Paris Hilton Works Harder Than Me (and probably you).

One of the financial blogs I read suprised me out of leftfield today with a wonderful, but slightly depressing, article. Thanks beerguy. I re-print in full, and provide the link below.

"I hate Paris Hilton. I hate her a lot more than I did a few hours ago. I can thank my sister for that.

My sister, to put it bluntly, is a royal pain in the butt. This is a feeling that many siblings share, but I can guarantee that my sister is much more annoying than yours because for all her rants and idiotic sermons on how I’m ruining my life, the truth is that she is always right. Nothing can make you more pissed off at a sibling than for them to always be correct.

My sister often stops by my place unannounced. I’m not sure if she does this to make sure that I haven’t morphed into the couch (good - because if I have, I won’t be able to get up and get beer from the fridge) or just to annoy the hell out of me (bad - and likely the real reason she stops by). This is exactly what she did as I was watching the Olympics.

She walked in and flopped down next to me on the couch with an armful of gossip magazines in her arms. Completely ignoring me, she began to leaf through them.

“Why do you insist on reading that crap?” I ask.

“Why do you insist on watching that crap?” she shot back without even lifting her head from the magazine. “At least reading this is more productive than sitting on my butt all day drinking beer and watching TV.”

“That’s debatable,” I say, feeling that I may have a winning hand in this argument. “Look at the crap you’re reading. Paris Hilton. Like that can be compared to the Olympics. Paris is a lazy, silver spoon ditz that everyone in the world hates with a passion.”

“Well, if you think that Paris is a lazy ditz, then how do you rate yourself?” she asked, finally raising her head from the magazine to look me straight in the eye.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I demanded.

“Tell me exactly what you have accomplished in your life? Paris Hilton is younger than you, she has her own company, she has made a movie, she has recorded a song, she has had a hit TV show and she is highly paid to go to events. That ‘Lazy Ditz’ has worked 1000 times harder than you ever have,” she said matter of factly and then went back to reading her magazine.

“But she was born rich,” I protested. “She had all the advantages…”

“Which proves that she didn’t have to do any of the things she has accomplished if she hadn’t wanted to. She doesn’t have to do a thing and she still works harder than you,” she said while still reading her magazine as if this argument wasn’t even worth her time. “Can you name one thing that you have done better than her?”

“I’ve been to jail longer,” I said with a sly grin.

“Exactly,” she said. “My point has been proven.”

This left me with a choice to make. I could continue to be a couch potato and have to listen to my sister remind me how Paris Hilton is more productive than I am every time she comes over, or I could use this as motivation to change my ways and be productive. I decided to use it as motivation to become more productive.

When my sister left, I got up off the couch, picked up the pile of magazines my sister had left and tore out all the photos of Paris. I then headed down into the basement with Paris photos in one hand and my beer in the other. I tacked up the Paris photos to the dart board and started throwing darts as hard as I could at her face for the next hour as I slowly sipped my beer and contemplated how I could be more productive.

I don’t know if this actually helped me to think more about my life and what I want to accomplish, but it sure felt good to take out some frustration. And it got me off the couch. Baby steps. You always have to start with baby steps."

You can find this article and more at the Savingadvice blog.

Don't Give People Personal Recessions

Tim Saunders, formally the Leadership Coach and Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo, writes a blog that I find inspirational and motivational in thinking about how I perform day-to-day. This week, Tim wrote an article that I'm happy to share with you about our recession, and how not to let it lead to a recession within yourself.

"An economic recession is a retraction phase in the business cycle. In short, it’s a period when the economy stops growing.

In the current case, the retraction probably started late last year and should last through the middle of next year, although this is a point of great debate. Economic recessions are usually induced by deteriorating business conditions and then fueled by a loss in consumer or business confidence.

Recessions create hard times for businesses everywhere, causing them to pull back on investments and cut back staff hours and/or pay. Today, everyone is feeling the impact of the economic recession. I’ve talked to a few people that were laid off and others who have had to take a pay cut to keep their jobs.

While economic recessions are beyond our control, the creation of personal recessions is not. By personal recession, I mean a retraction phase in the personal growth and happiness cycle. Much like economies, individuals have their own up and down cycles too. These recessions are induced by crumbling professional and personal conditions, leading to a loss in personal confidence and security.

I think that companies roll their problems down to their people and often convert economic recessions in mass personal recessions – which is a tragedy. How does this happen? First pay gets cut, then job security grows scarce. Managers and owners become less engaged with their troops and little mentorship and coaching occurs. Training programs are considered luxuries and celebrations or recognition programs shrivel up. Employees, already feeling the financial brunt of the recession, stop growing and become unhappy.

This is preventable! If you own a small business or manage people, you need to compensate for financial cutbacks by offering your intangibles (time, compassion, advice) to your employees to help them through these times. You need to encourage them to go to scheduled training classes and take their vacations as scheduled.

Believe me, if your company gets this wrong, it will pay the price when the economy comes back and job opportunities abound. People will never forget how you behaved at the bottom of the business cycle, and word of mouse will be your worst enemy.

A few days ago, my son’s employer took the entire team to an inexpensive dinner at a local restaurant. It rejuvenated the team, restored some personal confidence and averted what many other people are feeling today. That’s long view thinking, and will lead to a strong employer brand. During the dotcom crash, Yahoo employees lost much of their net worth and many faced losing their homes or cars. They’d come in every day with that “deer in the headlines” look. So I went on a “Refresh” campaign and traveled all over the United States, talking to managers about the importance of giving away intangibles to employees when money was scarce. Maybe you should start a “refresh” campaign too!"

You can learn more about Tim Saunders, and subscribe to his blog from: http://www.timsanders.com/

Keep Networking Alive.

David

The ETP System - The Job Search for the Successful Professional ©

by Rod Colon, Founder & CEO ETP Network, June 10, 2008

Step 1: Make the mental conversion from employee to business ownership

• You are running a business and the business is YOU!
• You report to a Board of Directors – Your Family, Your Loved Ones! (This reduces procrastination)

Step 2: Write down your top 5 core skills

• Each core skills must be described in 3 words or less (project manager, nurse, lawyer, marketing manager, etc.)

Step 3: What is the demand for your core skills in the local market?

• Use any job search engine and determine what is the market demand for your core skills (www.indeed.com, www.simplyhired.com, www.dice.com, www.hound.com, etc.)
• Input one of your core skills and zip code and see how many openings are within 50 miles of the location of interest.
• If you find 75 or more jobs within 50 miles - you are doing well.

Step 4: Success is in the Job Description Review Process

• Read the job description once quickly and determine if the location/dollars/overall job responsibilities are of interest to you.
• If you are interested in the job, find the Required Skills Section.
• Copy and past the required skills to a blank page (word document).
• Review the required skills section and determine if you have 70% of what is REQUIRED SKILLS (if you do not have 70% of the REQUIRED SKILLS stop and move on to a new opening).
• If you have at least 70% of the REQUIRED SKILLS do the following.
• Put the required skills in priority order.
• Remove the required skills that are soft skills (verbal skills, communication skills, great leader, etc.)
• The final list should be no less than 4 and no more than 7 of the REQUIRED SKILLS

TIP/HINT: This list is now the left hand side for your EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Step 5: Complete the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Read and apply the tips/hints in document JobAid The Executive Summary (Download this document from www.etpnetwork.com articles section).
• The JobAid document clearly describes the step by step process of developing a powerful Cover Letter (ETP members call this the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY).

Step 6: The RESUME

• Now that you have a powerful EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – DO NOT SETTLE FOR A GENERIC RESUME
• Read every word in your resume and make sure each statement is positive or neutral to the job description
• Use the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY as the basis for the theme in your resume
• Make sure to include parts of the Job Responsibilities section of the job description in the resume (ONLY if you have done these tasks in the past)
• Use a bullets and statements to describe your relevant accomplishments; begin each statement with an action verb
  
• Examples:
• Created a 2.6 million dollar fixed income pricing model using C++
• Triaged 25 patients for the ambulatory care unit
• Managed and diagnosed computer hardware and software support issues for six major financial services institutions
• Remember documents are read top to bottom and the perception is the top bullets are stronger than the rest – so the first bullet in each section will be perceived as your strongest skill set
• Remove bullets and information that is useless or irrelevant to the job description

Step 7: Finding ADVOCATES

• Now that you have done a great job in putting together the cover letter and resume (ETP calls these two documents The Value Proposition) Do NOT submit to the black hole.
• Use LinkedIn’s “Advance Search” page to find the following advocates:
• Corporate Recruiter (Human Resources)
• Hiring Manager
• Agency Recruiter
• Employees working at the company of interest
• ETP Angels (ETP’s exclusive advocate group)
• Now that you are armed with a powerful Value Proposition – make your case to the advocates (As a business owner you are required to do some selling – it is now time to sell YOU!)
• Never single thread into a job (do not rely on one advocate to take you to the finish line; find as many advocates as needed)

Step 8: Role Play/Practice

• Practice the sales call to an advocate with a networking mentor
• Ask questions of your networking colleagues for “Best Practices”

Step 9: Leverage ETP’s Training and Development System

• Engage Rod Colon as your Job Search and Networking Coach
• Join the ETP Network and access 1000s of articles to assist in your job search and networking (www.etpnetwork.com) program
• Join ETP Network’s weekly conference call
• Tap the 7 million professionals available to the ETP Network
  

Referenced Articles:
(You can download these documents from the ARTICLES section of: www.etpnetwork.com):

• The ABCs of the Job Search (Chip Hartman)
• JobAid: The Executive Summary (Chip Hartman)

How to Build Relationships

Thomas E. Kenny alerted me to the following interview on Dr. Oz's XFM show with Keith Ferrazzi.

Original Air Date: June 6, 2008

"Networking" may seem like a smarmy word, but author Keith Ferrazzi says getting to know people from all walks of life and building strong relationships with them is never a bad thing. Dr. Oz talks with Keith about how to build personal relationships and shares tips from his book Never Eat Alone and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time.

Whether you want a new job or a romantic relationship, chances are you need to network with others to get it. "Everything that you want to achieve in life is with and through other people," Keith says. Making friends with people you meet is the first step toward getting what you want, and Keith says you do that by getting to know everyone on a personal level—even business contacts. "There is no such thing as a business relationship—there are only personal relationships in a business context that you are fearful of creating a personal relationship with," he says.

So how do you create personal relationships with the people you encounter? Keith offers two suggestions:

* Find reasons to care about others. A good way to ensure you'll connect with something about a new person is to project positive thoughts onto them. "Before you even meet them, you could project enjoying them—it's amazing what the mind does," Keith says.
* Offer others reasons to like you. Be generous with others and help them achieve their own success in any way you can, Keith says. If you create an environment around yourself that invites people in and makes them want to have a relationship with you, Keith says you'll be surrounded by positive personal relationships.

Related Resources

* Never Eat Alone and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz


You can listen to part of the show at: http://www2.oprah.com/xm/moz/moz_main.jhtml

Using Online Tools to Help Build Professional Networking Relationships

One of our ETP Network Board of Advisors, Thomas E. Kenny, is an accomplished writer on networking. Tom wrote the following piece about the importance of building relationships in professional network and some ideas on how to use online internet tools to accomplish them. I am happy to share it with you all.

by Thomas E. Kenny
Much of this focuses on the use of online internet tools but that should not be a substitute for telephone calls nor face to face meetings when the relationship develops to that stage.

Stage 1. Get to know the person you want to develop a relationship with via their work and their interests.

• Search for their LinkedIn profile but don't ask to connect to them yet as the value of the relationship is not yet known.
  
• Search for their Facebook profile but don't ask to be a friend yet.
  
• Search for them on twitter and follow them if permission is not required.
  
• Find out what publications (magazine, e-newsletters, podcasts) they contribute to or publish and of course read them.
  
• Find out what organizations they belong to and consider joining them. Sharing a common interest can provide a common bond in the future.
  
• If possible find out what blogs they read and post comments to.
  
• Google them to find out more ways to reach them. If they are a publicly known individual setup a Google alert so you'll know when they or their company are in the news.
  

Stage 2. Provide positive valuable feedback on their work to get on their radar screen.

• Purchase their product or service and give direct feedback (not only good points but constructive valuable criticisms and ways they can improve/expand).
  
• Read and leave valuable comments on their blog if they have one and on blogs you know that they read.
  
• Recommend their product/service on LinkedIn.
  
• If appropriate (i.e. a book) write a useful and insightful review on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com.
  

Stage 3. Create a vehicle for an ongoing direct dialog that is of mutual benefit.

• Build a relationship with those that connect you to that person if you haven't yet established a direct relationship.
  
• Find a way to continually provide value to them on an ongoing basis to keep the relationship alive. For example, provide endorsements and referals for their product/service.
  
• Once you have a trusted relationship ask to connect with them on Linkedin, Facebook and Plaxo.
  
• Get to know their birthday (if you have not obtained it already via Plaxo) and what holidays they observe so you can contact them on those dates.
  
• Get to know more about them such as if they are a Mother, Father, Veteran or other things you may have in common.
  
• If they require permission to follow them on twitter this may be the time to ask.
  
• Keep an eye on changes to their profiles, Google alerts and such and congratulate them or comment on news regarding them.
  
• As the relationship develops occasional phone calls and face to face meetings should occur.
  

Stage 4. Leverage your relationship.

• Once you have a lasting trusted relationship you may now ask for a favor or assistance regarding a shared interest.
  
• However, of course remember that networking is a two way street. If a favor is asked of you do whatever you can to deliver.
  
• Now your strong relationship will reach out so that friends of friends on both sides benefit as the cycle of networking continues like ripples on a pond.
  
• There is a lot here to consider and each item is not always applicable, but I've tried to cover all bases.
  
• Building mutually valuable relationships requires a serious investment of time. However, I'll let you in on a secret. In committing to such you have an advantage since not everybody is willing to make that investment. Those that don't understand the value of networking and who are looking for quick drive by results won't do such. So be smart and successful by using the above road map to achieve your professional goals via building valuable warm trusted relationships!
  
• I've found the ETP Network to be an excellent educational venue and I'm very happy to share what I've learned. The favor I ask of you is to please supply me with feedback. If you've found some thing that worked for you please share so that we can all learn from our mutual experiences. On the other hand if some thing above does not work for you please let us know so that we can determine alternatives as well.
  
• Finally, I have to thank Chip Hartman for being such a great catalyst and mentor regarding my writings. Some times I don't realize the wealth of useful knowledge I've learned via my professional networking and involvement in the ETP Network. So Chip thanks for reminding me and encouraging me to share with the group.

Thanks Thomas, a great article. If anyone has any thoughts on this article, I'd love to receive them, and feel free to pass them on to Thomas.

What Is Networking?

Networking is the process of building and maintaining relationships. It’s the development of a team that will support your efforts and the efforts of your network teammates to reach your respective goals. In practice, networking is the establishment of multiple informal, loosely knit, mutual-support alliances. The object is to build the best possible team.

Networking is about forging bonds and sharing. It’s connecting with people who have common interests and objectives and generously give to one another. Networking extends into every aspect of your life; it’s something you’ve been doing all of your life without realizing it. When you recommend a movie, a housecleaner, or a personal trainer, you’re networking.

We network as soon as we start making our own decisions. As kids, our friends introduce us to the latest and greatest; they turn us on to a constant flow of new friends and information.

The object of networking should not be simply to make contacts; it should be to make the best possible contacts! Naturally, what constitutes “the best” is subjective and will vary with the individuals and the circumstances involved. However, seeking the best should always be your objective!

Goodwill is the foundation for making great contacts; it supports and underlies all of your networking efforts. To successfully network with the best you must constantly create goodwill and then build upon that goodwill to forge bonds that develop into close, meaningful relationships.

Implicit in networking is the understanding that there will be a giving back, an exchange, “if you do for me, I’ll do for you.” This unspoken swap of mutual promises underlies networks and keeps them together. Ironically, however, the best networkers are those who give to others because they sincerely love to give and not because they hope to receive something in return. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to give; even the most giving and generous networkers will eventually stop giving when they repeatedly receive nothing in return.

Networks are not built overnight. They take time, patience, and nurturing. It will also take time to discover what your network partners need and to continually try to find opportunities to fully satisfy those needs.

(Rick Frishman and Jill Lublin)Networking Magic – 2004 – Adams Media