First, let me be clear about something. This is NOT about being a sole-proprietor. This is NOT about being an independent startup. (If…

First, let me be clear about something. This is NOT about being a sole-proprietor. This is NOT about being an independent startup. (If you’re looking for something specific around I’d recommend your search engine of choice since there are more of those articles than fish in the sea.) This is about being a force of one inside a company, whether as an employee or a contractor, and ACTING like you’re an independent. It takes a different mindset but can be very empowering and help you broaden your horizons.

But I’m not independent…

As a person who has been in the consulting field for a number of years (probably too many to be honest) viewing your job as a consulting gig can give you a fresh perspective on your work. For example, what if you stopped viewing your manager/supervisor/person you report to as the next level in your management chain and started viewing them as your customer/client? Puts a different spin on things doesn’t it? Now it’s not a matter of doing just what you’re told; it’s a matter of being proactive and looking for the greatest level of client satisfaction you can achieve. Emails with recommendations become sales proposals. Instead of coming in each day to just do your job, you start looking for opportunities; chances to push the envelope and move beyond what has been laid out for you.

Be of two minds

One of the first steps in doing this successfully is to realize you act as if you were two separate people. One side focuses on strategy, planning, and big-picture thinking. The other side executes those plans concentrating on details, quality, and success. Sounds complicated doesn’t it? It isn’t when you approach the problem the way you are likely already doing it. Here’s what I mean:

Your manager assigns you a project. You:

• Wait for your manager to give you all the requirements for the project and then execute on those requirements to the best of your ability.

• Interact with your manager to flesh out the details around the project so you can execute.

• Try to understand the big picture so you can ensure all the details needed for executing the project are covered.

Sounds familiar I bet. If you approach a project as if you were going to assign it to someone else who would have complete autonomy on execution and you wouldn’t see the project until it was complete, you would put extra effort into the planning stages now wouldn’t you? Now, what if the person you were going to assign the project to was you?

Stop complaining and start evaluating

Put on a consultant’s hat next time you feel like griping about your job. Ask yourself some questions:

• Is this problem resolvable?

• Is it under my control?

• Does it have to be escalated?

• Do I have all the information to understand this problem?

• Do I have ideas as to how it could be resolved?

As you ask yourself those questions (again, thinking like a consultant) put together yourself a plan of action as to your options to resolve the issue. Write it down. Work the details. Find the holes and missing information. Approaching problems from the mindset that you are going to provide a recommended solution rather than waiting for a solution not only empowers you, but it shows your “client” you are more capable than the others sitting around waiting for an answer.

Report to yourself

One thing I recommend to everyone: consultants, contractors, and employees alike is to start a work journal. Whether it’s paper or digital doesn’t matter…what does matter is you use your work journal as a way to hold staff meetings with yourself.

The work journal is your place to capture ideas, notes, thoughts, plans, and strategies for moving your “client” relationship forward and successfully developing your “consulting business”. This isn’t the place to document source code or capture your voicemail password. The journal is all about a place to have those discussions you would normally have with a strategic team when it comes to planning the future.

Acting in your own self-interest

I’m not one to advocate selfishness. However, we work in a world where, to paraphrase an infamous CEO, “at the end of the day we’re all nothing more than hired guns” is a prevalent mindset. Treating your job as a business rather than just a role you fill is likely to give you a greater feeling of accomplishment, and possibly real accomplishment will come along as well. Taking ownership and do for yourself rather than waiting and hoping a company will do right by you can change your perspective entirely. Now get moving…I think you owe your staff a latte. 🙂

This article was originally published on LinkedIn

How to be a corporate entrepreneur
First, let me be clear about something. This is NOT about being a sole-proprietor. This is NOT about being an…www.linkedin.com

You’ve begun a new step in your career or maybe this is the first step. You ran the HR gauntlet, found out where your desk is, managed to…

You’ve begun a new step in your career or maybe this is the first step. You ran the HR gauntlet, found out where your desk is, managed to finally get your voice mail configured, and you’ve put in a good two months of productive time at work. But something isn’t right. Your workplace has lost that “new job smell” and now you’re starting to realize this isn’t all wine and roses. There are parts of this job that are frustrating, annoying, and down right a pain in the posterior. What do you do?

In my article, “How to be a corporate entrepreneur” I talk about treating your job as your own business. This after-the-work-honeymoon-ends time is a great opportunity to start putting that corporate entrepreneur mindset into action. Let’s think about where you stand and what you can do to make the most of what is happening around you.

After 60 days on the job it’s safe to say you have a decent idea of the lay of the land. You’ve got a solid understanding of the operational processes around you and you’re able to execute the requirements of your job description with a high level of success. (If not, you have other things to worry about aside from being a corporate entrepreneur.) This is the time to start one of the greatest tools a C.E. (corporate entrepreneur) can have…a work journal.

As your understanding of internal operations, strategy, and process grows you’re going to spot opportunities for improvement. It’s a natural instinct to want to fix what is obviously (to you) broken. Here’s where I challenge you. Rather than running to management and making suggestions right away, capture the thought process in your work journal. At a minimum, do the following:

1. Define the problem clearly and completely

2. Find out if others are aware of the problem

3. See if attempts were made to solve the problem have been done in the past and if so what caused them to not be successful

4. Determine what the impact on the organization is from the problem

5. Put together multiple strategies on how you think the problem could be resolved

6. Identify what could cause your strategies to fail

7. Determine how to mitigate for those liabilities to your strategy

8. Write it all down

9. PUT IT AWAY

Now wait a second. After all that work I’m telling you to just put it away and not do anything with it? All those thoughts? All those plans? They could be the next big thing! Why shouldn’t I share my ideas with everyone? They’d be fools to not see how brilliant the ideas (and by association, I am) and how much the company could benefit!

Yes, I’m telling you to put it away. Here’s why…you’re not at a point yet where you have established the credibility to be taken at your word. You may be the greatest ever at your job but you’re still the new guy. People place a great deal of value (warranted or not) on tenure within an organization. Being the new person who is pushing change without knowledge of the institutional history and legacy of past works is just begging for trouble.

Using the work journal you have a private sounding board to think through and tinker with your ideas, massaging and fine-tuning them more and more until they are almost bulletproof. That process takes time. Give yourself the benefit of time by leveraging your work journal. Find the problems that truly need solving. Gather your evidence. Work out scenarios. Formulate your pitch not only around the topic, but the audience and timing as well. A good entrepreneur doesn’t take every idea to market, nor should a good C.E. try to make every idea happen. Pick and choose your battles, letting the work journal be your treasure trove as well as your sounding board for the good as well as the frustrating.

As you build your “professional capital” inside the organization you will come to opportunities where doors open for you to recommend change and improvement. It’s at that moment all the work you put into your work journal will bear fruit. Being a C.E. is a matter of knowing when the internal market is ripe for your ideas. But as any good gardener can tell you: if the ground is ready but the seedlings aren’t, you’re not going to grow a thing.

This article was originally published on LinkedIn:

What to do when the new job honeymoon ends
What to do when your momentum is gone. You’ve begun a new step in your career or maybe this is the first step. You ran…www.linkedin.com

I stepped away from Medium for a couple of weeks for various reasons (time commitments, etc.) but I’m returning now to write more…

I stepped away from Medium for a couple of weeks for various reasons (time commitments, etc.) but I’m returning now to write more frequently and hopefully more effectively.

The majority of my writing is done on the Android client so here is an immediate wish. Draft mode. I prefer to do my rough drafts on the phone and then clean them up later when I get back to my laptop. Lacking draft mode makes this more than a little challenging.

The second thing I would like to see on Medium is scheduled publish dates. Queuing up content in advance is a strength of most publishing systems and Medium should offer this capability regardless of their future social focus. Development and delivery of quality content will make or break a system like this and being able to schedule your publishing when your audience is most likely ready to consume it is key.

Every family has one. Somewhere there is a calendar keeping track of soccer practices, dance recitals, family trips, doctor appointments…

Every family has one. Somewhere there is a calendar keeping track of soccer practices, dance recitals, family trips, doctor appointments, and the other chaotic events of modern life. I’m willing to wager no two are exactly the same and I’m also willing to wager the majority of people think their calendar solution could be better at keeping track of the goings on for their family. Not everyone uses the same tools, same techniques, or even to the same ends, so I’m going to give some recommendations for both analog and digital family calendars.

Analog Calendars — Check the fridge

From time immemorial, the side of the fridge has been a place of honor for the family calendar. Updated frequently it can be an excellent organizational tool. Allowed to languish and it quickly becomes buried under a plethora of other documents, photos, and artwork.

Analog Tip #1 — Size matters

Don’t get a little monthly calendar such as you would receive as a gift from the bank. The bigger the better when it comes to getting things organized. Some people recommend using a dry erase calendar but I’m one who leans to paper since you can write months in advance when you need to remind yourself of things far out in your planning.

Analog Tip #2 — Tickle me

In many cases events on the calendar correspond with some form that must be turned in, completed, or payment made on schedule. Keeping track of the ancillary paperwork is key to successfully completing the activity so create a tickler file (the brown paper accordion ones with tabs for 1–31 work great). Now every time you have paperwork for a specific event just drop it in that day’s slot in the file and put a “T” on the calendar for that day. No lost paperwork, no forgotten forms.

If a form is a two part process (get it completed and then turn it in) put it in the file for the day it needs to be completed and then transfer it to the day it needs to be turned in. If it’s something to go into school for example, put it on the day before it needs to go in so the form can be put in the child’s backpack the night before (especially good for permission slips.)

Analog Tip #3 — Light up my life

Use a colored highlighter for each child and a different color for full family events. Highlight the calendar with the colors corresponding to the events so that, even at a distance, you can see what days you have things going on.

Digital Calendars — There’s a schedule in my pocket

Many families I know count on Google Calendar or other online services to keep track of all the comings and goings in their household. Here’s some recommendations on how to get more from your digital calendar.

Digital Tip #1 — Share and share alike

Digital calendars are best when shared by everyone involved in the use of the calendar. Make sure everyone relying on the calendar can access the calendar from their preferred devices to not only read but add new events to the calendar.

Digital Tip #2 — Remind me again

Using the reminders to prompt upcoming activities is pretty common on calendar applications, but here’s a twist for you Google Calendar users. Did you know you can set up to three different reminders for a calendar entry? I typically set an email reminder for a day before and a notification reminder an hour before the event. The extra reminder helps me with my schedule planning while also acting as a reassurance that nothing is being forgotten.

Digital Tip #3 — Everything old is new again

Using recurring reminders for chores, regularly scheduled appointments, or anything that happens more than once can minimize the administrative work while maximizing your productivity. Take advantage of the recurring events to act as your personal assistant when it comes to the family calendar.

Whether it’s digital or paper, the family calendar is one of the centerpieces of keeping the family productive. To get the most out of either make sure you:

1. Review the calendar each week as a family. Just because it’s written down doesn’t mean something will be forgotten.

2. Capture everything as soon as you can. The calendar is a great way to see what time you have and what time you are spending. Time with your family is the most precious time you have so make sure you’re not wasting it.

3. Put family time on the calendar rather than just leaving it to what’s left over. As I mentioned before, time with your family is the most precious so plan for it with an equivalent priority.

Over here at The Productive Life we’ve been blessed with the addition of some new authors who are writing some great articles on living a…

Over here at The Productive Life we’ve been blessed with the addition of some new authors who are writing some great articles on living a productive life. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag (poor kitty) so I’ll just encourage you to pop over to The Productive Life and take a look at the latest additions to our publication!

For any system to work at simplification, we have to give ourselves permission first to exclude things. When gathering requirements for…

Simplification is one of the holy grails of productivity and something so many people struggle with. There are a plethora of tools out there proclaiming to help simplify your life and your work yet they always fall short of what is promised. Why?

For any system to work at simplification, we have to give ourselves permission first to exclude things. When gathering requirements for software for example it is easy to identify what you want but much harder to say no you can’t have something. Giving ourselves permission to say no without guilt when we have reason to do so is empowering.

Give yourself permission to exclude external and internal demands on your time. Invest this precious and limited resource in places where the greatest gain is to come by your measure, not by someone elses.

This is very helpful to know. Guess I’ll be putting more work into my titles and opening paragraphs in the future if I’m expecting to increase my readership.

As I use the platform more I’m finding some opportunities for Medium to improve the user experience for their writers. Here’s what comes to…

As I use the platform more I’m finding some opportunities for Medium to improve the user experience for their writers. Here’s what comes to mind right away:

1. Don’t worry about the apps. Focus on the mobile browser experience. Since there are so many flavors of Android and variants in iOS devices, rather than building custom apps why not focus on improving the mobile browser experience for writing? As it stands now I have to use both Chrome and Firefox on my tablet to be able to write a proper story with a great deal of macinations.

2. Consolidate your metrics. Personally I like to be able to know not only how many followers I have but also what they like and dislike. I know it’s possible to find this out…just not convenient.

3. Import from Google Drive. I don’t know if this is supported but if it isn’t can it be added? Google Drive provides a nice offline editing interface making it much easier to do the initial writing. Of it is supported, good job!

Recently when completing my annual review paperwork for my company I came across a section I have never encountered in 25+ years of…

Recently when completing my annual review paperwork for my company I came across a section I have never encountered in 25+ years of professional employment. Annual reviews typically include your goals, your achievements, successes, challenges, and other metric and soft measures for the year. This form included a page whose title was, and I am paraphrasing a bit, “Do you deserve a promotion this year?”. I’ll admit, this stopped me in my tracks.

I’ve never thought about things from this perspective. It wasn’t looking for a particular position nor was it a response to an available opening; no this just felt like how you justify being qualified for an open job as a new hire. When you go through the year at most companies you work against (or towards if you’d prefer to phrase it that way) a set of agreed goals. How often are those goals written with the objective of promoting you out of your current role?

Prep for your review

When preparing for an annual review we commonly are asked to complete how successful we have been in relation to our goals as defined by our managers. Rarely is there a point in the conversation or in the HR tool addressing the desire and readiness for a promotion. First though I needed to answer “the question.”

Obvious and not so obvious

You would think the answer would be as obvious as as the proverbial nose-on-face combination. “Of course I’m ready!” jumps to mind, with visions of pay raises and titles dancing in our heads. But then your mind turns to wander in the realities of the question:

“Am I really ready for more responsibility?”

“Can I manage a team for this company?”

“Can I justify my answer?”

“Would I be happy continuing doing what I am now or is the promotion a way up and out?”

Next the fear, uncertainty, and doubt questions kick in:

“What if I get the promotion and I’m not ready?”

“What if I say I’m ready but don’t get the promotion?”

“Could saying yes too soon reflect poorly on me?

“How do I know when they think I’m ready?”

Planning for “the question”

To begin preparing for the question you have to know what the criteria are for promotion. I was fortunate in that regard because my company has clear guidelines for roles and responsibilities for each level of the organization (thank you, management!) Using that as the template I was able to work through each responsibility of my current position (which is the basic expectation of an annual review anyway) but also compare my work to the expectations of the next higher position in the organization. This dual comparison allowed for not only how I did to date but did I exceed the requirements to the next level higher objectives.

Gathering the evidence

Any claim of readiness for promotion needs to be supported by evidence. Gathering said evidence is made much simpler if some prep work is done prior to the review. Keeping copies of success emails, acknowledgements, and other direct evidence from others (especially management) can go a long way in justifying your claims for promotion readiness. I recommend creating a folder (mine is called Accolades) and placing copies of emails, “atta-boys”, etc. in the folder for later reference. Confirmations of goal completions, actions above and beyond, as well as communications from coworkers showing assistance and leadership all qualify for the accolades folder in my book.

Crafting the response

This is the part that took the most time. You want to be careful how you write your response; confident but not arrogant, capable but not bragging. Give yourself time for multiple edits over a few days; this is not something you want to rush through. Look at the requirements for the promotion and then explain how you either have already or can meet those requirements. If you have met them already providing supporting evidence to that fact if you have it.

Pulling the trigger

Don’t send in the response right away. When you’re done, give it a day and then go back and look it over one more time. Look not only for editing fixes but also improvements in the flow and message of your responses. Remember, this document will act as your initial representative and should be crafted as such.

The wait begins

Once you have submitted your response this is your chance to take note of a few things. First, you now know what your strengths and weaknesses are related to the promotion you are looking for and as such can plan your goals accordingly. Second, you have a much deeper understanding of the role the position plays in the organization and can make sure you have a much higher level of initial success than if you were promoted into the role unplanned. Finally, if you don’t get the promotion, you can ask as to why based on your submission to help you strengthen it for the next time.

The question of “do you deserve a promotion” is one we should be asking ourselves all the time. Don’t wait to be asked, ask yourself and then take the steps necessary to make the answer an unqualified yes.

Anyone who has watched a professional soccer match has seen it happen. The graze, the touch, the complete whiff and down an opposing player…

Anyone who has watched a professional soccer match has seen it happen. The graze, the touch, the complete whiff and down an opposing player goes as if having been shot from the grassy knoll. Why do they do this? What is the point? How dumb do they think the refs are?

When a player in soccer draws a foul typically some small amount of incidental contact has occurred in a way that, if severe enough, would warrant a free kick or even a booking. The advantage given to the receiving team can be significant, sometimes resulting in a goal opportunity. Where things get carried away is when a flop is performed by a player. This is a case where nothing has actually happened warranting a foul, but the attempt is to create the appearance of one to the referree thereby drawing a foul or a booking.

As you can see, so often the “flop” is such an exaggerated response that anyone who isn’t wearing a blindfold can see it is fake. To many it is considered cheating. To most, it is considered ridiculous and bad sportsmanship. It is also one of the most common points of criticism for soccer as a sport in the United States.

The flop seems to be most common in men’s soccer, but also happens in all other sports. The question is…is the sport diminished through this behavior? I have to admit I find watching teams, especially in international soccer, who “flop” frequently to be frustrating and worthy of being rooted against with full force. No matter how strategic, tactical, or whatever rationale you want to use, the flop is unnecessary and violates the integrity of the game.

Spend some time watching U16 or less soccer and you won’t find this an issue. It isn’t tolerated. It shouldn’t be at the higher levels as well since those are the levels set as role models for the younger players. Why accept this behavior from role models in the sport?

What do you think? Is there a place for the flop in soccer or does it need to be regulated out of existence?

If you like this article please recommend it to others and include your soccer thoughts in your recommendation.