Here are links to the articles that were read the most during the Month of July, 2008:
Thank you for visiting my blog!
I invite you to visit my new website offering “Tips and Time-savers for MS Excel”
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
- John Wooden
I remember my mother telling me, “You have to go to college. You need to acquire the knowledge that will last you for your lifetime.”
That’s the way it used to be. When you left school, you stopped learning. You started to work. And you worked for the same company until you retired. And then you _____.
Not today.
Learning for a lifetime will not equip us to remain vital – and employed. Rather, we need to invest in ourselves – committing to a lifetime of learning. Well, at least a significant part of our lifetime!
But – here’s the key – learning doesn’t stop. We can decide to stop learning. But economic forces, a global economy and a rapidly changing world demand that we continue to learn new skills. To reinvent ourselves periodically. To adapt to change.
I have been devoting some time to developing my new website – filming short video lessons of MS Excel tipsand time savers. During development, I have asked several friends and colleagues to review the videos and to give me feedback. Many write back to say:
“Wow! I didn’t realize that you could do that. I’ve been wasting a lot of time doing it the wrong way.”
“If only I knew this sooner. I could have saved two hours preparing my last report.”
“I didn’t realize what I didn’t know.”
“I knew that I needed to improve my Excel skills, but I didn’t know where to begin.”
I gain a lot of satisfaction from my career as a trainer and speaker. I love to see someone in my class have an “A ha!” moment. I love to see the light bulb of learning flash on. I enjoy helping people to learn.
And… I enjoy learning. I try to live my lifetime learning – and growing.
How about you? What are your thoughts on the topic of continuing education and professional development?
Please share your comments with our readers. Add a few words in the comment box below. I no longer require you to be registered in order to add your comments.
Recently, I invited a colleague to visit my blog and to offer his suggestions.
I had to work hard to get my friend to even consider reading my blog (he told me that he avoided “blogs” as a matter of principle – he is a journalist by way of explanation.)
He did visit this blog and then he (attempted) to offer me his comments. Unfortunately, I had made it too difficult for him to add his comments. I had required readers to “register” on my site before they could add a comment.
No longer!
I have opened the doors. Anyone can now contribute comments on any of my blogs – without having to register!
I need to thank my friend for bringing this customer irritation to my attention. I just wonder how many other readers I needlessly irritated.
I heard the complaint and I responded – I made the change. It made perfect sense to do so!
I have not been on vacation. I have been very busy launching my new blog – Danny Rocks Excels! This blog offers “Tips and Time-Savers” when using MS Excel for Windows.
When you have a few minutes, I invite you to visit. There are now 15 short video lessons posted on the site. My goal is to create a 3 to 4 minute video for each concept. So far so good!
I have asked several colleagues to review the site and give me feedback. They write to tell me that they enjoy viewing a “short and sweet” lesson on a single concept.
After you visit the site, let me know what you think. I welcome your feedback.
Last night I was watching an old CSI episode. Greg Sanders was demanding that his boss, Gil Grissom make a decision.
(I am paraphrasing here) “Tell me what you have decided. Do I remain in the lab? Or can I start to work full-time in the field?”
Grissom (paraphrased) “Greg – when you have hired and trained your replacement, you can start to work full-time in the field.”
It’s that simple!
If you want to move forward in your career, you must look for, hire (figuratively) and train your replacement.
I wrote an article on this subject last year – “The Best Career Advice – Ever!” Here is an excerpt:
“Want to get ahead in your career? Make your boss replaceable. Start solving their problems. Don’t continue to bring them your problems, bring them possible solutions. Let them see that they are replaceable – by you! Let them move up a rung on the career ladder. And if they are smart, they will bring you along with them on the journey up. They will be your mentor.”
Follow this advice. It’s guaranteed to work every time!
Here are links to the articles that were read the most on my website during the month of June, 2008
Thank you for visiting my site!
There is a very unflattering picture of Sen. John McCain in this morning’s edition of The New York Times.
Before you jump to any conclusions … This is not a political blog. And the picture in the paper was chosen intentionally – to illustrate a specific point:
Sen. McCain is not a natural orator. His speaking technique is below average. He should avoid standing behind a lectern whenever he delivers a speech.
His “off-the-cuff” candor when speaking is a closed setting was enough to get him to this point in the campaign.
His stiff, under rehearsed, forced style of speaking in larger settings will not get him to where he wants to go – to be elected President.
In my opinion.
The NY Times article by Mark Leibovich is an excellent case study about the realities of speaking in public today – in the real world of “YouTube” moments. A world where every mistep and every malaprop is monitored, magnified, and memorialized.
What is a candidate to do? What should you do – to minimize the possibility of a “YouTube moment” sabotageing your career?
Practice, practice, practice!
“Every great shot you hit, you’ve already hit a bunch of times in practice.” – Martina Navratilova
Make you mistakes during your practice sessions. Speak your key phrases aloud. Over and over again. To the point that you, personally, can no longer stand listening to your speech. That’s how much you have to practice if:
To quote from Mark Leibovich’s NYT article:
“But when Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, came to the intended sound bite of his speech — the part about reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil — he hit a slick.
“I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lex-eegton Project,” Mr. McCain said, drawing a quick breath and correcting himself. “The Lex-ing-ton Proj-ect,” he said slowly. “The Lexington Project,” he repeated. “Remember that name.”
In a town meeting in Cincinnati the next day, Mr. McCain would again slip up on the name of the Massachusetts town, where, he noted, “Americans asserted their independence once before.” He called it “the Lexiggdon Project” and twice tried to fix his error before flipping the name (“Project Lexington”) in subsequent references.
Mr. McCain’s battle of Lexington is part of a struggle he is engaged in every day. A politician who has thrived in the give-and-take settings of campaign buses, late-night TV couches and town meetings, he now is trying to meet the more formal speaking demands of a general election campaign.”
Unless Sen. McCain seriously commits himself to a program to improve his public speaking … Well, let’s just remind him of how President George W. Bush’s continued mispronunciation of the word “nuclear” has solidified his image – and it is not a image that I would want for myself.
Practice is not fun. Nor is it fun to watch or listen to a recording littered with “awkward speaking moments.”
Especially, when you are the one who did the speaking!
Related Articles:
As I continue to develop content for The Company Rocks I am creating specialized blogs to meet your specialized needs.
Introducing the new PowerPoints blog – http://www.thecompanyrocks.com/powerpoints
The focus for this blog is to offer tips that help you to improve your communications skills.
Yes, I will share tips and techniques to help you get the most our of MS PowerPoint. But, this is not a blog that is limited to MS PowerPoint.
MS PowerPoint is just one tool that you may use to help you craft and deliver a powerful message.
Remember these PowerPoints:
Your MS PowerPoint slides are not your message
MS PowerPoint does not deliver your message. You do!
Therefore, the tips and techniques that I share with you to get the most out of MS PowerPoint have a unified message:
“How will this tip help me to make a Powerful Point?”
Click here to visit the PowerPoints blog.
I have posted my first video lesson on the blog. Check back frequently for new articles and video demonstrations.
“The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.”
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton
I’ve been exposed to some great teachers during my lifetime. They have, indeed, inspired me to teach myself; to continue to learn and grow.
But there are times when I need to have a good coach by my side to help smooth out the learning curve.
Case in point: I am learning to use a new software program. This program enables me to record training videos which I then upload to my website. Sounds pretty straight forward. Except it isn’t – for me at least!
I spent the better part of yesterday, searching through on-line help websites; reading the users manual for the program; trying one option after another to get the files uploaded properly. It took me hours and hours of trial and error before I succeeded.
OK, so now I know how to perform this task – I’m over the learning curve for this part of the program.
But… did the learning curve have to be so steep?
No… I needed a coach to help me achieve what I wanted to achieve. Quickly, professionally, and interactively. I was more than willing to pay for the coach’s services. There was just one problem…
The “live” coaches for this program took the day off. They were relaxing with friends and family over the 4th of July weekend.
I was not relaxing. I was climbing a steep learning curve.
A good coach – at the right time – would have made the learning curve much smoother. I learned another lesson while trying to learn this software program.
Welcome! This is my new blog – www.thecompanyrocks.com/excels – devoted exclusively to illustrating “tips & time-savers” for using Microsoft Excel.
I train individuals and groups to get the most out of MS Excel for Windows. My clients range from students to Fortune 500 executives. I have trained clients in a variety of industries in the United States, Canada and Australia. Each training session is tailored to meet the specific needs of the group or individual.
Most of my clients realize that they are only using a tiny fraction of Excel’s powerful features. And… they want to learn how to tap into Excel’s power in order to:
On this blog, I will share my tips with you. Each lesson will be brief; direct to the point.
One of the most important set of tips that I can share is “how do I perform my familiar routines in the latest version of Excel – v. 2007?”
The current version is quite different – to say the least! Many clients are intimidated by the radically different interface. I will help you to transition to the new version – when you are ready.
So, check in often to see the latest tips that I add to the blog. And… please, feel free to share your own tips and time-savers” with our readers. And… ask questions. I will answer them individually as quickly as I can.
Sincerely,
Danny Rocks
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Mar | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |||
