How soon in to a new job are you able to assess what you have gotten in to and then be confident in making some key decisions? If you are the new CEO of Hewlet Packard the answer is around 90 days – after 3 months on the job Mark Hurd has announced this morning 14,500 global job cuts at HP – about 10% of the workforce. The tech fallout… Read More »The First 90 Days
Came across this story today, reminded me of when my brother went for a job as a money teller for the post office in the UK. One of the interview questions was "If someone came to your window with a gun and demanded money what would you do?" My brother answered – Gulp! Wish I had taken the day off! Give them the money! Here's the other way: Let's hope… Read More »How Far Would You Go For Your Employer?
So no great surprise to most that Kendra won tonights Apprentice, the last show of this program is always such a let down and lacks some of the 'drama' that the rest of the show offers. Tana really blew it in the final task with the way that she treated and spoke about her team – there was no way after that, that Trump was going to hire her –… Read More »The Apprentice
What does your tagline say about you? Is it clear and understandable by a 12 year old, or are there more buzzwords in it than a party political statement? A survey of top executives by the staffing firm Accountemps has identified the top most annoying buzzwords currently in use – although thankfully by the very nature most fall out of use quickly, such as: – A project that is 'on… Read More »Are You Buzzing The Right Words?
This was the title of of the simulcast leadership presentation I went to on Friday and it was well worth the trip down to one of my favourite parts of Ontario – Niagara-on-the-Lake. There was a mixture of presenters but the entrance fee was paid for by just listening for 35 minutes to Marcus Buckingham author of Now Discover Your Strengths. It is a recommended read to my clients and… Read More »The Influential Leader – Unleashing power in people
At the Career Masters Institute conference in Denver that I went to last week there was a lot of talk about the continuing changes in the 'new world of work' and how people need to continue to adapt and be flexible to the challenges that lie ahead. This is not the world of work that my father knew – 43 years working – 2 years with one company and 41… Read More »Thanks Dad!
Sometimes at the end of the week you reflect on getting much done, making some headway in new directions and really feeling like you make a difference. Other weeks you feel lucky to have struck a couple of items off the 'To Do List' without adding too much else on it. And then there are the times when its all confirmed that what you do is the best thing you… Read More »It Makes It Worthwhile
With the news that up to 25% of business people check out someone on the web before they meet them you would think that Reggie Fowler the prospective buyer of the Minnesota Vikings and his PR firm might have been a little more careful with what they put out in his bio. Fowler who is looking to spend $625 million buying the Vikings has businesses in real estate, aviation, manufacturing… Read More »How accurate is your bio?
"Change is the law of life and those who only look to the past and present are certain to miss the future" – John F Kennedy Biotech gave me one of my big career breaks, I made the switch from medical devices and proceeded to learn about compounds I could not even pronounce – let alone understand – no science qualifications and I ended up on a 3 week countrywide… Read More »Biotech Memories
"I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion" – Henry David Thoreau When I lived in the UK I don't think I even knew what a pumpkin was – let alone Halloween. The only reference would have been catching it on a Charlie Brown cartoon. Fast forward a few years and with children and living in North America… Read More »Headhunting Pumpkins