by Karen P. Katz on December 3, 2009
Check-out the “Made to Stick” column that appears in the monthly publication, Fast Company. Brothers Chip and Dan Heath write cutting-edge commentary on entrepreneurship, innovation, and the integration of Web 2.0 tools. The November 2009 contribution “caught my fancy” with an irreverent approach to solving marketing problems.
The Heath brothers describe an intractable problem faced by a Procter & Gamble business unit. The group director may have invoked the famous words of Albert Einstein, who said: “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Unable to solve a problem within the P&G domain, the group director took the team on a field trip to the San Diego Zoo – looking for answers on another turf!
Observations of plant life and animal behavior sparked eight fresh approaches to the CPG problem, driving home the point that “…someone else may have a different perspective…problems that are difficult in one domain may be trivial to solve from the perspective of a different domain.”
The work of the Heath brothers promotes innovative thinking and problem solving strategies. Their clever and slightly irreverent metaphors drive home the point that solutions to problems may be “in-your-face,” and yet not visible through your own mirror. Clearly, the message is to search outside our own borders, beyond our own companies, and outside the paradigms created by our industries. Maybe it is time to bring back my own irreverent metaphor for those in career transition: the unicellular paramecium.
by Karen P. Katz on November 10, 2009
The Reach Personal Branding group recently circulated a post that deserves wider circulation. William Arruda, a respected advocate for personal branding and co-author of Career Distinction, commented on a NYT piece by Thomas Friedman called, “The New Untouchables.”
Arruda makes the point that those who will survive and flourish during challenging times are those who can distinguish themselves – those who can become the purple cow in the herd of brown and white cows. As I prepare to meet MBA students who aspire to be the corporate and entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow (Net Impact Conference 11/13 & 11/14), it seems timely to extrapolate these words from William’s post:
As I see it, this is all about personal branding. What do you offer that is not available from anyone else? What emotional brand attributes do you add onto your competence that gets people excited about you? What unique talents and abilities put you in a class by yourself?
Will you make the case to a prospective employer that you understand their issues – that you are prepared to integrate your education, experience, and personal qualities in a plan that makes an overwhelming case for hiring and retaining you. Will you make yourself indispensable?
by Karen P. Katz on October 27, 2009
Here’s what we already know: The demographics of the workforce are a train coming down the track. While we are currently experiencing a 9.5% national unemployment rate, the burden is disproportionately born by younger workers (more than 50% of non-students are unemployed – referred to as the Dead End Kids).
Here’s what many don’t know: The AARP (Pdf) predicts that by 2015, there will be more jobs than trained employees – indeed, the group expects a gap of 35 million jobs. It is becoming more and more likely that those who entered the workforce in the 1970’s will not become “snow birds” anytime soon. Are they making it more difficult for younger workers to enter the workforce? More results from the AARP’s 2005 report, “American’s Aging Workforce:”
- By 2015, 20% of the workforce will be age 55 and older
- The highest growth rate in the workforce will be among those 55-64 (an increase of 51%)
- Concurrently, there will be a decrease in the population of workers age 35-44 (a loss of 7%)
- Today, most middle and senior managers are Baby Boomers, age 42-60. 40% of this cohort hold college degrees; unlike their Traditionalist predecessors, who were more likely to perform physically demanding work, most of these collegiate Boomers should be able to continue in professional, technical, and managerial roles well beyond retirement age. [click to continue…]
by Karen P. Katz on September 17, 2009
A new post on the Netshare.com newsletter offers yet another strong suggestion to employ S-W-O-T analysis as a job search tool. Since 2007, I have recommended this business analysis tool to my clients; now I am happy to suggest that clients check-out the S-W-O-T prompts posted by Katherine E. Simmons, President & CEO of Netshare.com. Ms. Simmons offers some fresh prompts that can help with brand clarification, e.g.:
Strengths:
* What advantages do you have? *What do you do better than anyone else? *What unique or low-cost resources do you have to offer? *What do others see as your strengths? *How do you help close the sale or reduce overhead?
Weaknesses:
* What areas can you improve? * What areas should you avoid? * What do peers in your market see as weaknesses? *Where do you fail when trying to close a sale or reduce costs?
Recently, I have recommend that candidates take the S-W-O-T analysis tool to the next level by applying it to their target companies. In other words, use S-W-O-T as the framework for company research, e.g.: [click to continue…]
by Karen P. Katz on September 10, 2009
A chain of posts through the Net Impact LinkedIn group led me to rant again about the disparity between the innovation that is taught in “better” business schools and the conformity that is foisted-upon new graduates.
Ivy League universities hire distinguished faculty to teach classes in “innovation;” these same professors rally around the need for change to compete in the global marketplace. Yet as students approach graduation and complete their exams, theses, and dissertations, it seems they are ushered into the back room to have the creativity beaten out of them. The Biz School back-room “whoopin” leaves new graduates wondering about their considerable investment of time, money, and faith.
Resumes must conform to a specific style to earn a place in the recruitment “book; ” cover letters may as well be automated, and networking is almost incestuous (maybe due to over-reliance on alumni). I shouldn’t complain, as many students seek the services of experienced career professionals to flesh-out their personal brand and manage their job search campaigns. (Look for CAN and other career strategists at the Sept. 17th PA Governor’s Conference for Women, as well as several MBA Career Expos and the November Net Impact Conference.)
The NetImpact group discussion led me to a related post by Matt Madden, a Presidio School of Management student who is writing a book tentatively titled Status Quo Values. The purpose of this project is to explore status quo value systems – economic, political and social values – and discuss the role these values play in our society’s aversion to change. The goal of the work is to define status quo values, discuss the historical roots of our institutional embrace of status quo values, examine the role our institutions play in promoting these values to individuals and investigate examples of institutions and individuals adhering to alternative value systems. Sounds like a continuation of the dialog started by Robert Reich in his Fast Company issue, Your Job Is Change. I’ll be looking for the book, Matt…
