Ebooks for the mature professional, by Liz Weinmann

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ebook readerAre you a visionary, intelligent and motivated professional over 40? Liz DiMarco Weinmann has published four ebooks specifically targeted to you and your needs.

Regardless of your education or lifestyle, you are a manager – of your life, of your family, of your career, and even to a certain extent, of your community. Shouldn’t you DRIVE, ADVANCE, RULE and EXPRESS Your Own EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE  toward something beneficial for you, something that will make you happy while you’re meeting your responsibilities and duties to others?

These ebooks are your roadmaps!  Available now, they offer important intrapersonal, interpersonal and instrumental principles and practices to help you to drive your strategy, apply your motivation, and expand your vision to Get DARE From Here!™.


Drive Your Own Strategy, Uncommon Career Advice for Professionals Over 40 Facing Common Career Challenges

 

 

 

 

Advance Your Own Plan, Uncommon Career Advice for Professionals Over 40 Facing Common Career Challenges

 

 

 

 

Express Your Experience & Expertise, Uncommon Career Advice for Professionals Over 40 Facing Common Career Challenges

 

 

 

 

Rule Your Own Platform, Uncommon Career Advice for Professionals Over 40 Facing Common Career Challenges

 

 

 

 

Taking Care of Business – 21st Century Style

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file221263244327Following are some keen gleanings, amusing musings, and plain common sense for mature professionals who get a lot done – with and for other people, taking care of themselves, their teams and their businesses. These are culled from workshops I’ve run recently for mature professionals, classroom exchanges I’ve had with business students in various universities, and “heard on the street” revelations that surprise even someone more over 40 than I want to admit!

1) In today’s workplace, karma is as karma does. If your default leadership mode now that you’re a seasoned professional is to be all dictatorial diva and command-and-control queen, then you’re practicing the outmoded, discredited management principles of the 19th century.  What worked in the factory-driven Industrial Revolution (or in The Devil Wears Prada) is negatively Neanderthal in this environment of self-actualization and self-driven career professionals. Team disenchantment that’s allowed to fester leads to massive defections, operations challenges, and external backlash. If you’re “that guy,” keep in mind this commonsense advice from a variety of leadership experts:

  1. a) Learn to analyze complex team situations – because no one management theory works for all employees in all industries or companies.
  2. b) Develop a broad repertoire of behaviors and knowledge about when to use them – focusing on optimizing your team’s strengths, rather than focusing on their weaknesses.
  3. c) Develop the self-control and self-discipline to go beyond your natural leadership style and adapt to a rapidly changing environment – not everything is a “turnaround” situation. 

harvard bus review2) Learn how to manage yourself, and manage how you learn, before you can hope to manage others – including the leaders to whom you report. A classic Peter Drucker article about how we learn is even more relevant today than when it was published 15 years ago in the Harvard Business Review. I assign it to students as well as mature professionals, because Drucker demonstrates:

a) your preferred ways of learning drive whether you consume and process information efficiently and effectively;
b) you take subsequent actions based on how you learn, and therefore, what you think you know;
c) those actions govern the responses you’re likely to receive (pro and con) from your direct reports as well as your own management;
d) if you’re not learning anymore, it means you’re bored, and if you’re bored, your job is on the line.

3) Should leaders focus on frenetic output and efficiency no matter the company or situation? Or, should they build in time for thoughtful consideration, reflection and resetting of strategies, desired outcomes and potential impacts? Recent media stories skew bipolar for both sides:

social media logosa) The camp that says we’re battling insomnia because we’re multi-tasking, pinging, Tweeting, Linking, Facing, and Pinteresting well beyond reasonable latte hours – BUT we ALL should be getting a “minimum” of seven hours of sleep. Here, please note that mattress manufacturers, sleep app marketers and pharmaceutical companies create a lot of this “reportage” because they’re only too happy to push worry and “remedies” to those of us who sleep six or fewer hours a night, and we do just fine without new mattresses, rain simulators or sleep drugs.

sleepb) The camp that loves the cliché that “Sleep is vastly overrated.” That cliché should be relegated to the Industrial Revolution and its outmoded factory management techniques, in any case. Its proselytizers are supposed gurus of how to get more done, all of it!, most of it!, work!, play! – in four or fewer hours a week, supposedly with games, virtual assistants, and gargantuan gulps of 20-ounce cups of Coke. Phew – who has time to dump all that Coke, let alone sleep!

c) Try this instead – the antidote to all this frenzy! Tony Schwartz’s Life@Work column that ran on Valentine’s Day in the New York Times, extolled the virtues of purposely building in time in our day to be offline, rather than off and running, unless you’re using that run as time to think and reflect. That kind of deep, insightful, refreshing, brain-cleansing reflection focuses us on several important priorities: 1) what we truly need and want to accomplish, 2) when such activity really needs to be done, and – 3) here’s the wakeup call for many of us who think we’re indispensable – does it absolutely, positively, need to be done by YOU? Read the article

If you’re a mature, professional leader and you’ve been “taking care of business – and working overtime,” remember that song was recorded back in the 1970s – even if it did briefly surface again in the 1990s! Wake up, it’s a new century! Time to give some deep thought to your default management style, its impact on your team and your management, and whether you need to be offline thinking more than you’re overtime working.

 

Having a tough time at work? Tough it out while you make a plan!

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As part of my work, I attend many conferences where stale statistics on slides are soon decimated by fresh frenetic factoids of reality spewed at us from the churn of the 24-hour media cauldron.

For example, speakers at these events often assert that baby-boomers are “retiring in huge numbers” – 30 million to over 60 million, supposedly, “…and there aren’t enough 30-somethings out there to fill the void.” There’s some Tough LOVE for Boomers embedded in those statistics, and advice for daring to Tough It Out:

Boomers aren’t exactly stampeding to the golf courses or beaches. That hackneyed cliche is an egregious insult to boomers who look forward to continuing their productive careers or starting fulfilling second careers. It is most insulting to boomers who have lost their savings, and even their homes.

The work experience and expertise of boomers make some of us costly hires in this economy. Headhunters and American corporate expatriates advise boomers to consider international work, citing India, China and Vietnam as attractive emerging markets.  However, some skills may be moot even in a rebound, if the industries or companies that used to need them are mature or defunct – here and abroad. Boomers who are interested in leadership positions should also seek out small or mid-size firms rather than large corporations. Private equity firms, though somewhat dormant right now, look for experienced leaders to fill C-suite positions in their portfolio companies.

For older, mature career-switchers, there’s another indignation: headhunters and corporations call us “seasoned professionals with a short runway.”Some presume boomers will work only five to ten years more before we retire, and therefore we’re not worth the investment. Glenn Okun, a successful venture capitalist and finance professor, has a very different view: he recently told a group of MBAs ranging in age from late 20s to mid-50s: “You’re all going to be working until you’re 90 years old.”

A final dose of Tough LOVE re: career switching: many boomers jump to nonprofit without considering the risks, especially if the salary is comparable to their corporate pay. Don’t presume that your hard-driving private-sector persona will be welcome everywhere. It’s a very hard transition for individuals who are used to focusing almost entirely on quantitative goals and metrics without considering the cultural ramifications. Again, know what you want and need, especially the ROLE you want to play, regardless of title and salary.

As for the Tough It Out part, here are just a few of the strategies that reflect the advice of psychological counselors, social workers, management consultants, business academics and executive coaches who work with individuals in transition in their personal lives or careers:

  1. Develop a concrete plan of action. Have clearly defined objectives, desired outcomes and a strategy for managing your transition and your finances, along with a firm deadline and benchmarks along the way. Focus on delineating what your key priorities are, what you really want and need from life, what you’re passionate about for yourself and for your loved ones. Be honest about your deal-breakers as well as what you would be willing to compromise.
  2. Write in a journal about what’s on your mind, how your anxiety might be connected to past experiences, and what this means for your future. Journals can become powerful personal development tools that impart a holistic view of what’s going on in your life, eventually transforming your vents and rants into insights and solutions.
  3. DARE to spend time alone. Friends, colleagues and experts are a welcome source of counsel and support, but if you’ve just had a serious loss, you need time alone to process it, be angry and mourn. If you haven’t developed strategies for being alone to take care of yourself, it could be very lonely, and drive you to fill the void with people, activities and things that could thwart your ultimate goals for moving forward.

If you tough it out, perhaps the best years of your working life are still ahead of you!

You’re Never Too Young or Too Old to Get a Sponsor – Part 2

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The critical contrast between MENTORS and SPONSORS is that the latter can be actual drivers of your career decisions and future mobility – and they put themselves on the line for you. Your Mentor(s) may also do that, but once they do, they’ve actually become your SPONSOR. Here are some of the benefits you can expect from SPONSOR:

  1. Championing you for an internal promotion or similar career-advancing opportunity (such as a high-visibility conference) that you would not have heard of otherwise, or for which you are one of many candidates;
  2. Sharing with you pending industry or company news that s/he has access to before it becomes public, news that could directly affect you;
  3. Putting your name forward as an ideal candidate for a prime position at a firm where you don’t have connections – and/or calling in favors with hiring managers and other powerful people who owe them favors;
  4. Making a compelling case for your hire to a fellow senior-level executive, going so far as to convince the executive to create a position just for you.

Furthermore, the guarantor/insurer benefit SPONSORS provide is not only to you and for you, but to and for the individual to whom they are championing your strengths. Their SPONSORSHIP of you has to demonstrate benefits to all the parties involved, including themselves. A SPONSOR is literally staking her or his reputation on you.

In that vein here are several important things to consider regarding what SPONSORS expect from you:

  1. An accurate view of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and that you can lead with your strengths to minimize threats. Know and articulate your competitive advantages, as the SPONSOR needs a compelling reason to advocate for you. Likewise, be prepared that a SPONSOR will (and should) vet you thoroughly before they agree to serve as your SPONSOR.
  2. A clear mission and vision of your career path and the SPONSOR’S role. This means you have researched your SPONSOR thoroughly – personal, career, charitable contributions, etc. – and you know what his/her priorities are. That way, you can easily answer not only the why-them question but, more importantly, the what’s-in-it-for-them questions they will have, and their expectations of you.
  3. A clearly articulated “ask.” Mentor relationships usually have ebbs and flows, allow for brainstorms and quasi-therapy interactions. SPONSOR engagements tend to be more transactional and specific to the situation, company, job, executive or other opportunity.
  4. Respect for their time and efforts. While this is where the needs of Mentors and SPONSORS are very similar, Mentors often forgive their mentees’ manners and may even forget past lapses. In comparison, if you disappoint, disrespect or embarrass a SPONSOR, there are usually many more negative consequences.

woman headphoneOur final, positive note on Mentors and SPONSORS: The power of please, thank you and an explicit recognition of the gravity that Mentors as well as SPONSORS confer on your behalf cannot be over-emphasized. In the uber-connected, 24/7 social media ecosystem, proper business etiquette is more important than ever – whether you’re gainfully employed, seeking a transition, or trying to build and sustain your client base.

 

You’re Never Too Young or Too Old to Get a Sponsor – Part 1

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people meeting 5 20 13From clients as well as students, I field a lot of questions about the importance of having a career SPONSOR, specifically:

1) The role of SPONSORS vs. Mentors
2) How to find a SPONSOR
3) What to expect from a SPONSOR
4) What SPONSORS expect from you.

Those are all questions that serve the mentee or sponsored individual much more so than the Mentor or SPONSOR. Each role has very often different parameters, benefits and expectations.

mentorThis blog deals with the role of SPONSORS vs. Mentors; and how to find a SPONSOR. Part 2 will address what to expect from SPONSORS and what SPONSORS expect from you.

Mentors are usually informal advisors and counselors, perhaps your supervisors, teachers, colleagues or even – and most especially for mature professionals – former direct reports you trust. “Mentor” comes from the Greek guide who helped Odysseus on his legendary journey; therefore there’s both an implication and an inference of altruism. Don’t ignore or neglect to maintain good relationships with younger professionals you helped early in your career, as they may be in good positions to help you later…as Mentors or SPONSORS.

Typical roles of Mentors:

  • …provide guidance, opinion and perhaps difficult to obtain information and introductions that could be useful for your job or career.
  • …are good sounding boards that can help steer you as you refine your goals, consider your options and develop an action plan.
  • …can be short-term or long-term advisors, and they usually get satisfaction from the fact that their wisdom, experience and expertise are valued.

A SPONSOR, on the other hand, is someone in usually a more elevated position of power or influence, with crucial connections. The SPONSOR is a guarantor, patron and ambassador of your strengths, motivations, knowledge and aptitudes – an advocate for you to someone with whom they have a strong reciprocal relationship, often one of “quid pro quo.” SPONSORS open doors to places that other people don’t even know exist, and they have levers others may only suspect, wish for, or deny exist. In many cases, the SPONSOR acts as a protector and defender – hence, the most literal defining characteristic of an advocate.

Mentors and SPONSORS can be the same people, and I have served in both capacities. Mentors are slightly easier to cultivate and engage. The SPONSOR relationship is a different construct, and involves considerable more work and responsibility, depending on the environment and your goals.

Here are a few tips on how to find a SPONSOR, depending on your goals:

  1. Internal advancement: Volunteer to contribute to important task forces and committees whose leaders are executives of considerable power, influence and connections. Many SPONSORS pick the people they think will be stars in the organization, and champion them accordingly.
  2. External visibility, advancement, job hunting: Join at least three professional organizations where you can assume active committee roles that will increase your visibility and enhance your capacity to engage influential executives with the power and inclination to SPONSOR you – for your next job, promotion, etc. This includes becoming active as a volunteer or board member for a nonprofit that you respect and whose leadership you admire.
  3. Prospect Cultivation, Solicitation and Client Engagement. Serving on professional organizations’ committees is crucial for executives who work in consulting as SPONSORS can recommend them to clients. SPONSORS alert consultants to account movement so they can gain entrée to new business before other firms do. Consultants have to be extremely good at what they do, as referrals and other testimonials are prime SPONSOR currency.

Start Something New with Expert Help!

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rutland logo 2As the VP of Strategic Initiatives for a small and thriving college in Vermont (www.csj.edu), I have the privilege of working with so many talented individuals who care about providing a quality education for a diverse student body. Many of our students are learning for the love of learning, as well as learning to maximize their best and highest talents in their lives and careers. Part of my job entails teaching MBA candidates, and I am always energized by the Saturday cohorts, who brave the prospect of an 8-hour “sit” – as we call it – for four solid weekends. Their goal is to become better business leaders while juggling their busy lives. (Vermont has thriving businesses, which have demands as tough and rigorous as other areas of the country that are undergoing economic upheaval.)

Starting something new is scary for some, invigorating for others. One of my students this semester is a young athlete who Started out in sports management, but realized that he wanted overall business leadership development. Another was a psychology major who realized he wants to contribute his empathic skills to helping managers work more effectively with colleagues, peers and direct reports. And still another is a more mature student, who held back tears of pride as she indicated she was Starting her MBA because she wanted to be a role model to her adult children.

All of these mature learners, who comprise one of the fastest growing segments in higher education, are braving the courage to Start something new – regardless of how scary, how uncertain, how much time it might take.

Are you longing to Start something new, but feeling blocked, fearful, unsure? Starting something new is can be anxiety-inducing. Believe me, I know!

Before I decided to spend more than the GNP of a third-world nation to pursue an MBA in my 50s (and suffer the terror of sitting in finance classes feeling as if I’d crashed a secret coven where everyone was interrogating me in Satanic dialects), I too DARED to Start something else.

The sight of the World Trade Center falling in front of my eyes led me to conclude that 20 years spent promoting soap and cereal for global marketing services firms was enough, and that it was time to do Something Important! Fast-forward three years and three not really important jobs: turns out, every one of those moves was a False Start.

But those experiences, though excruciating, were so beneficial. Here are just a few of the books that have helped me and other women over 40 Start something new. Not a definitive list, but it’s a Start.

  • The Breaking Point: How Female Midlife Crisis is Transforming Today’s Women, by Sue Shellenbarger. The Wall Street Journal career columnist illuminates through anecdotes and excellent reporting, the many types of work, avocations and fun that women have Started after they hit 40.
  • A Whole New Mind, by Daniel H. Pink. Full of ideas to think differently, explore all types of intelligence (artistic, physical, etc.) to innovate, pursue meaningful work, and stay relevant.
  • I Could Do Anything, If I Only Knew What It Was, by Barbara Sher. One of the best, most honest books on helping you visualize your “perfect life” – delivered in an empathic, amusing style.
  • Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. Exercises to plumb your deepest needs and how to tap into your unconscious for ideas your editing mind won’t allow.
  • Jump Start Your Brain, by Doug Hall. Promises to make you 500% more creative – from a marketing guru who creates products and campaigns that convince us to try, buy and stay loyal to stuff we never even knew we needed let alone wanted.
  • AHA! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas, by Jordan Ayan. Not just 10 ways, but thousands! Has unstuck even the most tenacious, stubborn, blank, fearful minds.
  • Write It Down, Make It Happen, by Henriette Ann Klauser. A free-association guide, with prompts, questions and lists to encourage you to think differently, identify goals and aspirations, and, yes, make them happen.
  • Second Acts, by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine, attorney and author/collaborator. Guides you through what they call “sources of dissatisfaction” so you arrive at your personal hopes and dreams.
  • Six-Week Start Up, by Rhonda Abrams. An easy-to-complete workbook for launching a new venture, whether a business, nonprofit or other creative endeavor, especially if you don’t have the time or inclination to pour thousands of dollars into B-school, psychotherapy, or other forms of long-term torture.

 

 

Advertising: Mature Brains Process Ads Differently

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Companies have been aiming their marketing to people over 60 in very specific but perhaps unsuccessful ways, based on assumptions that may not be valid. A new report from Nielsen NeuroFocus, the Berkeley, Calif.-based agency that specializes in neurological testing for consumer research shows that mature brains respond very differently to marketing messages. They are more emotionally balanced, and have a longer attention span. This evidence flies in the face of the traditional belief that older brains cannot adapt easily and no longer learn well. [Hey, if I can submit my own brain as a “specimen” the fact that I learned quantitative finance principles in my mid-50s surprised me as well, except that I was tenacious about learning it!]

The neuroscience field is releasing results of research showing convincing evidence that the mature brain retains plasticity, or the ability to change as a result of experience, even at later stages of life. This is also the reason why EXPERIENCE MATTERS – there’s only so much book learning that the younger adult mind can do, especially in the era of over-divulging, over-diversion, and over-distraction – all of which often leads to distortion of: input, information and interpretation.

Here are some of the findings, bulleted, for ease [with my editorial comments in brackets]:

  • Boomers do not want to feel old or be treated as such. They do not respond well to ads that portray stereotypes and they steer clear of messages that feature older people. [But please stop featuring buff 30-somethings in clothing ads that are meant to appeal to sizes 12 and up.]
  • Boomers want to be spoken to honestly. [Yes, but that doesn’t mean our lives will be less than enriched if we don’t use your products, or that something terrible will happen without your company’s anti-depressants.]
  • To that point, mature brains, being more emotionally stable, respond better to positive, rather than negative, fear-based advertising messages. According to Nielsen NeuroFocus, marketers should deliver upbeat advertisements that focus on the benefits to the baby boomer. [Memo to pharmaceutical firms: stop portraying women in their fifties as if we are back in the 1950s, as in mid-20th century!]
  • Mature brains have broader attention spans. [Could be because we’re not on multiple mobile devices, all of the time, at the same time? We actually look at and listen when we care about something.]
  • Boomer brains respond better to advertising messages that are simple; research shows they may ignore those that are rapid or cluttered. [However, about certain products – such as pharmaceuticals or financial services – we want all the information; just don’t make it so filled with jargon, because we mistrust that.]
  • Advertisers are still guilty of ignoring baby boomers, although they are strong and influential in terms of purchasing power. Boomers are on track to spend $7 billion online this year, and they are dining out again. [News alert to fast-food and quick-serve restaurants: take a page out of Panera’s playbook. The firm boomers love to love is doing better in some areas and time slots than McDonald’s and Chipotle – the latter two still banking on 20-somethings who can eat only so many burgers and grinders. Panera’s 58-year old Harvard MBA CEO knows where his bread is – literally and figuratively. In this recession, baby boomers are flocking to Panera for meals that are lighter on the waistline as well as their bank accounts.]

Check out the research:

Nielsen NeuroFocus

You’ve been Meaning to Write a Book: 6 Tips to Get it Done

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book

People ask me daily about writing a book, since my book was published: “Get DARE From Here!” – 12 Principles and Practices for Women Over 40 to Take Stock, Take Action and Take Charge of the Rest Of Their Lives.

Everyone, it seems, wants/plans/means to write a book. In today’s new self-publishing world, anyone CAN write a book and get it out there.

Are you one of those people? Do you have something to say and just don’t know how to start?

Many authors will tell you to be prepared that you will do almost nothing else for a year or so while you are writing a book. Yeah, right! Maybe, if they’re already household names! They spew on (disingenuously) about the languid literary lifestyle – writing in your pajamas for eighteen hours straight; subsisting on pizza, potato chips and caffeine; ignoring friends, family and creditors. All the while they’re supposedly developing the concept, writing (and rewriting) the book’s outline, doing the research required, and then writing and editing several drafts before turning out the draft that won’t mortify them when they take their masterpiece down to their local copy center to print out and bind for them to proofread before sending it to their publisher.

Hah! Unlike those languid literary lifers, I spent six months writing and then overseeing the editing, design, distribution and marketing plan for my book – while working in my consulting business full time and teaching at two universities, while also trying to have a life. It wasn’t easy, but neither is working with legacy publishers these days (the ones who are left hanging for dear life), which take a huge chunk of your profits and leave all the marketing to you. The work I put in was worth it.

Many of my friends, colleagues, former professors and students think it’s great that I’ve written a book – they are the best support team ever. So, for all my friends, especially all the mature professionals who also have a story, expertise, valuable life skill, untapped artistic talent, or other aptitude that makes them proud and wanting to get loud, here’s a short tip-sheet, taken from my book, that might help you write your book. The same advice applies to any other artistic endeavor you’re thinking of pursuing for business purposes or other fulfillment.

1. Focus on one thing you do really well and figure out how to write about it, shout about it or grouse about it. Think intensively and extensively about it, and you too might be churning out a few thousand words on of insight, inspiration and motivation.

2. Think hard about your particular interests, passions, concerns, hobbies and other worthwhile endeavors you’re drawn to learn more about in the course of your daily life. What’s your story? Everyone has one. And, if you’re over 40, you probably have dozens of them. If it moves you, it behooves you. And, if you can figure out how to move someone else with your insights and ideas, that’s an excellent motivator to start and – ultimately – finish.

3. If you really want to learn more about a particular subject to the point of becoming an expert and getting recognized as such, do some initial research and seek out others who have similar interests and skills in your area of focus. Want to be known as an expert? Write a book (or other media) on it. (Where do you think the expression, “She wrote the book on it!” came from?) In fact, a recent New York Times article details that newsletters are making a comeback. If you don’t think you can spit out a whole book, start with a newsletter. That’s what I did.

4. If you’re considering writing non-fiction or a memoir or how-to (or all three, which is what I did with Get DARE From Here!) to express yourself, be careful about “telling all.” Be sure to think very carefully about what, how and when you want to tell all by publishing, and what your overall objective is for doing so. Edit, edit, edit. Have someone else close to you read it. Then, be sure to consider the consequences before hitting “send.”

5. As a first time author you might want to bypass so-called legacy publishers, and work instead with an extremely creditable Amazon affiliate, Create Space. For an upfront investment less than many New York salons charge for one haircut, you can work with a publisher that will help you take your worthwhile message, articulate prose and proofreading stamina the whole distance. Or check out LinkedIn’s new publishing platform.

6. If you really want to express yourself fully and with little or no inhibition, write poetry or fiction instead, perhaps short stories or a novel. If you have the discipline and stamina to write and/or edit for at least an hour every day, and publish your novel or series of short stories with a reputable author-publishing service, you need to gain a following via social that helps you sell at least 5,000 units. Who knows, you just might grab the attention of a publisher who will want to sign you to a contract to publish your next book(s). It’s not as much of a long shot as you might think.

This time around, I chose non-fiction, as it had long been my goal to publish a book about and for mature, intelligent and motivated professionals. I’m thinking that my next book, if there is one, will be fiction. No way I will be hanging around in my pajamas to do it. There are easier, faster ways to get a book done these days than ever before. 

Click here to check out “Get DARE From Here!” My book, “Get DARE From Here!” – 12 Principles and Practices for Women Over 40 to Take Stock, Take Action and Take Charge of the Rest Of Their Lives – is available on Amazon.

 

Over 40 and Between a Rock and a Hard Place? Maybe Your Transition Ambition Needs More Marketing Ignition!

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Many executives in transition between jobs, or those who are employed but job-hunting, feel overwhelmed, discouraged and listless, to the point where procrastination becomes the rule and not the exception.

If this sounds too familiar to you, here are 12 thought-starters to ignite your might – based on sound marketing principles and my own experience as a hiring manager and job hunter over the years. Some of these are common sense, but they bear revisiting:

  1. situpsYou’ve got to move it, move it! The cliché of the job-hunter sitting around watching daytime TV in a bathrobe is so insulting but it persists and usually the photo shows a middle-aged person with fuzzy slippers and a bowl of chips in their arms. Let’s mash that myth and bash the biases that persist. At least five days a week, get up at the same time you used to when you were working full-time – or even earlier – and do some exercise that will get your brain as well as your heart pumping. Every day a new study comes out indicating the brainpower-boosting benefits of exercise. Doesn’t matter what you do, just move it, for at least five hours a week.
  2. Can we see a form of I.D.? I’m astounded at the number of job hunters who, because they’ve left a company’s employ, don’t carry their own business cards! It doesn’t matter who you were at your former company and what you did, if you don’t have a card that tells prospects who you are now, your expertise and what you’re seeking in your next position, you’re communicating that you are in a “holding pattern” with no contact information for the people you meet who actually want to keep your info handy. Always have business cards with you, even if you’re 22 and your card reads: “(Name) Hopeful Social Media Guru.”
  3. Would you like some company – any company? Isn’t it better to know the company you want to keep? To that end, have a top ten list of firms you want to work for, and do diligent research on them – their financials, their “About Us” information, their products’ challenges, etc. Make sure you also understand the “soft” side of the job hunt: what does their website convey in terms of style, culture and values? Can you connect with employees at various companies, through your LinkedIn network? If not, your search reeks of wanting to just land anywhere, and hiring managers can see right through that kind of desperation.
  4. Cover your assets – again and again. Who are you, what do you want, and how can the specific organization you’re contacting utilize your experience and expertise? A resume is not enough: many job hunters over 40 fail to realize that cover letters regarding the specific company’s market position, financial profile or other personalized insights can land them in an “A” pile that makes the resume a secondary priority. State your career objectives in cover letters, comment on specifics, detail clearly why you’re interested in the organization, and then customize your resume accordingly.
  5. Coffee, tea or what? Does your resume sell your strengths, fit and motivation to the organization you’re pitching? Not customizing your resume to serve the type of opportunity you’re seeking is like writing the same ad copy to sell food, wine or electronics. Customize your resume to the company you’re pitching.
  6. linked in buttonMissing Links? Get on it! LinkedIn, that is. With 259 million members in over 200 countries, most of them professionals, LinkedIn is where every recruiter, hiring manager, prospective client, customer, and employees will look to see your profile after they first learn about you – whether it’s via an email, cover letter, resume or phone message. I’m all for Facebook, but if you’re serious about your job search, then you should know that hiring managers from all over the world pay a special premium to LinkedIn so they get access to the best candidates. If the cover letter is “Hello” and the resume is “Here’s my background” then LinkedIn is your employment ad. If you’re not on LinkedIn, you’re missing the most important link of all.
  7. Who cares? Make sure you know the answer to that question by listing all the people you already know that could help you in your job hunt. Are they connectors, mentors or sponsors? Connectors can help you access information or introductions. Mentors guide and advise. Sponsors – the most valuable resources – are like your personal agents. Sponsors can be advocates and ambassadors for your candidacy.
  8. And Now A Word From Your Sponsor. Identify, research and cultivate at least five sponsors. Work that list, contact them for informational interviews by phone or Skype, and persuade them to introduce you to potential hiring managers or clients.
  9. Nada da Prada! As important and perhaps more so than individuals who genuinely care about you and will vouch for you, are those who might speak badly of you in reference checks. With social networks like LinkedIn, especially, employers can contact almost anyone who’s ever worked with or for you. If your default management style is like that of the Meryl Streep character in The Devil Wears Prada but you’re not applying for a low-level job in the fashion industry, then you’ll have a lot of explaining to do.
  10. Forget about beating ‘em, you’ve got to join ‘em! Lack of replies or interest in your cover letter and resume got you down? Get over it! The best way to access and approach hiring managers at the companies you want to work for is by attending low-cost meetings of professional groups and associations that represent their industries. Once you’ve attended a few networking events, you can choose the ones you want to join, and you should join, because association memberships are like passports to foreign countries. You declare your affinity, you become active on pertinent committees, and you enhance your positive visibility with people who can mentor, connect and sponsor you. LinkedIn groups are also perfect for this. Join selectively and comment strategically; not only will you increase your visibility, you’ll increase your connections. If you have the time and energy, start a blog, but it’s not essential.
  11. Friends and Family help you stay in it to win it. Not only do friends and family provide moral support, they can be great drill sergeants to help you maintain your sense of urgency, stick to deadlines and assume responsibility and accountability for your search.
  12. Do it full time, lose the fool time. Yeah, I know, tough love for job hunters, but if you’re really serious about the hunt, you should be working on it at least 9-to-5 every day, and not by surfing job sites, emailing people who don’t know you and, worse, who don’t care. Instead, use your evening and weekend hours to do research on your priority companies and hiring managers, customize your resume, or draft intro letters to those you want to meet. Your weekdays should be spending in meetings with connectors, influencers and hiring managers, or attending the strategic networking events these important resources also attend.

 

Are You Suffering from Deadline Dandruff? Here’s How to MAKE SOME HEADWAY!

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deadlines clockAre you procrastinating? Most mature professionals are juggling multiple roles and responsibilities, and often fear or resist tackling something out of their comfort zone. The reason, subconscious or otherwise, is that they think, after that’s done, well, then what? Or, they postpone finishing up a project or relationship or other endeavor because their daily lives demand it. For them, it’s other people’s priorities that drive them.

Other women turn prioritizing, organizing and meeting deadlines into a science; still others know it’s closer to an art. Even then, their to-do lists are filled with what amounts to “deadline dandruff” rather than actual “Big Deal” accomplishments that help them move forward toward a significant goal. So, what have they actually accomplished – except to knock some deadline dandruff off their minds, without actually making any – pardon the pun – HEADWAY.

But there comes a point in our lives or schedules or to-do lists that we realize it’s later than we think. It’s now or never. If not now, then when? One of my favorite authors, Seth Godin, writes in his kick-ass book called Linchpin that at some point you have to be content with “good enough,” and moving quickly to get the mundane things on your to-do list out of the way, off the list, done, and done.

Godin calls it “SHIPPING” – as in, get it out the door! On the other hand, SHIPPING is hard. SHIPPING means you’re acknowledging that you have only so much time in your life to perfect the project, or resuscitate the relationship, or primp up the place before you have to declare it whipped, zipped and shipped. We all tend to seek out something to tackle that will soothe or entertain our frazzled nerves right now, because it’s so much easier than doggedly completing a really critical task or a long overdue project that will deliver actual benefits.

So, go ahead, Ship it! Schedule it, work on it, get it done. Whip it! Zip it! Ship it! Stop procrastinating! This will help:

1) Create a to-do list that has a BIG-THREE, MUST-DO-TODAY mandate. This may seem like “duh.” But limiting yourself to those BIG-THREE, MUST-DO-TODAY on some days, helps you prioritize what’s really critical. Even if those BIG-THREE items have multiple parts, just getting past those smaller hurdles will help you conquer the BIG THREE. But remember, writing it down is important, but merely writing it down WON’T MAKE IT HAPPEN. We have to actually take action and do that thing that’s long overdue. Recent studies are showing that writing things down and telling people you’re “doing that” can actually delude us into thinking we’ve actually DONE IT – and we know the truth. It doesn’t get done until you get it done – or SHIPPED!

2) Do the hard one first. Tackle that biggest looming item first. It will give you a boost, (and a sense of relief) which will help you finish the other jobs more easily.

deadlines eat that frogBrian Tracey calls this “Eating the Frog.” Check out his book, Eat That Frog, 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. He doesn’t delve too deeply into the psychological whys and wherefores of procrastination, but goes straight to the “do” heart of the matter. In clear and concise terms he instructs you to tackle your “frog,” that one task that will lend the greatest results first. Eating that biggest, ugliest frog on your to do list each morning can greatly increase your sense of accomplishment. This book is an easy read, and it might be a good one to read before going to sleep, since that supposedly aids in moving your unconscious self to action.

3) Do 15-minute-drills: Fake yourself out. Just tell yourself, “I will do only 15 minutes on this job, and then I can do something else.” Very often, you get into a groove, lose track of the time, and you find you are still working at it after the 15 minutes is up. But remember, you have to SHIP it by an urgent deadline – imposed by you or someone else.

4) Clear away distractions. Turn off your phone, log OUT of Facebook or Pinterest, try noise-cancelling headphones, and put your novel, i-pod, or whatever, in another room.

5) Let go of perfectionism. Don’t wait for the “right” time, or the “right” piece of software before you can complete the job. Remember, Voltaire said, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” Aim for excellent, not perfect.

6) Promise yourself a reward: A treat you can look forward to will provide
some additional incentive to get the job done. Or tell yourself you can’t have
that Starbucks coffee or hot chocolate until you have completed the task;
negative reinforcement sometimes works as well!

There are many more helpful ideas in my book, Get DARE from Here™! – 12 Principles and Practices for Women Over 40 to Take Stock, Take Action and Take Charge of the Rest of Their Lives. Here are a few:

1. 90-Day ACTion PLAN: DARE to establish and commit to conscientious habits for achieving your Aims. You need an ACTion plan that requires you to tackle at least one Aim every day that will get your closer to ADVANCE your PLAN, and it is helpful to manage our time in chunks, so we can see three months out.

2. Design your life: Looking back on your life in your 80s or 90s, what would you like your life to look like? How can you make changes today so that Design is enacted?

3. Know your three most important Aims you have for your life, career, and community. What do you need to do to enhance your ideal Design?

4. Identify three ACTS toward any of those Aims that you could start in the next three months, and the resources you will Access & Approach to help you. 90-day plans, why they help manage chunks of our time so we see three months out.


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© The DARE-Force Corporation, 2015. 


Check out Liz Weinmann’s book, Get DARE from Here™! – 12 Principles and Practices for Women Over 40 to Take Stock, Take Action and Take Charge of the Rest of Their Lives, by Liz DiMarco Weinmann, MBA. All rights reserved. 


All of the content on this website and in the other content-driven products and services of The DARE-Force Corporation are based on sound business principles and practices of strategy, operations, leadership and marketing, and on current and emerging trends in those referenced business principles and practices. None of the content on this website, nor in the other content-driven products and services of The DARE-Force Corporation, are intended to be, nor should they be, perceived as, practiced as, or applied as, counsel, diagnosis, or treatment for any implicit or explicit mental, emotional or physical health challenges.