ARTICLES
Written By Rich For You.
Top 10 Clear Signs It's Time To Quit Your Job.
Here's my Top 10 (in no real order of importance) list why you should probably quit your current position and move on . . .
Here's my Top 10 (in no real order of importance) list why you should probably quit your current position and move on:
You start looking forward to the weekend on Wednesday (or even worse, Monday). This is the typical, "I can't stand my job and I love my weekends behavior". Face it, you are going to spend a LOT more time at work during the week — start enjoying that environment too. If you don't like what you do, your boss, the people, the commute, etc. — change it.
Sunday night is the loneliest time of the week because you have work the next day. If you hate going to work where it begins to affect your weekends, it's time to start looking for greener pastures.
You find yourself mired in mundane tasks at work - you're not working on exciting and challenging projects. It happens to the best of us — sometimes we need a career 'reset' button to help us re-focus on what's really important and where we want to take our career.
Everything is becoming SOS - same old stuff - day in, day out repetition. If you're just wrapping the same old chocolates every day — it's time to go.
You never ask for guidance or advice anymore from your boss. You've grown out of your role. This is a telling sign — you've outgrown your manager. They don't have anything else to teach you — and to be successful, you have to keep learning.
Everyone around you is as unmotivated and depressed as you are. Oh-Oh — either management is not doing their job or the company is ailing. Time to look for healthier stock.
Your superiors begin to take long lunches and start to leave the company. They know something you don't know. That's a clear sign you're about to be acquired, broken into small chunks, or obliterated into the atmosphere. Start planning your exit strategy.
Sales are down, the company hasn't rolled out anything new in the marketplace for a long time, and your competitors are hitting new heights. Things might turn around, but then, they might not. It's up to you if you have the time, temerity and patience to wait.
You can't get anything accomplished, projects are never approved (or cancelled mid-term), or your division is distracted by crazy hail-mary launches that never work. That is one of the most frustrating parts of corporate work — the lost years — the lost projects — and eventually, the lost people. If you find you're giving 150% to all of your work and for some reason, they're cancelled, postponed, or put on the shelf, it's time to step back and assess. Not only does it suck, but it cuts right to the bone of any performing professional to see your blood, sweat and tears wiped away in a matter of minutes. Time to go.
Things don't feel right - your salary has been stagnant for years, bonuses are anemic, and you find yourself surfing a lot on the web. Any one of these three are a clear indicator of a bad work situation. If you get more than one, start polishing your résumé.
Extra-Credit: Upper management employs a 'consultancy firm' to help them turn the ship in the right direction - always a clear signal something's wrong.
Most consultancy firms are brought in when management is either disconnected from the business or they are unable to develop a new business solution on their own. In my opinion, these consultancies are usually a band-aid for a more severe problem — they're brought in to calm the fears of investors and show Wall Street that the company is on-track to hit their fake targets.
In any event, there will be changes. Either The Bob's (watch this scene from Office Space) will come in and assess everyone's responsibilities and/or they will make broad spectrum changes that will probably impact your progress. Time to review your options and think about leaving.
The Top 10 Commandments Of Work.
I’ve been making a list over the past six months of commandments about work. I get requests all the time to bundle them up into a post.
I’ve been making a list over the past six months of commandments about work. I get requests all the time to bundle them up into a post. So here they are:
1. Be the go-to person in your area.
Know your industry inside and out, you won't do well if you just know your job. Learn what's happening, who's up, who's down, any new processes and practices, who are the stars, etc.
2. Cultivate and consistently grow your contacts.
You can never have too many friends, colleagues, or connections.Learn how to communicate, both written and verbal. Most people stop once they start a job — this is death for any career. It's not only what you know — it's who you know too.
3. Ensure your superiors and clients ALWAYS look good.
This is not the same as brown-nosing — do the right thing and take care of the people that sign your check. When they move on to bigger and better things they will call, every time.
4. Know your strengths and weaknesses well.
Strengthen your strengths and keep a tab on your weaknesses so they don’t sabotage you.
5. Be totally honest in everything you do.
Even if it hurts in the short run. Solid ethics always trumps sharky snarkiness.
6. Don't ever get trapped into a dead-end position because you're scared of change.
Move. Change is good and will open new doors. Trust me.
7. Treat everyone from the CEO to the janitor with the utmost respect.
Yes, you do have time for everyone — I start conversations with security guards. When my battery is dead, guess who offers a quick jump?
8. Never stop learning.
Stay hungry for knowledge and experience. Not only does it feed itself, it becomes fun.
9. Listen. Don't talk all the time.
People you meet everyday have the most interesting and powerful things to say that can change your life.
10. Mix with other successful people.
To play better tennis you must play tennis with better tennis players. Seek their advice, listen to what they say, and apply it. Go find where they live.
Can you think of any others? Which ones have rung true for you in your career so far?
Go After Your Best Prospects First.
In business, many of us start out the year targeting hundreds of companies and usually by the last few months of the year, we're scrambling. When the prize is too large, we tend to get discouraged by it's size — too much complexity, too many moving parts, too gargantuan to handle all at once. It's because our vision is in IMAX and it really needs to be like a microscope.
In business, many of us start out the year targeting hundreds of companies and usually by the last few months of the year, we're scrambling. When the prize is too large, we tend to get discouraged by it's size — too much complexity, too many moving parts, too gargantuan to handle all at once. It's because our vision is in IMAX and it really needs to be like a microscope.
Let's take a different approach — cut your list down to the Top 5 or 10 prospects, formally target them, and deliver the needed tools, support, and focus to make each of the 5-10 sales calls powerful and hopefully successful.
We're talking about the BEST prospects — ones who are highly suited for your products and services — ones you know if you just get in front of them, they will be very interested in your wares.
It's then much easier to measure your success — you can probably target your Top 5 in a single month. It allows you to expend maximum focus on your best possible prospects — the ones who may be the biggest or the best suited to your products.
By doing this, it also allows you to better understand the impediments in reaching your selected companies. Is it your message? Is it your pitch? Is the offering not specific? As you move forward, you will quickly uncover what is really holding you or your sales team back.
If successful, you can always look at the next five or ten targets.
Have you ever focused down to a select set of prospects and suddenly saw success? Let us know!
Top 10 Powerful Pieces Of Advice To Be Successful.
As a coach, I run into many great pieces of advice from books, clients, workshops, seminars, and instructors. Here is a powerful cross-section of great advice I’ve used in business and life:
As a coach, I run into many great pieces of advice from books, clients, workshops, seminars, and instructors. Here is a powerful cross-section of great advice I’ve used in business and life:
- “The first few months at a job, just shut up.” You will learn who to talk to and who the idiots are very quickly.
- “If it takes 60 seconds or less to complete, don't complain or postpone. Just do it now and get it over with.”
- "Talent without work amounts to nothing". For example: If you take one writing workshop and wrote every day a few hours a day, in 10 years, they'd all have a decent book published. Maybe not the Great American Novel, but a decent one.
- “If you're at work, take a hour and don't work during lunch.” My old boss (who was very successful in business) took an hour everyday and made us stop working and go to lunch.
- “When looking for a job, look at the company's mission statement." If you can't figure out what they do in 3 sentences or less, walk away. They have their head up their butts.
- “Most people who seem confident aren't or started without confidence.” The trick to being self-confident is to fake it until you're not faking it any more.
- "If you don't ask, you don't get." It’s not rude or out-of-line to ask.
- A business class professor said on the first day of class: "Look around you and shake the person's hand next you and get to know them and everyone in this class. Over the long run, that will be more valuable than anything I can teach you."
- “If you want something you've never had, you're going to have to do something you've never done.”
- “Mistakes are like stones in a backpack, carrying them with you can make you stronger, but theres a point at which you need to drop them to even move forward.”
Do you have any great pieces of advice to share that’s impacted your career?
2009 - The Best of Rich Gee.
It's almost 2010. But there might be a lot of stuff that you missed in 2009. So for everyone's benefit, I am presenting the Top 10 most clicked/read posts in an easy-to-scan format.
It's almost 2010.
But there might be a lot of stuff that you missed in 2009.
So for everyone's benefit, I am presenting the Top 10 most clicked/read posts in an easy-to-scan format.
So here goes:
Breakthrough Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=2069
10 Ways To Grow Your Career In A Bad Economy — Part One Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=1870
10 Ways To Grow Your Career In A Bad Economy — Part Two Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=1877
Five Reasons Why Leaders Fail (& Why Failures Lead) Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=2030
3 Powerful Tips To Energize Your Team Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=1802
Ethical Leadership — You Need A Mentor Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=1439
How to Be an Effective CEO Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=1265
4 Ways To Coach Your Team Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=880
Great Leaders Empower Others Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=749
Get Ready For Annual Reviews! Click Here - https://richgee.com/?p=2005
Enjoy and have an UNBELIEVABLE 2010! - Rich