Water Cooler Wisdom

Career Lessons from a Hollywood Producer

2008-07-18T12:00:00Z

There are a lot of books out there on how to achieve job satisfaction and get ahead in the business world, but few are from the viewpoint of someone with a front row seat in the always-elusive entertainment industry. That’s what I found interesting about Danielle Weinstock’s Can This Elephant Curtsy on Cue?. A Hollywood producer, Danielle has worked on thirty television shows or feature films such as Weeds, 24, The Agency, White Fang, Crossing Jordan, and Fantasy Island. She also wrote the documentary...(read more)

8 Ways to Save Money Today

2008-07-16T12:00:00Z

I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from desperate folks who are short on cash and are hoping against hope that they can get a raise at work. But just in case they can’t, over at Brazen Careerist , Alex Fisher has some great ideas for saving money during the current economic downturn. Among my favorites: Replace your light bulbs with CFLs: For the time when you legitimately need the lights on, you should be using light bulbs that don’t waste the majority of their energy on heat instead of light. Compact...(read more)

4 Day Work Week is a Reality in Utah

2008-07-14T12:00:00Z

According to USA Today , this summer Utah will become what experts say is the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for most state employees. Gov. Jon Huntsman, a first-term Republican, says he's making the change to reduce the state's carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, improve customer service and provide workers more flexibility. The change will apply to about 17,000 employees, roughly 80% of the state workforce, Huntsman says. Public universities, the state court system,...(read more)

Living in Peace in the Present Moment

2008-07-11T12:00:00Z

Have you ever noticed that when you spend too much time dwelling on the past, you get depressed about how certain situations played out and what you could have done differently? And when you are always looking ahead to the future, you get anxious about the unknown? Although I find it hard to do, I am going to try and listen to the career advice I’ve been given by a few friends and colleagues – to try to live in the present moment as often as I can. I want to take time to reflect on the speaking engagement...(read more)

Surviving Your Company’s Merger

2008-07-09T12:00:00Z

In his bestsellers Brand Warfare and Career Warfare , author David D'Alessandro offered sharp advice for building a brand and building a career. His new book, Executive Warfare is the advanced class for the truly ambitious. The book covers what it takes to rise to the top-and to do the even harder thing, which is survive there. In anticipation of the book’s release, David provided some exclusive suggestions to Water Cooler Wisdom readers regarding on how can survive a merger: David says: “Mergers...(read more)

Should You – and Can You – Get a Temp Job?

2008-07-07T12:00:00Z

I’ll be honest. I always thought that going to a temp agency was a waste of time. This perception comes from the fact that when I was in college in the late 90s, I visited a few firms, filled out reams of paperwork, took a few computer tests, did several interviews, and never got a single job out of the process. According to CareerBuilder’s Kate Lorenz , though, there is a time and a place for seeking a temp job, and in this economy, you might be well-served with this approach. A temp position can...(read more)

Inconsistency: Accept It and Move On

2008-07-04T12:00:00Z

I love the show Jon and Kate Plus 8 . For those of you who might not be familiar with it, it’s a reality program on TLC that follows thirtysomething Pennsylvania parents Jon and Kate as they raise seven year-old twins and four year-old sextuplets. I like watching it because it provides harmless entertainment while I’m feeding the baby, and reminds me of how easy it is to take care of just ONE baby. I’ve now seen about 30 episodes (don’t snipe – they’re only 20 minutes long) and something has been...(read more)

4 Tips for Avoiding Fan Worship

2008-07-02T12:00:00Z

My friend Pam Slim over at Escape from Cubicle Nation has a great post on how to tread the fine line between expressing admiration for someone and fan worship. Straight from the ECN blog are 4 “fan traps” to avoid. I’ve been known to do some of these things in my interactions with bestselling authors, and people who haven’t yet broken into publishing have done them with me. Also included for your reference are helpful alternatives. Y ou are the best and I worship you! There’s nothing wrong with telling...(read more)

Qualities of Good Presidents and Good Employees

2008-06-30T12:00:00Z

I love this post from Michael McKinney at Leading Blog . It’s based on a new book from Alvin Felzenberg, The Leaders We Deserved (and a Few We Didn't): Rethinking the Presidential Rating Game . Felzenberg devised six criteria to best describe various U.S. presidents’ contribution to history. Based on this exercise, he presents a list of what we should look for in presidential candidates. Sense of Purpose. Nearly all presidents who earned a rating of great or near great articulated specific goals...(read more)

Career Lessons from Bill Gates

2008-06-27T12:00:00Z

So Bill Gates is preparing to retire as CEO of Microsoft . Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to make and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800, an early computer that was sold to hobbyists. Gates dropped out of Harvard University in his third year to focus on Microsoft, and the rest, as they say, his history. For an upcoming Forbes article, I was asked to consider lessons that can be learned from Gates’ amazing career,...(read more)

Easing Commuter Shock: The New In-Demand Perk?

2008-06-25T12:00:00Z

I was recently interviewed for Yahoo! Hot Jobs for a story on how the continuing upward pressure on gas prices is forcing many workers to change how they get to their jobs and to seek added benefits that offset commuting costs. In a recent survey by the staffing firm Robert Half International (RHI), almost half of U.S. professionals (44%) said higher gas prices are affecting their commutes, up from 34% two years ago. The top three changes cited by the group are increased carpooling, driving a more...(read more)

5 Ways to Make HR Love You

2008-06-23T12:00:00Z

Admittedly, staying on HR’s good side is probably not at the top of your list of managerial priorities, but HR has the power to make your life easier…or very difficult. Over at HR Capitalist , Kris Dunn has five great tips for how managers can make HR love them. You clearly communicate expectations . Your employees understand their objectives, and they also understand performance you consider to be not meeting, meeting and exceeding your expectations in each micro area. Not a lot of surprises in...(read more)

Boost Your Earning Power with the Power of Language

2008-06-20T12:00:00Z

Did you know that the most accurate predictor of earning power is literacy? Literacy does not just mean being able to read, but also refers to your command of written language. I recently read an article by Steve Kaufmann at LingQ , a company that provides web-based language tutoring, you can improve your skills by copying a sample page from a source or article that interests you and pasting it into Google Documents . You can find several readability indicators under File/Word Count, including the...(read more)

What Defines Success?

2008-06-18T12:00:00Z

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about success at work, and how it means different things to different people. When I first graduated college, I thought success was setting and then achieving a goal to reach a certain level. But for someone who is naturally ambitious, this doesn’t really work. Because once you reach that level, you want to go higher. Eventually, you will rise as high as it’s reasonable to expect, and then what? Do you feel like a failure because you aren’t at the tippy, tippy top?...(read more)

Go Home with Some of the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs

2008-06-16T12:00:00Z

Have you ever wondered how super-successful business owners with millions of customers get started? Surprisingly, many don’t spend years toiling in Fortune 500 brand powerhouses, some had no money or no connections going in, and some weren’t even trained in marketing. NYU marketing professor David Vinjamuri, in his new book Accidental Branding , set out to explore what makes these founders of "accidental brands" tick and came out with a wonderfully engaging portrait of well-known entrepreneurs like...(read more)