Your Inner CEO: Protect Your Job!

Unless you’re fully committed to complete entrepreneurship, securing your financial future begins with protecting your present job – and protecting your job begins with wanting to protect it.  Not everyone is fortunate enough to have work they love. Not everyone has work they can even enjoy. But if you really can’t stand your job, if it’s all you can do to show up every day, you’re not going to be very effective in protecting it because – whether you admit it or not – you really don’t want to protect it. You don’t want to be there in the first place.

Assuming, however, that you do want to keep your present employment and even advance in that environment, here are the key steps you need to take:

>> Know your company. What do you really know about the place you work? Your answer should encompass much more than the company’s product or service and profit or loss. Can you answer the following questions about your place of employment? If not, do something to change that situation as soon as possible.

·        What is the mission statement of your company? If there is none, what kind of statement could you make up?

·        What obstacles do you face in trying to do your best work?

·        What motivational support does the company provide? If there is no support, how can you motivate yourself?

·        Do you feel empowered to make decisions and be creative? How does the company give you that feeling (or not give it.)

·        Are there any recent changes in the company that might have affected your motivation?

·        Are career goals and the goals of your company well aligned?

·        How do other employees feel about the company?

·        Are the company's internal image and external image consistent with one another? What about your internal and external image?

>> Be confident. Think proactively about how you can make the greatest contribution to your company, and then put those thoughts into action. Don’t be afraid of making reasonable and well-intentioned mistakes. An employee who does nothing but “play defense” can’t really expect to score any points. It can be scary to see layoffs and cutbacks in your work environment, but it won’t happen to you if you make yourself indispensable.

>> Concentrate on the “customer” and “the boss.” Think of your boss as your customer and your customer as your boss – because that’s what they really are. Your primary responsibility is serving your “customer’s” needs. This doesn’t mean groveling in front of your boos. It’s just a matter of recognizing the fact that a positive outcome for your supervisor will mean a positive outcome for you. Most managers don’t like “yes men/women.” What managers do like is attention to their legitimate needs. Employees who fulfill those needs get rewarded. It’s as simple as that.

>> Reach out. The word “networking” has been severely overused, but it really is important to form positive relationships with as many people as possible in your work environment. In addition to your close colleagues, that means connecting with people from different departments and at all levels of responsibility. You never know who’s going to get a promoted to a position that could really help your career. Make sure that person isn’t a stranger.

>> Blow Your Own Horn. Without being heavy handed about it, make sure your boss becomes aware of your accomplishments and contributions to the company.  There is a fine line between kissing up to a manager and simply informing him/her of your contribution -- so you’ve got to learn how to walk that line. It’s a good idea to create an email paper trail of your achievements. There are people who will try to take credit for what you’ve done. The best way to prevent that is with solid evidence of what you did and when you did it.

Protecting your job requires attention, but it's not as hard as you might think. Just make sure you’re convinced that you have a job worth protecting.

Your Inner CEO: Why does buttered bread always fall face down?

Resilience is the ability to rebound from a setback, or even from a disaster. But resilience doesn't mean ignoring painful feelings. It does mean not dwelling on them, or at least not dwelling on them forever. When bad things happen to good people -- and you're one of those, right? -- here are some things you can do toward strengthening your resilience:

§    Start laughing. Finding humor in stressful situations doesn't mean you're in denial. Humor is a great coping mechanism. But it doesn't always come easily. As Stephen King has written, "Stories about the things that can go wrong in life are really funny, until they're about you." 

§  Learn from experience. Think back on how you've coped with hardships in the past. Build on skills and strategies that helped you, and don't repeat the ones that didn't help.

§  Take care of yourself. Tend to your own needs and feelings, both physically and emotionally. 

§  Accept and anticipate change. Expecting changes to occur makes it easier to adapt to them, tolerate them and even welcome them. 

§  Work toward a goal. Do something every day that gives you a sense of accomplishment. Even small, everyday goals are important. Having goals helps you look toward the future.

§  Take action. Don't just wish your problems would go away or try to ignore them. Instead, figure out what needs to be done, make a plan and take action.

§  Maintain perspective. Look at your situation in the larger context of your own life and of the world. Keep perspective and know that your situation can improve if you actively work at it.

§  Practice stress management and relaxation techniques. Yoga and meditation have become really popular for the simple reason that they do work. 

§  Above all, stay hopeful. You can't change what's happened in the past, but you can always look toward the future. And expect good results. Remember: a pessimist is someone who says things can't get any worse, and an optimist is someone who says they definitely can. (Ha!)

Your Inner CEO: Don't Get Too Comfortable!

“Comfort Zone” is a great phrase and I fully understand why we hear about it so often. People are in a comfort zone when they talk about a comfort zone. It has a nice, lulling quality, doesn't it? It makes you think of sitting in a soft La-Z-Boy by a warm fireplace on a cold winter night.

One defining element of a comfort zone is the absence of surprises, especially unpleasant surprises. It may not be the most exciting place in the world, but you’re willing to sacrifice excitement for predictability. If your boss walks in one morning and asks you to run report ABC, that’s fine – because it’s what he does every morning. You won't even break a sweat. You do it every day and know the drill. There’s a very limited range of possibilities here. There’s no upside but – more importantly – there’s no downside either.

But what if your boss came in one morning and told you to redesign a report from scratch. Suppose you also had to use a software program you'd never seen before. Suppose you had to have it done before noon. How would you feel then? The answer, of course, is uncomfortable, and maybe frightened.

Many people, when faced with a challenge that lies outside their comfort zone will get nervous and panic. “I can't do this, I'll never get it done on time, I don't need this stress. Why me? Why not that other person in the next cubicle?”

It’s fine to feel that way – for a minute or two. But the reality of life is that we learn by doing, and that means leaving the comfort zone behind. Children don't learn to walk by watching others, they try to stand and fall hundreds of times before learning how to put one foot in front of the other in perfect balance.

Doing things that are uncomfortable and new ultimately expands your comfort zone. It enables you to confront new tasks courageously -- not without discomfort, but with discomfort under control. If you do the thing you think you can’t do, you'll feel yourself growing stronger. 

Someday you’ll face harder choices that might require even more initiative. But you’ll be able to choose action over fear. You’ll be very comfortable with that.

Your Inner CEO: Anger Management

Of all the negative feelings people can experience,
anger is the most common in the modern world. We
live in the midst of an anger epidemic. They 
may not look like it, but people are seething with rage. 

And what about you? You’re put on hold in a phone call, 
you’re waiting in the checkout line, you’re caught in traffic 
behind a guy going twenty miles an hour -- and the result 
is anger. And those are just the minor situations. There are 
plenty of others in which the gloves really come off.

Research on anger shows that certain situations really get people ticked off. One of the most potent is feeling wrongly accused. You work harder than anyone else on a project and it falls through. If you get blamed, how do you feel? Or you get a parking ticket with time still on the meter. How do you feel? There are lots of other examples of wrongful accusations. Can you think of any now? If you can, the chances are you feel angry just recalling them. 

From a manager's point of view, it’s important to be empathetic about anger -- because there’s such a big difference between being inside it and outside it. From the inside, anger is like fire. It can start out like the tiny flame of a match, but with that tiny flame you can burn the whole house down. 

Again, think about how you feel when you’re really angry. If you’re like many people, you’ll sacrifice everything for the sake of that very compelling feeling. You’ll throw the expensive plates against the wall. You’ll kick the dog. You’ll slam the door -- and if you slam it on your finger, that will make you even more angry.

So don’t let yourself catch fire. Don’t let another person burn you down. It’s important to empathize, but empathy is not the same thing as direct participation.

Refusing to enter the world of an angry person is probably the best thing you can do to help them. It’s not easy for one person to stay angry for very long in the presence of someone who refuses to participate. It’s much easier to keep the anger going when you’re by yourself. That’s why angry people have a tendency to storm out of the room if they can’t get you going. Try to prevent that from happening if you can. Then, gently say the following two sentences: “I understand that you’re upset. We’ll talk when you’re feeling better.”

Don’t say anything else. If the angry person tries to force you to talk, repeat those two sentences. They’re non-judgmental, and they also hold open the possibility of further dialogue. Yes, let's keep talking. But only when the anger subsides. 

Perfect Pitch: "What! You disagree with me?"

Sometimes, when I'm trying to acquire a new client, people disagree with me. They may even resist signing on with me. How can something like that possibly happen? 

I'm sure you've had similar experiences, so how can you identify exactly what the problem is? Let’s look at three general guidelines for exploring "no"...

First, hear the objections out. Give the client your full attention and avoid the temptation to think about your response while he or she is speaking. Learn to be an active listener. That means not only hearing what the client is saying, but you’re also trying to discover the deeper meaning behind the words. 

Second, rephrase the objection in the form of a question. That gives clients a chance to expand upon their concerns. It also reduces any perception of pressure. By having the opportunity to explain the problem, sometimes a client will even answer their own objection. 

Third, answer the objection. Make an effort to connect your answer with the unique goods or services you have to offer. Locate the objection within the long-term picture of your relationship with the client, then narrow the discussion to create sharper focus. 

Try to get agreement from the client that the objection has been fully resolved – but recognize that this isn’t always possible. If that's the case, suggest that you’d like to give the objection some more thought and that you’ll get back to the client very shortly. Don’t let a meeting turn into a discussion of a single issue. Stand up, smile, shake hands, and repeat the key phrase: "Let's keep talking!"

Your Inner CEO: Fear From The Inside Out

Fear is a variation of anxiety that’s both easier and more difficult to handle. It’s easier than anxiety because the scenario is more obvious. Anxious people don’t know exactly what they’re worried about. Fearful people know all too well. 

There’s an old joke about a man who was continuously snapping his fingers. One day his friend asked him why he was always doing that. “Well,” said the man, with a note of fear creeping into his voice, “I do it to keep the elephants away.” His friend looked at him in disbelief: “But there are no elephants within a thousand miles.” “Yeah,” said the man, nervously snapping his fingers again. “It works great, doesn’t it?”

A man who’s afraid of elephants seems silly -- except to another man who’s afraid of elephants. To empathize with someone’s fear, don’t try to be afraid of the exact same thing. That almost never works, because fear is a very personal matter. 

Instead, think about something you’re afraid of -- or better yet, think about something that frightened you in the past. Maybe you were afraid of jumping into a swimming pool. Maybe it was getting on an airplane. Maybe you woke up one night and in the darkness you saw a monster on the other side of the room -- which was really your coat over the back of a chair. That's a key truth about fear. It’s almost always time-bound. Fears that seem very convincing at certain points in our lives look much less threatening later. In fact, they usually look pretty funny. But at the time they’re genuinely scary.

Use this exercise about past fears on yourself first. Then you can use it to help others with their own fears. Don’t try to convince the person that they’re wrong to be afraid.  That won’t work. Instead of talking about what they fear now, ask them about what they used to fear. 

Show them how fears lose their power once we get more information and perspective. Then ask them to project themselves forward in time -- and promise them that someday what’s frightening them now will seem as harmless as their fears in the past. This is an empathetic way of helping people with their fears. You’ll see how much better it works than lecturing somebody on one hand, or ignoring them on the other. 

Your Inner CEO: Parkinson's Law

People tend to have a contradictory approach to time management. They know it’s important -- that it can be the difference between a middle manager and a top executive -- yet they waste time every day. That’s not good! Let’s change that! Here are some ideas:

>> An hour of planning can save you ten hours of doing. Don’t head into projects without setting goals, knowing how you to achieve those goals and setting times by which they have to be accomplished.

>> Improve your reading speed. The average reading speed is two hundred words per minute. Most people in business have to read for about two hours a day. That’s not a lot of words read for time expended. A speed reading course can double your reading speed. It actually works.

>> Devote one hour each day to personal self improvement. If you spend just one hour a day on a skill you want to improve, that computes to seven hours a week. Do the math to see how much time that is over one full year. You can become an expert at almost anything if you follow that schedule. You can become a concert violinist!

>> Practice patience. It’s natural to want positive change to happen as easily and as quickly as possible. But the cycle of change often takes longer than you expect. In fact, I promise you that it will take longer than you expect. But you can make it happen.

>> Be adventurous. See change as a challenge and a chance for transformation. Throw yourself into planning and preparation. Explore new career horizons that may appear. See this as an adventure, not an obligation.

>> Try something new each day. When people expand beyond their comfort zone, they have a tendency to try to build a comfort zone as quickly as possible. Challenge yourself to try at least one new way of doing things every day. 

One of the most insightful rules of workplace behavior is Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands to fill the time available.” So give yourself a challenging time frame. It doesn’t mean you should never sleep. It just means that maybe you should wake up five minutes earlier. Or ten minutes! Fifteen?

Perfect Pitch: It's All About We

Oral communication skills -- talking! -- are the most important elements of any enterprise, mostly because so many people have a hard time dealing with the people around them. They don’t see an incentive for that. They’re always asking, “What’s in it for me?” That’s why getting others to do what you want is all about getting them to think it’s what they want. They need to feel they’re doing something for themselves. Here a few things you can offer toward meeting that need.

Flexibility is a key. How well you do you go with the flow? How capable are you of making new plans when an unforeseen problem calls for a change of direction? Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare for this. When you’re trying something for the first time or working with new people, If you need some help with this, make an effort to concentrate on always make plans for several possible outcomes.

Decisiveness is also important, especially if you’re a team leader or a manager. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that the most important decisions are also the hard decisions. (Whose idea was that?!) You must be willing to take bold action in whatever way you think will be best. Needless to say, there’s no guarantee that everyone will agree you made the right decision. But dealing with that is just another communication skill.

Punctuality: Develop a reputation for being on time and you will earn the respect of other organized professionals. Especially in meetings, when others arrive on time they will expect you to be prompt too. Nothing is more frustrating in a meeting than waiting for a tardy participant.

Consideration: Always take the time to greet people with a friendly, personal greeting. You’ll have a chance to do this right if you arrive a little early to meetings so you can greet others as they arrive.

Deference: In your home or office, you are responsible for making everyone comfortable and productive. On someone else’s territory, you should step back and allow them to set the tone.

Appearance: Whether a specific setting calls for formal business attire or casual dress, you should do your best to fit in. If professional attire is expected, you should wear it. If you’re coming in from a job site or a bull riding competition, take a few moments to dust off and look presentable.

Attention: You should listen at least twice as much as you talk. Ask three questions in a conversation before you volunteer information about yourself.

Etiquette: At the beginning of a meeting or social gathering, be sure that everyone has been properly introduced. At the end, don’t rush out in a hurry as if you can’t wait to get away as fast as possible – even if you really can’t wait!