When is enough enough?

I was recently asked: How do you decide when you have enough information and it's time to execute on your plan?

My response is fairly straight forward:

When you find yourself reading the same thing over and over, doing the same thing over and over and not finding or accomplishing anything really new. And, when you begin to feel that enough is enough.

The trick is to NOT let yourself to be the biggest excuse for not putting your plan into action.

When researching a subject, there is always the temptation to do one more Google search, read one more journal article, watch one TED video on You Tube out of fear that you may have missed something. This is called, Paralysis by Analysis.

When preparing to give a speech, there is the temptation to do one more rehearsal, make one more modification in the wording, add or subtract a joke, make one more adjustment of the tie or hair. This is called Stage Fright.

When taking steps to implement the plan, there is that moment when you look at the competition and they look BIGGER, SMARTER, RICHER, BETTER CONNECTED, ETC. than you are and you want to crawl back into your shell. This is called Lack of Self Confidence.

All of these excuses are in your head and barriers of your own making.

 The first step in your plan should have been a realistic assessment of your particular strengths and weakness. If you put together a plan, then you should know this already. If these barriers were real, your plan would have shown you that. And you should have made a decision about what to do about it. This should address the Paralysis by Analysis issue

The second step in your plan should be to make a realistic assessment of the opportunities and threats the environment present to your idea or plan. You should have built your plan to take advantage of the opportunity and at the same time to prepare your defenses against the threats. This includes preparing an exit strategy. This should address the Stage Fright issue.

The third step is related to the first step, strengths and weaknesses. If you have done it well you have included an analysis of your competition and their strengths and weaknesses relative to you and one another. You will have found that they are "human" too. Your plan should include a strategy for exploiting their weaknesses and avoiding confrontation with their strengths. This should address the Self Confidence issue.

The point is to know that whatever your plan is, IT WILL NEVER BE PERFECT.

But you will know your ready when it is the BEST DAMN PLAN you can make today to deliver today. Strive for PERFECTION but deliver and accept EXCELLENCE.

And remember, a PLAN is only a road map toward your destination it can be changed and altered at anytime during the journey. YOU ARE IN CHARGE.

Entrpreneurship A woman's point of view

This video is from the TED Channel

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: Women entrepreneurs, example not exception

Entrepreneurship is "one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise."

It is not about them. It's about you

 Bill Gates has some ideas that we all should take to heart. The realities of life are the realities we must adapt to in order to lead a successful life.

What good is a recommendation?

There has been a on going discussion on LinkedIn in the Adjunct Network about making recommendations for students and what different professors feel about the process. While cast in the context of teacher student recommendations, it really strikes at a broader concern -- what is the value of a recommendation in any context?

Some have said that they would only give a recommendation to someone who got an "A", while others would consider other qualities in addition to or as an exception to the grade.

Some would be very vocal about the strengths and weaknesses of the student in their written recommendations, while other would simply check of the lines on a form created by their institution and approved by the legal department out of fear of being sued.

Academic recommendations are really the first step a young person has for entering the job market. For career changers of any age, this is also true. It is the process of professional birth or rebirth. So the question one faces both as the person asking for the recommendation and the person making the recommendation is -- What good is it?

One of the comments we received took the position that there is "more to people than getting the highest grade." I would also add "than getting the highest salary or most prestigious title." There is more to performance outcomes than the symbols of success. These are evidence of how that success was achieved. But does not focuses on the individuals innate talents and character. These are the things/qualities that we hope to get a handle on from the recommendation.

When I have been in a hiring position I have often found that the "proforma recommendation" from a former professor or employer is next to worthless. This was especially true if there is no personal impression of the student's or employee's progress, involvement, or other feature that made the individual stand out from the class or crowd. Grades can be obtained from the registrar and employment records from the HR department,if they are important. Character is only measurable by the testimonial experience of those who have worked with individual.

As a classroom and online teacher, I know that not everyone is the same. I chose not to recommend any student I could not say something good about or that had failed to impress me in the classroom context. For example, an "A" student who earned it by the objective criteria imposed by the department but failed to demonstrate any growth or unique quality, was someone who didn't impress me enough for me to want to recommend them. Meanwhile a "C" student who overcame problems, showed progress and growth, AND was making a realistic application for a realistic job, might be someone I would be happy go to bat for.

The forms that a department or employer require be used covers their ass, but it does nothing for student or employee. In fact it almost negates the whole process -- from a hiring perspective. I would even say that in an application process all that it really is a piece of paper that can be added to the file as required by the process without shedding any light on the applicant's qualifications.

The recommendation is just part of the process and we should be aware of this whether we are the one writing the recommendation or the one asking for it. It can be critical as a step in the process.

For a couple of decades now I have participated in the Brown University Alumni Schools program from time to time. In this capacity one gets to see some of the inside aspects of the selection process. As an alumni volunteer in the program we are asked to conduct a personal interview with a prospective applicant and return an evaluation, based on a set of general criteria and our impression of the candidate, to the admissions office.

As interviewers, we are formally trained in the application and acceptance process and our role in that process before we are assigned applicants to interview. The interviews are generally conducted either by phone or in person. My preference in the face to face because you get learn a lot from body language and how they treat the interview process (e.g. seriously or flippantly).

This is but one of many dimensions that are used to make an acceptance decision, We have been told that sometimes it can be the critical determinant between two equally qualified candidates. So, as interviewers, we take our responsibilities and recommendations very seriously.

As a result of this experience, I take my role and responsibilit as someone who is being asked to make a recommendation very seriously, both in who I recommend and what I write or say about the applicant.

When asking for a recommendation, you want to ask someone who knows you both as a performer and a person in an area relevant to the position and organization you are applying for. Unless there is some immediate connection between the position you are applying for and the recommendation you request -- all you really have is the word of someone to the potential employer that they know you. But the question is: Does the employer know the person making the recommendation?

Something else we must also realize. When we make a recommendation we are also opening ourselves up for evaluation. If your recommendation results in a bad experience for the recipient of the evaluation, what does that say about you and any future recommendations or evaluations you may make?

Sometimes killing with kindness can be worse than not responding to the request at all.

What is progress and what does it mean for you?

In the broad global context of taking charge of your life, I think it is important to note that "progress" is a concept that encompasses a hope, optimism and reasoning based on a belief in that particular human ideal of "free will."

Progress is only possible if you believe that the individual has the power to take destiny in his/her hand and make of it what he/she desires. There is no progress in a deterministic or fatalist universe. There is change, but change without purpose is not progress, at best it is evolution.

The belief in free will is an act of faith and for those who accept and act on that faith -- progress becomes a possibility. I say a "possibility" because there are no guarantees, but there is "HOPE." I guess this is the most any of us can expect -- a chance.

A Simple Truth about Image

Are you a valuable human resource or a self promoting celebrity?   A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education by Allison M. Vaillancourt reminds us that, as the sole proprietor of our own career, we need to focus on how we go about marketing ourselves. Vaillancourt makes 5 sound points that we all should consider.

  1.  First, do no harm. 
  2.  Be focused.
  3.  Share your ideas as much as possible
  4.  Be appropriately visible, but not perpetually available.
  5.  Let others promote you.

How do you promote your business?   Are you a resource or a self promoting celebrity?

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL SOLE PROPRIETOR

Becoming a successful a sole proprietor means that you are both your own boss and your own product. To succeed is hard work

Hard work is having a clear idea of who and what you are. Hard work is networking and more listening than talking. Hard work is active and proactive research. Hard work is learning what an employer or customer is looking for and what they can afford. Hard work is remaining open to opportunities.

Oh, by the way, did I mention hard work.

What makes it hard work?

I have experienced and heard the same comments people allude to about losing out insiders, being advised by others not to apply for a position or respond to the RFP (request for proposal or bid) because the fix was in. But I have learned that at one time whoever that "insider" might be, he/she was once an outsider. And the fix is in because someone else found another way to approach and sell the potential employer or customer. So what is the lesson? Become an insider -- volunteer, network, make physical eye contact - then ask about sending a resume. Otherwise you are one of hundreds of pieces of paper, emails or cold calls that employers or customers receive daily.
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Have you studied the rules?

Learn the "rules" of the market you are looking to enter? For example, some jobs are advertised because the HR policies and maybe the company's funding require a public announcement of the opening. Federally funded projects generally have EEOC mandates. This does not guarantee all applicants will be treated alike. Some RFPs have specific contractual language and conditions that must be met to even qualify for consideration.  Do you know what the rules are? Do you even know what game you are playing?
 
Reputation Counts

Often the difference between you, the outsider, and the insider is simply you are a total stranger and the insider is a known quality. It is cheaper and safer to go with the known entity than the stranger. Employers and customers are generally risk adverse. They do not like surprises. To become known is part of the hard work

Successful Selling comes from Good Marketing.

Sales is always hard work whether physical, mental or social.

If you are in sales, for example, you can make the sales calls either by spending time researching what the market is, how the product is bought and sold, and when it is bought and then identify who the buyer is -- hard work. Then you know where to go to find that potential buyer and make your pitch. OR

You can take the phone book and start on page one and cold call every number and get many rejections -- hard work. But if you keep at it, someone will eventually talk to you and then you begin you pitch. OR

You can write a "one kind fits all" email, circular, or brochure and blast it into the universe of some database(s) you have bought and sit back and wait...and wait....and wait -- hard frustrating work, like waiting for that girl or guy you met last night to call or return your call..

Successful Job Hunting takes a HUNTER.

Whether you are looking for a sale or a job, any of these strategies can produce a job or a sale -- eventually with LUCK. To succeed you must think like the HUNTER that you are. You must recognize that job hunting and product sales are just that -- HUNTING. Think like a hunter and not the prey!!

Both you and your potential employer or customer are hunting for the right mix. Both of you are both the hunter and the prey. In today's buyer's market, the employer and the customer has the hunter's advantage.

Know your environment


While you were not looking, the environment has been changing. In today's world of Facebook,Google, etc, you, as prey, are visible in all of your many  good and bad facets to the potential employer/customer's computer. The chances are that if you ever get past the first paper screening or Google search and before you ever get to an interview invitation or site visit, you have been subjected to computer generated background check, comparison, and evaluation.

But you will never know it anymore than the rabbit knows that the fox decided that that rabbit was not worth the chase. So, selling yourself or your product it still comes down to hard work of learning how you are perceived in and by your environment.. Are you that rabbit?

Take responsibility because only you care whether you succeed

You may not realize it, but right now you are employed. Your are employed by yourself as the sole proprietor of your life and your business. Your job is to sell your product, talent, desire, and knowledge to a customer who is willing to pay your boss --- YOU --- for the value you offer them..

Good luck!!