Career Advice Archives - Page 2 of 13

How does your investor make money?

So you want someone to give you $100,000? $1,000,000? How does that person or firm make money? Too often I review business plans which have a great idea, a huge market, but no viable business plan that explains how the investor makes a return. I saw two this week like this (one in the US, one in Israel). Terrific technology ideas, potentially large markets, enthusiastic smart young teams but no P&L, no future financial plan and no discussion of current valuation, or even readiness to discuss it. Before someone other [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T10:00:25-08:00August 2, 2018|Career Advice|Comments Off

Managing the switchbacks of your career

A successful career is rarely a straight line up the slope. It is so often a weaving up through experiences and it's important to recognize how and when to weave. I did a coaching session yesterday where just this question came up. This time the individual had years of engineering, both as a stellar software engineer and also as a manager and can feel he wants to do more - can do more - and knows he needs to broaden his skillset. I have a handful of principles which can [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T10:01:14-08:00July 18, 2018|Career Advice|Comments Off

Management screws up – what do you do?

Something is wrong and management has messed up again, how do you react? One of the ways people react and hurt themselves in the process is by being immediately negative. Cynically: “well this is just the norm for this effed-up company” or “yet again we are going to screw our customers”. Maybe with resignation: “I’ll have to work more hours now to correct their mistakes”. Maybe as a victim: “I have no power and I can’t take the risk of saying anything”. Maybe on the attack: "We need to get [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T10:01:56-08:00May 1, 2018|Career Advice|Comments Off

Why being kind as a leader trumps yelling every time

Are you conscious of how you react as a leader when someone makes you angry? With an attack or with kindness? I once worked with a head of sales who, when things were not going his way, would curse out anyone not on his team who he thought didn’t appreciate how hard his job was. Unkind, unnecessary accusations of incompetence or intentionally obstructing sales. Engineering, customer success, marketing - you name it - they all got yelled at instead of constructively engaged. But unpredictably so everyone walked on egg shells [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T10:03:43-08:00February 10, 2018|Career Advice|Comments Off

When to apologize and when not to

I recently got a question in email from a woman (who is early in her career) which I answered, but then as a few weeks passed, I began to think about all the times I wish my coworkers had apologized and when they did it too much. The question was: "Should I apologize when I make a mistake at work, and if so, how? If not, what should I do instead? I notice I am apologizing for mistakes that are mostly my responsibility, but not only, and that nobody else [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T10:06:09-08:00November 21, 2017|Career Advice|0 Comments

Five practices you can learn so that “I told you so” is a gift

Does it irritate you when someone says “I told you so” to you? You’d be quite normal if it does. There is nothing quite as annoying as having a know-it-all tell you that they knew better than you all along and you did not listen. And yet, if you can check your ego, and if he did actually tell you so, then you’ve been missing a gift. Of course, this only makes sense if you are getting advice from someone who is often right, and who cares about you, otherwise [...]

By Penny Herscher|2019-01-04T10:10:47-08:00August 11, 2017|Career Advice|0 Comments

So you want to join a board: Advice to help you prepare

If you want to join a board, you are not alone. Some people want to find a board in the middle of their career because they like the idea of learning about board life, or for the status of it; some people are looking for board work towards the end of their career because they want to stay engaged and give back. Either way it's a common, serious interest for many people. But what does it take - how do you prepare yourself to be qualified? First off, determine why [...]

By Penny Herscher|2018-04-24T08:06:10-07:00December 20, 2016|Boards, Career Advice|0 Comments

Three critical questions to ask a startup before you agree to work for it

So you want to work for a startup! You've been talking to one that you think is going somewhere and will give you the experience you want, you like the people and the title, job and salary sounds right for you. They make you an offer. Great! But now is the point where you need to ask three critical sets of questions to determine if this is actually a good company to work for or not. Remember each job you take influences your future career. What you learn, who you [...]

By Penny Herscher|2017-12-14T06:45:31-08:00September 1, 2016|Career Advice|0 Comments

Selling with Silence: How the power of the sale is in the silence you create

What do you think of when you think of being sold to? A salesman? Speed and feed? Talking your ear off with feature function? Closing you with obvious closing questions? Sadly, still today, despite everything we know, many people sell this way. But actually true selling is just the opposite. The sale is made in the silence. There are a thousand B2B sales training classes and self help books you can read but they all basically say the same thing. Do discovery, qualify your customer, understand the org chart, understand [...]

By Penny Herscher|2017-12-14T06:55:29-08:00July 15, 2016|Career Advice|1 Comment

Give yourself permission!

I was struck by the interesting interview with Beth Comstock of GE in the NYT today - where she says "you have the permission to try something new". In this case she is talking about innovation but innovation is not the only area where we are held back by the need for permission. Too often we are stymied in areas that lead directly to our happiness. Too often, as working professionals, and especially women, we are held back by our fears. Fear of failure, fear of what other people will [...]

By Penny Herscher|2017-12-14T07:02:37-08:00June 20, 2016|Career Advice|0 Comments