The “Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose” Workshop

Let me show you how to measurably increase your productivity and reduce work stress.
Invest 4 hours*- and by doing so, you will learn how to:

• Increase your work efficiency 15% — 35%
• Save 5 hours a week in your schedule and devote that time to what’s important to you
• Leave work guilt-free at the end of a day
• Simply get more done in less time

4 hours = 2 hours small group, followed by 1 hour individual attention, then 1 hour group follow-up

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard all this before.”

Well, no, you have not heard this before. At least you’ve not heard what I am about to offer you in the   “Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose” program.

Achieve Career Sustainability   (very good, but perhaps not quite enough)
I’m a career management coach and a work performance consultant. I offer programs and competencies built on a foundation of 30 years of professional experience. Currently, I provide a suite of 6 programs offered under the title, Achieve Career Sustainability™. These programs assist working professionals in more productively achieving their business, strategic and personal goals by measurably increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of their revenue-generating/mission critical skills and competencies.

Redirection – “Great programs, yes, but not right now, I’m too busy.”
Certainly, everyone who has read about the Achieve Career Sustainability programs would say they are essential, appropriate and needed.      However, some working professionals, upon review of my programs, had said, “These are great … in fact, they offer just what I need … but, I can’t do it because:

• Right now, I am just too busy”
• “There is no emergency at this time”
• “I will call you in two weeks when my urgent matters are handled.”

The truth is, the urgency of work never goes away, it just gets pushed further and further out. And for most of us, the challenge of being “too busy” is only going to get worse.

Now you can, and here is how – “Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose”

“Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose” provides the feeling, knowledge, and reality that:

• Your work is flowing smoothly
• Workday chaos is a thing of the past
• Your goals are clear and attainable
• Your career is developing just the way you want it to go

This program is not just another seminar or webinar training on how to use Microsoft Outlook. It’s more about how to combine Microsoft Outlook with a set of easy-to-use principles that will get your workday under control. It presents a complete step-by-step system, allowing you to get ahead of your urgent commitments and helps you feel much less stressed about your busy day. Its main focus is on your To-Do or Task List and how you achieve completion and results. It establishes and then builds on these foundational strategies so you can better control activities, create opportunities and manage yourself in Outlook.   It utilizes some powerful, newly developed time and task management principles.

It’s easy – you already have the software and skills you need.   You’re missing one thing.
You are missing the cutting edge methods, tips, techniques and support necessary to regain control of your daily actions and set apart the time you need to create and implement meaningful business and personal objectives.
And these I provide for you.  We work together, right on your computer, using screen sharing software.

Here’s how we go forward
You provide one of these versions of Microsoft Outlook:

• Microsoft Outlook   2003, 2007, or 2010

You employ the skills you’ve already mastered:

• You know how to focus
• You know how to write things down
• You know how to decide on outcomes

I provide:

• Hands-on customization of Outlook to fit your specific position and responsibilities
• Highly personalized attention – groups are small (2-5 people)
• Training can be done by Webinar or In-Person Training
• Reference materials are provided containing current and advanced lessons
• “Acting On Purpose” Productivity Binder
• Activities Notebook – The Core Collection Point

You get to choose
The “Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose” program is available on 3 levels.
1. The “Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose” 4 Hour Training
2. The “Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose” 1 Month Mastery Program
3. The “Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose” Mastery Program coupled with one of these “Achieve Career Sustainability”™ components:

• Get Clients Now! ™
• The Resourceful Rainmaker™
• Constant Contact®
• CRM – Customer Relationship Management
• The Key Person Program — From Good to Excellent™
• The Career Red Zone™
• Career Management

You are confronted with a work performance or career challenge and you want to resolve it.

Your challenges and their solutions are unique to you.  You may be:

• Well employed – seeking greater benefits by enhancing competencies/career sustainability
• Employed but concerned – seeking to strengthen performance/position and clarify options
• Unemployed working professional looking for results-oriented options and opportunities

Career Management and Work Performance Made Simple

So how do other working professionals with whom you affiliate and compete for positions and promotions manage to sustain their careers and work performance.  Ask any successful working professional in your field this question and you will probably hear:  “Education.”   “Add value.”  “Being known, liked and trusted.”   “Working hard and smart.”  “Networking.” “Ability to work virtually.”  “Power of social media.” “Plan your work/work your plan.”

It is simple and basic and you probably knew it already.  So why are you confronted with a work performance or career challenge?  Maybe:

• You can’t decide what to do first.  You are already busy and things may be happening outside your control in ways that make you feel overwhelmed.  You probably know what to do but there are so many choices to make, and you want to make sure that you are doing it right.  So you worry about how best to spend your time and money. You try this and then try that.  You worry, slow down and maybe, stop for a while.  You may even experience analysis paralysis and just do nothing.
• You confused about how to put the pieces together.   You may think you know what many of the pieces are, but wonder if reading that book or working on your social media sites will be better.  Maybe it’s time to participate more with your professional associations, but what about following up with the networking contacts you’ve already acquired. You wonder if all of the networking will pay off. Maybe some time spent on the internet job boards or direct contact could be the way to go.  You don’t have a system, a program or a plan.
• It is difficult to remain motivated.   Even when you know exactly what you need to do, you may not be doing it.   Most of us are at our best where there is an outside “accountability” resource.   When we try to figure it out all by ourselves, it’s too easy to lose our commitment to action.  When you don’t see immediate results, you get discouraged.  When someone is critical of your work performance or background, it’s hard not to take it personally.    It’s so tempting just to wait for “things to improve,” or to blame your lack of success on a bad economy or workforce globalization or the time of year.

The Solution

Achieve Career Sustainability™ is the centerpiece program of a suite of career management and work performance programs that are proven, results-oriented, and highly customizable. All of these programs are offered exclusively through Accord Career Services LLC.  These programs assist individuals, like you, the working professional and your organization achieve personal, business and strategic goals.  This is done by measurably increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of revenue-generating/mission-critical skills and competencies.  These programs often focus on the “key performers”  .. those contributing, high-potential, hard-to-replace individuals most responsible – and necessary – for both short and long-term success.

The 3-part, interdependent program, Achieve Career Sustainability,™  establishes the basis for these programs:

• The Career Red Zone™ – Acting On Purpose
• The Key Person Program – From Good to Excellent™
• Get Clients Now! ™
• Get Hired Now! ™
• The Resourceful Rainmaker™
• Achieve Career Sustainability™ Workshops: Personal 2020 Productivity Plan.. Circle of Excellence .. Aladdin Factor/The Power of Asking

 A Great Program Plus Professional Coaching Makes the Difference

I provide you with career management and performance coaching that is process and system driven — geared to assist you in moving directly and efficiently from Point A to point B. Of course, quality listening, appropriate problem solving and conceptual frameworks are a vital part of the process of facilitating understanding and gaining personal commitments to goals and objectives.   Achieving outcomes begins by focusing on current and future goals and objectives. Once these goals are defined, the question you need to ask yourself now becomes “What can the individual do better or differently to achieve these goals and objectives?”

Career management and performance consulting can draw upon and integrate many actions. These include one-on-one “just in time”  coaching, training, behavioral assessments, work environment aids, stress management, accountability coaching, virtual team development, benchmarking, rapport skills, goal setting, and time management. Appropriate components are all tailored to an individualized program package to assure highest results and ROI.

Accountability:  You will now have a trained professional coach to whom you are accountable – rather than trying to make sense of the project by yourself.  I will be in regular contact with you to discuss steps you have taken and to help you determine what comes next.

Perspective:  Now you get a different point of view on your progress and challenges.  Just hearing your problem restated by another person can give you insight that will help you find a solution.  When you are feeling bad because you have not progressed to reach your goal it’s important to have someone point out that you are in fact making progress toward your ultimate goal.

Support:  It’s reassuring to have a mentor to whom you can express your concerns.  You now have a person who is committed to helping you move forward toward your goal.  If you are up against a roadblock, venting your frustration about it can create the impetus for you to get back on track.  Having someone to share your success helps to reinforce your confidence and that you can do it!

Consider This

We are caught up in a time of great changes happening everywhere.  Globalization, mergers and acquisitions, technology, and other factors are continually altering and impacting our work environment.   One moment they are up, and then down.  However, unlike other big challenges presented to us like the climate, the economy, and national security – the management of our individual jobs/careers is something that is in the control of each and every one of us.

 What’s So   …    First, the Good News

In our economy, there will always be jobs.  There will be teachers, scientists, government employees, skilled workers, sanitation workers, administrative support and other essential positions.   At the moment, the U.S. economy is the strongest in the world.  There is and will continue to be employment.   We can trust that the foundational methods by which we acquire, maintain and excel in our jobs … by acquiring education, updating resumes, continually networking and improving our personal resilience … the pursuit of work will remain fundamentally the same for many people.
However, as just stated — changes – big changes – as to how we acquire and maintain employment are occurring right now. For better or worse, you are affected and involved in these changes.   In order to survive, and I trust, thrive, in this new economy, we can benefit by taking on an attitude and commitment of “achieving career sustainability.”

Confronting the Changes – “Average is over”

You’ve followed the conversations on jobs and the economy.   However, you’ve now come to the conclusion that it’s personal.  It’s about your job and your quality of life and those who are close to you.   In your heart, you know that regarding your work performance, average is over.  In order for you to achieve career sustainability over the next 5, 10 or 20 years, you must improve your abilities to better manage your career and work performance.  No one is going to do it for you.  It’s up to you!

What We See, Hear and Feel Is Happening

We share concerns that:

• More qualified people are competing against you for fewer good jobs
• Mergers, reorganizations, new technologies, and changes can eliminate your job at any time
• Good, smart, educated people are out of work for longer and longer periods of time
• Traditional ways of getting a job and staying employed are very important yet not enough
• You need more current and effective strategies to secure a position and stay competitive
• Your earning power/job security is based on the value you contribute
• To stay employed you must stand out
• The future of work is now personal
• The “brand” is you
• No one is going to pay you for just having a degree
• The only constant is change

Even Though the Work Environment Changes, the Benefits We Seek Stay the Same

Even as the work and employment environment erodes for many, your core motivations and quality of life expectations remain steady.    Abraham Maslow addressed the elemental issues that motivate us.  At the base of his pyramid, you recall he positioned the motivators of survival and safety, which he then followed with relationship, community and esteem. At the top of the pyramid is “personal calling.”

Most of us share and expect one or more of these benefits:

• Being assured of sustaining your role as a “Key Person” and your due rewards and recognition
• Capitalizing on the big investment that’s been made in your career up to this point
• Resolving the current challenge, threat, issue, or opportunity you now confront
• Knowing that your job matters .. that you make a contribution .. you  make a difference
• Being deservedly recognized for “job well done” with recognition to your “value proposition”

The Next Step

The Achieve Career Sustainability™ program is developed for you to survive and thrive in today’s challenging job markets.  It builds vital skills and competencies for all professional service providers in the areas of business sustainability and client development.  The program works with you in 28-day cycles every step of the way.  Whether you are a professional marketing your services or you have business development responsibilities for your organization, this program will provide you with a proven system for developing and sustaining that business as well as acquiring and maintaining satisfied clients.

The Achieve Career Sustainability™ Program

In today’s competitive and volatile job market, I offer this integrated set of programs under the heading of, Achieve Career Sustainability™.   These complementary sets of programs concentrate on three areas vital to developing and sustaining a career:

1. The Career Red Zone™ – Acting on Purpose

• The Plan-As-You-Go  Outcome Management
• Knowing what you want
• Linking performance with the strategic plan

2. From Good to Excellent™ –Work Performance/Talent Management

• The Key Person Program – From Good to Excellent™
• SCORE: The 90-Day Achievement Cycle
• Executive Development

3. The Resourceful Rainmaker™ – Building Know, Like and Trust

• Get Clients Now™
• Constant Contact
• Outlook Essentials – Acting On Purpose

These integrated and powerful programs greatly increase your ability to establish organization, be more efficient and produce greater results in your career, work performance, and life.  In today’s world, yesterday’s methods still must be performed, but to be truly competitive and achieve career sustainability you need more.  These programs are  here and available to you now.  Please contact me.

Breakthroughs in the organization and access to information do not come around all that often.
Let’s see, I would think of the first library that was started by the king of Assyria. That was certainly a breakthrough.
Then I believe that another breakthrough happened when Ben Franklin started the first lending library allowing public citizens to borrow books and reference related information.
Today, I would like to declare a breakthrough in one’s ability to access, organize and utilize career and job performance information.  It is a computer based application called Netvibes.  It is free and you can find it at www.netvibes.com .

  
Okay, I do not have a degree in library science, and maybe I missed a breakthrough or two,  but I would declare that this web based application called Netvibes– and this next point is important — coupled with the widget called “Link Module” –  allows each of us to centralize and organize highly useful information on one dashboard page. 

Powerful Information at Your Fingertips
The access to information you will have will literally be at your fingertips.  When complete and set up for your needs and goals, it is really remarkable and you will see it to be true.  But I urge some caution as well.  There are so many thousands of widgets/sources of information to choose from that it is a little like being a kid in a candy store. As with any powerful tool, you can benefit from taking time to know what you want to use it for and then how to use it effectively.

Remember why you are here – it probably has to do with some career related issues. 
For me, as a career and work performance consultant and coach, I urge you to be patient in the design and construction of your Netvibes platform so that it best supports your career and work performance goals.    And those probably have to do with one of the following:

• Job search campaign dashboards to assist in career decision making .. developing job leads .. implementing strategies .. effective interviewing
• Working professional dashboards – designing and developing dashboards that reflect and support your day-to-day work and objectives

Getting Started
I’ve attached a youtube video below that was done by “mreecastro.”   He has done a very good job in 8-9 minutes reviewing how to download Netvibes  and set it up. 

 
So when you download the program and work with the wizard to assist you, there are literally thousands of widgets you can use in building your personal dashboard to incorporate into.  You will be amazed and the temptation to start filling up tabs with lots of information -  it is like being a kid in a candy store.   There are thousands of purposes that Netvibes can be built to support you and your work.
I believe that what “mreecastro” does do well is the production of his video (I thank him for that) and here you will learn how to

• Set up Netvibes
• Delete unwanted widget
• Set up new tabs

However, “mreecastro”  does not address the all important “link module widget.” This widget can be found in the essential widgets section – located in the first 10-15 widgets – and it is this all important widget with which you want to build your Netvibes dashboard.
Once your tabs are in place … business research .. career information .. job search tools.. etc, you will then download the link module widget into the tab. You can use it as many times as you want.    Using this module, you can then cut and paste specific URL’s of unique sources of information you wish to use and track.
 

Additional Information and Support.
I am going to be brief in my blog on Netvibes  This may be all of the actual information you are interested in pursuing. I am please to bring this useful resource to your attention. 

• For those who want further information and a more step-by-step process of getting this dashboard integrated onto your computer, I offer a whitepaper in the Resources section.
• Additionally, I offer individual and group coaching and support to those of you who begin to understand the power of this great resource and its ability to significantly enhance work performance and effectiveness and wish to develop it even further,.

What follows is the “mreecastro” you tube video. Enjoy.    When you are through viewing the video and wish to return to the blog page, go to Accord Blog tab at the top of the page.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come …

First, the good news … in our economy, there will always be jobs.  There will be teachers, scientists, government employees, skilled workers, administrative support and the rest.   At the moment, the US economy is the strongest in the world.  There is and will continue to be employment.   Also, we can trust that the  foundational methods by which we acquire, maintain and excel in our jobs … gaining education, resumes, and all that, will remain fundamentally the same.
However, changes – big changes – as to how we acquire and maintain employment are occurring right now. For better or worse, you will be affected and involved in these changes. I am observing  that to survive, and I trust, thrive, in this new economy, we can benefit by taking on an attitude and commitment of “career sustainability.”  This requires a focus on developing our abilities  to “endure” for the long haul. 
It is my purpose, as well as that of  this website and Accord Career Services on how to get employed and stay employed

Career Sustainability
The term “sustainability” fundamentally concerns this capacity to endure.  It is a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost any facet of life on earth, from local to a global scale and over various periods of time.  In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse, flexible and responsive over time.  For humans, it concerns the potential for long-term maintenance of well being. 

Time of Change

It is my experience that within the world of work – how we train for, acquire and maintain our employment is changing and changing quickly.   Unlike changes in the past, like moving from an agrarian to industrial society, these changes are occurring very, very quickly.  They are happening all around us.  They will be permanent and everyone will feels the effects
Big picture — we stand on one of those important points in history where we bear personal witness to the radical shift in how work has been done in the past and how it will be done in the future. 
We are quickly moving into a time where getting and keeping a job is increasingly more of a challenge. 
As our regional, national and global economies move, evolve and change, they impact the stability and continuity of our individual jobs, careers and industries.  They are being fueled by such forces as technology, globalization, economic need and various other factors.

Your Point of View

You are reading this because you, or individuals you care about, are being adversely affected by these changes. You’re finding that the beliefs, expectations and strategies we have applied in the past regarding how we acquire jobs and maintain our careers is not as effective as it was in the past.
ou are also realizing that 

•  If you are a working professional, and are currently out of work, what you face can seem like a “perfect storm” of imposing obstacles.  
•  If you are working, you probably see these changes taking shape around you and are concerned.   You may be asking yourself what to do about it. You are coming to the conclusion that the changes are only going to become more extreme.

In truth, these changes will be occurring and affecting your short and long term employability whether you choose to take action now or not.  We all know that it is not going back to the old ways.   You need to stay ahead of the curve.

Career 1.0/Job Search 1.0 versus Career 2.0/Job Search 2.0
I will make the comparison by distinguishing the past, “Career 1.0 and Job Search 1.0” and the present “Career 2.0 and Job Search 2.0”

• In “Career 1.0” – life and work carried forward in a serial progression of steps.  For most of us,  we first went to school or received training to prepare us for a trade or professional position.  Next, we acquired work and  then learned on the job. Finally,  we worked at that same job until we were able to retire.
• In “Job Search 1.0” – again, the process was carried through is a series of progressive stages .. First, we made decisions on job/career options .. we wrote a resume .. we implemented job search strategies .. we interviewed .. we acquired a position. 
•  In “Career 2.0/Job Search 2.0” – we still must do all of the things we had to do in Career 1.0 —   prepare and educate ourselves for work .. perform well while on the job .. at work at that job – or more realistically a series of jobs until we get that opportunity to retire.  But now the expectations and levels of awareness are different.

Points to Consider

In order to gain employment and stay employed in the “2.0” there are additional points that you must come to terms with if you wish to continuously enjoy the benefits and rewards of good work.   So, dependent on your experience, it may have become evident to you that

• More qualified people are competing against you for fewer good jobs
• Mergers, reorganizations, new technologies, and changes can eliminate your job at any time
• Good, smart, educated people are out of work for longer and longer periods of time
• Traditional ways of getting a job and staying employed are very important yet not enough
• You need more current and effective strategies to secure a position and stay competitive
• Your earning power/job security is based on the value you contribute
• You can no longer blame the “work environment” or think, “it’s not my fault”
• To stay employed you must stand out.
• The future of work is now personal
• The “brand” is you
• No one is going to pay you for just having a degree
• The only constant is change

This is quite a list, I know.  All of these points can be overwhelming.

You want acquire and build career resilience and sustainability.  Use the available resources here to do so.

Hello- I am Tod Gerardo and this is my first blog post.

I have been practicing as an HR professional, career consultant and work performance coach since 1980. I offer a long term, passionate interest in providing talent management and career coaching for working professionals.

Purpose of the Blog
In this blog, I will be writing about the strategies and tactics directed to:

• Managing your career
• Performing and achieving at work
• Realizing your objectives
• Telling your career story through the effective use of social media and related sources

What I Do
I contribute highly customizable programs directed to career management, performance coaching, succession planning, leadership development, executive development, and job/career transition.    I have worked extensively with individuals and groups who share a common commitment and focus of effectively integrating business goals and human performance.

The Changing Nature of Work
Over these past three decades, I participated in thousands of hours of coaching and counseling associated with the core methods and manner by which each of us seeks to acquire and maintain the jobs and careers that we pursue.  From the early days of my career, I’ve watched the job search methods ebb and flow with the cyclical changes in the economy.
There has always been a foundational and  process of sequential actions and documents that was followed – career testing and decision making.. resume.. job search strategy .. interviewing .. and then began a (hopefully) long period of employment.    Although tactical actions changed to match cyclical stages in the economy … over a period of time, the cycles would repeat themselves.   This time period might be referred to as “Career 1.0.”

Access to Information, Insight and Tools
Over the past several years – and ever increasingly during past last 12 months – I have witnessed continued and accelerated changes in the actions and steps by which competitive working professionals are acquiring work and staying employed.
These changes are being incorporated into what is considered the “new normal and expected” actions and behaviors associated with acquiring work and staying employed.

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