Andy Robinson’s Career Success! Career Tip of the Day

One of the features of LinkedIn that tends to be underutilized is the "Status Update" (also called your "Network Update") in your LinkedIn Profile.  Your status update "block" is a white box located just below your picture on your "View My Profile" page.  If you don't see such a block, then you've not posted a status update.

From your LinkedIn Home Page or your "Edit My Profile" page, you can change your status update as frequently as you desire.  EVERY time you update your status, the home page of ALL of your network connections is "pinged" with your status update.  Status updates are also distributed to your network via email when LinkedIn sends you your weekly "Network Update."  Your latest status update is always displayed on your LinkedIn profile.

Your status updated is limited to 140 characters -- just like Twitter -- so keep that in mind, particularly when cutting and pasting information into your status update "window."

Updating your Status is a great way to "communicate" to your network on a frequent and ongoing basis.  I update my status at least once each day with different types of information.  10 Tips for Effectively Using Your Status Update to distribute useful information are presented below:

1. Insert the title and a "shortened" URL link to one of your recent blog articles (bit.ly is a great resource for shortening URL's)
2. Insert the title and a "shortened" URL to a blog article that you read and really liked -- particularly one that is timely, informative and relates to your "brand" or area of specialty in some way.
3. A link a newsworthy web posting or news item (include the title and a shortened URL). Alignment with you brand "voice" or area of specialty makes it more powerful.  I like to focus on POSITIVE news as opposed to negative news.
4. A great "quote of the day."  A great source of quotes of to search the #quote "hashtag" on Twitter.  Since Twitter updates are limited to 140 characters, you'll find quotes that "fit" the LinkedIn status update window.
5. A brief piece of advice relevant to your brand or area of specialty.
6. A link to a great YouTube video (I recommend linking only to Videos that are less than about 3 to 5 minutes in length).  The video content should be consistent with your "brand" or area of specialty.
7. A request to connect with you on Twitter, along with your Twitter URL.  I've created a "custom" domain for my Twitter URL - www.AndyOnTwitter.com.
8. An important announcement about you or your company -- a brief "press release" type of communication.
9. A link to an article in which YOU were quoted (I give the title of the article and a shortened URL link to the article).  The is a powerful PR and branding activity.
10. Recent results and key activities at work.  Something like "Just landed three new Executive Career Coaching clients this week; excited about launching those engagements!"

Give it a try, make it a habit.

By the way there are tools available that allow you to cross-post your Twitter updates DIRECTLY to your LinkedIn status udpates (as well as Facebook and other social media applications).  A couple of tools I really like are ping.fm and hellotxt.com (check them out).

All the best to your Career Success!
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

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Growth -- personal growth and professional growth -- is all about change -- stretching yourself beyond your limits, trying new things, embracing new ways of doing things and adapting to new circumstances.

Make it a point this week to LOOK FOR opportunities to step out of your comfort zone and jump back on a growth curve.  Accept the idea that you may open yourself up to risk, to making mistakes and even "embarrassing" yourself, but step out of your comfort zone anyway.  Growth is all about falling down, getting back up again AND learning something new.

Consider these ideas for stepping out of your comfort zone this week:

• Volunteer or be aware of opportunities to speak in front of a group of people.  Throw your personality at others in a setting that you have a bit of control over.
• Take a different route to work this week.  You may happen upon something or someone new that has meaning to you.
• Say "NO" to something that you would normally accept -- Use the time to take care of something more important.
• Speak up in a group situation -- share your thoughts, your ideas, your opinions -- the impact on the topic at hand COULD be significant.  
• Attend a "networking" event that you would normally avoid.  Take the opportunity to meet new people and possibly spark a new business relationship that could lead to something "big" for you.
• Leave work one hour earlier and use the time to spend with a family member.  Surprise your kids at an event or treat your spouse to a surprise dinner out.
• Force yourself to get up 30 minutes earlier this week.  Use the time to plan your day or read inspirational material.  
• Turn off the news, give your newspaper to your neighbor.  Remove yourself from the negative energy that seems to pervade the media these days.
• Ask for the business.  No more dancing around this week. Close the prospect meeting by asking for their business.  

Make your own list of ideas for stepping out of your comfort zone.  Reflect back on these things at the end of the week and consider their implications going forward.  You may end up lighting a fuse that ignites a growth spurt.

I hope you have a wonderful week!  All the best to your Career Success.

Andy Robinson
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com
Andy@CRGLeaders.com

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We ALL procrastinate on things.  There are always items on our "to do" list, whether written down or in our head, that we KNOW we need to take care of, but we've continued to put off.  Begin the week this week buy TAKING ACTION on at least THREE matters that you've been putting off. 

Maybe it's:

• "That call" you've been putting off that you know is going to be a difficult conversation.  Make that call today; get it behind you and feel the surge of energy that results from getting it done.
• Taking action -- even if it's a small step -- on "that project" you've been meaning to start.  If it is truly something IMPORTANT that needs to get done within the next 30 days, then schedule an action item TODAY to "prime the pump" for establishing some momentum in moving forward.  Once you complete that first step, schedule the next one for later this week or next week.  Keep the process moving forward.
• Sharing "that piece of 'bad' news" you've been holding off on telling your boss or colleague about.  Maybe it's not quite as "bad" as you think.  Maybe your boss or colleague can help you think about a new way of looking at the matter.  Either way, holding onto it is negative energy that needs to be released to free your mind up to focus on positive things.
• Dealing with "that difficult personnel issue."  It's not going to go away if you don't deal with it or devise a plan for "fixing" it. Schedule some time THIS WEEK  to devise a plan and act on that plan.  Get it behind you.
• Dealing with "administrative paperwork" -- your expense report, your sales call activity report, a staff performance evaluation.  Consider the BENEFITS of getting these things done -- the benefits to you and to others who might be affected.

PICK THREE things, and schedule the time or block out the time to take care of them this week. 

Better yet, do something RIGHT NOW to deal with one of more of these matters.

Begin each week this way and watch your list of things you've procrastinated on gradually wean itself down to nothing or almost nothing.

_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

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Weekends are a great time to step away from the pressures of work, spend some quality time with your family and loved ones, and recover physically and mentally from the previous work week.  As the weekend comes to a close and Monday morning nears the horizon, consider these three ideas for getting your week off to a fabulous start:

• Arrive at the office 30 minutes earlier this Monday morning.  Close your door and forward your office phone.  Use this time to PLAN YOUR WEEK:
  
  • Review your calendar for last week, this week and next week
  • Review your project list
  • Review your "to do" lists
  • Review your annual goals
  • Review your inbox (paper inbox)
  • Review your email inbox and key folders (but try to refrain from beginning the process of responding to emails during your planning time)

• As part of your weekly planning, identity the TOP THREE GOALS you'd like to achieve this coming week -- what are the three MOST IMPORTANT tasks or projects that you need to accomplish?  For each of these top three goals, what is the VERY NEXT ACTION you need to do (or delegate to someone else). 

• Schedule and protect time blocks.  Schedule blocks of time ON YOUR CALENDAR to work on tasks associated with your top three goals.  Time blocks of 60 to 90 minutes generally work best.  Ideally time blocks should be uninterrupted time behind closed doors in your office whenever possible (or away from your office).

Entering the work week with clarity on your goals, a clear plan of action, and sufficient time scheduled to work on them FEELS GOOD and will almost always have a positive impact on your productivity and results for the week.

Hit the ground running on Mondays .... get a positive start on your work week.  All the best to you for a GREAT week....
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

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In his book "Getting Things Done," David Allen talks about the power of the "Two Minute Rule" as it applies to our productivity and keeping our heads empty of all the little things we need to do.

The concept is simple: If you have a task to do -- a email that you just received, responding to a voice mail message, dealing with something that has landed on your desk, etc. and it can DEFINITELY be done in two minutes or less, then go ahead and DO IT.

NOT doing it, means writing it down or putting it on a task list or trying to keep track of it in your head.  By the time we do get around to doing it, we've probably spent MORE than two minutes processing it FOR completion.

Is there something magic about two minutes -- could it be a one minute rule or a three minute rule?  Certainly, but the message is this: If it can be done quickly, go ahead and do it.  Determine what "quickly" means for you, but something in the one to three minute range is probably best, otherwise the time accumulates and you run the risk of counter-productivity.

So....What do you have in front of you RIGHT NOW that can be done in two minutes or less? 
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

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As I looked back on the past week and considered the things that got done and the things that did NOT get done, I was reminded of the importance of maintaining a rhythm and routine with respect to activities in three key areas -- activities which, when done regularly, have a major positive impact on my weekly results and achievements.  Those areas of activity are:

• Daily New Business Development Activities.  As a small business owner, responsible for both the delivery of the services to my clients AND "keeping my plate full" of wonderful clients to work with, it is imperative that I spend a little bit of time EVERY DAY focused on marketing, sales and business development activities.  Sometimes it's an hour a day, sometimes 30 minutes and sometimes a couple of hours.  The important thing is the routine of doing SOMETHING meaningful and impactful on a daily basis.

• Reaching Out and Giving to My Network on a Daily Basis.  My business network is the lifeblood of my business -- current clients, former clients, prospective clients, former colleagues, fellow club and professional organization members, friends, vendors, alliance partners, business partners, advisors, LinkedIn contacts, Facebook friends and Twitter followers.  ALL are important, and doing something EACH DAY focused on communicating to members of my networking and/or giving something useful TO network contacts (information, referrals, advice that is asked for, etc.) is absolutely essential developing and growing my business.  Many of my best ideas come out of dialogue and communication with my network.

• Planning My Week Ahead of Time - Spending time once each week -- Friday afternoon, an hour over the weekend, or first thing Monday morning -- planning the week ahead helps me to BLOCK OUT TIME for the important tasks, projects, meetings, calls, etc. that need to get done that week.  If it's really important and requires a dedicated commitment of time -- 30 minutes to an hour or more -- I put the activity on my calendar to create a place-mark for getting it done.  My weekly planning time is critical to helping me stay on track with my goals and objectives and staying focused on the important things.

Two hours PLANNING once a wek, one hour a day (sometimes two) focused on business development, and an hour each day communicating to my network.  This is a formula I have found that works for me and produces excellent results.  Do I follow the formula every day ... every week?  No, I will miss a day here and there, and will abbreviate my weekly planning occasionally, BUT I definitely stay within the spirit and concept of this formula, knowing that it WILL keep me focused on the important things in my business.

All the best to your Career Success!
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

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"The price that must be paid for mastery is discipline. No one achieves lasting success without it. From the moment you awake each day, devote yourself to the perfection of whatever you pursue. Do this and you will achieve self-mastery. Achieve self-mastery and you will have the makings of a great leader... Discipline is all about cultivating powerful habits that become part of your lifestyle." - Robin Crow - Rock Solid Leadership

What powerful habits have YOU cultivated and incorporated into your lifestyle?

• Do you have a reading routine that helps keep you current in the latest thinking in your area(s) of expertise?
• Do you invest in your personal and professional development on a regular basis?
• Do you meet regularly with a mentor or coach or mastermind group that helps stretch your thinking?
• Do you regularly write or "blog" about topics relevant to your strengths and areas of expertise?  Writing helps support and "cement in" the things we've learned.  Many times, getting going with a blog opens up a book-writing opportunity.
• Do you regularly speak on topics relevant to your areas of expertise?  Do you seek out speaking opportunities?
• Do you have a way and means for staying in touch with your key business and personal connections?  Is this a habit?
• What did you do TODAY to help perfect your areas of mastery?

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Congratulations!

If you've just landed a new job, then you're definitely one of the lucky ones.  Best advice is to TREAD LIGHTLY and continue to act AS IF you're still vying for the job -- that will help you keep the right mindset as you approach peers, colleagues and your boss.  I learned this sage piece of advice from Sandra Naiman when we recently interviewed her for a segment of the Career Success Radio Show.

Also key will be demonstrating your value to your employer and to your manager while engaging in the activities necessary for you to learn the industry, the company, and the job itself.

Be careful not to over-commit and look for ways secure early wins -- get clarity on EXACTLY what is expected of you and work hard to deliver a progression of observable results.

A great resource for helping you make an impact in your first 90 days is Michael Watkins' book, The First 90 Days -- check it out.

_______________
Andy Robinson
Executive Coach, Strategic Thinking Partner
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

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No one has all negative or all positive traits. No one exercises good judgment one hundred percent of the time.

The following list represents some of the most common management and leadership mistakes that, if ignored over time, will have significant negative consequences on the performance of a department or organization.

The items below are not listed in any type of order.  Review this list carefully, and ask yourself where you are on the spectrum for some of these behaviors and characteristics:

• Not really listening to employees or caring about their issues, concerns, needs or frustrations.

• Letting your ego get in the way of good decisions, actions, choices or behaviors.

• Personal agendas that get in the way of overall the success of the organization or sabotage the effectiveness of employee performance.

• Seeing people who deliver bad news as negative, poor team players or trouble makers.

• Seeking only information that supports your own views, positions, values, perceptions opinions.

• Seeing disagreement as disloyalty and/or discouraging disagreement.

• Lack of advance notice on decisions -- mot talking with those who will be affected by decisions or who must carry them out before making them.

• Taking the credit and giving the blame.

Source:  Special thanks to Tim Connor, speaker, trainer and best selling author.
_______________
Andy Robinson
Executive Coach, Strategic Thinking Partner
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

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As I look back over my last fifteen years as an executive coach and career coach and consider the REASONS I have been engaged by my coaching clients, a number of common themes definitely emerge -- common career situations that business people find themselves in where an outside expert can provide clarity of direction, "navigational" assistance, "process" expertise, objective and meaningful advice and contribution to effective decision-making. 

Some of those more Common Career Situations (the Top 10) include:

1. New Boss - Developing a winning relationship with a new boss or new leader - Establishing trust and helping to create a "cheerleader" and advocate for you
2. New Job / New Position - Making a noticeable and sustainable impact in the first 90 days of a new job or new position - Hitting the ground running
3. Stagnated Career - Getting "unstuck" from a stagnated career situation and re-establishing passion and career enthusiasm - The top 5%'ers cannot allow their careers to stagnate
4. Industry or Functional Transition - Transitioning effectively across industry sectors and/or into a new area of technical/functional expertise
5. Job Loss - Dealing effectively with job loss and executing a highly effective job search campaign - Taking control and moving on to bigger and BETTER things as quickly as possible
6. Protracted Job Search - Involved in a seemingly "endless" job search - dealing with frustration, disappointment and loss of momentum; then, re-establishing direction and quickly achieving goals, objectives and desired outcomes
7. Impending Promotion - Preparing and planning for an upcoming or near-term promotion.  Staying on top of the "short list" in your organization's leadership talent pool
8. Re-entering the Workforce after an extended leave - Getting your career back on track and feeling great about what you do next
   
9. "Going solo" or Launching a New Business - Effectively transitioning from "corporate" career success to entrepreneurial career success
10. Planning/Preparing for Retirement - Getting ready for substantive scale-back in career/work life investment

In addition to the above career situations, I have been asked by coaching clients to help them realize breakthrough results in achievement of LASTING career success by fully mastering one or more of the the following Key Career Success Philosophies, Strategies and/or Skills -- all of which have been proven essential to achieving LASTING career success:

• "Living" the THREE key Career Success Philosophies:
  
  • Proactive Career Management - The Core Philosophy - Taking control of your career and driving the process of achieving lasting career success.  LESS THAN 5% of business professionals and leaders adopt this philosophy.  That same 5% achieves INCREDIBLE career success.
  • Achieving and Sustaining Optimum Work/Life Balance.  Getting this right -- keeping your life in balance -- provides a wonderful foundation for allowing BIG IMPACT at work and on the job.
    
  • Actively Embracing Lifelong Learning - Taking it open YOURSELF to keep current in the latest thinking in your areas of expertise.

• Mastery of the Six Key Career Success Strategies:
  
  • Leveraging Key Strengths
  • Building and Maintaining Powerful Connections
  • Building and Maintaining a Powerful Personal Brand
  • Surrounding Yourself with an All-Star Team
  • Mastering Change and Adaptability
  • Becoming a "Value Animal" - ALWAYS Exhibiting a Value-Added Mindset - In everything you do

• Mastery of the Six Key Career Success Skills:
  • Leading and Following - In order to lead effectively, it is inherent that you "think" like a follower
  • Coaching and Mentoring Others - Bringing the absolute BEST out in others
  • Communicating Effectively - Speaking, presenting, writing and listening
  • Time Management, Planning and Organization - Focusing on the important and minimizing the urgent
  • Decision-Making - Developing confidence in the decisions you make ... and trust on the part of others in the decisions you make
  • Problem-Solving, Selling and Negotiating - Three highly interrelated skills that MUST be mastered

There is a wealth of career coaching resources available.  Choose a coach that has an established track record, a portfolio of highly satisfied coaching clients, and someone with whom you "connect" with from a personal and "chemistry" standpoint.  Interview three or four, check references and choose the one that "feels right" for you.

Copyrighted:
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

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