What to Wear
December 6, 2010
The Boston Globe had a nice photo feature recently on what to wear to an interview.
The only thing I would add is the reminder that 85% of communication is non-verbal and clothes are definitely a key.
And secondly, you have to remember where you are interviewing, but even in Silicon Valley, where businesses casual is sometimes taken to a whole new level, it’s better to be over-dressed than the alternative.
That being said, I have to admit that the wrong clothes or hair style is not always a disaster. I can remember interviewing a candidate whose wardrobe and physical appearance raised more a few eyebrows as she walked through the newsroom to my office. Her resume looked great and once we started talking she clearly knew new her stuff. She was personable, knowledgeable, friendly, inquisitive and understood the news.
I considered the rather conservative environment of my newsroom and hired her on the spot. I thought a little disruption might be good. turned out I was right. She did a fine job.
But being unconventional often means you have to work extra hard in other areas to get your message across. You may not always be successful.
Take a look at the photos on the Globe website, some of which are over-dramatized to make a point, and take a look at what you wore to your last interview. If there’s any similarity – you might want to make a change.
Orange and Blue Wine
November 11, 2010
Spent part of last weekend touring two wineries in Napa Valley with a bunch of other Bucknell University Alums.
Ed Farmer, a BU grad from 1969 showed us around the Kendall Jackson Oakville winery where they process grapes for a number of KJ’s brands. This is the Napa headquarters for the brand and Ed oversees 5 different vineyards and as well as the press/processing
Tasting from the barrel at Kendall Jackson
operations. Well-known brands such as Freemark Abbey and Alisos Hills get their start here.
Ed, who holds a degree in civil engineering, keeps a watchful eye on all 30,000 barrels. It was great fun to taste barrel samples of a number of wines, although it was more like sampling lemonade in some cases.
It was also the last day of crush and they were hand-sorting some of the fruit that goes into their 0/bottle Cardinale brand. We didn’t get any samples of that, but there was some excellent cabernet, viognier, and merlot.
On the other end of the wine making scale was Reverie Winery on Diamond Mountain in Calistoga – owned and operated by Norm Kiken and his new bride.
Norm Kiken of Reverie Winery
Complete with wine cave and Redwood picnic area, Reverie makes about 3000 cases of highly respected wine, including a Roussanne which is not seen that often in California.
Norm is a 1968 graduate of Bucknell, but admits that he learned by the seat of his pants – moving from investment banking when he accidentally discovered he had a palate.
Norm’s wines have drawn high praise from critics and consumers alike and if you ever seen any if your local wine shop by a bottle or two and have a toast to one of Bucknell’s finest. And by all means try his special blend named for his son, Andrew Scott Kikken – that would be the A.S. Kiken brand.
Measuring Sales Metrics
October 19, 2010
There are all sorts of ways to measure the health of a business. I think the less scientific and common sense methods may be best.
Take this example.
One of my favorite walking routes takes me by a new small shopping area. The landscapers decided that a nice low hedge between the shops and the road would be attractive. The store closest to the road where lots of people walk for exercise was a Starbucks. Unfortunately there was no way to get to the coffee shop without an extra 50-yard walk to the driveway in either direction.
Six months after the shopping center opened there was a clear path worn through the vegetation and the hedge where pedestrians, too lazy to walk the extra distance to get their daily latte, had created a shorter route.
About 18 months ago, the Starbucks closed, as part of the corporation’s restructuring and slowly the hedge recovered and the path disappeared.
Three months ago a new locally-owned coffee shop took over the Starbucks’ location. I asked the owner recently how business was and she said, “Fine, it’s only been a few months but we’re doing well.”
I’ll believe her when I see the path through the hedge re-appear.
Business Ethics 101-Case Studies
October 18, 2010
Ethical business decisions come in all forms. Here are two that I came across. Your comments are welcome.
A client wanted to explain why she was l00king for a new job so she related this story from her most recent position. She was not my client at the time.
She’s an HR specialist with over 25 years of experience. She had decided to explore other options, as they say, and had applied for a number of positions in her field. She got an interview for a senior position at a firm about 300 miles away. Close enough to drive for an interview but certainly requiring relocation if she got an offer.
She went to the interview and a few weeks later got a call from her would-be manager with a job offer. They negotiated the usual, pay, moving expenses (none) etc. and she decided to uproot and take the job although there was a 6-month probationary period.
Five months later she was laid off when the woman who was apparently out on maternity leave decided to return to her old job. Still on probation she was an at-will employee and had little recourse, but throughout the interview process no one ever mentioned the employee on maternity leave, and while she was working, she was never led to believe she was not doing a good job.
In hindsight she notes that she should have realized that getting an offer just two weeks after the interview was too good to be true – especially in HR. But apparently the firm was so desperate o fill the job they didn’t feel any ethical need to say that the job might be temporary. Probably because no one would have taken the gig.
I find the company’s action reprehensible, even if there had been no relocation involved.
OK, second example. Met a man who is responsible for finding new locations for a major retailer. As part of the job he negotiates ‘tax incentives’ that states offer to lure businesses. His firm is a multi-billion dollar firm which is often a destination site and also offers on-line purchasing.
As a requirement to get a new location he asks states to forgo the sales tax on internet purchases. For those of you unfamiliar with the law, in most cases you don’t have to collect tax if their is no retail site in the state. But once a brick-and-mortar store is built, you are supposed to pay the local sales tax if there is any.
He admits that he is asking the states to ‘look the other way,’ and allow his firm to have their cake and eat it. As he noted, “There will never be one of these stores in California, because they won’t agree. It’s their loss there are plenty of other states who think the agreement is fine.”
My response, “Go back to any of those states who signed agreements to forgive the tax requirement a few years ago and see if they wish they wish had said no.” I think they may be regretting their decision.
Again, is it unethical to make the request, or is the ethics question just an issue for the state?
I know, the state is lured by the promise of jobs and a retail center that may attract others, but with internet sales increasing faster than in-store purchases says you have wonder if it’s a deal with the devil.
Your comments are welcome.
Moon over San Francisco
October 9, 2010
Ok, last night you looked at Yosemite. Tonight it’s San Francisco Bay at sunset, from my back porch. Those are the towers from the Golden Gate Bridge you’re looking at.
Moon over SF bay
The Yosemite Few See
October 8, 2010
In case you’ve never been to Yosemite National Park, and even if you’ve just been to the valley, these picture are pretty impressive.
Enjoy.
What Does a Coach Do?
October 7, 2010
I met a potential new client today. He wasn’t looking for a career coach and I wasn’t exactly looking for him but our paths crossed and he asked what I did for a living. I told him I was a coach.
I should point out that ‘Nelson’ is a recent college graduate with a degree in criminal justice and was working at the kind of first job everyone gets. No relation to the field he wanted and no prospects for advancement. Naturally, he hated it.
I asked what he wanted to do and he rattled off a few possibilities but admitted he didn’t really know. At one time his goal was law school but he did poorly on the LSAT (twice) and didn’t have any money to take it again, so he figured that wasn’t meant to be.
“So,” he said, “you don’t like, coach football? That’s the only kind of coach I know, but you don’t look like that kind of coach.” I had to laugh – if you’ve seen me you’re already laughing too – but I explained that I help people make decisions.
I tried to use an example he could identify with. “If you go home tonight and tell your dad you want quit, he’s gonna have 12 reasons why you shouldn’t and why your ideas about what you could do won’t work – probably because they didn’t work for him,” I told him.
But if you tell me, a coach, I don’t offer an opinion, I just help you go through what it would take to get you to the goal you want. It’s up to you to decide what’s right, and any decision you make is the right one as long as you understand what it means.
He smiled, like he had already had the conc0versation I described. and offered a few more ideas about what he might want to do, including a small business idea, getting an MBA and three or four other possibilities.
After 45 minutes we had taken cursory look at most of them and he said he had to leave but added, “That’s the first time I ever had a conversation like that with anyone, that was great.”
“So.” I said, “Now you know what a coach does.”
“Yeah,” he said taking a bunch of my business cards, “But when I call, I know I’m gonna have to pay you right?”
Maybe he doesn’t need that business degree.
On Aging Well
October 2, 2010
A recent convergence of events got me thinking about my age.
Over the last month I have paid my respects at the grave sites of my four grandparents , visited my mother’s grave
, and helped my 90 year-old father spread the ashes of his younger brother.
Modern technology allows me to keep in touch with a long-time friend who turned 60 and marked the event with a wonderful essay.
At the same time I celebrated the wedding of the beautiful daughter of a woman who I grew up with, but died way too young seven years ago.
I have the feeling the universe is trying to tell me something, only I’m not smart enough to get the message.
We Need the Sounds of Silence
October 1, 2010
I always been a walker/hiker. No big deal, I like to walk in Hawaii, in Yosemite, around my own neighborhood, wherever… it’s a good way to meet people and see what’s going on. Just observing the world and listening to nature.
Since MP3 players, primarily iPods and their kin, became popular there seem to be a lot more folks walking around listening to music. I have no objection to music but it seems to me. if you’re hiking, or even jogging in a beautiful natural setting, listening to the birds would be pretty good music.
Not to mention how those little earbuds close you off to the world. They prevent even a pleasant ‘hello’ or ‘good morning.’ Maybe that’s the intention but chance encounters make life more interesting.
This week I finally found someone who agrees with me. Please listen, he knows what he’s talking about. He must, he’s speaking at a TED Talk.
Defining the Orwellian Generation Gap
September 28, 2010
I was recently in New York City to meet with a new client and unexpectedly got some new insights into the generation gap.
I was having lunch at a small SoHo restaurant where the tables are so close you can’t help but hear the discussion next to you. I listened for almost 20 minutes while 4, 30-something managers talked about marketing, social networking demographics, and user information to keep in touch with young customers and create an online community. I knew the terms but this was the first time I heard them used in polite conversation.
This was my first clue that there was a generation gap between our tables.
Finally I couldn’t help it, I excused myself for listening but asked if the group was at all concerned about privacy, noting the recent Verizon television ad which shows everyday objects morphing into antennas for the ‘always connected’ generation. I told them I found it creepy and didn’t ever want to be that ‘in touch.’
Their unanimous response – privacy is always part of the conversation but the younger generation thinks always being connected is the way things should be. They want everyone to know where they are and what they are doing all the time. As one young woman said, “our generation doesn’t want that, but the young people do.”
I thought I was talking to young people, but they were describing their generation gap.
I was worrying about George Orwell’s predictions and they were worried their company would be left behind because it wasn’t Orwellian enough.
I’m not sure what all this means. I thought i was pretty up to date with my Twitter account (eariess), blog, LinkedIn page, and text messaging but I guess the faster I go the further behind I get.
I do take some solace from the text messages I get from my 90-year-old father. I hope if I make it to his age I’ll at least be in touch with whatever the current generation is doing.
In case you’re wondering what I’m talking about you can find details at this Wall Street Journal Article.