How to prepare for your next job change now!

As I approach my 10 year anniversary with The Boeing Company, I have been reflecting back and looking at the various job and career changes I've made. Every job change I’ve made (I’m on job number ten) and each project I’ve worked on has been thanks to someone in my past speaking up to help me get the opportunity. If you ever wondered why some people get the ‘cool’ opportunities, it should be no surprise when I tell you it’s because they are fresh in someone’s minds when people are being identified for the project. The challenge is to not just be on their mind, but to be on the person’s positive side.

Yes, contact management takes lots of work. If you really think your career will blossom with you coming into work late and leaving early, then you should probably stay in bed so you can keep dreaming. I’ve been in my current job for almost two years. It’s the second longest time I’ve remained in anyone department. I started looking for my next job before I even accepted this position.

This blog post comes with some homework.

Assignment #1: Identify a list of at least 10 people that have helped you since you came to work at current job. Write each of them a personally addressed email and thank them for what they have done for you. Be specific. Tell them exactly what they did that you appreciate. If you have the time, pick up the phone and call them or visit their office instead. I recommend talking with them in person if they are at your work site. Extra points for driving to other sites. This list could include people outside your company including family, friends and advisors.

Assignment #2: Identify three potential positions or projects that you would like to transition to or work on after your current position/project. Then identify the people who will help staff or fill them that and create the opportunities for them to get to know you. If you can’t think of any, then look at all those people in assignment #1. See how many of them can help. However, don’t ruin a great thank you by asking for something in return.

You are not entitled to anything in this world, you need to earn it. If your parents gave you all you needed, then you are truly blessed. However, there is no guarantee that will continue. In order to obtain all that you want, remember people like people with positive attitudes and who are thankful for the help they get. Finally remember that the only competitive advantage you really have is your reputation. I ask you this, how hard did you work this week to make sure your reputation is one you would be proud of?

Two very important life lessons you can learn from Van Wilder

“I do it for the joy it brings 'Cause I'm a joyful girl. Because the world owes me nothing. We owe each other the world.” -Ani Difranco

Last week I was teasing a friend about how he had never seen Van Wilder. I told him it was a classic, more than just another “animal house” movie. If you’ve seen the movie, ask yourself if you realized the important life lessons the movie teaches us. Ok, now take your mind out of the gutter. I’m serious, two great lessons that Van Wilder advises on.

Lesson #1: Enjoy Life

Van has two great quotes on this topic. First he advises: “Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out alive.” If you know me very well, then you know I’m an intense person. Don’t confuse my intensity with my ability to enjoy life. I watch so many that take life so seriously I can actually see years of their life fading away. Those same individuals are often the ones I see worrying too much. The one who gets the phone call that there is a problem with a project and their reaction is one as if Armageddon was coming tomorrow. For those who worry too much I offer Van’s second quote on enjoying life: “Worrying is like a rocking chair, it will give you something to do, but get you nowhere.”

Lesson #2: Help Others

If you haven’t figured it out, we were not put on this earth for self reward. Life is hard and sometimes cruel. We are here to help others. Van does two things through out the movie that show it’s not about what we get out of life, but what we do for others with our lives. Van point blank says “life is about building relationships.” I struggled my way through an Engineering degree, have a GPA that is more likely to qualify me for academic probation than Cum Lade and consider myself very week in the technical arena. However, I will tell you that if you put me into a technical environment on a project that is behind schedule and in complete chaos that I stand a better chance to improve the situation than a 4.0 student* who can barely carry on a conversation with a wall. Think about any project you’ve ever worked on. Has there ever been a situation where you didn’t know where to find the answer? The majority of the time the obstacle on most projects is not finding the answer, but rather implementing or getting to the answer. You know…that one person who has to approve your proposal, but doesn’t agree with it.

The other way Van seeks to help others is to “inspire the uninspired.” This can probably be one of the biggest game changers you’ll ever be able to use. It’s contagious. Think about all the times when you are dealing with a negative co-worker who has been fed up with failures on a project or task. You come along, point out the silver lining and offer some words of motivation. If you succeed then that person goes to lunch with his or her friends in a more upbeat way. Think about when it’s happened to you. If you are upset or let down, you spread the virus. If you can infect one person in a positive way, that’s one less person complaining at happy hour.

I challenge you this week to enjoy life and help others. Whether you have been with your company 24 years or 24 hours, I’m sure you can make a difference for someone.

*It is in no way the intent of the author of this blog to mock any student, but rather to acknowledge grades do not guarantee success.

It’s easy being average

Last month Kim and I traveled to Florida to take in one of the three remaining shuttle launches. The trip almost got extended by a day when we got to the airport minutes before our return flight was set to depart. We’ll skip the part where I thought our flight left 30 minutes later than it actually did to the part of the story worth sharing. We checked in online but failed to print our boarding passes. The kiosk at the airport could not find our reservation, so we went to the service counter (still oblivious to our real departure time). As we approached the next open agent, we hear the announcement. You know…the announcement you never want to hear from outside security, “this will serve as our final boarding call for JetBlue flight 259 to Long Beach. All passengers should be at the boarding gate immediately.”

At this point it would have been extremely easy, and quite honestly expected, for the agent to apologize and let us know we were going to miss our flight. However, that didn’t happen. In super-star fashion, she notified the gate of our late arrival and then proceeded to whisk us off to security. We quickly became “those people” as we bypassed the line and chased our agent through the terminal and to our gate.

As I sit here at 32,000 feet typing, I cannot help to think how easy it would have been for her to have just been average and not done anything for us. I’m pretty sure her job description doesn’t say, “sprint through security and down the hall so that passengers who screw up their departure time can make their flight.” I’m not saying other agents wouldn’t make the effort, but let’s be real, she stepped it up when we needed help the most. This is what it takes to be great.

The same is true of our space program. When JFK made his famed speech at Rice University he didn’t say, “let’s get to space.” He said, “let’s get to the moon” and took the bold step of telling us to move swiftly in doing it. That’s the beauty of being great – your legacy can become enduring.

If we want to be outstanding leaders, we must realize that being average won’t cut it. We must challenge ourselves. When setting out on our mission, whether it be in customer service, leading a group, parenting a child, etc., we must focus on what being extraordinary can produce. Do you have an example where you avoided being average and in turn produced a great result?