July 2006 Archives

A new daily source of distraction is videoblog Rocketboom. I discovered the blog after the hoopla that original anchor, Amanda Congdon was leaving the show. Since then, I've been totally hooked. Also now looking for other cool vblogs. Does anyone have any recommendations?

So, does anyone else out there think that we are in the early stages of World War III? In the past few years we have had terrorist bombings in New York, Madrid, London and Bali. Plus, there is military action underway in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and in the last few weeks, Israel and Lebanon. Conflict is also looming with Iran and North Korea. Plus millions of people in world are dying from HIV/AIDs and starvation. So one has to ponder -- are these the last days? I'm not one to get all alarmists and suggest a possible Armageddon, but things are getting worst in world. The war on terror is not working. In fact, I think it’s totally giving Islamist extremists more ammunition as they wage war on western culture and society. Plus as the world's leading nations are distracted by all these various military conflicts, they are failing to address the needs of the world's poor. Long term, this does not bode well for our society.

Ever since I got the new bed and put on the new comforter, Choo-Choo has been spending a great deal of time in my bed. As a result, I made a discovery. Choo-Choo snores. The first time it happened, I almost fell out of the bed laughing. I mean here is this 12lb cat that had the bed rattling. So I'm curious, does anyone else out there have a cat that snores? I'm assuming he's ok heathwise, as I recently took him in for his annual physical and various vaccinations, but I just think it’s rather odd.

Almost seven months after the first date, I went on a second date with IT Guy. We had spoken a few times this year and so agreed to a second date. I just needed to make sure that I wasn't being foolish by not wanting to take things further.

I insisted on a lunch date as if the situation wasn't going well, I wanted an exit that wouldn't be uncomfortable to both. And thank goodness, I insisted on that. He was quite pleasant and personable, but 10 minutes into lunch, I just knew that my original instincts were right.

Why you ask? Well, let's just say that I wasn't particularly attracted to him. Now considering that I've been rejected in the past for superficial reasons, I'm not one to discount someone for looks alone. I've said time and time again, that my only physical requirement is that the guy be tall and even that usually gets thrown out the window if the guy is honest, sincere, intelligent, hardworking, personable, and has things going on in life.

That said, I've suddenly developed an obsession with teeth and if a person has bad teeth, then it’s a no go. A gap between the teeth like I had for many years is totally acceptable. However, if they are crocked, majorly discolored and simply missing, that is a no go. Dental work is expensive but if you can afford to buy an apartment in London or go on fancy vacations, you sure as hell should be able to afford to take care of your teeth. Goodness man, just get them cleaned.

Beyond that, he also had me running when not more than 20 minutes into the conversation; he asked me where I wanted to raise my kids. Hello, it's only a second date! I don't know, maybe, I over reacted, but thinking it’s a bit early to be talking about such matters.

So single I remain. And in all honestly, I’m totally comfortable with that. Yes, I’d like a boyfriend who would eventually become my husband and father of my children but I’m not willing to settle not with someone who has displayed stalker qualities. I mean, if you call someone not once, but seven times and they don't return your calls, wouldn't that be a major hint that they are not interested? Goodness man!

I won't go into the specific details of what happened at work to cause my potential resignation without having another job lined up -- but one of the major contributing factors was the level of whining at work by colleagues. Now I'm not going to pretend like I never participated in any of the bitch fests (everyone does at some point in their tenure with an organization). However, the real difference is that if the reason of the moan has direct impact on my ability to do my job, instead of just whining about something, I try and think of a protential solution that would be a win win for employees and management. Now if management is not receptive even if the alternative makes good business sense, then that's a whole other ballgame. One then has to decide for themselves whether it makes good sense to remain loyal to the organization. Because really, life is too short to be subjected to a bitchfest every day. It is simply not good for ones mental health and general outlook on life.

Good moaning: how whining at work can be productive By Lucy Kellaway

Financial Times, Published: July 17 2006 03:00 | Last updated: July 17 2006 03:00

The last time I had my highlights done, my hairdresser told me he had just hired a life coach. This coach, he said as he slapped colour on to sections of my hair, was brilliant and was helping him work on his integrity.

The news troubled me for two reasons. First, I don't want my hairdresser to work on his integrity. One of the things I most like about him is the way he throws integrity to the wind and tells me that I look wonderful. Every time the tin foil comes off he exclaims over how the gold has warmed up the silver - in defiance of the harsh truth that the yellowish dye has covered up a bit more of the rampaging grey.

It was also troubling because it made me wonder if there is anyone left in the world without a coach.

A colleague in the US tells me that even students now have career coaches. Most of my acquaintances in business seem to have executive coaches. And two of my friends have recently gone a step further - they have become coaches.

I even have a coach myself, although how this came about I'm not sure as I don't pay the man and have never met him. He is called Sean McPeat and has taken it upon himself to send me monthly coaching e-mails.

His most recent message is all about moaning. This is a subject that I know a lot about after decades as a practitioner.

Sean's concern is to help me eradicate moaners from my team and turn them into a team of "pro-active do-ers". He tells me about one German company where moaning has been made illegal. "Lucy - how many people would be left in your company if you had a '3 Moans And You're Out' policy? Not many maybe?" He then signs off "To your success. Sean".

Sean is right. There would be precious few people left in my office if moaning were outlawed. Yet what he doesn't grasp is that these would not be ones I care to work with. I know just three colleagues who never, ever moan and all are slightly spooky -

I wouldn't trust any of them an inch.

Moaning is an expression of pain and misery, or at least of fed-upness. It is part of the human condition as seen in offices. Generally, it comes without any suggestion of remedy and is entirely negative.

But this does not make it a bad thing; as a general rule, if you take the negative away, the positive means much less. And the simple act of moaning (if done correctly, and I'll explain how in a minute) can even lessen the fed-upness a bit.

While a little moaning can be good, a great deal is always awful. People who moan a lot are a bore to themselves, and lethal to others. In fact, I find heavy-moaning workmates even more toxic than ones who are lazy, spiteful or back-stabbing. Moaning is a bit like salt in the diet. You need some of it to bring out the taste in your food. Yet too much is fatal.

Blogging has been light these past few weeks as I was seriously contemplating my professional career. Things came to a head last Wednesday when I basically walked out. To make sure that I stuck to my decision, I sent management a lengthy email later that night explaining my decision. Then on Thursday, I received calls from two levels in the management structure asking me to reconsider. So I have a big decision to make this upcoming week. Regardless of what happens, I've made the decision to pursue getting a graduate degree next year. Not sure yet if I'll go full or part-time. I suspect it will depend on what happens in the next few weeks and months . Either way, with 20+ years of work ahead of me before I retire, I want to get an MBA to better ensure progression in my career. Plus I'd like to work in other parts of the world and having an MBA will help that process. More importantly, after so many years of being in the wilderness as to what to do with myself professionally, I finally have clarity. So instead of fretting about my age (I'll be 37 when I enroll) and how this might affect my chances for having a family, I'm just going to go for it. God has a plan for us all and I just have to trust that things will work themselves out in the end.

I'm not surprised to read that more and more people are using a life or career coach – particularly recent graduates. Most students are focused on meeting all the requirements to get the degree, that they often don't put any real thought into how they'd like to use that degree upon completion. This is a real shame when you consider that a four year University degree cost about $120,000 when you total up: tuition, student fees and living expenses. With that, I'm really surprised that schools that offer liberal arts programs aren't requiring students to participate in self-awareness/career development workshops to figure out how their skills can translate in the work world. Thinking if schools had a class that focused on this --even as early as freshman year -- that in the long run, they'd have more satisfied customers. Plus, there wouldn't be so many unhappy people out there in the work world.

Graduates who need a coach to find a career By Rebecca Knight

Financial Times, Published: July 17 2006 18:35 | Last updated: July 17 2006 18:35

Grant Adams had always planned on a career as a professional American football player. A star wide receiver at Boston College, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles the summer after he graduated. But after pulling his hamstring and spraining his ankle during pre-season practice, he was cut from the team.

“It was then that I realised that I should probably start thinking about jobs in the corporate world,” says Mr Adams. “But I felt like I needed a refresher on how to go about it.”

So he did what an increasing number of new college graduates are doing: he hired a professional career services firm to help him with his job search. “I feel like I am making a ton of strides,” says Mr Adams, who is looking for work in financial sales. “I am learning how to interview and how to talk about myself to employers. I’ve realised that a lot of things I did playing college football – being part of a team, being competitive, dealing with high-pressure situations – is a lot like a job.”

Career coaches have long been used by established professionals looking to make a job change. But today, newly minted college graduates (and their parents) have begun enlisting career counsellors and consultants to help them compete for entry-level jobs.

Hayden-Wilder, the Boston-based consultancy, has been in business for a little over 10 months and has already helped 150 students – including Mr Adams – make the leap from the classroom to the world of work. The firm offers several packages, costing from $850 to $2,950 depending on the number of sessions involved, designed to help new job searchers polish their curricula vitae and cover letters and develop interviewing and networking skills.

“Successful products have a brand story and the same is true for job candidates,” says D.A. Hayden, a partner in the firm and a former marketer. “We work with clients to help them communicate the key messages of what they’re about to employers.” The goal, she says, is to help graduates “build a story out of their experiences”.

Take a recent graduate whose primary work experience encompasses several summers as a camp counsellor. “Those experiences mean that, as a worker, they can handle a lot of responsibility, they are good at teamwork and they have leadership skills,” says Ms Hayden. “So much of this is about presentation and learning how to talk about themselves in a compelling and engaging way.”

Boston-based Frank Faggiano began a one-to-one career coaching service for recent college graduates three years ago and has since helped more than 35 graduates find their first jobs.

He says he tends to focus on liberal arts graduates “who don’t have a clue what they want to do”.

“A lot of what I do is build their confidence and give them encouragement,” says Mr Faggiano, who charges between $3,000 and $6,000. “I am helping kids understand that they’re better than they think they are.”

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a group of corporate recruiters and career counsellors, job prospects are up 14.5 per cent over last year for the latest crop of graduates. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for people over the age of 25 with at least a Bachelor’s degree is 2.1 per cent.

In spite of these encouraging statistics, career coaches say today’s college graduates have led programmed, structured lives and therefore need personalised attention navigating the job search.

“This generation in particular is used to having one-on-one customised help. They have grown up with personal trainers and private tutors. This is a natural extension of that,” says Christine Cookman, who with Jen Zobel Beiber runs Making The Leap, a career coaching service in West­chester, New York state.

Still, some career experts are doubtful that these services are worth the cost. After all, points out Cynthia Parker, director of career services at Colby College in Maine, parents are spending extra for services that are available to students and alumni of most colleges and universities. “In most cases, students can go back to their school – either in person or in a virtual way – and get that extra help.” They have already paid for it, since it was included in the cost of their education, she adds.

Ms Parker is worried that these services coddle new graduates by not allowing them to develop job-searching skills on their own.

“We have a generation of students whose parents are very involved in their lives and their schooling,” she says. “It can turn around to bite them if there is always someone else taking the initiative.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006

One of the things that drive me crazy about my current work environment is the layout of the office. It's open plan. I know this allows the company to put more people into the space, but it sometimes makes for a really unproductive work environment. Furthermore, thinking the money they save on space will amount to peanuts when you factor in the amount of money lost by lower employee output. Thus, cramming people in like sardines should be such a no-no – particularly for public companies that are always talking about increasing shareholder value. That's not going to happen if people are constantly being distracted from working.

Companies squeeze more staff in same office space By Jim Pickard, Property Correspondent

Financial Times, Published: July 18 2006 03:00 | Last updated: July 18 2006 03:00

Claustrophobic office workers beware. Companies are squeezing ever more staff into the same amount of space in an effort to cut costs, a report has revealed.

The trend could have profound consequences, not only for people's personal space but also for the wider commercial property industry.

Typical allocations of 140 to 190 sq ft per person are being cut to 120 to 130sq ft as bosses try to pack more staff into buildings, according to a study by Knight Frank, the estate agent. If the trend continued, it could thwart landlords' hopes of rising rents in the coming years, according to Catherine Penman, head of research at the agency.

"The implication of the research is that the property market can no longer rely solely on economic growth to soak up excess space," she said. Accommodation typically accounts for about 10 per cent of a company's costs.

David Carruthers, CEO for BetonSports, was arrested earlier this week by the FBI for illegal gambling. This is all part of their efforts to stamp out online gambling in the United States. To me this just seems daff. Now I'm not a fan of gambling period, but to think that they can shut down a billion dollar industry just doesn't make sense to me. Provided the participants are of legal age and are using their own funds willingly, I have no problem with vendors like BetonSports, providing the service. This crusade smacks of prohibition and we all know how successful that campaign was. Personally, I think the government needs to figure out how to get their share of the revenue and move on. It too late to turn the clock back when it comes to online gambling.

BetonSports chief faces US charges of racketeering By Roger Blitz in London and Alexander Kliment in Washington

Financial Times, Published: July 18 2006 03:00 | Last updated: July 18 2006 03:00

A US grand jury last night filed charges against 11 individuals and four corporations, including BetonSports, its founder, chief executive and media director alleging racketeering and conspiracy.

The charges, arising from a joint investigation involving the FBI, centred on what US attorney Catherine Hanaway said was: "Illegal commercial gambling across state and international borders."

The charges followed the detention earlier in the day of David Carruthers, chief executive of BetonSports, while en route from London to Costa Rica.

Shares in the sector dived after Mr Carruthers was held as he changed aircraft at Dallas airport. He was travelling back to Costa Rica where his company is based.

Among those charged were Gary Kaplan, founder of BetonSports, Mr Carruthers and Peter Wilson, the media director for BetonSports.

BetonSports said yesterday it had been unable to speak to the chief executive since he was approached on Sunday night by federal authorities.

Industry shares had fallen during the day amid fears that Mr Carruthers' detention could be linked to efforts by US politicians to outlaw online gaming. The House of Representatives passed an anti-gaming bill on Tuesday last week.

Mr Carruthers is a prominent lobbyist against the legislation and wants the US to adopt a properly regulated system.

The dream has ended. First for the United States, then Ghana and now England. The World Cup 2006 is no more. It's sad really, but in a way I'm glad it’s over. I went from watching no soccer, to watching almost every game in the World Cup. And those I didn't watch, I read about. It got so intense, that at one point I was turning to the sports section first when I picked up the daily newspaper. This was quite unusual for me since I almost never read the sports section.

So will I watch the rest of the tournament? Perhaps. Mainly because it would be good to see things through to the end. Also, not being a fan of any of the teams left in the tournament (especially the Portuguese), will make the three remaining games easier to watch. Thinking I'll do less screaming at the television. Not since the University of Michigan lost to North Carolina in the 1993 NCAA basketball tournament have I been so vested in a sporting event. I vowed never to get that involved again but things sort of snuck up on me. I suppose I just got caught up like most people here in London. But looking forward to things getting back to normal.