There are several variables that can be attributed to success in the workplace. None however are as important as the basic skill of “thinking.” Thinking is a form of exercise for the brain. We all know or should be aware that exercising any organ in the body nets positive results. Therefore thinking is an exercise we should be practicing daily to guide us in successful career management. Unfortunately our fast paced, media –marketing driven lives have robbed us of basic thinking skills. We have lost the meaning behind the adage “I think, therefore I am.” We have traded the basic human skill that gives us the power of creation, individuality, and initiative for fitting in, political correctness, and laziness. Any new invention begins with a thought.

Lately, I have stumbled across three separate situations that “thinking” was the culprit, possible savior, or solution to a work dilemma. In one instance the employee was written up and put on an action plan for “thinking independently” and attempting to shake up the company culture. She came up with a more efficient way to communicate internally and to do the company payroll.  Management informed her she was not being paid “to think”. What is wrong with this picture?  As a manager should you empower your employees “to think” or chastise them for “thinking”? What is the better business strategy? Has “thinking outside of the box” become passé or taboo?

In another situation a college student enjoyed his summer work at an engineering firm and decided to go into engineering without “thinking” about his aptitude for math and science. If he had given his choice any thought he would have realized that his personality and skill sets did not match up with probable success as an engineer. Now he is faced with being placed on probation at his college because he never really “thought” about his major or career choice. How are we preparing our next generation for future employment? Are we giving them adequate career counseling? Do your company employees visit college or high school campuses to give the students information on careers in your company? Are you networking with schools so that students have real career information to think about?

In the last situation a department head attempted to rearrange her department but did not “think” about the strengths and weaknesses of her employees. She reorganized based on streamlining paperwork and is now wondering why customer complaints have escalated. Her staff is spending most of their time in meetings and filling out paperwork regardless of their skill sets. The staff is unavailable to their clients and the secretary is being forced to handle clients. Have you ever decided to shake up your department? What was your “thought process”? Did you consider goals and objectives for your department or did you make arbitrary changes without “thinking” about the big picture?

According to Jim Elliker in an article entitled, “ What was I thinking?” in Next Step magazine, there is a four- step formula to get thinking back in proper perspective.

• Thinking takes time (turn off the TV, ipod, and cell phone, sit quietly and reflect)
• Reading improves thinking (educate yourself, reading stimulates brain activity)
• Thinking is work  (exercise your options, look at all sides of a situation)
• Thinking requires dialogue to bring it to life (talk to others, exchange ideas)

The ability to think separates humans from other animals. Like anything else if we don’t exercise our ability to think we will lose it. In a time when we have double- digit unemployment it seems we need to tap into our ability “to think” more than ever. Where is the solution to our unemployment problem going to come from? Where are the minds that are going to create the new industries?  I am putting my money on “thinkers’.

  If you get a chance take a look at a few books from some active free- thinkers:

 Live Boldly by Mary Anne Radmacher

  Dream Big by Lisa Hammond

   Fearless Living by Guy Finley

 Make this the year that you THINK!

                                                                        Books are available at APLS Online Store

Happy New Year! I like to use the new year as a time to reflect on the year that just passed. What a year it was! If you watched any of the news programs do a year in review it was mind-boggling. Barack Obama succeeded George Bush as president. Michael Jackson and Walter Cronkite were silenced. We the people bailed out the banks, a mega insurance company and the automobile industry even though we had double digit unemployment and upside down mortgages. But as Sonny and Cher sang in the 60’s, “…and the beat goes on.”

It is now officially 2010.  If you are employed, instead of making resolutions, make this the year for action. Adopt the Nike motto, “just do it!”  Use the words; make this the year, as your springboard to a more fulfilling career. Try the following action statements on for size.

Make this the year …

• I take charge of my career
• I self-evaluate my performance over the last twelve months
• I increase work behaviors that net positive results
• I relinquish work behaviors and attitudes that produce negative outcomes
• I increase my career value by sharpening my skill sets
• I seek a mentor or I become a mentor depending on my professional needs
• I create a portfolio to showcase my various talents
• I model ethical work behavior
• I manage up and down to create a more inclusive workplace

Now that I’ve got your motor running and you are at the starting gate do you need some direction? You may be wondering, how do I take charge of my career? For starters make this the year you decide to discover the right career for you. Do an honest assessment of your current position and examine your skill sets to determine compatibility.  Ask yourself if you are earning a living or enjoying the work with the pay as the reward? Your answer will determine your next step. Stay at your current position and grow if you love what you do. If you are discontent; reassess, network, return to school, seek other employment, or readjust your career strategy.

Consider the following reading material to assist you with strategies to take charge of your career. 

• Your Success GPS
• Career Skills for the New Economy
• Networking for Success
• Ethics In Business

And if reading makes you dizzy, try a night out at the movies.  Go see Up In the Air with George Clooney. He gives a valid demonstration of how to take charge of your career.

Make this the year you succeed!

*** All titles are available through APLS Online Store.

The term “baby boomer” seems to be an oxymoron since most of the “babies” are now over 50. In the workplace if they are not retiring they are fighting for survival. The generation that thought they’d “never get old” did.  And now they desperately need a new strategy to continue the lifestyle they have become accustomed to. Our current employment climate is more partly cloudy than smooth sailing for the boomers. It is time to regroup and make your own luck.

If you are currently employed have you noticed warning signs that you might be “aging out” of your job? Check yourself against the following scenarios:

•  You have been passed over for a change in position because the new job is considered “fast paced” or “stressful”.
• When you weren’t available by text you became grist for the office joke mill. Your boss joked that “you can’t teach and old dog new tricks”.
• At a recent staff meeting when you presented an idea it was voted down because the company is looking for a “fresh, new approach.”
•  Co-workers seem overly inquisitive about you how long you’ve been with the company.
• Any unsolicited company literature about “retirement” mysteriously ends up in your in-box.

These are all signs that your company may be in the midst of a change and they do not consider “baby boomers” as part of the new company image. Some might consider this practice as blatant age discrimination but company public relations say change is inevitable if the business is going to survive. Complacency and reliance on past performance can cause the baby boomer to be left behind. Barbara Sher, author, therapist and career counselor in her book I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was says change is good for you. She offers the following insight:

“You’ve been a beginner many times. We all go from most knowledgeable to most ignorant several times in our lives. Now that we’re living longer and society is going through a period of rapid change, each generation can expect to make that 180-degree turn more often than the last generation.”

Most change is unwelcome and uncomfortable but people manage to survive. For “baby boomers” that change of not being the “smart kid” on the block anymore is a shock. Boomers have not gracefully moved from youngster to elder in daily life or in the workplace. They have not for the most part learned to manage the change. The savvy boomer stays ahead of the curve and in demand in the workplace by using experience, knowledge and keeping a keen eye on the pulse of the business. Baby boomers can continue to have a strong presence in today’s workforce, on their own terms, if they keep the following ideas in mind:

•  Stay informed on the latest technology and industry terminology
•  Keep your skill sets current (take a refresher course if necessary)
•  Update your wardrobe and physical appearance
•  Get in touch with your interests and pursue them (well rounded person is more adaptable to change)
• Reassess your goals to see if you are ready to initiate a change rather than be thrown into a change process
• Consider branching off into an entrepreneurial venture

Lee Child, author of several thrillers including Gone Tomorrow wrote an article in Parade magazine last July entitled “My Good Life After Being Fired”.  I especially liked his advice about using the hurt and betrayal one can feel when there’s a change in a company that affects your life, to move forward. He says,

“It’s about opportunity. By this time in your life, you’ve learned a few things. You’ve got skills and work habits. You’re in charge.”

 So, baby boomers take charge!