workplace911, a weekly Q&A column by Bob
Rosner combines attitude and information to help people come
up with their own solutions to work-related problems and concerns.
The column offers advice for everyone who has ever looked
for, held, or lost a job.
For more than a decade, award-winning
journalist and best-selling author Bob Rosner has delivered
thoughtful and actionable guidance to millions of Americans
with workplace challenges in his column.
He offers practical
advice in a light, breezy tone that helps demystify the complexities
of the contemporary office.
workplace911 fields questions
like, "How
do you criticize someone at work?" and "How do you
deal with information overload?"
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Readers e-mail questions directly to Rosner, and he answers
them in his trademark “three do’s and a don’t” format
with well-researched information, while also offering additional
sources of reference.
Rosner is a unique workplace authority. He has personally responded to over
50,000 e-mails from employees, bosses and entrepreneurs. He's written two
best-selling business books, The Boss's Survival Guide and Gray Matters:
The Workplace Survival Guide. He is a nationally recognized observer of workplace
trends who has been featured in People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune
and Glamour and as a regular contributor to the "Today" show, NPR,
CNN, CNBC, Fox, "60 Minutes," "Good Morning America" and
many others. He's conducted more than 500 workplace surveys at ABCnews.com.
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RECENT SAMPLES:
March 4th, 2009
How to create a winning resume
By Bob Rosner
Your Rant: Should I hire someone to rewrite my resume?
911 Repair: With so many people being laid off, resumes are an
important way to distinguish yourself from the crowd. But before
your race off to hire someone to rewrite your resume, remember
the lesson of Milli Vanilli. The group was a very popular duo from
the 1980s that was busted for not using their own voices after
they won a Grammy. Less well-known was the concert a year earlier
in Bristol, Conn., when the record started skipping while Milli
Vanilli was performing onstage. They pretended to sing and dance
along with the skip until they finally ran offstage. Oops.
We can all learn an important lesson from Milli Vanilli: To not
overrely on someone else's voice, your resume should be all about
you. I've listed four tips for an effective resume below. The tips
are built around the word "TYPO." Why typo? ...
February
25th, 2009
Becoming more courageous at work
By Bob Rosner
YOUR RANT: I am really scared about the direction of the economy.
911 REPAIR: Fear. It's the one emotion at work that almost everyone
seems to be feeling these days. According to a recent Associated
Press poll, almost half of us are now scared that we could lose
our jobs, and two-thirds of us are worried about how we'll pay
our bills. How can we stand up to fear? With courage. Which reminds
me of a conversation I had with a friend's mother years ago. She
knew that the heir apparent to run her company had lied on his
job application. But she was scared to speak up. She said, "I
know you wouldn't be scared to say something, but I am."
Everyone would be scared to speak up under those conditions. The
issue isn't whether you're scared or not, the issue is, will you
let your fears hold you back? That's why I offer three Do's and
one Don't on how to get more c ...
February 18th, 2009
How to lead effectively during tough times
By Bob Rosner
YOUR RANT: It's tough being a leader when everyone is scared out
of his or her minds.
911 REPAIR: Leadership is always a challenge, but our current crisis
can make it seem downright impossible. Which reminds me of a recent
conversation with my 5-year old daughter, Frankie. We were driving
in the car and she said, "An evil stepmother can kill the
queen." I asked her where she heard this. She replied, "It
was in a movie." What movie, I asked. "It's a Barbie
movie, coming soon, in the spring of 2007."
Who knew that my kid has such encyclopedic knowledge of old DVD
trailers? Unfortunately, she is not alone. Far too many leaders
are living in the past, trying to simply dredge up old solutions
for tackling today's challenges. Our current economic nightmare
is unlike anything most of us have seen in our careers, soon even
far worse than the dreaded 19 ...
February 11th, 2009
Just say 'no' to layoffs -- the CEO Patriot Pledge
By Bob Rosner
YOUR RANT: How can we stop the layoffs?
911 REPAIR: These are M.A.D. economic times. That's M.A.D. as in
Mutually Assured Destruction, the old Cold War strategy in which
no one would be left standing after that first nuke was launched.
Economic experts, who agree on little else, agree on this: If our
current vicious cycle of "layoffs driving down purchasing,
which increases layoffs" continues, no one will be left standing.
There is an exit strategy here that no one is talking about: billions
of dollars that could be used to address the layoff cycle immediately.
This is not a plea for legislation or government funds. In fact,
not a penny would come from taxpayers. It's simple, voluntary and,
dare I say, patriotic. The "Chief Executive Officer Patriot
Pledge" (see below) is 95-word call to action for all corporate
leaders, not just those ...
February 4th, 2009
The impact of a layoff on the survivors
By Bob Rosner
YOUR RANT: I hate that companies are always so quick to lay people
off.
DEAR 911 READERS: It's impossible to pick up a paper today and
not read about a new layoff. This week, I've interviewed Mark
Murphy, CEO of Leadership IQ, who recently conducted a survey
of 4,172
workers who remained employed following a corporate layoff. These
subjects were drawn from 318 companies that have undertaken layoffs
in the past six months. Many of the results were surprising.
Workplace911: What were the results of your layoff study?
Mark Murphy: Seventy-four percent of employees who kept their
job amidst a corporate layoff say their own productivity has
declined.
Sixty-nine percent say the quality of their company's product
or service has declined. Eighty-seven percent of surviving
workers say they are less likely to recommend their organization
as a
good
place t ...
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