Personal Branding Interview: Harry Paul

Today, I spoke with Harry Paul, who is a New York Times bestselling author and an expert on organizational strategy. In this interview, Harry talks about how managers can make fun during a tough economy, money versus passion, his personal brand that he’s developed and information about his new book, which is called Instant Turnaround!
How can managers make work fun during a recession? What if they have no budget?
Focus on the purpose of the organization and have everyone share ideas on how to do this in a fun way keeping in mind to take your work seriously and yourselves a little less seriously. And fun has to be part of a bigger strategy that I call Destination: Work, outlined in my new book, Instant Turnaround!

• Focus on People as well as performance numbers
• Motivate with trust not fear
• Get management involved

Then make fun part of the work process. Fun helps keep people more engaged at work, which leads to increased productivity and profit. And it’s not a line item on a budget.
What if you’re getting paid a lot, but you aren’t passionate about your job. What should you do?
Money is a short-term motivator. Everyone needs to know the mission, vision and values of their organization and that they are making a difference for people. Fulfillment is a much stronger long-term motivator than money. People need to know all their hard work, passion, energy and creativity count for something.
Which companies are doing it right?
Many come to mind such as the Pike Place Fish Market that my book FISH! is based on and Southwest Airlines. These organizations do things a little differently and continue to be profitable even today tough economy. I also see Starbucks as a business where employees feel good about themselves, enjoy what they are doing and having fun while doing it. The employees in these organizations have great attitudes and love serving people. And it shows.
What is the main message in your new book?
The message in Instant Turnaround! is that any organization, large or small can accomplish so much more by tapping into the discretionary effort employees have; effort they regulate by how they feel management is treating them. This untapped resource of energy, creativity, innovation and effort propels companies forward and unleashes the human potential that will get us through these tough times.
How have you developed your personal brand over time? What are you most proud of?
That’s easy. Through my books and presentations. We spend a lot of time at work. We don’t and shouldn’t have to do that in a toxic environment. I’m all about sharing with people that there is a better way to enjoy that third or more of our lives we spend at work. I’m very proud that my message gets heard, understood and I get to make a difference through my books and presentations.
Article by, Dan Schawbel, the leading personal branding expert for Gen-Y. He authors the Personal Branding Blog and publishes Personal Branding Magazine and authored the upcoming book, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Kaplan, Spring 2009). Dan has been called a “personal branding force of nature” by Fast Company and his work has been published in BrandWeek Magazine, Advertising Age and countless other publications.

Do Your Career Justice With an Entry Level Job With The Bronx Defenders

Last night I had some friends over for dinner, and we played a question and answers game. My questions for everyone was “if you got arrested, what would it be for.” Think about that for a second. I’m sure most of you never expect to run into trouble with the law, but not all criminals intend to break the law and not all people who are arrested are guilty. Since you’re a college student/new grad with limited financial resources, how would you afford a defense lawyer? Your parents? (If your parents would pay for it, then maybe you should take advantage of that generosity and have them sign you up for our job search prep course.) Or would you end up needing a public defender? That’s not a good thought – “someone you’ve never seen; someone you didn’t choose; someone you have no reason to trust” is responsible for your freedom. That’s why The Bronx Defenders exists. They “have transformed the role of the public defender by changing the nature of the attorney-client relationship, investing in the communities where our clients live, and striving to create justice for the people [they] serve.” It’s still not pleasant to consider a court case, but having better public defense makes it a little less scary.
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Article by Willy Franzen of One Day, One Internship and One Day, One Job

Entry Level Jobs to Help You Wikinvest in Your Future

Who would have thought that you could build a whole startup off of a Wiki? I mean, I know that Wikipedia is wildly successful, but they’re run by a non-profit called the Wikimedia Foundation. Building a real business off of that same idea almost sounds too easy, but that didn’t stop the founders of San Francisco based Wikinvest from trying it. It all started when two Harvard students were day trading in their dorm rooms during the height of the Internet bubble. They were making money, so they thought they were smart investors. When the bubble burst, they realized that they weren’t nearly as smart as they thought they were. As they tried to educate themselves, they noticed that most financial websites leave a lot to be desired (kind of how I noticed that most job search sites leave a lot to be desired). Instead of building a team of salaried experts, the guys who started Wikinvest decided to crowdsource their content through a Wiki. So far it seems to be working well for them – they raised $2.5 million in a first round (although that was 18 months ago).
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Article by Willy Franzen of One Day, One Internship and One Day, One Job

Internships With Burt’s Bees

It always seems like you never have Chapstik – er, lip balm – when you really need it. Even Napoleon Dynamite was plagued by that little tube’s ability to disappear from his pocket and end up sitting on his desk at home. Some will argue that they never use lip balm because it just makes the problem of chapped lips worse, but I know for a fact that those people give in as soon as their “lips hurt real bad.” As life saving as lip balm can be at the right time, you’d still never expect it to allow a guy who lived in a turkey coop to be the face of a billion dollar business. Yes, Burt’s Bees was sold two years ago to Clorox for just shy of a billion dollars. Continue reading about Burt’s Bees…
Article by Willy Franzen of One Day, One Internship and One Day, One Job

Turn Over a New Leaf Paper Internship and Protect the Environment

Originally posted on April 21, 2009
I wasn’t going to write an Earth Day post today, because I hate the environment. (That’s not true, it’s just what I tell Green Peace people who harass me as I walk down the street. The real reason was that I was going to do Administrative Assistants’ Day instead.) However, I came across San Francisco based New Leaf Paper, which couldn’t be a more fitting company to feature on Earth Day. According to their web site, they lead “the paper industry in the development and distribution of environmentally superior printing and office papers.” It’s kind of like Dunder Mifflin gone green and moved to California (there’s an idea for the Michael Scott Paper Company!). If you’re surprised that a paper company can offer both quality and affordability while being eco-friendly, then you should check out New Leaf’s Eco Audit. I don’t know what to make of all those numbers, but hopefully you will. At the very least it sounds phenomenal that they saved 118 Trees, 5,551 Pounds of solid waste, 50,178 Gallons of water, 84 Million Btu of energy, and more. Continue reading about New Leaf Paper…
Article by Willy Franzen of One Day, One Internship and One Day, One Job

Nourish Your Grey Cells With a mental_floss Internship

I’m a sponge for random information. I’m not sure why, but I pick up all kinds of weird facts. Some people find it very impressive, while others think that I have way too much free time. If you’re like me and have a love for weird and unusual information, then you need to check out mental_floss – “where knowledge junkies get their fix.” I’m not a subscriber, but maybe I should be. Their About page does a great job of explaining what it is exactly that they write about. The magazine has 5 sections -Stories to Make You Smile, Feed Your Right Brain, Nurture Your Left Brain, Indulge Your Scattered Brain, and Learn to Spin the Globe. It’s everything that you need to be the king or queen of random information. Continue reading about mental floss …
Article by Willy Franzen of One Day, One Internship and One Day, One Job

Parents need to handle rejection.

You can almost hear the sound effects in homes across America… hearts are breaking, bubbles bursting, dreams swirling down the drain. And I am talking about the parents, not the college applicant.
Nothing hurts more to a parent than our kid being rejected. We feel the pain. We feel rejected. Darryle Pollack, – Huffpost Blogger of the Huffington Post (April 13, 2009) reminds us that Character is defined and strengthened not by acceptance — but by rejection.
Parents must be prepared for the graduate to assert themselves as they take control of their own destinies. Actually, this is all very healthy. You may have a young adult that has learned courage and self confidence. Sometimes, it is hard to believe but they may know what is best for them. They may not be ready for college now, but this does not mean they will not attend college ever.

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10 Worst Entry Level Jobs in Tech

Isn’t it interesting that one person’s dream is another’s nightmare? Many college students and recent graduates would just about kill for an opportunity to work for leading technology companies such as Google, Amazon.com, Yahoo!, Facebook, MySpace, IODA, Workforce Logic, Mashable, and Mahalo. Yet each and every one of those organizations gets the nod in a list of the 10 worst entry-level jobs in information technology:

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3 Mistakes That Increase Your College Costs

1. The first mistake parents make is assuming that the Award Letter your child receives is set in stone because too much is still in the air at the time the awards letters go out. Many students will end up going to other schools leaving money on the table. Schools will have vacant seats and may be willing to sweeten the deal to fill their classrooms.
2. Many parents and students do not understand the “Early Decision” process. The early decision process is often binding. Your child agrees to the commitment if the college accepts your child with an adequate financial aid package. The school knows by this action, that they have no competition. This does not put you in the best position for cutting the best deal.
3. It is a big mistake not to develop a great relationship with the Financial Aid Officers at the potential schools. Financial Aid can be subjective. The Director is able to make adjustments and can use professional judgement to change items taking into account your current financial situation. So document your expenses and notify the financial aid office of any special circumstances as they occur.
It is now as important as ever to be very wise in our financial commitments. Understand how the college financial aid system works and allow it to work for both you and your student.
Article by, College Parenting Expert, Dr. Debi Yohn, whose advice on successfully getting college students through college with an emphasis on graduation and rewarding employment is sought by parents from around the world. Now for the first time, she reveals 27 Winning Strategies for Success – a guidebook geared to parents of new college students. Get her free e-Book now at http://www.collegeparentsadvice.com/ and improve your child’s chances of a successful college experience.

Advice Straight From the Recruiters’ Mouths

Over on Twitter I often ask recruiters to ping me with their advice so I can anonymously share. I also love to promote the companies who have taken the bold step to recruit on Twitter. In a tough economy, job seekers need all the help they can get.
Randy Goldberg over at Hyatt hits both nails on the head. Randy and his team of recruiters have taken a break from finding talent to share their wisdom. Even if you don’t work in hospitality, there’s some great lessons to be learned. Hey, if you won’t listen to me, maybe you’ll listen to other recruiters. Oh, and follow them on Twitter! One of their tweets today proclaimed 80 jobs available in the state of Texas alone.

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