Time to Grab Your Harmonica

I lost my job during the last major recession in 1991. They called me on Sunday and said the newspaper would close the next day. I had just moved to Dallas a little less than six months prior to the announcement. I was told to come down to the office and clean out my desk.

I was in a new job in a new city. I had very few contacts, no prospects, and barely any savings. Hanging up the phone, I took a deep breath and looked around my very sparse one bedroom apartment. I knew what I had to do: I grabbed my harmonica.

When I arrived at the newspaper's building, employees were packing up boxes; commiserating, a few were crying, and most were basically trying to figure out what they would do next. I headed to the back loading dock where the local media had encamped.

Let me pick up the story with the description I wrote in my book, Make the Right Choice:

"For no other reason than to prove that I was back in control of my happiness and attitude, I stood on the back dock of the newspaper in front of the television news cameras and made up a blues song about losing my job. I barely know how to play one note on the harmonica. It didn't matter. I just started making up lyrics about losing my job. The cameras started clicking. The television cameras zoomed in for better focus. I performed for a few minutes until someone pulled me off the dock and said to me, "You will never work in this town again." I swear someone said this to me. I am not making this up."

Yep, I just lost my job. Yep, I had very little money. Yep, I was playing a very poor rendition of the blues on my harmonica. It was one of the best days of my life. We have the choice to wake up in the morning and be bitter, frustrated and stressed. We also have the choice to be happy, energized and passionate. I chose the latter. Every normal, sane person given the choice would choose passion and happiness. Why do we so often choose to be bitter and stressed? Sometimes, we allow something out of our control to decide for us. We allow the economy, the situation, someone's words; or someone's actions make the choice. If it was truly our choice, we would choose happiness.

Anyway, back to the story from my book:

"I decided I was going to choose happiness. My blues performance made the front page of the Fort Worth newspaper and two local newscasts. Thinking back on it now, I think my performance made the paper and the news broadcasts because I chose my attitude. When someone loses their job, you don't expect them to stand in front of news cameras and perform an off-key and somewhat comical blues performance.

You see, the day was a life-changing experience. I didn't know what I was going to do next. I didn't know where I was going to live or work. I did know that I wanted to have ownership again for my happiness and attitude."

We are all going through a difficult time. We can either let it beat us down and become stressed and frustrated. Or, we can choose to be passionate and energized and find a way to succeed. We need to focus more on our customers and each other. We need to live and work more in the moment. We need to have more fun. What do you plan on doing? I am going to grab my harmonica.

Please read the rest of my Fall newsletter here.

Survive the Recession: Listen to this Podcast

As you can tell, I have not posted in some time. Depsite the economy and the media preparing us for armageddon and the apocolypse, I have had a very busy last three months.

Here is my goal: I will try to post every Sunday/Monday with something. Anything. So, in honor of Cloris Leachman's continued pursuit of the mirror ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars, I give you my first blog post for the Fourth Quarter 2008. Or, as the history books will some day refer to it, the moment everyone realized that it wasn't such a good idea to buy everything on credit.

By the way, for those of you who do not respect Cloris Leachman the comedian, you might want to rent/buy Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein. It is certainly in my Top Ten funniest movies of all time. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/)

I recently was a guest on three podcasts/tele-seminars. On each, I talked about my book's messages on leadership, work/life balance, passion, communication, creativity, change and teamwork. Strange things seem to happen to me when I do these tele-seminars/podcasts/webcasts/phone interviews/whatever you call them.

Here is what happened during my last three:

1. During a tele-seminar, someone’s line became unmuted and the listener was having a conversation with I think was her cat. This is classic. To hear this podcast, you have to sign up as a member (I believe there is a fee). http://www.success-avalanche.com/main.html

2. Yesterday, I was being interviewed for a blog podcast when the host somehow dropped off the line. I began calling out his name like a lost child looking for a parent at the department store. And yes, the dead air and me calling out the host’s name was still in the podcast for a few days. I think, by now, it has been edited out. The podcast is free. Here is the link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/search/joel+zeff

3. My most recent podcast was fun and uneventful. The podcast is free. Here is the link:
http://www.coachingcommons.org/featured/book-it-words-for-the-soul-uncommon-conversation-october-23-author-interview-series/

Have a great week. Happy Halloween

Recession Survival: Seven Essential Career Tips

Execunet has asked me to give a teleconference seminar on recession survival. I recently wrote an article for a newsletter on their web site. You have to be a member to see the newsletter or listen to the seminar. If I can figure out how to post a pdf file on a blog, I will post the newsletter article.

For those non-members, here is a summary of my presentation. Of course, this is what I plan to talk about. Sometimes, the plan gets side-tracked a little.

By the way, here are three other possible titles to my presentation. Which one do you like best?

Recession Proof Your Career: Seven Essential Tips
Recession Career Survival: Seven Essential Tips
Recession Preparation: Seven Essential Career Tips

My Seven Key Points:

1. Be Open and Flexible to Change
2. Take Responsibility for Your Happiness, Passion and Energy
3. Stay in the Game
4. Work and Live in the Moment
5. Figure out What Makes You Happy
6. Create Passion
7. What would you do for free?


A Quick Summary:


We may or may not be in a recession. We are definitely working in a time of great change and stress. How do you manage change and stay passionate and energized at your job? Can you be happy during a recession? How do you take responsibility for your happiness when so many changes are out of your control? Join Joel Zeff (www.joelzeff.com) a national workplace expert, speaker and humorist for his session on seven essential career tips to survive a recession.

With wit, a sharp observational eye, and playful irreverence, he discusses the choices we all encounter in our careers. We each have the ability to take initiative and make the right choice to live a more creative, passionate, effective, and productive life – even during a recession. How do you make the right choice? You must take ownership of your work environment and create a foundation of opportunity and positive support. You can choose to be patient, supportive, and more flexible to change. You can choose to have fun in the workplace and still be productive. Joel teaches us just how easy it is to make these choices.

This session is not about "strategic deliverables," PowerPoint presentations with upside-down triangles, or "paradigm shifts in a cross-functional organization." This session will be conversational, funny, and very informative. Yes, Joel will make you laugh, but he'll also make you think. This session delivers a combination of inspiration, essential business knowledge, and significant ideas to help you reconnect with their own passion, creativity, and success.



The Seven Points in More Detail:


1. Be Open and Flexible to Change

Always be open and flexible to change. No matter what happens to the economy, there is going to be change. You may have to deal with a merger, layoff or restructuring. Most of these changes are out of your control. We may not control the change, but we always control our reaction and attitude. Take ownership of the change by being open and flexible. Take ownership of your attitude and reaction to keep your energy and passion. How you deal with change determines your success, productivity, creativity, passion and stress. Ask yourself two important questions: Does this change affect my happiness and success? Does this change affect the people around me? Focus your energies on what really matters. Be open. Be flexible. Live healthier.


2. Take Responsibility for Your Passion, Energy and Happiness

Learn to take responsibility for your passion, energy and happiness. Too many times, we let other people’s actions or words determine our happiness. Happiness is a choice. Unfortunately, when we give control to other people, we are never very happy.
It is easy during a recession to give up control. You may have to do more work, stay late. You might have to do more with fewer resources. Your best manager might leave for a better opportunity.

Would you, as a normal, sane person, really make the choice to wake up in the morning, comb your hair, brush your teeth and say, “Man, I am bitter, frustrated and angry. I can’t wait to get to work.” No, you would not. Yet, people do that every day. We have no control over many issues at home or at work. We always have control of our attitude and how we react to those issues. We do have a choice to wake up every morning happier and more energized. And happy people get to work early when there are still blueberry muffins.
When we are happy and having fun, we are more creative, productive and effective. We are better leaders. The choice to take ownership of your attitude is an important key to everyone’s success.


3. Stay in the Game

Anyone can quit. You don’t even have to go to school to learn how to quit. And I am not talking about quitting your job. I am talking about quitting goals, challenges, and initiatives. Think about your role models. Think about the great men and women of history. They all dealt with mistakes, failures, and challenges. The difference is how they dealt with those issues. They did not quit; they stayed in the game. There are many issues during a recession, and the only way you are going to fail is if you quit. If you stay in the game, you might have to communicate, work harder, find a common ground, learn something new or get out of your comfort zone. If you stay in the game, the only thing you have to look forward to is success.


4. Work and Live in the Moment

Be in the moment at work. Be in the moment at home. Working in the moment means being focused and connected to what is happening right now. Listen to each other. Make eye contact. Engage in the communication process. We are at our best when we are in the moment. It is too easy to lose focus if things are not going the way you planned. Keep your passion for success and focus in the moment. It is too easy to worry about tomorrow and start playing the game “what if.” Working in the moment is about being present right now.


5. Figure out What Makes You Happy

Tell someone what you need to be happy. We all need opportunity. When was the last time you told someone specifically what you need to be happy? The next time you have a great day at work, take a moment to write down what made that day special. Now, you have a list of what you need to achieve success and happiness. Ask for it. Demand it. Work hard for it. Happiness at work will create the balance you are seeking. Even during a recession, you still need to enjoy what you do. Recession means change. It also means opportunity. Take the time to speak to your staff, management or ownership and figure out what you need to be happy. Do you want more responsibility or less? Do you want the opportunity to be creative?


6. Create Passion

The truth is you don’t want a job, you want a passion. How do you get a passion? Create an environment of opportunity and positive support and you will be amazed by what you can accomplish. After you build the foundation, you will start to care. We only care about something if we have responsibility or ownership. Guess what happens when you care? You start to have passion. If you can’t create that at work, you are going to have a hard time finding balance.


7. What would you do for free?

You have to face reality during a recession. There are going to be significant changes. Those changes will also create a great opportunity for you. Is it time to make a change? Do you need to change jobs? Do you need to change industries? Do you need to go back to school? Times of change are also the best time to reassess. Are you happy? Ask yourself a very important question: What would I do for free? Now work toward creating a career around that answer. Yes, you might have to put in some extra work. You might have to go back to school; take a risk; or make a significant change. That is what life is about. You have to take a risk to find reward. The end result is you don’t have a job anymore. You have a passion. And, it is a lot more fun and rewarding to have a passion.


Hope everyone is having a great summer. Have a happy and safe Fourth of July celebration.

Yes, You Can Have Fun During a Recession

Jan Norman at the Orange County Register today posted a portion of my article on having more fun and reducing stress at work. Here is the post on her blog. Even if you don't live in the Orange County area, Jan's blog includes some great articles to help managers and business owners find success.

For Jan's readers (and really everyone else) here is the entire article.

Twelve Ideas to Reduce Stress and Have more Fun at Work

It’s hard to have fun at work during stressful times. Your stress builds after each media report about the recession. You start hearing whispers of a merger, layoff or the all encompassing “restructuring.” Your manager does not listen. Your customers don’t listen. The guy that sells sandwiches in the lobby does not listen. Maybe it is just easier to be cranky.

Maybe your sales numbers are down this quarter. Clients are taking longer to make decisions. You start to worry about expenses. What happens next? You walk into your next important meeting a bundle of nerves, tension and worry. Do you really think you are at your best?

It is time to stop worrying and relax. Give yourself a break. Stop letting the media feed your fears with the dreaded “r” word. Even during an “r” people work. Companies manufacture, transport, distribute, sell, market, advertise, produce, grow, research, develop, entertain, build and purchase. We have to figure out a way to do it without being cranky and stressed. Yes, we need to have more fun.

I sense that many of you have thrown this magazine down on the table, rearing back from these words with a shriek. How dare we have fun during a merger/recession/layoff/restructure/something else that takes up time before retirement? Fun is scary. Fun does not work. We are not fun people.

Yes, you can have fun. And in the process, reduce your stress and help create a more productive, innovative and fun work environment. First, we have to create a foundation so that fun can exist. Here are twelve simple ideas to reduce your stress at work and have more fun.

1. Be patient and positive in your tone of voice. Sounds simple, but a reassuring and patient tone in your voice will do wonders for teamwork and for helping reduce stress. You will rarely see a stressed, impatient person having fun. Watch people stand in line at the airport. The guy in the suit with three carry on bags and a phone hooked into the Matrix is not having fun. The guy in the Hawaiian shirt and hat made from palm reeds is relaxed and having fun. Same standing in line. Different attitude.

2. Take a break. Again, a simple idea but something that has very real results. Ever try and assemble something from the store? Ever get frustrated? Ever throw the directions across the room in frustration? Stop, take a break, and then reassess. Just a few moments away will give you the energy to move forward.

3. Think about what makes a great day at work. The next time you have fun at work, take a moment to reflect. Write down what happened that made the day so great. What did you do? What did you say? You now have your “great day” list. You know what you need. Work toward it. Fun is different for everyone. Remember the kid in your high school algebra class who got really excited when he solved a complex math problem? That is fun for him. For me, math is the equivalent of jury duty, going to the dentist, and cleaning the garage all in the same day.

4. Sometimes you have to ask. If something is bothering you and causing stress, then speak up and say something. Most people will just stew or whine in the break room rather than speak up. They don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Guess what? Someone’s feelings are being hurt – your feelings. If you ask nicely, most people would be happy to oblige and help. They probably don’t even know their words or actions are bothering you.

5. Be in the moment with your co-workers. Working in the moment means being focused and connected. Listen to each other. Make eye contact. Engage in the communication process. Try something new: put your e-mail enabled phone down and communicate with the living, breathing person sitting in your office.

6. Tell your co-workers you appreciate them. We all want positive support at work. When we don’t receive appreciation and thanks, we are not very happy. You know how you feel when someone says, “You made a difference,” or “Great job,” or “I really appreciate your help.” You get an incredible feeling right in the middle of your chest. Giving that feeling is a gift. And it does not take a budget, plan, or approval. It just takes a few seconds from your day.

7. Create opportunity. We all want the same things from our jobs: opportunity and positive support. We may want the opportunity to be creative; to be a leader; to help people; or to make more money. When we don’t receive opportunity and positive support, we are not very happy. Figure out what kind of opportunity you want from your job. Make sure your employer understands what you need to be happy. Again, stand up and say something.

8. Be a better listener. Everyone thinks they are good listeners. In reality, we get into bad habits that prevent us from being good, active listeners. We multi-task. We wait to talk. We play solitaire on our computer during a conference call. Pay attention to your listening skills. When we listen, we are more effective as a team; we are better communicators; we are more productive; and we have more fun.

9. Be flexible to change. When change happens, ask yourself two important questions: Does this change affect my ability to be happy and successful in my job? Does this change affect the ability of those around me – my family, colleagues, clients, and vendors – to be happy and successful in their jobs? If both answers are no, then you know the change is not worth creating stress.

10. If you really want to reduce your stress, make a list of everything that caused you stress and frustration in the last week. Take a really hard look at what you wrote. You will giggle. Why? Because most of the things on that list don’t matter. Sure, there are some very important items on the list. Most of the items, though, we will forget about in a short time. Why do we forget? Because they really were not that important. When you are in the middle of a stressful and frustrating situation, take a moment and ask, “Am I going to giggle about this in a week?”

11. Help your teammates (stressed or otherwise) take ownership of their happiness and passion. Too many times, employees let other people’s actions or words determine their happiness. Happiness is a choice. Unfortunately, when we give control to other employees, managers, customers, partners, or vendors, we are never very happy. We have to take back that ownership. We have no control over many things at work. We always can have control of our reaction and our attitude.

12. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. During my presentations, I use improvisation as a tool to communicate my messages. The audience participants engage in the process with passion and energy. They have fun. They are relaxed. Because they are enjoying the process, they are more creative and productive. Why? They are not afraid of making a mistake. They understand they are working in a positive and supportive environment. We are all going to make mistakes. We want to minimize our mistakes and learn from them. If we take some of the pressure off, and support each other, we will figure out that we will make fewer mistakes. We will also have more fun.

I hope these twelve ideas will help you reduce your stress. Fun helps create the energy and passion that fuels our productivity, creativity and effectiveness. Without fun, we don’t have any fuel. Just like everything, fun is a choice. We each have to take responsibility and ownership of our fun and our goal to reduce stress. Remember, it is always your choice.


Joel Zeff (http://www.joelzeff.com/) is a national workplace expert, speaker, author and humorist. He shares his experience and insight on creativity, communication, work/life balance, leadership, teamwork, passion, and fun through his speaking presentations and book, “Make the Right Choice: Creating a Positive, Innovative and Productive Work Life”. He has appeared on CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, the Fox Network’s Fox and Friends Weekend and been featured in the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, The Kansas City Star, and many other media outlets. For more information on his book, please visit http://www.maketherightchoicethebook.com/.

Humor and Fun at Work

Everyone says we are in a recession. I am sure "fun at work" or "humor at work" are not the topics of choice right now. Remember the key lesson in improvisation: you have to stay in the game. Yes, there will be challenges and obstacles. The easy answer is to quit. If you stay in the game, you might have to work harder, learn something new, or get out of your comfort zone. If we stay in the game, we are guaranteed success.

There are many things we cannot control. We can always control our attitude and how we react to a situation. Too many times we give this control to others. The result is frustration, stress and working without passion. Doesn't sound fun, huh?

Well, maybe a few laughs will help. First up is a story from the Portland (Maine) Press Herald. Matt Wickenheiser wrote a great article about humor at work. I think this is an important topic during the current economy. Mergers, layoffs, recession all can drain the fun out of work. What happens then? Where do we find our energy for our creativity, productivity and success?

The really cool thing about Matt's article is he asked a couple of the sources in the story to record a joke for the Press Herald's web site. I was thrilled to contribute. I told one of my favorites: The Green Gorilla joke. This joke was told to me by my 8th grade history teacher. Now, Matt doesn't set me up very well. I know he was trying to warn the listeners that the joke is kind of long. Yes, it is a long joke. Yes, the punchline is silly. Still, it is one of my favorites. The joke is also a very physical joke, and better told in person. So, keep that in mind.

Anyway, here is the link to the article and a link to the joke recording:

Article: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=178953&ac=PHbiz

Joke: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/media/april1st_biz.mp3

Finally, one more link. I was recently interviewed on the Fox Network. I am sorry to say I was not on Bill O'Reilly's show. I appeared on Fox and Friends Weekend about "recession-proofing your job". I had a great time.

A few points of interest as you view the link:

1. Watch me dart my eyes back and forth at the beginning of the interview. Uh, scary.

2. Count the number of times I say, "you know." Shameful.

3. Try to answer the question, "Why is Joel holding a puppy?"

Here is the link:

http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=e1b554cf-8396-407d-b243-a6a05646c702

Until next week, Rock Chalk Jayhawk.