What You Can Learn in 7 Minutes?

I am excited to participate again this year in Portland Business Journals' BizWomen Mentoring Monday on April 3rd.  After introductions and a delicious breakfast at The Sentinel Hotel, they will set up 40 of us around the room to meet in a "speed dating" format with as many women as possible in short increments.  7 conversations, 7 minutes each.

You might be wondering what you could possibly get done in 7 minutes?  And I can tell you having been on both sides of the table at this event, you can accomplish a lot.  If you have a goal in mind and you talk to the right person.

My first year attending, I visited with leaders from companies as diverse as Blue Cross Blue Shield to Waggner Edstrom.  And I received great advice.  We skipped the "get to know" you steps of mentoring.  We skipped the pleasantries where we tried to be nice to each other.  We went right to the point.  I asked their advice and then gave it - unfiltered and extremely practical.  I brought questions, queued up behind people who were knowledgable about my topics of interest, and they provided distilled wisdom that I found very useful and actionable.

Last year, I tried to do the same for the people who talked to me.  Several of them followed up and we met up for coffee and a longer conversation.  I found it very rewarding and hope they received some insights as well.  If you were one of the ones I spoke with last time, please come see me again!  I'd love to find out what the last year has brought you and what new challenges or opportunities you are facing.

The women they have assembled as mentors this year are a diverse and accomplished crowd of business leaders in Portland from a variety of industries and backgrounds.  They include the following, including myself:

• Christy Aleckson, Owner, Single Point Financial Advisors
• Rebecca Armstrong, Managing Director/ Principal, North
• Kyra Bussanich, Owner, Kyra's Bake Shop
• Jeanne Carver, Co-Owner, Imperial Carver Ranch
• Stacey Dodson, President, U.S. Bank
• Angela Dowling, President, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon
• Debra Dunn, President, Synergy Resources Group
• Jill Eiland, PBA Oncore Fellow
• Angie Galimanis, Owner and President, Lawrence PR
• Alyssa Gasca, Owner, Spark Executive Solutions
• Missy Gerber, President, Organizers Northwest
• Anna Hutson, Founder & CEO, Avenue
• Margie Hunt, CEO, Special Olympics Oregon
• Laurie Kelley,   President and Chief Development Officer, Oregon Region Foundations,    Providence Health & Services
• Tara Leigh Kinateder,  Senior Vice President and Private Client Advisor, US Trust
• Tara Kramer, CEO and Owner, Ri-Ky Roofing and Sheet Metal LLC
• Elizabeth Large, General Counsel Executive
• Ivo Lukas, CEO, 24Notion
• Juliana Lukasik, Principal/Director, Large Films
• Diana Marsden, Owner, Aries Apparel
• Janeen McAninch, President, Becker Capital Management
• Judith McGee, Chair/CEO, McGee Wealth Management
• Serena Morones, Owner, Morones Analytics
• Francine Read, President, VOICES, INC.
• Jan Robertson, Chief Operating Officer, Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies
• Sara Schmidt, Creative Director, IDL Worldwide
• Ellen Schmidt Devlin, Director, Sports Product Management Program, University of Oregon
• Jennifer Sheasgreen, President, Triumph Healthcare Finance
• Angela Sheehan, CFO, Glumac
• Ann Smith, Founder/Owner, A.Wordsmith
• Janean Sorenson, Vice President, Parker | Smith | Feek
• Suzanne Stevens, Editor in Chief, Portland Business Journal
• Vanessa Sturgeon, President, TMT Development
• Chelsea Vandiver, Executive Managing Director, Ziba Design
• Michelle Weisenbach, President, Oregon & SW Washington, KeyBank
• Michelle Williams, Women Living a Richer Life Program Director, Brighton Jones
• Kimberly Wuepper Rudick, Sr. Financial Planner, New York Life

You can read their bios here.

Register here to reserve your spot!

The Courage to Be Weak

When you think of courage, the image that might come to mind is a soldier on a righteous cause or a first responder rescuing a child from a burning building.  To be courageous is to be strong.

But most of us show the most courage when we are weak.

It takes more courage to ask for help than to offer help.

It requires vulnerability.  It requires, often, for a proudly self-sufficient person to be out of options and rather desperate.  It requires an awkward conversation, the risk of rejection, and a blow to the ego that might last long after the situation or the need for help has passed.

And it is also difficult, because most of us don’t have great examples of it in our life.  We see lots of heroism.  Lots of opportunities to serve.  Lots of stories of the little guy accomplishing much.  We see the success (whether it is plastered in corporate branding messaging or on the white-washed posts that we see of our friends on social media).  We don’t see the climb.  We don’t see the rejection.  We don’t see the others who may have been involved.  

And we don’t see the ask.  We might never in our life hear someone in desperation ask someone else for help for something serious.  Beyond the “can you pick up the kids?” or the “can I borrow an egg?” variety requests.  I am talking about the “my career is floundering” or “my marriage is failing” kind of pleas for help.  We literally have no pattern to follow on how to start the conversation or how to respond to the response (whether positive or negative). 

What have you found to be the most effective ways that you or others have asked for help of any kind?

Isn't is strange how the world sticks and moves like that?

I have been enjoying the NBC show “This is Us.” In a recent episode, a character visited his childhood home and was surprised to find a few precious items tucked behind a fireplace brick left decades ago. As he takes inventory of what he found (see how I am trying so hard not to spoil it for you?), the character reflects on how the items were still hidden there after all these years and comments “isn’t it strange how the world sticks and moves like that?”

Our careers also stick and move as well. Here are three ways our work and our workplaces can be sticky and yet demonstrate mobility.

1.   Habits die hard, so it’s good you have nine lives

Each of us learned powerful lessons in our families growing up or under the tutelage of coaches, teachers, and early bosses that affect our work habits. We learned to work hard, work smart, and communicate in these early experiences. Early habits and work styles can stick. But they can move as well. Especially if we are mindful and purposeful. In this book, The Leadership Pipeline, Ram Charan, outlines steps people take in their career to abandon the things that made them successful in the past to adopt new habits and approaches befitting their increasing responsibility or more impactful role. The first passage, as he names it, is the transition from managing yourself to managing others. Then, managing managers. Then managing functions. Then to managing businesses, then groups, and finally enterprises. And at each stage there are things that have to be learned and things that need to be unlearned. That is hard work to execute, but just like child’s toys hidden behind a fireplace aren’t appropriate for a grown-up, taste and needs change and you will need to as well. 

What habits are no longer serving you that need to adapt?

Years ago, I was the one that took notes in meetings.  I can type fast. I understood the issues. I was organized. But over time, I learned that being the scribe didn’t serve me. It kept me from fully participating in the discussion and it turned me into an administrator instead of the leader I needed to be. So, I delegate this now to others and only capture my own actions or commitments. This is a small thing, but illustrates how change occurs. One habit at a time.

2.   “Culture eats strategy for lunch,” so I hope you are hungry

The quip about the importance of corporate culture is attributed to management guru, Peter Drucker and is now the title of a book by Curt Coffman and Kathie Sorensen. And just like changing your diet, changing your culture is a difficult, but worthwhile effort. I have worked in organizations whose leaders were very purposeful and thoughtful about the culture they were building. One of my past CEOs and mentors, Balaji Krishnamurthy, went onto to found a consulting company focused on culture and its impact on strategy. Changing the corporate culture requires first awareness that it is there. It is like a fish recognizing that it is swimming in water. Only if it differs from your experience or changes in some way, do you notice it is even there. And when you do notice, it is already having a negative (or positive) impact on your results, team dynamics, and job satisfaction.  The fish is gasping for air when it leaves the water.  High performing companies think about what culture they wish to build, reinforce the preferred behaviors in many ways, and demonstrate patience and persistence. Culture is very sticky, but there are many examples of leaders who decide that what they are isn’t what they need to be and they lead change initiatives that last. But it is a process and not everyone comes along for the journey.

What elements of your corporate culture are no longer helping you achieve your goals?

I worked for an established company. An established company that was acquired by an entrepreneurial Chinese firm last year and formed an incredible international business that is now being served by the combined company and our brands (Planar andLeyard). And our business is growing rapidly (we doubled last year). Facing this caliber of change - which hold so much promise and is very exciting, yet challenging - has caused me to reflect on the kind of leader I need to be and the kind of “norms” we should be cultivating in our business. This is an effort in progress and requires constant reflection. The old ways of working, communicating, executing our plans, or even making our plans must change to keep pace, and I must change with it.

3.   Excuses never made anything better

Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” But that doesn’t make it less tempting to cook up a fresh batch of excuses when things go wrong or when the results of poor choices catch up with us. We blame our boss, our genes, our 4th grade math teacher, or the train being late. Our dog ate our homework or our phone battery is dead. I am not saying that these things don’t occur and that everything is within our control. Clearly that is not true. But if we focus on the excuses we can get stuck. In old ways of thinking. In old patterns of acting. In using the same excuses again and again. In not holding ourselves accountable for being better versions of ourselves.

Watch yourself make excuses. What are you trying to avoid? Who are you trying to impress? What are you afraid will happen? What excuses do you use regularly?

I have been trying to post articles on LinkedIn once a month. A discipline that I started nearly two years ago and I have been quite predictable about it. Then I wrote an article in December about the benefits of procrastination and I guess I took it too much to heart: January got away from me without a post. I blamed my busy schedule. I blamed the fact that I was writing for some other publications. Those are all true, but they were true before as well. I promised myself that I would turn one of these ideas I had squirreled away in Evernote into an article and would post it tomorrow. Then tomorrow became the day after that and now a month later, I am confessing that those excuses didn’t write the article. Only writing it did. All my efforts to procrastinate could have been directed to writing and my track record would have been preserved. In this case, this is a practice I do primarily for myself, but I see the same pattern in other more important matters. It is time to retire some of my well-used and worn out excuses and perhaps you need to do the same.

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn Pulse

7 Mistakes to Avoid in Leading Millennials in the Workplace

Guest article by Elita Torres with Lead Grow Develop.

As a leader, one of our most important responsibilities is keeping our workforce engaged.  Typically, that may mean adopting your leadership style to match the needs of your team.  However, with the millennial generation joining the workforce, it is not enough for leaders to have to adapt their management style.  Employers may need to look at their engagement policies as well.

Millennials or “Generation Y” are defined by many as those individuals born between 1982 and 2004.  According to the Pew Research Center, there are now 75.4 million Millennials, surpassing the 74.9 million "Baby Boomers," those born between 1946 and 1965, as the largest segment of the U.S. population. 

If Companies are to keep engagement a priority, they need to understand what drives Millennial’s motivation.  Is there a need to change one’s style to adapt to this different generation?  With so much focus on Gen Y, it pays to take notice.

A recent Deloitte Millennial survey uncovered some interesting facts about this generation:

• During the next year, if given the choice, one in four Millennials would quit his or her current employer to join a new organization or to do something different.
• Millennials judge the performance of a business on what it does and how it treats people.
• When asked, “What are the most important values a business should follow if it is to have long-term success?” They responded that businesses should put employees first, and they should have a solid foundation of trust and integrity.
• Seven in ten (70 percent) Millennials believe their personal values are shared by the organizations they work for. This rises to 80 percent among the most senior Millennials and 82 percent for those intending to stay for at least another five years. This is a strong indication that Millennials choose employers whose values reflect their own.

What values are important to Gen Y?  Working for a company that:

• Provides a good income to employees
• Is the best possible place to work
• Focuses on improving the skills of the workforce
• Provides services and goods that make a positive difference to people’s lives
• Generating and supporting jobs

It sounds similar to previous generations.  After all, which generation doesn’t want to get paid well or work for a company where they can improve their skills?  The main difference is Millennials are not willing to wait for a company to get it right.  Their level of loyalty is lower than previous generations.  Remember the first statistic from the Deloitte survey?  70% would quit their job to do something different.

Leaders and companies can no longer afford not to put employee engagement first. 

Here are 7 Mistakes to Avoid in Leading Millennials in the Workplace

1.  Not Being Clear on Career Opportunities

Surveys show that millennial workers rate training and development as an employee benefit three times higher than they rate cash bonuses. It starts with a set onboarding plan and continues with a development plan that focuses on elevating their employees’ skills.  Find ways to challenge them through stretch projects.

2.  Establishing Your Authority through Power

If as a leader, you attempt to display your authority through your position or power, you will not achieve consistent success.  In order to motivate millennials, establish authority through relationship and respect.  Leaders need to forget top down management and now focus on side to side management.

3.  Micro-Managing          

“The new-era employee assumes they can and should contribute to conversation and decisions that affect where they work,” says Lisa Orrell of San Francisco Bay Area-based consultancy, The Orrell Group and author of Millennials Incorporated. Meetings should be open, collaborative sessions in which everyone is encouraged to share ideas. 

Explain what needs to be done and what the end result should look like, but trust them to get there on their own.

4.  Under Emphasizing the importance of Company Culture

Establishing a solid company culture has always been important but never more so than now.  If they believe that their values are being shared by the company they work for, their loyalty increases.  Make sure your company vision is clear and is reflected in your business decisions.  When identifying and building your company culture, focus on the team and not the company.

5.  Not Investing in Technology

If you have outdated technology, you will quickly frustrate your employees.  Millennials are comfortable with all the latest tech and expect it from the place they work for.  They have become reliant on technology for just about everything.

6.  Not sharing

Transparency and open dialogue is key.  If you don’t take time to connect with your employees, you will lose their interest fast.  Don’t assume you know what gets them motivated and have that dialogue with them. 

7.  Not Reconsidering the schedule

It may not be an option in every work environment, but if you can make work hours flexible, you will be meeting an important benefit.  Replace the regular 9-5 work routine and try to work around a schedule that is a win-win for both employee and company.

The good news is that you can get to know what your Millennial workforce needs by just asking.  They expect transparency, but are transparent themselves.  Just ask.

Our guest blogger is Elita Torres is a Regional Sales Director and Blogs at Lead Grow Develop.  She writes post on Leadership and Personal Development as well as a #5MinMotivation series.  Elita can be found @ElitaTorres1 on Twitter and on Facebook at@LeadGrowDevelop.

Is life a game of chance or skill?

You may be following the political and legal battle surrounding daily fantasy sports.  I won’t recap all the issues here, but one crucial question that has been poised is this: Is betting on sports a game of chance or a game of skill?  Certainly playing the lottery is a game of chance.  Being better at starching the tickets or picking numbers, has no correlation to winning.  However, assembling a fantasy sports team does require a degree of familiarity with the players, understanding of their injuries or mindset, and, although I don’t play, I assume one can increase their odds with better choices.

This got me thinking about gambling and risk in general.  It seems to me that life itself is both a game of chance and skill.  You can be born in the right country in the right century to maximize your options.  That clearly is luck.  You can make good choices and improve your odds.  You can educate yourself, get and take advice, and learn from your mistakes.  Life certainly favors the skilled.  You can meet a friend-of-a-friend at a cocktail party (chance) and impress with your expertise and witty banter and they consider investing in your company, buying your product, or offering you a new position (skill).  Like this example, most of us experience a good mix.

There is a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson that reads “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”  I suppose that is really the take-away from our experience.  Everyone is gambling with the hand we have been dealt.  And with better plays, can win more frequently.

I am very aware of the blessings that I have received without my involvement or skill.  I am humbled to realize that my success is in a large part attributed to things outside my control.  This is why I am committed to give others the opportunity to achieve their full potential.  This is why I joined the board of Marathon Scholars.  I invite you to learn more about the organization, become a mentor, invest in a scholarship for a worthy scholar, and find other ways to get involved.

Love Sometimes Masquerades as Work

I have a stitchery, which was a wedding present, which reads “Love is a choice and a commitment.  It takes a lifetime of giving and receiving.”  

Sometimes love gets up in the middle of the night to comfort a sick child.  Sometime love travels great distances and solves seemingly impossible problems to resolve a customer problem under deadline.  Sometimes love looks like dirty work.  

Although it is not popular in western culture to discuss, sometimes love looks like duty.   Duty, administered thoughtfully, purposefully, and with heart, can be loving.

The Long Play

I learned recently that the research firm SRI employed researchers that developed the hyperlink and many of the conventions that we use today on websites and other digital interfaces.  And the same team pioneered some machine intelligence, AI, and voice recognition developments that were behind Apple’s Siri application.  It struck me as ironic that over the decades, this group sought to undo its own work.  You don’t have to click on anything, if you can just speak to your devices.

Planar, now a Leyard company, has a history of this kind of cannibalization.  We make our own products obsolete regularly.  The Planar® LookThru™ OLED transparent display addressed many limitations of previous offerings and has essentially replaced the Planar® LookThru™ LCD offering.  We have single displays that are larger than 2x2 array of tiled video wall products, making this style of display easier to specify and install than previous generations.  We add features into products that used to require separate purchases or third-party equipment.  You have to look no further than the latest version of the Planar® UltraRes™ display to see how much image processing, scaling, and control we have built into the product, especially once you consider the free iOS or Android UltraRes App.  As the bezels have been shrinking on LCD tiled video wall displays, like the award-winning Clarity® Matrix™, we have also introduced cutting-edge, fine-pitch LED technology that is truly seamless (see Planar® DirectLight™ or the Leyard® TVH or TW series).

Innovation companies that last are ones that aren’t afraid to kill their best product lines with a new idea.  To stay relevant, I heard someone say recently, you need to be prepared to run a different company every few years.  In the fast-moving space of display technologies, flexibility is a requirement.  Planar has been innovating for over 30 years and Leyard for over 20.  It’s a testament to our shared commitment to the long play.

Set Goals

"Set goals for the things you can control. In my case, I can't control the marks from the judges, but I can control how I train every day, and I can control my performance." - Claire Carver-Dias, Canadian Olympic Medalist in synchronized swimming

What You Leave Behind

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone, but what is woven into the lives of others." - Pericles

It’s your career. You own it.

“Have the guts to own your career,” said Art Gensler, the founder of Gensler, the largest architecture firm in the world.  “Refuse to play the victim.  You have one life and what you do for a living makes up a large part of your time.  Make the most of it.  Make it joyful and rewarding.  Develop a sense of purpose for what you are doing.”

Be The Person Your Dog Thinks You Are

"Be the person your dog thinks you are." - Bert Jacobs, founder of Life is Good

The Memory of an Elephant

Elephants are known for being smart and for having great memories.  They earn this reputation in many ways, but I read recently a factoid about elephants that fascinated me.  Elephants leave the way they came in.  If they enter a valley from the north, they will leave through the same pass.   Perhaps it is because of their great memory or exceptional sense of direction, or it could be because they are smart enough to know what they can expect from that direction.  Or perhaps they are very risk adverse.

In any case, I think we are a lot like elephants.  We tend to come and go via well-worn paths, take the safe routes, and cover the same ground over and over before venturing a new way.  Memories make us nostalgic and nostalgia leads up to repeat history.

This could be great.  Or it could lead to missed opportunities and chances never taken.  

The Benefits of Procrastination

It is the 23rd of December and all over the US, holiday shoppers are out buying last minute gifts. It reminds me again of the pervasiveness of procrastination. 

I recently watched Ted Urban’s TED talk on procrastination (and highly recommend it). He describes that master procrastinators have in their brain a “rational decision maker” who would make logical time management decisions if it wasn’t for his pesky shipmate the “instant gratification monkey.” The Monkey finds endless distractions and is only frightened by one thing: the “panic monster.” The monster that reminds of looming deadlines or the impact of poor performance. His description of procrastination sounds like laziness, lame excuse making, or even attention deficit disorder. He ends his talk recounting the misery that is caused by procrastination, in his own life and that in people that he encounters around the shared topic of procrastination. 

And this negative view of procrastination is as prevalent as procrastination. We say “Now or Never” or “Time is Money.” Even the prolific Ben Franklin is said to have penned the popular proverb “Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Practical advice from an over-achiever, we think. We idolize those who save, plan ahead, and are prepared. We fear missing out or missing the train with slow decision making. There is a general view that people who are operating at higher levels of performance or efficiency avoid procrastinating. I have been taught in my personal and professional life that making fast decisions (and course correcting, if necessary) is infinitely better than acting slowly.

But, is that true?

Is procrastination a vice or is it a virtue?

Here are three reasons why procrastination could be the best approach.

1.     Tomorrow you will be smarter than you are today

Whether through more life experience, through the solicited advice of others, or with the revealing of new facts and information related to the decision, it is safe to assume that you will know more tomorrow than you do today and that might lead to a better decision. Of course, we can get stuck in the cleverly titled “analysis paralysis” loop where we never make a decision, but perhaps that is a risk you take when trying to be as prepared as possible to make the right decision.

2.     Tomorrow new options exist

When I see holiday shoppers out on Christmas Eve (and I see them because, well, I am often with them), I wonder why they procrastinated. They could be horrible at keeping secrets or perhaps they have been extremely busy. Or, they could have been waiting until payday or until a particular item they wanted was on sale. In other words, the options they would have had yesterday are not the same or as favorable as the ones they will have tomorrow. Tomorrow they will have money to spend and their dollars go further. Sometimes making decisions too early, like shopping ahead, can actually lead to worse decisions. In business, the new options available tomorrow might be access to capital, people to work on projects that are currently occupied elsewhere, or even the mind space to explore more creative alternatives that might not exist today. Waiting until tomorrow keeps your options open.

3.     Tomorrow you can implement better

Even if the direction you are heading or the decision you intend to make doesn’t change from day to day, the extra time might allow you to get more people involved or on-board with the decision. You can take time to solicit more feedback (see #1), and that has advantages beyond just getting more information. It can get key stakeholders aligned with the plan and committed to implement it. Not only that, fast decision makers rely heavily on mid-stream course correction to respond to new information or feedback. This can lead to rework, the need to communicate new directions, the whiplash that can happen in the organization of changing directions or priorities, and can lead to waste. “Haste makes waste” is often forgotten in the wake of our desire to move forward.

Overall, I am impatient when it comes to making decisions. I would rather decide, communicate a decision, and wring out the ambiguity in the organization (and risk acting hastily) than risk missing an opportunity or the productivity hits that come from delaying decisions. It requires a great deal of discipline for me to wait.

But sometimes waiting is best. Sometimes instead of making excuses to justify why we didn’t take action, we should coin some new proverbs like “tomorrow is option-filled” or “I will be smarter tomorrow” and stop making excuses. Sometimes procrastination is wise.

Or perhaps I am just trying to justify the fact that I waited until right before the holiday to publish my monthly article for LinkedIn Pulse? 

Have a warm and wonderful holiday season and as you think about setting goals for the new year, I hope you give yourself permission to procrastinate.

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn Pulse.

Actually, I can.

Be Demanding

"You've got to be demanding, otherwise you'll be blamed." - Grace Coddington, Creative Director, Vogue

Gamification of Driving

Why don’t the makers of hybrid vehicles take a playbook from the wearables and fitness apps space and gamify their cars so that you can compare your mileage to others and compete with your friends to be the most green driver?  Would that create a network effect that might drive more brand loyalty in the space, as the options for hybrids and electric cars continue to grow. 

Read more about companies can take inspiration from other industries to grow their businesses.  Download the free eBook “The Payoff of Paying Attention”.

What I Wish I'd Known When I Started My Career: Getting Your Career to the Right Start

Looking back in the early days of my career, I think about the lessons I learned that have helped me throughout my career. Now that I’m the CMO of Leyard’s international business and vice president of marketing and product strategy at Planar, I’m sharing those lessons in the hopes they will help new employees as they enter the professional workforce. 

As a new professional, you’re ready to take on a new set of challenges while working to build your manager’s trust and confidence in your abilities. Yet starting out on a new job can be daunting. Not only are you required to learn a new role, but you must navigate an unfamiliar company culture complete with a new set of processes, politics and personalities. As Michael Watkins, author of the guide, “The First 90 Days” has said, the first three months in a new job are both “fraught with peril—and loaded with opportunity.”* To do well in college, the professor gives you a syllabus and timelines for every assignment. The work world isn’t that way. You have to figure things out for yourself.

Here are seven lessons I learned early on in my career that can help you to embrace the opportunity, while avoiding the peril as you start on a new job:

1. Come prepared

A great way to hit the ground running is to learn everything you can about the company you’ve been hired to work for — before your first day on the job. Follow the company, its leaders and industry competitors on social media. Learn about the executive team. Read recent press releases, blog posts and news articles to learn about the company’s products and services, and where the business is headed. Having that background before you walk through the door will give you a significant head start, helping you to ramp up more quickly.

2. Dress appropriately

How you dress is a part of your personal brand, which combined with your work and behavior, defines who you are as a professional. Look at how the leaders in the company dress, and take clues from them. If you don’t know the dress code, the easiest thing to do is ask. And if in doubt, it’s best to err on the side of dressing more formally and more conservatively than what’s required, especially for young employees attempting to demonstrate their professionalism.

3. Take notes at every meeting

If I had to choose one thing to help young professionals demonstrate that they’re ready for the challenge, it would be pen and paper. By taking notes at every 1:1 and team meeting, you show that you’re prepared for new tasks. When you take notes, you communicate that you’re an active listener who’s engaged in the conversation and focused on taking action. And by documenting conversations, you establish yourself as a resource whom the team can rely upon to follow through on their commitments.

4. Listen and ask questions

Over the years, I’ve noticed that the new hires who adapt the most rapidly are first and foremost good listeners. By listening and observing, you get to know the different players and personalities at your new company, what their interests are, and how they interact. You also quickly learn the priorities of the company—including what has and hasn’t worked in the past. As a new hire, you should also take the time to ask questions. The first 90 days on the job are a grace period during which you’re not expected to know everything. By seizing this time to think strategically about the company and ask good questions, you demonstrate your curiosity while at the same time accelerating your learning curve.

5. Display a positive attitude

Studies show that that almost half of new hires fail within the first 18 months.** Interestingly, the biggest reason for this isn’t lack of skill, but attitudinal issues such as lack of coachability, low levels of motivation and the wrong temperament. By being humble, flexible, energetic and openly receptive to guidance, you will quickly establish a reputation as an employee who’s ready to work. Moreover, you’ll demonstrate that you’re a “can-do” person and a great team player.

6. Form the right relationships

Nearly every job has its share of gossipers and complainers. As you encounter these people, make sure to keep your distance. Instead, form relationships with productive co-workers who are focused on making a positive difference. Ask for guidance from those you respect. And take your co-workers to lunch to learn about the company culture and build a rapport.

7. Ask for feedback

Don’t wait for your manager to offer feedback. Proactively ask for it after you’ve spent a few weeks on the job and have had time to adjust to your new role. What’s going well? And what can you improve upon? By proactively asking for input from your manager, you make sure you’re moving in the right direction. And if adjustments are needed, you can quickly make them so that you exceed expectations in the long run.

With these guidelines top of mind, you will show your employer that you are ready and motivated to do your best work.

This article was originally published on Leaders in Heels blog.

What I Wish I'd Known When I Started My Career: Navigating the Office Environment

Looking back in the early days of my career, I think about the lessons I learned that have helped me throughout my career. Now that I’m the CMO of Leyard’s international business and vice president of marketing and product strategy at Planar, I’m sharing those lessons in the hopes they will help new employees as they enter the professional workforce. 

Congratulations—you’ve graduated and landed your first professional job! There are still many lessons to learn, even if you are starting your career in the discipline you studied. While every office environment is different, there are some things that are important no matter where you work. Here are the top four things I wish I would have known on my first day on the job so I could have done my best work every day, from the very first day.

You are there to do a job

Unlike some roles in which you trade your time for a paycheck even when customers aren’t present, an office job is different. Even if you work hourly, you are expected not just to be there, but to accomplish real work every day. If you are unclear about your job responsibilities and what is expected of you, ask your manager. Observe the respected leaders of your company and their approach, and see how you can model your behavior and habits after theirs.

One of my first jobs was in a retail clothing store, and my boss was an exceptional mentor. She taught us the old retail mantra: “If you have time to stand, you have time to sweep.” The same is true in an office environment. Don’t wait to be told. Find out what you are responsible for and keep yourself busy and focused on the goals of the company.

Understand how your work matters

It’s not enough to just keep busy. You must also understand how your work contributes to the business. Learn who benefits directly from the work you do, what internal and external customers need, and how the business makes money. Having this context will motivate you to excel in your responsibilities, make better decisions and make everyone (including yourself) more successful.

A chief financial officer once told me that even if you do not have an interest in finance and accounting, it is important to know how the score is kept in business. Not knowing would be like playing in a soccer or softball game and not being able to read the score board. Learning to read the score board and how your own activities put points on that scoreboard will help you better understand the value of your work to the company.

Work at the office

Even if your employer has a flexible work-from-home policy, I would advise you to show up to the office. While it may be convenient to avoid the commute, it’s important to get to know your co-workers, for them to get to know you, and to learn from your peers. It is too isolating to be at home, even in today’s modern world. Out of sight is out of mind is something you want to avoid while building your career.

The exception to this is if you are in a field that requires working at the clients’ place of business. If being on location is the best way for you to satisfy customers and grow the business, then by all means, do your work there. Just be sure to regularly connect and update your manager and colleagues so you can continue to build those important relationships even when you are out of sight.

Early in my career, I made a point of visiting my boss at the beginning of every day to check in and tell him my plans for the day. This won’t work with every manager, but if you have a relational boss, this kind of face time could have a positive impact on your productivity and the trust you build with the team.

You build relationships in the office

Get to know your co-workers by showing genuine interest in them. Ask questions. How long have they worked here? What are their responsibilities for the company? Do they have advice for you as you start out on the job? If possible, find a mentor who can serve as a resource for understanding the company and its specific job roles. Building your network within the organization will help you to quickly learn and establish yourself as you work toward your first promotion. Just be sure your interactions aren’t distracting—hanging out at the water cooler all day will not help develop your career!

Following this advice will help you to quickly become a valued member of the team. It won’t be long before you are no longer the new person in the office and you will be in a position to show hospitality and help other employees get to know the organization and their colleagues.

This article was originally published on the Leaders in Heels blog.

Compete Against The Best

To become great you need to compete against the best.

The Power of Observation

Paying attention is the key to ongoing relevance and evolution in our businesses and in our careers. 

Some of you will excel at the ideation that comes from seeing what others are doing in different markets or segments.  Others will excel at refining and improving the concepts once they are proposed.  Others will focus on implementation.  Some will enable ideas to reach their potential with proper funding and leadership. And others will make their mark in measurement and analysis.  All of those super powers are required.

But no matter if you have super strength, super flexibility, or super speed.  We can all improve our power of observation with practice.  And we can all enjoy the payoff of paying attention.

Read more about companies can take inspiration from other industries to grow their businesses.  Download the free eBook “The Payoff of Paying Attention”.