Stupid Things People Do At The Office - You Micromanage Your Staff.

Everyone hates micromanagers. Then why do we keep running into them? Why are they our bosses? It's like a bad stomach virus. If you are a manager, odds are that you micromanage someone, or some project, or some group. Why do you do that?

One word: INSECURITY.

You are probably insecure about something, someone, or some process that is either uncomfortable or out of your knowledge zone. And because it is, you spend more time than you need on it. Much more time.

How do you let go of that bicycle seat and let that person, project, or team ride off into the sunset? It's easy - you need to feel comfortable, not them. So do this:

• If it's a Person - there is probably something about them that you don't trust (because micromanagement comes from not trusting someone). Once you figure that out - let's say it's their attention to detail - work with them on this. Bring it to the forefront and discuss it with them. Give them more and more difficult  tasks that stretch their abilities. If they succeed, you can pull back. If they fail, you're there to pick them up (get that? let them fall!).
• If it's a Team - there is probably something about you that you don't trust. You need to see a coach and figure that out. Candidly, I've coached a lot of upper management types and when they suffer from micromanaging their team (feedback from a 360 assessment), they usually have deep trust issues (from being severely burnt in the past) and have to slowly reliquish control.

But that's easy. Start with your stars and give up control slowly. You'll see that you will have more time for the more complex parts of your job.

Enjoy the journey!

Stupid Things People Do At The Office - You're Always Late.

I know you're busy. We all are. Does it seem that you never get ahead of the curve? That you are always late for almost every meeting, appointment and even getting to work?

Let's look at why it happens in the first place:

1. You think you're special. You're not. You are just like everyone else. Start treating people with respect.
2. You're on a long-term ego trip. Even CEO's show up on time to meetings with the lowest employees on the corporate totem pole.
3. You want to look important. It doesn't make you look like "executive material" (i.e., no time for the peons). It makes you look like an ass.
4. You forget about the time. Sorry, that's not an option. You are an adult — start acting like one.

Get it through your head — you hate it when people are late for  you — don't do it to them. Being on time or early shows respect. AND - it allows the meeting to possibly end early.

Here are some quick tips to stop that from happening:

1. Set all clocks that you monitor 5-10 minutes ahead. I know that it's stupid - but it works.
2. Buffer time around meetings. If you bump one up against another, you won't have time to get to it. And you will then have time to hit the bathroom.
3. If you're too busy, try to cut out some lower priority meetings. See this post.
4. Get up earlier if you are always late to work. You miss the later traffic AND you get more work done before normal work hours begin.

Being late isn't a personality defect, most of the time, you just don't care. Start caring.

Stupid Things People Do At The Office – Work Overtime.

Statistics show that 75-80% of the corporate workforce works late 1-3 nights a week. Don't get me wrong here bucko — there are times during the year when you do need to work late — emergencies or a deadline deliverable to a client. Most of the time — working late is due to one of three reasons:

1. Poor Planning - On your part or your bosses. Remember the phrase: "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine?"
2. Time Management and/or Procrastination - You spend work time on unimportant activities and push the more important stuff to later in the day.
3. Showoff - The need to portray to management, the board, your clients, your peers, your staff, or even your family that you are a "hard worker".

Which one are you? Are you a composite of two or even three of these? I was. And it took me YEARS to realize this.

If you can't fit your position into a 40-50 hour window (that's working from 7 AM to 5 PM each day), you need to change a few things. So here goes (in no special order):

• You need to SDR - Streamline, Delegate, or Retire - You probably do too much. Leverage your staff and others to pick up the simple stuff. (check out my post)
• You go to too many meetings (see this post from last week on meetings).
• You haven't set specific boundaries with your boss. You need to train them just like a dog. I'm not kidding - if they try to catch you at 5:30 for an 'important talk' every night, you need to let them know that they can talk to you in the morning.
• Stop goofing around at work. No surfing, no personal phone calls, no wandering the office for casual conversation. Do your work! Check this out.
• Stop procrastinating. Work on the hard stuff first. Break it up into manageable chunks and get it done. Check this out.
• Leave at a reasonable hour. 5 or 6 PM is fine. I know people will notice. But at the end of the day, leaving work to get home for more important activities is critical to your long-term happiness. Work is important — but life springs eternal!

Stupid Things People Do At The Office – Eat At Their Desk.

Do you eat at your desk often? I know you do it. All the time. When 12 Noon rolls around, you think, "I can run down to the cafeteria, grab some lunch on a tray, and run it back up to my desk so I can catch up on email."

That's Stupid.

Candidly, you really need an extra 30-45 minutes to cover email? Email where 60-70% of it is unimportant? (read my previous post on email behaviors)

Here's an idea — go out to lunch. Meet someone outside of the company. Why?

• It gets you out of the building. Anything that changes your location changes your perspective.
• It gets you connecting with colleagues OUTSIDE of the company that you currently work for. You never know - you might meet someone that might offer you a better job. Or you might meet the perfect person to hire for that new project.
• You meet new people. New ideas, new viewpoints, new humor, new stories.
• You get to eat great food - the worst restaurant is usually better than the best cafeteria. Yum!
• You get to see the sun. Vitamin D - here I come!
• You breathe FRESH air. You get exercise outdoors. You might get a better parking spot when you return!

Bottom line — get out, connect with new people and you will see your career blossom. Stay indoors, cocoon in your cubicle, and you will see your career atrophy. Trust me.

It's Sunday — Get Philosophical — Get Reflective.

What's your Sunday going to be like this week? Running around shopping? Shuttling the kids to baseball, soccer, ballet, playdates? I'd like you to stop for a minute . . . Why do you think Sunday is called "the day of rest"?

Our lives are too busy today. Why? We tend to cram too much into our week AND we spend our leisure time on stupid pastimes like TV and surfing (the web).

How would you view your Sunday if you did this:

• Spent the day hiking up a trail and reaching the top. Sitting down and taking in the view for one hour.
• Sat out back on your deck and read a good book. Not a trashy novel, business book, or biography, but one that has deep philosophical meaning (and it doesn't need to be religious, but it certainly can).
• Taking your family where past relatives are resting in peace or going through a box of old photographs and telling them stories about their lives from memory.
• Attend a service - church, synagogue, meeting house, mosque . . . whatever. It will broaden your view of the world by experiencing different forms of philosophy.
• Just sitting on a park bench, taking in this spring weather, and marveling at the beauty of nature.
• Listening to music all-day long. Get out your old amp and turntable and play all those old albums.
• Working in your yard - gardening - getting your hands dirty with soil.

My charge: For one day a week, forget about the 'to-do's' and take time to get philosophical. It makes your whole existence more important and more powerful. And it gets you thinking about your role in the world and how you can help others. (That's the secret my friend!)

Stupid Things People Do At The Office – Take Work Home Over The Weekend.

Friday just flew by. And now you packed up your briefcase with folders and ran out the door at 7 PM. You're planning to do some work this weekend to catch up before Monday rolls around and you're behind the eight ball. First — Do you really need to bring the work home? Or do you need to be 'superhumanly' productive to succeed at work? Do you find that you ALWAYS bring work home? Make the hard choice - what would happen if you left those folders at work? Try it - you'll like it. Bottom line - you don't HAVE to bring them home EVERY weekend.

Second — Can you attack the work first thing Saturday morning? Get up at 6 AM and work until 9 AM - a three full hours. Then you have the rest of the weekend to relax and enjoy yourself. If you are like most people, you bring the work home and let it sit until Sunday evening and worry about it all weekend. Don't do that - attack it first thing and then have fun.

Third — Can you streamline your work down to a manageable hour? Instead of just diving into your work and watching the hours tick by - what is the most important thing that needs to be done and can it be finished within one hour? When we have an unspecified amount of time to work, we tend to meander and waste a lot of time. Give yourself a set amount of time (1-2 hours) and see how much you really can get done under a strict deadline.

Stupid Things People Do At The Office – Meetings.

What's the worst thing that could happen to you at work other than being fired? That's right going to MEETINGS. Just think of sitting today (on a Friday) cooped up in a windowless conference room at 3:30 PM for another hour. Lights dimmed, watching slide #65 with 15 bullet points? Droning voice? Closed door - really hot - the person next to you getting ripe? Is that what you dreamed about when you graduated from college?

Meetings. They suck the lifeblood right out of your body. Here's a little tip — don't go.

That's right. Flee . . . run away. You have better things to do with your time.

If you are an attendee to a meeting:

• Try to decline. You probably don't need to attend 25-50% of the meetings you go to. Why? Because most meetings are either superfluous or your attendance will not add any value to the discussion.
• Arrive late — Leave early. Don't just do this, it's impolite. Let the organizer and some key people know that you will be doing this. Then you still get the gist of the proceedings AND cut your meeting time by 25-50%.
• See if you can change the meeting into a short one-to-one discussion. 75% of meetings are too formal, go on much too long, and allow the more mentally challenged executives to run their mouth for hours. Edit it down. If all else fails:
• Keep the meeting on point. If the meeting organizer is not organized, you take the lead and keep people on point. They will love you for it.

If you are running the meeting:

• Cancel it. Do you really need to have this meeting? Can it just be a short conversation between 2-3 people?
• Shorten it. My experience in corporate (20 years) tells me that most if not all meetings are always too long. If you've scheduled an hour, make it 20 minutes. 30 minutes? Make it 15. Any more than an hour, shame on you!
• Get rid of the chairs. Make everyone stand around a whiteboard. Act like a sports coach - ask questions - make decisions. With no chairs, people will want to get out of there ASAP.

Smart executives regularly turn down at least 50% of the meetings they are invited to. That's how they have time to do all the cool things they want to do AND get their work done.

Love to hear your thoughts – comment below or email me anytime! – Rich

I Just Saw An Accident This Morning.

I commute every day on I-95, the most travelled highway in Connecticut. I was in the middle lane, trundling along at 60-65 mph, and the traffic ahead reduced their speed due to congestion (right around Westport). I hit my brakes and slowed my car down to a crawl. In my peripheral vision, I could see the other cars to my left (in the passing lane) do the same thing. Suddenly, an executive (he was wearing a suit) in a black Mercedes sedan moving 25-30 mph slams into the first of the cars on my left and begins a domino effect with four other cars.

It was like watching a movie.

No one was hurt — just shaken up. But it occurred to me that the Mercedes never hit their brakes — so they didn't see or anticipate hitting the car in front of them. The real question is: What were they doing instead of driving?

Texting? Changing the radio station? Talking on their phone? Reading the newspaper (I've seen this before)? Worrying about work? Worrying about his family? Marriage? He certainly was not concentrating on his driving. And that ruined at least five people's Tuesday.

We tend to get distracted often — based on inconsequential things. Nothing was more important at that moment than that driver operating his car. NOTHING.

How many times do you get distracted by the inconsequential? Pay attention — you'll go places. And not to the body shop.

Gratitude Should Be YOUR Attitude.

Most executives believe that their hard work — and only their hard work — got them to the position that they now sit. All the hours, all the meetings, the handshaking, the brainstorming, the late-night dinners brought them to the exact spot that they are in at this moment. Sorry to burst your bubble. But there's more.

Your colleagues. Many people that have worked under you, the peers beside you, and yes, the many bosses above you that helped you get to the spot you're presently in.

Time to begin thanking them. Take the next 30 days and each day, reach out to one of them with a 5 minute phone call and let them know how important they are to you. That's leadership.

5 minutes - it will make someone's day.

The Marketplace Is Changing - Are You Ready?

Over the past 3-4 years I've been watching massive changes take place in the marketplace. Some people see them, some people don't. Unfortunately, many people still act as if these institutions will go on forever. They actually disagree with me (even though they admit that the institutions are in severe decline) and come up with fanciful scenarios that somehow resurrect their position. So without further ado, here are my predictions that will change YOUR LIFE. (this is a long one - be patient!)

Music Stores

Let's start out with an easy one first. Ever since the first iPod, the writing has been on the wall with these stores. They originally handled the move from records to CD's back in the 80's easily, but now with the advent of much cheaper and faster access to music, their time is running out. As each new generational year becomes avid music listeners and purchasers, they turn more to digital and less to more expensive, less selection, and location-based stores.

The last store I went to (Cutler's in New Haven - a wonderful example of a great music store) had cut their real estate and selection in half. In addition, they had increased their inventory of DVD movies, small gifts, and iPod merchandise.

Prediction: I give this industry five years or less.

Movie Purchases & Rentals

This includes location based stores like Blockbuster and mailed-based companies like Netflix. Let's be honest — Blockbuster is toast. They have been making missteps for years now. And Netflix has been jabbing a shiv in their side to do it. Compare outrageous late fees versus renting the movie for as long as you like? It's not even fair.

Now Netflix is harder. They have a great service, incredible selection, and a broad business model. Ultimately though, the idea of mailing and receiving DVD's will become cumbersome in the light of digital transfer over the web (like they have started to do already). It's just a matter of time when they mail less and less and less.

Finally — DVD sales — it's already started. I was in Walmart the other day and saw that they cut down their DVD sales area and increased their "digital appliances" area. Most of their DVD's are at $5, in alignment with Blockbuster who is selling 5 for $20. These are the death-throes for DVD's. I don't think Blu-Ray will make a huge dent either - people are staying on the sidelines for that one too (I am).

Prediction: 2 years (Blockbuster, rentals) and Netflix mail delivery (4 years). DVD's as a format should take no more than 5-7 years to disappear.

Newspapers & Magazines & Books

This is an easy one - they are dying as we speak. If you can't get a magazine subscription for less than $10, you haven't looked very far. Newspapers are so small — advertisers are running away in droves - classifieds are gone (that was 30-50% of their revenue). The whole idea of printing, distributing, and selling paper when I have an iPhone, iPad, and MacBook - it's crazy. It's yesterday's news (catch this great Daily Show spot) that is being quickly supplanted by digital and video counterparts.

Think of students carrying the iPad - not lugging around all those textbooks. Businesspeople on planes and trains. Vacationers by the pool (whoops - maybe they'll have a waterproof one!).

Kindle. Ubook. iPad. Books . . . buh-bye! Which leads us to Bookstores . . . buh-bye! Which leads us to Publishers . . . buh-bye!  What? Publishers too?

New paradigm - authors hire editors to edit their book. The better the editor, the more expensive the service. No publishers. By the way - the idea that publishers actually 'market' the book - don't make me laugh. They only marketed it in bookstores — and oh yes, they are going away. Authors can build a bully pulpit on social media. Just like Abbey Ryan has done for her paintings on eBay. Check her out.

Prediction: Newspapers - 3 years; Magazines - 5 years; Books & Publishers - 10-12 years

Video Games (sold in stores on disc)

Akin to CD's and DVD's - their time is also short. My family are already downloading games on our iPhones (Madden football) - hopefully the iPad will accelerate the whole process. They've always been overpriced - and companies like GameStop are marketplace rip-off artists who take advantage of kids and willing parents. Hope to see them go ASAP.

Prediction: 5 years

Libraries

This is a tough one to write — but I will anyway (I'm going to hell for this one).

Have you been to a library lately? I rest my case. All kidding aside — libraries are wonderful centers of knowledge — but isn't our home or office computer a center of knowledge too? How many times have you gone to the library to find a book and it's just not there? You can place a hold on it, the person doesn't bring it back for decades, and when it finally does come back and they alert you — and your interest has waned. Libraries have tried to keep up — they've added videos and music and events and cappuccino and still these institutions are desolate (okay - there are some that do pull in the kids - but then they've turned into child care centers). You'll only find the errant senior citizen, transient, or unemployed worker. That's it.

And they cost a pretty penny to build, renovate, staff and run. MILLIONS of dollars. Add that most towns have multiple libraries coupled with every school having a separate library too and you are talking serious adult dollars here.

What would happen if everyone had an iPad? And the town digitized all books for "rental"? You can watch movies and music and do research (most good research today is also digital). Maybe the town invested in free wi-fi broadband for the entire town?

Prediction: 10-15 years tops

I know some of these predictions and assumptions might be way off - and there will be stragglers - but it's fun to put it out there and start a dialogue. So please let me know how you feel!

Time For Wall Street CEOs To 'Earn Back' America's Trust.

Bailout watchdog and Middle Class advocate Elizabeth Warren has accused Wall Street CEOs of abusing consumer trust and challenged them to step up and support financial reform — for the nation's benefit as well as their own. In an opinion piece to be published in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, Warren writes:

For years, Wall Street CEOs have thrown away customer trust like so much worthless trash.

Banks and brokers have sold deceptive mortgages for more than a decade. Financial wizards made billions by packaging and repackaging those loans into securities. And federal regulators played the role of lookout at a bank robbery, holding back anyone who tried to stop the massive looting from middle-class families. When they weren't selling deceptive mortgages, Wall Street invented new credit card tricks and clever overdraft fees.

The Harvard Law professor and TARP overseer added that the bankers "squandered what little trust was left" when they took taxpayer bailouts.

The piece, titled "Wall Street's Race to the Bottom," explains how bankers can reclaim that trust. An important piece — read it.

The CEO Revolving Door Keeps Spinning . . .

From the "WOW - That didn't take long" department: "Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain is taking over as chairman and CEO of CIT Group as the commercial lender continues to restructure its business following a brief stay in bankruptcy protection last year.

As chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, Thain came under fire for having paid out $3.6 billion in bonuses to Merrill employees just before a BOA deal closed, and for spending more than $1 million to redecorate his office at Merrill, despite its massive losses.

CIT Group Inc., one of the nation's largest lenders to small and mid-sized businesses, said Thain will take the helm immediately. The 54-year-old replaces acting interim CEO Peter J. Tobin, who will remain on CIT's board. Tobin had stepped in while CIT searched for a permanent replacement for Jeffrey Peek, who retired as chairman and CEO on Jan. 15. President and Chief Operating Officer Alexander T. Mason, 58, is leaving the company Feb. 26. Chief Financial Officer Joseph Leone has said he plans to retire in April."

Looks like the rats are jumping ship and one huge rat is coming aboard.

How do they do it? Would love your comments . . .

I Got Off My Ass . . . My First Podcast.

Enjoy!

$14.27 Can Change Your Career. Guaranteed.

Every so often, a person comes along, writes a book, and changes the way people act. Napoleon Hill did it with"Think and Grow Rich". Dale Carnegie — "How To Win Friends and Influence People". Peters and Waterman — "In Search of Excellence". Stephen Covey — "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". And Keith Ferrazzi — "Never Eat Alone".

Seth Godin has been writing books, speaking, and blogging for over 10 years. I first was introduced to him with his first book, "Permission Marketing". I then drifted off from Seth after reading a few of his other books but have been following him lately with his blog.

Michael Hyatt turned me onto his latest read, "Linchpin — Are You Indispensable?". I bought it yesterday on my Amazon Kindle and proceeded to stay up most of the night finishing it. This book is going to change the way people think, act, and work.

Everyone knows there is something wrong with business today. Seth crystalizes what the REAL problem is and delivers to the reader clear instructions on how to find their way on how to succeed in the new business world.

Bottom line: Seth espouses what I do every day with my clients.

A short summary from Amazon: "Linchpin is a most unusual, well-organized, concise book about what it takes to become indispensable in the workplace - whether you work for someone else (at any level) or are self-employed. It's about how business has rapidly changed and how treating employees like factory workers (or doing your job like one) doesn't work any longer. We must make choices and take action to "chart our own paths" and add value that others do not. We cannot wait for a boss or a job description to tell us what to do, rather we must just take the initiative ourselves. Only then can we become indispensable "linchpins," rather than replaceable "cogs." "You don't become indispensable merely because you are different. But the only way to become indispensable is to be different. That's because if you're the same, so are plenty of other people."

Stop what you're doing right now and go out and buy this book. It will change your life.

How To Be Successful Every Day.

  Time to hit work after a wonderful weekend . . . check your email . . . get ready for all those wonderful meetings . . . and make sure you schedule for all the work coming down the pike this week.

Whoops! Forgot to tell you something . . . Most executives tend to forget that their job isn't supposed to crank out work (okay - that's part of your job - but just follow my thinking for a bit).

You are also expected to IMPROVE. CONSTANTLY.

Of course you work. But to be successful in your position, you need to be a machine. A machine that constantly strives to:

1. Do better.
2. Take on additional responsibilities.
3. Never wear out (keep on running and have a bright smile every day).

But how do you do that? Your schedule is ALWAYS full. You come in early, you stay late, and you bring work home. How are you going to IMPROVE CONSTANTLY?

There are three little letters that will help you do that EVERY DAY:    S   D   R

S = STREAMLINE Regularly look at your workload and apply the 80/20 rule to it. Why? Candidly, if you work day-to-day, you tend to get into little ruts in your work habits, your responsibilities, and your inter-personal connections. Not major ruts - small ones. What eventually happens is that they take over your schedule, eking out more and more time, until you find yourself working 60-70 hours a week and 10-20 hours at home.

These ruts steal precious time from those high-value, high-impact tasks that move you forward quickly. So on a monthly basis, stand back and look at your litany of responsibilities, and make highly critical assessments of each one. See how you can eliminate steps in accomplishing each task. Instead of a report, will an email suffice? Instead of an email, would a quick 2 minute phone call be in line? Instead of a phone call, how about a personal drive-by their office? Cut your email in half by using some quick tips (call me - 203.500.2421).

When you regularly cut small steps out of your responsibilities and accelerate your interpersonal communications, they go faster and get done quicker.

D = DELEGATE Take a close look at your responsibilities and see what ones can be delegated to your staff. Or delegated to technology.

That is your job as a manager - to constantly motivate your team and get them to take on more complex and harder tasks. So give them a taste of what you do. Here's the hint - don't give them the fun stuff - give them the tasks that  you HATE to do. They will feel empowered that they are working on management-level responsibilities and you will have more time for more important things.

Or figure out how technology can come to the rescue. Review reports online rather than printing them out.

You'll find that your day gets more fun and you get to work on the stuff that really matters to your business and your success.

R = RETIRE Which tasks take up a lot of time but don't really deliver the impact that merits their priority?

Begin to prioritize all of your responsibilities and pick off one or two - stop doing them - see what happens. It might be a regular meeting that you have, a report that you do, a task that no one really appreciates. Try it - you might realize that no one notices that it's gone.

Candidly - this one is the hardest one to do - but when you get good at it - you'll find that this step delivers the biggest bang for your buck. Try it!

Sunday Funnies.

Woody Allen - The Moose (1965) I love this skit. It's one of my favorites. Business-wise, watch it and pay attention to Woody's timing. His rhythm and cadence is so spot on - the story is funny - but his delivery makes the skit.

Next time you do a presentation, pay attention to your rhythm and cadence - it is really important when making a point. As I always say - it's ALL Broadway! Enjoy.

What's The New Phrase For This Economy?

Do you know what my new phrase for this economy? Is it: "Beg For That Job"? No. "Ask Your Friends For Connections"? No.

It's a bit more simple than that. Simply put, it's:

"GET OFF YOUR ASS."

I know — a little blunt — a little in your face. But spot on.

In economic times like these we all have ample opportunities to grow. To take advantage of the upheaval in our marketplace. Up is Down. Down is Up.

I always say: "There are people who make things happen. There are people who watch what happened. And there are people who wonder WHAT HAPPENED!"

Which one will you be today? Take charge of your life:

• Take a risk at work. Ask to be on that new project. Present your new ideas to your boss.
• If you're unemployed, take a chance, call a CEO at a company that you really want to work for and set up a lunch with him.

Don't wait for a better time or when you will have more information. As I also say. "We must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Don't wait for perfection - Do it now.

Bottom line — Step out of your comfort zone and MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Hiding Is Not Good For Your Career.

During times like these, most executives tend to worry if the axe will be falling near their neck. So what do they do? They power down, think small, take no risks and ensure that they don't appear in anyone's crosshairs.

Unfortunately, this not only does nothing (if they choose, they're going to fire you anyway), it can actually hurt your career.

Why might you be next to be laid off in this economy . . . let's look at the facts:

1. You make too much.
2. You make too little.
3. You're working on a low-level or non-strategic project.
4. You're working on a high-level, very strategic project.
5. You've worked much too long at that company.
6. You are the last one hired, first fired.
7. You're boss doesn't like your face.

What am I really saying here? Firing is capricious. It can happen for a number of reasons and most (if not all) of them have nothing to do with your performance. The reality is: 99 times out of 100, mass firings are due to bad planning by management, not by you. And they have to move fast, cut deep, and recover quickly to SAVE THEIR OWN NECKS. Or they will see the axe coming around the conference table for them.

SO . . . what am I REALLY saying here? In times like these, it is in your best interest to STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. Don't hide.

For example . . . Take a little risk:

1. Speak up at meetings. Let people know your point of view.
2. Have strategic lunches — meet with key executives inside and outside of your company.
3. Ask for more work — but choose carefully — get on that key project.
4. Make it a point of bumping into higher-ups and building relationships with them.

In times like these, companies have NO IDEA what to do. They're juggling all the balls in the air and NO ONE wants to catch one. They just keep juggling and praying they don't drop one.

Smart executives that are go-getters take advantage of this craziness and grab one of those balls. So . . . time to grab some balls.

Sunday Funnies.

America's "Can't-Do" List.

Lately, I've been studying the melting of glaciers in the greater Himalayas. Understanding the cascading effects of the slow-motion downsizing of one of the planet's most magnificent landforms has, to put it politely, left me dispirited. By Orville Schell at The Los Angeles Times.

It is impossible to focus on those Himalayan highlands without realizing that something that once seemed immutable and eternal has become vulnerable, even perishable. Those magnificent glaciers are wasting away on an overheated planet, and no one knows what to do about it.

Another tipping point has also been on my mind lately, and it's left me no less melancholy. In this case, the threat is to my own country, the United States. We Americans too seem to have passed a tipping point. Like the glaciers of the high Himalaya, long-familiar aspects of our nation are beginning to seem as if they are, in a sense, melting away.

In the last few months, as I've roamed the world from San Francisco to Copenhagen to Beijing to Dubai, I've taken to keeping a double- entry list of what works and what doesn't, country by country. Unfortunately, it's become largely a list of what works elsewhere but doesn't work here. In places such as China, South Korea, Sweden, Holland, Switzerland and (until recently) the United Arab Emirates, you find people hard at work on the challenges of education, transportation, energy and the environment. In these places, one feels the kind of hopefulness and can-do optimism that used to abound in the United States.

China, a country I've visited more than 100 times since 1975, elicits an especially complicated set of feelings in me. Its Leninist government doesn't always live up to Western ideals on such things as political transparency, the rule of law, human rights and democracy. And yet it has managed to conjure an economic miracle. In China today, you feel an unmistakable sense of energy and optimism in the air that, believe me, is bittersweet for an American pondering why the regenerative powers of his own country have gone missing.

As I've traveled from China's gleaming, efficient airports to our often-chaotic and broken-down versions of the same, or ridden on Europe's high-speed trains that so sharply contrast with our clunky, slowly vanishing passenger rail system, I keep expanding my list of what works here at home and what doesn't.

Over time, the list's entries have fallen into three categories. There are things that are robust and growing, replete with promise, the envy of the world. Then there are those things that are still alive and kicking but are precariously balanced between growth and decline. Finally, there are those things that are irredeemably broken.

Here is the score card as I see it:

Aspects of U.S. life that are still vigorous and filled with potential:

• , which is delivering much of the world's most innovative research and ideas.
• Silicon Valley, which has enormous inventiveness, energy and capital at its disposal.
• Civil society, which, despite the collapse of the economy, seems to be luring the best and brightest young people, and superbly performs the crucial function of goading government and other institutions.
• American philanthropy, which is the most evolved, well funded and innovative in the world.
• The U.S. military, the best-led, -trained and -equipped on the planet, despite being repeatedly thrust into hopeless wars by stupid politicians.
• The spirit and cohesiveness of small-town American life.
• The arts, including our film industry, which remains the globe's sole superpower of entertainment, along with the requisite networks of orchestras, ballet companies, theaters, pop music groups and world-class museums.

Aspects of U.S. life that still function but need help:

• Higher and secondary school education, in which America boasts some of the globe's preeminent institutions. Increasingly, though, many of the best institutions are private, and jewel-in-the-crown public systems such as California's continue to be hit with devastating budget cuts.
• Environmental protection, which compares favorably with that in other countries despite being underfunded.
• The national energy system, which still delivers but is overdependent on oil and coal, and depends on a grid badly in need of upgrading.

Aspects of U.S. life in need of drastic intervention:

• Public elementary education, which in most states is desperately underfunded and fails to deliver on its promise to provide all children with high-quality schooling.
• The federal government, which is essentially paralyzed by partisanship and incapable of delivering solutions to the country's most pressing problems.
• State governments, which are largely dysfunctional and nearly insolvent.
• American infrastructure, including highways, docks, bridges and tunnels, dikes, waterworks and other essential systems we aren't maintaining and upgrading as we should.
• Airlines and the airports they service, which are almost Third World in equipment and service standards.
• Passenger rail, which has not one mile of truly high-speed rail.
• The financial system, whose over-paid executives and underregulated practices ran us off an economic cliff in 2008 and compromised the whole system in the eyes of the world.
• The electronic media, which, except for public broadcasting and a vital and growing Internet, are an overly commercialized, broken-down mess that have let down the country in terms of keeping us informed.
• Print media, which from newspaper publishing to book publishing are in crisis.
• Basic manufacturing, which has fallen so far behind it seems headed for oblivion.

I started keeping these lists because I was searching for things that would banish that dispiriting sense that America is in decline. And yet the can-do list remains unbearably short and the can't-do one grows each time I travel.

American prowess and promise, once seemingly as much a permanent part of the global landscape as glaciers, mountains and oceans, seems to be melting away by the day, just like the great Himalayan ice fields.

Orville Schell is the director of the Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations. He is the former dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley and the author of many books on China. A longer version of this article appears at tomdispatch.com.