Anything Can Take You Off Course

July 19, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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A client  shared this childhood experience with me and described the  impact that it’s had on her life and career. She said I could share it with you. The only thing I’ve changed are the names… “Momma loved to get into her car and drive wide open. Only problem was she’d fall asleep at the wheel. She’d sleep anywhere she’d put herself and she was more apt to put herself at the wheel than anywhere Continue reading →

Not a Laughing Matter

July 12, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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If you have to think if  your joke is appropriate, it’s not. If you hesitate before lambasting a colleague, don’t. If you stop, however briefly, to determine the correctness of your comment, that’s reason enough to move it from the top of your agenda and the tip of your tongue. Study your action under cooler circumstances. Company leaders familiar with personnel law and risk management are putting their employees on alert. Co-workers, already stressed with Continue reading →

Bowling Alone

July 5, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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If you’re following trends, you’ll notice that a significant number of workers want to make a difference where they work, want community in their workplace, and want their company to make a difference in the community in which they live. That’s a real shift from the days of the unwritten employment contract that whispered, as long as you show up and do your job, you’ll have a job until you retire. In those days Americans didn’t need community in Continue reading →

Taking Another Look at Relocation

June 14, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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As organizations continue to grow, shrink, and mutate, employees are getting used to doing the mobile shuffle: from working on-site to working in flight, on phones, and from hotels. The greater the distance and the longer the stay, the bigger the worry: I’m losing touch with my team and I don’t know what to do about it. The more far flung our companies become, the more employees are sent to remote locations to head up global business Continue reading →

Leaving with the best foot

June 7, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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You’re more apt to be remembered for how you conclude an engagement, then how you begin one. Your reputation is established by the sum of your days, not by the start of them. Like it or not, it’s your proactive response to bad times, not good times, that defines your contribution. Consider that when you step into a project, a professional relationship, or a company. Take Tom (Dick, or Harry) as a case in point: Continue reading →

Anything Can Take You Off Course

May 10, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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A client  shared this childhood experience with me and described the  impact that it’s had on her life and career. She said I could share it with you. The only thing I’ve changed are the names… “Momma loved to get into her car and drive wide open. Only problem was she’d fall asleep at the wheel. She’d sleep anywhere she’d put herself and she was more apt to put herself at the wheel than anywhere Continue reading →

Class of 2011: What are you working for?

May 3, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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A caller asked what advice I had for the graduating class of 2011. He introduced the subject by describing how successful his youngest daughter had become. She was five years out of college and making a salary none of us dared dream at her age. His concern was not for her financial future but for her ability to relate to those around her. “She’s as bright as she can be, and personable, too,” he said, Continue reading →

Asking for the best

March 29, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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This is it, plain and simple: As a supervisor, manager, or business owner, your job is to direct the work of others, not to do their work for them. In order to achieve that in a timely and efficient manner, it’s your job to communicate your expectations in ways they understand. If your employees are unclear about the assignment or the manner in which you want it done, they’ll do one of three things: figure Continue reading →

A Merger, An Opportunity?

March 22, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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American workers have been struggling with mixed blessings of merger and downsizing for over twenty years now. No wonder. It’s a challenge for any large system to rapidly expand and contract without putting unnecessary strain on the people who make up that system. I’ve been working with the emotional impact of these changes on employees since the early 80’s. Back then my clients were principally working in smokestack industries, companies located in Illinois, Ohio, andPennsylvania. Before long, financial institutions Continue reading →

Riding the Career Roller Coaster

February 15, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Ellie (not her name) needs a mountain to climb and she doesn’t have one. What’s her story? She gets her kicks from challenges. The bigger the stretch, the greater the risk, the more exhilarated she feels.  Right now she’s feeling as empty as her horizon is flat. She doesn’t have a mountain to climb. She joined her company over 20 years ago, fresh out of college with a degree no one wanted. She was part Continue reading →

Public Speaking and Remaining True to Yourself

January 18, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Do you love public speaking as much as public stoning? Do you enjoy giving a presentation as much as getting a root canal? Do you shut down when you’re asked questions, and avoid asking questions when you need information? If so, you’re in some scared but good company. Let’s face it. You don’t have to speak up if you don’t want to. You don’t have to ask for what you believe is rightfully yours. Just Continue reading →

The Spirit of Service

January 4, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Don’t get me started on my telephone service. I’ve already blown too much time trying to report a telephone number that is out of order. It started last night when I received voice mail from an out of state client requesting an urgent consult. He asked that I return his call as soon as possible. I began the quest as soon as I received his message. His  line rang busy. It  continued busy into the Continue reading →

Designing Your Future

January 4, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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“What am I going to do with the rest of my life?” That’s not a question asked or answered lightly. Retirement is possibly the only life stage you plan and direct on your own. There are no clear expectations with ladders to climb and salary levels to achieve. There’s no one telling you how it ought to be; how it used to be; or how it’s going to be. The models you have are a Continue reading →

Outside the Box Isn’t Easy

December 21, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Would all the do-ers, please, please, sit down? Stop fixing. Stop lifting. Stop starting. We’re tired of watching you do our work for us. And we let you get away with it, because you insist that it has to be done your way. Where’s the creativity in that? You thought we were lazy, procrastinatin’, good-fer-nuthin’s. No, we’re smart, somewhat lazy (unless really inspired, then we’ll drill through steel to get what we want), procrastinating on Continue reading →

Retiring to…what?

November 30, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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“I can’t help but wonder what he’ll do once he isn’t working here anymore. This place seems to be his whole life; what happens when it isn’t?” I bet you know him. He comes to work early and stays late.  He’s known as a company man. He’s dedicated, loyal, with a work ethic that challenges the most diligent. His only fear is failing health even though he’s never had a sick day. (He’s never had Continue reading →

Too Little…Too Late

November 23, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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In the last few weeks I’ve had questions from four people, each from a different part of the country, all having an identical complaint: No one  is willing to say you’re in trouble until they’re ready to fire you. Four people are on the termination bubble: A senior vice president of a heavy machinery manufacturer; a manager of a retail outlet; a marketing director of a technology company; the head of housekeeping for a large hotel chain. Continue reading →

Impacting the Path of the Future

November 2, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Reinvention, entrepreneurial maturity, communication, and community are words to pay attention to in the coming year. Here’s why: Whether you’re Linsay Lohan, Toyota or Bank of America, you’re reinventing, changing, upgrading yourself and your company to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition. No matter how complex or simple the switch, your goal is to drive change instead of being driven by it. If you believe there’s an urgent need, you’ll establish a coalition of groups responsible for making Continue reading →

Unexpected Challenges

October 26, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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“Am I out of sync with today’s workforce? What’s wrong with expecting a day’s work for a day’s pay?” The caller said he had an idea for a blog post, was I interested? “Always”, I said. “What is it?” Here’s what he told me: “My boss asked me not to work so hard. “Lighten up”, he said. Can you believe that? ‘Lighten up!’ He told me I was passed up for promotion because I expected too much Continue reading →

Career Warnings

October 12, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Warning to Workaholics on Vacation No beach is warm enough, no pool deep enough, no book long enough to keep you from the next call, the next report, the next conquest. No companion is fun enough, no escapade strange enough, no catacomb deep enough, to keep you from the next deal and the next plane that gets you to where the heat is hot enough, the mountain high enough, the trial tribulation enough, to make Continue reading →