Malcolm O. Munro - The "Career Fitness" Coach

Opportunity Knocks for Everyone...

Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas Edison

This week I'm in Orlando, FL on two different projects.  The one I did today was a workshop on social networking for the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC).  It turned out great and I had a lot of positive feedback, but the one thing my attendees need to do now is to implement a strategy.  In other words, this opportunity will take some action. 

I'm convinced that everyone has equal access to opportunities and luck.  This is encouraging to me because I've run into a lot of people that complain that the only luck they get is bad luck.  Now keep in mind that some circumstances are bad.  Not a whole lot we can do about that.  The part we can control is the actions  we take in spite of them.  Most of you are familiar with Kentucky Fried Chicken.  You may not know that a set of bad circumstances for its founder, Harland Sanders was the very reason for it's success today.

Sanders had a very successful restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky and achieved a lot of fame and money from it.  However, in the 1950’s a new interstate highway was planned that would bypass Corbin. Recognizing that his business was doomed, Sanders sold off his restaurant operations and after paying his bills, was reduced to living on his $105 a month Social Security checks. Confident in the quality of his fried chicken, at 62 years old, Sanders devoted himself to franchising his famous chicken. He drove all over the country, cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and their employees. If the reaction was favorable, he entered into a handshake agreement on a deal that stipulated a payment to him of a nickel for each chicken the restaurant sold. By 1964, Colonel Sanders had more than 600 franchised outlets for his chicken in the United States and Canada.  Ironically, he was turned down 1,099 times before he finally found a buyer.  That's what you call making the most of circumstance and taking advantage of an opportunity.

So what about you?  What are you struggling with that could be turned into a great opportunity?  Another famous person, Thomas Jefferson, was said to have  remarked, "the harder I work, the more luck I seem to find."  We live in a time where, with the leverage of technology, everyone has a fair shot at greatness.  You can publish your own books, create your own record label, run your own virtual radio station, or pretty much anything else you'd like to do.  The future is for each of us to create, not to become victims of.

I'm excited for the opportunities ahead.  I hope you are too!

What's Underneath Your Mask?

This past weekend we celebrated my favorite holiday, Halloween!  I'm not sure why I enjoy it, maybe it's all the skeletons (you probably know I love skeletons - just look at my clothing line at www.greyskullattitude.com) out there or perhaps just the huge amount of candy my kids bring home. 

It seems I'm not alone.  The average family in the U.S. spends about $40.00 on just candy.  Then there are the adults who really get into the season by donning elaborate costumes.  People seem to enjoy wearing masks and being somebody different if just for one night.

I find in my line of work that many people wear masks each and every day at work.  Martha Beck, in her  book Finding Your Own North Star speaks of these as a person's Social Self.  It's the part of us that does the sensible thing rather than what our desires and wants tell us to do.  Now don't think this means without the Social Self we'll do a bunch of deviant things, it means we often hold back what's really important to us in favor of what we think the others around us want us to be.  If you're wearing this kind of mask, life for you can be even more frightening than a bad dream with Freddy Krueger in it!

Sunday night I did a workshop with a bunch of high school students using a personality instrument.  My purpose was to help them discover early on, what their personality preferences were.  If they can figure this out early in life, before making career and relationship changes, I think it will help them make choices that will eliminate the need to wear the mask later in life.  We had a great time!  I hope they can take the information they learned and put it to use.

So what about you?  What mask are you wearing?  More importantly, what is under the mask that you wish you could show every day? If you're not sure, maybe the following questions can help you sort it out:

• What motivates you besides money?
• What kind of activities recharge your batteries?
• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• What types of people are you drawn to?
• Where do you see yourself (realistically) in 20 years?
• What will you want people to say about you at your memorial service?

These are the kinds of questions that reveal what's under the mask.   I believe you can operate as the REAL you on a daily basis if you become familiar with the REAL you and work to align that with the career you're working for.  I've been able to do that and I no longer dread Mondays.  

Why not take the time this week to do some self discovery?  If you succeed,  you can proudly proclaim that you've experienced a "Halloween Miracle!"

Lessons Learned from the Marine Corps Marathon

As you may know, this past Sunday I completed my second Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC.  As I did two years ago, I thought I'd share some of my lessons learned that of course can be applied to  everyday life (unless of course you're planning on running a marathon, then you can apply them there too!).

I didn't finish as fast as the first year, but actually felt a little better as my knee didn't bother me like it did before.  My finish time was a slow 5 hours and 19 minutes.  Not bad considering I was about 19,000 out of 30,000 so there were still runners crossing the finish line when I was on that sardine can we call the Metro on my way home.

So here are my lessons learned:

1. Once you've accomplished something, you'll always have the confidence you'll do it again.  Having done this two years ago, it never crossed my mind that I couldn't do it.  That's pretty nice to have the internal voice of confidence!  Are you looking to previous victories to boost your confidence?
    
2. Keep learning!  During and after my 2007 marathon, my left knee was really hurting me.  I thought my distance running days might be over.  Fortunately, my daughter's soccer coach at the time was a personal trainer and got me using a foam roller to loosen the muscle around my knee.  It did the trick!  No knee pain this year and a new lesson learned.  What have you learned lately?
    
3. Let people know your goal so you can be accountable to achieve it.  This year I posted a link on my Facebook page allowing my friends to track my progress.  Each time I was tired or  discouraged, I remembered that people were watching me and expecting me to finish.  It really helps to be accountable.  Who else is aware of your goals?  Are you accountable to them?
    
4. Never pass on an opportunity to promote something.  This year I launched my clothing line:  Grey Skull Attitude.  It was my milestone when I turned 45 this year.  The premise is that age is just a number, it's the attitude that makes the difference.  You can view my site at http://www.greyskullattitude.com.  I wore my shirt during the run and that too kept me from stopping.  No worse advertising I'm "Not too old to run 26.2" if I'm crashed on the side of the road right?  What are you doing to creatively promote your business (or yourself?
    
5. Continue to set new goals.  Training for marathons is grueling, but it certainly can keep a person in shape.  Rather than do it just once a year, I think I'll tackle a Spring marathon just to keep me training during the winter.  Maybe it will become a lifestyle?  Just don't expect me to wear those  skimpy shorts the Kenyans wear.  I don't want to scare people off the course.  What new goals are 
   you setting right now?

So it's a few days off to recover now and then back to some light running.  I hope these lessons learned are helpful as you begin thinking of some goals for 2010.  It's only a few months away!

There is no "Try"

Here's this week's Words of Wisdom:
(to find out who said it, click HERE)

Do or do not...there is no "try"

This past Sunday, we took my son to the open house at Good Counsel High School in Olney, MD.  Now if you're not familiar with GC, it's a pretty high tech school with great academics and also some awesome sports teams.  The entry standards are high with only a small percentage of those applying gaining acceptance.  It's also quite expensive.  There are a limited number of scholarships  available and those are competitive as well.

After touring the school and sizing up the competition, I must admit I felt a little intimidated.  After all, how can we compete with all of those wealthy and well-connected parents with  their perfect, talented children.  Then I thought better of it.

WHY WON'T we get accepted and collect on some of those scholarships? 

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get intimidated?  We begin looking at what everyone does, and what everyone has and then get discouraged.  It's easy to look for our flaws, shortcomings, and excuses when we feel the slightest bit intimidated.  Then, we give a half-hearted effort to compete.  When that half-hearted effort fails (as any half-hearted effort will) we then shake our heads and tell everyone how unfair the whole thing is.

What a bunch of crap!

That quote above says it all.  When someone gives you a challenge, you don't TRY, you just DO!  Try means you already expect to fail and sure enough, you will.  Years ago, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar spoke of something called a "loser's limp."  It happens when a sprinter is clearly beaten and then pulls up with a limp at the finish line.  If you're going to lose, go down fighting.  Don't limp your way into second or third place!

So this week, start thinking about all the great opportunities out there you're going to go after.  Shift your thinking and you'll shift your position in life.

As for us, we're going full speed on these applications and scholarships.  My son wants to attend this school really bad and if he's willing to do it, we're with him.  I'm excited to see him excel in the music scholarship auditions and can't wait to coach him on his speech for the speech scholarship (will that be an unfair advantage?  ABSOLUTELY!!!! - but we're in it to win it right?)

What will you DO this week?

Career Lessons from Ants

As you might imagine, coming up with a posting for my blog or Career Fitness Tips each and every week can be somewhat challenging.  Most of the time, I have some strange observation from my travels that seems post-worthy, but on other weeks, like this one, I'm absolutely (figuratively) speechless. 

To help me out, I thought I'd just pick a random quote or statement from the media, books, or other places, and expound on it as a Career Fitness Tip.  If you can guess who the quote was from, I'll email you a electronic copy of one of my books.  How does that sound?

Here's this week's Words of Wisdom:

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? I want you to learn this lesson:

A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

So what does this mean for us here in the 21st Century? 

Well, you don't have to read to far into it to figure it out.  Basically, it's a call for us to work harder!  Now I know most of you would tell me you already work hard, but are you working on what matters?  If ants just build tunnels to nowhere, would they really add value?  Don't confuse hours at work with accomplishment.  If you can't tell your boss at any given moment what you're working on and WHY it matters, there's probably no value in it. 

I know this sounds harsh, but I'm absolutely convinced that a lot of people do the absolute minimum to get by and treat work as an entitlement.  If you've been laid off in this Great Recession, I know you'll never look at work as an entitlement again.  In a strange sense, it's a privilege to work. 

What do we learn from the ants?

1. Ants work hard without somebody telling them what to do.  If you're like me, you hate micromanagement.  Are you doing something that causes your boss to micromanage you?  If so, STOP DOING IT!  Be proactive and look for things to do.  Do a good job at what you do.  Don't cut corners.  Show how you're adding value.
   
   
2. Ants are proactive.  Are you anticipating what's coming down the line?  You know, it doesn't take a whole lot of inside information to figure out upcoming changes at work.  Just keep your ear to the ground and listen.  If you see something major coming your way and have the power to leverage it to your advantage, do it!  Being proactive means anticipating and then acting.  Ants don't wait for invitations do they?  Why would you?

Final thoughts?  A little extra sleep, a little folding of the hands to rest -- and poverty will pounce on you.  Hey how about not taking your job for granted and putting into cruise control?  I can't tell you how many of my career coach clients told me "I never thought they could lay me off!"  If you're not adding value, you're expendable.  Let's all commit to putting 110% into our worklife if we want it to be there for us.  And, if you're not willing, it may be time to find a different career.  No shame in that - and I'm happy to help you with that!

Now, if you can guess who the quote is from, contact me using the "Contact me" button at the top of the page and let me know.  The first correct response gets a electronic copy of my book Endeavor to Persevere: 10 Steps to Create Breakthrough in Your Personal and Professional Life!

Accept Overwhelming Change - Then Move On

Last week I wrote about leveraging change.  Maybe one of the most helpful pieces of advice would be to accept change - embrace it and move forward.

I'm always intrigued by men who are bound and determined to prevent hair loss from happening.  I noticed a guy at my son's football game yesterday who was bald, save for the "power donut" on the sides and a little patch of hair transplants right above his forehead.  It reminded me of what it looked like when my daughter cut all of the hair off her Barbie a few years ago.  I'm not sure the look fooled anyone, least of all a guy like me who long ago declared "Mission Accomplished" on hair loss and just shaved it off.

Certainly we all need to push forward to accomplish goals but when all indicators point to a loss, it's time to accept it and move on.

Some of the most popular men in Hollywood are "Bic Heads" while the guys like Donald Trump valiantly but futility try to wage war on thinning hair.  Accept defeat and move on.

I once heard a story about a child who tried as hard as he could to make the school chorus.  He just didn't have the voice.  Fortunately he had a teacher who introduced him to playing a musical instrument instead.  He became the best clarinet player in the school band and went on to become a music major in college and is now a music teacher. 

All of us have talents and gifts.  If you find yourself futilely trying to make something work and just can't make progress, reassess where you're at and find another avenue in another area.  By leveraging what we do have, we'll find the satisfaction we want in an area we may never have considered.  I had an unremarkable career in the Navy and as hard as I tried, I failed to achieve any of my goals or promotions.  My current career is a much different story.  It makes much better use of my talents and I've been able to achieve far more than I imagined and exciting opportunities and challenges come to me almost every week.   It would have never happened if I chose to slog out a full career in the Navy.

Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  He was a pretty smart guy.  Maybe we ought to follow that advice.

So this week, do a deep assessment of where you are.  Take an honest hard look at your career direction and see if you're really leveraging your gifts and talents.  If not, why not do a serious course change? 

Survive and Thrive in Times of Radical Change

One of my favorite new gadgets is my Kindle.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's an electronic book reader that stores up to 1,500 books which you order with one click from Amazon.com.  As an avid reader, it's absolutely the best gift I've ever gotten (this was for Father's Day this past year). 

Now the interesting thing is when I tell some people about it, they swear up and down they'd never use one since they like the "feel of a book in my hand."  Well I do too, but it's great not having to lick your finger to turn the page.  You just push a button.  It doesn't get much easier or more convenient.  Maybe it's just the thought of a change that derails these folks.

How do you react to changes?  Are you the kind of person who embraces change or do you run screaming from it?  Change is one of those things that you'll always run up against.  When it comes knocking at your door, what will you do?

As a young boy growing up in Southern California, I used to spend some of my summer vacation at nearby Newport Beach.  One day I remember getting dragged out a little too far from the shore and began to panic as a wave begin to build.  Not knowing what else to do, I tried to swim in to the shore but the force of the wave was too strong and it knocked me forward.  I remember coughing up sand and salt water the rest of the day.

In that scenario, I had some choices:

1. Run from the wave.  Bad idea.
2. Tell the wave to stop.  It probably wouldn't listen.
3. Dive under it.  I would just wind up further out to sea.
4. Bodysurf it in.  Use the power of the wave to bring me gently into shore.

When scary changes present themselves, look for the positive in it.  Only by leveraging that will you have what it takes to survive and thrive in times of change.

In about 10 years, people will view traditional books like we do now when we think about scrolls and chiseled tablets.  Technology is only one constant change.  What will you do when faced with personal or professional change?  Will you run?  Show defiance?  Avoid?  Why not look for ways to leverage it and you'll be much happier and far more productive.

Persistant Practice = Perfection

Find out the one thing in life you don't do well.... and don't do that thing!  The World's Most Interesting Man (Dos Equis Beer pitchman). 

Good advice?  Possibly.  Particularly if you want to live a life with stocked success.  But if you're really interested in accomplishing new challenges or mastering something you're average at right now, it's the wrong perspective.  Try working out this particular formula:

P + P = P

Translated:  Practice + Persistence = Perfection.

This year, my 13-year-old son set a goal to get recruited and receive a scholarship to a prestigious Catholic high school here in Maryland.  They have a great reputation for academics and some incredible winning football teams.  Now the tuition is really expensive but there are opportunities for scholarships.  He is bound and determined to get one.

His position in football is center.  The center's job is to snap the football to the quarterback, which is pretty easy, and then make some good blocks.  On special teams, the center has to long snap the football to the punter or the holder if it's for a field goal or extra point.  That's a challenging task.  The ball needs to fly back fast and in a perfect spiral.  It's tough to do that.

My son began late this summer practicing this task.  He watched some instructional videos, worked on techniques with one of his coaches, and then just began some persistent practice.   Each day (when I wasn't on the road) he'd ask me to come out and practice with him.  Usually almost an hour at a time.  We'd get to football practice early and he'd practice more.  Any time there was some spare time, he would practice.  In between the sessions, his mind continued to work, visualizing more perfect long snaps.

The result?  So far he is the picture of perfection with long snaps.  They sail back to the punter in a nice tight spiral.  There still is a long season ahead, but he still practices every chance he gets.  We're confident he is competitive for that scholarship.

So what are you determined to achieve?  Are you really willing to put in the hard work to get it?  Remember, perfection requires persistent practice.  It's the only way to get better. 

You can be like The Most Interesting Man in the World and simply do the things you're good at or you can challenge yourself to work hard and master what you don't do well.  I'm going to do an inventory this week of some things I'd like to master and then put a plan in place to do them.  Will you join me?

The Value of a Good Off-Season

This past weekend was opening day for my 10-year-old daughter's soccer team, the MSI Snow Leopards.  They did great, winning on both Saturday and Sunday.   

Some of the parents were commenting on how the off-season conditioning and practice the girls did really helped them dominate both of their games.  They were right!  Our girls were running circles around the other team and by the second half, the other teams were out of gas.  Their skills were great too.  It was almost if they were in mid-season form.

A strong off-season brings forth a great season.

How is your off-season conditioning going?  I'm not talking about sports either.

Most of us have seasons when it comes to our careers.  As a consultant, speaker, and trainer, my prime season runs from about February through early November.  The off-season is just a by-product of the holidays when most people aren't working.  I also have a little downtime in August.  Our colleagues in the Federal government are in their prime season now as they prepare to close the fiscal year.  Others of us in retail have our biggest season during the holidays.  No matter what, all of us have an off-season.  What we do with it can set us up for success when things get busy.

So what should your off-season look like?  Here are my suggestions:

• Rest (just a little) then get off your backside and prepare to reload!
• Take stock of what you learned during the season.  What were your successes?  Why did you have them?  Where did you fail?  Do you know why?
• Study the industry.  Take a look at emerging trends and technologies.  In my off-season I realized the economy was beginning to come back so I finished off my book The New Rules of Engagement:  How to Keep Your Superstars Loyal to You in preparation.  My Job Hunt Boot Camps may not be the hot item this year.
• Revisit your networks.  Who haven't you checked in with in awhile?  Who should you contact for some introductions?
• Look for new opportunities.  No matter what happens economically, there will always be a need for someone or something to leverage the new realities.  Where will you fit in?  How can you position yourself?
• Inventory your skill sets.  Are you up to speed on technologies, systems, and ideas that are in vogue?  If not, get busy reading or studying!

This weekend taught me the value of a productive off-season.  I'm going to prepare for mine right now, even as I go full speed in the current season.  I hope you'll do the same!

Annoying Office Buzzwords

From MSNBC

Today's most over used and abused office buzzwords are more effective at prompting eye rolls rather than real action, according to an Accountemps executive.

“When business or industry terms become overused, people stop paying attention to them,” said Accounttemps Chairman Max Messmer, who is the author of Managing Your Career For Dummies.

The staffing firm asked 150 executives from the nation’s 1,000 largest companies, “What is the most annoying or overused phrase or buzzword in the workplace today?”

Many of this year's words like "synergy," "on the same page" and "think outside the box" were also noted as exhausted in a 2004 survey.

These are 2009's office buzzwords that need to be retired:

- Leverage: As in, “We intend to leverage our investment in IT infrastructure across multiple business units to drive profits.” - Reach out: As in, “Remember to reach out to customers impacted by the change.” - It is what it is: As in, “The server is down today, and clients are irate. It is what it is.” - Viral: As in, “Our video has gone viral.” - Game changer: As in, “Transitioning from products to solutions was a game changer for our company.” - Disconnect: As in, “There is a disconnect between what the consumer wants and what the product provides.” - Value-add: As in, “We have to evaluate the value-add of this activity before we spend more on it.” - Circle back: As in, “I’m heading out of the office now, but I will circle back with you later.” - Socialize: As in, “We need to socialize this concept with our key stakeholders.” - Interface: As in, “My job requires me to interface with all levels of the organization.” - Cutting edge: As in, “Our cutting-edge technology give us a competitive advantage.”

While everyone is guilty of using buzzwords from time to time, a little imagination can go a long way toward illustrating your point, Messmer said.

"Professionals are evaluated increasingly on their ability to communicate," he said. "Avoiding overused terms, particularly in formal communication, can help workers more effectively convey their message.”