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

"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?

Loading mentions Retweet

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

Loading mentions Retweet

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

Loading mentions Retweet

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

Loading mentions Retweet

The first time I heard the phrase "Networking Gravity" was from my friend Liz Lynch, author of the wonderful book "Smart Networking."  In her book, Liz defines "Networking Gravity" as "a force that draws people automatically into your world with whom you have the greatest potential to build mutually beneficial relationships."  I LOVE that definition.

Liz states that you build networking gravity in four principle ways:

1. Sharing your expertise widely to enable as many others as possible to have clarity on what you do and know how you could help them.
2. Having a clear idea of the kinds of people you want to meet and network with.
3. Developing strong interpersonal and communications skills that help you create sustainable relationships.
4. Raising your profile to attract people in large numbers and enable you to "stay on their radar screen."

I am thoroughly sold on the LinkedIn platform as a means of helping you attain and sustain networking gravity.  LinkedIn is NOT a "silver bullet" solution -- it's simply one of the tools you can use VERY EFFECTIVELY to create networking gravity.

Whether you're a job seeker, a seller of services, a seller of products, or someone seeking to leverage relationships to help achieve other business goals and objectives -- LinkedIn WILL work for you, if you focus sufficient time and effort.

My personal goal is to spend about ONE HOUR each day on LinkedIn-related activities (sometimes more, sometimes a bit less).  I usually accomplish this in either a single session or split between two 30 minute sessions.

My One-Hour LinkedIn Workplan usually includes some combination of the following activities:

• Daily Status Update. Update your status with a link to a blog article or news article - something written by you or someone else.
• Group Article Posting. Post at least one article - your own article or another's article - across 5 to 10 relevant LinkedIn Groups
• Q&A. Answer a question (or ask a question) in your field of expertise
• Recommendations.  Write a recommendation for someone - A vendor, a client, a current colleague, a former colleague, etc.
• Invite Connections.  Send out  invites for new connections -- seek people out in Groups and through "people searches." Add a personal note to your invite.
• Article Comment on someone else's article post in a Group forum
• Group Dialogue. Join in with a comment or feedback on a Group discussion dialogue thread - offering something positive, constructive or helpful
• Reach Out to Connections. Make direct contact with several of your current connections offering to help them in some way. Share a set of useful tips or a great article link.
• Comment on several of your connections' Status Updates.
• Accept Connections. Accept connection requests that you receive. Add a personal response back to several of those

Make LinkedIn work for you in helping to really get the ball rolling in creating networking gravity.  Formulate your own Daily Workplan -- Develop a routine and stick to it.  Then....Watch the "Magic" happen!
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
Andy.Robinson@CRGLeaders.com
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

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

Loading mentions Retweet

In the heat of "personal focus" and taking care of our own agendas, it's easy to lose sight of the importance of displaying impeccable manners and demonstrating courtesy to others. 

The impression you leave upon others is highly influenced by the manner in which you conduct yourself and the way you treat others.  If you want to leave a LASTING ENTHUSIASTIC IMPRESSION upon others, take it upon yourself to develop the habit of "minding your manners" in all business situations and personal or professional interactions.

Consider these ideas for demonstrating excellent manners:

• Always hold the door open for others -- men and women.  I follow the "four step" rule: If someone is about four steps or less from the door behind me, I wait and hold the door for them -- regardless of age.

• Always show kindness and acknowledge the receptionist and/or switchboard operator.  Their job is a tough one.  Smile and say hello -- be remembered for your kindness.

• Always offer a guest water or a cup of coffee and retrieve it for them.

• Call ahead if you're going to be more than a few minutes late for a meeting, lunch or other appointment.

• Give someone at least 48 hours notice if you need to change a meeting or call time.

• Return phone calls within 24 hours or get back with an email indicating when you will return the call.

• If YOU invite someone to lunch, it is courtesy for you to make the offer to pay (and vice versa)r

• Listen then pause.  In EVERY conversation, give your full attention, make eye contact and nod.

• Send thank you notes and emails promptly in follow up to good things that others do for you.  Handwritten notes are especially remembered.

• Always thank a contact for EVERY referral you receive from them.  Referrals are the lifeblood for many of us.  Never let an opportunity to thank someone for a referral slip by you.

• Arrive 5 minutes early for a lunch meeting; secure a quiet table and greet your guest standing and with a SMILE.

• Always make introductions when someone walks up to a group.  Do your best to make others comfortable with each other.  

Wishing you a wonderful day, and 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

Loading mentions Retweet

Make it a point to be proactive as a resource for connecting people with each other in a meaningful and helpful way.  Connecting contacts to each other in your network is a THREE-WAY BENEFIT -- it's a gift to BOTH of your contacts and it's ultimately a gift to yourself -- it feels good, it's intrinsically rewarding and it strengthens the quality of YOUR network.

Consider the following ways to connect others in your network to each other:

• Refer a service provider in your network to someone who might be in need of their service.

• Invite two (or three) people in your network to lunch who don't know each other but who you believe might mutually benefit in some way from the introduction.

• At a club event, business event, party or cocktail reception, make a concerted effort to introduce your contacts to each other and say something GREAT about each of them in front of the other.

• Suggest connections on LinkedIn between members of your contact network.

• Forward a great blog article from someone in your network to another party in your network for whom the article might be useful and relevant.

• Organize a golf foursome with a group of network contacts who do not necessarily know each other very well but who might have something in common.

• Make a habit of suggesting #FollowFriday recommendations on Twitter between followers in your Twitter network.

• Make a habit of ending EVERY conversation with the following question: "Who could I introduce you to to help you accomplish your business goals and objectives this week?"

• Simply stay aware this week of your intention to connect others and take advantage of all opportunities that emerge.

All the best this week 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

Loading mentions Retweet

This morning I re-read one of my favorite "quick read" books -- "The Power of Nice - How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness," written by the team of Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval.  This book reminds us that "nice" companies have lower employee turnover, lower recruitment costs and higher productivity.  Nice people live longer, are healthier and make more money.  The book identifies the following Six "Power of Nice" Principles:

• Positive Impressions are Like Seeds.  Evertime you smile at a messenger, laugh at a coworker's joke, thank an assistant, or treat a total stranger with graciousness and respect, you throw off a positive energy wave that rolls out endlessly in all directions.

• You Never Know.  You really never know who that next person that you're nice to knows or how they ultimately may connect back to you in some way.  It is therefore important to treat EVERYONE nicely.  Simply make it a habit not to discriminate when it comes to being nice to others.

• People Change.  People change, grow and take on new roles.  None of us know who MIGHT become quite important to us five, ten or twenty years from now.  Again, the simple message is to treat everyone with kindness -- the bank teller, the grocery store check-out clerk, the young waiter who is paying his way through school to become a doctor.

• Nice Must be Automatic.  It important to become skilled in the art of being nice -- being nice must become a habit -- something that is "second nature" to you.  Small gestures and random acts of kindness can have an enormous impact.

• Negative Impressions are Like Germs.  Just as positive actions are like seeds, rude gestures and remarks are like germs -- you may not see the impact they have on you for a while, but they are there, silently infecting you and everyone around you.

• YOU Will Know.  Even if you never see a person you have treated with rudeness or bad behavior again, YOU will know.  It will be on your mind and heart when you walk into a meeting and try to convince the people in the room that they should put their faith in you.  Your belief in yourself will be compromised and the negative energy you carry with you will ultimately manifest in some way to your disadvantage.

Be the role model for being nice to others.  The energy of consistently being nice to others will return to you many times over.  That is the POWER of nice.

_______________
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

Loading mentions Retweet

1. Spend 30 minutes each morning looking for "cracks" in the major areas of your life.

Your depth of character is key to determining your success as a leader. It is easy for us to say that we are "living in integrity," but your actions are the real indicators of strength of character. Spend 30 minutes each morning looking at the major areas of your life: career, marriage, family, community, and spirituality. Write down any instances where you see "cracks" (you have cut corners, something is inconsistent, you have not kept your word, you have been dishonest, etc.) Do all in your power to repair those cracks by apologizing and dealing with the consequences of your actions. After facing up to past actions, begin a plan that will rebuild you and prevent you from making further mistakes.

2. Show up and be ten minutes early for every appointment.

Great leaders show up for every appointment, and they are always on time. Each day, practice not only showing up but being ten minutes early for each and every appointment. "The early bird gets the worm" has never been so true than when it applies to becoming a great leader that others want to follow.

3. Be dedicated to a high level of learning.

Great leaders are highly competent, because they are dedicated to a high level of learning, growth, and improvement. Spend 15-30 minutes each day devoted to learning something new. Do not settle for knowing "how" to do something. Dig deeper by asking the question "why" and then, go find the answer. Search the internet, interview an expert, or take a day trip to find the answer to a question that is on your mind or the minds of those who follow you.

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

Loading mentions Retweet

It's Friday(!), and as the week comes to a close (for most of us), I wanted to share a set of habits that have become an end-of-the-week routine for me.  This routine has been key to ending my week on a positive note and "teeing up" a great start to the following week for me.

Consider these Three Weekly Habits each Friday before leaving the office or your place of work for the weekend:

Habit 1:
Reach out with a quick email or (better yet) a short thank you note expressing gratitude for those that went out of their way to help you this week.  This is literally a 10 minute exercise that has powerful results.  You'll feel great in expressing thanks and the recipient will receive a nice message to end the week on.  Who went out of their way to help you this week?

Habit 2:
Make note of what you believe were your three greatest accomplishments over the past week.  Embrace the sense of satisfaction and positive emotion associated with getting these important things done.  Interrelate this Habit with Habit 1 noted above -- was there anyone who contributed significantly to your three greatest achievements?  Follow up or reach out to those people with a word of thanks.

Habit 3:
What are your three most important goals for next week?  Do you have sufficient time set aside to accomplish those goals?  Who do you need to solicit for help (go ahead and reach out and confirm their participation before you end this week)? What is the VERY NEXT ACTION associated with each of those goals, and do you have that task clearly identified on your calendar or task list with a due date?

Give these habits a try and add others that are relevant to your situation.  The message here is to begin a weekly routine that will help you end the week in a positive way and help you get clarity on the most important things for next week.

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

Loading mentions Retweet