I’ve had my eyes opened. We have a need for someone to expand our business…and we’ve seen many résumés, with 2 out of about 60 we really like. We posted with our partners and friends at Jobing.com, who have, by the way, done a great job of helping out. (www.jobing.com. If you are an applicant, register with them now. If an employer with a job opening, ask for Craig Hakes at 303.227.3377 and post your description with them. Let them know I sent you.)
To respond to this post, either comment below or email me at jheckers@heckersdevgroup.com. I welcome your comments.
But the lack of intelligence and old fashioned manners in the job-seeker world is truly amazing! So, let my bad experience be your education, as always. Here are a few really stupid human tricks that some of our applicants have done.
1). Ignored the post entirely. Our post clearly says up front that people applying any other way than instructed will be automatically not considered. Then it gives a set of things we have to have before we talk to someone, including reading one of our blogs and replying to a couple of questions that are posted there (so we know that the person read it.) Out of the 60 résumés, only two followed the directions completely. This proves that they are not bright enough to be employed anywhere (except, maybe, the Post Office or the TSA), much less at our firm.
2). Got nasty. When I didn’t just delete these congenital idiots who couldn’t follow simple directions, but sent them back instructions asking them to apply again, some got nasty and told me I was rude, proving the point that no good deed goes unpunished (I shoulda just deleted them rather than giving them a second chance). Even if I had been, what kind of houseplant IQ does it take not to say something ridiculous like that to a potential employer, hmmmm? Never criticize an employer. If you don’t like what they require or want from you, don’t apply.
3). Showed ignorance. We’re trying to hire someone to serve as a Career Coach Associate. One of the duties is writing résumés, which we’ll train them on. But several of the résumés had major misspellings and misuse of words. I think that these folks probably didn’t make the grade. (The two people I liked did everything right, BTW….great résumés, read the blog, followed directions — proving that I did not pose an insurmountable test or anything.)
4). Sent canned responses. This is in part an extension of #1, as we said “NO CANNED COVER LETTERS,” and asked for a statement of 500 words or less telling us why they wanted to work for our firm. Instead several job seekers sent a canned cover letter that had absolutely nothing to do with the position or any information we wanted. Duh.
5). Didn’t even use our names. If the name of the person to whom you’re applying is in the job posting — ummmm….use it! Not doing so is incredibly rude, as well as un-bright.
6). Applied even though they had 20% of the qualifications or less. That 20% consisted of being able to breathe air and be of the human species (for some, I wasn't sure that "being of the human species" applied..). Really, in some of the résumés that is the only similarity I can find to anything in the job description.
When you do this you’re wasting everyone’s time, and really torquing off an employer. “Papering” your résumé is just plain idiotic. Don’t do it!
7). Applied to the wrong email address. Once again, follow directions. How many working brain cells does it take to send an email to the correct email address when it is sitting there with a link on it?
8). Just forwarded their “Jobing” profile without even a canned cover letter. It is bad enough to get a “canned” cover letter, but to just get a profile…sent to the wrong email address…with none of the qualifications for the job…and numerous misspellings…well, these people need to go on Welfare, because no employer who needs someone who can even use a broom well will hire these people.
9). Send really offensive cover letters. One guy started out his ridiculous cover letter with “Congratulations! Your search for the right person is over!” Yeah. Whatever. I'll make that decision, thank you, not you. Don’t send hokey stuff like that, people. It just marks you out as someone who will be a “salesy” employee who will apply high pressure sales person type tactics to your clients or customers and make them so angry that they’ll go to your competitors. I would prefer to slowly slice off vital parts of my anatomy than to subject my great clients to a high pressure loser like that. And please don’t tell me, the employer, what decision I need to make.
Be humble when you write. I don’t mind someone saying “I believe I am the right person for the job,” and giving me examples that mirror the job description to tell me why. I like it, in fact.
What I really hate, though, is someone who tells me that I'm the idiot if I don’t hire him (this is a mistake usually made by the male of the species), and doesn’t give me one good reason why I should.
10). Telling me that I’m looking for impossible qualifications (or that I don’t pay enough). Out of 60 résumés, we have two good ones. We always knew that we were seeking a special individual. But the fact that two people did have the qualifications and thought the salary range was good is proof that we simply asked for the improbable and difficult, not the impossible. Besides which, I do the improbable and the difficult at least 3 or 4 times a day. The impossible I only perform once or twice a week. If I had received no viable candidates, well, maybe they’re right. But two out of 60 is actually a good “hit” ratio, since we’re seeking someone who fits into our unique culture and has high` intelligence.
I could go on, but I won’t. The upshot is this. It is an employer’s market. You aren’t going to get anywhere by being nasty, rude, not following directions, or generally acting stupid.
If you do fit, follow the instructions and apply, remember it is still an employer’s world. You aren’t in control now and you won’t be in control after you get hired — if you’re lucky enough to be hired. Also remember that the amendment that would have required employers to give a reason for firing someone was withdrawn. Employers in Colorado and most other states can fire you for any reason whatsoever or no reason at all. While you could get away with a great deal of crap in a tight labor market, real unemployment now is hovering around 12%, regardless of what the government propaganda says.
If you don’t want to be part of the “unemployed” statistic, polish your shoes and your attitude, be polite and deferential and generally behave yourself.
Good hunting,
J.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Ten Career Limiting Moves for Executives
As you move up the executive ranks, there are certain behaviors that will give you a boost, and others that are very career limiting moves. Here are some of the career limiting moves and how to avoid them.
1). Getting too close to your boss. This may seem counter-intuitive, but don’t let yourself get too close to the boss. It is especially important not to be friends with the boss. Be friendly. Invite the boss and his/her spouse to dinner (preferably at a nice restaurant). Accept any invitations given to you. But never, never think that the boss is your friend. S/He isn’t. If the choice comes between you and losing his/her job, which do you think will win? And letting the boss know your personal life challenges can only lead to disaster.
2). An office romance. There is an old saying that applies. “Don’t dip your quill into the office inkwell ‘cause someone will come along and cut your feathers off.” Crude, but true. As soon as you enter into an office romance, you are a target.
I tried to tell this to one young friend of ours who started to go out with a senior official of her company while she was consulting there. It didn’t last. Neither did she. If you absolutely must date someone you’ve met at work, one of you should quit and find other employment if it looks promising after 3 or 4 dates. Otherwise there is a very large hole in your armor.
3). Dishonesty anywhere. If someone is dishonest with me they’ve just been dishonest with someone who has a very large Rolodex and isn’t afraid to use it. A moving company did something dishonest to my widowed mom. They didn’t want to deal with it when I brought it to their attention. I let my network know what they’d done. The next day they received over two hundred phone calls from people. They wound up making a fairly large settlement.
Honest disagreements will happen. But cheating someone, stealing from them, or defrauding them will get around very rapidly and ruin your career chances. I know one gentleman who had to move out of town because of a bad reputation. Great guy, but had made a few judgment errors. Run your life and your business with integrity, or you’ll pay the price.
4). Letting your network lapse. I see too many of my clients let their networks lapse once they get employed. This is a very large mistake. In fact, the lack of a network is how most of the transition executives I deal with got in the position of needing to utilize my services in the first place. Keep up your network!
5). Losing focus. Everyone has life issues that arise. There are deaths and illnesses and other unforeseen cosmic noogies that surface from time to time. Take a few vacation days, deal with it as well as possible, but then focus on your work again. Don’t get sidetracked with volunteer work, family issues, and so on.
6). Identifying with the company. One of my clients was a true company man. He had a company shirt, a company ball cap, a company cup, and even a company crest ring. Yep. He was a good company man right up to the time he was laid off. A goodly portion of his identity was temporarily taken away. You work for a company, you don’t live for a company, unless it is yours. Even with the fact that my wife, Nicole, and I are in practice together and our name is on the letterhead, we don’t live for the company. We live for life and work at our company. But we’d still be us if we didn’t have the company. You should take the same attitude.
7). Taking the part of employees. Don’t get too close to your employees. I made this mistake early in my executive career. The employees had some legitimate gripes, and I went to bat for them. That was a very big mistake. Don’t make it.
Do what you can to look like you’re on the side of employees while making sure that your superiors know that you are pushing the corporate agenda. If you want to right injustices, join the Peace Corp or start your own company where you can put your ideals into effect. But don’t try to reform corporate America. It won’t work and it annoys the powers that be.
8). Thinking you know all the answers. One of the most rapidly growing careers is that of Executive Coach. Why? Because intelligent executives know that they need to have an independent sounding board to bounce things off of and some independent advice. If you don’t have one, get one. But watch yourself. Make sure that the individual you’re contracting is experienced and skilled. Often times your company will pay for this.
9). Isolating yourself. Keep up. Read. Watch CNN and other stations. Talk with others outside of your company. Join associations and groups where you can, not only network, but also meet like-minded people.
10). Mixing personal and professional life. Keep the office at the office and the home at home. Don’t let anyone see much of your personal life. I rarely invite clients to my home. My home is my home.
I used to have an office in my home (in Highlands Ranch at the time) where I’d see clients. This did have some advantages. But it also let them see too much of me and my family. It is usually a mistake to bring the office home or the home to the office.
These, of course, aren’t the only career-limiting moves that executives can do, but are a few of the big ones. Watch for my upcoming book Highly Cynical Career Management to be published around the December holidays. In the meantime, watch your back and watch yourself!
1). Getting too close to your boss. This may seem counter-intuitive, but don’t let yourself get too close to the boss. It is especially important not to be friends with the boss. Be friendly. Invite the boss and his/her spouse to dinner (preferably at a nice restaurant). Accept any invitations given to you. But never, never think that the boss is your friend. S/He isn’t. If the choice comes between you and losing his/her job, which do you think will win? And letting the boss know your personal life challenges can only lead to disaster.
2). An office romance. There is an old saying that applies. “Don’t dip your quill into the office inkwell ‘cause someone will come along and cut your feathers off.” Crude, but true. As soon as you enter into an office romance, you are a target.
I tried to tell this to one young friend of ours who started to go out with a senior official of her company while she was consulting there. It didn’t last. Neither did she. If you absolutely must date someone you’ve met at work, one of you should quit and find other employment if it looks promising after 3 or 4 dates. Otherwise there is a very large hole in your armor.
3). Dishonesty anywhere. If someone is dishonest with me they’ve just been dishonest with someone who has a very large Rolodex and isn’t afraid to use it. A moving company did something dishonest to my widowed mom. They didn’t want to deal with it when I brought it to their attention. I let my network know what they’d done. The next day they received over two hundred phone calls from people. They wound up making a fairly large settlement.
Honest disagreements will happen. But cheating someone, stealing from them, or defrauding them will get around very rapidly and ruin your career chances. I know one gentleman who had to move out of town because of a bad reputation. Great guy, but had made a few judgment errors. Run your life and your business with integrity, or you’ll pay the price.
4). Letting your network lapse. I see too many of my clients let their networks lapse once they get employed. This is a very large mistake. In fact, the lack of a network is how most of the transition executives I deal with got in the position of needing to utilize my services in the first place. Keep up your network!
5). Losing focus. Everyone has life issues that arise. There are deaths and illnesses and other unforeseen cosmic noogies that surface from time to time. Take a few vacation days, deal with it as well as possible, but then focus on your work again. Don’t get sidetracked with volunteer work, family issues, and so on.
6). Identifying with the company. One of my clients was a true company man. He had a company shirt, a company ball cap, a company cup, and even a company crest ring. Yep. He was a good company man right up to the time he was laid off. A goodly portion of his identity was temporarily taken away. You work for a company, you don’t live for a company, unless it is yours. Even with the fact that my wife, Nicole, and I are in practice together and our name is on the letterhead, we don’t live for the company. We live for life and work at our company. But we’d still be us if we didn’t have the company. You should take the same attitude.
7). Taking the part of employees. Don’t get too close to your employees. I made this mistake early in my executive career. The employees had some legitimate gripes, and I went to bat for them. That was a very big mistake. Don’t make it.
Do what you can to look like you’re on the side of employees while making sure that your superiors know that you are pushing the corporate agenda. If you want to right injustices, join the Peace Corp or start your own company where you can put your ideals into effect. But don’t try to reform corporate America. It won’t work and it annoys the powers that be.
8). Thinking you know all the answers. One of the most rapidly growing careers is that of Executive Coach. Why? Because intelligent executives know that they need to have an independent sounding board to bounce things off of and some independent advice. If you don’t have one, get one. But watch yourself. Make sure that the individual you’re contracting is experienced and skilled. Often times your company will pay for this.
9). Isolating yourself. Keep up. Read. Watch CNN and other stations. Talk with others outside of your company. Join associations and groups where you can, not only network, but also meet like-minded people.
10). Mixing personal and professional life. Keep the office at the office and the home at home. Don’t let anyone see much of your personal life. I rarely invite clients to my home. My home is my home.
I used to have an office in my home (in Highlands Ranch at the time) where I’d see clients. This did have some advantages. But it also let them see too much of me and my family. It is usually a mistake to bring the office home or the home to the office.
These, of course, aren’t the only career-limiting moves that executives can do, but are a few of the big ones. Watch for my upcoming book Highly Cynical Career Management to be published around the December holidays. In the meantime, watch your back and watch yourself!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Three Tips for Avoiding the Next RIF
What do you do when you hear nasty rumors being spread around the office that there will be layoffs, or a RIF (reduction in force), and you fear you could be on the list? Don’t assume it’s time to bid R.I.P. to your career, but rather take a calm yet proactive approach to the situation. Look at your marketability and use it as a springboard to explore other opportunities elsewhere, or decide to make the most of it at your current position.
If you decide you’d like to stay where you are currently, here are 3 tips to make you indispensable to your organization. (In the following stories names and identifying info have been changed to protect client identities.)
1) Become an expert and make yourself available to teach what you know. One employee, Sal, worked in a small office in technical support. A major component of the business was to process credit cards. He saw that the company was paying a large portion of fees to the credit card companies and for processing. This issue had been largely overlooked by all of the staff. Seeing that a fair amount of money could be saved, he took it upon himself to learn everything he could to reduce the fees and negotiate different rates. He became the point of contact whenever there was a problem with the vendors. He taught other staff how to navigate the fairly complex and abstruse system. Furthermore, Sal familiarized himself with any changes and rate increases. With his knowledge of a core component of the business and his willingness to share what he knew, Sal avoided any mention of his name when the company was forced to downsize. And at the same time, he increased his value to the company by saving tens of thousands of dollars annually.
2) Go green and organize a contest. After being horrified by the reams of wasted paper his office produced to generate one report, Tim decided change the profligate nature of his department. He realized the paper waste for the report could be cut by at least 50%. With upper management’s approval and the small budget he was allotted, he sponsored and organized a contest where individuals were recognized for reducing the waste by half. Everyone joined in to solve the problem and most met the 50% goal. He distributed little “Save a Tree” award trees to each member who met the marker. He gave the largest tree to the employee who engineered the highest waste reduction. Given the competitive nature at the office, his contest was highly successful. The morale of the department improved as everyone recognized their commitment to save the environment. Tim was asked to oversee the “Save a Tree” contest annually and was appointed the head of a new committee dedicated to making the office environmentally friendly. With Tim’s extensive contributions, not only did he take steps to save the environment, but he saved his job as well.
3) Shape and strengthen the culture of your office. Mary had always been known as a strong contributor to her company. She was well liked and always took the initiative in any situation. Rumors had circulated that upper management wanted to improve the morale of the department. To help bond her work group, with her boss’ approval, Mary decided to organize a wine tasting at a popular restaurant nearby. The attendance was at almost 100% and a huge success. People talked about the event for days afterwards. Management asked Mary if she had any other ideas she could implement. After careful thought and help from a skilled facilitator who volunteered time to the project, she began a peer advisory group for the professional development of staff. The group took off, spawned several other groups and exceeded everyone’s expectations. With a second success under her belt, Mary was now informally put in charge for molding the organization from a cultural standpoint. The most popular events she organized became annual traditions. It was clear over the period of a few months that Mary had single handedly improved the overall morale and sense of cohesion within the organization, which increased productivity and contributed to a high functioning department. Instead of the possibility of being on future RIF lists, Mary became one of the most popular and beloved members of the team. Given her string of contributions that helped shape the organization, no one, including management could afford to let her go.
With these few tips, you’ll find that you’re an indispensable member of your organization. Although you’ll feel a sense of loss as others around you face lay-offs, if you follow these guidelines, you’ll be glad you positioned yourself to be integral to the functioning of your department and the last person upper management would ever consider letting go.
All the best,
Nicole Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC
If you decide you’d like to stay where you are currently, here are 3 tips to make you indispensable to your organization. (In the following stories names and identifying info have been changed to protect client identities.)
1) Become an expert and make yourself available to teach what you know. One employee, Sal, worked in a small office in technical support. A major component of the business was to process credit cards. He saw that the company was paying a large portion of fees to the credit card companies and for processing. This issue had been largely overlooked by all of the staff. Seeing that a fair amount of money could be saved, he took it upon himself to learn everything he could to reduce the fees and negotiate different rates. He became the point of contact whenever there was a problem with the vendors. He taught other staff how to navigate the fairly complex and abstruse system. Furthermore, Sal familiarized himself with any changes and rate increases. With his knowledge of a core component of the business and his willingness to share what he knew, Sal avoided any mention of his name when the company was forced to downsize. And at the same time, he increased his value to the company by saving tens of thousands of dollars annually.
2) Go green and organize a contest. After being horrified by the reams of wasted paper his office produced to generate one report, Tim decided change the profligate nature of his department. He realized the paper waste for the report could be cut by at least 50%. With upper management’s approval and the small budget he was allotted, he sponsored and organized a contest where individuals were recognized for reducing the waste by half. Everyone joined in to solve the problem and most met the 50% goal. He distributed little “Save a Tree” award trees to each member who met the marker. He gave the largest tree to the employee who engineered the highest waste reduction. Given the competitive nature at the office, his contest was highly successful. The morale of the department improved as everyone recognized their commitment to save the environment. Tim was asked to oversee the “Save a Tree” contest annually and was appointed the head of a new committee dedicated to making the office environmentally friendly. With Tim’s extensive contributions, not only did he take steps to save the environment, but he saved his job as well.
3) Shape and strengthen the culture of your office. Mary had always been known as a strong contributor to her company. She was well liked and always took the initiative in any situation. Rumors had circulated that upper management wanted to improve the morale of the department. To help bond her work group, with her boss’ approval, Mary decided to organize a wine tasting at a popular restaurant nearby. The attendance was at almost 100% and a huge success. People talked about the event for days afterwards. Management asked Mary if she had any other ideas she could implement. After careful thought and help from a skilled facilitator who volunteered time to the project, she began a peer advisory group for the professional development of staff. The group took off, spawned several other groups and exceeded everyone’s expectations. With a second success under her belt, Mary was now informally put in charge for molding the organization from a cultural standpoint. The most popular events she organized became annual traditions. It was clear over the period of a few months that Mary had single handedly improved the overall morale and sense of cohesion within the organization, which increased productivity and contributed to a high functioning department. Instead of the possibility of being on future RIF lists, Mary became one of the most popular and beloved members of the team. Given her string of contributions that helped shape the organization, no one, including management could afford to let her go.
With these few tips, you’ll find that you’re an indispensable member of your organization. Although you’ll feel a sense of loss as others around you face lay-offs, if you follow these guidelines, you’ll be glad you positioned yourself to be integral to the functioning of your department and the last person upper management would ever consider letting go.
All the best,
Nicole Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Figure Out What You Want and Go For It
The most important challenge for a rising executive is to figure out what he or she wants in his or her career and life. Until this all-important question is answered all of the career moves, the politicking, and the climbing of the ladder remain unimportant.
There are three vital questions to ask in this — and in this order.
1). Who am I? There is an old saying that if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything. It has a great deal of truth to it.
Executives (and everyone else) must first know what they’re made of. What is it that you’d die for? What do you live for? What will you do if faced with a conflict between your job and your ethical/moral system? Do you have a price? What is it, and can you look yourself in the shaving or make-up mirror afterwards?
It is vital to know your values and your mission in life. What did God send you here for? If you’re uncomfortable with the “God” term, substitute your own question there, such as “What am here this time around for,” or “What purpose does the Universe have for me?” They wind up as the same question. Why the heck are you here.
When I ask some of my clients that question I get some pretty scary answers. They include “To build a comfortable life for me, my wife and kids.” Really? Really? The whole Universe has planned to have you here so you can have a nice house and two SUV’s and the money to buy gas for them? Wow…what a wasted life.
I would hope that the talents, skills and brains that you’ve been given give something better back to humanity as a whole than your wife and kids being able to shop at Needless Mark-ups (Neiman Marcus) and go on European vacations and drive a nice car.
What are you here for? A nice life is a nice perk, but it isn’t a Life Purpose. Who are you? What are you going to give back to humanity — and I’m not talking about the $10 bill you slip into the Church collection plate the once a month you show up. I’m talking about what Service you’re going to do for the world. Think about it.
(If you truly think that your highest and best purpose is to make you, your wife and kids comfy, you probably are just going to get very angry reading this blog, as you’ve probably figured out that I think having that as “life purpose” is incredibly shallow.)
2). Where am I going? As J.R.R. Tolkien had Biblo write, “Not all those who wander are lost.” But most are.
If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to get there? What would you like people to say about you at your funeral? Being the wealthiest person in the graveyard is not terribly valuable…unless that wealth is in people you’ve helped and those who you’ve loved and who have loved you.
If you’re going to the top chair, why do you want to get there? Do you think you can make a difference as a CEO in people’s lives?
Most of my “C” Level clients wanted that position to make people’s lives better. They wanted to see their employees treated more justly, see a better product made to serve their customers, ensure excellence in ethics and communication, or some purpose that has a bit of nobility to it.
Many others choose to leave that path and pursue a path of making a difference in other ways.
Which path are you going to choose? Why?
3). Who do I want to go there with? Few of us walk totally alone. Figure out if you’re a hermit or if you want to walk with a large group of people.
Then figure out what kind of people you want to have around you. Do you want to work for a large company, or a small one? Do you want to start your own company? Figure out who you want to go with and then stick to your guns. Don’t be swayed by money. Take it from one who knows, money comes and money goes. Money is like the rain. It is here today, but maybe not tomorrow, and it doesn’t matter how much you have. But you can always make more. Making money is easy. Finding a group of people with honor and integrity is tough.
Find a group of people to walk with who have honor and integrity and the dollars (and millions of dollars) will, to some degree, take care of themselves. Align yourself with dishonorable people and/or become dishonorable yourself and it won’t matter how much money you have. A millionaire jerk is still just a jerk. Live with honor or improve the gene pool by leaving it rapidly.
Remember what Mom and Dad used to say about the company we keep and the friends we have? They were right. We are known by the company we keep. We are also known by the Company we work for.
Figuring out with whom you will walk your life path is absolutely vital to your happiness. Choose wisely. Think of the gas and time you’ll save by not having to visit any of your friends in Club Fed Minimum Security doing 10 – 15.
These three questions are essential ones for any individual at any time, but absolutely vital for those climbing the executive ladder. Know who you are, where you’re going and choose carefully with whom you will go and success will follow. Ignore any of these and you’ll fall off that ladder sooner or latter — usually sooner.
All the best,
J.
There are three vital questions to ask in this — and in this order.
1). Who am I? There is an old saying that if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything. It has a great deal of truth to it.
Executives (and everyone else) must first know what they’re made of. What is it that you’d die for? What do you live for? What will you do if faced with a conflict between your job and your ethical/moral system? Do you have a price? What is it, and can you look yourself in the shaving or make-up mirror afterwards?
It is vital to know your values and your mission in life. What did God send you here for? If you’re uncomfortable with the “God” term, substitute your own question there, such as “What am here this time around for,” or “What purpose does the Universe have for me?” They wind up as the same question. Why the heck are you here.
When I ask some of my clients that question I get some pretty scary answers. They include “To build a comfortable life for me, my wife and kids.” Really? Really? The whole Universe has planned to have you here so you can have a nice house and two SUV’s and the money to buy gas for them? Wow…what a wasted life.
I would hope that the talents, skills and brains that you’ve been given give something better back to humanity as a whole than your wife and kids being able to shop at Needless Mark-ups (Neiman Marcus) and go on European vacations and drive a nice car.
What are you here for? A nice life is a nice perk, but it isn’t a Life Purpose. Who are you? What are you going to give back to humanity — and I’m not talking about the $10 bill you slip into the Church collection plate the once a month you show up. I’m talking about what Service you’re going to do for the world. Think about it.
(If you truly think that your highest and best purpose is to make you, your wife and kids comfy, you probably are just going to get very angry reading this blog, as you’ve probably figured out that I think having that as “life purpose” is incredibly shallow.)
2). Where am I going? As J.R.R. Tolkien had Biblo write, “Not all those who wander are lost.” But most are.
If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to get there? What would you like people to say about you at your funeral? Being the wealthiest person in the graveyard is not terribly valuable…unless that wealth is in people you’ve helped and those who you’ve loved and who have loved you.
If you’re going to the top chair, why do you want to get there? Do you think you can make a difference as a CEO in people’s lives?
Most of my “C” Level clients wanted that position to make people’s lives better. They wanted to see their employees treated more justly, see a better product made to serve their customers, ensure excellence in ethics and communication, or some purpose that has a bit of nobility to it.
Many others choose to leave that path and pursue a path of making a difference in other ways.
Which path are you going to choose? Why?
3). Who do I want to go there with? Few of us walk totally alone. Figure out if you’re a hermit or if you want to walk with a large group of people.
Then figure out what kind of people you want to have around you. Do you want to work for a large company, or a small one? Do you want to start your own company? Figure out who you want to go with and then stick to your guns. Don’t be swayed by money. Take it from one who knows, money comes and money goes. Money is like the rain. It is here today, but maybe not tomorrow, and it doesn’t matter how much you have. But you can always make more. Making money is easy. Finding a group of people with honor and integrity is tough.
Find a group of people to walk with who have honor and integrity and the dollars (and millions of dollars) will, to some degree, take care of themselves. Align yourself with dishonorable people and/or become dishonorable yourself and it won’t matter how much money you have. A millionaire jerk is still just a jerk. Live with honor or improve the gene pool by leaving it rapidly.
Remember what Mom and Dad used to say about the company we keep and the friends we have? They were right. We are known by the company we keep. We are also known by the Company we work for.
Figuring out with whom you will walk your life path is absolutely vital to your happiness. Choose wisely. Think of the gas and time you’ll save by not having to visit any of your friends in Club Fed Minimum Security doing 10 – 15.
These three questions are essential ones for any individual at any time, but absolutely vital for those climbing the executive ladder. Know who you are, where you’re going and choose carefully with whom you will go and success will follow. Ignore any of these and you’ll fall off that ladder sooner or latter — usually sooner.
All the best,
J.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to the Executive Skills Blog. This new blog will publish articles to assist executives in moving forward in their careers, play politics well, and stay out of trouble in their jobs.
This blog will receive new articles at least weekly on a variety of these topics.
Who am I and why should you spend the time reading my articles? For the first post, here is my bio.
John Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC is President of Heckers Development Group, LTD, an executive coaching and consulting firm based in Cherry Creek, Colorado, specializing in high level Executive Coaching, Corporate Training, Executive Transition Consulting and Strategic Corporate Coaching. John has consulted to both Fortune 500 and smaller companies, and has trained and coached executives from AT&T, New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, Microsoft Corporation, IBM, Maxtor/Seagate, The Prudential, United Airlines, Children’s Hospital, Concentra Health Systems, Merck-Medco, Hewlett/Packard, Citibank of New York, Corporate Express, Stryker Corporation, Qwest, First Data Resources, FEMA, The United States Armed Forces, and many other organizations. John has over 28 years of experience in helping and counseling executives, professional counseling, executive transition (career) counseling and professional training.
John Heckers is published both nationally and internationally as a business columnist, is featured as an employment blogger for ColoradoBiz Magazine Today on-line, on the Jobing.com website (Jobing.com is a national job board and employment advisory website), has served as an employment expert on the Diversity Website Latpro and served as the monthly employment columnist for The Denver Business Journal and the online national bizjournals.com for over 6 years. His articles have been syndicated in business journals across the United States and Canada, and has also had his articles republished in business periodicals in Europe and Asia, translated into five languages. He has had frequent appearances on numerous television news programs and radio talk shows as an employment expert, including Denver’s KCNC, WB2, and KHOW radio, among others.
John Heckers graduated with his Baccalaureate degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1977, did graduate studies at the University of Toronto, Trinity College, in 1978 and 1979, and graduated from Denver’s Iliff School of Theology with distinction with his Master of Arts degree in 1989.
He is past president of the Colorado Association of Psychotherapists, served on the boards of directors of the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, the Rocky Mountain Information Management Association, and the International Attention and Behavioral Institute. In 1995, Heckers was appointed by Governor Roy Romer to the Colorado State Mental Health Grievance Board, where he served for three years. He also has served as a Senior Research Fellow for the Magellan Center, a non-partisan and not-for-profit think tank in Colorado devoted to employment issues.
So, there you have it. You may expect a new post on this blog in the next couple of days. If you’d like to know whenever we update, don’t forget to subscribe via the link on the sidebar.
Thanks, and I look forward to having you as a regular reader.
John H. Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC
This blog will receive new articles at least weekly on a variety of these topics.
Who am I and why should you spend the time reading my articles? For the first post, here is my bio.
John Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC is President of Heckers Development Group, LTD, an executive coaching and consulting firm based in Cherry Creek, Colorado, specializing in high level Executive Coaching, Corporate Training, Executive Transition Consulting and Strategic Corporate Coaching. John has consulted to both Fortune 500 and smaller companies, and has trained and coached executives from AT&T, New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, Microsoft Corporation, IBM, Maxtor/Seagate, The Prudential, United Airlines, Children’s Hospital, Concentra Health Systems, Merck-Medco, Hewlett/Packard, Citibank of New York, Corporate Express, Stryker Corporation, Qwest, First Data Resources, FEMA, The United States Armed Forces, and many other organizations. John has over 28 years of experience in helping and counseling executives, professional counseling, executive transition (career) counseling and professional training.
John Heckers is published both nationally and internationally as a business columnist, is featured as an employment blogger for ColoradoBiz Magazine Today on-line, on the Jobing.com website (Jobing.com is a national job board and employment advisory website), has served as an employment expert on the Diversity Website Latpro and served as the monthly employment columnist for The Denver Business Journal and the online national bizjournals.com for over 6 years. His articles have been syndicated in business journals across the United States and Canada, and has also had his articles republished in business periodicals in Europe and Asia, translated into five languages. He has had frequent appearances on numerous television news programs and radio talk shows as an employment expert, including Denver’s KCNC, WB2, and KHOW radio, among others.
John Heckers graduated with his Baccalaureate degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1977, did graduate studies at the University of Toronto, Trinity College, in 1978 and 1979, and graduated from Denver’s Iliff School of Theology with distinction with his Master of Arts degree in 1989.
He is past president of the Colorado Association of Psychotherapists, served on the boards of directors of the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, the Rocky Mountain Information Management Association, and the International Attention and Behavioral Institute. In 1995, Heckers was appointed by Governor Roy Romer to the Colorado State Mental Health Grievance Board, where he served for three years. He also has served as a Senior Research Fellow for the Magellan Center, a non-partisan and not-for-profit think tank in Colorado devoted to employment issues.
So, there you have it. You may expect a new post on this blog in the next couple of days. If you’d like to know whenever we update, don’t forget to subscribe via the link on the sidebar.
Thanks, and I look forward to having you as a regular reader.
John H. Heckers, MA, CPC, BCPC
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