Where Have I Been?

I know, it’s been ages. But I promise you I’ve been working on how to continue the dialogue on Lessons Learned.

One pet project of mine is what I call Personal Profitability….it’s a framework, a mindset, a set of tools (excel spreadsheets) which helped me get to a place where I could get a handle on my financial health. None of it is particularly earthshattering, but I just found a huge gap between saving money and what to do next. And I just sort of stumbled through it: opening an IRA, contributing to a 401k, buying an apartment, working for 25+ years.

Looking back, there were some things I did right. There were also some things I did very wrong (Gordon Gekko was right “first lesson in business is: Don’t get emotional about stock”).  So, I’m starting a new chapter about Personal Profitability.

One note…I still think my lessons learned is relevant. Because a big contributor of financial security is the ability to perform at work. The better you perform, the more you’re valued,  the more you’re paid, and the more likely you’ll be a valued member of the team.

So stay posted….. GP

Performance Reviews

This is a really great article about performance reviews. The individual writing it talks about what not to do, and what you need to do in order to be a great manager. I’ve always said that the hardest part of my career was managing people….there is nothing harder. Difficult projects? Tough timeframes? Easy. Trying to manage groups of people without losing your mind? Not so easy.

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Making Life Easier….Now

Everyone wants to make life easier….often, experts will tell you that developing good habits are key to making life easier. The definition of a habit according to Webster is “an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.” Here are random things I’ve heard which I’ve adopted….I find it’s easier to embrace a good habit than try to stop a bad one.

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The Key Question To Ask Someone in College

I had a friend’s son ping me…he wanted to get my thoughts on something he was wrestling with. He’s a talented kid: lots of interests, smart, and good at many things. He is also very disorganized, can be influenced by “friends” and consequently works himself in a tizzy about “what he should be doing”. We talked it out, and here’s what I learned about the conversation….

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Death of a Brand

The story of what’s happened to Sears is interesting, perhaps not that unusual. The recent article in Fortune caught my eye because of Jim Collins, author of “From Good to Great”, and a lesser known “How the Mighty Fall” which applies here. Lately, it seems that these huge, untouchable brands….Kraft, Wells Fargo, GE are all examples of the once mighty. Most of the time what goes wrong is outside your pay grade…but some things are within your scope, no matter what your role is….

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Karma

I believe in karma. I especially believe in corporate karma.

Unfortunately, I have heard more bad stories than good stories of how people leave companies. A big driver of this is one of my principles of Personal Profitability – you don’t control when you retire/leave. Conventional wisdom is that it happens at 65….as if that’s a rule. Whether you call it retirement, or spending more time with the family, or whatever….net net you are leaving. Sometimes the leaving is handled with respect and dignity….sometimes the leaving is as abrupt as finding the locks changed when you go home that night.

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Be Brave

I think about my dad a lot When you really love your parent, it doesn’t matter if it was the right time for them to leave, it doesn’t matter if they lived a long and good life. You still want more. The one thing I always think about is a conversation I had with him while he was sick with Parkinson’s disease.

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