Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

4 Steps for Success Working Overseas

Whether you’re a small business owner or an employee in a cast of thousands, you may find yourself working overseas at some point.

According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a  major uptick will occur in the number of cross-national business assignments in the next 10 years. This is an exciting development for some people, and intimidating for others.

But working in a foreign culture is not so different than simply taking on a new role in your country of origin. You have to hone your general business acumen and your communication, language and problem-solving skills.

Check out my post at the AMEX OPEN Forum for four steps to help ensure that you can assimilate effectively.

How to Start Thinking About Passion

Passion.  If you have a job that you like reasonably well, you might not even want to go there.  This is understandable.  After all, passion is a vague term that is often thrown around, but in fact means different things to different people, and exploring it can be confusing and overwhelming.

Chang’s Theory of Passion

Richard Chang, who wrote The Passion Plan, describes passion as both content-based (activities like writing, hosting events, or racing cars) or context-based (themes like innovation, nurturing, and risk-taking).  Chang says that we can experience both types of passion in our work, and can often find ways to weave our passions into a current job without making a drastic career change.  Indeed, in my speeches to would-be entrepreneurs, I often suggest that the passion for innovation be satisfied by joining an “intrapreneurship” committee that develops ideas for new products, services, and efficient operations on behalf of the well-established organization.

Formulate Your Definition

However, in order to find ways to pursue your passion at work, it helps to have a concise definition.  According to Tom Siciliano and Jeff Caliguire, authors of Shifting into Higher Gear: An Owner’s Manual for Uniting Your Calling and Career, coming up with such a definition involves analyzing:

• What you do really well
• What makes you unique
• What moments in your past have proven the most memorable to you (examples: “I can still remember shouting with excitement when I was teaching my neighbor to ride her bike and she first took off on her own” and “I recruited the kids on my block to open a lemonade stand – we made a ton of money!”)

• What you have that the world needs

Every individual has a distinctive mix of physical traits, personality, gifts, skills, natural abilities, experiences, training and interests, which means that only you can do the work you do in the exact way you do it.  And when you accomplish something you’re perfectly suited for, you feel alive and fulfilled, as if you’re making the world a better place.

Most Importantly

Depending on your point of view, this might seem overly scientific or overly abstract.  Remember that the point is to identify what you love doing, where your energy comes from, and why.  Take a few hours one day and really think this through.  You won’t regret it.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

New Years Resolutions and Your Performance Goals

The week between Christmas and New Years is a slow period around many offices, and you should use the downtime to your advantage by putting some serious thought into where your career has landed this year, as well as where you want to go in the future.

Your first step is to take a fresh look at previous goals. 

These can be performance goals you set with your manager or goals you set on your own at the end of last year. Note if you were able to achieve these goals or if ongoing work is required. Assess whether all of the goals are still valid or if any should be changed in anticipation of the new year.

A related activity is to document contributions made to your organization. Quantify, as specifically as possible, how your actions impacted the company’s bottom line, and why the company is better off because you work there. Also, brainstorm transferable skills — or skills that cut across a wide variety of roles and industries (project management, client relations, sales, marketing, finance) — that you mastered or honed this year. Update your resumé and online profiles with this new information.

Then, think about the next phase of your career. What would you like to learn in 2012, and what type of work would you like to focus on? Where would you like your career to be in five years, and how can you get there most efficiently? As you consider these issues, tap your manager or a trusted mentor for feedback.

Finally, congratulate yourself on a job well done. This was not the easiest year for workers, and you are still standing!

Use eLearning to Master New Skills

Back in the day, learning a new skill was a detailed proposition for which you had to carefully prepare and budget.  Now, thanks to eLearning, it’s as simple as opening a new browser window.

The main advantage of eLearning is that you can do it on your own time, which is convenient for those who are balancing work and family responsibilities.  It’s also less frustrating because advanced learners can whiz past topics they already know, while novices can progress through new content at their own pace.  Lower cost is obviously a benefit too.

The best thing about eLearning, in my opinion, is that it allows you to increase your marketability while still generating income, as opposed to traditional learning methods, which may require that you give up your whole life and financial livelihood.

Determine if It’s for You

eLearning comes in all shapes and sizes, but are some methods more effective than others?  Some experts think that learning is maximized when digested in 45 minute online sessions as opposed to 8-10 hour blocks.  Shorter sessions give people the ability to process the information at hand and apply it to their everyday jobs as they are learning it.  I’ve also found that lectures interspersed with interactivity (videos or quizzes, for example) keep things interesting and help you avoid the temptation to surf the web.

However, online learning is not for everyone, at least not over the long-term.  People who pursue distance coursework rely on online multimedia tools to simulate in-person lectures and tests, and you have to be completely self-motivated to make it work.  Many are spurred to action by the camaraderie of being surrounded by fellow students, and online study groups are not the same.

Research Courses

To find eLearning options, tap professional associations in your target industry, media outlets who cover your area, or government entities that support people in your line of work.  If a degree program is what you’re after, you can identify distance learning options by searching Google and the big social networks – just make sure your target institutions are accredited.

If you’ve never tried eLearning before, consider auditioning it in a situation with little to no risk or upfront investment.  Popular and inexpensive eLearning sites to check out include prfessor.com, Lynda. com, and learningannex.com.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

Bring Your Passion to Work

Those who have been reading this blog a while know that I like to be practical.  And in this economic climate, it may not be feasible to leave your job and pursue your passion full time.  Bringing a side interest to work is one way to find more time to do what you love without putting your life on hold and your financial health at risk.

Look for Intersections

Of course, the role your hobby could play in your day job might not be immediately obvious. So start by drawing two circles and listing the core aspects of your organization in one circle and the core aspects of your passion in the other, and see if there are places where the two intersect.

Find Kindred Spirits

Next, try to determine whether other people at your workplace share a similar passion and talk to them about how you might integrate it as a group.  For example, if many of you enjoy using social media off hours and feel that your organization should have a better digital footprint, why not take steps to form a relevant department or task force?

Consider the Business

If you’re on your own, sync your interest to what your organization needs to be successful.  Recognize that it’s not only about you, it’s about business goals.  For instance, if you’re in sales but your side hobby is graphic design, show your boss how spending work time to develop visually appealing materials will help you get more clients.

Don’t Overdo It

A word of caution, though.  Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to bring a side hobby to the office that your passion begins to feel like hard labor. If you do, you’ll inevitably lose the emotion that led you to pursue it.  Make sure that your long-term plans leave breathing room and enough support to preserve your enthusiasm.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

Obama’s American Jobs Act: Job Seekers Should Target Small Businesses

On Thursday, September 8, President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve a nearly half-trillion-dollar plan called the American Jobs Act, which seeks to bolster the economy by cutting payroll taxes for employers and employees, aiding the long-term unemployed, and improving the country’s physical infrastructure.

Most notable, in my opinion, is the $65 billion designated to encourage small businesses to hire more workers.  This will be done by cutting employer payroll taxes to 3.1 percent for the first $5 million of a company’s wage bill, which Obama claimed will reach 98 percent of small businesses.  And those companies that increase their payroll over last year by hiring new employees or increasing existing employees’ salaries will receive a total payroll tax holiday. 

Stay Local to Find Employment

As a founding member of the Career Advisory Board, presented by DeVry University, I’ve often advised people out of work they should go local, and this is a critical piece of advice now more than ever.  Businesses with fewer than 500 employees make up half of the workforce in the United States, and over the last decade or so, have created about 70 percent of all jobs.  Even at the height of the recession, many small businesses were still hiring. Case in point: executive coaching firm Visage recently found that 54 percent of small business CEOs planned to add employees over the next 12 months.

If you’re a teacher, police officer, firefighter, or construction worker, you may find additional job opportunities opening up as a result of Obama’s plan. But everyone else on the market should at least consider making small businesses a search target.

Marketing Yourself to Small Businesses

When it comes to marketing yourself to small businesses, you must rely even less on the Internet, because many hire through word of mouth.  They want to bring in candidates referred personally by someone they trust, or candidates they have already seen in action.  Perhaps they have worked with these candidates in some capacity before, or have met them through third-party professional associations, chambers of commerce, or local volunteer events.  So if you want to be hired by a small business, you have to go out of your way to be visible in your community and leverage any opportunity to network in person. 

In an interview with a small business CEO or owner, you need to demonstrate a solid knowledge of the company and its mission.  Remember that many people start their own businesses because they have a particular vision, so make sure you understand what that is and can speak about it with passion.  Explain why you want to work with a small company as opposed to a large one to assuage fears that you’ll jump ship when a multi-national conglomerate comes calling.

Finally, it’s imperative that small business employees wear many hats, so emphasize your wide range of skills and your enthusiasm for picking up new ones.  For example, maybe you’re in finance but would like to learn more about sales.  Any way you can underscore your ability to work hard, impress customers, and mobilize a small team to get results quickly will earn you points.    

Do You Dread Sunday Nights?

There have been times in my life that I’ve been unhappy at my job, and I recall that Sunday evenings were always the worst.  The precious weekend was over, and now I’d have an interminably long work week stretching ahead of me like miles of barren desert.  I’d start getting anxious around dinnertime and would have trouble sleeping that night.  Sound familiar?

The good news is, if you find yourself dreading Sunday nights but aren’t in a position to leave your job, there are definitely things you can do to renew your enthusiasm, including:

Find something in the work day to look forward to:  When I was in high school, I always enjoyed my French classes the most because I could anticipate seeing my crush.  Look for ways to weave fun into your day, like having lunch at your favorite sushi bar.

Get yourself on a project with high stakes:  Risk and competition are major motivators, and if your daily responsibilities don’t incorporate them, you may need to seek them out elsewhere.  For example, can you get involved on a cross-functional team that’s developing a new product, or assist the sales group with critical new business initiatives?

Join a company volunteer initiative:  There’s no better way to make you feel better about your own life than to act in the service of others.  If your company has initiatives that you can step right into, take advantage of them and sustain your participation over time so that you gradually become more invested in the chosen causes.

 

Does Gender Determine Workplace Strengths?

I recently enjoyed reading Marcus Buckingham’s book, Find Your Strongest Life.  The book explores some of the innate differences men and women experience working in the business world.

According to the book, when it comes to careers overall, women look for careers that resonate emotionally with them,  whereas men are more extrinsic and consider first how much money they’ll be making and how they’ll be perceived.

Women are apparently more self-sacrificing – they think about what’s best for the family, and men are often more self-absorbed – they’re concerned with getting to the next level.  It’s ‘how will this make me and loved ones feel?’ versus ‘what can this do for me?’”

Whether these general distinctions apply to you or not, you’ll benefit from inventorying your strengths regularly.  Buckingham defines a strength as an activity that makes you feel strong and that you look forward to doing.

The book advises that even if you’re good at something, it may drain you and therefore turns into a weakness.  Rather than looking externally for information about your strengths, taking quiet time for yourself to think about them might be more beneficial.  One tactic is to consider the last time the day flew by and think about what you were doing, because you were probably engaging one of your strengths.

For assistance, women can check out the free Strong Life Test associated with Buckingham’s book, which presents you with various scenarios and challenges you to make decisions.  Members of both sexes may also find the free strengths tests at renowned psychologist Martin Seligman’s website useful.

I’ve taken both and was pretty surprised about what I learned about myself in some areas – for example, just because I have the ability to deliver keynotes speeches on a different stage in a different city each day doesn’t mean this is a career I’m comfortable with.  My own strength lies in having a balance between public appearances and other types of work.

This post was originally published on Intuit’s Quickbase blog.

Should You Start a Business?

Whether you are thinking about starting a new business or overwhelmed and overworked by an existing business, there is a lot to consider.  Business strategist and deal maker Carol Roth talks about some of the key things you should know, from her new book, The Entrepreneur Equation.

Could You vs. Should You?:  Can you start a business?  Absolutely!  Should you?  Well, that’s a whole different story.  Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should and that it’s the best opportunity to succeed.  Business success follows when you are the right person with the right mindset pursuing the right type of opportunity at the right time for you.  The same goes when expanding your current business.  You always want to look at if the rewards greatly outweigh the risks for you and your business.  That’s a whole lot of factors to evaluate, so make sure that you do your homework by starting with the “Should You” question.

The Value of a Business Idea:  In today’s crowded marketplace, your business idea is worth almost as much as the piece of paper you write it down on.  Successful business is all about execution, not an idea.  There are many brilliant business ideas that have failed to be executed upon, some really stupid business ideas that were executed flawlessly (for example, the Snuggie), and many ideas that were executed differently by different people.  In fact, the UFC was on the brink of bankruptcy and is now valued at over $1 billion under its current ownership.  So, how could the same company be worthless and worth a billion if the idea had real value?  That shows you how important execution vs. the idea.

Is Your Business “ABLE”?  For you to succeed, focus on whether or not your business is:

Remarkable- does what you offer stand out in a crowded marketplace?

Viable- if the market opportunity isn’t big enough for you to earn a substantial profit, you may want to re-think the business.

Scalable- can it be grown exponentially for every resource (money, people or otherwise) you put toward it?

Suitable- does the business make sense for you?  Does it achieve your goals and do the rewards of it greatly outweigh the risks you are taking on- both in terms of money and quality of life?

If you are overwhelmed and overworked by your current job, you may need to make it more “ABLE”.  Be willing to take a step backwards and re-evaluate your business model and strategy so that you can take a huge leap forward with your business.

Beat Inertia and Start Your New Project Today!

As busy managers, we’re often so overwhelmed by a mountain of daily tasks that we never get around to starting the projects that will propel our careers and benefit the organization in the long-term.

David Allen, the author of “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity,” believes that many people are paralyzed by inertia as a result of current negative circumstances like the bad economy or a chaotic workplace.  He advocates recognizing that being self-starter is a set of behaviors that you can adopt.

These behaviors include getting your ideas out of your head and onto paper.  By freeing your mind of everything that needs to be done for your project, you can concentrate on performing the tasks necessary to launch it.

Allen’s project model involves five key stages: defining the purpose of the project, determining what success will look like, brainstorming, organizing, and allocating resources/taking action.

Be systematic about your project by delegating required tasks so that each member of your team is personally accountable for something, and by having frequent status meetings to flag problems and incorporate new developments.  A variety of project management tools are available to make managing workflow easier.

If you’re working on your own, you can place a checklist and timeline in your personal calendar.  Just be wary of implementing too many fancy organizational systems in exchange for doing real work on your project.

You may want to launch a new initiative but are having trouble thinking of an initial task to get you moving in the right direction.  Allen says to start with the basics, which could be as simple as making an insights folder in which you put interesting articles you cut out of magazines or read online.   It’s not a bad thing to hold off on the biggest decisions until your thinking has matured.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.