Career Acceleration Notes (CAN)

Message to Starbucks shareholders: Free WiFI

It came to me before I had my morning home brew on Sunday...Starbucks, which reported its first earnings losses last week, needs to change its business model to embrace free wireless.  NPR's feature, Sports Bars Draw Fantasy Footballers on Laptops, made the connection for me.  In brief, the NPR story reported that sports bars are beginning to serve laptop-toting customers breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with numerous drinks.  Meanwhile multitasking customers are watching football on the big screen, keeping track of fantasy football statistics, and writing term papers. 

I don't intend to conduct business in a sports bar, and while I'm a regular Grande-sipper, I don't work at Starbucks either. Why don't I work where I sip?  While I've grown accustomed to the strong, slightly burnt coffee, I can't get comfortable with $30/month Internet access fees. 

Like millions of people with home offices and a laptop, I like to meet new people in public places, and I need to to have access to the Internet.  I live in a small suburban town with 2 Starbucks locations; I must pass at least 4 others on my way to Panera Bread, where Free WiFI is on the menu in every location.  Once there, I hunker-down with a beverage and/or an amazingly tasty and somewhat healthy fast food meal, all the while plugged into the Internet and able to meet others.

Message to Starbucks:  "fuhget about" your expensive upcoming television advertising campaign and reallocate those resources to Free WiFI.  Encourage lap-top toting customer evangelists to build your brand and grow your business.

Confessions of a customer evangelist: promoting Kawasaki

It is amazing to find that sometimes, you have been ahead of the curve and didn't know it. I worked in a neighborhood bookstore as part of my "portfolio career" (a.k.a.,lots of jobs; little money) in 2002-2003. I was going to graduate school full-time and making the break from corporate life to consultancy. One of the benefits of my $8/hour job was access to pre-release copies of books. I was the only one in the shop that gravitated to the business books, and by now you know that I'm going to tell you that Creating Customer Evangelists... was one of the treasures I found. I recommended it several times, and even loaned it to someone who probably didn't "get-it," 'cuz I need to buy another copy after sending the link to a client!

Truth be told, I'm not comfortable with the "good news" connotation of customer evangelism, but the idea that clients are likely to enthusiastically promote my services if I make it easy for them to do so is almost a "no, duh."  I incorporated the term, "buzz," into my vocabulary; I even had to define and defend it in a presentation at Temple University. My sense of urgency about this now stems from yesterday's global summit honoring "The Brand Called You," the 1997 Fast Company article that I've been sending to prospective clients for several years. To kick-off the 12-hour teleseminar (it was recorded, so look for it online), Guy Kawasaki facilitated an excellent session, "Evangelizing Evangelists to Build a Business and Build Your Brand."

Few business books stay with you the way this one has for me. This book's authors are Ben McDonnell and Jackie Huba; Kawasaki wrote the forward and introduces the book's discussion of customer evangelism and viral marketing through engaging case studies (no dull Harvard Business School  curriculum for you). I recall the one about Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks, and will have to wait to get another copy of the book to remember the rest. Okay, so I guess I am sharing "the good news" after all.  Buy the book; tell 'em Karen sent you!

(As a cyclist, I had to add the picture of "Bike Friday," one of the products that has been successfully marketed through customer evangelism - not sold through retail bike shops!)   

Online Identity & Personal Marketing - FREE teleseminars Nov. 8th

Time to really accelerate your career transition and job search through 12 hours of FREE teleseminars on Thursday, November 8, 2007.  

Billed as a tribute to the Fast Company article written by Tom Peters in 1997, this event is a global 12-hour marathon.  Programs begin at 10am EST; all will be recorded, so you can return to this site to hear programs you missed during the scheduled summit. 

Log on when you can and listen to "the big dogs" of the personal branding movement that was spawned by The Brand Called You as they offer perspectives and strategies for building and maintaining your career health.

New CAN clients have received this Tom Peters article from me ever since I started my own business; this online audio tribute is an opportunity to listen to someone other than me flap their gums about it! Check-out the schedule at Jason Alba's Jibber Jobber Blog.

Sponsors of the summit are asking that participants donate to Kiva.org, an organization that promotes  microfinance - a means to build a sustainable economy in the developing world through loans to specific entrepreneurs.  Your donations will be bundled into loans to provide affordable working capital; funds will empower individual entrepreneurs to earn their way out of poverty. (FYI - My son, Rob, has been involved in the field of sustainable enterprise for the last three years; sign up for an RSS feed to the Development through Enterprise/Next Billion.net blog and learn about the work of this NGO, based in Washington, DC (World Resources Institute).

Let's create some buzz about the Personal Branding Summit - comment about the sessions you found helpful and those you didn't; share your reactions and reflections with others at Career Acceleration Notes.
 

The Future of Work: read a special double issue from Business Week

A must-read for all the generations in the workplace: Millennials, GenY, GenX, Boomers...

Business Week recently published a double issue that is a "must read" for those interested in the 21st C. workplace.  The Future of Work:  how we will master technology, manage companies, and build careers in the era of the global, 24-7 workplace offers facts and conclusions based on a summer 2007 survey of 2000 American middle managers.  Some random points of interest: 

• The modern workplace resembles a design studio, where core values are collaboration and innovation
• More than 1 in 4 workers age 55 and older say they never expect to retire; only 1 in 10 under age 30 say the same thing.
• Job satisfaction in the U.S. has fallen by 12 percentage points in the last decade - a record low.
• Multinational companies are having trouble getting people to work well together:  e-mail and telecommunications are expedient, but complex teams are more productive through face time.
• Dow Chemical is one of the companies trying to stave off a brain drain created by the expected retirement of 30% of its workforce over the next 5 years.  Dow is offering flexible hours, three-day workweeks, and an open door to retirees who want to return to the workplace. 
• India is trying to keep its talent in-country.  Accenture Ltd. assigns a career counselor to each employee and offers continuing education through a range of 10,000 courses.  Message for workers on all continents: Continuing Education is a key to success in the workplace of the future.
• Sustainable careers are those that involve deep relationships with customers and extensive knowledge of market conditions - another boon for Boomers...

This issue includes a piece by Diane Brady called, Creating Brand You.  The author identifies Estee Lauder as an employer offering personal branding training as a means to strengthen employee loyalty and engagement.  The author claims that Generation X types are more skeptical of the value of branding than are the Boomers and younger Gen Y'ers.  She reminds readers of all generations that "your co-workers aren't just your colleagues.  They're your audience."

Those interested in achieving change in the 21st C. workplace should check-out this issue -  we can discuss and debate the issues raised for weeks.  Looking for your comments and reactions on this blog; your participation will make this a place for an exchange of ideas between people with shared interests!

Posted by Karen P. Katz

Business Week recently published a double issue that is a "must read" for those interested in the 21st C. workplace.  The Future of Work:  how we will master technology, manage companies, and build careers in the era of the global, 24-7 workplace offers facts and conclusions based on a summer 2007 survey of 2000 American middle managers.  Some random points of interest: 

• The modern workplace resembles a design studio, where core values are collaboration and innovation
• More than 1 in 4 workers age 55 and older say they never expect to retire; only 1 in 10 under age 30 say the same thing.
• Job satisfaction in the U.S. has fallen by 12 percentage points in the last decade - a record low.
• Multinational companies are having trouble getting people to work well together:  e-mail and telecommunications are expedient, but complex teams are more productive through face time.
• Dow Chemical is one of the companies trying to stave off a brain drain created by the expected retirement of 30% of its workforce over the next 5 years.  Dow is offering flexible hours, three-day workweeks, and an open door to retirees who want to return to the workplace. 
• India is trying to keep its talent in-country.  Accenture Ltd. assigns a career counselor to each employee and offers continuing education through a range of 10,000 courses.  Message for workers on all continents: Continuing Education is a key to success in the workplace of the future.
• Sustainable careers are those that involve deep relationships with customers and extensive knowledge of market conditions - another boon for Boomers...

This issue includes a piece by Diane Brady called, Creating Brand You.  The author identifies Estee Lauder as an employer offering personal branding training as a means to strengthen employee loyalty and engagement.  The author claims that Generation X types are more skeptical of the value of branding than are the Boomers and younger Gen Y'ers.  She reminds readers of all generations that "your co-workers aren't just your colleagues.  They're your audience."

Those interested in achieving change in the 21st C. workplace should check-out this issue -  we can discuss and debate the issues raised for weeks.  Looking for your comments and reactions on this blog; your participation will make this a place for an exchange of ideas between people with shared interests!

Posted by Karen P. Katz

Fast Company blazes a trail for re-branding: Al Gore's $100 Million Makeover

Fast Company has marked the 10th anniversary of Tom Peters' The Brand Called You with a puffy, but motivating piece on the re-branding of Al Gore. Ellen McGirt's cover story in the July/August 2007 issue of FC (Al Gore's $100 Million Makeover) is required reading for anyone involved in career transition. 

Gore has integrated  his geeky penchant for research, his access to well-heeled connections, and his willingness to speak passionately about issues: the result is a transformation from failed politician to successful entrepreneur.  No longer the butt of late-night TV jokes, he is now an aspiring media mogul as the co-owner of Current TV.  He has become an adviser to two of the World's Most Innovative Companies, Google and Apple; co-founder of an investment firm that promotes a new definition of sustainability; and, he is also involved in other enterprises that have raised his net worth from $1-2 million to more than $100 million in less than seven years.  Politics aside, this transition from "almost got the job" is a story that can inspire the success of others, even those with more moderate goals than Gore's.

A few learning points: 

• Be purposeful in defining your brand:  find your passion.
• Dare to be different:  innovation is not as intimidating as invention - You CAN do it...
• Connect with friends, family, colleagues:  "to network" can be conjugated as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb - it works at all levels
• Use technology:  aside from promoting your ideas, technology allows you to listen and learn from your customers/audience

There is a lot of buzz in the careers community about this topic of branding (the book by Kirsten Dixon and William Arruda is a must-read).  While Gore may not have participated in an official branding program, the transformation of his image and financial outlook speak volumes for the value of thoughtful and guided transition.

Posted by Karen P. Katz

Truthfulness as a job search strategy…

In April ’07, blogs were buzzing about Marilee Jones, who left her job at M.I.T. because of a lie she told years ago…  The basic learning point = telling lies may result in shame and perhaps, being fired

In June ’07, Jack and Suzy Welch, the GE power couple who became Business Week pundits in January 2006, wrote about the importance of being truthful during the interview process.  The basic learning point = telling the truth may result in being hired. 

Their point is worth emphasizing: candidates must present a credible picture of themselves. 

* Few candidates over the age of 30 have pursued a career path that has not included a few speed-bumps.  The reasons for such bumps are legion, and the assignment of blame something that we need to “get over.” 

* Decision-makers are likely to be more than 30-years old; you can be sure they’ve experienced some disappointments along with their successes. 

* It is likely that your self-reflective, non-judgmental, and mature analysis will be disarming: people will like you!  After all the degrees, accomplishments, and keywords are posted, it comes down to “fit:”  people hire those whom they like.

Career decisions are not without emotional baggage and consequences; work through your “Grief Cycle” and recognize your strengths with the help of a job search strategy coach.

* Listen to your former colleagues and your current network for clues as to what happened in the previous position - look forward.

* Test realistic solutions and investigate new opportunities through networking, reading, and self-reflection - look forward.   

When you are ready, present yourself as a credible candidate by demonstrating that you are self-reflective, that you accept ownership for your behavior, and that you have gained insight that will help you be more valuable as you move forward. 

The friend described in Own Up to Getting Sacked was offered a new job within weeks of telling a prospective employer:  “I’m sitting here with you because didn’t have the guts to move out employees who couldn’t meet their numbers, and I tweaked costs instead of taking the full-bore approach that was necessary.  But I can assure you, those mistakes won’t happen again.  Let me prove it to you.”

Recognizing and telling the truth is a powerful job search strategy… 

Posted by Karen P. Katz

Written references - What the Wolfowitz example teaches us…

Renee Montagne, a commentator and reporter on  NPR's Morning Edition - May 18th, asked a question that many prospective employers must ask when confronted with glowing written testimonials.  If the outgoing President of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, “acted in good faith,” as their written statement indicates, then why is he leaving?

This is not the forum to debate the judgment of Mr. Wolfowitz or even the World Bank Board.  The way in which “Wolfie” departed his post offers a teaching moment for those of us interested in references, recommendations, and testimonials.  According to the 2004 Reference and Background Checking Survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 96% of all organizations conduct some kind of background or reference check on prospective hires, and almost 50% of survey respondents reported that reference checks found inconsistencies in dates of previous employment, criminal records, former job titles, and past salaries. So unless you are a high profile policy wonk, honesty is important.

*How can we reveal a credible and acceptable analysis of what may have been a tumultuous departure? 
*How can we offer references and recommendations when employment may not have terminated on our terms?

For most of us, the reasons for our departure from a previous job are not so visible, political, or even egregious.  Nevertheless, we need to be able to acknowledge our incompatibilities and look for a new start without the enmity or cloud of a former employer. Some ideas:

*Give yourself some time to go through the “mourning process,” which includes anger and denial.  Once you are ready to accept the departure, identify what you gained from the previous position and prepare a self-reflective “exit summary.”

*Contact others with whom you’ve worked, e.g. other managers, colleagues, vendors, customers, and ask a few of them if they’ll serve as a reference for you.

*Coach your references so they can honestly speak to aspects of your work relationship that you believe represent your talents.

*Request written recommendations only if you are in a field that requires them, e.g. academia and teaching.  Written recommendations for candidates in other fields are viewed as self-serving. Why would a candidate carry around and distribute a testimonial that was not glowing?

Most of us have encountered untenable situations in our work life, and we learn and grow as a result. As Oscar Wilde said, "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." Mr. Wolfowitz has apparently not learned from his mistakes, as he insisted that the Board share responsibility for his errors of judgment, and demanded that a written list of his accomplishments be published.  We can do better.

Posted by Karen P. Katz

Author comes to BCCC-Women's History Month

Bucks County Community College is hosting author Carolyn See on Friday, March 9, 2007 - Library Auditorium, 8pm, FREE. 

Sponsored by the community college's Women's Center, the author appears as part of National Women's History Month.

Ms. See will read from her recently published novel, There Will Never Be Another You, which links the personal tragedy of a husband’s death with the implosion of the Twin Towers on 9/11. 

The book was published in May 2006, and has earned accolades from many sources, including Oprah Winfrey and fellow authors. Joan Didion , author of several books dealing with the response to public events, called See’s work, “a book about things falling apart that turns out to be a day at the beach…Pure joy.” 

While See does not describe herself as a women’s author, she writes about how love, relationships, and careers intersect with the events that swirl around us.  From the Greeks and Romans to Shakespeare to John Steinbeck, literature has used signs of outward calamity as a device to portend tragedy for characters. 

As human beings, our level of sensitivity to the world around us varies. At the risk of engaging in gender bias, I agree with those who believe that women are more sensitive to the clash of emotions we experience on a daily basis. Human stories about natural disasters, wars, and genocide make our focus on colleagues, pay, and traffic seem petty and self-centered. 

Certainly we need to put our lives in perspective, and Carolyn See draws on her own experience to help her readers do that.  Join me in an evening that promises to be engaging and enlightening.

A voice for CAN clients - past, current, future...

Hi! This is Karen, Founder of the Career Acceleration Network (CAN), a career consulting group based in Philly.  We work with career changers of all flavors: professionals, executives, women returning to the workforce, and "Boomers." 

Who is Karen?

People describe me as a Career Strategist:  a writer, researcher, networker, and motivator.  You can read about my background and credentials on my website and via LinkedIn.com (www.careeracceleration.net)

What makes CAN special? What's our USP?
The fact that you are reading this weblog demonstrates our USP...we are passionate about creating a sense of community among career change stakeholders.  The goal is to create a group dynamic between CAN clients - past, present, and future - and other like-minded people, including those in career transition, those looking for talented people, and career professionals.

Why should you read and contribute to the CAN-blog?

CAN offers a wealth of resources, and we are humble enough to know that we can't be all things to all people all the time.  It is through this online community that you have access to a huge body of information, new ideas, and feedback. 

Your ROI is multipled exponentially by the power of the Internet. This weblog will connect you to safe and secure sites where you can learn from others, including colleagues in the career transition business.

2006 was the year that Career Acceleration Network (CAN) inaugurated our brick and mortar networking initiative, "Schmoozing for Success."  2007 is the year of the CAN-blog!

With your participation (and patience as we tackle the technical gremlins), we'll demonstrate that the stakeholders involved in career change CAN achieve more by "doin' the blog..."

P.S. Look for entries on other respected sites, including the new weblog of CMI (Career Masters Institute) and these:

http://careerhub.typepad.com
http://blog.guykawasaki.com

To paraphrase Charles Kurault, "see ya on the weblog..."