Office-Politics

What is OfficePolitics.com? Real People. Real Problems. Expert Advice.

The Office-Politics Advisers:

John Burton Franke James Marty Seldman Glueck Bezoza Rick Brandon Arnie Herz Timothy Johnson erika andersen

Archived Letters | OP Advisers | Bookstore | Office-Politics Game | About | RSS


Franke James is Editor/Founder of Office-Politics.com and Inventor of the Office-Politics® Game.

Peter R. Garber has worked as an HR professional for over 25 years and is the author of many business books including: Winning the Rat Race at Work and 100 Ways to Get on the Wrong Side of your Boss.

Dina Beach Lynch, is an Ombudsman, Author and former attorney. An award-winning mediator, Dina served as the Corporate Ombudsman for the 7th largest bank in the US helping over 48,000 employees to resolve workplace issues.

Dr. Rick Brandon is CEO of Brandon Partners. He has consulted and trained tens of thousands at corporations worldwide, including Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries.

Dr. Marty Seldman is one of America's most experienced executive coaches. His 35-year career includes expertise in executive coaching, group dynamics, cross-cultural studies, clinical psychology, and training.

Arnie Herz, is a lawyer, mediator, speaker, author and consultant nationally recognized for his practical and inspired approach to conflict resolution and client counseling.

Dr. John Burton LL.B. M.B.A. M.Div. Ph.D. is an ethicist, mediator, lawyer and theologian. John is currently located in Prince Rupert, B.C., Canada, working with Canada's aboriginal communities.

Book Review and Interview: Become the CEO of You, Inc.

 

By Franke James, MFA

Are you a woman yearning for more than what life has handed you? Then Susan Bulkeley Butler wants to shake up your life.

And it starts with dispelling the notion that you are not in charge. Her message: We can be the masters of our own destiny, with a little attitude adjustment and guidance. We just need to learn to think like a CEO. Hence her new book, Become the CEO of You, Inc. which draws from her thirty-seven-year career at management consulting giant Accenture (formerly known as Arthur Andersen & Co.) Susan climbed to the top rungs of the corporate ladder, as Managing Partner for Accenture's Office of the CEO for Chairman & CEO, Joe W. Forehand.

  1. To get what you want, think like a CEO
  2. The Make-it-Happen Model
  3. Interview with Susan Bulkeley Butler
  4. Susan responds to Office-Politics letter

1. To get what you want, think like a CEO

Susan 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 Classics

Become 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.

2. The Make-It-Happen Model

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:

- Create your vision
- Build your team
- Develop your plan
- Navigate your journey

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.

I think many women, at all career junctures, will find her message to be empowering and down-to-earth. It's a book I would recommend to women everywhere. We can't hear this message often enough: You are in charge of your life and if you want to get the most out it, you must plan the route! Become the CEO of You, Inc. is a great start to making it happen for yourself.

 


INTERVIEW with Susan Bulkeley Butler

Franke James, Office-Politics.com interviewed Susan via email and phone:


(OP) Franke James:
As a longtime journal-keeper, I was fascinated to read the emphasis you placed on journaling! I certainly feel that it has helped me to organize my thoughts, set goals, and objectively monitor my progress through the years. At one point in the book you said that you wished you had kept a journal over the past 40 years -- this prompts me to ask: Do you keep a journal now?

Susan Bulkeley Butler:
Journaling is "do as I say, not as I do". An elderly lady friend kept, what in the early days was a diary for over 50-60 years. I always thought that was a wonderful gift to her children. And than, when I began wanting stories and my thoughts over my career, I wished I had a "journal" to refer to. I do have my own way of capturing what has happened over the years, as I write an annual letter to my friends, but that isn't the same as capturing what I am thinking and more importantly answering the tough question "why?" My friend, Carla (in my book) writes every day about something as do others that I know. I should have followed my own lesson as I began the process of writing my book. Capturing my different feelings, experiences, etc. during the process would have helped me in writing another Book...what I didn't know about writing a book!


(OP) Franke James:
What does office politics mean to you? Is there a positive side to being good at office politics?

Susan Bulkeley Butler:
Office politics is a very broad subject as you know, and means different things to different people. To me, office politics is being aware of what is going on around you. For instance, when there was a major reorganization, I wasn't worrying about where I was going because I was happy with my current roles and responsibilities. Suddenly, I found that "the guys" were all looking out for themselves, figuring out where they wanted to land. This is when I realized that I needed to "make things happen for me, rather then let things happen to me". I ended up as the Office Managing Partner.

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:
In your book you stress the importance of developing a team. This is great advice and reminded me of advice from two legendary 'self-help' masters, Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill. Mr. Carnegie said that many successful people are 'lifted to success by those around them'. Mr. Hill, in 'Think & Grow Rich' advised people to start a Master Mind group to achieve their goals in life. Which 'self-help' masters have been most influential to you in your career? And why?

Susan Bulkeley Butler:
I believe that for women particularly, it is important for all of us to know that we need a team to give us advice and counsel. So many believe that we have to do it all ourselves. None of us achieved who we are and who we want to be by ourselves.

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:
Thinking back to the start of your career at Accenture, is there a key moment when you first realized that you needed to learn how to play office politics better?

Susan Bulkeley Butler:
A defining moment was when I didn't get the promotion to manager which I expected... I had done everything people had asked me to do, but yet when it came time for the promotion I was told I didn't have the skills that I needed to be a manager. I hadn't realized what skills, capabilities, etc. I needed to have and I came up short. I hadn't realized what my peers were doing, the types of roles and responsibilities they were getting. I was "letting the system" guide my career, instead of taking control of my career and making it happen.

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:
Imagine you are speaking to a young woman just starting her career at a large company. What five tips would you give her about dealing with office politics?

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:
Mentorship is a dominant theme in your book. Should readers of your book, and visitors to www.OfficePolitics.com, contact you for one-on-one coaching? Is this more appropriate to Executives than people just starting out?

Susan Bulkeley Butler:
I am happy to be that person, as a "virtual mentor". In fact, I tell people that for $25 or less, they can buy my book, learn all the great lessons that helped me to be successful and they can have a mentor (me). Many have said that reading my book is like having a conversation with me.

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:
Below is a recent letter submitted to the site. What advice do you have for this person?

Dear Office Politics,

What is your opinion of how best to handle this situation:

A company I have been working for offers me a "promotion" in work duties with no job title change and no salary change. For example, I went from being an admin. assistant to managing an entire department that is critical to operations. They wouldn't give me a title change or an increase in salary, but they expected me to take on all this extra responsibility and stress. This has happened to me twice at this company, and I have asked for title change and salary adjustment, but they wouldn't give me one.

Should I have just said "No thanks, I'll stick with the job I have?" Can I actually say that without getting fired, or is that considered "insubordination" or "unwillingness to do work assigned to me."

I am concerned about the fact that employers can justify asking employees to do basically anything by saying "other projects as needed" or "other duties as determined by manager" or something similar in the job description, but a change of this magnitude seems abusive.

I wanted to move ahead at work and thought that doing as they asked and giving 150% would show what a great worker I am and how talented I am and how valuable I am, but it only seems to have shown them how much they can use me and not pay me. After heading up two major departments, I have tapped out all the upward mobility opportunities the company has to offer (it is a small company) The only positions above me are GM and President, so I have moved as far as I can with no salary increase to show for it. I am tired of being treated this way (yes, I am looking for another job) and I don't want to be in the same situation again.

What is your recommendation on how to navigate a delicate situation like this in a way that will keep me from ending up in the same boat at a new job?

Thanks!

Susan Bulkeley Butler:
Good luck on your job search. In your preparation, I would suggest that you adequately demonstrate on your resume the roles and responsibilities you have had in your current company--and that you will be able to get a recommendation letter that will support these talents and responsibilities. If they are unable to provide a letter, I would suggest that you understand why this is a problem.

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:
Susan, on behalf of the readers at Office-Politics.com I want to thank you for doing this interview, and for generously sharing your ideas with us, here and in book form!

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.
Book Review and Interview: Become the CEO of You, Inc. © copyright 2006 Franke James. For enquiries regarding publication please contact ceo@officepolitics.com or phone 416.256.9166

Become the CEO of You, Inc. is published by Paribus Press, a nonfiction publisher based in New Canaan, CT.