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.

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.:

Clearly this tool can be a very effective job search strategy tool.  Check the Netshare.com for the full post; contact this writer for more information about how to S-W-O-T your target organizations.

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…

I love it when people can tell stories that make a point – like Aesop's Fables…  My father was great at this – unfortunately, I'm not.  For this homily, let's borrow from Seth Godin and his "The Panhandler's Secret."

Seth's post is a simple story that reinforces a truism of sales training – talk features and benefits.  Career changers and job seekers are selling themselves – selling their unique value proposition – their brand. 

So be sure you know the features and benefits needed by your target organization – be sure what they need is in your "tool bag." 

Karen P. Katz

It is possible to make lemonade…A familiar ingredient in the refreshing alternative to economic woe:  the Business section of your local newspaper…

• Today it is the Philadelphia Inquirer that offers a glimpse into what's happening in the regional job market.  The article that attracted my attention refers to the Information Technology (IT) efficiencies that are funded in the 2009 Economic Stimulus Package.  Read the full article in the Philadelphia Inquirer to learn more about the $2 billion in loans and grants, plus $17 billion in Medicare reimbursement for health-related IT spending. 

• So what, you may ask…WIIFY (What's in it for you?) -  Good question… These funds are targeted to go to doctors, medical practices, and hospitals – those who need to adopt the IT efficiencies called for to improve our health care system. These are small businesses who are likely to hire outside consultants to implement these changes to their business models.

•  A local employer poised to benefit from this legislation is NextGen Healthcare Information Systems Inc., a medical-records-system provider owned by California-based Quality Systems Inc. that employs 500 at its Horsham headquarters.

•  Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D., Phila) wrote the new legislation that steered the funds toward practitioners rather than insurance companies. Financial incentives to doctors and hospitals will be available as early as October 2010, so these small businesses will be looking for guidance ASAP.

Another ingredient in the lemonade is networking:  conduct online and off-line networking to find partners, perform competitive analysis, and identify links to decision-makers…

• Lots of information available is available on this topic – see the archives of Career Acceleration Notes, as well as recommended websites and blogs
  
• If you missed-it, read or listen to the NPR Marketplace report on Social Networks and Layoffs
  
• A few key points from the NPR program:  * Hyper-networking combines online and off line networking  *Jobs are not being posted  *Decision-makers are using Google in-place of gossip to vet prospects

Posted by Karen P. Katz

Godin, blogger and thought leader among personal and permission marketers, has re-framed the thinking of Richard Bolles, author and esteemed guru of career and life coaches. 

I'm always looking for a topic that might add real value to the career space, so I was grateful to a friend who sent me Seth Godin's recent post, What are you good at?    Taking a marketing perspective, Seth appropriately suggests that those looking for their next big gig" should consider the distinction between skills that can be categorized as "content" and "process."

Godin uses 21st Century terminology to make his point:  "Content is domain knowledge. People you know or skills you've
developed… Domain knowledge is important, but it's (often) easily learnable."  While Bolles' terms may not resonate with Millennials, his discussion of this topic is as relevant today as it was in 1980, when the Quick Job Hunting Map was first published.  Bolles describes skills residing in the content domain as "I know skills" ,e.g."I know how to use SAP, "I know financial accounting," "I know movers and shakers in the logistics field."

Godin  uses the term "process" to describe "emotional intelligence" – what Bolles would call "I am skills."  When explaining process skills, a speaker is likely to start a sentence with "I am able to manage multiple projects," "I am persuasive," "I am adaptable," etc.  These are the skills, abilities, and personal qualities that can differentiate a candidate from the many others who share their credentials and knowledge skills.  As Godin says, the process "…stuff is insanely valuable and hard to learn." And I agree that these personal qualities are likely to be overlooked by screeners and scanners. All the more reason to dig-deep and seize control of your personal marketing campaign – to manage your career.

An infinite number of people share the same content domain, but precious few offer the same mix of process skills and personal qualities. Long-term career health, preceded by successful assessment, preparation of marketing documents, interview preparation, and offer negotiation, is dependent upon your understanding of these ideas.

Passing on news that that Gallup Press has released another title in its series of self-assessment books in collaboration with Tom Rath: Strengths Based Leadership.  The new title promises to build on the results of the Strengths Finder 2.0, which is itself an extension of the popular title, Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham.

Buckingham is a business guru whose perspective has always appealed to me, on several levels.  Like me, he was once a stutterer who found that his strength is actually his ability to communicate clearly and convincingly.  Secondly, he has been a proponent for an intuitive and healthy attitude about personal and professional development. I think he would endorse my self-description as a career strategist, not a counselor (illness) nor a coach (no fruits and nuts).  Marcus started a "Strengths Revolution," by asking what is most likely lead to the achievement of goals: building on your strengths or fixing your weaknesses?  

As a career professional, I totally embrace the emphasis on strengths assessment.  Many traditional psychological assessments leave the client and coach communicating through language that I call "psycho-babble." The Strengths Revolution encourages a coaching dialog that uses easy to understand terms; the terms relate to the business world, not to the theories of a psychologist.  (An earlier strengths-based tool was developed by Timothy Butler, & James Waldroop; it is still available through the Harvard Business School).

The new book seeks to build on research conducted over 10 years, focusing on what it takes to be a leader. Tom Rath has collaborated with Barry Conchie to identify  themes and provide  specific strategies that should help you to build a stronger team.  This post is not a book review, as I have only learned about the new release today. (Note that few reviewers have recommended the new book to those who have already taken the Strengths Finder 2.0; it is suggested as a substitute rather than an addition to the original assessment.)

View this photo

While I am enthusiastic about all strengths-based assessments, they lack the element of anonymous feedback, offered through an innovative personal branding tool, the 360Reach Branding Assessment.  In the name of full disclosure, I am one of 300 Reach certified analysts and strategists worldwide; the Reach branding tool is based on the 2007 book by Arruda and Dixon,  Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building your Brand.  It is true that self-assessment is a major componet in successful career development, yet I have found scholarly and anectotal evidence to prove that most clients are receptive to the anonymous input of friends, family, and colleagues as part of the career development process.  While the tools developed by Butler, Rath, Conchie, and others are excellent; the availability of 360-degree feedback takes the concept to an even higher level. 

All these strengths-based assessments help job seekers and those in career transition to focus on the positive, to develop specific strategies, and to think in-terms of what lies ahead rather than dwell on mistakes made in the past.  Message: whether you want to confirm your five themes, your leadership style, or your personal brand, find a career professional who will help you identify the right tool for you.  Assessment should lead to action; action to results. 

View this photo

Karen P. Katz, Career Acceleration Network (CAN), LLC

Many readers of Career Acceleration Notes are based in the Philadelphia region, meaning southern New Jersey, northern Delaware, and southeastern Pennsylvania. 

The new blog, PhillyCAN-Jobs,  features news and links that are geared toward those searching for jobs, and specifically, those whose job search is confined to the Philadelphia area.  Please click, read, and subscribe – it will be like getting the paper delivered to your in-box.

Your subscription to the feeds for both of these CAN blogs is of great importance to me – it helps make the Career Acceleration Network more visible.  In return for your readership and comments, I pledge to offer current content, valuable links, and fresh thinking.  I am also renewing the offer to current and former clients who may wish to supplement their online identity by sharing a post: "guest bloggers" are solicited and valued. Light-up your online identify and fire-up your job search by sharing your experience and expertise.

Warm wishes to all of you during this season of family, food, and fun times…


Karen P. Katz, President & Principal Consultant
Career Acceleration Network (CAN), llc
<http://www.CareerAcceleration.net>

Thanks to Sanjay Doshi for this self-reflective and forward-thinking "guest post."  I think it says a lot about his evolution while working through his Acceleration Plan.  Please feel free to comment via this blog  (Career Acceleration Notes) or directly to Sanjay – sanjaydoshi@gmail.com.

When I was first laid
off in October, it took me over a week just to figure out what exactly
had happened.  Then, I mapped out a plan to help me organize my search
to determine the next step in my career.  The first step I took to
guide me?  Hiring a career counselor.  When I explained to her where I
was looking to go and what skills I had that would be attractive to my
target companies, she mentioned that I needed to start thinking outside
the box.  In my head, I thought 'What box?' 

I soon realized it meant
that in the process of one's active job search, employed or unemployed,
one should strive to cast a wider net to find their next opportunity
and look beyond the traditional job searching/networking methods.  In
one of the toughest economies the U.S. has seen in decades, taking a
fresh approach may pave the future.  After all, who doesn't want to be
the purple cow in a meadow of white and brown ones?  Here are a few of
things I've learned:

1. When it comes to networking, whether it be with family, friends,
or co-workers, focus on giving, not receiving.  When you do the first,
the latter will come in time.  Growing those relationships and
occupying a space in their minds can pay off in the long run.
2. While it's important to select your ideal job/career and spend most
of your efforts on getting there, take time to consider other fields. 
Tapping into segments of
certain industries that are growing (from my research, this includes
education, health care, oil/energy, social media) could be fruitful,
especially in a
contracting economy (at present, most segments of financial services,
pharmaceutical, retail, advertising and print media are
restructuring).  Leverage the industries you have experience in
and revisit them.  In my case, I consulted for a city government for
nearly 4 years and while I've been out of touch since 2004, I now bring
a broader skill set than before – more creativity supported by
analytical and strategic thinking.  I plan to reach out to a few of my
old colleagues and get a sense of how the landscape has changed,
network with people in other branches of the government and ultimately,
see if there is a match.  The very reasons I left could be the same
ones to return.

Seeing
as how I'm still working on each of the strategies above, I'm slowly
crawling out of the proverbial box.  Actually, I probably have my left
hand and foot out.

posted by: SanjayDoshi@gmail.com

Now I know what a fly feels like when it hovers over people who are working fast and furiously.  Instead of being the one on the hot seat to guide new users through the elements of LinkedIn, I was like a "fly on the wall" during Jason Alba's 90-minute teleseminar, held 12-17-08. The program was sponsored by Experts Connection™
and hosted by Kathy Simmons, President and CEO of NETSHARE. 

The program was structured well, with accompanying slides that were clear and not distracting. Jason moved through the content quickly, but paused frequently to check for understanding and questions.  Targeted toward executives who may not have fully embraced social networking tools, Jason offered a few key learning points:

• Social networking is key to marketing your brand.  Clarification of your brand is essential to career management.  Not sure about this?  Not convinced?  Think about Barack Obama, the most successful job seeker in the land and winner of Ad Agency's Marketer of the Year
• Online networking tools can make it easier for those who are not natural "schmoozers."  The Internet can make it easier to reach-out to new people, reacquaint yourself with former colleagues, and step outside your comfort zone to build new connections.  The big "but" here is that online networking should make it easier to conduct the warm networking that is still key to your success, e.g. association meetings, breakfast with colleagues, lunch with people in related fields, etc.
• Of the tools available, all have value, however, LinkedIn.com is not optional for anyone who is serious about career management. Jason is also a huge fan of Yahoo & Google Groups (find those whose interests are similar to yours and join); Twitter (the fast-growing micro-blog), and blogging in general (my suggestion – individuals might try the new application, Google sites)
• LinkedIn.com's value proposition is to facilitate connections with those you know (and may have forgotten) and those you want to know.  An effective profile is key to increasing your odds of being found by colleagues and recruiters; it may be wise to hire a professional to help create the profile and learn the ropes of social marketing.  

This Experts Connection program included Jason's thoughts about Facebook, no longer a tool reserved for college students or Friday night plans.  Some key points: 

• There are no 2nd or 3rd degree connections through Facebook
• It is more casual, personal, and intimate
• While job seekers and recruiters have made inroads into Facebook, it is still more social than its business sibling, LinkedIn.

To offer the greatest value to participants, Jason focused on LinkedIn and talked about many of the features and new applications available to members. To learn more, contact a career professional or look for
the 2nd edition of Jason's book, I'm on LinkedIn, Now What.

Those who have worked with me and/or readers of my blog and website will recognize Jason Alba – he is the self-made social marketing guru and author of books and blogs: I'm on LinkedIn, Now What and I'm on Facebook, Now What.  A software engineer by training and experience, he founded JibberJobber.com in response to his own frustration with a job search.  JibberJobber.com has evolved into the "go-to" career management tool for those conducting a passive or active job search.  In the name of full-disclosure, I am honored to be one of Jason's partners in JibberJobber.com