Individual commitment to...

"Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."

Vince Lombardi, American football coach

Great education depends...

Great education depends on great teaching.

Ken Robinson, The Element

If you're not...

If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never produce anything original.

Ken Robinson, The Element

Whoever said that...

Whoever said that looking for work is a full-time job is obviously employed. The job search is more like being self-employed. There's no one telling you what to do and you only get paid if you produce!
If this is the case, the importance of thinking strategically about the job search must be at the forefront. The problem, however, is that the job search is often a reactionary process due to the stress of losing a job or the need to make a transition into another position. Both of these work against the job seeker, from a psychological as well as a tactical perspective.
Psychologically, the signs are usually expected and clear. For example, there may be an onset of mild depression which causes an inability to focus on the task at hand. Tactically, the job seeker may be unrealistic about their job choice — as the job search goes on, this can potentially mean wasting valuable time and energy.
So what can the job seeker do?
Thinking strategically about the job search from the beginning is vital in order to reduce the time it takes to find a job. Most often, the job seeker focuses on their ideal job, their "dream job," the one they've been trained to do. The problem here, though, is that this typically limits the job related opportunities available to us.
The strategic job seeker, on the other hand, actually runs a parallel job search.
Prior to commencing with the job search, it's important to look for your "dream job," but to also look for opportunities that support you eventually getting your ideal position. Those supporting jobs should meet the criteria you have set for moving you closer to getting your dream job. For example, if you want to be a teacher, you need to list all the skills and experiences required to be a competent teacher: teaching, curriculum development, leadership, etc. Taking those skills and finding them in other jobs will not only build your competencies but also position you as highly competitive when you do get an interview as a teacher. Taking a job as a tutor starts to make more sense when you know you can acquire the skills necessary to increase your value to the employer.
It's important to think long term when it comes to the job search. Strategically determining your job search path is critical if you want to effectively and efficiently make the transition to the labor market. Although taking a job other then your dream position may feel wrong, it's more about how the job you're taking fits into becoming more competitive in the labor pool. Get strategic about your job search and you will reap the benefits down the road!

Courtesy of the November 2009 Flownotes

Networking isn't a...

Networking isn't a part of life, it's life itself! Everything we do is connected to our network. Whether it's asking for help from a neighbor or getting someone to introduce you to a contact, networking is an everyday occurrence.
The fact that networking is a prominent part of our life, however, doesn't necessarily guarantee that we are aware of when we’re doing it. Most of the our normal networking is subconscious, without challenge, offering few repercussions in asking someone for help. After all, networking is essentially the act of getting someone to help you accomplish an objective. When the act of networking is occurring, we seldom realize that we're doing it. It often looks like we're just receiving help from the people we're connected to.
If this is the case, imagine the potential networking can bring to us in accomplishing our goals if we bring it to a conscious level!
It is only when we focus on bringing networking to a level of awareness that we can become strategic. Doing this is actually quite simple; all you must do is set clear and concise goals. This forces us to think about who in our network can help us accomplish our goals.
Becoming a strategic networker does not only include the act of networking but the willingness and ability to set goals. Goals in and of themselves will help motivate us to seek out the individuals who can help us accomplish them. Without them, research suggests that it's much more difficult to remain motivated to network, especially for those individuals who feel uncomfortable doing it.
Once goals are set, the networking activity continues when we reach out to individuals in our network who can actually help. This requires a different competency then goal setting since it calls on our ability to leverage opportunities in our network. The act of asking someone for help can be more complex than we think. It's not just in the act of asking, but also in getting the individual to follow through and truly help us. This is where it gets tricky and requires us to think more strategically about this activity.
At the forefront of this process is our willingness to help as much as we receive. In order to do this, we must be aware of what we offer our network.
Bringing networking to the conscious level and thinking strategically about how we can leverage the resources in our network is critical if we are going to succeed. Setting goals that are easily communicated to the network and getting people involves a strategy that will increase the likelihood of people helping. Developing connection strategies and developing a networking plan is important if we are going to become more effective at networking.
The good news? Networking is a learnable and teachable activity! If we commit to becoming better at it, anything is possible!

Courtesy of the November 2009 Flownotes

Individual commitment to...

"Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."

Vince Lombardi, American football coach

Of course there...

"Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings."

Arthur Rubinstein

Education is the...

Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the World.

Nelson Mandela

The best way...

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."

Courage is not...

"Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those who fought, fell and rose again."

Our minds become...

"Our minds become magnetised with the dominating thoughts we hold in our minds, and these magnets attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonise with the nature of our dominating thoughts."

Napoleon Hill -- 1883-1970, Author,Think and Grow Rich

The ancient art...

The ancient art of yi quan , also known as dacheng quan, in the West as I Chuan, is a martial art system which was founded by the Chinese xingyiquan master, Wang Xiangzhai.

The Change Samurai

The Samurai were the most feared and respected warriors of their day. Rising to power in 12th century Japan and remaining there until 1868. The word samurai means 'to serve'. The Samurai lived by a very strict code of values later to be known as Bushido, translated as 'the way of the warrior'. This code emphasised bravery, honour and personal loyalty.

To be a 'Change Samurai' is to embrace change as a way of life. Not to enforce change for the sake of change, but rather, to champion change as a positive force to take action in the small things that defines the root of the result in the big things whether it be at personal or corporate level.

A.D.K.A.R

ADKAR is the Change Management methodology that embraces the 'People' side of change. Created by Jeff Hiatt, ADKAR is administered and promoted through Prosci based in the USA.

It does not...

"It does not take courage for a leaders to herd people down the path that they already wanted to travel, at a pace that is comfortable. It takes courage to lead people down a different and unfamiliar path, or to move faster than they thought possible."

On the other...

"On the other side of acceptance is where peace exists, where the solutions are."

Ariane de Bonvoisin, author of The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Making Any Change Easier quoted in the August 2009 Guideposts

One day I...

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck." He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you . Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so.....

"Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't."

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Courtesy Shelley Taylor-Smith

If you board...

If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.

The most difficult...

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. With courage, you can act to change and control your life. Whether or not you achieve everything you hoped, the procedure, the process of change is its own reward.”

- Amelia Earhart

Change requires the zero doctrine of a flexible mind...

In order to change we need to create space. We need to find the 'Zero Doctrine' of the Tao of Change.

In almost every classroom there is a blackboard. When a teacher teaches something, in order to help the student understand better, the teacher sometimes needs to draw a diagram on the blackboard. Once the blackboard s all written over, what does the teacher do? The teacher wipes it clean to make it ready again for the next use. That is called zero doctrine. It means to return to stillness, purity, nothing, or zero. Zero means a point between negative and positive.

For example, when we drive a car, we can put it in neutral. When we put it in neutral, it is at the point of being able to go either forward or in reverse. It is the empty balance point at which a clear decision can be made. When we coach on zero doctrine, we mean to coach about the return to the point of clarity and keep the mind flexible. But if you have already put a doctrine there in your mind, it means that your flexibility of mind is already given up. You are fixed to that doctrine rather than looking for progress or growth. That is where change dies. If you have a flexible mind, you can align your mind to a situation, renew your mind, develop your mind and discover a new idea and solution.

Tao cannot be defined by the differences between what is in front and what is behind. A healthy Taoist attitude always comes back to a neutral point. For example, once we notice that we have thoughts or emotions toward a certain thing or person, once we have built any kind of attitude towards something, we always need to put it aside to come back to the zero point.

We must always be waiting for change.

A stiffened or negative attitude will prevent change or improvement from happening; an attitude of neutral or zero will provide the flexibility to flow with a situation, however it occurs.

Holding on to a fixed thought of mind prevents positive movement, growth or change...

Watch the Bing!

Have you “Binged” yourself yet to find out what Microsoft’s new “decision engine” says about you? Well, here is yet another reason to double-check your online footprint for the sake of your career.

CareerBuilder.com is launching a new Applicant Explorer tool which runs on the Bing API. The tool matches resumes in the Careerbuilder database with an applicant’s online “brand.” In seconds, the tool will help HR reps screen candidates by pulling relevant data from the following sources and displaying it all on one neat page, at least according to Careerbuilder.com:

Social networking sites
Professional and personal blogs
Personal and corporate Web sites
Press releases
Discussion and forum postings
Articles and news stories published online

We may be entering a brave new world of recruiting. But there are quite a few reasons why this development may not be that significant:
A Google search already returns the most relevant info about a candidate on the first page
Many people don’t have that many data points about them online so the tool won’t be that useful
Having an “online brand” isn’t necessary for many jobs
Power players don’t really need to use social media platforms
Some people will turn their privacy settings up a notch to cover their tracks while others will continue to game the system, thus clouding any conclusions one could make

The Applicant Explorer tool is free if you have a CareerBuilder.com account. Would this new tool make you more likely to sign up?

Article by By Stefan Deeran, BNET.

There are those...

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not."

Robert F. Kennedy

The real winners...

"The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better."

Barbara Pletcher

The Cover Letter Blues?

by Sean Silverthorne at BNET

I always include a cover letter when I send in a resume to apply for a new job. That’s what you are supposed to do according to every “how to get a job” article I’ve read.

But here comes business writing teacher David Silverman with some contrary advice: For most jobs, “don’t bother” with a cover letter. He says they only compete with (and often just repeat) what’s in your resume, which is the real meal to be digested by the prospective employer.

That said, Silverman does agree cover letters are necessary when either you know the name of the hiring person, you know something about the job qualifications, or you’ve been referred by someone. (Uh, why would you apply for a job you don’t know anything about? But I digress)

Look, I’m still going out on a limb and suggest you send a cover letter with any job application. But when you do so, follow David’s guidelines laid out on Harvard Business Publishing in his post The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received. In essence he says keep it simple, and ”help your cause by doing some of the resume analysis for your potential new boss.”

He gives an example of his idea of the perfect cover letter. It’s a scant 75 words long, which adds to its power and makes it stand out.

As someone who has hired a few people over the years, I find that many cover letters often do more harm than good. The biggest sins, in addition to typos:

Hyperbole. ”I think you will find by looking at my resume that I am uniquely qualified to fill the role you need.” That term, which is used in every third cover letter, causes my eyes to glaze over. Other cover letter word bombs: “proven leader”, “excelled in all previous positions”, and “dynamic speaker.” Sure, tout your best assets (”I have extensive large-scale-project management experience”), but don’t oversell (”Previous employers marvel at my mastery of project management.)

Dear Hiring Manager. Someone who sends a form letter rather than takes the time to write a personal message expressly discussing the job at hand is too lazy by half. Address why the position appeals to you.

Too Long. The purpose of the resume and cover letter is not to get you the job. It’s to get you an interview. No hiring manager has time to read through your bio-epic. In fact, the more you blather on, the more potential reasons you are feeding the employer to discard your application. “Her favorite food is mac cheese? I hate mac cheese. Good bye!”

To cover letter or not to cover letter? What ingredients do you think are essential for a successful cover page?

Job Market Update

The Olivier Job Index recorded another fall in online jobs in May with a 4.32% decline, seasonally adjusted. On an annualised basis job advertisements are down 51.9% compared to May 2007.Signs that the downturn in recruitment may be bottoming, include:

The rate of decline is decreasing – this month's fall is a big improvement on the 7.43% fall in April, which, in turn, was a significant improvement on May when ads fell 12.51%.

Whilst the number of permanent opportunities fell, the number of temporary and contract vacancies actually rose 5.9% in May.

The number of adverts counted between week one and week four in May rose.

Sectors that have most improved in May include Accounting, Sales & Marketing (including retail) and IT&T.

Courtesy of Six Figures International Pty Ltd

Five Resume-Formatting Mistakes

Here at TheLadders, we look at a lot of resumes and talk to a lot of people on both sides of the desk: the job seekers who are sending them out as well as the recruiters and HR pros on the receiving end.

To pass muster with hiring decision makers (as well as the software systems they use to screen candidates), the format of your resume is crucial. Here are five common missteps that can eliminate your resume from consideration:

1. Keep it short, but don’t squeeze.While a resume may occasionally run to three pages if the candidate is making a major career switch and needs data to back it up, most resume experts recommend two pages. But don’t succumb to the temptation to shrink fonts or margins to pack in more information: Text should be at least 10 or 10.5 points, and margins should be no smaller than 0.5 inch.

2. “Death by bullets.”An unbroken block of text is hard to read, and bullets a great way to call out distinct points. But use bullet points sparingly, and be sure to include the most important ones first. A resume riddled with bullets can be even harder for your reader to navigate.

3. Don’t get hung up on the calendar.Traditional reverse-chronological resume formatting isn’t always the best tool to sell your skills, especially at the senior level. Instead, consider a hybrid resume that combines both functional and chronological information. A summary section can outline career highlights and key qualities and accomplishments, while a chronological section puts those elements into context.

4. No pictures, no PDFs.Multimedia technology has made it easier than ever before to include elements such as photographs or save your electronic resume in a format such as PDF. Don’t do either: Photos can choke many applicant tracking systems (ATSes) and cause difficulties with HR departments’ anti-discrimination rules, while Microsoft Word remains the standard that ATS software is capable of processing.

5. Don’t forget the file name.It’s easy to sweat the resume format only to choke on one small detail: What do you name that electronic file? According to a report, “Resume Filename Best Practices” from executive recruiters Palladian International of Waynesboro, Va., plenty of job seekers surveyed included extraneous information in file names, such as version date or “final,” “revised” or “updated.” Palladian recommends dividing words with a dash — and again, use Microsoft Word 2003’s .doc format, not PDF, Rich Text, or other oddities.

Matthew Rothenberg is editorial director for TheLadders, the world's leading online service catering exclusively to the $100K+ job market. Previously he worked at Ziff Davis Media, ZDNet, CNET, and Hachette Filipacchi.

Punctuality is the...

“Punctuality is the politeness of Kings.”

Louis XVIII (1755–1824) French King

Save Your Resume From The Bin!

Thank your stars you are not applying for a job with David Silverman. How you create a hyphen on your resume could very likely decide whether you go into David’s “considers further merit” pile or the “thanks but no thanks” collection.

“Personally, I look at the width of the dashes,” writes Silverman on his Harvard Business Publishing post How to Write a Résumé That Doesn’t Annoy People, noting that Microsoft Word adjusts hyphen widths based on spacing in the document. “Many people don’t know this, and they don’t notice that their dashes are all different lengths. Does this mean they are more or less qualified to be a project planner? I don’t know, but it’s easy for me to say, ‘If you don’t know that your own résumé is inconsistent, how can you be expected to supervise a multi-million dollar project?’”

Fact is every hiring officer probably has his or her own unique set of prejudices that set off little alarm bells as they read through job applications. I, for example, would look askance at David’s resume because he uses at least one too many accent marks for my liking on the word résumé, which seem to me (and my dictionary) an unnecessary bit of French pastry on a word that probably does fine without any at all.

But David’s post is very strong at reminding us of resume blunders that will probably matter to any number of potential employers.

Here are three he includes:
“Get the formatting right. Line up bullet points, dates, headings. Wacky spacing will get you questioned about skills that have nothing to do with what you can do on the job. And please learn to put dates flush against the right margin. The right-aligned tab stop remains a mystery as deep as an ocean for many resume writers.

“Choose verbs that mean something. “Assisted,” “Worked on,” “Contributed to” and so on don’t convey much to a prospective employer. Instead, say what you did: “Wrote,” “Designed,” or “Managed.” The more specific, the better.

“Rewrite your résumé for each job application. If you really want a job, your prospective employer isn’t going to be impressed by your inability to adjust one 3-page document to meet their needs. Highlight the top 3 to 7 things you’ve done that match up with the requirements of the job.”

David is right. This kind of attention to detail and consistency will help your resume jump out from the more typical collection of sloppy typos, vague verbs and generic boilerplate language. Make sure to read the full post for other useful tips.

So, what’s the worst resume ever to cross your desk? Any peculiarities you bring to your own judging of resumes?

Courtesy of Sean Silverthorne, BNET INSIGHT

Invest in Colleagues

A long time ago I worked with the president of a sales rep company. We stayed in touch, and years later he asked me for a reference. Of course I obliged. A couple of years later, when a CEO friend of his was looking for a marketing and sales VP, he referred the guy to me. It turned out to be an incredible opportunity and I got the job.

In the mid-90s, I met an engaging VP of a startup company. We sort of hit it off and got together to discuss business from time to time. Over the years I advised him on matters concerning his company. So when the marketing VP position opened up, I got a call and eventually got the job, which turned out to be another great opportunity.

In neither instance did I stop to consider that I might eventually benefit as I ultimately did.

These are just two personal examples, but I know dozens more that demonstrate that taking the time to get to know and proactively help colleagues can come back to help your career in a big way.

And don’t mistake this as just networking or karma. While I’m a big fan of both - especially old school networking - this goes way beyond that. This is about engaging with like-minded, perhaps up-and-coming individuals, like you, and being confident, adventurous, and giving enough to readily offer assistance and counsel.

For it to work, you need to remember three things:

You have to be in it for the long haul. The two examples above took place over 13 and 7 years, respectively. By definition, this sort of thing takes a long, long time.

You can’t do it gratuitously. I know, here I am offering this as a method for boosting your career, then telling you that you can’t just do it for that reason. Well, that’s just the way it is. You really do have to be passionate about the business and enjoy interacting with and helping others like you.

Choose your close associates wisely. You meet thousands of people over the course of your career and, if you pay attention, you’ll find a zillion ways to help them. It’s all too easy to spread yourself too thin. Choose your associates as you would choose your friends … wisely and judiciously. Of course, they’ll do the same.

Lastly, this sort of symbiotic way of building your career results in a far more rewarding professional life than by dealing with all those headhunters and executive recruiters. But that’s just me. Got any similar or dissimilar experiences?

Courtesy Steve Tobak, The Corner Office

Job Ads Pick UP!

This month's UBS Investment Research from Economist Scott Haslem looks at the job ad market and the promising signs of an earlier than expected recovery. The research shows "a pick up of job ads last month and suggests that the ANZ job ad series for May could show some levelling-out after its sharp falls over the past 7 months." As the job ad downward cycle looks to be bottoming out, growth in job ads could be seen earlier than expected in late 2009 rather than sometime in 2010. With this we could also see less dire unemployment figures than have been bandied about at the 9%-10% mark. A recent NAB survey suggests that this figure could be below 8%. It is promising that figures and research is suggesting a more positive outlook on the Australian employment front.

Social Networking...the pathway to a new career?

The increasing popularity of online social networking is changing not only the way people manage their careers but social networking itself.

As the downturn continues, millions of corporate managers—gripped by the job jitters—are rushing to join online social networks in a scramble to build their social capital. The popularity of sites such as LinkedIn is soaring: less than a year ago the site had little brand profile and was seen mostly as a venue for corporate suits trolling for professional contacts while plotting their next career move. Facebook, by contrast, has largely attracted individuals seeking a compelling site for fun social networking.

Today LinkedIn’s year-on-year growth is up nearly 200 percent in the United States and it now has more than 35 million members—many of whom were formerly employed within the hard-hit financial sector. And it’s just one of the many sites to which recession-struck managers are flocking: Xing (based in Germany), with its 7 million members and special Lehman Brothers alumni section, and Meet the Boss (based in the United Kingdom), which restricts membership to C-level financial types, are also experiencing burgeoning membership levels.

This surging popularity of online social networking is transforming the nature of business networking, with profound implications for the way business people manage their careers. But it also augurs profound change for social networking itself.

With so many people stampeding into Web-based social networks, the line between social and business networking is becoming increasingly blurred. An important question is whether the values and codes of conduct specific to the virtual world will come into conflict with real-world values and norms. Facebook, where the idea of a “friend” is directly embedded in the interface, is increasingly cluttered with self-promoters, career artists, and marketing entrepreneurs. What happens as this trend intensifies and those using Facebook exclusively for career networking invade?

There are, of course, powerful economic reasons behind the trend. As sociologist Nan Lin puts it in his book, Social Capital, “Individuals engage in interactions and networking in order to produce profits.” These profits are based upon information, influence, social credentials, and recognition. The accumulated social capital, meanwhile, helps individuals to gain competitive advantages in the labor market as a result of privileged access to “resources” located on the social networks.

Article by Soumitra Dutta and Matthew Fraser, Courtesy of The McKinsey Quarterly

Network your way

This time of year is ripe with both relief and anxiety for recent MBA graduates. While the pressure of final projects and exams has passed, grads who haven’t landed a job yet might be feeling the weight of those loan payments about to kick in.

I recently spoke with Sara Gaviser Leslie, a Columbia Business School MBA who is currently a case writer at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, about the importance of networking when searching for your first post MBA job. She graduated in 2002, and, like members of this year’s graduating class, found jobs somewhat hard to come by. But she was hired in July of that year, and has successfully networked her way to many fulfilling jobs since then. Here are some of her tips for getting the most out of your networking efforts.

1. Put your research skills to use: Gaviser Leslie started her post MBA job search by making a list detailing the kind of job she wanted, then searched databases to find people who did similar jobs at places she wanted to work. She followed up twice, then dropped it if she didn’t hear back. While predictably there were many people she didn’t hear back from, the takeaway is that several contacted her.

2. Ask for informational interviews: People will be more apt to meet with you if you express interest in finding out more about their job, rather than asking them if they can get you a position in their company. When Gaviser Leslie went on these informational interviews, she tried to be as specific as possible about what she wanted to do in her career, which made it easier for people to suggest others she should get in touch with. “I also made it a goal to leave these meetings with the name of at least one other person I could talk to,” she says.

3. Extend your network: Cold emailing company directories isn’t the only way to network with potential employers. Gaviser Leslie recommends extending your network by asking your peers what their parents or siblings are doing and asking for an introduction if it seems like they could help.

4. Be organized: Gaviser Leslie kept a detailed spreadsheet of everyone she spoke with, which was not only a valuable resource for her, but for friends who were later looking for jobs. Also, “when you’re methodical you feel like you’re getting something done,” says Gaviser Leslie. This in itself can be a valuable morale booster when you’re in the midst of the job search process.

Courtesy of the Stacy Blackman Blog

Formulating a Positive Point of View

To formulate a positive point of view, you must replace your ingrained negative patterns of thinking. It's possible to replace these ingrained patterns of thinking because the personal point of view is primarily learned. This principle of human behavior is explained more fully in the following two points.

Our personal point of view develops as we grow up. You may have learned personal values, work ethics, or parenting while growing up. For example, as a parent, when you say anything to your children, you may feel that you sound like your own father or mother. This is because we learned parenting from our own parents.

As adults we tend to act according to what we have learned. We learned our predominant point of view, positive or negative, and tend to live this out. This view manifests itself in our behavior when we manage a negative situation.
To better understand how we tend to live according to our predominant point of view, consider the following example. If a person has learned a predominantly negative pattern of thinking while growing up, then it's possible the person will have the following thoughts in the workplace.

I believe it's a jungle out there.
I believe it's a dog-eat-dog world out there.
I am stupid and incompetent.
No one ever gives me a break. They are always out to get me!

The real danger of negativity is that it feeds on itself. There is both good news and bad news associated with the fact that our predominant pattern of thinking manifests itself in our behavior.

The bad news is that many of us learned the pessimistic pattern of thinking.
The good news is that we can unlearn this pattern and learn a positive point of view.

To unlearn a pessimistic point of view successfully and develop a positive one, always keep this idea in your thoughts: "I choose how to view a situation." This idea is the basis for developing a positive point of view.

When you say, "I choose how to view a situation," you can choose to view things optimistically, and you gain control. This can help you avoid your pessimistic pattern of thinking in negative situations.

Choosing a positive response starts by being aware of how a situation affects you. You can recognize if you are reacting negatively by being aware of the signals, or indicators, from your body and mind. An indicator you can anticipate is your increasing stress level. Your thoughts become confused and worried, and you develop a short fuse. You find it difficult to smile.

Remember, by choosing to view things optimistically, over a period of time you can internalize and lock in what you have learned and begin to formulate a more positive point of view.

Courtesy of Shawn Grant

Do or do...

“Do or do not, there is no try.”
Yoda Jedi Master, from the "Star Wars" film series

The HUB

The HUB of responsible business practice in Australia.

www.thehub.ethics.org.au

The National Responsible Business Practice Project is funded by the Federal Government, through Treasury, to enable St James Ethics Centre to engage Australian businesses in identifying and adopting more responsible business practices. The project aims to build a trusted HUB of international and local responsible practice initiatives for businesses of all sizes.

Funded by the Federal Government, through Treasury, this website has been designed as a consolidated space for engagement, interaction and connectivity to help build communities of responsible business practice in Australia.

Here you will discover a portal to the key global initiatives including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI) and United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) seeded through a range of local activities. Complimenting these global initiatives are a suite of resources designed to support and guide small to medium enterprise on their responsible business practice journey.

Whether you are big or small, established or new, responsible business practice is vital to business success. The HUB aims to make the way clear for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Join the HUB and promote ethical business practice!

The Power of the Coffee Bean

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.' 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. 'Which are you?' she asked her daughter.

'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or coffee beans? Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break-up, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or coffee beans? May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

Live your life like the coffee bean and let the ripple of your actions change the world!

Courtesy of Maganathin Marcus Veeraragaloo

Getting the Best Out of Social Media

Can Twitter can be used effectively as an internal comms tool? Somewhat unsurprisingly, 33% of contributers said there was already too much information overload and another social media tool would only add to the "noise", while 45% said they keep hearing about it but were yet to sign up.

This is just one example of the many social media discussions that have been taking place within the internal communication arena in the past few years. But is it all still a blur to you? Have you tried but failed to see the benefits of using blogs, social networks and Twitter within a corporate environment?

This week Alex Manchester, Melcrum's social media columnist and senior consultant at Step Two Consulting breaks down all the advice we've been hearing on the topic into five of the best social media tips he's heard over the years.

One of the most common misconceptions about social media is that once you make the channels available, employees will automatically start using them. Below are Alex Manchester's five best social media tips, and clear all the confusion that surrounds an area of comms that looks set to stick around for many years to come.

1. Know what social media isSocial media has come a long way in recent years, but with each new take there are new facets to learn. It's a communication professional's job to keep up to date with the latest tools available, and understand how they can be used to push the envelope of internal communication in an organization.
But you have to understand your blogs from your Twitter, and to do that takes time invested to learn. If you're not familiar with the way social media works, how can you expect to sell the benefits to your CEO? Use the tools available, experiment if necessary, but make the effort to get involved.

2. Participate. Genuinely.For every successful blog there are many more unsuccessful ones that die within a few months of their conception.
For every Barack Obama on Twitter, there are a dozen light-weight politicians whose updates are earth-shatteringly dull and devoid of any personality whatsoever.
That's the key with social media. Personality. Be yourself and engage and participate, genuinely, with the people you're trying to reach. Your personality, your likes and dislikes, will inevitably appear. If you're not prepared to do this, then don't get involved in the first place.

3. Understand that social media isn't right for every organizationIf, as point two suggests, your organization isn't ready to embrace social media, don't worry. While it's without question that employees are already out there, using social networks, perhaps blogging and Twittering (yes, even during the working day), rushing into a poorly conceived "official" effort is not advisable.

4. Encourage communicationAs discussed in recent newsletters, just making a new site live isn't enough. In a business environment, you have to be willing to encourage and nurture discussion, and guide people in terms of their own participation. As with developing an overall communications strategy, success with social media won't happen overnight and will take work to make it a success.

5. Don't position Web 2.0 as something completely newMy all-time favorite piece of social media advice was published in Melcrum's 2007 social media report, How to use Social Media to Engage Employees. Richard Dennison from BT said, "Don't position Web 2.0 as something completely new".

"People are instinctively fearful of radical change. We've altered our approach and positioned Web 2.0 is an evolutionary step: 'We've been doing this for years with emails, forums and so on'. This just makes it easier and faster to communicate and collaborate."

Coutesy of Alex Manchester, Melcrum's social media columnist

Never regret. If...

“Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience.”
Victoria Holt (1906–1993) British writer

Mobilising Boards for Change

As companies grapple with uncertainty of a magnitude that few have experienced before, their boards should begin by questioning fundamental strategic assumptions: Is our view of the market realistic? Does our financing strategy take into account the new conditions? Should we reset the incentive scheme or abandon any approach based on share prices? Can we exploit the current glut of talent? How can we take advantage of the pain our competitors are experiencing?

Unfortunately, most corporate directors are likely to assume that radical change is unnecessary and that “normal service” will soon resume. Their experiences during less severe crises—such as those in 1990, 1997, or 2001—will lull them into a false sense of complacency; few will adjust their strategies and policies sufficiently. This behavior is the result of a clinically observed human trait of being overly influenced by past experiences and judgments. Experts on decision making call it anchoring. The problem is made worse by the natural rhythms that characterize how many boards are used to working—rhythms that tend to reinforce rather than challenge anchored thinking. We therefore argue that board chairmen need to play a special role in the coming months by challenging their boards to think things through afresh.

This is not an easy task. Board procedures are anchored too. Meetings, agendas, and timetables typically follow a preset annual pattern. Advisers are scheduled to appear before audit and compensation committees. Attempts to make changes are often resisted—in part because of habit and in part because those involved have busy calendars. Even if there is energy for fresh, substantive work, the diary may defeat the best intentions. Granted, most boards have an annual offsite day when members talk strategy, but there is an understanding that major change is not expected. New ideas generated from the offsite are viewed as creative input rather than part of a fundamental review of strategy.

Mobilizing the board to tackle the economic crisis requires a fundamental overhaul of how its members interact. The only solution is to force change. The chairman needs to underline the gravity and urgency of the situation by summoning the board to extraordinary “credit crunch” meetings, “survival” meetings, “does our plan still make sense” meetings, and “how can we turn this pain into an opportunity” meetings. Without disrupting the rhythm, anchored thinking will continue to dominate.

The style of interaction can be another obstacle. Boards tend to establish patterns of behavior; for example, seating can become regularized, and some members may be expected to say little. Moreover, most boards have a default operating mode. Some place a premium on running smoothly—no disagreements, no late papers, no fluffed presentations, and no late finishes. Some are preoccupied with the formal aspects of governance: process dominates and content gets less attention. Some are financially oriented, with board members peering at their responsibilities through the numbers. But amidst all this heterogeneity lies, in our experience, one simple theme—there tends to be relatively little scope for genuine free thinking or for any fundamental reexamination of the premise of the company.

The solution is to explicitly change the way the board interacts. The chairman should insist that members articulate what they have thought but have not had the confidence to express. These conversations will often be more conceptual than rote, and participants will have to take the risk of “saying something stupid.” Chairmen will need to muster up the courage to drive relentlessly the discussions that will take most boards into deep and frightening waters. Long-cherished assumptions, existing plans, or defined ambitions may go down the drain.

Courtesy of the The McKinsey Quarterly.

Switching Jobs In A Recession

Generally speaking, deciding to switch professions in an era of spiraling unemployment is a pretty good definition of a career death wish. Even in the best of times, it’s hard to persuade a hiring manager to consider you over someone who has a record in the field. The hurdle gets ridiculously higher in a recession, when employers have their pick of overqualified applicants.

Still, if you work in a shriveling industry like asset securitisation, auto manufacturing, or print publishing, you have to ask, What’s the alternative? If doing nothing means your livelihood will go down with the ship, well, you have your answer. You have no choice.

On the upside, a few professions are having labor shortages even in this economy. But don’t kid yourself: Changing careers will be tough. In times like these, the standard advice from career coaches to patiently evaluate your skills and reposition yourself becomes something of a joke. You’re going to have to take extreme measures, so think it through!

Contribution by Chris Warren.

The Case for Facebook

Those opposed to social networking media say that collecting online friends and tweeting partners infantilises us, tethers us Matrix-like to machines and essentially dehumanizes its users.
As a manager, however, your Facebook page can have the opposite effect: it can make you appear more human.
In their recent Harvard Business Publishing blog article “What Does Your Facebook Page Say About You?” John Hagel III, John Seely Brown and Lang Davison argue against hiding your private self on your online profiles — even if they’re viewed by your colleagues and employees. They tout the benefits of listing your business accomplishments alongside photos from your recent family vacation. Among them:

1. You’ll be viewed as less remote.
The authors write, “Seeing a more rounded person can’t help but extend and develop professional relationships, furthering the trust that’s crucial to collaborative knowledge creation — the lifeblood of innovation.”

2. You’ll increase serendipity.
Serendipity happens when you find things you need while you’re not looking. According to the authors, “Exposing aspects of ourselves and our interests makes it possible for others to provide advice and recommendations to us.”

3. You’ll be in the “flow.”
In a world with so many sources of information available, how can you possibly keep up? One way is to create a two-way flow of knowledge between yourself and your online network. The authors explain, “Flows require reciprocity: why would you exchange a flow of knowledge without trusting me to do the same? Yet trust is difficult to build and maintain if we keep a significant part of ourselves hidden.”

These benefits aside, the article prompts a question: Is dissolving your personal and professional boundaries a good thing –or does doing so negate your authority? What do you think?

Thanks to Stacy Blackman for this Blog update.

Careers & Employment Expo

The National Careers & Employment Expo

29th - 30th May 2009

Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre

Friday 9am - 4pm + Saturday 10am - 4pm

FREE ENTRY

Visit www.eocexpo.com.au

Be seen, Be heard, Be there!

I LEAD!

Let me tell you something else about the IDEAL Change Model. Lets play with the letters.

I put the 'I' in IDEAL so that with the IDEAL Change Model...I LEAD!

Perfection is the Enemy of Progress

Always seeking certainty before taking action can severely limit productivity. In some cases, the evaluation and search for certainty is more costly than a potential failure due to action.
Worst case scenario for a wrong move is generally nothing more than an education.
Consider getting in the game a bit earlier the next time an opportunity arises... and risk the uncertainty.

Perfection is the enemy of progress!

The greater the...

“The greater the tension, the greater is the potential.”
Carl Jung (1875–1961) Swiss psychiatrist

Do you ever...

Do you ever wonder about your purpose in life?
Do you sometimes ask yourself why you do what you do and how it contributes to society, to anything?
Do you question your worth?

This simple philosophy and purpose for Being may help.

Make it your purpose to lead your life as an example to others and in doing so make it your life work to to bring out the best in every person that you meet.

This is a simple change philosophy.

Be the change that you want to see in the World...that means starting with yourself.

Follow Up!

I have learned to trust people. It is important. However, I still follow 3 rules when I make a request, but first I set the expectation that my request will be ignored. That way I don't set myself up for disappointment. And my 3 rules? Rule 1: Follow Up! Rule 2: Follow Up! Rule 3: Follow Up!

When you want...

When you want or need someone to carry out a task or do something for you...what do you think is the best way to achieve it?

IDEAL Change Management

In essence there are three key change phases: preparing for change; managing change; and reinforcing change. Within each phase a number of activities are performed at various levels of granularity, from planning to elevator conversations! Change management activity is not strictly fixed to any one phase and thus the alignment and application of interventions is not a strict science. Professional experience and knowing the client are significant attributes to the transition process.

IDEAL Change Management (Copyright Pronoia Group), is a framework for implementing change and follows the attributes of a typical change process that we can call ‘Change Stages’: Influences; Decision-making; Enabling; Achieving; Leading.

The IDEAL Change Management model is available as 'The Change Facilitators Toolbox' conceived and written by David Williams, IDEAL Change Consultant (ICC).

For more information please contact through this Blog Posting.

A good plan...

A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow!

Why do we...

Why do we do what we do, when we know what we know?

Honour, courage, commitment...

“Honour, courage, commitment – these are our core values.”
U.S. Marine Corps

Word-of-Mouth Hiring

For some years now companies have been cutting out the 'middle man' and setting up their own internal recruitment referral system, rewarding employees for finding their new colleagues! And it has worked, capitalising on the whole concept of networking. Now, even more, internal referral programs are gaining ground, not only to save time and maximise quality recruitment, but of course as a cost cutting exercise.

Last year at Coca-Cola Amatil, 28% of external hires were recruited from an employee referral program. Companies like Oracle Corporation have operated referral programs for years.

The message? It's not just about using social and professional networking tools, but also word-of-mouth, friends, relatives and previous colleagues. Many people are now starting to be critical of the internet networking tools. I say, don't avoid it, perfect it! Don't be silent, use word-of-mouth to help you with your career.

Gossip: The Key to Career Success?

I’ve always told my reports to discount gossip they hear around the water cooler. But according to Daisy Wademan Dowling, I’ve been dispensing very poor career advice.“You’re more likely to get the dirt on layoffs from standing around the water cooler than from scanning your email for an official announcement,” she writes on her Harvard Business Publishing blog post, The Truth About Office Rumors. “And unlike in high school, Hollywood or politics, the rumors in an organization are true most of the time. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”Tapping into the office information network, whether it’s an overheard conversation at the Xerox machine or a brief exchange in the elevator with the VP of Sales’ admin assistant, is something you need to tap into, says Dowling, “if you want to make good decisions, work more effectively, and to get ahead in your job, both in the short- and long- term.”But Dowling’s advice, I believe, comes with a big fuse attached that could easily blow up in your face. Let’s leave aside the question of whether you will be making “good decisions” based upon what Bob in shipping overheard Mary in forecasting say while on a butt break with Syd, the air conditioning guy.The bigger danger is getting a rep as a gossiper. Chances are you know who in your own organization is a little loose with the facts, too often seen chatting up co-workers in the hallway, the guy or gal who always seems to know a little bit more than they should and is happy to share.This is the same person you don’t call when you need important work done, have sensitive material to handle or a promotion to make.Daisy says the idea is not to propagate gossip but rather to employ a little honest social networking to find out about, say, that soon-to-be open job in the New York office.I’m just saying there is a steep downside for those of us who don’t play this game with skill. So my advice remains: Discount what you hear around the water cooler and act on that information at your own risk.What do you think? What actions have you taken successfully or otherwise based on cube chatter? How do you escape being labled the dreaded office gossip?

Article by Sean Silverthorne

The Power of Online Connectivity

More than ever before, the internet is a resource for accessing opportunities that drive an individual’s career development. Websites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have provided an access point for individuals to tap into the social resources that exist on the internet. The key thing to remember, though, is that it is only access to the tools being provided, not a guarantee of results. Time, effort, and attention are all required, and doing the right things for the right reason is essential if a return on the investment is going to occur.When thinking about the hidden job market it’s important to spend some time helping the job seeker focus on the contacts in their network. A majority of contacts may not have the ability to make hiring decisions, so the individual may be wary of utilizing these relationships to further their career.Remind them that these contacts also have relationships and contacts of their own that may connect them to the job-related information they seek. This is, after all, the true meaning of networking — and, in most cases, is also where the most credible job opportunities are found since the contacts are verifiable resources of information.Leveraging social media as a viable job search tool can be a powerful vehicle for job seekers. The key to utilizing social media is to find a way to get an individual’s existing connections to work for them. For example, they will want to spread the word to let people know that they are in the process of conducting a job search. That way, their contacts can keep a lookout for job opportunities on their behalf.As long as the job seeker is clear on what type of information they are seeking, the possibility of contacts coming across helpful job-related information — and actually considering it for the job seeker’s purposes — will dramatically increase.So here are four tips for helping a job seeker leverage the power of social media:Make sure they have a purpose. In other words, ensure that they are aware of why they are visiting these sites in the first place. This will help them focus their message and increases the likelihood that someone will actually be able to help.Determine how they will measure success. Are they seeking specific industry information, job leads, contacts? Once they determine what they are looking for they can easily see if the time they are spending is worth it.Figure out what they can offer. Get the job seeker to think of things that they can contribute to their network. Perhaps they bring with them information on a particular industry or have a list of contacts they can share with others. Whatever it is, it is essential they have something to offer those who are willing to help.Don’t worry about the numbers. It’s not how many friends or followers they have on the social networking websites that matters. It is much more important to focus on the quality of the individuals with whom they are connected, and on how they are able to leverage those contacts to help them. Reming them that the actual job leads are usually beyond the first or second degree of separation.Social media can be intimidating even in the best of times. But if job seekers follow the four tips presented here, they can start off on the right foot and think strategically about their approach.Remember, it takes time ­— and is often quite the juggling act — to tap into the power of online social networking websites. It is essential that job seekers develop a plan and stick to it. They’ll be surprised how powerful it can be.

Article from Flownotes International

Six Degrees of Separation: Is it the key to the hidden job market?

Article from Flowork International

In 2003, research emerging out of Columbia University finally corroborated the age-old notion of “six degrees of separation” as legitimate, suggesting we are all much more connected than we realize.In the face of increasingly negative media reports respecting the present economic situation, should we embrace this logic in seeking employment?It has been said that 80% of jobs are hidden. In other words, there may be job opportunities available with contacts (or byway of a contact’s contacts) within an individual’s network. This clearly valuable information is often missed by job seekers. After all, with the rise in popularity of “cyber” social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, the focus has been increasingly on establishing new connections. Ironically, though, as most of us focus on expanding our list of contacts, we have little awareness that our own circle of friends and family could potentially offer a veritable wealth of job-related resources.Thus, if the science supporting “six degrees of separation” is true, we must find ways to help not only job hunters, but employment agencies, government program managers, HR professionals, and recruiters alike.Flowork founder Dr. John-Paul Hatala suggests that few of us know how to truly tap into our existing social network and gain access to that elusive hidden job market. “There are several research-supported solutions,” he says, “which can arm the newly unemployed with the know-how and confidence needed to make headway in the face of an increasingly daunting job-search.”Dr. Hatala’s research and associated training programs reveal that the main challenge facing job seekers, in terms of leveraging one’s own social network, is a profoundly yet deceptively simple one: how to strategically use it.Indeed, most of us fail to think strategically about our social networks, Hatala suggests. People do not know how to approach their circle of friends and broach the topic. The good news, Hatala goes on to say, is that it is a trainable and learnable skill-set.“Strategic social networking” then, will be a key for many of us these days, in order to penetrate what seems to an otherwise elusive, “hidden” job market. After all, the unemployment rate currently is the highest it has been for some time. By learning to leverage one’s social network, however, one can avoid becoming a statistic.The answer, if the research is any indicator, may be less than six degrees away. It may be as close as your existing social network. According to Dr. Hatala, the necessary strategy and specific know-how in terms of how to leverage our social networks may thus be the distinguishing factor which determines the success of some job hunters versus others, vis-à-vis this “hidden” job market that so many of us are now facing.

Social Networking is Career Networking

Article from Flowork International

Preston Porter joined MySpace four years ago as a way to meet new people at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in Galloway Township.Now a college senior, Porter is using MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking programs just to get a job.“I understand (social networking) in an organic sort of way. I’ve always participated in and enjoyed those types of things,” said Porter, 22, of Lavalette, Ocean County. “Now it’s turned into this whole industry thing where companies are using it to market themselves and to do job searches.”Rather than condemning Facebook and Twitter as a waste of time, college career counselors are touting them as useful tools when it comes to post-collegiate job search.Every little bit helps, especially in today’s job market. A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE, reported that companies will be hiring 22 percent fewer college graduates this year than they did in 2008.Career advisors at Stockton were inspired to start hosting workshops on Facebook job searching two years ago after attend a conference hosted by the NACE. There they learned that many businesses are setting up Facebook accounts and vetting prospective clients based on their profiles.“Once we sat in on that, it was like, ‘Wow, we’ve never really thought about this,’” said Walter Tarver, director of Stockton’s career center. “We set up our own accounts to see what was going on with those sites. It was an eye-opening experience.”Now, when students show up at Stockton’s career center for counseling, they get a crash course in Social Networking 101. Today’s employers want to see everything about their future employees, from their job history to their tastes in books and music.“We make sure they have (on their Facebook profiles) their degree, when they’re graduating, what their interests are, as opposed to just the generic comments and ‘What are you doing right now?,’ updates,” Tarver said.Jennifer Gushue, an adjunct professor of marketing at Rowan University in Glassboro, Gloucester County, advises her students to use LinkedIn, a Facebook-esque site created primarily for networking and job searching.“They can look at the contacts for people in the industries they’re interested in,” Gushue said. “You can also have your resume on there, and you can have former internships to write you recommendations.”Porter, who will graduate in May with a literature degree, took it one step further and created his own Web site, called Prestopedia.com.The Web site includes Porter’s resume, contact information, blogs, short stories and links to his profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace.In his blog, Porter wrote about being inspired by media experts such as Dan Schawbel, whose new book, “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success,” promotes using social media tools in building a career.Despite his creative writing background, Porter views social networking as his best chance of landing a job after graduation. He spent the summer setting up a viral campaign for a pet store in Missouri as an internship, and he continues to study the marketing efforts of major companies to learn what works and what does not.“A lot of PR companies claim to understand how the social media market works, but unless you live on those social media sites and know what to do and not to do, it’s tough,” Porter said. “A lot of companies are missing this, and that’s where I think I can come through on the creative writing side of it.”Porter has tried pushing his friends in a similar direction, advising them to update their Facebook pages or start a blog. But he has found that some still do not believe that companies put much stock in social networking.“I think a lot of people are ignoring this fact, thinking, ‘Employers aren’t going to look at my Facebook. They’re not going to bother looking at my Twitter,’” Porter said. “But whether you want to participate in it or not, it’s important to at least realize that employers are looking at this.”In that same vein, career counselors are advising students to keep inappropriate content, especially photos, off their Facebook and MySpace pages.“Companies now realize they can track your social media footprint,” Gushue said. “If your Facebook profile is filled with illegal, inappropriate or unprofessional images or thoughts, that could hurt you.”

What's the point...

“What's the point of talking to anyone if you don't tell 'em what you think?”

Jon Krakauer (1952 – ) American writer, mountaineerPulitzer Prize finalist

There are three...

There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. We all have a choice. You can decide which type of person you want to be.

Mary Kay Ash

If you are...

“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”
Rumi (1207–1273) Persian poet and philosopher

To be what...

"To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end in life."

Robert Louis Stevenson

About Pronoia Group

Pronoia is the belief that the universe is conspiring to help us in each and every endevour. The Pronoia Group is listening to you...we are here for you!
It has been said that the only constant is change. To move in a new direction, you need to step back and gain the knowledge and tools that will equip you for the challenge of embracing and leading change.
Many change initiatives fail by not adequately appreciating or understanding the role of human behaviour in organisational performance and change. The Pronoia Group virtual coaching program teaches you to do the opposite, helping you delve into the heart of the basic drivers of human behaviour and learn to identify and manage the hidden dynamics of teams and organisations.
Consulting and Coaching for Change is an intense and powerful program. It is specifically designed for those leading change directly or those advising key people in an organisation regarding change. It provides participants with a framework for understanding how individual and organisational behaviour affects change initiatives. Moreover, it significantly broadens their behavioural repertoire and understanding of individual psychological structures.
On an individual level, the insights and clarity gained from the program will greatly increase your ability to manage the people issues that affect business performance. By being able to ensure alignment between people, the organisation and corporate goals, you will make a significant contribution to developing business. In the process, by transforming yourself into a reflective and powerful agent of change, you will greatly develop yourself.

Even if you're...

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
Will Rogers (1879–1935)American comedian and actor

Plant the seeds...

Plant the seeds of expectation in your mind; cultivate thoughts that anticipate achievement. Believe in yourself as being capable of overcoming all obstacles and weaknesses.

Norman Vincent Peale

The power to...

“The power to change the world lies in the ability to align one’s thoughts and actions, and to resist emotions that pull one back into the familiar past. When a vision is so alive in the mind that it seems real today, the environment must change to prepare for the new experience”

Joe Dispenza

Nothing comes easy.

"Nothing comes easy. Nothing is given to you. Whatever you do, you've got to work for it and earn it. Whatever reward you get you've go to know that you've had your imput into that success. There's no substitute for hard work. And if you want to be well known or well liked, you have to put yourself out for people." Jack Charlton