Company Of One With Dale Callahan

When I went to college and started work, I learned about one lifestyle. It was confirmable and predictable. But it also was not for me. Since then I have found three very different lifestyles being lived out before me. Each one offers its own measure of success and satisfaction. However, it seems most people are stuck in one lifestyle not knowing there are two other options. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/glennwilliamspdx [/featured-image] Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Recently in a class on entrepreneurship, I asked each person to define which lifestyle they wanted to live. Here are the three options as I see them.Three LifestylesJob - This is the person who loves their work and really does not want anything else. They enjoy working for others and solving the problems in their industry. They make enough money for they needs. Their goal is to grow at work by either a) moving up the ladder, b) becoming a b

This week we complete the three part series on personal branding. In the first two we dealt with first impressions and actions.Episode 022 - Personal Branding from First Impressions  - Controlling that critical first impressionEpisode 023 - Personal Branding from Your ActionsToday in this last of the series, we look at leadership. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/geodesic [/featured-image]While you may or may not care about being a leader, I highly encourage you to look for leadership opportunities. Not from a selfish power-hungry position, but as a servant. Today we have a huge leadership vacuum. We need you to lead!Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Branding yourself as a LeaderIn this episode I want to share with you seven actions that impact your brand as a leader. Here are the basic ideas, but the details can be heard on the audio.Communicate with power -- There is a No Whining rule for anyone working on th

Last week I started a three part series on personal branding with the subject of first impressions. Today we consider how your actions define your brand. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/flickrfavorites [/featured-image] Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Seven Personal Branding ActionsIn this episode I want to share with you seven actions that impact your brand. Details are found on the podcast audio.Care - Do you care about others? This is your ultimate mission.Mission - Do you know the mission and vision of your organization? Not just the stated mission printed on company literature, but the real mission the leaders live.Mission fit - How do you fit into the mission of your organization?Define your customers - Do you know them? For details on how to do this, see Company of One Overview.Seek input - Go ask your customers how you are doing. See Company of One Overview for details.Be direct - When you have an is

When I teach about being a Company of One, people always want to know how to they can better market themselves on the job. They do their jobs well, but they are never sure about how to control their personal branding. Photo courtesy of Flickr.com/Creative Commons [/featured-image] You, like most, probably suffer from the ability to market what you do on a daily basis. And, you also most likely suffer from common marketing message mistakes.Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.In this episode I will begin a three part series on developing your personal brand on the job.Episode 022 - Personal Branding from First Impressions  - Controlling that critical first impressionEpisode 023 - Personal Branding from Your ActionsEpisode 024 - Personal Branding: Showing them you are a leaderToday we start with Episode 22 and six steps to a better first impression.Appearance - By appearance I mean how you look. This is not dress, but perhap

Have you ever considered a PhD? Recently I have found myself answering a lot of questions from those considering how they too can put "doctor" in their title. Photo courtesy of Flickr.com/Creative Commons[/featured-image]I tell people the magic to getting the PhD is to understand and master the process.Click to ListenIn this episode I share with you the basics of getting the PhD.Reasons to consider a PhDThe outline of the typical PhD processThe truths of the PhD processA method to complete the PhD in record timeThe PhD can really be done without giving up your life, when you learn how to play the game.PhD Process Key IngredientIn your very first term as a graduate student, do the following:Define your topicDo your literature reviewWrite the first paper of background material and submit to a peer-reviewed conferenceWrite the proposalForm the committeeWant to learn more about the PhD?Sign up here to get a FREE copy of my article on The PhD Process! This article tells you the true steps you need to ta

Did you know you are a teacher? Think about how many people you help day-to-day by giving advice, showing them how you do something, or just keeping them up to date with the latest political or Hollywood gossip. Either way you look at it, you are teaching and informing. What you teach is the only question. Did you know what you teach can be tremendously valuable? Read on.  [/featured-image]Click to listenDaily I encounter someone who is doing what they love. A recent example is Kelly Creel. She left the corporate world to start helping people in fitness. Her job was stressful and she found her workouts were the only way to keep her sanity. Now she spends her days helping others do the same. She could have assumed that everyone knew how to work out and get fit. Kelly could have stayed on the sidelines and refused to help others. But, she offered to help and now has a life doing what she loves.What Could You Teach?I can guarantee you that you have a unique knowledge or skill that others will pay to learn. You

Can you find your dream job without quitting your current job? In today's podcast we interview someone who proves it can happen. Paul McGuire, an IEM alumni, tells how he moved from a very technical position to become a corporate trainer leading others. Click to listenIf you are in a company and do not want to go it alone but still want to be living your dream, listen to Paul and learn: - How he found his niche.- How he started doing what he loved and it morphed into a new job.- How he took some entrepreneurial activity and turned it inward to get noticed by his company.- How he learned to operate in a very visible role as an introvert.If you ask those who know Paul, they will tell you Paul has literally done a major transformation on his life in the past few years. He still works for the same company. He still works in the same building. But he has moved from the world of a techie to the world of a leader.[reminder]If you could make an internal move in your company and be doing what you love, where wou

This is the rest of the story. A few weeks ago I posted about how Brian Rabon had chased and found his dream job and lifestyle in my post "Thank You for Changing my Life" Click to listenBrian and I caught up (over Skype -- with some tech details) to do a quick chat about the rest of his story. In this interview you will hear...- Why he says "Don't die in your cube."- How Brian awakened to his need to break away.- How what he thought was his goal turned out to be a nightmare.- How frustration came before he finally "got it" and made it happen.- How he used the tools of IEM and the "How to Find Your Calling" (see below) exercise to make it happen.- Why Brian believes the idea of  "work-life balance" is a joke.- Why his hobby of snow skiing caused him great depression while he worked in the cube.- How he went from 3 days to 50+ days per year on the ski slopes.Overall this is a great interview with a great friend. Brian's words are nothing short of insp

Are you in system thinking? Can you act outside the system? The system is the machine. It is the set of common thinking that becomes so normal that to go outside of it causes you to be weird. It is a trap, and most of us are in the trap. Here is how to get out.Click to listenSigns of System ThinkingHere are system thinking ideas that I often hear and know not to be true.- You expect your children to complete 12 grades of school before they do …..- Your kids (or you) need college to survive today.- You cannot raise your salary much since you work for a large company.- You cannot raise your salary much since you work for a small company.- It takes four years to get an undergrad degree.- It takes 5+ years to get a PhD.- You have to have debt to pay for school.- Some things that just cannot be done.These are examples about common thinking. They are about group think. They are about bureaucracy. They are about the system.The system defines us. Not because it has to, but because it is the easiest thing to do. Somet

A Do Over! In PODCAST 008 I promised to discuss Five Steps to Make Sure Your College Education Pays. Unfortunately the audio cut off right before we it got to the 5 steps. Several people have brought this to my attention and have asked me for the file. In trying to fix it, we realized the best bet would be to just release this as another podcast. So … here it is.What is the value of a college education? Can you put a number on it? College education is the second largest "investment" most people ever make, and yet many make very poor choices resulting in a poor return on investment.Courtesy investitwisely.comWhile education is very important, most of us have a limited view of how to get an education and how to make it pay. In this podcast I cover 5 steps to help you guarantee your investment returns with true monetary value.Five Steps to Guarantee Your College Investment Pays (as covered in this podcast)Define your education goal.Research your increase in value.Do some reverse interviews to learn the

Have you ever considered starting or being part of a nonprofit? Are you part of one now? As I was speaking at the local chapter of the National Association of Professional Women, a question was raised about nonprofits. The idea we were discussing was how you add value to your customers and how you show that value in terms of profit. A few from a nonprofit asked how you deal with this value problem when you have no profit and therefore cannot measure value in the same way.[featured-image single_newwindow="false"]I then made the statement "There is no such thing as a nonprofit." While technically this is not correct, I wanted to make a point that the common ideas of nonprofits are a myth.Nonprofit MythsNonprofits do not have customers.Nonprofits do not have to measure or show value.If I become a nonprofit, people will give me money for serving others.Nonprofits are easier than "for profit" ventures.All of these are myths. On the audio we discuss these issues. But the key is that it

Ever notice how some people find success and others do not? No matter the field or endeavor, some stand out and some fall back. What are the secrets of their success? In this podcast, I  share  six actions that always lead to success. These actions are not personality traits or things you cannot change about yourself, but they are things anyone can do. They are actions!Note: Today I am doing the podcast very different. Instead of the usual 45 minute show, this one is about 18 minutes. I tell you why on the podcast - but now to the point of the show.[featured-image single_newwindow="false"]COURTESY ISTOCKPHOTO[/featured-image]Actions that Lead to SuccessHere is a short summary  as discussed in the podcast.1. Responsibility - Forget the victim lifestyle if you want success. Take responsibility 100% of the time.2. Passion - This single ingredient is central to all success stories. Find it and feed it.3. Vision - Where are you going and what does success look like to you? Define it.4. Risk taking - Do s

Want to do a better job presenting information? Want to find a way to conquer the fear and nervousness?In this podcast I will share several tips to get over the nerves and deliver a high quality presentation. I will tell you 1)  how to prepare, what to do right before, during, and at the end of a presentation.Why Bother Doing Presentations? (Or  "why not just run?") Leaders  are presenters The one who presents gets the influence. Get to know people better - If you use these tips, people will get to know you better and you will develop relationships.Five Steps to Making Powerful Presentations1. Pick a topic you care about- If you can pick your topic, pick something you care about - If not, find a reason to care2. Prepare well- State your intention in one word: Inform, Entertain, or Motivate - Draft the talk - focus on only 3-5 points to make (without powerpoint!) - Write them down to be very clear - YOU CANNOT DUMB IT DOWN ENOUGH - Make each point actionable or understandable - Write out the points,

A business crisis or job crisis will come no matter what we do to avoid them. We control few things in this type of crisis, but how we respond can help us get on top of the problem and change the ultimate outcome. In this podcast we examine how to respond to  such a crisis. Courtesy iStockPhotoBusiness Crisis / Job CrisisA business or job crisis can come in so many flavors. Here are a few I have experienced personally. Job loss Major departmental changes (often as a result of mergers and acquisitions) Loss of a major customer Loss of a major vendor (my current situation) Decline in market Legal actionBecoming Aware and EngagedAcknowledge the pain!Worst that can happen. Define the worst that can happen. Define it clearly! Be real. Do not OVERSTATE.Accept it. Yes, accept the worst will really happen.Rainbow - Look for the rainbow. What good can come out of this? How many times have you complained about the way it is now?Engage in the solution. What can I do to improve the situation? Make a list. Set a goal to g

Are you killing your career? In this episode we will examine that number one career killer. It is a silent killer. Daily it creeps in and shows itself in subtle ways, slowly moving your brand to something less than desired.But maybe even more important, we will look at ways to mitigate and eliminate that career killer for good!The Number One Career KillerThe big killer is passion, or lack of passion actually. Do not think so? Listen to the message for the specifics of how it kills opportunity. You too are guilty of judging people on passion, and you might be surprised how often you do this.  Again, if you think I am wrong, make sure you listen in.Lack of passion shows up in so many ways, including apathy and general attitude, and then creeps to work quality. But, even if you think you can fake it for a while, the lack of passion is so visible that everyone sees it.How to Eliminate the Career KillerFirst, find work you love. OK - this is given, but if you struggle here or do not know what this work would be, t

In this podcast we share seven strategies to get more done in less time. So much of that time you spend at work is wasted on non-productive tasks. Using some simple strategies you can begin to take back control.

Network marketing is a popular form of entrepreneurship with a bad reputation. This episode looks at three questions or challenges that should be explored by those who are looking to get into network marketing or who are already part of a network marketing company. We also explore some alternatives ways to deal with these challenges.

Rasing money to start your business. Investment types vs busniess loans. Venture capital, angel capital, bootstrap, SBA, friends and family.

In this podcast we explore seven steps to writing effective emails and use less time in email back-and-forth communication.

Clayton Christensen introduced the idea of disruptive innovation as something the disrupts the marketplace. But how can we be aware of disruptive innovations before they damage our career and industry.