Engaging advice from Peter Bregman.

Earlier this week while I was trundling through the headlines at CNN.com and trying not to get too down by all the doom and gloom, I stumbled across a great article from Peter Bregman who is the CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc. (company web site, Linkedin profile). The article, or more appropriately commentary, was titled "Make the recession work for you" In his commentary Peter Bregman suggests that now may be the perfect time for people to start pursuing their passion, and therefore become more engaged in their career. Why is now, the worst economic downturn in 70 years, the time to start pursuing one's passion? Why not do so when times are good?

According to Peter when times are good people are less likely to get out of their comfort zone because of the perceived risk to their income, and he's right. Let face it, almost everyone is in pursuit of making more of the almighty dollar, yen, or pound, so why should they risk making less to pursue their passion? Peter suggests that in this current economic climate that those who are now unemployed are already out of their comfort zone, so they can actually seize the opportunity to pursue their passion without the perceived risk to their income, and may actually benefit doing so.

How can people benefit by pursuing their passion? Well for starters if you are passionate about what you are doing then you will be more engaged with your work, and to a prospective employer this is a very good trait to have. You can use all the key words you want in an interview, but if the passion isn't there then those words are meaningless. On the other hand if you are truly passionate about what you are doing then that will come across in an interview.

Peter points out in his commentary that "Gallup has collected data on 5.4 million employees in over 137 countries and concluded that engaged employees are more productive and customer-focused. And more profitable." Humans At Work which is a site that I have previously referenced also states that disengaged employees can cost billions in lost productivity, and backs this up with references to another Gallup article; "Many Employees Would Fire Their Boss". As the title implies, many employees would love to fire their bosses, but that is not the only point of the article. Disengaged employees not only impact productivity, but are less likely to refer both their employer, and employer's products to others. In essence disengaged employees cost companies money.

So why should you care if your employer doesn't make as much money. Well if your unemployed or soon to be unemployed the answer is obvious. Employers should also take note of the information in these articles, and realize that actively engaged employees definitely influence their bottom line in a very positive manner. Obviously not everyone's passion will be a marketable skill, but the impact of people becoming involved in something that they are passionate about may still influence how engaged they are at work, and in turn help their chances of landing a new job.

The links listed in this entry to a much better job of explaining the rationale of people pursuing their passion than I do, so give them a read. When you do, you just may realize as I did that pursuing your passion and being more engaged will definitely have a positive impact on your career, and that now just may be the perfect time to start pursuing your passions. While I am still unemployed, I do feel that now is the time for me to pursue my passion(s) and I am feeling much more optimistic about my prospects than I have for some time.

Keep any eye out for the next "Friday Fun" post! Cheers ~ Jim

WOW! Someting positive from CNN!

With all their doom and gloom I was beginning to think that everyone at CNN was turning emo, and getting ready to run en masse into a giant closet, turn off the lights, and start listening to mopey music.

Then much to my surprise CNN posted a news story that is not only positive, but it may also be quite helpful to many people.

If you are like me and you are currently without health insurance, then you may find this article interesting: "No health insurance? Get help here"

It lists some resources I was unaware of, and that I plan to check out. Thanks CNN, maybe you are starting to realize that bad news isn't always good for profits.

I've noticed that the "burp" in job postings that I previously wrote about has now turned into an annoying long and loud belch. Hopefully the stimulus package get's signed soon so people will stop holding their breath and actually start moving forward.

Well tomorrow is Friday, and that means some more Friday fun, so check out tomorrow's posting. Cheers ~ Jim


Footnote: Not all news on CNN is negative. I had forgotten all about this story - Lance, Inc - A company with heart!

It seems like everyone is holding their breath.

If you bounce around the job boards as much as I have been doing you begin to see trends. For the last few days I have noticed that there seems to be drop in the number of job postings as well as a rash of cancellations.

I noticed a similar "burp" just before the inauguration in January which was followed by a sudden spike in postings. This makes me wonder if companies are holding off with their job postings until Congress votes on the stimulus package. It is like like everyone is holding their breath, and waiting for the stimulus package to pass.

If this is true then it just goes to show how much people are depending on the stimulus package to fix everything. What people need to understand is that the stimulus package will not fix everything, it is just meant to overcome the current economic inertia and "stimulate" the economy in a positive direction.

This just goes to show how desperate people are for positive news, news that will give them a signal to move forward. Unfortunately the mainstream news media seems bent on piddling on everyone's chips by constantly posting negative news and passing over almost anything that is positive.

Let's face it, bad news sells soap far much better than good news, and with all the changes taking place in the news media selling soap has become more important than ever. As I stated in the previous post, this negative news is only compounding the inertia that the economy needs to overcome.

The mainstream news media needs to look at their effect on the economy, and change their focus. I am by no means suggesting that a news item be ignored because it is of a negative nature. What I am suggesting that the news media dig a little deeper for positive news to offset the negative.

Is this wishful thinking? Absolutely yes, but it's far better than what will happen if everyone continues to focus on negative news.

My advice to everyone is to stop holding their breath, and start breathing again. It won't hurt, I promise :-)

Just some thoughts, and a little Friday fun.

Looks like it's time for another update. I really haven't had much to post about recently, since it's pretty much the same old story; looking for work during the day, studying web development at night, and trying to stay positive 24/7.

Staying positive requires a lot more work lately due to all the doom and gloom that is in the news. It has gotten to the point to where I just no longer watch or read the mainstream news such as CNN because of their constant negativity. Personally I believe the economy has hit bottom, and is ready to turn around. I also believe that many of the companies that are currently laying people off are just taking advantage of the current "panic" and using the current situation to justify culling the herd, and clear out employees they consider "marginal" regardless of their work ethic and experience.

I also feel that news agencies such as CNN and Fox are focusing on negative news because it helps them sell soap, and they are doing so without any regard to how it affects people. The constant negativity from the mainstream news services is affecting people to the point that it may actually delay the economic recovery for an extended period. I'm not saying we need to put on rose colored glasses and say everything is groovy, but I do believe that the US economy is ready to recover, and it just needs a little positive push. So how about some good news for a change?

OK! I got that off my chest and I'll get off my soap box for now.

While bouncing around on the Internet I have come across some postings that I find interesting and I'd like to share with you, so take a look at the links below:

• Smashing Magazine - Clear And Effective Communication In Web Design This is an excellent article on how to present clear and effective information on websites and blogs, and I definitely recommend reading this article for all noobs such as myself.

• Guy Kawasaki - Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job Guy Kawasaki has some good suggestions for using networking sites like Linkedin to help your career, but as someone who has been on Linkedin for quite a long time I would also like to suggest that people use a little common sense and caution. Many of the business networking sites are now being overrun by scammers who want to join your network just to gather your personal information and spam you. My advice to anyone using Linkedin is to use a throw-away email address for your account, and change it regularly. I also suggest that you only connect with people who you either know directly or share common interests with you. Let me tell you that it really sucks to be unemployed and constantly get spam from some off-shore recruiter asking you if your company needs their services. Yeah right!

• GeenerComputing - Google: Our Green Data Centers Got a Lot Greener This is a nice article on how Google is improving the efficiency of their data centers. If you have any interest in data centers then give this short article a read. As the economy turns around and IT infrastructure grows, efficient use of power will become even more important, and it looks like Google is leading the way.

And now it's time for some Friday Fun: The IT Crowd - Break The Internet



Have a great weekend! ~ Jim
(Psst! If you haven't already, take a look at the "Geeks Who Care" link listed on the left)

Adversity, and the potential for our future

"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant." -- Horace

So what has a quote about adversity from the ancient philosopher Horace have to do with the future? Well, keep that quote in mind as you read the rest of this blog, and maybe you too will see why I thought it was appropriate.

Recently I came across an article on Techdirt titled "On Staying Happy" which addresses a reader's question of how the writers at Techdirt can stay so positive while constantly reporting about "corporate cluelessness, political corruption and short-sighted thinking". The writer of the article does an excellent job of pointing out that while all that stupidity and negativity is going on, there is also a lot of innovation and positive progress occurring, and regardless of those who are trying to delay the inevitable, progress will happen.

After pointing out how much the Internet has changed the world in less than two decades, the writer asks "How can you not be optimistic and excited when you look back at how far we've come in such a short time, and think about how much further we can go?", and they are right. When I look at what has happened since the early 90's, and then think about the future, I realize that there is a lot of positive potential just around the corner, and I am looking forward to it.

What is going on right now with all the financial turmoil, panic, and just plain stupidity, is just part of the process. While all this negativity is very painful (and I can personally attest to that), people must realize that there are a lot of new doors being opened that offer new opportunities and growth. Right now many industries are struggling and some possibly dying, but there are many new industries just ready to take off. One of the best examples of this is the transition from printed news media (newspapers and magazines), to the online media (web sites and blogs).

The rise of the Internet is affording everyone access to new sources of news and entertainment, and we are going through a transitional period which is definitely painful and tumultuous as is pointed out in this other Techdirt article: "Creative Destruction Happens Quickly; Those Who Wait End Up In The Rubble". Change can be painful, but when you consider the potential of the future and understand that you can participate in those changes, then future is looking brighter regardless of all the negativity.

With the pending change in administration this country is poised for some major changes, and I truly believe almost all of these changes will be positive. President-elect Obama is pushing for a major plan to rebuild this country's infrastructure (roads, bridges, and levees, and power grid) in hopes that it will create more jobs, and while I agree this work needs to be done I have to wonder what are his plans for this country's technological infrastructure?

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation offered a possible plan in their report "The Digital Road to Recovery: A Stimulus Plan to Create Jobs, Boost Productivity and Revitalize America". The ITIF believes that an investment in America’s digital infrastructure of $30 billion in 2009 will create over 900,000 new jobs in the US. This is a significant number of IT related jobs, and even if the amount required is twice what the ITIF suggests, it will still be money well spent when compared to the $700 billion spent on the TARP bail out.

The US digital or informational infrastructure will require a lot of expansion if it is going to continue leading the world in business, technology, education, and entertainment. Also in a post 9/11 world, the US must build in redundancy to it's informational infrastructure for obvious security reasons. There are a limited number of primary fiber optic backbones handling all the Internet traffic in the US, and any one of an imagined man-made or natural disaster affecting just a couple of those backbones could disable the entire Internet. Therefore there must be an focused effort to increase the number of primary backbones to insure the the ability to handle increased bandwidth and add redundancy.

Also one has to ask what ever happened to fiber to the home? Here we are just a few years away from the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, and there is still a large percentage of people relying on dial-up for access to the Internet. This is not an inconvenience to the American public, it is a disabling factor to the US economy. High speed access to the Internet should be available to every US citizen. Take a look at the Fiber to the Home Council's site for more information.

One las thing I would like to add regarding the US informational infrastructure is that I have written an article on my Urbanspelunkers blog about some enterprising companies that are turning vacant shopping malls into large data centers, which given the current economic climate makes good use of readily available real estate. Considering the number of vacant malls and warehouses in this country, it would be quite easy to convert these properties into cost effective data centers that would not only improve America's competitiveness in the global economy, but also allow for a certain amount of redundancy of facilities for improved data security.

If a concerted effort were made to improve America's data infrastructure, the beneficial results for every US citizen would be well worth the costs, and the opportunities and resources are just waiting to be utilized.

As you can see, while these are adverse times, if you have the ability to look beyond the adversity you can then see the potential for positive growth and prosperity.


** After I originally posted this blog I came across another Techdirt post that I felt readers might be interested in: Is Obama's Broadband Plan Anything More Than A Free Gift To Incumbent Providers? **

Lance, Inc - A company with heart!

Yesterday I bemoaned that fact that the CEO's of the banks that received TARP funds were given bonuses from those funds. For someone who is unemployed it's really discouraging to see this sort of corporate greed and stupidity.

Having said that, it is very refreshing to see what David Singer, and Lance Inc. did for the employees of the Archway cookie factory in Ashland, Ohio. As this CNN article details the company that owned Archway Cookies closed the factory in Ashland Ohio, and laid off 300 employees.

Lance Inc. then purchased the factory and not only rehired 60 of the employees, but gave $1500 gift cards to all 300 of the former Archway employees. The plan is for Lance to eventually rehire all the employees which will be a big benefit to the town of Ashland.

Now I tend to be somewhat cynical, and I can see how this my be a great PR opportunity for Lance. Even if it is a PR opportunity it benefits everyone, so I can't complain. As a matter of fact I praise Lance for actually having heart, and thinking about those who were laid off. I feel so strongly about this that I actually submitted a comment to Lance praising them for doing the right thing. Below is the response I received today:

Hello,

Thank you for your kind words. Like you, thousands of people felt
compelled to comment after reading or seeing the CNN story. We heard
from people in nearly every state and quite a few soldiers stationed
overseas. We have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt expressions of
gratitude for Lance's approach in reopening the Archway bakery in
Ashland, OH.

Lance is excited to welcome the former Archway employees into the
Lance family and we're looking forward to getting Archway products
back in stores as quickly as possible. Getting room on the store
shelves is the key ingredient for getting the plant back to its full
capacity and putting more people back to work in Ashland.

Many people said they were looking forward to getting their favorite
Archway items back, and others said they had not historically bought
Archway, but would do so in the future. We are working hard to regain
shelf space in stores and get Archway back as quickly as possible.

Feel free to let your retailer know that you are looking for Archway
cookies; this will play a big part in helping us get back on the
shelves quickly.

Have a very Happy Holiday and New Year,

David Singer
President and CEO
Lance, Inc

Like I said I am a cynic, but this cynic really appreciates what Lance has done. That's why I have added Lance to the Other Links list. Hopefully other companies will get a little heart and start paying forward.

Feel free to leave a comment. I would like to know what others think about what Lance did for the employees.

Lessons from the resilience of bamboo.

The Puget Sound region has been hit with snow for over a week now, and this has impacted everyone's travel including mine. Being unemployed I really don't have any where to go, but it is nice to get out now and then and being stuck at home has contributed to the funk I have been in lately.

Staying positive while being unemployed during the holidays is hard, and it's really hard when there is nothing but bad news and you are stuck at home. I have tried to avoid letting the news get to me, but I'm sort of isolated and without much of a support network, so my funk hit me hard during the last week.

During the last week I did make one observation though that has given me a new outlook, and I would like to share that observation here.

Each time it snowed, the bamboo in my backyard would bend over due to the weight of the snow and then as the snow would start to melt the bamboo would start to spring back. The bamboo went through this process several times over the week, and now that the snow is starting to completely melt the bamboo is standing tall again.

The resilience of my bamboo gave me inspiration to spring up every time the weight of all the negativity starts to lessen, and keep on growing.

I know there is a really bad analogy to my bamboo being bent over, and my being unemployed, but I am not going to go there (Sorry I needed to throw in a little humor there :-)

With determination and a little humor to fertilize my inspiration I plan to keep springing up and stand tall just like my bamboo.

(I added this image to this entry several days after I originally published it. I wish I had taken a picture of the bamboo when it was snowing to accompany this one, but as it is this image stands on it's own)