The Importance of Culture in Organizations
Employees’ level of success and overall happiness has more to do with a particular culture (which is sometimes also referred to as the personality of an organization) than with any other factor. This article discusses (a) the importance of organizational culture, (b) why some employees do not give strong consideration to culture, (c) the reason that failure to seriously consider culture prematurely ends many careers, and (d) why making a lateral move provides the best opportunity to evaluate culture and the course of your career. Just as the work, salary, and prestige level can vary from employer to employer, the [Read more]
Being Able to Start from Scratch Is a Gift
One of the hardest things for any of us to do is to relearn something and become infinitely better at it the next time around. Few of us ever allow ourselves to do this because we are in a comfort zone, which often does not allow us to move, improve, and change. People are motivated primarily by two things, pain and pleasure. The desire to avoid pain is very strong and keeps most of us from going outside this comfort zone. When I was around 14 years old, I was exceptionally good at tennis. I was on [Read more]
Einstein, Visualization, and Your Career
One of the little-known facts about Albert Einstein is that he attended a school that followed the teaching methods of the Swiss educator Johann Pestalozzi. Pestalozzi schools taught children in what was known as the Pestalozzi Method (the “Method”). Under the Method, it was believed that instead of dealing with words, children should learn through activity and objects. They should be free to pursue their own interests and reach their own conclusions. Much of Pestalozzi’s teaching methods can be found in a book he published in 1801 called How Gertrude Teaches Her Children. In this book, he discusses the importance of spontaneity and allowing children to arrive at answers themselves. Visualization was a major component in this method. Pestalozzi believed that visualization was among the mind’s most powerful features and that imagery was where all knowledge started.
The school environment created by Pestalozzi’s [Read more]
Be Committed to What You Do
I am about to provide you some of the strangest job search and career advice you will ever receive from someone who’s in the recruiting industry. One thing you should know about me is that I’m a straight shooter. If I see a pattern repeat itself enough times, I know it’s something that must be true. The pattern I’m about to explain to you is so powerful it could change your career forever. I know it has changed mine. The secret is commitment. When I was in my 20s, I had a girlfriend who watched soap operas. She was committed to those shows. She would watch them every single day, and if she could not watch them, she would record them. I’m ashamed to admit that I would sometimes watch the soaps with her when she would catch up on the missed episodes. The one thing I quickly realized about soap operas was that they were all about commitment, in that none of the characters could commit. Each person on every one of the shows would get into a series of relationships, be tempted by others, get out of relationships, get married, cheat, and so forth. This was all the soap operas were ever about. The characters would inevitably suffer hospitalizations for nervous breakdowns or horrible accidents (caused by their distractions). Then there would be horrible, drunken, public confessions and all sorts of other malfeasance. Moreover, the people on these shows would always be led to believe that, no matter how good their situation was, the grass was greener elsewhere. Several years later, when I got into the employment market and started recruiting, I began noticing this same soap opera pattern with clients and coworkers. People would leave a job for any lapse, no matter how small. If they were criticized by an employer, I would see them start looking for another job. If someone heard another employer was paying more, they would send a résumé. If their current company or firm were getting bad press, they would start looking for another job. The reasons were innumerable. Some might seem proactive, while others were purely reactionary. One thing seemed clear to me: There was a major lack of commitment in the marketplace. People could not or would not commit themselves to a single employer–or to anything for that matter. Commitment is key in order to experience any form of success. You should not do any sort of job if your heart isn’t in it and you can’t commit. If you are a public relations intern, you need to be committed to that job. If you are the president of a corporation, you need to be committed to that as well. Not being committed to your career will only have negative consequences. Several months ago, I was speaking with a proofreader in my company who resigned because she had found a better job across the street, one that paid more. The amount of the pay increase was minimal. I was actually prepared to give the woman a raise, a higher amount than her new job. In our meeting, the young woman explained she liked working for our company, but she needed to make more money because her husband had been unemployed for some time. I told her I was very sorry about this and asked how she became aware of the new job. She was a nice girl and I was interested in talking to her about this. The job she was doing at our company was very demanding and had required her to take work home at night and to work very hard for the most part. In response, she told me she’d been freelancing for the other company for some time, and this was how she came to entertain a new full-time job offer. Once she told me this, I was no longer interested in trying to keep this person at our company. I knew immediately she was not committed to our company to the degree I wanted her to be. She was not someone I wanted on my team. Your boss (and we all have bosses) wants employees who are committed to what they do. Whenever I hear people tell me they are just doing something until they can find something better, I know they will never really succeed. When I see people leave a job for trivial reasons, I also know that they will probably not reach the success for which they’re striving. When I see people watch the clock and leave at 5 p.m. every day because they are not really interested in what they are doing, I know those people will probably have mediocre careers. Commitment shines through, and it is easy to see when it’s not there. Each morning, I read the Wall Street Journal. I spend at least forty-five minutes reading it cover to cover. Most of the stories in this publication are about Fortune 500 companies and other such organizations. At least once a week, I see something along these lines: John Smith started out as a repairman for a local office of X company in 1977. Today, he is CEO of the same company, with 18,000 employees in 26 countries and revenues of $4.2 billion last year… It’s not coincidental I keep seeing stories like this in the paper. Without a doubt, the people who are rising up in these situations are those who are the most committed. When they join a company, they join and remain in a committed fashion. They show up to work. These are the kinds of people who grow within corporations. They usually keep their jobs, but if they ever lose a job they will find another job quickly. Their commitment attracts success. Being committed also has financial rewards. I have several people working for me on salary, whose incomes have consistently risen (more than tripled) in the past three to four years alone, because I know they are committed. I know their hearts and souls are in the job. I have recruiters working for our company who make two to three times the money of the average recruiter because of their level of commitment to the job. It’s very common for people who’ve held too many jobs within a short span of time to never find a job in their industry again. This happens to [Read more]
The Way to Power
L. W. Rogers’s Self-Development and the Way to Power is a marvelously inspiring book that speaks of happiness as a product of wisdom. Rogers states that a person is either a slave of nature or a master of its law. He believes that suffering is unnatural and an imposed negativity. Everyone is supposed to be happy and hence we must discover our innermost powers and develop them in order to live a healthier, wealthier, and happier life. This book contains a strong message and can benefit you immensely. It is my pleasure to be sharing it with you.
–Harrison
SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND THE WAY TO [Read more]
Look for the Cause
Everything that occurs in our world and to us has a cause. The cause may not be immediately obvious, but it is always there waiting to be found. The result of anything you see always contains its cause, and everything that happens is the result of either good or bad seeds that have been planted at some point in time:
- If some people are living in poverty and alone, spend some time with them and you will understand why they are in their situation. They are most likely in the position they are in not just (1) due to bad things that have happened to them, which were caused by other people (i.e., bad seeds), but (2) due to bad things that they themselves have done (i.e., planting of bad seeds), which have come back to haunt them. The condition they are living in is the growth that has occurred due to the bad seeds they have planted.
- If some people are living in opulence and are surrounded by people who love them, spend time with them and you will understand why. They are most likely in the position they are in not just (1) due to good things that have happened to them, which were caused by other people (i.e., good seeds), but (2) due to good things they themselves have done (i.e., planting of good seeds), which have grown the people’s rich and full life. The condition they are living in is the growth that has occurred due to the good seeds they have planted.
- If some people have good careers and are happy in what they do, spend some time with them and you will understand why. They are most likely in the position they are in (1) due [Read more]
Happy Meals and Bonuses
In 1979, when McDonald’s introduced the Happy Meal, I, along with every other kid, was excited to go to McDonald’s all of a sudden. I was 9 years old back then and the McDonald’s on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, which had formerly been an “okay” place to go for French fries suddenly became the place–somewhere I wanted to go. It had very little to do with the food. I was most interested in the prize that would be in the Happy Meal. I even remember that McDonald’s used to advertise on television the different Happy Meal prizes that they had. For example, there would be Barbie, The Little Mermaid, Hot Wheels, and so forth. These prizes would also generally be coordinated with various kid’s movies that were coming out from time to time. Incredibly, my two-year-old daughter now even prefers going to McDonald’s over other restaurants because she knows that when we order her a Happy Meal there will be a prize awaiting her. In addition, McDonald’s even offers mini outdoor playgrounds in many areas, which makes it even more appealing, especially after taking any kind of family road trip. The concept of the Happy Meal was and continues to be flat-out brilliant. When you think about it, all McDonald’s is really doing is putting some little knickknack they have mass produced inside of a cheap colorful cardboard box, and throwing a little hamburger and small fries into it. Nevertheless, this drives children to the restaurants, makes parents take their kids there, and also creates long-term brand loyalty in children, from which McDonald’s will be able to profit for years to come. All of this is possible simply because McDonald’s is offering a bonus or incentive, which is nothing other than a little toy or doll they have manufactured for a few cents out of China. One account I have read states that by 2003, the Happy Meal accounted for 20% of all meals that McDonald’s sold each year.* It should be [Read more]
Why You Should Work Weekends and Holidays
I cannot tell you how many people have ruined their careers by having the wrong attitude when it comes to working weekends and holidays. Although you may consider your work just a job, if you send this message to your superiors, you will be in trouble quickly. In order to really thrive in most jobs, your work must be far, far more important to you than just a job. There is no better way to let your superiors know how important your work is to you than by working weekends and holidays. To get ahead, you must do this. You [Read more]
Instead of Seeking Praise, Seek Criticism
Several years ago, I had a girlfriend who would fly off the handle at the slightest criticism. It didn’t matter who was criticizing her. She would call people ugly, smelly, short–whatever attack she could muster in response to what she perceived as criticism. She would also do everything within her power to avoid being criticized. In school, for example, many mornings she would work until 4 a.m. to ensure she got a perfect grade in her class. In her personal life, she made sure to only associate with people she knew would never criticize her. [Read more]
You Need to Offer Hope
When I was about 12 years old my stepfather was dying of cancer. The cancer had spread so far in his body there was nothing the doctors could really do anymore. They had already completed several operations, which had removed a lot of the cancer, but this didn’t seem to matter. My stepfather had undergone chemotherapy, and although he was just in his early 40s he no longer had any hair. Every few hours he would have a bout of throwing up, which would last several minutes. He was doing the best he could to [Read more]
