Focusing on the value of a transaction over a relationship may win the battle but lose the war.
Nothing feels worse than blowing an interview question. Fortunately, it happens to all of us, and there are ways to recover.
Most people don’t start networking until they need a job. By then it’s already too late.
Many schools try to expose students to different career paths. Unfortunately, the methodology used is misfocused, and puts many students on the wrong path.
LLMs (Large Language Models) work differently from a traditional search engine and our approach to using them needs to reflect the uniqueness and biases in the tool.
Historically companies have wanted to avoid a cybersecurity incident, but a new type of integrated business model makes such incidents not simply welcome, but profitable.
While you should work to expand your network, remember that relationships take time to build; rushing the new relationship opens the door to problems.
Asking about a weakness is a very common interview question that most candidates answer poorly. Using the SUGaR technique, you can answer it well and stand out as a job candidate.
Interviews have gotten less formal over the years, but finding the right level of formality is still important to make a good impression. This applies to behavior as well as dress.
While engineering departments are trained to understand why there was a mistake and how to prevent its repetition, many hiring teams lack a similar process and often make bad hires. Fortunately, there’s an easy fix.
No one likes to give a bad reference; many want to make their former colleagues look good, but stretching the truth has negative consequences for everyone.
With each new technology the question is asked whether it will make us lazy and lower overall quality. While AI is a shortcut, it’s not the garden path some fear.
See how an executive coach negotiated a deal to keep a client using negotiation trade-offs.
Badly executed layoffs have become more visible thanks to social media. Cloudflare’s recent termination gone viral is a good example of what not to do.
Many job hunters experience frustration and depression after receiving many rejections (or no responses at all). This is more a reflection of the job market than it is of you.
As the year begins many people plan forward progress in their careers. This article provides an overview based on my most useful advice from the past few years.
We often think we need our managers to get us the raise or promotion, in truth, it's mostly under our control to make that happen.
Asking for a raise or promotion is technically and emotionally challenging. Doing it the right way greatly increases your chances of success.
It can be hard to tell when you need to be in the office, or even if you’re expected to respond to emails nights and weekends. A simple approach can help you navigate the uncertainty.
Trade and industry groups have a low-cost way to create a win-win scenario by offering job search support as a community service offering.
There are a myriad of reasons why companies ghost candidates; often it’s more about what’s happening at the company than a reflection on the candidate.
Many people hesitate to leave a job during bonus season. Here’s how to decide what to do and how to not leave money on the table.
Connections to strangers on social media isn’t really networking. Worse, it opens you up to other risks.
While there may never be actual jobs paying people to work as prompt engineers, the thinking and approach of prompt engineering is a key skill we all employ already, and have, in fact, used for decades.
Despite the hype these jobs do not and will not exist. Understanding why can help you avoid other dead-end career paths.
While speaking coaches often focus on formal presentations, many people struggle with being put on the spot at work. Simple techniques can help you quickly overcome anxiety it creates.
Many people struggle to lead a conversation, business or social, to where they hoped it would go. We can employ a technique from improv comedy to be more nimble when conversing.
Paying the ransom in cybercrimes crates a vicious cycle in which we embolden attackers. The best option for society is to remove this option for society.
Striking actors and writers have the advantage today, but history tells us that they are fighting an uphill battle against technology.
Recent advances in LLMs helped AI make a quantum leap forward in capability, but many tasks in our jobs will be beyond its capabilities for years to come.
The right ingredients are the key to success but most people working in a restaurant aren’t experienced enough to select the right ones. Who is selecting your ingredients?
Industry associations and trade groups are in a unique position to provide cost effective training for their members at scale; unfortunately, few of them do.
Individual contributors focus on solving domain problems, but as you move up the ladder personality management becomes another aspect of the job.
Leaders and managers like to be in control, but sometimes the right path forward means giving up some of that control to those who can make better decisions.
Despite fear mongering, AI isn’t going to kill us all, but in the near future it will cause a lot of societal disruption for which we are ill prepared.
Despite fear mongering, AI isn’t going to kill us all, but in the near future it will cause a lot of societal disruption for which we are ill prepared.
As companies implement layoffs employees are sometimes pitted against each other to fight for their jobs. A little preparation can go a long way in saving your job, and setting you up for your next role.
The Titanic and OceanGate both failed due to the same ethical dynamics.
Flying into the office a few days a week seems like the best of both worlds, but there are some hidden downsides.
Employees often shift expectations when faced with small job frustrations. Overall time the small changes add up, leading to an unhappy employee who doesn’t consciously realize it’s time to move on.
There has been a rapid rise in the supply and demand of fractional executives the past few years. We look at the what, why, and how of this trend.
Rapunzel's godmother locked her in a tower to hold on to her. Companies employing the same strategy will face a similar fate.
When it comes to workplace conflicts many managers tell employees to “work it out themselves.” On the contrary, it's specifically the manager's job to solve it.
Business by its nature has risks, but evaluating those risks is usually easier for more senior and more experienced workers. Managers and leaders need to help more junior employees understand and manage their exposure to risk.
All researchers, including AI, and all workers more broadly, need to accept responsibility for their actions. Seeing yourself as a cog in a machine does not remove your moral obligations.
Everyone is talking about the impact of AI, but how to best use it at your company, especially in a way that doesn’t make your employees feel replaceable, can be tricky.
Recent CEO missteps illustrate a trap many managers can, and do, fall into when it comes to motivating and relating to their teams.
During negotiations, asking the other party to explain the rationale for a proposal from your perspective can provide key insights to help you gain a better deal.
Not having a summer internship as the semester wanes can be scary. Fortunately there are many paths to finding a summer job.
Is it ok to work for a company if you think the product or service is bad? Is it fair to the company? Is it fair to the customers?
People think career plans are only for employees; not having one limits founders and entrepreneurs as well.
AI has been created to benefit society, but like seafaring, industrialization, and nuclear power, the side-effects of well-intentioned innovations can be consequential.
Moral hazard rears its head again, only to be shouted down by an angry mob with pitchforks (or the modern equivalent, tweets).
The line between professional connection and personal friend isn’t always well defined. Is someone in your network automatically a friend?
Simple questions often have the most complex answers. A small discussion can have huge ramifications for your likelihood of promotion.
Software engineering is a great job to have—today. We can see the future by looking to the past and recognizing that a good option today may not be tomorrow.
Tech CEOs are incentivized—by us—to take risks, and layoffs are a consequence of them.
The good news is our careers are safe, even if our jobs are not. The bad news is society may bear some consequences even as we reap the benefits.
Whether you’re selling a product to a customer or an idea to your manager you need to know how to manage the pitch. Otherwise, you’re just wasting time.
Some companies are starting to bring underperforming employees back into the office to improve their performance. Unfortunately, the challenge is much more complex.
There’s been criticism of late about nepo babies. Who benefits and where the line should be drawn isn’t as clear cut as we might think.
There’s a (not so new) trend of providing internships for returning workers. This allows workers and employers a better path for modern, wiggly careers.
Most people want to be promoted but what needs to be done is often unspoken. Learning how to address this, as an employee or manager helps everyone.
It’s a good time to take a break from sending out endless resumes and cover letters, but it’s an ideal time to make use of your network.
When it comes to career planning most people focus on the wrong priorities, dooming their chances at happiness.
Experience is great in a candidate but don’t let it limit your options; you’re hiring someone for the future not the past.
Companies are inherently volatile; employees must take responsibility for navigating their careers and industries.
Twitter’s idea of asking for commitment from employees is actually the right thing to do; unfortunately, how it was executed was the exact opposite of the way to do it.
The uptick in tech layoffs have people in the industry worried. A deeper look provides lessons for all of us as we think about jobs, whatever our industry may be.
Mastermind groups are very popular, but they may not be the most cost-effective way to learn. This article breaks down their value components and alternatives.
Unfortunate incidents like this quickly fade from memory. We need to remember them to help us find the right balance when it comes to regulations.
A few seconds of effort can make some feel appreciated and keep your network warm.
There are checklists when leaving a job to make sure work goes smoothly. This checklist will make sure your relationships go smoothly.
We’re taught to make a good first impression. Our last impressions can be just as important to our success.
What if there was an app to help you remember books and podcasts that you didn’t even have to open to use?
Sales and marketing techniques are applicable to HR functions like recruiting and retention. Applying existing knowledge in your team HR unlocks additional value with no additional cost.
You're not climbing a career ladder but rather floors in a building. Networking with the others on your floor efficiently expands your network.
We all have an innate ability to negotiate, but many of us lose it along the way. It can be regained with just a little effort.
Is AI a digital hammer, a digital peer, or something more? The line is blurry.
While you should explicitly explore corporate culture during the interview process, knowing something about it beforehand can help you interview. Learn how.
Erasmus quipped, “Clothes make the man.” In today’s virtual world, your video background is your virtual outfit.
A marriage counselor recently shared a common complaint about husbands; the lesson is equally applicable to the workplace.
Most people go to conferences and spend most of their time on the least valuable activities. Learn the secrets of what to do and how to be extremely effective at it.
Many people go to conferences and spend most of their time on the least valuable activities. Learn the secrets of what to do and how to be extremely effective at it.
Opening lines to talk to strangers at a conference.
We often think of the value of a job being in the paycheck or other compensation in our contracts. We can learn to create value beyond what’s on paper.
We often look to find a mentor from within our company or field. Taking a broader view can unlock a larger, better set of mentors.
The impact of being in the office isn’t the same for everyone; the needs of workers and the needs of managers may be quite different, driving different levels of desire for in-office work.
Stepping up to fill an empty role seems like a good way to ger ahead. It can be, but it’s not without risks.
Managers are excited to get employees back in the office a few days a week to work. It’s important that some of that office time be used for socialization, too.
Many people get defensive when getting feedback, creating a barrier to change. This simple change removes this impediment and makes feedback sessions more effective.
Companies are struggling to recruit talent in a competitive market. As marketers have known for years a compelling pitch isn’t one-dimensional.
There are often pressures, implicit and explicit, to ignore reality. As leaders we need to face the truth, no matter how difficult it may be.
Many startup founders and certain types of scammers often have a similar mentality.
As companies move into a hybrid office the rules, written and unwritten, will be different. Leaving them unwritten creates risk; by addressing them as a team you create engagement and reduce employee frustration.
The Will Smith incident seems like a minor skirmish that got blown out of proportion because he’s a celebrity, but in fact this is exactly the attention such behavior needs, and it signals an important shift in society and our workplaces.
Holding celebrities, politicians, or executives to a different standard undercuts the goals of society.
We’ve been taught about constructive criticism and positive feedback, but there’s another dimension to feedback stemming from a person’s motivation.
A tiny change can drastically increase the amount of networking people do at conferences and other events.
The effects of the Great Resignation will be felt in the labor market for years to come. Understanding when and how effects will appear can help you better navigate a volatile labor market.
We've sold thousands of copies in the first few weeks and inventory is almost out. We have a second print run going but with covid it will take a few weeks. We apologize for possible inventory issues. If temporarily out of stock please pre-order or get the ebook on Amazon or Apple.
BuyWhile you wait, don't forget to download the FREE app
Don't forget to download the FREE app
