Change Agent or Sucker?

I gave a presentation to some co-workers earlier this year on "Real Change Leaders" a concept that actually is kind of old but is receiving new emphasis. The concept is that Real Change Leaders (RCLs)can exist at all levels of an organization and can have a significant impact on any business. Here is a quick summary:

Who are they?
Be Curious
Learn from mistakes
Lifetime learners
Question the status quo

What can they do?
Leapfrog over vertical hierarchies
Work informal networks
Personal courage to change and build skills
Take career risks

Where are they?
Any level of an organization
Critical mass needed to make it all stick
Every location, SBU or department

Why are they important?
Increase bench strength and depth of talent
360 degree impact within the organization
Open up leadership capacity without adding people


I firmly believe that they are important and it does work. Others have commented that it is all garbage. So does that make a person who attempts such activites a real change agent or just some sucker for the company to dump more work on (without any more pay)?

Career Development or Waste of Time?

Figured I'd catch up on the Blog here while I wait for the company brick to reboot. Enterprise-hindered laptops seem to haunt me....

I was asked again just today about pursuing an MBA and if it was a waste of time or a carefully planned career development tool. Since I'm pursuing mine in a non-traditional route, I get the question all the time. So I'll answer that and more here..

1. No- It is not a waste of time.

2. It is not a degree factory - I can personally attest to over 1300 hours of reading, research, coursework and many, many papers in the last 19 months. ( still have 2.5 more to go!)

3. I have found out how fast I can type with very little sleep.

4. My iPod helped me get through this phase of my life- honest. It feels like I've had my iPod and my trusty Toshiba Satellite surgically grafted to my body for the last 2 yrs.

5. I have learned so much beyond my experience base ( in sales and marketing) that it is hard to even explain it.

6. It has enabled me to see opportunities where none seemed to exist before. Inside my company, in my personal life, as a spouse and a parent.

7. I negotiated a career-enrichment role at my company because of my learning.


I could go on and on. This degree is like most things in life - the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. So I know it has definitely enriched my life as well as given me a new set of tools for the future no matter if I stay here or have to move on.

Gear Junkie - Continued

In the never ending quest for strong wireless signals - Here are the other parts of the home network.......

WAP54G with dual 7 dBi antennas

Netgear 54G AP with 9 dBi antenna

And Network #2 ( that's right) Motorola 54G AP in the shop ( yes that is right - in the shop)

It may not be elegant but it sure does work!





And the switching center.............

Learning Teams as a statement on society?

I have one week left in MBA 560 Enterprise Risk and boy does my current learning team underperform. I have been wrestling with how to mitigate the risk of a few slackers. Looks like we have it fixed for now as we have a paper due tonight.

How do you jumpstart a team of 5 with 2 slackers? Certainly a challenge. I see it as a statement on society that even in a group of motivated MBA candidates, you still end up with some slackers.

But one more week and I'll be on with a different team ( we re-form teams every 6 weeks) so I look forward to the new challenge. At this point only 13 more weeks until I'm done and then can get some well-needed sleep!


As my liberal-arts knitting sister has pointed out, I am a MIY ( make it yourself) kind of person. I was trying to secure an old WRT54G V 4 or older so I can hack the firmware for fun. See what I have been reduced to......................

Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed or Slackers?

I just gave a talk to first year business students the other day at my old college on careers in marketing & sales. Some people were very interested in learning what they could about that career path but overall not a lot of interest. Seems everyone wants to be an accountant now - who would have guessed that??

Anyway, I shared the results of a Manpower survey from 2006 that stated that the #1 job in demand ( and the hardest to fill) is that of sales. Interesting. I thought it would be like SOX Compliance Specialist or IT Network Engineer. Certainly sales is dear to my heart having spent 16 years in various sales positions but most companies treat their sales group like an expense just waiting to be cut.

That is a real shame because a properly motivated sales group with the right set of modern tools can acomplish a great deal. Hopefully these young students can see the transferrability of sales activities into other functional areas. Often the experiences with customers, profit margin, delivery problems and credit issues can guide a person in some other assignment later in their career. I feel it has for me.

So most just wanted to know "How much can I make?". That is certainly a motivation but I don't think people who chose a career strictly for the money end up all that happy. I think time will tell if these students were bright eyed and bushy tailed or just a bunch of slackers playing Box 360 until 3 AM......

Career Growth or Waste of Time?

I was discussing some concepts I'd learned ( and was attempting to apply) from my MBA course recently. A co-worker said "all that stuff is just a waste of time" So, is he right?

I don't think so. Even if my company doesn't allow me to apply it formally ( perhaps in the form of a promotion or expanded role) or reward me for it ( with a raise), I am glad I embarked upon this journey.

I try and apply the principles as often as I can and it really works. The MBA is no sure-fire ticket to the corner office ( especially because mine is not from Wharton). I've learned a great deal and think it can apply in almost every part of my current job.

MBA coursework focuses on tools and training to be a more effective leader and businesperson. A top-line school may offer more career placement or alumni networking or name cachet but many of those programs are limited to full-time school.


If you want to continue working full-time and your company won't support the Executive MBA option and you travel - well then your choices become more limited. Two decades ago you wouldn't have any choices at all.

Like anything in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.