Time Management: January 2012 Archives

I joked with one of my friends that one of the reasons I get invited to be a panelist or participant in events is because I'm the Charles Nelson Reilly of my network.

Reilly was one of the funniest people from my childhood and he always added some wit and charm to the shows he appeared on.

In my life, I've always found that when there has been a need for someone in a pinch, when I get a call I am able to deliver a quality presentation, class, or contribution on short notice.

What can you do to become that reliable and energetic presence for those in your network or business?

Here is more on Charles Nelson Reilly from Wikipedia:

He was also a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, appearing more than one hundred times. Because Reilly was such a lively and reliable talk-show guest and lived within blocks of the Burbank studios where The Tonight Show was taped, he was often asked to be a last-minute replacement for scheduled guests who did not make it to the studio in time. During this time, Reilly was perhaps best known as a fixture of game shows, primarily due to his appearances as a regular panelist on the television game show Match Game.

As the New Year started, I committed myself to committing to more "big picture" time and it began today with an all day retreat with the folks at LifeStylized. My new friends Rono and Sierra invited me to attend an all day workshop to "Envision 2012" where I participated in a number of great activities to recharge and refocus on the bigger picture.

45 minutes after the session ended, I walked away with a renewed sense of self as well as a renewed focus on the future of my company and the future of me. I've got some great action items for my business and my personal life and am on my way to reinvigorating my life with passion.

Why did I attend? Because I felt I didn't need to, but because I wanted to. Many times, I fell companies and people don't make the time to focus on yearly goals until the goals have been missed. Others make time for events like this after a major tragedy. I disagree with both of these approaches. As I mentioned at the beginning of today's events, my company grew over 60% in revenues last year from 2010, and this year our goal is to bring in the total of 2010 and 2011 combined. Lofty goals, but realistic given the great people I've been able to bring in as virtual interns, colleagues and freelancers.

It's not too late to retreat this year for a day, a weekend, or an hour. Put it on your calendar and find time to focus now, rather than later.

I volunteered my time yesterday at the Times Union Job fair from 10-1 yesterday to critique resumes of those who were seeking jobs at the fair. One of the recurring themes I saw among the resumes I reviewed was the lack of a LinkedIn profile link at the top of the page.

If you have a LinkedIn account, you should put your LinkedIn URL on your resume to use it as an enhanced version of your resume to direct employers to greater details than your resume can provide.

LinkedIn has become such a valuable resource for employers, job seekers and consultants among many others. From finding the right talent to finding the right service provider, having LinkedIn as part of your strategy as a job seeker or business person is crucial.

For those seeking to switch jobs or finding jobs, using the Skills feature on LinkedIn can enable you to stand out from others in your field of interest.

I have professionally fallen in love with a few businesses and businesspeople in my time. I'm not talking about the romantic, touchy feely, lovey dovey kind of love, but more of an overarching admiration and respect for the totality of another business person or business.

You know the person or business I am talking about; the business or person representing a business who loves what they do, cares about their clients or customers and is extremely passionate in their belief in their products and their belief in you.

Have you professionally fallen in love with anyone?

Here are signs that you are professionally in love

1. You wouldn't think about buying or working with anyone else.
2. You go out of your way to talk to others about how great they are.
3. You actually believe your life has been changed because of your experience.

Sounds a lot like romantic love, doesn't it?

Get people to fall professionally in love with you and your business, and you will never be short of customers, business, or momentum.

Prior to hiring or prior to the start of the Virtual Internship Program at Braathe Enterprises and Saratoga College, I ask all of my interns to provide me with a resume "from the future". This resume contains an entry that includes what they want to accomplish during the internship as if it had already happened.

This resume from the future accomplishes many things; one is to get both the student and I on the same page on what they want to accomplish; another is to begin with the end in mind, and create broader goals that help shape the projects I design for them. By having the foresight to project larger goals for themselves and having me agree upon them, the internship becomes a fulfillment of a goal set months earlier and many of the goals are met prior to the end of the internship.

Next time you go on a job interview, consider building a "resume from the future" to show employers who may be considering hiring you.

I remember the fun I had working at a gas station growing up and the people who would come in and treat me as if I didn't have a brain. Apparently, to many of the customers, it wasn't logical that a college kid with a high IQ could possibly want to work behind the counter of a gas station on weekends to pay for college.

I learned a lot about Human Resources and motivation in my time at the gas station. It was funny to see the interactions between people who were getting their car worked on and the mechanics and service manager. It was also rewarding to be able to manage kids my age in terms of writing their schedule and training them.

Next time you are in a gas station, convenience store, or other "service" establishment, engage the person working there in a conversation; you'd be pleasantly surprised with what you may find out about them in the discussion.

Likewise, if you work in a position at one of these establishments, look beyond the stereotypes of the role and find ways to make the work interesting, as well as opportunities to engage your customers in friendly dialogue (in fact, many of the people I talked to in my time at the gas station are clients or friends today, some 20 years later!)

I've heard from colleagues and I have experience it myself; there is a lack of apologies for mistakes because people are ashamed to admit they are wrong.

Have you ever had an employee or coworker just walk off the job because they have neglected responsibility? Have you had an employee make a mistake or let you down and rather than say they are sorry, they have quit or completely fallen off the face of the earth in shame?

I've had this happen to me a few times in my career, as have my colleagues. What employees need to learn is that is ok to make mistakes, and that an apology and an act of contrition can be much more forgiving then one might think. Personally, I find it far worse for someone to just disappear off an assignment then to say "I screwed up".

For those of you early in your career who want to be taken seriously, be willing to make mistakes and apologize for them. Also, be willing to tell people AHEAD of time when you know an upcoming event or situation may possibly affect your work; your employer will be more forgiving then you believe.

It's that time of year again where resolutions are broken, goals are set, new ideas are tested, and often the same results are attained using different means.

For 2012, I suggest finding 20 different ways of getting 12 things done right. What those 20 different ways and 12 things are is up to you; however, I suggest you try new ways of reaching out to people, new ways of promoting the same work you do already, and each month have a big goal that you can focus on for that month. After January, add a second thing to do right and work on that. By December, you will have 12 things you've worked on and 11 of them for more than one month.

Am I going to follow this process - you better believe it! But as assignments like this go, I like to keep my 12 things to myself, but certainly will recap my results as I proceed to keep you posted. Good luck in 2012 and let me know how I can assist!

Robert
robert@saratogacollege.com