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Praise For Adapt
or Perish from Business, Education, and Military Leaders
"Afraid of change? Read this book. It will pave the way
for solutions in both your personal and business life.”
Mel Bartholomew
Engineer, inventor, and
author of Square Foot
Gardening – the largest
selling gardening book ever!
“Every
transitioning veteran would benefit greatly from reading the chapters on
military lessons for business and transitioning from the military and
personally assessing how your salient points apply to them individually.
You've provided them wise counsel.”
Lt Gen F. L. Hagenbeck
former Superintendent,
United States Military
Academy, West Point
“Adapt
or Perish is a must read for anyone seeking a fulfilling career and not just
a job! I highly recommend it.”
Jeannette Frett
Chief Talent Officer
Howard University
“Adapt or Perish offers the kind of advice that is
valuable to everyone from the newly diploma-ed job applicant to the senior
professional with a lifetime of work experience. It is a roadmap for
those who understand they must change the way that they embrace change
itself. Well then, what are you waiting for? Ready... Set... Read!”
Stuart Manis
Director of Sales
and Marketing,
Kramer Consultants
“Adapt or Perish
is a treasure chest of practical information on how to navigate personal
careers through various challenges. It has an easy to grasp layout and
it’s well written. Any business person will find it indispensable. I
highly recommend it.”
Emil Stempel
Professional
Engineer
“Adapt or Perish is an impressive breadth of topics
covered by knowledgeable industry experts sharing their insights, aha
moments and research. This is a must read for those facing transition and
more important for those managing people that have been through
transition. I appreciated the chapter on “Generation Trends” and was able
to relate it to personal, social and work situations giving me a new
perspective of how to better influence, motivate and build teams; for
example, the benefits of pairing generations within a team. The reference
list of supporting material is likewise impressive and adds credence to
the material presented in the book. It is unlikely I’ll read all of the
references and, after reading this book, likely won’t have to. Thank you
for this wonderful compilation in Adapt or Perish.”
Donald Baddorf
Vice
President,
Investment
Solutions
“Find out
what it takes to succeed in the new normal. From managing social media to
managing your career, from understanding generational tendencies to
managing risk, this book is a road map to a successful future for
individuals and organizations. Filled with valuable charts and easy
exercises, it will help you take control and move forward.”
Eugenie R. Brown
VP Business Development
“You
capture the essence of what it means to survive dealing with job loss and
achieve ongoing success in life. I especially enjoyed the sections
referring to professional responsibility, motivating people and
resiliency. Furthermore, the personal references spoke to me such as ‘make
happy moments’ and ‘I’m going to be OK.’ Thank you team!”
Marilyn L. Burtt, MBA
“Change is
one characteristic that separates the good talent from the great talent.
As an executive recruiter, the companies I work with want people that can
adapt to change and do it quickly. The blend of the authors’ experiences
and coaching is valuable for all levels of an organization, including
CEOs. I will encourage the people I work with to read this book. The title
says it all.”
Brad Remillard
IMPACT Hiring Solutions
“So many ‘self-help’ books preach, ramble, and simply leave
us with a sense of having wasted our time. Adapt or Perish
is a rare combination of identifying the key areas of need yet keeping it
light and interesting. It is a book you can easily read in an afternoon
that might change your life forever. It features subject matter experts
who succinctly shared their expertise and
provided tangible exercises, which showed me what well-developed thought
was given to this book.”
Cindy Pickens
Founder,
CaféNet
regional
networking
organization
“Adapt or Perish
is a great collection of valuable information from very credible
sources. Bringing together the wisdom of so many renowned experts provides
information in a single resource that generally requires sifting through
dozens of books.”
Nancy Salzman, Esq.
Dean,
Extended Education
Brandman
University
“I think
Adapt or Perish will be a very valuable read for managers at all
levels including small business.”
Lt. Col. Gene Wolf
(Former
Commander)
Squadron 40
California
Wing - Civil
Air Patrol
Auxiliary
U.S. Air Force
“Change is a constant theme in business and this book gives
us answers! What a refreshing set of topics and talented authors. A must
read for any entrepreneur or executive.”
Mark
J. Kohler
CPA, Attorney,
Author of
What Your
CPA Isn't Telling
You
“This step by step
guidebook takes you through the process of embracing changes in business.
It provides you with useful tools and tips for personal development by
finding the ideal position.”
Gwen Bernal,
Human
Resources Executive
“Adapt or Perish could
also have been titled Thrive or Perish. Each chapter in this book
has great information and ideas about how to make the changes necessary to
succeed in the current business environment. There is red meat here for
business owners, C-level executives, directors, and managers as well as
those seeking their next position. I highly recommend Adapt or Perish
for all who want to succeed in our changing business environment.”
Richard Horstmeyer, MD
Past
President of
Experience
Unlimited
“This book addresses the
ongoing challenges of adapting to change without fear of failure in an
ever increasing social media presence within an electronic age of
information. The in-depth insight of adapting the vision of the business
model, continuous strategic planning coupled with the importance of the
selection leaders are addressed in a compelling manner for a world ever so
transitioning to a transactional based global economic model. A must
read.”
Col(R) Edward G. Carson
Chief
Executive Officer,
Growth
Management and Constructive Changes, LLC
“This book will give new
and seasoned business professionals insightful strategies for adapting and
thriving in a constantly changing global marketplace.”
Beverly Jones
Higher
Education
Administrator
“Adapt or Perish is a book for
everyone who would like to succeed in this fast changing world. Look for
the opportunities that exist in the change, embrace it and become the
leader of tomorrow.”
Sushma Rajput
Toastmasters
Founder's District Public Relations Chair, Div F 2010-2011
“Adapt or Perish
is a comprehensive
collection of wisdom and advice from some of the nation's leading experts
on change. Their perspectives on successfully leading organizations
through an environment of shifting landscapes equip the reader to
effectively adapt in business, leadership, and in careers. Where
continuous change is now the new normal,
Adapt or
Perishis a guidebook
on change management that deserves to be in every executive's library.”
Loyalty, fuzzy word by any account! There are just so many factors to consider. Loyalty generally applies to our family, spouse, friends, country, school and so forth. Defining the word itself is almost as elusive as defining the word love. Technically Webster defines loyalty as “being faithful to something like a person, or cause.” After all, while we may consider ourselves as being a loyal and true person – are we really? Or, are we just putting on a show when it’s convenient. After all, how loyal do we have to be to be considered loyal? You will have to answer this question yourself.
However, today I will be discussing loyalty from a different context. That is, loyalty to the company or organization that pays us. Yes, enables us to live a decent life outside of work, pay our bills-even enjoy “the good life” to some extent. Are we supposed to go to the wall, just because they pay us? Are we supposed to be considered disloyal if we hate our job or hate our boss, are underpaid and under appreciated? What if we have ideas that can help improve a situation and our ideas are ignored – and what if we tell others how much we hate – are we still loyal? How do we define loyalty under these circumstances? How do we maintain a positive mental attitude?
Here are a few thoughts:
If you were ever in the military you know that a soldier that isn’t complaining is an unhappy soldier. Complaining is part of human nature – so, don’t feel it is unusual. In my experience the people that complain are usually the ones that care. On the other hand, out of control they can also be a cancer to an organization. Negative attitudes create all sorts of problems and must be dealt with. Avoid negative attitudes. Attitude is the key issue; motivation is paramount and integral in not only doing a great job but enjoyment and a feeling of fulfillment.
How about that boss I hate or don’t respect? Not everyone is an ideal boss, often it’s because they are not good communicators or are micro managers constantly looking over your shoulder. They may have not been properly trained to obtain objectives by working with and through people to get results. Maybe they are frustrated too and take it out on you. Here are a few suggestions: Check their attitudes and attempt to find out how “you” can better help them achieve goals. From your standpoint – try to break down your goals into smaller parts. As you achieve one – then another, you will feel good about yourself and what you are doing. Not all high achievers meet “all” the goals set for them. Work with your boss to find out which of your goals are most important – in other words develop a priority list. Ask what they want you to do first. Developing a stronger line of communication can help improve the relationship. May also help with the autonomy issue – give it a try and read my blog on “misunderstandings.”
Underpaid – probably one of the biggest casualties of the economic times. With not many increases being given in recent times, it again is not unusual to not see a raise. I always say that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. One good approach to take is to evaluate the additional duties that have been given to you since your last review – ask for a meeting with your supervisor and come prepared. See what they have to say and don’t expect immediate gratification. They may have to work on it. It may be that because we are capable and willing- we still have a job.
Hate your job? First thing you can do is ask yourself how much do you really hate it? Why? Next check your long term goals to determine if this position will help you get to where you want to be. Determine how long it will take. Then ask do I really have a chance to get there. Oh, you don’t have any goals? Suggestion- make some! Might want to keep in mind that to get to the next position you must do a great job at this one, even if you hate it. Also, keep your resume up to date, work on your networking and value what you have now. One final thought – often if we have been with a company for a time we can begin to take what we have for granted, we begin to think the grass is greener someplace else. If from time to time you test the market (go out on an interview) – sometime we find yes, the grass is greener – sometimes not!
Is it time to quit? Think about it- what will happen, what will improve? Will I be able to find what I’m looking for in a short time- is the job market open for me? How can I achieve my long term goals by quitting? Generally I suggest not quitting until you have something else lined up that can help you achieve your long term goals. Today most people that are being hired are people that are already employed. Might want to keep these things in mind.
A great colleague of mine and a co-author of the book Adapt or Perish, Emily Woodman-Nance talks about “the company of me.” She considers herself a trouble maker, and I agree- she is! Why is she and why do I agree that she is? Well it’s simple, she takes nothing for granted and makes you prove the point. If you can’t prove and justify your point of contention- you haven’t thought it through. Thinking through the who, how, why, etc- makes for good decisions. They are not always right but, shows how loyalty is a matter of doing the right thing with the right preparation. Doing what you are told to do is okay but, finding ways to improve the system is priceless. The morale is asking questions is not being a disloyal person, just a dedicated loyal person.
Being a loyal employee requires something called “hard bark.” That is being both fair and tough minded. “Hard bark” came from the Paul Newman 1967 movie “Hombre” and really means someone that is tough in his thinking and has perseverance to go with it. Often times working for a company – especially over the long haul and through good and bad times takes some “hard bark” – I’m confident you can find some of that.
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