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HOT NEWS: NEXT STEPS 2003

EDITORIAL: Testing,Testing
CAREER TIP: Career Journal - June
JOB HUNTING NOTES: (Or 'Catbert' rants) Lost Job Opportunities
SUCCESS STORY: Groundwork UK by Tony Hawkhead CBE - CEO Groundwork UK
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Forerunners of NLP List by Andrej Zivanic
WORK/LIFE BALANCE: The People in Your Life
JUST FOR A LAUGH! Cracking International Markets

HOT NEWS: Nextsteps 2003

NEXT STEP 2003 - billed as the 'Career Options Event for Mid- Life Professionals' will be held on Friday 27th to Saturday 28th June 2003 at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London, is a unique event and covers a very topical subject that increasingly attracts a great deal of press interest.

The days of a job-for-life are long gone! In today's complex work environment, an increasing number of professionals are finding themselves at a crossroads as their working lives progress. Some might have been made redundant, others might be looking for a change of career, or new challenges and opportunities to fill their mid-life years.

Many will be seeking something they view as more stimulating, and possibly with more 'meaning', such as voluntary work, teaching or working for a charity. Some will be interested in running their own businesses and a significant proportion will have the money to buy into a franchise, or an established business, if they believe this offers the best way forward.' Next Step 2003 brings together all of these opportunities under one roof for the first time.

A key attraction for visitors to NEXT STEP 2003 will be the comprehensive seminar programme. Sessions will feature authoritative independent motivators to speak on a combination of topics enabling the visitor to pick and mix the sessions that are relevant to their needs and interests leaving them plenty of time to meet with exhibitors.

One of those 'authoritative speakers' will be me. I have the 'breakfast slot' - 9.30 - 10.30 am on Saturday 28 June in the Personal Development Theatre entitled:

'Design Your Dream Job'
An intensive participatory session from Margaret Stead of Careers International for those contemplating a career change.

Do you know what you want?
Take a five star approach.
Can you clearly describe it?

Lets start with envisioning ....

What are you good at?
What is important to you?
What do you enjoy?
What could you become passionate about?

You'll come away with a method for exploring your future career possibilities and maybe some inspiration for future job preferences.

EDITORIAL: Testing, Testing

Scientists at Roll Royce built a gun specifically to launch dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, and military jets, all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea was to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields. American engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high-speed trains. Arrangements were made, and a gun was sent to the American engineers. When the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer's back-rest in two and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin, like an arrow shot from a bow. The horrified Yanks sent Rolls Royce the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield and begged the British scientists for suggestions.

You're going to love this......

Rolls Royce responded with a one-line memo:

"Defrost the chicken."

Author's Note: Another 'Oldie,' maybe apocryphal, non- politically correct story that I like, concerned Tube Investments, Birmingham. (now called Smith Group plc) It was said that (by way of introduction) their new American colleagues sent over an example of their own expert engineering - a tube so fine that you couldn't see the aperture with the naked eye. The apprentices at TI sent the tube back.

With a tube inside.

CAREER TIP: Career Journal - June

Work on identifying trends within the industry and particularly those with which you can identify as 'on your critical path.' Review the list of companies you researched in May and narrow it down to the ones you'd like to work for so you can target them in your job search. A top target list of six companies is a good goal to shoot for. Work on identifying 'decision-makers' for the companies you've decided to target and start talking to people who 'know' these companies.

Begin to explore a technique that's a highly effective subset of networking - informational interviewing. Conduct informational interviews at the companies you've targeted and through contacts in the trade. At this point you'll probably find it more helpful to interview people holding 'like jobs' rather than 'decision-makers'. Your goal is to find out more about these companies at first hand to work out whether you would like to work for them, find out what their needs are and to learn more about the kind of position you want to hold.

JOB HUNTING NOTES: (Or 'Catbert' rants) Lost Job Opportunities

Recently a prospective client came to see me whilst experiencing an Outplacement programme delivered by another firm (who shall remain gormless) and he showed me a long 'researched' list of organisations to whom they were going to send his CV. His particular 'beef' was that they had made errors in the contact names and addresses, whilst my particular 'beef' was that they/he should think that these 'heroic' lists designed by their 'Research Department' were of any value at all.

In my experience, outplacement organisations who really believe in their own purely 'cosmetic' added-value services should be 'taken out and shot' (Present company-exempted). Do they really believe that sending 'speculative' letters to thousands of employers is doing anything but destroying forests, blocking up databases and depressing their clients?

For example one customer I met, said that so far he had posted two thousand CVs and when I asked him "How many positive responses had he got?" He replied, proudly - "Eight". Two 'decision-makers' had offered to meet him in Motorway cafes, two had passed his CV to another department and four had written 'Really nice, encouraging replies.' He'd been out of work for nine months. When will people get it into their heads that nobody reads speculative CVs either in hardcopy or those received via corporate websites? The vast majority of unsolicited CVs are filed 'for reference' and CVs posted to web sites are, well, 'posted'.

Sending out CVs is time consuming ("Keeps 'em busy") and largely ineffective. The truth is ...... that if you are spending 90 percent of your time sending out CVs to recruiters/adverts/employers and their web sites then you are missing 90 percent of the jobs out there.

Don't worry I did this too when I was first job-hunting, it makes you feel as if you are doing something useful - but please stop it now and I will show you a way that is easy, effective and fun. (next month - Why Nobody is Reading CVs)

SUCCESS STORY: Groundwork UK by Tony Hawkhead CBE - CEO Groundwork UK

Those of you who are aware of Groundwork probably know us as an organisation dedicated to improving the environment. This is entirely natural and understandable. It's also, partly at least, true. Last year we involved more than 100,000 adults and over 200,000 children and young people in practical environmental projects. We planted half a million trees, built hundreds of cycleways and footpaths and improved 600 hectares of land.

However, what you might not be aware of is that in that same year we provided direct support to 6,000 businesses, provided 40,000 weeks worth of training and created more than 1,000 jobs. For example, Groundwork has recently been ranked in the top eight consultancies providing environmental services to industry - for the third year running.

Groundwork has been building partnerships between the public, private and voluntary sectors for 20 years. It is one of the things that make us what we are. In that time we have learned two things. Firstly, the business community has a lot to offer the environment.

Many of our most successful community programmes are supported by private sector companies including Barclays, Transco, RMC Group and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

However, this is not just a matter of philanthropy or a PR deal where we get the cash and they get the kudos. This is real partnership working with private sector money being invested in making our communities look and function better. Barclays, for example, is investing over £1 million a year in Barclays SiteSavers, a programme to help local residents transform waste ground in their neighbourhoods into new parks, play areas and gardens. We all know that banks don't invest in anything without looking at the return. We are therefore working with Barclays to measure and evaluate the impact of what we're doing together on the lives of those people involved. This is pioneering work and reflects a real desire by Barclays to understand more about the communities in which they hold a stake.

The second thing that we've learned is that the environment has a great deal to offer business.

Each year British businesses are throwing away millions of pounds in clean-up costs, waste disposal, fines and inefficient practices. What a waste. A few simple, common-sense steps can improve their environmental performance and turn this around to those businesses advantage.

Survey after survey shows that businesses see the environment purely in terms of cost. It's all regulation and red tape designed to throttle creativity and strangle productivity. It's true there are an increasing number of sticks - and they're not going away, I'm afraid. However, there are also some huge carrots. Adopting a more responsible attitude to the environment can generate enormous cost savings through waste reduction and resource efficiency. Similarly it can transform a company's image and bring huge benefits in terms of staff morale and the relationship with the local community.

We truly believe that in ten or twenty years' time the most successful and profitable businesses will be those that put their relationship with the environment and the community at the heart of their decision-making process. This connection between business and the environment is crucial to achieving sustainable development. Without it we'll get nowhere.

This is not the only connection we need to make. Too often we fall into the trap of assuming that we're only talking about the big multi-nationals, the Essos, Shells and BPs of this world. We are not.

Small to medium sized enterprises - SMEs - employ over half of the working population and account for over a third of the country's GDP. This is where a big part of the battle for sustainability will be won or lost.

That is why we need to make the connection not just between business and the environment but also between local action and global impact.

A European Commission report suggests that the most promising sectors for future job creation are urban renovation and rural development. This opens up a whole new range of 'green' business opportunities including construction using sustainable materials, urban renewal, rural development and heritage conservation.

Encouraging enterprise through the creation of such 'green collar' community businesses not only helps tackle exclusion by creating new work opportunities but can also be a key tool in improving the quality of life for the local communities. This is because those businesses are based among those communities, creating local jobs and providing local services.

Businesses have a vital role to play in delivering sustainable communities. However, this is not a one-way street and businesses themselves can profit by taking a more responsible attitude to the environment and the community. Environmental standards such as ISO14001 are one obvious route to efficiency and cost savings. For many smaller companies, however, such standards can seem overly expensive and bureaucratic. Our experience shows that a simplified, staged approach to environmental management can work. We are therefore calling for the introduction of a new SME sustainability standard that is within reach of even the smallest companies.

One way of achieving such benefits is when businesses in the same location or on the same industrial estate work together in a concerted effort to reduce their transport, energy and raw material use. What's more, this co-operation is infectious. Quick victories in one area will lead to joint working in others such as site security, IT and relations with the local authorities.

We'd like to see the introduction of a national network of green business zones, areas where businesses are supported and encouraged to work together for the benefit of themselves, their employees, the local community and the environment

AUTHORS NOTE: Forerunners of NLP List by Andrej Zivanic

The following is a list of books by people that I am aware of who acted as "major influences" on the work of Richard Bandler and John Grinder "the original Co-creators" of NLP. These include the "well known" such as Milton Erickson, Virginia Satir, Gregory Bateson, and also the less well known such as Moshe Feldenkrais and Frank Farrelly.

In my humble opinion, what is often described as NLP - is really "applications of NLP". NLP is more than just a "toolbox" of pre-defined techniques to achieve specific results with either yourself or other people - although this in itself represents an incredible achievement - and is probably sufficient for someone who is just getting started out.

I prefer a different definition of NLP as "an attitude and ferocious curiosity about people and what they do, which leaves behind a trail of techniques". One of the early objections thrown against Bandler and Grinder was that "It was not the techniques of NLP that made astounding results possible quickly with their brand of interventions - but their personalities".

However by learning to cultivate the "attitude of ferocious curiosity" it is possible for everyone to evolve their own personality towards more magical interactions with themselves and other people - I guess this is why the first NLP book was called "Structure of Magic".

By going through some or more of the attached will allow interested people to, in some way, re-trace the steps of Bandler and Grinder.

Finally if you still want more I suggest getting in touch with the NLP Video library (based in Carmarthen, Wales) and you can get to see video tapes of a lot of these people in action including Milton Erickson, Virginia Satir, Frederick Fritz Perlz - all of whom I believe are no longer with us - they also have videos of Richard Bandler and other NLP people - may be useful for those who have yet to go on NLP training or just wish to brush up.

The Structure of Magic - Richard Bandler & John Grinder - Publisher Science & Behaviour Books
The Structure of Magic II - Richard Bandler & John Grinder - Publisher Science & Behaviour Books
Experiencing Erickson - an introduction to the man and his work - Jeffrey K. Zeig, Ph.D - Publishers Brunner/Mazel
Monsters & Magical Sticks, there is no such thing as hypnosis - Steven Heller Ph.D & Terry Steele - Publisher New Falcon
My Voice Will Go With You - Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erickson - Sidney Rosen - Publisher Norton
Jay Haley on Milton H.Erickson - Jay Haley, Publisher - Brunner/Mazel
An Uncommon Casebook, the complete clinical work of Milton H. Erickson, M.D - William Hudson O'Hanlon & Angela L. Hexum - Publisher W.W. Norton & Company
Provocative Therapy - Frank Farrelly & Jeff Brandsma, Publisher - Meta Publications.
Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D - Richard Bandler & John Grinder, Publisher - Meta Publications
Science and Sanity - Alfred Korzybski, Publisher - Institute of General Semantics.
(Warning - this is a very large and very complex book - I have as a reference - it is the first book to mention the concepts of "the map is not the territory" and the need for "Neuro-Linguistic training". There are a lot of mathematical modeling concepts on how the nervous system works - which I must admit I don't understand.)
In and Out the Garbage Pail - Frederick (Fritz) Perls, Publisher - Real People Press
The Elusive Obvious - Moshe Feldenkrais, Publisher - Meta Publications
The New People Making - Virginia Satir, Publisher - Science and Behaviour Books
The Spirit of NLP - the Process, Meaning and Criteria for Mastering NLP - L. Michael Hall PhD - Publisher - Anglo-American Book Company
(Although this is a new book by a relatively new author, I have included this since it gives a revised explanation of the Meta-Model, which some believe to be better than the original Bandler/Grinder explanation in Structure of Magic 1. Also it tries to explain the "spirit - the attitudinal aspects that go along with being successful with NLP type interventions - with reference to "Bandler and people like Tony Robbins do".)
Steps to an Ecology of Mind - Gregory Bateson, Publisher - Chandler
Out of print - can be ordered via Amazon - took several months for my copy to arrive.)

Andrej will be giving a talk on "Ninja' Programming - Understanding NLP' in our series of seminars for ACP International on Thursday 18 September 2003 (6.30 for 7pm) at our offices here in Knowle. To reserve a place at what will be a really popular event, please contact Kathryn@careersnet.com or call 0845 130 4344/01564 779932 Andrej is a professional trainer and speaker often using magic and humour to illuminate his trainings.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE: The People in Your Life

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks - rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar were full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of small pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. "Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life.

The rocks are the important things - your family, your health, your children - things that if everything else were lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter such as your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there's no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you'll never have room for the things that are important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. There'll always be time to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the taps.

Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand"

JUST FOR A LAUGH! Cracking International Markets

Cracking an international market is a goal of most growing corporations. It shouldn't be that hard, yet even the big multi-nationals run into trouble because of language and cultural differences. For example ...

The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase meant "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax" depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, "ko-kou-ko-le," which can be loosely translated as "happiness in the mouth."

In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" became "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead."

Also in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off."

When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that "no va" means "it won't go." After the company figured out why it wasn't selling any cars, it renamed the car in its Spanish markets, the Caribe.

Ford had a similar problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company found out that Pinto was Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals". Ford pried all the nameplates off and substituted Corcel, which means 'horse.'

When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, it's ads were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However, the company's mistakenly thought the Spanish word "Embarazar" meant 'to embarrass.' Instead the ads translated as "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."

An American t-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market that promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired "I Saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed "I Saw the Potato." (Which reminds me of JFK's announcement in Berlin - 'Ich bin ein Berliner.' ('Berliner' - slang for Doughnut))

Chicken-man Frank Perdue's slogan, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," got terribly mangled in another Spanish translation. A photo of Perdue with one of his birds appeared on billboards all over Mexico with a caption that explained "It takes a hard man to make a chicken aroused."

Hunt-Wesson introduced it's Big John products in French Canada as 'Gros Jos' before finding out that the phrase, in slang, means "big bosoms." In this case, however, the name problem did not have a noticeable effect on sales.

In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.

and finally...

In an effort to boost orange juice sales in predominantly continental breakfast eating England, a campaign was devised to extol the drink's eye-opening, pick-me-up qualities. Hence, the slogan, "Orange juice. It gets your pecker up."

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We hope you enjoyed this issue of Career Coach. If you would like to learn more about how we can work together, then please contact me, Margaret Stead:

Telephone: +44 (0) 845 130 4344
E-mail: margaret@careersnet.com

Career Coach eNewsletter

Issue No. 15 June 2003

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