Leading a team of people on any project can be a bear.  Running a small business with differing skills, personalities, backgrounds, genders and competing interests can be just plain difficult.  It seems like piling any group of people together in hopes of getting a job done is a hopeless cause. But if you:

develop a keen understanding of how individuals behave within a team and
dearn to motivate individuals towards a common goal

you’ll develop a reputation for being a team leading genius that delivers the results your company badly needs.
To  hone these …

I read a KeppieCareers.com blog post plugging Karen Burns’ “The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use” and it peaked my interest . So I went out and got me a copy. I’m glad I did and I’m recommending it to my Career Jockey blog readers and getting copies for my three daughters.

The author Karen Burn delivers some light-hearted, entertaining advice on a bunch of work related topics. Some are light other are serious. The book consists of 59 four …

Years ago I worked as a contractor at a large bank. I’d hear people say,
• “We got to the get the right people on the bus.”
• “That guy’s sitting in the wrong seat on the bus.”
• “Can we kick that guy off the bus?”
• “Let’s get this bus going in the right direction.”
“What on earth were they talking about?” I thought. I finally asked and someone pointed me at the Jim Collins’ “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t” book. Collins’ delivers on something I haven’t seen …

Can you make use of Weight Watchers and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) peer support features to help run your job hunt, career or life in general? Keith Ferrazzi author of best seller “Never Eat Alone” says, “Yes!”

I first heard about his book “Who’s Got Your Back” when my wife saw a Ferrazzi’s interview on “Good Morning America.” The same day a business contact mentioned the interview as well. Then my boss forwarded me a link to his interview on Larry King. Something’s up so I figured …

Ferrazzi’s publicity machine continues. His “Who’s Got Your Back?” book gets another plug from Business Week. Check out the Business Week article on him. Like the “Good Morning America” and Larry King inteview I noted in previous articles, he’s talking about developing “lifeline relationships” to help you in many ways but particularly with a job hunt.
Job hunter: FOLLOW THE LINK AND READ IT. GET A COPY OF THE BOOK. PUT THIS INTO ACTION AND GET BACK TO WORK.

I’ll be doing a review of Keith Ferrazzi’s book “Who’s Got Your Back?” soon. I’ll also be giving a presentation on forming Job Hunt Clubs this Thursday. In that presentation I’ll be using information I drew from this book. In this Larry King interview, Ferrazzi talks about the book and the “lifeline relationships” he recommends we develop. Ferrazzi is really on to something here. These are people you enlist to help you accomplish your goals. They are people who will speak to you with candor …

A few years back when I was running a 12 person IT department, I inherited what “Now, Discover Your Strengths” can bring to a team. My predecessor had purchased a copy for each team member and had them take the online assessment that comes with the book. (Note: You need a new copy of the book.  Used copies won’t have a fresh key allowing you to take the VERY IMPORTANT online assessment.)
The book describes 34 possible strengths areas and provides an online assessment for assessing the reader …

Ferrazzi’s author of “Whose Got Your Back” appeared on “Good Morning, America” promoting his his book this morning. You can listen to the GMA story at this link. In this new book, the author of “Never Eat Alone” is saying that we all need “lifeline relationships” that can help launch us towards our goals. Friends very often aren’t willing to be completely honest with us. Sometimes even our spouses are hesitant to be completely sincere.
Ferrazzi is promoting this grouping of individuals, and GMA created a test group …

In the summer of 2006, I took a director-level IT position.  I was returning to management after six years in software development and other technical roles.  For a while, I there I depended on my technical skills.  I kept myself current through a lot of reading and research which had led me to several well respected certifications.
Since that approach had worked before, I figured why not do the same for my new role.  So I committed myself to a research project aimed at becoming the best leader.  I could become …