By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!

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.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


You've just started your career or perhaps you've been rolling along smoothly or at least fairly smoothly in your career for some time.

If you've been working for some time, sure, you've perhaps been pushed out of one or two companies or felt that it didn't feel like you were growing (no promotions) or the atmosphere changed (a new co-worker or new boss arrived with a bullying attitude).

But overall life is good.

And that's the danger. Life is good now. But have you stopped to consider given your age, career to date, skill set and the industry you are in what your shelf life is?

Shelf life? What's that? Isn't that just related to things like food? Well sure, but it goes beyond that and for our purposes allow me to define it :

Shelf life: The period or length of time for which an item or good remains fit or usable for consumption, or remains salable.

Think of this not as the expiry date (the date where it's not salable or that consumption is not possible) but as the freshness date.

If I eat that day old bread, sure I won't get sick but it won't taste as good as fresh bread nor would I pay as much. In fact, I would buy almost any fresh bread of any variety (french baguette, sour dough, etc.) before I would consider a day old bread of my favorite variety.

And that, my friends, is how shelf life works in the employment and business field.

So we need to think about our shelf. In general, most of us are safe until age 40. But at age 40 (it used to be 50 to 55), boom! We are given no quarter.

Our entire career, every move, every company and so on is scrutinized. If we are looked at at all.....mostly we may just be passed over.

This is why up to the age of 40 it is critical that you carefully determine your career moves as well as the work you do at each company you are employed at -- you must work to build a visible and proven portfolio, create cumulative advantages while decreasing or destroying cumulative disadvantages.

We almost all start in "technical positions" but along our career path we must move from being a "doer" to a manager -- whether we manage people, products, projects or plans.

The "P"s" as I call it.

It's equally critical that we don't just run and jump ships at the first sign of bullying or poor management, because we will face more and more of that the older we get, especially after age 40, so we must learn to engage and fight -- office politics, influencing, persuasion...

Sure, at some point it's time to move but it's a lot less than you might think and only after certain goals or objectives are realized.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


We've previously discussed the massive impact (both opportunities and negative downside risks) of what can only be described as the inexorable march towards not just a robotic future but a future which fully and pervasively embraces the broader category of "bits and atoms" as Peter Thiel calls it.

This broader category includes not just caged robots working in a predefined space running a small set of canned routines but robots which can safely work side by side humans, robots with dexterity and the ability to utilize varied devices, pickup and wield small and varied objects and do and responds to varied tasks and situations.

Beyond that, there is the inexorable push forward with the broader space of factory automation (FA), autonomous systems and autonomous vehicles, machine vision, 3D printing and, of course, powerful, software based algorithms and expert systems.

This technology will not only fill industries and spaces where there is a shortage of labor but it will quickly and then massively erode industries, taking over any industry where there is a financial case leading to increased ROI by replacing human labor with these robots, systems and machines.

What's the impact?

Well, think: Delivery vehicles, drones, taxi's, school teachers, factory workers, cleaners, assemblers, bar tenders and on and on.

Here's a quick smattering of related news from within a few weeks time:

• Ships without crew set for the seas
  
• Robot capable of handling unfamiliar objects unveiled
  
• Japan plans robot revolution
  
• Robot Bartenders
  
• Baxter, The Robot Safe Enough to Work Near People

 

Certainly this is nothing new and is captured very nicely by William Gibson in his quote: "The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed."

And yet, this is true as well.

Since the future is unevenly distributed it is extremely easy for us to miss the short-term, mid-term and long-term impacts.

This is sometimes referred to as Amara's Law:

"We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run."
- Roy Amara 

What does all this mean?

Simple. 

Be ready for not only endless changes but be ready for earth shattering changes.

Make sure you're FutureProofed to not just survive but to thrive and then triumph.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Silicon Edge

Recently Andy Serwer, managing editor of Fortune, sat down with Marc Andreesen to discuss The Future of Work, Cars and the Wisdom in Saying 'No' (full, unabridged version on Forbes Magazine here: Inside the mind of Marc Andreessen).

In this interview, I was particularly struck with Marc's views on the impact of the ever-accelerating and widening technological adoption on the job market, and the elimination of entire categories of jobs as well as his comments on education and the need for re-training.

Andy Serwer: We all understand that the Internet revolution is inevitable at this point, but it’s also kind of controversial. There are scads of new jobs at Facebook and Twitter and other places, but what about the ones that are destroyed by the inroads of technology into every industry? Are you actually creating more than you’re destroying?

Marc Andreessen: Jobs are critically important, but looking at economic change through the impact on jobs has always been a difficult way to think about economic progress. Let’s take a historical example. Once upon a time, 100 percent of the United States effectively was in agriculture, right? Now it’s down to 3 percent. Productivity in agriculture has exploded. Output has never been higher. The same thing happened in manufacturing 150 years ago or so. It would have been very easy to say, “Stop economic progress because what are all the farmers going to do if they can’t farm?” And of course, we didn’t stop the progress of mechanization and manufacturing, and our answer instead was the creation of new industries.

From my vantage point, this is completely off track for one main reason -- in the earlier stages of mechanization and automation we had far, far, far fewer people on this planet so that these productivity increases could support and sustain larger and larger populations. In addition, the rate of change was far lower and more localized. It was the difference of seeing single family home burn, to the firebombing off an entire city with no where to run to the simultaneous firebombing of an entire country if not world. 

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!

"I can't believe it's already 11:00 PM on a Friday night! This meeting was supposed to wrap up hours ago!", you say to yourself as you realize that the "simple favor" your co-worker had asked you to do for him (you know the one that  was supposed to start promptly at 6:00 PM with the client arriving at your offices and then end at 7:00 PM on the nose) has once again turned into a logistical, thankless headache with you trapped in the middle.

Worse, you've given up more of your own precious time and energy, burning yourself out and potentially putting your own personal and work relationships at risk with nothing to gain.

Have you experienced something like this before? If you have, you're not alone. If you haven't you surely will.

Within your current job and along you career path as well as within your private life, you'll have the need and occasion to help others as well as call upon others to help you. Depending on how you handle this, your stock will either rise in value or you''ll be used  as a step and fetch it (in the very worst sense of the word) and become a dumping ground for the work that others can't or just don't want to do. You can also expect your income to suffer, your job satisfaction and engagement to suffer and your career to suffer.  And worst of all, you can expect your work-life balance and health to suffer.

If you're observant, you'll quickly see these patterns emerging:
1. Some people are pure takers ("Takers") and never, ever give.

2. Some people are pure takers ("Takers") and will give but only when cornered, and even then they'll try to renege or slip out of reciprocity given any opportunity.

3. Some Takers routinely underestimate the frequency and value of what they take while at the same time overestimating the frequency and value of what they give.

4. If you're like most people, you're probably not communicating the value of your giving and the legitimacy of your own needs as well as the requirement that you fully expect the "chips" you've accumulated to be redeemed by the issuing party whenever you decide to cash them in.

Now, of course, no one wants to live in a purely quid pro quo world -- one in which you need to keep a running tally of everything you've ever given to others versus everything others have ever given to you.

On the other hand, no one wants to be taken advantage of or treated poorly.

Perhaps the most frustrating and painful situation occurs when you're aware of these patterns but just don't know how to act in a way that will enable you to reach your desired outcome while also not tarnishing your reputation or standing in the group.

Below I'll share with you a few simple but powerful techniques to test, reconfirm and further solidify your relationships with others both professionally and socially.

You'll also learn how to first signal and then train others in the manner by which you expect to be treated. Don't willingly be a step and fetch it or someone's door mat.

You may also remember that earlier we talked about developing situational awareness by pinging (sonar) and painting (radar) those around you.

Now we'll talk about how to do favors for others, set a value or impute value on those favors, collect chips for the favors you've done and most importantly, how and when to cash them in.  We'll also discuss how to identify and filter out "Takers" and manipulators and we'll do all of this in an  effortless and socially acceptable manner -- that is, in a manner that doesn't disrupt the harmony of the office or the group.

Obviously, much of this will be dependent on the LSD Principle of social relationships and interactions (this is a core principle of Psychological Jujutsu and is used and appears throughout all of my training) so you'll need to probe and map out relationships while learning to calibrate your responses and "challenges". But not to worry -- it's a lot easier than it sounds. Let's begin!

1. Don't be so easy, don't say "yes" to every request.
If you "give it up" on the first coffee date, whatever your true value (cosmically speaking) is, you'll find that it will suddenly be very much different from the value you have now signaled to the other party. And what matters most of all, is the signal that you have transmitted and the other party  has received. 

"He's easy. He just gives it right up..."

So don't just say "yes". Find out what they want and why. Gently push back or at the very least, "resist".

Consider the scenario, where a co-worker, Joe, wants your assistance.

Joe: "Can you do me a favor?"
Or he may be more specific "Can you do me a favor this Friday?"

Now, unless you have a very close relationship with that person, your spidey-sense should immediately get all tingly while you instinctively reply (verbally or written):

You: "What do you need?"
Or "I won't know until you tell me what you need..." 

You can and should still say this with a friendly tone of voice but you need to prevent jumping in with "sure" or "sure, what do you need?" because there are legions of manipulative if not downright dodgy people out there looking to take advantage of hardworking and honest people by shifting their work to others, and they do it by setting commitment and consistency traps.

Alternatively, you may hear:
Joe: "Hey, are you going to be around this Friday at 6:00 PM?"

You: "Why, what do you need?"
Or "What do you need help with?"

A truly dodgy person will then ignore your request for more info and simply continue:

Joe: "Look, I need to know. Can you do me a favor?"

You: "Not until you tell me what it is". 

Then posture away, shuffle papers, pick up phone to make a call, check your email or move away for a coffee and make a mental note: dodgy....hmm.

2. Once you've opened a dialogue you can press further. Resistance and challenges build value, filter out the "takers" and strengthen relationships with healthy people.

Joe: "Oh, I've got Mr. Kilkins from ABC, Inc. coming by at 6:00 PM this Friday and we need to give him a quick tour of our service bay and then a product demo right after that."

You: "You don't want to do it?"

Notice that although you've phrased this as question, psychologically you've framed it so that it appears that the other person is pushing the work that they don't want to do onto you. And maybe they are. Which could still be okay as long as get a chip of appropriate value and as long as that chip holds its value and is redeemable later for your own needs.

Joe: "I have XYZ to do"
Or "I have another meeting." 

Whatever they say, listen closely to what they say, what they don't say and how they say it. Next gently probe to find out if it's a real business commitment or a social "commitment" such as having drinks with his friends, going to a ball game, etc. 

After all, you deserve your own free time, too. And if you're giving up your free time to do someone else's work, you want to be certain that you then receive a chip of a certain value for your service and that said chip holds its value in the future and is accepted by party you previously serviced when you decide to cash it in.

3.  Build value further by signaling your own loss to do this and quickly explore other possibilities.

You: "Wow, that's short notice, I've got a lot on my plate..."
Or "Hmm, I need to be at XYZ place by  XX PM".... 

And then add this phrase right after that:
"....so can this push (meeting) out for another day?"

Watch the reaction. See how the person comes back.

Joe: "I wish it could but I was told it must happen on this Friday."

If you decide this isn't for you, then end now and move away but do it in a positive, helpful manner.

You: "I feel for you. Would love to help but I've got my own appointment at that time."

By using "appointment" you've made it clear it's stronger than a "commitment" and it's also hard to break, plus it's nebulous -- what is an "appointment"? Is it business or personal? A meeting or a haircut? Who knows. And that's the point.

Now step in and assist. "Hey, have you approached Linda over in marketing?"

And then let this die out.

On the other hand, see what Joe says, you may decide to help out and by now the price of the favor he is asking of you is going up in value. By the minute!

4. If you do want to do it, continue with this dance (which is actually a form of negotiation). Also be sure to now set hard time and effort limits for any help you render.

You: "Look, I'm extremely busy / it means I'll miss out on XYZ / it means I'll have to reschedule ABC, but if no one else can do it, I'll step in because I know you'd do it for me..."

Watch his reaction....

He should say, "Yes, I would!" or at least acknowledge your gesture and that he would. 

You can then confirm and prompt this by getting his public commitment.

You: "So do you need my help then?"

If he says "yes" proceed. 

If he refuses to say so publicly and commit to it, then simply bow out and move onto your own things as he is ducking out of a relationship. He's a user a worst, a taker at best. 

However, if he says "yes", then continue:

You: "I can do it, but I'm pressed for time and have a hard stop. He needs to be here no later than 6:00 PM AND I have a hard stop at 7:00 PM. No matter what. So I'm letting you know this up front and you need to let him know it."

Watch his reaction.

You: "I'll need you to send me a email about this and his contact details to me in case something happens."

If he fights that or says nothing will happen and so on, then just end it with:

You: "Look, I'm doing you a favor but it feels like pulling teeth..."

If he plays nicely and then sends you that email, reply with your requirements and terms:  

You agree to do A, B and C.
The guest / individual must be there no later than 6:00 PM.
Your hard stop is 7:00 PM, no extensions, no exceptions.

This is perfect because it protects you in several ways:
1. Many times, unsavory people will use the "camel's nose under the tent" technique to sucker you in, and then the next thing you know, the guest or customer arrives two hours late, wants a longer tour or requests other info that was not agreed to. Worse, you may even find that due to logistics, you are required or requested to chauffeur the person around town after the meeting -- all while the guy who was tasked with doing this is watching the ball game or kicking back drinking tequila shooters.  Which is all fine if it were your job, you agreed to it and you somehow benefited.

2. You have memorialized the events. This protects you from what you have offered to Joe (yes, unsavory people can pin anything on a sucker -- that's you -- and make it "their" problem, so this prevents you from assuming a situation of all risk and no return). It also gives you written proof of the agreement and your commitment. Make sure he replies to it with an "I agree" or "okay". Let him know if he doesn't reply (by replying to your exact email) that the deal is off. Do it in a nice, nonchalant, no skin off your nose manner. But just make sure you do it.

Once you have successfully performed this service, send Joe a short email talking about it and how it went. And be certain never to devalue yourself by using phrases such as "No problem"  or "It was nothing".

Your next step is to be certain to , as soon as possible, cash in part of those chips by asking Joe for a favor. Never wait too long because you need to find out immediately if Joe is a guy who honors the chips others have earned for servicing his needs or if he is a self-centered skeezer or Taker. 

This will let you now. Quickly. Painlessly.

And by the way, the more you do this, the simpler it becomes until you'll find that it runs on autopilot, in the background, that you no more think about to do this than you do when tying your shoes.