The Office-Politics Advisers:
|
|
Book Review and Interview: Become the CEO of You, Inc.
1. To get what you want, think like a CEOSusan directs her message to women (but men will find it useful as well). She contends that many women allow other people's priorities to wrongly dictate what they do, and thus limit their life's ambitions. This she argues is the antithesis of a self-respecting CEO. "Thinking like a CEO forces you to take active control of your life," says Susan. "Too often," she says, "women let things happen to them, instead of making things happen for them." Echoes of Self-help ClassicsBecome the CEO of You, Inc. puts a fresh spin on the well-trodden road known as 'self-help'. It's interesting, and valuable, to see how Susan's thinking fits in. Many self-help gurus, from Stephen Covey, to Dale Carnegie, to Napoleon Hill, to Tom Peters, to mention just a few, have put forward similar advice - but not directed primarily at women! Stephen Covey, in his 1989 book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", advised to "Begin with the End in Mind". Ditto for Susan. She stresses planning as the key to her "Make it Happen Model". Napoleon Hill, in his 1937 classic "Think and Grow Rich" advised people to start a Master Mind group to achieve their goals in life. Susan's advice is essentially the same: Build your team. Find a mentor. Dale Carnegie, in his timeless "How to Win Friends and Influence People" wrote that many successful people are "lifted to success by those around them". Susan writes, "As women we have a responsibility to help other women who are coming up behind us. We should open the doors, or drop the ladders, to bring them along." Mentorship is a strong theme running through her book, and Susan backs it up by offering mentoring via the internet - or, as she calls it, Virtual Mentoring ©. Become the CEO of You, Inc. covers similar ground as the 1997, "The Brand Called You" article by Tom Peters, when he advised that you treat yourself and your career as a brand. (In 1999 he expanded it into a book called "The Brand You 50".) Susan also advises that we 'package' ourselves as carefully as any commercial product. Clearly all the self-help gurus are stating timeless truths. But each generation hears the message with fresh ears. So there is great benefit in having it delivered with a fresh but seasoned voice in 2006. Indeed handing a copy of Hill's or Carnegie's book to almost anyone under 40 today, would probably result in a shocked exclamation, "I'm not going to read this. It's too corny! Too old-fashioned." (In fact if I had any tip for Susan it would be that some readers won't want to shout out that they are reading a 'self-help' book. But perhaps that is just a personal bias. As they say, don't judge a book by its cover. And if you're reading it on the way to work, you can easily slip the dust jacket off to reveal a quiet conservative dark blue with gold writing on the spine.) The common seeds of wisdom are there and they resonate with us because they speak of truths we all recognize. Susan's point of differentiation is that she comes from the consulting world, and delivers her advice in an easy-to-read, easy-to-swallow way. She uses the intellectual framework well-known in the business consulting world to help the reader structure their plans for a new life. The book revolves around a four-step approach, The Make-It-Happen Model, a framework based on her consulting experiences with Fortune 500 companies:
Lessons include prompts such as, "What is your 'product'? What
kind of an impression do you leave? How can you set yourself apart from
your competition?" If you're looking to make far-reaching changes
in your life, this type of step-by-step creative planning process is
excellent. I can speak highly of it, as we have used a similar process
for years with our marketing clients: Visualize
your dream. Identify the hurdles. Make an action plan. Assign dates and
markers for deliverables to everyone on your team. The great leap
here is that Susan has adapted it for personal use to help women build
their careers and take responsibility as the CEO of You, Inc.
INTERVIEW with Susan Bulkeley ButlerFranke James, Office-Politics.com interviewed Susan via email and phone: (OP) Franke James: (OP) Franke James: Susan Bulkeley Butler: It is also about having someone to talk to when you have a concern on your mind (about your boss, your raise), or something just happened that you don't like. This is why mentors are absolutely essential. They are a trusted advisor that you can talk to about anything and someone from whom you value their feedback. (OP) Franke James: As far as self-help masters, there have been so many over the years. My "advisors" were my family (you can do anything you set your mind to do), my peers, my mentors who were usually leaders in the organization, and people that I needed to know to help me get to where I wanted to go. As I look back, some of "my team" were my teachers in high school/college, my algebra teacher particularly and a woman who owned the dress shop where I worked during school, and the professor who helped my get my first job at Arthur Andersen & Co., etc. Then there were the two people that told me that I could be a partner at Andersen Consulting and they would help make it happen. Actually you are on my team now, to help get my messages to your large audience and I am on your team to provide them the information that they need to hear (i.e., answers to their questions). (OP) Franke James: Susan Bulkeley Butler: There was also a point when I didn't truly understand how senior management perceived me. And I hadn't really received great feedback in my annual reviews. "Susan, you are doing great", they would say. Well, that's nice but what do I do to progress up the career ladder to senior management? Some people are just afraid of delivering bad news, I believe. You are not detailed enough, I was told. I wasn't smart enough to get into the details of what that meant, what I needed to do to fix it and how to fix it. I hear from so many people that they don't get good feedback and they don't know what they need to do to move ahead. I became a "feedback addict".
(OP) Franke James: Susan Bulkeley Butler: 1. Be the CEO of You, Inc. Develop your initial goals. Build your team and a plan to make it happen....and work to achieve your plan every day. 2. Make sure you have someone (a mentor) to talk to, and ask for advice and feedback. 3. Understand what is expected of you, and do everything in an exceptional way. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you don't understand. 4. Build your foundation skills and be committed to what you are doing. Learn as much as you can everyday, be enthusiastic, be a team player, be positive, build relationships and take advantage of every opportunity, because you never know who you will meet. 5. Realize that you are there for two reasons: help the company be a success and develop a successful career for You, Inc. And if you don't know how your company achieves success, learn. And see how what you are doing fits into that picture. (OP) Franke James: Susan Bulkeley Butler: But, sometimes you just need someone to listen to you, not necessarily to solve your problems, but to give you options of what you might do or say. Many people like the idea of having a few "to do's" and someone they are responsible to when they are done, at an appointed time. I believe there is a need for "executive coaching" later in your career. For instance someone to help you with the image you need to get the next position in your career. Susan responds to an Office-Politics letter (OP) Franke James:
Susan Bulkeley Butler: In preparing for you new career, I would suggest you determine what your goals are, what positions best reflect your abilities and potential, the career opportunities you are looking for, and what industry will be able to use your skills and interests the best, before you start sending out resumes. This will help you to focus your resume and your cover letter. And who do you know that will help you get the position of your dreams? I could look for someone who will be able to open doors for you and provide you feedback on your documents. Additionally, I would suggest that you discuss these career related items in your interview. One of my secrets is: Ask for what you want. And then, once you have your position, I would begin conversations with your supervisor about career opportunities (i.e., length of time, positions/roles necessary to demonstrate your capabilities) (OP) Franke James: Become the CEO of You, Inc is available through Amazon. About the author: Franke
James, MFA is the site founder of Office-Politics.com, and inventor
of the Office-Politics
Game.
|
