Smart Lemming Rundown: Recent Episodes

View Details

Roadmap/Agenda for Episode 12

The Smart Lemming Rundown (Episode 12) continues on the series called "The Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development" in Phase 1 called “Assessing Your Career." Understanding that workers are protected by federal law, what do you do when you experience bias or prejudice from coworkers or your boss? As a worker, if you’re a person that belongs to “protected class,” you cannot be targeted for harassment or discrimination. A “protected class” is a term used in U.S. anti-discrimination law, describing ten federally protected classes which are the following: race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, veteran, or genetic information. As an employer or manager, creating diversity in the workplace is not the same as avoiding discriminatory practices. How can managers prevent discrimination and promote diversity? How should employers manage diversity-related issues at work? This week's podcast provides an overview of protected classes in the workplace, ranging from the workers point of view to the managers point of view. Learn how you can create your own courses for your self-study to get ahead in your job and career. Also, learn the four action items you can take to start your Smart Lemming Curriculum today. In the Smart Lemming Guide to Career Developmentseries, I discuss each phase, so you can create a shortcut to your career success.

Additional Resources * Smart Lemming Book Review: Good Is Not Enough: And Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals by Keith R. Wyche * Smart Lemming Book Review: The Diversity Code by Michelle T. Johnson * Smart Lemming Book Review: Diversity of Organizations by Myrtle P. Bell * Smart Lemming Book Review: Making Diversity Work by Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd * Smart Lemming Book Review: Off-Ramps and On-Ramps by Sylvia Ann Hewitt * Smart Lemming Book Review: Through the Labyrinth by Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carlie * Smart Lemming Book Review: None of Us is as Good as All of Us by Patricia Sowell Harris * Smart Lemming Book Review: Managing the Older Employee by Casey Hawley * Smart Lemming Book Review: Perfectly Able by Lighthouse International

Subscribe to Podcast

| Podcast RSS | iTunes |

View Details

Roadmap/Agenda for Episode 11 The Smart Lemming Rundown (Episode 11) continues on the series called "The Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development" in Phase 1 called “Assessing Your Career." In this podcast, I discuss the ten core competencies or skill set areas for career success, which are the following:

1. Business life
2. Career & Self-Development
3. Productivity and organization
4. Management
5. Marketing and Sales Management
6. Leadership
7. Strategy
8. Small Business or Entrepreneurship
9. Work Tools Mastery
10. Tools and templates

With the ten core competencies, I’m proposing that you think of career development like attending college and graduate school. These fields of study have their own "courses" that you should learn as part of your self-directed study at each of the seven career stages. Learn how you can create your own courses for your self-study to get ahead in your job and career. Also, learn the four action items you can take to start your Smart Lemming Curriculum today.

In the Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development series, I discuss each phase, so you can create a shortcut to your career success.

Recommended Resources * Case Complete for use cases and requirements management * eFax, an internet fax to email services * Business cases/cost-benefit analysis by Solutionmatrix.com

To subscribe to the RSS feed for this podcast, paste http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheSmartLemmingRundownPodcastin your RSS reader (we don't yet have it in iTunes).

• To add this podcast into your iTunes, Open iTunes, click on the Advanced menu item, select drop-down menu choice "Subscribe to podcast."
• Copy and paste this RSS feed URL http://smartlemming.libsyn.com/rss into the "Subscribe to podcast" pop-up box and click the "Okay" button.
• Please note, you'll have to manually refresh this podcast in your iTunes since the feed is not available in iTunes.

View Details

Roadmap/Agenda for Episode 10 The Smart Lemming Rundown (Episode 10) continues on the series called "The Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development" in Phase 1, which is formerly known as “Planning Your Career, ” but now I’m officially calling it: “Assessing your Career.” The updated career development program can be seen in the image below. I elaborate on organizational roles and goals at each career stage:

1. What organizational roles you will most likely encounter at every career stage in your life, from new worker to the executive level? and
2. What career goals should you have at each stage as you move up the ladder?

Discover the three key decision points that you'll encounter as you grow from new worker to senior worker. Learn which discipline will the be gift that keeps on giving throughout your work life. In the Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development series, I discuss each phase, so you can create a shortcut to your career success. I also provide a bonus tip for aspiring VPs. Hint: Don't become a leader that Robert Sutton write about in his book The No Asshole Rule.

View Details

Roadmap/Agenda for Episode 9 The Smart Lemming Rundown (Episode 9) continues on the series called "The Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development" in Phase 1 called "Planning Your Career” at Step 2 called "Assessing your Career.” Lori elaborates on the sixten traits that workers should have each of the seven career stages, ranging from new worker to VP or entrepreneur. Learn why each attribute or traits are building blocks for subsequent career stages. Learn action items you can take today to find satisfaction in your job and career. In the Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development series, I discuss each phase, so you can create a shortcut to your career success.

View Details

Roadmap/Agenda for Episode 8 The Smart Lemming Rundown (Episode Eight) continues on the series called The Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development in Phase 1 called “Planning Your Career” at Step 2 called “Assessing your Career.” Lori elaborates on the fifteen areas of focus for each of the seven career stages. Learn why each area of focus are building blocks for subsequent career stages. Learn action items you can take today to find satisfaction in your job and career. In the Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development series, I discuss each phase, so you can create a shortcut to your career success.

View Details

Roadmap/Agenda for Episode 7 Today, I’m continuing my series on The Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development. I’m still in Phase 1 called Planning Your Career, at Step 2: Assessing your Career, by answering the following three questions:

• What’s involved in assessing one’s career?
• What are the seven career stages? And why is your career a lot like college and graduate school?
• How does it affect your career development and career management planning?

In the Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development series, I discuss each phase, so you can create a shortcut to your career success.

View Details

Roadmap/Agenda for Episode 6 To help overcome these problems: Today, I’m continuing my series on The Smart Lemming Guide to Career DevelopmentPhase 1 called Planning Your Career, Step 1 by answering the following questions:

1. What is career development and management?
2. What’s the role of these two ideas?
3. What does it take to be successful in your current job and career?

In the Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development series, I discuss each phase, so you can create a shortcut to your career success.

View Details

The Three Phases of Career Development Over the course of my career, I've learned invaluable career lessons that helped me achieve my goals by following this approach to career development. After graduate school, I entered the job market as a product marketing manager, eventually becoming a vice president and entrepreneur. I attribute my career successes to proactively planning and managing my career in the following three phases: * Phase 1: Planning your career. * Phase 2: Applying your Smart Lemming curriculum approach to career development. * Phase 3: Executing curriculum with a 90-day action plans.

In the Smart Lemming Guide to Career Development series, I discuss each phase, so you can create a shortcut to your career success.

View Details

The Smart Lemming Rundownis a shortcut to career management success by recommending three business books that help you:

• How you can construct a realistic path to enduring success.
• How you can defend yourself in office politics or collect political power in a way that's not selfish.
• How to forge an effective relationship with those above you.

Just Enough by Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson After reading Just Enough, you'll learn to how to prevent setting yourself up for failure by creating a sequential strategy, not a Big Goal approach. Just enough reflects a multidimensional understanding of yourself after you examine your values and belief system, your needs, and unique capabilities.

Just Enough rates a 4 on a scale of 4, as a must-read for workers, managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs who want to a better approach to managing their career path that results in enduring success.

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene The 48 Laws of Power teaches the fundamentals of power that workers must understand entering the work environment. The need for power is so fundamental, that when you feel you have no power over people or events, you feel like a pawn in someone else's chess game. New workers may not be ready for the laws of power and may foolishly use them in the wrong situations, while Advanced to Senior workers, and middle managers should read this book to defend themselves from others.

Managing Up by Rosanne Badowski with Roger Gittines Managing Up teaches you how to make your boss look good, how to build your confidence, and align yourself with your boss's agenda and goals. Badowski offers managing up principles that she learned after working with her boss and business icon, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric. Who should read this book? New and advanced workers. I rated this book a 4 on a scale of 4, as a must-read for workers, who want to learn the basics of managing their boss. Watch the video that lists all 48 laws of power by Robert Greene. The Smart Lemming Rundown will return with Episode 4 on March 1, 2010.

View Details

The Smart Lemming Rundownis your shortcut to career management success. I explain how these three recommended business books help you:

• Learn the new science of rapid change by thinking a little while changing a lot.
• Overcome the conflict between your rational mind and your emotional mind to accomplish transformational change as a person, worker, manager, or leader.
• Change your old approach to innovation, becoming a disruptive innovator.

" target="_blank">59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a lot by Richard Wiseman Self-help books are failing us. You've tried visualizing yourself to success, only to remain in the same place that you started. Wiseman outlines research that supports the new science of "rapid change." He provides simple and elegant advice on how to make change in a small amount of time. " target="_blank">

" target="_blank">59 Seconds rates a 4 on a scale of 4. It's a must-read for everyone.

" target="_blank">Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Change is hard. Change is exhausting. Psychologists have discovered that self-control is an exhaustible resource. The primary obstacle is a conflict between our rational mind and emotional mind. The rational mind wants to change something while the emotional mind loves the existing routine. The tension or conflict stymies change efforts. Chip and Dan Heath show us that we can unite the two minds, teaching us how to make the switch. " target="_blank">

" target="_blank">Switch rates a 4 on a scale of 4. It's a must-read book for everyone.

" target="_blank">The Silver Lining: An Innovation Playbook for Uncertain Times by Scott D. Anthony The biggest silver lining for innovation is scarcity, which is actually a good thing. It provides constraints, which are the great enablers of innovation. Anthony offers a framework that helps your company get ready for innovation; build blockbuster businesses by spotting opportunities, formulating ideas, taking the ideas forward, and launching them; and making innovation repeatable by creating innovation structures and systems. " target="_blank">

" target="_blank">The Silver Lining rates a 4 on a scale of 4 for leadership and management. It's a must-read for middle managers, directors, VPs, and CEOs.

View Details

Smart Lemming Rundown (Episode 3) recommends the following business books: 1. Just Enough by Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson 2. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene 3. Managing Up by Rosanne Badowski with Roger Gittines You learn how you can construct a

View Details

The Smart Lemming Rundownis a shortcut to career management success by recommending three business books that help you:

1. Find your core purpose in life, one that adds meaning and fulfillment to your work life.
2. Avoid making mistakes at work that make you look bad to your peers or manager.
3. Learn the unwritten rules at work, giving you the upper hand with peers.

Passion at Work by Lawler Kang and Mark Albion Kang and Albion five-step model is the perfect tool to discover and execute your career management plan. The Smart Lemming rated Passion at Worka 4 on a scale of 4, as a must-read book for workers and entrepreneurs who want to their passion in work. It rated 2 out of 4 as an optional read for managers and leaders, who are interested in this topic from a Business Life, Leadership, and Management perspective. Managers can use this book as a resource in helping direct reports discover passion in their jobs.

Who should read this book? Workers at any stage in their career.

The Rules of Work by Richard Templar Rather than take a trial and error approach to learning the rules of work, read Templar's book that explains the unwritten rules in your workplace. The Smart Lemming rated The Rules of Work a 4 on a scale of 4, as a must-read for workers, who want to learn the fundamentals of business life that's critical in Business Life and Career Management. It rated 3 out of 4 Leadership, Management , and Women in Business, as a should-read, for managers and leaders who may want to coach their direct reports behavior. Who should read this book? New and advanced workers, who are just starting their career.

45 Things You Do that Drive Your Boss Crazy by Anita Bruzzese Bruzzese's book is ideal for workers, who want to know what mistakes to avoid in order to stay on your boss's good side and get ahead at work. The Smart Lemming rated 45 Things that Drive Your Boss Crazy a 4 on a scale of 4, as a must-read for workers, who want to understand business life that's crucial to your success. It rated 3 out of 4 in Career Management and Women in Business, as a should-read, for more experienced workers as a brush-up on business life. It rated 2 out of 4 in Leadership and Management, as an optional-read, for managers and leaders who are coaching or mentoring underlings. Who should read this book? New and advanced workers just starting their career.

View Details

I decided to launch a podcast to share what I've learned, and how I've used this knowledge in managing my career. This week I discuss three must-read career management books and explain why you should be reading them.

The First 90-Days by Michael Watkins The First 90 Days provides an approach to how to learn as much as possible about your new company, as fast as you can, during your first 90 days. It teaches you how to transition into a new leadership role by understanding the ten key challenges facing new hires. This book taught me how to conduct a Needs Assessment when taking on leadership roles. This book assists you in developing a 90-day plan to achieve results. Below is the Smart Lemming rating for The First 90-Days.

SmartLemming.com rates The First 90 Days a 4 on a scale of 4, as a must-read book for workers, managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs, who want to learn how to transition into a new Leadership role part of their Career Management skills. This book also rates 4 out of 4 as must-read for workers, who are interested in this topic from a Management perspective. Managers learn how to structure their newly recruited or promoted leader's transition into new role. It rates 3 out of 4 in Business Life and Women in Business, as a should-read book, for workers who want to use it as a resource in business life. Â This book is not applicable for workers, who are interested in developing their Marketing or Sales skills. Below is also the rating scale used in the Smart Lemming Radar graph.

Kotler on Marketing: How to Win, Create, and Dominate Markets by Philip Kotler Philip Kotler's book teaches you that marketing is not just selling. Its purpose is demand management to influencing the level, timing and composition of demand. Kotler teaches you how to ask the customer question: "Why should I buy from you?" Below is the Smart Lemming rating for Kotler on Marketing.

The SmartLemming.com rates Kotler on Marketing a 4 on a scale of 4, as a must-read for workers, managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs who want to understand and learn marketing from a Career Management , Management, Marketing, and Sales perspective. This book rates 2 out of 4 in Business Life, Leadership and Women in Business, as an optional-read, for workers who want to use it as a resource in these areas. Below is also the rating scale used in the Smart Lemming Radar graph.

Beyond the Core: Expand Your Market Without Abandoning Your Roots by Chris Zook Beyond the Core explains why the most successful kind of growth is an "adjacency move," in which you expand into an area related to your core business activity. He teaches you why "adjacency moves" provide the best opportunities to expand, what the primary requirements are for such moves, and what directions such moves often take. Below is the Smart Lemming rating for Beyond the Core.

The SmartLemming.com rates Beyond the Core a 4 on a scale of 4, as a must-read for workers, managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs who want to understand and learn strategy of their career Management plan. This book rates a 4 out of 4 as a must-read read for workers, who are interested in this topic from a Management and Marketing perspective. Managers and marketers will need to learn new approaches to product strategy. Zook's book rates 3 out of 4 in Business Life, Leadership and Women in Business, as a should-read, for workers who want to use it as a resource. From a business life perspective, you learn why strategy matters. Leaders learn how to be a leader in your company to come up with new strategies for your company. Women in business need to be up to speed on strategy and add value to their companies with Zook's knowledge. It also rates 2 out of 4 in Sales, as an optional-read, for workers who want to use it as a resource to improve their sales or sales management skills. Below is also the rating scale used in the Smart Lemming Radar graph.