The subject, for those of you who might not recognize it, is the last line of Rev. S.M. Lockridge's famous six minute description of Jesus, commonly known as "That's My King!" for Lockridge's use of the phrase throughout.
It's available on YouTube. It's available in its original entirety, spliced together with other songs and beats, preceded and/or followed by other messages. It's been heard by thousands, if not millions, of people.
Lockridge inspires me. But far more, Jesus inspires me. I can't think of anything better than a message I truly believe in wrapped up in a flawless delivery.
Who inspires you?
More specifically, once you have the answer to that question, do you make a point to listen to them as regularly as you need to live in a state of inspiration?
Printed speeches are good also, but don't have the same emotion and power as the spoken word. Some of the most moving words of our time put a face on civil rights, a man on the moon and tore down the Berlin Wall. Our leaders have boldly declared us victorious in the war on terrorism, then kept us safe for 8 years after the first attack on our soil since Pearl Harbor. They've rallied us to raise money for charitable causes and inspired us to new heights of success inside corporations.
So... who then is the face behind the face?
Even the most famous speechwriters are largely unknown to the general public. (Although if you take Jay Leno's JayWalk as a sample of the common man, our highest leaders are also largely unknown.)
The essential part of a good speech is 2-fold, first a concisely constructed idea and second a delivery with strength, conviction and power. Lockridge, although a seasoned minister and public speaker, delivered his most famous address off the cuff. Some say he was simply seized by the Holy Spirit, others say he was infused with a lifetime of preparation beforehand.
Candy Lightner, the founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), was so angry at the lax treatment of the driver who killed her 13 year old Cari that she started a grassroots campaign that eventually became a national movement. She passed out leaflets. She held meetings. And eventually, she testified before Congress.
What are you convicted about? And, given the opportunity, could you deliver it with strength and power?
If the answer is no, join a Toastmasters Club and start practicing! Buy a camcorder and start critiquing yourself on film. Learn to convince people both in writing and in person. Follow strong leaders with strong values. Make inspiration as necessary a part of your life as food and water.
Conviction + Action = Purpose
Who and what are you living for?
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
When Not to "Ace the Interview"
I just finished a great book, Acing the Interview by 30+ year career coach and recruiting veteran Tony Beshara, that will teach you exactly everything you need to know to get a job you hate.
He's been recruiting since before I was born. However, I edited over 1,000 resumes and interviewed over 400 candidates last year so I feel like I can speak to this topic with some authority.
His advice:
1) Write cover letters.
2) Learn the "right" answers to interviewers' questions.
3) Spin yourself into their ideal candidate.
My advice:
1) Find a person to be your cover letter.
2) Find a job that both uses many of your skills and few of your weaknesses.
3) Never take a job for someone that you wouldn't want to see promoted.
Debunking Myth #1 - The Cover Letter
A cover letter says two things about you. You don't know anybody in the company who can get you in, and you're "one of them" vs. "one of us." The push back people usually give me in this area is that they don't know anyone at a company they're trying to get into. Malcolm Gladwell's compelling argument in The Outliers was that weak connections are more likely to be helpful than best friends or family, since there's a good chance that you already know the same people they do. Your casual acquaintances and friends of friends are the most likely to have a connection that you don't and can help you get to the opportunity of your choice.
Rather than sending an anonymous letter, go through your Rolodex and start building it out. LinkedIn and Facebook are great resources for this. Once you find a person who might be open to helping you, a cover letter is unnecessary.
Debunking Myth #2 - The "Right" Answers
I've had exactly two jobs in my life that I hated, and I got fired from both of them within the first month. I've had another four jobs that I've loved, including my current job, and when I look back at what the difference was, I realized I should have seen it coming in the interview.
I'm very good at interviewing. I know the right answers. I've gotten every offer I've interviewed for since I graduated from college, and I can tell you definitively that there is never, ever a beneficial reason to sell a skill set that you don't have.
The classic example "My biggest weakness is perfectionism" is a really dumb answer for two reasons. Number one, it doesn't answer the question and number two, it sounds canned because it is canned. I once spent 23 hours over four days doing bullet (15 minute) back to back interviews with college students and I heard that answer over 70 times. Given the fact that so many of their resumes had extra returns, spaces instead of tab stops, and in one particularly egregious example, grammar spelled an E, I found that answer to be at best unoriginal and at worst an outright lie.
If you have a habit you can't or don't plan on breaking that might cause friction, you might want to consider making that the answer. I've admitted I'm not the best public speaker (which I'm working on) and that my desk is almost always a mess (which I'm not working on). But I'd rather not get an offer than to be harangued over something like office cleanliness.
Several years ago, one of my teammates and I were both promoted to the same position in marketing generating detailed reports and original sales ideas/campaigns. She used to proof my detail work and correct the many errors. I had so many original ideas, I turned in half of them with her name on them. The obvious solution we came up with over burritos at lunch one day? She'd take my detail work, I'd take her creative. Our boss' solution? NOT A CHANCE. She had a specific vision of what she wanted in that role.
I'm not good at detail. Saying I am is something I shouldn't have said in that interview. Complete full disclosure isn't always a great thing to lead with, but it's better to be up front then get into something you hate.
Debunking Myth #3 - Your personal brand
Interviewers, particularly early in your career, have been doing this a lot longer than you have and almost always do it more often.
The easiest way to impress an interviewer is to be impressive, interesting and mildly entertaining. If there's something about your current job that you don't like or think is a waste of money, start brainstorming around some ideas. Take a teammate to lunch and brainstorm together. Be interesting. Read books, have hobbies, have something to talk about.
Beshara and I disagree on the last point also - he says stay away from politics, religion, anything controversial. Where we disagree is on the delivery. On your resume, saying "Member of X Church (or political party)" isn't a bad idea because it might stigmatize you, it's a bad idea because it's not relevant. But, if your involvement shows clearly related job skills, I actually think it's a good idea if it comes up. Serving as an Elder on the board of your church and having fiduciary responsibility for the church's budget and pension is a non-controversial way to show your commitment to the community.
I'm a committed, lifelong Republican who once made a strong recommendation for an equally committed, lifelong Democrat who told me about her success stories winning over Democrats in a very red part of rural Georgia - which showed me more about her sales skills and passion than any of her prior job experience. She went on to have a successful stint as a sales rep (later promoted to sales manager) and we mutually agreed to never discuss politics. :)
As soon as you get a job, find the bathroom, and figure out what you actually got hired to do (HR job descriptions aren't always the most conducive), then the next thing you should do is figure out how to get your boss promoted.
If at all possible, only work for people you truly like and respect. The #1 reason people leave jobs is because of their immediate supervisor. I must either be the luckiest person in the world or just a decent judge of character because I've had a string of incredible bosses, each of whom I've seen get promoted while they were leading the team I was on. I used to joke around that I was causing it, but I think the real reason is that winners attract winners. If you're a winner, never work for a loser. If you work for a winner, push him or her up as high as you can.
The reason I start with character is because people push back on me here also with comments like "my boss would steal credit for all my ideas" or "there's no reason to push my teammates up - they wouldn't do the same for me." That's a loser's attitude. You're a winner. You work for winners. Your company is lead by winners. If that statement isn't true, you should start looking for a new job where it is true.
To wrap up, the best way to "ace an interview" is to be a star where you are, continue to push yourself and let success find you.
He's been recruiting since before I was born. However, I edited over 1,000 resumes and interviewed over 400 candidates last year so I feel like I can speak to this topic with some authority.
His advice:
1) Write cover letters.
2) Learn the "right" answers to interviewers' questions.
3) Spin yourself into their ideal candidate.
My advice:
1) Find a person to be your cover letter.
2) Find a job that both uses many of your skills and few of your weaknesses.
3) Never take a job for someone that you wouldn't want to see promoted.
Debunking Myth #1 - The Cover Letter
A cover letter says two things about you. You don't know anybody in the company who can get you in, and you're "one of them" vs. "one of us." The push back people usually give me in this area is that they don't know anyone at a company they're trying to get into. Malcolm Gladwell's compelling argument in The Outliers was that weak connections are more likely to be helpful than best friends or family, since there's a good chance that you already know the same people they do. Your casual acquaintances and friends of friends are the most likely to have a connection that you don't and can help you get to the opportunity of your choice.
Rather than sending an anonymous letter, go through your Rolodex and start building it out. LinkedIn and Facebook are great resources for this. Once you find a person who might be open to helping you, a cover letter is unnecessary.
Debunking Myth #2 - The "Right" Answers
I've had exactly two jobs in my life that I hated, and I got fired from both of them within the first month. I've had another four jobs that I've loved, including my current job, and when I look back at what the difference was, I realized I should have seen it coming in the interview.
I'm very good at interviewing. I know the right answers. I've gotten every offer I've interviewed for since I graduated from college, and I can tell you definitively that there is never, ever a beneficial reason to sell a skill set that you don't have.
The classic example "My biggest weakness is perfectionism" is a really dumb answer for two reasons. Number one, it doesn't answer the question and number two, it sounds canned because it is canned. I once spent 23 hours over four days doing bullet (15 minute) back to back interviews with college students and I heard that answer over 70 times. Given the fact that so many of their resumes had extra returns, spaces instead of tab stops, and in one particularly egregious example, grammar spelled an E, I found that answer to be at best unoriginal and at worst an outright lie.
If you have a habit you can't or don't plan on breaking that might cause friction, you might want to consider making that the answer. I've admitted I'm not the best public speaker (which I'm working on) and that my desk is almost always a mess (which I'm not working on). But I'd rather not get an offer than to be harangued over something like office cleanliness.
Several years ago, one of my teammates and I were both promoted to the same position in marketing generating detailed reports and original sales ideas/campaigns. She used to proof my detail work and correct the many errors. I had so many original ideas, I turned in half of them with her name on them. The obvious solution we came up with over burritos at lunch one day? She'd take my detail work, I'd take her creative. Our boss' solution? NOT A CHANCE. She had a specific vision of what she wanted in that role.
I'm not good at detail. Saying I am is something I shouldn't have said in that interview. Complete full disclosure isn't always a great thing to lead with, but it's better to be up front then get into something you hate.
Debunking Myth #3 - Your personal brand
Interviewers, particularly early in your career, have been doing this a lot longer than you have and almost always do it more often.
The easiest way to impress an interviewer is to be impressive, interesting and mildly entertaining. If there's something about your current job that you don't like or think is a waste of money, start brainstorming around some ideas. Take a teammate to lunch and brainstorm together. Be interesting. Read books, have hobbies, have something to talk about.
Beshara and I disagree on the last point also - he says stay away from politics, religion, anything controversial. Where we disagree is on the delivery. On your resume, saying "Member of X Church (or political party)" isn't a bad idea because it might stigmatize you, it's a bad idea because it's not relevant. But, if your involvement shows clearly related job skills, I actually think it's a good idea if it comes up. Serving as an Elder on the board of your church and having fiduciary responsibility for the church's budget and pension is a non-controversial way to show your commitment to the community.
I'm a committed, lifelong Republican who once made a strong recommendation for an equally committed, lifelong Democrat who told me about her success stories winning over Democrats in a very red part of rural Georgia - which showed me more about her sales skills and passion than any of her prior job experience. She went on to have a successful stint as a sales rep (later promoted to sales manager) and we mutually agreed to never discuss politics. :)
As soon as you get a job, find the bathroom, and figure out what you actually got hired to do (HR job descriptions aren't always the most conducive), then the next thing you should do is figure out how to get your boss promoted.
If at all possible, only work for people you truly like and respect. The #1 reason people leave jobs is because of their immediate supervisor. I must either be the luckiest person in the world or just a decent judge of character because I've had a string of incredible bosses, each of whom I've seen get promoted while they were leading the team I was on. I used to joke around that I was causing it, but I think the real reason is that winners attract winners. If you're a winner, never work for a loser. If you work for a winner, push him or her up as high as you can.
The reason I start with character is because people push back on me here also with comments like "my boss would steal credit for all my ideas" or "there's no reason to push my teammates up - they wouldn't do the same for me." That's a loser's attitude. You're a winner. You work for winners. Your company is lead by winners. If that statement isn't true, you should start looking for a new job where it is true.
To wrap up, the best way to "ace an interview" is to be a star where you are, continue to push yourself and let success find you.
Monday, February 16, 2009
We spent *how much* on olives???
I just got back from long weekend trip in Cincinnati to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary and to be astounded at the sheer tonnage of food my five year old nephew can consume and still be hungry. (On an unrelated note, one of the highlights of that trip was him asking me if he could look at my Wii controller, where he promptly dropped me out of the Batman game we were playing and replaced me with a computer player, then handed it back to me and told me he was done looking at it.)
On the way back to Denver, I got to the airport two hours early but there were only three people ahead of me in line at security. I brought a book, but figured I'd save it for the plane and spent some time thinking about the airport and the future of the airline industry.
Twenty years ago, according to a 2005 article in the International Herald Tribune, American Airlines made the industry's first attempt at cost cutting by taking one olive out of every salad. Since then, the increasingly competitive nature of the airline industry has divided into a barbell - hoping to snag the bargain shoppers with the cheapest seats on consolidation sites likes Cheap Tickets or Travelocity, and wooing the business/first class passengers with expanded offerings.
Airlines, like the rest of the transportation industry, hit their price ceiling in how much they could raise prices and still retain demand for their product. So when an industry has a highly variable cost structure, what's the best way to stay profitable both at the moment when the prices are the highest and a year later when prices may be significantly lower as they were between December, 2007 and December, 2008?
Before you can put together any strategy, I recommend considering three points 1) are your best customers those who will be the most profitable this month or for the next year in aggregate? 2) How are your competitors likely to capitalize on any decisions you make? 3) How can you drop your least profitable customers at the same time you attract new ones?
First, defining your customer base. The ideal plane would be full of last minute booked, refundable (maximum fare) business travelers with light luggage (minimum extra fuel usage), taking a flight that costs the least amount in fuel, crew capacity and doesn't require an overnight stay. What opportunities are available to pre-sell large mileage punch cards to be the exclusive carrier to companies whose employees travel en masse? If the dollar is weak, should you increase your marketing overseas to encourage travelers to come here? What about locking up future revenue by offering sweeteners?
Second, do you want to be the absolute lowest price in the game? Would you rather have one $400 passenger and one empty seat or 2 $200 seats filled? From a straight fuel charge, that answer seems obvious. What about 2 $225 seats? Where is the break even point? If corporate associates know the answer, do gate agents? If there are opportunities to fill seats last minute, would a bid model be appropriate? How empowered are your front line employees to either make or save the company money? Where do they see opportunities and waste?
Third, is it ever appropriate to move away from unprofitable customers? While certain federal guidelines (as well as general good PR) require universal availability, is there data broadly available about the true cost of service? Does a small child plus a stroller weigh less than a larger child, both paying the same fare? Is there an opportunity to market a grandparents' package for mothers with infants in arms who make multiple round trips to the same location in a year?
Lastly, what other factors go into airlines' process management? Is it time for a complete overhaul of the air traffic control system to see if we can save fuel by redirecting plane routes? What about additional services inside airports such as individual TVs (as they have on some airplanes) for a separate charge? Or the ability to log on to Internet only in-flight? (For the sanity of all passengers, I hope that the ability to make phone calls never becomes a reality!)
There is a tremendous opportunity for the airlines committed to streamlining to emerge from this financial crisis stronger and leaner with bigger market shares than ever before.
On the way back to Denver, I got to the airport two hours early but there were only three people ahead of me in line at security. I brought a book, but figured I'd save it for the plane and spent some time thinking about the airport and the future of the airline industry.
Twenty years ago, according to a 2005 article in the International Herald Tribune, American Airlines made the industry's first attempt at cost cutting by taking one olive out of every salad. Since then, the increasingly competitive nature of the airline industry has divided into a barbell - hoping to snag the bargain shoppers with the cheapest seats on consolidation sites likes Cheap Tickets or Travelocity, and wooing the business/first class passengers with expanded offerings.
Airlines, like the rest of the transportation industry, hit their price ceiling in how much they could raise prices and still retain demand for their product. So when an industry has a highly variable cost structure, what's the best way to stay profitable both at the moment when the prices are the highest and a year later when prices may be significantly lower as they were between December, 2007 and December, 2008?
Before you can put together any strategy, I recommend considering three points 1) are your best customers those who will be the most profitable this month or for the next year in aggregate? 2) How are your competitors likely to capitalize on any decisions you make? 3) How can you drop your least profitable customers at the same time you attract new ones?
First, defining your customer base. The ideal plane would be full of last minute booked, refundable (maximum fare) business travelers with light luggage (minimum extra fuel usage), taking a flight that costs the least amount in fuel, crew capacity and doesn't require an overnight stay. What opportunities are available to pre-sell large mileage punch cards to be the exclusive carrier to companies whose employees travel en masse? If the dollar is weak, should you increase your marketing overseas to encourage travelers to come here? What about locking up future revenue by offering sweeteners?
Second, do you want to be the absolute lowest price in the game? Would you rather have one $400 passenger and one empty seat or 2 $200 seats filled? From a straight fuel charge, that answer seems obvious. What about 2 $225 seats? Where is the break even point? If corporate associates know the answer, do gate agents? If there are opportunities to fill seats last minute, would a bid model be appropriate? How empowered are your front line employees to either make or save the company money? Where do they see opportunities and waste?
Third, is it ever appropriate to move away from unprofitable customers? While certain federal guidelines (as well as general good PR) require universal availability, is there data broadly available about the true cost of service? Does a small child plus a stroller weigh less than a larger child, both paying the same fare? Is there an opportunity to market a grandparents' package for mothers with infants in arms who make multiple round trips to the same location in a year?
Lastly, what other factors go into airlines' process management? Is it time for a complete overhaul of the air traffic control system to see if we can save fuel by redirecting plane routes? What about additional services inside airports such as individual TVs (as they have on some airplanes) for a separate charge? Or the ability to log on to Internet only in-flight? (For the sanity of all passengers, I hope that the ability to make phone calls never becomes a reality!)
There is a tremendous opportunity for the airlines committed to streamlining to emerge from this financial crisis stronger and leaner with bigger market shares than ever before.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
CEO - Chief Engagement Officer?
My company just got a new CEO. He is engaging, dynamic, with a slightly self-deprecating sense of humor and a crisp, clear message about who we are as a team and where we're going. During our all-hands meeting, I asked him a question he didn't know the answer to, but asked me to email it to him (in front of 1,000 colleagues, no less). I did. Within an hour, it had bounced from him to our CFO and back to me with the answer. Another gal made a comment about a way to potentially increase revenues, and he told her to form a task force to research it and get started on the process of achieving it.
Motivational? Absolutely!
With that one act, I learned he is as good as his word and he understands the speed of caring.
Above, my first interaction with him, was step 2. Step 1 was our Board having the vision to know the kind of person we need at the helm, find him, and give him to us. There's always a Step 1.
Identifying the challenges to your business, gathering input from your team and acting swiftly and decisively to retify them is what separates the merely good from the truly great.
Motivational? Absolutely!
With that one act, I learned he is as good as his word and he understands the speed of caring.
Above, my first interaction with him, was step 2. Step 1 was our Board having the vision to know the kind of person we need at the helm, find him, and give him to us. There's always a Step 1.
Identifying the challenges to your business, gathering input from your team and acting swiftly and decisively to retify them is what separates the merely good from the truly great.
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