As I reflect back on the short period of time I’ve had on earth, I think about the three things I’ve done right. 1. I’ve failed miserably. 2. I’ve had my heart broken. 3. I chose meaning over money. Through these three things, I discovered my true self, realized that I wasn’t going to be [...]

I was very fortunate to moderate a panel of metro Phoenix healthcare executives on January 23rd, 2013. The event was organized by the Arizona Healthcare Executives (AHE), was held at Grand Canyon University and the topic was Career Positioning: Proactively Managing Your Professional Development. The panel included Tim Bricker, President and CEO of Mercy Gilbert [...]

Technological changes have been impacting humanity for thousands of years. Although agricultural advancements allowed for population growth and urbanization, industrialization shifted focus away from the creation of sustenance to a primary focus of the development of goods, services and information. A technology-driven society fosters significant changes in the lives of the average man as more [...]

Noted management expert Peter F. Drucker once said, “Since we live in an age of innovation, a practical education must prepare a man for work that does not yet exist and cannot yet be clearly defined.” The same theory applies to innovation and finding meaning in one’s career. You must learn continually and prepare for [...]

Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Whether we like to admit it or not, we are greatly influenced by those closest to us. They can affect multiple aspects of our lives, but most importantly how we think. Because thoughts have the ability to [...]

In part one of this two-part blog you learned how a common tool, the P.E.S.T. analysis, can help determine the Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors that will influence your career search. Below are the second five (5) factors that will have an impact on your career. 6. Career Ladder is now a Jungle Gym [...]

Organizations spend considerable amounts of time determining what changes in the marketplace will materially affect the implementation of their strategic plans. A common analysis tool used to determine changes and trends is the P.E.S.T. acronym. Attempting to determine the Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors that will influence your business helps to lay a strong [...]

Dan Froomkin wrote a piece recently about the steady decline of wages in America. Read it here. He argues that neither political party has a specific plan for the long-term creation of meaningful, high-wage jobs. Froomkin quotes Jeff Faux, a progressive economist who founded the Economic Policy Institute, throughout the article. Faux’s research suggests that [...]

People in career transition, or those seeking career change, often struggle with a variety of issues related to making the transition. You have probably seen those around you fall into one of the following six categories. You may also fall into one of them yourself. I think I know the process I want to do [...]

The day of the “go-getter” has passed. He has been supplanted by the “go-giver”. A “go-getter” may be described as the individual who is solely focused on the attainment of wealth through bottom line profit generation. A “go-giver” is the individual who out-behaves those around him in his drive to secure triple bottom line wealth; [...]

We all know the war for talent is heating up and is going to get real hot, real soon. But why should any organization choose you over the other 300 individuals who applied for the same position? We can talk about resumes, unique selling propositions, personal branding and the strength of your network, but in [...]

For decades, professionals worked long hours and put in the extra effort required to climb the career ladder. They searched for the next project, relationship or strong performance appraisal that would allow them to be considered for a promotion. The world, and the career growth process, was relatively structured and predictable. Not anymore. Incredible amounts [...]

Although the debate about the cause of The Great Recession rages on, you can’t help but recognize that life is being conducted differently. Large organizations continually push productivity measures and try to do more with fewer human resources. Individuals are spending more time at work constantly striving for the mythical place termed “work-life balance”. Constant [...]

A few months back, I blogged about entrepreneurship and its value in a society with more distaste of corporate power and cradle-to-grave employment. Read it here. In a separate post, I argued that the Millennial generation is struggling with 20th century constructs of leadership and are fighting for a more meaningful career where they can [...]

I can’t tell you how many executives I know that are content in their work who still interview with other organizations regularly. They don’t do it because they want to change employers, they do it because they want to ensure their interviewing skills are current. In an economy where 84% (according a recent Manpower survey) [...]

Perhaps the most important part of the 21st century career search is recognizing that it is never ending. Too many people quit looking for work as soon as they find work. However, the basic constructs of the relationship between business and labor have drastically changed. Business is no longer an environment providing cradle-to-grave employment. Many [...]

Keeping a positive frame of mind during an extended search for meaningful employment is difficult. However, there are a variety of strategies that you can employ that will mitigate negative feelings as you search for the next wrung on your career ladder. Ten things that will help maintain hope, positive thought, and motivation: 1. Set [...]

The 21st century job search is evolving. We can no longer simply review job boards and company websites. Approximately 75% of the available positions are never posted electronically. If they are posted, human resources or the hiring manager already has a candidate selected and your application will be overlooked. My suggestion is to look at [...]

It is good practice to reflect on your past experiences to see how you can best use them to sell your skills to a potential employer. I cringe when I see resumes that list job responsibilities from the company’s job description, but don’t take the time to detail how the person truly impacted the organization [...]

Prior to the start of the Great Recession, there was significant demand for labor, so individuals simply had to apply online to a company’s website to be considered for an interview. It’s no secret that the job search has evolved over the last two and one-half years. The changes to the labor market have forced [...]

How many times have you, or someone you know, talked about not wanting to speak in public? Giving presentations in public can be a scary thing. In fact, it’s commonly referred to as glossophobia, the fear of public speaking. People experience anxiety prior to delivering their content, will attempt to avoid the event altogether, or [...]

In 2007 Jennifer J. Deal, research scientist for the Center for Creative Leadership, wrote a book about the various generations in the workplace and how they were similar. She called the book Retiring the Generation Gap: How Employees Young and Old Can Find Common Ground. She found that all generations are similar in the following [...]

It is no secret that the unemployment rate has remained high during the recession and the recovery because of a mismatch between the jobs needed for the 21st century and the 20th century skills currently available in the workforce. There are a variety of events occurring that are fostering change, but the change is occurring [...]

While spending time at a friend’s house yesterday, I couldn’t help but to hear the cheers coming from the television in the living room. A few people were huddled watching the NCAA basketball tournament and after watching the end of one game and the beginning of another, I couldn’t help but wonder, how many Americans [...]

W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne wrote Blue Ocean Strategy as a way to describe how organizations could simultaneously pursue differentiation and low cost. The aim being not to out-perform competition in the existing industry, but to create new market space, thereby making the competition irrelevant. The authors believe that current competitive strategy is a [...]