What Now?

You’ve posted your resume to over a hundred job boards and company websites and you have yet to receive a response and you don’t know what to do. If this sounds familiar than this blog is not for you. I can’t help you get a quicker response if this is your strategy. Seriously, I can’t. You’ve networked your way into a position that blends well with your skills and experience. You’ve interviewed... Continue reading

What I’ve Learned

One morning when I was 15 my dad, sister and I were leaving the house on our way to school. My dad noticed our neighbor’s five year old boy sitting in front of his house crying. We walked over to him and my dad asked, “Tommy, why are you crying?” Tommy told us that his dog was hit by a car and was dead. Then he looked at my dad and asked, “Mr. Smith, will my dog go to heaven?” My dad... Continue reading

Do You Need An Employment Coach?

Interesting question. A coach can add value and help you expedite your search process if you are willing to stretch your comfort zone and do the necessary work to get you to where you want to be. If you are not willing to try this then it’s best that you stop reading now. If you interested in making either a career change or if you are in transition, a coach may be a worthwhile investment. And it... Continue reading

Courage Under Fire

The finest person I ever knew once told me that it’s not what we accomplish in life, but what we overcome that counts. I’ve thought of these words quite often over the years, but never more so than when, in 1991, my best friend was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I was with him when his surgeon told him he had about six months to live and I pray that if I am ever the recipient of similar news,... Continue reading

Executive Exit Strategy

Organizations define the term “executive” differently. Often we need to understand the organization before we agree on the definition. Developing an exit strategy for someone at this level has its own set of unique challenges. Here are some protocol questions for developing a C-Level exit strategy: What are the most important issues when senior or key leaders leave your organization? Which would... Continue reading

Branding & Stuff

We hear a lot about “branding”. What is your “brand”? How are you going to establish your “brand”? What is your “branding” statement? My friend Kevin Turner explains it this way: “You are on a two story elevator with nine other people just like you going to interview for the same position. Right before the doors close the CEO gets on. What can you say to him that will set you apart... Continue reading

Burn Your Ships

When the Spanish explorer, Hernando Cortez, landed at Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico in the 16th century, one of the first things he did was burn his ships. His goal was to conquer this new land by pushing west to the Pacific. By burning his ships he eliminated the possibility that his men would lose heart and sail back to Spain. The presence of the ships gave Cortez’s forces an alternative if... Continue reading

It Don’t Cost Nuthin’

At a Touchdown Club meeting many years ago, Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant told the following story: I had just been named the new head coach at Alabama and was off in my old car down in South Alabama recruiting a prospect who was supposed to have been a pretty good player, and I was having trouble finding the place. Getting hungry, I spied an old cinderblock building with a small sign out front... Continue reading

Make the Effort

“You either get it or you don’t” used to be the #1 rule of, well, anything. Now, I think, it has been replaced with “Do you want to get it?” There is a story about the hockey coach who once asked a talented player, “Son, I can’t figure out whether you’re stupid or apathetic.” To which the player replied, “I don’t know and I don’t... Continue reading

Taking Time

My daughter has been teaching 5th grade math and science for the past five years. Each year she has invited me to visit her class on Veteran’s Day to speak to her students. I spent four years in the Air Force Intelligence Service and they seem to enjoy hearing stories about search and rescue and big jets and stuff. They also like asking me questions about Andrea when she was in the 5th grade. Personally,... Continue reading

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