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Best Advice Ever

metirish Nov 16 2009 12:02 PM

OMFG........times 100 At your job, learn how to play like a Yankee Carolyn Kepcher Raw talent, ambition, dedication, strong management, luck - all these factors helped drive the Yankees to their impressive, World Series-winning season. What is it about the Yankees that translates to career success in other types of work? They've built a great team. And if you've ever been a part of a truly great team, you know that it's something special that doesn't happen by accident. Everyone's productivity increases. The Yankees' triumph can teach us lessons that hold true whether your workplace is a sports field, a police car or a cubicle in an office building. UNFORCED DIVERSITY Professional sports teams have one goal in mind: winning. Ridiculous concepts like bigotry fall to the wayside. Can you imagine a coach or owner allowing prejudice to interfere with the hiring of a great player? A talented player is a talented player. As we can see from the Yankees, a natural diversity arises. The resulting team is racially and ethnically diverse to a level that puts most corporate diversity initiatives to shame. GREAT RELATIONSHIPS This is a team that's spent time developing relationships. It shows on the field, in the clubhouse and in public. At your workplace, there are bound to be people who would not be your choice for a friend if you met in the outside world. Still, it's possible and worthwhile to develop good working relationships with all of your co-workers, not just the ones to whom you're naturally drawn. Getting along with these people to the best of your ability is a part of your job. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Even the very talented need to constantly strive to do their best. My colleague Leslie Grossman, founder of the Women's Leadership Exchange and a devoted Yankees fan, loves to look at how the world at large offers career lessons. "The Yankees are big on self-improvement. Derek Jeter's ability seemed to be down in 2008, but he worked hard and transformed his own performance in 2009. Look at how A-Rod transformed himself from the weakest link psychologically a year ago to the complete player he is today - mind, body and spirit. The Yankees give their young players every opportunity to develop, sending them back to the farm team, working with the coaches and then finally giving them the chance to contribute." The Yankees never gave up, even when they were down, and they showed the world how great teamwork is worth all the effort and investment in the future. Your Money columnist Carolyn Kepcher, author of the best-selling business book, "Carolyn 101," is the former "Apprentice" star who thrived working for one of America's toughest bosses. She's now CEO of Carolyn & Company Media (carolynandco.com), an enterprise created by and for career women. For info on personal coaching, visit carolyn101.biz.ap

Chad Ochoseis Nov 16 2009 12:06 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

Great article. I just put a request in to my boss asking for a framed poster of me as a centaur for my office wall.

Edgy DC Nov 16 2009 12:07 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

Me and my co-worker Tom are making wife-swapping plans tonight. Wish me luck!

Benjamin Grimm Nov 16 2009 12:16 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

I saw that when I was paging through the print edition this morning. I gagged, and then continued turning the pages.

themetfairy Nov 16 2009 12:25 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

[quote="Mendoza Line":2hrsjo1t]Great article. I just put a request in to my boss asking for a framed poster of me as a centaur for my office wall.[/quote:2hrsjo1t] BOC!

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 16 2009 12:54 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

Dear Carolyn, I find the person who works in the office next door difficult to deal with. I was thinking about drinking heavily and attacking him in a hotel elevator, or alternatively, hiring a criminal buddy to find or manufacture "dirt" on him (for instance, escorting a butch stripper onto said hotel elevator). Or should I just hire a relative of his to clean my electrified pool? Yours in Pinstripedness, LWFS

smg58 Nov 16 2009 05:20 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

Don't forget to offer all your employees far more money than any other perspective employer would consider reasonable.

metsfanbook Nov 16 2009 07:17 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

As my grandfather would have said: "From this she makes a living?" This is why the financial industry is in the shape it's in. They have turned the process of believing transparently absurd bullshit into an art form.

metirish Nov 16 2009 07:21 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

Trump must be kicking himself for firing her.

Fman99 Nov 16 2009 08:18 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

I've been acting like a douche bag at work for years, no wonder I'm so successful.

Edgy DC Nov 16 2009 08:48 PM Re: Best Advice Ever

I, personally, never had a clue that a policy of "continuous improvement" could effectively improve my business' performance. I'm putting an end to our "perpetual stagnation" policy tomorrow and removing the phrase from our mission statement.