- Time is not a limitless commodity. (Be on time, slackers!)
- We're more productive in the morning. (Get up, slackers!)
- Social media is not a career. (At least not forever . . . keep it in mind, MJ!)
But I have a few quibbles. Nazar writes: "
Pick Up the Phone -- Stop hiding behind your computer. Business gets done on the phone and in person. It should be your first instinct, not last, to talk to a real person and source business opportunities."
I disagree. Phone calls still have their place, of course, but the idea of picking up the phone instead of sending a message via e-mail, text or social media does not reflect my experience in the business world of today at all. Sometimes you clearly need to talk directly, but usually in that case you use other methods of communication to schedule the call, and then you have an agenda, you get to it, and you say goodbye. Gone are the days when a blind, unexpected phone call (especially if he's talking about prospecting by cold-calling, for crying out loud) is the most effective way to initiate business communication. No way. I'm with the 20-somethings on this one.
Nazar also writes: "
Pick an Idol & Act "As If" - You may not know what to do, but your professional idol does. I often coach my employees to pick the businessperson they most admire, and act "as if." If you were (
fill in the blank) how would he or she carry themselves, make decisions, organize his/her day, accomplish goals? You've got to fake it until you make it, so it's better to fake it as the most accomplished person you could imagine. (Shout out to
Tony Robbins for the tip)"
Maybe I'm recoiling because it comes from Tony Robbins (yeah, not a fan) but I never like advice that encourages you to mimic someone else. Learn from others, sure, but making someone else an "idol"? If it's true that you're uniquely you, I think it's a much better idea to recognize things you respect about others and adapt them to your own approach. If you're always asking what X would do, you don't learn to think for yourself. For instance, would X go to Tony Robbins seminars? Then I won't be emulating X!
Finally, Nazar writes: "
Read More Books, Fewer Tweets/Texts -- Your generation consumes information in headlines and 140 characters: all breadth and no depth. Creativity, thoughtfulness and thinking skills are freed when you're forced to read a full book cover to cover. All the keys to your future success, lay in the past experience of others. Make sure to
read a book a month (fiction or non-fiction) and your career will blossom."
A book a month? I don't know about you, but I don't have time to read a book a month so I can scarcely criticize young people for not doing so. But if you're looking for really good books to read,
how about these?
