The Mobile Workplace Tour Toronto - Episode 6a

Stephen and Buck discuss the upcoming 2010 Leadership and Career Planning Event (May 25th at The Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto) over a coffee.

The Mobile Workplace Tour Toronto - Episode 4

In this episode, Stephen and I went to Queen and Spadina to ask people the question: "If you could improve your workplace in one way, what would it be?" Episode 3, from earlier in the morning, was done by Union Station where we found an unemployed street philosopher named Damien, who had some very interesting things to say about work, the environment how the people at the top should maybe find out exactly what's going on at the front lines of society.

The thinkWORKnotJOB Mobile Workplace Tour, Toronto - begins!

With day 01 complete, we set up at Yonge and Dundas, then I was off on my own to a few spots for promo, ending up an Queen and Bay, in front of City Hall.

I went to talk to the Mayor for help in promoting awareness, but he was out, so I will follow up with him and see if I can set up inside city hall. What a great day overall! Stay tuned for the video footage of Day 01.

When You're Right, You're Right! It's That Simple.

 Special announcement: The 2010 Leadership & Career Planning Event in Toronto at The Westin Harbour Castle on May 25th, 2010. Go to www.thinkworknotjob.com for more information.

People often get into the swing of things at a new job after learning the rules, or 'guidelines', as it were. After a while, they may begin bending the rules because that is what is happening all around them and they think it's okay so long as others are doing the same, which is a sure sign of impending derailment of the company train.

Let's face it, rules are rules and they were implemented for a reason, so you either stick with them or you formally discuss the problems with them and how these rules must change in order to reflect the changes that are occurring within the company. Rules can't be broken simply because somebody does not see the value in them and has discovered a better way without letting anybody know.

Sticking to the rules

There was a story of a young security guard who was trained by his company to work a graveyard shift as access control while sitting at a desk all night. The main doors could only be opened with authorized card keys and all of the incoming phone calls were dealt with in the exact same manner as per the standing orders, which were current.

A phone call came in one night from an executive burning the midnight oil in the building and the security guard followed protocol, which is to never volunteer your name unless the person calling identified themselves first. The executive failed to identify who they were but kept asking for the guard's name, unsuccessfully, and eventually became irate. To punish the guard for not giving up their name, the executive stated that they would go straight to the site director in the morning and complain about the guard. The guard took note of the incident immediately after and went on with their shift. 

In the morning, the director arrived and wished to speak with the guard, who was just finishing work. The director explained the situation and said that there was nothing to worry about because the guard's actions were directly in compliance with the standing orders and a true testament to the high level of service the security company provided to the building management. The executive was warned that security was tight for a reason and that should have been proud of the service they had just received because the night watchmen could be trusted to secure the building over night.

Breaking the rules

On many occasions, rules, protocols and standing orders are broken because a hot new talent decides they have to transcend the antiquated restraints of yesteryear. It can happen with a new team leader or a new employee, but the result can sometimes be catastrophic and when it is traced back, people wonder how it could have happened. Upon discovery of what went on,a company is forced to have an emergency meeting so the problem can't happen again.

There is a story of how a lax system can cause confusion and chaos for a new team leader and it involves the gradual changing of staff and inevitably, the gradual changing of an entire program. In the company I am referring to, the staff changeover was fairly high mostly due to the fact that people stopped believing in the company and so did not take it seriously.

The programs for each department were clearly laid out in a general meeting one year and each department had to follow the program with minimal changes, if any. If there were any changes, they were to be discussed with the department manager and officially adjusted. Four years down the line, there was a lot of staff changeover and no new meetings at all, which resulted in some departments doing the same work as others, without anybody realizing it!

When it was discovered that there was a lot of crossover between departments, the new general manager wanted to know how it happened. In a small meeting with one of the departments, a worker calmly explained that the program they were working by was the original program template for all departments, but that new staff began to change things due to a lack of proper leadership; without any straight answers or general meetings, they were forced to work on their own. This was backed up by showing the manager the minutes from the original meeting, years before.

The final ruling

Rules, protocols and standing orders are made so that everybody knows what is going on and how a company is supposed to operate. They can be viewed as a conductor's baton, pinned to a wall for everybody to see or placed in an official booklet that everybody has access to. Rules can be changed as a company grows, but changes should be official and open to discussion.

Avoiding very costly mistakes in any organization is not that difficult if everybody is on the same page (of the rule book) and exceptional levels of communication are maintained.

For more information, consider attending The 2010 Leadership & Career Planning Event in Toronto at The Westin Harbour Castle on May 25th, 2010. Go to www.thinkworknotjob.com for more information.

How to Find Work - from an upcoming career-planning seminar in Toronto

 Announcing the 2010 Leadership & Career Planning Event in Toronto, Canada on May 25th at The Westin Harbour Castle - details here: thinkworknotjob.com

Although job figures, like downward charts and graphs, laid out in newspapers can make job-seekers nervous about not being able to find work, some patience, a step back, a willingness to accept rejection, some networking skills and a bright countenance can go a long way in helping a person find some work. It might be work that starts part time, but then leads to full time or it might be work that is simply a stepping stone at first thought, until the opportunities for growth and advancement reveal themselves in unplanned ways.

Here are five ideas to consider when looking for work, whether it be a summer job or a complete career change. Toronto is a very diverse city with plenty of opportunities for employment, if you know where to look; and sometimes you will find yourself looking in some of the most unlikely places.

1) Patience - it can be frustrating looking for work in a major ciy because sometimes it seems as though everybody's got a job except you!  But patience is a skill that will keep you cool and in a positive frame of mind and, with that, people don't see you as frustrated and will be more willing to talk to you. So, avoid the "I hate the world" face while looking for work and you will be one step closer to finding something.

2) Take a step back - if you look too closely at anything, you can't see what's around it, so you miss many details. Look around everywhere and you will see just about every industry represented in any home, in any business and on any street. This one idea alone should give you a long list of potential employers.

3) Accept rejection - any good sales person knows that every rejection is worth a few bucks because, eventually, they will make the sale. Although it's easy to become discouraged when we let our feelings get in the way, it's not an impossible skill to be able to accept rejection and move on to the next prospect. Toronto has a bad reputation for being 'cold', so they say (though I partially disagree), there are enough warm folks out there who would be willing to hire a positive minded person who can get along with others and get the job done. So, if you expect rejection, it should come as no shock when it happens and therefore should be nothing to worry about.

4) Networking skills - Toronto is a hot spot for networking in many different industries. Chances are that someone you know will know somebody in your target industry. Social networking sites help, but there's nothing quite like getting out in public with some friends after work. If you can't afford to go out for food and drinks, eat before you go out and nurse a drink or just drink soda with ice and a straw while you network. It is imperative that you have no more than two drinks, anyway, so you can keep a clear head and not say anything you'd regret. Always have some cards or other info giveaways with you at all times (like a personal business card, a demo reel, etc) so there will be no fumbling around with pens and napkins. Also, go to as many art gallery openings or other social situations as possible with a friend or two because you never know who will be out there.

5) A bright countenance - people treat you better when you have a positive look on your face. So, no matter what, smile at all times during a job search. You can also do a few good deeds every day such as holding a door open or picking up a piece of trash to get used to the feeling of going the extra mile. Many people walking around Toronto do not smile - that's a fact. But, their faces do light up when they see somebody walking around doing good deeds without a worry because smiles are contagious!

One final note - not all companies immediately post job listings when someone is on their way out, so waiting for classified ads to appear can become fruitless pretty quick. Toronto has a number of local papers with job listings (24 Hrs, Metro, Now Magazine, Eye Weekly, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, The Employment News, etc), but a lot of those ads are lures to suck you in to some bogus piece work, feeding frenzy or poorly run call centre where only the fittest shall survive. So, newspaper ads represent only a small fraction of the good opportunities Toronto has to offer and you have to look deeper than that.  Good luck!!