Personal branding is all the rage, but it has its hidden downsides as well. As I prepare to give my Living an Extraordinary Life presentation for Harvard Business School’s alumni webinar series, I am realizing that personal branding can become an impediment as...
careers
Here are articles on careers
Meritocracy: A Fine, But Mythological, Idea
I love the idea of a meritocracy! It's a glorious myth that makes a wonderful story. But if you look at how resources, wealth, prestige, etc. get distributed, it's very hard to make a case for meritocracy. It's no surprise we believe in meritocracy. We spend our...
Marketing vs. Sales vs. Copywriting vs. Design
I've recently noticed that many entrepreneurs hire a "marketing person" and then end up with someone who doesn't do what they expect. Sometimes it's because they didn't realize what "marketing" means. Other times, it's because the person they hired didn't know what...
Cover Letter
Related article: Ten Cultural Career Lies This page is a companion to my audio program about how to write a cover letter. I would like to express extreme appreciation for the brave job seeker who gave me permission to use his letter for this program. [su_audio...
How did younger-you become present-day-you?
It's my birthday today! I thought up a rather fun way to spend some time celebrating. Here's my game: Think of your age 10 years ago, 20 years ago, etc. and write down all the things you appreciate about the younger "you." Spend some time pondering what's been...
What do you do when you hit epiphany halfway through your career?
Our final performance for Creating Cabaret: Storytelling Through Song was last night. My 1st time singing solo before an audience. The high F#s in my piece are well within my range, but they're also just at the point where the slightest relaxation of my frame causes...
What are some rules and beliefs of organizational life?
Hi! For my book, I would like to gather a set of beliefs that govern how people operate in organizations. I'm especially looking for beliefs that really drive people's behavior, decision-making, etc. Contradictions and alternate viewpoints welcome and encouraged. For...
“Self-promoting w/o being a jerk” — good topic?
Today's podcast is about how to be self-promoting without being a jerk about it. I think it's one of my better podcasts. What do you think? Should this be expanded into a chapter (or part of a chapter) in the book? If so, do you have specific examples, questions,...
Ten Cultural Career Lies v4 handout
Update the handout again to include a slightly reformatted Happy vs. Successful diagram and a list of my web resources: ten-cultural-career-lies-v4
How to Write a Good Cover Letter
People liked the "Ten Career Lies" so much that I've decided to share my "How to Write a Cover Letter" audio, "before" and "after" cover letter text. I created this page so I didn't have to have the same cover letter discussion with two dozen MBA coachees every year....