As basements go, I’m sure your
parents’ house is great,
But try to get out before it’s too late.
Pay your knowledge forward,
regardless of your age.
Personal experience makes you a young sage.
Hope is a boon as you go on your way,
But action and persistence are what count
at the end of the day.
You worked so hard, you hit your stride,
But you know the real world is no free ride.
To use a sports analogy, if you run with a ball on your own
from point A to point B, it will take you longer than simply
kicking it or throwing it to another person already at point
B. We try to do too much on our own. Whether we want all the glory,
think we can do it better, or simply just want it done, there is value
in getting others involved. This chapter isn’t about dumping, or even
delegating. It’s about teamwork. Depending on your position, you may
still have to supervise, validate the work, or make sure it gets done, but
you should find opportunities to avoid doing everything on your own.
Think about the expertise you have surrounding you. Do you
have the right people working on the right tasks? Start to keep a
list of contacts with their specific expertise so that you can quickly
reference it. If you are part of a team effort, schedule time with your
peers or co-workers, particularly if you’re all depending on each other’s
contributions. The benefit of a routine get-together is that it allows
people to obtain consolidated information in one sitting as opposed to
communications going back and forth with “reply all” emails that can
take up valuable time.
It’s important to have a meaningful and added-value manner for
people to get updates. If it’s not a meeting, at least create a consistent
time each week for a progress summary with everyone’s contributions.
The goal is to create a routine in which people know when and where
updates and answers will be given, which reduces surprises and questions
like, “Where do we stand on project A?” If you do set up a progress
report email, be sensitive to the amount of time it’s taking everyone.
You want meaningful content, but not time wasted for emails that go
unread or administrative tasks that take away from actually completing
the real work.
Once a routine meeting or progress report is established, clearly
define roles and responsibilities. This will hold people, including you,
accountable to meeting the deadlines and keeping people informed
of status updates. Knowing who is doing what and when is a critical
component of time management.
When dealing in team situations, it’s also important to divide and
conquer. Not everyone needs to be at every meeting. Have someone
who attended the meeting provide an update and any key deliverables
to the collective group. Also, it’s important for you to schedule actual
work time for yourself and/or sub-group to ensure time is not all spent
in meetings relating to what is being asked of you. As for meetings
taking up all of your day, you have the right and obligation, whether
you are the organizer or not, to question when meetings have run
their course and are no longer valuable. Don’t have meetings to set up
meetings. Look to get rid of time-wasting tasks.
Understand the importance of working as a team. A group of
people can get more done in less time than one person if the process and
roles are managed well. It is obvious, but is not always done effectively.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know about Avanoo.com? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life.
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time—Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
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The first time I can remember being called anal retentive, I debated
whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. According
to Memidex/WordNet Dictionary/Thesaurus, it is a person,
“who pays such attention to detail that the obsession becomes an annoyance
to others, potentially to the detriment of the anal-retentive
person. The term derives from Freudian psychoanalysis.” I guess a description
using words like psychoanalysis and obsession can’t always
be seen as good, but the term grew on me. The reference to anal retentive
was typically about making sure things got done. Nowhere in
the description does it mention the words time, organization, or time
management. Yet, when people say they don’t have time, they are really
saying they didn’t get done everything they wanted to get done. Now
is the time to do everything you want to do. This book may not create
obsessive anal-retentive monsters, but it will create methodologies to
help you pay attention to the right priorities.
Even at work when I was riding a rollercoaster of success that
included some interesting curves and downhill dives, I made the effort
to constantly hone my time management and organizational skills to
not only keep my nose above water, but to prove people wrong. When
I was demoted twice for being in the right place at the wrong time—
not being mature enough yet to manage the efforts of people—nobody
could say it wasn’t because the work wasn’t getting done. I ironically
found the maturity by sharing all of my mistakes with others!
I’ve taught versions of the time management information included
in this book for more than fifteen years. There are four points I want to
emphasize. First, the word secret is not found anywhere.
• There are no secrets to time management. Commitment, routine,
and a number of other factors will make you successful,
but there is no secret formula to time management. As you find
the balance that works for you, you will find success.
• Second, as attached as we may be to the latest and greatest technology
gadgets and applications that claim to make us more
efficient, they are only supporting tools to the process of time
management. In fact, many of them—including social media—
eat up large chunks of time before we even realize it. Your
ability to execute what you set out to do will not be magically
solved with a new smart phone.
• Third, your personal and professional lives are intertwined. You
may not think that you take your work home with you. You
may not even discuss it when you get home. However, you do
think about it. What do I have to do tomorrow? Was I supposed to
send that email? Did I ever get back to my boss? A dozen random
thoughts from your professional world worm their way into
the sanctity of your home life, regardless of how much you try
to keep them separate.
• Finally, for as long as I’ve shared my time management tips,
it has been rare that I’ve made significant changes to what
I’m teaching. It’s not because I haven’t evolved with time. I’ve
found that people over complicate the process, or find excuses
as opposed to solutions. Let’s oversimplify, instead.
I sleep very well. Most nights, I sleep more than the recommended
eight hours. I am refreshed and ready for each day. I balance my fulltime
job with my other business, while still making it to my children’s
piano recitals, field hockey games, school events, and so much more.
I mention this not to say, ‘look how much I can jam into a day.’ I
truly don’t feel like I jam anything into my days. I simply prepare for
all of them ahead of time. I own my twenty-four hours each day—I
don’t rent them. It’s up to me to determine how they are used. I’m accountable.
I must make decisions each day based on my priorities and
account for unexpected time by thinking forward and being flexible.
If there is such thing as a traditional forty-hour work week, I’m confident
enough to be able to say that I do more in it than most people do
in fifty, sixty, and even seventy hours. It’s time to work smarter—not
harder—and start taking back the twenty-four hours in your day to
actually get more done personally and professionally.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know about Avanoo.com? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life.
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time—Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
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[audio:https://www.transformationtom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/20Chapter-82.mp3]
“From Fear to Success” Audiobook= Live in the Present
With dread, I waited in the lobby an hour before the biggest speech
competition of my life. For the first time, I had the opportunity to
compete against seven other speakers for the chance to represent our
district in the Toastmasters World Semi-finals International Speech
Competition. Unfortunately, I hadn’t learned yet that the words “fun”
and “public speaking,” could be used in the same sentence.
I asked Joey Grondin, the eventual contest winner, what he did to
relax. He simply said, “Live in the present.” He went on to say that this
moment would never come again, so why not enjoy it? If you grasp
hold of the now, then the audience will get caught up in the moment,
too. So, I stopped worrying about making mistakes and basked in the
moment I had on the podium. When I did, in fact, make a large mistake
by having an awkward pause while I tried to remember what I
wanted to say next, I watched the audience feel my emotions and provide
the encouragement and support I needed to ultimately have the
most fun I ever had in my early speaking career.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s business books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know about Avanoo? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life. Here are my latest projects:
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time–Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
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After twenty-three years with the same company, I got The Call That Nobody Wants. I had already started Thomas Dowd Professional Development and Coaching, LLC, as a side job in 2011, in which I taught groups and individuals how to effectively transform into who they really wanted to be professionally using tools like interviewing, networking, and résumé writing. I was in somewhat of an ironic situation, my credibility as an expert in professional development suddenly at stake.
The irony started within a few hours after my job was eliminated, with a pre-scheduled speaking engagement for an organization called “Jobs for Maine Grads.” It continued into the next week, when I landed a radio interview on a show where I had tried to discuss my previous two business books several months before. When I told the producer of this satirical twist, he invited me to immediately come onto the program to discuss unemployment in Maine.
How was I going to keep my emotions in check enough to keep a clear head? I’ve been an active member of Toastmasters International since 2008, and have always found that writing speeches and journals keeps me sane. I used the same approach when the potentially disastrous call came, starting with a jobless journal and notes to reflect my feelings, documenting what I had learned, and helping to keep a clear path to the ultimate goal: a job. “My Beautiful Funeral” passage that started the book is a version of a speech that I wrote within minutes of getting that call. This speech and subsequent book are the lessons I learned on this very personal journey. My passage through unemployment lasted fifty-nine days. I tell you this because my path to land it took many turns. It felt like an eternity until the relief set in with the job offer. I’m convinced that the relatively short period of time was due to having a clear plan and a support system that I now want to share. A journey I would never wish on anyone, but am so thankful that I took.
This book takes you on the rollercoaster ride, from buying the ticket to the moment your stomach sinks thanks to those quick drops, to that final race to the end, arms raised in jubilation. What I’ve found with roller-coasters is that many riders get on for the thrill of not only surviving, but the adventure of something that pulls you between fear and excitement. Your own ride is in front of you. Though you may not have chosen this particular ride, your reaction while you’re on it is up to you. You may ask yourself, “How can I even imagine the possibilities of a new job when I’m panicked about paying my mortgage and providing for my family?” We can get there together—you’re not on this journey alone. What if instead your question became, “Can I land an even better job?” The answer is, “Yes.”
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job (Honorable Mention at the 2014 Paris and New York Book Festivals), The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World (Honorable Mention at the 2012 New England Book Festival), From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide (2013 Axiom Business Book Awards Gold Medal Winner and 2013 Paris Book Festival Honorable Mention). Audiobook version of “From Fear to Success” is also available! See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know what Avanoo is? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life. Here are my latest projects:
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time–Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
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Introductory Chapter to “Displacement Day”
Have you ever imagined your own funeral? Who will do your eulogy? Who will be your pallbearers? Will anyone show up or even care? I attended my own funeral. Let me explain. But before I do, I need to disclose that no one died or was injured in the making of this narrative.
On a typical day when I was happily playing solitaire and checking Facebook at work, I got the call. June 6th—the anniversary of D-Day. Not World War II; I’m talking about Displacement Day—the day my twenty-three-year job was eliminated. Just like that, it was over. Hard work, tenure, and skills weren’t part of the cost-cutting decision.
On my ride to work on that fateful day, a news report announced that 175,000 jobs had been added in the United States, making the unemployment rate 7.6 percent. On my ride home I was on the other side— one of 11.6 million unemployed. To grasp the magnitude, take the entire population of New York City, and then add another 4 million people. The call was like a gunshot to the head. My work identity was gone immediately. I was being put to rest and people were preparing for my funeral. Condolences rolled in, hugs were bestowed, tears flowed.
What will people say when you’re gone? An old manager once asked me if I ran through a wall, would people follow? At the time, I didn’t know the answer. I needed to know the answer. That was a lifeline—a time for action. Fast-forward six years later to D-Day. I don’t recall a more calming day. It was a day of self-reflection…a chance to hover over my dead body and ask if my life and career were a success. The notes flooded in. “Tom, you’ve touched me more than you’ll ever know, personally and professionally.” “Tom, we love you… This IS your next speech.” I ran through a wall, and people followed.
How was I going to tell my three daughters that Dad was sent to the farm, just like my childhood dog? A spending freeze on shoes, clothes, and pizza may be worse than death for teenagers. My middle child’s head tilted down at a mourner’s angle and a small tear rolled down her cheek as if it was about to drop onto my coffin. My youngest daughter held me in a bear hug as if it was the last time ever, while my social-media-conscious sixteen-year-old daughter told me that all responses to relocation questions on Facebook were to be “no”—as if I had a choice. The denial, the anger, then acceptance—the exhaustive feeling of having my family watch my demise. However, my support system refused to let my casket be nailed down as they put in a crowbar made of emails, phone calls, and leads. I was being resuscitated.
How many of you have prepared a will? A will reduces stress and chaos. The run through the wall question six years earlier was my wake up call, but I didn’t realize then how it would prevent my professional passing. My eyes were opened wide as I started to build an extraordinary career-saving and life-changing network. In Keith Ferrazzi’s book Never Eat Alone he notes, “Build it before you need it.” Real relationships built over the years provided me meaning, and are the reason for my success now. I wasn’t six feet under. I was six degrees from Kevin Bacon, or at least six degrees from my big break. I was alive. My support system was my CPR.
My job loss became a celebration of life, not my funeral. It reminded me how deep my love and my appreciation really are for my family, friends, and network. I was not defined by my job. I defined my own life and was going to do my funeral my way. No, I’m not going to belt out Sinatra. I lost work but found me. I used my displacement as reaffirmation that when I leave this earth, I’m leaving with no regrets. Think about your own funeral—when your spirit is hovering over the mourners, will you leave them something to mourn and celebrate?
So, let’s go back to the question: Have you ever imagined your own funeral? Who will do your eulogy, who will be your pallbearers, who will care? My eulogy was shouted out by the many key people in my network who blew my trumpet for me and gave humbling accounts of the person I had been, and who I had become. My pallbearers carried me when I couldn’t go any further. The overwhelming flood of calls and messages showed who cared. I have to admit that I started writing this narrative immediately after I got the call, and I wrote the end too. We all know we’re going to die—I don’t mean that “end.” I mean the speech ending, where I get a job. I wrote it before I had a job secured. It wasn’t overconfidence, it was just a belief that I was surrounded by an ironclad network that refused to stop giving me the oxygen I needed to survive. Are you ready to see your own funeral? I lived to see mine, and it was beautiful.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job (Honorable Mention at the 2014 Paris and New York Book Festivals), The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World (Honorable Mention at the 2012 New England Book Festival), From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide (2013 Axiom Business Book Awards Gold Medal Winner and 2013 Paris Book Festival Honorable Mention). Audiobook version of “From Fear to Success” is also available! See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know what Avanoo is? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life. Here are my latest projects:
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time–Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
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[audio:https://www.transformationtom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/05Chapter-67.mp3]”From Fear to Success” Audiobook= Manage Phone Presentations Well
As part of a very large organization, I have been asked to present
many times over the phone. These conversations have advantages and
disadvantages. Let’s start with some of the advantages. You can surround
yourself with notes and not worry about being as discreet as you
would have to when in front of large audiences. You can also typically
have more control over the flow of the conversation.
However, one pitfall is not being able to physically observe audience
reactions, which makes it more difficult to adjust the presentation
mid-stream. You may be able to hear some laughter, sighs, or groans,
but what happens when the phones are on mute and all you hear is
silence? You may need to adapt your style, asking for more engagement—
to make sure you have kept the audience’s attention—through
verbal responses or, on webcasts and meetings with the appropriate
platform, through voting-type buttons for opinions or answers. You
also may have the inverse, when a phone is not on mute but the listeners
have chosen to multi-task and you hear keyboards clicking, phone
conversations, dogs barking or, worse, personal information you wish
you hadn’t heard. As a speaker, you should set expectations ahead of
time, such as whether you would like the presentation to be interactive
or have the audience hold questions and answers until the end. You
can ask that everyone put their phones on mute, if needed. You should
also know whom to contact to disconnect a distracting line, if possible.
Finally, you need to ensure that the presentation itself is adaptable
to the phone. The first professional development conversation I did
for a large group of people over the phone was a flop. I did not change
it from my dynamic face-to-face presentation, so my use of the stage
became irrelevant, and my gestures were useless. I had to depend more
on open and inviting questions for the audience and more on voice
inflection to share my passion. The phone can reach a wider audience
and be just as impactful, as long as you know that some revisions and
varying preparation are required for the best outcome.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job (Honorable Mention at the 2014 Paris and New York Book Festivals), The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World (Honorable Mention at the 2012 New England Book Festival), From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide (2013 Axiom Business Book Awards Gold Medal Winner and 2013 Paris Book Festival Honorable Mention). Audiobook version of “From Fear to Success” is also available! See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know what Avanoo is? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life. Here are my latest projects:
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time–Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
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