Invincible Career - Claim your power and regain your freedom

Are you ready for something new? Something exciting?

I’ve started interviewing people I feel have had extraordinary success in their careers. I’ll share the insights and takeaways in the newsletter and articles, but the real magic is hearing them share their own words in their voice. So, click play and enjoy!

I’ve worked with many of these individuals during my decades in Silicon Valley. But, some I have met more recently and through networking efforts over the years.

These are people who are so good at what they do — and so well known — that they have inbound opportunities flowing their way. I know some of them very well, so I know that they are always being pursued by recruiters, hiring managers, and leadership teams.

I’ve watched their careers thrive over the years, so I wanted to bring what they’ve learned and their advice to you here so that it can help you with your careers too.

Irene Au

Without further ado, my guest for this episode is Irene Au. Irene is currently an Operating Partner with Khosla Ventures, where she works with portfolio companies to make their design great. She has also been one of the most successful Design Leaders that I’ve known in Silicon Valley.

In this podcast episode, you’ll hear about how she created her own program of study in human-computer interaction (HCI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Then, she got her start in the working world as an interaction designer at Netscape Communications.

She joined Yahoo! in 1998 as their first interaction designer and later decided to move into management and became their VP of User Experience. She established Yahoo’s user experience design practice and led the team for eight years.

In 2006, she joined Google and became their global head of User Experience, leading the team there for six years. Following Google and before joining Khosla Ventures, Irene ran product design at Udacity.

She shares some of her advice for folks that are just starting in their careers. We also discuss that challenging question, “Do I move into management and leadership, or do I stay on the individual contributor path?” Irene also shares more advice towards the end of this episode that I think everyone will find useful.

Key points from our conversation

I want to call out a few points from my conversation with Irene to help you as you are seeking to create your own invincible career.

Challenge yourself

As you listen to her story, you’ll notice a theme of curiosity and deliberately seeking challenges. Curious people are always seeking, learning, and growing.

She pursued companies and experiences where she could learn something new, be challenged, and grow. A career is more fulfilling when you're excited to go to work every day, see your coworkers, and solve hard problems with them.

When she decided to join Yahoo, it was because of the culture and the energy of the people there. They had a feeling of joy and passion, and they wanted to have fun.

When she decided to join Google, she knew that it would challenge her to learn and grow in ways she hadn’t before.

Build relationships

Nurturing relationships is so important. Intelligent networking matters.

And, now, we have to be more intentional about that than ever before. I love remote work, but you don’t bump into people like you used to.

The longer I live, the more I realize how tightly your success is tied to your relationships. I’ve mentioned this before. Every single one of my tech jobs came about because of relationships.

Someone vouched for me or brought me into the company. When that happens, the entire hiring process is much easier, and decisions are made more quickly.

Now, imagine what it’s like when the CEO of a company wants you to join?

Irene mentioned her serendipitous encounter with the co-founder and CEO of Udacity, Sebastian Thrun, when she bumped into him at lunch one day. That conversation led to her joining the company as their VP of Product and Design.

Create your path

Note that Irene defined her own program of study in graduate school. She also defined her most recent role and proactively pitched firms she thought would need it. That's how she ended up at Khosla Ventures.

All too often, we accept what exists. We settle for what is offered.

When we start in our careers, it’s pretty normal to apply to jobs that are posted. We interview for and get hired into roles that already exist.

However, as you become more experienced and in demand, you don’t have to settle for that. You might be surprised by how often talented people define the role they want and pitch it to the companies that want to hire them.

One of the most invincible careers that you can have is the one that you define and control.

Thanks for listening to this episode! I think you’ll enjoy it.

Prefer to listen on Spotify? Or, Apple Podcasts?

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Brainstorm Domain Names and Lock One DownThis challenge helps you solidify your thinking about presenting your personal self and professional brand to the world. It also helps you think through short-term “experiments” and a long-term “forever home” for who you are online.

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a professional online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

Did you know that people lose interest in your conversation if you talk longer than 40 seconds uninterrupted?

To make matters worse, our bodies release dopamine when we talk about ourselves. The more we talk — and hear ourselves talk — the better we feel, so the more we talk.

We become addicted to that good feeling. It’s no wonder that — on average — people spend 60% of their conversations talking about themselves and up to 80% when using social media.

Couple that with feeling nervous during a job interview or a challenging meeting, and you may end up running your mouth a lot! I previously shared the horror story of a stressful one-on-one meeting with one of my managers. The more he smiled and silently nodded, the more I kept babbling and rambling. On and on and on…

Some of the best professional advice I received was to know when to shut my mouth. I met with an executive several years ago, and he shared some valuable feedback. 

He had been watching me present, pitch, debate, and negotiate in meetings. I don’t remember his exact words, so I’m paraphrasing a bit here:

“You have to know when to stop and be quiet. Pay attention, read the room, and recognize when you’ve won the argument. I’ve watched you. You keep going for the kill to hammer it home. You’ve already won, but you keep talking and selling. Stop. Just stop. Take your win and walk away.”

That feedback burned into my brain. From that moment on, I have been hyperaware during meetings and conversations.

I may have 10 selling points, but if someone says “Yes” after the third one, I stop and take the win. There’s no need to run the conversation into the ground with my burning desire to get through my whole pitch. 

For example, many years ago, my startup co-founders and I were pitching to raise our Seed round. I had created a full pitch deck with the company's vision and mission, our founding team, the product concept, competitive landscape, business model, product roadmap, revenue forecast, the works. 

We were meeting with an angel investor, and I don’t think I made it through more than 4-5 slides when he said, “Ok, I’m in. What do you need from me?”

I promptly closed my laptop and ended the presentation. One of the co-founders started talking about the sales pipeline or something. I shot him a quick warning look, and he closed his mouth. 

We briefly explained what we wanted, and the investor said, “Ok, send me the details.”

That was it. We took the win, stood up, shook his hand, said, “Thank you!” and drove a few miles down the road to celebrate. 

If you’re rambling during meetings, presentations, and job interviews and your answers are scattered and incoherent, it's probably because:

* Lack of focus

* Lack of preparation

* Lack of practice

* Lack of conversational skills 

Identify the primary focus

What is your goal with the conversation? What outcome do you want? What do you want the listener to do?

It should be pretty clear what you want with a job interview. But other discussions and meetings may require a focus. 

* Are you trying to educate the listener?

* Are you selling something?

* Are you trying to persuade someone?

* Are you trying to convince the listener to do something?

* Are you trying to explain why something went wrong?

What do you want to happen as a result of this conversation? That will be your primary focus that guides every word that comes out of your mouth. No more and no less. 

Create a speaking framework

Do you think any of the Hollywood movies you've enjoyed watching were total improv? Of course not. 

They wrote and rewrote the scripts hundreds of times. Hell, maybe thousands of times from concept to the final performance. 

So, write your own script for your next important discussion. Using your overarching goal and what you want the conversation's focus to be, create a speaking framework that will guide you. 

Keep it simple for a couple of reasons:

* It will be easier to remember what you want to say.

* It will keep you from talking too much.

How do you want to open the discussion? What’s the key point you want to make? What’s the hook to grab their attention (e.g., “Did you know that we are wasting $5M a year on office supplies no one uses?”). Write a brief intro, the pitch, or the background you need to explain (keep it short).

What are the key points that you need to make? You may have dozens of things you want to say or a long list of wonderful selling points, but resist the urge to ramble through them all. 

When you do that, you’ll put people to sleep and forget half of them. Prioritize and pick the top three points. Focus on making those tight and powerful. 

Use interesting real-world examples and stories for greater impact. The best storytellers know that human beings love a good story. Check out the “But & Therefore Rule” from “South Park” co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. 

Finally, write your closing statement. How do you want to wrap up? What’s your final pitch, selling statement, or memorable thing you want to leave the listener with?

Practice, practice, practice

You should be practicing your material dozens of times. For example, a couple of years ago, I spent over 50 hours rehearsing out loud and recording myself on video for a 1-hour presentation.

And, it still wasn't perfect. But, at least it wasn't a disaster. 

You may be thinking, “Sure, that makes sense for a presentation. But, this is just a meeting with someone.”

If you are going to be in an important meeting, you should do some rehearsal to think through what you want to say and how you will say it. Lack of preparation and practice is one of the biggest reasons most meetings suck and people are burned out. 

Don’t be the cause of a meeting that is a waste of time. No one wants to hear you ramble and drone on and on without getting to the point. 

If you're still thinking, "Oh, that's too much work," then stop complaining when people say that you come across as uncertain, unfocused, and long-winded. If you don’t want to put in the effort to practice for a job interview, stop whining when you don't get an offer.

Do you want the damn job?

If you don't, then don't worry about it. Watch some Netflix instead of practicing. 

If you do want the job, put in the work. It takes considerable effort to research and rehearse so much that you sound polished yet natural. 

* Read through your outline and material, and start editing. Your first draft is always terrible. 

* Read and refine again. Run it through tools like Grammarly because your writing probably sucks. We all suck without years of practice. 

* Now record yourself on video saying it out loud without reading everything word for word. Glance at your notes but speak to the camera (your next meeting will probably be in Zoom anyway). You'll notice that you forget a lot. Yep. That's why you’re practicing. 

* Rehearse until you can present or answer questions completely without reading your notes.

* Now you have your material committed to memory, but you sound like a damn robot. 

* So, rehearse more and riff on things so you can improv a little and sound natural. Smile. Laugh. Use dramatic pauses. Have fun with it!

Use basic conversational skills

You wouldn’t think I’d have to mention this, but use good conversational skills to prevent yourself from rambling and boring people to tears. Even with Zoom meetings — especially with Zoom meetings — you must pay attention to how people react and behave on the call. 

Watch their eyes. Are they still paying attention to you, or are they checked out and reading their email?

Check in with the listeners. Ask them questions. Make them part of the conversation. Validate your assumptions. Ask for their input and feedback. 

Slow down and don’t fall into the trap of nervously mumbling a stream of words. Vary your tone and intonation. Use pauses for impact and to wake people up. The silence will make them look at you (and stop reading their email). 

Make the discussion more lively and engaging! Unless you are on stage giving a talk or running your own podcast (hey there!), this isn’t supposed to be a monologue. 

Applying polite conversational skills helps you avoid the tendency to ramble and keep going on and on. We sometimes do that when we’re not getting a reaction or hearing anything back from the other parties in the conversation. 

You can fix your tendency to ramble

If you’ve received feedback that your communication skills are lacking or that you’re not clear and concise, there is hope. You can use the strategies I described here to tighten up your conversational style. 

I know because I’ve worked hard to do that myself. I still have room for improvement. But, I’ve slowly become better at using a structured speaking framework and knowing when to shut my mouth. 

Now, I will often have conversations where the other person does most of the speaking (e.g., when I work with my clients). I listen, ask questions, make comments to keep the conversation flowing, and learn a great deal by opening my ears.

Invest in improving how you communicate, and it will pay off in your next job interview, meeting, or presentation!

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Compare Your Options for a Personal WebsiteThis challenge helps you think through the pros and cons of the website hosting options that I shared. Instead of quickly shooting from the hip and regretting your decision in a few years, think of the long-term benefits of what you end up selecting.

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a supportive online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

I’m going to share some tough love today. Since I can’t tailor this message to each of you, it will address some common patterns of behavior that I’ve observed over my long life.

If you’ve been following my newsletter and articles for the past few years, you know that this is a departure from my usual polite writing. So, I’ll apologize in advance to my more gentle readers who may not want to see this. Perhaps you should skip this edition, read something from the archives, and catch up again next week?

Ok, for the rest of you who have stayed, I’m not going to be my usual nice Midwestern self today. It seems like being kind all of the time doesn’t work with everyone. Sometimes you have to be a little raw, honest, and brutal.

I guess this was sparked by hearing a whole lot of whining and complaining lately. I’ve also been seeing tons of excuses on social media.

* “I can’t find time to do what I know I should be doing.”

* “I don’t have the extra money to invest in myself.”

* “My boss, coworker, friend, lover, or whoever else I want to use as an excuse is the real problem.”

If you get offended easily, you probably shouldn’t read the rest of this article. Move on and go scream at someone on Twitter instead.

If you like to make excuses, whine, complain about how hard life is, and refuse to accept personal responsibility, what I have to say may upset you.

You may not even see this if you tend to ignore my newsletters, as some of you do. By the way, do me a favor and unsubscribe. Ok?

I would rather have 100 loyal readers who really want to listen, invest in themselves, and engage with me to get my advice and feedback than thousands of people who don’t care and won’t bother to try something new.

Ok, rant over. Let’s begin the tough love.

You have enough time

We all have the same time in the day. You have the same 24 hours a day and 7 days a week that every one of your heroes has.

So, why are they getting ahead and succeeding in their personal and professional life while you are lagging behind?

You can go ahead and eliminate the few that were born with money and opportunity. Ignore those lucky freaks.

Focus on the ones who were born with nothing. Think about the ones who had a normal life but turned it into something extraordinary.

What did they do differently? They focused. They made the most of every day.

They know that time is the most precious asset they have, and they invest it wisely. They don’t waste it on stupid crap or stupid people.

You have enough time. You’re choosing to piss it away. Or, you're not focused and prioritizing your time on the right things.

Knock it off! Stop wasting time.

Or, go ahead and keep wasting it, but stop complaining. Just stop.

You have enough money

If you’re reading this, you probably have enough money to invest in yourself if you really cared and made it a priority. But, if you really, really are living on a financial razor’s edge, then go back to the previous point and maximize your time to fix that financial situation. I’m not a huge fan of hustle culture, but sometimes you do need to hustle more.

For the rest of you, I know you’re blowing money on stupid crap. I know because I have before and still sometimes do — before I slap my face and remind myself to cut it out.

I know because I just read a local news article that folks pay a lady $2M/year to see her in her underwear. Do you think that her patrons are all millionaires with disposable income? B******t. They are regular folks who should probably be spending their money on smarter things.

I know, because I have been really friggin poor. I have been hungry and wishing I could afford to buy food.

In the past, I have cut out all unnecessary crap to get by. No internet, no cable, no phone service. Hitting thrift stores vs. buying new.

Even now, I’m wearing the same damn simple clothing almost every day — jeans, a black t-shirt, and old boots that I’ve owned for years.

I drive an old pickup truck. I don’t waste my money on stupid BS trying to impress people. I invest my money in my family, health, retirement, and business. I manage my expenses so I can have my freedom.

Stop wasting your damn money on the latest fashionable clothing, a fancy car, eating out frequently, Netflix, and other unnecessary crap if you think you can’t afford to invest in yourself.

PAY YOURSELF FIRST!!!

Sometimes you are the problem

“If you run into an a*****e in the morning, you ran into an a*****e. If you run into a******s all day, you're the a*****e.” ― Raylan Givens, Justified

I’ll put it more nicely. If everyone around you is a jerk, maybe you are the jerk.

If every one of your relationships goes south and you always blame the partner, maybe you are the bad partner. I can look back now and admit there were times that I was a crappy boyfriend.

Take some responsibility and be more accountable.

Research has found that we have blind spots when it comes to evaluating our own personalities. Our perception is even more distorted when it involves traits that are very desirable or undesirable.

If you hear yourself often saying the following, you might be the problem:

* I can never get a fair shake.

* Everything is always stacked against me.

* All of my bosses have been jerks.

* All of my coworkers are idiots.

* It’s their fault that it didn’t work out.

* No one ever understands me.

* No one can see how great I really am!

The fastest way to push away friends and acquaintances is to be that person who is always whining, grumbling, complaining, blaming others and the world, and generally being a downer. If everyone else is terrible and the whole world is always against you, you need to take a hard look in the mirror and be honest about the role you are playing.

Grow up and accept responsibility for your actions. Step up and realize that accepting that responsibility and accountability makes you more powerful!

You’re a little bit lazy

Ok, statistics tell me that some of you are very lazy. Everything falls into a normal distribution when the population size is large enough.

Some people bust their asses all the time. They work 2-3 jobs, study for another degree at night, get up early to work out, and raise a family.

Sound mythical? B******t. I personally know real people who are doing this.

Other people sit on the couch watching Netflix all night, eating chips, and complaining that they aren’t getting ahead in life. You know the type. Are you the type?

Before you complain and whine about the state of your career and life, ask yourself:

* Am I really working that hard to change things?

* Am I focused on the right things?

* Am I working as hard as other people who are getting ahead?

Hey, I’m just as guilty. I watch a Netflix show at night with my wife instead of working on my book.

But, at least I’m honest about it. I don’t whine on social media that I just can’t seem to get ahead. It’s my own damn fault if my progress is slow.

If you want a better job, if you want to get into shape, if you want a great relationship, if you want to improve your life, etc., ruthlessly prioritize your time and put in the effort.

Work will always be work

Most of the time, a job is a job, and work is work. If you love what you do and it doesn’t seem like work, be grateful for your good fortune. But, even a dream job is a lot of hard work.

I hear people complaining about how work is hard, boring, and monotonous. Their employer doesn’t appreciate them or see their real potential. They aren’t getting paid enough.

Yep, it sounds like most jobs. Most bosses suck. Most jobs won’t fulfill you.

You can either suck it up and accept the situation or do something about it. Stop expecting that the average job is going to be a living dream.

Are you going to complain, or are you going to take action? If you want to do something:

* Be so good at what you do and so well known that you’re in demand and attract amazing opportunities.

* Take control and plan your career path instead of randomly floating from job to job.

* Intentionally choose your next company, boss, and role.

Or, if you are so damn good at what you do and fiercely independent, start your own business! I work really hard, but working for myself is very different than working for someone else. I don’t mind putting in the extra effort and hours to build my business.

You are replaceable

When you quit a job or get fired, people stop talking about you within about a week or two. They stop thinking about you in less than a month.

I’ve watched it happen over and over again. People think they’re special and irreplaceable. 99% of the time, they are not.

People take over your projects. Someone new gets hired. The world moves on.

Don’t forget this. Don’t expect an employer to be loyal to you.

It is a transactional relationship, not a “family,” despite the b******t they say. Do your job well, but always keep your eyes open for better opportunities.

You should never feel guilty about looking out for yourself. If you don’t take care of your career, who will? Your current boss isn’t going to go out of their way to help you find a better-paying job in a new company.

You are replaceable. Your team will be ok. The company will be just fine.

No one is going to save you

Too many people wait and hope and put their faith in someone else. They are waiting for that perfect partner who will help them get their act together. They’re hoping for that perfect job and the perfect boss who will see their brilliance, hire them, and make them rich.

They have no clue how to take responsibility for their future. So, they are waiting for someone to come along and save them.

Well, you might be waiting forever. No one cares about your future more than you do. No one.

Ok, maybe your mother does. But, no one else.

Stop being so damn passive and step up! You know what you want in life, so take action and chase it.

No one else can do it for you. You are the one who will save yourself. Be your own hero.

“Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.” — John Barth

You had better love yourself

Some people just aren’t going to like you. No matter what you do, you will rub them the wrong way, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Even when people do like you, friendships have limits. People can be great friends, but things can occur that will end it. It happens.

If you want unconditional love that will never fade, there are only two kinds:

* Your parents

* Your dog

No, your cat doesn’t count. Your cat pretends to love you because you feed it. Sorry.

Every other kind of love has limits. You could do something to alienate a person who loves you, and they will be gone baby gone.

Accept this going into relationships and earn their love every day (and vice versa). If the relationship dies and that love vanishes, move on. Get over it. Someone else will love you again.

But, you’d better learn how to love yourself and be complete within yourself. Be ok on your own. Don’t expect someone else to complete you. Got it?

You are going to die

Finally, in the end, you are going to die. We will all die someday.

It might happen in 50 years. Maybe 20. It could be next year. Hell, it could be tomorrow.

Stop acting like you’re going to live forever!

Being more aware of your mortality makes you more conscious of how you live your days. Putting everything off for the future is a terrible idea for so many reasons.

There are no guarantees in life. You have no idea what the future holds. That mythical future date when you are finally going to lead the life you want to live may come at a time when you can no longer enjoy it the way you thought you would.

Tim Urban captured the reality of this truth so well with his life calendar. Each tiny block in the calendar grid is a week in your life. He asked the critical question, “Are you making the most of the few remaining weeks in your life?”

That’s it

That’s all the tough love I can come up with for now. Today, I ran a few personalized “tough love sessions” in my community and on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. I’ll try to do more on Tuesdays each week.

Hey, I know that life isn’t easy right now, the economy is unpredictable, and work is a pain in the ass. But complaining won’t fix it. The only solution is to claim your personal power, be proactive, and take steps to make it better.

I’m here to help if you want to reach out. As you may have noticed, it’s kind of what I do. 😉

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Define Your Personal Website RequirementsWhen it comes to owning my professional destiny, I no longer have a single point of failure or a risky dependency on another company. I will never again make my primary “internet home” on a service that leaves me vulnerable, and neither should you.

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a supportive online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” — Benjamin Franklin

Robert John Downey Jr. enjoyed great success in the early years of his career. But then it began to fall apart. From 1996 through 2001, he was arrested numerous times on charges related to drugs.

After five years of substance abuse, arrests, rehab, and relapse, Downey finally began to work toward a full recovery, investing in his career, and rebuilding his reputation. Now, he is the poster child for a career comeback.

He’s maintained his sobriety since 2003. It’s hard not to think of him when you picture the Marvel film franchise and Iron Man.

"It’s really not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems. What’s hard is to decide to do it.” — Robert John Downey Jr.

Most people won’t experience such a spectacular fall from grace in the public eye. But, many of us will experience a setback that impacts our reputation at some point in our careers.

It can be due to something small, such as missing a project deadline. Now, your reputation for reliability is a little tarnished. You’ll have to prove that you can get things back on track and be trusted again.

Your setback could also be somewhat larger. Perhaps you made a serious mistake at work, and you were fired. Now, you’re trying to figure out how to rebuild your reputation so you can land a new job and have a fresh start.

No one is perfect. We all make mistakes.

Sometimes those mistakes damage our reputation. It happens.

But you can’t wait and hope that it will all blow over and go away. It’s much better to take action to actively repair your reputation as quickly as possible.

Assess the impact

What are you dealing with? What is actually going on versus what you think is happening?

If you’re somewhat paranoid, like I am, you often worry that you’ve hurt someone’s feelings or done something wrong. When you hear whispers in the hallway, you think people might be talking about you. When someone acts a little strange, you jump to conclusions and assume the worst.

Oh, that’s only me? Ok. I’m glad you never feel that way. It’s not fun.

“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” ― Joseph Heller

However, sometimes those little shifts in behavior do mean something. You did something wrong, and it has negatively impacted your reputation in the company.

You start to notice that you’re not being assigned the best projects anymore. You’re not being invited to the meetings you would expect. You get passed over for a promotion you were certain you deserved.

In the best situation, someone will come right out and tell you that you screwed up. Your boss might tell you exactly what went wrong and the impact (e.g., being put on probation).

Unfortunately, in some companies and cultures, people won’t be as direct with you. So, the burden is on you to dig deeper, talk with people, be direct and honest, accept feedback without becoming defensive, and get to the bottom of it.

It’s hard to fix the situation and do what’s necessary to rebuild your reputation if you don't fully understand what happened and how much damage it has done.

Understand and own your mistakes

Be honest and take ownership of the mistakes you know you made. People will respect you more when you step up and claim responsibility rather than denying, deflecting, or blaming others.

If you don’t understand where things went wrong, dig into the situation to find out why your reputation took a hit:

* Is there an incorrect perception that it was your fault?

* Did someone misunderstand something that you said or did?

* Was someone else at fault but passed the blame onto you?

* Did you actually make a mistake but were unaware of it?

Figure out what happened, why, and what role you played. One way or the other, get to the bottom of the situation. Shine a light on everything to uncover the facts.

I often see that a reputation-damaging situation boils down to one or more of the following:

* Ineffective planning

* Bad behavior

* Harmful language

* Poor communication

If you were falsely accused, that needs to come out so you can clear your name. But, if you actually did make the mistake, said the words, or engaged in the behavior, step up and own it.

Damage control

Once you understand what you’re dealing with and its implications (e.g., you are at risk of being fired), it’s time for immediate damage control. Accept responsibility, sincerely apologize, and explain how you will make it right.

You want to turn things around as quickly as possible. You also want to demonstrate remorse and show that you won’t let those same mistakes happen again.

As a manager, I can tell you that I looked for three key indicators that employees were coachable and able to get back on the right track after something went wrong:

* They accepted feedback, were honest, and took responsibility for their mistake.

* They had a strategy and created a plan to recover from a mistake and avoid it in the future.

* They took action, fixed the issue, and their future performance demonstrated that they had learned from their mistakes.

Rebuild your reputation

It won’t be easy, but what other choice do you have? Getting ahead in your career is already challenging. It’s even harder with a damaged reputation.

Develop a strategy and create a plan to rebuild your credibility and regain trust. Start executing your plan and pay attention to how you operate every day.

* Define the professional brand and reputation you want.

* Seek a coach or advisor if you need help. Sometimes a boss isn’t a big help here (e.g., they may be part of the problem).

* Create a plan that outlines how you will rebuild it.

* Make commitments you know you can keep.

* Communicate every step of the way.

* Course-correct when necessary.

* Consistently deliver on your commitments.

* Treat others with respect at all times.

* Consistently behave in ways that reinforce your reputation.

* Consistently speak in ways that strengthen your professional brand.

* Monitor your progress to stay on track.

It helps to get feedback from a trusted friend who can observe you in a work context. Or, you can share honest stories with a trusted advisor. An outside perspective lets you know how things are going.

Take control

“A good reputation is more valuable than money.” — Publilius Syrus

This week, I’ve been talking with my premium subscribers about defining their professional brands. All too often, we let our reputation and professional brand be created organically. They just “happen.”

However, your reputation is too valuable to leave to fate. Instead, take control and intentionally craft your strategy to strengthen and protect it, just as you would with any valuable asset.

Does it sound silly to think of your reputation as your most valuable professional asset? Well, in some cases, it can be worth millions and millions of dollars.

I know people who damaged their reputation, lost their job, and were permanently barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company ever again. Guess how much that will cost you in terms of your lifetime earning potential?

Factor in the reduction of base salary, bonuses, and stock, and we’re talking about tens of millions of dollars lost over decades.

Ouch. It’s not worth it.

Take control of your reputation and guard it fiercely.

Be patient

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” — Warren Buffett

If this happens to you, I know that you’ll wish things can just return to normal as soon as possible. You want people to forgive and forget.

But it doesn’t work that way. People have long memories. Some will be waiting for you to trip and fall again.

Be patient with yourself. Be patient with them.

Your actions will speak louder than promises.

Show the work ethic, behavior, and success that built your reputation in the first place. It will take time, but every win and positive interaction with you will rebuild your reputation brick by brick.

If you remember the time that Downey was returning to the big screen, people were skeptical. Many were expecting him to fail and relapse. But, he kept going.

He stayed sober. He stayed out of jail. He kept working, delivering solid performances, and landing better roles.

Now, people don't look at him and see a drug addict. They see a confident man who has built a new and improved reputation. They don’t remember his failures. They remember him as Tony Stark and Iron Man.

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Define your professional brandA professional brand is your work reputation. It is built by the quality of your work and how you get things done. It is reinforced by your words, communication style, behavior, and interaction with others. How do you want to be viewed by your professional peers?

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a supportive online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

The old school of management training must have told young managers to knock the weaknesses out of their employees. I experienced my fair share of this style of management in the early years of my career.

I was mostly given a list of weaknesses that my manager thought I should address. I was frequently reminded of failings that I had to overcome.

Even when a boss doesn’t tell us to focus on our weaknesses, most of us will do it independently. In employee polls several years ago, workers were asked if they thought that they should build their strengths or fix their weaknesses to be more successful in their jobs.

Only 37% of them said that focusing on their strengths would help them be more successful. 63% said they should fix their weaknesses first, instead.

In another survey, employees were asked: “When you talk with your manager about your performance, what do you spend the most time talking about?”

* 24% said strengths

* 36% said weaknesses

* 40% replied, “We don’t talk about those things here”

I don’t remember being coached to double down on my strengths until much later in my career. One of my managers (thank you, Justin!) gave me a book by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman called First, Break All The Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently (my affiliate link). Chapter 5 talks about how great managers focus on their employees’ strengths, not their weaknesses.

While this strengths-based approach is a better way to manage a team and yourself, you can’t completely ignore your weaknesses. Eventually, they may need to be addressed in one way or another.

Now, the million-dollar question posed by this newsletter is:

Should you FIX a weakness?

The answer is, “It depends.”

It starts with understanding what it means to call something a weakness. Then, you must uncover why something is a weakness for you. Finally, you have to assess what “fixing” that weakness means for you.

What is a weakness?

We talk about strengths and weaknesses so much that I don’t think we give a second thought to what they really mean. But, let’s take a minute and think about what a weakness is.

Buckingham says, “…a weakness is an activity that makes you feel weak. Even if you’re good at it, if it drains you, that’s a weakness.”

There is a difference between a weakness and a “nontalent", as Buckingham refers to it. A nontalent only became an issue/weakness when your performance depends on tapping into it. Otherwise, you could ignore it for your entire life.

I can think of many, many things that I’m not good at doing and never will be. I also don’t care about most of those missing talents and skills. But, I know that some of those items were moved into the “weakness column” when I was an employee.

It comes down to a mismatch between expectations and reality.

Thinking back on my time as a corporate manager and leader, we have a set of performance and behavioral expectations for our employees based on their role, level, and experience. When a specific employee can’t meet those expectations, we identify the associated activity as a “weakness” or an “area for improvement” (i.e., the new and improved way to refer to weaknesses).

Some managers want their employees to address their weaknesses simply because they exist. They represent a gap between expectations and execution. They want a specific level of performance; therefore, the employee must address the issue.

Of course, our perceptions of our weaknesses don’t only exist in the workplace. You may identify a specific weakness as a mismatch between your personal goals and the reality of your performance.

For example, maybe you love playing basketball, but you see your 3-point shots as a weakness. You have higher expectations for yourself than you’re able to deliver on the court.

Why is it a weakness?

Is anyone born with a natural strength at 100% of its potential? Even the most talented people have practiced for years to develop their skills, so they look like amazing strengths now.

There is a difference between a weakness and an undiscovered talent. Something that might be labeled as a weakness may simply be a talent you’ve never bothered to explore before.

Similarly, an "area for improvement" looks a lot like an undeveloped strength. Is it really a weakness? Or, is it just a skill you need to develop or knowledge you should acquire?

Understanding why something is a weakness is essential before making any decisions about what you’re going to do about it. Dig deeper to identify root causes. For example:

* You lack skills, knowledge, and experience. This can be addressed and remedied.

* You are afraid. This is more challenging to overcome than simple skill acquisition, but it is possible to push through fear to get to the other side.

* You are missing the required talent, trait, or capability and will never have it. Trying to address a weakness that has this root cause will only result in frustration and misery.

What lies on the other side?

Given that you will most likely see a larger ROI by leveraging a strength vs. trying to improve a weakness, you have a critical question to ask yourself first. What lies on the other side of “fixing” this weakness?

* Will you benefit?

* Will someone else benefit?

* Will the company benefit?

Ask yourself, "How does addressing this weakness serve ME? Not my boss. Not the company. Me."

It's valuable to work on areas for improvement when it serves you well. When something valuable that you want is on the other side of fear, it's worth investing in removing that obstacle. When a weakness blocks something that will help you achieve your goals — and you can actually do something about it — it's worth working on it.

However, sometimes you are asked (or forced) to work on a weakness purely for the benefit of your employer. It doesn’t come naturally for you, it will never feel like a strength, and you don’t want to do it. But, your job description requires you to overcome that weakness or risk being terminated.

If an employment situation sets you up for focusing on your weaknesses and not leveraging your strengths, you need a new job.

It's miserable to work for someone who does nothing but focus on your supposed shortcomings and is constantly trying to get you to change. Many people are unhappy because they are stuck in jobs that don’t tap into their potential and force them to struggle with their weaknesses every day.

I guess it shouldn't be surprising that 81% of employees consider leaving their jobs when 70% of them aren't working to their full potential.

So, when you’re considering what to do about a weakness, start with your assessment of how much it matters in your life. Some weaknesses may be harming your professional development. Some may be interfering with achieving happiness in your personal life. But, some issues will mean absolutely nothing to you.

The strategic approach you take with a weakness varies based on how important it is for you, your future, and if something valuable is waiting for you on the other side of it.

Ignore the weakness

I should probably say, ignore the nontalent. If you lack talent, skills, or knowledge in a specific area, but you absolutely don’t care about it, then it’s not a weakness. It’s certainly not a weakness worth improving.

We all have thousands and thousands of nontalents. Ironically, one of my sons brought up one of my “nontalent areas” this evening.

He said that I wasn’t tall enough to qualify to be a Division 1 college volleyball player. He’s applying to colleges, so I guess he was looking into it?

Guess how much I care about my height “weakness” when it comes to qualifying as a volleyball player? Absolutely zero.

I’m sure you have weaknesses/nontalents that you don’t care about, as well. Don’t waste a single minute thinking about them.

Manage the weakness

The best leaders help their employees intelligently manage their weaknesses while focusing on getting the most out of their strengths. Some skills or behaviors aren’t part of the core job description, but they can become annoying distractions and derail progress when they struggle with them (e.g., attending meetings on time).

You can do this for yourself, as well. If a weakness is getting in your way, you don’t necessarily have to get better at it. You can leverage different strategies to manage it and make it a nonissue.

* Restructure your processes to work around the weakness.

* Set up a support system to help you manage it (e.g., my calendar reminders help me when I get so focused on a task that I might miss a meeting).

* Hire an assistant to handle that task.

* If you can, delegate your weakness to someone much better at doing that task.

* Partner with someone who complements you and balances your strengths and weaknesses.

Reduce the weakness

In some cases, it is worth reducing or eliminating the negative impact of a weakness. You can’t ignore it. You can’t work around it. You know you can’t turn it into a strength. But, you can “sand off the rough edges.”

I’ll give you an example from my professional life. I’m very introverted, and my networking skills are a weakness.

That type of social activity doesn’t come naturally to me. When I engage in typical networking, I feel drained and require days of solitude to recover. I wish I were exaggerating, but I’m not.

However, I run my own business, and professional networking is a must for me. When I force myself to be more social, it helps me attract new clients. When I withdraw, which is my natural tendency, my business suffers.

Networking and being social will never be a strength for me. It simply isn’t my personality. But I can’t ignore it or fully delegate the activities either.

So, I strategically engage and use various techniques to connect with people to reduce the negative impact of my weakness as much as I can.

Embrace the weakness

When someone else tells you what your weaknesses are, you lose power. When you try to mask a weakness that you’ve given more importance than it is worth, you suffer from impostor syndrome.

My weakness of being too compassionate as a corporate executive became my strength as an executive coach. I decided to embrace it instead of trying to eliminate it. I claimed it instead of trying to hide it.

I took away the power from a few of my past bosses, who told me that my kindness was a weakness. I redefined my career and changed my role in the world to play to my strengths.

Maybe it’s just my belief, but I think the world has enough cruel people running around. What the world needs is more people who care. We need more people who are trying to help others. So, I chose a new path.

One day, you may find that you are tired of managing a weakness so that you can fit into a job that is no longer serving you well. You may choose to lean into it, accept your so-called “weakness,” and create a new path that unleashes your full potential.

Transform a weakness into a strength

I think we also have many “weaknesses” that are actually undiscovered talents and undeveloped strengths. They are only weaknesses because we’ve never bothered to explore what would happen if we invested in them.

I did this with public speaking. In my case, I had avoided it because of my fear. Fear of failure. Fear of judgment. Fear of looking foolish.

I decided that this was a weakness that I had to fix. I could tell that it was holding me back in my professional career.

I looked on the other side of fear and saw how much public speaking could transform my life. I witnessed successful leaders calmly taking the stage and happily engaging with audiences. I watched people’s careers take off because they were comfortable presenting.

So, I stopped hiding from it, avoiding it, and working around it. Initially, I thought that I would slightly improve my weakness so that I could tolerate speaking in front of others. But, a funny thing happened along the way.

I fell in love with public speaking. Over the course of a few years, I transformed a weakness driven by fear into one of my most valuable strengths.

Perhaps the latent potential had always been there, but I had never tapped into it? I don’t know. But I’m glad that I did.

I saved this section for last because I think there are times that you can invest in something that you may have incorrectly defined as a “weakness.” You have an opportunity to turn it into something great.

But, only you can see the potential of making that investment. You’re the only one who truly understands what lies on the other side of your fear.

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” ― George Addair

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Document your strengths and weaknessesI want you to think about yourself from your earliest memories up until the events of yesterday. More importantly, think about how you want to be perceived and remembered. Most importantly, aspirationally, how do you want to see yourself?

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a supportive online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

“Being memorable equals getting picked.” — Jeffrey Pfeffer

When we meet people for the first time, they decide how they feel about us in 1/10th of a second.

I know that sounds crazy. But, research has found that people can glance at a person’s photo for less than a second and make judgments about attractiveness, likability, competence, trustworthiness, and aggressiveness.

When they walk away from our conversation, they will most likely forget our names in a few seconds and won't remember most of us within a few days. Sadly, most people forget 90% of what you shared with them after 48 hours.

The foundation for becoming more memorable starts with attention. People don’t remember something or someone if their attention isn’t captured in the first place. Fair or not, we pay more attention to people when we’re drawn to them.

Who receives more attention? Likable people.

Maybe you don't care about being likable, and that's okay. But, it does help in some situations, whether you like it or not.

Setting up the conditions for memorability triggers a cascading chain of events:

* Likable people attract more attention.

* Novelty, surprises, contrasts, and contradictions also capture attention.

* People who capture attention have a fighting chance of being remembered later.

* Memorable people receive more opportunities.

Why does memorability matter?

“No one who is unmemorable is going to be chosen for an important job, because one cannot select what one cannot remember.” — Jeffrey Pfeffer

There are times when making a great impression in the moment is more important than being memorable. If a decision is being made on the spot (e.g., a final job interview), memorability doesn’t have to be at the top of your list. You need to close the deal now.

However, our lives are not a frantic race from finish line to finish line. If anything, we seem to engage in multiple overlapping marathons that never really end. They simply dovetail into the next level of pursuits.

The long game does matter:

* The people you meet at a conference today may want to reach out to you about an opportunity a year from now. But, only if you made a memorable impression.

* Your boss may want to consider you for a promotion later this year, but only if you immediately come to mind.

* Someone on Twitter may think of you for a cool panel discussion in a few months, but only if you’ve been crafting memorable tweets that keep grabbing their attention.

Excellent opportunities — both personal and professional — most frequently come from consistent hard work, long preparation, and people remembering who you are. If they don’t even know that you exist, you will not come to mind when it’s time for them to decide who to hire, promote, and collaborate with later.

What makes you memorable?

It isn’t easy to precisely pin down what makes someone memorable. In part, this is because we each have our own interests, patterns of attraction, and things that we value in others.

Perhaps it’s easier to think about what makes things unmemorable. Consider your daily life, activities, meals, people you meet, etc.

When things follow the same, predictable pattern, everything blends into an endless stream of homogeneity. If you eat a cheese sandwich on wheat bread every day for lunch, you won’t remember any of your lunches as memorable. If the people you meet behave much like all of the people you meet, no one will stand out.

Memorability is about contrasts and contradictions:

* Things that surprise us are memorable.

* People who stand out from others are memorable.

* People who exhibit intriguing contrasts and contradictions in their personality and behavior catch your attention and are memorable.

I look back on my 50+ years of life, and very few people come to mind. They are memorable for me often because of their surprising uniqueness, contrasts, and contradictions.

* I remember the custodian I often talked with on campus who had a Ph.D. but had grown tired of the stress of academic life and escaped it to work alone in the evenings in the art building where he could enjoy the gallery and seeing the students’ works in progress.

* I remember the smart and talented professor who had paid his way through school by being a bouncer and cage fighter.

* I remember the quiet, introverted, and seemingly serious designer by day who was a standup comedian by night.

“Different is BETTER than better.” — Sally Hogshead

It’s almost impossible to be the best. After all, there is only one best.

It’s a lot easier and more achievable to be unique. There is only one you in the entire world.

We all have quirky interests and contradictions in our personalities. But, society tends to encourage us to suppress and hide them. We want to fit in with our friends in school. We’re afraid to stand out, be different, and risk being excluded.

We also think that we need to fit in at work, can’t be too weird, and don’t want to make waves. In fact, many employers will often interview for “culture fit” and discourage employees from rocking the boat.

However, the people who tend to excel in their careers are willing to risk breaking free from conformity. They’re not afraid to think differently and spawn innovation that others can’t even dream of.

If you want to be memorable, be kind when others are cruel. Be strong when others are weak. Dare to question authority when others are quiet and afraid. Dare to challenge the status quo, be true to yourself, and seek ways to make the world a better place.

Blend your unique personality, interests, hobbies, and background with your professional brand. It’s so boring to see people describing themselves in the same way as everyone else on LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

Share your interesting contrasts as part of your intro and bio. That’s why my LinkedIn headline states: “Leadership Coach & Business Advisor in NorCal | Invincible Career® | Tech geek | Nature lover | Powerlifter | Trail runner.”

Do powerlifting, trail running, and nature have anything to do with being a leadership coach? Not directly. But, my headline is unique to me and makes me stand out from the thousands of other leadership coaches (I hope!).

Be memorable in a good way

This probably goes without saying, but here I am saying it. Strive to be memorable for all the right reasons.

You don’t necessarily have to be likable to be memorable (more on that in the next section). But, people who are memorable in a good way are often likable as well.

There is research that has examined what makes people likable, memorable, and more successful. Additionally, likable people tend to be more successful. For example:

* Likable people are more likely to get hired.

* They are more likely to get promoted.

* They are more likely to keep their jobs.

* Likable leaders also tend to be viewed as effective leaders.

“The results are very clear – there is no harm in being liked by your subordinates and our research certainly suggests that it is part of being viewed as an effective leader. This means that well-liked leaders can expect subordinates to consider them as authentic, transformational, ethical, and not abusive. Likewise, teams who like their leaders will be happier at work, go above and beyond what is required of them, experience greater well-being, and perform at a higher level.“ — from Why Likable Leaders Seem More Effective, Harvard Business Review

Some of the following suggestions for positive memorability might not fit your personality. But, hopefully, a few of them will come in handy the next time you meet someone.

* Be truly friendly

* Smile and laugh

* Use good eye contact and positive body language

* Show a genuine interest in others

* Ask relevant questions

* Share the spotlight

* Be kind and helpful

* Be generous

* Be funny and witty

* Tell interesting and unique stories from your life

* Be authentic

* Be open-minded

* Be reasonably vulnerable

* Be well-read and up-to-date on relevant news

* Do your homework so you can have interesting conversations

Don’t be memorable in a bad way

As I was researching and writing this newsletter, I thought about how memorability is a polarizing quality. Some people are memorable for all the right reasons. Others are memorable for all the wrong ones.

For example, I had a call with someone today, and he mentioned that he has a shortlist of people he will never, ever work with again. Those people are certainly memorable for him, but I don’t think any of us want to be easy to remember because we’re toxic coworkers or terrible leaders.

This advice may sound obvious, but I think some folks missed this chapter in the book on How to Be Memorable. They love being argumentative and bombastic and seem to enjoy having a reputation of being “difficult to work with.”

Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps they feel like they are being true to their authentic selves.

However, that’s a long and lonely professional road to walk. I know some people like this. No one goes out of their way to recommend them for new opportunities or be their advocate when someone calls and asks for a reference.

Memorability mistakes

Sadly, some folks seem confused about what it takes to be noticed and remembered. They think that being aggressive, loud, and self-promotional is how one captures attention and becomes memorable.

As one recent example, I've been popping into Clubhouse rooms over the past few weeks and witnessed truly cringe-worthy behavior:

* Lots of bragging (e.g., “Of course, I'm always invited into the biggest investment meetings.”)

* Self-proclamations (e.g., “I've always been really funny”)

* Interrupting others (e.g., “Oh, that’s nothing! Let me tell you my story.”)

* Self-promotion (e.g., “Everyone always says I'm the best person to have in a sales meeting”)

Cutting people off and hogging the mic won’t get you noticed — well, at least not for any good reasons. Bragging about yourself won't make you memorable in a good way.

Of course, we all hope to be memorable. But, don’t try so hard that you end up making a terrible impression. Avoid oversharing, telling your entire life story, dominating conversations, and making it all about you.

Venue does matter

It's hard to get noticed on a service like Clubhouse. Many of the likability signals I mentioned aren't available (e.g., smiling). You're competing with way too many other people to be heard.

To be fair, many of my memorability tips don't work well in any typical crowded networking event. Everyone clusters around a few popular people, trying to be noticed and shouting to be heard.

However, you increase your odds of being memorable in small group settings and one-on-one discussions. Lunchclub.ai, for example, is better for this than Clubhouse. Or, as I’ve recommended before, you should be the one giving a talk “on stage” (physical or Zoom).

It’s a lot easier for people to remember the few speakers at an event than the hundreds of people they meet from the audience. I’ve always had a better “networking experience” as a panelist or speaker versus another attendee.

If you want to be more memorable and make a lasting positive impression, choose your venues wisely and play to your strengths when deciding how you want to engage with people.

Leave a comment below if you have any additional suggestions, thoughts, or questions! 😊

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Create Your Elevator PitchWhat do you want to be known for? What matters the most to you? Career opportunities come more easily when you stand out and stand for something.

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a supportive online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

“Are you aware of any tried-and-true methods for making the transition from being a full-time employee at companies in the Bay Area, to becoming a consultant or contractor who is able to reap the financial rewards of providing their skills and expertise? Regardless of career stage.”

I was asked this question recently via my anonymous Q&A form. Some people are okay with working for someone else for several years. But, at some point, they get the itch to break free and start their own business.

Perhaps they want more independence and flexibility in their work schedule. Maybe they’re tired of small raises and occasional promotions, so they want more control over their financial destiny.

Whatever their reasons are, knowledge workers — as I’m guessing this person is — can quickly spin up a business based on what they do. I’ve made this transition myself a couple of times during my career.

I also have several friends and colleagues who have become consultants after years of being employees at Tech companies in the Bay Area. If anything, it has become even more accessible in the last ten years.

I wrote a more detailed article on this very topic: “Can You Channel Your Work Frustration into Creating Your Own Business?” But, I’ll share some specific advice in this newsletter.

What I did

The fastest transition to consultant or contractor is to sell what you have been doing as an employee. Base your service offering on what you already have several years of experience doing in your day-to-day job.

I did this when I first left my comfortable 9–5 job and became a solopreneur in 1998. I quit as a senior designer at a startup and formed a “design agency” in less than a week. I had my first client before I even left my job: my previous employer. I added additional clients over the next few weeks.

I didn’t even bother buying a domain name and creating a website until I had already completed a few projects. Modern social media didn’t exist yet.

The only way people could contact me was via my email and phone. Online advertising mostly consisted of annoying and expensive banner ads.

My primary sources for new clients were through word of mouth and partnerships. I sold what I already knew and could do.

I had been providing my software design services for years as a full-time employee at IBM, Apple Computer, and a couple of startups. The transition to performing design work for clients was almost seamless.

How do you define your business and services?

The value you create for your employer isn’t very different from the services a consultant would sell to your employer to replicate what you do. 

A useful exercise is to transform your current detailed job description into a business plan. Describe your proposed services as solutions to the problems that you know your target clients have.

How would a business describe its services if it offered what you do day-to-day? However, keep in mind that the rules change when you are a consultant or independent contractor.

You now have autonomy. You decide how and when the work gets done. You can’t say, “I perform the design work that the manager asks me to do every week.”

I should rephrase that: to be considered “self-employed,” you must decide how you do your work. You must also control how you get paid, get reimbursed for expenses, purchase necessary tools and supplies, and handle other benefits (e.g., health insurance, retirement accounts, vacations).

Remember, you are on your own now. The company isn’t taking care of all of this for you. Talk with an accountant to clarify your company formation and how you will handle banking, accounting, and tax preparation later.

Be very careful that you don’t allow a client to dictate the terms of your engagement, even though many will try to do precisely that. They may want you to work in their office (crazy in these modern times), be available for specific hours each day (e.g., 9 AM to 5 PM), and use one of their corporate laptops. 

If you let this happen, you run the risk of being classified as an employee, which completely changes how you and the employer will have to handle payment and taxation. Forget about writing off all of those business expenses on your taxes next year (e.g., your new laptop and all of that software you use).

What do you charge?

Speaking of money, you’ll need to decide what you are going to charge for your services. Before you quit your job, do some internal research.

Find out what your company is paying people to provide the services you are planning for your new consulting business. If your employer hires an outside agency, contractors, or consultants who offer similar services, what are they paid?

You should also do some external research and find out what the market will bear.

* What are your friends at other companies paying consultants and contractors?

* What are consultants and contractors charging their customers right now?

Do some homework to decide how to price your services. You’ll also need to decide if you charge an hourly rate or a flat rate by the project. There are pros and cons to both approaches.

When you are just starting, it is tricky to estimate a flat rate for projects. You don’t have enough experience yet to know how much work and time a given type of project (and client) will require.

It’s ok to start with hourly billing for client work. But, eventually, you want to shift to selling value delivered, not hours spent.

You shouldn’t be punished financially when your experience enables you to complete projects more quickly. There are significant benefits to project-based pricing and monthly retainers (e.g., predictable, steady income).

How do you find clients?

The hardest part of starting a new consulting business is the cold start problem.

* Where do you get your first clients?

* How do you build a reputation that will get you hired when you have nothing to show yet?

* Why should anyone trust you or believe that you can do great work if they don’t know you?

Ah, there’s the answer right in that last question. Who already knows you and trusts you? Who already knows that you do great work?

Your previous employers and colleagues.

The majority of my consulting clients came from previous colleagues and bosses. Sometimes they would be the ones hiring me. Sometimes they would refer other clients to me. My network fueled my business.

For example:

* My very first client was my past employer. I told them that I was quitting to start a consulting agency. They tried to persuade me to stay as an employee. I declined, so they immediately said that they wanted to hire me as a consultant and take all of the hours I could give them.

* My next client hired me because an employee on their Design team had worked with me at Apple. They needed another designer to run a few projects since they were overloaded. He told the manager of the team to hire me, and he did.

* I was pulled into a large number of projects by past colleagues who were now consulting as well.

* Designers would bring me on to partner with them on big projects.

* Engineers would tell their clients that their products needed some “design love” and recommended that they hire me to work with the engineering team.

* Product managers and various senior leaders would hire me to play the role of Design leaders as they were struggling to find an excellent full-time hire.

Leverage your close network. These are people who already enjoy working with you, trust you, and value the quality of your work.

Reach out to people and let them know that you are consulting now and have some cycles to take on a new project. Never say that you don’t have any clients and act desperate, though.

How will you know that it’s working?

As you build your reputation and portfolio of past projects and clients, you’ll be able to attract new clients who’ve never worked with you before. As the demand rises, you will also be able to increase your rates. 

When you have more clients than you can handle and you’re charging what you need to live comfortably, you’ll know that your new business is up and running successfully.

However, always be connecting with people to keep opportunities flowing your way. You can’t slack off on marketing and sales just because you’re busy working on current projects.

You don’t want to get into a repetitive cycle of feast and famine. It still makes sense to aggressively build up a financial cushion that can carry you through months — or even a year — if your client work slows.

If you have too much inbound interest, you can send work to other consultants. Bring people on to help you with projects, and there will be reciprocity.

You have to give to take. Don’t be one of those people that never help others find work; otherwise, no one will think of you and help you either.

As your business scales up, you’ll have to decide how you want to grow to take on more clients.

* Do you hire contractors?

* Do you start hiring employees?

* Do you bring on partners?

* How should you diversify your income streams?

* Can you create passive sources of income?

These are great questions, and it’s a good problem to have, but I’ll save that for another story.

Good luck!

I hope this helps anyone who is considering the transition from employee to consultant! It’s a rewarding journey, and the freedom is like nothing you’ve ever experienced as an employee.

Reach out to me if you have any other questions or leave a comment below.

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Write Your Full StoryThe messaging around your story should be aligned across platforms. This includes how you talk about yourself online, in written correspondence, and verbal conversations.

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a supportive online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

Do you enjoy the sound of your voice?

You probably don’t. I know that I don’t like listening to myself on my podcast or in videos.

Research conducted by psychologists Phil Holzemann and Clyde Rousey (referenced in this article) found that you experience an affective disturbance when listening to a recording of your own voice. This feeling:

“…arises not only from a difference in expected frequency, but also a striking revelation that occurs upon the realisation of all that your voice conveys. Not only does it sound different than you expect; through what are called ‘extra-linguistic cues,’ it reveals aspects of your personality that you can only fully perceive upon hearing it from a recording. These include aspects such as your anxiety level, indecision, sadness, anger, and so on.”

In other words, we are surprised and disappointed by how our voices sound. First, the pitch is higher than we expect. We normally hear our voices through sound waves in the air and conducted through the bones in our head, so the vocal tone is perceived as richer and lower. But, we also pick up on emotional cues in our voice, which is disturbing as well.

You can train your voice to be fuller and more resonant. It helps to practice diaphragmatic breathing (i.e., belly breathing), breathing through your nose, relaxation techniques, finding your natural pitch, and speaking more resonantly (i.e., avoiding a nasal-sounding voice).

These vocal exercises are important and will improve your tone. But, there is another aspect of your voice that will have a greater impact on how people respond to you.

Speaking delivery style

Your vocal delivery style is even more important than the sound of your voice. I’ve been working on my public speaking for over 16 years, and I’m still learning new things to improve it.

What goes into your style? Well, it includes:

* Your posture

* Body language and movement

* Arm motions and hand gestures

* Facial expressions

* Eye contact

* Vocal tone, rhythm, volume, and pace

* Effective pauses

* Word choices and articulation

* Your energy levels

* Your confidence

For the longest time, I spoke too quickly. I would rush my words. I would feel breathless and stressed. My chest would feel tight.

I think I just wanted it to be over.

I have improved somewhat over the past 10+ years of speaking on stage. I’ve forced myself to slow down and use dramatic pauses — even when the silence made me incredibly uncomfortable. I learned to make full use of the area on the stage and learned how to engage the audience with my body language and eye contact.

However, I recently engaged in a new production partnership for some courses, which required me to use a teleprompter to record my scripts on video. I’ve never used one before, and I heard myself speaking unnaturally and sounding so uncomfortable.

So, I had to find a way to overcome this performance issue.

My new secret weapon

Find your vocal hero and study his or her style. For example, I learned to channel my “inner Morpheus” to improve how I spoke to the camera.

Even with all of my practice, I still found myself stumbling as I rehearsed the scripts I had written. I’ve become more comfortable with podcasting, but this was different.

It was all new to be in a production studio with bright lights, scrolling words on a teleprompter, and looking into a dark camera. I really couldn’t see the director, so I couldn’t pretend that she was my audience.

Talk about stress! As I practiced, I found myself getting into that rushing habit again. I was stumbling over words and getting tongue-tied with certain phrases.

Serendipitously, I had watched the original Matrix movie with my sons a few weeks before my recording session. The realization hit me as I remembered listening to Laurence Fishburne as “Morpheus” with his resonant voice and deliberate, theatrical speaking style:

He could be my vocal hero.

Yes, I know. It’s way over the top. But, you have to admit that he captures your attention.

Remember when Morpheus says, “Isn’t that worth fighting for? Isn’t that worth dying for?”

However, I wasn’t simply mimicking him. I was learning how to tap into some of his techniques to fix my broken style.

I rewrote some of my material — on the fly and overnight — to flow more easily, have a better rhythm, and optimize it for vocal delivery. I began savoring phrases, playing with words, focusing on being in the moment, and becoming more melodious.

During the recording sessions, I caught myself drifting off course again, becoming stressed, and rushing my speech.

So, I paused, took a deep breath, visualized Morpheus, and heard his style in my head. That enabled me to refocus, slow down, and improve my delivery.

I think that it worked, but I guess we won’t know for sure until they finish the production of the courses and publish them.

Another favorite voice

There is another actor who had a magical voice that I wish I could reproduce. Alas, I don’t have a great accent or vocal depth.

You’re probably most familiar with Alan Rickman in his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies. But, if you’re older like me, you also remember him from Die Hard, Robin Hood, and Galaxy Quest.

Here he is in an interview where you can close your eyes on focus on how he speaks. Calm, resonant, and never rushed.

This isn’t about copying his voice. I want you to notice his confidence, patience, and pacing. He speaks exactly as he wishes, with his own timing.

“I mean, language fascinates me anyway, and different words have different energies and you can change the whole drive of a sentence.” — Alan Rickman

After studying Fishburne and Rickman, the takeaway for me is to own my words and my time in the spotlight. When you are speaking, whether it’s for a live audience or listeners later, it is your moment.

Please take full advantage of it to get what you need from the opportunity. There is a reason you are speaking, participating, and sharing your voice.

What is it?

Don’t rush your time and your chance to be heard and understood. Enjoy your moment.

“You have to be courageous with yourself on stage, I think, emotionally.” — Alan Rickman

Who is your presentation hero?

Is there someone with a vocal delivery style that you admire? Have you watched someone speak on stage and thought, “There. That’s how I want to behave in front of an audience.”?

If not, TED talks are a great place to go shopping for a presentation hero. The videos give you everything you need; how they speak, gesture, smile, move on stage, and everything that makes a great talk great.

Watch and take notes.

Different speakers will have different styles that appeal to you. You may like how one person uses facial expressions. But, you prefer another person’s vocal delivery, speaking rhythm, and how they use pauses.

Review your notes and start practicing! I recommend that you record yourself on video too. Pay attention to your pacing, body language, and tone.

Amp up your energy level!

The director I worked with kept reminding me to exaggerate my style and be more energetic and friendly. It’s easy to fall into a monotonous, low-energy cadence when you’re performing a monologue for the camera with no live audience.

Learn from your heroes, but define your unique style. It has to feel like “you,” if you are going to be comfortable with it. But, it will take practice to refine your style until it fits you just right.

Let me know how it goes (in the comments)!

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Leverage Your CalendarMake your calendar your new accountability buddy. Let it be the defender of your precious time.

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a supportive online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

How are you holding up? Have you found some healthy ways to manage the stress in your life? Watch the video I recorded on this issue.

I had a conversation with my Career Accelerator community this week about recent events in the U.S. that have added another layer of anxiety on top of everything else. We discussed how we handle the situation, manage our personal stress levels, and help our teams cope.

Stress is a killer. I don’t mean that figuratively, either. It literally harms your health.

Stress triggers an adrenaline dump and raises cortisol levels. It can manifest symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, digestive problems, weight gain, higher blood pressure, tightness in your chest, joint pain, memory issues, and problems sleeping.

For the longest time, I accepted high stress levels in my life — mostly due to work issues. I thought it was normal. I also thought that I could simply “push through it.”

But, I paid the price for not dealing with my stress. My health suffered — a lot.

I’ve since learned that I need to maintain my physical, mental, and emotional well-being just as I maintain any system to keep it running smoothly. It is not a weakness to admit that you need personal time to take your stress levels down a notch.

You’ll be more productive, happier, and successful in the long run when you make time to take care of yourself. You can’t prevent stressful situations from occurring. But, you can help yourself recover more quickly from them.

Here are some techniques that I have used to relieve stress over the years. They don’t only help me personally. I’ve found that actively managing my stress levels has dramatically improved my work productivity.

I hope this can help you too!

Calming routines

My morning routine calms me and helps me start the day right. We are often creatures of habit, and a predictable routine helps reduce anxiety.

It gives you a greater sense of control over your life. You are deciding what happens when.

Making coffee is one of my calming routines. I don’t use a machine. I either do a pour-over in my Chemex or a faster cup in my portable Aeropress.

With both techniques, I grind the beans, boil water, and brew the coffee manually. The physical actions and sensory elements are familiar (I’ve been doing it for decades). Going through the motions always clears my mind and calms me down.

Calming music

Do you remember your last visit to a spa or relaxing massage therapy session? You may have noticed that they always seem to be quietly playing tranquil music in the background. It almost puts me to sleep every time.

I wanted to replicate that feeling when I take a hot bath to relax, treat my aching muscles, and feel calm. So, I did some searching on Spotify and found a few playlists. One of them has over 13 hours of relaxing music!

Try them out the next time you want to bliss out:

* Relaxing Massage

* Spa Music

* Japanese music, Zen music, and spa music

Relaxing videos

Adding a visual element can boost the stress-busting impact. I’ve found a few videos on YouTube that can help relax you between stressful meetings. I can feel the release of tension even after watching them for a few minutes.

Even though travel is restricted, this is one way to still see the world. You can even take a walk through Hobbiton in one of the videos in my playlist!

I couldn’t help myself. I snuck some Bob Ross painting videos in there too. Is there anything more relaxing than listening to him talk while you watch him paint?

I’ll keep adding more videos as I discover them, so subscribe to that playlist if you want to keep updated.

Meditation

Meditation is magical, or so I’m told. Many of my friends love Headspace and recommend their app. Calm also provides solutions (including an app), for stress relief and meditation.

However, this will be a case of “do as I say, not as I do.”

I’ve tried traditional meditation in the past and struggled with it. I also find it challenging to be alone for enough time to meditate without interruptions.

However, certain types of activities do put me into a meditative state. I use them to calm my mind and relax.

For example, sketching patterns and doodling work really well for me. The physical action and pattern completion reduce my stress. I notice that my heart rate slows, and my breathing also becomes slower and deeper.

So, is it still meditation? I think so — and some agree — but I guess it doesn't matter if the result is the same and I experience the benefits.

Biofeedback

I have fun with my pulse oximeter. It measures my heart rate and blood oxygen saturation levels (useful to detect early symptoms of COVID). But, I mostly use it as a biofeedback device to help me calm down and reduce stress.

With practice, you can use real-time information from biofeedback to learn how to relax and control your body’s reactions to stress. I attach the pulse oximeter to a fingertip and get a live reading of my heart rate. Then, I practice deep breathing, calm my mind, and focus on slowing my heartbeat.

I’ve been able to take my heart rate from 80 to 50 in less than a minute using this technique. It immediately reduces your feelings of stress and anxiety too. We’ve made it a bit of a game in our house to see who can slow their heart rate the most.

Exercise

Daily exercise is my go-to stress-busting solution. If I miss my morning workout, I feel “off.”

Lifting weights always improves my mood and makes me feel more positive, even if it physically drains me. Surprisingly, physical fatigue eliminates my mental and emotional fatigue.

So, try to work exercise into your daily routine. It can be as simple as taking a long walk. Or work up to something more dedicated like weightlifting, yoga, cycling, or running.

Sleep

Getting enough sleep is one of the best things you can do for your health and reduces your stress levels. It’s tempting to cut corners and burn the candle at both ends to try to accomplish more. But, insufficient sleep is bad for your mind and body.

Sometimes, we think that we are sufficiently rested, but we aren’t getting enough deep sleep. The little things we do or don’t do can disrupt our sleep patterns.

Mark Sisson wrote The Definitive Guide to Sleep, which includes links to techniques to help you get a better night’s rest.

For example:

* Reduce your exposure to blue light (our electronic devices emit it), especially near bedtime.

* Keep your bedroom pitch black when you sleep (e.g., have nothing in the room that glows at all!).

* Go to bed around the same time every evening.

* Use your journal to capture those ideas and to-do items that are still buzzing around your brain.

* Have a bedtime ritual that helps you prepare and get ready to sleep (e.g., I read a paper book for about 30 mins).

Outdoor time

I’ve talked about the benefits of “green exercise” before. Getting some natural sunlight is beneficial as well, especially at this time of the year.

Exposure to sunlight can increase your brain’s release of serotonin, which is associated with boosting your mood and helping you feel calmer. If you live somewhere that doesn’t have much sunlight in the winter months (e.g., Alaska), you should consider light therapy.

We bought this light therapy lamp a couple of years ago. My wife and I both suffer from some seasonal affective disorder when days are shorter. The lamp helps.

Close your laptop and go outside for a walk. Take a much-needed screen time break.

Laughter

Real laughter always improves my mood and reduces my stress levels. It’s hard to trigger it artificially. But, you probably know what makes you laugh.

I have a few books written by comedians and humorists. For example, I recently received Jerry Seinfeld’s latest book as a gift, Is This Anything? Several of his observations have made me laugh out loud.

You probably have some favorite comedians and sitcoms that make you laugh. Pull them up on YouTube the next time you need a stress break.

Laughter can:

* Reduce stress hormones

* Lower blood pressure

* Boost T-cells in your immune system

* Release positive endorphins

Healthy comfort foods

A healthy diet can reduce the effects of stress. It strengthens your immune system, improves your mood, and can lower your blood pressure.

It can be tempting to reach for alcohol when you’re feeling stressed. Having a drink takes the edge off. I was doing that for many months last year.

However, I wasn’t feeling good. My weightlifting training was suffering too. Alcohol inhibits protein synthesis, which impairs muscle growth.

Alcohol wasn’t doing me any favors, so I quit drinking cold turkey right after Thanksgiving. I haven’t had a drink since, and I feel much better now.

But, it doesn’t hurt to reach for your comfort foods once in a while. I like to cook a dish that I remember my mother making when I was a young child.

The smell and taste of those meals trigger memories too. It puts a smile on my face and makes me feel better.

Comforting entertainment

There’s a reason that so many people will rewatch their favorite shows or even reread an old book. The familiar is comforting.

Watching a “feel good” show from years ago has a positive impact on my mood (e.g., Northern Exposure). The effect is even greater when I watch a show from my childhood (e.g., M*A*S*H). Nostalgia kicks in, and you can “time travel” back to a happier moment in your life.

According to Clay Routledge, Ph.D.:

“Nostalgia increases positive mood, self-esteem, feelings of social connectedness, optimism about the future, and perceptions of meaning in life. Furthermore, nostalgia motivates people to focus on cultivating meaningful relationships and pursue important life goals. In addition, as people get older, nostalgia makes them feel youthful and energetic. Nostalgia also reduces existential fears about death.”

Sex

What can I say? Engaging in healthy, consensual sexual relationships has many benefits.

I’m sorry if this is uncomfortable. If so, scroll past this section and move on.

Research has found that people who have sex 1-2 times/week have higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A. It can also apparently make you look 10 years younger. 🤷‍♀️

A healthy sex life can:

* Boost your immune system

* Lower your blood pressure

* Reduce the risk of heart attack

* Lessen pain

* Improve your sleep

* Reduce stress due to increased oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin

Going solo still has many of the same benefits.

Talking with a therapist

Finally, you don’t have to struggle on your own. When stress and anxiety feel unmanageable, it helps to talk with a professional.

There are many online services:

* BetterHelp - sessions with a dedicated professional therapist

* Talkspace - unlimited therapy with a dedicated therapist

* 7 Cups - anonymous platform to connect with a compassionate trained “listener” or a professional online therapist

If you manage a team

Check-in with your teams and see how people are holding up. You can spend a few minutes doing this at the beginning of your weekly meetings, but I also encourage you to talk with your employees one-on-one. Not everyone is comfortable sharing how they are feeling in a group setting.

Be a source of compassion and care. Yes, we all have work to do, and projects must move forward. But, we’re also human beings, not machines.

Don't add more stress. Literally, have a dedicated meeting to discuss their well-being and do not bring up work projects. If they do and want to vent, that’s ok.

Let me know what helps you

What have you found works best for you? Do you have any other tried and true stress-busting techniques?

I hope that the current chaos in the world subsides a bit this year. Most things follow an ebb and flow pattern. What goes up must come down.

Feel free to chat with me in the comments if you’d like. Or, reach out to me. I’ve been told that I’m a good listener. 😉

This week’s professional development challenge

⭐ Break Your Big Goals into SubgoalsI would guess that your medium and large goals for this year are too big and complex to jump right in and tackle.

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who runs a supportive online community. He lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice that can help others take full control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

Whatever you want to achieve this year, the framework is simple for successfully doing it. However, while it might be simple — and perhaps even obvious — it is not easy.

It’s kind of funny. I encounter many people who are looking for the “secret to success.”

They want to hear about some new hack, technique, or strategy that they have never seen. They want something that no one has ever thought of before.

Sorry, folks. Nothing is new.

Or, I could say, what’s old is new. The secret framework for success has existed for a long time.

People write about it in different ways. Some behave as if it is magical, and they have discovered it. Yeah, right.

Others are more honest.

For example, James Clear is honest and straightforward when he says that successful change is all about your daily habits.

Cal Newport shares the not-so-secret to success that you need to work really hard, build valuable skills, and become so good that they can’t ignore you.

Obvious, huh?

Yes, well, that may be true. I’m sometimes told that some of my advice is obvious, too.

But, here’s the kicker. Hardly anyone is actually following the advice. They complain that it is obvious, but they aren’t doing anything with it.

I’ve mentioned this story before. Someone came up to me after a talk I gave at a conference in Australia.

They said, “I really enjoyed your talk. But, some of what you said about career growth was kind of obvious. I already knew that.”

I smiled, “Oh, good! So, you’re already doing all of those things to advance your career. How has it been working for you?”

They blushed and said, “Well… I’m not actually doing them. But I know that I should.”

I see.

It’s obvious, and it probably works, but you aren’t taking action.

I think we all are familiar with the framework that I share below. But, perhaps this is the real secret to success:

You have to actually do it.

You have to follow it.

EverySingleStep

If you intentionally use this strategy this year, you will successfully achieve most of your goals. Yes, random chance and factors beyond your control can disrupt your plans.

But, most of our failures are due to something we have done or not done. We usually have ourselves to blame for many things we do not achieve.

I’m just as guilty. I haven’t published my book yet, and that is entirely my fault. I haven’t created a robust system, and I haven’t prioritized the work enough.

Without further ado, here is a simple framework for your success this year.

Goals

You’re probably familiar with SMART goals. They are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. I’m not going to bore you with the details since I’m sure you’ve heard about them. If not, read up on them here.

Many organizations and individuals have been using a new goal-setting method of establishing OKRs, which stands for Objectives and Key Results. The objectives in OKRs can provide more general and inspirational goals than the SMART approach, which tends to focus on more discrete and specific efforts.

Want to learn more about OKRs? John Doerr wrote the bestselling book, Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth.

However, let’s make it simple. Goal-setting doesn’t have to be some crazy, complex exercise.

Start by brainstorming a huge list of all of the things you want to achieve this year, both personal and professional. I asked my premium subscribers to do that this week and I’ll be discussing their plans with them in my community.

Some things to keep in mind:

* Capture more than your professional goals. Your personal development goals are important, too. They should inspire you. Make a commitment to yourself and your relationships, health, and well-being. ← Tweet this

* Be specific about your goals, and make sure your progress can be measured. You want to be able to determine if you achieved a goal or not. Nothing fuzzy, such as “get better at writing.” Be specific with something you can measure, such as “Write and publish one article of 500-800 words every week.”

* Be realistic and set goals that can humanly be achieved in a year or less. I love ambition. But, don’t set yourself up for failure with an unattainable goal (e.g., “I’m going to run a marathon, even though I’ve never had a run longer than 1 kilometer in my entire life”).

* Create a list of small, medium, and large goals. It’s nice to have some wins along the way.

* Review your goals with a trusted supporter (more on this later). It’s useful to have a sounding board who can help us judge if we’re being reasonable with some of our goals or have too many goals. For example, if you want to publish a book this year, run your goal by someone who has actually published a book before and can tell you if what you are planning is possible.

Note, your probability of achieving a goal is only about 10% when you simply have a goal in mind. That’s why you need the rest of the framework below.

Plan

A goal without a plan is simply wishful thinking. Your plan will define how you specifically intend to pursue the activities that will enable you to achieve your goals.

Start with a high-level plan for the overall year. Prioritize your goals and map them into your year accordingly.

For example, shorter-term, higher-priority goals can be your focus for the next few months. Some goals will require other goals to be accomplished first (e.g., competing in a race means that you will need earlier goals to train for it).

Break the larger goals down into a series of sub-goals and steps you need to build up to achieve them. For example, the goal of landing a new job has sub-goals and actions required before you can accept the offer. That includes:

* Deciding what your next career move should be

* Writing your elevator pitch

* Updating your resume

* Writing cover letters

* Updating LinkedIn

* Creating a portfolio

* Creating an interview presentation

* Strengthening your network

* Reconnecting with people in your network

* Researching interesting companies

* Looking for job openings

* Asking for warm introductions

* Securing interviews

* You get the picture…

Essentially, map out the steps and actions you should take every day, week, and month for each of the goals you wish to accomplish. Create a plan for every week this year.

It doesn’t have to be excruciatingly detailed, yet. Some goals don’t require that degree of planning anyway. Your goals and plans will be adjusted as you make progress and learn more.

However, you should have a general framework in place for how you will attack your goals this year.

Your probability of accomplishing your goal rises to 40% if you set a date by which you will achieve it. It climbs to 50% when you create a plan for how you will do it. ← Tweet this

Habits

James Clear would tell you, “Commit to a process, not a goal.” Although I do like goals and plans, he’s right about the value of a process.

If you don’t take action consistently, you won’t make progress. Many people create goals and plans, but very few make it all the way through their plans to achieve final success.

I get it. It becomes overwhelming.

If you set your eyes on a significant goal, you can become discouraged when daily progress feels minuscule. It seems like you will never reach your goal, and many give up.

Such is the nature of significant achievements, though. Making progress does feel onerous. The work is hard, and sometimes it becomes monotonous.

Any writer will tell you that they get burned out. The daily practice is often tiring, stressful, and not exciting.

I have a friend who became wildly successful last year. For many people, it looked as if she came out of nowhere. You know, an overnight success.

However, I know her. I know that she has been putting in the work all day, every day, for over 10 years. Not overnight. Ten years.

I’m sure that she felt like it was a grind at times. But, now she’s reaping the rewards, although the hard work never ends.

If you want to succeed in achieving your goals and working on your plans, you need to turn those actions into daily habits. Some might be weekly habits, but I would guess that you should be doing something every day — in some way — if you want to accomplish something important for you. ← Tweet this

For example, I work out every day. I made that a habit and have been doing it for over 12 years.

I also write every day. It’s the only way that I can make progress on my goals.

What do you need as daily habits in your life to achieve your goals this year? They can be as little as a 30-60 minute commitment every day.

Schedule time

One of the biggest reasons people fail to achieve their goals is that they can’t find the time to work on them. They don’t make the goal a priority, and they don’t schedule time on their calendar to work on it every day or week. ←Tweet this

Once you have defined your daily and weekly habits, block time on your calendar for them. I schedule time on my calendar to work out every morning. I block off entire afternoons to write my articles, newsletters, and books.

Do not let other people have full control of your calendar, which gives them full control of your life. The first step to taking back your power and freedom is to own your time.

I know that an employer probably requires many of the hours on your calendar, Monday through Friday. But, that doesn’t mean that they should own your evenings and weekends too.

Your employer will take all of your time if you allow them to do so. I know that some of my past employers certainly took advantage of my workaholic tendencies. But your future is too valuable to let that happen. ← Tweet this…

Track progress

If you have defined measurable goals, you can track your progress. You will be able to determine if you are on track to achieve your goals.

I do this with every goal that is important for my life. For example:

* I have realistic weightlifting goals (e.g., how much I want to be able to deadlift).

* I have workout plans that I follow (and I’ve worked with coaches).

* I have a daily habit of exercising in the morning.

* I schedule time on my calendar to protect that time.

* I track my progress.

* I assess if the plan seems to be working or if I need to make adjustments.

* I hold myself accountable by sharing my workout videos and posts.

I do the same thing professionally, too. I am writing content for a course right now. I have a deadline, and I made a plan. I have a daily habit of writing a script.

I track my progress in a spreadsheet and on a big whiteboard that I can’t ignore. My progress stares me in the face every day. I know when I’m falling behind my commitment to write four scripts every week.

Tracking your progress can be motivational. It’s helpful to see how far you have come, even when it feels like you still have so far to go.

Accountability

The secret sauce of success is combining habits, tracking, and accountability. I’ve shared this before, but it still blows my mind.

If you promise someone else that you will achieve a goal, your probability of success rises to 65%.

When you schedule regular accountability appointments with someone, your probability of success goes up to 95%!

I did this when I started working out at a CrossFit box. I felt accountable to my coach. I also knew that my friends in the gym were waiting for me. They expected me to show up every morning and gave me grief if I skipped a workout.

I’ve created the same type of accountability environment for my Career Accelerator. We meet every week, discuss goals and activities, support each other, give advice, and hold each other accountable for making progress toward our goals. That community helps us all stay on track.

Now, I’m expanding my community to be more accessible to more people. My new community is much more affordable, but not free (although you can try it for free for a week).

Why is it not free? Well, I’ve learned over the years that people don’t commit as much to something free. They don’t value it as much, either.

When something is free, it is easy not to show up and not to make any progress. When you pay for support, advice, and access to a professional community, you value it more. You show up to get your investment out of it.

Speaking of community…

Those of you who are premium subscribers should have received an email yesterday about joining my new community to help you with your weekly professional challenges.

That email has links that will give you free access to join the online version of the year-long course of challenges. Feel free to use it to ask me questions, discuss the details, get feedback, or chat with other members of the community.

If you are not a premium subscriber yet, you can upgrade your subscription to join the course. Or, learn more about the community here.

My Invincible Career Community is a supportive group of ambitious professionals where you will benefit from guidance, feedback, accountability, and inspiration from experts and peers.

We don’t bite. 😉 Everyone is very friendly and helpful.

Best of luck!

I wish you the best of luck with your goals this year. Feel free to ask questions in the comments on this post online.

Check out my new community if you want a group of smart, friendly, and ambitious people to help you make progress and stay accountable to achieving your goals.

Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who hosts a private mastermind community for ambitious professionals with weekly challenges, office hours, and 24x7 support. If you’re interested in starting your own business or side hustle someday (or accelerating an existing one), check out his “Employee to Solopreneur” course (launching in 2022).

Larry lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice to help others take complete control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.

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