Real stories

Happy 2017 – Say Yes

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hot chocolate 15K 2017

Happy New Year!  Sunday was my annual Hot Chocolate 15K race.   My friend Agnes got me into it 3 years ago.  It’s a great way to start off the year – a long run (9.4 miles) followed by a nice cup of hot chocolate and an amazing natural high all day.

Well, I didn’t go this year.  I woke up at 6:30am and it was POURING. San Francisco had flood warning all weekend.  While the race was still on (I couldn’t believe it), I have never ran in pouring rain before and couldn’t imagine being drenched for an hour and half.   I was packed but at 7am I decided not to go. ...  read more

How to Get Promoted as a Generalist in a Company Full of Specialists

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generalist specialist

Are you a “Generalist” or “Specialist” at your company?   Both exists in most companies and serve distinct purposes.  According to Merriam-Webster dictionary

  • Generalist is defined as “a person who knows something about a lot of subjects.” –  a Partner in a consulting firm is  a generalist as he or she would sell work, build relationships, and lead execution teams.
  • Specialist is defined as “a person who has special knowledge and skill relating to a particular job, area of study” –  a Director in a consulting firm is a specialist who usually go deep on a topic but focus on a specific set of tasks (e.g., Lead execution or serve as SME for all Salesforce implementation for financial service industries)

Are you more likely to be promoted as a “Generalist” or a “Specialist” in a company?   Many may actually say Generalist are more likely to be promoted.  This is because many of our famous leaders, including the US President, are “Generalist.”  Our president needs to deal with domestic issues such as gay marriage, abortion, health care, education, etc.. and at the same time know what to do in foreign policy with every major country. ...  read more

Interpersonal Skills Example – Can You Let It Go?

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interpersonal skills example 3

This interpersonal skills example can happen any day at work or in life.  It was our second day in Beijing.  My cousin, my mom, and Isabel went to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  It was majestic, fun, but a super long walk.  By 1pm, we were all exhausted, hungry and decided to Uber back to the hotel. ...  read more

Farewell Letter to Coworkers – A Great Example

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farewell letter to coworkers

It’s never easy to say farewell to a company and a team.   However, this will happen many times in your career, as most of us have at least 7 different jobs until we retire.  While many farewell letters to coworkers are fairly standard and boring, it may serve you to take some time to craft a memorable one instead. ...  read more

Career Advancement – How Louis Quadrupled His Income

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career advancement

Mastering soft skills is critical to your career advancement.   Louis Johnston, one of our executive authors, agrees.  He shared in this interview how mastering certain soft skills helped him skyrocket his career and quadruple his compensation.

Louis started as an Online Marketing Associate, 10 years ago.  He has since been promoted to Manager, Director, Senior Director, and now Head of Growth. This may sound like a straight-forward success story.  It is not.  He didn’t just happen to become super successful by working hard or hitting all his marketing numbers.  On the contrary, he was hitting his numbers, but not getting much credit for it.  Louis was stuck at the same level for awhile. ...  read more

3 Unexpected Lessons from My 15K Race

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hot chocolate run 2016

Two weeks ago, I ran in a 15K race in San Francisco.  It was the Hot Chocolate Run.   I didn’t run fast nor break any records.  On the contrary, I didn’t train for it, had only two hours of sleep the night before, and almost didn’t make it to the race.   This was not like me.  This article is less about the race and more about the three lessons I unexpectedly learned along the way. ...  read more