What to do if you do get laid off

13 ideas that will keep you in the realm of hope

Gentleman preparing his shoes

It used to be that you could graduate high school, get a job, work at that job for 30 years, and retire into the twilight of your life with a modest pension that would allow you to live out your days in relative financial security. Today – change, complexity, and competition rule our global economy. […]

You are your own best career manager.

Mark Botros

Signs that your job may be in jeopardy

Environmental and performance signs that show you may be headed for a crash-and-burn professionally

Man standing with bus sinking half way into the ground

One of the things many people fear is losing their employment. In fact, there is so much fear around this that I wrote an entirely separate post about it where I describe the conditions that people put up with just to avoid losing their job, or the pain of looking for another job (because frankly, […]

Why your Top Performers are not performing or worse … leaving

8 Strategies to help rock stars shine again

Concert star walking out onto platform

Have you ever seen someone who was once a “rock star”, who now is fallen from grace and glory? Or are you perhaps that person? Taking a long term view, it would seem to me that careers go through times of ebb and flow. There are times when a person is performing at rockstar level, […]

How I survived 6 rounds of layoffs, and lived to tell the tale

13 Strategies that improved my luck and kept me from getting a "Pink Slip"

Person typing on keyboard

Most organizations regardless of industry, size, or uniqueness, experiences times of great expansion and times of reduction. No one is immune, not even the federal government, which is known for its ability to expand in spite of whatever is happening in the economy. And if you believe juggernauts like Apple, Amazon, and Google could never […]

Everything you want is on the other side of fear.

Jack Canfield

What To Do When Our Mobile Devices Lose Power or Service

7 No-Tech Strategies to Overcome the Death Angel of Boredom When It Comes Near

Man sitting alone in the Wilderness

In a previous post, Why we Need a Holiday From Our Screens, I talk about what we gain when we consciously turn our screens off, including a number of alternatives to spending time on our screens. But what happens when the unthinkable happens – when our mobile device has no service or battery life, and […]

The people we love the most are the people we are the kindest to.

Mark's Wife

Why We Need to Give Our Best to Those We Love

A proven routine and mantra to transition from work to home

Man Holding Baby

My wife has a mantra that she has instituted in our home, “the people we love the most are the people we are the kindest to.” I love this statement because it always reminds me where I need to prioritize my time, and even more importantly, my energy. The Problem We typically give the best […]

28 Healthy, Fun, and Motivating Ways to Reward Yourself

How You Know a Reward is a Good Reward

Bowl of Strawberries

I’m a huge fan of productivity, but I’m an even bigger fan of giving yourself rewards when you’ve really earned them like overcoming procrastination and taking action on something you’ve been putting off. What follows is a list of ideas to reward yourself in a healthy, fun, and sustainable way. Admittedly, these are small rewards […]