I love Starbucks coffee. Years of living in Seattle cultivated a love for great coffee. Not just the coffee, but the whole experience of coffee. And yes I am (BARELY) old enough to remember the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market. We used to trek down there on the weekends to buy fish at the now famous FISH! place, buy wonderful fruit and flowers, and coffee. It was a wonderful tradition.
On March 19th, Starbucks was featured in the money section of USA Today*. Starbucks has experimented, explored, and experienced tremendous growth. They’ve taken some risks and they’ve learned some lessons. CEO Howard Schultz outlined a new strategy for Starbucks, which includes a “back-to-the-future” approach refocusing on the core business while driving for innovation. As I read the article I couldn’t help but think there are valuable take aways for all of us. We can all learn a lesson or two from Starbucks okay actually six, and here they are:
Return to your core. You dilute your personal brand when you try to be all things to all people. Make sure you are focusing on what drives the most value.
- Remember who you are! There a lot of talent out there and a lot of competition. What makes you special, unique, and marketable?
- Practice innovation. How can you improve a process, a product, or make it easier for people to do business with you?
- Pay attention to the social network. Build your community and make networking a real priority.
- Find ways to give back. Vest yourself in the causes you care about.
- Control your growth. It really is possibly to grow too quickly in your career. Master the step you are on before reaching for the next.
Heres to a really good cup of coffee and to your success. You were absolutely designed for it!
* USA TODAY article by Brian Horovitz.
Public Service Announcement: There is no such thing as job security, so stop looking for it, asking for it, and worrying about it. If that sounds like bad news, it really isn’t. Your security doesn’t come from your employer, and it never has.
It is a wonderful moment when you realize that you create your own opportunity by increasing your value. As an employee, you are an asset. Increase your value and opportunity will present itself. I promise. It’s the rule. You know sowing and reaping what you put in, you get out. It may not happen as quickly as you like or even where you are today, but it will absolutely happen. Here are three things you can do to start adding value right now, right where are:
- Ask your boss how you can have greater impact. (When I ask bosses if they would appreciate this they say, “Absolutely!” Most of them also say it has never happened. Blow your bosses mind, be the first.)
- Look for way to add value to everything you do, even to what seems routine and mundane. This is a little like putting “top spin” on the ball. You don’t even have to go the extra mile. Just reach beyond what is expected, and watch your value skyrocket.
- Make it easier for people to do business with you. Think about your internal and external customers. How can you become a greater resource? How can you save your customers time, make information more accessible, or simplify a process?
In the words of one of my favorite authors Brian Tracy, “The more you seek security, the less of it you have. But the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the security that you desire.”You were designed for success and you have tremendous value!
I am very proud to let you all know that “Designed for Success” has sold out of its first print run! That’s right. Less than 60 days from the release date and they’ve already begun a second printing! It’s a tremendous success and I want to thank each and every one of you who has shown such tremendous support. I appreciate the wonderful reviews, emails, “Ask Dondi” questions and all of the encouragement and input that I have received. I can’t wait to see where we continue to go with this!
Recently, a hiring manager wrote to me with a very interesting observation. She said, “I am screening candidates right now for two regional positions and there is a strong distinction between men who come across so much more confident and eager. They often have a planned strategy for their career where women don’t.” She is reading Designed for Success and found the difference between the male and female candidates very interesting. You’ll notice she did not say the men were brighter or more qualified. The difference was that they came to the table with confidence, energy, and a solid plan. This is a good example of how women can undersell themselves or fail to market themselves effectively. Here are three steps that women can take to make a stronger, more positive impression:
- Develop your career plan! Reach into the future at least 5 years, set your goals, and create a roadmap. Your career is one of the most important projects you will ever manage. Treat it like a project by defining your objectives, developing a timeline, and identifying the milestones. This way, when people ask, you’ll be able to share your vision immediately. This alone shows confidence, planning and structure that can be valuable in any situation and would be an asset to a prospective employer or client.
- Learn how to tell your stories well. (In Designed for Success you will learn five stories we all need to have on the tip of our tongues and how to market yourself effectively.) Share openly and honestly and with confidence!
- Confidence can be learned with practice. Even when you don’t feel it you can still portray confidence to those around you. When you find yourself in a low-confidence situation think of the most confident person you know and visualize what she (or he) would do in this situation. She would probably make eye contact and smile. Her posture would be open. She might lean forward to strengthen the connection and use natural gestures. Internally, she would allow herself to be “in the moment,” and she would give herself permission to take a risk.
Even if you don’t feel like that self-assured person, you can do all of the things that he or she would. No one outside yourself ever needs to know (or suspect!) that you aren’t just like that confident person that you pictured in your own mind a few minutes ago.
