In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016 U.S. Army recruits listen carefully to a drill sergeant during marksmanship training at Fort Jackson, S.C. While some of the Army’s newest recruits may have grown up using rifles to hunt or take target practice, the drill sergeants charged with turning 45,000 civilians into warriors every year say more than half may have never touched a gun. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) U.S.

Shutterstock When it comes to organizational change, it’s often the case that we don’t try and change things until we really have to.  The analogy often used is that of the burning platform, upon which you have little choice but to do something. This post isn’t about organizational change however so much as individual change, as our own burning platform may well be fast approaching.

Shutterstock Dear Liz, I only found out this year that even if I do a great job, my boss can fire me. I wasn’t aware of that before. My boss is a head case. Her worst fear is that somebody will do something in our department without her approval. She is mean, disrespectful and someone who gets a kick out of putting employees on  probation. We walk on eggshells all day long and the environment is horrible.

Shutterstock Dear Liz, I’m just amazed by the lack of responsiveness on the part of employers. They placed a job ad and I responded to the ad. I’ve applied for over 50 posted jobs since I lost my last job in June, and so far I haven’t gotten one response. Why are employers so rude? Surely they don’t treat their customers as badly as they treat job-seekers.

Sometimes jobs that seem fantastic just aren’t what they’re cracked up to be, even when they pay well. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Some jobs just do not live up to the hype. What looks exciting, financially rewarding and even glamorous can sometimes turn out to be exhausting, unreasonably compensated and drab. This year, jobs and career information hub, CareerCast.com, released its list of the most overrated jobs on the employment market in the U.S. today.

Shutterstock We have to talk more openly than we have done in the past about fear and trust at work. Fear and trust are the chemical currents that power every good or bad thing an organization does, but we seldom talk about them and it hurts us not to. We pretend there are no currents. We focus on particles instead of waves.

Coffee. It’s the drink we reach for when we need to get excited on Monday mornings or to help us through that Wednesday afternoon slump. Americans love coffee, with more than half of adults drink at least one cup per day. Millennials are avid coffee drinkers too, particularly with espresso-based drinks. According to one study, gourmet coffee beverage consumption among 25-39 year olds jumped from 19% to 41% between 2008 to 2016.

1. Listen and understand the other party’s issues and point of view. Some of the worst negotiators I have seen are the ones who do all the talking, seeming to want to control the conversation and expound endlessly on the merits of their position. The best negotiators tend to be the ones who truly listen to the other side, understand their key issues and hot buttons, and then formulate an appropriate response.

Apple’s new iOS 10 operating system for its mobile devices will hopefully solve the battery issues I’ve had with the iPhone 6 phones in our home. But I’m not holding my breath. Sometimes the battery life is as normal as can be expected, but most of the time it jumps around all day long.

After college I saw a job posting that would change my life. It read: “CEO of major fashion company is starring in new reality TV show.  Needs help.” This was the beginning of the journey that led me to a job working with Daymond John, CEO and founder of FUBU, and star of ABC’s brand new show, Shark Tank.