Editor's note: The following is a republication of an article that appears in the September 2010 edition of Northern News, of the Northern California Chapter of the American Planning Association. Courtesy of Northern News.
By Steve Piazzale, Ph.D.
“It’s who you know.” You’ve heard that one before, right?
Research tells us that 80 percent of jobs are obtained through
personal contacts, yet most job hunters spend 80 percent of their time
answering computer job board ads. So what can you do to get that job
you want and deserve?
All job seekers or changers need to get out and meet people. Start
by making a list of everybody you know who might even remotely
help you find out about a job or career in which you’re interested.
This includes former co-workers, employers, family members, friends,
customers, suppliers, vendors, professionals (such as your doctor,
lawyer, or accountant), members of your church and alumni—the list
is almost infinite.
Once you’ve made this list and are clear about the kind of work
you’re pursuing, start contacting these folks and clearly and succinctly
tell them what you’re looking for. Ask them if they have some time to
chat about what they do and your search strategy. It’s best not to
directly ask for a job because most likely they’ll just say they have no
openings. Instead ask for information—how to improve your résumé,
any additional training you need, specifics about current industry
trends, other people you could contact, what meetings you should
attend, and what you should be keeping up to date with.
Not everyone will give you new contacts, but slowly and surely
you’ll build a large network of folks with whom you can stay in touch.
The beauty of this is that none of your calls will be cold calls—you’re
always contacting people using the name of someone they know.
This network then becomes your eyes to the “hidden” or emerging
job market. By staying in touch with these new contacts, you’ll hear
about opportunities as they emerge and before they’re listed on job
boards, giving you first crack at them! Plus your contacts are now
beginning to know you and can speak to your qualifications, in
essence serving as a reference.
Bottom-line: get out and interact with people, attend professional
association and alumni functions as well as other get-togethers. This
might be a bit outside your comfort zone, but give it a try even if it’s
a bit at a time. I think you’ll find it’s well worth the effort. And
remember as Woody Allen once said: “80 percent of success is just
showing up.”
“Being able to do the job well will not necessarily get you hired; the
person who gets hired is often the one who knows the most about how
to get hired.” —Richard Lathrop, author of “Who’s Hiring Who?”
(1989, Ten Speed Press)
Steve Piazzale has a Stanford University Ph.D. in sociology with extensive
training in psychology, and is a career/life coach. His website is www.BayAreaCareerCoach.com
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Connecting deep learning, leadership and social change
Frederick Law Olmsted never trained as an architect. Jane Jacobs didn't even have a college degree. How did they become so smart about urban planning -- and so influential?
Olmsted and Jacobs were "deep learners." They were the kind of people who talked with and listened to a diverse range of people. They read a lot, and shared what they learned. In other words, they weren't the kind of people who were satisfied sitting in the back of a conference session hearing about what they already knew.
Then they shared their knowledge with colleagues in their writings, in presentations and through a lot of 'quiet conversations.' (Jacobs enjoyed having them at the White Horse Tavern in New York's Greenwich Village.)
Many people get frustrated when the time they spend in training doesn't lead to much change. They might blame the program, or continuing education as a whole. But often the problem is one of trying to use the wrong tool for the job.
No matter how good they are, conferences, webinars and training by themselves cannot create change. They can help give you a start, but that's about it.
Conferences and webinars are great when you want to get introduced to a subject or learn a little more about it. (That's of course if you pace yourself. One of the biggest problems conference participants have is trying to absorb too much at one time. They wind up learning less and less about more and more.)
But having knowledge doesn't by itself cause change. As the saying goes: "If truths were self-evident, we wouldn't need lawyers."
Training sessions also are not designed to promote organizational or social change -- they are designed to help you learn new skills. Of course those skills may be valuable to promote change. Training is great for teaching skills that can be repeated regardless of the environment. How to use a software program, how to take pictures for a public presentation -- those sorts of things.
Training alone often fails to lead to behaviors that change social systems (e.g., organizations or communities). That's because your success depends on adapting those skills to the unique qualities of your environment.
As management guru Edgar Schein says in "Models and Tools for Stability and Change in Human Systems": "...New behaviors may not remain stable unless they also fit into the ongoing relationships and the work context of the person or group that has changed... The trainees come back full of enthusiasm only to find that their [organization or community] does not support the new attitudes and behavior. They are now [frustrated] all over again and thus will start a new change process that may well lead back to the original behavior." Read more of his reflections on managed learning.
(This is why The Leading Institute and the Professional Development Institute don't pretend to teach "the complete guide to..." or "everything you need to know.." in two-day workshops. If something so complex as leadership and management could be taught in two days, our world would be filled with great leaders and managers.)
To achieve change at a group, organization or community level, you need to learn at a deep level the conditions that cause you to think change is needed, and the constraints to making the change. And no, there is almost never a simple reason or a single person to blame. If that were the case, the change would have already happened.
This kind of learning takes time and reflection. You have to become aware. Then you need to test your assumptions. Then try the change and see what happens. Then reflect on what worked or didn't, and what you know now that you didn't before. Try something new.
You could do this on your own, as some people do, but you're better off sharing your thoughts with people who are different from you. As Jim Collins says in Good to Great and other writings, the most effective leaders are not the "geniuses with a thousand helpers," but the ones who open themselves to ideas from throughout their organizations, their clients and partners. Leadership guru Warren Bennis echoes these words in On Becoming a Leader. "Leaders are learners."
This is why we offer 5.5 week "Deep Learning" courses through the Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program and why we encourage learners to learn from one another while they are learning the material.
It is also why Leading from the Middle is a four-to-six-month program, and not a weekend crash course.
If what you want is to know a little more about a subject or learn a new skill, a webinar, conference, or one-day training session should be fine. But if you want to cost-effectively manage change for sustainable outcomes, get deeper in your learning.
Photo credits:
Frederick Law Olmsted: Public domain photo found on Creative Commons
Jane Jacobs: http://www.futureofny.org/learnmore
 |
| Frederick Law Olmsted, urban planning pioneer |
Then they shared their knowledge with colleagues in their writings, in presentations and through a lot of 'quiet conversations.' (Jacobs enjoyed having them at the White Horse Tavern in New York's Greenwich Village.)
Many people get frustrated when the time they spend in training doesn't lead to much change. They might blame the program, or continuing education as a whole. But often the problem is one of trying to use the wrong tool for the job.
No matter how good they are, conferences, webinars and training by themselves cannot create change. They can help give you a start, but that's about it.
Conferences and webinars are great when you want to get introduced to a subject or learn a little more about it. (That's of course if you pace yourself. One of the biggest problems conference participants have is trying to absorb too much at one time. They wind up learning less and less about more and more.)
But having knowledge doesn't by itself cause change. As the saying goes: "If truths were self-evident, we wouldn't need lawyers."
 |
| Jane Jacobs at the White Horse Tavern |
Training alone often fails to lead to behaviors that change social systems (e.g., organizations or communities). That's because your success depends on adapting those skills to the unique qualities of your environment.
As management guru Edgar Schein says in "Models and Tools for Stability and Change in Human Systems": "...New behaviors may not remain stable unless they also fit into the ongoing relationships and the work context of the person or group that has changed... The trainees come back full of enthusiasm only to find that their [organization or community] does not support the new attitudes and behavior. They are now [frustrated] all over again and thus will start a new change process that may well lead back to the original behavior." Read more of his reflections on managed learning.
(This is why The Leading Institute and the Professional Development Institute don't pretend to teach "the complete guide to..." or "everything you need to know.." in two-day workshops. If something so complex as leadership and management could be taught in two days, our world would be filled with great leaders and managers.)
To achieve change at a group, organization or community level, you need to learn at a deep level the conditions that cause you to think change is needed, and the constraints to making the change. And no, there is almost never a simple reason or a single person to blame. If that were the case, the change would have already happened.
This kind of learning takes time and reflection. You have to become aware. Then you need to test your assumptions. Then try the change and see what happens. Then reflect on what worked or didn't, and what you know now that you didn't before. Try something new.
You could do this on your own, as some people do, but you're better off sharing your thoughts with people who are different from you. As Jim Collins says in Good to Great and other writings, the most effective leaders are not the "geniuses with a thousand helpers," but the ones who open themselves to ideas from throughout their organizations, their clients and partners. Leadership guru Warren Bennis echoes these words in On Becoming a Leader. "Leaders are learners."
This is why we offer 5.5 week "Deep Learning" courses through the Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program and why we encourage learners to learn from one another while they are learning the material.
It is also why Leading from the Middle is a four-to-six-month program, and not a weekend crash course.
If what you want is to know a little more about a subject or learn a new skill, a webinar, conference, or one-day training session should be fine. But if you want to cost-effectively manage change for sustainable outcomes, get deeper in your learning.
Photo credits:
Frederick Law Olmsted: Public domain photo found on Creative Commons
Jane Jacobs: http://www.futureofny.org/learnmore
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Five key trends for local economic development in the 2010s
Whether the US economy springs back or staggers its way to recovery, there are a number of trends that you can capitalize on for improving your community's economy.
- The arts as engines for the creative and experience economies. According to a report to be published soon by Arts Build Communities, there was a 10% jump in the number of people working in the creative sector between 1998 and 2007. Most are probably not artists, but rather the people whose work supports the arts: administrators, blue-collar workers, manufacturers of creative products. The arts are at the heart of two other growing economic trends -- the creative economy and the experience economy. The creative economy includes scientific innovation and cultural products for export (Think Ipads, Droids and the new medicines you see on TV.) The experience economy includes all those retailers, businesses and places people are willing to pay more money to because of the experience they provide. (That's why the Mall of America has an amusement park in the center, and not just more chain stores.)
- To take advantage of this opportunity, consider: Attracting and retaining creative sector professionals through place- and community-building efforts; place marketing efforts; providing more flex space; whether your community feels inviting to creative professionals
- The growth of "free agent" nation. Self-employed workers accounted for about 30% of the job growth in the United States between 1998 and 2008. While the number of employees in businesses grew 10% in that time, the number of self-employed workers grew 26%. (See the County Business Patterns database for more information). In 2008, about 15% of 142.2 million jobs in the United States were held by self-employed workers.
- To take advantage of this opportunity, consider: Business assistance and development strategies targeted to micro-entrepreneurs; live-work spaces clustered in downtown settings; cooperatives, and other structures that help businesses share resources.
- Ethnic minority communities as emerging markets. Ethnic minority communities had about 23% of the nation's $10.7 trillion in buying power in 2009, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth. While the total amount of disposable income in the United States had been growing through most of this decade, the buying power of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and multiracial Americans grew faster than that of non-Hispanic Whites. Those trends are likely to increase as the nation gets more diverse.
- To take advantage of this opportunity, consider: Place marketing and business development geared to ethnic communities; developing more culturally competent placebuilding and economic development professionals.
- Green industries replacing gray industries. It may be a decade or more before alternative energy producers and manufacturers of green products become a major source of jobs in many communities. Placebuilders who plan for these uses now will have a tremendous advantage. Whether green or gray, industrial uses need large, affordable spaces and the ability to easily move large amounts of goods. (That's why so many 19th and early 20th century factories in city neighborhoods have become loft housing.)
- To take advantage of this opportunity, consider: Preserving existing industrial and warehousing areas; landbanking; encouraging the transitional use of light industrial spaces as artisan work/live spaces, server farms, or retail/commercial storage facilities.
- Transnational communities as market expanders. From classic port-of-entry cities to small farming towns, continued immigration is having a bigger impact on America. One of those impacts is economic: It is easier for money and goods to flow between countries. Communities that participate in transnational economies can significantly expand their market area while minimizing competition with its neighbors. In an age where the Internet and lower costs in other countries are challenging brick-and-mortar American businesses, this is a way for communities of any size to bring more wealth into its borders.
- To take advantage of this opportunity, consider: Building relationships with immigrant groups in and around your community; encouraging the use of light industrial facilities for import, export or assembly of materials; promoting community building efforts that make immigrants feel more welcome in a place.
The Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program offers courses and professional certificates in economic development, cultural development. Courses are offered between September and June. Learn more.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Talking points for connecting the arts and sustainability
Two big trends in urban placebuilding today are arts-based planning and sustainability. Here are some talking points to help leaders and community understand how they connect.
But first, let’s get on the same page: “The arts” and “sustainability” are two of the most vague concepts in placebuilding. If your audience thinks the arts are just a bunch of weird stuff that only rich people enjoy, or that sustainability is about protecting every blade of grass, you’re not going to have much luck trying to promote either idea.
— The arts are all activities related to the creation, distribution or consumption of products or experiences that are valued for their aesthetic qualities. In other words, if someone is willing to pay more for some object or experience because of how it looks or makes them feel, that “thing” is some form of art. That means that the opera and the classic car show are both artistic experiences.
— Sustainability is a set of practices by people or groups designed to promote the long-term sharing of resources with future generations. This includes reducing demands on the environment, promoting economic opportunity, and increasing social equity. (Remember the 3 E’s of sustainability: Environment, economy and equity.) If you run into a deep ecologist just wants to focus on environmental protection, let them know people decide whether to go or stay green. If you don’t take care of people and you don’t enhance quality of life, they’re not going to be too worried about protecting trees.
(Presentation tip: Show a pie chart or triangle to show the relationships among the 3 E’s.)
How the arts (and artists) can contribute to local economies
— The arts attract wealth (arts patrons, visitors, theater-goers, etc.). Wealth attracts businesses; businesses attract more wealth, and so on and so on in a virtuous circle. (Presentation tip: Show a flow chart or one of those diagrams with the big arrows running in a circle.)
— The arts help to diversify the business and employment mix.
— Artists contribute their skills to many businesses outside the arts.
— More of the money spent in arts establishments is likely to stay in the local economy, compared to the money spent in chain stores, franchises and the Internet. (For more on this, read Ann Markusen’s work on the artistic dividend.)
— The arts are part of place-based experience economies, so artists tend to be involved with local economic revitalization efforts.
— Creativity is critical to industries that rely on innovation, such as biotechnology and other knowledge economy businesses.
How the arts (and artists) can contribute to the environment
(Note: Art tends to be neutral regarding the environment, but artists have a long history of being connected to the natural world.)
— Visual artists, such as landscape painters, draw inspiration from local environments.
— Artists are more likely to be involved in preservation efforts.
— Artists are more likely to reclaim abandoned and blighted spaces, reducing construction waste.
— More architects and urban designers are promoting “green” building and design.
— Visual artists, such as landscape painters, draw inspiration from local environments.
— Artists are more likely to be involved in preservation efforts.
— Artists are more likely to reclaim abandoned and blighted spaces, reducing construction waste.
— More architects and urban designers are promoting “green” building and design.
(Presentation tip: Use an image that shows artists working with children in a ‘green’ project.)
How the arts (and artists) contribute to equity
— Art provides a safe and inviting bridge for people to learn about other cultures.
— Art gives people who feel discriminated against a productive way to express themselves.
— Artists are often involved in revitalization efforts in their communities.
— The arts can provide job opportunities to people without advanced degrees. (Ok, it’s probably not a lot of jobs, but it helps.)
How communities can better connect the arts and sustainability
— Bring arts and sustainability leaders together.
— Identify current and potential connections between the arts and sustainability initiatives.
— Create a local cultural plan with a sustainability focus. Try to get it attached to the community’s master plan.
— Work on short-term and highly visible projects to highlight the connections.
— Develop a leadership group committed to promoting the arts and sustainability. Build the group to include all parts of the community.
— Try more. Learn from your mistakes. Create new solutions. Update your plan. Build more leaders. Repeat.
Rutgers University's Arts Build Communities provides research, continuing education and technical assistance in the arts and community and economic development. Learn more...
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