END OF THE BLOG!

Thank you to those of you who continue to read this blog. However, I have now discontinued adding new content to this blog.

If you wish to keep up with my books, TV shows and other news by following me at Twitter: @robyeung

I also update the News section of my official website www.robyeung.com occasionally.

Many thanks!

Rob

TV channel triple threat

October is televisually a busy month for me, with me appearing on three channels:

1. Pete's PA started on the Living channel last Monday 8th October and runs for ten weeks. On that show, I'm helping celebrity Pete Burns to find a new personal assistant to run his life. And my role as one of his panel is to separate the rubbish wannabes who only want to be his PA to get famous from the decent candidates who I think could do the job.
2. The Restaurant: You're Fried is coming to a close on BBC3. Over the past few months, we've seen various couples compete for the chance to set up their own business in partnership with Michelin-starred restaurateur Raymond Blanc. And, in analysing the dynamics of the various competitors, I have to say I've learned a lot about the restaurant trade - at least I'm 100% sure I don't want to run a restaurant!
   
3. And in a couple of weeks I'm going to be on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, the BBC2 show that analyses the off-screen action as the contestants gear up for the live BBC1 shows every Saturday. I'm going to ask the contestants to complete psychometric tests so that I can delve further into their personalities...
   

Oh, and my new website www.robyeung.com is up and running too - to lure those TV producers and conference producers in... - so if you know a TV producer who is looking for a psychologist, you know where to send them...

Should I sleep with the boss?

It's a rhetorical question of course, as I'm not suggesting that anyone should try to sleep with their boss in order to get ahead.
But I do get asked lots of questions all the time that amount to the same thing: 'What do I need to do in order to get ahead at work?'

So here are my three top tips:

1. Realise the success at work fundamentally comes down to relationships. If people don't like you and want to work with you, it doesn't matter how technically gifted you are at the work - you won't get ahead.
2. Make a career plan. Don't assume that you'll get promoted. Too many people drift in their careers. If you want to achieve anything in your career, set yourself a goal for the next 12 to 18 months and then break that goal down into sub-goals to achieve on a month-by-month basis. Top managers and entrepreneurs know what they want and make plans to achieve them - are you doing the same?
3. Spend 5 minutes at the end of every day thinking and planning your activity for the next day. Don't get too bogged down in your day-to-day tasks. At the end of each day, ask yourself: 'What must I do tomorrow that will make a difference to my boss, the team, and my career?' Keeping your eye on the bigger picture and your longer-term career goals will help you to avoid getting bogged down in your daily grind of your work.
   

Incidentally, the cover is a work in progress. My publisher is currently finalising the book jacket for publication in Oct/Nov - so the final cover may change yet again before it hits the shelves!

Dr Rob on TV (again)

BBC2 is preparing to launch a new TV series called The Restaurant, which will run for eight weeks from Wednesday 29th August 2007. In the new show, which will run twice a week on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc puts nine couples through their paces to choose one couple who will win the opportunity to open a restaurant with his personal backing and £100,000 of investment. One couple will get eliminated each week.

On Thursday evenings after the show, BBC3 will be running a show tentatively called 'The Restaurant: You're Fried' (a pun on 'Fired', I think) featuring the eliminated couple. And I'll be the providing some psychological insight into their personalities - so look out for me then.

Oh, by the way, I've been working with a web designer to launch a new website with some background information about me. There are only two pages there - and I plan to use it to help TV producers understand a bit about me when they're thinking about casting a TV psychologist (i.e. someone like me!). I'm not aiming it at people looking for career and business advice (which is what I try to do through this blog), but the site is up and running at www.robyeung.com - have a look and let me know what you think!

The pain of having to network at work

Not everyone likes to network. But that doesn't mean that it is not darned important.
Someone recently asked me for advice on their situation:

I've never been the world's most social person but I've just joined a new company in a line manager role where social networking seems almost as important as the job itself. I feel really uncomfortable in this environment. Golf has never interested, so that already puts me at a handicap, while hanging out at the local pub for a pint just isn't my idea of fun either. I'd much rather get back to the wife and kids and it's a long drive home. However, I guess that I'm going to need some level of social involvement and to play the game or I won't be seen a team player. Any advice appreciated.

To cut a long story short (and at the risk of sounding simplistic), I advised him that he has three broad choices:

1. Get involved in networking if you want to succeed. Realise that many important workplace decisions are made as much on the basis of how much other people like you as how much they rate you.
2. Quit and find a company that is more in tune with your personal values. If you hate having to socialise with people at work, then make it your medium-term goal to find an organisation where you don't have to force yourself to socialise with people you don't want to socialise with.
   
3. Avoid the social networking and let your career stagnate. But that's not much of a third choice really, is it?
   

To read my full response, click through to the Management Issues website.

The voice of reason

My publisher Cyan/Marshall Cavendish asked me to record a podcast a few weeks ago, which has just been put onto itunes.

The podcast is a 20-minute discussion in which the interviewer asks me to provide various tips on the topics of office politics, job hunting, entrepreneurship, and networking. So if any of those topics interest you then you might like to download the podcast.

Now I'm not a terribly computer savvy person, but I believe you just tap in the words 'cyan marshall cavendish' into the search box of itunes and it should come up with the podcast's location. Even if you don't have itunes, you can download it for free. There's also a bunch of other podcasts by other authors in the Cyan/Marshall Cavendish stable too - so you can learn about other topics ranging from cold calling customers to giving great presentations.

I hope you get a chance to download my podcast - it'll be a chance for you to hear my thoughts rather than read about them for a change!