Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Beware of Tunnel Vision

I’ll be the first to advocate that well-defined goals often mean the difference between success and mediocrity.  The most effective professional goals are generally those that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound, and accomplished employees regularly – and proactively – discuss goals with their managers and keep them top of mind so the goals impact results and facilitate upward movement.

The Dark Side of Goal Setting

But goal setting does have its negatives.  The large-scale financial disasters of 2008 were in large part due to executives with tunnel vision, who blindly set and followed goals without paying attention to developments around them that should have prompted them to stop and think.

Sometimes, setting a goal works so well that we become irrational and unethical in our attempts to achieve it.  A classic example is the top-notch student who cheats on tests and plagiarizes term papers in order to maintain her straight-A average.  Her goal is useless because the means don’t satisfy the end.

The Invisible Gorilla

In 1999, psychology researchers Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons set out to investigate the phenomenon that goals can have a negative effect on performance.  They told subjects to watch a video and count how many times the people in the clip passed a basketball among themselves.  The subjects concentrated so intently on the goal that they failed to notice anything else taking place in the testing room – including when a woman in a gorilla suit took her place among the group!

Be Mindful of the Big Picture

You’ll get an edge by setting goals for sure, just be aware of the potential pitfalls.  Remember that even well-formed goals require adaptation and be sure that you’re consistently revisiting your professional objectives to ensure that you’re on the right track and being true to yourself in the process.

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

How To Make Money Off Your Social Media Skills

Who better to learn from than someone who has been successful at what you're trying to do?  That's the case with Alexis Grant, a former writer and editor at US News and World Report who has just launched a thriving social media consultancy.  Alexis has written a book, How to Build a Part-Time Social Media Business, and was kind enough to share some of its highlights with us:

1. Recognize the opportunity. Yes, most people make money through a full-time job. But if you can’t find one, or you want to make some money on the side, putting your social media skills to use can be a great way to do that. The challenge: finding someone who will pay for those skills.

The good news is, there are lots of individuals, organizations and companies that will pay to tap into your knowledge and ease using social media. While it’s second nature for you to use Facebook and YouTube, business people often don’t have the time or desire to learn how to use those networks strategically. That’s where you come in!

2. Think about what services you want to provide. Do you want to coach individuals one-on-one to use social media? Or draw up strategies for companies that want to create communities online? Or maybe you want to run social-media campaigns for organizations – an approach I recommend in my e-guide, partly because clients often pay for those services on a monthly retainer rather than with a one-time check.

3. Beef up your experience. If you took advantage of summer internships during college, you might have enough experience – both to know what you’re doing and to convince clients that you know what you’re doing – to jump right in.

If you don’t, look for ways to practice these skills. Can you create a social media strategy for a parents’ friend’s business? Sit down with a neighbor for a social-media coaching session? Volunteer to spread the word online about a campaign or cause?  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need a full-time job to gain this experience. Look outside the box for other opportunities.

4. Use your network to land clients. You’ve built up awesome followings on Facebook and hopefully Twitter and LinkedIn – now use them.

Tell your network about the services you’ve decided to offer, so they’ll think of you when an opportunity arises. Don’t be shy about asking your friends (nicely) to spread the word; if they like and trust you, they’ll want to help you succeed. And make sure to take advantage of an often-overlooked networking gem: your parents, and even your friends’ parents. Let them know about your new consulting biz, so they can refer you to their friends when the timing’s right.

5. Figure out how – and how much – to charge. It sounds like it should be simple, but charging for consulting can be daunting, especially at the beginning. In most cases, you’ll want to charge an hourly rate or a project rate (which is loosely based on the hourly rate), so think ahead of time about which fee structure works best for any given client.

If you want to get a sense of what other consultants charge, ask that question in LinkedIn Answers or look for other inquiries that revolve around the same issue. Beware though, that prices for social-media consulting run the gamut. Base your rates on what you think each individual client will pay and how much you want to make off the work rather than what other people are charging.

 

Should You Work for Free?

Should I Work for Free?

In a still-uncertain economy, this is a question that’s on a lot of people’s minds, especially those who are looking to enhance their skills and network.  Some consider taking internship or volunteer positions to break ground in a new industry, while others work for free so that they can develop relationships with clients who may eventually pay them.

Assess Your Situation

Still, it’s not for everyone.  When deciding whether or not to work for no pay, you should first determine if you can afford it.  What is your family’s financial situation, and are you gainfully employed in another role?  It’s also smart to assess – specifically – how each position will deliver value in terms of your long-term prospects.  Don’t be afraid to ask the person with whom you are working for free.  Contrary to what some believe, most people are not interested in exploiting workers and will be open to discussions about what’s in it for you.

The proposed time commitment is an important factor too.  Those who are employed should not devote more than 20-25 hours a week to an unpaid gig, or they risk burning out or short-changing the job that pays the bills.

Make the Most of It

If you have limited experience in the field, the person watching over your work during an unpaid gig may play it safe by giving you small tasks.  Don’t let her.  Get involved with as many large, complex projects as possible, jumping at the opportunity to challenge yourself, master new skills, and be exposed to people who perform a variety of roles.  And as with any job, make sure that you’re able to quantify your contributions.

Leave on a Strong Note

When the end of your volunteer stint draws near, think about whether you want to pursue a full-time, paid opportunity in the new field or with the contacts you’ve made.  If nothing arises right away, actively keep in touch with the people you’ve met through e-mail, social networks, or even better, occasional in-person get togethers.

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

 

Could Google+ Be a Useful Work Tool?

The online world is buzzing about Google+ (or Google Plus), which is purported to be Google’s answer to Facebook.  Since it’s not available to the public, I haven’t used it yet, but I have seen the news coverage and Google’s promo video.  I’m excited to check out Google+ because I think it could have some interesting applications for us professional folk.

Help Keeping Work and Personal Groups Separate

Google+ aims to differentiate itself from Facebook by creating separate spaces to interact with business and personal contacts. I’m momentarily intrigued by this prospect since I’m never quite sure what to do with my Facebook network.  I’d rather have separate pages to reflect my work and personal lives, but the concept of a “fan page” makes me a little uncomfortable.

Maybe Google+ is the answer. Google+’s Social Circles allow you to effectively and easily segment your colleagues, professional associates, partners, friends, and family members on the same network.

Instantaneous Collaboration

Google+ can be viewed as a next generation wiki, which many work groups already use to keep everyone up to date. The Sparks feature encourages members of Social Circles to share and talk about relevant news and information, using a smartphone to quickly upload videos, photos, and documents.

The Hangouts feature could be handy because it alerts your circles when you’re online and ready for collaboration, and also provides the ability to automatically launch a video chat with multiple participants. This can be a terrific way to gather a bunch of colleagues in far-flung geographic together for a meeting, presentation, or last minute brainstorm.

Long & Short of It

Clearly Google+ isn’t trying to recreate the Facebook environment. Facebook indisputably has the feel of a community, and Google+ is really just offering new additions to Google’s growing suite of tools. They also didn’t design Google+ as web-based software for solving the collaboration needs of work groups. Only time will tell if it will actually catch on and make a more lasting impact in people’s personal and professional lives than previous attempts Google Wave and Google Buzz.

What do you think?  Is Google just in time or unfashionably late for the social networking dinner party?

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

Don't Tweet Like Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner, the New York Congressman who was caught sending lewd photos of himself to women online, will probably keep his job.  But he’s certainly not having a very good week.   “I exchanged inappropriate things with people and I’ve now got to deal with those consequences,” Weiner told Reuters on Friday. Those consequences include major political fallout in Congress, where fellow Democrats have been distancing themselves from the onetime rising star.

Thanks to the proliferation of social media, your online reputation is just as important to your overall visibility as your in-office reputation, and you can never get too many reminders to be very careful about it.

Maintain Online Essentials

When a person searches for your name on Google, he should find information that showcases you as a reliable, enthusiastic, and loyal self-starter.  And when it comes to establishing an effective online brand, you should at least have the bare minimum – professional-looking Facebook and LinkedIn profiles and an online resume.  By professional, I mean to err on the side of caution and not include any content that you wouldn’t want splashed across the pages of the New York Times.

Don’t Run at the Mouth on Twitter

Twitter allows you to publish your thoughts in real time, and you should not abuse this privilege.  Before you hit send, self-censor to make sure you’re comfortable with the general public reading your message, because even people who don’t follow you may gain access to your tweets.  My favorite example involves a young professional who called into work sick but tweeted from the Cubs game she was attending.  Her manager wasn’t following her, but a colleague was, and the hooky-playing behavior got back to her boss in about two seconds.  The moral of the story is to please consider what each tweet says about your online brand, and how it might be perceived by managers, partners, and co-workers.

Consider Your Own Website

In addition to strategically managing your presence on social networks, I also recommend purchasing your name as a domain (e.g. Alexandralevit.com) from a service such as Godaddy.com and developing an online portfolio of your work.   Regardless of your industry, an attractively designed website that shows off your skills and experiences can go a long way toward convincing others of your worth and potential.

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

Social Media Tools: You Can Lead or Follow

Some professionals don’t bother with social media.  Maybe they think it’s just for the entertainment industry…or those marketing guys down the hall.  Maybe they think LinkedIn is for current job seekers, Facebook is for their high school-aged kids, and Twitter is just for sharing pointless information like what you had for breakfast.

A trusted colleague, Miriam Salpeter, convinces us why social media can be effective for all types in her book Social Networking for Career Success.  Miriam shares an interview with Brett Vanderwater, a strategic financial leader in an industry where not many others have jumped on the social media bandwagon.  The lack of social media role models in his field gave Brett two choices: to lead or to follow.

Brett decided to lead. He regularly tweets and blogs, and when he attends industry events or meetings, people seem to know who he is because of his online activity. He noted:

While I am still adding to my social network, the career value is the circle/network that it has created. The world I once played in was limited to the city where I lived. Now, the landscape is broad, and I have met professionals from all over the world. I have had the opportunity to speak at several professional forums as an expert. These events were directly related to the usage of LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogging.

What I learned was to utilize a skill I have been using in my business career – to lead. When a profession is not at the same place that you want to be or see yourself you have two choices: 1) Conform to the profession’s expectations or 2) Redefine it. I am choosing option two.

Social media tools help provide access and opportunity for anyone motivated and talented enough to seize the opportunity.  Making a name for yourself online is not difficult, but does require effort, and an open mind.  Take some time to investigate the various networks available to you, and be patient and innovative in uncovering ways in which they might add value.

The largest networks to establish a presence are obviously LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, but there are other outlets to demonstrate leadership as well.  Contributing to a respected collection of blogs like Harvard Business Review is one option, as is creating expert videos on YouTube and online radio shows and podcasts on BlogTalkRadio.  You may even find a creative use for Flickr, the popular photo sharing network.

Bottom line: even if you don’t consider yourself the “social media type,” these tools can add a new dimension to your leadership and provide an unparalleled opportunity to stand out in your industry and among your team members.

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

Position Yourself as a Thought-Leader at Work

Regardless of your role in your organization, establishing a solid expert platform achieves two purposes.  It promotes your visibility in the new field, and it also forces you to become more knowledgeable about current trends and more skilled in relevant areas.  Most people who seek to become experts do so out of a genuine desire to help others and foster new business relationships, and once others begin to trust and rely upon their advice, demand for your expertise increases.

Expert platforms grow organically because once your name is out there a few times, you are called on to consult and provide feedback until you are eventually known as the go-to person in a specific area.

So what’s the best way to get started?  The first stage is to learn as much as you can about your field – above and beyond what is expected of the average employee.  Read everything you can get your hands on and meet with individuals inside and outside your organization who are more seasoned than you.

Communicating your ideas in writing – via an internal or external blog or other publication – is a terrific way to organize your own thoughts and share your expertise with your target audience. General and industry-specific social networks, too, are important vehicles for conversing about your topics of interest and building your following.

While it’s helpful to have your own website, you can also take advantage of platform-enhancing communities like LinkedIn and Squidoo, a site that allows you to create a topic-specific page.

Also, take an active role in the industry conferences and association meetings happening in your field.  Speaking at these events will expose groups of potential followers to your messages and may lead to paid opportunities for your organization.  Shoot video of your sessions and host it on your website and/or social networks so that prospective audiences can see what you’re like in action.

Finally, show that you’re media savvy by meeting with your PR department about what you can offer to the press and/or signing up for journalist source repositories like Help a Reporter Out and responding to queries related to your expertise.  When you’re quoted in a piece or featured in a television, web, or radio interview, send the clips around your company and showcase them online!

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

How to Develop a Social Media Policy

Social media use by employees can actually be a good thing, for employees are often your organization's most loyal and vocal advocates in public, the very individuals who strengthen an organization's ties to and place within the community. However, they MUST be educated about what is appropriate to say about the organization in social media, and what is not.  Otherwise, it is a very real possibility that they could unintentionally reveal confidential information or get you into legal hot water.  Every organization should have a written social media policy that includes the following points:

• Define what you mean by social media - for most, social media means an online forum for two-way communication - and list examples of the various types of forums (profile sites like Facebook, micro-conversation sites like Twitter, video sites like YouTube, blogs like Huffington Post).
• Clarify who will own work product created on social media sites
• Spell out the type of information considered proprietary or confidential (customer details, company financial data, etc.), and say that it should never be shared on these sites.
• Spell out the type of potentially damaging information that should never be shared on these sites (offensive comments, libelous statements, illegal activity, etc.)
• Determine which employees should be contributing to social media sites on behalf of the company and what activities these individuals should be engaged in. You should to have someone - or multiple someones - in the communications department monitoring what is being said in social media - both from an internal and external perspective.  It is the same thing as having a staff member monitor what is said in the press.  The conversation will take place with or without you and it's always best to be informed.  It's not as easy to dictate your image as it used to be, but strategic social media monitoring and participation can help you shape it.

Many organizations are providing organized training to ensure that employees not only understand these guidelines, but also comprehend the consequences of not following the guidelines (for example, they could create serious negative publicity for the company, their job could be in jeopardy). 

You don't want to talk down to your employees, but you should ensure that they are aware of the instantaneous nature of social media - once something is said, it can't be taken back - so usage related to work and the company must be thoughtful and carefully considered ahead of time.

Social Media is a Must for Job Seekers

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting Shama Kabani, a brilliant and personable author who has written the new book, The Zen of Social Media Marketing.   I asked Shama about her best tips about social media marketing for the career-minded individual, and here’s what she recommended we focus on:

Purpose: Build your personal brand with purpose. Want to be the next CFO? Build your profile AS a future CFO. Tweak your profiles to show your interest within the area. Before you write a status update, ask yourself – “Does this showcase my brand as an authority in the area and does it provide value to my network?”

Content: Your personal brand is defined by what you say online – and how you say it. If you are looking to build your expertise in a particular field, you must create compelling content and distribute it using the medium of your choice – blogging, video, or audio.

Community: How do you know you have a solid personal brand? When it has attracted a community around it. Employers look more and more at an individual’s social capital. Want to lead the PR department? It helps if you have relationships with bloggers and participate in social media channels.

I especially like this third point.  Anyone who wants to work in the communications field today must have a working knowledge of – and comfort with – social media.   It’s no longer a specialty or a unique skill – it’s expected.  So if you’re job searching and are not certain that your social media savvy is up to par, consider picking up Shama’s book or Chris Brogan’s Social Media 101. 

Day in the Life - How to Manage 4 Jobs

You may have heard the phrase, “if you want to get something done, ask a busy person.” In my experience, this is true.  For instance, try eating at two restaurants – one crowded and one empty – and notice the speed of the service at each one.  I guarantee that the crowded restaurant will be faster every time.

The busier you are, the more quickly you learn how to work efficiently, and you can get more tasks done in less time.

In addition to raising a two year old son and spending one day a week with him, I currently hold four jobs that I am paid for:

• Wall Street Journal columnist: My nationally syndicated career advice column, Reinvent, appears online and in print on Sundays. The column features interviews on topics and trends related to career change and reinvigoration.
• Blogger: I post on job hunting, careers, and productivity twice a week at my home blog, Water Cooler Wisdom, and weekly at the QuickBase blog and a few others. As an active participant in the blogosphere, I also read and comment on many other blogs.
• Author: For the last four years, I have written at least one business book a year. The publication of each book requires substantial promotional efforts at launch and ongoing publicity and social media engagement post-launch.
• Workplace speaker and consultant: Some organizations approach me regarding how they can help their employees succeed in their careers, and work more effectively with colleagues in other generations. I speak about these issues in house as well as at conferences and universities.

I am responsible for completing all of the responsibilities associated with these four jobs in the space of a 45 hour work week.  When I worked one job in the marketing communications field, I put in about as many hours – more at times – and certainly had less work product to show for it.  I’ve been able to do it through a process that has evolved over many years.

Here are some of my strategies:

Assign jobs to specific days

I have four days in which I’ve reserved the entire day to work.  In order to avoid getting overwhelmed, I create a monthly schedule in which I am slated to work at just one job per day.  For instance, on Monday I am responsible for writing my Wall Street Journal column and weekly blog posts.

Leave two hours per day for last minute tasks

I make sure I only schedule enough work for six hours of each day.  This way, I have two hours to devote to unexpected tasks like networking calls, media interviews, and website edits.  Because I don’t have a full-time assistant, I often need to complete administrative tasks related to my business during this time. 

Schedule “bulky” tasks three months out

Bulky tasks are ones that require a huge chunk of time, such as attending a conference or traveling out of town for a speaking engagement.  As a general rule, I plan assignments that will take me out of my regular routine for at least 24 hours several months in advance.  This advance planning allows me to avoid overscheduling a particular timeframe.  It also means that I occasionally have to turn out bulky opportunities that appear at the last minute.  Unless they are extremely lucrative, they’re generally not worth the stress.

Adhere to generous deadlines

I am only able to write a book a year because in the contract with my publisher, I give myself the entire year.  If I were to spend all my working hours researching and writing the book, I would probably be able to finish it in a few months.  But because I have four jobs, this isn’t possible.  Allowing myself the cushion of a year means that I only have to work on the book 1.5 days a week.  Each 60,000 word manuscript develops more slowly but is also much more manageable.

Say no or go online

Getting four jobs done in 45 hours means that I sometimes have to say no to people who want me to help them with a particular task or event.  I try to do one pro bono event and three informational interviews per quarter, and if a request falls outside that scope, I’ll usually say no.  I might offer people the option of moving an in person event online so that I can participate that way, and when people want to network with me over lunch, I will almost always try for a phone call first.

Repurpose content

As a result of writing five books and publishing hundreds of blog posts and articles over the last few years, I have generated a substantial body of content.  I keep my writing in folders organized by subject that I can readily access when the time comes.  I try to retain all rights to my content so that even if a particular organization has first publication rights to it, I can re-use it after a period of time.  Therefore, the work that I perform might very well be applicable to two or more of my jobs.

Prevent fall-behind by making up lost hours immediately

There are times when an unexpected doctor’s appointment, sick child, or visiting friend threaten to wreck havoc on my work schedule.  When this happens, it is very easy to fall behind on the work that was supposed to be completed on that day, and this is where self-discipline comes in.  Even if I’d rather watch Lost, I make up the missed time by working that evening after my son is in bed, or on a weekend afternoon I had planned to have off.

It may seem like I get a lot done in 45 hours, but I think I use every minute much better than the average corporate employee.  During scheduled work time, I don’t surf the Internet, I don’t chit chat with colleagues in the kitchen, and I don’t go for Starbucks runs.  Rather than just showing up in the office and letting the chips fall where they may, I plan what is to be accomplished each day very strategically.

Those of you who who work on a variety of tasks at once – how do you maximize your efficiency?

This post originally appeared on Intuit's Quickbase blog.