Rothacker Reviews

Recently Lost Your Job?

What does a creative person do when they lose their job? Why make lemonade, of course! As I am still experimenting with a concoction that I can live with, you can bet I will take glassfills of inspiration from these guys!

Lemonade Movie Site

Escape From Cubicle Nation

Escape From Cubicle Nation is your personal key to freedom!  Like a weary soul who scraped, clawed and crawled his way across the desert in search of water, I smoked Pamela Slim's most excellent book in search of liberation.  From the tiny molecule in my soul who is standing atop the mountain screaming "no more bosses!" to my entire and collective soul who is getting dry heaves even thinking about Monday mornings, I simply cannot make a more heart felt and direct recommendation: Buy Pam's book today!

Escape From Cubicle Nation is a treasure and as such, I will dip in and review parts of this book with care and reverence.  I will treat it like a fine wine or a seminal Clint Eastwood classic, to be sipped and reveled upon.

Visit Pam's new format at Escape From Cubicle Nation for more info.

Pam Slim: Are You Considering Self-Employment?

Destination: Dave Rothacker, Inc.  Do you need help getting there Dave? 

Uh?  Do the New York Yankees play ball in New York?  Yes I need help!

All righty then, do I have a resource for you, TODAY: Pam Slim

Pam is conducting a free conference call TODAY to help get you started in the right direction.  Do you know when you go to park at a large public event?  There usually are several people who flag you towards a parking space.  This is what Pam is doing today.  And this is her parking space.

Based upon the coaching call that I have already participated in with Pam, the decision to take advantage of her offer is a no-brainer. 

Definition of a guy who gets it: Jonathan Fields.  Jonathan sent out a Tweet a few minutes ago giving everyone a heads up on Pam's call.  For perspective, this is like Wal-Mart sending out an e-mail newsletter announcing K-Mart's Blue Light special.  This is how you do business today folks!  It doesn't get any better than that.

Escape from Corporate America

Escape from Corporate America by Pamela Skillings

Do you get the Sunday-night blues?  For me the metamorphosis began around three o'clock in the afternoon and developed into a full blown stomach ache by six.  I was impossible to be around.  The Monday march to work was a march into the gas chamber. 

Jeeze dave, tell us how you really feel!

Sorry.  Raw nerves on this topic.  The title of Pamela's book was good enough to make me look inside.  Once I did, I never came up for air!  The first word that came to mind as I put Pamela's book down was PROLIFIC!  As in a ton of useful information and insight.  My mind's measuring stick: "Does this person, place or thing add value?  Am I better off for having crossed their / its path?  Have I learned something?"  In Pamela's case, yes, yes and yes!

Pamela provides a foolproof method to determine whether or not her book is for you.  Take a minute, visit Pamela's site and take this quiz.  The lower the score, the more you need her book.

Around interesting testimonials and case studies throughout her work, Pamela leads not only with the quiz, but a methodical discussion on whether or not escape is best for you.  Ok, after you return from the tattoo parlor with "I MUST ESCAPE" tattooed on your forehead, the transition into Pamela's various methods of escape provide quite an enjoyable read.  Pamela finishes with advice on obstacles that you will encounter following the jailbreak.  Finally, Pamela provides a resource guide at the end that is also available and updated here.

This book was smoked-n-signed.

The American Dream

I recently read this article written by Robert Trigaux and published in the St. Pete Times.  The American Dream.  Quick, what comes to mind?  Little house in the burbs with a white picket fence, right?  This is an overused generalization that for me, signifies only one thing, that for most of us there really is an American Dream - whatever it might be.

Robert's article is based upon a survey conducted by advertising giant JWT.  Ann Mack, JWT's director of trendspotting ran point on this project.  Although the results of this survey are available to the public...for 3K, the questionnaire that JWT uses is quite interesting and available to the public...for free: Download JWT_AmericanDream_SURVEY.pdf .

In the questionnaire's cover letter, Ann says:

"As a throwaway line, 'the American Dream' passes with a nod and barely a second thought.  You can say 'He's living the American Dream' or 'She's been pursuing the American Dream,' and few people will want to know just what you mean."

The fact is, when I heard the question "What does the phrase, 'the American Dream' mean to you?" my inner status-quo took quite a head-on jolt.  I asked myself, just what was my own American Dream?  And, was I achieving it?

To contemplate about your own American Dream, is to take a deep breath and, for a moment, to step off the hamster wheel of life and work.  This exercise can be healthy and invigorating.  Why not let this question invoke a status check of your life?  And if you do not live in America, no worries...from your perspective what does the American Dream mean?

If you have your own personal Web site, tell us what the American Dream means to you?  And encourage others to do so as well!

I'll tell you what the American Dream means to me in the next couple of days.   

Top Ten Dream Jobs

Check out Curt Rosengren's post on the Top Ten Dream Jobs.  Here is Curt's post minus his own commentary at the end.  (Click on Top Ten Dream Jobs for entire post)

Top 10 dream jobs

Kevin Kelly over in Ireland points to a survey of 2000 people done in the UK for  Creative and Cultural Skills that asked people about their dream jobs, both when they were kids and today. Here are the top ten dream jobs.

TOP 10 DREAM JOBS FOR KIDS

1) Doctor/Nurse
2) Vet
3) Footballer
4) Teacher
5) Actor/Movie Star
6) Writer
7) Dancer/Ballerina
8) Pilot
9) Pop Star
10) Astronaut

TOP 10 DREAM JOBS FOR ADULTS

1) Writer
2) Teacher
3) Landscape Gardener
4) Paramedic
5) Photographer
6) Police Officer
7) Physiotherapist
8) Movie Director
9) Restaurant Owner
10) Musician

But what if you don't know?!  What if you don't know what you want to be??  You search for your red rubber ball.  That's what you do. 

Kevin Carroll helps folks find their red rubber balls.  As a matter of fact he's written a book called What's Your Red Rubber Ball?! Subtitled discover your inspiration and chase it for a lifetime, a stroll through Kevin's book takes one on a Seuss-like, "Oh, the Places You'll Go! type journey...with one exception.  You get to create, make and do stuff!  Kevin's book gently tugs at your spirit.  It will invoke your hands and mind to join along with your heart and soul.  Together you will pursue your life's dream.  You will.  Except if you don't.  Because if you don't pick up a copy of Kevin's book, you won't.  So...get on your way friends.  Click on the icon for a copy today!

Hollow Smiles

Hollow smiles.  Nervous, hollow smiles.

"Oh, that's nice dear.  So, when are you going to get a job?"

She puts in seventy hours each week...easy.  Time spent thinking, bending and molding words until they reach the pitch of perfection.  Time spent reading, conversing and networking.  Time spent on contests, querying and pitching.  Time spent on revising, revising and revising.  Time spent on obtaining an agent.  Time spent on trying to succeed.

Hollow smiles come from the well intentioned.  They think it's nice that she has a hobby.  It's nice to be dedicated, though they're not really sure to what.  It's nice to keep busy since she got laid off from her job.

The hollow smiles hurt her.  Why can't they understand she asks.  And then she wonders, am I doing the right thing?  Can I really make a living writing?  Should I just get a job like everyone wants me to do?  Maybe my stuff is not good enough.

He says no.  No, with conviction.  He believes in her.  After a round of hollow smiles, he comforts her.  He tells her she has what it takes.  He tells her that her stories are strong, her dialog flows and her descriptive language is refreshingly :-) adverb-free.  He has never doubted.  Not once.  He sees the two of them one day sitting on the porch of their cabin in Maine.  He sees her smile.  He sees peace in her heart.

Not all radiate hollow smiles.  Some effuse spirit-filled smiles of belief.  He hopes that those who matter most to her will one day be filled with the spirit of belief.  He hopes it comes before she breaks out, because it would mean that much more to her.  Until then he will hold her hand, hold her heart and hold open that cabin door.

Aesthetic Aspirations

I was preparing to write a book review of The Substance of Style by Virginia Postrel this morning when the switch of serendipity kicked in and railed my mind toward the open tracks.  A millisecond before reading in The Substance of Style,

"Aspiration is the tricky part of identity, the "world of make believe"...Often the identities we express with our aesthetic choices are not those we have but those we desire."

I thought to myself,

There are no human beings that I work with or acquaintances that I have in the physical world who share my love and appreciation for design, the written word in the world of business, the art of communicating messages, the need to move beyond status-quo, hamster-wheel, business as usual, the incredibly vibrant and stimulating work philosophies of younger generations and what they are contributing today and this aching need to move with fluidity in a world not constrained by judgment-by-looks, suits and ivory towers.

...okay, that last statement might perhaps, be a bit too liberal, but my God, the tie should have faded into history about the same time corsets disappeared from everyday attire.

Additional views on aesthetic aspirations from Ms. Postrel:

Aesthetic aspirations inevitably express some sort of dissatisfaction, a longing for a different sort of life, perhaps even a different self.  Discontent fuels every quest for improvement, regardless of form.

Virginia's definition of aesthetic aspirations is precisely what drove me to express myself on the Internet years ago and still keeps me coming back today.  No doubt that I am to blame for my work situation.  In the nineties I went through a three year stretch where I never disclosed my name on my site.  Today, even though I work for my industry's second largest corporation in the world, no one is even aware of my two sites here.  But that's okay.  I gave up looking for the above referenced aspirations in my industry a long time ago. 

It is most ironic that I am even having these thoughts today.  I have never been more comfortable with my work situation and its separation from my aspirations.  Still, I guess, it would be nice to physically encounter someone who has heard of The Cluetrain Manifesto or Change This or Fast Company or Dan Pink or Virginia Postrel or Thomas A. Stewart or Malcolm Gladwell or Patty Seybold or Seth Godin or Andrea Learned or Pamela Slim or Kathy Sierra or David Armano or Roger von Oech or Jackie Huba or Emanuel Rosen or Gerald Zaltman or Lisa Johnson or Tom Davenport or John Beck or Ted Levitt or Marcus Buckingham or Bruce Nussbaum or Polly LaBarre or Jory Des Jardins or Harvard Business Review or Print or How or I.D. or ...

...but then again, I'm not keeping track :-)

Brazen Careerist

Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk.

Today's world of work is not the same as your father's was.  Thank God!  Penelope Trunk, columnist for the Boston Globe and Yahoo Finance in addition to her own Website has written a spot on, insightful book titled Brazen Careerist.  Penelope hopes to provide a roadmap for Gen X and Y'ers to follow in pursuit of their own life's work.  Drawing on real world experience, she stories upon such topics as:

• Grad School
• Adventures
• Resumes
• Interviews
• Managers
• Office Politics
• Sex Discrimination
• Promotions
• The New American Dream

Penelope's work has been referred to as the modern day version of What Color is Your Parachute?  While the Brazen Careerist is a manifesto and rallying wake-up cry for Gen X and Y'ers, I find that it talks frankly and honestly to a whole other generation of folks.  Mine.  The Boomers.

As a Boomer manager, I feel as if Brazen Careerist is my own personal undercover spy, infiltrating the Gen X and Y'ers' world.  Of course for me, there isn't a trace of spying or undercover that goes into dealing with folks from these generations.  It is all about collaboration.  And if one wishes to collaborate, they must understand the other collaboratoree.  Brazen Careerist introduces us, stays in the conversation and provides that much needed understanding.

For Boomers who do not recognize the workplace change today, there is no help.  But for those of us who relish in the new environment and who cherish the spirit and attitude of those who will one day be placing us in nursing homes*, I find the Brazen Careerist positively fascinating!!

*Our Gen Y daughter has for sometime reminded us of her role in this potential eventuality, helping to explain why we should see and support her point of view...or perhaps our nursing home will not have all of the amenities that we would expect.  She tried to explain the concept of an outhouse...

Why Should I Work For You?

I am one chapter short of smoking and signing Mavericks at Work by William C. Taylor & Polly LaBarre.  Bill and Polly present insights and case studies on companies and people who are today, running the companies of tomorrow.

As I read about these present day mavericks who build on purpose and fuse character with innovation to make a difference for their employees and customers, I couldn't help but to think of a theme that the authors weave throughout their work:  Why should great people join your organization?

I work in an industry that is starved for technical people.  And I don't mean hungry, I mean Ethiopia.  As a manager who hires these folks, I myself need to be able to articulate this answer with crisp clearness (which I've never satisfactorily done).  In tune with some words I wrote the other day about working in transparency, I'd like to answer this question with a public statement about why folks should work with my team.  I probably will have to return and tweak this - which is the point.

Once we've established that a candidate fits our culture of:

• The need to develop personally
• Respect for each other and our customers
• Loyalty to each other
• The desire for excellence
• The desire to move forward

...then I can say with confidence:

You should work with my team because:  We are going to dial you into a world of learning, a world where we channel your strengths toward finding solutions for our customers...(in progress)