Most people record their outgoing message without realizing what it says about them. In the old days, waaay long before voice mail, when telephone answering machines first came into being, I was one of those people who didn’t realize what my message said about me. My very first outgoing message played upon the image of a happy dog wagging his tail and I recorded it in a perky voice. It said: “Hi, there. I hate to brag but this machine …
I heard someone say that married couples should spend a lot of time in the company of others because if you’re not in an intimate relationship with them, you’ll treat them kindly and politely and, in turn, you’ll treat your own spouse more kindly and politely. When I first heard this theory, my memories kicked in big time. I clearly remembered all the times I’ve been in the presence of married couples who sniped at each other all night. Instead …
I always tell women not to mix business with pleasure, not to date anyone who works for the same company because very few women come out the winners. But very few women want to listen to that advice. It’s amazing how many women think that their relationship is going to lead to happily ever after. Even in this day and age, when a man and woman from the same company are dating, when the breakup comes, and most of them …
Even after all these years, I still remember being paralyzed with fear at the thought of having to go on job interviews. Like so many other people, I kept thinking that if I could just get a job without interviewing for it, I know I could do it. And that was in the days before résumés became mandatory and jobs were more plentiful. In those days, if you were fairly good at your job, the chances were that you could …
Not that long ago, if you wanted to start a business, the cost was so prohibitive that you had to go to a venture capitalist and agree to give them a sizable percentage of your business in addition to the repayment of your loan. Times have changed. Nowadays, many companies get their start in a basement or a bedroom. Armed with a computer and Google they can eliminate the middleman and go directly to different suppliers. With the use of …
In a perfect world, when you ran into the boss who fired you, you would be gainfully employed in a much better job. You would look great and you would be in an executive position that was higher in rank than your ex-boss. You would be making a ton more money than when you worked for him and your paycheck would be higher than his. When it happened to me, it didn’t work out quite that way. In fact, none …
When I was growing up, my parents would always tell us to be careful of the friends we choose because we will be judged by the company we keep. The other thing they taught us was that birds of a feather flock together. In later years, I learned that this was very true. People who are on drugs tend to hang out with other people who are on drugs. Alcoholics don’t feel very comfortable hanging out with teetotalers. I also …
Succession planning is a process for identifying and developing internal people with the potential to fill key business leadership positions in the company. Succession planning increases the availability of experienced and capable employees as they become available. Theoretically, it sounds like a good business plan . . . for the company. But what about the employees who are often given the task of training their replacements? At the outset of this downturn economy, I was talking with someone who had …