A couple weeks ago I was talking with a friend who was leaving her job.  It was a good job with a good employer but it was time to move on.  I spoke with her as she was navigating the decision making process and then again on her last day. 

 Leaving a job – a real career-type job – is not as easy as it sounds.  I know from experience.  But I was happy (and a little relieved) at her response – “I feel so happy and free”, was her proclamation and in that moment so was I.

I had worked for that same employer for over 13 years, a lifetime ago it now seems.  On my last day I met a friend for lunch.  I had completed the ‘administrative check-out’ process (code for returning laptops and signing disclosure agreements, and other HR related activities) in the morning and by mid day I was free.

I arrived at our destination early and sat outside.  It was unseasonably warm for a January 12^th (circa 2009).  I laughed out loud when it struck me.  I was now unemployed.  I was absolutely free and un-tethered and it was an amazing feeling.

Sure I could have been terrified and I understand where under other circumstances I would be.  But I had taken care of my business and had a decent buyout which afforded me a comfortable runway. 

In that moment, I felt about as free as I ever have as an adult.

So when my friend made her proclamation of freedom, it resonated well with me.  More than a hopeful thought or wish, it awoke an echo from within.

Now, I have my feet planted firmly in reality and I do enjoy my current job and expect to be happy along this path for some time to come, but I’m also capable of carrying a dream. 

And more than just about anything else, my dream is to experience that feeling of freedom again.  Not when I’m a 75 year old retiree and free to do whatever is left that I’m capable of doing, but while I’m still young enough to know that I’m not yet finished, while I’m still capable of starting now what I’ve been placed here to do.

The last time I had that feeling, I knew I had a limited window to exercise it and soon thereafter this site was birthed.  BANG or whimper is still being decided I suppose.  But while this site has not afforded me an endless runway, it has elevated my line of sight and allowed me to expand my vision and dream for a new reality. 

The next time I feel that sense of freedom, I want it to be without constraint and I’m increasingly led to believe that the budgeting and personal accountability and goal setting and introspection I espouse in this forum are somehow both the path to and message of that dream.  Perhaps my membership will soar and publishers will knock down my door with huge book advances or perhaps I’ll continue modestly crafting content and eliminating debt until I can transition into another career… to become say, a high school teacher with a homemade curriculum and permission to coach a little football on the side.

Who really knows what lies around the next bend, but I know a dream for freedom has stirred within me and I look forward to figuring out how to unleash it.

If this message resonates with you, I ask that you consider sharing this article (and site) with someone.  Who knows, YOU might be the tipping point in helping unleash the growth potential of this site, which in turn could help me set my dream free!

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In concept it seems so simple, so obvious, and so… easy to do.  However, in practice, it can be a near impossible task.  Delivering practical and appreciated customer service may sound easy, but it is often impossible for a company to consistently execute against the objective.

Admittedly, some companies don’t even put up a fight.  For years BellSouth cultivated a reputation of inferior service.  At the time, I can only imagine they realized the delivery of proper customer care was cost prohibitive and since they were largely a monopoly player the decision was a clear one – all sales little service.  Their approach has evolved with the changing marketplace and while they are not the best, I have found them to be considerably more capable and service oriented than in years past.

But this only examines a part of the equation.  As a consumer and participant in the customer/service equation, I find that I bring varying levels of expectation to the discussion.  And as a business process management consultant for most of the last 15 years, I also find that I sometimes bring a high level of expectation to the table.  As a rule, having high expectations is not a bad thing but admittedly I don’t always (re)consider my point of reference or point of contact.  After all, customer facing service departments often report the highest levels of turnover, which makes high value training a losing proposition.  Therefore, the roles in these units are highly managed and scripted and devoid of creative problem solving – and even intelligent discussion of an issue in extreme cases.

So if we consider a company’s service approach, the experience of the service representative, and the level of expectation we bring to the discussion, there are 3 levers which will ultimately influence our pass/fail service grade.

Consider my recently experiences with Comcast Cable over the last few months.  I mostly find that Comcast delivers a quality product but their service representatives have ranged from fantastic to “how-is-this-person-able-to-dress-themselves-for-work-everyday” levels of incompetence.

• Back in August I called to price products and schedule an installation.  A 10 minute sale drags out to well over 2 hours and at least 5 agents as no one is able to adequately describe their program line-ups and pricing structures.  One agent is wholly unable to grasp that while my cell phone number is an Atlanta based area code, I’m actually calling about service in another state.
• When I call back the next day to re-start my effort, I have much lower expectations and am pleasantly surprised when the representative is articulate and knowledgeable and able to close the sale in about 8 minutes.  I am then wowed when a manager joins the line to offer me free extended services and free installation as an apology for my previous day’s experience.
• Fast forward a couple months when I’m experiencing a hiccup with my cable box.  After 2+ hours on hold, I give up and decide to try again the next morning.  Then, the next morning – again with much lowered expectation – my service issue is addressed in about 4 minutes.

In both 2-part instances, I ended up being wowed by the quality of service I received in the second stanza but only after suffering through a bad experience.  Had I encountered the second representative during my first call, I’d sing high praise to Comcast’s level of service, but I had to dull my level of expectation first by dealing with a layer of ineptitude.  However, the reality is that some folks do actually get the “good guys” on the first attempt. 

I certainly recall instances when I’ve been wowed by the support offered by a customer service rep at various companies with which I’ve dealt, but ironically, I can’t recall a single company.  I think that is because it is more about the representative themselves and the difference they are making as individuals rather than a philosophy of an entire organization.

And so as I look for a landing spot for this discussion, I find two conclusions or takeaways competing in my mind for print space.  I’ll share both:

First, approach a service opportunity as the customer with the realization that multiple attempts or calls may be required to find their most capable representative but be fair and realistic in allowing (read encouraging) everyone you encounter to be that person.

And second, recognize that we have the power to serve someone when they come to us with questions or in need of assistance.  Perhaps we’re not truly in a customer facing role, but we each have customers of our output and we’d do well to build our personal brands around delivering the “wow”.

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Work is an interesting and conflicted pursuit for many of us.  It is not uncommon to hear folks boast their detest for their job and the mindless minions who serve as their bosses.  Though at once, the fear of layoffs or workforce attrition causes these same souls to quake in their boots.

“My job drains the ever loving life out of me, but I’d die without it”, seems to be the un-uttered mantra for many of us.

I can’t help but question this type of existence and have previously shared my thoughts about work’s evolutionary chain – J-O-B’s to Careers to “Our Life’s Work”.

I recently engaged a pair of discussions which further confirmed, challenged, reinforced, and refined my vision of work.  Admittedly, I may only slightly have it more figured out than when I last wrote on this topic but repeated incremental progress surely brings virtue to the toil.  For that reason, I want to share and engage with you my recent experiences.

My first engaged discussion was actually no discussion at all – apologies for the mild deception but call it literary license.  It was actually an article in a weekly newsletter crafted by my favorite career coach/author/podcaster Dan Miller.  In this article Dan shared a compelling story of genius and opportunity exploitation by a pair of simple California kids hired to hold sales signs on a busy intersection for $7 an hour.  You’ve seen the guys holding, waving, and spinning signs directing you to a local pizza parlor or some other such strip mall tenant.

One of the young men, Max Durovic, shared in an interview that after 10 minutes standing on the corner, “it (sign holding) becomes the worst job in the entire world”.  This led to his doing tricks with the signs which of course drew more attention to himself and the ads he was promoting.  Attention in advertising is a good thing and before long he had parlayed his $7/hour sign holding job into a $70/hour sign spinning instruction gig and now his AArrow Advertising is a multi-national, multi-million$ operation.

There is certain brilliance in leveraging a no-where job into a successful business simply by unleashing a little passion and personality into the process.  Given that so many of us start each day so much farther along than the local corner with a sign in our hand, it should be incumbent upon us to elevate our contribution and potential.  Perhaps it is not a literal extension of our day job, but rather an expansion of a dormant passion or dream that helps to unlock our potential.  Whatever it is, this article further inspires me to chase after some of the loose visions in my head. 

To subscribe or simply to learn more about Dan Miller, click here – 48 Days.

My second encounter was a discussion with a close friend.  My friend holds a position with significant sales and service responsibilities.  Poor staffing and management frequently complicates the situation and adds to the pressures and workloads.  The industry is a field of expertise but the employer does not inspire an optimal setting.

Due to anticipated life changes, the discussion centered around the potential need to exchange this full time position for a more flexible part time opportunity.

It was clear to me that my friend had a very squared or structured view of the situation.  The nature of the current job and industry requires a full time commitment such that the part time job would require a new opportunity and experience altogether.

I, on the other hand, wanted to challenge the norm and redefine how the job might be structured.  To be fair, this is always easier to do from the role of an outsider and I acknowledge that I’d have a difficult time applying the same creativity to my own employ.

To this person, I wanted to tilt windmills.

But I was structured in my approach if not in my result.  What elements of the job do you enjoy?  Which elements are fun and exciting?  Simplifying for the sake of the story, would you rather engage the sales elements or the service elements of the role?  If service is often a function of immediate customer need, might focused and proactive sales activity be performed on a more flexible basis?  …And perhaps even remotely?

To me a new world of opportunity was opening, one in which expertise, fun work, and flexibility might be combined to redefine the meaning of work.

Dan Miller talks about using this model to not only redefine work but to also redefine personal security and prosperity.  Imagine the 20% of your job that inspires you the most and then imagine performing that duty for 5 unique employers?  On a contract basis you could likely command a higher salary and have the relative security of 5 employers rather than just 1.

Again, it’s a unique view of the work we do and how we can mold it to fit our needs rather than vice versa.  The opportunities are out there… we just have to know where, and how to look for them.

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“Business or toil is merely utilitarian. It is necessary, but does not enrich or ennoble a human life.”

-Aristotle

A friend recently sent me this quote and it sparked an interesting email exchange as we each set ideological camps on varying sides of the discussion.

My good friend Greg espouses the quote as motivation to seek balance and purpose outside of work.  In that way, he treats the quote as a liberating statement.  Work is work, as noble a pursuit as it may be, and nothing more.  Work is not your purpose so be free to seek your life’s fulfillment elsewhere.

I consider this a fair interpretation, especially if you approach the quote with a positive state of mind.  Frankly, Greg’s interpretation has grown on me as I’ve considered it, but my initial interpretation focused on a potential dark side of Aistotle’s maxim.

I see the quote as more of a limiting factor.  Granted work is not our sole purpose in life, but as we dedicate so much of our daily selves to it, we should expect to enrich ourselves by it…. “find a job you love and never work a day for the rest of your life” is kind of the vision to which I aspire.  Taking the quote at face value seems to remove even the potential for finding that perfect job…. it stifles the search even before it can begin.

And so with these competing and compelling mindsets, we decided to write a sort of point, counterpoint article.  Explore with us our interpretations and then feel free to share yours on the comment section below.

I’ll allow Greg the honor of leading off.

I think the way one approaches this piece of wisdom depends on where you personally are in the great big bell curve I would apply to the population of workers as a whole.  Are you somewhere in the crowded middle, trying to achieve a balance between work and other pursuits?  Or are you closer to one of the fringes?  Are you criminally unmotivated and without ambition or obsessively chained to your workplace leaving time for little else?

Personally, I believe my love of work, both for its material rewards and for its own sake to be somewhere in the vast middle.  I’m dependable, like to exceed expectations and never want to make a mistake without learning from it and never letting it repeat.  Yet, when I believe my obligations for the day are done, that I’ve reasonably fulfilled my side of the contract I have with my employer, there are many things I’d prefer to be doing other than being chained to a desk.  I work a 40 hour work week and don’t pursue overtime unless the company needs me for a time-sensitive deadline push.  However, my consistency, ability to perform and willingness to take on a challenge or promotion have taken me far.  I have no complaints and neither does my employer.

 So, given that, in the continuum of possible devotion to work, most people will fall somewhere in the middle, what do we say about those on the fringe, those outliers who defy expectations of the norm?

 Little time needs to be spent on the chronic loafers and hangers on in our society.  They are legion and are generally, and I think properly, derided by those who carry the load and support them.  I am of the opinion that too many look at our social safety net and see a free lunch, choosing to put all the effort they may have put into a productive pursuit instead into hijacking the system for their own gain.  I think we can all agree that this is deplorable behavior.

 More interesting to me and, I think, to Aristotle in the case of this quote, are those on the other side of the curve whose devotion to work goes far beyond the point of diminishing returns.  What drives someone to put in a sixty, seventy or even eighty hour work week… consistently?  To my way of thinking, there are too many out there who might say in response, “Well, why wouldn’t I?”

 Again, I think the way you see such a desire depends on the prism through which you look.  But, I can’t imagine what amount of personal gain could entice me to give this amount of toil to an employer.  I suppose, once one’s basic financial needs are met, each individual must determine their own comfort level with trading the additional times of their life to their employer.  Once more, this is highly personalized, but past a certain point, I believe one goes beyond the point of providing ever more income for themselves and their family and moves into the realm of missing out on the richness and meaning that life has to offer.

 This is the caution that Aristotle provides us here.  Understand that the company that employs you is a heartless entity.  It does not “love” you.  It will not take care of you when you are sick.  If it ever deems that it isn’t getting the full measure of what it expects from you, it will toss you aside like so much refuse.  If it determines that the shareholders will react well to your job being eliminated, you won’t be asked your opinion. 

 That is the way things work and also the way they should work.  Commerce is not about “fair.”  It is about the bottom line and survival of the fittest.  Through this system, wealth is produced that benefits us both as individuals and as a collective.  But, the rising and falling of financial empires seldom impact the far more important matters of the soul.

 So, once we understand this particular “law of the jungle,” it seems a good idea to sometimes step back and realize that commerce and pure and simple toil just for its own sake must be balanced with many far more enriching pursuits.  Whether it be listening to a child in their first recital, helping a friend in need, doing something creative that speaks to other people’s hearts or even the simple act of being present for your family, I think we all could use a dose of what I see as a philosopher’s timeless wisdom.

 Where you decide to set the balance is up to you.

My Take:

In general, I view life as a mosaic and balance a myth.  Our lives are made up of snapshots, sometimes random moments in time compiled as a reflection of our time and effort.  The more individual pictures of beauty, the more prolific the entire body of work.  By allowing any segment of our lives a pass, we jeopardize the true potential of our being.

Now that is a general construct, but it is my platform.  When I first read the quote at hand, this was my first emailed response:

Hmm, that is a vaguely familiar quote but I find it pretty sad… almost an “opiate for the masses” kind of quote… some Communisitic overtones there… you can have your bass boats and religion and silly games but your ass is mine during the work week and since life amounts to little more than work you have no choice but to be ok with this arrangement.  I think life and work have more to offer than that.  I’m not saying that I have it figured out yet, but I believe there’s more to it…

Unlike Greg finding a source of freedom, I found a tone of captivity.  An interesting contrast derived only from 18 words.  I think of employment in three ways. There are J-O-B’s, Careers, and Our Life’s Work.  As we grow and evolve we should aspire to move up in this pecking order, understanding all the while that each next step is increasingly elusive.  Some folks never believe they achieve their “Life’s Work”, and others not until they engage a post-retirement 2^nd career, while still others live and breathe it every day.

Not by a long shot do I believe I have it figured out, but I aspire to progress along this continuum and (most days) refuse to allow complete comfort with the status quo.  Consider this site as an example, surely my daily routine would be easier if I didn’t feed this twice weekly deadline, but if this endeavor taps a creativity or passion that one day provides for my household then I will have taken a mighty step up the line.  Clearly, there is no guarantee, but there is aspiration backed by action and in that there is virtue.

…And perhaps a few pretty pictures along the way for my collection.

Thanks to my dear friend Greg.  We (mostly) enjoy sparring via email and it was fun to do so in a more public and lasting forum.  I hope you’ll indulge us with your comments and contributions.

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I recently heard a small business owner weighing options for a business related decision.  Both options were viable and both offered a clear cost benefit analysis depending on how she planned to expand her business.  A fixed cost arrangement made sense if she planned to grow and expand her business while a per unit cost structure worked best if she planned to remain small and wanted to continue the greater flexibility afforded by her part time arrangement.

Cool, I was pleased to hear that she was thinking… AND thinking about the right things.

That is until she explained that she needed to add more overhead to her operation for tax purposes.

Que the rewind… say what?  You need more overheard for tax purposes??

No, you really don’t and the reasons become very obvious once you start to dissect the language.

Over a brew with the uninitiated you might sound very business savy by saying something like this lady said.  “I need to grow my overhead in order to maximize my tax write-offs.”

Wow, that kinda sounds smart until you apply a basic English translation over the fancy businessman-speak.

Overhead equals costs or expenses.  So “I need to grow my overhead” begins to sound like “I wish I made less profit on my current sales”.

It is true that business expenses are deductible, in fact, business expenses are tax deductions.  So if overhead equals business expenses and business expenses equal tax deductions, and transitive properties hold true making overhead equal to deductions.  The original statement of “I need more overhead so I’ll have more tax deductions” starts to sound like “I need more expenses so I’ll have more expenses”.

And yes, it does net out as ridiculous as that.  Here’s why.

Let’s assume you add $1000 in expenses for the sake of a tax deduction or write-off (with little or no expectation that the expense is an investment in the actual growth of the business).  And, for the sake of round numbers and illustrative purposes, you were in a 40% tax bracket.  You would be entitled to write off your $1000 expense in exchange for a 40% or $400 tax deduction. 

…wait for it…. Yep, you just spend $1000 to save $400.

Incur the $1000 expense and save $400 in taxes and watch the remaining $600 pass through your cashflow statements… for whatever the expense actually was.

Pass on the expense and pay $400 in taxes and watch the $600 flow into your pocket.

Hmm, so next time you see a clown – literally or figuratively – blasting around town in a fancy Hummer with advertising graphics emblazed all around the vehicle, feel free to laugh to yourself for identifying a poor business person.  Sure, advertising is a legitimate business expense.  Feel free to rent a bill board or purchase an ad spot on this blog.  But be careful rationalizing a new car for yourself for the sake of the write-off when the likely alternative is a healthier business AND more cash in your pocket.

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I had a fun exchange with an e-mailer late last week.  I say e-mailer rather than reader for reasons that will become clear but perhaps I’ve gained/earned a new reader through the process.

It seems that a young couple was presented with a potentially fantastic business opportunity.  One that required instant cash, which in turn was something this couple did not have on hand.  Of course this scenario raises red flags in my sometimes skeptical mind but the couple was doing exactly the right thing – seeking the seasoned advice of others.

And at least one of the voices sought out by this couple was none other than Dave Ramsey.  Good choice!  However, in a hasty Google search they ended up with me, Dave Ozment.  Still a good choice I say, but lacking in authoritative firepower to say the least.

At this point allow me to pause to say that I take very serious the notion that I am not Ramsey and that I am in no way trying to position myself as his clone, proxy, or equal.  I love his work and espouse his message and I want to share my Ramsey-esque story but I hope to do so with a differentiating clarity. 

Some may notice that I expanded my pen name to include my last name to assist in this effort.  I’ve shared at least 2 previous posts in an attempt at communicating my transparency and approach.

Nonetheless, this individual’s eager quest for advice landed in my lap and I did my best to both clarify where their inquiry landed, as well as, try my hand at providing quality counsel.

Below are the dominant emails in this exchange largely intact – names are changed for obvious reasons.  Give them a read and share your thoughts and reactions.  What additional or differing advice would you recommend?

The Original Inquiry:

My husband and I took your class a few years back and are very glad we did.  An opportunity has come up suddenly to buy a small business from a close friend who is moving.  The business is worth $145,000. and he is selling to us for $45,000.  He has offered to stay business partners (50/50) until we have paid off the 23,000.  My husband and I are both thirty years old, with three children and making the bare minimum.  Of course I am scared to take this risk as we basically live pay check to pay check as it is.  My main question to you is how you suggest we try obtaining this loan.  Should we get a personal loan, take out a second mortgage (home worth 215,000 we owe 149,000) or using credit cards?  PLEASE, PLEASE DONT DISREGARD THIS!  I need to hear your honest opinion.  I can answer any and all questions you may need before deciding.   This business has averaged a profit of 110,000 (after all expences paid) in the last two years.  Thank you Dave for your time and most of all your concern.  Sincerely

My Response:

Thanks for your message!  HOWEVER, I want to be VERY CLEAR… I am NOT Dave Ramsey!  You mentioned having attended a class… so I think you mean to write to Dave Ramsey.

My name is Dave Ozment… I am a HUGE Ramsey fan – so much so that I named my blog in honor of his work.

I encourage you to check out my ABOUT page to learn more about who I am… and some of my early articles explain about my situation and experience and perspective on such matters.

It is very important to me that you know who I am and who I am not before answering your question.

 I will give you MY thoughts on the matter…. in fact, it seems that I recall Ramsey answering a similar question once and I really enjoyed his answer.  I believe I’ll have facets of his thought process in MY answer…. but I am not a professional planner, lawyer, talk show host, or the like… I’m an average guy with an opinion… again, more details on me are available on my site.  www.DoYouDaveRamsey.com

 Dave Ramsey is available at www.DaveRamsey.com

 If I were you, I’d start by asking/answering a few questions for myself. 

• Is this business something I really want to do? If not, why bother?
• Do I want to be a business owner? With 3 kids do I have (or want to take) the time to be a business owner?
• Is this a service I can provide or a knowledge product I have to learn – or do I know it already?
• Will I do it full time or part time – this is huge as you’re already barely getting by so if there’s any hiccup in salary you’re in a mess
• How much money does the business generate? – Net revs and Gross revs
• What was your friend’s income from the business?
• Is this business in a growing or shrinking market and industry
• Why is your friend offering it at such a deal… is this a true blessing from God via this friend or does something under the rug stink?
• Why would I want more debt when I’m already struggling? I’ll help with this one – you don’t!
• What other debts to I have – this is important! Is my mortgage my last debt or am I covered up with it?
• How large is my existing Emergency Fund?
• Could you replace your income by simply running the business for your friend? This would allow you to see the inner workings of the business, learn the business, and understand how you’d fit as the real owner. You’re friend would still draw off the profits…. this could be win/win for the first year

Those are big questions so spend some time in thoughtful research and discussion and prayer.

 If, you still feel good about this… revisit the last bullet from above.  Offer it as step one to your friend.

 Consider as step 2 offering to pay your friend a set % of the profits for a period of time.  This is done in exchange for ownership NOT as a Partnership.  NO PARTNERSHIPS!!  For example, I’ll pay you 10% of our profits for 8 years up to a total of $55,000.  Once 8 years or $55k in payments have been made the business if yours free and clear.

 Look for something creative like this to facilitate the transition.  But DO NOT borrow 23k against a credit card or your house, quit your job just to jump into a partnership position on a sinking ship or a situation that does not spin off an acceptable replacement income.

I think Shirley Q. Liquor said it best when she said “99 cent is not a bargain if you do not have 99 cent”.

Don’t jump just because this is a “deal”.  It could be a blessing but it could be a curse too.  But in any event, I don’t think you should take on new debt to do this.

I hope this helps…. again, I am NOT Dave Ramsey…. I AM Dave Ozment – a huge Ramsey fan.  However, we’d both agree that debt is not your answer and that there are many more questions to consider.

Again, check out my website and who I am and if then – and only then – you’d like to discuss further with me, I’d be happy to trade additional emails with you.  If not, I respect that too.

If you want Dave Ramsey…. the email address he advises on his radio show is DaveOnAir@DaveRamsey.com

Good Luck and God Bless!

 Emailer Follow-up

Wow, Thank you so much for your time, and I’m sorry to bother you for being Dave Ramsey.  That’s sort of funny though, since you’re a huge fan of his, and actually seem give a rip about other folks. (a rarity)  It was nice to meet you and again thank you heaps and bounds for your much needed and much appreciated advice! =)

So what do you think?  What additional or different advice would you offer in this situation?  I welcome your wisdom and insights!

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Your income, what do you make?  Wait; before you answer you may want to consider how you answer.  This is one of those questions in which the framing of your answer reveals as much about you as the content of your answer.

I had a friend in college who used to say “it’s a stereotype for a reason”, and he was largely right.  Assumptions about people are never always true but the generalizations exist for a reason.  They are not birthed of thin air.

Typically speaking there are two ways in which people answer the income question.  They will answer by sharing either their hourly wage or annual income.  And while the difference between these response types is only a simple math equation, it can also represent a tremendous gulf in mindset.

I will elaborate in 3 Acts:

Ignorance is bliss

By answering with my hourly rate I am tacitly admitting that I do not know my true income.  And frankly, I probably do not really want to know my actual income.  I just know that I work hard and I am rewarded, every hour on the hour.

In some ways $10.50 is a big number.  In all my working days I have never made that much per hour – the closest I have come was when I did landscaping in college for $7.50 an hour.  But in saying that, I must also admit that for many years now I have made considerably more than $21,000 per annum. 

I only trade this for that

I work, I get paid.  I work extra, I get paid extra. I work less, I get paid less.  I work, I get paid.

When I discuss my income in terms of a lowest common dominator, I reveal my views on money.  To me money is only an exchange of time and effort.  In this way, I am creating significant limitations for myself.  If I view $10.50 as an acceptable hourly wage how then can I ever envision a day when I make $20, $30, or even $50 per hour.  The answer, often times, is that I cannot.  The gap is simply too large.

Given this mindset of hourly exchange the perceived gap between $10 and $25 per hour may be larger than the actual gap between $50,000 and $100,000 salaries.

On the other hand, when I view my income is an annualized total – not necessarily a salary as such – I am viewing my relationship with money on a grander scale.  No longer is money limited to an expression of what I do, but it begins to speak to what I am.

I cannot see for all the trees

To be blunt, answering the income question with an hourly rate is using little boy logic to address a big boy issue – the health of your family’s financial future being the issue.  My basis is thus – if the mindset for an activity that consumes well over a third of one’s life’s energy is wrapped around an hourly exchange rate, then how is buying a car anything but a discussion of monthly payments or worse a mortgage anything other than a life time sentence? 

When your income is purposely measured on the smallest of scales, some purchases can only appear impossibly large.

This is not to say anything negative about how your pay is calculated.  A salaried worker can earn a low hourly equivalent while an hourly pay/bill rate can generate great wealth.  However, the challenge is to address your point of view if you ever aspire to change your vantage point. 

Dan Miller, career coach and author of 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Mondays, talks about the difference between someone looking towards only the end of the week or month vs. someone who looks years into the future.  Clearly one is a poor-spirited approach while the other is grounded in a spirit of growth, wealth, and abundance.  Dan argues that if a broke person aspires to be rich then he or she first needs to adjust their mindset to one appreciative of a longer time horizon.  This shift will empower opportunistic thinking by exposing a vast horizon – take a class, read a book, invest in self today with the vision of a brighter future. 

This is a change so subtle, so easy, so simply math yet so significant and empowering.  Do not financially walk through life with your head drooped down starring at your toes.  Instead look up and you decide which where you want to be and then go… and enjoy.

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Episode 3 in this serial picks right up where #2 left off.  In fact, much of this content I originally intended to include as part of the previous article but as it began to run long, I opted to divide the content – hey, 2 posts for the price of 1.

So following with my previous line of thought, I want to share some of the other tools I’m leveraging as part of my job search/transition services experience.

The focus of this feature will be the webinars or online meetings in which I’ve recently participated.

DBM offers an inventory of roughly 27 webinar meetings.  This includes a 4 part Retirement series and a 5 part Entrepreneurship series.  Ever the sucker for activity, I have (as of this writing) participated in 9 sessions and am currently scheduled for another 10. 

Below I’ll highlight some of the sessions I’ve attended but first allow me to make a generalized comment about the value of these classes.  For starters, it is obviously and also surprisingly important to engage other folks who are also navigating the job search process.  I have the luxury of this transition service, but if you’re on your own, then identify networking events in your community or through your local church.  These events are out there and they are taking place and you need to participate.  Having the opportunity to engage, share ideas and successes with others is very helpful.  If you are depressed or feeling down as it relates to your job status then engaging others is a must.

So clearly there is value simply in attending these sessions… knowing that you are not alone coupled with the (mostly) positive and informed opinions and experiences from the facilitators is worth the effort.  That said, some of the topics are not so interesting and some of the content is quite remedial, but the courses exist for a reason and everyone is at a different place relative to their experience and knowledge base.

Ok, enough preamble, here goes, below are some of the classes I’ve attended and 2-3 key takeaways from each.  If questions, comments, or my instincts dictate, I’ll elaborate on the specific topics of interest.

Negotiating

I was initially disappointed in this class because the content was pretty basic.  But as I thought about what I would have wanted to hear, I was able to frame my positions around those points.

The basic premise for this class is that everything is negotiable, that we should not be afraid to ask, and that we should get everything in writing via a formal offer letter.

Salary, Vacation, Benefits, Education Reimbursements, Company Car, Laptops, Expense Payments, Travel Upgrades, Flex Time, Working Location, Day Care, Signing Bonus, Association Dues, Training, and Relocation Expenses were some of the items we inventoried as part of the session. 

The next step is to rationalize these elements into 1 of 3 buckets – Must Have, Nice to Have, Don’t Need – as a preparatory step.  This is a great step as it forces you to think of everything in advance and then to assign a relative value to it.  There is no single right answer in the exercise but there is a right answer for you.

Finally, the concept of win/win was discussed.  While this is always the right approach, it is critical when done in the context of a hiring.  For example, negotiating to the death is one thing when done against a party you’ll never again encounter but wholly different when you must report to your adversary come 8:00am Monday morning.

Networking

I’ll spend more time on this topic as I proceed, but this is golden key according to the services team and I have to agree.  You simply don’t know who knows who until you start to engage folks.

For starters, you need to work on your own network.  Open an excel spreadsheet and define some basic categories – name, email, phone number, employer, context, and last contact make for good starting points.  Then start to list folks you know… friends, family, co-workers, former co-workers, vendors, suppliers, alumni, association members, church members, neighbors etc. 

Once your list is in place you’ll want to ladder or tier your contacts – simply put, some people are better contacts in the context of a job search than others.

You’ll also want to maintain your network by staying in contact with those on your list.  Perhaps you reach out to a target number each month, perhaps you send quarterly or annual updates or holiday greetings.  The key is to keep a degree of currency to your group – and this includes adding new folks too!

Finally, 2 great tools for networking are LinkedIn and Facebook.  I’ve long been a proponent of LinkedIn and recently have added a profile in Facebook.  However, please remember to manage your on-line presence.  Don’t post your beer bong photos on Facebook and then be surprised when no employer will offer you a call back.

Job Search Communications

This was another pretty good class.  The instructor appeared to be a Dan Miller fan though she never mentioned him by name.  Her leading point was the significance of getting the face-to-face meeting.  Rather than send out 100 resumes and wait by the phone she encouraged us to make live contact.  She offered the statistic that, counting networking meetings, it required 15-25 face-to-face meetings before a quality offer was made.  Sounds like I have my work cut out for me.

She also offered a quality approach to handling written and voicemail communications – stay in control.  This is very Dan Miller-like.  Rather than send letters or voice messages asking for return calls, she instructed us to commit to a time when we would call back.  To this end, she even asked that we not leave our phone numbers when calling or include a resume in our mailings.  While I can’t say that I agree with not leaving a number if I am practicing the “I’ll call you back” line, she did make a good point on the resume.  It seems that some employers have an “all resumes to HR policy” – so even the best letter written to the most anxious of hiring managers will route straight to HR if a resume falls out of the envelope.  I’m not sure how I’ll play this but I may experiment with this tactic.

Interviewing – stay tuned, this topic will get at least one article dedicated just to it…

Coping with Transition

I took this class because I was available and anxious to take something and this was all that was available at the time.  The irony was not lost on me that the rudest of all the instructors was leading this class.

I completely respect that some folks will need this material and nurturing more than I do at this time, but the messaging was straightforward – feed your soul and find other areas to help counterbalance the imbalance caused by a job loss – exercise more, volunteer, work in the yard, read a good book, spend time with family, become more active in your faith, etc.

I am a strong advocate of achieving balance in one’s life but the reality is that balance is achieved over time rather than in each moment.  Being unemployed is a significant ‘out of balance’ experience from a career standpoint, but it can and should be offset for our greater health.

Doing activities to fill this void can also serve the networking need as many of these items will travel you in circles you’d certainly miss at home watching Oprah.

Develop Your Marketing Plan

This was an interesting class.  I originally didn’t like the idea of crafting a Marketing Plan but the more I think about it the more I want and plan to do one.  The idea behind the Marketing Plan is to create a job search road map – to define who you are and where you want to go.

It is a 2 page document and I’ll step through the anatomy of each:

Page 1- the “Who am I” page

Contact Information – basically pulled from your resume

Target Functions – name 3 job titles you’d like target as part of this search – CEO, COO, CFO are three lofty examples.

Areas of Expertise - inventory your key strengths and career assets that support your case for pursuing the 3 job titles… here every item should link to a career title and no title should be devoid of support (a leading indicator that you may not get that job)

Profile - Brag a little bit… borrow accomplishment statements from your resume to demonstrate what you have accomplished.  Unlike the stock market, historic performance IS an indication of future performance.  Of course by now you already know that these statements should build upon the themes and flow established in the previous items

Employer History - inventory the employers or key projects you’ve had in your career to further lend support to the themes of this page.

Page 1 is similar to a resume as it does contain much of the same information, but it positions us quite differently.  Whereas the resume is focused on the past, Page 1 of the Marketing Plan turns to orient on the future.

Page 2 – the “What I Want” page

Personal Vision – Outline the work environment you are seeking – Industry, Work Styles, Travel or No Travel, Geography, Large or Small company, Profit or Non Profit, Formal or Causal style, etc.  These are the characteristics that will satisfy you on a daily basis long after you’ve grown accustomed to your routine and income.

Target Segments and Organizations - here the rubber meets the road as you start to name names.  Inventory specific companies you plan to target.  This list can evolve so don’t worry about getting it right now, just write now.

Page 2 is much more personal in that it is more about preferences than facts.  In this way, you’ll want to limit who you expose to this page.  Whereas page 1 can go to all your network participants you’ll want to scale back the distribution of this page as you may not want an potential employer to see it – why was I last on the list or even not on the list are not questions you want a hiring manager to be thinking or asking.

Sharing the marketing plan (all or some parts) while networking is more valuable than sharing a resume.  Consider the historical view offered by a resume.  When I get someone’s resume it is always accompanied with a “what do I do with this?” question and it also comes with an expectation, “help me find a job”.  Conversely, the marketing plan tells me that you are in control because you know what you want and where you plan to start your chase.  By sharing you are inviting me to help you in your cause rather than champion your cause.

ABC’s of Recruiting Firms

The messaging I refreshed in this session was valuable but straightforward.  There are 2 types of recruiters and you’ll do well to know the difference.  Meanwhile, don’t put all your eggs in the recruiter basket.  Simply put, a recruiter does not work for you.  A Retained Search Recruiter works for the employer and a Contingency Recruiter works for himself or herself.

Here are some other differences between these types:

Retained – hired by the hiring company in advance of the search, these recruiters know the company well and plan to achieve a ‘fit’ by focused screening.  This type of recruiter is more likely to name the hiring company and have the employer’s best interest in mind.

Contingency - Lone rangers is the word that comes into my mind regarding this group and while that may not be entirely fair, the characteristics (and horror stories) support the idea.  This group is much more competitive because they are paid only when a candidate is hired – not for conducting a diligent search.  This group plans to achieve a ‘fit’ by focusing on volume (someone out of this handful of resumes has to be decent).  There’s also higher pressure applied to the candidate here and this is where the horror stories evolve.  For example, I may surf Career Builder for resumes and Monster.com for jobs and then I ‘broker’ the interview in hopes of a hire and commission.  You can quickly see how this can devolve from there.  That said, I’m sure the friendliest Contingency Recruiter in the US will help me land the perfect next job – I’ll personally pay a $1000 bonus if that happens!

So there you have it, summaries from 6 of the classes I’ve attended so far and a promise for a full article (at least one) on interviewing.

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For those who have been reading along with me for more than a few days, you are aware that I am, at once, participating and not participating in the current recession.  While I have improved my fiscal fitness, I have also fallen prey to my previous employer’s lay-off schedule.  That puts me in a unique place today… on the job search but not desperately so.

Additionally, there exists a pair of realities that make my job search – planned or otherwise - unique.  Yes, the economy and collective job market stinks, but perhaps more impactful to me is my relative inexperience in the actual job market.

I dutifully (and metaphorically) punched my last employer’s time clock for well over 12 years and seeing that I interviewed and accepted this job midway through my 2^nd year of grad school – many months prior to reporting for day 1 duty – I am new to a job market and job search not sheltered by a university career center.

While my history of loyalty is a positive trait, it is small potatoes as compared to the actual task of a job search.  For this reason, I am quite pleased to have the assistance of a transition services company – as described in part 1 of this series.

Since my first installment in this strand, I’ve been busy with being busy – which is not, necessarily, the same as my being productive.  This is especially true when my lone deliverable is simply my gainful employment.  However, it is fair, given the fullness of my reality that my first step is to learn once again the true nature of being “on the hunt”.

And so begins this installment of my Job Search Series.  In this edition I’ll highlight some of the initial activities I’m taking so far:

Update the ole Resume

Yes, this is an obvious first step… or at least it should be (you might be surprised).  Frankly it had been many months since I last updated my CV and, at that time, I did so with assistance from one of my more favored mentors.  I believe this gave me a significant leg up as he helped me craft a smart and results oriented resume.

Key resume points to highlight?  I’ll cut and paste a portion from my resume to help illustrate.  As I worked for only a single employer, I inventoried my experiences according to my significant project experiences.

Project Manager – Top 5 National Health Plan

Led 10 person team comprised of client and (former employer) personnel in performing an operations compliance assessment against CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) regulations.  Scope of assessment included all CMS regulated Medicare Part C and Part D operations. 

• Assessed client operations across 12 functional departments against approximately 400 individual compliance elements as identified in one of five CMS audit guides
• Identified and documented over 250 compliance gaps for client resolution and highlighted over 4500 evidence documents requiring maintenance plans
• Created robust action plans and training guides to facilitate a smooth transition from project team to dedicated operating staff
• Managed $2M+ project budget including client billings, team expense budgeting, revenue forecasts, and Accenture profitability accounting and reporting

Results Achieved – Launched 10 person CMS Contract Management Unit chartered to ensure client compliance with CMS regulations while maintaining a state of audit readiness.

The 3 phases of this documented experience I want to highlight are:

• The Project or Experience description – this is the “Led 10 person team…:” line. In this space my intent is to define the project while also highlighting key elements – 10 people, cross functional team, government compliance across a robust product range.
• Action oriented bulleted activities performed during the execution of the project. Again, these are highlights but I try to demonstrate measureables along an activity range – 12 departments, 400 compliance elements, 250 gaps, 4500 evident docs, action plans, and even administrivia such as project finances, budgets, and billings… measureable and diverse, I’d hire me!
• Results achieved… project descriptions and fancy activities are useless unless significant objectives and accomplishments are achieved, so be sure to highlight these as well

Another important lesson when crafting resumes is to consider your audience.  The text here is baited to a specific industry audience.  If I elect to expand my search I should feel empowered to modify my language to another industry or to genericize the experience to a universal audience.  The key is not to falsify or fabricate experiences.  For example, I could accurately rebrand this project as involving Federal Government compliance assessments but I’d be wholly incorrect to reposition it as IRS or Sarbane-Oxley in nature. 

Transition Consultant

I’ve now had the opportunity to meet and discuss my situation with an assigned transitionconsultant.  For these purposes I’ll call her Kate.  Kate has so far been a fantastic resource for me.  She is a former HR professional who can recount numerous examples – good and bad – to augment my experience.

She is also something of an accountability partner (a very important role in all our endeavors).  I have regular meetings scheduled with her and where I might find it easy to rationalize a lack of progress to myself, she (polite as she may be) is less forgiving.

Job Alerts

I was previously a member of The Ladders (love their commercials), ExecuNet, and JobFox, but Kate pointed me to a couple other job search aggregators – Indeed.com and Oodle.com have proven valuable so far.

Simply log into these sites and set up searches based on industry, location, title, salary, etc, and elect to have these search results delivered to your email each morning.  Multiple searches may be established so you can experiment with key words, role titles, or industry searches.

This is valuable on multiple levels in today’s economy.  Obviously this is a connection to live jobs – and I need one!  But it is also a positive reinforcement to see that there are so many openings in the market.  Surely this is not being reporting by the media and Kate cheerfully shared that the job market in late Feb/early March is significantly more active than even just 30 days ago – something I was certainly glad to hear!

Stay tuned… I have more tools and experiences to share this week and as I continue my search!

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Today I am launching what I hope is an interesting and informative series on the topic of Job Searches.  I plan to use my own live and currently ongoing experience as my jumping off point and will try to seed my experiences with practical advice I pick up along the way. 

You may be aware from an earlier article that I accepted a buyout package from my previous employer.  A component of their plan was a 45 day contract with a transition services company named DBM.  I originally delayed my engagement with this service for a couple reasons, but yesterday (Tuesday) I attended my initial orientation session.  That’s where we’ll begin.

Walking into the orientation session was interesting.  I arrived early and as the first attendee and for a few moments it felt much like what it was – a quasi training session in a corporate conference room.  The laptop and projector screen were ready and the facilitator was scurrying about with last minute preparations.

Then, as participants started filing in, it began to feel like what it really was – a gathering of recently but no longer employed people.  There were 5 such people in this session so etiquette dictated that we engage one another.  Typically such introductory conversations will revolve around a known common thread – “How many games a year do you attend?” or “Who’s the opening act” or even “Come here often?” – would ordinarily been sufficient ice-breakers.  In this setting, however, it seemed that even “What you in for?” would not have been so awkward.  I look at you and you at me – not holding eye contact for very long – and we each know that however polite we want to be with our phrasing, we are jobless as a result of factors largely out of our control.

Fortunately professionalism took over, and knowing our shared experience was comforting in an odd way.  One person did not talk at all and one perhaps too much and in the end, that felt about right.

I’ll dispense with the narrative for now.  More than anything I wanted to set the stage for the session.  I’ll flip now to a more fact based sharing of the meeting’s contents and what you can expect in future installments in this series.

I had never heard of DBM – remember I was happily employed for 12.5 years – but it seems that they have a pretty large operation with over 228 offices in multiple countries.  DBM was founded in 1968 by 3 clinical psychologists and deploys today a technique they call the Personal Brand Plan.

The basis of the plan – as I know it now – is a self marketing plan designed around 3 focal points:

FOCUS – internally oriented to help identify an individual’s strengths and career inclinations while also charting a roadmap for the search ahead

PREPARE – begin building your marketing components for your target audience – resumes, cover letters, interview prep, etc

ACHIEVE – Interview and negotiate offers

To execute these steps and achieve the deliverables for each, DBM appears to offer a wealth of resources and tools.  I’ll bullet some of the ones that stood out to me:

• Consultant assigned to each individual to help chart and execute the game plan – I view this as an accountability partner of sorts
• Office setting for candidate search activities – provides desktop computers, printing, phones, postage, as well as, as setting other than a home office or couch
• Twice weekly in-office networking events – I’m not sure yet how these operate but will provide updates as I get into it
• Web-Based training covering a wealth of topics – Networking, Resume Writing, Skills Assessments, etc… were some of the topics I quickly identified. It appeared that as many as 30 classes may be offered each day
• Soft Skill or Personal Development training – offered as On-Demand web based classes… not sure what all is offered but I did hear that it was comprised of over 1200 topics… more to come
• 5 part training series on Entrepreneurism
• 4 part training series on Retirement Planning
• Communication Style assessments
• Robust company information database
• Filtered industry news databases
• And other information that I’m sure I missed

Overall, I was impressed with their setup and approach and I look forward to engaging this process as I’m growing eager to get back into the job market.  I know in a job setting I can deliver but I haven’t had to deliver in an interview setting for many years so I’m sure this will be of great benefit to me.

I also look forward to sharing my experience and lessons learned with you guys along the way too.  Meanwhile, please ask questions or share your experiences too.

Oh, and by the way, (given my muse) don’t be overly disappointed if this series come to a sudden end!

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Your Turn – If you enjoyed this article, I would personally appreciate it if you would consider commenting below and/or subscribing to our Free Updates via email or RSS updates.  Thanks!

Also, be sure to check out a guest post I made on No Debt Plan - Are you ready for the recession to end?  Thanks Kevin!

The article was featured in the Carnival of Everything Money #8 – hosted by The Penny Daily.

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