DCO Weekend Reader - 12/12/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
Many times I embed rich media into the Weekend Readers that may not show up in E-mails or RSS readers. For that reason, I generally recommend you click through to my blog to read Weekend Reader posts.
Only 12 shopping days left!
As the year winds down and the holidays gear up, time gets more and more precious. Between the year-end crunch at work, shopping for friends and family and holiday parties there seems to be little time for ourselves and those important to us. So this week, I’m keeping the Weekend Reader fairly light and sticking to basic, quick reads. Don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of good ideas in this week’s Reader. However, I’d rather you spend the majority of your spare time this weekend curled up on the coach with your significant other sipping a glass of wine (or hot cocoa) than reading leadership tips.
My personal must-read for this week is the “eight things you should add to your weekly task list”, under personal excellence. I do intend to actually add them to my electronic task list (my lifesaver) as recurring tasks, so I can give them some thought every week. I would also encourage everyone to read the “don’t waste a crisis” article under thought-provokers.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for stopping by.
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DCO Weekend Reader - 12/5/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
Many times I embed rich media into the Weekend Readers that may not show up in E-mails or RSS readers. For that reason, I generally recommend you click through to my blog to read Weekend Reader posts.
Welcome to December! Turkey Day is over and we’re headed straight into the heart of the holidays. I had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and hope you did also. I don’t know about you, but it seems like those couple T-Day pounds take longer and longer to work off every year that goes by.
In observance of the holiday, I did not publish a Weekend Reader last Friday, so we’ve got a jam-packed on this week, with something for everyone I think. There are so many great articles this week you really should browse through them all to pick out what interests you most. If I had to pick this week’s must read I would direct you to the CEO’s recession survival guide under Leadership and the article asking if you’re ready for Web 2.0 under Thought-Provokers.
I trust you’re all well. Can you believe there are only 20 shopping days left until Christmas!
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DCO Weekend Reader - 11/14/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
Wow - jam-packed Weekend Reader this week. We’ve got radio, we’ve got video, the only thing we’re missing is puppies. I’m not even sure where to start to recommend a “must read” for the week.
For Leaders I think your must read is the post on Leadership being a choice. At the same time inspirational yet re-affirming, a good levelset for making sure you’ve made the right choice and what happens if you don’t. I also like the post on C-Level resumes. Good advice for how it needs to be different from earlier in your career, especially if you want to switch industries. Entrepeneurs? If your concept is software-based, check out Microsoft’s BizSpark program to save that precious cash.
Feel free to peruse the rest, I hope you find some value. As always - have a great weekend!
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“Recession-Proof” your Career
The good folks over at The Personal Branding Blog have been writing a series of tips on recession proofing your career through your personal brand. While they are titled from the point of view of personal branding, I’ve found most of the tips to have broad applicability and just make sense.
The tips, currently at 10, are written to be a very quick read, just a couple paragraphs. They make a lot of sense and have got me thinking a bit more in depth on most of them. So with full credit given to the team over at The Personal Branding Blog, I’d like to add my two cents worth to the discussion. I’m not sure anyone can really make your career truly recession proof, but the spirit of these tips is to focus back on key activities that can play a big part in making sure you are on the “A” list when hard decisions come in your company.
It would be great to make this a collaborative effort, so if you have a thought on one of the tips please add a comment. My thoughts follow the break.
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DCO Weekend Reader - 10/31/08
The tomb is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
Welcome to this special Halloween edition of the Weekend Reader. After a couple lackluster weeks, I find the material this past week passed both the quantity AND quality tests. Lots of good articles to choose from across a wide swath of topics.
Must read this week include the Manifesto for the Non-Profit CEO. A lengthy read, but do take the time to read through it. I don’t run a non-profit, but I work in one and I can affirm that the connection to an important mission is indeed one of the benefits of working at an NPO. For entrepreneurs, the article on VC due diligence is close to a must read. You could get along without it, but the informal “behind the scenes” perspective offers a lot that more formal articles can’t convey.
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DCO Weekend Reader - 10/24/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
After not posting a Weekend Reader last Friday due to being stranded in Houston, I was expecting to publish one mega-supersized, twice the sizzle, four times the steak, doozy of a reader this week. More than enough reading to carry you through the entire weekend (and given the weekend forecast here in Northeast Ohio, that wouldn’t be a bad thing).
It didn’t work out that way.
There were plenty of articles to choose from. Let’s just say I wasn’t wowed by many. I still value quality over quantity any day. As always then, here are the best of the best from the last two weeks. You’ll also notice I’ve added an “Entrepreneurship” category to the Weekend Reader.
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DCO Weekend Reader - 10/10/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
A light week, without the density of value from last week. That doesn’t mean these aren’t good articles; but if you didn’t get a chance to read through last week’s crop, there were some exceptional ones.
I think the must-reads this week would be Marshall’s guidelines for influencing upper management and the thought provoker on what entrepreneurship is really about. But if you only have time to follow one link, please check out Kiva.org and consider getting involved in this world-changing initiative.
Personal Excellence & Leadership
- These are challenging times for businesses. Sure, you’re a great leader. But doesn’t something in the back of your head tell you to adjust your style to match the current environment? Here’s some fundamentals to keep in mind during these turbulent times.
- Yes, yes, all of us know by now there is a difference in leading versus managing. Here’s a nice article breaking down the difference along four attributes: Competencies, Knowledge, Experience, and Personal Attributes.
“The great majority of people tend to focus downward. They are occupied with efforts rather than results. They worry over what the organization and their superiors ‘owe’ them and should do for them. And they are conscious above all of the authority they ‘should have’. As a result they render themselves ineffectual.” - Peter Drucker
- With that quote, our old friend Marshall Goldsmith kicks off a list of ten guidelines to do a better job of influencing your upper management. Personally, I find #1 and #4 are the ones I see others forgetting most often, while as an old technician I have to constantly monitor myself on #3.
Thought-Provokers
- How to deny distractions and be more productive. Enough said? Good pointers and a quick read.
- The role of persistence in achieving your goals. Again a quick read on a point we always need reminding.
- A sad reason to write a post, but thought provoking ideas nonetheless, on what we worship (and how it affects us).
- A thoughtful article on what entrepreneurship is really about. Like I’m fond of saying, the lessons in this post can easily extend well beyond entrepreneurship.
For Fun
For fun this week, I’m not posting a game. You’re probably too busy for that anyway. Instead I’m going to send you to a site that can be fun and rewarding at the same time, is a great example of socially-responsible entrepreneurship, and gives you the opportunity to change the world. Well, at least a little part of it. Kiva.org’s tagline is “loans that change lives”. If you have never heard of Kiva then you really need to take the time to read what they are all about. Basically, their model is to allow you to make micro-loans to entrepreneurs, usually socially disadvantaged, around the world. The average loan size is around $450 and the repayment rate is over 98%. I have not personally loaned on the site yet, but I plan to soon.
Enough of me talking. If, like me, you consider yourself fortunate to be where you are financially and professionally and are looking for a way to give back, check out Kiva. Once I do, I’ll give you a writeup on the experience. If you get there before me, please send me an E-mail with your thoughts and with your permission I’ll post them here.
Tips, Tricks & Resources
- Okay, we all intuitively know (or assume) that personal networking is the best way to get that new job. However, we’ve all probably run into an HR gatekeeper or gotten disqualified because our resume scan didn’t pop the proper keywords. Take heart, and read this article breaking down “the numbers” on personal networking with respect to career management. I especially like the stat that says “86 percent of human resource departments and 61 percent of search firms DO NOT post jobs with salaries over $200,000; they rely on referrals and networking”.
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DCO Weekly Reader - 10/3/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
It turned out to be a challenging week emotionally. While I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in my personal situation, it is still a day-to-day part of my life. Then on Wednesday, very suddenly, a friend and business colleague dies.
I went out by myself Wednesday night to have a nice meal to commemorate his passing (he was a bit of a gourmand). I came home and turned on the television just to pass some time. Without even changing the channel, what comes up but Forrest Gump. If you’ve seen the movie you know it’s a simple yet powerful message of living in the moment and what to make of this thing called life.
Forrest was portrayed in the movie as mentally challenged; yet his observations and actions lead to an extraordinary life. Toward the end of the movie, Forrest is mourning the loss of his life-long love. I don’t remember the words exactly, but they went something like:
“My mama always said we each had a destiny, but Lieutenant Dan said life is nothing but a feather floating on the wind. I just wonder if it’s both.”
Personal Excellence & Leadership
- Seven ways inspiring leaders communicate.
- Great list of activities indicating you’ve stopped leading. I’m confident no one reading DCO is in that situation, but it never hurts to check…
- As quoted in the intro to this next post, Warren Bennis proposes that one thing that separates leaders is they somehow get more out of their experiences. The post goes on to talk about several ways to accomplish that.
- Okay, maybe you don’t need to get more out of your experiences, maybe you just need to be more curious. Here’s how to do that.
Thought-Provokers
- Do you know what a BFO is? I didn’t either.
- Here’s an idea whose time is overdue in my opinion: is the world ready to be small again?
- A thoughtful article on what is “meaning” in the context of leadership and how to create a culture of meaning in your organization.
For Fun
- Ask your kids, but fun, flash-based web games are taking over the internet. Here’s four logic-oriented examples to give your brain a workout.
Tips & Tricks
- Some simple tips on communicating your personal brand. Even if you think this whole “personal branding” thing isn’t for you, these are some good tips to consider.
- It happens to all of us; I just went through it this summer. A new boss. Here’s 10 great tips for getting off on the right foot.
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DCO Weekend Reader - 9/26/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
Wow - a great week with some really outstanding articles. The last couple of weeks I’ve kind of felt like the Weekly Readers weren’t as strong as some in the past, but this week it is really hard to say which of the following articles you shouldn’t read. They are all great, so I’ve included a bit more overview than I usually do so you can pick out the ones of most interest and value.
Personal Excellence & Leadership
- If you are a President or CEO, you have a real challenge building and leading a highly performing team. This may sound counter-intuitive, but this post on roadblocks for top level teams does a good job of laying out unique challenges to teams at this level. I find this an especially fascinating little post as the original text was provided by an executive coach and it’s no surprise that executive coaching is provided as a leading solution to the problems cited. Then the blog’s author cuts in to not only challenge that statement, but offer his own divergent observations. Taken in total it’s a fairly balanced article. If you are part of or in charge of a top level team, at the very least there is value in this post for identifying roadblocks you might be hitting keeping you from realizing your collective potential.
- Continuing our discussion of personal branding, The Chief Brand Officer answers the question “so what” with the challenge: if I Googled your name, what would I find?
- Compare yourself to the two lists in this short post. Do you create or break trust?
- The winner for the week - a performance and potential matrix with nine leadership development strategies. If this is on your agenda, this is a must read.
- I love George Ambler (in a completely professional, non-stalker, kind of way). Very close runner-up for winner of the week is his post on how leaders build trust. Your second must read.
Thought-Provokers
- Don’t let virtual networking get in the way of personal contact. Hopefully none of you need to click that link. For those of you that need a refresher, a quick read reinforcing an important point in today’s world.
- Why knowledge isn’t enough. What do you think the secret ingredient is?
- Finally, some real-world thinking on making a decision. This time in the context of career management. Too much I read and hear these days, especially from speakers and book writers, is all about passion with no respect for risk and pragmatism.
For Fun
For fun this week, I just want to highlight a new company that is in online beta right now. The company is Akoha (www.akoha.com) and they call themselves the world’s first “social reality game”. Akoha is a fascinating concept combining online community building with “deliberate acts of kindness” in the real world. As I said, the website and company are currently in closed beta testing, but you can get an overview of how it works, here. I submitted to become part of the beta and you can bet I’ll give you some writeups on it if I am chosen. For the time being I applaud the concept and I can’t wait to see how the company rolls out and I’m also very interested in seeing their monetization model.
Books
- Cute? Perhaps. Trite? Maybe. But this little book on meeting openers, icebreakers and energizing activities might be just what you were looking for.
Tips & Tricks
- Do you attend conferences and luncheons from time to time? Do you feel like you are maximizing your networking at those events? Here are some great, practical, human-centered tips for iniatiting and maximizing your networking at those events.
- Some quick, basic things you can do to get started communicating your personal brand.
- Must have been the week everyone was attending conferences. Here’s a nice list of things to do to get the most out of your conference dollars.
Related posts
A Personal Branding primer
I’ve mentioned the topic of Personal Branding a few times before, but a recent post (along with a free download) on Chris Brogan’s blog got me inspired to write a primer describing my views of this concept. I’ve been hearing the term more and more, maybe you have too, so I’ve been not only giving it some thought, but reading with interest the posts I can find on the topic.
In this post I’d like to share my thoughts on the two dichotomies of personal branding, offer an overview of what a personal brand is and how to create one, and offer some simple tips on getting started supporting your personal brand.
This is an evolving concept that I don’t think is fully fleshed out in anybody’s minds. Therefore while I do believe this will be an informative, even helpful article for most of you, please remember that the topic of personal branding is a relatively new one so if it is a topic of importance for you, please do not rely solely on this article to form a course of action.
You may also notice that I have this post filed under the Leadership category. Not so much a something you do to lead, but rather something that leaders should consider doing. Likewise, even if you are not an strategic leader in your company, personal branding may still have relevance in your personal leadership development strategy.
As I have written this article, it has become apparent that there are more elements to even a primer on personal branding than can realistically be covered in one article. Therefore, I think this will turn into a four part series. Stay tuned for upcoming additions to this topic. Also be warned this is a fairly lengthy article.
