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Eavesdropping

One of my favorite channels is Biography. I've always enjoyed biographies because they usually reveal secrets and insights into a person's character that help you to better understand their fates. The other night I was watching the biography of the gigantically talented but physically diminutive Judy Garland. She was sitting on a couch with her three children (it must have been sometime in the 60's) and she was talking about how all her life she had been a "terrible eavesdropper", always fascinated by what was going on in the other room. The problem, she described, as her doe eyes looked directly at the camera, was that every time she looked through a keyhole there was an eye looking back at her. As she seemed to accept this as part of the territory of fame I could not help but reflect that this was a piece of humanity that many of us share - this nosiness to know what's being said in the next booth, what's going on in our neighbor's house, what's happening down around the corner. Only today our voyeur abilities are enhanced (and complicated) by the Internet.

Eavesdrop is a funny word.

Creatures of New Habits

HABITS are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative connotation.

So it seems antithetical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try — the more we step outside our comfort zone — the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.
Complete, fascinating story here.
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Three Lurker Lessons

Lesson 1: Lurking Reflects a Mindset of Taking Without Giving
Lesson 2: You Gain a Greater Understanding of a Topic When You Write About It
Lesson 3: Synergy is a Great Thing

We have a lot of “lurkers” in here. Reform yourselves. Here’s help.
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Sourcers! Don't be left out. Get listed in the 2008 Book of Sourcers!
Do something today you don’t think you can do. Lose phone fear here.

Surprising and disappointing

Yesterday on Recruiting Animal’s Radio Show the point was raised by WorkFarce that there are young women out here who take their boss’s sexual advances and file them away “in their back pockets” to be used later in the event they are required for negotiation.

Penelope Trunk has reported that when she goes out on her speaking engagements where this raucous subject is touched upon the young twenty-somethings “at the top of their games” come to her and tell her they don’t care what their silly bosses try to use in ridiculous power plays – they see the situation for what it is – an opportunity to leverage the boss’s vain foolishness into something for themselves. These women are smart, Penelope says, the ones on the fast track to success and they are not suffering emotionally as a result of the onslaught. (Could this be a result of being the progeny of the chilled-out Prozac generation, as Animal suggested yesterday on the show?)

10 toughest career dilemmas - solved

From whether it's time to change jobs, to secrets for getting into business school, to advice on surviving an office romance, here are excerpts from some of the top Ask Annie columns of the year.

Don’t miss your chance to reach into Santa’s BIG RED GRAB BAG OF PRIZES today at 1p.m. (EST) by calling in to get your telephone sourcing questions answered by Pam and Maureen on the ONLY LIVE REALITY recruiting radio show on the waves today! Call To Talk: 646-652-2754. You will be able to hear the show but will not be able to speak until the host (that's the nominated for "Best Recruiting Blogosphere Personality" Recruiting Animal) opens your microphone. Make sure that you are on a good phone and speak directly into the receiver.
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Sourcers! Don't be left out. Get listed in the 2008 Book of Sourcers!
Do something today you don’t think you can do. Lose phone fear here.

Ways to become indispensable to your boss (well, almost)

1. Be the best at something no one else is.
2. Give everything you've got . . . and then some.
3. Work even harder when the boss is away.
4. Get accolades for your group.
5. Make your boss look good.
6. Develop key client relationships.
7. Serve as a mentor.
8. Praise your boss if it is deserved.
9. Keep on top of your job.
10. Become an expert.
Complete instructions here.
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Do something today you don’t think you can do. Lose phone fear here.

Happiness

I read today that some prominent economists and psychologists are looking into ways to measure happiness to draw it into the public policy realm. It’s an interesting and noble suggestion but I wonder if reducing unhappiness could become a realistic target of policy for our society, given the aspirations of our western world, in general.

Whole story.
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Lose phone fear here.

Cold Calling by David Sweet

I received this in my email this morning - thought you'd like it! Notice what he says about the "Gatekeeper".

From LightBulb Training:
http://www.lightbulbtraining.com/

I love to cold call. It's great to meet new people, find out their needs, and learn how our service might assists them. Cold calling lets you reach out to customers in person. That's powerful! Do you have cold calling in your arsenal of sales tools? Here are some ways to make cold calling your most advantageous
customer-development tool.

Learning About LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s Questions and Answers forum is an amazing treasure trove of information. The questions posed many times begin to receive immediate responses from the 13million worldwide members (somebody’s always awake!) and the caliber of many of the questions and answers is awesome.

It’s possible, if you’re a questioner, to “judge” the answers as “Best in Class”. Likewise, it’s also possible to receive one of these “Best Answers” if you're one of those offering answers. It’s rewarding, for those of us who like to receive Gold Stars!

Another interesting phenomenon that emerges out of the Q&A forum is the glimpse it gives us into someone’s mind. The questions someone asks are very telling; IMO, about how they think, what drives them, the subjects that interest them, etc.

What does hiring wrong cost?

How much does it cost your organization to select & hire the wrong candidate every year?

• Front-line employees turnover costs = 0.41 x salary
• Professional associates turnover costs = 1.77 x salary
• Managers turnover cost = 2.44 x salary