Personal branding lessons learned from Gulf SpillAfter a few Memorial Day get togethers over the weekend, I realized how many oil spill experts I know. The terms of this disaster have become common, everyday topics. From blowout preventers to top kills, everyone knows this deep water nomenclature. Amid this catastrophe, are some lessons in personal branding. Read more
Ready to leave your day job and make your hobby your career?Do you dream of leaving your day job and making a career of a hobby? Rick Field made it happen. As a VH-1 producer, he had created a very successful career at the center of breaking pop culture. But, on the weekends he used his grandmother’s recipes and methods to pickle anything that came to mind – from cucumbers to cauliflower. Read more
Each week, the Fast Track Tools training company and the Cubicle Ninjas design firm work together to publish a template that makes it easier for you to communicate your ideas. This week, we developed a simple layout to compare the advantages and disadvantages of any topic. Read more
Reward employees oftenUnemployment may be at 9.6%, but it’s rare to find any employee in America who says there is 9.6% less work to do. In fact, it is just the opposite. Employees are working harder. How do we reward this hard work? The trend in 2010 was to unfreeze pay and reinstate 401k programs. Without spending millions, leaders can go a step further. Read more
How to organize ideas for a presentation – the envelope methodYou have one hour to present, but 67 key items that support your topic. How do you decide which one will make the cut? Now, complicate things even more. The 67 facts, stories and supporting evidence have been provided by five colleagues who are helping you prepare for the presentation. Read more
Each week, the Fast Track Tools training company and the Cubicle Ninjas design firm work together to publish a template that makes it easier for you to communicate your ideas. This week we bring you a unique way to present an idea or strategy with three distinct action oriented elements. Read more
How to prepare to answer all interview questions with 5 responsesHaving conducted thousands of interviews in my career, I find candidates are either under- or over-prepared for the interview. While I prefer someone who is well prepared, the under-prepared candidate still does better than the one with scripted and canned responses. Read more
10 commandments for presentersIf you want to be a better presenter, speak to someone who listens to a lot of presentations. In most companies, that would include someone in procurement or any department that does a lot of buying. Erik Halverson at eBay perfectly fits the bill. Read more
Each week, the Fast Track Tools training company and the Cubicle Ninjas design firm work together to publish a template that makes it easier for you to communicate your ideas. This week we bring you a library of “Harvey Balls,” better known as the little circles from Consumer Reports. Read more
Persuasion takes time and repetitionMinds can change after hearing a single presentation, but more often, it takes significant pre-work and follow-up to convince your listeners to take action. You may have a great story or metaphor that makes your idea “sticky,” but to really change behavior, you may have to think about extending the metaphor. Read more