Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
Research supports that networking is the best way for most (people like you, as Richard Nelson Bolles of What Color is Your Parachute fame and I would suggest) to find your next job. It’s estimated that 80% of job openings are unlisted, which means that most jobs will be filled through networking, not tossing a resume into a company’s applicant tracking system or even having coffee with your favorite executive recruiter.… Read the rest
In the old days – circa 1980 or so – companies depended on managing their operations by policies and procedures. Senior managers would issue an updated process and procedure, and people would follow the new marching orders. It seemed to work well – except when times changed and it didn’t.
Swiss banking giant UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland), in a back-to-the future-moment, has just issued an extensive set of dress guidelines for its client-facing employees (“wear flesh colored underwear“) that makes it feel like the 1980’s all over. … Read the rest
One of my college nicknames – a byproduct of a seemingly ceaseless quest for everyday relevance as a kid at the SAE fraternity house at Willamette University – was “Right On Smitty.”
While the nickname was usually meant with mixed affection, the striving to be relevant was a constant. I was keen that the things we did in the frat house made sense for us.… Read the rest
“Feedback,” according to leadership guru Ken Blanchard, “is the breakfast of champions.” If that’s the case, judging by a recent survey published by the Wall Street Journal, managers are either starving or eating sugar coated Ding-Dongs at breakfast.
Great feedback involves a receptive mind wanting feedback, and people with the ability to describe behaviors, impact, and qualitative value (e.g. not-so-effective, very effective, lousy).… Read the rest
The headline for the story in the Wall Street Journal by Jonathan Rockoff said it all: Pfizer to Pay Academics to Find Uses for Molecules.
Rather than have their own researchers take a crack at it, Pfizer is spending $22.5M to have researchers at the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis review approximately 500 Pfizer molecules to see if they can be used for other purposes than those for which were either approved, or are in current research for a different use, or failed in clinical trials.… Read the rest
There is seasonality – cyclic variations based on the time of year or season – to any number of things. Just as it helps to know that back-to-school hits in July/August (so you avoid ending up with the dregs of what’s left for your kids), it advantages you to know the times of year when firms are hiring, and times when they’re likely not.… Read the rest