More Learning

When in the OSR Masters program, I learned about Punctuated Equilibrium points.  These are points or milestones in a system where change becomes chaotic and it is no longer possible to predict what will emerge from a system.  At these points, small inputs can have enormous effects in the final outcomes. 

As a system passes through a punctuated equilibrium point,  the foundation of the system—the parts of the system that keep it stable and unchanging—are loosened.  In human systems, I believe this means that changes can be introduced that would normal seem impossible, but which can seemingly be accomplished with relative ease.

Think of people that have gone through near death experiences, some make whole scale changes in their lifestyles and never look back.  After having a Heart attack many people stop smoking after years and years of feeble attempts.  Other people don’t change at all.  They somehow have a belief that the way it was is the only way it can be and this belief informs their choices going forward.  Many people knowing that smoking will kill them, smoke through heart attacks and lung cancer up until the bitter end or until the explosive oxygen they are using to breath precludes them from smoking—else they blow themselves up.

It is almost like the normal laws of cause and effect don’t apply as we go through these punctuated points. 

Sharing what I’ve learned

Two teachers have informed me that their contracts will not be picked up for next year, basically getting their warn notices.  For one, I put what I learned into a letter.    As state governments deal with their short falls I fear there will be many more layoffs.  And then if the federal cuts  come quickly another wave of layoffs will follow.

I thought I would share this here and it might give some ideas on helping others.

So sorry and so excited to hear your news. Our times of growth happen in interesting times, in times when the rug is pulled out from under us. Times when each step you take, unsure of the footing, you have to gingerly test to see if it will hold.

Networking VII -Gone but not forgotten.

Image via Wikipedia

It has been great.  I haven’t even thought about searching for a job.  I haven’t touched my resume.  The break has been good.

The state of Washington was a bit late getting into this recession and is late coming out of it as well.  The state budgets are constrained beyond belief and the cuts they are looking at are truly draconian.   With this backdrop, I’m thinking that the possibility of having my current 6 month UW position morph into a full time permanent position is pretty slim.  I’m not burning any bridges though, the work is there, and my skill set is very helpful for where they are as an organization.  A permanent position is like a carrot dangling just out of reach.   I will be working hard to get to the carrot and at the same time I will need to be looking for work.

Time passes by so quickly, I have already been in the position for 5 weeks.  I want to go at least another 3 weeks before I get serious about job hunting again.  This will begin with adding information about my current position to my resume and getting that all ready to go.

Excellent Questions

Today I receive the following comment on the last post:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Getting ready for the first day at school":

How has your first week gone? Has it been easy to slip back into the routine, is it exciting to be there? How does it feel to work again instead of working at home to find a position? How is the adjustment of shared chores at home instead of you doing all the cooking and cleaning? Have friends been supportive?

Posted by Anonymous to Other Dribblings at February 18, 2011 7:46 AM

These are great and I thought I would answer them here.

How has your first week gone?

Day 254–Transition -Keeping my Network Informed

Image via Wikipedia

This is the fifth part on the series on Networking.  In this post, I will share how I attempt to keep my network informed as to what is happening with me and where I need to the help of my network.

I have taken the track that I need to continually be adding value for my network and then every once in a while focus on my situation.  There is a balancing act associated with this; otherwise, my network will stop paying attention.  It is hard to judge the affect my communications are having, though I do have a few concrete areas to watch.  Blogging has associated metrics on how many people visit the blog and how many pages a person looks at. I can’t identify individual users by who they are, but I can see where they come from, how many pages our read, and some other information from which I can put together a bit of a profile of blog usefulness.   Blog comments also provide a window into what readers  are thinking, though I wished this was a more active form of feedback.   On Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Email, I can see the responses I get and use this as a gauge to the attention of my network, though this is a very incomplete metric.  I also receive quite a bit of direct feedback from people that I see them in person concerning things that I have posted.

Day 228–Transition–Breaking the Code?

Image via Wikipedia

It has been busy last few weeks.  I have wanted to continue on with my networking series of posts, but have not had the time to get back to it.  There are several reasons for this.  It is the beginning of the Holiday season so going through Thanksgiving took some time away from my normal activities.  I also pushed to get the remodel to the point that the sheet rocker can come in.  All the cabling and electrical work in the walls is complete.

But the larger reason is two fold.  The first is that I think companies are more interested in hiring people, maybe it is a end of the year push or a beginning of the year push, but it has seemed to change in the last couple of months.  Companies who are hunkering down to weather bad times, tend not to hire people like me that help with improving their efficiency and productivity.  They need people that can keep the factory up and running and not much else.  Now people are looking at capturing efficiencies so that they don’t overhire people and so that they can work on the backlog of improvements and changes that have piled up over the last couple years.

The second area that I think has changed is the way that I am applying for jobs.  I think I may have finally cracked the code on getting my resume to be seen by people.

Day 212–Transition–Networking Part III

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It’s a conspiracy of sorts.  I started the idea for this series of post on Networking; got into the middle of it and then got lost.   I had a plan, but I’ve been hesitating on moving forward.  Mainly, my plan bored me, so I’ve been waiting for something better to come along.
Sometimes networking sounds like a conspiracy of sorts.  Sometimes it seems so contrived and dishonest.   We all have seen those people that are overly self promoting; people the come on so strong you want to run and hide from them.   Now looking for work it seems that everyone is saying that I need to become this person.  That I need to be putting myself out there.  I think I have been guilty of this at certain times in my life, times that I look back on as a lesson in how not to be.
I’m a bit strange in that I like to  be in front of groups; I like facilitating groups.   This is more strange because I a somewhat introverted person.   Introversion doesn’t mean that I don’t like to be with people.  A great definition given to me a few years looks as introversion/extroversion from the perspective of energy:  an extrovert is a person that gains energy by being with more people and feels depleted when isolated and an introvert is a person who gains energy with fewer people around and expends energy when with larger groups.  Introversion and extroversion are the two ends of a continuum;  each of is unique in where we fall on the scale.  This changes depending on particular situations and can also go through major shifts through out your life.
As an example of particular situations making a difference, I become much more introverted in situations in which I’m unfamiliar.  Attending an Networking Event , at a place I have never been, filled with people that I don’t know is a recipe for me becoming a uncomfortable wall flower.   While if I was attending a family or a work pot luck you would find me in the thick of the party  talking to many people and catching up on the latest in their world and updating them on mine.  Both of these are examples of networking.  We all do networking, and I think for the most part many of have an edge where the networking becomes uncomfortable or unnatural for us.
Part of my hesitation in moving forward with this series was in being able to understand and articulate this discomfort. 
Another part that has been holding me up is in having a concept of the whole.  As a systems thinker,  I need to see the whole before I can understand the parts.  This is synthesis, it is the reverse of analysis.  In analysis you take something apart and examine each pieces in order to gain understanding.  In order to understand the whole I need some sort of definition which defines the scope of what networking is.  I ‘m sure it includes the new tools like LinkedIn and Facebook but these aren’t all of it. It must include these things called business mixers that have become popular of late.   What else should be included?
A friend sent me a note this week and it crystallized a few of the ideas that I was struggling with:

you've blogged a couple times about "networking". that word and that concept just bugs me. strikes me wrong.

Day 192 – Transition – Networking Part I

Image by Robert S. Donovan via Flickr

Everywhere I turn for knowledge in this job search the term networking comes up and how important it is in today’s job search.  I think it always has been important but even more so today.
I’m thinking of doing a few blog entries on networking because this is such a big and seemingly amorphous topic that I hope that I can bring a little shape to the subject.
First, what has happened in the last few years that makes networking so important?
It has always been the case that knowing people helped in getting a job.  The son of the owner, a friend of a manager, or just friend putting in the word that you are a normal person and not some whacko off the street has always made a difference; maybe not if you are that whacko off the street, but otherwise it has.
But what they are talking about now is a change has taken place where knowing someone makes a crucial difference 30 % to 40% of the time.  The internet has made deep changes in how people look for a job and how companies screen and this has caused a overwhelming job for hiring managers. 

Day 157- Transition - Feelings just below the surface

It is over 5 months now without work.  The Last severance check came today.  From this time on, our monthly expenses will be exceeding our monthly income unless we can make some big cuts.
This ending has caused quite a bit of anxiety, dread, and even fear to surface.  There has been fear and anxiety all through this experience, but the last couple weeks has seemed worse.  Somewhere in the back of my mind I had assumed that I would be hired by now.  That we would be set back some, but that we would be able to get up and get going fairly rapidly.  
As I have prepared myself for this interruption in my career, I have thought about the long term, about being unemployed for a long time.  And I have meet many people that have been out of work for well over a year as reminders not to forget this reality of our present times.   And with all of that, somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I had held onto an anticipation that I would be hired by now.  That I would find that perfect job and begin again: a new company, a new position, a wealth of learning, a temporary side journey, a nuisance of sorts: but not an overwhelming obstacle.
It has been the clinging to this thought, that has caused my turmoil over the last few weeks.  The fear of losing this and entering an unknown territory.
Fear is a constricting emotion.  On the savannah, when the lions were hunting, this fear caused our attention to narrow.  We stopped being able to see the berries or grub worms that would make a great meal, and instead we would intently listen for any noise  and scan for any movement of a large cat.  This emotion would keep us alive.
Today the emotion is not always so useful.  My narrowing has meant frantic motion to find a job.  The narrowing has meant that I have forgone exercising and working on the remodel.  The house hasn’t been as well maintained.  Last week with my wife out of town, I didn’t take the time to prepare a weekly meal plan.  I’m sure this probably cost us extra in groceries.
Last week I went to the ProLango training sessions, (see  day 153).  These are good classes, and they are feeder classes for the paid set of course that accompany them.   One of the claims of the class is, “You need to get going.  There are several large companies, especially a huge software company in town that is planning to lay off thousands near Christmas.  You have to get hired before you have to compete with these also. “ 
Was it just a sales tactic?  Was it true?  In either case it played on that fear that I was feeling.  It increased the anxiety that I was feeling.  It made me consider whether I should I be signing up for the next classes. 
I think I need to do a few things to counter act this fear that I am feeling.  The first is to release what ever anticipation I was holding about how the future was supose to work.  This journey will take as long as it takes.  What I need to do is to make the next step and every step is the best that I can.  I have to work hard to find a new job, I have to do uncomfortable and unfamiliar things, and I have to learn new ways of being.  But I have been doing this since the start so this isn’t something new. 
I need to take a longer look and see what has been working and what needs to change since the start and use this as the basis for improving what I have been doing.  Not let fear or other emotions control what I am doing.
Months ago, I made some crude estimates about finances and I have used this rough estimate up to now.  It is time that this get a bit more detailed.  I need to get a fairly accurate plan of our finances for the next couple of years.  I’m hoping this doesn’t involve tons of work.  But this plan will help relieve some anxiety of the unknown.
And lastly, I need to look for the ways that keep my attention opened up.  Exercising and meditating are great at this.   I had cut down on exercising because I injured my foot, now it is time to get back to full speed.  Taking small periods of time to meditate would be beneficial in many different ways.   A third area that helps my open my attention is by spending time in nature.  This I can combine with the exercising to gain great benefit.

To often we underestimate how quickly our feelings are going to change because we underestimate our ability to change them. 

                                            
-- David Gilbert, Ph.D

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Day 124 transition – This officially sucks—mostly.

Well it has been a little over 6 months since this ordeal began, and about 4 months since being laid off.  Time to take stock and look at the macro level to see what has been happening.
Looking for work in the worse job market in decades is not fun.  In fact, it sucks.  It seems that things are getting better, (there seems to me to be more jobs to look at),  but the pace of job growth is dismally slow.  This combined with the number people out looking is making it very tough.  Also, I read an article today that companies are trying harder to make better employment decision in the first place, which translate into longer time to evaluate candidates up to twice as long to make decisions.

Unemployment 1890 to 2008

Unemployment Jan 2007 – Jan 2010

It is not just the unemployed that are looking.  I have friends at Boeing that have decided it is time to leave.  Several are beginning the process of building up their resumes and dipping their feet in the waters of job searching.  Protecting what they have, but giving up the dream of staying with Boeing.  My point is there are many employed people that are looking to change positions or companies and are actively out looking.
So far, I have had 78 job applications or interviews.  Accompanied by 61 rejections.  John Gottman the relationship expert says that in order to have healthy relationships you need to have a 5 to 1 ratio of positive interactions to negative interactions.  Unless somebody radically changes the job hunting process, I will never be able to build a healthy relationship with job hunting. 
My hope lies in the current 17 open job requisitions which have not responded, some date back to May.  Not saying that one of the local airplane manufactures is slow, but I have given up hope  that I will be getting a call these.  I dare them. I double Dare them.  Hell, I Double Dog Dare them to prove me wrong.
So how am I doing on the other things I was trying to accomplish.  I wanted to do more than just job hunt.  I had the following areas that I wanted to focus on:

• Find a Job (Priority 1)
• Be a great stay at home Dad
• Get healthy (lose weight and get in better shape)
• Remodel the house
• Define a non profit that I have been thinking about.

Finding a job.

  This progresses, but I feel like a failure here.  I keep bashing my head against the wall and hoping that it busts through soon.  This is a class the I feel I’m trying hard, but so far I don’t quite understand what the teacher is looking for.  I would say I get a C here.

Being a stay at home Dad.

I think I’m being more good than great.  I have been focusing on other areas and could keep the house cleaner.   It isn’t bad, just still trying to find the right mix of when things need to be cleaned and developing the self discipline to complete the task when it comes up. 
I believe that we are eating healthier and I pretty happy about that.  I use more whole grains and have tried to reduce the amount of corn syrup.  Also, the amount of fruit in our diet has gone up. 

Getting healthy.

Here it is a mixed bag.  I have done lousy in the exercise department over the last month because I injure my foot and have tried to let it heal.  It doesn’t seem to be getting much better.  So I may try building up my walking again.  I could also be lifting weights, but I have been bad about getting over there.  I hope to improve in this area significantly in September.
Image via WikipediaLosing weight I’m doing great, at least for me.  I’m not at the Biggest Loser level that you see on TV, but I’m afraid people’s addiction to quick changes is what holds many people back.  I am much more satisfied to slowly take it off and then work to keep it off.  Since the beginning of the year I lost over 15 lbs.  I still have a ways to go to get to my perfect weight, but I am starting to see and feel the difference.  My blood pressure has been trending down since the beginning of the year and if it keeps going the way that it is, I should be able to stop my medication before long. 
So over all, I give myself a B in this area.  A B that I am pretty happy with.  If I can get back at the exercise, then I will have an A in this area.

 

Remodeling the house.

This is going slowly but we are making progress and September promises to be a month of big changes here.  The master bath is being rebuilt this week and by next Friday we could be able to take showers in there (using a temporary shower curtain instead of a door that will have to be ordered.
In the basement the tear down is proceeding and hopefully by the end of next week will be complete.  We have the cabinets in for both bathrooms and the old bar area.  And we have the tub in to replace it.  We are waiting for the other shower to get operational before tearing into the main bath.
I am meeting with a Sheet Rocker tonight and will find out what he can do.  He has a regular job, so he will only be able to work nights and weekends.  I have seen his work and it is great.    I’m excited to get this going.
We are trying to figure out what we want for electrical, carpet, and other colors downstairs and in the main bath.  So we once again have samples laying around the house. 
In this area, I give us an B- with most of the grade coming in September. 

Defining a non-profit.

Here I have done great.  I have thought about this and decided that I idea that I had was not worth pursuing .  There are many institutions that are out their, adding another one isn’t of great value.  Many later on I will get back to this, but for now this is complete.   This turned out to be a Pass/Fail endeavor and I ended up with a Pass.
I titled this the officially sucks, mostly.  It has it good points.  I am in better health physically and mentally than I was in February when this all started.  I feel that I am closer to my kids, than I would have been if my job would have continued.  I feel that I am having more of an effect in their lives than if I was working over this whole summer.  Could I have done better, you bet you, but the progress I have made is good and I like that I have been given the chance to change my focus.  I feel less stressed, I think that is why the weight is coming off; I’m doing less stress related stuffing of my mouth out of boredom.
The hardest part with this all is in the inability to have enough structure to plan for the future.  Instead, every day is a work day, a day to do something related to looking for work.  Others things are thrown in as best I can.

Overall

My nervousness has gone up in the fourth month.  I can feel the end of my severance pay coming up.  The unemployment checks are a welcomed addition to our finances, but it is not enough to sustain us with one in college and another one headed that way.  We are comfortable, not at our wits end yet.  We are lucky to have all that we do, and I wish we had a little more stability that we could bank on.  I appreciate the chance to improve in others areas than just being a working stiff.
I pray for the many, many people that are worse off than we are. 
Today’s quote, I think as a society we have a lot of this that we must do.  I know I have to work hard at getting my heart in order:

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.
-- Confucius

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Day 114 – Transition – Hanging In

It is amazing how busy my days are now that I am not working.   The list of things I need to do is endless, and I find myself  lapsing into catch up mode quite often when I focus in one area for too long.

I am in wait mode for hearing back from a job a UW.   I interviewed and felt the interview went well and it seems like a great job.  Hope to hear back soon and at the same time UW is notorious for taking a long time to make decisions.

In the mean time I have found several other jobs to apply for.  And hoping to get some more interviews from these applications.

The last two weeks of the WorkSource Networking group have been great.  Last week they had Ray Roberts a former Seahawk now motivational speaker and this week was Rita Ashley and Executive Career coach and author.  Ray has a down home style and personality which was inviting and great to listen to.  His message was about the importance of relationships in life and how mentors had influenced his life. 

Rita’s main message was about the importance of networking in looking for a job.  She believes the idea of putting in an application without already having a in with the company ludicrous.   She understands that it is a requirement for unemployment, but she believes it is not the way people get hired.  Her book is self published I believe, which is becoming more and more common.  I would like to write a book at some point, now if I can just narrow down a subject.  Here is a link to her website JobSearch4Execs

After hearing that I didn’t get one of the jobs I interviewed for, Ray’s message was perfectly timed to lift my spirits.  Rita’s message was filled with takeaways that I can use.  I am re-invigorated to write an  elevator speech and to adjust my LinkedIn presence—tightening up my message in both cases.   Here is a YouTube video about elevator speeches for an investment pitch; it needs a little translation for job hunting but the basic idea if the same.

 

I have been experimenting with a couple of programs.  The first is Google reader—I have been using this in the hopes of being able to digest information faster both to give myself news, but also as a way to find article that are worth sharing in a social networking context.  And another program that I loaded yesterday, but that I think has promise is call Gist.  Gist allows you to follow people and companies in one center location.  In one location, you see news articles, tweets, Facebook entries and more.  This allows you to engage more directly with your network.

So now I’m back in the saddle and very busy.  The remodel has kicked into a higher gear as I have moved the TV and computer upstairs, basically eliminating the basements as part of the house.  This has crunched our living into a smaller area—already feeling the closeness in both the negative and positive aspects.   I’m in the middle of gutting the walls and ceiling down to the studs.  Hoping to complete the gutting by the end of the week.

Soccer assistant coaching has also started for my daughter’s team.  First practice was yesterday, the car registered 90 degrees, which is melting weather for Seattle.  Supporting practices takes a bit more time away from other tasks, but it is worth it to be outside and helping the girls learn teamwork and the skills of soccer.   And I think we are going to have a fun team this year. 

Can’t believe it has been 114 days.  Time passes so quickly.

Today’s Quote:

Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.

--Stephen R. Covey

 

Day 99 Transition – Pins and Needles.

It is another day of studying to prepare for an interview.  Wednesday is interview day.  There isn’t near as much material to review as the last interview, though I there is a particular method that I need to go back and bone up on.  I imagine that I will put about 10 hours into this over the next few days.
Looking for work must be part of God’s plan to build patience in people.  The waiting to hear news about job applications entered or interviews results is the hardest part of job hunting.  It starts with not hearing much of anything.  Job application after job application goes in with little or not response.  Some do send a note:

Thank you for your application, but we have decided to go with someone that is infinitely more qualified, better looking, and is just a all around better specimen of a human being. 

These usually come about two or three weeks after you have lost any knowledge about ever putting in the application.  If I’m lucky, a search of my records provides that link, “Oh yes, I see I did apply for that company. “
The next step, sometimes, is the phone interview.   Apparently, these have no social implications of providing response back to the interviewee.  At least I have never received a note saying:

Thank you for your phone conversation.  We have decide to go with a person with much better tonality.   Also in the future we would suggest going with a mobile carrier with a little better sound quality.

The response from the phone interview would be getting a request for a second interview.  I’m not sure the rational length of time one should hold on to hope of getting a positive response from a phone interview.   My longest is two months, so I have decided to give up hope on all phone interviews that don’t get back to me within 3 months.
Getting a second interview from a first interview is new territory for me and  I’m in the wait mode right now.  Based on my questioning in the interview, a response could have been receive (best case scenario) last Friday.  I’m pretty sure this is one of the special  Buddhist levels of hell—the waiting for a interview response hell realm.   
I use all sorts of methods to cope; or should I say my torture devices all exist in my own mind and include methods such as:

•  Putting it out of mind—just refuse to think about it.  This can only work for so long.
• Praying—trying to illicit outside help or influence using my more Christian beliefs.   This is mixed with guilt of asking for such trivial selfish desires.
• Reviewing the interview—reviewing the interview for the millionth time trying to understand what could have discounted something. 
• Timeline review—my interview happened here, let’s say they are interviewing 5 people, they complete here, and I should get called just about, ah, let’s see…, now.  It is amazing how complicated I can make these timelines.
• I should have…—making up actions that I should have done to be more successful. (I should have bought the $2 Thank You cards and not the ones on sale for $1.57)

Well it is pins and needles for a while. Hopefully, I will hear soon.

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, not a man perfected without trials."
                                              -- Chinese Proverb

Day 96 – Transition – Software Update

Right before leaving Boeing, I did a two part blog post call moving on (part 1 and Part 2) where I covered some of the computing issues I had been dealing with as I left Boeing.  Having a Boeing laptop for many years had negated the need for a personal computer and associated software.

In this blog, I would like to review the changes and see what ones have lasted, additions since then, and which ones haven’t worked out.

Gmail is still my official mail for work related correspondence.

Boeing used Outlook and the only feature that I miss was the use of signatures.  Over the years I had built up a library of quotes that I could use as my signatures.  I haven’t found anything to replace.  I have an older version of outlook on my machine for only two purposes.  The first is the quotes and the second is just in case that I need to retrieve old information from my archive files.

One program that I have not used much is Thunderbird email.  This is a free email solution.  I stopped using it because it doesn’t do so well at bringing in my Comcast email.  This may just be a configuration problem I’m having.  With it only bring in my Gmail account, it is a just as easy to work directly in Gmail instead of layering only software on top of it.  Recently, I have been taking another look at this software wondering if I have missed some functionality.

Google calendar is what I’m using for calendar functions, it works great.  I have some trouble in that I have so little use of a calendar now, that I find I miss things because of the lack of structure centered around the calendar.  This is a recurring theme with me, having a regular structure is required in order to keep on top of things.    I have Mozilla Sunbird, the calendaring program, loaded on my computer and it is in the same category as Thunderbird.  It is good software, but I’m having a hard time understanding why I would use this over Google calendar.

Google now has off line versions for all of their products.  I haven’t been disconnected or working offline, but if I was, my information would still be available offline for both mail and calendar.  Both of these Google products work seamlessly with my android phone.

Remember the Milk has been great for tracking my tasks.  It has the ability to set up recurring task.    This has been great for setting up the cleaning tasks around the house and being able to adjust the recurrence as I have tried to bring down the amount of time being spent on cleaning.  Again this is only as effective as my own self discipline and ability to keep myself on track.  Google calendar has a task capability that is built into their products, but it is not near as capable or friendly as RTM.

For browsing I have both IE and FireFox; I prefer FireFox but some sites just need IE, most notably Microsoft and Expedia do better in IE.   There is a lot of small apps that I’m using within Firefox and this customization has made it the center of my computing.  One that I will mention because it stops a lot of clutter is AdBlock.  This strips much of the advertising off web pages allowing more focus on the information.

For Job searching, I am primarily using Simply Hired.  I love how it interfaces well with LinkedIn.  It also has an interface with FaceBook which I think needs some work.  I now have my searches loaded into FireFox so that I can go into a job search folder and open all tabs and it goes off and opens 15 tabs which take about minute to complete.  The first tab is Boeing, then I have a set of company searches, and then a set open ended searches on different specific search terms.  I have the company searches set up that they only bring in information from the companies website (here I am assuming the all the jobs a company puts out will be on their site which I think is a good assumption).  Also these searches bring up all the jobs that the company puts out.  This allows me to understand what jobs the is putting out.  Sometimes their language is for a job is different than a search term would pick up.  The down side is I have to go through all the jobs posted; for Microsoft, Expedia, UW, and Starbucks this can be quite a few, but I can go through these pretty quickly especially after I get familiar with a company’s specific language.

For networking I’m using LinkedIn in a number of ways.  Keeping track with my contacts activities, researching links to jobs that I want to apply for, and through the use of groups and commenting in group activity.  I am also using Facebook as a way to stay connected with people.  I have been using Twitter to gather interesting information, to post articles, and to get news.  I have been trying to learn how to use twitter for more job possibilities but haven’t developed a good understanding of how to use this as tool for jobs. 

Instead of using adobe postscript reader I have switched to a product called Nitro that allows better taking of notes and highlighting.  It also seems faster.

A product that I just started using but like is a note taking program and interfaces well with phones, Firefox, the internet and a stay alone program.  This is called Evernote and is great for gather information from many different sources and bringing them together in one common database.  I’m looking at storing all of my job requisition information in here. 

Another product that I have just start using is called Zemanta.  It helps with blog writing and automatically brings up resources as you type.  This can also be used in constructing email.  This is nice because it makes the  writing process even more of the learning process, makes the blog entries more graphical and provides more take away information.

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Day 94 Transition – Staying Engaged

When working, I get 100% engaged into what I am doing.  All of my brain is engaged in my work activity.  So much so that I need to make sure that make time for the other important parts of my life like family, friends, exercise, and relaxation.

Now without work, I find that the opposite is true.  I need to do things that engage my mind in order to stay alert.  This is why at the start of this journey, I choose to do more than just focus on getting a job.  While keeping getting a job as the number one priority, I choose to also focus on getting healthy, becoming a good house Dad, and remodeling our house.

Keeping exercise as an important activity has made this journey a lot easier.  I was slacking a bit on exercise even before my recent foot injury and I’m feeling the fact that I haven’t done much in the way of exercise for the last few days due since the injury.  I hope that I can use this injury to refocus my efforts, and to get back pushing my limits physically as I come off this minor set back.

In addition to the physical engagement, I’m finding the need to push on the mental engagement.  I have been reading a bit more than usual and my reading habits have seemed to change somewhat.   In the past, it was not unusual to find myself reading two or three books at one time.  Now I have noticed that I am more focused and stick to reading one book through to the end.   This is nothing conscious, just something that seems to have happened. 

I am also finding a need to more regularly do puzzles.  My phone has a sudoku app on it that I have found my self playing when I get a chance.  I have done these for several years, but find that I am doing two sometimes three in a day now.

I have also started doing other more learning type reading.  Using Remember the Milk task tracking, I have been setting up a daily task to do a small bit of reading that I may not want to focus on and read straight through.  I have finished the Dhammapada, an ancient Buddhist Text, this way.  Now I am reading an Ebook call the Basics of Grammar as a refresher.

Yesterday, I ran across a great list of websites for learning on a LinkedIn discussion group and have been thinking about how I can incorporate some of this into my daily schedule.  The list was supplied by Jose Velasquez and I have included below after today’s quote.  This is a huge list.  I visited a couple yesterday and noticed a few that I have been too before.   

Also, here is a slide show I found on the same subject that I thought was very good and packed with resources:

Classroom 2.0: The Best Places to Learn Online

View more presentations from Chrystal Porter.

If you haven’t had enough yet; after Jose’s list there is some additional resources for your enjoyment.

Today’s Quote:

Success is peace of mind which is the result of knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.

--John Wooden, Head Basketball Coach UCLA

 

Here is the list as supplied by Jose :

Useful sites to Inspire you

These websites have thousands of video lectures from the world's top scholars.

http://Academicearth.org
http://www.learnerstv.com/
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/index.htm
http://worldlibrary.net/Collections.htm
http://freevideolectures.com/
http://videolectures.net/
http://lecturefox.com
http://www.ted.com/
http://OCW.ND.edu

Courses include detailed lecture notes, a calendar of reading assigned for each class and a description of major assignments.
http://OCW.Tufts.edu
Offers student-made documentaries about social issues as well as a list of weekly readings.
http://iTunes.Stanford.edu
Professors Martin Evans and Marsh McCall lecture on great works by Virgil to Voltaire.
http://iTunes.Berkeley.edu
Berkeley's lectures online
http://WebCast.Berkeley.edu
alternate site of Berkeley's lectures.
http://scholarspot.com/
http://www.varsitynotes.com/

If anyone is interested in Entrepreneurship and learning more about what it takes to own or run a business, I highly recommend the Standford eCorner ( http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=1554 ) or the Harvard business school ( http://www.hbs.edu/entrepreneurs/ ) podcasts.   Both are great resources that provide outstanding insight into running your own business
http://oedb.org/library/features/236-open-courseware-collections
http://www.careervoyages.gov/education-videos.cfm
http://www.sba.gov/tools/audiovideo/deliveringsuccess/index.html
http://www.sba.gov/training/index.html
http://www.sba.gov/tools/audiovideo/Podcasts/index.html
http://www.openculture.com/2007/07/freeonlinecourses.html
http://www.videomd.com/featured_videos.aspx
http://www.freesciencelectures.com/
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
http://education.usgs.gov/common/video_animation.htm
http://www.nachi.org/advancedcourses.htm
http://education-portal.com/video_library/index.html
http://www.serve.org/nche/ibt/aw_video.php
http://www.practisinc.com/interactive/patient-education-videos.php
http://scholarspot.com/
http://www.varsitynotes.com/
http://www.learnerstv.com/
http://www.stumbleupon.com
A link of Educational videos an more..
http://www.ovguide.com/education.html

Laughter is strong medicine for mind and body
“Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.”
~ Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.

I have gathered various videos for your delight and enjoyment we all need it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p32OC97aNqc 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN3iNxr2bhk 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW3gJFrZ4hY 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_wpunvbyKA&NR=1

For those wanting to make a little money on the side useful links for unemployment please forward to everyone
Subscribe
http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=joeveloz 
http://moneymaking777.blogspot.com/ 
http://www.getvouchersforfree.com?join=273 
http://www.cashle.com/?ref=joeveloz 
http://www.textbroker.com/ 
https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome 
http://www.demandstudios.com/ 
http://shaklee--distributor.blogspot.com/

Http://www.ocwconsortium.org/use/use-dynamic.html
An OpenCourseWare is a free and open digital publication of high quality educational materials, organized as courses. The OpenCourseWare Consortium is a collaboration of more than 200 higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating a broad and deep body of open educational content using a shared model.
http://www.oercommons.org/
In a brave new world of learning, OER content is made free to use or share, and in some cases, to change and share again, made possible through licensing, so that both teachers and learners can share what they know.
http://www.schoox.com/
In schooX you can find free online courses in a wide range of subjects. Over 500 online courses, which are soon to reach 2000, are already free available under a Creative Commons license.
http://selfmadescholar.com/b/self-education-resource-list/
The internet is an invaluable resource to self-educated learners. Below is a list of some of the most helpful sites out there including opencourseware materials, free libraries, learning communities, educational tools, and more.
http://www.missiontolearn.com/2009/12/learn-foreign-language-online/
Reading from a textbook isn’t the only way to learn a foreign language. The web offers a number of free tools that can be used to enhance the learning experience inside and outside the classroom. Here are 15 language learning tools to try today:
http://www.rfid4u.com/services/freeelearning.asp
RFID Basics Course
This course helps learners to understand the fundamentals of RFID technology and provides an overview of RFID hardware including different types of tags, tag frequencies, readers, antennas, and so on.
http://www.4shared.com/dir/25834616/400fbf67/sharing.html

5 months ago

Tools
http://us.smetoolkit.org/us/en
Your welcome
Templates
http://www.mplans.com/sample_marketing_plans.php
http://www.bplans.com/sample_business_plans.cfm
http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html
http://isb.wa.gov/pmframework/templates.aspx

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Day 89 – transition – Back in the groove

Well the excitement of preparing for the interview has faded.  I hope the job comes through, but in the mean time, I ‘m back into the groove of searching.  I had actually been collecting Job requisitions all week, if the job title looked interesting I saved it, though I didn’t have time to read through it to understand if it a was the least bit relevant. 

I can generally find about 20 titles per day that I want to read through.  Some of these will be discarded within a first few sentences, others are read all the way through.  Often I will skip to the qualifications sections and see how close I am to the requirements; if I’m way off I will throw it out without reading any further. 

Simply Hired has a star rating system from 1 to 5 stars and not interested button.  I set the number of stars after I have saved the requisitions to my jobs, and have read through the requisition.  Then when I do other searches I can see that it has already been read and rated it.  This also helps me understand how far I got in a previous search.  I don’t use the Not Interested button because I can’t see it outside of the my jobs section of the web site.

Yesterday and today I read through all the requisitions that I had collected, and found two that were very interesting and that I will apply for and another 3 or 4 that I will review again before deciding whether to apply. 

****************************************************************

The news lately has been pretty good about the economy getting better.  The first two weeks of July were terrible for job listings.  This seems to be slowly changing.  Even Boeing is listing a few more jobs than they were.    I hope this means that it is finally moving into full recovery mode.

***************************************************************

Due to the interview, my attention move completely away from the remodel.  So very little progress has been made on the master bath.   I had thought we had the tile picked out, turned out we have a little more deciding to do, which is a good thing, the new tiles we are considering are very nice.

Not sure if we will get anything done this weekend, as it is looking like summer time fun will trump the remodel.  Next week I will be able to make some progress.   And then it will be time to prep for the next interview.  There won’t be as much available to review.

Today’s Quote:

Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

-Chang Tzu

Day 87 – Transition – We it rains it pours

The last couple of days have been focused on studying for the interview tomorrow.  I am pretty much ready.  Having reviewed what was on their website;  the website of their outside consultant that is working with them, my own personal notes on Lean and rereading so seminal articles on Lean, I believe that I am pretty much ready.  This was a lot of material and helpful to go over.

My friend, who had this same position several years ago, needed to push our phone conversation off until tomorrow.  That will take place in the morning.

I’m hoping for another cool day.  Wearing a monkey suit  and tie when it is 85 outside sounds pretty uncomfortable.  This is all picked out, though I still need to iron everything.  Tomorrow will be spent in final preparations like ironing  and reviewing interviewing books on loan from the library. 

This has been a lot of preparation, but it will seem like  just a pittance compared to getting a job and starting to put in 40+ hours a week again.

Getting a job will create a whole other set of complications that we would have to handle now that my wife is back at work.  But that would be more fun to handle than the changes we have been dealing with to date.

After all the back and forth trying to get my TAA cobra insurance lined up, this is where the federal government would subsidize my health care benefits by 80%, we have decided to drop the insurance and use  my wife’s insurance coverage.  This will save us over $400 per month, a tidy sum.  The insurance isn’t quite as good, but it will do.  It was a godsend that my wife could get her position so quickly.  And the benefits are very good compared to most places today.

When it rains it pours.  I received another request for an interview.  This one won’t happen until the beginning of August.  It is for another position that would be exciting to go into.   I’m all up for getting a few more of these lined up.  Maybe we could hold one of those reverse auctions for my services….  Chris…, wake up…, wake up…, you started dreaming there for a second.

Also, seems like I’m hearing more good news about the economy.  In Washington state it was reported that job listings are up 21% from last fall.   And with all the cash that big corporations are holding it seems like hiring could bust loose at anytime.    My cynical side says it will probably just amount to higher executive bonuses rather than jobs, but let’s remain hopeful.

Today’s Quote took me a bit of reflection to become comfortable with:

"The basic difference between an ordinary person and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary person takes everything as a blessing or a curse."

-- Carlos Castaneda

Day 85 – Transition – prepping for scrutiny

I have been focusing this weekend on studying material for my interview on Wednesday.  There is a lot of material that I have been going over.  I found a 100 year strategic plan, a master plan that details out their growth for the next 20 years, several newspaper articles, and many PDF’s on their website.  And as I have gone through these readings I have found references to subjects that need to be researched.  Since this also involves an outside consultant group that has been working with this organization, I also went through their website all of their materials.

Much of the material that I have read has been  a refresher course in Lean.  Though many of the names have been changed from the Boeing terms, it is basically the same thing.  It was good to make the connections and learn about what they are emphasizing and at what level of Lean maturity they are currently at.

Today, I am going to go back and dissect the original job requisition and make a list of stories about each item I find.  They want to hear about my Lean experience and my consulting theory of practice is, so I need to detail these out a bit.

A friend of mine, that works in HR there, is going to bring me a packet of information for my review today.   Then tomorrow I will have a phone conversation with another person who had the same job a few years back.   It is great that I have two networking contacts for this position.  Hopefully these networking contacts will tip the scales in my favor.

And if I have some additional time I will review the two books I have on hard interview questions.  And if more time still exists, I will review some of the reference books I found in my studying that I have in my personal library.

This will end up taking me about 5 full days of preparation.  This time is precious, I have to make sure that I am prepared for where ever that interview might go.  

I am excited and would consider this a step up from my Boeing job.  One reason is  because at Boeing I was supporting the military industrial complex.  This always had a negative feeling to it for me, generally I would just ignore this feeling, but it was always there.  Since this position is in Health care my efforts would be going towards making lives better and everyone that works there is aligned with this idea.  This feelings much better to me, something that I can be fully committed to.

I have always heard that you need to treat the job search as a full time job.  I have to say that I am glad that I have chose to have other areas to also pay attention to.  The problem is not around putting in the 40 hours a week, this is easy;  the problem is around this search becoming so all consuming that you do nothing else.  Then it would be easy to get so burnt out that the amount you are accomplishing goes down, even though the amount of hours stays high.

I surf this edge of being all consumed.  This week because of the interview my focus will be on the search as much as I can make it.  Next week I’m sure I will focus on the remodel and doing extra exercising.    I have felt myself getting burnt out and a bit depressed as I entered July and I still haven’t heard anything from anyone.  Getting this interview has been helpful.

What I need to realize is that all of these: getting depressed, getting burnt out, feeling lifted because of getting the interview, are mind states that I have control over.  With practice I can lift my spirits even if I hadn’t got called for the interview.  I had already started focusing a bit more on the remodel: first because there was a need to get certain jobs done for the tile guy; and secondly, this was also a way to get away from the job search and recharge my batteries.  Remembering to make the time for exercise is one of the best and easiest recharge activities.

It is important for me to have areas that I can go to get some reprieve.  many people have given me advice about what I needed to do.  All of this advice has been given from a good heart.  But if I did everything that I was told I needed to do it would have taken an 120 hours a week since getting the warn notice,  I would still not be caught up, I would be a mental vegetable, and I would not have fully participated in the last few months of  life.

Today’s Quote:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

-- Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC)

Day 81- Transition – Never give up

I have received very little response on the job applications that I have sent out.  I had two interviews at Boeing, a phone interview with Children’s and an interview with Liberty Mutual that was later canceled when the job requisition was rescinded.  That is not much after 63 days under the warn notice and 81 days after being laid off, 144 – that’s a gross.

And lately, I have not been seeing any jobs that I could seriously apply for in the last couple of weeks.  Since the week before the 4th of July it seems to me that things had dried up, at least in the areas that I have been keeping track of. 

Boeing, as part of the severance package, pays for the first 3 months of health care.  The end of July is the last of our free ride.  The monthly cost $1715 with $125 being dental insurance.  Since Boeing is a trade affected company, I’m covered under the TAA act.  One of the benefits under TAA is that it will cover 80% of the full cobra cost.  They don’t cover dental but will cover 80% of $1590 leaving $318 and $125 or about $443 per month to continue the Boeing insurance.

How could people ever afford to make it without the 80% paid?  We are fortunate in that my wife was able to find a job with good benefits, so we are discussing whether to just go under her this plan.

In addition the end of my severance pay is quickly approaching, about two more months and it is gone.  Then things get tight. 

All of this is combining to be both disconcerting and a bit depressing.  It seems the August summer economic doldrums started early and have no sign of ending anytime soon.

That is the depressing back drop, I entered into the week with.  I have have seen myself quickly slide back into the doldrums myself when searching, reading through 50 or so job requisitions and not coming up with anything to apply to.  Then this week some hopeful glimmers.  First, I was focused on the the remodeling, so Monday and Tuesday My searching was rushed and didn’t bother me as I moved on to getting the bathroom sheet rock installed.  Then yesterday, I found a few jobs that looked more promising. 

One is very interesting and I spent several hours today creating a cover letter and redoing my resume to fit the job.   This is a change.   I use to change a few words on my resume and use a slightly modified previous cover letter.  Now it is major rewrites, tailoring both for the specific job.  It takes lot longer, but hopefully will result in a greater number of interviews.

On May 7th, I put in a application for a job that I really wanted.  On May 20th, I had a phone interview.  I had given up on this as long gone.  Today, I received a call that they want to interview me next week.  I’m very excited, because of all the applications that I have put it, many for exciting job possibilities, this is the job at the top of my list.

Maybe I’m not completely crazy in thinking that my resume was  good.  Maybe, I have been on the right track and it is just a matter of time for the right job to come along. 

Now if all the other applications that I have put in will please start calling for interviews and I would be appreciative. 

Today’s Quote:

Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

-Chang Tzu

Day 73 – transition – Back Sliding

Well, another month has come and gone.  I have back slid a bit, well maybe.

Last month for the 1.5 mile run I recorded 14.5 minutes, which was much better than the 23 minutes I recorded as my baseline.  In the last month, I have not been as good at doing the aerobic part of my exercise every day.  Part of this is from having the highest priority on finding a job, as it should be.  But what I find is that I keep at doing things to find a job, and all of the sudden it is past the time that I should have started prepping for dinner.  Or something else has come up that I forgot about, like a daughters tennis match.  Or maybe the blog writing took longer than expected.  A multitude of reasons have cause this to be missed once or twice a week in the last month. 

This month I ran 16 minutes on the treadmill, and I went back and repeated it a second to make sure I wasn’t just sloughing off the first try.  I have a hard time thinking that I could have ran 1.5 minutes faster a month before.  I’m thinking that this 14.5 was wrong, especially knowing how often I mess up the times.  This combined with the knowledge that I have gotten stronger and improved aerobically this month makes it hard for me to understand  this time.  This has a negative effect on the overall fitness score.

I have managed to do the weight lifting each and every time so far.  This is getting harder and more painful than when I first started.  Lifting the weights until your muscles failed is tough and I don’t think it gets easier.  I need to learn how to enjoy this part.

June brought the kids home from school and into the house.  This has cause disturbance in all areas.  My ability to control my diet has diminished somewhat.  My processes for cleaning the house and grocery shopping have all been strained.  Adding another meat eater/junk food junky into our family group has changed the dynamics of the meals and food that is available for my consumption.  Even my job searching has been made more erratic.  

On the job front, I like the searching process and the networking processes that I have in place.  I think it is just a matter of time before I make the connection with a good position.    I look to continue as I have been and to look for ways to continue to increase my networking.  I fear that the summer doldrums have started in the job market.  People who work are taking their vacations and things start to slow to a crawl in July and August.  I hope this isn’t the case, but it appears to be.  The news talks about a more fearful double dip recession, I don’t buy that  as anything more than their normal fear mongering, at least not yet.

On the home remodel, the shower surround we ordered came in.  It took 6 weeks and came in damaged.  Instead of reordering, so we decided to move to plan B.  We will tile instead.  We are in the process of ordering cabinets for the downstairs, this should be complete this week.  So I think we are making good progress in this area.

Having just celebrated a birthday, and just as I start the month of July, I need to recommit my efforts in the first four areas that I was working:

1. Finding a job
2. Getting in better health
3. Becoming the House Dad
4. Remodeling the house.

Numbers wise, things are going well.  In the last month I lost an additional 2 lbs.  That is a total of 6 since taking the baseline.  And this is down an additional 5 from earlier this year.  I am happy with my progress here. 

In body measurements everything is headed in the right directions with the best showing losing about 2 3/4 inches in the gut measurement.

In the physical fitness, my score went down a bit due to the change in the 1.5 mile run.   That accounted a difference of 3.5 points to the score, but I improved the other three categories ( Crunches +.5, Push Up +.1, and Body Composition (gut measurement) +1.5).  All toll, my score went from 67.4 last month to 66 this month.  This is still over double the baseline from the month before of 27.45 and still a ways from passing (75).

I’m happy with the change to my fitness.  My muscle strength continues to improve.  And my aerobic endurance is improving and is an area I should focus on in July.

As for the numbers Job wise, I will share these  in a later post. 

I wish I could say, I had a new job lined up that pays more than Boeing, has better benefits, and  I have arranged to start after a needed vacation. I have lost 15% of my original weight.  The house is in perfect order and the remodeling is complete.  But short of that, I am happy with my progress, feel hopeful for the future and loving the summer weather that has just started in Seattle.

Life is Good.

Today’s quote:

"The greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. As you think, so shall you be."

                                                                      --William James (1842-1910)

Working with Emotions part VI - References

This last entry was just to include some references and notes.

General Behavior Changing method:

1. Observe, Observe, Observe
1. Observe using reflection after the fact. Shortening the time between the behavior and the refection.
2. Start to notice as a behavior is happening.
3. Find the trigger.
4. Add a breath after the trigger
5. Derail the behavior with a new step.
6. Continue the same derail until the new behavior is learned.
2. You will make a lot of mistakes, expect it, it is part of the process.  With each mistake and mess up you learn and become more powerful in making the the changes that you are trying to make.
3. Be kind and gentle with your self.   The is no need to berate yourself in this process.

Note:

Many times the behavior will change just by being  observed.  Keep observing without trying to make changes until you feel you really know it.

You can general feel the energy of a pattern decreasing as soon as you start recognizing the pattern.

This work takes dedication and perseverance.  The time is measured in months and years not days and hours.  Once you start though changes happen before you know it.

Keeping a daily journal or a private blog is a great way to reflect on behaviors.

Meditation is an excellent helper in doing this.

Be gentle with your self.

 

Wikipedia entries

Mental Models

Mood

Emotion - more in depth than needed

Emotional Intelligence

Noble Eight Fold Path

Systems Thinking

Dukkha Part 1 -- Podcast by Andrea Fella – Dharma Talk 59 Minutes long, mp3 format  - need to translate a bit from the Buddhist words like Dukkha (suffering), but this is a good talk dealing with the same subject. http://www.audiodharma.org/

Here are some of the books that have influenced me in this area. (Many of these are available at your favorite half price books)

  The Fifth Discipline – Peter Senge  Overview of systems thinking and the interrelated disciplines of:

1. Mental Models
2. Team Learning
3. Shared Vision
4. Systems Dynamics
5. Personal Mastery

Video book review of 5th Discipline

 

Daniel Goleman’s Books

Here are a few of the books listed on Daniels Goleman’s website: Daniels web

Social Intelligence: The New Science of Social Relationships – 2006 – Emotional Intelligence was an international phenomenon, appearing on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year and selling more than five million copies worldwide. Now, once again, Daniel Goleman has written a groundbreaking synthesis of the latest findings in biology and brain science, revealing that we are “wired to connect” and the surprisingly deep impact of our relationships on every aspect of our lives.

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ – 1996 – New York Times science writer Goleman argues that our emotions play a much greater role in thought, decision making and individual success than is commonly acknowledged. He defines “emotional intelligence”?a trait not measured by IQ tests?as a set of skills, including control of one’s impulses, self-motivation, empathy and social competence in interpersonal relationships. Although his highly accessible survey of research into cognitive and emotional development may not convince readers that this grab bag of faculties comprise a clearly recognizable, well-defined aptitude, his report is nevertheless an intriguing and practical guide to emotional mastery. In marriage, emotional intelligence means listening well and being able to calm down. In the workplace, it manifests when bosses give subordinates constructive feedback regarding their performance. Goleman also looks at pilot programs in schools from New York City to Oakland, Calif., where kids are taught conflict resolution, impulse control and social skills.

Working with Emotional Intelligence – 1998 – Working With Emotional Intelligence takes the concepts from Daniel Goleman’s bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, into the workplace. Business leaders and outstanding performers are not defined by their IQs or even their job skills, but by their “emotional intelligence”: a set of competencies that distinguishes how people manage feelings, interact, and communicate. Analyses done by dozens of experts in 500 corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide conclude that emotional intelligence is the barometer of excellence on virtually any job. This book explains what emotional intelligence is and why it counts more than IQ or expertise for excelling on the job. It details 12 personal competencies based on self-mastery (such as accurate self-assessment, self-control, initiative, and optimism) and 13 key relationship skills (such as service orientation, developing others, conflict management, and building bonds). Goleman includes many examples and anecdotes—from Fortune 500 companies to a nonprofit preschool—that show how these competencies lead to or thwart success.

Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health – 1997 – Can the mind heal the body? The Buddhist tradition says yes—and now many Western scientists are beginning to agree. Healing Emotions is the record of an extraordinary series of encounters between the Dalai Lama and prominent Western psychologists, physicians, and meditation teachers that sheds new light on the mind-body connection. Topics include: compassion as medicine; the nature of consciousness; self-esteem; and the meeting points of mind, body, and spirit.

Western Psychology

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem – Nathaniel Branden

Boundaries of the Soul: The practices of Jung's psychology – June Singer

 

Buddhist perspective

The Wise Heart: A guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology – Jack KornField

Awakening to the Sacred:Creating a personal Spiritual Life – Lama Surya Das

Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World – Lams Surya Das

The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living – Dalai Lama

 

Personal Change

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within – Robert E. Quinn

 

Coaching

Co-Active Coaching: New skills for Coaching people toward Success in Work and Life – L. Whitworth, H. Kimsey-House and P. Sandal