Welcome to Lisa's blog!

A friend is struggling with a big decision about his professional future. He believes that even without the recession, his firm is existing hand to mouth and has a limited future. The CEO doesn’t have great business savvy, and ineffective decisions made over the years are coming home to roost now.

In spite of this, he has great loyalty to this company, and especially to the CEO.

Every word out of my friend’s mouth suggests that the best thing for him to do is to find another job where there is a better professional fit. And yet, he is paralyzed in the decision process, because he is living in his comfort zone.

Both my friend and the CEO of his company are making bad decisions. The CEO in the past, and my friend in the present, are making decisions based on emotions, not on what’s in his or the firm’s best interests.

A challenging environment requires crisp, objective decision making. Hoping for the best is a shaky strategy in the best of circumstances, let alone now.

Last night I moderated a panel entitled, Your Next Career Move – How to Market Yourself, to a sold-out audience of New York area Penn alumni  who are in job/career transition. Our panelists, Michael Melcher, Rebecca Hornstein Doede, Alan Cutter and Dinah Day, contributed great content.

Some of the key take-away points included:

• Imagine the conversation you’d like people to have about you after you leave the room.
• Understand who you are and what your achievements have been. Have clarity about your key competencies and skills.
• Make sure that your skill set matches the job that you’re interviewing for.
• Thinking of ourselves as “just the job” is limiting; instead, think about the values that reflect who you are.
• Informational interviews are the best way to find out about particular companies. Be clear on what it is that you want from the interviewer!

When you attend an event such as this one, come prepared with what you want to take away as a result of being in the audience. The more clarity you have about what you want, the more likely you are to get it.

The New York area was hit by a big snow storm on Monday, and it was interesting to observe people’s reactions around the workplace.

I spoke with a number of people who felt virtuous because they had actually come into work. Imagine!

When I came to the office, the streets were passable and most of the sidewalks had been cleared. But schools were closed, and I think many adults felt slighted. Why couldn’t they have a snow day too?

When people feel good about the work they do, they don’t let a little snow get in their way. Allowing snow – or any other temporary obstacle – to have power over you isn’t saying much for how you value your work.

Whether it’s a sense of purpose, a feeling of satisfaction, or a feeling of accomplishment – your attitude about your work permeates into other areas of your life.

Take control of it, instead of letting “the weather” take control of you.