Posts Tagged ‘sklover working wisdom’
YOU can resurrect!
Though I am not religious, this is apropos for Easter weekend: Some may try to assassinate your reputation and burn down all that you worked for, but you are a phoenix and WILL rise from the ashes and achieve levels of success never before imagined.
Stay focused. Stay strong. Stay calm. Stay humble.
Be thankful knowing that adversity is like childbirth in that it may be painful but brings forth a new life and opportunities at creating an enviable legacy.
Peace and good fortune to all.
What MAY happen when you fight back at work
I have read a lot of self-help books on how to become successful at work and or a business venture. Those books are full of the good stuff but fail to highlight the flip side of the coin-the bad stuff. Well, I’m going to give you the real deal.
In my first professional development book, THE WHOLE 9 YARDS, I touch on how you can protect yourself by networking at company events and the corporate HQ so that others know who you actually are and not what some slanderers may have said you are. My next book, THE 52 CORPORATE CAVEATS will deal with the strategies on how to protect yourself from back-stabbers and career saboteurs who are out to get you. Some are just jealous while others will be out to get you because you will not engage in unethical (and at times illegal) activities with them. Once you are identified as a person that will not play their game, they will train their guns on you.
The practical reason why you shouldn’t engage in unethical or illegal activities at work goes beyond morals. You are most likely the low man on the proverbial totem pole and if things go wrong, guess who the fall guy will be? YOU! In my 25 plus years of working in Corporate America, I have seen this happen time and time again.
I recommend that you resist engaging in any unethical or illegal activities that your superiors ask you to perform or turn a blind eye to at work. You turning a blind eye makes you just as guilty. However, I must give you a fair warning. When you blow the whistle, oftentimes they will retaliate against you. You will be ostracized. You will be passed over for opportunities. You will be slandered. You may be forced to resign our outright fired.
I fancy myself as being like Liam Neeson in the movie TAKEN. Here is a visual of what can possibly happen when you stand up for what is right:
However, my upcoming book, THE 52 CORPORATE CAVEATS will give you strategies that I have used successfully to slay more than one dragon in Corporate America. I will release the book within the next 60 days. It will be available as an ebook (“locked” .pdf download) and probably a print version as well.
CLICK HERE to learn about a resource from the book that I recommend you jump on right away.
Remember, documentation is the queen of the chessboard and the above resource helps you checkmate any bull a bully boss may hurl your way. FYI, for those that don’t know, the queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard.
Simple solutions on how to protect yourself at work
For your Job Security, Job Satisfaction and Job Success, I encourage you to use SkloverWorkingWisdom™ Model Letters, Memos, Checklists and Agreements. Whether you want to Respond to a Performance Review or PIP, submit an “Involuntary Resignation, Ask for More Severance, Reply to a Job Offer, or 130 other “Navigations” or “Negotiations” at Work, these show you “What to Say and How to Say It.”
Here Be Dragons? Well, Here Comes the Slayer!
I hope that you like this Shakespearean/English styled sonnet. It is about fighting back against bullies in the workplace. That is a topic that is very personal to me. I don’t like bullies and I don’t like folks to mess with my money. Can you dig that? Enjoy!
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“Here Be Dragons? Well, Here Comes the Slayer!”
© 2014 Tyrone Turner
All rights reserved.
Fire-breathing, ferocious and dangerous.
Evoking fear among sinners and saints.
Destroying lives of those who cause a fuss.
Making people too scared to file complaints.
The belly of the beast is where we dwell;
The foul stench and viscous slime all around.
Lamenting in the inferno of Hell.
Ignoring cries for help; we’re numb to sound.
The monster must die before we’re consumed.
A dagger to the heart; blows to the head.
With true words as your sword the fiend is doomed.
Karma craves justice and she must be fed.
Not apathetic or a naysayer
Here be dragons? Well, here comes the slayer!
Tyrone Turner’s Appeal
As a student of United States history, I found David Walker’s Appeal to be very moving and a great example of self-help and what private citizens can do to promote societal changes. In the spirit of David Walker, I present Tyrone Turner’s Appeal. This is an appeal to elected officials to revisit “At Will Employment” doctrine and replace it with a “Just Cause Termination” standard. I have personally witnessed and experienced the vicious bite of the current system, and things most certainly have to change.
Robert Greene lists one of the strategies in his book, The 33 Strategies of War, as “Transform Your War Into a Crusade: Morale Strategies”. Well, I am at war with the “At Will Employment” doctrine and seek its death.
Will you join me in this fight or will you sit by and wait until you or someone you care about is affected?
Take a look at the below template below. You can copy and paste it into the body of an email or create a document that you can fax, hand-deliver, or snail mail it to your elected officials. I faxed and emailed copies to my elected officials.
Here is the template:
____________________________________________________________________________________
VIA [EMAIL or FAX]
[Date]
[Title and Name]
[Email Address or Fax Number]
Re: Replace “At Will Employment” with “Just Cause Termination”
Dear [Title and Name]:
Thank you in advance for taking time out of your busy day to read my letter. I am one of your constituents and I voted for you in the last election. In our struggling economy, many of your constituents are underemployed or unemployed. Those of us that are unemployed may have become so via being fired. A lot of terminations are done on the premise of “At Will Employment.” A viable alternative to this standard was proposed in The Model Employment Termination Act by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws back in 1991, but there has not been any true reform yet. A copy of the proposed law is attached.
My arguments will cover the fairness of it all and more pragmatically, the domino effect that “At Will Employment” has caused on our society’s economy and quality of life as far as public safety is concerned. I will also touch on the growing prevalence of the “Bully Boss.”
Thank you for all that you’re doing to create jobs in my district, but once a job is attained it must be kept. It goes without saying that a new hire must do her/his part to remain employed, but perhaps the employer has a duty to the employee by giving that employee a fair way to defend herself/himself at work and avoid losing her/his job. This is where “At Will Employment” falls very, very short.
Under the current “At Will Employment” standard that is the current practice in 49 out of 50 states in our union, an employer may terminate the employment of an employee at any time for any reason or no reason at all. As long as that reason isn’t discrimination or retaliation against a protected class as stated in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employee’s employment may be terminated and the onus is on the terminated employee to prove that she/he was discriminated or retaliated against. It is a given that this is unfair being that if someone is in fact a victim of illegal discrimination or retaliation, they are reeling from that ordeal that has been further exacerbated by losing their job. People rely on the income generated by their jobs to handle the basics; food, clothing and shelter. Once they lose their income, their world literally comes crashing down.
When individuals are terminated, they add an additional burden to our already stressed governmental budget. They will file for unemployment, food stamps, welfare, seek public housing, lose their health insurance and rely on public clinics and hospitals, etc. These services create bigger government and tie-up money that can be used elsewhere. Mental health issues may also ensue as a result of a job termination. When someone’s mind “isn’t right,” they may resort to violence, therefore becoming a public safety concern.
Companies and organizations are well aware of the current state of our stressed economy so some of them are being a little more callous with the way they treat employees. In a September 20th, 2013 FORBES article entitled “How To Deal With A Bullying Boss,” Jacquelyn Smith discusses how workplace bullying creates a hostile work environment. A copy of the article is attached. The thing that really jumped out at me in the article was again, how private citizens have to do all of the work to protect themselves and there are no legal restrictions against workplace bullying. Certainly that has to change.
[Title and Name], now is the time to usher in a new Progressive Era by replacing “At Will Employment” with “Just Cause Termination.” If an employee is a poor performer or problematic in some other way (e.g., tardiness, absenteeism, insubordinate, etc.), it is not terribly difficult for an employer to document and present such as a just reason to terminate that employee’s employment. The corrective action process should be clearly outlined and adhered to. As your constituent that voted for you in the last election, please look into replacing the “At Will Employment” standard with the “Just Cause Termination” standard.
I am ready, willing and able to support your efforts in bringing this change about at the grassroots level.
Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
[Your Signature in Blue Ink]
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Address Line 2]
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Fax Number – if available]
[Your Email Address]
Attachments
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If we all pull together, A Change Gonna Come.
As this video shows, when the little guy fights back, the bully backs off.
Thanks for your time and please stand up for your rights.
8 Ways to Fight Back Against Horrible Bosses
Here is my latest SlideShare presentation.
I hope that you find it helpful.
Please let me know what you think.
Thank you.
The 52 Corporate Caveats
Ever been thrown under the bus at work? It is not a good feeling at all. It is usually a horrible boss, a jealous peer or some other workplace bully that is trying to cover their tracks. I’ve worked in Corporate America for more than 25 years now and I have seen a lot. The good, the bad, the ugly and the stupid.
I was inspired by one of my favorite authors, Robert Greene when I wrote this eBook. He wrote The 48 Laws of Power and The 33 Strategies of War. I was tweeting tips for corporate survival under the hash tag #loveyourenemies and after I counted them all I realized that there were 52. That was cool because as a martial artist, there is an urban combat system called “52 Blocks” and there are 52 cards in a deck of cards. If you’re looking to make an impact in Corporate America as an intrapreneur, you really need to know how to block (i.e., defend yourself) and have these cards up your sleeve.
This eBook is a free download. The information shared here is so important I didn’t want price to be a barrier from you getting a copy. Please read this eBook. If is full of proven strategies and introduces various resources that you can use to protect yourself any any corporate shenanigans that may come your way. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you.
It’s all about F.A.M.I.L.Y.
This is an excerpt from my upcoming book, The 52 Corporate Caveats.
It will be a digital download and will be released this coming fall.
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Okay, I talked about how things can suck so it is only fair that I offer a solution. You know, it always killed me on some folks criticize things but never offer alternatives. I remember when I was at a seminar a few years back and the author of The Slight Edge, Jeff Olson, said, “Have you noticed that there are no statues erected in the honor of critics?” That is so true! I committed at that moment to not criticize anything unless I was willing to work on finding a better way.
So, what with this proposed workplace code I’m not talking about bringing the kids and your spouse to work. I’m talking about a new doctrine that could be used in the workplace that could yield better results; more revenue, more happiness and more hope for advancement. F.A.M.I.L.Y. is an acronym. I would be remiss if I did not admit that this was inspired by my experience working in the direct selling industry where cooperation is encouraged over competition. A good leader should work to encourage these things in her little fiefdom in order to create the “perfect workplace.” Now, people are not perfect, but if we adopt this as our code we will get better.
Here is what F.A.M.I.L.Y. is all about:
Fairness
Everyone is to be treated with appreciation and respect, and any progress or special dates (e.g. birthdays, anniversaries with the company, promotions, etc.) should be celebrated. Your skin color, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, political views, handicaps, health nor any other legally protected class should be a factor. Whether you average-looking, ugly, drop-dead gorgeous matters not. It is all about giving everyone equal access to opportunities and to due process.
Accountability
Everyone is to be held accountable for their actions and/or the lack thereof. No more “throwing others under the bus” to save one’s own hide. How can you have true success at work when everyone is suspicious of each other? Let’s all be adults and like President Harry Truman used to say, “The buck stops here.” That is the mindset that needs to be instilled in today’s workers.
Merit-based Promotions
Ideally, promotions will be based on merit. Let’ start picking the right man for the job. By the way, oftentimes, the right man for the job is a woman. Organizations can’t achieve greatness with “hooking-up” their cronies. Put the right people in right positions and beautiful things can happen.
Intrapreneurship
The best ideas come from the field. I heard that Post-It® Notes was created by a 3M employee. Companies should start paying attention that their employees have a wealth of ideas. As a matter of fact, companies oftentimes steal employee-generated ideas and claim them as their own intellectual property as per the employee handbook. Dang. At least give the employees some sort of incentives and recognition. Well, they don’t know about the F.A.M.I.L.Y. code yet so maybe they’ll do better once we school them. Nurture employees and encourage them to come up with new ways to do things or to submit product ideas. Have them take entrepreneurial-like initiatives while working for the company.
Intrapreneurship is the new cool.
Leadership
I believe that leaders are made, not born. Skills can be taught. If you want your employees to be better, Corporate America has to do better with giving them educational opportunities. This can be classroom instruction, tuition reimbursement, mentorship or cross-training. Also, leaders need to understand that you must be a servant to your employees first. Being the boss doesn’t mean that you have to be a “double S.O.B.” spelled backwards!
Yeoman Work Ethic
Projects should be handled with enthusiasm and a sense of urgency from beginning to end. Revenue is lost because of lethargic work habits. Work hard so you can play hard. Like the great rapper, Big Daddy Kane said in his song, RAW, “I worked like a slave so I can become a master.” Ideally, this is how one gets promoted.
All six parts of F.A.M.I.L.Y. are interdependent on each other. You have to have all of them firing on all cylinders to create the perfect workplace. Will there ever be the perfect workplace? No. Nonetheless, it is an ideal to strive for because most current options stink.
The Whole 9 Yards 