Doug Neeper's Blog

DFN: The title caught my eye. Mr. Bradt wrote about "Onboarding" in the 10/25/2009 FENG Newsletter. Onboarding is how to get started in your new job. He suggests those of us in job search could accelerate our entry back into search (once we’ve ‘landed’) by pushing a project which is unpopular with our new employer. He also has some free information and some not so free information at the end of his article.

SET OTHERS UP TO FAIL
FENG Newsletter 10/25/2009, George Bradt

Sometimes setting others up to fail is the right thing to do.

One classic example of this is the battle of Thermopylae during which a very small force of Greeks held off an overwhelming mass of Persians for three days. The Greeks were set up to fail, with most of them getting killed by the end of the battle. But their stand gave the rest of Greece reason to believe they could defeat the Persians – which they did in the end.

Consider this approach when onboarding into a new role that requires significant organizational change.

The ACES model suggests three approaches to a new culture: Assimilate, Converge and Evolve, or Shock. Assimilate is the easiest – culturally. Converge and Evolve is the preferred approach most of the time. Sometimes you have no choice but to shock the organization to turn things around. The problem is that those leading the shock often get rejected by the organization in the end.

Let someone else be the bad guy.

If you join a group that needs to be shocked, consider having someone else do the shocking. This could be an outside consultant. It could be an interim manager. Or it could be a loyal supporter in a temporary role. The suggestion is to have someone else deliver the initial bad news and shake the organization out of its inertia so that you can pick up the pieces and rally others around a forward-looking optimistic outlook. People tend to reject the harbinger of doom and rally around the beacon of hope. Be the beacon.

One critical piece of this is that those getting set up to fail know what they are signing up for. The Greeks at Thermopylae knew what they were getting into. They were well-informed volunteers making a conscious choice. This may be the crux of the difference between setting others up to fail as an evil act and it being the right thing to do.

(Note I’m happy to share a 2-pager of PrimeGenesis’ Job Search Tips with anyone who asks. Just send me an email at gbradt and ask.)

Note FENG members moving into new jobs should check out www.NewJobPrep.com BEFORE THEY START to help them prepare for success in their new job. This helps people prepare for day one and the rest of their first 100-days and reduce the risk of failure. There’s a FREE overview. Then, if you decide to enroll, use coupon code "FENG47" for $100 off to reduce the $495 price to $395 all-in for the online work stream and live one-on-one consulting session.

Regards,

George Bradt

200 West Hill Road, Stamford, CT 06902 USA

www.primegenesis.com

1-203-323-8501 office

1-203-253-1569 cell

gbradt

George is Managing Director of executive onboarding and transition acceleration group PrimeGenesis and author of The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan (Wiley, 2006), Onboarding – How To Get Your New Employees Up To Speed In Half The Time (Wiley, 2009), and The Total Onboarding Program (Wiley/Pfeiffer, 2010).

Doug

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DFN: In the words of the great American Philosopher, Red (Shawshank Redeemption), "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying", Mr. Rao gives some good advice regarding approaching a job search as if it were a job, and looks at it as an opportunity to do lots of ‘things’ you didn’t have time to do while you were employed.

Pollyannish? Yes, but, consider the alternatives. Would you rather spend time worried about the future? Live your life in fear? Or, would you rather myopically work towards success, one plodding step after another, but, not worried, w/o fear?

Why You Need to Develop a Healthy Unemployment Routine

By: Srinivas Rao 10/23/2009

http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/why-you-need-to-develop-a-healthy-unemployment-routine/

In today’s economy it’s not a surprise to find many people who are unemployed and many who are on the verge of losing their jobs. Some people like to say things like “No matter how you look at it, it sucks.” But, how you look at it really makes a difference and if you look at in the right way then you’ll see that there is a reason some people jokingly refer to it as “funemployment.”

However, those who only see the negative side put themselves in a really dangerous position because they run the likelihood of a downward spiral. In fact, the worst thing you can do when you are unemployed or looking for a job is crawl into a whole and become a hermit.

I have what some might consider an extremely unusual regiment for an unemployed person. I get up super early, sometimes even by 6am. I also have learned how to be extremely efficient. I spend what some consider insane amounts of time at the beach surfing (4-6 hours a day), yet I publish blog posts almost daily, I submit resumes every day, and I even schedule job interviews in the midst of all this. There are tons of things you can do when you’re unemployed, that are actually beneficial to you in numerous ways. I’ve made a point to develop the kinds of habits I would have, even if I was working. Let’s say you are unemployed for quite some time, 6 months to 1 year. If you get into bad habits, then they’re going to be hard to break because you’ve conditioned yourself into them for so long.

Four Healthy Habits for the Unemployed

1. Get up at a reasonable hour
I recommend that you get up at a reasonable hour. You don’t have to be an early riser like I am, but let’s say you get into the habit of getting up at 1pm everyday or sleeping all day, then you are going to have a tough transition to the working world. It’s also really bad for you mentally to do this because you send a message to your subconscious that you have nothing important to do, and there’s no reason to get up. Just imagine what this will eventually do to your state of mind.

2. Have daily tasks/rituals
If you can get into the habit of having a daily routine or ritual you will have a reason to get out of bed. For me, it’s publishing blog posts, and getting to the beach for the dawn patrol. Having tasks and rituals will give you some sort of purpose other than “I really need to find a job.” If you all you are thinking about is “I need to find a job” your entire focus is on the lack of a job. Eventually it will become a self fulfilling prophecy.

3. Manage your time
Managing your time is another really good habit to develop. When you come from the mindset that “I’m unemployed and I have all the time in the world” you will continually procrastinate and never really accomplish anything. The path to accomplishment of most goals can be easily paved with a simple investment of 15 minute a day.

4. Be social
If there’s one thing I’ve seen with many of my business school classmates, it’s that they have dropped off the face of the earth. There are no Facebook updates, and some refuse to go out at all. Sitting at home and wallowing in your misery is a guaranteed way to stay unemployed for even longer. To add to that you will eventually become depressed. Combine that with your state of mind and you’ll give off an energy that no employer will ever want be around.

Unemployment doesn’t have to be the nightmare that most people make it out to be. It’s a great time for self exploration and doing all the things you said you would if you didn’t have a job. Take advantage of the time and when you do finally start a job, all of the positive things you’ve done will have set you up for success in your new position.

Author:
Srinivas Rao is a personal development blogger who writes for The Skool of Life. He’s a recent graduate of MBA Program at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business, and has a bachelors degree in economics from UC-Berkeley. He has previously held positions in online marketing, client services and account management with employers such as Intuit, Nielsen Netratings, and Forrester Research.

Filed under: Networking | Tagged: Job Search | Leave a Comment »