by Tom Rath , Donald O. Clifton

A friend loaned me this book and since it was related to the “Strengths Finder” book then I figured it would be good. One morning I went to my local coffee shop with this small book in hand and read it in one sitting - cover to cover. It’s a short read and it really shouldn’t even qualify as a book, but it contains excellent information nonetheless.

The main focus of the book is using positivity in the workplace and in everday life. Follow their guide and they pretty much gaurantee that you will be happier and more successful. The book also contains some nice bonus materials including a code to take the www.strengthsfinder.com test for free - which normally you have to buy the Strengths Finder book in order to get this code.

Here at Corporate Rambo we try to always bring you information that not only will help you do better at work, but also do better in life in general. How Full Is Your Bucket is one of those books that will change your life, not just your career. More info: www.bucketbook.com  - Tell them Corporate Rambo sent you.

Check out these websites for career fairs around the US that are coming up soon!

Texas Instruments

Apple Campus Events

Starbucks

Women For Hire Career Expo

Other Great Locations when you are searching for a Job…

Coke

Nike

Dr.Pepper-Snapple

Coach - Leatherware

Polo-Ralph Lauren

Don’t limit yourself to a career that sounds like it might fit what you got your degree in, instead, look for something that you are passionate about. Sports, shopping, food, art, design,  - you don’t have to be a designer to work for a company that specializes in design. So get out there and do something you love!

Moo is quite simply the best website for simple, beautiful, and inexpensive business cards. If you want 100 business cards with 100 different images on the back, Moo can handle that request.

If you don’t want a traditional business card, Moo has mini business cards, stickers, postcards, and a few other products that can be used for networking. Perhaps you just want to pass out the URL to your latest project - grab 100 mini-cards for 19.99 and instantly you can let 100 people know about your website in a fun and personal way.

So head on over to Moo. You can tell them we sent you, but they probably don’t know who we are because like we said, they didn’t pay us to write this!

Perhaps you are extremely creative but you currently work on budgets. You created a poster for an event that got noticed by the communications department. Soon people start seeing you as not just a numbers person, but as a creative person who happens to work in budgets.

Maybe you aren’t creative but you are a born leader. Step up and show those skills or improve on others. Planning events is really just management on a small level. You lead people, you make decisions, you delegate and often times you have to work within a budget. Sounds like management to me.

Working with other individuals allows you to meet other people that could later be assets to your team if you do get promoted to a managerial role. Good volunteers often make excellent employees.

Of all the networking that I have done I have found that volunteering is not only productive, but it is also the best investment of your time.  Next time a group asks for volunteers be the first one to raise your hand. Do whatever is asked of you, work hard, and people will take notice and they will remember you and what you did, which is much more memorable than a happy hour and a business card transaction.

What is obvious is that the world has become a Global Economy.  With advances in technology we have the ability to make phone calls and transmit digital data for almost nothing. Buy capitalizing on our foreign counterparts and differences in time zones corporations can literally work around the clock, running scripts at night and implementing processes by day. Doctors can send MRI scans to India and have a reading in their inbox the next morning.

What is Global Economics all about? It’s about taking advantage of the most efficient processes and services so that we all benefit. We can no longer sit around thinking that our products are the best, instead we have to work hard and prove that they are the best. Competition forces us to continually improve. Better products aren’t just created without a demand for innovation. Consumers want faster, better, cheaper, brighter, lighter - and they want it yesterday. Capitalism has proved quite successful and emerging markets have exploded over the last 10 years.

What does this mean to you? It means that you have to embrace diversity and let go of stereotypes. Capitalize on talents and enrich your understanding of the world around you by educating yourself about other cultures and ethnic groups.

In the end, Darwin’s theory still holds true even in the corporate world. It is always survival of the fittest and in order to be the fittest you have to go global.

Wikipedia has some great information about Globalization.

“Well, for starters you’ll need to stop wearing sandals.” Was my boss’ straight-forward response. I was flabbergasted. Why would it matter if I was wearing jeans and sandals if that is what everyone else was wearing? It seemed unfair, especially considering that on the whole I dressed nicer than many of the full-time employees.

Before the meeting was over I was given a list with about 20 things I needed to work on. Most of the items I could correct in a short while and so I was elated and felt like I was on the right track to becoming a full-time employee. Six months passed and I was still contracting. At this point I had been a contractor for 3 years and I was tired of the low pay and lack of benefits. I realized that my current manager was just dangling a carrot in front of my face. I wasn’t going to be going anywhere as long as I was working for him.

Sometimes playing the corporate game means changing up your tactics. If you don’t have a good manager, you may be able to move around in the company and work for a different manager. Not all corporations allow this and so if yours doesn’t and you aren’t getting where you want to go despite your hard work, then don’t be afraid to start searching elsewhere. 2-3 years in most positions is long enough to establish that you are a corporate dynamo, however, be sure to take a self-inventory on occasion and make sure you are doing everything that is required of you.

For instance:

1. Show up to work on time, and if you are barking for a promotion, then show up early. Don’t be afraid to stay late, but don’t stay late and just sit around surfing the web.
2. Give status updates to your boss with detailed lists of accomplishments and ideas. Everyone loves a go-getter and for some reason bosses love updates and feedback. When you give them feedback it shows that you are working and it also gives them something that they can take back to their boss. They’ll say things like, “Jim is working on those reports right now!” you get your name mentioned to upper management and it was all because you took 5 minutes to send an update.
3. Do more than the bare minimum. Don’t expect to get praised just for doing your job, that is what you get paid to do, you get praise when you have gone above and beyond what is required of you.
4. Dress to impress. People often wonder how they should dress at work. Dress up too much and you’ll draw the attention of your co-workers and you’ll look too obvious. However, if you dress just one level above everyone else then you will stand out, but not too much. If everyone is wearing jeans and tennis shoes to work, maybe wear khakies with a polo shirt. Ladies can spruce up their attire just by adding a pair of nice shoes and a dressed up blouse and the right hair style. The point is, be clean, be neat and look put-together like you actually put some thought into what you are wearing.
5. Sit up front during meetings and take notes. Just being seen is big in the corporate world. If you are always sitting at the back no one is going to notice you.
6. Work Hard. Working hard seems obvious, but the term is fairly relative. What might be “busting it” for some is coasting for others. Don’t kill yourself, but don’t spend hours reading blogs, writing blogs, chatting with friends, shopping, planning vacations, talking on the phone, taking long coffee breaks, etc.
7. Be a good listener and try not to talk too much.
8. Ask questions, but make them good ones.
9. Know your strengths and use them to your benefit. We cannot emphasize this enough. Understanding what you do best will help you throughout your life. Check out www.strengthsfinder.com to get more information on this topic.

Your future is in your hands, don’t let someone else dictate to you where you are going to go and if you will succeed. Success isn’t inherited, it’s earned.

While reading this book I did not stop to go to the bathroom, did not stop to eat, or check my BlackBerry for new emails - I could not put it down.

Tarek Saab immediately caught my attention by being very transparent about his years in college. He edits the language by say “S___” and “F—” so you get the full truth of the message without the crudeness. He speaks openly about the introduction of pornography into the college world in the 1990’s and the corruption that it has caused.

This book, unlike many books marketed to the masses, is simple black and white. You know where Tarek stands in his beliefs. He believes in God and makes it clear that happiness in the corporate life is not about making money and success, it is about doing what you do, whether you love it or not, to do it with love.

One of my favorite parts of the book is makes a brief outline of the man he wants to be:

The man I want to be is…

• Prays, recognizing that his duty is to God first above all things.
• Is articulate, communicating his thoughts and opinions intelligently and respectfully.
• Respects women, directly, through honorable discourse and chaste living, and indirectly by his thoughts.
• Defends the innocent, especially children and unborn life.
• Is not addicted - whether to alcohol, pornography, or entertainment, and therefore truly free.
• Is healthy, actively maintaining physical fitness and proper diet.
• Holds convictions supported by reason and truth.
• Is courageous, unafraid to defend truth in all circumstances.
• Educates himself, not for the sake of accumulating factual knowledge, but for the advancement of wisdom.
• Works hard, acknowledging that time is a gift to be used wisely.
• Sacrifices his needs for the sake of others.
• Is humble, possessing and honesty that doesn’t tolerate deception, and gratitude without envy.

No matter what your beliefs you can read through that list and see that it is an admirable, albeit somewhat controversial, set of goals.

Throughout the book there are numerous quotes from G.K. Chesterton, Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine and passages of scripture that are extremely poignant and while written years ago are still relative today.

I saw Tarek speak just shortly after his appearance on The Apprentice. I went to hear him speak with very low expectations because The Apprentice had made Tarek appear cocky and arrogant. What I found was just the opposite. Humble and forthright, I listened to a man who didn’t stand up in front of an audience and talk about himself and his accomplishments, but instead shared real life experiences that were humbling. When I left the auditorium I felt elated and motivated to go out and work hard and to do my best, not to make more money, but because it was the right thing to do.

I put this book on the Corporate Study Guide list of links (right sidebar) because those books are “must-read” books for being successful not just in the business world, but in this corporate world known as “Life”. You can purchase the book on Amazon.com or at www.buygutcheck.com

Time for a confession: I use a budget, but I rarely stick to it. It is just not the way I am wired. All my life people have told me how to do things. How to budget, how to eat, how to work. Ugh. Enough already. Find out how you work best, try various ways of managing your money. Get creative with your budget.

Personally, I prefer an Excel Spreadsheet and total my bills and subtract that from my after tax income and then divide by 31 and without any special money managing software I have a budget. Most of my bills are done through automatic bill pay. I have only 1 credit card and I keep the limit very low and most of the time I try to pay it off every few months. At one time I had $10,000 in credit card debt and I owed the IRS $12,000 dollars. I had to dig myself out of that hole and I still didn’t learn my lesson. The more money I made the more money I spent, finally I created a budget so that I would at least have a general idea of how much I had to spend each day/week/month. I also picked up some web design jobs and other technical side work so that I could spend more money and afford my luxurious lifestyle. Not everyone has this ability so you have to learn to say “NO!” to yourself and learn to be disciplined in your spending.  It takes time to find balance in your lifestyle and your spending, well, at least it did for me… but one thing for sure it is eye-opening when you create a budget and actually see how much you are spending each day.

Also, find ways to save money that keep you from accessing those funds. I use stocks and 401k because they aren’t easy to tap. I have an American Express for emergencies. In 30 days I can sell some stock if I absolutely have to, but I don’t want to so it forces me to make it a last resort.

401k’s are awesome and so if you work has one and they match a percentage then put in at least the percentage that they match. Where I work they have an Employee Stock Purchase Plan that allows us to buy stock at a 15% discount. Investing in something and allowing your money to work for you is actually much better than just using savings - but be smart, diversify, and know what your money is doing.

Why is this important? Because most of our lives we have been educated to overcome our weaknesses.

I remember going to class after class about conflict resolution. I’d sit in seminars to learn how to become a better speaker and I’d spend money on training to learn how to do things that I would only become marginally good at. Joyce Meyer, a motivational speaker, said that her entire life she wanted to play the guitar and sing. After years of practice she realized that she would always be a “2″ on a scale of 1-10 when it came to guitar playing and singing. She realized that her gift was public speaking and that if she invested the same energy into public speaking as she had invested in music that she could possibly be a “7″ or a “9″.

What is great about the Strengths Finder book is that it comes with a code to a test that allows you to discover your strengths. In just a few minutes you can find out what you should be focusing your time on. One of my top strengths is “Activator” meaning that I like to get things started and the finishing what I’ve started isn’t always important. That is very true, but if someone had asked me what my list of strengths were I would have started the top of the list with “Communication”. Which according to the test is not in my top 5 strengths.

Of all the tests that I’ve taken that have helped me better understand who I am, this is one of the best. You can take the information gathered from this book and apply it to every area of your life. Not good at public speaking? Well stop focusing on that and focus on what you are good at to help you with your public speaking. Allow your strengths to define what you are capable of, not your weaknesses.

A snippet of Marcus Buckingham. He has a delightful accent if nothing else…

You can find the book at Amazon or most anywhere that they sell lots of books. An excellent video.

I worked for a Fortune 100 company that had a very strict policy when it came to diversity. Diversity was embraced and people were and still are tolerated no matter what their beliefs, race, or sexual orientation. What I found most important, however, is that our company made orientation or affiliation a non-issue by educating people about different cultures and beliefs.

When I first started at this large company I was surprised by the number of various ethnic groups. I had never eaten Thai, Korean or Asian food. I had never had a homosexual co-worker. I made new friends from various cultures and found that my life was enriched by learning more about them. Eventually you look past color, sexual orientation and religion and you start to see people. Krishna and Senthil aren’t Indians, they are humans, they have families, they are Hindu or Muslim, they play Cricket, they work hard, I like them.

When you first start out in a new company make sure that you start fresh without any presuppositions about your co-workers. Let go of your stereotypes and embrace someone for who they are, not for what group they belong to.  If you happen to be part of a minority or an ethnic group, don’t let it define who you are as a person. Instead, be yourself - not a stereotype or a religion. Take pride in where you come from, but don’t shove it in people’s faces or that is all they will know about you. Instead be genuine, be respectful, be tolerant and in the end you will reap the benefits.