Category: Corporate Games

In Shaunti Feldhahn’s new book
The Male Factor,
she explores the differences
between males and females in the workplace.

In a survey of 3,000 men,
their main issues with female coworkers
were that women take things too personally,
they get too emotional,
and they don’t let issues go.

“The men may say,
‘Well, I disagree with you about that,’
or ‘That’s fine.’
Then they walk away and it’s over.
It’s not really that way with women,
even senior women.”

I don’t have time
to revisit past decisions.
Once the group has come to a decision,
I roll with it,
whether I agree or disagree.
If I find myself dwelling on a past decision,
I know I don’t have enough to do.

Let the past go,
and that dumbass decision the board just made?
That’s the past.

My first sex scenes were horrible.
I knew they were horrible
so I approached a writer who wrote okay sex scenes
and asked her what I was doing wrong.
She told me,
flattered that I had asked,
and I applied those lessons to my writing.

My next sex scenes were okay.
I knew they were okay
so I approached a writer who wrote good sex scenes
and asked her what I was doing wrong.
She told me,
flattered that I had asked,
and I applied those lessons to my writing.

My sex scenes reached the good level.
I knew they were good
but not great
so I approached a writer who wrote great sex scenes
and asked her what I was doing wrong.
Flattered that I,
a published writer with good sex scenes,
had asked,
this gifted sex scene writer is currently mentoring me.

People constantly say to learn from the best.
That’s a load of hooey,
and almost impossible to do.
Great people want to mentor good people,
not horrible people.

Climb the mentor ladder.
Once your skills reach the good level,
THEN target the best people as your mentors.

Recent research from
the UK charity Business in the Community
states that
8 out of 10 female managers
and half of male managers
believe that balancing work and family
is the biggest barrier to advancement
for women.

The second highest rated reason
is lack of senior or visibly successful role models.
In other words,
if there aren’t already women executives
in the companies women work for,
they are unlikely to become executives.

I’ve known female friends
who have reached executive status
in male centric organizations.

They, unfortunately, did NOT rise
through the ranks.
(I’ve had friends attempt that route
and they were all frustratingly unsuccessful)

They went to a female-friendly organization,
built their skills there,
until they reached executive status.
They THEN did a lateral career move
into the male centric organizations.

It is easier to break the glass ceiling
when you are in a position of power.
Build your power base
before you change the world.

I read that a band was outraged
because an online reseller listed the coming soon date
for their new album
before the band had the opportunity
to formally announce they were releasing an album.
Where did the online reseller get this information?
From the band’s label.

The folks at Wikileaks
are still in hot water
for releasing information
sources came to THEM to distribute.

Here’s the thing, dumb asses…
if you want to keep information secret,
DON’T tell anyone.

When we worked on new product launches,
we would give them silly names
so outsiders
(i.e. anyone not on the product launch team)
wouldn’t know what we were talking about.
We didn’t tell customer service or send press releases.
We only told people
who absolutely HAD to know
and those people we trusted not to yap.
When we went to our resellers
with the product launch,
we assumed our competitors
were receiving a copy of our presentations
(and often they did).
At that point, it was public information.

WE bore responsibility
for any secret information revealed too soon
because it was OUR fault.

If you want to keep information secret,
keep the information to yourself.

Yesterday, two writers asked me
to critique their short stories.

Giving a good critique is tough.
(And I must be okay at it
because the stories I critique get published
and the writers return for more critiques).
The writer usually knows
there is something not working
with the story.
That’s why she wants a critique.
She also believes in the story
enough to save it
(otherwise it would go into the trash bin).

So the feedback has to be critical
yet not destroy her faith in the work
(it is challenging to sell a work
you don’t believe in).

In a critique,
I first tell the writer everything that
I love about the story.
This outlines what doesn’t need changing.
It tells her that “Yes, the story is worth saving.”

Then I tell her
what I believe could be added
to make it stronger.
I’ll say something like
“As a reader, I expected…”
or
“As a reader, I wanted to see more of…”
or
“I didn’t expect the heroine to do…”
or
“Is that the ending you TRULY wanted to write?”

I don’t provide solutions.
Solutions belong to the writer
(it is HER story,
and she has to retain ownership of it).
I point out problems.

It is the opposite of what a project manager would do
but then…
I’m NOT in the project manager role,
I’m giving a critique.

I interviewed yesterday
with a large, well-known company.
The manager asked me
why I wanted to work for the company.
I said because it was X company,
a market leader.

She made a face.

So I asked her how she felt about her company.
She spent the next fifteen minutes
telling me
about everything that was wrong with the company.

At the end of the interview,
my view of this company
had changed permanently.
I won’t be taking a position there.

This manager interviewed
at least a dozen candidates.
I suspect that all of us
got her tirade on the company she works for.

When you interview prospective employees,
you are representing your company.
The best people work for the best companies.
If you market your company as a ‘loser’,
the only individuals interested in being hired
will be ‘losers’.

Prospective employees sell themselves
in interviews
but the interviewer sells also.
You sell the role, and the company.
If you can’t do that,
you shouldn’t be hosting the interviews.

Every time I go for an interview
for a business gig
in a corporate environment,
the first thing I’m asked
is…
do I have this or that software experience?
Have I used Excel?
Have I used Access?
Have I used Accpac or Oracle Financial Analyzer or…?

This is a silly question,
and I always say yes,
I’m familiar with the software,
whether I know it or not.
(If I say no,
they won’t even give me an interview.)

I’m not a programmer.
I’m a finance gal.
Within the space of a weekend,
I can learn the basics of any finance tool,
and usually the basics are all I need.

If I’m stuck
or I need to do something fancy,
I simply do a Google search
on what I’m trying to do.

Are you eliminating otherwise qualified people
because they don’t know a software
your other employees spent a day learning?
(Because that is all the training
finance folks usually get on new software
before implementation)

Why?

Two months ago,
I received a certificate of recognition.
At the time,
I scoffed at the piece of paper,
telling a loved one
that the stamp used to send it
was wasted.

I still have that certificate of recognition.
And I’ve done more for that organization
than I would have done
if I hadn’t received the certificate.

Yes, a piece of colorful paper
caused this busy gal
to contribute more time
to an organization I’m not especially passionate about.

Recognition counts.

As Ned Hallowell says
“When a person feels recognized
and connected to the larger group,
she knows viscerally,
not just intellectually,
that she has made a contribution
others value.
Not only does this motivate her to do more
and try harder,
but it instills a desire to look out for the larger group….
It leads a person to do the right thing
even when no one is looking.”

Send out those thank you letters,
those silly certificate of recognition.
They work.

A loved one is anti-establishment.
He uses his different views
as a reason why
he can’t find a job in corporate.

That’s bullshit.

And it is proven as bullshit
by the racy show
Running Russell Simmons.
Russell Simmons’ executive assistant
is a devout vegan
and a PETA activist.
She has passionate views,
yet she found a corporate environment
where she not only survives
but thrives.

I don’t care if my loved one
ever finds a job in corporate.
I do care that he makes stupid excuses
for not doing so.

Passion will always find a place
for appreciation.

At any large party I attend,
I always meet someone
(usually female)
who introduces herself as just…
just an accountant
just a romance writer
just a mother of three.

Nothing drives me crazier.

No one else is thinking
‘oh, she’s JUST an accountant.’
Every job/role is important.

I’m a romance writer (sometimes)
and I’m damn proud of it.
I sell optimism and hope.
I manipulate my reader’s emotions
so when she ends my story,
she’s happy and hopeful.
THAT, my friend, is POWER.
I’m not just… anything.

If you catch yourself saying
‘I’m just…’,
that is YOU talking.
That is YOU not being excited about your career
and odds are,
if you’re not excited about your career,
you’re doing a piss poor job at it.

Don’t be just an anything.
Find purpose in your career
or a career with purpose.
You have one life to change the world.