REDNews January 2015 - Southeast Cover January 2015

REDNews BUZZ IF I HAD A SON OR DAUGHTER JUST ENTERING THE JOB MARKET, REDNews BY RAY HANKAMER • ove to a big city M where there are lots of opportunities • et out and meet G as many people as you can in as many fields- knowing what you DON’T want to do is important for discovering what you DO want to do • ollow your instincts F with people and hang around those you like and who are willing to teach you. Personal chemistry is everything in moving forward in life and in business. Move away from anyone who is stifling. • f you are the smartest person in the room, I you are in the wrong room. Seek out those you can learn from-and those who are not afraid for their jobs by teaching you. See how you can return the favor by supporting them and helping them move forward. • lways be willing to start at or near ‘the A bottom’-if you are smart and hard-working you will not stay there long, and in the meantime you will earn the respect of those who will remain at the bottom and who you will be managing one day. • ead widely in very diverse subjects so you R will always be good at conversation with anyone--in a conversation, try to talk only 20% of the time and listen intently 80%--learn how to listen...train yourself...the person you listened to will go away flattered by you and will like you and will go out of his way to help you move forward. Be genuinely interested in other people and what makes them ticklearn how to draw them out in conversation so you can learn, while they are feeling relevant. • ead books and trade journals R and magazines - limit what you read on your computer since there are too many opportunities to be distracted by trivialities... again, read books--not just business books, but build your knowledge about people and what motivates them--you will get this from history, novels, psychology, sociology, philosophy, classic literature, and other subjects...always have a quality book going...you can buy them very cheaply at Half 22 | REDNews.com T H I S I S W H AT I W O U L D T E L L T H E M Price bookstore where employees will give you suggestions to fit your reading mood • hrow away your calendar that has holidays, T weekends, and birthdays marked on it, especially if you are going into a service business...people expect to have their needs met regardless of what day it is on YOUR personal calendar-it is THEIR calendar they are concerned with. • e prepared to do the jobs - and do them well B - that lower employees on the ladder do not want to do...it will distinguish you and make you unique, and will put you in demand. • ociety pays according to the difficulty of S the problem you solve--heart surgeons and plumbers are both plumbers. One gets paid more than the other because his work is more difficult. • evelop a collaborative work personality, D not a hierarchical one - listen to employees who are actually doing the work, and let them know their opinion matters-they often know more about design, manufacture, and delivery of the product than the boss does. • Travel to other cities and other countries whenever you get the chance. Book your vacations well in advance and plan your work around them. If you do it the other way around, you will not take many vacations. During vacations away from the workplace you will “sharpen your saw” and come back more motivated and effective than before you left. I always come back from vacations with a long list of things I want to do, many of which I would not have thought of if I had stayed in my daily grind. • Develop as many acquaintances and contacts in as many fields as you can. Throughout life you will solve problems with people. If you have a talent of putting people together and can ‘create a spark’ with the teams you assemble from your contact list, you will be able to solve complex problems. There is a specialist out there able to solve almost any problem better than you can, and if you know who he/she is, you both win.

REDNews January 2015 - Southeast Cover January 2015 | Page 22