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Forget Time Management- It's An Energy Game (podcast + text) 

10/13/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!
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Listen To The Podcast
Time management.

Time management is often seen as the holy grail of our personal productivity since each person's time is obviously limited to exactly 24 hours per day.

However, while it's true that the time we have is finite have we considered that it is equally true and probably more impactful to note that our energy is finite.

Consider the following: If, for example, you have the option to either complete the same amount of work in an 8 hour period or a 10 hour period which would you choose?

To most, the obvious answer would be 8 hours since who in their right mind would want to drag out their work an additional 2 hours (25% longer). 

But wait. What if by rushing to finish the work in 8 hours you found that after having arrived home you were just too bone tired to even play with your kids? In that case, would rushing to finish your work actually accomplish anything other than getting you home sooner?

Conversely, what if you slowed your pace down to a much saner, and more measured pace. And what if you completed your work (the same amount of work) not in 8 hours but perhaps 10 hours. However,  what if upon finishing your work and having arrived home you found that you weren't frazzled or bone tired.

What if you actually felt refreshed and mentally together.

And as an added benefit, what if you found that by slowing down just a bit, pacing yourself, and not rushing through your work that the quality of your work and, most importantly, the results your work achieved were much better than that produced while you were working at the frantic pace?

Would you be sold?

After all, it's one thing to slam out 50 or 100 emails a day and it's quite another thing to maintain the energy and state of mind to make all 50 or 100 of those emails count.

And this is one of the major differences, which becomes readily apparent, between Career OverDrive's™  approach to your career development and career management needs and the approaches favored by other career advisory and coaching services.

At Career OverDrive™ we understand it's an energy game.

We're not about working faster or more frantically but we are all about working smarter, with more energy efficiency and with greater clarity and impact.

In today's career coaching and advisory industry this both a very powerful and rare shift in both state of mind and the approach utilized  However, we can proudly assure you that this unique mind shift and approach are thoroughly and purposefully baked into all of our training and coaching programs.

Every single one.

Energy Conservation.

Why do we do focus or key in on energy conservation?

Simple. 

We do so because we clearly understand that what you really face in your career and in your life is not a time management game but an energy game.

Therefore, all of our training and coaching programs have been developed to enable you to be as effective and impactful as possible while expending the very  least amount of energy (physical, emotional or psychological) as necessary.

This principle of energy conservation extends from the initial transfer of  knowledge to you (through our training and coaching programs) to your ability to retain and apply the same material after you have acquired it from us.

It also means that each and every program and skill set is and was specifically, consciously and purposefully designed to be deadly effective, while requiring the absolute minimal effort to apply it.

What does this mean in practice?

Well, imagine sending emails that get the exact results you want but which only contain one or two lines rather than 50 or 100 lines.

Or imagine making fewer phone calls with each phone call made immediately hooking people or moving you toward your goals or objectives. 

Image the confidence you would feel by possessing the techniques and strategies to deftly and effortlessly handle just about any communication problem or social situation, from stress interviews to cold calling the hiring manager at the company for which you'd like to work  to dealing with angry or incensed coworkers or customers at your current company.

And best of all, image doing all this with the expenditure of minimal energy and attainment of maximum results.

That's difference as well as both the premise and promise of Career OverDrive!'s™ coaching and training programs.
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Selecting A Coach? Why The Nuts & Bolts and Remove & Replace Are Still Not Enough

9/25/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!

In a previous post I've discussed some of the different categories or flavors of coaching styles and coaches.

Specifically I talked about:

1. The Peddlers of Hope and Passion (Hope Peddlers & Passion Peddlers).
2. The Peddlers of Fortune Cookie Inspiration.

Now, as I've said before all of these styles or flavors of coaching and coaches have their place and value depending on each client's needs and situation.

However, at some point, getting into a nuts and bolts discuss of (1) why you are here (current/present situation)and (2) how to get you from here to there, becomes extremely important, at least to most clients.

Beyond, hope, passion and inspiration there are the nuts and bolts of coaching and specific action for a client to take. But even here there are huge variations in the type of coach and the effectiveness of the coach's advice.

For instance, has the coach identified the correct or proper nuts and bolts? The proper tensile strength, the composition of metals, the number and the placement of the nuts and bolts?

One of the shortcomings I see in what most coaches offer today is that even when the nuts and bolts are offered and discussed, what is offered is very vague and generalized. 

Worse, sometimes what's offered is just plain wrong.

A simple example to illustrate this would be telling a client to "eat a balanced meal".
  • But what exactly is a balanced meal?
  • How is that determined? By the vitamins, minerals and nutrients it possesses?
  • But then what is the proper balance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients and what is the proper or optimal timing of intake?
  • How does it change by person, ethnicity, gender, age, lifestyle and so forth?

Beyond these vague nuts and bolts, I've noticed very vague advise that parallel's what's known in the automotive repair space as "R&R" or Remove and Replace.

Basically, it's shorthand method to cut through a lot of detailed steps in the automotive repair process and focus only on the procedures with a few caveats or warnings pointed out. This works because the mechanics using these books already know all of the steps left out and the best practices associated with them.

If you've ever used a Chilton's repair manual, you know what I'm talking about.

Bringing this back to coaching or more specifically career coaching this type of R&R advice may take a form similar to this:

Objective: How To Get Your Next Job
  1. Make sure your resume is up to date and really sells you - show your passion!
  2. Located the hiring manager(s) at the company you would like to work.
  3. Use LinkedIn to connect with them. Say something useful or work on building  rapport, etc.
  4. And on and on.

Of course, when we really think about it, there's so much gray area involved here that such advice is completely useless.

  • What does a good resume look like (and why)? 
  • How do I make a good resume sell me?
  • How do I get it to show my passion (and why should I)?
  • And so on.

I mean specifics. Details. 

When you're  selecting a coach, be sure to find out if your coach can offer more than just broad procedures or a framework because what you'll find you need is very specific, very detailed, step by step guidance in today's rough and tumble world. 
Learn More: Crush Any Career!
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Best Startup Approach?

9/12/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


What's the best startup approach to take? 

Well, why not go into your (next) startup as you go into life -- completely naked and alone with nothing to lose, expecting no applause.

This will allow you to start immediately and most importantly to start with a "the buck starts and stops here" mentality.

And as a bonus, anything above that which you experience will be a very pleasant surprise.
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The Big Lie & Why Being A "Digital Native" Is A Big Nothing

8/12/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


We hear a lot these days about the supposed value of being a "digital native" (defined as a person born or brought up during the age of digital technology;  familiarized with computers and the Internet from an early age) as though being a digital native will automatically bring value to a hiring company.

Well, I'm here to tell you that a "digital native" is most often  a flat out nothing.

What, why? How can you say that? 

Because being a "native" doesn't mean the individual competent at the skill to which they claim to be native.

Doubt that?

Well, consider how the communicative efficacy of the English speakers we all know or have heard who claim to be "native speakers".

The problem with the "digital native" moniker is that most of the folks this applies to only have experience sole as digital consumers.

They no experience or only very limited experience as digital producers.

They don't possess digital competency in general and more specifically they don't possess digital competency in a business context.

They are competent at perhaps locating an app in iTunes or Google Play, installing it and then using it among friends for fun.

But can they write production quality code? No.

Can they design, run, analyze, interpret and improve an online marketing campaign? Heck no.

Can they troubleshoot or debug a software or hardware problem? Nope.

The answer is most likely no, no, no.

The bottom line is that signing up for a twitter account to tweet your college ski trip is not the same as creating a twitter campaign for a fashion brand let alone an integrated multi-phase marketing program for said fashion brand.

There is good news, so hang tight.

The good news is that for those digital natives that do go beyond the install, that take the time to look under the hood, that actually remove the valve covers and look at the source code or to work to apply these tools in a business context to satisfy real world use cases, well, those digital natives are worth their weight in gold as they are as rare as an honest politician. They can write their own tickets and would be welcome just about anywhere.

So stop thinking being a digital native is enough. It isn't. A digital native is just a fancy word for a digital consumer.

Strive to be a digital producer. Be a digital creator. Be a digital expert.

Think about it. 

You can thank me later.
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My Most Appreciative Clients? The Long-term Unemployed, Chronically Underemployed & Targets of Office Bullies & Politickers

7/14/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


Who do I find to be among my most appreciative clients?

Well, I've noticed that for the individual career or executive coaching clients (as opposed to group-based skills training), the most appreciative clients (based on the feedback as well as unexpected gifts and dinners I've received) fall into broad two categories.

1. The Long-term Unemployed and the Chronically Underemployed.

These are clients who often have all but given up hope or who feel that their lives and careers are now on a depressingly difficult linear path.

I find that there's nothing like working to assess their situations, take a skills inventory, develop a gap analysis and then tear down and rebuild them from the ground up, equipping them to not just land "suitable employment" but to land a job that puts them back in the "race" or to where they were supposed to be before they hit difficult times.

2. The Victims or Targets of Office Bullying and Office Politics.

There's two aspects to this.

One aspect is helping the victim to carve out some breathing room as well as develop the ability to maintain their job/income/paycheck while considering options and an action plan.  This may be to keep their job and undone the work of the bully, transfer out to a new group or division or move on to a new company.

The second aspect, and I must say my favorite aspect, is working with a client to efficiently and effectively take out the office bully or politicker. This often entails setting snares, traps and/or pitfalls whereby the bully or politicker is hanged by their own petard.

This most often resolves itself when. using the proper techniques and methods, the bully or politicker has their actions exposed and/or reputation ruined (due to their own actions). In other cases, we'll see the bully or politicker fired or, of their own accord, they will see that there is no future and promptly leave of their own accord.

I have had great success with this across industries from high-tech, startups, pharma, medical devices, banking, insurance, commercial real estate brokeragess to fashion and luxury goods as well as across countries and cultures  from the US (north, south, east, west), Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Australia, England, Germany, France and beyond.

The greatest feeling of all of this  is to enable and empower the "good guys" to win, effortlessly and completely.

After all, shouldn't the good guys win once?
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Speaking Event: How to Jumpstart Your Career In Japan (or Anywhere Else)

6/20/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive


I had the privilege last night of talking with a large group of visiting high school students from The Harvey School of Katonah, New York on the subject of "How to Jumpstart Your Career In Japan".

We discussed quite a bit about not only developing your value and ROI as a candidate but how one can future proof themselves in the face of the impending tectonic societal and economic shifts that will occur and are occurring from the adoption and diffusion of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), expert systems, machine vision, robots, 3D printing, autonomous vehicles, etc.

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Psychological Jujutsu: Are You A Mind Reader?

6/5/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge

"So, what, you think you're a minder read and can read minds, right?! Ha!"

I often find myself fielding this question although sometimes it's delivered in a tone of voice that conjures up images of an accusation such as "charlatan!" rather than a genuine question.

But that's okay, as it shows interest and engagement on the person asking it and once they allow me to explore a little more with them, they are usually hooked and have an "aha!" moment.

....

So the simple and honest answer to this question or perhaps the rejoinder to this accusation is, of course, I'm not a mind reader nor do I purport to be. And yet my results are there and they are what they are with them being more often than not extremely uncanny in their accuracy. 

The most important insight from my work and research that I try to impart to my students, clients and skeptics is that you don't need to be a mind reader to be accurate in your reading of a situation because in most cases the party in question through their actions, reactions and inactions almost to a tee loudly and graphically telegraphs exactly what they are thinking and how they are thinking as well as their intentions.

....
[more] Are You A Mind reader? >>
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Peddlers of Hope & Passion Along With Fortune Cookie Inspiration

4/7/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!

Over the last 8 years or so, as the coaching and personal development field has continued to bloom and then explode, I've noticed the rise to prominence of two types of coaches.

1. The Peddlers of Hope and Passion (Hope Peddlers & Passion Peddlers).
2. The Peddlers of Fortune Cookie Inspiration.

Now, don't get me wrong, both coaching categories have their value and their place. It all depends on the needs of their particular clients.

In fact, helping to instill or to activate hope or passion in a client is surely a noble act and it can have much value as can short, pithy inspirational talks or interactions.

The danger, though, is when Passion, Hope and Fortune Cookies (PHFC) are the extent of the coach's toolkit or when the client isn't self-aware that they may well need to "graduate" to a more Nuts and Bolts focused coach.

For instance, if you are a carpenter or design commercial structures, initially PHFC can be very motivating and valuable.

"You can do it!" (Peddler of Hope)
"You're Howard Roarke! and don't even know it!" (Peddler of Passion)
"Rome wasn't built in a day!" (Fortune Cookie Inspiration)

At some point, Nuts and Bolts matter - the types and variations of nuts and bolts, the dimensions, the specifications like material and tensile strength.

We'll talk more about Nuts and Bolts coaches and coaching as well since even that has some shortcomings which are not readily apparent.
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Don't Go Back To School! SWAN, Tweak & Test

3/31/2014

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By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


There's a common response or reaction among both students who have just graduated and have "no luck finding a job" and among working professionals who have been routinely passed over for promotion or who are currently having  "no luck finding a job".

So what exactly is that response or reaction?

Come on, you know what it is -- These people must all be somehow lacking in something and that something is "education" or "knowledge" which can be easily be "fixed" by "going back to school".

Now, while "going back to school" sounds good on the surface (after all, we can never be too educated or too knowledgeable, right?) it ignores many factors and even presents risks and dangers to your current (or budding) career as well as your future career.

Just because you are not hired or you are passed over for promotion it doesn't mean that you are lacking any knowledge. In fact, in some cases (many cases actually) involving office politics and power you will be passed over not because you lack anything but because you are too good or too knowledgeable.

With that said, even if you do lack knowledge, there is no guarantee that pursuing a new formal education will provide you with the necessary skills or knowledge you desire or think you need.

In fact, it may be far cheaper to study or develop those skills on your own or, if you must, you can simply take some short and very  focused certification classes.

You also would be well advised to determine exactly what skills you are lacking and then ask yourself if your being passed over for a promotion or not landing a job has anything to do with a lack of skills.

In most cases, it doesn't. Instead, we can isolate the problem in areas such as:
1. Your resume -- the way your skills are packaged and productized.
2. Your interviewing skills -- how do you communicate and convey your value.
3. The way you locate or surface positions.
4. And so forth.

Collectively, I term these the "Job Search 4P's" or "4P's of Job Searches".

Going back to school can also be extremely expensive both in direct costs for tuition and out of pocket costs as well as the opportunity costs of not working (assuming you are going full time, you've forgone that salary) and in the case of taking out loans you then risk limiting your option for jobs in the future as you now have an additional fixed overhead.

In some cases you'll find that this new knowledge increases you career options but conversely and simultaneously having this new debt also reduces your options.

So what should a person do?

Well, look around. As just one example. if you are passed over for a promotion and you are told "you need an MBA", why not open your eyes and confirm if every other manager in your firm (or industry) has an MBA.

Trust me, they don't.

And you'll quickly see that not only does not everyone have an MBA (MBA as just one example, not to pick on any degree) but that, lo and behold, some managers don't even have a college degree!

There are many other factors to research and analyze beyond this but the best way to do it is to simply make the most of what you have now while tweaking and testing it in the job market.

Because the job market's response to you is all that matters. No degree, certificates or anything else matters. Are you getting invited to interviews? Are you getting written offers? That's what matters.

Specifically, you need to SWAN & tweak before you decide to "go back to school".

What is SWAN? Well, the SWAN principle is:

Sell
What's
Available
Now

Whatever skills you have now, make the most of them in your job search (and/or at your present job). This may be using them to develop a visible and provable portfolio (volunteering or working to create tie-off projects, etc.) where these skills are demonstrated and productized.

Using the SWAN principle will also force you to improve how you package, present, communicate and convey your skills and value to your current employer or prospective employer.

Forget your dreams about all the attention your shiny new degree will supposedly bring you and focus on selling what you have now and the value you can add to a prospective employer -- right now.

Once you know what you are doing it becomes like shooting fish in a barrel.

And you'll find that you don't need to go back to school, at least not "now", in almost every single case.

*Just to note, in this case, I use the term Job Search 4P's to describe a set of specialized job search skills as well as one overall process of the job search lifecycle. If you are familiar with classical marketing literature there is also the Marketing 4P's which are Product, Place (distribution), Promotion and Price.
LEARN MORE: CRUSH ANY CAREER!™
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Don't Waste Your Life Waiting For The Bus To Come Pick You Up...It Isn't Coming...

3/12/2014

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By James Santagata
Managing Director, Career OverDrive!

Don't waste your life waiting for the bus to come pick you up. 

Newsflash: It ain't coming!

Well, at least it ain't coming anytime soon or it would have been here by now...

Sometimes, the smart move, sometimes the only move is to make a conscious decision to lace-up your boots and start the long, back breaking journey on foot.

You'll be told by others, perhaps even through your own internal talk, that you aren't ready, that you aren't prepared, that the timing isn't right.

But you need to realize one thing while you ask yourself another.

Life isn't a dress rehearsal and if you aren't ready now, without getting in the arena of life, bench marking your skills, tempering and honing the skills you already have now while developing new ones, when, pray tell, when will you ever be ready?

The answer is NEVER.

And in that case your future is as clear as day and ends with a Death Bed Regret.

Remember, we almost never regret what we do, we regret what we didn't do.
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