Jordan, I think it is a great idea to write about regular people, esp. because I am one -- graduated from college when unemployment was 10% and worked for 3 companies in a span of 9 years: 2 were acquired and 1 was to be acquired and I decided to leave it because the company was such as lousy employer. Severance packages didn't even exist then (80s) and I never even had an exit interview with HR. I decided to work on my own writing resumes and met this young man (now older) when he was still learning to speak fluent English. One thing I didn't clarify that may be of interest is that by not reprimanding his employee, he put his own job on the line. He's definitely a risk-taker and an overachiever but there is a message that you can pay attention to what's going on and take action.
Give me a bit and I will try to think of ways to help the average hardworker who's not a workaholic.
I think Julie's post applies to all employees, not just the superstars. Not all of us may be able to talk to the CEO, but we all have bosses we can talk to. I think the point of the article was to say that it's better to take action than hope you're not the one getting canned.
By approaching your boss BEFORE they initiate the laying off of people, you're making their jobs easier. It's one less uncomfortable "it's not you, it's us" talk they have to give. They will appreciate this. Perhaps not to the tune of a sweet severance package, but maybe a better reference letter than your no-action coworkers.
A couple of years ago, a friend was working as an HR person at a major theme park. They wanted to reduce headcount and offered everyone a chance to quit on their own and take a severance package OR risk getting laid off with no severance package. The writing was clearly on the wall, but my friend was surprised at how few people took the severance package. Sure enough, when the time came, not enough had people left on their own and many were laid off with no severance pay.
If your company is going through a tough time and are about to layoff people, leave on your own terms and you'll be better off than the people who stick their head in the sand and hope they're not on the chopping block.
When I went to trim my monthly spending, the first place I went snipping were the various monthly subscriptions I had. Do I really need netflix when I only watch 4 movies a month? No. Cancel. Do I still need that Safari bookshelf subscription? Well, I haven't visited the site in 6 months... so, cancel!
$20 here and there every month adds up pretty quickly.
Besides agreeing with Jordan, I would also point out that we ordinary workers see the signs that you mention but place our faith in management to do the "right thing" and look out for our interests in continued employment. All too typically they only want to look after themselves. So like Jordan I also ask, what if you can't just walk into a CEO office and ask for a term package. What advice for the ordinary worker can you offer, the guys and girls who live paycheck to paycheck?
I've been self-employed for over 10 years, too, and I found the toughest one (for a while) to be taking time off. Sounds strange because you're working for yourself, but I felt I had to be busy all the time.
Am I the only one who grows tired of job advice that's only directed at the extreme over-achievers? 90% of the working stiffs out there AREN'T reforming the company, driving up profits 300%, and introducing the boss to Vikram Yoga. Most of us go to work, do our job, and go home. And despite the blogosphere's rampant idealism regarding the ability to achieve your best if you just put your mind to it, the vast majority of people are not in positions that even ALLOW them to create such amazing results.
Howabout not focusing on people who could walk away from any job, regardless of how they left, and still be considered an extremely valuable recruit? Howabout a few articles for the rest of us that are simply average -- we're the ones, after all, who need the advice the most, but profit from this type of non-real-life situation article the least.
I've always been inclined toward investing for income rather than growth. A growth strategy has probably been the winning strategy more often than not for the past 70 or 80 years, but I trust income in a way that I don't trust growth.
The book made an impression on me when I read it, even though I didn't follow its advice in any direct way. As I say, the investment strategy aligns with my own natural inclinations, as does the underlying principle of considering whether the way you live your life matches your values.
The authors chose to live an incredibly frugal lifestyle--living on just a few thousand dollars a year--because that let them do what they wanted to do with their lives. But they're careful not to advocate that strategy too strongly. You get the sense reading it that they suspect most people would make similar choices if only they thought it through. They limit themselves, though, to urging their readers to do the thinking, without presupposing any particular result.
In my case, I watched a job I had volunteered to do – the position I was recruited for never materialized which was an early warning sign in and of itself – was increasingly marginalized through failure to act on recommendations and advice and by subtle erosion of my responsibilities and authority. It was clear that I was not able to make a contribution commensurate with my compensation.
To compound matters, there was increasing talk about cost containment, burn rate, and other "headcount cuts are imminent" talk bouncing around. It was clear that the situation was likely to go from bad to worse.
So I sat down with the CEO of the company, explained my concerns and asked for a separation package. I explained that I felt this was best both for the company and me and that it was purely business... nothing personal.
I walked away with an equitable agreement and severance package. A month later, the company laid off 25% of its staff including a couple of senior managers. Unlike them, I made my plans for future work at the same time I was conducting my separation and so had a smooth transition from full-time employment to consulting and freelance writing.
I'm now making more money and have a much greater degree of control over my own existence.
My advice? Keep your eyes open and your radar tuned. If thinks feel "bad" they may actually be. Trust your instincts and make sure you are prepared for circumstances beyond your control as well as you can be.
You only have to try the WII once and your Hooked. Best one out there and will be for some time to Come. If you Watched E3 Nintendo stood far and above all the others.
My roommate has a 360 and, so far as I know, hasn't had a problem with it yet. He's had it since May. It's fairly cool because of all of its media-browsing capabilities and I would own one myself, eventually, but XBOX (original or 360) has never put out enough games for me to warrant it. I bought my original XBOX years ago and never collected more than 5 games for it.
My PS2 is going strong and my next console purchase will definitely be a PS3 (or another PS2 if this one happens to die). It is just too expensive and too new right now and there are not enough games for it just yet that take advantage of its next-gen capabilities.
The Wii, like all Nintendo consoles, is best for groups of people and for kids. I will buy one when I have a few little ones running around but until then, no thanks. I run into the same problem here as I do with xbox: no games for ME. That doesn't make either a bad console (I know a ton of people who love their Wii) but all of its bells and whistles don't do me a lot of good.
We make a fair amount of our monthly income from this strategy. It's really powerful. Once you realize there are investments out there you don't have to wait to be 80 to enjoy, it really motivates you to save and start receiving dividends and interest payments early. Sure beats any toy you could buy to have the ability to "row your own boat" so to speak.
so if it says minimum purchase $35, and you have a $25 gift certificate that you bought for $10, that means you can spend $35 at the restaurant, and your end purchase price is actually $20.
is that right? the help section isn't all that helpful!
I like that the last comment dealt with pork and chicken . . . apple sauce is a great condiment to have with meats, particularly those two.
Also, if you like it tart, crab apple sauce can be a way to go. It can also make for a denser sauce which keeps things from being to wet when you use it as a fat substitute in baking. If you can it in smaller amounts, you can also have it available that way for baking each week throughout the cooler months.
Also, you can save your cores and peels in smaller bags in the freezer (if you have the room, otherwise just do it after you core and peel them). When you want a quick little bit of free yummy aromatherapy, just toss them in a little mini-crock with some cinnamon and water. Smells great!
ROCG is attempting learn more about the issues of private business succession.
There is a potential impending crisis that is being driven by the aging of the baby boomers. Within the next 10 years, close to 2 out of every 3 small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), will be transferred as the baby boomer owners look to cash out. On top of this, we will also have the many non-owner boomers who will be exiting from the workforce at the same time.
There are many unanswered questions for Small and Medium-Sized businesses on how and when to exit their businesses. ROCG, a Global Consulting Group, is trying to better understand the severity of the hurdles and challenges you will soon be facing in order to identify potential patterns that lead a business transition to either a successful outcome or to one of failure.
With that in mind, we would greatly appreciate a few minutes of your time to participate in our international survey. ROCG is committed to maintaining the privacy of its clients and participants.
To take the survey, please click on the following link - http://www.business-transition.com/survey and please use the assigned code of A62 on question #44 to tabulate your answers properly for the survey.
We want to ensure you of our commitment to providing the highest level of professional service in this area and look forward to your participation in the survey.
Oh. My. God. Oh this is priceless. Reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live with Dan Akroyd's Halloween costumes...Johnny Bag O Glass. I'll be laughing about this all day. Please tell me that no one will actually do this. Oh, anyone who doesn't believe Darwin had a point needs to pay attention...
I've been self-employed for over 10 years now and I've struggled with all the items you've mentioned: being organized (not my strength), dealing with the difficult and unprofitable client, and avoiding distractions have been my biggest problems. I've gotten much, much better over the years but it is definitely harder than it seems. I have learned (finally) that managing a business AND providing a service/product (combined) can be overwhelming. You've mentioned all the things that are essential to doing both well.
Excellent remarks. Similiar thing happened tp me when the company I worked for which was part of a large corporation was sold to the GM. He was under-capitalized and it became apparent early on I wouldn't be in future plans. I walked ... he failed and life continues. Most important advise recognize what's going on AND don't get angry...this is an opportunity.
I was kind of wondering the same thing... I'm always hesitant to reuse containers as food storage if not intended as such. Plastic grocery bags have a warning printed right on them that they are not intended for food storage. I've always wondered if this is because of the possibility of chemicals leaching into the food or because the bags are dirty.
Jordan, I think it is a great idea to write about regular people, esp. because I am one -- graduated from college when unemployment was 10% and worked for 3 companies in a span of 9 years: 2 were acquired and 1 was to be acquired and I decided to leave it because the company was such as lousy employer. Severance packages didn't even exist then (80s) and I never even had an exit interview with HR. I decided to work on my own writing resumes and met this young man (now older) when he was still learning to speak fluent English. One thing I didn't clarify that may be of interest is that by not reprimanding his employee, he put his own job on the line. He's definitely a risk-taker and an overachiever but there is a message that you can pay attention to what's going on and take action.
Give me a bit and I will try to think of ways to help the average hardworker who's not a workaholic.
It's hard to take an article seriously when the title end in "at." I know it's more acceptable now but it sounds terrible.
It's a fabulous deal. Spread the word, let's get as many people a discount as we can before this one ends.
Great coupon. I found a nice set of bedsheets in the clearance section for 36.50, so with the coupon it was only 6.50, no tax and no shipping!
Many thanks
I think Julie's post applies to all employees, not just the superstars. Not all of us may be able to talk to the CEO, but we all have bosses we can talk to. I think the point of the article was to say that it's better to take action than hope you're not the one getting canned.
By approaching your boss BEFORE they initiate the laying off of people, you're making their jobs easier. It's one less uncomfortable "it's not you, it's us" talk they have to give. They will appreciate this. Perhaps not to the tune of a sweet severance package, but maybe a better reference letter than your no-action coworkers.
A couple of years ago, a friend was working as an HR person at a major theme park. They wanted to reduce headcount and offered everyone a chance to quit on their own and take a severance package OR risk getting laid off with no severance package. The writing was clearly on the wall, but my friend was surprised at how few people took the severance package. Sure enough, when the time came, not enough had people left on their own and many were laid off with no severance pay.
If your company is going through a tough time and are about to layoff people, leave on your own terms and you'll be better off than the people who stick their head in the sand and hope they're not on the chopping block.
Great thoughts Phillip!
When I went to trim my monthly spending, the first place I went snipping were the various monthly subscriptions I had. Do I really need netflix when I only watch 4 movies a month? No. Cancel. Do I still need that Safari bookshelf subscription? Well, I haven't visited the site in 6 months... so, cancel!
$20 here and there every month adds up pretty quickly.
Besides agreeing with Jordan, I would also point out that we ordinary workers see the signs that you mention but place our faith in management to do the "right thing" and look out for our interests in continued employment. All too typically they only want to look after themselves. So like Jordan I also ask, what if you can't just walk into a CEO office and ask for a term package. What advice for the ordinary worker can you offer, the guys and girls who live paycheck to paycheck?
I've been self-employed for over 10 years, too, and I found the toughest one (for a while) to be taking time off. Sounds strange because you're working for yourself, but I felt I had to be busy all the time.
Am I the only one who grows tired of job advice that's only directed at the extreme over-achievers? 90% of the working stiffs out there AREN'T reforming the company, driving up profits 300%, and introducing the boss to Vikram Yoga. Most of us go to work, do our job, and go home. And despite the blogosphere's rampant idealism regarding the ability to achieve your best if you just put your mind to it, the vast majority of people are not in positions that even ALLOW them to create such amazing results.
Howabout not focusing on people who could walk away from any job, regardless of how they left, and still be considered an extremely valuable recruit? Howabout a few articles for the rest of us that are simply average -- we're the ones, after all, who need the advice the most, but profit from this type of non-real-life situation article the least.
I've always been inclined toward investing for income rather than growth. A growth strategy has probably been the winning strategy more often than not for the past 70 or 80 years, but I trust income in a way that I don't trust growth.
The book made an impression on me when I read it, even though I didn't follow its advice in any direct way. As I say, the investment strategy aligns with my own natural inclinations, as does the underlying principle of considering whether the way you live your life matches your values.
The authors chose to live an incredibly frugal lifestyle--living on just a few thousand dollars a year--because that let them do what they wanted to do with their lives. But they're careful not to advocate that strategy too strongly. You get the sense reading it that they suspect most people would make similar choices if only they thought it through. They limit themselves, though, to urging their readers to do the thinking, without presupposing any particular result.
In my case, I watched a job I had volunteered to do – the position I was recruited for never materialized which was an early warning sign in and of itself – was increasingly marginalized through failure to act on recommendations and advice and by subtle erosion of my responsibilities and authority. It was clear that I was not able to make a contribution commensurate with my compensation.
To compound matters, there was increasing talk about cost containment, burn rate, and other "headcount cuts are imminent" talk bouncing around. It was clear that the situation was likely to go from bad to worse.
So I sat down with the CEO of the company, explained my concerns and asked for a separation package. I explained that I felt this was best both for the company and me and that it was purely business... nothing personal.
I walked away with an equitable agreement and severance package. A month later, the company laid off 25% of its staff including a couple of senior managers. Unlike them, I made my plans for future work at the same time I was conducting my separation and so had a smooth transition from full-time employment to consulting and freelance writing.
I'm now making more money and have a much greater degree of control over my own existence.
My advice? Keep your eyes open and your radar tuned. If thinks feel "bad" they may actually be. Trust your instincts and make sure you are prepared for circumstances beyond your control as well as you can be.
You only have to try the WII once and your Hooked. Best one out there and will be for some time to Come. If you Watched E3 Nintendo stood far and above all the others.
The title is from the song "Last Night" by The Traveling Wilbury's.
My roommate has a 360 and, so far as I know, hasn't had a problem with it yet. He's had it since May. It's fairly cool because of all of its media-browsing capabilities and I would own one myself, eventually, but XBOX (original or 360) has never put out enough games for me to warrant it. I bought my original XBOX years ago and never collected more than 5 games for it.
My PS2 is going strong and my next console purchase will definitely be a PS3 (or another PS2 if this one happens to die). It is just too expensive and too new right now and there are not enough games for it just yet that take advantage of its next-gen capabilities.
The Wii, like all Nintendo consoles, is best for groups of people and for kids. I will buy one when I have a few little ones running around but until then, no thanks. I run into the same problem here as I do with xbox: no games for ME. That doesn't make either a bad console (I know a ton of people who love their Wii) but all of its bells and whistles don't do me a lot of good.
We make a fair amount of our monthly income from this strategy. It's really powerful. Once you realize there are investments out there you don't have to wait to be 80 to enjoy, it really motivates you to save and start receiving dividends and interest payments early. Sure beats any toy you could buy to have the ability to "row your own boat" so to speak.
I'll have to check this title out.
Oh my god re: looks like shrek. Can't think of a more...uh..cute..insult! (recovering from fit of laughter)
Joann Hong
at restaurants.com. And with the coupon you pay $3 for a $25 certificate, not $10. You're basically saving $22 on a meal.
so if it says minimum purchase $35, and you have a $25 gift certificate that you bought for $10, that means you can spend $35 at the restaurant, and your end purchase price is actually $20.
is that right? the help section isn't all that helpful!
Hi Andrea.
I like that the last comment dealt with pork and chicken . . . apple sauce is a great condiment to have with meats, particularly those two.
Also, if you like it tart, crab apple sauce can be a way to go. It can also make for a denser sauce which keeps things from being to wet when you use it as a fat substitute in baking. If you can it in smaller amounts, you can also have it available that way for baking each week throughout the cooler months.
Also, you can save your cores and peels in smaller bags in the freezer (if you have the room, otherwise just do it after you core and peel them). When you want a quick little bit of free yummy aromatherapy, just toss them in a little mini-crock with some cinnamon and water. Smells great!
Love the shrunken apple face. Great post.
Dear Wisebread Blog Members,
ROCG is attempting learn more about the issues of private business succession.
There is a potential impending crisis that is being driven by the aging of the baby boomers. Within the next 10 years, close to 2 out of every 3 small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), will be transferred as the baby boomer owners look to cash out. On top of this, we will also have the many non-owner boomers who will be exiting from the workforce at the same time.
There are many unanswered questions for Small and Medium-Sized businesses on how and when to exit their businesses. ROCG, a Global Consulting Group, is trying to better understand the severity of the hurdles and challenges you will soon be facing in order to identify potential patterns that lead a business transition to either a successful outcome or to one of failure.
With that in mind, we would greatly appreciate a few minutes of your time to participate in our international survey. ROCG is committed to maintaining the privacy of its clients and participants.
To take the survey, please click on the following link - http://www.business-transition.com/survey and please use the assigned code of A62 on question #44 to tabulate your answers properly for the survey.
We want to ensure you of our commitment to providing the highest level of professional service in this area and look forward to your participation in the survey.
Thank you for your participation in the survey.
Warm regards,
ROCG consultants
Thanks for stopping by, Jen. You run an awesome site and I was glad to feature you ;)
Oh. My. God. Oh this is priceless. Reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live with Dan Akroyd's Halloween costumes...Johnny Bag O Glass. I'll be laughing about this all day. Please tell me that no one will actually do this. Oh, anyone who doesn't believe Darwin had a point needs to pay attention...
I've been self-employed for over 10 years now and I've struggled with all the items you've mentioned: being organized (not my strength), dealing with the difficult and unprofitable client, and avoiding distractions have been my biggest problems. I've gotten much, much better over the years but it is definitely harder than it seems. I have learned (finally) that managing a business AND providing a service/product (combined) can be overwhelming. You've mentioned all the things that are essential to doing both well.
Excellent remarks. Similiar thing happened tp me when the company I worked for which was part of a large corporation was sold to the GM. He was under-capitalized and it became apparent early on I wouldn't be in future plans. I walked ... he failed and life continues. Most important advise recognize what's going on AND don't get angry...this is an opportunity.
I was kind of wondering the same thing... I'm always hesitant to reuse containers as food storage if not intended as such. Plastic grocery bags have a warning printed right on them that they are not intended for food storage. I've always wondered if this is because of the possibility of chemicals leaching into the food or because the bags are dirty.