Enhance your strengths: Peter Drucker and Marcus Buckingham agree.

You're pretty good... Hone the skills that will make you the best!

The management guru, Peter Drucker, in his classic article, “Managing Oneself" states: “One should waste as little effort as possible on improving areas of low competence. 

"In terms of managing human capital to drive the bottom line, most companies operate on two false assumptions. One is that people can be anything they want to be if they try hard enough. The second is that each person's greatest room for growth is in his or her areas of greatest weakness." --March Buckingham

"It takes far more energy and work to improve from in-competence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence." --Peter Drucker

1. What are you good at?  (This first step is important, give it sufficient effort and time)

• Check your test scores
• Ask friends, co-workers, family 
• Take a self-assessment test

2. What can you do to further improve those skills?

• You're good at approaching people and starting conversations so you attend networking functions to further practice this skill
• You got an A in finance so you start reading the Wall Street Journal Finance section and looking at stock trends in your free time. 
• People often look to you for direction so you practice leadership skills by volunteering to head up a committee or team. 

These skill enhancing activities can be added to your resume and make you feel more fulfilled by your capabilities. 

In the comment section below tell me: 

What are your strengths?

The Secret to Discovering What People Need

“People don’t know what they want until you give it to them.”  --Steve Jobs

We LOVE surveys because they make data measurable and organized ...BUT... there are some things surveys cannot explain well.  Primarily, WHY and HOW consumers do what they do.

If you want to figure out what people need, asking "What do you want?" will not get the accurate answer.

Find out what your customer needs by understanding their concerns.
The more you can engage your customer in real life conversations, the better you will understand what they need. 

Think of yourself as a highly specialized doctor. Your patient isn't there to tell you what procedures and medicines they require. If you ask the right questions, your customer will tell you what is troubling them and then you are positioned to provide the remedy. 

Vine's effective tutorial makes it easy to shoot Vine videos

I recently downloaded the Vine App for Twitter and was concerned it would be hard to use. The first thing this new App does is teach you how to use it in a straightforward effective way. Don't over think it. I just did what the screen said and viola! I made my first Vine video... Cool.

1. Download Vine App on phone
2. Sign in with Twitter account
3. Touch the movie camera icon at the top rightside of your app
4. Frame the action you want to capture on video, touch your phone's screen and HOLD YOUR FINGER down on the screen. 
5. Lift your finger off the screen to stop recording.
6. The video is paused until you touch the screen again to restart recording again. 
7. WHILE you're holing finger on the screen, you're recording, When you let go Vine pauses recording
8. The recording interface shows a green line moving across the top of the screen, showing how far along in the 6 seconds you are.
9. Use the pause time to move the object or camera how you'd like
10. When your 6 seconds of recording is up just decide where you want to share the Vine video.
11. Done.

See my Vine video here: vine.co/v/bvArbEDgrXm 

Not sure if you can embed them yet? Anyone know?

Share a Ted Talk

Check out this Ted Talk with Mike Wagner on the Positive power of being strange!

1. Stand out             2. Be relevant            3. Have fun!

Sound Check

Your most valuable skill... The ability to LISTEN

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” Ernest Hemingway

If you want to know WHY it is important to listen to customers, employees, spouses, friends, family, children, do an internet search because the masses agree on this point.

Listening is the single most important thing you can do to grow personally, financially, and in relationships. 

As a child you probably asked countless questions. You listened because you wanted to know the answers. You were CURIOUS and your brain was soaking up all that information like a sponge. 

As we age, our desire to listen wanes as we become concerned with our own thoughts, needs, concerns. 

Some people are naturally better at listening but EVERYONE can benefit from consciously practicing it. 
You don't even have to act or respond for others to feel comforted by your listening. It is literally the most affordable customer service tool your business can utilize. 

From Mindtools, there are 5 key elements of listening: 
1. PAY ATTENTION!
2. Show you're listening with body language
3. Provide feedback
4. Defer judgement
5. Respond appropriately

The most critical of the 5 is number 1. PAY ATTENTION. If you don't respond, if they didn't even know you were listening, you still stand to benefit from hearing what has been communicated. 

Listening is a habit that must be repeated, reinforced and diligently practiced to be successful in any relationship or endeavor. 

More to come on listening, hearing, communicating. 

Questions about communication? I'm listening. Comment below.

Try Something New

Employers want to know your Software Experience. 

The more you try, the better you can tailor your experience to the needs of the position.

An example of related skills on your targeted resume may include the following:

• Mastery of Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Acess)
• Experience with QuickBooks and with maintaining office budget
• Ability to work with several operating systems, including Windows, Mac OSX and Linux

You may not have worked with Mac OS in a professional setting but you HAVE used it and that may be important to an employer who prefers to work with Mac. 

Make a movie?

This week I experimented with iMovie to make a short commercial. I'm not an expert with the program, but should it come up in professional discussion, I can converse about aspects of iMovie. 
If I need to use iMovie, I am familiar enough with the program to get started.

Try something new! 

Exercise your brain, build up your experiences, and discover new hobbies. 

Q: What is novel exercise you have tried lately? 

Positivity and Motivation

"If you think you can or think you can't you are right!" Henry Ford

Positivity:

• Allows you to see opportunities
• Helps you act on solutions
• Increases enthusiasm
• Enhances others' perceptions about you
• Betters your mental AND physical health

Stay MOTIVATED

1. The more you learn, the more confident you become
2. Increase regular encounters with positive and motivated people
3. Keep notes on when your motivation is high when it's lacking to recognize patterns
4. Share your ideas and help friends get motivated
5. Make a list and start checking things off

Check out this 2 minute video: For 20-something leaders starting their careers. 3 tips for leaders under 30 from Forbes Video. 

Question: What motivates you?

Mandatory Gun Ownership?

"This leads me to my solution to the dual issues of gun ownership and gun violence in America: Mandatory Gun Ownership."

University of Central Florida Communications Graduate Jordan Moro provides a creative solution to America's gun issues. 

Why is this on a personal development blog?

From Brian Kim: Creativity will ALWAYS be in demand, regardless of what industry you’re working in. It’s cross marketable and if you’ve developed your creative thinking skills to a point where you can draw upon it at any time, it’s one of those things that will give you the edge that really differentiates yourself from other people.

Anybody can execute a given set of procedures with training, but it takes creative thinking to generate what that procedure should be in the first place.

Agree with his suggestions or not, you can't deny, the idea is original. 

Still wondering if Creative Thinking is important? I recommend Daniel Pink's "A Whole New Mind"

Find Your Sweet Spot

I did not write this but am simply passing it on to fellow my MBA graduates at USFSM:

This interview with Kon Leong, co-founder, president and chief executive of ZL Technologies, an e-mail and file archiving company, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.Q.  (From the New York Times)

Q. What is your advice for students who are graduating from college?

A. I tell all of them two things, and that goes for both undergrads and M.B.A.’s. First, experiment. If you’re 22 years old as an undergrad or if you’re 27 just out of your M.B.A., in both cases you’ve got a clean slate. You can go in any direction. So experiment. That can also mean taking a lower salary in order to experiment.

This is all in hindsight, of course, because I didn’t do it. I went to Wall Street after getting my M.B.A. If you experiment in different jobs and functions in those two or three years out of school, you will have a much better shot at finding your sweet spot. And the sweet spot is the intersection between what you’re really good at and what you love to do. If you can find that intersection, you are set. A lot of people would kill for that because, at 65, they’re retiring and never found it.

So don’t put so much emphasis on initial compensation. Don’t listen to all the harping from the family. Try to find your sweet spot and, once you find it, invest in that. You don’t want to get degrees just to do work you don’t really like. If you’re miserable, even if you make a lot of money, that’s still 40 years of your life.

How To Be Cool

Helping others for personal gain... NOT cool...


Taking advantage of opportunities to give praise, a leg-up, or a even just a shout-out to people who deserve it.... SO COOL!

If you loved the service at a new restaurant (where the food was awesome too), Tweet about it. 

If you have a friend who needs help moving their couch from their 3rd floor apartment to a DIFFERENT 3rd floor apartment (no elevators), roll Up your sleeves. 

If your coworker stayed late to help you get a project done and they really didn't have to, mention it to your boss in private that John Smith helped you out and it was really awesome of him. 

There is no real mystery to this secret. Putting out positivity isn't awesome because good things will come to you as a result #Karma, #TheSecret. 

It is AWESOME because you reap the emotional benefits of it right in that moment AND someone else might just benefit from it too. 
If by chance something good comes back to you then I'll quote Michael Scott by calling that a "Win-Win-Win."

When you need a little pick me up do one of these 5 minute favors from Adam Rifkin. 

COMMENT QUESTION! 
What are your ideas for a 5 minute favor. A favor you have done for someone, someone has done for you, OR something you would really appreciate. 


Thanks friends :)

Let's Be Honest, You're a Little Weird.

Has anyone ever called you weird? quirky? odd? unique? 

You might be worried that if employers or clients knew how weird you were, you wouldn't get the job or land the business deal. 

However, MAYBE it could help you!
Even if they don't fit into your resume, you can talk about the hobbies, habits, or experiences that make you unique. Remember writing college entrance essays? The school counselor advised everyone to write about something that set them apart from the masses of applicants. A cover letter on a job application may give you the opening to do the same. 

Do you have an unnatural love of running? Draw parallels between your physical endurance on the pavement and mental endurance in the work place. 

  

Do you have a Pez Dispenser collection organized chronologically by when they were released? What a great example of your organizational skills. 

If you're in an interview, take advantage of an opportunity to tell a story about yourself so the potential employer or client will remember you as, "the girl who went shark diving and enjoyed it so much they had to send some one down to convince her to get out of the 65 degree water!"

Warning: You want to take your oddity and make it memorable but not seem so weird that you're unemployable. Think about what makes you unique and do research about the company and the position to see how it is applicable. If the position requires a high level of organization, go ahead and make a joke about your color coordinated closet that moves from sleeveless, to short-sleeve, to long-sleeve to sweaters. 

DON'T attempt this to do this on the spot. HAVE A STRATEGY PLANNED. 
Similar to your "elevator pitch" decide ahead of time what three things you most want to convey. Plan the stories, or narratives, that reinforce the traits you've determined they're looking for based on research done ahead of time. Be brief with anecdotes and entertaining. 

QUESTION! What makes you unique? How can it be applied in a business setting?

Borrow Justin Timberlake's Suit and Tie

Borrow Justin Timberlake's Suit and Tie -Dressing for Continued Success

Has business casual gotten too casual?  Executives say YES!

Do NOT be fooled into thinking the interview is the only time it really matters what you look like. 


1. Know your company's uniform or your client's 
        dress and one-up it. If they wear denim, wear 
        khaki. 
2. How you wear it is more important than the name 
       on the tag. It's probably ok if your suit or dress 
       was not made by Justin Timberlake's personal 
       stylist BUT it better be clean and wrinkle free 
       AND fit well. 
3. Your hair, nails, bodily and oral hygiene all matter!
4. In MOST industries, conservative styles are the 
       best way to go. 

The most important reason to dress professionally is when you feel good about what you’re wearing, you can feel self-assured in most all situations. When we are dressed well and look good we automatically feel better and work better. We make more connections because we have the confidence to talk to more people.  

Dressing the part won't get the job or close the deal for you. However, failing to care for your appearance CAN ruin your chances at both. 

Dressing your ONLINE self is just as important. GOOGLE YOURSELF and make sure your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are sending the same message about you as your freshly dry-cleaned suit because employers, current AND prospective, ARE LOOKING!

Comment question to post below: What comes up when you google yourself?

How To Win Friends and Recommendations

It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you!...

  One’s ability to get hired or even secure an interview is critically dependent on the extent of one’s professional network and the ability of OTHERS to advocate for YOU.  

LinkedIn recommendations could be a key to your success: “third-party recommendations are a must for building trust and establishing credibility, especially when they come unsolicited.”

How do you get recommendations?  
1. Build relationships
2. Develop trust
3. Do work worthy of recommendations

One way LinkedIn recommendations is to give them first. Then, in the message to your contact that you are recommending, add this sentence: “If you’re comfortable, I’d appreciate it if you’d recommend me as well.”

Get to know other professionals through groups in your community such as the Sarasota Young Professionals Group 

Remember: Networking is important but so is authenticity, Character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you. Others WILL notice if you are using them for their connectivity. 

Comment below your suggestions for networking!

How to get more LIKES on Facebook

This cartoon from The Oatmeal is the funniest explanation of how NOT to get people to "Like" you on Facebook. They also explain how you can and should get people to like your page. 

The link will take you to the whole cartoon. VERY funny and absolutely true:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/facebook_likes

Is MATH on your résumé?

Posted at The Daily Stat (HBP) and then tweeted by Daniel Pink last night:

JANUARY 10, 2013

For Sales Jobs, Your Résumé Should Tout Your Math Skills

Even though there's no particular reason why selling would require math skills, employers with sales openings express much greater interest in résumés that show course work or club activities suggesting that candidates have ability in mathematics, say Cory Koedel and Eric Tyhurst of the University of Missouri. The effect, which applies only to résumés displaying relatively high levels of education, is as powerful as the impact of listing an additional 1 to 6 years of work experience on your CV. The researchers sent out fictitious résumés for males in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas.

Source: Math skills and labor-market outcomes: Evidence from a resume-based field experiment

http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/dailystat.php?date=011013

Facebook Friends Make You Fat?

Facebook use is bittersweet.
          Recent studies published in the Journal of Consumer Research, conducted by Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh, found that people who browse their Facebook friends posts get a boost in self-esteem.  The study further suggests that the happy feelings associated with Facebook Friend interaction leads to weight gain, higher BMI and  other negative things such as spending more money, overeating and slacking off from exercise.

The idea is that feeling the boost in self-esteem makes us more comfortable with ourselves which in turn lessens our self control with foods we wouldn't normally eat. 

Will power is important for your health and your personal success. There have been numerous studies linking fitness and business success. 

Tips for healthy success:

1. Exercise in the morning. Your willpower grows weaker after making so many decisions all day long. 

2. Reward yourself for making healthy decisions. Reinforce good decisions and healthy habits.

3. Get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation makes us more susceptible to temptations. 

4. Plan ahead and be prepared for temptations you'll face. 

5. Make a habit of waiting to check your Facebook until AFTER you've eaten. (The new zero calorie dessert... Facebook) 

Question to answer under comments:

What's your favorite thing to do on Facebook? Post photos, look at photos, catch up with friends, look for old friends, read posts, check in at locations, etc...

Pinterest for a Better Life?

If you've read the best-selling 2006 self-help book, The Secret, or literally any of DOZENS of other personal development books, you will have heard how important it can be to visualize your goals. 

Long before the days of Pinterest, My mom and I started keeping Dreambooks as a mother-daughter bonding activity. We would flip through Southern Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Elle Decor, Glamour, Self, Health and other magazines. We cut out pictures of things we liked and wanted to have, make, or do and pasted them into a notebook. 

In our dreambooks we also made lists of goals, drew pictures and laid out timelines. 

My mother drew a detailed blueprint of what she wanted her outdoor patio to look like. Little by little she has been making improvements to the patio as she and my father could afford over the last few years. Without even flipping back to see what she originally drew, my mom has created a near perfect replica of the patio she imagined 4 years ago. 

WHY visualize your goals? 
Motivation. Looking at your goals will remind you they are worth working towards. It will inspire you and help you focus.

HOW? The new trend is photo boards such as Pinterest. Other options include, make a motivational poster, create a dreambook with clippings. Wear a bracelet or some other accessory as a reminder. Make a mini version or a mock version of something. Ex: Write yourself a fake check for the amount you want to earn. Whatever you choose, look at it often and imagine what it would be like to have it, achieve it, see it, do it. 

In the comment box below paste a link to a great Pinterest Post.

Reading for Personal Development

Question: "Do I have to read to be successful? I'm really not much of a reader...."

Short Answer: "Yes!"

Longer Answer: "Yes, Yes, Absolutely Yes!"

Should I read the paper? YES

Should I read trade books in my industry? YES

Should I read blogs, social media postings, online articles, etc about things related to my industry? YES

Should I read blogs, social media postings, online articles, etc about things UN-related to my industry?... Still YES!

It is no coincidence that the most important skill you learn in grade school is literacy. 

If you are an MBA student you will read textbooks, trade books, articles. However, successful people never stop reading and learning. 

SOME of the benefits of reading:

1. Makes you smarter

2. Requires focus

3. Improves your vocabulary

4. Improves analytical and reasoning abilities

5. Increases creativity and imagination

6. Provides opportunity to learn about current events, your trade, yourself, others, and ANYTHING you'd want to know about

7. It will make you more savvy in business, a better conversationalist and it may even help you find a mate if you're single. 

Suggested Readings for MBA students:

1. This blog. (YAY! you already are reading it!)

2. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (I'm listening to this now on audiobook)

3. Drive: The Surprising Turth About What Motivates Us

4. Outliers: The Story of Success

5. The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works–and How It’s Transforming the American Economy. 

Check out this review of The Naked Sales Person courtesy of Creative80 Design Studio owner Anna DiTommasso 

http://www.creative80design.com/blog/the-naked-salesperson/#more-848

Creative80 Design Studios, a full service agency specializing in identity development, print creation, and web design. Anna is a self diagnosed idea addict and small business advocate. She is also a personal friend who I admire greatly. 

Question for you to post a comment:

What are the 3 "Nevers" of your life?

Example:

1. Never regret the past

2. Never eat yellow snow

3. Never forget your toothbrush

Get Organized!

Yesterday a speaker in our Integrated Business Applications course said he tells his children their room is a reflection of who they are. An organized bedroom is a strong indicator of how organized a person is in other aspects of their life. 
Note: NOT ALL professions require organization. MOST management positions DO! 
This got me thinking about my messy walk-in-closet. 
Step 1 to personal development: Get organized! 
My plan: 
1. Come up with an organization system for the closet.
2. Plan and practice to maintain the organization of the closet.

There are thousands of sites that suggest HOW to get organized. What's important is that you make staying organized an automatic habit. I like FlyLady whose suggestions for organization are habit forming. Warning FlyLady's site may be an estrogen overload for males reading this blog.  Others might also like this site: zenhabits-27-great-tips-to-keep-your-life-organized

POST your answer below in a comment:

Would you play Russian Roulette one time with one bullet for $100,000,000?