I took a look at your web site and blog. A few things struck me right away with regard to your blog, and I have some suggestions for your edu-marketing. Call me to schedule 15 minutes for an ideas exchange. I think you have a real opportunity in your industry to grow your thought leadership with a HUB in light of our economy.

I also agree with Ophir that you have to be careful when your online personna while still working. These days companies are quick to get rid of people, especially more tentured employees.

I really like the questions you pose here. I work with people trying to dicover their passions and figuring out how to turn them into profit. I will try to work these questions into the discussions. Thanks

Thanks as always for a most insightful blog entry. I can certainly relate to the subject of discovering one’s passions. For the first 22 years of my career, I was never too happy with ANY job I had. I was always successful within the organizations, always producing the best results for my employers, but never, truly happy.

On October 9, 2009, I finally discovered why. It was on that day that I was let go from the last company for which I had worked. They let me go in the most cold and uncaring way imaginable – The password to my laptop suddenly stopped working and 10 minutes later a phone call came in that my position was being terminated. The anger and humiliation of that moment made me swear I will never again – ever! – work for anyone else. And that decision, to work only for me, was my “A-ha!” moment. That’s what I was missing all these years…Doing something for myself. Leading my own company in my own direction and for my own profit (or loss).

I have never been happier in my professional life since this moment of discovery!

Yet I think there is a lesson here for your other readers, which may also be relevant to the great ideas you posted here. Employees need to know their boss or someone else in the company is probably reading what the employee is writing. A blog about how much you don’t like accounting is probably going to show up on your boss’ desk eventually, especially if you work for an accounting firm. Everyone follows everyone online today and I am pretty sure that some of my past bosses followed my online presence as well.

So my recommendation – follow your passions and tell the world about them, but always with caution and with the utmost respect for your current position and employer. Being out on the street with just your passions isn’t going to pay the mortgage.

Thanks,
Mike Harpster
President
Capital Electric Wire & Cable

Also, what a great reminder to consider management ability in crisis situations. Seems as though this should also be a key measure for investors, and a key measure for hiring top managers.

Thanks Dennis, Martin, and Ophir for your thoughtful comments!

Management must be willing to listen and learn from even those employees who are at the very bottom of the pyramid for they have the direct contact with the customers and the suppliers, they have their finger on the pulse of what’s really going on in the company. I have experienced on more than one occasion situations where management was sure they knew the answer to a certain problem but changed their minds completely following a discussion with an employee.

There is a Hebrew saying “A guest for a minute sees all faults”, meaning that someone from the outside usually sees things that are not seen by those who have been in the company for a long while and have gotten used to things the way they are. A CEO from and Israeli company I worked for, used to invite every new employee to a meeting after a week of employment to ask what has been learned and where the faults of the company might be.

And finally, one thing investors usually do not look for is what experience do members of management have in crisis situations. A true leader is measured according to her ability to stay profitable when profits seem like the farthest thing from reality.

I couldn’t agree more. The behavior/attitude that exists from the top down flows like gravity…good or bad. The experienced results are a direct result of the intangible input from the top executives that flows down to the management level and then further down. It affects, as you said, all stakeholders, both internal and external. An imaginary mirror in the offices and cubicles of all involved in the organization is essential for the process to work smoothly.

Well said.

Martin Jennings

Dennis Dean
Managing Partner
Dean Group Media