Successful Blog

5 Ways to Survive Hard Times Without Ending Up Unemployed

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Job Anxiety Is Real–and It’s Global

Gorilla_from_sxc.hu

These are not normal times. Two changes in the past decade have produced a huge global oversupply of labor and intense competition for an expanding array of jobs. First, the Cold War’s end threw millions of workers, who formerly produced only for the socialist bloc, onto the global labor market. And second, that market has become integrated by technological change that now permits outsourcing of service as well as manufacturing jobs. Carnegie Endowment

As if we didn’t know that.

And it has some of us worried. Who doesn’t need to eat tomorrow or pay the rent?

Worrying doesn’t bring anything to build new business. Waiting for the other shoe to drop doesn’t build confidence. It doesn’t matter if we’re working in an office or working for ourselves, letting the bad news stop our progress will only make things worse.

Taking action and putting both feet in the game with all we’ve got is the way to make it though hard economic times.

5 Ways to Survive Hard Times Without Ending Up Unemployed

During hard economic times, people turn inward, we want to take care of our own worries and our own spaces. We tend to have less money, less time, and less energy to socialize. Here are 5 ways to stay a productive part of the environment in which you work.

  1. Pay attention. When people are worried or stressed, they are more easily offended and set off balance. If you notice them and their concerns, you’ll be a source of support rather than an irritant.

  2. Be adaptable. Change often comes with trying times. Be someone who moves easily through change. Help keep things stable for the culture to realign. Notice the vision that your managers or clients are espousing. Don’t try to teach them how to think. Learn about what makes them tick.

  3. Be beginner every day. Show up and be present as if you’re starting your first week of work. Keep interested and interesting. Be anxious to take your boss’ or your clients’ advice. Now’s a great time to learn knew skills with enthusiasm.

  4. Be aware. Explore your own anxiety. Don’t dismiss it. Know what it’s about and determine whether your concerns are real.

  5. Be realistic. Compare the current situation with your past. Do you see patterns that match others? Is it time to break out a resume or start looking for new clients? Sometimes it’s good to just go.

When times are tough the first place people look to save money are points of pain and points of redundant or superfulous spending. It’s as simple as that.

And if you find your life has a new job in the future. . . .

Be creative and don’t forget to ask for help.

How do you stay focused and productive in hard economic times?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Would You Help Me Answer this Man Who Has a Dream?

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The Comment and the Dream

Personal Identity logo

In January, 2008, I wrote a strategy called How to Make Your Dream Come True — Thought, Strategy, Action. The article included these steps (abbreviated here).

  1. Define the dream.
  2. Define where you sit.
  3. Plot your strategy.
  4. Detail your needs.
  5. Determine your commitment.
  6. Enlist support and advocates.
  7. Write the story.
  8. Know how you’ll ask.
  9. Define yourself by the dream.

Yesterday. September 30, 2008, a man wrote two comments in response. I bring them forward here unedited.

September 30th, 2008 at 4:28 pm e
Pama said Hello,
I’m writing because I have nothing to lose except to not fulling my dream. I cannot allow my dream to just remain only my dream. I must make it into reality. About five years before 9-11-01 I had a thought, a way I could earn a living, travel and help our US Military families and our fallen hero families. I had defined my dream, worked up my plan of action, worked with success to make it all happen. Then as I was almost to seeing my dream to into reality two things happened to set me back lightyears. I was hit hard but not yet down. Rebuilt, regrouped and moved forward again. Life was helping me realize my dream again. Then like a bad storm, 2005 hit me slap in the face. Left with very little and a buring dream still not fulfilled. Its been years, stories, hopes, hard work and I am in my later fifties now. I have not giving up but the endless goals to reach my dream are showing its toll on me and my money stream. I have never once asked for money, nor have I asked for help from others out side of my mother (in her 80s now). I want to see my dream through to its highest potential. Any advise would be much needed and applied to my goal of realizing my dream. Thank you for your blog site and I have enjoyed your wisdom. Pama

September 30th, 2008 at 4:41 pm e
Pama said Please forgive me for all the misselled words and bad grammer, half thoughts. I was typing straight from my heart, not my mind. I knew if I stopped long enough to make the needed corrections I would chicken out and never hit the send Submit Button. Hope you understand, writing here is a huge step for me. Thanks again, Pama

military rose_from_geek_philosopher

Dear Pama,

I sit staring at the months-old blog post where you left this comment yesterday. I wish I knew more about your situation. I have many questions. I’ll simply respond this sentence that implies whether you should keep going on.

I have not giving up but the endless goals to reach my dream are showing its toll on me and my money stream.

Be certain that you’re not moving forward because you don’t want to give up. It’s human to hold onto a losing battle because we don’t want to think we lost. We put our head down and end up losing more because we don’t see that we’ve changed, the game has changed, and so has the world. So reevaluate before you keep go for that dream. Stop. Go somewhere. Sit on the side of a mountain. Think of life without it. Then if you go again, start from the beginning and know exactly what dream you’re going for.

That way you’ll be certain the dream is still out there. After all, once upon a time a boy could dream of leading a caravan across the desert. That choice has gone.

You’ve never asked for help. . . . why not?

Seeking knowledge and requesting someone’s aid in moving something forward is willingness to show a commitment to your dream and to yourself. Asking for help can be an investment in a relationship. It also allows the giver a chance to be generous and to contribute what they do far better than you ever will be able to do. Mostly importantly, it elevates your cause by allowing others to be part.

Asking for help is a sign of trust. Is your dream big enough to share? Can you trust folks to be part of your dream?

Those are my thoughts. I hope they’re even close to where you are.
I wish you hope, energy, and the wisdom you need.

Liz

If You’re Reading . . .

Please help me answer this man who has a dream. Add to my response or correct what I’ve gotten wrong.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

The Mic is On: It’s about Shiny Object Syndro-

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It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

The Mic Is On

Here’s how it works.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

Oh Look!

Surely, you’ve heard of Shiny Object Syndrome — that behavior that allows any small change to be a distraction. Are you plagued by it? Shiny objects seem to be everywhere these days. Tonight we’re talking about shiny objects:

  • Do you get distracted easily?
  • Is it getting harder and harder to hold people’s attention?
  • Do you think shiny objects are a bigger problem than they once were?
  • Is shiny object syndrome only found on the Internet?

    • ahem . . .

shiny object

And, whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey . . . and flamenco dancing (because we always get off topic, anyway.)

Oh, and bring example links of shiny objects to share.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
image: sxc.hu
Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

Open Mic 7pm Chgo Time: It’s about Shiny Object Syndr-

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Join Us Tonight

Oh Look at . . .

Surely, you’ve heard of Shiny Object Syndrome — that behavior that allows any small change to be a distraction. Are you plagued by it? Shiny objects seem to be everywhere these days.

  • Do you get distracted easily?
  • Is it getting harder and harder to hold people’s attention?
  • Do you think shiny objects are a bigger problem than they once were?
  • Is shiny object syndrome only found on the Internet?

    • ahem . . .

Oh, and bring example links to share — shiny objects are fun.

The rules are simple — be nice.

Do be nice. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

Have You Organized Your Social Media Thinking Lately?

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Answers Included

The Living Web

You may be wondering about this organized thinking . . . I’ve been asked twice in the past few weeks to write up educational standards for writing social media training materials. This part two of that endeavor.

I’ve found that organizing my thinking around social media has been a good thing. Have you organized your thinking lately?

It’s a

Social Media Expertise Pop Quiz

Don’t worry it comes complete with answers.

Answer Key

Knowledge — click twice to see the image in its largest form.

Conversation Prism

Comprehension — Key values include

  • Markets are conversations in control of customers.
  • Great products connect people to people.
  • Permission and attraction gain attention.
  • Customers remix what was consistent.
  • Helpful and relevant beats hypeful and sell-avant.

Application — One possible answer might be:

  • LinkedIn — because you’re in the biotech industry. Your key influencers are already there. Start a group with a biweekly article submission from your R&D staff. Investment of about 5-10 hours setting up a profile and connecting initially and then about 5-10 hours/month.
  • A blog to keep current information flowing and start connecting with key customers through interviews and articles.
  • Twitter — because a background study has shown that younger members of your industry are there. Find one employee to champion both Twitter and the blog. Choose this employee as you would choose any outward facing informational representative of the company.

Analysis — We’ll know what’s working by the response. We’ll get relevant, interesting human answers and comments. When we ask questions, real customers will give us real feedback. Measurement to be determined by goals of the client.

Synthesis and Evaluation These are agreements made with the client, but they should be specific, quantifiable and measurable.

What Do You Care?

Whatever you do in some manner you’re a teacher. If you look at the list in the pop quiz above what’s laid out there is merely a list for organizing thinking of subject matter from art lessons to how to cook. Take a long look.

Just as it’s a fine and fun thing now and then to clean off my desk. It’s a delight to do some serious organized thinking. We’ll now return to my right brain and creativity for the rest of the week.

How have you organized your thinking lately?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Related
PART ONE: A Rubric for Social Media Expertise

Do You See Your Wallflower Self Wrong?

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Ever Seen One?

Yesterday at Brogan’s blog, Mark Hayward wrote a great post about being shy when attending conferences and other social situations. He called it Wallflower Syndrome.

Perhaps you’ve had some experience with that condition?
I have and still have moments when it returns. Truth is if I don’t plan well, a room filled with new people easily can shake my thinking.

I read what Mark wrote with interest and found a lot of what I do in his suggestions, but what surprised me what the photo that he chose to illustrate the feelings of wallflower-edness. He picked a sweet kitten in the grass.

Maybe that’s been part of the problem . . . I’ve been seeing the wallflower me all wrong.

Somehow I had this picture in my head that wallflowers were scraggly. dark green, barely surviving plant-like things. In my fish-eye imagination, a wallflower was a limp spinach mess with small wilted purple petals in a brown granny dress sitting in front of yellowing wallpaper.

How did I get that picture in my head?

Awkward and ugly was what wallflower always meant to me.

From junior high school school dances to certain networking events since,
that image of a spinach thing in a granny dress defined me the first second I felt shy or self-conscious in a group of more than three.

If I made the unfortunate mistake of walking near a wall, the game would soon before I could miss the thought of a wallflower and the image would make me feel even smaller.

Wallflower_from_sxc.hu

Then this morning, I saw this picture of a wallflower.

I’m feeling sort of duped and wondering . . .

I’m thinking that I’ve been seeing my wallflower self all wrong. I wonder whether you’ve been doing that?

What if I had seen myself as Mark’s kitten or known a wallflower could look like this one? Would shyness have been a different experience?

Do you suppose that could make a difference?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!