“Writing to Be Heard” was posted on July 16, 2007, the first time I used my blog. After writing hundreds of posts since then—especially this year—I decided to share my favorite posts of 2011 with you.
The posts below all have a story behind them, a reason to share the information, and a desire to help you on your career journey. The posts could have been written to address an issue that came up during a coaching or consulting meeting, a topic that was discussed in a management class I teach at the Zicklin School of Business, an opportunity to expand horizons, etc. The focus of each one is categorized by one or more of the tiles above the post which include Career, Coaching, College, Culture, Economy, Health, Leadership, Life Business, Management, Technology.
Below is a month-by-month list of posts that I hope you will find relevant, inspiring, and even fun.
January 17: Are You Afraid of Feedback? The topic emerged from two different threads. The first was to offer guidance to decision-makers who were working with a very resistant executive. The second was the loan of an academic colleague’s DVD on feedback.
February 21: The Price of Ignoring Corporate Culture As I told my students in an “Organizational Behavior” class, teaching corporate culture is my favorite unit to teach. It is because of the environment executives create and how it impacts employee’s behavior. In this particular case, the executive did not take into account his behavior in an established culture.
March 10: Women’s Month 2011: Shake the World To acknowledge the progress women make in a range of fields, I wrote about their accomplishments including that of Justine Siegal who had fulfilled her dream of throwing batting practice for the Cleveland Indians in spring training.
April 4: Lasting Impressions I am impressed by the number of people who even when we have not seen or spoken with one another for months or years, still remember me and the work I do. The need to make a good first—and subsequent—impact on everyone you come in touch with is an important part of career development.
May 27: Shakespeare in a Management Classroom In April 2010, I attended a workshop on teaching Shakespeare in the workplace. To my delight and my students’ reluctance, I developed a class session on emotional intelligence by having students get on a stage with a partner and recite excerpts from scenes in Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet, their favorite because they get to yell!
June 17: Ten Guideposts on Your Reinvention Highway Exploring a new career can be stressful and tiring. Since I have reinvented myself a few times—I like to call it evolution—I share ideas on how to practice active patience to realize a new career.
July 7: Holistic Professional Resume In addition to teaching a business course, I also teach a program called “SuperCharge Your Career” at Zicklin. What I don’t see on many resumes is Activities or another heading that can fill out the profile of a candidate and give an interviewer a sense of their lives outside the company.
August 30: Career as a Farmer: Sasha J. Farkas Not everyone wants to work in an office in New York or any urban environment for that matter. USA Today’s headline on December 26, 2011, “More Young People See Farming Opportunities,” confirmed that those in their 20’s and 30’s who have been downsized or unable to get a job, are seeking ways to survive on a farm.
September 13: LockerDome: The Facebook of Team Sports Gabe Lozano, Co-Founder and CEO of a website for young athletes, read my post Women’s Month 2011: Shake the World and left a comment. That comment led to a conversation, two interviews—his and Justine Siegal’s—and my own profile on LockerDome’s social media site.
October 29: Disability: A Second Career for L.I.R.R. Workers Last year, I wrote about the ethical behavior of Long Island Railroad workers who claimed disability when they were obviously fine since they played golf sometimes daily. Recently, I read that the cost of disbursing those on disability can be close to $1 billion.
November 12: Walking Meetings One of the many takeaways I had from reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson was learning the pleasures of a walking meeting. A friend gave me that opportunity and I’m very grateful for it.
December 24: Dear Santa: My Wish List It had been ages since I wrote a “Dear Santa” letter so I put tongue in cheek and infused my humor into the serious requests I made for the greater good—and not just the sweater and earrings I hoped Santa would bring!
Thank you for your time to browse and read my posts. Looking forward to writing more in 2012!
Very best wishes for a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
