This week we are interviewing a true practitioner in the area of emotional, spiritual and enhanced mental intelligence.  Irene Becker is a Canadian-based professional coach and one of ten top Canadian business women and professionals chosen by the Federal Development Bank of Canada to setup the first mentorship program for businesswomen in the country.  She was personally selected by Mark Victor Hanson as one of his first one hundred millionaire eagles.  Irene is also a Financial planning consultant, workshop facilitator and speaker for Investors Group Financial Services of Canada. 

The 3 Q's are three quotients/strengths that are critical to success in this increasingly volatile world, workplace and marketplace.  They help you understand how you are handling your challenges and how you can improve it.

IQ refers to the Enhanced Mind and is also called the Power IQ.  Mastery of this element brings enhanced action-ability, creativity, and focus. A high IQ is marked by the development of integrative reasoning that allows you to see more, see differently and see further.  You develop stronger whole brain thinking and an improved ability to live, communicate and lead to purpose.

EQ is the enhanced emotional intelligence quotient.  This refers to your ability to understand your emotions and understand the emotions of others so that you can inspire, engage and lead the best in yourself and others. 

SQ is your Power Within factor.  It relates to how well you are aligned your values.  You might think of it as a focus on the greater good and an understanding of the reality of an interdependent world where the formula for success is timeless and means creating value for others while respecting the spiritual or values driven universal laws that sustain our best selves and best lives.

Todd:  With such difficult times in our current economy, why is the 3Q Edge important?

Irene:  The 3Q Edge is not important, it is critical.  What has worked in the past may be largely irrelevant tomorrow.  The 3Q Edge is learning to survive and thrive, to develop the human, personal and business leadership strengths that drive success.  Survival and prosperity today demands Q power; that is, the ability to use our strengths and challenges to build and sustain the 3Q Edge.

Todd:  There's been a lot of talk for years on Emotional Intelligence.  What makes the other two Qs so critical?

Irene:  Challenge moves at the speed of life. Leadership runs at the speed of change.  Your survival and sustainability in the face of increasing volatility makes these other two Qs critical.  Without them, you can’t build, evolve and grow into our best selves, best work and best organizations.  In short, we cannot live our best lives.

Emotional Intelligence is recognized as the key success factor in business and life, however in order to sustain high EQ, we also need to develop enhanced IQ-the intelligence factors that can help us optimize our human brain power and also further use this brain power to work with others collaboratively to develop and executive powerful solutions.  SQ or values/spiritual alignment is, to me, one of the least talked about powers we have.  It remains the litmus test of whether an organization survives.  What does not create value for others, what does not serve the greater good is ultimately destined to failure.  Developing the ability to tap into our higher selves, combined with the ability to think and act in a way that builds greater SQ, is elemental to human and economic survival.

Todd:  For those who don't know much about the 3Qs, can the Qs be measured and fixed quickly?

Irene:  The first step is awareness and desire.  Awareness is the understanding and acceptance that  building your Q's can change your life and your career.  Desire is the cognitive prime mover to build your 3Q power.  Awareness is where you are now.  Tapping into the 3Qs is igniting the desire to go where YOU want to go.  It is empowerment. It is challenging.  It is highly motivating!  I have developed three modules that will take you to greater level of success.  They were developed around your Career, Life and Leadership Transition.  The fuel that drives all three programs is the development of the 3Q strengths.

There are excellent metrics for testing EQ.  I use Essi Systems EQ map, as it aligns very well with my coaching model and is one of the best EQ metrics available.  Measuring IQ and SQ is possible but my experience suggests it is far better to determine if we are optimizing our intelligence and capacity to live in alignment with our values; thereby, building greater SQ.  Now, you can try to measure these for yourself, but integrating them into a strategy that will unleash the Power of the 3Qs is best left to those who have mastered the art.

Thanks for sharing your time with us, Irene.  Irene can be reached at www.justcoachit.com.

Surviving Unemployment

I still remember it like it was yesterday.  The day my manager, whom I had served for a about one week, came to my desk and asked me to meet with him in his office.  As I entered the room, I saw the HR manager.  I immediately knew what was going to happen.  They talked with me for a while but I’m not sure I heard anything.  My heart was pounding so hard and my mind was racing wildly.  What was I going to do now?  My paycheck was the only one I have to support my family.  I took my letter from the company and headed home.

.. ..

As I drove home, I called my wife to tell her about her utter failure of a husband.  I felt totally demolished.  I was a good worker and had turned around their most difficult programs.  Apparently, I had completed what they wanted.  I just wish I had known that was the plan. 

.. ..

This all took place at the beginning of the economic downturn.  The housing market was declining and unemployment was climbing.  It was the perfect storm.  Focusing on being positive, I began to prepare my plan for getting that next gig.  As I put everything together, I felt more positive about myself.  I was focused and determined. 

.. ..

But alas, two months later, discouragement set in.  So, I reached out to my close friends for support.  I didn’t ask them for a job at their company.  I just wanted encouragement.  They often reminded me that I didn’t appear to be extremely happy in the job anyhow.  Maybe this was the only way to get out of a bad situation.  If I had been released, I may have stayed in it and eventually affected my personal life.  After a few sessions with my friends, I came up with a new plan and was running again.   

.. ..

Entering month five, I started to feel hopeless.  I didn’t think I would ever find a job.  Feelings of anger would fill my head as I reflected on the events that put me in this whole situation.  I did what they asked me to do and look what they gave me in return.  If this is the way organizations worked, I didn’t want to be a part of it anymore.  Essentially, they have free reign and can do whatever they want.  Me, I had to have the job, so I guess I had to take it.  This is what I fought for some time.  It was destructive thought and I had to get rid of it.

.. ..

I got over it by changing my focus again.  I created a list of things I wanted to do that couldn’t be accomplished while I was working.  One thing that I did was to join a gym, talk with a trainer and put myself on a rigorous exercise program.  This kept the stress down, allowed me to make new friends and connections and most importantly, got me out of the house.  Getting my mind off of the situation was the only way to save my sanity.

.. ..

It took over nine months for my story to end.  I was exhausted.  My emotions kept me on a roller coaster ride.  However, changing my focus kept me from dwelling on the negative.  Here are a few things I found that were extremely beneficial in maintaining a positive attitude during such troubling times.

Create a job search plan.  Initially, the novelty in searching for work will be stimulating.  You’ll be hopeful that people who will be reviewing your credentials will be impressed and will want to talk with you.  You’ll also be learning a lot about others and what they do.  Most importantly, you’ll be figuring out how you could fit into their business.  Enjoy this.  The better you get at it, the more successful your search will be. 

.. ..

Note:  You’ll need to change your plan from time to time.  Maybe you try searching online for two weeks.  Then, you work with recruiters or local government services.  Other sources could be job groups, career fairs or even a career coach.  Some people may tell you to try everything at once but that could get daunting.  Change things up by focusing on one method at a time.....

.. ..

Create a support network.  Unemployment is a tough ordeal that strains your emotions, self esteem and self image.  Use your friends to support and motivate you.  Let them know that’s what you need.  Arrange special meetings that pick you up.  Consider sporting activities, dinner, hanging out at a club or a movie.  These are the times where you can get ideas on what to do while enjoying the camaraderie of your friends. 

.. ..

Note:  Get your friends to include you in their network.  Meet their friends and go to their events.  You never know when the next person you meet may be your next employer.....

Build your dream list.  This is the list of things you’ve always wanted to do but never had time for.  A job often takes up most of our time.  Now you have some.  Don’t focus all day of every day on getting the job.  Spend some time in the morning sending out resumes and making contacts.  Then, do one of the items on your dream list.  I went to the gym to exercise every day.  It was my stress relief.  Don’t let unemployment totally rearrange your life. Have a little fun too.

.. ..

Maintain a positive attitude.  This is critical.  A bad attitude will spill over into everything you do, especially an interview.  While your support network may support this, you’ll need more than one source if unemployment is prolonged.  Go to the library and check out some audio books by great motivational speakers.  Carry this with you everywhere (in the car, on your IPOD, etc).  I would listen to Anthony Robbins and Les Brown.  Find your favorites and dive in. 

.. ..

Note:  The lessons you learn from these experts are great for stories in the interview.  Questions like “how do you motivate others?” become extremely easy to answer.  ....

.. ..

Build new skills.  I’m not talking about going to a college to get a degree or certification, although, it’s not a bad idea, if you can.  While you are at the library getting your motivational fix, pick up a few books on something you’d like to learn about.  I chose team-building. I must have read and listened to 100 books on it.  I made myself an expert on it by learning what all the others experts thought, then adding my own experience and thoughts.  You can imagine how I could dazzle interviewers on team related questions.....

.. ..

Forget the past.  If you had a bad experience that left you unemployed, learn from it and forget it.  Put enough thought into to understand what went wrong and what you could have done to improve the situation.  Companies are made of people and people make mistakes.  Come to grips with this understanding quickly.  No matter what happened, you are where you are.  End of story.  Focus on building yourself a better place to be.

.. ..

Note:  I learned to get over my situation by helping others who experienced something similar.  Give. Give. Give.  You’ll feel much better about the past if you help others avoid similar situations.....

.. ..

The bumps in the road of our lives are great for putting things into perspective.  Treat them as learning experiences and opportunities for making your life better.  After all, when we are working, we have little time to change things, even those we know we should.  This is your time to get things back on track.

.. ..

..www.blitzteamconsulting.com ..

My friend, Sean, has been contemplating obtaining an MBA.  He is intelligent and technically gifted, so much so that he successfully runs his own consulting business.  As we sat discussing some technical issues, he asked me if I thought getting an MBA would be a worthwhile activity.  Assuming he was asking because I had one, my response was that it was for me but I couldn't say it would be for him.  Curiously, I asked him why he wanted an MBA.  His response wasn't too shocking for me since I've heard many times.  In short, he had no plan for the MBA; that is, he didn't know what he was going to do with it.  This raised two concerns in my mind: 1) no career plan and 2) no plan for how to use the MBA.

Later that night, we were driving to a local restaurant for dinner.  We were driving through a rural area.  You know those dark, winding roads with one street light about a country mile apart.  Taking the conversation back to his original question, I asked him to turn off the headlights.  With eyes wide open, he asked what I was thinking.  I insisted he turn the lights off.  Quickly he flashed them off and then back on.  So, he begged "what was the purpose of that?"  I explained that those who carelessly seek a career, which is something separate from a job, see what we saw when we turned the lights off.  That is, nothing.  A career needs purpose and direction.  Without a career plan, you can't see very far into the future.   How can you be sure your actions are getting you closer to your desires if you don't have a goal?  If Sean had plans for his career, then it would outline the need for the degree and what it would do for him.  My answer to his question was that he first needed to turn the lights on so he could see where he was going.

Vision is a critical factor for achieving success.  To illustrate this point, I told Sean about my close friend, Darren.  Darren is an avid marathon runner.  If you looked at him, you may not think he could successfully complete such a test of endurance.  He's short and a little chubby.  Yet, he ties on his shoes and runs 26.2 miles in less than 4 hours.  Completing a marathon is something I've always wanted to do but never had the nerve to try.  Darren had always told me that it's not really a 26.2 mile race.  It's actually a lot of little races.  Trying to focus on a 26.2 mile race is daunting and intimidating because you can't see the end.  So, Darren breaks it down into shorter races where he can see the end.  It gives him a focal point that he can concentrate on.  Once he reaches a goal, he sets another one.  So, on and on it goes until he reaches the finish line.  By setting many short goals, he can better gauge his progress and the energy he needs to put into it.  The key is to break your activities into visible pieces.

As for how to use an MBA, that's simple.  It is a tool.  It's not a house that provides safety, security, warmth and shelter.  It's a tool.  It gives you nothing.  If you want a house, you have to pick up your tool, put some energy into it and continually use to drive in each nail until you create the success you want.  Put it down on the table or back in the tool box, it just sits there.  The important thing to consider is that it is not designed to just be mounted on the wall and admired (although you might enjoy that a little).  It is a collection of skills and knowledge that can be used to create a masterpiece.  Just like most things of value, it can take a lot of time and energy to build the future you desire.

While the MBA is a great addition to your career, it won't get you where you need to go without a clear vision of where that is, time and hard work.  Many hold the perception that the MBA alone holds great reward and a free ride on the success elevator.  This is far from the truth.  Seeking higher rungs of the ladder is aided by the development of higher personal value.  This is what you build, not what is given to you. 

Where's my BIG BREAK?

At some point in our career, someone "goes out on a limb" to help us along in our journey. This help usually puts some real momentum behind us and ultimately pushes us upward and onward.  I've often thought that these 'events' don't really occur terribly often for any one single individual and for some, they may never occur at all.

To gain some better understanding of these events, I conducted an online survey to business professionals to find out exactly what they had experienced.  I wanted to know the  'who, what, where, and when' of these BIG acts of kindness.

Here's what they had to tell me.

Who gave you your big break?  It would be great to know that there is a pattern for those individuals who take risk by helping others but the results don't really indicate any such pattern.  They help people received came from many areas of our lives; that is, inside work and in our personal lives.  The good news for us is that they exist almost everywhere. If you haven't found that person, keep looking.  They could be anywhere. 

Some of the responses indicated:
• An immediate boss
• A manager from another department
• A mentor
• A local charity leader
• A college friend
• An executive
• Nobody

What did they do? Most everyone has their own idea of what constitutes a 'real helping hand.'  For me, the opportunity has always been to help someone be more successful in their career.  By that I mean to find a better way to do things that helps them gain more positive visibility in the eyes of executives and decision-makers.  For the respondents of the survey, the help they received ranged from emotional support to intellectual stimulation. 

The results included:
• Gave me direction during my tenure with the company
• Gave me a chance to do something different
• Believed in me
• Gave me great advice
• Taught me to market myself
• Hired me

Where did it happen? Many people consider work to be the best place to make the right impression and gain the support for their efforts.  Our survey indicated that this isn't necessarily true.  Respondents were helped by those they worked with inside and outside of the workplace, and even before they entered the corporate life.  This implies we should never overlook anyone for we never know who others will become and how they could help us out, no matter where we are. 

The most indicated locations for a BIG BREAK included:
• At work
• At a local charity
• At college

When did it happen?  Alberta Flanders once said 'Sometimes only a change of viewpoint is needed to convert a tiresome duty into an interesting opportunity.'   After reviewing the survey results, I wondered if the respondents who feel they haven't gotten their big break may have simply missed it.  Maybe they just didn't see it for what is was.  The results show that it opportunities can arise at any time and as we previously learned, almost anywhere. 

Some common times identified in the survey were:
• During my first year on the job
• At Lunch
• While making a presentation
• During an interview

These results should give everyone hope that opportunities are abundant in our lives.  You never know where or when it will occur.   There appear to be a couple of keys to capitalizing on these.  The first is to be able to recognize them when they occur.  We must recognize that the people around have the ability to make great changes in your life.  While we don't know when it will occur, we do know that it will be someone we interact with.  The last key is to obtaining BIG BREAKS is to increase our interactions with others.  The more we interact, the more likely we are to find that person who will take that risk and help us gain a little more success.

What's holding you back from achieving your career goals?

In a recent online survey, business professionals were asked about the barriers to achieving the career success they desire.  Of the 70 respondents, here's what they identified as the biggest roadblocks to success.

Roadblock 1:  The failure to clearly establish and focus on their bigger life goals from a physical, emotional, and spiritual perspective.

Roadblock 2:  Fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of leaving your comfort zone.

Roadblock 3:  Everyone should make plans in his/her professional career and make improvements.

Roadblock 4:  No Right Opportunity - Not being able to be at the right place at the right time with the right contact.

Roadblock 5:  Certifications and training.

Roadblock 6:  feel like the largest obsticle that holds me and others I speak to back is job board job postings. Companies receive hundreds to thousands of resumes in response to one job posting on a job board.

Roadblock 7:  I am in a different place in my life and don't spend too much time focusing on my career.

Roadblock 8:  Embarrassment and risk

Roadblock 9:  It's more and more difficult to 'shine' out

Roadblock 10:  I make "too much money" [to change jobs]

Roadblock 11:  Current position has not provided any real hard skills that translate to the corporate world

Roadblock 12:  Competing with recent grads in a tight market

Roadblock 13:  Can't market my soft skills well enough

Roadblock 14:  Effective networking with the key decision makers

Getting around these isn't that hard.  You just have to have a strategy that contains several methods for dealing with barriers.  One good approach is the Blitz Approach.  It's an innovative team-based approach for getting ahead in business.  You can read more about this at www.happyabout.info/blitz.php.

The next issue of Personal Branding Magazine is set to be released on May 1st, but you can download a free sample copy early (starting today) if you want. The focus for this issue is on the future of recruiting and jobs. The 9-page sample issue has 5 articles and is a great read. The full issue will have 25 articles including an exclusive and in-depth interview with Robert McGovern, founder of Jobfox.com and Careerbuilder.com. It also includes interviews with Indeed founder Paul Forster and well-known bloggers, such as Joel Cheesman.

Publishers Note: Volume 1 Issue 4 ends the first full volume of Personal Branding Magazine. As personal branding becomes the differentiator for career development, many new channels have opened up and the internet is a recruiting stomping ground for all those who leverage it's power. Between hiring candidates websites, and even job aggregators, the times have changed and we must be ready. Human resources is rapidly evolving by branding their companies as the employer of choice and there is a sudden war for talent, despite an economic recession in the United States. In this issue, we interview all the thought leaders who are entering the online recruiting and branding space, as well as take a closer look as to how networking plays a role in bridging recruiters with interested applicants. Only the strongest employers and candidates will survive. By reading this issue, you will have the knowledge needed in order to confront the recruitment process and be victorious…Dan Schawbel, Publisher, Personal Branding Magazine

Personal branding is an important aspect of the ebusinesses that we all manage, and it affects so many areas that we may not have even considered. The magazine takes a look at each of those areas, and gives thoughts and ideas on how we can best use personal branding in those arenas. This issue's focus on recruitment really brings home the point that how we brand ourselves in one area can spill over and effect our chances at being hired in another area. 

Click here to get the free sample issue.

The full issue will be available here as of May 1, 2008.
(An annual subscription costs $12.95 for 4 issues, and 50% of the proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society)

The blue collar workers aren’t the only ones to feel the pinch of global competition. Three major forces have been born that will deliver a swift and painful blow to many professional workers; that is, transoceanic fiber-optic cable, the communications satellite, and the Internet.  These technologies make it easy to link China or India to the US.  This can be done at little cost.  With company executives watching costs more than anything, you know what this will mean.

Offshoring manufacturing was painful for many but will pale in comparison to what is expected for the WCWs.  During the struggle with Japan decades ago, American incomes exceeded Japan’s by a ratio of 2 to 1.  Of course, the services battle is now with India, where the American to Indian ratio is 10 to 1.  Sure this s1peaks good news for the American economy and many will gain greatly from this outsourcing of labor.  But the ones who lose their jobs or suffer from pay cuts will pay a bigger price. 

During the manufacturing rush abroad, manufacturing jobs only accounted for 28% of all non-farm jobs. However, today, the service jobs constitute about 83% of all non-farm jobs.  That’s a much bigger potential hit to the American working population.  

Lastly, this impact will be a price paid by employees, not the employer.  Years ago with the foreign car import crisis (if you can call it that), companies and executives alike felt the financial brunt.  This time, executives will gain from the reduction in cost in using foreign labor but the employees of the company will pay the price. 

The big point to understand here is that it’s not so critical the number of jobs lost, 3.3 million by 2018 according to Forrester Research, but the impact on real wages for American employees.  Why? Well, each year we’ll have more and more Americans competing among more and more Indians who will work for a tenth or a fifth less.

According to Stephen Cohen and Bradford Delong, both from UC Berkeley, career transition assistance, government funding and portable benefits will be crucial to ensuring worker flexibility.  They anticipate that the upcoming shockwave will be greater than any other in US history.  At least, you now have signs to watch for.

Of course, you can always begin building your Blitz team now and use them to help you figure out how to stay off any future potential impacts.

Todd

"Never Climb Alone" 

S. Cohen and B. Delong, "Shaken and Stirred," State of the Union January/February 2005 Atlantic Monthly. <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200501/cohen>