Weekly Updates and News

Dear Readers: In 2009, social networking Internet traffic exceeded pornography’s traffic. 2009 wasn’t a year when the paradigm shifted, it was smashed into little pieces. Here are 10 rules for surviving 2010.

Greed isn’t good. Gordon Gekko, in the movie Wall Street, worshipped at the altar of greed. How’s that working for us? Let’s face it, we all got “Madoffed” this year. Being greedy isn’t good…it’s well…greedy. We need more executives thinking about something beyond their own wallet.

Friends stab friends in the front. My uncle told me that when I was nine. We all need to do a better job of telling people what we think to their face, instead of stabbing them in the back. It’s hard, but wouldn’t you rather hear about problems directly, rather than via the rumor mill?

The smartest guys in the room often aren’t. The Enron crew, before the company imploded, was famously called the smartest guys in the room. If the bleeding had only stopped there, Lehman Brothers, Circuit City, the list goes on and on. I’ve learned that it’s dangerous to confuse intelligence with wisdom.

Know-who trumps know-how. How often do you use your computer without going on the Net? It’s not about the smarts that exist within your computer anymore, it’s about the network your computer is connected to. It’s no different for you and your career.

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Mary Poppins was right. I’m always on the lookout for how I can “reward” someone to do what I’d like them to do, punishment is so five minutes ago.

Careers go up, down and sideways. We have to get the notion that a career is like a rocket always going up. Careers hit potholes, or worse. Our resilience at overcoming obstacles is the key to an effective career.

The best person doesn’t always get the job. Talk to most people and they’ll tell you how unfair work is. But you also get the sense that they hold on to the notion that the best person is usually hired. Wrong. Networking, selling yourself and flexibility will usually overcome pure skills in most job hunts. Don’t rest on your laurels.

Money is one way to keep score. It is a great way. But there are many others– environmental impact, number of people employed, community service, etc. Companies cast a big shadow, and we need to look past just profits to measure this impact.

A dead battery can’t charge a dead battery. Motivational speaker Keith Harrell taught this to me. If we want more energy at work, we need to bring more energy to work. You’d be surprised at how a spark at any level of an organization can change things for the better.

Don’t be near-sighted. According to Science News, near-sightedness in the US was at 25% of the population. Now it’s at 42%. Now that we’ve had our recession wake-up call, we all need to adopt a longer view at work.

How could 2010 be any worse than 2009?

About the Author: Bob Rosner is a best-selling author and award-winning journalist. For free job and work advice, check out the award-winning workplace911.com. His newly revised best-seller, “The BOSS’s Survival Guide” is on bookshelves now. If you have a question for Bob, contact him via bob@workplace911.com.

Thought of the Week

“As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it.”

–Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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from Right Management

Really linkedin…How often do you update your resume?
· 7% – Once a month
· 19% – It’s been more than two years
· 25% – Maybe once a year
· 18% – Every six months
· 28% – Each time I achieve a new goal