Malcolm O. Munro - The "Career Fitness" Coach

Out-Think and Out-Work Your Competition

Have you noticed how competitive things are these days?  Seems like more and more people chase fewer and fewer opportunities.  Luck seems to be in short supply and all of are fighting harder to get what used to be easy to obtain.  Have you been successful?

This past Saturday I facilitated one of my Job Hunt Boot Camps in Germantown, Maryland.  There were about 120 job seekers and career changers in the audience and we had a great three hours together.  One of the points I tried to drive home was what it took to win a job in a competitive environment.  In my mind it takes two things:  out-thinking and out-working your competition.

Out-thinking our competition means we have to operate as if we're in a big chess match.  We have to anticipate our opponents moves and think of how to counter them.  We also have to make sure we're continuously innovating and developing new strategies.  Here are three suggestions:

1. Take a look at what everyone else is doing and do it differently.  Anyone can brew and serve a cup of coffee, but what keeps people coming to a Starbucks is the atmosphere and the perception of something special.  After all, they don't do Small, Medium, and Large.  Instead you get Tall, Grande, and Vente.  Blow hot air into your coffee and you get a Latte!  What are you doing individually to take the common and make it uncommon?
2. Take a look at what everyone else is doing and do it better.  One of the many things that annoy me about my constant airline travels are the legacy carriers such as American Airlines and United Airlines.  From the goofy suits the flight attendants wear to the stupid Red Carpet the privileged get to walk on when they board, to those annoying, cumbersome beverage barges they block the aisles with.  I prefer airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue where it's no-frills, no-status, and all practical service.  Flight attendants use small trays to bring stuff so you don't worry about getting blocked in.  What are you doing now to improve what you're doing so your competition won't catch you?
3. Take a look at what everyone else is doing and don't do it at all. Sometimes we get stuck into thinking that the status quo is the only way to get something done.  Maybe there really isn't a good reason at all, it's just that things have always been done that way.  During my Navy days, I was often tempted to skip doing a standard report just to see if anyone actually read the thing.  Of course I  was too terrified to try, but I'm convinced some of those "important" reports  were required for no other reason than it was always required.  Is there a way to eliminate some unnecessary steps in what you do?  Are you taking some time each day to see what could be done to streamline your way of doing things?

Out-working our competition means exactly that.  However we have to define what out-working really means.  I know many of us say we work hard, but don't confuse activity with actual work.  I've had days when I work from home that could be considered "busy" but at the end of the day, I realize that distractions such as washing clothes, checking my FaceBook site, and staring into the refrigerator don't really count as "work."  Instead, think about accomplishment.  I'll bet your most productive day at work is the one you have on the day before vacation.  That day you're probably tying up loose ends, getting last-minute stuff finished, and prepping for your return so you'll not be too overwhelmed.  That great feeling of accomplishment when you leave the office is the really measure of a good, hard day of work.  In fact, I think a day of real work is actually less tiring then a day where you have to look busy.    What are you doing to plan your workday so you'll accomplish much with the max effort you'll be giving?  If you're competing for a new position or a promotion, make sure you work smarter, THEN harder.

I don't see the competitive nature of things changing anytime soon.  Why don't we all take some time this week to strategize how to out-think and out-work our competition.  I know I will!

Opportunity Knocks for Everyone...

Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas Edison

This week I'm in Orlando, FL on two different projects.  The one I did today was a workshop on social networking for the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC).  It turned out great and I had a lot of positive feedback, but the one thing my attendees need to do now is to implement a strategy.  In other words, this opportunity will take some action. 

I'm convinced that everyone has equal access to opportunities and luck.  This is encouraging to me because I've run into a lot of people that complain that the only luck they get is bad luck.  Now keep in mind that some circumstances are bad.  Not a whole lot we can do about that.  The part we can control is the actions  we take in spite of them.  Most of you are familiar with Kentucky Fried Chicken.  You may not know that a set of bad circumstances for its founder, Harland Sanders was the very reason for it's success today.

Sanders had a very successful restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky and achieved a lot of fame and money from it.  However, in the 1950’s a new interstate highway was planned that would bypass Corbin. Recognizing that his business was doomed, Sanders sold off his restaurant operations and after paying his bills, was reduced to living on his $105 a month Social Security checks. Confident in the quality of his fried chicken, at 62 years old, Sanders devoted himself to franchising his famous chicken. He drove all over the country, cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and their employees. If the reaction was favorable, he entered into a handshake agreement on a deal that stipulated a payment to him of a nickel for each chicken the restaurant sold. By 1964, Colonel Sanders had more than 600 franchised outlets for his chicken in the United States and Canada.  Ironically, he was turned down 1,099 times before he finally found a buyer.  That's what you call making the most of circumstance and taking advantage of an opportunity.

So what about you?  What are you struggling with that could be turned into a great opportunity?  Another famous person, Thomas Jefferson, was said to have  remarked, "the harder I work, the more luck I seem to find."  We live in a time where, with the leverage of technology, everyone has a fair shot at greatness.  You can publish your own books, create your own record label, run your own virtual radio station, or pretty much anything else you'd like to do.  The future is for each of us to create, not to become victims of.

I'm excited for the opportunities ahead.  I hope you are too!

What's Underneath Your Mask?

This past weekend we celebrated my favorite holiday, Halloween!  I'm not sure why I enjoy it, maybe it's all the skeletons (you probably know I love skeletons - just look at my clothing line at www.greyskullattitude.com) out there or perhaps just the huge amount of candy my kids bring home. 

It seems I'm not alone.  The average family in the U.S. spends about $40.00 on just candy.  Then there are the adults who really get into the season by donning elaborate costumes.  People seem to enjoy wearing masks and being somebody different if just for one night.

I find in my line of work that many people wear masks each and every day at work.  Martha Beck, in her  book Finding Your Own North Star speaks of these as a person's Social Self.  It's the part of us that does the sensible thing rather than what our desires and wants tell us to do.  Now don't think this means without the Social Self we'll do a bunch of deviant things, it means we often hold back what's really important to us in favor of what we think the others around us want us to be.  If you're wearing this kind of mask, life for you can be even more frightening than a bad dream with Freddy Krueger in it!

Sunday night I did a workshop with a bunch of high school students using a personality instrument.  My purpose was to help them discover early on, what their personality preferences were.  If they can figure this out early in life, before making career and relationship changes, I think it will help them make choices that will eliminate the need to wear the mask later in life.  We had a great time!  I hope they can take the information they learned and put it to use.

So what about you?  What mask are you wearing?  More importantly, what is under the mask that you wish you could show every day? If you're not sure, maybe the following questions can help you sort it out:

• What motivates you besides money?
• What kind of activities recharge your batteries?
• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• What types of people are you drawn to?
• Where do you see yourself (realistically) in 20 years?
• What will you want people to say about you at your memorial service?

These are the kinds of questions that reveal what's under the mask.   I believe you can operate as the REAL you on a daily basis if you become familiar with the REAL you and work to align that with the career you're working for.  I've been able to do that and I no longer dread Mondays.  

Why not take the time this week to do some self discovery?  If you succeed,  you can proudly proclaim that you've experienced a "Halloween Miracle!"

There is no "Try"

Here's this week's Words of Wisdom:
(to find out who said it, click HERE)

Do or do not...there is no "try"

This past Sunday, we took my son to the open house at Good Counsel High School in Olney, MD.  Now if you're not familiar with GC, it's a pretty high tech school with great academics and also some awesome sports teams.  The entry standards are high with only a small percentage of those applying gaining acceptance.  It's also quite expensive.  There are a limited number of scholarships  available and those are competitive as well.

After touring the school and sizing up the competition, I must admit I felt a little intimidated.  After all, how can we compete with all of those wealthy and well-connected parents with  their perfect, talented children.  Then I thought better of it.

WHY WON'T we get accepted and collect on some of those scholarships? 

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get intimidated?  We begin looking at what everyone does, and what everyone has and then get discouraged.  It's easy to look for our flaws, shortcomings, and excuses when we feel the slightest bit intimidated.  Then, we give a half-hearted effort to compete.  When that half-hearted effort fails (as any half-hearted effort will) we then shake our heads and tell everyone how unfair the whole thing is.

What a bunch of crap!

That quote above says it all.  When someone gives you a challenge, you don't TRY, you just DO!  Try means you already expect to fail and sure enough, you will.  Years ago, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar spoke of something called a "loser's limp."  It happens when a sprinter is clearly beaten and then pulls up with a limp at the finish line.  If you're going to lose, go down fighting.  Don't limp your way into second or third place!

So this week, start thinking about all the great opportunities out there you're going to go after.  Shift your thinking and you'll shift your position in life.

As for us, we're going full speed on these applications and scholarships.  My son wants to attend this school really bad and if he's willing to do it, we're with him.  I'm excited to see him excel in the music scholarship auditions and can't wait to coach him on his speech for the speech scholarship (will that be an unfair advantage?  ABSOLUTELY!!!! - but we're in it to win it right?)

What will you DO this week?

Accept Overwhelming Change - Then Move On

Last week I wrote about leveraging change.  Maybe one of the most helpful pieces of advice would be to accept change - embrace it and move forward.

I'm always intrigued by men who are bound and determined to prevent hair loss from happening.  I noticed a guy at my son's football game yesterday who was bald, save for the "power donut" on the sides and a little patch of hair transplants right above his forehead.  It reminded me of what it looked like when my daughter cut all of the hair off her Barbie a few years ago.  I'm not sure the look fooled anyone, least of all a guy like me who long ago declared "Mission Accomplished" on hair loss and just shaved it off.

Certainly we all need to push forward to accomplish goals but when all indicators point to a loss, it's time to accept it and move on.

Some of the most popular men in Hollywood are "Bic Heads" while the guys like Donald Trump valiantly but futility try to wage war on thinning hair.  Accept defeat and move on.

I once heard a story about a child who tried as hard as he could to make the school chorus.  He just didn't have the voice.  Fortunately he had a teacher who introduced him to playing a musical instrument instead.  He became the best clarinet player in the school band and went on to become a music major in college and is now a music teacher. 

All of us have talents and gifts.  If you find yourself futilely trying to make something work and just can't make progress, reassess where you're at and find another avenue in another area.  By leveraging what we do have, we'll find the satisfaction we want in an area we may never have considered.  I had an unremarkable career in the Navy and as hard as I tried, I failed to achieve any of my goals or promotions.  My current career is a much different story.  It makes much better use of my talents and I've been able to achieve far more than I imagined and exciting opportunities and challenges come to me almost every week.   It would have never happened if I chose to slog out a full career in the Navy.

Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  He was a pretty smart guy.  Maybe we ought to follow that advice.

So this week, do a deep assessment of where you are.  Take an honest hard look at your career direction and see if you're really leveraging your gifts and talents.  If not, why not do a serious course change? 

Persistant Practice = Perfection

Find out the one thing in life you don't do well.... and don't do that thing!  The World's Most Interesting Man (Dos Equis Beer pitchman). 

Good advice?  Possibly.  Particularly if you want to live a life with stocked success.  But if you're really interested in accomplishing new challenges or mastering something you're average at right now, it's the wrong perspective.  Try working out this particular formula:

P + P = P

Translated:  Practice + Persistence = Perfection.

This year, my 13-year-old son set a goal to get recruited and receive a scholarship to a prestigious Catholic high school here in Maryland.  They have a great reputation for academics and some incredible winning football teams.  Now the tuition is really expensive but there are opportunities for scholarships.  He is bound and determined to get one.

His position in football is center.  The center's job is to snap the football to the quarterback, which is pretty easy, and then make some good blocks.  On special teams, the center has to long snap the football to the punter or the holder if it's for a field goal or extra point.  That's a challenging task.  The ball needs to fly back fast and in a perfect spiral.  It's tough to do that.

My son began late this summer practicing this task.  He watched some instructional videos, worked on techniques with one of his coaches, and then just began some persistent practice.   Each day (when I wasn't on the road) he'd ask me to come out and practice with him.  Usually almost an hour at a time.  We'd get to football practice early and he'd practice more.  Any time there was some spare time, he would practice.  In between the sessions, his mind continued to work, visualizing more perfect long snaps.

The result?  So far he is the picture of perfection with long snaps.  They sail back to the punter in a nice tight spiral.  There still is a long season ahead, but he still practices every chance he gets.  We're confident he is competitive for that scholarship.

So what are you determined to achieve?  Are you really willing to put in the hard work to get it?  Remember, perfection requires persistent practice.  It's the only way to get better. 

You can be like The Most Interesting Man in the World and simply do the things you're good at or you can challenge yourself to work hard and master what you don't do well.  I'm going to do an inventory this week of some things I'd like to master and then put a plan in place to do them.  Will you join me?

Take Control of Your Future!

Flying used to terrify me.  I didn't take my first plane ride until I was 19 and it was a real experience - flying from Los Angeles to Exmouth, Western Australia, all told about a 28 hour flight.  My fear of heights of course was a factor but what really bothered me was the feeling of helplessness, a lack of control.

Of course now I'm pretty much over it all considering I fly somewhere around the country to lead workshops or to speak nearly every week.  I'm also convinced it's much safer to fly than to drive.  I do in fact have safety on the plane even if I can't go up to the cockpit and take over the controls.  By looking at what I can control, the other fears seem to fade.

This week I'm working with some Federal employees, helping them write self-assessments for their performance management system known as the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).  If you haven't heard of this, just know that it's quite unpopular among Feds as it's the first radical change to their pay and performance system in about 70 or so years.  For them, the fear goes along the lines of lack of control and potential subjectivity.

My message to them is the same:  Focus on what you can control, not on what you can't.

• They can't control potential favoritism but they sure as hell can work as hard as they can.
• They can't control subjectivity but they can take time each week to document their performance for a comprehensive self-assessment.

I think the lesson works for all of us.  Focus on what we can fix and what we can control and work that as hard and long and viciously as we can.  It's empowering and liberating.

This week, take some time to list all the things you have full control of:  your work ethic, your attitude, your personal development, etc.  Then make a commitment to add to that list each day and work each item as hard as you can.  It's a great way to reduce victim-stance and help you achieve your personal and professional goals.  I'm going to try it - won't you join me?

How to Reduce Victim-Stance

This past week I did a series of workshops for an organization in the Midwest.  The topic was their performance management system and how to write specific job objectives.

Now this organization was just a mid-sized division of a much larger group, all of which is converting to a pay-for-performance system.  As you might imagine, there was some anxiety. 

Many were worried about subjectivity.  Some worried about fairness.  There were a few who felt they shouldn't have to spend the time writing objectives, and one who complained for nearly 15 minutes during a break about the system from top to bottom.  In each of these cases, I witnessed a significant amount of victim-stance.

Victim-stance is the mindset that I have no control and things, both good and bad, will happen to me no matter what I do.  The problem with this is it reduces our life to a sequence of events that leave us powerless.  Worse, we get into the mode that all we can do is complain since nothing else will change for the better.  Find a few friends who share the mindset and you have a good old pity party.

In this instance, I shared with the group that they have control over a significant amount of the process, specifically around three areas:

1. Their job objective (which they write in tandem with their supervisor)
2. Their performance (they choose whether or not to give 100%)
3. Their self-assessment (they can update their accomplishments on a weekly basis for documentation)

Most responded well.  Many seemed motivated.  A few still shared their doubts.

When times get tough, I like to focus on what I can change, not what I can't.  Stephen Covey covered this in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People when he wrote of the Circle of Influence and the Circle of Concern.  Might be a good read for you this week.

As you think about the next six months, why not focus on the things you can change and worry less about what you can't.  Take control of what is controllable and shift emphasis off what you don't control.  It's a much healthier, more empowering mindset.  I'm going to work on this.  Why not join me?

Help Me Put Monster.com Out of Business!

If you're a regular news aficionado, you're well aware of the high unemployment these days.  One of the most widely used tools in job search is the Internet, specifically sites like Monster.com or Career Builder.  Success varies from these sites, but it's generally very low, somewhere in the 6-8% range and yet people still spend the majority of their time using these.

My goal this year is to put Monster.com out of business.  I know that's a bold statement and it has nothing to do with threats or even me competing with them.  I think people can use the Internet as their own marketing device by simply leveraging the technology and using it wisely.

Here are the 5 tools you'll need:

• A personal website
• A blog
• A Facebook account
• A LinkedIn account
• A Twitter account

To help you see how to put the tools to use, click HERE to view a video I put together as part of a workshop I did last week.  I know you'll find it helpful!

Oh yes, why not get more updates by following me on Twitter?  Get there at http://www.twitter.com/coachmunro.

How to Use Web 2.0 to Expand Your Job Seeker Network