“Stay hungry, stay foolish.”                                           — Steve Jobs

If you’re wondering what your next job should be, or suspect/know you’ve settled for a job that’s  “good enough,” watch this video. It’s a short speech. Then tell us if you:

1. Agree and are already following this advice
2. Agree but have responsibilities that demand you put your calling on hold, so to speak
3. Are too worried/anxious/repressed/traumatized to let yourself even listen to the entire message
4. Disagree and wish to tell him where he’s wrong
5. Think he’s a fool

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She spends too much time ricocheting around the Internet.

chilly photo courtesy of flikr.com/fhisa

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

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“Help is on the way, Dear. Help is on the WAYYYYY!”                                                      — Mrs. Doubtfire

Here at The Dead Company Club, we mourn the passing of your former company, be it Land of Leather or Lehman Brothers. If you’ve rebounded and can be philosophical about the experience, that’s awesome. If you think I’m full of it for even suggesting such a state of mind is possible, read on.

Being out of work involuntarily isn’t fun, even if there are lots of others in your ‘hood mowing the grass mid-morning. So stop refreshing your inbox, click over to ILostMyJob.com and let them help. They are there to stabilize, restore and ready you to resume your career or start a new one.

ILostMyJob.com offers suggestions, directions, consultations and useful advice.  “Our mission is to do good for people who have lost their jobs, are involuntarily unemployed, and/or are taking steps to getting back to productive employment.”

Their content is a must-bookmark if you’re working on a full-time job search (Is there any other kind?).  For instance, if you’re timid about salary negotiations, you might want to read their article first before you follow our example of a job counteroffer.

Have you found other job-seeker sites that are worthy of mention?

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She specializes in all kinds of stuff.

Thanks to our fun foto provider, gruntzooki at flikr.com.

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

Ready to Resume Your Career?

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Insiders’ Interview Tips

Going for an interview? Then “True Confessions of a Recruiter,” by Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio is a must-read. Connie, a former Fortune 500 recruiter, confesses how she weeds out candidates starting the first second she sees them.

No Debby Downers

As a Dead Company Club member you have unique experiences that can be booby traps in an interview.  Watch out for the invitation to complain about how your company failed, how employees got screwed and how bad your life got.  Even though you may have a strong opinion about who is to blame, hold that thought. According to Connie, “anything negative will immediately shift me to the next candidate.”

Do you know your strengths?

Rolling your eyes isn’t an answer to the question, “Tell me about your strengths.” Recruiters expect a thoughtful, serious answer, and you have something unique to offer.

Remember: you’ve been through the fire. When your company died, your assumptions and plans blew up. You had to start over, maybe reeducate, possibly relocate.  You discovered you can march through dramatic changes. You’re more aware of risks and appreciate contingency planning now. Your expectations of an employer have changed. Non-members can’t offer these strengths.

Seeing the good in your hard-won experience — and not whining — might be what wins the job.

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She is a multi-time member of The Dead Company Club.

cool photo courtesy of flikr.com/emilio_labrador

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

Interview Tips for Club Members

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“History is merely a list of surprises.”                 –Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

This March, The Wall Street Journal Blog, “Laid Off and Looking” ended. They had followed out-of-work professionals and their struggles to move on. Their readers, a fraternity of survivors, were bummed. “Do not shut this sucker down” was one response. “Pls do not shut this blog down. I need it.” What’s the WSJ missing?

Then a couple of weeks ago, The Vault discontinued their blog, Pink Slipped, which gave job leads and tips for Pink Slippers.  They stated:

“The economic conditions that served as the founding raison d’etre … increasingly seem to be waning.”

I tentatively agreed. The headlines didn’t blare business obituaries like last year. Sure, there are substantial companies like Goldman and Ernst & Young that are facing the big bad wolf, but collapse seems unlikely.

So I was surprised when I started updating The Memorial Garden, our list of dead companies. The number of newly closed companies is mind boggling.

Have corporate failures become second page news? If you’re among the 2010 company bankruptcies, liquidations or flat out busts, what is your story?

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She is a multi-time member of The Dead Company Club.

cool and creative photo courtesy of flikr.com/bensonkua

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

Surprise! Companies Are Still Closing!

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Lehman Brothers Dick Fuld

Former Lehman Brothers employees keep getting a pitchfork in the butt. The latest round of abuse comes from Dick Fuld, Lehman’s former CEO, in response to a bankruptcy examiner’s report released March 11, 2010.

Ex-employees were understandably pissed by the 2,200 page report. A March 13th Wall Street Journal article titled “Lehman Report Confirms Former Employees’ Suspicions” begins:

“For Ted Larkin, a Lehman Brothers technology executive when the firm collapsed, the revelations from a bankruptcy examiner Thursday reinforced his angry hypothesis: That it only took a few executives to put thousands of people out of work.

“It confirms my feelings that the majority of the firm were honest, hard-working people that suffered from the hubris of a few individuals,” said Mr. Larkin.”

Yet four days later, the New York Post reported that Fuld – The Boss – felt vindicated by the same bankruptcy examiner’s report. The article reads:

“Fuld privately believes that the report by examiner Anton Valukas provides proof that he did nothing illegal as he steered Lehman through a financial mess that ultimately led the firm to file the largest bankruptcy in US history…”

Confused? Let’s give Dick some help.

Dear Dick:

Illegal or not, you have screwed thousands of employees. You have trashed the financial world. The ripple effect has been more like a tsunami. Vindicated? PLEASE go to dictionary.com and read the definition, Dick.

Sincerely,

The Dead Company Club

Laurie Phillips is a member of The Dead Company Club. She hasn’t yet seen a company that was destroyed by excellent leadership.

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

Lehman Leadership Vindicated?

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“Giving you a handout will help pay the bills, but it won’t give you dignity.”

My self-esteem was slaughtered when my company was shut down. My lifestyle flipped and my dignity – how I assessed my value to society – evaporated.

Fast forward to 2010. In the eBook, What Matters Now, Jacqueline Novogratz writes:

“Dignity is more important than wealth…It comes from creating your own destiny and from the respect you get from your family, your peers and society.”

By that definition, I was broke. I floundered, waiting for someone to restore my former career success. I expected my imaginary benefactor would offer me the best job I could imagine with an intriguing, prestigious company. But fantasy was a toothless substitute for dignity. It got me exactly nothing.

I eventually learned a very simple lesson:

Only you can create your own destiny.

If you’re sitting on your butt feeling sorry for yourself, you are creating your destiny. If you’re reading this while you take a break from writing a business plan, you are too. It’s your choice.

Do you look around and see others in the same situation? Is the problem of crushed dignity too widespread to overcome? Do you think the phrase “create your own destiny” is too cliche? If so, take heart. I was there too. Cynical, jaded, victimized. But no one could pick me up and point me in a direction to restore my career – except me. You can do it too.

Do you need to restore your dignity? What are you doing to create your own destiny?

If you want to catch up on the trends affecting the working world and society, read the eBook, What Matters Now.

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She likes to ride motorcycles because it’s life without a safety net. Follow her on Twitter at @ljp26.

photo courtesy of Darren Stone

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

How to Reclaim Your Future

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“Will we know a fork in the road when we see it?”

I had to finish about 200 things on my to-do list before I sat down at my desk today.

Wait. That’s a lie.

I chose to spend my time slaving away at that list, which is hefty enough to make a pack donkey bray.

Someone once asked if I got any satisfaction from a day spent checking things off my list. If so, they continued, did that satisfaction last more than a day?

Sometimes rhetorical questions are the safest way to give advice.

In the eBook What Matters Now, Gina Trapani offers a productivity test. She writes:

Getting things done is not the same as making things happen.

You can…

…reply to email.
…pay the bills.
…cross off to-do’s.
…fulfill your obligation.
…repeat what you heard.
…go with the flow.
…anticipate roadblocks.
…aim for “good enough.”

Or you can…

…organize a community.
…take a risk.
…set ambitious goals.
…give more than you take.
…change perceptions.
…forge a new path.
…create possibility.
…demand excellence.

Don’t worry too much about getting things done.

Make things happen.

If you’re at a fork in the road, read the rest of the eBook, What Matters Now. It might be the smartest thing you can do to catch up on the trends affecting the working world and society.

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She specializes in technology and motorcycling.

cool and creative photo courtesy of flikr.com/drcornelius

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

Take This Productivity Test

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So your company closed. When this happened to me, I felt despondent, betrayed, victimized and generally worthless, angry and shattered.

Yet, I had to admit there was a silver lining. I didn’t want to acknowledge it because I wanted to be mad, but it was there. Maybe not one that gave me my economic stability and self-confidence back, but still…

Let’s face it. Have you ever been at work and:

• Wore out your watch by staring at it?
• Spiked your anxiety-ridden manager’s coffee with Valium?
• Kept your fingers crossed that the moron wouldn’t speak up and drag the meeting out purposelessly for another hour?
• Worried that the job would outlive you?

It’s a bummer to lose your job and your company with no chance of being hired back. But it gives you the opportunity that lets you get a new start, find new opportunities, even explore new careers. Admit it. There’s a silver lining there.

Have you found your silver lining yet?

Laurie Phillips is an expert at working for companies that vanish. She is the President of Sundance Research and no longer worries about the job outliving her.

Muchas gracias to flikr.com/tanakawho for the photo.

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

Have You Found Your Silver Lining?

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“Law firm accepts carbon credits as fees”

EcoSeed reports:

“Law firm clients may now pay legal fees with carbon credits under a scheme launched by a Miami, Florida-based law firm.

The Cueto Law Group has started the first initiative of its kind in the professional services industry, allowing clients to pay up to 20 percent of their legal fees with carbon credits.

Carbon credits represent permits to emit climate-warming greenhouse gases. One carbon credit unit is commonly equal to one ton of carbon dioxide emissions.

Under the law firm’s program called “CO Too,” its clients can pay with carbon credits which the company can then trade in the international carbon markets.”

Carbon Credits for/by Dummies

After I let that short, innocuous announcement soak in, a few things became obvious.

Observation #1: I can now buy and sell permission to pollute. This seems ludicrous, but it leads me to…

Observation #2: I have the right to pollute if I have carbon credits. It’s no longer something I shouldn’t do (but do anyway).

Observation #3: It’s going to be a seller’s market. Companies that can’t reduce their pollution further and stay profitable will need a good supply of carbon credits no matter what the price.

Observation #4: Carbon credits can be exchanged for currency if you have access to a marketplace for carbon credits.  This law firm isn’t taking lower fees: they’re just receiving part of their payment through a financial market that few know exists.

Observation #5: He who holds the most carbon credits wins. Power and wealth will belong to the credit holders for as long as companies pollute. Which countries and companies have a minimal carbon footprint right now? They have an invisible asset.

Opportunity or just more hot air?

Is this a big new opportunity or just a teaser? If you’re dusting yourself off from a company collapse, you’d be silly to ignore a developing market. For that matter, the economy is certainly encouraging us to get creative about finding and making new jobs. Is there something here?

Santiago Cueto poses the question, “Are Carbon Credits the New Global Currency?” I ask: Is this an economic opportunity, an environmental disaster or the emperor’s new clothes?

Want more? Here are the abbreviated, summarized, abridged “Cliffs Notes” to global business trends as identified by Laurie Phillips, who hates pollution, whether physical or digital.

photo courtesy of flikr.com/net_efekt

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

The New Global Currency?

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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alton Jefferson and Sgts. Ronald Williams and Jeremy Squires, all from Bravo Company, 173rd Special Troops Battalion, conduct final checks on a Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, March 17, 2008, prior to its launch. A UAV is used to track enemy activity. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tyffani L. Davis) (www.army.mil)

Manufacturing experts wanted

5th in a series about What Matters Now

Looking for a job in manufacturing or design?  Hold up. Make sure you understand the stampeding herd that is threatening the industry.  But first, let’s talk about your hobbies.

Break time

Let’s say you love planes and want to resume flying lessons as soon as you have a secure paycheck. In the meantime, you kill time online with other airplane nuts and post some design questions for a remote-control plane.

The engineer types and experienced fliers give you plenty of advice on your design, send you links to inexpensive electronics and tweet a rousing brainstorm to come up with new things you can do with your plane. They also tell you where you can get a prototype made, dirt cheap.

The job market still stinks and you’re getting tired of spending all day at the screen, so you order the prototype and add the electronics when it arrives from China a week later. You take it out to the dusty field nearby and let it loose. With the camera and GPS onboard, your little drone flies over the countryside taking snapshots and filming the flight while you control your recon mission with your iPhone. Fun, huh? Who needs Northrop Grumman?

Back to work

OK, back to that manufacturing job. Here are a few facts you need to know:

1. You no longer need a big employer to do design and manufacturing. Collaborative design, open-source components and micro-manufacturing put control in your hands, if you want it.

2. That big company becomes more vulnerable every day as barriers to entry keep falling, and they can’t staunch the tide. Do your homework before you sign on.

More about that UAV

Chris Andersen, Editor in Chief of Wired Magazine, is a firm believer that the web is transforming manufacturing. He should know. He founded DIY Drones and has been spreading the message about DIY manufacturing. Here’s a short video about his experiment building drones and interacting with the U.S. Government – unintentionally – as a result.

The longer video of the entire presentation by Chris is fascinating. It includes the tale of his tangle with the U.S. Government at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and a gleeful story about how he busted Google. Great stuff and well worth the 20+ minutes to watch.

If you want to catch up on the trends affecting the working world and society, read the eBook, What Matters Now. It might just be the smartest thing you can do for yourself this year as a survivor of corporate destruction.

Laurie Phillips is a snow-bound freelance writer with cabin fever.

Post from: The Dead Company Club The Dead Company Club is a hobby of the writers at Sundance Research. Sometimes they just need to write about their own stuff.

Manufacturing Your New Job

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