Malcolm O. Munro - The "Career Fitness" Coach

How Adaptable Are You?

This past weekend we did a road trip to visit my in-laws in Tennessee.  It was a pretty quick trip but I was there long enough to know that things move much slower in the South then they do here in Maryland.

Interestingly enough, after about two days, I found myself beginning to slow down as well.  It didn't take me that long to adapt and as I found yesterday, not long to ramp back up to the fast pace here at home.

Adapting to regional changes is something I've lived with for a long time.  I grew up in Southern California, lived almost five years in the outback of Western Australia, spent two years on the maddeningly small island of Guam, one year in West Tennessee, and four years in the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest.   Each location has a unique culture and attitude.  I noticed early on in each place that the culture didn't adapt to me.  I had to adapt to it.

This adaptation phenomenon impacts individuals as well.  All of us hope people relate to us, but in fact most don't.  It's our responsibility to adjust ourselves to them.  This works in marketing and in basic human interaction.

A colleague of mine facilitates a great workshop activity where she has the group attempt to sell snow plows to Hawaiians.  It's all about learning what people need and adapting to them.  Are you willing to do that with others?

Author Tony Alessandra  developed what he calls the "Platinum Rule" which says Do unto others as they would have done unto them.  I think it's a pretty good rule. 

This week, why don't we all take the time to make ourselves more adaptable to the people and surroundings we live and work in.  I'm heading up to Boston to deliver a workshop so I'll get a real good opportunity to try this out.  What will you do to make it happen?

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!

The Value of a Good Off-Season

This past weekend was opening day for my 10-year-old daughter's soccer team, the MSI Snow Leopards.  They did great, winning on both Saturday and Sunday.   

Some of the parents were commenting on how the off-season conditioning and practice the girls did really helped them dominate both of their games.  They were right!  Our girls were running circles around the other team and by the second half, the other teams were out of gas.  Their skills were great too.  It was almost if they were in mid-season form.

A strong off-season brings forth a great season.

How is your off-season conditioning going?  I'm not talking about sports either.

Most of us have seasons when it comes to our careers.  As a consultant, speaker, and trainer, my prime season runs from about February through early November.  The off-season is just a by-product of the holidays when most people aren't working.  I also have a little downtime in August.  Our colleagues in the Federal government are in their prime season now as they prepare to close the fiscal year.  Others of us in retail have our biggest season during the holidays.  No matter what, all of us have an off-season.  What we do with it can set us up for success when things get busy.

So what should your off-season look like?  Here are my suggestions:

• Rest (just a little) then get off your backside and prepare to reload!
• Take stock of what you learned during the season.  What were your successes?  Why did you have them?  Where did you fail?  Do you know why?
• Study the industry.  Take a look at emerging trends and technologies.  In my off-season I realized the economy was beginning to come back so I finished off my book The New Rules of Engagement:  How to Keep Your Superstars Loyal to You in preparation.  My Job Hunt Boot Camps may not be the hot item this year.
• Revisit your networks.  Who haven't you checked in with in awhile?  Who should you contact for some introductions?
• Look for new opportunities.  No matter what happens economically, there will always be a need for someone or something to leverage the new realities.  Where will you fit in?  How can you position yourself?
• Inventory your skill sets.  Are you up to speed on technologies, systems, and ideas that are in vogue?  If not, get busy reading or studying!

This weekend taught me the value of a productive off-season.  I'm going to prepare for mine right now, even as I go full speed in the current season.  I hope you'll do the same!

The Futility of Resisting Change

What are your thoughts around change and innovation?  Do you embrace new ideas and technologies or secretly hope you can avoid them until they all go away?  Your answer to that question could decide how successful you'll be in your personal and professional life.

Over the past few weeks, we've watched as news leaks out of Iran of the civil unrest via Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.  This of course happens in spite of the "old guard's" attempt to silence the media.  Ordinary citizens who have embraced these Web 2.0 technologies are communicating to the world while the Mullah's pathetically try to control it by banning journalists and beating rioters.  People who embrace change can chart their own course in spite of opposition.  If middle school teachers in the U.S. can't control technologies their students use to communicate, what makes these morons in Iran think they can do any better?

My point is this...the more you run and avoid change - and these are positive and negative changes - the more you'll have to face later.  Would you rather deal with that cute little kitten now or wait a year when it turns into a full sized lion?  Those who embrace change early on will have more control over it later.

So what can you do?

1. Start reading up on new technology. 
2. Think of better ways you can do ordinary tasks and start being innovative
3. Take a good hard look at your own perspectives.  Are you open to new ideas or closed to them for no other reason than it's something new.
4. Don't dismiss people who are looking to improve things.  I know "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a comforting phrase, but if it breaks later on its own, it's going to be a lot worse.

Who would have thought 10 years ago that we'd be listening to music digitally on an iPod, shunning CD purchases or now, reading books digitally with a Kindle?  Run from change long enough and you'll find yourself running into it!

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 be an INTRAprenuer

Be sure to check out this week's tip on YouTube by clicking HERE!

Last week I showed you how to add value (and job security) to yourself by learning how to solve four types of problems.  Hopefully you've had a chance to put some of that knowledge to use.

This week we want to focus on helping your organization make money.

You've probably heard of entrepreneurs.  These are people who start their own businesses, often at great risk, for the reward of having control and being able to make dreams come true.  Entrepreneurs (and I know this from being one) are forced to think critically about every dollar that's spent and make the most of each opportunity to try and make money. 

Even if you're not up for this rollercoaster ride, you can still use principles we use and become an INTRApreneur!  I know that terms sounds weird, but it makes total sense.  To add value, you have to think of your organization as YOUR company.  Here are some suggestions to get your INTRApreneurial spirit engaged: 

1. Look for new markets.  Think of this company as your own. If you can't see opportunities coming down the road, your company can go bust.  This is your chance to do some networking and prospecting on behalf of your company. 
2. Establish networks.  Let people know where your work and what you do.  Think of ways to find common connections with everyone you meet.  Show them that your company is one they should do business with.
3. Think of office resources as your own.  In my home office, I count paperclips, paper, and other office supplies.  I have to pay for these so I control their use.  It comes right off my bottom line.  I know the temptation to leave with little things from your office, but remember, it comes off YOUR bottom line.  Protect your office from this kind of innocent pilferage.
4. Come up with a constant stream of innovative ideas.  In the old days, new ideas were probably swept under the rug or stolen by other office mates.  Nowadays, your ability to come up with a creative idea may save your company from going under.  This isn't the time to play games.  Make sure you communicate with everyone above you if you have a great idea.

I know these seem like they should be the responsibility of someone else, but if your own job security is on the line, don't you think you might want to step up?  Remember, job security is never a guarantee with the same company, but if you can do the four steps above, you'll learn some powerful techniques that will make any organization a success. 

And who knows, maybe someday that business you're protecting will be your own!

The Small World Just Got Smaller

You've probably heard me talk about Stanley Milgram's Small World Theory from the 1960s.  In a study he did to confirm his theory that connections between people were really not that complicated, he proved that in most cases, six degrees (as he called them) were the maximum amount of connections between most people.  Usually it was about two.

Now, with the high-tech devices most of us carry, that number is even smaller.  Check out this article on a rerun of Milgram's study done by Microsoft.  You can get it HERE.

What are the implications for you?  Your network can become bigger and stronger if you work it.  Web 2.0 gives you a very powerful mechanism, but the ingredient only you can put in is your ability to push the connection to a personal and emotional level.  People are your greatest strength and asset.  Networking is a major key to success.  This week, why not make it a point to grow that network?

Success Principle #8: Create Your Own Luck!

Click the player below to hear from the Coach!

What do you call someone who has a great job, happy family, plenty of cash, goals and dreams that seem to come true, physical fitness, and an optimistic attitude?

Most would call that person very lucky.  In other words, they have managed to catch every possible break out there and success happens to them in spite of themselves.

If they're indeed lucky, it then follows that only lucky people can have all the great things in life they want.  Since luck seems to come from little green men from Ireland and four-leaf clovers, it would also follow that not everyone can be considered lucky.  AND, if you're not one of those "lucky ones," life indeed is a pitiful experience for you and your only solace would be to commiserate over your circumstances and be extremely envious of those who have luck.

If this sounds like you, I have a suggestion.    Get out and CREATE your own luck!

In many of my workshops, I’ll share stories of people who find excellent jobs by talking to strangers.  One participant e-mailed me recently and criticized me for making it sound like jobs just fall into the laps of people.  He then proceeded to tell me how nothing came easy to him in his search.  He fought for every lead and had to use all of his efforts to land his dream job…no luck involved.

He’s absolutely right!  You have to CREATE your own luck.  Luck is simply the payoff for positioning yourself the right way, the right amount of times, and with the right amount of preparation.  The kind of luck he’s referring to is where you sit at home and somebody knocks on your door with your dream job.  It won’t happen.  You have to physically get out and start talking to people, telling them what you’re looking for.  You have to create the opportunities, and then make the most of them.

All of us have the same amount of hours in the day and unless you're in prison or living on another planet, the same access to opportunities.  Rather than whine about what you don't have and wish you had, get up off the floor and go after it!  Luck is nothing more than the payoff you get for your hard effort.  Think about it this week and look for ways to create the opportunities you long for.

 

Success Principle #6: Expand Your Network

For the past few weeks I've taken you through several success principles.  Most of those principles require individual action.  We need to define success, dream big, set good goals, get rid of assumed constraints, and commit to continuous learning.  The next principle takes some help.  You'll find it nearly impossible to have personal and professional success without the help of others.  Networking is a major key to success.

We can have all the dreams in the world and educate ourselves past a PhD, but we'll only get results if we leverage the power of others.  Left on our own, we have limited capacity.  There's nothing wrong with individual effort, but if we can't reach out to others to connect us outside of our circle, we'll simply grow huge in a tiny pond.  Success comes from venturing out.

So what is networking?  Simply stated, it's engaging and connecting with other people.  It means talking to others about our goals and asking for their assistance.  It also means doing the unthinkable and actually meeting strangers.  Here's where so many people fall short.  Networking can be quite scary.  So why do it?  You need access to as many networks as you can.  You'll get your power through the power of others.

In 1967, a researcher named Stanley Milgram performed what he called a "small world study" to test the power of connectedness.  His experiment requested 160 people in Omaha, Nebraska to get a letter to an obscure stock broker in Sharon, Massachusetts.  The results reported that "chains varied from two to 10 intermediate acquaintances, with the median at five." Any person appeared to be able to reach another person with an average of six jumps--the empirical basis for the famous phrase "six degrees of separation."  Now this study has been subsequently poo poohed by other researchers and scientists, particularly since its renaissance by the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" (where all Hollywood actors are linked somehow with Bacon through a maximum of six connections) and Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point, but I'm still convinced using networking is a key factor to success.  Why?

You can't possibly succeed without the help of others.  Others will not succeed without the help of you.  We have to connect to each other if we'll ever achieve our goals.  We need access to the people others know and they need our connections as well.

We know that 60-80% of jobs come through networking.  Most of us are now My Space, Facebook, or Linked-in users.  We join professional associations and attend Chamber of Commerce meetings.  All of these are designed to connect to others.  Even if we don't do it intentionally, by default we reach out.  Why not make a concerted effort at it?

This week, make it a goal to connect with at least 10 new people.  Get to know them, and, here's the best part, ask how YOU can support THEM.  It's so much easier to contact strangers when you have something to give.  Build new relationships based on serving others and you'll reap the benefit of the connection.  Don't be surprised when your efforts are reciprocated.  Zig Ziglar's most famous line is "You'll get everything you want in life when you help others get everything they want in life.  I firmly believe that and have not yet ever been disappointed.  If Milgram is correct, and I believe he is, we truly live in a small world.  Let's all  work hard this week to get to know it.

Success Principle #5: Commit to Continuous Learning

For the past month or so, we've been focusing on 10 Principles for Personal and Professional Success. So far, we've discovered that in order to be successful, we have to define success, have big dreams, set good goals, and to let go of assumed constraints.  This week, let's focus on personal growth.

What have you done in the past 12 months to learn a new skill, add a new technique, or master a new trade?  What was the last book you read? (trashy novels don't count)  Have you taken a class, listened to a motivational or educational CD, or sat in a professional development workshop?  If not, why?

Your mind is like a muscle.  If you don't use it, expect atrophy.  Let me give you a personal example. 

Back in 1985, I came back home on leave from overseas where I was stationed while in the Navy.  I was helping my dad clear out some junk in the attic when I came across a box of old school papers from my senior year in High School.  As I read through them, it was almost as if they were written by someone else.  I was amazed!  It was hard to believe I wrote those papers.  Then I took a good look at what I was doing currently.  Working, partying, and little else.  My brain had atrophied to the point where I felt lazy and bored.  Frankly, I was disgusted with myself.  When I returned from leave, I went to the Navy Campus office on base and signed up for my first college class - Introduction to Physics.  It was a tough class, but by reengaging my dormant brain cells,  I was able to turn it around and got an "A".  I celebrated that achievement and kept going.  Eventually, I worked my way up to a Master's Degree going to school in the evenings and on weekends. It was a personal victory and one I've never forgotten. 

Throughout life, we face competition on all fronts.  It may be to get a great job, keep a great job, or get a promotion in that great job.  If we want to be a great athlete, teacher, parent or partner, we still face that same competition from peers, neighbors, friends, and others.  No matter what we do, professional development can help.  Fortunately, we live in an age where information is readily available.  There's no excuse for not learning something new each day.  It just takes a commitment to get it done. 

This week, think about making your professional development a daily habit.  It can start small and if you stick with it, I promise it will become part of your daily routine.  If you talk to my dad, you'd swear he has a PhD.  Actually, he has a high school diploma supplemented with years of studying the dictionary.  Having command of the spoken or written word is a great start!  Make it a point to learn a new word each day. If you need help, sign up to get a new word emailed to you each day at Merriam-Webster Online.  Next, pick up a book and read for one hour a day.  If a book seems a little intimidating, try a Reader's Digest magazine.  You'll get a wide variety of topics that are practical and relevant.  Maybe a book on tape or on your iPod would get you started.  When your confidence is up and your brain in a little better shape, sign up for a college course.  Many community colleges offer workforce education programs that are less intimidating than a standard course.  Get started there and move toward taking regular courses for a degree or certification.  Before you know it, you'll approach life, work, and relationships with more confidence.

I'm passionate about this only because I've personally experienced the benefits. Please take some steps this week to add professional development into your routine!