The Importance of Fitting In

One of the most persistent mistakes people make is not fitting in with their work environments. Fitting in enables you to both get and keep a job. In terms of what it takes to succeed in the long term, fitting in may actually be more important than your skill level. This little-known observation is lost on many people, and overlooking this can result in unhappy and unfulfilled careers. Conversely, being aware of this often results in very happy and fulfilling careers. The problem is that it is often the very best people and those with the best academics and technical [Read more]

Are You Here? The Importance of Being Present in Your Job and Job Search

What makes someone successful in his or her career? When it comes down to it, I believe one of the greatest determinants of success is whether or not you are “here.” “Being here” takes two forms. The most obvious is to be here physically. Coming into the office each day and going through the motions is the most basic way to be here and the minimum requirement for success. An example of being here for a salesperson would be coming into the office and making a certain number of cold calls each day. If this is done, and nothing more, [Read more]

Your Ultimate Goal: How You Can Find Job Security

One of the worst things that can happen to people is getting fired from a job with no notice whatsoever. It can be devastating to lose your source of income unexpectedly, especially in a contracting economy. Losing a job can color our perspective on the world and our future. Going forward, we have a difficult time allowing ourselves to ever feel secure again. We believe that things can change in an instant and that we might be suddenly out of a job again. This fear of sudden job loss is something that many people who have been terminated from jobs [Read more]

Your Job Is a Game. Make Your Opponents External

After being in the workforce for many years, I’ve come to realize that all of our jobs are, quite simply, games. In every job you have ever had, you are part of a game. Your ability to play the game and be part of the team will determine your success or failure. The ability of your employer to externalize the game and the opponent will determine the success or failure of the enterprise. Games consist of rules, freedoms, barriers, and opponents. Every organization has a certain set of rules by which it operates. These rules determine how [Read more]

The Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon and Your Job Search

One of the most powerful and important things you can do to get a job or achieve anything in life is learn how to just get your foot in the door. Once you are able to get your foot in the door, everything changes. My entire life, I have seen firsthand the power of people getting their foot in the door. A large part of the battle for success in your career revolves around your ability to do this, because once you get your foot in the door incredible things can happen to you. Once you are in, the people you are working with will protect you if you work hard. You will also be in a position to impart massive change on the world. Several years ago, I was in a relationship with a woman who worked for David Geffen, who is one of the most powerful and richest men in Hollywood. This woman used to work at Geffen’s house, and when she was there she would see people like President Bill Clinton walking around. Amazingly, Geffen never completed college. He started his career working in the mail room at the William Morris Agency. To get the job, he was asked to prove that he had graduated from college, so he forged a letter to that effect. Geffen was such a hard worker that, once he was able to get his foot in the door, he was able to achieve what his true pedigree would not have allowed him to achieve. While people may not approve of Geffen forging the fact that he went to college, doing so got him in the door. The rest is history; getting his foot in the door gave Geffen the opportunity to become a powerful agent, and ultimately, hang out with presidents, make movies, become a generous benefactor, and more. All of his successes came from his ability to get in the door. Several years ago, I was speaking to an attorney who was working at what is widely considered the most difficult law firm to [Read more]

Concentrate on the Process, Not the Results

Some time ago, I was listening to a seminar about a company that was in the furniture business. This company decided that because it was doing so well, it should expand into the piano business, and also sell pianos. They went out and purchased a Steinway and took the piano apart to study all of the pieces. Then they made the same pieces themselves and built a piano. When they finally had built their own piano and tried to play it, nothing but thuds came out of the instrument. Discouraged, not knowing what they possibly could have done wrong, they [Read more]

Are You Motivated by Information, People, Activities, Things – or Places?

Most people are motivated by either information, people, activities, things, or places. You are probably focused on one of these as well, and this explains why some people interest you, and others you find boring. This also explains why you hit it off with certain types of people and do not hit it off with others, and why you are attracted to certain jobs and activities more than others. The rarest sort of person is the one who is interested primarily in information. For most of his life my grandfather woke up every morning and studied the [Read more]

Are You More Interested in the Intangible or the Tangible?

Several years ago, I started a business called Law Firm Staff, which is a staffing business for attorneys, paralegals, and so forth. Because it was a relatively new business and I had hired a manager, I felt that it was extremely important that the business had a strong self-concept and was well branded. At the time, our other companies were going gangbusters, and I solicited bids from various “branding agencies” that would help us to come up with various concepts for branding our business in the eyes of customers. When the bids started coming in, I realized [Read more]

Are You Visual, Auditory–or Kinesthetic?

You have probably heard before that people tend to be visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. In my experience, this is true and it is something you can generally pick up on within just a few minutes of meeting the average person. Understanding whether or not you are one or the other is something that can help you understand what sort of work you should be doing, the sorts of people you should be working with, the people you should be spending your time with, and the type of environment that will make you happy. In addition, you will make decisions and [Read more]

The Importance of Environment

I have decided that I do not like exercising in the gym in our building in Las Vegas anymore. The facility itself is very nice and new, and it has excellent equipment. It is also very clean and well maintained; in fact, it is one of the nicest gyms I have ever seen. The window views of the stratosphere outside are also pretty cool. However, it is what is going on inside the gym that bothers me. Almost every time I have been to the gym I have seen men running with their shirts off on the [Read more]

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