I trust everyone had a great Fourth of July with their friends and family. Did any business take place? Yes? No? Maybe so? Perhaps ever so subtly. Were you asked how business was? Could this have been someone testing the waters of your service? Were you asked to go golfing or take part in some other activity? Maybe this is someone's way of speaking to you privately. Did you ask these questions of others to test the waters of the market?
While I didn't intend to write about picnics and fireworks as a networking opportunity, it did just come to me. Perhaps that would be a great topic for another time, however I wanted to pick up where I left on my last post that can be found on www.berlinbusinessassociation.blogspot.com.
First, I wanted to make a correction. The book I mentioned about diplomacy is actually titled "On the Manner of Negotiating with Princes".
Second, I wanted to round out "The Basics" book list by adding a couple of titles. I mentioned that Trump suggested some reading of Jung. What I left out was that he also recommended The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale.
Another great read is by Malcolm Gladwell. He has written three very fascinating books and each will be addressed in its proper context in future posts. However, for this post, the book I want to bring to your attention is Outliers. In it are revelations about curious, coincidental circumstances out of your control that have an impact on what you do for a living and your particular level of success at that profession. Everything from the month of birth, the generation one was born into, the chosen profession of grandparents, etc, accounts for the uniqueness of success found in his subjects. I feel that since the premise of summer postings is about start-ups, transitional opportunities, or improvements to existing operations, this book might make you think about your career.
So in addition to polishing yourself up and getting motivated, you may want to take a step back and see if "the launch sequence" has begun on the correct "rocket" of your career.
As we move forward the topics will proceed in the following order:
Basics (this post and last)
Outlook
Analysis & Market Place
Personal Marketing
Sales
CRM (Client/Customer Relations Management)
Organizational Management
Leadership
Management
Have a great week. Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/UCDWS. Connect with me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/drewstraub.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
I just finished a post at www.Berlinbusinessassociation.blogspot.com. I contribute a couple times a week there and am trying to keep tandem content whenever possible. While I ramped up on that blog a handful of good summer reads, I thought I would review and recommend a book a week on this blog.
Taking the lead from the blog posted above, you should take a step back and at least review if not read or listen to the material presented there first. In addition to them you should also read Who Moved My Cheese. This will round out the "foundations" portion of the Enlightened Consultants reading recommendations. Later in the week, and through out the summer for that matter, look for additional titles on topics of "Professional Mind-set, Leadership, Sales & Marketing, and Management".
With over 50 book recommendations to come, by the time this is over you will have a great library and should have a better outlook on your business and better number on your bottom line.
Taking the lead from the blog posted above, you should take a step back and at least review if not read or listen to the material presented there first. In addition to them you should also read Who Moved My Cheese. This will round out the "foundations" portion of the Enlightened Consultants reading recommendations. Later in the week, and through out the summer for that matter, look for additional titles on topics of "Professional Mind-set, Leadership, Sales & Marketing, and Management".
With over 50 book recommendations to come, by the time this is over you will have a great library and should have a better outlook on your business and better number on your bottom line.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I have been working on adding a new lecture or series to my topic list of offerings. As a result, I came across an interesting quiz. See how you do.
Business Etiquette Quiz
Test Your E.I. (Etiquette Intelligence)
Are You a Gracious Go-Getter or the Office Oaf?
A colleague begins to tell you a story he heard about a coworkers private life, so you:
A. Diplomatically tell him you’re not interested in hearing about it.
B. Listen carefully—the more you know about your coworkers, the better equipped you’ll be to navigate office politics.
C. Listen intently and then rush off to tell someone else in the office all the juicy details.
A client has been waiting for about five minutes to meet with you but you’re running a little behind schedule, and you need a few more minutes to finish up, so you:
A. Take a minute to walk out and apologize in person and offer him a cup of coffee and a magazine.
B. Have your assistant tell him you are running behind schedule and you will be a few more minutes.
C. Finish what you’re working on—you’ll get it done faster that way and they’ll only have to wait a few more minutes.
One of your coworkers has clearly "had a few" at the office party, so you:
A. Pull him aside and try to get him to switch to juice or coffee—you don’t want him making a fool out of himself in front of the boss.
B. Ignore it.
C. Decide he’s got the right idea and join him in overindulging—after all it is a party.
You enter a coworker’s office or cubicle to chat and she’s on the phone, so you:
A. Leave a note saying you need to speak with her and try to get her at another time.
B. Stand in the doorway and wait for her to get off—it’ll save you the time of having to come back later when she’ll probably just be on another call.
C. Insist that she speak with you immediately—it’s important and you don’t have time to wait around.
You witness one of your coworkers tell the new intern that she "looks really sexy in the short skirts she always wears," so you:
A. Privately point out that his comments were sexist and offensive.
B. Publicly criticize his character—he needs to be deterred from making similar comments in the future.
C. Laugh heartily and voice your agreement—it’s just harmless fun.
You work in a casual-dress office and you have a meeting at your company’s bank, so you:
A. Dust off your best suit—you want to leave nothing to chance.
B. Dress up a little more than usual, maybe add a jacket to your ensemble.
C. Dress as casually as usual—what counts is the substance of the meeting, not your appearance.
As the marketing manager in your company you vastly underestimate the time required for your division to complete a project and you come out way over budget, so you:
A. Accept responsibility for the error and admit to your staff that you made a mistake and set about to correct it.
B. Say nothing, but take action to correct your mistake.
C. Attempt to deflect your responsibility for the error by spreading blame around—after all, you can’t be perceived as a screw up by your staff.
Your boss calls you into her office to go over your latest report, and she criticizes a significant portion of your work, so you:
A. Listen carefully and take time to think about everything she said before offering a response.
B. Respond to each criticism as it comes up to insure you don’t miss the opportunity to downplay each one.
C. Get angry at her and quickly point out many of her shortcomings—she needs to know she’s not perfect either and next time maybe she’ll think twice before criticizing your work.
You notice that a male colleague’s fly is undone and because you’re a female you’re a little embarrassed about saying anything to him, so you:
A. Have one of the other men in the office tell him.
B. Simply ignore it.
C. Make an office joke of it – every office needs some comic relief to liven it up.
You want a raise and in order to justify it you tell your boss:
A. What new responsibilities you can assume and what you can achieve with the added responsibilities.
B. That your salary is below average for your position in your region.
C. About how expensive your grandfather’s nursing home bills are.
SCORING
Add up the number of corresponding points for each letter. A’s are 2 points, B’s are 1 point and C’s are 0 points.
20 – 15 Your business etiquette is rock solid. You’re able to handle a wide variety of everyday situations with grace and sensitivity.
14 – 10 You usually practice sound business etiquette. Focus on approaching every situation with thought and consideration for others and your company.
9 – 0 Your business etiquette is bankrupt. You need to spend considerable time learning and practicing how to handle a variety of common business social challenges properly.
Remember, your business or professional image is more important than you think.
Business Etiquette Quiz
Test Your E.I. (Etiquette Intelligence)
Are You a Gracious Go-Getter or the Office Oaf?
A colleague begins to tell you a story he heard about a coworkers private life, so you:
A. Diplomatically tell him you’re not interested in hearing about it.
B. Listen carefully—the more you know about your coworkers, the better equipped you’ll be to navigate office politics.
C. Listen intently and then rush off to tell someone else in the office all the juicy details.
A client has been waiting for about five minutes to meet with you but you’re running a little behind schedule, and you need a few more minutes to finish up, so you:
A. Take a minute to walk out and apologize in person and offer him a cup of coffee and a magazine.
B. Have your assistant tell him you are running behind schedule and you will be a few more minutes.
C. Finish what you’re working on—you’ll get it done faster that way and they’ll only have to wait a few more minutes.
One of your coworkers has clearly "had a few" at the office party, so you:
A. Pull him aside and try to get him to switch to juice or coffee—you don’t want him making a fool out of himself in front of the boss.
B. Ignore it.
C. Decide he’s got the right idea and join him in overindulging—after all it is a party.
You enter a coworker’s office or cubicle to chat and she’s on the phone, so you:
A. Leave a note saying you need to speak with her and try to get her at another time.
B. Stand in the doorway and wait for her to get off—it’ll save you the time of having to come back later when she’ll probably just be on another call.
C. Insist that she speak with you immediately—it’s important and you don’t have time to wait around.
You witness one of your coworkers tell the new intern that she "looks really sexy in the short skirts she always wears," so you:
A. Privately point out that his comments were sexist and offensive.
B. Publicly criticize his character—he needs to be deterred from making similar comments in the future.
C. Laugh heartily and voice your agreement—it’s just harmless fun.
You work in a casual-dress office and you have a meeting at your company’s bank, so you:
A. Dust off your best suit—you want to leave nothing to chance.
B. Dress up a little more than usual, maybe add a jacket to your ensemble.
C. Dress as casually as usual—what counts is the substance of the meeting, not your appearance.
As the marketing manager in your company you vastly underestimate the time required for your division to complete a project and you come out way over budget, so you:
A. Accept responsibility for the error and admit to your staff that you made a mistake and set about to correct it.
B. Say nothing, but take action to correct your mistake.
C. Attempt to deflect your responsibility for the error by spreading blame around—after all, you can’t be perceived as a screw up by your staff.
Your boss calls you into her office to go over your latest report, and she criticizes a significant portion of your work, so you:
A. Listen carefully and take time to think about everything she said before offering a response.
B. Respond to each criticism as it comes up to insure you don’t miss the opportunity to downplay each one.
C. Get angry at her and quickly point out many of her shortcomings—she needs to know she’s not perfect either and next time maybe she’ll think twice before criticizing your work.
You notice that a male colleague’s fly is undone and because you’re a female you’re a little embarrassed about saying anything to him, so you:
A. Have one of the other men in the office tell him.
B. Simply ignore it.
C. Make an office joke of it – every office needs some comic relief to liven it up.
You want a raise and in order to justify it you tell your boss:
A. What new responsibilities you can assume and what you can achieve with the added responsibilities.
B. That your salary is below average for your position in your region.
C. About how expensive your grandfather’s nursing home bills are.
SCORING
Add up the number of corresponding points for each letter. A’s are 2 points, B’s are 1 point and C’s are 0 points.
20 – 15 Your business etiquette is rock solid. You’re able to handle a wide variety of everyday situations with grace and sensitivity.
14 – 10 You usually practice sound business etiquette. Focus on approaching every situation with thought and consideration for others and your company.
9 – 0 Your business etiquette is bankrupt. You need to spend considerable time learning and practicing how to handle a variety of common business social challenges properly.
Remember, your business or professional image is more important than you think.
Monday, June 15, 2009
If you believe the following premise: 1: Teachers have an influence in the life of the student.
2: How you present yourself says a great deal about you.
Then the following observation from last weeks 8th grade awards ceremony should be of some interest to you.
Before I proceed, I must tell you that I have not verified anything from the school, but I did speak with a teacher at another district about dress codes for teachers. Assuming the codes are similar, then these teachers I saw on Friday were out of line. Perhaps it was casual Friday, but enough with the apologist.
The principal was appropriately dressed in a suit. The gym teachers were appropriately dressed in gym attire. If it was casual Friday, then the male teachers were appropriately dressed in jeans and casual slacks with a collared shirt. But there were at least two female teachers and one male teacher that were not at all appropriate in their choice of clothing or footwear. Please tell me when flip-flops or Birkenstocks became acceptable, professional footwear. Open-toed shoes of any kind is usually against the dress code in a professional setting. Teachers, especially in NJ, have a strong union and insist on being treated as professionals, but at an awards assembly they choose to be completely inappropriate.
Now I know it is June, it is the end of a school year, but you have to know that at some point during the day you will be in front of parents and business people. Is a sixties hippie look really the image you want to present to the community? As someone that would rather risk being over dressed for an occasion than under dressed, this bothers me. As someone that relies on the value of first impressions and lectures on the subject matter, I find this very disturbing.
I don't know if there could ever be an adequate explanation but I would welcome an opportunity to discuss this matter with the principal or other authoritative figure from this institution.
2: How you present yourself says a great deal about you.
Then the following observation from last weeks 8th grade awards ceremony should be of some interest to you.
Before I proceed, I must tell you that I have not verified anything from the school, but I did speak with a teacher at another district about dress codes for teachers. Assuming the codes are similar, then these teachers I saw on Friday were out of line. Perhaps it was casual Friday, but enough with the apologist.
The principal was appropriately dressed in a suit. The gym teachers were appropriately dressed in gym attire. If it was casual Friday, then the male teachers were appropriately dressed in jeans and casual slacks with a collared shirt. But there were at least two female teachers and one male teacher that were not at all appropriate in their choice of clothing or footwear. Please tell me when flip-flops or Birkenstocks became acceptable, professional footwear. Open-toed shoes of any kind is usually against the dress code in a professional setting. Teachers, especially in NJ, have a strong union and insist on being treated as professionals, but at an awards assembly they choose to be completely inappropriate.
Now I know it is June, it is the end of a school year, but you have to know that at some point during the day you will be in front of parents and business people. Is a sixties hippie look really the image you want to present to the community? As someone that would rather risk being over dressed for an occasion than under dressed, this bothers me. As someone that relies on the value of first impressions and lectures on the subject matter, I find this very disturbing.
I don't know if there could ever be an adequate explanation but I would welcome an opportunity to discuss this matter with the principal or other authoritative figure from this institution.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
It has been about 6 weeks or so since I set out to create my "web presence". I have been on LinkedIn for years but never utilized it. To be honest, I still have some tweaking to do on it. I am on facebook and I find that experience to be very intuitive. But I digress. I apologize for my inactivity as I have been in negotiations with a potential large client. This client is very tech-savvy and invited me to attend a forum on how the internet is being used by old, traditional media. Basically, if you don't have a facebook or twitter or blog, you are as old and useless as a newspaper.
So feel free to follow me on twitter under the username "UCDWS". Friend me on facebook with my name, Drew Straub, or connect with me on LinkedIn with the name Drew W. Straub, MSFS. Or search me under my business name, The Straub Organization. Or even under The D. Wells Straub Group.
I will now be updating on a regular basis and seeking input and advice as I ramp up my efforts with my new, large client.
So feel free to follow me on twitter under the username "UCDWS". Friend me on facebook with my name, Drew Straub, or connect with me on LinkedIn with the name Drew W. Straub, MSFS. Or search me under my business name, The Straub Organization. Or even under The D. Wells Straub Group.
I will now be updating on a regular basis and seeking input and advice as I ramp up my efforts with my new, large client.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
As the first post for this blog I thought I would set the tone for what I hope will be a constructive environment for consultants and those seeking consulting services. It is my desire that by showing how everyday activities can be an opportunity to make us better at what we do we make ourselves more approachable by those in need of our services but haven't found the inclination to reach out.
The other night I had the pleasure of speaking with a woman, in her mid 30's, about relationships and finding that special person. She was in a relationship for about 6 years and never fully committed to it because of an issue that she felt was very important to her. The issue was debt. Apparently her significant other had consumer debt in the high 5 figures. While I have been involved in client cases where higher amounts have been seen, she just did not feel comfortable going any further in that relationship.
The issue to me isn't the debt, but how the debt was acquired and how is it being managed. To her it was simply that it existed. First, the nominal amount of debt is not important. How it relates as a percentage to overall income and how the structure of the repayment affects his life is more significant. Whether it is managable or not, is one thing; what is the nature of the debt is another.
We all have interests. And when those interests become something more then they become vices or obsessions. Gambling, Sex, Clothes, Technology, etc, can be the more serious issue that is only presently manifested in the form of debt. For this woman, curbing the debt is only treating the symptom.
However debt on his part was only half the issue. The other issue was how she was raised. She was raised with a frugal father, who retired at the age of 48. Now I don't think he retired in the true sense of the word. I think he left his chosen profession or vocation, but I think he found a more relaxed lifestyle while working at some less demanding position. But I digress. He was so thrifty that it affected the way his daughter perceives money, finances, and debt.
Such a terrible situation. A man with debt that may or not be an issue with repayment and that may or not be an issue with regard to the nature of it is not able to keep or extend a relationship with a woman because of her fathers frugality creating an intolerance for debt or debt management.
The other night I had the pleasure of speaking with a woman, in her mid 30's, about relationships and finding that special person. She was in a relationship for about 6 years and never fully committed to it because of an issue that she felt was very important to her. The issue was debt. Apparently her significant other had consumer debt in the high 5 figures. While I have been involved in client cases where higher amounts have been seen, she just did not feel comfortable going any further in that relationship.
The issue to me isn't the debt, but how the debt was acquired and how is it being managed. To her it was simply that it existed. First, the nominal amount of debt is not important. How it relates as a percentage to overall income and how the structure of the repayment affects his life is more significant. Whether it is managable or not, is one thing; what is the nature of the debt is another.
We all have interests. And when those interests become something more then they become vices or obsessions. Gambling, Sex, Clothes, Technology, etc, can be the more serious issue that is only presently manifested in the form of debt. For this woman, curbing the debt is only treating the symptom.
However debt on his part was only half the issue. The other issue was how she was raised. She was raised with a frugal father, who retired at the age of 48. Now I don't think he retired in the true sense of the word. I think he left his chosen profession or vocation, but I think he found a more relaxed lifestyle while working at some less demanding position. But I digress. He was so thrifty that it affected the way his daughter perceives money, finances, and debt.
Such a terrible situation. A man with debt that may or not be an issue with repayment and that may or not be an issue with regard to the nature of it is not able to keep or extend a relationship with a woman because of her fathers frugality creating an intolerance for debt or debt management.
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