Great Way to Start 2018 – Summary of Insider Tips for Every Career Situation

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stack the deck

Whatever your career situation is today, I can help you “Stack the deck” in your favor.  Job search and work are never fair.   It will favor those who know how to play the game.  I am here to help you with insider tips on how to play the game to your advantage in any career situation.  If you are in any of the four situations below, I can point you to the insider tips I have gathered in the last 20 years, so you can work smart, get what you want in your career, and live more. ...  read more

Want to Get a Mini-MBA in 8 Hours – Read this Book

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best leadership book

Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2018…  I hope you had a chance to spend time with family and friends.  During the holidays, I have been obsessed with this book.  I have been listening to it while running, driving, and before I go to bed.   It’s the only business book I have ever finished to the last page in the last 10 years.

Whether you already has an MBA or want one, read this book.    I am not paid to endorse it.  I am simply inspired by what it shares.   “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek is filled with real life case studies and talks about

  • Leadership – how to inspire everyone to take action
  • Marketing – how to use the law of diffusion to build a $B company
  • Strategy – how certain companies like Apple, Southwest, Harley Davidson have been able to consistently innovate and beat their competition
  • Operations – How Continental was able to recover from bankruptcy with a new CEO and whole new way to operate
  • Career path – How we can navigate our own career based on understanding why – what really drives our passion and get us up in the morning

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    The Power of Words – Speak Wisely at Work and at Home

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    My husband sent me this video last week and I was blown away by its message.  It Is < 5 minutes, but carries a powerful reminder for us all – the power of our words and why we should speak wisely.  Here is the video and what it meant for me.   I look forward to hearing your reactions.

    It’s ironic.  We often focus so much on wanting to be heard that we forget we are already heard by many today.  Below is what this video meant for me.

    Reminder 1: Speak wisely to my kids – be patient and be there.   I have two girls – 6 and 9 years olds.  I am blessed that they still think mommy is awesome.  I love my kids but I know I can be more patient with them.  This video reminds me that a hard day at work is no excuse to yell at my kids even if they are fighting yet again.  They are so impressionable at this age.  It is my responsibility to nurture their growth with care as well as set a good example.

    What was shared in the video about Nassar is so sad. Many of us may not be that heartless, like his father, but lesser actions can still have a big impact on our kids.  There are two things I always tell my kids

  • When they accomplish something great, “I ask them how they feel?” instead of just tell them I am proud of them.  This help them build self confidence. A good friend shared this tip with me a few years ago.
  • I also tell them “you can tell me anything no matter what happens.” It’s easy now as the worse trouble they can get into is still so innocent.  I have to remember to honor that promise and their choices when they are tennagers and young adults.   What I can best hope for is that they talk to me when they are confused and especially in trouble.   I must be there for them first and foremost without judgement.

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    Are You on the Right Career Path? Ask Yourself These 4 Questions

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    right career path

    I just found out a close friend has cancer.  I was shocked by the news.  Although her cancer is highly treatable, it was a complete surprise.  She will need to go through 6 months of chemo and hell to recover.  I share this with you to help you step back from the daily grind and see the big picture.  Life is short and finite.

    • Are you on the right career path?
    • Are you doing what you are suppose to be doing?
    • If you were told you have cancer today, would you make different choices in your career and life?

    Our life is a gift.  Don’t wait until you have shocking news in your life to reexamine.  It’s never too early to reassess or take a different direction altogether.   Today, I want to help you answer these questions.

    Many of us work long hours, forgo time with family, friends, and skip vacations, so we can get ahead in our career.    But do we know why we do it?  The superficial answer is to make more money, or get promoted, or be recognized.   But I would argue none of that really help us feel fulfilled.

    Our career path must have a deeper meaning for it to be worth the effort and the time away from our families.   That meaning will also help ground us if we receive sad unexpected news like this from a friend or from a doctor about our own health.

    Here are 4 questions to help you examine your current career path and trajectory?

    Question 1: Does my job & career make a difference somehow?  I have shared the definition of success before.  It’s not about material status, and much more about our level of contribution to others.  Making a difference comes in all forms.   For example, it can be about

  • earning money so I can support my family and my kids’ education
  • making a positive impact to the customers my company serves (whether with a new product I launch or solving service issues painlessly)
  • coaching those on my team so they can learn from my experience and skills

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    How to be Happy at Work – 5 Things to Give up Today

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    We can all be happier at work. It’s in our control and we can all learn how to be happy at work.  A friend shared a great article with me called 15 Things You Should Give Up In Order to be Happy.  This list was a great eye opener.  While this list was not career specific, I find it very applicable to helping be happier at work.    Here are five things we should give us today to be happier at work.

    First – Give up your need to always be right – when we try to be right, we are in effect always trying to make someone else wrong.  Work is never that black and white.  By trying to always be right, we can severely damage important relationships we have with colleague, boss, or customers.  If we can try to focus on solutions going forward together instead of being right, we can have less stress and better relationships at work.

    Second – Give up attachment, your need for control and your resistance to change– this is all about giving up the need to have work be the way we expect it to be.  If we have no expectations, then we cannot be disappointed or unhappy.  But we can always find that we have both implicit or explicit expectations about what we want work to be to be happy (e.g, pays well, work with great people and boss, challenging work, makes a difference).  Because of these expectations, we tend to want to exert control over them when we are not getting what we want or resist adapting to change when it’s unexpected.   This need for work to be a certain way is the root cause for much unhappiness.   Stay open minded and be willing to adapt to changes as things happen at work.   This way, when unexpected things happen, you are already working to take action, instead of feeling bad about it.

    “By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

    Third – Give up on blame, complaining, the luxury of criticism, and the past  ...  read more

    How to Become an Extraordinary Leader – 3 Unexpected Lessons

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    When I was nominated for a leadership training at work, I was honored but skeptical I would learn anything substantial.   I am glad however to be proven wrong.  In the last five months, I have learned more about my leadership style and leadership brand than I had ever expected.   Even better, I am already applying what I learned at work and seeing results.  Here are the three unexpected leadership lessons I learned about how to become an extraordinary leader.

    Lesson #1: Extraordinary leadership is about strengthening our strengths vs. fixing weaknesses

    Growing up Asian, I always thought to become extraordinary I must eliminate all weaknesses – i.e. score 100 on tests, get all As, and be a perfectionist at work.  In the last 20 years of work, I learned to stop being a perfectionist.   However, I still heavily focus on learning what I am not good at as a leader and put a lot of energy into fixing those.

    It was refreshing to learn at this training from Zenger Folkman that becoming an extraordinary leader is about strengthening my strengths vs fixing weaknesses. There is no perfect leader.  Steve Jobs is a great example of this – a dynamic, visionary leader and a terrible people manager.    The whole concept actually makes a lot of sense, as no one really can be good at every aspect of leadership.  Just like a company must focus on its core strength vs trying to be all things to all people, a leader also needs to follow the same concept.  It’s better for me to pick a few leadership qualities that I am already strong at and make that stand out above all else.  That’s what will differentiate me as a leader.

    This leadership lesson is quite freeing for me.  I realized I don’t have to change who I am or overwhelmed myself with “fixing everything.”  All I have to do is tweak a few things in my leadership style to make it even better.  For example, I am already a high achiever and gets results wherever I work.  I also collaborate well with teams and partners.  What I need to tweak is my communication style in some difficult situations.   I know how to do this in some circumstances but not all.   Selecting this as something to focus on is both achievable and will make a significant difference in my leadership effectiveness

    Lesson #2: It’s okay for an extraordinary leader to announce ourselves and show vulnerability

    I learned this from one of the leadership speakers at our training.  I really appreciated her direct communication style, confidence, and simple wisdom.   She shared that it’s okay to announce yourself to your team and partners.   For example,

  • Let them know what I expect from them as they newly join my team (e.g., I expect you to ask questions if you don’t understand something.  Otherwise, I will assume we are on the same page)
  • Let them know If i am having a challenging day (e.g., I am feeling impatient today)

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