Author Archive
Voker, Bernanke and now Germer weigh in.
February 24th, 2009
Over the weekend, we got this from Paul Volker this from former chair of the Federal Reserve and current advisor to President Obama: “I don’t remember any time, maybe even in the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast, quite so uniformly around the world.”
But today, the headline says Fed Chair Ben “Bernanke Suggests Recession Will End This Year… 2010 ‘Will Be A Year Of Recovery.’”
Now, let me give my interpretation of those guys and all the others predicting this and predicting that: Nobody knows what they are talking about. Why even listen? Usually, the projections make people feel horrible. They zap hope which zaps performance.
Regardless of what any of those economists and pundits say, if you aren’t operating at your peak right now, you will be a victim of the economy. The more you listen to them, the harder it becomes to operate at your peak.
If you tune out the negative and focus on where you can actually gain some ground, you will turn this downturn into an opportunity. You just have to see that possibility exists. I know so many people who have lost their jobs and seem to be moving in slow motion with their searches because they are convinced there is nothing out there. Well, there are jobs out there — just not very many. The way to find an opportunity is to be open to it. See the possibility that exists.
I know a senior executive who is retiring from a director’s position at Procter and Gamble at the end of this month. She’s in her mid-50s and going out into the world in the worst economic climate possible. She always held she was not going to let herself go out to pasture — and she didn’t. But, imagine my shock when I heard that she was just made VP of sales at another major company — before she even officially retired? She expects a lot out of her career — and gets it.
We all need to do the same.
Listen to Volker and Bernanke and you’ll wind up confused and depressed. Listen to your own voice telling you to carry on — and you can get through this downturn stronger, wiser and even more successful.
You Can Take This Job And… On Second Thought… Our 2009 Career Attitude Adjustment
February 23rd, 2009
I talked with a woman today who complained that she simply cannot stand her job for another minute. I can understand that, because I once had a job like that. I quit after seven weeks. No point in suffering like that when life is short, right?
Well, things have changed a bit since I decided to quit that miserable job. Back then, there weren’t a million people clamoring for every available opening. Today, there are. You can’t be too cavalier about the value of your employment, even when your job sucks. This is the year to kiss your paycheck (even if you think you are ridiculously underpaid), be grateful for your boss (even if he or she is hopelessly incompetent) and just thank the heavens that you have something when so many people now have nothing.
Many of you will be surprised to hear me say this because I have always said that you should take risks so you can do what you love, because it will be easier for you to succeed. I still believe that. I still think you should keep your eyes open for opportunities and create new success wherever you can. I just don’t think this is a great time to jump into the unknown when you don’t have somewhere to land. Right now, make peace with what little security you can find and ride out this thunderstorm.
I know someone who took a buyout from a tech job and became a middle school teacher. She finds the experience excruciating, but she knows she is in no position to be picky about what she is doing. Others who took buyouts when she did have still not found work, so even though her job sucks — it’s a job.
If you aren’t real happy with your work life, hang in there. We’ll get past these hard times and you will find more of what you are looking for. In the meantime, keep this list of points handy when you start hating what you are doing:
- You aren’t going to have to stay there forever.
- It’s only a job. It is not your life.
- It sure beats worrying about whether you will wind up losing everything you have .
- You can handle anything if you take it one minute at a time.
- There are at least a thousand people who would love your crummy job.
If you really want out, you can look for other opportunities while maintaining employment. But, go slow. I still believe the magic is in the risk-taking, but now more than ever, fortify your risks. And, while you wait, kiss that sweet paycheck for as long as you’ve got it.
It's Sam's book buying day…
February 18th, 2009
And every author knows it is a big deal to make sure that anyone who wants to buy the book, buys it on the same day. That’s how bestsellers are born.
This time, Sam Horn is teaching how to pitch and brand yourself. Here’s a little from Sam’s press release:
Discover why branding guru Seth Godin (Tribes) calls Sam’s Horn’s POP! Process “revolutionary” and how it can help you generate instant intrigue in what you have to say and sell. You don’t need an MBA or a multimillion-dollar budget to create attention-grabbing elevator speeches, POP-off-the-shelf products, stop-em-in-their-tracks ad campaigns, and memorable marketing messages. All you need is this anyone-can-do-this approach for making your communication Purposeful, Original, Pithy. You’ll learn:
The W9 Form: nine questions to crystallize a profitable purpose and stay on brand
The Eureka Moment: how to create the Next New Thing by being first-to-market
Contra-Brand: fly in the face of conventional wisdom by doing the opposite vs. the obvious
Tell-and-Sell Elevator Speech: innovative ways to answer the question, “What do you do?”
Muse It or Lose It: why it’s imperative to “Ink It When You Think It”
Half-and-Half Names: the best way to corner a niche is to coin your own word (i.e., Diabesity)
Get a Smile, Get a Sale: the more people laugh, the more they buy
The Eyebrow Test: the secret to having people at hello in the first 30 seconds
Check it out at: http://www.amazon.com/Pop-Create-Perfect-Tagline-Anything/dp/0399533613/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234894372&sr=8-1
Which cover do you like?
February 15th, 2009
Okay, we are trying to figure out which cover is best. I’ve got a few changes planned, but these are the four finalists. Send your thoughts to me at fgermer@gmail.com. I need all the help I can get!
Cover 1 Cover 2
Cover 3 Cover 4
I used to have a life. Now, I have Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.
February 14th, 2009
In the last month, I have noticed that I am spending more time interacting with my computer than with human beings. I sit in the middle of my family with my laptop set to Facebook or Twitter.
proposition the movie download
I am connecting and reconnecting with others, but the cost is too high. I am putting the most valuable connection on time-delay. “Just let me finish this real quick,” I heard myself saying.
Twitter first, you second. Facebook now, you later. Link-in to the e-friend, lose the link to reality. That is not good enough for people I love and it is not good enough for me. My life has always been one of adventure and engagement. This machine — I don’t care how it links me in to others — is compromising the most important links I have. I have been on the road all week and am more than 250 e-mails behind. People are writing me, asking why I haven’t written.
Fifteen years ago, I didn’t have any of this. I exercised more, went out more, saw people and even used the telephone to catch up. Now, I have this. It is not a worthy trade.
I will do my Facebook and my Twitter. I’ll stay Linked-in. But I’m going to opt out more. I know I have an Internet addiction. Do you?
Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of four books, including one that was featured on Oprah. Her next book, Finding the UP in the Downturn, will be released in March. She speaks internationally on leadership issues.
Why I didn't sleep last night
February 12th, 2009
I’m going to go long today. Hang with me.
If you know me at all, you know I am a endless optimist. I believe that things happen for a reason and everything works out in the end. I believe that you can see light when it is dark and that there is joy even when there is sadness and…
Right now, I am shaken. I had a very disturbing e-mail exchange yesterday with a woman I have worked with in the past who is an accomplished, respected consultant. This was the first round:
“I am trying to survive the challenges of the worst year of my life. I am the poster child for Obama’s economic recovery: downsized in July, unemployed for seven months, no unemployment benefits, no medical insurance, no money, at risk to lose my home of eighteen years. I work two part-time, minimum wage jobs (both of which I actually enjoy) because I can’t find gainful employment in my field and haven’t had enough consulting work to keep me afloat. My husband is in real estate – a story too bleak to repeat.
“We prop each other up emotionally, take great pride in our daughter’s accomplishments as a freshman in college, live life one day at a time, and try to feed our souls with various creative pursuits … Anyway, life goes on and you realize that you’re not your job, your title, your latest press release, your money, your clothes or many of the other characteristics we use to define ourselves. You lose enough ‘stuff’ and you realize that you now have the clearing to reinvent yourself. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
My response:
“I truly think that this chaos is happening so we re-evaluate what really matters and is important. The good thing is that we know we will never starve. We all have each other. And life has shown us that we have to trust the universe. Whatever bad we go through now will lead us to the next step and the next. I think we need to have faith that we will wind up going where we are supposed to go. But, I do know it is hard having faith when everything is so rough. These are dark times when we really see the beauty of family, our pets, nature, our memories, our faith. It’s either good or it is bad. I choose good. I think we will find out how strong and shrewd we are. I had an event in Chicago last night where I looked at all those women and said, ‘Our mamas didn’t raise us to be sissies.’ We will get through it. We got through last year, we will get through this year. Hang in there, sweet woman.”
She wrote back:
“Philosophically, I happen to agree with you. And all those little platitudes and truisms usually get me through the dark soul of the night. But it’s also hard for me to look out into some of those audiences, most of whom still have very privileged problems, when they have not got a clue what it is to be me right now. People think they know what hard feels like, but it’s been 30, 40, 50 years since their bank account only had $10 in it and they didn’t know where the next $10 was coming from. I’ve been working since I was 15 and never found myself in this situation before where neither I nor my husband have an income, haven’t had one for months, and there’s no reserve left. I used my last money to pay my daughter’s tuition and medical insurance and when that runs out, I don’t know what we more we can do for her either. My car will be repossessed next month and I guess I’ll pretend to be Abe Lincoln, walking six miles to work-my humble part-time minimum wage job. I worry when my daughter calls from school that she’s going to be calling for money and I won’t be able to send her any. As for starvation, I’ve actually lost 8 lbs. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you. But it’s a function of anxiety and let’s face it, how many PB&J’s can one person eat? And chicken soup for the soul only goes so far. Be well. Keep the faith.”
I have had at least 30 friends, relatives and acquaintances lose their jobs in the last few months, and I feel guilty when I start feeling down because of the cumulative weight of their bad news is so heavy. It is hard to hear it — but imagine living it.
This woman’s e-mails were harder to digest than anything I have heard or read in this crisis because I know her professional caliber and see so much of myself in her, and vice-versa. If this could happen to her…
I’ve started sending her resume around. If you know anyone who can use a marketing /communications expert, event planner or project manager, let me know asap at fawn@fawngermer.com . If you don’t, ask around. Or, at least, keep her in your thoughts and prayers. It’s 2009 and it is going to be a long, bumpy ride.
These are the good old days. Hang in there.
February 11th, 2009
When I was in my late 30s, I lamented how time was flying too quickly. One of my friends — who was in his fifties — told me that it would only fly faster.
“Your forties only last about fifteen minutes,” he said.
He was so right. I just turned 40 a day or two ago, and now I am 48. How did this happen?
The point is, next year I will be 49. The year after that, I will be 50. It doesn’t matter how good or bad times are, I am going to get older every single day. I had better enjoy these times, regardless.
It is so easy to fall into a depressive funk because times are so very, very hard . But, put a little joy in your days. You will never be this young again. How many years are you going to sacrifice to worry, struggle and fear? There is no question that these are not the best of times if you look at people’s bank accounts or credit ratings. Plans for long-term security have been shot. I know that some of you are wondering how you will make your bills this month, but have faith. You will get through this. You will. One day at a time, you will make it.
But, are you going to endure these tough years or are you going to live them? Because you get one chance at this life.
How can you find happiness when you feel like you are being pulled under? Remember the things that you love most. Your family. Your pets. The beach or the mountains, art or music — whatever it is that brings you joy in good times can bring you joy when things are hard. Take some time to write down a list of the ten best things in your life that are free, and use that list to help you find love and joy and life — no matter what else might be going wrong.
I’ve got my list: 1. God 2. Family 3. My dogs and cats 4. Friends 5. Kayaking in the Gulf 6. Walking in Clearwater and Dunedin 7. Writing 8. Sunsets over the Gulf 9. Cycling anywhere 10. Taking pictures
Whenever I start to see the darkness, I think about all the ways my life is blessed — and it is so blessed.
Take a minute to think of the things that bring you joy, and keep that list close. It is the difference between living and enduring.
Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of four books. Her fifth book, “Finding the UP in the Downturn,” will be released in March.
Fawn says: It's 2009. Quit complaining about work because, at least you have a job!
February 5th, 2009
This note came in my e-mail from an executive who recently hired me for a speech:
step brothers online “I’m mentoring someone who thinks her boss is stupid. He was brought in from outside. No more experience than her but really well connected and respected by our leadership.My take is she is sabotaging her career. Carrying around the burden of not respecting him or his position or his leadership and management. Focusing on the inequity of it. Carry it around in her attitude, her facial expressions and tone. She’s got a chip on her shoulder and it’s impacting her career in an immediate and detrimental way. It’s consuming so much energy to hang on to it and I’m trying to help her find tools to “give it up”. It is what is is, deal with it. Can you recommend a technique or a reading? I’m struggling to find a method that “fits” with her.”
My response: “Here is what I think you should tell her: “WAKE UP. It is 2009 and nobody has the luxury of a negative attitude in the workplace. NOBODY. You can always find one or two good traits in anybody, and focus on those instead of letting your anger and negativity backfire on you and hurt YOUR career. That is what I think. This economy demands a complete new set of behavioral rules from workers.”
I have done my time in corporate environments. I’ve seen undeserving people promoted above me and deserving people cast aside by incompetents. I know how that can destroy morale and make a person angry. Those things did affect me. But, we are working in an environment where we are being judged every day on the positive contribution we make to our workplace.
What have we seen after all of these millions of layoffs? That NO ONE is indispensable. If cuts are coming, who are they going to nail? Hopefully, the least competent. You will always get points for being a major contributor, but if you are a major pain in the arse at the same time, you will see just how expendable you really are. If you are working for someone you don’t respect, you can either find a new place to work for people you do respect (good luck in this market) or you can find a way to make peace with the situation.
My point is that this is NOT the time to be complaining about your job or your boss. You’ve got work? You are lucky. Kiss that paycheck every time you get it and hold tight until things settle down. There will be plenty of time to vent later. Right now, GET TO WORK!
Fawn Germer is the bestselling author of four books and one of America’s premier corporate leadership speakers. Her fifth book, “Finding the UP in the Downturn” will be released in March.”
It's not as if ol' Fawn Germer's been slackin' off…
February 4th, 2009
Sorry I am so behind on the blog. I finished my book last Friday and now am dealing with editors, designers and marketing people. It may sound chaotic, but it is so much fun. I seriously can’t believe I get to have this kind of a fun career. I will resume posting soon, but want to let you see a couple of the photos that we are considering for the cover. And the photo of the team getting me all gussied up. The photographer is incredible Lisa Presnail of South Tampa Photography. You can reach her at
727.871.2444
lisa@southtampaphotography.com 
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