The Beatles had seventeen #1 songs and thirty-eight Top-40 songs on the UK charts, but “Yesterday” is the most covered song in The Beatles’ catalogue. Recorded in 1965 by Paul McCartney on an acoustic guitar, the song was simple, but beautiful. After hearing it the other band members – John, …
Career Developemnt
Is This Job Right for You?
Taking a job without assessing its fit is like marrying someone because they like you. It’s okay to go out on a blind date but getting married is a commitment. Before you walk down the aisle with an organization evaluate your fit with the company on three levels – strategic, political and …
Stop with All the Teams!
Over the past three years the pandemic has changed our workplaces. According to a McKinsey report The Future of Work After COVID (link), the pandemic accelerated existing trends in remote work, e-commerce, automation and people switching occupations. Employees deemed essential workers, remained on …
Two Plus One Principle
I’ve observed and worked with many successful leaders across business, government, and philanthropy. Many of them develop a towering strength over time. But I’ve noticed that highly successful leaders develop a second strength which is unusual for their field. This, coupled with emotional …
Transitioning To A New Industry
One of the toughest challenges for job seekers is transitioning from one industry to another (e.g., from retail to banking), or from one role type to another (e.g., from marketing to information technology). Job seekers attempting to make the transition express frustration, anger, hurt, and …
3 Keys for Identifying Entrepreneurs
I recently watched a Warren Buffett YouTube video (LINK), where he shared the list of the 20 largest companies in the world by stock market value as of March 31, 2022. Apple topped the list with a $2 trillion valuation and LVMH MOET of France was twentieth at $330 billion. He asked the audience to …
3 Keys for Identifying P&L Leaders
Building a strong pipeline of P&L leaders, people who can manage the generation of revenue and profits for the organization, is a constant focus and worry of CEOs, CFOs and CHROs. I’ve facilitated many talent management discussions with boards of directors, executive teams, and business unit …
Learning from Our High School Cliques
We’re all grown up now. We are responsible, dress professionally and go to work with purpose. But when it comes to career development and progression, we benefit from taking a trip back to high school. Remember the cliques? The jocks, nerds, stoners, goths, etc.? In large organizations they did …
Developing Strategic Skills
In his book, The Unwritten Rules: The 6 Skills You Need to Get Promoted to the Executive Level, John Beeson says demonstrating strategic skills is imperative to be promoted to the executive level. But in the twelve plus years since Beeson’s book was published, employers are increasingly looking for …
Three Phases of Career Progression
A common mistake I have observed clients make is waiting until the last minute to focus on a job change. I am not pointing fingers, I’ve done it, and probably so have you. Can you relate to any of the following scenarios? Opportunity Knocks – you just had a great end-of-year review; the boss …
The Accelerator Principle
Getting a job before you are ready is the most common accelerator of long-term career progression. I’ve worked with and advised executives for a long time. First as a banker financing mergers and acquisitions. As a strategist helping teams of C-suite leaders chart the future direction of their …
3 Keys to Finding the Right Job
Based on more than two decades’ experience managing, advising, and researching career growth, I’ve found there are three keys to finding the right job or opportunity. It is important to explore the possibilities, communicate your value, and activate your network. Explore The Possibilities We …