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
October is televisually a busy month for me, with me appearing on three channels:
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:
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!
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.
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!
We often hear people talking about their "difficult colleagues" or "difficult customers". However, here's a tip for learning to deal with difficult people.
For starters, stop referring to them as difficult people - because that makes it sound like a personality fault of theirs. Refer instead to the precise behaviours that make them difficult.
For example, rather than saying "she's too talkative" (an adjective which implies something about her personality) say instead: "she is talking too much" (which describes a behaviour that you can therefore tackle). Or if someone is not telling you the whole truth, avoid saying "he's a liar" - instead say: "he is not telling me the whole truth".
To sum up, use behaviour words rather than personality words. Then when you decide to ask the advice of other colleagues or even decide to speak to the person who is causing you difficulty, you can tackle their behaviour (which can be changed) rather than their personality (which can't be changed).
Office politics gets a bad rep. But I consider it one of my missions in life to convince people two things:
I'm in the middle of filming Pete's PA, this series with Pete Burns, ex-Dead or Alive lead singer. And I have to say I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Pete Burns is actually such a lovely guy. He comes across on television as such a mean, critical, bitchy person. But that's only his on-screen persona. In real life, he can be smutty and picky. But he can be genuine, friendly, and vulnerable too - oh, and great fun too.
I won't say too much, because that would feel like a betrayal of how honest and unguarded he has been with him. But it was quite unexpected to discover that the real Pete is nothing like the on-screen Pete. But to me it does illustrate that you should never believe what you see on television. Even reality television is not always a true reflection of reality! Bear that in mind the next time you watch a reality show!
One of my next books is called Should I Tell the Truth?
So I was interested this morning to read about a top executive at InterContinental Hotels being fired for having lied about the qualifications on his CV.
Patrick Imbardelli had worked for 25 years in the hotel industy. He had claimed to have three qualifications - a bachelor of business degree from the University of Victoria in Australia, and a BSc and a masters of business administration, both from Cornell University in the US.
In fact, he had only attended classes at both universities in the 1980s - but he never received any qualifications!
To me, this says two things. Firstly, of course it's bad to be caught lying on your CV. Secondly though, it illustrates how easy it is to get away with lying. He had managed to lie about his qualifications for 25 years and risen to nearly the very top of his industry! It was only because he was about to rise to the main board of InterContinental Hotels that he got caught out - if he'd had a more ordinary career, he would probably have got away with it for life.
So if there's a lesson here - it's either not to lie or not to get caught anyway!
The 10 contestants for the job of Pete's PA moved into a house together in north London yesterday.
The contestants were terrrrribly excited and there was lots of squealing as the girls all picked the bedrooms they wanted. It was interesting to watch as some of the smarter girls are already picking their 'best friends' - i.e. other contestants that they think are strong competition and so they want to keep them close. You know what they say: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!
It's too early for me to have any favourites yet. But there are immediately already a few who are trying to hard and starting to get on my nerves!
I just came across this review today. Here's what a reviewer wrote about one of my books from last year, The Rules of Networking:
Networking, one of the most essential skills that is most highly sought after by all professionals hoping to progress in their chosen career path, or as stepping stones to land themselves in a new career. Hence, this book can be seen as a solution and answers to all the questions that you have on effective networking.
Unlike traditional, long-winded management tomes, this book is a short, step-by-step alternative which is designed to steer you safely through the unprdictable battlefield of modern working life, and more importantly to help you to attain what you want!
In this book, management guru, Dr Rob Yeung, expertly explains exactly how to network your way to the top. This easy-to-follow guide is packed not only with hints and tips, as well as advice on how to hecome the center of attention, how to ensure your fellow networkers pocket, rather than bin your business card, and how to build relationships in which people will be falling over themselves to help you achieve your goals. Rob Yeung will show you the methods on how to be a step closer to your dream goals.
Review:
Like what the sypnosis has described, the information is cut into bite size and hence, instead of being overwhelmed by the flood of information in those chunky manuals, readers will find this book easy to digest and the techniques simple to apply.
Knowing how to networking effeciently is a very crucial way to be ahead of others in today's society, which is awashed with information and knowledge. If you are unable to stand out among your peers, and make lasting impressions on others, you will find that very soon, in time to come, you will just be part of the backdrop of the society, unnoticable.
So go on, read the book!
I just received confirmation from my publisher that my latest book, The Rules of Entrepreneurship, hits the shelves this month!
It's packed with advice for anyone who wants to set up their own business. And one of the co-founders of The Mind Gym, Sebastian Bailey read it and said that: 'This book captures the true essence of what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur.'
I'm proud of the book and I hope you find it informative and inspiring too!
Well, I'm going to be back on television. After doing Jade's PA last year, I've been invited back by Living TV to do a new series: Pete's PA.
The 'Pete' in question is Pete Burns, ex-frontman for 80s pop band Dead or Alive, and now fully-fledged celebrity. The media love to loathe him, but I think he's a bit of a sweetie.
I was a bit apprehensive about doing the series because Pete has a bit of a reputation for being foul-mouthed and unpleasant. But you never can trust what you read in the papers, so I thought I'd at least go meet him.
To cut a long story short, he's actually quite likeable. (Sorry if I'm shattering any media-created delusions about him). So I've signed up for a few months of PA madness. Basically, he currently uses his live-in partner as a PA. But they're getting married soon so Pete wants a proper PA to take over the duties.
Anyway, I'm filming the new series over the summer, so will report back occasionally...
There's been a lot of coverage over the resignation of Lord Browne, one of the most highly rated business people in Britain over his lies to cover up his private life. I was asked by The Observer newspaper to comment on what drives successful people to have such lapses.
How brilliant men can be undone by power
Lord Browne resigned because he lied to a court about a trivial thing: the manner of his meeting Jeff Chevalier - a terrible error of judgment for a man in whom 97,000 employees and 1.2 million shareholders placed their trust. Why did he do it?
Psychologists point to several possible reasons: the isolation experienced by leaders at the top of big organisations; the pressure they are placed under; the effect of holding power in one's hands and the lack of restraining influences.
Browne was known as the 'Sun King' of the oil industry, a reference to Louis XIV of France, an absolute monarch who surrounded himself with fawning courtiers at the palace he built at Versailles. Like Louis, Browne was known at the highest levels in the capitals of Europe. Browne was also well received in the US and the UK, where he was on terms with the Prime Minister close enough to allow BP to be dubbed 'Blair Petroleum'.
But he was reputed, also like Louis, to be a man to whom it was unpleasant to take bad news.
Rob Yeung, a director at Talentspace, a leadership consultancy, says: 'The type of judgment you are asked to make changes as you move up an organisation. Low down an organisation, you are given much more discrete, less ambiguous problems to deal with. As you move up, there are fewer right and wrong answers.'
So what causes someone capable of dealing with these complicated decisions to make such an obvious error of judgment? Emma Farnsworth, an occupational psychologist from Blue Edge Consulting says: 'There is huge pressure if you are in the role of leader. The more successful you are, the more you expect from yourself - and the more others expect from you.'
There were few who seemed outwardly able to cope with this better than Browne in his heyday. But Yeung says: 'However much we delude ourselves to the contrary, the truth is that human beings are animals. We have quite ancient parts of our brains that control instincts like fight or flight. When things are going well, you make rational decisions, but the moment you are under pressure your dark side can come out.
' Lord Browne was a very private individual. His private life was very sensitive and it caused him to think irrationally rather than rationally.'
I contribute to a website on management issues. The editor asked me to answer a question posed by one of their readers:
My wife is pressurizing me to earn a higher salary by finding another job but I want to do just the opposite. After 15 years in middle management I'm constantly tired and have long lost the zest I used to have for work. Can you offer any support/advice?
If your wife wants a bigger salary, suggest that she goes and finds a higher paying job!
I haven't blogged in a while as I'm simply being crushed by weight of work recently. It's 12.40am on a Sunday night and I've spent most of the weekend working - coaching on Saturday morning and writing various books yesterday and all day and evening today.
Not that I'm complaining - I'm just explaining why I haven't blogged in a while. I like being busy - and by the end of May I'll have finished two more books so my workload will become a bit lighter. On the other hand, I'm in the final stages of negotiation with a different publisher, Kogan Page, to write a book for them over the summer. I am a bit of a glutton for punishment at times!
And I had a second meeting with a TV production company to get involved in a new cable television project over the summer - more details to follow...!
I was flicking through a magazine the other day and came across an amusing piece on what bosses say and what they really mean. For example:
Office politics has a bad reputation.
But here's the reality: politicking happens whether you like it or not. Yes, some people try to be noble and refuse to play the political game; they focus on their jobs and work hard in the hopes of being noticed and rewarded for their efforts. But sadly there are limited opportunities in the world of work and, more often than not, these sorts of people end up being overlooked or ignored – either by colleagues or important customers or both. Do you want to be overlooked or ignored?
Of course not.
Many purists refuse to play the political game, believing it to require underhand tactics and a malicious intent. But politics are not automatically bad. Politicking merely describes the act of scrutinising business relationships and learning how to influence others more effectively.
It usually involves going through informal channels rather than officially sanctioned ones, but that doesn't make it bad in and of itself.
Nor does politicking have to be selfish. You can use your understanding of politics to influence people and achieve goals that are good for the organisation as well as yourself. Even in the most friendly and supportive of organisations, people don't always agree – so having an understanding of politics and how to exert influence can help you to pull people together and achieve outcomes that are in the organisation's best interests too.
Anyway, if you want to read more on the topic, bits of this article are taken from a lengthier one that I wrote a few months ago for management-issues.com - happy reading!
One of the central themes in one of my next books, Should I Sleep with the Boss? is around the idea of taking control. That you can't necessarily control what happens to you, but you can of course control how you respond to it in shaping your career and life.
So even if you are made redundant or don't get given a promotion or suffer some more truly terrible life event, you can choose whether to let it get you down or whether to pick yourself up and get on with finding a better job or developing your skills or whatever you need to do to get on and succeed.
In my research, I came across the tale of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Of course, many Americans will already know of their childhoods, but as a Brit, I have to admit that I was somewhat under-informed about them.
So we all know that George W. Bush grew up in a wealthy family in Texas as the son of a former president. So he had all of the right education and background to enable him to succeed.
Bill Clinton's childhood was a rather different story. His father died when his mother was still pregnant with him. And he grew up in poverty with an alcoholic and abusive step-father. So fate had stacked the deck against him. Yet Bill still managed to claw his way out of poverty and to become a president of the most powerful country in the world.
I'm not trying to make a political point. What I do think this shows is the power of self-determination. That people who experience bad stuff in life don't have to let themselves be knocked down by it.
Psychologists have a fancy name for it. People who feel in control have an internal locus of control (i.e. they feel that the power to respond to their circumstances lies within them, inside of them). People who give up and feel helpless have an external locus of control. And there is plenty of research to support that people who have an internal locus of control are happier and more successful.
So whether you are trying to set up your own business, striving for a promotion, trying to reduce the number of hours you work - or whatever else your career goals may be - I would urge you to take control. While you may not be able to control what happens to you, you can decide how you respond.
I'm a consulting psychologist (at Talentspace Ltd.), author, international speaker, and a TV presenter. I'm interested in people, what makes them tick, and what causes them to fail or helps them to succeed.
View full profile at robyeung.com.
