Wayfinding. It's knowing where you are, knowing your destination, and following the best route. Quite simply, it means "finding your way." Early seafarers of the South Pacific practiced wayfinding to navigate open ocean voyages without instruments, through careful observation of natural signs, like the skies, the sun and the stars. They looked upon navigation not merely as a technique of getting from one island to another,...

Uh oh! We're starting to hear the "R" word again. Nobody wants to actually say it, but we all know the economy is in "recession," sure to be followed by more "restructuring," "reengineering," and "reorganization.” As organizations roll-out these three "R's, you'd be wise to reassess your career strategy and ready yourself for another rout of "rightsizing." And redo your resume while you're at it. For the past several yea...

Stuck. It’s how you feel when you've followed all the best advice, posted your resume on the major job sites, spread the word to friends and colleagues that you're looking, and you're still getting nowhere. You’re left wondering: "Will I ever get hired? Wouldn't any normal person have a job by now? What the #@$&% is wrong with me?" Relax. Take a step back. You will work again. After a long period in the marketplace, you nee...

When you need advice on your career, it seems just about everybody is eager and willing to tell you what you should do. Never mind that their own career paths often resemble a runaway train careening toward eventual derailment. People love to give advice. They want to help. They just don't always know how. Try this and you'll see what I mean. Ask a dozen people to each give you feedback on your resume and listen closely to...

Recently, I attended a social event where I didn't know anybody. You know these occasions -- they're the ones where you're just the guest of the person who was really invited. The functions you attend merely to keep peace, where you endure a couple of hours of boredom in order to forestall a full week of disharmony. Upon arrival at the doorstep of my unknown host, invitee in arm, I take a quick survey of the room in search...

In a calm, confident manner, Sam replied, "My biggest weakness is that I can become impatient with people who don't set standards as high as mine."Huh? I should have let it go, but it was late in the day and I was already on my sixth interview. Pretending to be puzzled, I looked Sam in the eye and asked, "Are you saying that your biggest weakness is your impatience? Or is it that you set unrealistic standards.He glazed o...

Now that the economy is starting to simmer and hiring is heating up, you're getting fidgety. You’ve worked your butt off for months; dodged repeated rounds of layoffs and put in double-time to keep the corporate wheels turning. You've stuck it out -- and now it's time for your boss to "put his money where his mouth is.” If you're going to stick around any longer, you want a raise. Before you corner your boss and demand a sa...

How high will unemployment go? Has the job market hit bottom yet? How bad will it get? And when will the recovery begin? I am frequently asked these questions – and the answers are not forthcoming. The fact is, “I don’t know.” I do know that there’s no shortage of “doom and gloom” out there, and hordes of people to spread and sustain it. But I'm not willing to run with the herd. Sometimes it’s best to separate from th...

I'm sitting in my office answering email messages when I glance out the window and see Benjamin Franklin leaning against a wall talking on his cell phone. I rub my eyes and refocus, but Ben is still there. Have I really been transported back in time? I run to the mirror to see if I'm still me, or perhaps some caricature of Paul Revere (with or without the Raiders). I'm clearly having trouble distinguishing fantasy from real...

It’s Sunday night and you’ve got that familiar “pit in the stomach.” It’s now just another weeknight. Tomorrow you’ll return “to the grind,” begin your long, slow crawl toward “over the hump” day, and trudge along until, “thank God, it’s Friday” again. Sweet freedom.Is this what your work life has become? A prison sentence? Five days a week in the slammer with two days off for parole on the weekend? If this is how you...