Craig Notes

Just for a thought !

The real reason not to hire a friend

When Jason Raftis was a sales manager at a car dealership in Florida, he decided to give a longtime friend a job in his department.
“Stick to strangers. They're way easier to manage and even easier to fire.” — Jason Raftis
He quickly realised his mistake. The friend started making a habit of detailing their college exploits in front of other employees — and that was only the start.
“[It] turned out to be a nightmare,” recalled Raftis, who is now a business services account executive. “Because of our friendship, he took it as a license to come and go as he pleased and took liberties that other employees would never take.”
Raftis eventually fired him. His advice: “Stick to strangers. They're way easier to manage and even easier to fire.”
Whether as a boss or subordinate, mixing friendship and work has many potential pitfalls. Before you hire a friend — and more importantly, before going to work for a friend, it’s crucial to weigh the pros and cons.
A poor hire can give you a bad reputation and reflect badly on your judgment, not to mention damage a friendship. In addition, personalities can change — and not always for the best — when people move from friend to colleague.
“What if the friend is uber-competitive and wants to best you, causing complications in existing business relationships?” said Dallas-based Nancy Keene, founder of The Perfect Fit, a leadership consultancy, in an email. “Not everyone can cross over.” 

Make it official
Wanting to help a friend can set off a messy trail of unintended consequences, according to Keene. One way to keep the friendship intact, but help a friend get a job, is to defer to the human resources department. It’s common for companies and executive recruiters to ask for referrals from employees.
If it is a large organisation or a retained executive search firm, the friend will undergo the same level of scrutiny and evaluation as any other candidate. “If they don’t get through the screening/interviewing process, they won’t get the job. You’ve done a nice thing for a friend, but you are not the decider, and your friend can’t be unhappy with you if there is no hire,” said Keene. “Likewise, if the friend is hired and things go wrong… your hands will be clean.” 
Of course, hiring a friend doesn’t always have devastating consequences. If you were colleagues before, left for different companies, and now are teammates again, it can be a great fit for both sides. You already know each other’s work ethic and that can be a positive.
 “When a friend asks you to come work for him or her, it can indeed be a great feeling of recognition and support,” said Dr Lorraine Tilbury, founder of personal and professional development firm HorsePower International based in France’s Loire Valley, in an email.

Both sides of the equation
The pros and cons work both ways. If you’re the one being hired by a friend, be sure to examine the opportunity as objectively as possible, said Dr Andrea Bonior, clinical psychologist and author of The Friendship Fix, in an email.
“You need to evaluate whether it is a good job for you, independent of the fact that your friend works there,” she said. “There is a chance that you are biased because of wanting to be with your friend and might not be realistic about the job.”
For example, have you considered things like salary, the commute, advancement opportunities, whether it’s a challenging position?
“Sometimes, friends want to help you out and can end up offering you to do something for them that you don't feel is the best ‘fit’ for you,” said Tilbury. “Just as for any other potential employer, reflect on the pros and cons of the job offer.”
Get it in writing
How well do you know this friend? Do you trust him or her in business? What happens if it doesn't work out?
“These are all questions you should ask yourself before committing to working for [a friend],” said Anita Pickerden, a Birmingham, UK-based work life balance coach, in an email. No matter how well you think you know the person, you need to get all of the details of the job in writing before your start. “You may be very good friends now but if you fall out later then you want some proof of the original agreement,” she said.
Some conflict is bound to happen, according to Tilbury: “No matter how strong your friendship is between each other, disagreements will inevitably arise, so it's essential to talk about how they will be addressed.”

Doesn’t have to end badly
It is important to ask the same questions you would of any “boss to be,” said Rich Wellins, a senior vice president at Development Dimensions International, a US-based global human resources consulting firm, in an email. Before saying yes, ask yourself the following, suggested Wellins: Are you comfortable with a hierarchical relationship at work and an equal one outside of work? Are you willing to back your boss even if you disagree? Do you clearly understand what your goals and expectations are ahead of time?
“Your job matters almost more than your relationship with your friend-boss,” said Wellins. “I know many people who dislike their job but still like their boss. Who you work for is critical but not everything. People end up working for their friends every day... In most cases things just work out fine.”

Courtesy of bbc.com/capital
Moses Craig 9:12 PM No comments

No comments :

Post a Comment

The man who leads with no limbs

The man standing before the stadium-sized crowd held the attention of thousands, in part because of humorous, yet moving, speech about the power of hope. But also because he was standing there at all.
Nick Vujicic, the 32-year-old president of motivational speech marketer Attitude is Altitude, was born without arms or legs. Though he struggles with some practicalities of everyday living (brushing teeth, for example), he has become an in-demand inspirational speaker.
There is no medical explanation for Vujicic’s disability, an extremely rare congenital disorder known as tetra-amelia syndrome. He has a small foot on his left hip which helps him balance. He can type, pick things up between his toes and even kick a ball. The self-confessed adrenalin junkie regularly swims and has gone skydiving.
Confidence didn’t come naturally to Vujicic. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, he struggled with depression and was bullied at school. When he was just 10 years old, he attempted suicide. Over time, Vujicic worked on adopting a positive attitude, and, at 17, an encounter with his high school janitor inspired him to go into public speaking. The charismatic Australian now travels the world addressing huge crowds, including business groups and schoolchildren. He has visited more than 50 countries and given thousands of talks. 
The author of memoir Love Without Limits now lives in California with his wife, Kanae, and their 2-year-old son. They are expecting another child later in 2015. Vujicic runs a non-profit ministry, Life Without Limbs, as well as Attitude is Altitude, which markets his motivational speeches and campaigns against bullying.
Please click on the arrow above to see Nick Vujicic speak with BBC Capital about his extraordinary life and his recipe for success in the corporate world. 

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20150318-leading-without-limbs

To comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Capital, please head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.
Moses Craig 3:15 AM No comments

No comments :

Post a Comment

Giving a talk? Here’s how to avoid the tricky questions


(Credit: Warner Bros)Successful executives are adept at it. Slippery politicians thrive on it. But for most of us, fielding difficult questions during a big presentation is harder than it looks.
Taking evasive action when faced with a tricky question is an art form so we went to question-and-answer site Quora for some insight on tips for the craftiest way to dodge a question during a presentation?
Here’s what they had to say:
Acknowledging your interrogator can go a long way, says Vadim Zaytsev, a software language engineer. “I once attended a PhD defence where a scientific opponent asked a question [along] the lines of ‘what are going to do about X?’. The answer was absolutely brilliant because it started with ‘We mostly rely on the method published in your book’.
Saying that you are aware of the work of the person who asked the question and saying you agree it is related can help you dodge “very heavy accusations and/or redirect them to a broader community,” wrote Zaytsev.
Another hint: say the question will be addressed in subsequent slides. Still, “some rude listeners will actually come back at this by the end of the presentation and raise the question again, but most of them will be cut off, especially if the talk is long and there are others who want to ask something else,” Zaytsev wrote.
One common phrase Jon Mixon, a tool and die machinist, hears is, ‘that's a good question’. It is “a timeless dodge in the field of question avoidance,” he wrote. “This statement and the act of moving away from the original by creating a discussion about your perception of the question's ‘quality’” are key to redirecting the questioner’s attention.
Feigning a lack of attention also works. If you pretend you did not hear the question or that you weren’t paying attention, “this is usually a sufficient enough irritant to have the questioner either ask another person the question or to lose their composure enough to forget the question which they originally asked,” Mixon wrote. Another ploy: answering the question with a question, “stymies further questioning, or throws all but the most advanced interrogators off-track.”
Pretending you know the answer to a question can be devastating to your career, particularly in high-risk areas such as looking after astronauts, wrote Robert Frost an engineer and instructor at NASA. “They are putting their lives and careers in our hands when we train them,” he wrote. “They have to have 100% confidence that we can be trusted.”
Once when Frost was teaching a crew-member “he asked me a question. I didn't know the answer so I immediately said, 'I don't know’. We continued and he asked another question and again I said, ‘I don't know’,” Frost wrote. “For a brief moment, I felt panic that he was going to walk out of the room because he thought I was a moron that didn't know my subject.”
Instead, “he shook my hand and said, ‘Thank you. You don't know how many people are unwilling to say that to me’."
Frost advises presenters to always be honest: “You either know the answer or you don't. If you aren't sure, you risk providing negative training by giving bad information.”
Often during a presentation, computer software operations manager Doug Dingus gets “a correction” or someone will volunteer more detailed information. To that, he  will say “’Nice catch!’ followed by some banter that helps me understand their background better and perhaps exchanging contact info for a follow-on later.”
To handle “hostile” questions, Dingus suggests: “‘Let's have a talk after this thing, I want to hear what you have to say’ or some variation on that where they know I'm going to hear them out. But in return I'm asking for some consideration to get through the event.” He adds this could “result in drinks somewhere to hear them out entirely”.
Politicians have an adept way at handling difficult questions, wrote Ed Caruthers a retired physicist.. In short, they “stay on point”.“All modern US politicians have learned some variant of, ‘What we really need to do about that problem is,’ and then deliver a standard talking point.” He adds: “It avoids the possibility that the candidate will have an original thought in public, since anything new is unpredictable and may cause problems.”


Courtesy: bbc.com/capital
Moses Craig 9:12 AM No comments

No comments :

Post a Comment

Can your body language win you the job?


Samuel Amegavisa is getting nervous. In his last year of human biology studies at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, it’s time to start thinking about job interviews.

(Thinkstock)“My situation is quite simple. I have never been interviewed before,” wrote 23-year-old Amegavisa in an email to BBC Capital. He had a basic question — one most of us probably don’t think much about. “Is there any recommended sitting position before and during your interview?”
While everyone knows it’s important to dress smartly for an interview, less obvious — and less known— is the importance of how you carry yourself. What hidden cues do you give when you walk through the doorway, shake hands or sit?
Three body language experts share their insights on what moves to make, and avoid, in an interview.

Everyone knows it’s important to dress smartly for an interview. Less obvious is the importance of how you carry yourself.


 Happy medium
The first contact between an interviewer and interviewee is almost always a handshake. First impressions often determine how the rest of the interview goes, so this can be one of the most important elements of getting it right, according to David Alssema, a body language expert and training facilitator with Paramount Training & Development in Perth, Australia.
“Rapport is built by similarities,” so shake hands the way the interviewer does, recommended Alssema in an email. “Matching the strength or greeting shows you want to be an equal. Overpowering a handshake can signal a dominant attitude towards the meeting.”

Zones of space
No matter our culture, we all have and are at least subconsciously aware of four zones of space around us. They are (from farthest to closest): Public, social, personal and intimate. It’s important to be keenly attuned to these during an interview, according to Nick Morgan, Boston-based speech coach and author of Power Cues: The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others, and Maximizing Your Personal Impact. “The only significant things that happen between people happen in personal and intimate space,” he wrote in an email. “Since intimate space is off limits [in an interview], you want to get into the personal space of the interviewer,” if you want the person to be inclined to decide in your favour.

Make your move
While the handshake brings us into the personal space that we want — it’s why we do it, according to Morgan — typical seating arrangements in an interview tend to move us away. “That makes it easier for the interviewer to pass on us — but harder for us to make an impression,” he said. “So look for ways to tactfully move into the personal space of the interviewer.” For example, you might move your chair slightly or sit on the same side of a round table.
Once you’re seated, consider other ways to close the distance. Lean forward, for example, just not too much. “Try to do this tactfully and subtly, not rapidly or awkwardly,” cautioned Morgan. It’s worth the effort.
“We increase trust and connection with people when we close the distance between us, even by small amounts,” he said.

Open for business
It’s very important to keep your body language “open,” according to Morgan. You’re likely to be nervous and you might find yourself unconsciously clutching your hands in front of you or folding your arms.  “These feel safe and comfortable, but also distancing and disconnecting for the other party,” he said. In addition, “[folding your arms] shows that you are disinterested, and it also prevents you from leaning,” said Alssema.

The eyes have it
“Eye contact is important, and any less or any more than a reasonable amount may indicate other attitudes,” said Alssema. What’s just right? That might be hard to tell in some situations, but Alssema suggests mirroring the amount of time the interviewer gives you eye contact. If there is a panel of interviewers, it’s important to provide the right mix of time for each person. “Respond to each person individually with eye contact when answering questions,” he said. “Glancing around is a signal for boredom, so avoid it if possible.”
People often make the mistake of equating good eye contact with never looking away — but this would be a mistake, too, according to Atlanta, Georgia-based Patti Wood, a body language expert and author of SNAP Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma.
“It is normal to look away from time to time as you speak, because you’re accessing information in your brain,” she wrote in an email. Just don’t let yourself drift off when the interviewer is speaking. “After giving an answer, remember to make eye contact and listen to the interviewer. Eye contact sends the message that you are serious and engaged,” Wood said.

Don’t forget to breathe — deeply
The moment people get nervous, the more quickly they start breathing. That can wreak havoc in an interview.
“When you take quick shallow breaths, you reduce your ability to think clearly,” said Wood. “This may keep you from answering questions quickly and succinctly.”
Instead, try to breathe deeply from low down in your belly. “[It is] one key to feeling clearheaded, energised, and confident,” she said. “Practice breathing more slowly, using your diaphragm, belly, rib cage and lower back in the process.” Of course, this isn’t something you’ll want to do in your actual interview. “But try it whenever you get anxious and certainly before your interview,” she said.

Courtesy of bbc/capital
Moses Craig 6:07 AM No comments

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )

About