea won’t work because you overlooked how the sales team operates” comes across much more aggressively than suggesting the hypothetical, “How do you think our sales team will go about selling this new product?” When you see a flaw and present a hypothetical, you’re engaging with the original idea and giving the other party a chance to explain how it might work. This shows that you’re willing to hear the other person out.
Don’t speak in absolutes (“You Always” or “You Never.”) No one always or never does anything. People don’t see themselves as one-dimensional, so you shouldn’t attempt to define them as such. Using these phrases during conflict makes people defensive and closed off to your message. Instead, point out what the other person did that’s a problem for you. Stick to the facts. If the frequency of the behavior is an issue, you can always say, “It seems like you do this often.” or “You do this often enough for me to notice.”
Ask good questions until you get to the heart of the matter. Failing to understand the motive behind someone’s behavior throws fuel on the fire of conflict, because it makes everything they do appear foolish and shortsighted. Instead of pointing out flaws, you should seek to understand where the other person is coming from. Try asking good questions, such as Why did you choose to do it that way? What do you mean by that? and Can you help me to understand this better? Even when you don’t see eye to eye, using questions to get to the underlying motive builds trust and understanding, both of which are conflict killers.
When you challenge, offer solutions. People don’t like it when they feel as if you’re attempting to take apart their idea right off the bat. When you challenge someone’s idea, but also offer a solution, you demonstrate that you want to work together to come up with a fix. This reinforces the value of their idea, even if it’s full of holes. For example, you might say “One potential problem that I see with your idea is ___. However, I think we can overcome this problem if we can just figure out a way to___.” In this example, you aren’t even providing the solution. You’re just acknowledging that you’re willing to work together to find one.

Bringing It All Together

Mastering conflict requires emotional intelligence. Emotionally intelligent people know how to craft their message in a conflict, whether they’re naturally assertive or not. They take other people’s feelings into account while still asserting themselves confidently.
How have you used assertiveness to your advantage? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
KINGSMITH.

Dealing With Change At Work James Caan.

Change. One word that instantly inspires a range of different emotions and metaphors. Sometimes change is good, sometimes it’s not so good. Whatever we decide, I think we can all agree that change is usually executed for the better.
What we know for certain is that change is always nervously awaited. People don’t like the idea of change, because we get so used to things as they are, we find comfort in routine and not being directly affected by sporadic movements that can alter what we deem ‘the norm’.
Change at work is always difficult to deal with because more often than not, there will be differing views on the matter within the team.
Anything that effects team morale is a huge concern for business owners because as they should know, people are the most important component for success. Therefore, if they’re unhappy, there’s no way success can materialise.
There are a few things to take into consideration when dealing with change in the office, for employees and business owners.
Win the majority vote
As a manager it is imperative to announce news that effects the whole office positively, ensuring you’ve taken everybody’s considerations into account.
You need to convince your whole team and not just base your final decision on your own benefits. As a good manager, your team should already trust you to make the right decision but you need to illustrate why you deserve that trust and the only way you can do this is by making it an easy transition for all.
As an employee, listening to your manager explaining a need for change can be confusing. However, think about how you can use this opportunity to your advantage. Perhaps this is your chance to rise to new challenges. If you’re supportive during the process, your manager will notice and appreciate your efforts and will listen when you’re looking to discuss your professional development.
Keep talking
Communication is key. You may think you’re keeping the news under wrap but people are intuitive and more often than not, your team will already know something is coming.
It’s really important you avoid gossip because this will make your team feel uneasy as they will assume you’re not being honest. As a manager, you should recognise the different personalities in your team and identify coping strategies for every individual, as some people will need more encouragement than others. You must treat every employee as an individual.
Employees, don’t be afraid to talk to your colleagues and your manager about your concerns. There’s no point letting it all build up and coming to your own anxious conclusions.
An open door policy goes a long way. Change sometimes inspires fear, the only way to cure this is to find clarity.
Remain optimistic
This is the most important component of all. Remember that negativity spreads, so if you’re not spending time ensuring messaging surrounding the ‘change’ are positive, you could be in trouble.
The same goes for all employees, as long as you’ve taken the above steps, there’s no reason why you should see this as a bad omen. I know change is scary, but a lot of change is good. It provides you with a basis for improvement and can give you a fresh start.
Think of change like chance; there is no right or wrong in a moment of chance, but taking one is always a step forward.
Are you a recruiter looking to develop? Are you a business owner looking to increase your billings potential? If you answer yes to either of those question, click here.

KINGSMITH.

 

 

HR Has a Thinking Gap When It Comes to Hiring By Lou Adler

If you want a better job or want to hire better people you need to read this article by Harvard Professor Todd Rose in Fast Company – How Job Descriptions Undermine the Hiring Process. Rose is the author of the new best seller, The End of Average. He specializes in the study of individual performance and is the co-founder and president of the nonprofit Center for Individual Opportunity. At the Harvard Graduate School of Education Rose teaches educational neuroscience.
Rose’s contention is that skills-based job descriptions do more harm than good. They don’t predict ability, motivation or performance since the context of the job is not considered. Rose defines context as the underlying circumstances of the job including the critical performance objectives, the culture of the company, the resources available and the hiring manager’s leadership style.
For example, Rose would consider something like, “Must have a CPA and 10 years of international reporting experience and be willing to travel 50% of the time or more,” as neither sufficient nor essential. Something like, “Lead the implementation of our worldwide reporting system on an SAP platform,” would be more appropriate. The idea is that if someone is both motivated and competent to do this work, the person has all of the skills and experiences necessary. Rose contends that by using skills-laden job descriptions companies create artificial barriers-to-entry preventing the best people from even being considered.
About a year ago Professor Rose contacted me to discuss this idea and wondered how I developed Performance-based Hiring. He wanted to incorporate some of the hiring concepts in The End of Average. The premise of his book is to demonstrate that society is accelerating its shift to more customized products and services and away from the outdated one-size-fits-all mentality of the 20th century. The shift is evident in fields as diverse as product design, education and medical care. However, as Rose points out, other than those companies now using approaches similar to Performance-based Hiring, HR is still using prehistoric concepts to hire people in the modern age.
In his book and in his article Rose provides an overview of how Performance-based Hiring can be a game changer for hiring stronger people. Here’s the instant summary:

1. Rather than describe the person you want, describe the job you want done. When opening a new requisition define what the person must achieve in terms of performance in order to be considered successful. One example cited in the book is how Callum Negus-Fancey, the CEO of Let’s Go Holding in the U.K. (a brand marketing form) hired an HR leader by defining success as, “implement an HR system from scratch that could meet the needs of a bunch of highly creative out-of-control marketing types.” In the book you’ll discover how and why he hired a pharmacist for the job.
2. Convert behaviors, skills and competencies into outcomes. During our first conversation Todd asked me how I convert universal competences like good communication skills into a performance objective. I suggested that any competency can be defined by determining how it’s used in the context of the job. For a customer service rep good communication skills means listening to the customer’s needs and figuring out a course of action. For an engineer it’s working with product marketing and explaining how design specs need to be modified to meet customer requirements. If you don’t have this context, assessing a person’s communication skills is based on the interviewer’s perceptions and biases. That’s how bad hiring decisions are made.
3. Focus on thinking skills and comparable performance, not identical experience. As part of the interview it’s important to get an example of a comparable accomplishment for each performance objective. To handle any gaps I also ask candidates how they’d address work they haven’t done before to understand the person’s problem-solving, thinking and planning skills. I refer to this as the Anchor and Visualization questioning pattern. This is also a great technique to evaluate leadership and potential.

At the end of our conversation Todd asked me if I thought the current shortage of talent is attributed to a national skills gaps. “No,” I responded, “we have a thinking gap, and we’ll continue to have one as long as people are force-fitted into ill-defined jobs.” Todd agreed. His research proves it.

Great Ways To Kill Morale By Travis Bradberry

What makes you happy at work? Maybe you have a great boss who gives you the freedom to be creative, rewards you for going the extra mile, and helps you to reach your career goals.
Maybe you have none of the above and are updating your résumé as we speak.
It’s pretty incredible how often you hear managers complaining about their best employees leaving, and they really do have something to complain about—few things are as costly and disruptive as good people walking out the door.
But managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun while ignoring the crux of the matter: people don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.
Bad management does not discriminate based on salary or job title. A Fortune 500 executive team can experience more dissatisfaction and turnover than the baristas at a local coffee shop. The more demanding your job is and the less control you have over what you do, the more likely you are to suffer. A study by the American Psychological Association found that people whose work meets both these criteria are more likely to experience exhaustion, poor sleep, anxiety, and depression.
The sad thing is that this suffering can easily be avoided. All that’s required is a new perspective and some extra effort on the manager’s part to give employees autonomy and make their work feel less demanding. To get there, managers must understand what they’re doing to kill morale. The following practices are the worst offenders, and they must be abolished if you’re going to hang on to good employees.
Overworking people. Nothing burns good employees out quite like overworking them. It’s so tempting to work the best people hard that managers frequently fall into this trap. Overworking good employees is perplexing for them as it makes them feel as if they’re being punished for their great performance. Overworking employees is also counterproductive. New research from Stanford showed that productivity per hour declines sharply when the workweek exceeds 50 hours, and productivity drops off so much after 55 hours that you don’t get anything out of working more. Talented employees will take on a bigger workload, but they won’t stay if their job suffocates them in the process. Raises, promotions, and title-changes are all acceptable ways to increase workload. If managers simply increase workload because people are talented, without changing a thing, these employees will seek another job that gives them what they deserve.
Holding people back. As an employee, you want to bring value to your job, and you do so with a unique set of skills and experience. So how is it that you can do your job so well that you become irreplaceable? This happens when managers sacrifice your upward mobility for their best interests. If you’re looking for your next career opportunity, and your boss is unwilling to let you move up the ladder, your enthusiasm is bound to wane. Taking away opportunities for advancement is a serious morale killer.
Management may have a beginning, but it certainly has no end. When blessed with a talented employee, it’s the manager’s job to keep finding areas in which they can improve to expand their skill set and further their career. The most talented employees want feedback—more so than the less talented ones—and it’s a manager’s job to keep it coming. Otherwise, people grow bored and complacent.
Playing the blame game. A boss who is too proud to admit a mistake or who singles out individuals in front of the group creates a culture that is riddled with fear and anxiety. It’s impossible to bring your best to your work when you’re walking on eggshells. Instead of pointing fingers when something goes wrong, good managers work collaboratively with their team and focus on solutions. They pull people aside to discuss slip-ups instead of publicly shaming them, and they’re willing to accept responsibility for mistakes made under their leadership.
Frequent threats of firing. Some managers use threats of termination to keep you in line and to scare you into performing better. This is a lazy and shortsighted way of motivating people. People who feel disposable are quick to find another job where they’ll be valued and will receive the respect that they deserve.
Not letting people pursue their passions. Talented employees are passionate. Providing opportunities for them to pursue their passions improves their productivity and job satisfaction, but many managers want people to work within a little box. These managers fear that productivity will decline if they let people expand their focus and pursue their passions. This fear is unfounded. Studies have shown that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.
Withholding praise. It’s easy to underestimate the power of a pat on the back, especially with top performers who are intrinsically motivated. Everyone likes kudos, none more so than those who work hard and give their all. Managers need to communicate with their people to find out what makes them feel good (for some, it’s a raise; for others, it’s public recognition) and then to reward them for a job well done. With top performers, this will happen often if you’re doing it right. This doesn’t mean that managers need to praise people for showing up on time or working an eight-hour day—these things are the price of entry—but a boss who does not give praise to dedicated employees erodes their commitment to the job.

Bringing It All Together

If managers want their best people to stay, they need to think carefully about how they treat them. While good employees are as tough as nails, their talent gives them an abundance of options. Managers need to make people want to work for them.
What other mistakes kill morale? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
KINGSMITH.

The Fear of Being Great By Enrique Rubio

Is it possible that we fear becoming great?
In her book, A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson said that “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?'’ This prompts me to ask, actually, who are you not to be?
Our society is striving harder and harder to achieve success and avoid failure. We have become so addicted to “success” that we neglect what truly makes our lives meaningful and great. But, what is it then, if not success, that makes our life great? ... I believe that it is realizing our potential, regardless of commonplace definitions of success.
We are not afraid of failure because we lack the talents or don’t have the skills to build a great and meaningful future based on our potential. Rather, we are afraid of failure because the pressure to achieve standard definitions of success forces us to behave in a way that is acceptable to others, and not necessarily to us. How many frustrated painters, architects, designers, dancers or musicians are out there? How many of them ended up studying or working in fields that they either dislike or were not connected to? How many of them are part of the great majority of workers who are disengaged?
Many years ago I met a very bright woman. She had the dream of becoming a biologist, and then geneticist. However, that was not the standard in her family. She was part of a line of engineers. Her parents didn’t let her become what she wanted to become. Instead, they wanted her to be a reflection of their own definitions of success. They forced her to be an engineer.
Years later she switched careers in order to pursue her dream and her potential. But if she had continued on the imposed path, it could’ve been a successful life, as she is very bright. Yet, probably it wasn’t going to meaningful or great to her.
Our potential is the basic unit of our own happiness. That is why there is no definition of happiness, but only proxy approaches. Nobody can define happiness in a unique way! Whatever it means to you, might be different for me. Thus, we can approach happiness as the realization of our potential. Some researchers think of happiness as well-being, or life satisfaction. However, sometimes realizing our potential is painful and requires a lot of sacrifices, which are not feelings that we usually relate to happiness
Nobody would think that Nelson Mandela was satisfied spending 27 years in jail, or that Martin Luther King enjoyed getting beaten over and over again. Yet, they lived exemplary lives, they sacrificed a lot and their path was very painful. But their happiness didn’t rest on their personal well-being, but rather on the realization of their potential. And that potential was the struggle for the civil rights of millions.
This is how Martin Luther King Jr. defined his own happiness. “Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.”. As we can see, seeking happiness and having a meaningful and great life was a matter of realizing his potential. It was not a matter of personal success, but service to others.
How about us, when we look back at our lives 20 or 30 years from now? Do we want to be truly happy knowing that we lived meaningful lives, or frustrated because we never created the opportunities to fully develop our talents, capacities and potential?
Our happiness mustn’t lie in being rich, famous or just living in material satisfactions. If we are not able to realize our potential, it is very likely that we will live empty lives. We might live very successful lives, but they might be empty at the end of the day.
We have to free ourselves from the cruelty of fear. And the only way to do that is by acknowledging and accepting the person who we really want to become. We have to leave behind the preconceptions and assumptions that we have about the world. And we must live our life knowing that it is ours alone.

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear". Nelson Mandela

KINGSMITH.

How to Set Smarter, Faster, and Better Goals By Chris Bailey.

Just last week, Charles Duhigg released a worthy followup to his first book, The Power of Habit.
Titled Smarter Faster Better, it's a wildly entertaining read—I couldn't put it down. As someone who has read an incredible number of productivity books, this book easily takes the cake as the most entertaining; chock full of stories and anecdotes that draw you in and keep you coming back for more.
The book takes a unique approach to exploring productivity that explores the overall subject mostly within organizations and teams, rather than personal productivity. So when you're reading the book, I would recommend "pairing" some of Duhigg’s broader ideas with a few specific productivity tactics, in order to jumpstart your own productivity efforts.
The chapter of the book I selected to zero in on in this piece is goal setting. In my view, productivity isn't about how much we produce—it's about how much we accomplish, and setting goals ensures that we spend our time on the right things.
In Smarter Faster Better, Duhigg recommends that we set two types of goals:

• Stretch Goals: Big, overarching goals that sound improbable on the surface, but not so impossible that they become discouraging when we think about them (e.g. running a marathon in six months).
• SMART Goals: SMART goals bring our Stretch Goals down to reality so we can act toward achieving them. SMART is acronym for Specific (e.g. running exactly five miles by the end of the week), Measurable (measuring your distance through an app on your phone), Achievable (detailing a plan to work your way up to 5k), Realistic (scheduling all of your runs), and on a Timeline (building your way up to a 5k over six weeks).

These two types of goals become especially powerful when we pair them up.
And there are countless tactical things we can do every day to achieve the goals we set. If you decide to set both Stretch and SMART goals—and I'd argue you should—here are few additional tactics to take those goals even further, to invest in your personal productivity, and work toward them every day:

• Spend less time on your important goals. This sounds like counterintuitive advice, but when you limit how much time you spend on your most important goals—for example, if you schedule two hours in the afternoon to work on a report, rather than the entire afternoon—you force yourself to expend more energy over that shorter amount of time to get it done. And you also prevent the task from expanding to fit how much time you have available—which bold, bold projects tend to do. This tactic works hand-in-hand with setting stretch goals: stretch goals make your goal bigger, and spending less time on these goals helps you bring even more energy to them in a more concentrated way.
• Work when you have the most energy. As I wrote in a previous LinkedIn post, our energy-per-hour isn't consistent, and therefore our productivity isn't, either. When we step back to take stock of when we naturally, consistently have the most energy, we can bring even more energy and focus to our goals, instead of simply spending more time on them.
• Set three daily intentions. While setting a new SMART goal for each day might be tedious—I like to set them every couple of weeks when working on a big project—one of the best ways to work more intentionally every day is the Rule of 3. Here's the rule: at the start of each day, you fast-forward to the end of the day, and ask what three things you'll want to have accomplished by the time the day is done. The rule is deceivingly simple: it helps you filter what's important from what isn't; helps you consider your daily constraints; only takes a minute; and helps you work more intentionally toward your goals every day.
• Disconnect from the internet. The internet is likely integral to your work—but one study found that we spend an average of 47% of our time online procrastinating. Since bigger, more intimidating goals are more likely to push us to procrastinate, when we totally disconnect from the internet while we're working on them, we reclaim a ton of our time and attention. Busyness is no different from laziness when it doesn't lead us to accomplish anything—and this is especially true for the busywork we often do while online.

Because productivity is such a broad-ranging topic, it's impossible for any one book to cover all the best practices and tools out there. If you pick up a copy of Smarter Faster Better, I highly recommend these simple but effective tactics as a pairing to go with it!
KINGSMITH.

6 Interview Tips You've Never Heard Before By J.T O'Donnell

With all the free career advice available online today, it's easy to search "interview tips" and get a ton of information. There's really no excuse for going to an interview unprepared any more. That being said, I'm still seeing plenty of people fail to prepare thoroughly for an interview. What a waste of an opportunity. With studies showing you have just a 3% chance of getting a call for an interview, wouldn't you want to increase the likelihood you succeed in the so you can get the job offer? There's a lot of preparation that goes into nailing interviews. Take a look at the curriculum of this comprehensive interview prep course on Udemy, and you'll see what I mean.
6 Interview Tips You've Never Heard Before
When it comes to making the right impression, here are six tips I like to give that most people haven't heard before.
1) Put your jewelry on backwards. When you change how you wear your jewelry, your mind will notice it in the interview. Tell yourself, "Each time I notice my jewelry in a different place, I'll remind myself to smile, relax and be positive." It's one of the best ways to condition yourself to keep the right mindset in the interview. It's one of the best ways to build a new habit too.
2) Be particularly nice to the receptionist. The front desk team is the eyes and ears of the company. They have conversations with people at all levels of the organization. Trust me. They tell the hiring manager what they thought of you. By being nice, you have a better chance of the them putting in a good word for you.
3) Give a compliment in the elevator. It's more than likely someone from the company is on the elevator with you. When you take a moment to give a stranger a compliment, you not only display great character, you may have just said something very nice (and memorable!) to a potential co-worker.
4) Read paperback of a business book in the waiting area. While waiting in reception, put your phone a way and pull out a business book. People will notice the title you're reading and it can lead to a great opening conversation when the hiring manager comes to get you. It also shows you make good use of your spare time. Here are two brand new books on the market that would work. Originals by Professor Adam Grant, and The Art of People by Dave Kerpen. Both of these books getting rave reviews and focus on team work and how to be a better professional.
5) Ask the hiring manager, "What pleasantly surprised you the most about working here?" This question lets the hiring manager go back to their own first few months on the job and lets her or him reminisce about that exciting time. It also lets them sell you on the pluses of working there. A great way for you to see what makes the hiring manager feel satisfied in their job as well, and hopefully, lets the two of you build a positive connection.
6) Give the company a post-interview "shout out" on social media. While you don't want to act desperate and post something like, "Just had a great interview with XYZ corp!" (Especially, if you are currently working.) You can do something more strategic like posting in your LinkedIn feed, "I learned today that XYZ Corp has a 95% satisfaction rating with its clients. That's impressive!" Be sure to link to the company's social account so they see it in their feed. Lots of employees follow their company's accounts to stay on top of what's happening. And, if the hiring team follows up on the interview by checking out your social media profiles (and they will!), they'll see you gave the company some social love.
You Don't Have To Be Perfect, But You Do Need To Be Prepared!
While the tips above are unique, they by no means cover the depth of what you need to do to succeed in your next interview. The hours you invest in learning the right way to interview will pay off in a better performance both now AND in subsequent interviews. In my experience, a minimum of two hours of solid prep going over the entire interview process is needed (i.e. what to expect, how to handle tough questions, how to follow-up, etc.). It's the best way to feel fully confident in your next interview.
KINGSMITH.

4 Simple Traits of Greatness By Paul Sagoo.

With just under a month to go to The 6th Asian Awards, I wanted to take a step back and review what made some of our winners truly great. In analysing their various achievements and behaviours I found some very common principles which many of them mastered.
So for this post I have decided to focus on 4 of the simple traits these amazing people we have honoured display in abundance.
PERSERVERANCE
I have seen and heard many stories of perseverance over the years. One which really struck a chord was the story of Ahmed Kathrada. Standing up for what he believed in, for non-White rights, he continued with this cause even after short spells in jail. This relentless pursuit led to him being jailed alongside Nelson Mandela and 5 others as an Anti-Apartheid activist for 26 years just for upholding his beliefs. He went on post his release to work alongside Mandela and the ANC to continue the great work. His perseverance through his career never let anything stop him work on what he believed in even though his personal sacrifice was costly. The rest is history. Ahmed Kathrada was the recipient of the Founder’s award at the 4th Asian Awards in 2014.


MASTERING YOUR CRAFT
When you talk about mastering your craft there are a handful of individuals who have done just that over such a long and illustrious career. Anyone who knows sport will know Sachin Tendulkar. He is often called the greatest cricketer of our time. From the age of 16 he represented India and went on to lift many a trophy, win awards globally and spent 24 golden years at the top of his profession. However, through those years Sachin stayed humble, despite injuries and some lows but continued to learn and become a better version of himself constantly, and thus mastering his craft. By doing so he led India to many a victory and became the only player to complete more than 30,000 in international cricket. Sachin Tendulkar was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Sport and People's Choice Award at the 1st Asian Awards in 2010.


FOCUS AND DISCIPLINE
Having that laser like focus and being as disciplined are two traits that have always worked well together. A great example of this in history is the legendary Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee was renowned for his physical fitness and vigour, which was achieved by using a dedicated fitness regimen to become as strong as possible, and a master of many martial arts. Training hours on end takes discipline and thus having the right focus from the outset were two things that Bruce adopted into his life from a very young age. Bruce Lee was the recipient of the Founder’s award at the 3rd Asian Awards in 2013. The award was collected by his widow, Linda Lee Caldwell.


GIVING BACK


                                 The universal law of give and you shall receive has been demonstrated no better  than by a man called  Muhammad Yunus.  Muhammed is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. So how did this come about? Well, by creating a platform giving people from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to access small funds he enabled them to create vehicles to better themselves and climb out of poverty. Having the element of giving back in your plan makes it all the more worthwhile. Muhammad was the recipient of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the 1st Asian Awards in 2010.
Thats it...the rules are simple... the effort is maximal!
If you can include these four traits in everything you do then you will have the ultimate recipe for success. My vision with The Asian Awards has meant applying these principles and now in the sixth year the Awards are going from strength to strength. On April 8th 2016 we will continue to honour more amazing people who have have contributed greatly to our way of life.
To learn more about The 6th Asian Awards taking place on 8th April 2016 in London please email Ashish@theasianawards.com
KINGSMITH.

These Things Will Make You More Successful, Science Says! By Bernard Marr.

Is success something we’re born with or something we cultivate?
Some people believe that you’re either born to be successful or not, but science doesn’t bear that out. People from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and all genetic dispositions can be successful.
In fact, studies on successful people seem to suggest it’s more about habits and perspective — things you can learn and cultivate — than any inherent traits. More nurture than nature, if you will.
If you’re interested in improving your own success quotient, try these 7 things, all backed by science.

• Expand your network. According to multiple, peer-reviewed studies, simply having a larger network comprised of many unconnected people was the best predictor of success, compared to those who had smaller, closed networks. Putting yourself out there, meeting new people outside your industry and comfort zone could be the best thing you could do to improve your success.
• Put the the Zeigarnik Effect to work. The Zeigarnik effect states that unfinished projects or tasks stick in our brain more than finished ones. So if you have something you’ve been putting off, just take one step towards getting started. Chances are, the Zeigarnik effect will kick in, and your brain will prompt you to continue — just for that sense of closure.
• Strike a power pose. If you’ve listened to Amy Cuddy’s popular TED talk, you know that your body language not only affects how others perceive you, but how you actually feel about yourself. Get in the habit of adopting one of her power poses, and you will naturally feel and act more powerful and successful.
• Schedule decisions for the morning hours. In the modern world, we have to make decisions all day, every day, and that can cause decision fatigue. By simply choosing to analyze and make important decisions earlier in the day, we can increase our chances of making the best choice.
• Meditate for 12 minutes. Studies show that as little as 12 minutes a day of meditation has major implications for your brain health and memory. It’s also good for your stress levels and physical health, both of which can be indicators of success.
• Focus on progress as a reward. Common knowledge seems to be that enticing positive behaviors with rewards, like bonuses or a pay rise, is the best way to motivate people. But actually, according to science, money is actually a poor predictor of success. Focusing on progress — talking about how far you’ve come instead of what you have left — is a much better predictor of success.
• Be wrong. Innovators, CEOs, and all sorts of successful people often credit failure as the key to their success. Owning their failures, and more importantly learning from them is a key way successful people learn and grow. Try to catch yourself when you start to blame your mistakes on outside forces. You might even go so far as to note mistakes in your journal and start reviewing them to detect patterns and lessons.

While success may not be genetic, it does require a certain mindset: one of constantly learning and improving. Approach your success as an experiment, and try out some of these suggestions. I’d love to hear your success stories if you do.
KINGSMITH.

How To Beat Procrastination By Travis Bradberry

Procrastination strikes everyone, and once it gets ahold of you, it can be very difficult to shake it off. When you imagine a highly productive person, you likely think of someone who focuses effortlessly on the job and never succumbs to procrastination. You know, the type who can sit on the ground in a subway station with their laptop and still manage to get more done in an hour than you would in a day at the library.
The truth is, ridiculously productive people face the same procrastination challenges as the rest of us. The difference is, they beat procrastination by using a calculated approach. First, they understand why they procrastinate, and then they apply strategies that beat procrastination before it takes hold. Anyone can follow this two-step, research-driven process to overcome procrastination.

The Procrastination Doom Loop

You can’t hope to stop procrastinating until you first have a firm understanding of why you procrastinate. New research from Joseph Ferrari at DePaul University shows that procrastination is more complicated than most people think. People tend to think of procrastination as coming from poor time management or laziness, but Ferrari’s research shows that procrastination stems from negative emotions that hijack your mood. Once you’re under the influence of these emotions, you can’t bring yourself to work.
Instead of being lazy or disorganized, people usually put things off because they aren’t in the right mood to complete the task. Doing so places you firmly inside the procrastination doom loop. Since you’ve decided that you aren’t in the right mood to work, you distract yourself with other tasks—checking email, checking the news, cleaning your desk, talking to a coworker, etc.—and by the time you come up for air, you feel guilty for having wasted so much time. This only worsens your mood, and as the deadline draws closer, you feel worse than you did when you first put off the task.

Overcoming Procrastination

Beating procrastination is a simple matter of exiting the doom loop by taking control of your mood. With the right strategies in place, you can take the reins and get yourself in the mood to get things done. The strategies that follow will help you to make this happen.
Figure out why. When you aren’t in the mood to work, procrastination is telling you something important. It could be something simple, such as you need to take a break or get something to eat. It could also be something complex, such as you’re carrying the team on your back or you’re dissatisfied with your job. Whatever it is, instead of punishing yourself for procrastinating, take a moment to reflect and figure out why you’re procrastinating. This could end up being the most productive step you take in conquering your task.
Remove your obstacles. Prior to getting started on a task, take a moment to carefully consider the obstacles that might get in your way. Then, develop a plan to ensure that they don’t. For example, you might have instructions for a task in your e-mail inbox, and if you don’t do anything about it, you’ll repeatedly go back to your inbox to look at them, only to get distracted by other incoming e-mails. In this case, your management plan should be to get the instructions out of your inbox prior to starting your work. By planning ahead, you can maintain your focus and avoid procrastination. After all, it’s much harder to regain focus than it is to maintain it.
Jump right in, no matter what. Sometimes it’s really hard to get started on something, even when it’s something that you love to do. I might be staring at a blank Word document or standing on the beach on a cold winter morning. That first step is difficult, but once you get going—typing that first paragraph or taking off on that first wave—your mood improves dramatically. When you focus your attention on how difficult and cruddy it is to get started, you discourage yourself from doing so. When you dive right in no matter what, your mood quickly improves, which helps you to stay on task.
Cut holes in your project. We often procrastinate because we feel intimidated by the size of a project. To minimize intimidation, try cutting holes in it. Find smaller pieces of the task that you can quickly and easily accomplish. For example, writing a proposal might require 10 hours of intense concentration, but you can spit out an intro in 15 minutes and develop a list of deliverables in 10. Before you know it, these smaller tasks have cut serious holes in the project and it’s no longer intimidating.
Work in the right environment. Even if you do everything else right, working in the wrong environment can make you succumb to procrastination. This means keeping yourself away from television, electronics, friends, and loud places. This isn’t what works for everyone, but you need to exercise discipline by working in the environment that’s right for you.
Enjoy small victories. There’s nothing quite like checking something off of your to-do list. To keep yourself from procrastinating, you need to experience this sense of accomplishment by tracking your progress carefully. Small victories build new androgen receptors in the areas of the brain responsible for reward and motivation. The increase in androgen receptors increases the influence of testosterone, which further increases confidence and eagerness to tackle challenges. This keeps you fired up and moving forward. Sometimes crossing a few easy things off of a list is all it takes to build up the mental strength to tackle something big. Remember, it’s not about doing small tasks to avoid big tasks; it’s about including small tasks in your daily checklist to build your confidence and momentum.
Get real. Setting unrealistic goals for your day is a great way to become discouraged and to succumb to the negative moods that fuel procrastination. Setting realistic goals keeps things positive, which keeps you in the right mood to work.
Take control of your self-talk. Saying to yourself, “I’m not going to procrastinate. I will not procrastinate,” virtually ensures that you will procrastinate. There’s a classic study where participants were told to not think about a white bear. It turns out it’s nearly impossible to avoid thinking about something that you tell yourself not to, as your mind gravitates towards the thing you’re trying to avoid. The trick is to shift your attention to something completely different (and positive). Instead of telling yourself not to procrastinate, think about what you will do and how great it’s going to feel to have it done. This way, your mind fixates on the action you want to take instead of the behavior you’re trying to avoid.
Don’t be a perfectionist. Most writers spend countless hours brainstorming characters and plot, and they even write page after page that they know they’ll never include in the book. They do this because they know that ideas need time to develop. We tend to freeze up when it’s time to get started because we know that our ideas aren’t perfect and what we produce might not be any good. But how can you ever produce something great if you don’t get started and give your ideas time to evolve? Author Jodi Picoult summarizes the importance of avoiding perfectionism perfectly: “You can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page.”
Focus on results. Chances are, you don’t enjoy going to the dentist. Not many people do. So why do you go? It gets results. Your dentist is quite good at making your teeth and gums healthier and more appealing. You also go because the pain of having someone pick at your teeth for an hour is nowhere near the pain of getting a cavity filled, a tooth pulled, or a root canal. You go to the dentist because you know the process is worth it. The same mentality applies to a challenging task. While it may make you anxious to get started, don’t focus on that. Just think of how great it’s going to feel to get things done and how much worse you’ll feel if you wait until the last minute and don’t give it your best effort.
Forgive yourself. There’s no point in beating yourself up when you slip up and procrastinate. You might think that punishing yourself will help you to avoid procrastination in the future, but it actually has the opposite effect—beating yourself up sends you right back into the procrastination doom loop.

Bringing It All Together

The key to beating procrastination is to understand that procrastination is rooted in emotions. The strategies above will help you to turn the procrastination doom loop on its head and to achieve greater productivity than ever before.
How do you beat procrastination? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
KINGSMITH.

You Never Get What You Don’t Ask For By Dave Kerpen.

Embrace the fear of “no.” Then ask for the “yes.”
“So, Dave,” said the frustrated young woman who had been working harder than anyone else on the sales floor and thought she’d been doing everything right. “Why am I not seeing more success in sales?”
Haley was a good salesperson for our software company, Likeable Local. Good but not great. What made the difference between good and great for her was one very simple thing, the same thing that often makes the difference between successful people and very successful people. It took listening to her on a product demo for me to find that out.
I sat in on a demo Haley had with John, the owner of a jewelry store in Boca Raton, Florida. He was an older gentleman, uncomfortable in general with social media, and Haley did an excellent job of building rapport early, listening, mirroring, and validating his concerns. He was wary of doing social media on his own but was not sure how much time or money he had for software like ours. Then Haley began showing John our product via the Web and did a great job of explaining the key features that answered his concerns.
Everything was going quite well until the end of the call.
“Okay,” said Haley. “So do you have any questions for me?”
“Nope,” John said. “I’ll think about it and call you back later.
“Okay, sounds good,” Haley said. “I’ll call you back tomorrow if I don’t hear from you. Bye.”
She hung up the phone and looked up and me, exasperated at not have made the sale but perhaps clued in to what I was going to say.
“Almost a perfect job, Haley!” I cheered. “So what did go wrong there?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “Everything was going so well right up until the end. I guess I’m just struggling with closing sales.”
“Let me ask you something,” I said. “Did you actually ask him for his business?”
“I guess not,” Haley said. “I mean, I listened and then told him everything I thought he needed to know to make a decision.”
“But did you actually ask him to make a decision, Haley?” I was getting frustrated at this point but was confident we were getting somewhere.
“Well, I guess I didn’t,” she said.

It may seem obvious, but many people make this mistake. They don’t actually ask for what they want.

And guess what? You probably won’t get what you want unless you ask for it.
Sure, you still have to do all the legwork in advance. And sure, you’re not always going to get a “yes” when you ask. But you’re much more likely to get a “yes” if you actually ask for it than if you wait for it to materialize out of nowhere.
But no matter what, if you don’t ask for it, you’re not going to get it. (This is true in general. Of course, occasionally it’s not. But it’s always worth asking.)
Many people are so afraid to get a “no” that they don’t ask for a “yes.” The ironic thing here is that they’re virtually guaranteeing getting a “no” by not asking for a “yes.”
Embrace the fear of “no.” Then ask for the “yes.”
Haley was doing an excellent job as a salesperson but with one major flaw: She wasn’t asking for the “yes.” Once she got some training from her manager, Haley quickly became one of the top salespeople in the company, doubling her earnings within six months. It turned out that getting the “yes” was simple. She just had to ask for it.
No ask is too crazy.
Here’s another example of how simply asking for something—even something that seems totally crazy and audacious—can get you the “yes” you want. Several months before July 8, 2006, when Carrie and I got engaged, we had a problem. I really wanted to have a large wedding, the kind where I could invite everyone I knew to share in our joyous celebration. But Carrie and I didn’t have enough money to host a traditional New York wedding and invite everyone we knew.
Luckily for me, Carrie, a marketer by trade and temperament, had a brilliant out-of-the-box idea: We would partner with a minor league baseball team to create a wedding-themed promotion, sell sponsorships, and get a ballpark wedding paid for—a wedding that we could invite thousands of people to attend. Sponsors could get great value in the promotion, which probably would generate buzz and media attention, and we could get a huge wedding at virtually no cost to us. As a diehard baseball fan, I thought the idea was perfect, but of course it would require persuading willing partners to sign on to make it work.
We pitched the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league affiliate of the New York Mets, whose general manager, Steve Cohen, fortunately liked the idea enough to give it a shot. Next, we successfully pitched 1-800-Flowers.com to sponsor our flowers, Smirnoff to sponsor our alcohol, Entenmann’s to sponsor our desserts, After Hours to sponsor our tuxedos, and several other local and national sponsors, totaling about $100,000 in trade value. That wasn’t all; by also asking sponsors to donate cash to the David Wright Foundation, we were able to raise $20,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through our wedding.
To most people, asking companies such as Flowers.com and Entenmann’s to sponsor a wedding would seem preposterous if it occurred to them at all. After all, these are major corporations that sponsor big-ticket events such as the World Series and the Super Bowl. Why would they be interested in such small potatoes? Yet they were, and although I still can’t be completely certain why they said yes, there is one thing I am sure of: We never would have gotten them to sponsor our dream wedding if we hadn’t asked, because you don’t get what you don’t ask for.
That is how on July 8, 2006, I got married to the love of my life in front of five hundred friends and family members (and five thousand strangers) on a baseball field where instead of walking down the aisle we walked underneath the bats held up by the Cyclones. It was an amazing wedding with an amazing partner.
As it turned out, the wedding was also an amazing marketing and public relations promotion for our vendors and sponsors. It generated about $20 million in earned media through coverage on the CBS’s The Early Show, ABC’s World News Tonight, CNBC’s On the Money, the New York Times, and hundreds of blogs. Our vendors were so thrilled with their return on investment, in fact, that a couple of them asked us what we could do for them next. We couldn’t get married again, so we started our first company instead.
FAST First Action Steps to Take:

1. Write down three things you want from people right now but haven’t been asking for. They can include things as small as a sale from a new customer or as large as a raise from your boss or more attention from your husband.
2. Let go of any fears, embarrassment, or shame you have about asking for things.
3. Set yourself up with opportunities, in person or via a phone or video call, to ask these three things of people. You can do this. Remember, a “no” is better than not asking for what you want.
4. Dream up something big that that you want from someone even if you think he’ll never say yes to the idea. Ask for it. What’s the worst that could happen?

  KINGSMITH.

Career Stuck? Pivot Yourself By Bruce Kasanoff

If at first you don't succeed, try again. I'm talking about me, not you. I wrote on this subject once before, and my piece... just... sat... there. But the message is important, so I'm trying again.
Differently. (I'm pivoting.)
In the world of startups, the concept of pivoting is well-established. You start with the "best idea ever", raise some money, hire some people, and... disappointment reigns. No traction. So, you pivot. Ever hear of a mobile shopping ad named Tote? It became Pinterest. A product created in 1999 by a firm named Confinity - to beam money between PDAs - became... Paypal.
So let me ask: is your career stuck? Maybe you should pivot.
I don't mean you should get a new job. I'm suggesting you completely rethink how you position yourself, act, and make decisions.
Take me, for example.
Five years ago, I was a customer experience consultant and speaker. Today I'm a ghostwriter.
Five years ago, it took me a looooonnnnnng time to explain what I did.
Today, I introduce myself as a "ghostwriter" and everyone I meet immediately starts asking questions about my career.
If you pivot, pivot to something that sparks interest.
This implies that you shift your focus like this:

Find the intersection of:

• What's hot
• What interests you
• Where you can create significant value

The first two are self-explanatory, but the third is not. "Value" doesn't necessarily mean you get a $250,000 salary and a company car. It might mean you get to prevent 1,000 children from dropping out of school. Value means that you are talented enough in that area to make a meaningful difference.
You might argue with my inclusion of "hot". Perhaps you think that it makes more sense to decide what's right for you, regardless of whether a particular area is in favor or not. I can't argue with such reasoning, but if you do that you will have to find your own analogy.
No startup deliberately pivots into a dead zone. You shouldn't either.
KINGSMITH.

A Better Way to Get Over Your Anxiety By Deepak Chopra

Many people, especially men, don't like to admit that they feel anxious. But in reality, everyone's life has nail-biting moments. At work the demand to meet deadlines and quotas is stress-provoking, and under stress the brain triggers the release of stress hormones that induce two reactions: to fight back or to run away. Therefore, we are chemically designed with courage and fear intertwined. Anxiety is a biological option in everyone, from warriors to wallflowers.

The first step to getting control of your anxiety is to admit that there is nothing abnormal about feeling anxious--the issue is when and how much. There are three states of anxiety to consider.

1. Intermittent and temporary: This is the normal state biologically, where something makes us anxious for a few minutes or hours, and then passes away. Our bodies are designed to handle these anxious spells automatically. The system gets taxed, however, when a deeply anxious event occurs, such as losing your job or fighting on the battlefield.

2. Anxiety overload: When an event is too stressful, the brain is overwhelmed. Returning to normal balance becomes more problematic. Thus people who have been out of work for a long time can tip into depression and soldiers in combat develop PTSD.

3. Chronic low-level anxiety: Also known as free-floating anxiety, this is a persistent experience of fear or trepidation, sometimes building into panic attacks, where no triggering event can be spotted. The severity varies with the person. Some people have anxious personalities, having turned chronic worry into a settled habit. Others feel anxious during a difficult time of life, such as being pregnant or attending college.

Looking at these three options, temporary anxiety can be distressing but takes care of itself. Anxiety overload requires professional medical and psychological treatment. Chronic anxiety sits on the fence. Sometimes self-care helps a great deal, while at other times millions of sufferers pop a tranquilizer prescribed by the doctor. The drawback of this quick fix is that it only lessens symptoms without addressing what is causing the anxiety.

Self-care is the best option for anyone who feels mild to moderate anxiety, whether a specific event caused it or not. Here are the major steps in self-care that anyone can take.

1. Admit to yourself that you are anxious and tell those close to you that it is happening.

2. Seek out a friend or family member who has gone through anxiety and dealt with it successfully. Make this person your confidant and source of empathy.

3. Don't pretend that you aren't anxious--pushing the feeling down will only make it stronger. Anxiety seeks relief and won't rest until it gets some.

4. Get regular sleep that lasts 8 to 9 hours. This can be difficult, because anxious thoughts tend to increase at bedtime. Meditation and relaxation exercises can help here. If your anxiety promotes insomnia, leading to exhaustion during the day, which in turn increases anxiety, you can try a natural sleep aid. Or if that doesn’t work, you may want to try an over-the-counter sleep aid, but begin with half a tablet and take the sleep aid for only one night at a time rather than turning it into a crutch.

5. Seriously deal with stress in your life. Anxiety is too high a price to pay for living under constant pressure. For most people, anxiety is a sign that their stress response is overloaded. At the very least make time during every day to be alone and quiet, to meditate, and to walk outside in nature.

6. Avoid alcohol and tobacco. People use these to help them stop worrying and feeling nervous, but both substances ultimately contribute to the problem rather than solving it.

7. Make mental relaxation a major goal, using a wide range of possible tactics from developing a hobby to meditation to silent retreats. Experience a quiet mind as your normal default date.
KINGSMITH.

Critical Things You Must Quit Doing Now To Be More Successful By Travis Bradberry

Most of us grew up hearing the mantra “Don’t be a quitter,” and we’ve internalized it to the point where we feel guilty even if we don’t finish a book that’s boring us to death. Our parents weren’t entirely wrong in saying that persistence is necessary for success, but sometimes quitting is the most effective course of action. Whether it’s a failed project, a thankless job, or a doomed relationship, quitting can be a virtue.

“Quitting is leading too.” – Nelson Mandela

As it turns out, some of us are really good at knowing when to quit, while others have a hard time getting “unstuck.” Research from the University of Rochester found that people are motivated by either “approach goals” or “avoidance goals.”
Those who fall into the approach camp are motivated by challenges and don’t waste time trying to solve problems that simply don’t have a feasible solution. In other words, they know when to quit.
People motivated by avoidance goals, however, worry a lot more about failing. They want to avoid failure at all costs, so they keep plugging away at things, long after logic suggests it’s time to move on. This is typically a much less productive way to work.
Knowing when to quit is a skill that can be learned. If you tend to get stuck on things long after it’s obvious that what you’re doing isn’t working, you can train yourself to do better. You just need to practice quitting. Thankfully, life provides plenty of opportunities to do this. Here are some things we should all quit doing.
Quit doubting yourself. Confidence plays a huge role in success. Hewlett-Packard conducted an interesting study whereby they analyzed the process through which people applied for promotions at the company. Women, it turned out, only applied when they met 100% of the criteria for the job they wanted, while men applied when they met 60% of the criteria. The researchers postulated that one of the (many) reasons men dominated the upper echelons of the company is that they were willing to try for more positions than females. Sometimes confidence is all it takes to reach that next level. The trick is, you have to believe it. If you doubt yourself, it won’t work. Faking confidence just doesn’t produce the same results.
Quit putting things off. Change is hard. Self-improvement is hard. Scrounging up the guts to go for what you want is hard, and so is the work to make it happen. When things are hard, it’s always easier to decide to tackle them tomorrow. The problem is that tomorrow never comes. Saying you’ll do it tomorrow is just an excuse, and it means that either you don’t really want to do it or that you want the results without the hard work that comes along with it.

Quit thinking you have no choice. There’s always a choice. Sure, sometimes it’s a choice between two things that seem equally bad, but there’s still a choice. Pretending that there isn’t one makes you a victim who is voluntarily taking on a mantle of helplessness. To play the victim, you have to give up your power, and you can’t put a price on that. To succeed at the highest level, you have to quit giving your power away.
Quit doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Despite his popularity and cutting insight, there are a lot of people who seem determined that two plus two will eventually equal five. The fact is simple: if you keep the same approach, you’ll keep getting the same results, no matter how much you hope for the opposite. If you want different results, you need to change your approach, even when it’s painful to do so.
Quit thinking everything is going to work out on its own. It’s tempting to think that it’s all going to work out in the end, but the truth is that you have to make it work. This has many implications. Don’t expect your boss to notice when you’re ready for a promotion, don’t expect your colleague to stop sloughing work off on you if you’re always willing to do it, and don’t think that anyone is going to stop walking all over you as long as you allow it. Everything is not going to magically work out on its own; you have to be proactive and take responsibility for yourself.
Quit saying “yes.” Every “yes” you utter is a tradeoff. By saying “yes” to one thing, you’re saying “no” to something else. Saying “yes” to staying late at work, for example, might mean saying “no” to the gym or to time spent with your family. Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, showed that the more difficulty you have saying “no,” the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying “no” is indeed a major challenge for many people. No is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say “no,” avoid phrases such as I don’t think I can or I’m not certain. Saying “no” to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. When you learn to say “no,” you free yourself from unnecessary constraints and free up your time and energy for the important things in life.

Bringing It All Together

There are dozens of ways we get in the way of achieving our full potential. We doubt ourselves, we decide that something is just too hard, or we tell ourselves that we’ll worry about it tomorrow. If you really want to succeed—and I mean really succeed—stop focusing so much on what you should be doing and, instead, take a really good look at the things you should quit doing.
What other things should people quit doing? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
KINGSMITH.

How To Ruin A Job Interview In Under Five Minutes By Liz Ryan.

 
                                             Setting: A sunny office, mid-afternoon. COCO the cat is sleeping on a pillow. LIZ is drawing at the conference table. The phone rings.
RRRRRRRRING!
LIZ (pressing the button to operate the speaker): Liz Ryan! Is this Denise?
DENISE (on the phone): Yes! Hi, Liz - it's nice to meet you!
LIZ: Nice to meet you, too!
DENISE: Thanks for making time to speak with me about my story.
LIZ: No problem!
DENISE: My editor assigned me this story. It's a piece about interviewing mistakes -- how to ruin a job interview through lack of preparation, and that kind of thing.
LIZ: Great. Do you have questions for me?
DENISE: Well, what is the number one thing that causes job interviews to fall apart?
LIZ: It's what you said -- lack of preparation. Not taking the process seriously enough, and not giving it enough thought. Dialing it in, you might say.
DENISE: And with all the articles that have been written on this topic, why do you think that people still make the same interviewing mistakes?
LIZ: It's hard to blame them. Where would they go to be trained in good interviewing technique? It's not like they learn it in school.
DENISE: That's a good point. So how can people get better at interviewing?
LIZ: One way is to really think through the job opening. Think about what's important in the job -- not just the standard interview questions and standard answers.
DENISE: Does Human Workplace teach people how to think through the job opening and prepare for a job interview?
LIZ: For sure!
DENISE: So, how would you advise a client to begin their preparation?
LIZ: Well, you've got job ad, right? You've got a job opening and a hiring manager who went to great trouble to get that job opening approved.
Chief Financial Officers and other financial people are not in a rush to approve new job openings. There has to be big pain or they would wait and fill the job later, or never fill it.
DENISE: So you have to think about what that pain might be?
LIZ: Unless you work for the company, and then you can just ask the department manager.
DENISE: Wait a second -- you said "Unless you work for the company." If someone's looking for a job, they're not already working there -- how could they ask the manager?
LIZ: What audience are you writing the story for? I thought we were talking about the interviewer.
DENISE: The interviewer? No -- this story is for job-seekers!
LIZ: Really? Oh, that's my mistake. I figured you were writing a story for interviewers, because most of the not-prepping-for-interviews problems and the dialing-it-in problems I see are not on the job-seeker side of the desk. They're on the interviewer's side.
DENISE: Okay, wait! Now I'm confused. An interviewer has to prepare for a job interview?
LIZ: Definitely! Sadly, way too many job interviewers just go through the motions -- like you mentioned, following the standard script. That's a huge disservice to their colleagues, their customers and their shareholders. It's a massive insult to the job applicant who spent a lot of time learning about the company and preparing questions. It's shocking how bad the standard interviewing process is.
DENISE: How so?
LIZ: In the traditional interviewing set-up we focus all of our energy on vetting the candidate and very little if any of it on selling him or her on the opportunity. We assume they're sold, because they showed up. We focus on our needs and not theirs, and we don't even do a good job of evaluating whether a person can do the job or not.
DENISE: Can you give me an example?
LIZ: People have their biases and prejudices, right? We all have them. We can surmount them if we are aware of them, but most interviewers don't even stop to do that. They walk around with ideas in their heads that they believe are real and don't consciously think about, much less talk about.
They might believe that people who know their weaknesses and are willing to tell strangers about their weaknesses are better hires. Is there any evidence for that? Heck, no! Those interviewers don't care.
We can't even say for sure what a 'weakness' is, or why everyone must have one, but a lot of interviewers insist that not only do people have them, but it's appropriate for a job-seeker to tell the interview -- a perfect stranger -- what those weaknesses are! They say "It shows self-awareness." Self-awareness cuts both ways!
The question "What is your greatest weakness" shouldn't even be legal -- it has nothing to do with a person's qualifications for the job. But we have all grown up with the idea that the interviewer sits on a higher perch than the job-seeker does, and therefore calls the shots. We see this belief acted out in job interviews every day.
DENISE: I never thought about it before, but you're right. It's almost as though the job-seeker is expected to put on a show for the interviewer's pleasure.
LIZ: That's the whole story, except in those organizations and for those managers who are aware of that bias and work to neutralize it. A lot of people don't.
They firmly believe that one of the benefits of being a manager or a recruiter or HR person is that you get to run applicants through their paces. There's no business logic behind it -- it's just a process that we cast in stone a hundred years ago and haven't thought about since.
If you needed a plumber to come to your house and get your kid's sock out of the tub drain, would you dream of subjecting the plumber to your list of goofy questions? Of course not! The plumber would never stand for it.
DENISE: So you believe that it's job interviewers, and not job applicants, who have the most to learn about interviewing?
LIZ: Even before anybody learns anything, it's the job interviewers who have the most to UN-learn. Step one: burn the interview script! It's a hundred years out of date. Reading those idiotic questions from an interview script marks you as a half-wit, let's be honest. Get off the script and have a human conversation.
DENISE: You teach people how to do that?
LIZ: Yes, and it's easy to learn once you shift your mindset. It's much more fun to interview people in a human way than to grill them like suspects in a police interrogation room!
DENISE: Wow, this is not what I expected. I thought you were going to talk about how job-seekers ruin their chances at a job by blowing job interviews.
LIZ: Of course, that happens, but the traditional and widely-used interview script and process is so dysfunctional that most of the job-seekers who do well with that process are excellent actors. That's their advantage. If they took off the mask and brought more of themselves to the interview they wouldn't get the job.
DENISE: Things are that bad?
LIZ: They aren't that great, but they are getting better.
DENISE: So what can a job-seeker do, when faced with someone like that?
LIZ: You have to listen to your gut. You can sit there and answer the questions with a plastic smile on your face if you want, or you can get up and leave if you can't stomach it.
Honestly, I think that's the only way some interviewers are going to change their approach - when enough candidates literally get up and go home.
The old "Grovel, knave" interviewing mindset is dying off. It won't last. Millennials won't tolerate it, and a lot of people of all ages won't either. They insist on being real at work, and who can blame them?
DENISE: So you are hopeful -- you see a change coming?
LIZ: It's underway right now! The Human Workplace movement has over a million people in it. CEOs are coming around. Managers are getting the message and thinking about their leadership style and the Team Mojo in their departments.
HR people are the greatest evangelists for the shift in mindset that needs to happen and that is already happening. They teach their teams how to interview differently and also how to lead differently.
DENISE: Not a moment too soon, right?
LIZ: Not a second too soon!
KINGSMITH.