Is Your Career Your Passion?Saturday, April 29, 2006Is Your Career Your Passion? Ask yourself this question. Is there something you would rather be doing eight hours a day? Is your job a job or a passion? I'm looking for statistics that tell us just how bad this picture is. I think we all would venture to say that the majority of people would answer "N0." Maybe we are wrong. There are 168 hours in a week. We sleep an average of 56 of them away - about a third of our life. So out of the 112 hours left, how do you spend the rest of your life? Are you working over 70 hours a week at soemthing that pays well, but leaves you drained and unfulfilled? If so, you have about 42 hours a week that you are doing something else. How much of that time is taken up by mowing the lawn, painting, shopping, etc. ??? If you really hate what you do for a living, there is a very small percentage of your life that is dedicated to things that make you truly happy. Maybe that is why I get so many emails about Xanax and Valium. If you didn't get a chance to read my article on Vonage, a new kind of phone company - check it out. It is really a whole new way to deal with one of my least favorite things - phone calls. Checking Out Other Blogs I am blog hunting. I am looking for the best of the best. I want to have a top ten list for weblogs dedicated to management, the workplace and careers. If you have a recommnedation, email me at bloggingboss@beatyourowndrum.com. Feel free to send me a shameless email and tell why your blog should be in the top ten. One blog that I recently reviewed was "I Work With Fools." While the idea is good, the execution is poor. The blog is is a venue for employees to vent. The majority of posts are those of the readers and each post has over a hundred comments. It is actually a bulliten board masked by the facade of a blog. After reading through some of the posts, I was fairly disgusted. Need to turn up the signal and reduce the noise. Working on A Book It takes a long time for me to get convinced that one of my hundreds of ideas actually has merit. I get ideas everyday, most of which I dismiss because I quickly realize I have no passion for them. An idea not fueled by passion will die. After much thought and with the encouragement from my inner sanctum, I am starting the outline for my first book. Many people toy around with the idea of writing a book. I have thought about it seriously on and off for years. I have an idea that I think is one I can run with. So I am moving on to the next stage. More on that later. Have a great weekend. posted at 4/29/2006 08:00:00 PM | 1 comments links to this post |
You Could Be Fired For AnythingTuesday, April 25, 2006If you have not done so recently, get out your employee handbook and read it cover to cover. I read a disturbing article in the recent issue of "Entrepreneur" magazine. It seems companies are starting to use the employee handbook as a weapon. The article in "Entrepreneur" talks about a recent case where two employees were fired for inappropriate use of email during works hours. Inappropriate emails are never appropriate whether at work or home. These employees sued their ex-company stating that they should have been disciplined according to the process found in the handbook. Typically companies have policy established as far as how to deal with inappropriate behavior. Good companies spell it out for you in detail and you understand what is considered acceptable and what is not. Even the more common sense things are spelled out. What is disturbing about this situation is that the employees lost their case based on what was deemed as sufficient disclaimers. Although the company did have a process for discipline that they could have followed in this case, they chose to exercise their right to fire these individuals based on what I think is a technicality. Their handbook has disclaimers for the majority of employees (those without a work contract). They can be terminated at any time for any reason. They also stated clearly that the disciplinary process was not required. So why even have such a process? The company strategically placed these disclaimers in the introduction (bold print), and in the beginning of the involuntary separation section. They covered their bases. The article in "Entrepreneur" is warning companies to have their handbooks legally reviewed so they will do as well in court when they fire an employee onthe spot. While I think that is good practice for a company to have "legal" review any document that they hand out to an employee, I find it disturbing the way in which this company represented their disciplinary process. They do have one; however, it is worthless based on their strageically placed disclaimers. The judge really had no choice. It is not unusual for companies to hire employees "at will." This means the company or the employee can terminate the relationship at anytime. A company can initiate "workforce reduction" or "lay-offs" at any time as well. However, companies need to be careful about how they do these things. We already have a workforce that has little to no loyalty to their employers. Companies that give the impression that they will give employees a way to correct inappropriate behavior should follow that process. I do not know the circumstances in this example, but I do not like the way the handbook is written. It gives the company ultimate control and could mislead employees. So, if you do not have a copy of your handbook, ask for one. Then read it cover to cover. You may find that you could be fired for wearing the wrong color shirt. posted at 4/25/2006 08:00:00 PM | 2 comments links to this post |
VonageFriday, April 21, 2006Ok, I have to diverge here a bit from my bossy posts and tell you about a service I just singed up for. I was at a colleague's home on Monday evening and he showed me his new solution for his home phone. He signed up for a service called Vonage. Yes this is a plug for Vonage and I think more people need to check this out. This phone service works over the internet. My friend said goodbye to the local phone company and his long distance company and said hello to a whole new world of communication. I was so amazed at the features and options he got for the price, I signed up on Wednesday for the service. Why? Here is the deal. If you have a broadband cable internet connection, or even a DSL connection, you can leverage your investment and get all the local calls and long distance calls you want for one low fee. For $25 you get unlimited local and long distance, period. No contracts, no gimmicks, no crap. This company is serious about taking on the big boys like BellSouth, Verizon, Cox, Pacific Bell, etc. No matter where you live, if you have a broadband internet connection, you can get a totally new phone service for half the cost you are paying now. I have had Bellsouth as my local phone service for years now. I had call waiting and touch tone as my feature services. I paid for them. With Vonage, I do not pay for all of the cool features BellSouth offers and I get some additional features that are really useful for me. Here is what comes with your $25 a month, unlimited calls in the U.S., Puerto Rico and EVEN Canada. Voicemail Caller ID with Name Call Waiting Call Forwarding 3 way calling (conference calling) Call transfer Click-2-call Call Return Caller ID block International call block Ring lists Call Hunt Select your own area code Repeat Dialing You can even take your Vonage phone service with you when you travel. No more need for an answering machine. Vonage gives you two ways to get calls you missed. Through voicemail, you can listen to your messages on your phone or on the web. You can even set it up where you get an email when you missed a call and someone has left a message. I transferred my existing home phone number to Vonage for free and avoided the hassles of changing phone numbers. This is the marriage of internet technology and the telephone. The quality is awesome and the options you have are excellent. I am not easily impressed by new technologies. Vonage has exceeded me expectations and is going to save me money. If you have a business, they have really cheap plans compared to the 'traditional' companies. Their support for international calling is excellent as well. The internet is totally international. This is the best technological decision I have made in a long time. Feel free to email me and ask any questions. Vonage rocks! posted at 4/21/2006 08:00:00 PM | 5 comments links to this post |
"Keepers"Tuesday, April 18, 2006If you are not in management, you may never have heard of employees being referred to as "keepers." It is really not a great way to talk about employees that are performing to expectations. Those who are valuable employees are often referred to as "keepers." I think it puts more emphasis on the employee versus the person. I have a fundamental problem with the way corporate America manages people. The reason is simple. They do very little managing of people and primarily manage employees. It may seem as if the concepts are really the same; however, there is huge difference between the two. Managers must manage employees. There is a legitimate employer to employee relationship. Managers deal with all sorts of HR issues as they relate to the employer. Much of this is defined by labor laws and Corporate HR policies. These policies, if well written help bring order to the living corporation. Managers of medium to large companies typically get adequate management training as it relates to HR issues. I would like to think it is because companies are dedicated to training management, but this is not always the case. Some companies have a genuine interest in training management and recognize that it is vital to the overall health of the company. Other companies do it to comply with the law and avoid litigation. They show no signs of being genuinely interested in their manager's abilities to manage employees. Only companies that really care about management training and recognize the value of a manager to the organization teach managers how to manage people. Employees are people. Employers are not people. So you have an entity that controls people. Unless companies become organic, intelligent entities, they will remain just legal entities. Employees are people. So how many managers know how to manage people? The mentoring cannot come from the employer. It comes from other employees, who are also managers. Those managers are also people. Ask yourself, are you managed as an employee by an employee or as a person by a person? It is tough to articulate this concept. We do not typically grow up in companies as people, but rather just employees. If we are lucky and management perceives that we have something to contribute we can even become "keepers." How many managers realize that they manage both employees and people and they are one and the same? You cannot separate a person from an employee. Companies continually try and fail to do just that. I am interested in hearing from people who feel like they are managed as an employee and a person and those who feel they are managed only as an employee. The stark contrast between the two will show the impact that "people management" has on people who are -- employees. Share your thoughts. posted at 4/18/2006 08:00:00 PM | 2 comments links to this post |
Using Email as a WeaponThursday, April 13, 2006The way we communicate continues to de-evolve. Technology presents us with new and pathetic ways to avoid human interaction. Technology, when used appropriately empowers us; when used inappropriately confines us. My favorite ball and chain: email. 75% of my email is total junk. If I need Valium, Xanax, Viagra, or Cialis, I have thousands of suppliers to choose from. I have been married for 18 years, but I am targeted as a single who is looking to meet people in my area. Who? I can get free money, loans, gamble, get government grants, and increase the size of my breasts. Now that is something my wife would like. I even got offers for diapers today! My youngest is seven. I got an offer to date a bachelor - yeah! I was offered secret information on stocks, making money, getting rich quickly... on it goes. I need to take Valium or Xanax so that I can read all of this stuff. Who sends all of this email anyway? Morons. This all sets the context for my rant tonight. Email is the worst form of communication ever invented. All of the socially challenged people use email to hide behind. They launch email attacks against their enemies and feel the power. They say things in email they would never have the guts to say in person to someone. They say things in email that they would never say in person. I have seen more inappropriate interaction between coworkers, friends and family via email. Just fire up Firefox and cook up a really venomous email and click on the SEND button. Then sit back and feel the power. Every second an email goes out that devastates someone. Email lacks voice inflections, context, and substance. If you have anything to say that is even remotely confrontational, shut your computer OFF. Go directly to the person and deal with the issue. If you can't tell someone in person what you just wrote in an email DO NOT send it. Email has very few appropriate uses. You can use email to: Announce an event State a fact. Make your wife or husband laugh Send photographs of your kids Actually there are more appropriate ways to use email; however, it seems I see more and more inappropriate email everyday. I think we are at a point of crisis. We have a generation who is learning to communicate behind the firewall. Are we teaching this generation how to really communicate effectively? When this generation gets into the workforce, will they just carry palm devices around and type messages to each other? Will they just send an instant message to the guy in the cubicle next to them instead of talking to them face to face? I am concerned. Am I the only one? I would love to get some opinions. I am going to go take my Valium now, I am worn out. :) posted at 4/13/2006 09:28:00 PM | 4 comments links to this post |
Getting "Slammed" In An EvaluationFriday, April 07, 2006Now that I launched my rant blog, "Mad about Debt", I am ready to get focused back on management issues. If you have not checked it out yet, I just wrote about debt consolidation, go here to read. Sorry it's been a week with no new bossy articles. I am certainly not out of material to cover. I am just getting started. When it comes to management and employee issues, I have years of real world situations to write about. No names of companies, people or places, just the stories. My readers send me stories that are great fodder for articles as well. Someone recently searched the internet for the phrase "my boss slamming me during my evaluation." That was what someone typed in the search box and they landed on one of my pages. I cringe every time I hear about someone getting pounded in an evaluation. There are several reasons why this is totally unprofessional on the part of the manager who is giving the evaluation. The evaluation should NEVER be the place where the employee finds out about unsatisfactory performance for the first time. An employee should never feel like he or she is being "slammed." That is a strong word and suggests that the unsatisfactory performance is being delivered with emotionalism and not professionalism. If the evaluation needs to talk about unsatisfactory performance, then the manager should have a plan for correction and should make it clear to the employee what he or she will need to do to correct the performance. Again, I cannot stress enough that an evaluation should never be emotional, unprofessional or takes an employee by complete surprise. If an employee has performance problems, it is unlikely that they just started to manifest a day before the evaluation period. So why did the boss "slam" this employee? It is usually a result of lack of training for management, managers in the wrong position, or managers that have an emotionally unstable side to them. If you felt like your evaluation was unfair, you have every right to take the situation to HR. If you do, have your facts straight and be ready to articulate them professionally and unemotionally. I hope you have a good evaluation experience with your boss. posted at 4/07/2006 08:00:00 AM | 7 comments links to this post |
Credit Card DebtTuesday, April 04, 2006I added a new area on our website to discuss credit card debt. I am so outraged by what credit card companies are doing to lure people into a financially fatal trap. I know, because I almost went bankrupt due to credit debt. I want to share my story and help others from falling into the trap or who are stuck in it and think there is no way out. I considered all of the options, debt consolidation, debt elimination, home equity, lowering my bills, etc. Check it out, read more.... posted at 4/04/2006 08:00:00 PM | 0 comments links to this post |
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