Change or Die!

Well if that doesn't catch your attention, I am not sure what will. Recently,a study was done by Dr Edward Miller, the CEO of a very well respected medical institution in the United States, Johns Hopkins Center. Each year, over 600,000 people undergo bypass surgery to deal with heart related issues, costing on average $100,000 per patient, with another 1.3 million people having angio-plasties for a total cost of $30 billion.

Here are the facts: Two years after life-saving surgery, over 90% of people have not changed their lifestyle! Even though they have faced death and lived to tell the story, people have a difficult time creating long-term, sustained change. Why is that? Heart-related issues are not rocket science! The solutions are clear --reduce your stress, eat more vegetables, consume less fatty food, and exercise more. The framework to deal with the issue is apparent--you need to make changes. I looked up the word 'change' in a Latin translation and here is what I found:

Commuto: to exchange'
Converto: 'to turn in any direction'
Flecto: 'to alter shape'
Flexibis: 'that which can be bent'
Inclino: 'turn'
Migratio: 'migrate, depart'

Almost all the definitions pointed towards movement or going in a new direction. It seems that we love to read about change, discuss change, think about change, but when it comes right down to it, we are not as easily adaptable as we would like to think. Change is HARD, and even if it means we will die by not changing, we stay the same. Wow...what a hard fact to swallow!

Interestingly enough, of the recovering patients that got involved with a one-year lifestyle program (including biweekly support meetings, education and coaching), 77% made a long term lifestyle change. They also, on average, saved $100,000 in medical bills, and had a distinctly better quality of life. Change is a LOT easier to manage when we have both support and a process to help us through the tough times. At CareerJoy, we are all about providing support, education and tools to effectively help in career change (which Is not life and death, but does affect your life expectancy --but we'll save that for another day!)

Feeling stuck? We can help. Book a session and inclino, migratio, flecto, converto or commuto in the right direction!

Next week I will share the 5 myths uncovered in this study, so please stay tuned.

Along the road with you...

Great Careers Happen By Design!

"Great Careers Happen By Design". This slogan came to me after I saw an ad in a design magazine that said "Great houses happen by design". I happen to know this first hand after my wife and I worked with a very well known architect, Richard Limmert, whose work we admired.

Limmert developed a new community with houses that were based on a Amish design--simple but beautiful. My wife and I had recently purchased a piece of land and interviewed Richard along with a few other architects. It was clear that Richard was the best fit for us and over a period of four months, we brought him our ideas, clippings from magazines and our own drawings. Our window scheme came while we were having lunch one day and noticed the unique design of windows on a church across the street. We took this inspiration to Richard as another element for him to incorporate. By going back and forth with multiple meetings, he produced a design that met our needs. Six months later we moved into our house and from day one it felt like home.

During this experience I learned a lot about the process of getting what you want. Without Richard's talent, experience and wisdom, we would not have been able to produce the house we were to live in for 9 years. He encouraged us and was the catalyst and guide for this project.

The same principle applies to careers--what is your career blueprint? Very few professionals have one. It is true that good careers can happen without a blueprint, but rarely great ones. The blueprint is the element that brings clarity and inspiration. I remember how dog- earred our blueprints were after we finished building. Yes, hard work and energy were involved, but the end result was a masterpiece. Our life work could and will benefit from similar vision.

along the road with you...

When Not to Follow the Rules!

A few weeks ago I was sitting in my office on the 22nd floor, in Toronto when there was a fire alarm. Shortly after the alarm began there was an announcement saying that they were investigating the alarm however, we were to stay in our offices until they had more time to find out the issue. I decided to leave my office anyway. I needed some fresh air, and I was being slightly cautious.

Of the many things that have been researched since the fall of the twin towers is the response by authorities and occupants in this extreme situation. There was a 298 page document called, Occupant Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications. This report confirmed a number of key factors regarding the people who survived and those who perished.

While the buildings were burning, those calling 911 were advised to stay on their floors until authorities arrived. However, approximately 2500 people survived by ignoring this advice and leaving anyway. This "disobedience" had in some cases been due to panic, but in others was the result of real time information through Blackberries, phone calls and internal networks. The sharing of information made for better. The researcher's called this "reasoned flight" decisions based on true information, in which case "following the rules" will lead to death.

Where am I going with this? In your career search, there may be many cases where you should ignore the traditional rules and use your networks, internal advisors and the help of others to make important decisions even though at times this may seems counterintuitive. For example, the add that says "no phone calls please", when should you follow this, and when should you not? Well that depends, there are many variables in the career search and that is why the educated advice of others can so important. The key is to be both lateral and logical in your decision-making. It may "save" your career.

Along the road with you...

Were You Drafted in the First Round?

When I was young we used to play hockey on the street (that was before they outlawed it!) yes if you can believe it they have tried and in some cases been successful in outlawing street hockey. That is another story altogether. So we all lined up on the street, tallest to shortest, choose two captains and voila a few choices later we had two teams. I have to admit I was never the first choice and was generally picked towards the last round.

There was a new research paper put out by the world- renowned economist from The University if Chicago Richard Thaler. In his research, he looked at NFL draft picks and the outcomes that occurred with the athlete's career success over the past 10 years. The areas he concentrated on included draft position, salary and pro performance. In his findings with his 62-page summary, he determined that the high drafts were not a guarantee of success. " The top picks were worth a lot, but not generally as much as everyone thinks" In most cases the owners overpay early round picks and routinely get way more value with the lower draft picks. The sweet spot in the drafts happened to be the top 1/2 of the second round.

Career success has many factors related to successful outcomes, obviously if you graduate from Harvard with and MBA it enables you to open a lot of doors and get "drafted" sooner. That said, according to the Carnegie foundation 85% of a person's success is directly related to soft skills; something a Harvard MBA doesn't necessarily measure.

I have worked with many clients who may have started off slowly behind their colleagues, only surpass them as they grew along their career.

You know, as much as I was drafted low in street hockey, I still showed up every time there was a game, did my best and enjoyed ever second. Life doesn't get much better.

Along the road with you...