Career Advice From Buffaloes and Cows

​Science alert: When cows see a storm coming, they wait for the storm to reach them. They then run in the direction that the storm is going, thinking erroneously that they can outrun the storm.  When buffaloes see a storm coming, they charge directly into the storm and then continue in that direction as the […]

Career Advice: Happy Work Stops Big Problems

​Jared is an attorney in New Haven, Connecticut.  He drinks two to three scotches per night and, on the weekend, will sometimes hit five or six.  I’m not sure if he is a functional alcoholic or just someone who drinks too much.  But when I asked him why he drinks so much, he responded that […]

How effective career counseling counters negativity bias

Alan has credentials and abilities that make him nearly invincible in the work place. This is not an overstatement. If Alan wins a Nobel Prize in the next 10 years, it would not be a surprise.   So why would Alan need career counseling? While successful in every conventional sense, Alan hates his work life. […]

Career Advice: Recognize that we are living in a revolution

We are in the midst of a work revolution. Revolution may seem to be a dramatic word for a 20 year gradual process.  But most revolutions take that long.  The Industrial Revolution was 75 years plus.  The Information Age Revolution began… when… with the personal computer? With the Internet? With e-mail?   In 1987, I […]

Career Changing Advice: How Not To Interview

I’m not a great interviewer for one basic reason: I root too hard for the interviewee.  I want to figure out how to make it work – “how can I help make your work life better?” – that’s a good mission for someone providing career guidance but perhaps not the best approach for someone running […]

Career Satisfaction: Be present

“You shouldn’t think so much.” So said Joe a seasoned hand on the assembly line.  I was 18.  It was the summer before I headed to college.   I was fortunate to get a high paying union job.  But the actual day was dreary.  I would either load boxes onto a pallet, until the pallet was […]