Soft skills

5 Most Common Regrets in Life & How to Avoid Them

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no-regrets

Last month, I heard this great talk by Jyri Engestrom, a successful Internet entrepreneur on the topics of happiness.  He said, most people have five regrets in life – all of which resonated with me.  And you probably would agree these are the most common regrets as well.  If so, then I ask you – why not address them now before you are dying so you can live life with no regrets. ...  read more

How to Ask Someone to be Your Mentor – Dos and Donts

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How to ask someone to be your mentor

I am republishing this article with new content as my learning on how to ask someone to be your mentor has evolved. 🙂  Hope you will find it useful.

We all need formal and informal mentors to help us grow and learn.   Young professionals have more of a need for formal mentors.   Seasoned professionals needs more a broader network, but not necessarily formal mentors.  It’s more helpful to have “Board of Advisors,” a group of people you know and can go to for specific advice. ...  read more

Career Success – When Is the Best Time to Network

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best time to network

Many of us only remember to start networking when we hate our current job or when we are between jobs.  Unfortunately that is the worst time to start networking.  You can come across

  • Negative –  If you are hating your job.  It’s inevitably you will complain about it while networking. No one likes to be around complainers
  • Desperate – if you are looking for a job, you may very well be in a “rush to network.”  That will come across needy.  You will be too focused on finding a job and getting someone to do something for you vs. just getting to know people and letting them get to know you.
  • Pushy – You are likely more on a timeline..  You may start “stalking” people (eg., follow up too often) so you can “network” to get what you need (a connect, a job opportunity, etc..)

Even if you consciously try not to be any of the above, you may still come across that way if you are “networking” on a timeline.  The key to networking is “to be interesting and interested.”  You cannot just focus on what you need at the moment.  It’s also a time to really to get to know the other person and see how you can help them. ...  read more

How to Network Effectively – A Simple Framework to Take Action

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How to Network Effectively

When I wrote about How to Network without Using Small Talk , I received a lot of email responses and interest.  I am not surprised to hear that most found networking uncomfortable.  I am glad to hear these networking articles are making it a little less intimidating.   I wanted to continue on this journey with you and demystify how to network effectively.   ...  read more

Should I be Working While Sick?

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working while sick

Should I be working while sick?  The answer ideally is no.  If I am sick, I should go home and rest.  Come back when I feel better.  The real world however is not that simple, especially when we are talking about everyday illnesses, such as a cold or a flu.

Every time I feel unwell, I debate whether to take time off or how to work while sick.  This is because in the modern world of Paid Time Off and tight deadlines for busy professionals, we have to figure out the tradeoffs between suddenly taking time off vs the impact of it on our work.  Here are five key considerations for many of us. ...  read more

3 Soft Skills Lessons from Watching “Trolls”

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soft skills lessons from Trolls

I didn’t think this movie, Trolls, was going to be any good.  Both of my kids love the music in it.   Finally, we watched it last weekend.  I was only half watching it for the first 20 minutes.  It seemed like just a silly, happy cartoon, with lots of bright colors and singing.   My kids were glued to the TV. ...  read more