How to Be Awesome at Your Job

Latest Episodes:

032: Experiments in Productivity with Chris Bailey Jul 06, 2016

Show notes

Chris Bailey’s extreme commitment in productivity self-experimentation has yielded a boatload of insight into channeling your time, attention, and energy for maximum achievement. He shares the best of the best with us today. You’ll learn: What 35 hours of weekly meditation does to your productivity How to galvanize your daily attention using the rule of three The power of single-tasking and claiming the missing 47% of our attention About Chris When Chris Bailey graduated University, he received two full-time job offers, but decided to decline them both to dedicate a full year of his life to exploring his weird passion: productivity. For a full year he did anything and everything to become more productive. His work has received national and international media attention from outlets like The New York Times, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, and countless others. The prestigious TED Talks blog said that he “might be the most productive man you’d ever hope to meet.” Recently, Fast Company called him a "productivity mastermind." You can read Bailey’s work at ALifeofProductivity.com. Bailey is on a mission to share the lessons of his year-long journey both with his new bestselling book, The Productivity Project, and in his lectures, where he offers insights and best practices that will help everyone from college students to CEOs accomplish more. View transcript, show notes, links, and more at http://AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep32. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

031: Excelling Across Cultures with Julia Atkinson Jul 01, 2016

Show notes

Executive coach Julia Atkinson shares her experiences coaching teams across three different continents, and provides insight into how to thrive when cultures collide.

You’ll learn:

1. The differences between Eastern and Western styles of communication

2. A quick rundown of the four different Myers-Briggs preferences, from ENFJ to ISTP

3. What is “Guanxi”? A Chinese word that worldview implications worldwide

About Julia

Julia Atkinson is an Executive Coach with more than 8 years experience of living and working in China before taking her business to the US, Chicago. 10 years of leading teams in Multinationals in IT and Telecommunication give her first hand corporate know-how. Julia uses an interactive coaching process to help clients attain awareness of deeply rooted beliefs and values and related behaviors. From that awareness, she helps them identify and implement shifts that will effect lasting change where they want it.

Items mentioned in the show:

The Diamond Cutterby Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally
Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousnessby the Dalai Lama
The Biology of Belief by Dr. Bruce H. Lipton
Myers-Briggs Workshop
Myers-Briggs preferences cheatsheet
Ideapod
Julia’s LinkedIn page
Julia’s website
More reflection on guanxi

View transcript, show notes, and links at https://awesomeatyourjob.com/ep31

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030: Optimal Practices for Prioritizing, Hiring, and Relating with ghSMART's Randy Street Jun 29, 2016

Show notes

Leadership advisor Randy Street shares fascinating insights gleaned from his advisory firm’s in-depth analyses on thousands of senior leaders--the biggest database on leaders in the world. He then shares strategies and tactics for putting those insights to work. You’ll learn: The 5 essential interview questions to boost your hiring success rate from 50% to 90% The 3 key areas that full-powered leaders master (Priorities, Who, Relationships) How to say “no” perfectly About Randy Randy Street is the Managing Partner of ghSMART, a leadership advisory firm whose mission is to help great leaders amplify their positive impact on the world. In collaboration with founder Geoff Smart, Randy co-authored the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, Who: The A Method for Hiring and Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success. Who remains the #1 book on hiring on Amazon. View transcript, show notes, links, and more at http://AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep30. Copyright © Optimality See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

029: Gaining Quicker Traction in Your New Role with Dr. Michael D. Watkins Jun 27, 2016

Show notes

Professor, author, and consultant Michael Watkins shares best practice strategies and tactics for getting the optimal start in a new role at work. You’ll learn: The most critical ingredient for a successful transition How to accelerate your arrival at the “breakeven point” for your new role The key questions to discover what you REALLY need to know quickly About Michael Dr. Michael D. Watkins is a Co-founder of Genesis Advisers and Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at the IMD business school. Previously, he was on the faculty at the Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Dr. Watkins wrote The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Smarter and Faster, which The Economist recognized as “the on- boarding bible.” The enduring classic has sold more than a million English copies and has been translated into 24 languages. The revised and expanded 10th Anniversary Edition released in 2013. At IMD, he is the Director of the "Transition to Business Leader" program. At Genesis Advisers, he leads a team that designs enterprise transition acceleration solutions for client organizations. Dr. Watkins is the author of numerous additional books and articles on leadership & transitions published in the Harvard Business Review and other top publications. View transcript, show notes, links, and more at http://AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep29 Copyright © Optimality See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

028: What HR is Really Thinking with Rita Trehan Jun 24, 2016

Show notes

Human Resources uber-guru Rita Trehan shares anecdotes from her years of experience helping HR professionals grow and succeed, and talks about how we can maximize our full potential at work.

You’ll learn

1) The positive benefits of acknowledging the ‘elephant in the room’

2) Tips for giving effective and constructive feedback to others

3) The truth about what goes on in the HR department at the office

About Rita

Ranked among the Top 100 Human Resources Officers, Rita has helped improve performance at organizations such as Honeywell, AES Corporation, Coca-Cola and the World Bank. She’s a regular contributor to the Washington Post and numerous journals including Forbes magazine. She recently authored the book Unleashing Capacity: The Hidden Human Resources.

View transcript, show notes, links, and more at http://AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep28.

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027: Combatting Workplace Jargon with James Sudakow Jun 22, 2016

Show notes

Author and consultant James Sudakow takes a sledgehammer of silliness to corporate jargon to help boost your credibility and relatability in corporate communications.

You’ll learn:

1) Why do we do this jargon in the first place?

2) How the use of such jargon can actually damage our credibility and make people take us less seriously

3) Some key phrases to avoid right away–and what to use in their place

About James

James Sudakow is the author of Picking the Low-Hanging Fruit… and Other Stupid Stuff We Say in the Corporate World (Purple Squirrel Media, February 2016). He serves as the principal of CH Consulting, Inc., a boutique management and organizational effectiveness consulting practice he founded in 2010. Sudakow specializes in helping companies manage organizational transformation, create talent management strategies and programs that maximize employee capabilities and improve business performance. Before starting his own consultancy, James held leadership roles in several global multibillion-dollar organizations across the technology and health care industries.

Items mentioned in the show:

James’s hilarious book Picking the Low-Hanging Fruit
James’s website: jamessudakow.com
Research on The God Particle
Book: “F in Exams“

View transcript, show notes, and links at https://awesomeatyourjob.com/ep27

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026: Structures for Creativity and Problem-Solving with Tim Hurson Jun 20, 2016

Show notes

Master facilitator Tim Hurson shares some of his favorite insights and approaches for creativity and problem-solving.

You’ll learn:

1) The know-wonder and GPS tools for sparking additional creative ideas

2) The mighty benefits of the “third third” when coming up with creative ideas

3) A wonderfully obvious secret of productivity

Tim Hurson is a founding partner of thinkx intellectual capital (www.thinkxic.com), a firm that provides global corporations with training, facilitation, and consultation in productive thinking and innovation. He’s both a faculty member and Trustee of the Creative Education Foundation, and a founding director of Facilitators Without Borders.

Tim thinks the phrase “out of the box thinking” should be put back in the box and buried in a deep hole.

Items mentioned in the show:

Facilitators Without Borders
Think Better by Tim Hurson
Never Be Closing by Tim Hurson
Six Thinking Hatsby Edward de Bono
Goran Ekvall’s work on organizational creativity
The City & The City by China Mieville
TimHurson.com
Mindcamp.org creativity retreat

View transcript, show notes, and links at https://awesomeatyourjob.com/ep26

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025: Competing to Win with Dan Rust Jun 17, 2016

Show notes

“Competition” within an organization is often frowned upon, but “workplace provocateur” Dan Rust discusses the benefits and tactics associated with competition, politics and more.

You’ll learn:

1) When internal competitiveness can be positive for an organization

2) A secret tip for crushing your next yearly performance review

3) The massive benefits of bringing just a little bit more energy to each work day

About Dan

Dan Rust is the founder of Frontline Learning, an international publisher of corporate training resources. His award-winning keynote speeches and workshops focus on employee engagement, productivity, and career management. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He’s the author of Workplace Poker: Are You Playing the Game, or Just Getting Played?

Items mentioned in the show:

Workplace Poker: Are You Playing the Game, or Just Getting Played? by Dan Rust
Workplacepoker.com
Workplace Poker blog
Frontline Learning
Mastery by George Leonard
Evernote app

View transcript, show notes, and links at https://awesomeatyourjob.com/ep25

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024: A Speech Coach in Your Pocket with Ummo’s Anshul Bhagi Jun 15, 2016

Show notes

Entrepreneur and app developer Anshul Bhagi introduces Ummo, a powerful app for public speakers, and the lessons learned along the process of making it.

You’ll learn:

1) How the new speech-coaching app Ummo can enhance your speaking

2) When the use of filler words is helpful

3) What is “upspeak” and its implications on how you’re perceived

About Anshul

Anshul Bhagi is a 2017 Harvard MBA with an undergrad and Masters in Computer Science from MIT. Previously, Anshul did PM and development at Microsoft / Apple / Google, spent two years at McKinsey & Company, and founded education startup CampK12 to teach kids in India to code. Together with his Harvard / MIT classmates Yasmin, Andrea, Sam, Damola, and Sinchan, he is building Ummo, a personalized speech coaching app (available for download here).

Items mentioned in the show:

Camp K12
Ummo app – they want your feedback! hello@ummoapp.com
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Ummo app’s Facebook page

View transcript, show notes, and links at https://awesomeatyourjob.com/ep24

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023: The Power of Workplace Humor with Michael Kerr Jun 13, 2016

Show notes

Michael Kerr shows us how to see the humor in our daily work frustrations, and the benefits it brings for long-term success.

You’ll learn:

1) The critical link between humor and creativity

2) How to turn a stressful situation into something humorous with the three R’s (reframe, reward, relax)

3) Approaches to building a humor“first-aid” kit

About Michael

Michael is listed as one of Canada’s most in-demand speakers. He is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), best-selling author, and one of only 22 speakers to be inducted into the Canadian Speakers’ Hall of Fame. Building on his experience as a “recovering senior manager,” Michael travels the world researching, writing, and speaking about what makes a great workplace,well…great! He is known as one of North America’s leading authorities on how to create a more positive and inspiring workplace: the kind of workplace that drives phenomenal success.

Items mentioned in the show: