All Hail the Generalist - Vikram Mansharamani We have become a society of specialists. Business thinkers point to “domain expertise” as an enduring source of advantage in today’s competitive environment. The logic is straightforward: learn more about your function, acquire “expert” status, and you’ll go further in your career. But what if this approach is no longer valid? Approximately 2,700 years ago, the Greek poet Archilochus wrote that “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” In the six decades since Berlin’s essay was published, hedgehogs have come to dominate academia, medicine, finance, law, and many other professional domains. For various reasons, though, the specialist era is waning. Secondly, specialists toil within a singular tradition and apply formulaic solutions to situations that are rarely well-defined. Finally, there appears to be reasonable and robust data suggesting that generalists are better at navigating uncertainty. The time has come to acknowledge expertise as overvalued.
The Best Way to Make a Decision Fortunately Derek Sivers stepped in and saved me. (Well, not literally.) A very nice lady had asked me to speak at a local business function. I was flattered and it sounded like fun... but I already have plenty to do, and the audience, while large, isn't in the market for a ghostwriter. So I was on the fence until I remembered Derek's credo: "No more yes. Since agreeing to speak would have fallen solidly into the, "Oh, okay, I guess so..." category, I turned down the opportunity. And I was immediately glad I did. The key to using the Hell Yeah! You. Sure, seeking input is natural. The problem is the main power wielded by group thinking is the power of the middle ground. ...and similar. If you want to be different and achieve "different," the only person that matters is you. When you make the decision it's all on you: Your vision, your passion, your motivation, your sense of responsibility. You will persevere, if only to prove yourself right. But, of course, it's not.
How Recruiters Use Social Networks to Screen Candidates Over the past few years, we've seen social media used in the job market in a number of ways — startups, small businesses and large corporations alike are diving into the socialverse to find top talent, and job seekers are likewise getting creative with social media. Social media monitoring service Reppler recently surveyed more than 300 hiring professionals to determine when and how job recruiters are screening job candidates on different social networks. The study found that more than 90% of recruiters and hiring managers have visited a potential candidate's profile on a social network as part of the screening process. And a whopping 69% of recruiters have rejected a candidate based on content found on his or her social networking profiles — an almost equal proportion of recruiters (68%), though, have hired a candidate based on his or her presence on those networks. Every week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. Infographic courtesy of Reppler
How To Make A Vision Board And Why They Will Make You Rich | Over the years, a lot of people have asked me if there was one key factor that they could implement that would help propel them to millionaire status, what would it be? I mean, can anyone go from nothing to a millionaire? Can this be taught to the average person and have them generate results virtually overnight? And the answer is YES! In fact, if you talk to a few of my students you will find that within 4 to 6 weeks of implementing the strategies I teach, their lives begin to totally transform in all areas. So how do they do it? What you will find interesting is that when people hear the steps, each step seems so simple. But if you are one of the few that do….this blog post will put you well on your way to a MILLIONAIRE LIFESTYLE. How To Make A Vision Board And Why They Will Make You Rich VISION: “The art of seeing what others cannot yet see”. This has always been a topic that has intrigued me and one that I have explored extensively. Why is a VISION BOARD So Important?
Entrepreneurs: 5 Things to Un-Learn From School You spent a lot of years in school. You learned a lot. Some of what you learned you need to un-learn as soon as possible. Here are five key attitudes you should adopt instead: 1. I know. But not that hard. If you did what you were told--go to class, do the reading, turn in assignments on time, etc. Now--whether you work for someone else or run your own business--doing what you're told makes you average. To be above average, or to achieve better than average results, you must do two things: Do what others are willing to do, and do it better, andDo what others aren't willing to do Otherwise, you're just average. 2. Sure, you felt overly-controlled in school: Dates, timelines, rules... not to mention the seemingly arbitrary policies and nonsensical assignments. Nope. In school you paid people to criticize, direct, and at times micro-manage you. Then, once you've proven your skills, if you still feel micro-managed it's your responsibility to change the situation. No one wants to micro-manage you.
Career Search Insights Your College Never Gave You At this time of year my mailbox is filled with resumes from college seniors looking for their first real job and begin their career. The sad truth is that all of those resumes go directly into the garbage, for two reasons: This is not an efficient way for me to hire employees, and I believe people who simply send out unsolicited resumes are not really serious about their career. It’s not that I’m a stickler for proper job-hunting protocol. In fact, over the years I’ve hired four people who simply showed up at my office without an appointment, requesting to tell me how and why they would make a good member of my team. These are the type of prospective employees whose resumes I do read. If how I’m approached by most college seniors provides any insight, then most colleges are failing to prepare students for serious job hunting and career building. Be Aggressive.Don’t send out resumes and expect people to call you. Got any career search insights you can share with us? Photo by Anna Gay
4 Things You Must Do to Hire the Perfect Candidate Hiring the right talent is vital to the success of your business. But busy entrepreneurs don't have time to waste sifting through dozens of resumes to evaluate candidates. "But at the same time you can't--or shouldn't--outsource the entire process," says J.T. O'Donnell, founder and CEO of Careerealism.com, a job search advice site, and CareerHMO, a career coaching membership site. "I stopped asking for resumes a long time ago," she says. "Years in the staffing industry taught me they weren't useful when evaluating candidates. Here's the approach she takes to streamline the process and still ensure she finds and hires great employees: Step 1: Don't post a job; post the problem the employee will solve. Write out what problem this new hire is going to solve. Next, explain why your company exists. Finally, tie in how the right candidate will support those efforts. Step 2: Ask candidates to answer three key behavioral questions. Ask candidates to share as much as they can about the following:
Sales Tips: 2 Little Words to Close Deals Faster If you knew two little words that could improve your sales, you’d use them, wouldn’t you? When you see your customer has some reservations, it makes sense to get the issues out in the open, doesn’t it? And after the ink is dry on the deal, you should make every effort to make sure your customer is satisfied, shouldn’t you? So why all the questions? They illustrate a simple technique--sales tie-downs--that can help you improve your sales process. Sales tie-downs are short questions you add to statements throughout your presentation to get your prospective customer to start saying yes long before you go for the close. Too often, sales reps simply regurgitate their presentations and expect to land the sale. You know what I mean? These questions can be as simple as: Aren’t they? Tie-downs have to become a natural part of your conversation before you can use them in your sales presentations. You don’t need a big close, as many sales reps believe.
On the Job: Building rapport is a learned behavior In many fictional stories, the good guy always manages to establish some kind of rapport with the bad guy. This causes the villain to spill his guts, revealing all the necessary details needed for the good guy to avert worldwide disaster and save mankind. It's not always that way in the real world, however. MORE: Anita Bruzzese's On the Job columns That's why advice from Robin Dreeke can be valuable. For example, one of the important techniques in connecting with someone is known as "establishing artificial time constraints," he says. In this scenario, you let someone know either by your actions (packing your briefcase) or by your words ("I've got a train to catch"), that you're not going to take up much of the person's time when you ask a question. For example, you may say to someone with whom you'd like to discuss job possibilities that you'd like to get together for two or three cups of coffee and "agree to part ways if the meeting is not beneficial," Dreeke says. Slowing down.
Managing People: What the Best Leaders Do I was struggling to engage the audience. Okay, be honest, I tried not to let it show but I was dying onstage. Maybe I was having an off day. Maybe they were having an off day. Or maybe the fact every one of the 100 people in attendance was a CEO, an executive, or the owner of a medium to large business meant they were way more accustomed to being listened to than they were to listening. So I took a different approach. Throwaway question? That was the point. They would sit and stare and then I would supply an intentionally against-the-grain answer sure to spark some heat and conversation. So I asked the question and then paused to read the room. I was about to speak when a voice broke the silence. "I think I know," a man sitting in the back corner said, somewhat hesitantly. A few heads turned in his direction. Mine did too, because I was a little surprised and a lot concerned. Wait--what? "Can you repeat that?" A number of heads slowly turned in his direction. I stared. Best answer ever.
Replacing the Objective Statement With A Qualifications Profile On Your Resume Does your current resume begin with a generic objective statement telling the reader what type of jobs you are looking for? Let me guess that it reads something similar to this: “I am seeking the opportunity to expand my skills, knowledge and experience in a challenging professional environment. I am honest, reliable, eager to learn and open to tackling a range of tasks. I am a strong and empathetic team player and always complete tasks to a high degree of quality and to deadlines” If this is how your resume begins, it’s time to make changes. What is a Qualifications Profile? A great way to introduce yourself on your resume is by creating a qualifications summary or career summary. How long should my Qualifications Profile be? The last thing you want to do is turn your qualifications profile into an essay! Final Thought: When you begin to write your new resume, don’t forget the number one rule.
Cold Calls: 16 Ways to Start a Sales Conversation The purpose of a cold call is to have a conversation to determine whether a potential customer has the following two things: a need your offering can satisfy, andthe money to purchase it. That conversation can happen, though, only if you get through the customer's natural reluctance to speak with a stranger. The easiest way to get through that reluctance is to have a reason you're calling, other than just the fact that you have something to sell. For example, suppose you're selling an inventory control system. "I'm calling because I'm selling a great inventory control system that can save you money."" The second example is more likely to result in a conversation because it relates what you're selling to what's called a trigger event, a change in the way that a potential customer operates its business. The following trigger events are all excellent conversation starters: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Where do you find these trigger events?