Take these steps now or you may experience buyer’s remorse later – Issue #22 There are obvious things that people focus on when deciding whether or not to accept a job offer. The big factors tend to be title, role, salary, bonus, stock options, benefits, vacation days, commute, and a few other personally meaningful items.…

Even your career has a “season” – Issue #21 My children are growing up. My daughter has a fiancé and is starting graduate school. My oldest son is currently studying abroad in Ghana, and will soon be wrapping up his college experience. My youngest son has turned 16 and will be driving (gulp!). We know…

More types of bosses who can hold you back – Issue #20 Human beings are pretty good at fuzzy logic. We can deal with messy data in an imperfect situation and still make our best guess at how to proceed. We handle ambiguity better than algorithms and AI, for now. Unsurprisingly, job descriptions — especially for more senior…

It will help you achieve things that others never will – Issue #19 It’s easy to think that highly-successful people have some hidden advantage that sets them apart from the rest of us. In fact, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers does provide several examples of wildly-successful people who did have non-obvious advantages. They weren’t just smart, talented, and driven,…

Is your boss stalling your career? – Issue #18 The weekly one-on-one meeting with my manager wasn’t off to a good start. I entered his office, offered a few pleasantries, and he wordlessly sat in his chair, nodded, and smiled. I began sharing the details of my project work that week and how things were…

Often used as a reason to withhold your promotion – Issue #17 Several people who have hit a promotion ceiling in their careers tell me that they’ve received feedback that they are “lacking presence.” If they are a manager or junior leader, they may hear, “You lack executive presence.” Have you ever been told that?…

You may be able to give yourself that gift sooner – Issue #16 I’m not a fan of opening presents early. My baby brother used to beg my parents to open his presents the day before his actual birthday. They would always give in, and it drove me crazy. I like surprises. I enjoy the…

Don’t worry about a level playing field – Issue #15 There is no level playing field in life, despite the popularity of schools, companies, and services exclaiming, “Hey, we create a level playing field!” Please. Who are you kidding? You can’t go through life as if you are playing a board game by the rules.…

An unexpected way to break the cycle – Issue #14 It seems impossible to be successful without some degree of confidence. But, how can you be confident without achieving some degree of success? It’s a chicken and egg dilemma. When you see a successful, confident person, what came first? The self-confidence or the success? I remember…

Job-hopping may be the best way to look out for yourself – Issue #13 I was reading a Bloomberg article this morning about the current job market and wage growth. The data supports my belief that job-hopping is the best way for you to ensure continuous growth in your career, both in title and compensation.…