Month: May 2011

Change is Up to Us

Many of us may be facing hard, relatively large, and potentially life-changing career decisions. Will we decide to stay in our current position or company even though we are not totally happy or fulfilled? Will we take that promotion which may bring greater span of control, power, and money though it may not be what we really want to do? Given the condition of the job market, will we decide to stay put despite being somewhat disenchanted?

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The Motivation to Act

This past week I had the incredible opportunity to see and hear His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, along with Sister Helen Prejean, of Dead Man Walking fame, and Vincent Harding, a long-time civil rights activist who worked tirelessly with Martin Luther King. The energy in the room was palpable. Whether you agree with their passionate positions on non-violence or not, their solidarity around tolerance, compassion and love is undeniable; and many of their messages are universal truths.

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Your Brand

It seems like every time I turn around there is someone speaking or writing on how to develop, maintain, and foster a ‘personal brand’ in your career and life. In fact, I give talks on this myself – which have been enthusiastically received over the past few years. Yet, as with so many things, these discussions can become complicated, complex, and just “one more thing” to remember when we are already inundated 24/7 with voice mails, emails, deadlines, and other pressures at work and at home. So, how can we keep this concept simple and still relevant? A few tips as we start this new week:

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From Actor to CEO?

I found this past week’s “Corner Office” in The New York Times particularly provocative. Adam Bryant interviewed Caryl M. Stern, president and chief executive of the U.S. Fund for Unicef. Her background is diverse and interesting. She graduated from Westchester Community College where she was involved in theatre. Mr. Bryant acknowledged she was one of several CEO’s he has interviewed who also studied theatre. What was the lesson? This was her answer:

“You need to be able to get up and deliver the good news and the bad news. It’s just that same feeling before you go on stage, and you take that deep breath. In my organization now, with several hundred people working for me, I have to be that policeman and that show leader at the same time. So what better training is there?”

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