E daily reading material 2016-12-28.docx

How To Get Ahead Without Sucking Up To IdiotsHow do you get ahead in your career without doing things that go against your values? That is a central issue all of us need to ponder, because almost any job in any organization will at some point put you in a situation where you have to tell the truth or bite your lip.There are upright, honest and ethical leaders in most organizations and there are fearful weenies everywhere, too. In some companies you cant succeed without sucking up to fearful bosses.You might go along with that for awhile. You might create compartments in your mind and tell yourself its okay to be one person at work and a completely different, more honest person everywhere else but eventually your gut will rebel.Your body will resist. Youll get sick or injure yourself when the conflict between what you know to be right and what your job requires of you becomes too great.You can succeed in your career without violating your ethical principles and without sucking up to idiots and posers, but its not easy. If you want to do it, you have to find your voice and use it. You have to find your backbone.People write to me every day and ask me How can I solve my evil-boss problem - without changing jobs? You can do it, but its just as much of a challenge to solve your evil-boss problem without changing jobs as it would be to get a new job.Launching a stealth job search is a pain. If your boss is really a tyrant, it could even be scary, because you might wonder what will happen to you if your boss finds out youre job-hunting. In the worst case, your boss might learn about your job search and let you go.Then youd be without an income for the rest of your job hunt, but youd also have your working hours free to job hunt without hiding in the closet. Good and bad things come together, more often than we realize!If you want to keep your job but also solve your evil-boss problem, you have to speak up. You have to set boundaries with your boss. Most of us are afraid to try. To set those boundaries, you have to be willing to get fired if your boss cant handle your new truth-telling ways.If you work in the USA and you dont have an employment contract, youre used to working under this type of pressure anyway. Any one of us could be fired at any moment. In the USA we follow a doctrine called Employment at Will. It means that anyone could be sacked at any moment for no reason at all.We are so used to this goofy doctrine in the USA that we forget about it for the most part - until it becomes necessary to deliver more truth than your manager may be comfortable with.Then the realization comes flooding back in - If my boss doesnt like what I have to say, I could get fired!There is only one way to grow your muscles, and that is by using them.The same way your evil boss taught you over many incidents and interactions to fear him, you will teach your boss to give you more latitude, just by using the latitude youve already got. When you speak up about things you care passionately about, your words will have force. Very few bosses - even cranky, opinionated ones - will fire you for that.If you do get fired, youll need to get a new job - but youll have grown your muscles, too! Good and bad things come together in the same package, as we said before.It is only scary to speak up at work the first few times you do it. After that it gets easier. When your muscles get stronger, youll say what you feel and you wont care if you get fired as a result, because you will know that if you lose one job, a better job will show up. When you know who you are and know your value, the prospect of getting fired becomes much less threatening.I met a young man at a concert not long ago. He is 20, the same age as my older kids. I asked him What kind of work do you do? He said I work in an art gallery.Do you like it? I asked him.Its the best job Ive ever had, he said. I had three bad jobs in a row and finally I realized that I was shooting too low. I got my jobs from Craigslist or because some store had a sign in the door saying there were hiring. I didnt expend any effort to get those jobs and all three jobs sucked really bad.I went into the art gallery the first time because my friends mom had a piece of artwork on display there. I looked around. I thought about what I would want if I were an art gallery manager or owner and I was looking to hire someone.I went back into the gallery a week later wearing a white shirt and a tie and the one jacket I own. I asked to speak to the manager and luckily she was there. I told her that Im an art enthusiast and I would be very interested in learning more about the artists whose work is hanging in the gallery, and would be interested in helping her promote the gallerys events. We talked and emailed for about a month and then she hired me for a few hours a week. Now I work at the gallery full-time.The kid understands that the old-millennium ideas of Transferable Skills and keywords and automated recruiting processes dont cut it now. People get jobs that deserve them by spotting other peoples pain and addressing it directly.The new millennium workplace requires more of us than the old-millennium workplace did - but it offers more, too! Heres the catch. To get the good things the new-millennium workplace offers us, we have to step out of our comfort zone.We have to bring ourselves to work.When one job is not a good fit anymore, we have to change jobs. We have to actively manage our own careers!We have to use our voices and set boundaries. We cant make an evil boss or the economy or any other bogeyman the villain in our movie. There are no villains in your movie - only you, the director, star and cinematographer, calling the shots!Questions and AnswersHow can I get a job that deserves me?Take a look at Liz Ryans new bookReinvention Roadmap!What will I learn by readingReinvention Roadmap?You wont just read Reinvention Roadmap. Youll step into total-immersion instruction in finding a great job and running your own career!Youll learn to write your Human-Voiced Resume and Pain Letters, and reach out to hiring managers directly instead of completing online job applications. Youll learn to choose the career path that suits you as a person - because you are not just a bundle of skills! You deserve a job that celebrates your talents.Now is the perfect time to take charge of your job search - and your career!6 Traits That Predict Ethical Behavior at WorkTrust and openness are crucial elements of an ethical organizational culture. Only when employees are able to voice the problems they see can ethical lapses be discussed and resolved. A first step in building this kind of culture involves a hiring approach in which companies actively seek those individuals inclined to speak up when ethical challenges surface. Based on findings from the behavioral sciences, some individual dispositions deserve every screening committees attention.First, you want employees who will notice when something unethical is happening. In this respect two dispositions are very relevant:Conscientiousness:Individuals showingthis trait are careful, reflective, and reliable, which means that they tend to be responsible organizational citizens. Research shows that conscientiousness is indeedpositively associated withhigher levels of moral reasoning, leading people high in this trait to display less antisocial, unethical, and even criminal behavior.Moral attentiveness:This describes the extent to which individuals areaware of the various ethical dilemmas at hand. A morally attentive person will see ethical issues where others may see none. It may sound a bit obvious to say, but being aware of the ethical dilemmas at hand are a prerequisite to start talking about it.Building an ethical culture not only requires that people be aware of ethical challenges, but also that they have the intention to take them seriously. Two types of orientations can influence this in particular:Duty orientation:Individuals with a strong sense of duty tend to be loyal and mission-oriented, and motivated to take action on what they perceive as a problem. Research has shown that a high sense of duty orientation leads employees tovoice their concerns more quickly.YOU AND YOUR TEAM SERIESCreating an Ethical WorkplaceWhen You Feel Pressured to Do the Wrong Thing at Workby Joseph L. BadaraccoWhen Tough Performance Goals Lead to Cheatingby Colm Healy and Karen NivenKeep a List of Unethical Things Youll Never Doby Mark ChussilCustomer orientation: Employees who are strongly motivated to prioritize the needs of customers alsotend to adopt more ethical attitudesin the experience and execution of their job. Customer oriented employees tend to be more ethical because they value the others needs as highly as their own and create fewer conflicts of interest in their relationships with others. As a result, they are more likely to notice and willing to address challenges that violate ethical rules and expectations. Research shows that exactly those serving qualities make that customer oriented sales agents engage in less unethical behavior than their sales-oriented counterparts.Finally, in addition to noticing ethical issues and being motivated to address them, employees need to act. In this respect, two personality types are especially important:Assertiveness:Although assertive individuals can sometimes be regarded as grating,the trait of assertivenessis essential in building ethical cultures. In any group, the pressure to conform is high. As a result, the default is oftennotto question decisions much less ethically questionable ones. Assertive individuals are the ones who can prevent such groupthink by standing up to the pressures of conformity even (or especially) when doing so carries risk.Proactivity:Individuals with a proactive personality feel less constrained by situational forces. When it comes to ethical issues, this tendency helps them be more active in keeping a moral course. Research has shown that employees with a proactive personality engagemore often and more quicklyin acts of whistle-blowing.Other research has found this to be even more likelyin cases where the companiesstated ethical valuesconflict with whats happening.In other words, when companies are serious in stressing the importance of an ethical culture, those employees with a proactive personality will be extremely useful in voicing any initial ethical failures or threats to the companies integrity.Screening job applicantson the traits mentioned above can help develop companies a blueprint of the kind of employee they are looking for who will endorse, shape, and push an ethical culture. Of course, individuals do not act in isolation whether they will speak up ultimately also depends on the extent to which the broader organization legitimizes their behavior. But hiring more ethical employees is one way to build the kind of organization that makes values a priority21 (Guaranteed) Success Tips For The 21 Year Young MBAMost of us undergo their PG at 21 years, and look forward to a successful professional life along with a purposeful social life. To live a high-quality life, there are known formulas (or tips) as evident from the large volumes of books and biographies already written by great authors.I wrote these 21 most important ones as easy reference for all my young achievers.1.DREAM BIG :Never compromise on dreaming big, do not dream small by limiting yourself according to your existing limited resources. If you stick to your big dream chances are high that you will end upvery close to the success you had a vision for. In case you create mediocre dreams, you may also find yourself in the average world with average achievements.2.KEEP YOUR SELF PHYSICALLY FIT & MENTALLY STRONG:Your body is the temple for your soul, so take care of both by regular exercise. Also reject the company of negative people, be around people you love, and spend time with yourself to build your mental strength by reading & listening to healthy content.3.NEVER COMPROMISE ON YOUR VALUES:What do you stand for? If values like honesty, integrity or gender equality mean a lot for you, then stand by these till the very end. This will help you in creating a reputation (marketers read brand) for yourself over a period of time. It will also make you stronger in character, giving you inner strength to face all odds in life.4.FOCUS ON THE CHOICES YOU MAKE:Learn to make important decisionsin life which will determine your future outcomes. Do not make decisions under stress, good decisions are outcome of using intellect more than emotions. The choices you make today should be in the direction of your goals without compromising on your values.5.NEVER COMPROMISE ON YOUR FIRST TIME DECISIONS:Your first degree should be the industrys top demand, your first job should be with a top brand, your first saving should be in top funds, and so on for all theFOUNDATIONbased decisions which will be very critical for your next step. In between the first & last you may be able to cover up your mistakes somewhat, but when you are taking the first step towards anything, give your best shot at it and do not compromise. Remember, correcting bad decisions, like landing up in the wrong organization, is a uphill task and probably takes more hard work than the first option of doing it right the first time.6.LIVE WITH LOVE, & NOT OUT OF FEAR:What if? is a question which should not bug you. Live your life with love and laughter. When you give these to others,you get back more than twice in return, making your life worth living. Spend time to love nature, love your parents, your siblings, your colleagues, your friends.remove the hate word from your dictionary (except for the negative stuff). When you love life, fear does not occupy your mind, else fear shatters your self confidence. Also when you grow older, you realize that 90% of our fears never come true.7.WORK HARD & SMART AS REQUIRED AT THAT TIME:If you want to top your class, you need to be smart enough to refer the best books & get guidance from the best teachers, and you should work hard enough to be able to excel at the exam. Similarly in professional life, you should be willing to do your best in every assignment, in spite of any negative (cynical) colleagues around you.8.START YOUR DAY WITH GRATITUDE:Always start your day by counting your blessings, greet everyone with good cheer, sit for prayer for a few minutes, take your parents blessings if you are fortunate to have their presence with you, and keep reminding yourself of the good things in your life, which many other less privileged people may not have access to. Remember that sleep is a thought chain breaker, so even if you were depressed previous day evening, you can bounce back to your normal self today with this approach.9.ALWAYS GIVE FIRST, WHAT YOU DESIRE IN LIFE:Its a universal truth many Gurus will standby, that if you want money, then be generous since the first rupee you earn. If you want to be loved, first give your wholehearted love to others. If you desire happiness, make others happy whenever you can. Its like a bank account, where you have to deposit the same desire first, before you can withdraw at any later period of your life. The more you deposit in the universal account, the higher is the probability of achieving your goal.10.BE GENUINE ALWAYS, NEVER FAKE ANYTHING:Be proud of what you are, and what you achieve, be aware of your weakness, always keep building your strengths. You are unique in this world, create your own brand.11.DEVELOP UNIQUE SKILLS:Work on skills which will be in demand a few years later, this will always keep you ahead of competition and always employable. For example the marketers who acquired skills in digital marketing a decade ago, are in demand today for their expertise.12.ENJOY THE JOURNEY WITH A VISION FOR YOUR GOALS:Set goals in every aspect of your life, but at the same time do not postpone your happiness. Enjoy every moment of your journey. Life itself is a journey where major milestones are only a handful. So freak out every day. Do not postpone your parties.13.MONEY IS IMPORTANT & NOT SO IMPORTANT:Make a financial plan, right from your first year on the job, make as much money as you can, butsave before you spend. You should not realize this as a regret in the later part of your life. Remember that wealth=money x time, so the earlier you build your savings it is easier to reach financial goals with the law of compounding working in your favor. Once you reach your financial freedom, you can stop working for money - that can then be the by product ofworking for your passion.14.DEVELOP STRONG RELATIONSHIPS & BOND WITH PEOPLE:Stand for a cause, build a community, work in groups, build strong bonds with a purpose.all this will help you build a long list of people who will support you in thick & thin of your life time. Make sure you join a community and devote some time during your weekends and holidays for a cause. You may be a introvert, yet you are a social being by birth, so it is important that you should feel wanted in society; else you will become cynical much before your old age.15.BE AWARE OF THE ENERGY FLOW:It is now proven to a large extent that we are all part of a universal energy field. Also it is proven that our thoughts get converted to actions and that determines our future outcomes. So start becoming aware of what situations suck your energy, make you negative and which situations make you feel enthusiastic - full of energy. Once you become aware, you can ensure that you do not engage in those or at least not let those situations make you depressed. This is very i