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On several occasions, I’ve read information on the web about ‘work-life balance’. - You know, how companies are realizing the importance of balance between work and life. It’s important for their employees to have a balanced life, because a happy employee, is a much more productive and creative employee.

I’m not sure exactly which companies are concerned with their employee’s stress levels, because I don’t think the one I work for is. I’m not knocking them, I’m just saying that customer service, efficiency, and profit is the focus and the bottom line. Working out stress and creating balance in the other aspects of life, is primarily a responsibility left to the employee.

So, is keeping balance between work and the rest of your life important? I sure think so, but I don’t think a company can or will provide that for you.

According to David B. Bohlof Reflections on Balance,

…companies attempt to frame the work-life discussion in a way that is most favorable to them………The discussions that companies have with their employees about work-life balance are adversarial by nature. At the heart of it, the company wants more work from the employee and the employee wants more time off. Thus, company-employee discussions are win-lose propositions because they invariably end up being about the corporation versus the employee.

The fact is that to achieve a balance between work and the rest of your life, that’s something that you will have to do for yourself. Waiting on your employer to provide that, is like waiting for the government to provide it……..as they fix all your other problems as well. That’s how I see it….

Tags: Business, Career by Anthony ∗ 19 Comments »

Must I Play Golf To Get Ahead? is an article from Anne Fisher on Yahoo Finance from a few days ago. I think that’s a really good question.

I’ve read in business books before, that some of the best business relationships are made on the golf course. I’ve also witnessed it first hand to an extent. I see people move up the ladder, who are generally considered good golfers. Obviously, playing the game of golf is not a prerequisite for being successful in business, however it is a great tool, and that’s a fact.

I used to play golf, or played at golf may be a better way to put it. It is an enjoyable activity, leisurely playing the game surrounded by beautiful scenery. However, I felt that to really improve, I needed to devote more time to it than I had to give. I also felt that if I wasn’t going to actively try and improve, that the time and expense wasn’t worth it. That may or may not have been the best decision.

There’s no doubt that golf can bring new opportunities your way. Especially if you’re fairly skilled. The better you are at the game, the more people are interested in setting up a tee time with you. Golf is the game of the successful, and the successful like to congregate on the golf course.

I see one way that golf could actually hurt your career. If you wore those silly plaid pants to your job, you’d quickly become a laughing stock! Can you imagine this dude to the left showing up at the office looking like that? Can you imagine this guy trying to sell you an insurance policy or managing your portfolio? Personally, I’ve never understood why so many golfers dress so goofy…..

Tags: Business, Career, Goals by Anthony ∗ 6 Comments »

You probably know right off what your strengths are. This knowledge probably helps you make a lot of decisions. On the other hand, knowing your weaknesses is a little harder to come to terms with.

Every year at work, when my annual evaluation comes around, I’m faced with this. The term for weaknesses is “areas of opportunity”, but let’s call it what it is. Everyone has weaknesses. That’s a fact. It’s not something to be ashamed of. You can’t be great at everything.

Defining what those weaknesses are can be tricky. Some people can quickly name off a few, like public speaking or selling, but it’s easy to get confused between what you don’t like to do, versus where you’re actually the weakest.

Ben at the Instigator Blog, suggest that once you figure out what they are, there are many ways to turn them into strenghs. But figuring out what they are is key.

If you work for someone else, one way to figure out what your professional weaknesses are, is to directly ask your boss. I’ll guarantee you, that he/she already has an opinion on the matter. More than likely he or she will be more than happy to share their thoughts on this with you. If you do this, I’d suggest deciding up front that you aren’t going to get upset, and that you’re going to be objective in the spirit of self-improvement. The whole purpose is to identify them and then try and improve on them.

Identifying both your strengths and weaknesses can help give direction in life, can make you much more effective in setting and reaching goals, and will make you a more well-rounded person.

Tags: Business, Career, Goals, Personal Development by Anthony ∗ 3 Comments »

I’ve read in several different places recently, how many prospective employers may partially base their decision on hiring you - based on your blog. The blog is the new resume? That could be good or bad.

Apparently, some prospective employers go as far as to “google” your name and see what turns up. I’m sure that would be bad news for a lot of folks. On the other hand, it could be a very positive thing. Just think, your blog could be like an ongoing resume, keeping up with your accomplishments in real time. Adam Darowski says:

Blogging is the perfect way for a candidate to give an employer a more detailed sales pitch—to show they can “talk the talk” (as opposed to just fill a resume with buzzwords). I can’t think of a reason for any serious tech professional to not have a blog. Not only does it serve as an excellent notebook for storing ideas and links, but it can come in handy in a job hunt where what interviewers really want to just know what, professionally (and somewhat personally), engages you on a day to day basis.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, corporate recruiters have been doing this for quite a while. The article goes on to suggest that recruiters not only focus on industry related content, but they also check the candidates’ blogs about “noncareer-related topics for evidence of writing skills and clues to how rounded they are”.

It makes sense to me……. and it’s only been a matter of time in our high-tech society. If you needed a good reason to take your blog more serious, this could be it. If you were in the market for a job, could your web presence help you in the process, or would it come back and bite you?

Tags: Best Practices, Blogging, Business, Career by Anthony ∗ 15 Comments »

I was reading this article in the April issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, called Do You Talk To Much?, and it got me thinking about all the annoying habits people can have, that hold them back in life without them realizing it. Everyone knows someone like this. Maybe they’re a good person, but you hate to see them coming because they will tell you everything you don’t want to know about anything, and it’s extremely difficult to break away from them in conversation. The article suggests that we think of long-winded people as being “boring and self-absorbed”. It seems as though they enjoy the sound of their own voice so much, that they have a total disregard to whatever non-verbal clues your sending them. I’ve seen this in job interviews as well. An applicant just talks their way right out of a job, because they can’t answer a question. They’re trying to come across as being friendly, but they go way off topic telling some story rather than directly answering a question.

Another characteristic that came to mind, is people who are “close talkers”. I’m sure most of us have seen the episode of Seinfeld that pokes fun at the issue. It really is annoying to talk to some one who feels the need to get right in your face. Personally, I don’t want to smell your lunch when we’re talking……know what I mean?

The obvious question has to come up about ourselves. Whether we realize it or not, we may have bad communication habits of our own, that keep us from getting where we want to go in life. Here are a couple of questions to keep in mind:

1. When you talk, do people start fidgeting, and looking away?
2. When in a conversation, do you talk over 30 seconds without giving the other person a chance to speak?
3. Do you enjoy hearing yourself talk?

The sad thing is, that most people are not going to tell you that you talk too much. They will just avoid you.

Tags: Best Practices, Business, Career by Anthony ∗ 7 Comments »

Every decision in life that we make, we make based on our veiw of the options. There are lenses, if you will, that we can see the choices through. These lenses are mostly subject to our situation and our background. They form our perception of the world. Our perception of the world is either optimistic or pessimistic.

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Tags: Best Practices, Career, Goals by Anthony ∗ 4 Comments »