New Job? Five Mistakes We All Make.

When you start a new job, everything is just hunky-dunky. You're in a new office, new boss, new responsibilities, new friends, and hopefully, more money and increased responsibility. Many people expect their boss and company culture will bring them along (like orientation at college) and help them integrate well into the inner workings of their new organization. Not so fast.

Sometimes it actually happens — most of the time, it doesn't. And who's to blame if something goes awry? YOU.

So I've listed five major mistakes that new employees make when they first start a new job.

1. They expect everyone to be nice and 'on their side'.

There are 3 types of people you meet on the job:

1. Helpers - people who will help you learn the ropes and work with you.

2. Walking Dead - lifeless people who go about their day; get in the way with complaints/regulations.

3. Threats - people who actively regard you as a threat; major impediment; try to trip you up.

Stick with the Helpers, disregard the Walking Dead, and keep your eye on the Threats.

2. Your boss will love you forever.

You need to prove yourself to your boss before the initial work honeymoon ends. They usually give you a few weeks to get up to speed and then they want to start seeing results.

Look at it as a good-will savings account. When you're hired, you have a small positive balance. But any mistake, deficiency, or screw-up deducts from your account. Your job is to blast out of the starting gate, make some quick wins, and fill up your new savings account with good-will currency.

3. You can work as hard as you did at your last job.

You have to kick it up a notch at your new job. Come in early, stay late, and attack any project/task with increased vigor.

You are on stage right now and many people are silently grading you. Good first impressions are hard to develop, but bad ones are easy to deliver. Constantly task yourself to deliver more, add quality, and help others.

4. Communication will work perfectly.

When people move to a new job, communication structures are usually completely different from their past gigs. And this is where new hires slip up . . . badly. You need to:

• Establish clear communication structures with your boss and staff. Schedule regular status meetings with clear agendas.

• Listen the first few days/weeks at meetings. Get a good feel for how things are done before jumping in with a 'great idea'.

5. Your expectations of success will align with your boss' expectations perfectly.

No, they won't. And this is why so many people are let go in the first 90 days on the job. You need to be crystal clear with your boss about your responsibilities and deliverables. So do this:

• Develop a 30/60/90 day action plan with your boss. Work with them the first few days to clearly delineate your role, responsibilities, activities, deliverables, and most importantly -- deadlines.

• Meet each week and track your progress with your action plan. Check off your completed tasks and ask for help with those problem children activities.

• At the end of 90 days, you and your boss should be ecstatic about your progress since you've been delivering what they asked for. If they aren't, they're bat-shit crazy and it's time to move on.

This is a great tool to keep you and your boss on the same page and ensure there are no surprises that might derail your career.

8 Things I Wish I Learned In College.

I loved going to college. I learned a lot and grew a lot while I was there. In addition to all the facts and figures, I also learned many intangibles - how to communicate with very intelligent people, how to do real research, and how to solve difficult problems (to name just a few). But there were a few things I either missed or was never exposed to in my four years. During my 20 years in corporate management and 10+ years coaching, I found many different themes bubbling up to the surface time and time again. When it finally cut through my thick irish/polish/russian head, I made it a point of learning the best way to do them and then built each one in as a daily behavior. Here are my Top 8 (not 10, 16 or 20 - the best 8):

1. Change your game often.

Most people get stuck in rut — doing the same things day in and day out. Successful people in business are constantly assessing and changing what they do.

Read this: How To Successfully Change Your Game

2. Staying focused: the Pareto Rule.

If you are not reviewing your daily/weekly/monthly activities, you'll never get a good handle on streamlining your tasks and focusing on the important stuff.

Read this: How To Be Successful Every Day Extra credit: How To Be More Effective On The Job

3. Effective time management.

If you don't have control of your time, the days will fly by and you'll be wondering where all the time went. Just a few minutes a day will change the way you work.

Read this: Control Your Time By Designing Your Schedule

4. Communicating with difficult people.

It's a fact of life at work — you are going to run into people who are difficult to work with. They can be disagreeable, they can cause problems, or they can be your arch-enemy.

Read this: How To Deal With Very Difficult People

5. Recharging my enthusiasm daily.

No one likes to spend time with a negative person. Let's be honest, we don't like to spend time with neutral personalities either. Who do we love to spend time with? People who energize us — people with enthusiasm.

Read this: If You Aren’t Fired With Enthusiasm, You’ll Be Fired With Enthusiasm

6. Being proactive (not the face-cleanser).

Don't procrastinate and take charge of your career — what needs to be done and what can you do right now to ensure everything flows smoothly?

Read this: No Time? Focus on the Important

7. Keep people happy — under-promise & over-deliver.

This is a really hard one to overcome because we are trained at an early age to please other people for acceptance.

Read this: How To Make Your Boss & Clients Happy All The Time

8: Don't be so hard on yourself.

We drive ourselves hard and frequently pick on our actions - "That was stupid!" or "I can believe I did that!". As I tell my clients, there's a level where internal 'pushing' is good and then there's a level where it becomes a negative force in your life. If you make a mistake the first time, treat it as a learning experience. Hold off the self-recrimination for the 2nd or 3rd time you do it.

Read this: How To Never Make A Mistake At Work

Go And Make Lots Of Mistakes.

I learned a new word the other day. And it's a really cool word. Kintsukuroi. A beautiful word. One which fits perfectly with many of my coaching clients (and me too!).

It's a noun and verb — a Japanese technique of repairing broken ceramics with metal lacquer, usually gold or silver. The concept also includes the understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.

In Japanese, it actually means “to repair with gold”.

In business, there have been many fortunate mistakes — Post-It Notes, Penicillin, X-Rays, Corn Flakes, and The Slinky (read more here). And those people who made the mistakes have realized their errors and have seen their mistake turn into a lot of gold.

Mistakes are a part of life — let's get real — you're going to make a lot of them. But sometimes, we are so afraid of making them we actually hold back major successes.

But what's so bad about mistakes? if mistakes are part of life, you learn, you heal, and you move on. But sometimes we're so afraid of those mistakes, that they might impact your life in such an adverse way, we run away so far, we never understand . . . it's a learning experience.

And here's the best part — we might come out even better — just like a Kintsukuroi bowl with gold, filling in all of the cracks that we made before.

So go and make lots of mistakes . . . Enjoy!

Here are more links on Kintsukuroi:

• Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/lbrownfield/kintsukuroi/
• Tumblr - http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/kintsukuroi

Top 3 Mistakes Made In Family Businesses.

I run Multi-Generational Peer Review Groups — and boy do we have fun discussing many issues inherent with family businesses — especially ones where the younger sons/daughters work for the older parents. And the parents have one foot out the door into retirement, yet they feel they need to keep active and still make decisions. Or they are still working 60-70 hours a week and never delegate key responsibilities to their sons/daughters (I'm going to use the term 'kids' for brevity). Here are some mistakes (and possible solutions) I see frequently:

1. Bad Communication.

Number one mistake made in multi-gen businesses. The parent is un-moveable, disruptive, or sticking to their guns and the kids give up on any sort of constructive communication.

Solution: "You're not going to teach an old dog new tricks." It's the kids job to stay patient (and professional) and encourage healthy communication first. Try to bridge the gap and work with your parent and if needed, wear your heart on your sleeve when speaking with them. It's also the job of the parent to also open their heart and mind to their kids' overtures.

2. Loss of Self-Esteem.

If the kids are constantly reprimanded or berated when they do something wrong by the parent,  not only do they shut down and get resentful, they begin to lose faith in their abilities.

Solution: The parent needs to understand that there is a difference between motivational instruction and berating mistakes. They need to acknowledge that you will make mistakes along the way and they are their not only to catch you, but to encourage you to succeed. The kids need to understand that what took their parents 30-40 years to perfect cannot be learned in 2-3 years. In addition, your parents might not be the best teachers, so you sometimes need to pull information, techniques, and practices out of them for you to grow. It will take time.

3. Allocation of Responsibilities.

As the parent slowly relinquishes certain responsibilities to their kids (hopefully!), how the kids perform their new duties might be different than what the parent expects. So the parent begins to hold back the allocation and then adverse situations result. This especially happens when the kids try a new direction for an old problem (i.e., growing their web presence and killing all phone book advertising) and the parent doesn't understand.

Solution: The parent needs to understand that the kids SHOULD be encouraged to do things differently or at least understand WHY their kids are taking a different tack to solve a problem. The kids need to move slowly and continuously bring their parents up to speed on the whys, whats, and hows of their strategy. You just cannot say 'trust me' - it will only inflame the situation.

Bottom line, they are not going anywhere anytime soon — so assess the problem, come up with solutions, and take action. Making believe that it will go away on its own is dangerous.

If you have any questions or issues with a multi-generational business, feel free to call me (203.500.2421) - would love to discuss and help you find a solution.

Powerpoint: Do You Make These 5 Simple Slide Mistakes?

I can't tell you how many BAD presentations I've sat through. Let's just say — a lot. My major pet peeve centers around what your presentation slide background looks like. Now before you start your protestations (i.e., executives from organizations) — I totally understand you might have to stick with an approved slide background. I truly feel sorry for you. I was an executive for 20 years and for all internal (and many external) presentations, I broke the rules. No one ever took me to task — ever.

But here are my thoughts (in no special order):

1. "I have to have my logo on each slide!"

No you don't. Maybe your company requires you to have it there, but if you really looked into it, you probably don't need to.

Most of the time, you will need to begin (and end) the presentation with your logo, but for all intents and purposes, the inner slides will only need the information you're presenting. Now if you need to send/distribute the presentation, that's another story — see #5.

Slide real estate is at a premium and the inclusion of a repetitive logo on each slide (and the accompanying buffer around it) is a WASTE OF SPACE. Remember — the object of each slide is to be open, simple, and uncluttered so the audience can focus on the message. Repetitive logos, slide numbers, dates, and titles are not required.

2. "I have to have my company's colors on each slide!"

No you don't. Think of FedEx - purple and orange - imagine a background of purple and orange. OMG. Your job is to present a message to your audience — not hit them over the head with each slide. We've already dispatched the logo, let's work on the background colors.

When you work with a number of colors, shapes, or repetitive images, you are muddying the message. It's as if the audience is wearing 3D glasses and the movie isn't 3D. When you have a number of colors, shapes, lines, or gradations, it just makes it harder to see the font on the screen. Especially if the gradation moves from light to dark — try placing a phrase in black on a background that has a gradation from white to black. You won't see some of the letters — making it hard to read — equals lost message. It also looks juvenile.

3. "The audience can't see the words on my slide when I project on a screen!"

This happens ALL the time. Why? All projectors, screens, and room lighting are different — so you need to compensate for these changes. What I do is always work with a white background — you can never lose with white. It brightens up the screen, takes advantage of any projector bulb's shortcomings, and keeps people's focus on the screen. In addition, colors look brighter.

You can also use a black (or dark) background. But I find it tends to darken the whole room and adds a somber edge to the experience. Steve Jobs used a slightly-graded background for his presentations — but he had perfect stage lighting. Try it — you might like it. One caution — if you like to use images, sometimes their background is white — so you'll have to do some Photoshop magic to make the background around them transparent. That's why I stick with white.

4. "I have to stick to the 'Powerpoint-approved' template!"

No you don't. Honestly, they suck. They stick with boring fonts, the leading (space between each line of text) is not the best, and their choice of bullets . . . terrible. The only way for you to personalize the presentation (to your subject) is to start fresh and choose your own layout. Once you lock it in — stick with it — it will then be easy for you to replicate again and again and again.

In addition, you don't want your presentation looking generic or like another person's presentation. Candidly, when I see a canned 'Powerpoint-approved' background presentation, I think two things:

1. This person has no idea what they're doing. They're whole presentation is suspect.
2. This person really doesn't care about the look and feel of their presentation. They've rushed it.

5. "Projecting and printing are two totally different deliverables!"

So they can look different. In fact, they can look like two totally separate deliverables. Why?

1. One is for projecting on a screen in front of an audience with commentary from you. The audience is focusing on you and using the slideshow as an accompaniment to bolster your message.
2. The other is for silently reading at one's desk. Two different deliverables. You do need a logo or copyright on each page because the presentation might be pulled apart and distributed to other people. Also, it's frequently printed on white paper, so the use of complex and colorful backgrounds (and fonts) might interfere with the final printed product. In addition, if you have to email it, eliminating most (if not all) images will dramatically affect the size of the emailed file.

I run into these five mistakes at least once a week and it's a train wreck when it happens. In fact, I see a presenter (who is an accomplished academic and speaker) who sabotages their own presentation by making all five of these mistakes.

How To Never Make A Mistake At Work.

It could be a momentary lapse of interpersonal communication.It could be a critical number transposed in a key document. It could be a missed appointment due to a misunderstanding.

We all make mistakes. Some are small (and maybe no one notices) and some are huge (we call those fiascos!). But in the end, we all make mistakes.

Often. That's right . . . OFTEN. We go left instead of right. We mention something we shouldn't mention. We say something to a client that is taken the wrong way. You, I, and everyone else in the world makes mistakes.

Why? Because of three reasons:

1. We are careless for a second. We let our guard down, we forget what we are doing, who we are talking to. We get caught off-guard and someone or something picks it up.
2. We are not fully prepared or informed. This happens often in business. We think we know what we need to know and make a decision. Or, more frequently, management hasn't given us all the requisite information, we make a decision, and it's wrong based upon info that we were not privy to.
3. We take educated and calculated risks. This is the BIG KAHUNA. We might not be playing it safe - we are out there on the burning edge of development or decision-making, we have to choose one way or the other - and we get singed.

I understand those who fail with #1. We're human. We can't be on guard all the time - you would need some heavy duty medication to do that.

And I also understand those who fail with #2. It isn't your fault - you were missing key information.

But I commend all who fail with #3. You need to take risks - that's the ONLY way you will take huge leaps in your career and business. It's the only way upper management will recognize you as a mover and shaker. You are no longer a cog in the machine, you are a LINCHPIN.

Oh yes . . . the title of this piece is how to never make a mistake at work. Here's the secret:

The first time you slip up, the first time you make a mistake . . . it's not really a mistake. It's a LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

You did it. And you'll never do it again. You've learned and now move on.

If you do it again - then it's a real mistake. And if you do THAT often, you better start looking for another job.

So make sure you NEVER make a mistake.

POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW

P.S. You might need a coach - Let’s talk. I’ve worked with thousands of people who wanted to take assertive steps in this area — call or email me to schedule a complimentary session.

3 Critical Mistakes You Make On The Job Every Day.

Look, your job may be difficult sometimes. That's why they call it work. But you do your best and plan for the worst. But you're human and sometimes it hard to lead and execute perfectly. Over the past 11 years of advising executives, here are three of the more frequent mistakes made in your day-to-day endeavors:

1. Trying to do everything, not honing in on your talents.

A frequent occurrence since everyone that works for you thinks that you can solve all their problems. Or when issues, obstacles, and opportunities come at you from many directions, it hard not to say no. But you have to say no.

One way to fix this problem is to either say no, or not now. But that's hard to do. The best way to fix this issue is to delegate it to someone below you. You first need to know what key strengths your people exhibit and then you have to apply certain communication/management skills to pass on the task. Then ask them. Most of the time, they are dying to work on more complex/challenging stuff, especially your 'stuff'. Then you can go back and work on things that compliment your talents.

If you don't do this, you'll find that your days are filled with an avalanche of decisions and tasks, many that you're not the best at. And that spells trouble.

2. Less focus on planning, more focus on quick decisions.

When time is short and your to-do list is long, we tend to make more 'shoot-from-the-hip' decisions rather than planning ahead of time. Again, this is a hard thing to do in today's marketplace.

One line of attack is to clearly define key recurring areas that frequently need addressing and to bring your team together to plan for them, rather than waiting for something to blow up. You can segment them into client-based, financial-based, operations-based, marketing-based issues and have key, qualified people responsible to lead the charge. Once areas are planned and options are defined, it's much easier to chart your course in a more educated fashion.

If you don't do this, you'll find that you will spend more time substantiating your decisions with higher-ups, direct reports, and clients and realizing that many unplanned decisions usually aren't the best ones to execute.

3. Not asking for input from multiple sources.

This is the biggest and most important one — and it also aligns with the previous two mistakes. As you get comfortable in your position, it's really easy to insulate oneself from other learned sources when managing, leading, and running the business.

One way to eliminate this mistake is to actively and frequently reach out to people and ask them their opinion on a strategy, direction, or decision. They could be mentors that you've established, previous colleagues that you've worked with, key direct reports you can trust, and even employees that you never talk to. You'll be surprised with their answers — you might find that their line of thinking is completely different from yours. And it might be better!

If you don't do this, you'll slowly find that many people around you will be able to telegraph your position immediately (since you always make the decision) or they shut down completely since you are asking them for advice. Take a chance — listen to other sources.

Which one do YOU make? I'd love to hear what you did to turn it around. 

How To Make Wonderful Mistakes.

Over the past week, someone I’ve been working with let me know that they made a pretty big mistake. One that might affect me and my business. Don’t worry - it’s not that big. I’m okay.

It’s how she let me know. In her email, she alluded to missing a critical requirement, but never formally apologized and said it was ‘her fault’. Although we discussed this in-depth over the past few weeks, it ultimately (in her opinion), was my fault for not catching this.

In addition, she pretty well closed the door on any possibility of reversing her mistake. And she didn't provide any options moving forward.

Story over — now let’s get to the meat of the post:

Mistakes are natural, occur frequently, and are a part of life. Once you acknowledge this, you'll be a much happier and stress-free person.

In fact, with my teams, I encourage mistakes, because they promote learning and forward movement. If you or your team makes no mistakes, you probably aren’t taking risks, venturing into unknown territory, or pushing yourselves harder to deliver faster, better, and with more quality.

So here are some of my rules about mistakes:

1. Expect that they will happen. If you tip-toe around everything you do, afraid of making a mistake, you will never accelerate you team, project or career. Trust me on this.
2. When a mistake occurs, treat it as a learning opportunity. Get your team to acknowledge the mistake, understand how it happened, and come up with their own solutions to ameliorate it quickly. And also, how to make sure it never happens again.
3. Don't get angry. If it is a serious mistake, still handle it as listed above, but let the team understand the gravity of the situation factually, but not emotionally.
4. Take responsibility for your screw-up immediately. Acknowledge it, say you’re sorry, come with solutions, and a process (and promise) that it will never happen again. You will be instantly respected by your superiors and peers.
5. Don’t point fingers or bring a cadre of fellow players into the mistake. You made it, take responsibility for it. And don’t blame your superiors, your customers, or anyone else ‘if they didn’t catch it’. You are accountable, it your problem now.
6. Stop talking about it and take action. Most problems or issues can be fixed or turned around immediately. There were many times I went to my boss and said that I screwed up, this is what happened, and I’ve already fixed the problem. All I got from him was, “Nice work.” Boy did I feel great afterward.

Now go break some eggs!

Have you or your team ever made a mistake? How did you handle it? How did others react?

Image by Plindberg at Flickr.

Three Major Mistakes Many C-Level Executives Make.

Look, your job is hard. Probably one of the hardest in your company. But then again, you are the best and most highly decorated/compensated employee too. But you're human and sometimes it hard to lead and execute perfectly. Over the past 10 years of advising C-Level executives, here are three of the more frequent mistakes made in your day-to-day endeavors running the whole 'lemonade stand':

1. Trying to do everything, not honing in on your talents.

A frequent occurrence since everyone that works for you thinks that you can solve all their problems. Or when issues, obstacles, and opportunities come at you from many directions, it hard not to say no. But you have to say no.

One way to fix this problem is to either say no, or not now. But that's hard to do. The best way to fix this issue is to delegate it to someone below you. You first need to know what key strengths your people exhibit and then you have to apply certain communication/management skills to pass on the task. Then ask them. Most of the time, they are dying to work on more complex/challenging stuff, especially your 'stuff'. Then you can go back and work on things that compliment your talents.

If you don't do this, you'll find that your days are filled with an avalanche of decisions and tasks, many that you're not the best at. And that spells trouble.

2. Less focus on planning, more focus on quick decisions.

When time is short and your to-do list is long, we tend to make more 'shoot-from-the-hip' decisions rather than planning ahead of time. Again, this is a hard thing to do in today's marketplace.

One line of attack is to clearly define key recurring areas that frequently need addressing and to bring your team together to plan for them, rather than waiting for something to blow up. You can segment them into client-based, financial-based, operations-based, marketing-based issues and have key, qualified people responsible to lead the charge. Once areas are planned and options are defined, it's much easier to chart your course in a more educated fashion.

If you don't do this, you'll find that you will spend more time substantiating your decisions with higher-ups, direct reports, and clients and realizing that many unplanned decisions usually aren't the best ones to execute.

3. Not asking for input from multiple sources.

This is the biggest and most important one — and it also aligns with the previous two mistakes. As you get comfortable in your position, it's really easy to insulate oneself from other learned sources when managing, leading, and running the business.

One way to eliminate this mistake is to actively and frequently reach out to people and ask them their opinion on a strategy, direction, or decision. They could be mentors that you've established, previous colleagues that you've worked with, key direct reports you can trust, and even employees that you never talk to. You'll be surprised with their answers — you might find that their line of thinking is completely different from yours. And it might be better!

If you don't do this, you'll slowly find that many people around you will be able to telegraph your position immediately (since you always make the decision) or they shut down completely since you are asking them for advice. Take a chance — listen to other sources.