YOU CAN’T FIND A JOB, YOU’VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR CLOSE TO A YEAR- -DOES ANYONE CARE?

Posted on by Jordan

Unfortunately, in most cases, the answer is NO!!

In my 30+ years as a career professional involved in the business of Work, as well as an individual with friends and relatives directly affected by an economy that seems to be freezer cold, I cannot see the thawing out of our economic situation. Putting aside all of the many reasons that have been discussed and debated back and forth as to why the U.S. economy remains frozen, what I find most troubling is the lack of compassion exhibited by so many people in the workforce. I cannot give you hard statistics or infamous metrics, but the bottom line is that most people do not CARE about the plight of our long term unemployed. And when I say long term, I’m talking about ‘prison sentence’ long- -i.e. going on years.

We desperately need help from any branch of our society that is willing and able to do so. Unfortunately, it would not be wise to hold your breath or wait on the sideline till the coach hits you on the rear end and tells you to go into the game. A) You cannot hold your breath that long as you would certainly be dead!, B) There is no game being played that you can wait on the sideline for and send your resume in, while waiting for the coach to recognize your talents and summons you for an interview. Most likely, your job has been either eliminated completely or reinvented in a manner that is completely foreign to you.

But the real kicker is much more painful than the process of not finding a job. I believe it’s similar to (follow this fictional scenario for a moment)- -you interview for a position that you felt went pretty well. As you finish the interview and thank the interviewer for his/her time, his secretary is called into his office to gather his notes just as you are leaving, and you do not have to strain your neck too painfully to see the big red X across your resume with the word “Reject” written in red across your resume.

NOW HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL…???

Healing Business Like the Body

Posted on by Jordan

Picture the human body: a pulsing, thriving organism whose health and well being spurs it forward. The integrated functioning of all the body’s parts creates a synergy that propels this forward momentum. As the body expends energy, its own healthy balance creates more energy to use–thereby achieving the optimum balance.

But when one part of the body breaks down, it causes a negative domino effect throughout the other parts. Just as a sinus infection can affect your hearing-and even cause toothaches!

It’s the same thing for an organization: a healthy company with happy employees naturally propels itself forward by striving for (and succeeding at) ever greater challenges. All areas of the company–from shipping and customer service to Executives and CEOs–work together in harmony to ensure this positive energy feeds the system. As the company expends its resources to meet its goals today, the positive balance and harmony within the company (and the feelings of success) provide more energy to meet its goals tomorrow.

But when one part of an organization breaks down (such as communication between departments), the negative effects will be transferred to other areas. This breakdown can manifest itself in high absenteeism, high turnover, low productivity, and low morale–just to name a few.

Corporate Healers Inc.’s (CHI) goal is to help your company function at its peak performance level–with all the areas working together–in harmony. We conduct a holistic assessment to see all the factors from all the angles that may be influencing a corporate imbalance.

CHI gives organizations the information and tools to heal their imbalance by examining the “invisible factors” such as beliefs, attitudes and values. The CHI process leads to in-depth awareness and increased consciousness for all those in the organization-allowing them to improve their work, their lives, and the lives of others.

Location:Country Ridge Dr,Rye Brook,United States

Are College Career Centers Effective?

Posted on by Jordan

A recent on-line discussion of a Group in LinkedIn- -”Career Thought Leaders Consortium” on the below question:

Do you think college Career Centers are doing a good job helping graduates explore career opportunities, networking them and teaching them how to look and land a job?

I believe we have a lose-lose situation here. From the Career Center perspective, I  believe that most of the Career Centers I’ve experienced, tend to not understand career marketing (especially personal branding) very well. Although the Career Center is well intentioned in helping their students, most of the Counselors are not sales and marketing savvy. Assuming their client- -the student- – may have a sense (which most do not) of a career field they wish to pursue, teaching the student good old fashioned self-marketing, personal branding and street-smart selling is way beyond the skill set of the Career Office. Most College Career Counselors are Resume specialists with a sprinkling of a few basic networking techniques. Very little out of the box thinking goes on here.

The other problem, which is more severe than the Career Center, has to do with the students themselves. I’ve interviewed hundreds of recent college grads and students over the years for Internships, career exploration or simply informational interviewing. About 80%-90% of the grads have 2 things in common: 1) they either never have used their college Career Center, or have, and had a negative experience, and 2) have very little idea on what they wish to do (as a first job; never mind career). In fact most of the grads I’ve met with have no idea how to integrate their college experience into a tangible job.

To conclude, the lose-lose consists of a very limited Career Center, unskilled in the business of Career Marketing, with College Grads very rarely asking the Career Center, or for that matter, anyone for help during a very difficult and confusing time of their lives.

There is a solution for this mess- – which I will cover in future posts.

As always, I would love to hear any ideas you may have for this pressing issue.

Photo courtesy of studentbranding.com

What is the True Power of a Personal Brand? In Life and In Death

Posted on by Jordan

My Accountant died two days ago after a long illness.

I miss him very much. I believe the world- -his world: his family, friends, clients, board colleagues, etc., also miss him very much. I awoke this morning with tears in my eyes thinking about Frank and how much he really cared, not only about my business’s financial health, but also about the overall wellbeing of my company and me as a person. There are many personal stories I can share about Frank’s gentle soul combined with a hard-nosed competitive drive that moved me and I’m sure, many others. This is not what I wish to focus on in this forum.

One of the key thoughts that popped into my head this morning as I was thinking about Frank was his Personal Brand. When you are talking about people who leave behind extraordinary memories that live on beyond their physical lives, that seems to be a very powerful and perpetual Personal Brand.

Tomorrow morning is the funeral. Although a day of great sorrow, I will be looking forward to the various eulogies that will be spoken about Frank’s life. I’m sure that by the end of the service, I will walk away with much sadness as well as a fuller appreciation of the totality of Frank as a man and a truly inspiring Personal Brand that will live on for many years.

What more can you ask for from life?

Att: Recent College Grads/Career Transition Professionals

Posted on by JAI

You Already Have the Skills That Can Make You Famous, Happy Or a Great Deal of Money…

Here’s How To Access These Innate Career Skills and Put Them to Work:

Ask yourself these 2 Questions (Best to do in a quiet room or in a place where you will not be interrupted):

1. What Activities (either Work or Play) am I doing when I lose all sense of time?

2. If you could choose the ideal job or business opportunity, without any concern or need to generate money for the rest of your life, what would you be doing? Where would you be doing this work? What would a typical day look like?

Instructions:

Take these 2 questions one at a time and begin writing whatever comes to your mind for 30 minutes a day for 3 days. If you wish to write longer, that’s OK.

By journaling your answers to these questions, you are in essence excavating or uncovering your natural skills & strengths, a lot of which have either been dormant, under-utilized or never discovered, until now. Remember:

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” —George Elliot

What’s Next?

To celebrate Jordan Anderson Inc.’s 15th anniversary, we are giving away 15 free phone consultations (60 minutes) to help individuals translate this exercise into a successful Career Discovery and Personal Marketing strategy.

To qualify, please send an email to: Jordan@jordananderson.com and reference the words “Work Synthesis” in the Subject area.

How to Succeed In The New Workplace: A Holistic Business Model

Posted on by JAI

Visionary organizations are becoming more pro-active in anticipating the tremendous changes affecting the “new bottom line in business”–the challenges of attracting and retaining high quality personnel.  Companies struggle to reinvent themselves in order to better serve both their internal (employees) and external (customers) clients. All of this has tremendous impact on creating the uniqueness needed to compete and thrive in the new workplace.

The currency for “holistic” or integrated success in today’s workplace will be the organization’s attention to it’s most important asset: it’s Human Resources. Companies that are devoted to their people and the new corporate culture of personal branding will realize a new wave of productivity, profitability and overall peace of mind.

Not H20, but I20: To Succeed in The New World of Work




I2O stands for “Ideas”, “Implementation” and “Ownership.” In addition to being a fun and empowering brainstorming experience, the I2O program is an ongoing practical tool for helping individuals, departments and organizations transform themselves. Training focuses on how to energize participants to:




  • Design a Holistic Blueprint that develops the core essence and natural strengths of your staff while helping define your corporate culture
  • Create a myriad of Ideas that will assist your organization in creating new, innovative programs or discover solutions to existing problems or challenges
  • Implement an Action Plan that will synergistically bring people together while “making things happen”
  • Step forward and become the Owners, Intrapreneurs or Internal Marketers to spearhead innovation and get tangible results!

I2O is an experiential process that works over time to foster and integrate new thinking and behaviors that are directly linked to job satisfaction. It will help your employees generate and implement Ideas that will solve pressing issues or come up with new ways of reinventing your organization “from the inside out”.

Please feel free to call or email Jordan Anderson Inc. if you have any questions on the I2O program, or are interested in getting more information.

The Art Of Commuting

Posted on by Jordan

It’s not always easy to get to work as many experience on a daily basis. Here is a piece written by Jordan Anderson, Career Commuter.

Waiting for the train I dare not lean too near the track as I might be tempting one of the assorted crazies to read about his great pushing feat the next day in the morning paper. I spy the lights of the approaching train and step back ever so gently, being especially careful not to nudge or step on the toes of the mercurial madmen about to board the car alongside me. The train screeches to a halt. DING DONG… The doors open up and I enter. Having neatly survived the first leg of the commuting journey, I now embark upon the most hazardous portion of the trip: THE RIDE IN. DING DONG. The doors are about to close. I swing into the train and it’s every commuter for himself. Leo Durocher’s memorable saying: “Nice guys finish last” is the best way to describe the outcome of my quest for a seat. How would you like to be engaged in a game of roller derby at 8:15 in the morning?

After the pushing, kicking and biting are over and I am finally settled in, I take a quick survey to determine the demographics of my car. That day I may have been lucky-50% execs, 30% office/clerical workers, 10% convicted murderers, 10% unconvicted murderers. I memorize where my allies are seated and more importantly, where the potential perpetrators are situated. If by chance, I sense a dangerous species looking my way, I yawn once or twice and feign sleep. From my experience, it seemed rare that sleeping innocents became targets. It was only when you were caught staring in the vicinity of a creature when you heard those infamous words “What are you looking at Monn?” Even gazing in the general direction of an 80-year old bag lady might solicit from Mr.Monn “Why are you looking at my girlfriend funny?” As the train pulls into the 59th St. station I forfeit my seat to position myself for my final destination. I call the play “7-23 right on 2”.

This translates to: “When the doors open, I’ll tuck my briefcase under my arm, remove my glasses and get behind the chubby accountant who will lead the blocking out of the car. Packed to capacity, an anticipatory hush has fallen over the crowd. The train stops and instead of 2 doors opening, lo and behold, only one door squeaks open. A few growls and primitive guttural noises erupt from the players. I then initiate a push to the door that a woman in labor would be proud of. Finally, I tumble onto the platform ready to face the day.

**Picture via gothamist

Human Resources: The “Corporate Healer” Of The New Workplace

Posted on by JAI

Picture the human body: a pulsing, thriving organism whose health and well being spurs it forward. The integrated functioning of all the body’s parts creates a synergy that propels this forward momentum. As the body expends energy, its own healthy balance creates more energy to use, thereby achieving the optimum balance.

But when one part of the body breaks down, it causes a negative domino effect throughout the other parts. Just as a sinus infection can affect your hearing and even cause toothaches!

It’s the same thing for an organization. A healthy company with happy employees naturally propels itself forward by striving for (and succeeding at) ever-greater challenges. All areas of the company–from shipping and customer service to Executives and CEOs–work together in harmony to ensure this positive energy feeds the system. As the company expends its resources to meet its goals today, the positive balance and harmony within the company (and the feelings of success) provide more energy to meet its goals tomorrow.

But when one part of an organization breaks down (such as communication between departments), the negative effects will be transferred to other areas. This breakdown can manifest itself in high absenteeism, high turnover, low productivity, and low morale, just to name a few.

What to do? One of the primary goals of HR in the new workplace will be to help your organization function at its peak performance level, with all the areas working together, in a healthy synergistic fashion. Human Resources will soon be acting as corporate M.D.’s in conducting a comprehensive or “holistic check-up” to uncover all the factors from all the angles that may be influencing a corporate imbalance. These factors are often called “the invisible factors” such as beliefs, attitudes and values. This healing process leads to in-depth awareness and increased consciousness for all those in the organization- – allowing them to improve their work, their lives, and the lives of others.

HR, The Corporate Healers of the New Workplace will be given the crucial responsibility to design and implement processes that provide their organizations with a deeper understanding of the corporate culture, as well as develop personalized prescriptions to improve overall organizational health.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think about this topic!

How Do We Heal The New World of Work?

Posted on by Jordan

The American Heritage College Dictionary has a few definitions of the word “heal”—1. To restore to health or soundness; cure 2. To set right; repair 3. To restore (a person) to spiritual wholeness, and finally, 4. To become whole and sound.

Many of us tend to associate healing as a process individuals undergo as they recuperate from a wound or physical illness. However, how do we associate healing in the context of the workplace? If we use the definition of healing as becoming whole, then doesn’t this suggest that healing is about connecting or bringing together that which is dis-connected? And when we hear about dis-connection, dis-ease, dis-satisfaction… whom are we talking about? Sounds like the modern day employee to me.

Never before have we had to cope with the stress of the frenetic pace of high-tech change, world and domestic terrorism, economic uncertainty and despair. All at the same time!! Futurist Melinda Davis in her book—“The New Culture of Desire- -5 Radical Strategies That Will Change Your Business and Your Life”, refers to the modern consumer seeking “The State of O, which is short for the optimal state of mind. Now, when we feel the deep craving for primal safety, it is increasingly for inner balance and sanity…to heal ourselves of inner wounds, and to feel finally whole and happy, in the safe warm light of home, inside. Consumers cite a safe, happy home and peace of mind at the top of aspirational lists once headed by houses, cars, and the latest electronic equipment. Even the venerable George Gallup says: Spiritual needs far exceed material needs.”

What’s the solution? Who will be the catalysts of change in this new world of work? The challenge for CEOs, Executive Directors and other heads of organizations in the 21st century will be the ongoing health of their companies. Although we are still recovering from one of the worst recessions in our country’s history, and many organizations are still slow to hire, in time, this too will change for the better.

As businesses continue to reinvent themselves and learn what they must do to survive and thrive in this new economic environment, they will once again prosper. But, have they really grasped that the future health and prosperity of their businesses will translate to how well they take care of, develop and heal their Employees. In the new workplace, a company’s success or true health will not only be measured in dollars alone, but in how well they retain and nurture their most valuable asset: their people.

How can we become the agents of change or *Corporate Healers in our companies? I suggest we adapt a model of work similar to the one being practiced in many hospitals and healthcare organizations today, namely the Holistic model. Holistic Nursing and Integrative Medicine look at the patient from the perspective of the whole person. Holistic Practitioners view the individual as a combination of physical, emotional and spiritual qualities and manifestations. Therefore, when meeting a new patient, not only is his/her physical history reviewed, but also their whole lifestyle, including the emotional and spiritual components. After the practitioner completes a composite examination of the whole person, a holistic treatment plan is put into action.

When adopting a similar model, which I call the Holistic Work Model®, wise companies in the new workplace will become empowered to facilitate healing or wholeness for their organizations. In a holistic work environment, employees:

• Feel their work and contributions are valued
• Find purpose and meaning in the work they do
• Know their work makes an impact, and contributes to the corporate strategy
• Feel communication lines are open, and are building healthy relationships between management and staff
• Feel their work/life balance issues are supported in a flexible way
• Feel their organization is ethical, socially conscious, and gives something back to society and the environment
• Know their creativity and spirit can be expressed without fear

It is my firm belief that in order for companies to achieve wholeness, health and economic success, the C-Suite and heads of all types of organizations need to prioritize and take charge of the total well being of their organization. This well-being can only be reached when individual employees are treated “Holistically” as described above.

What are your thoughts on this matter?

**Band-aid picture from life123.com