What Did You Want to Be When You Grew Up?

Shawn Graham — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:05:49 -0500

A simple question, right? It should have been, but when Maureen Anderson asked me during a recent guest appearance on her Career Clinic radio show, I didn’t really have an answer. I asked my mom, my aunt, and I also racked my brain to come up with an answer.

You’ve Asked for Feedback on Your Performance, Now What?

Shawn Graham — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:48:27 -0400

As a manager, there’s an invisible and unspoken wall between you and your staff. It would be great if it didn’t exist, but it does. And even though there are times when you feel like part of the gang, at the end of the day, you’ll still be the boss…and that creates a barrier.

What not to wear (or do) at MBA admissions fairs

Shawn Graham — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:47:26 -0400

I’ve been accused over the years of having unrealistically high expectations of people and I’m sure in some cases it’s true. However, the preponderance of things that really make me get hot under the collar are so low on the expectations spectrum, they really are hard for me to wrap my mind around. Which brings me to what not to do/wear to an MBA admissions fair.

Where, oh where, has common sense gone?

Shawn Graham — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:14:00 -0400

I’m in the McDonald’s drive-thru this morning and as I pull around to pay, I notice the cashier yelling from the first drive-thru window to a guy in a silver Lexus who was pulling away. Somehow he missed the whole concept of stopping at the first window to pay and was on his way straight to the second window (a real go-getter).

Brazen Careerist Launch: Twitter meets Facebook meets LinkedIn meets Gen Y…and it’s about time.

Shawn Graham — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:26:22 -0400

The folks at Brazen Careerist realize college students and young professionals aren’t always able to pull from years of previous work experience when marketing themselves to potential employers. And that often puts them at a competitive disadvantage. So, instead of sticking with the status quo, they decided to turn existing traditional online career management tools on their ear.

Customer feedback and the quest for continuous improvement

Shawn Graham — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:00:49 -0400

If you’re in a customer-focused business (and really, who isn’t?), you’re always looking for feedback. How was their experience when they entered your store? Were they able to easily navigate your website? Wal Mart (who knew they had a blog?) even asks whether the cashier greeted you before you swipe your credit card at the register.

Leveraging References, Referrals and Inside Connections

Shawn Graham — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:26:25 -0400

I recently had the opportunity to serve as a panelist for the References, Referrals and Inside Connections: How to Obtain, Maintain &am

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How One Grasshopper Is Boosting Employee Morale

Shawn Graham — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:30:44 -0400

Thanks to an introduction from Grasshopper's Ambassador of Buzz (yes that's his actual job title) Jonathan , I was able to connect with David Hauser, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Grasshopper.com to talk about employee incentives and corporate culture--two topics th
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Identifying and Acting Upon the Elusive “Critical Few”

Shawn Graham — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:27:54 -0400

Process improvement consultants often talk about the importance of focusing your efforts on the critical few—those 3-4 things that, as a business, you can (or can’t) live without.
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Employee Incentives on a Shoe String Budget

Shawn Graham — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:17:38 -0400

"No pay raises this year."

"Everyone is going to have to take 10 days of unpaid vacation."

"Everyone is going to have to take 10 days of unpaid vacation and a 1% (or more) pay cut."
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