I learned all of my best networking strategies from punks. No, really. Back in the late 90’s and early years of the 2000s, I played drums in a ska band in Chicago. You don’t have to know what ska is for the purposes of this story. But you do have to know that due to a weird historical hiccup in the 70’s, the ska and punk music scenes were inextricably linked. So while my band had a horn section and suits, most of the shows that we played included at least a few other bands that sported lots of guitar distortion, combat boots, and mosh pits. I’m often asked where I developed my networking chops. Was it at business school, running … [Read more...]
25% Irish on St. Patrick’s Day
A few years ago, my girlfriend (now wife) woke me up on March 17th and wished me the top o' the mornin' by saying, "Happy St. Patrick's Day, you sexy 25% Irishman." She was right about the sexy part, but I'm actually a little bit more than 25% Irish. In true American style, I'm an ethnic mutt, with part of my father's family here since before the American Revolution. But my mom's mom was from the Glynns of County Mayo, which is where the 25% comes from. Part of my dad's side might have a little Scotch-Irish in it, and we have an unknown lineage from my mom's dad's side that probably had a little more as well. So I think that I'm … [Read more...]
Mindfulness and Money – Kulananda and Dominic Houlder
This article was originally published on November 6th, 2008. But even if we aren't in the midst of an economic apocalypse, money is still on our minds. I was at the Evanston Public Library yesterday and I was blown away by how many books there on how to make, handle, invest, accumulate and basically do anything you want with money. I mean, whole shelves of them. Obviously this is something that is on people’s minds. Yet with the economic “meltdown” in the U.S. over the past few months, it’s pretty obvious that we are still relatively uneducated and foolish in the way we view and use money. Mindfulness and Money is written from a … [Read more...]
How to Network for Success in the Second Half of Your Career
Too often, the advice we hear about networking is tailored for meeting new people at networking events and having the perfect "elevator pitch". Sure, that's important, but what if you already have a robust network that you've developed over a successful career? What steps should you take if you want to leverage that network to continue to grow and re-imagine your career? Done right, successful networking for career veterans looks very different than it does for those just entering the workforce. Instead of focusing on building new connections en masse, they need to look at ways to uncover the power of existing relationships and … [Read more...]
Endless Referrals – Bob Burg
Ask any salesperson or business owner what their three biggest challenges are, and one of them will be “finding new prospects.” Millions (if not billions) of dollars are spent every year in order to market, advertise, and sell products and services. Much of this is wasted, though, because it doesn’t actually lead to the relationships that create sales. Endless Referrals fills an important role by acting as a sort of almanac for salespeople on different ways to prospect and bring potential clients into their pipeline. In fact, I think the book should be called Endless Prospecting, because it covers way more than just referrals. This … [Read more...]
Monday Morning Mash-Up – Live Long and Prosper
Music has always been a huge influence on my life, but science fiction has always been right next to it. My childhood was shaped by big screen adventures such as Star Wars and Star Trek. I was sad when I heard of Leonard Nimoy's passing last week. (I might have shed a few tears.) It also made me think about why stories of the future - near and far - have always had such an impact on me. I think that there is a power in science fiction that can't be found in other genres; it gives your mind practice in asking a most important question: "What if?" That question, translated into the mundane world, is the beginning of all personal and … [Read more...]
How to Fix the 3 Delegation Leaks That are Costing You
Ask any plumber and they'll tell you: leaky pipes are bad news. They lead to decreased intensity, wasted resources, and slower delivery. And there's a good chance that if you are leading a team, there are a lot of leaks in your delegation "pipes". In my work with small business owners and entrepreneurs, I've found that one of their biggest hurdles comes when they have to start delegating tasks to their team. They've moved past the point where they can do all of the work themselves, and they need to spread activities around. Leaky Delegation Creates More Work But often, instead of taking responsibilities off of the leader's shoulders, … [Read more...]
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