We Have A Lot to Remember This Memorial Day

In recognition of this past Memorial Day weekend I want to take a moment to thank all of the brave men and women who fought for and died for our great country.

I want to give a special thanks to those men and women of color who endured the challenges of racism and discrimination in the earlier times of the military. These great men and women set into motion a movement that eventually shattered old stereotypes of Blacks that called into question the competence, intelligence, bravery, patriotism and leadership potential. These courageous men and women who fought in every major American conflict dating back to the revolutionary war, showed all in the United States and the rest of the world that African Americans were not only great patriots, but capable of doing great things in leadership and in life when given an opportunity. God Bless all of you and thank you for your service to our country.

Mastering Your Time Like a Top Executive

One of the most consistent problems I have seen with young black professionals is the lack of time management or poor time execution. Let's keep it real, this problem is often at the heart of the career and professional development challenges for many of us.

Over the years as a consultant and now as a director and executive at Howard, I believe poor time management is often the core issue that has kept many African Americans from gaining business opportunities, receiving promotions, gaining the respect of their peers, and importantly the respect of leaders in their organizations that struggle in considering them as key "go-to people."

Remember there are 3 basic time masters:

• Sloppy-always late or inconsistent - They always drain others in getting your part done!


• Mediocre-time management that most think is OK. - You are just another face in the crowd, most will see your contributions as just doing your required job, nothing special.


• Executive- You are always a cut above, prepared-in advance, early to meetings, excellent quality is your trademark. Top executives love working with people like this.

Be known for getting the job done! Look at a few of these tips:

Always know the complete scope of a project or task before starting out--Some people have made a career in college and now professionally in waiting until the last minute to even begin reviewing the scope and key components of time sensitive tasks. Slow starters always create drama for everyone when they need assistance from others to get their sloppy and poorly executed part done. Also poor quality is usually the trademark of people who never appropriately scope out their time sensitive tasks and projects. People who start off late, drain others in getting the job done, and turn in sub par work eventually are labeled in top organizations as a "liability" ---being shown the door is always close at hand.

Set realistic timelines of tasks. Don't promise things you can not deliver. It is better to establish reasonable and mutually agreed timelines when planning to deliver tasks, than trying to be "a star" and over promise and under deliver.

Use your PDA, Blackberry, Trio etc., to document , review, and give alerts for due components, tasks and deliverables. Share and facilitate buy-in with others that are involved.

Develop a timeline for effective teaming, identifying, defining, and completing of tasks. Share timeline with all, and check in with others in advance to ensure all team members are "on task." Always build in flexiblity for potential delays.

Start doing your part on time. Stop blaming others for not getting started, because you were waiting on them to return your call, or to provide some data etc. Always find a way to communicate with others for materials or information needed, while moving forward in anyway possible to complete the task at hand.

Build in flexible time to your timeline. Stuff happens...lets face it. For me it is always the copier demon, or the printer demon--for some of you it is your server demon, or a traffic demon--we all have a few demons that always seem to wage personal wars on us, prepare for them, plan for them don't let them win! Plan to have documents and task done in time so that unplanned delays can be effectively managed without hurting the quality and timeless of your work.

Manage interruptions. Whether they are time consuming emails that are not a priority, unscheduled phone calls from people (ask them to schedule a follow-up time), needy friends and family, or just chatty people who are notorious for draining your time--- you must learn to say no--in a professional manner of course, schedule more appropriate times, and deal with first things first.

Always build in time to review documents for quality and lack of mistakes. When people make it a happen to start late or finish late mistakes are usually a problem.

Take extra steps if necessary to get the job done! This may require coming in early and staying a few minutes late to ensure the job gets done and to maintain a solid standard of excellence in your work. Trust me you will feel much better in getting a job done on time and receiving the rewards and praise; than being late, turning in work with mistakes and receiving criticism... and maybe the door.

Sometimes your career comes down to a few key opportunities. make the most of them, manage your time so you can always deliver tasks with excellence and on time. We will definitely revisit this topic in the future.

See some additional excellent advice and quotes on time management at http://www.alice.org/Randy/timetalk.htm a website developed by Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon University.

Kim R. Wells

Remember Education and Wisdom Are Not the Same Thing

If you are a member of the graduating Class of 2007 I want to share an important piece of advice, NEVER CONFUSE EDUCATION and WISDOM...They are not the same thing!

A formal college education, is a privilege and luxury that many may never have the opportunity to achieve--thank God you have come this far. Many of you have been prepared since you were children to achieve a college education, and your ability to cross that stage is a testament not only to your hard work and dedication, but to the dedication and support of the many that have poured into your life ---Never forget that you did not get where you by yourself. In the end education and the elite learning process you have completed (and will continue throughout your life) is only a part of the equation of success, the rest of the equation is called wisdom.

Developing wisdom is a lifelong process of knowing who you are, your God given purpose, and delivering what you know to inspire the lives, development, and success of those around you. How many educated "barber shop scholars," "lazy intellects," "plastic activist," "mediocre managers," do you know that never really graduate from telling you all that they know, and the prestigious places they learned it? How many educated people do you know that never really acquired any real wisdom, or the character and integrity that comes with it? Don't let that be your story, step up, step out of the shadows, and move into your calling, the world is waiting for you to take your place.

We are all proud and excited about your new degree --and celebrate your great accomplishment with you, but if you really want to impress us...show us your wisdom!

Stay in Your Lane--Be True to Your Professional Gifts and Talent

In a "pop culture" world that is trying to "program" you with messages of fast money, fame, and fortune, it's important for you to "stay in your own lane" when it comes to your career. Be true to the interests, talents, and gifts that you have, and stop trying to force a career, major or lifestyle that you are not wired for. Everybody is not cut out to be engineers or computer science professionals, and also everyone is not creative enough to be great writers, make on-point public presentations, or design innovative marketing strategies. Sadly many college graduates today don't learn this lesson until it is too late, and that is usually after years of professional frustration, job hopping, and careers that are a hot mess of issues and problems. ----Don't let this be your story!

Do you know your professional or leadership style? Knowing your personal and professional work style, and the kind of environments you would perform best within will save you years of frustration and failure. Also knowing your personal and professional strengths can assist you in moving forward on a fast track of professional success, prosperity, and career satisfaction.

Try some free online assessments that will give you more insight into what kinds of activities and careers that would be satisfying to you.

Two professional and personal assessment sites that I recommend are:

TypeFocus - Personality Test
Try this free online assessment tool based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Discover your personality type, strengths and how they relate to careers.
http://www.typefocus.com/

The Career Key
This quiz based on your interests, values and personal style will lead you to a variety of careers, which you can then research immediately through the online Occupational Outlook Handbook. It's designed for general audiences. Automatic connection to online material about career fields relevant to your style is very helpful.

http://www.ncsu.edu/careerkey

Take the time to schedule an appointment with a professional in your career services office to discuss your interest and talents. A career professional can administer and review your assessment test results and lead you through a process of exploring your professional style and interest. Knowing this critical information about yourself will assist you in developing a strategy to successfully move forward in achieving your career goals.

Surviving The First 90 Days in Your New Career

Congratulations! Your successful job search campaign has landed you the job opportunity you have always dreamed of. Celebrate your success, you’ve worked very hard and deserve it. But when your celebration is over, it’s time to focus beyond just showing up for work on your start date, its time to take your professional game to the next level by developing a 90-day career engagement strategy.

Your 90-day career engagement strategy will provide you with a strategic framework and timeline to follow during your first 90 days with your new employer. An effectively executed 90- day career engagement strategy will guide your professional transformation from being perceived as a “new hire development project,” to being perceived as a high impact performer and valuable organizational asset. The choice is yours, you can drag through the “first year blues” of trying to “fit in,” or starting off with a career engagement strategy that will enable you to fully maximize opportunities, effectively build networks, and “own the place” after your first year!

Key components of your 90 day Career Engagement Strategy (CES)

Targeted Goal: The area of your performance, organization, or team that you would like to learn more about, grow in, or actively engage. This could also be a suggested goal shared with you by your new supervisor, and other successful individuals in the organization you have come into contact with.

Engagement Activity: Specific actions you have identified to be engaged with, including formal training, coaching, meetings, mentoring, social networking activities, telephone calls, emails, etc., that will assist you in accomplishing your targeted goal.

Identified Resources: Organizational offices, departments, programs, groups, individuals, and other mechanisms that can support your engagement. Examples would include the human resources office, affinity groups, training centers, mentoring programs, cross-corporate committees, sports activities, and more.

Organizational Contact: The specific person or persons you will need to engage.

Projected Time Frame (start and completion): Date and times in which targeted goal is initially engaged and completed.

For the entire article see the The Black Collegian Online at:

http://www.black-collegian.com/issues/Gradissue07/surviving_0407.htm

Exotic and Exciting Careers - Beyond Hollywood

In working with thousands of students and young graduates from around the country, I am alarmed at the growing number of young people coveting careers in Hollywood and sports who really haven't thought careers in these areas through. My problem isn’t so much the interest, but the delusional attitudes of some wanting to enter these entertainment industries who haven't done their homework, and are completely blind to the level of discipline, planning, superior talent, and professional savvy necessary to succeed.

Yes, there are some great opportunities in the entertainment industry, and some are very exciting and have great earning potential. Yes, we need more African Americans not only as artist and athletes, but as production and business leaders in these industries. But can we keep it in the "HD" for a moment. Sports and entertainment are high-risk and complex industries to succeed in, and just because you think you look good, or think you can "talk a good game," or have had some fun taping your friends with your camcorder, doesn't qualify you to be the next big thing in Hollywood--trust me, many have been there before! For some of you, you definitely have the exceptional talent and have demonstrated the supreme discipline to take a calculated risk at the sports and entertainment worlds--great broadcasting, MBA and Law programs will assist you in developing your talents and making these dreams realities. But some of you… let’s just say you are probably more like the delusional contestants on American Idol, thinking you’re “working it,” but the rest of the world is seeing the likes of David Hong!

Stop dreaming of imitating others and live your own exotic and exciting lifestyle and career. Consider national and global opportunities, great salaries, and life experiences in –

-Technology and evolving global telecommunications media

-Teaching and educational opportunities in US and other exotic global locations

-The sciences in environmental and biological research throughout the world

-Sociological, cultural and other archaeological research around the world

-Exciting new entrepreneur opportunities throughout the US and abroad

-Hospitality and Real Estate industries around the world, particularly in developing global markets.

-Non-profit service industries meeting the needs of disadvantaged and needy in the US and around the world

-Architectural design, have you seen the great buildings going up around the world?

-Endless corporate and engineering opportunities

To be successful in any field you will need to be well studied, disciplined, coachable, innovative, and yes…mature. I agree that it’s amusing to be entertained by sports and entertainment industries, but don’t believe all the hype, consider living your own brand of success.