Their journey caused me to reflect on the analogy that can clearly be drawn from travel to one’s career path, and thus I present five key career lessons from the road:

1) Know Your Destination – Today’s market requires you to summon your inner GPS to discover the most expeditious path to your particular destination. The wonderful (and challenging) thing about our internet culture is that you can find virtually anything you’d like to know about your target career – leading organizations, differing strategies, the best education, critical success factors, common salary bands – it’s all out there for the taking. Just like you wouldn’t book a trip to a strange city without knowing how to get further than baggage claim, don’t manage your career strategy without a proper sense of direction. And like all travel, there’s often more than one way to get there.

2) Map It Out – Remember, first and foremost, that you always have a choice. Even if you’re attempting to arrive at a seemingly unattainable destination you’ll find that those who have achieved your goal did so through a wide variety of means. Literally map out where you are and where you’d like to be. The sheer act of writing down the beginning and end points will immediately provide you with two different means of attack – you can either draw from the end state backwards or build from your current location forward. Doing both may result in a common middle ground that allows you to break apart your journey into manageable steps and checkpoints.

3) Seek Advice And Guidance – There are so many experts offering conflicting advice on your journey that it can become quite difficult to sort through the noise. Pick through several career TripAdvisors and try and consume as much as you can from those who have been there before. Be it a friend, a neighbor, a former colleague, your alumni network or any other social or professional connection, you have a wide net from which to catch a few nuggets of wisdom. And with your wonderful social media skills you can obviously network your way toward some career travel agents who have helped individuals just like you.

4) Paint The Town – Once you’ve actually “arrived” it’s quite tempting to take a deep breath and relax. And although you’ve earned the reprieve, you need to ensure you get out and take a good, healthy look at where you are. Shake off the cobwebs and actively seek opportunities for a better view in order to see what else is in your career neighborhood. Look for adjacent opportunities that fill gaps in those skills required for ascension in the organization. Never stop learning and listening and keep a healthy curiosity for what’s just around the corner.

5) Be Safe – This is perhaps my most cautionary tale. Do not get so comfortable that you mistake this for home. Complacency leads to career narcolepsy and it’s quite common to fall into a bit of a sleepy routine. All business is personal and often the only person looking out for you is you. Keep your wits about you and don’t ignore the signs of organizational dilapidation and danger. You wouldn’t continue to stay in a hotel with stained sheets, a dripping faucet and a broken lock so do not stay in a career or company that’s leaking money and about to get outsourced or downsized.

Just before landing our couple looked at one another, took a deep breath of relief and smiled. In front of them were six pages of notes, ideas and opportunities for their future. And although they have much work ahead, they deplaned with the knowledge that they had taken those first few critical steps toward regaining control of a seemingly uncontrollable situation. I smiled in the knowledge that they were calm and collected, and I think we can all learn a little something from their journey.

What Is Corporate Hoarding?

Information and knowledge still represent power and this is truer in today’s economy than ever before. Organizations are learning that employee interactions constantly yield new knowledge and information that can benefit their business in tangible ways. And although many companies state that knowledge sharing is important to their business and culture, in most cases, the opposite is occurring.

Corporate hoarding — where people do not want to share knowledge because they see knowledge as a source of power — is very common, and can happen for various reasons within any given business environment, including:

• People feel that an injustice has been done to them;
• People are distrustful of coworkers or management;
• People are retaliating against behavior toward them; and/or
• The organizational and operational climate encourages or reinforces secrecy, not sharing.

In her recent piece, The Fractured Foundation of Social Learning, Radian6′s Amber Naslund accurately defined the problem:

“We don’t teach people to work together – even when we encourage group work – because ultimately our reward systems are still based on individual achievement and skills. We don’t share a grade amongst our entire class. We’re held accountable for our individual contribution and effort. Working together and contributing to a group is not the same as sharing in a collective result.“

Good Ideas Come From Sharing

In his 2010 article, TechDirt’s Mike Masnick described the innovation born from random collisions and a culture of openness:

“Almost all good ideas come from people building on the works of others, with a minor tweak here or there, or a random decision based on a suggestion from someone new, after an idea percolates for months or years. The more open systems are to sharing ideas and spreading information and allowing those collisions to happen, the more likely that new good ideas and new innovations occur.“

Mike also cites the work of entrepreneur Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. Johnson’s TEDTalk encourages us to overcome IP-centric thinking, instead allowing your idea’s chocolate to easily combine with your colleague’s peanut butter:

“You have half of an idea and someone else has the other half, and if you’re in the right environment, they turn into something larger than the sum of their parts. So, in a sense, we often talk about the value of protecting intellectual property. You know, building barricades, having secretive R&D labs, patenting everything that we have, so that those ideas will ‘remain valuable’ and people will be incentivized to come up with more ideas. But I think there’s a case to be made that we should spend at least as much time, if not more, valuing the premise of connecting ideas and not just protecting them.“

This Takes More Than Technology

We have tendency lately to think that “there’s an app for that” when the roots that prevent collaboration lie much deeper. Businessweek’s Evan Rosen described this situation as follows:

“When tools fail to create value, it’s usually because decision-makers adopt tools before the company’s culture and processes are collaboration-ready. Organizations even adopt tools for the wrong reasons, primarily the belief that tools will create collaboration. Tools merely offer the potential for collaboration. Unlocking the value of tools happens only when an organization fits tools into collaborative culture and processes. If the culture is hierarchical and internally competitive, it will take more than tools to shift the culture.“

A Model For Assessing Likely Behavior

Perhaps the best and most realistic study that accurately addresses these challenges can be sourced from the INSEAD Working Paper series. The author defines four models that organizations can use to assess the likelihood of sharing versus hoarding:

• The High/High: Individuals perceiving their knowledge to be high in individual value and high in corporate value will engage in selective sharing, sharing that knowledge which might bring recognition and reward to them but concealing that knowledge which might be successfully used by others with no reward for them.
• The High/Low: Individuals perceiving their knowledge to be high in individual value and low in corporate value will engage in information hoarding, choosing to avoid sharing their knowledge but attempting to learn as much as possible from others.
• The Low/High: Individuals perceiving their knowledge to be low in individual value and high in corporate value will engage in information sharing, sharing freely with others for the benefit of the organization.
• The Low/Low: Individuals perceiving their knowledge to be low in individual value and low in corporate value will engage in random sharing, sharing freely when their knowledge is requested but not consciously sharing otherwise.

Although it may seem obvious the study also cites that, “Individuals in subunits characterized by an open communication culture will view knowledge less as an individual asset whereas individuals in subunits characterized by a closed communication climate will view knowledge more as an individual asset.” A good way to assess the challenge ahead is through this simple cultural lens.

A Closing Thought

Organizations and individuals need to have a keen sense of self awareness and avoid the tendency toward aspirational values that don’t ring true to the reality of either party. So before you declare that “corporate hoarding is dead” and expect it to magically dissipate, take a cold hard look at how you communicate, motivate, incentivize and model the same behaviors you’re attempting to eradicate. What you find may surprise you.

Even the seemingly benign HR industry isn’t immune from these concerns with the settlement between Halogen and SuccessFactors reading like a SP(HR)y novel – creation of a bogus company, the duping of unsuspecting sales reps, the disclosure of proprietary information, and so on.

And although shadowy characters will always attempt to invade the halls or http’s of their competitive foes, there are two relatively obvious and quite simple means of gathering G2 without breaking a single law:

Intel Option #1: Job Postings

Curious about the location of your competitor’s new operational center? Wondering what the underlying code is for their yet-to-be-unveiled SaaS offering? Sleepless thinking about your relative pace of growth when compared to those in your domain? This is so obvious I’m almost remiss in mentioning it – simply check out your arch enemy’s career site and job postings.

We have reached a level of requisitioning maturity whereby extremely detailed job codes and underlying descriptions are almost a prerequisite for securing both internal approval and a highly targeted and talented candidate pool. Because of this move toward clarity of purpose, you can gleam an incredible amount of highly valuable information in no time flat. With a simple export and sort you can assess trending information, deconstruct growth plans, find out what tools and technologies your foe is codependent on and ascertain exactly where they might go next. It’s really quite simple.

Intel Option #2: Public Sector

Although this may not be true of very small or emerging organizations, most companies of any significant size or scale eventually dabble in the public sector. And with the public sector come four words that are often music to your competitive ears – Freedom of Information Act. FOIA is a post-Watergate provision effectively allowing any citizen to request that information be released to the public by government entities. Although exceptions do exist covering confidential business information, you’d be amazed what is disclosed under the act (visit GWU’s National Security Archive for more details).

If you aren’t willing to wait months (or sometimes years) for FOIA fulfillment, you can always try searching GSA’s Advantage site to find existing government contracts, pricing lists, and the like. Think of GSA as the procurement department of the Federal government, and since many states also purchase off of GSA schedules, this is a great means to find either direct relationships or indirect distributors that carry your competitor’s wares. You can also perform complex searches on State, County or Local sites to gather publicly available information on a wide variety of topics and issues. This one is also painfully easy.

Seriously, That’s It?

Yep, that’s it. I could offer more complex means to an end but this is not spy school and I’m not a lawyer. And trust me – I would guess that 99% of organizations hadn’t thought of how this information could be gathered so cheaply and easily. How do I know that? Because I’m always surprised by the raised eyebrows and “huh”s (followed by frantic note taking) when I describe these two techniques.

What Should I Do Next?

You should ignore this advice completely. Instead you should focus less on your competitors and more on your customers. Any good offering will always stand up to competitive threats and those who spend more effort on understanding others should redouble their efforts on understanding their clients (and themselves). I’m not suggesting that you should be cavalier or myopic in your competitive marketplace. Instead I’ve found that – more often than not – we look elsewhere for answers when they are standing right in front of us.

A Closing Thought

As former CIA counterintelligence officer (and now convicted spy) Aldrich Ames once said:

“Espionage, for the most part, involves finding a person who knows something or has something that you can induce them secretly to give to you. That almost always involves a betrayal of trust.“

Most organizations I know can rationalize their way in and out of any morally ambiguous ground. Maybe by writing this post I’ve contributed to the problem, but what if you think of it instead as a test — now that you know how to do this, should you?

When the dust settles and time passes, it’s up to you to decide if you’re in the business of the betrayal of trust. Like all real life situations, the answer is never as simple as it seems.

Now if you’re asking yourself, “Why does an HR blog feature a piece on business travel?“, let me explain. The Global Business Travel Association projects 2011 business travel spend of over $250B – that’s “B” for billion.  So if you’re in HR, this means that some percentage of your population (e.g., your sales function) and a nontrivial amount of your corporate spend may go to this category.  With that context in mind, put your tray tables in the upright and locked position as Erin prepares us for takeoff. Take it away Erin!

—————————

I’ve always been an enthusiastic traveler. When my family went on vacations when I was younger, I was just as excited about the airplane and hotel room as I was about the theme parks and attractions. I loved everything from the flight attendant’s safety presentation to the seashell-shaped soaps in the hotel bathroom. Don’t even get me started on how excited I was by miniature bottles of shampoo.

As an adult, traveling has changed. Trips have become less of an adventure and more of a way to get from point A to point B. People who travel frequently for work purposes often find the experience more stressful than restful. Business travel might not be the most exciting way to spend your time, but it doesn’t have to be a negative experience. Here are some tips for making your business trip easier and more enjoyable:

• Pack wisely – A well-packed carry on is a must. Anyone that has ever lost luggage knows what a hassle it can be. Moreover, you don’t want to show up at your work functions in an “I Love (Insert City Here)” t-shirt that you bought from an airport gift shop. Carry your essentials on the plane with you, including at least one back-up outfit. Make sure that you consider the weather and what sort of activities you have scheduled when choosing your clothes.

• Travel comfortably – Even if your flight is short, make sure that you are dressed in something comfortable. Drink a lot of water to stay hydrated and make smart food choices. If you intend to sleep on the plane, bring noise-cancelling headphones and an eye mask.

• Separate work from travel – If you’re not going to sleep, you still shouldn’t plan on getting major work done on the plane. Turbulence, space-hogging seatmates or a kick-happy child behind you can make it impossible to accomplish anything. If you are able to squeeze in some work, than go for it. Just be sure that you have all of your necessary work done before you leave.

• Confirm all itineraries and other details – Your trip should be mapped out before you depart. Make certain that you have transportation to and from the airport. Know where your meetings and other scheduled activities are and how you will get there. Your office should also have a copy of any travel plans so they know where you are and how to reach you.

• Remember that you’re working – There is often a social element of business travel. Clients and colleagues might take you out for dinner or drinks. It’s nice to be able to have some fun, but remember that you are representing your company. There is a huge difference between a glass of wine with dinner and taking body shots off of a co-worker. Even in a different zip code, it is still necessary to remain professional.

• Enjoy yourself – Just because it is a work trip does not mean that you shouldn’t also have fun. If possible, try to break the “airport-hotel-meeting-airport” cycle. If you have any free time, try to explore the city. If you get to choose where to eat, ask the concierge to recommend a local favorite restaurant. When you’re flying, consider talking to your seatmates instead of ignoring them. Think of frequent traveling as a way to make new friends and contacts across the globe.

Though business travel might seem like an endless cycle of lists, plans and hotel lobbies, it can also be a rewarding experience. Make the most of your trips and don’t let them overwhelm you. At the end of the day, you’re accomplishing something. If that doesn’t make you happy, the miniature shampoos will!

Erin Palmer blogs on behalf of University Alliance and Villanova University. Villanova offers online programs that teach individuals to overcome the challenges of human resource management. Among the programs are HR certification courses and an HR Masters Degree. You can also follow Erin on Twitter.

Entering his office with a huge smile, I instantly vomited verbal nonsense with, “It must be a great honor for you to meet me sir! I can only imagine how excited you are!” Ugh.. I couldn’t believe what I had said and my smile grew increasingly awkward. Excited to meet me?? It sounded like I was being a sarcastic a-hole. With a furrowed brow, he peeled his fingers away from my death grip, sighed heavily and looked at his watch.

The meeting lasted seven minutes.

Suffice it to say that I’ve learned a thing or two in the decade and a half since that uncomfortable first encounter. And although there are others, the following six items are critically important to successfully maximizing your time on mahogany row:

1. Do Your Homework – When you’re a CEO you tend to be pretty damn visible. Whether it’s a board seat for a non-profit, the latest earnings call, keynote presentations, alumni groups or press releases, you should have no problem tracking down helpful personal and professional information prior to your session. And please, please, please don’t fancy yourself such a master of disguise that you’re going to casually drop some association with their world without looking like a stalker. Instead, simply be aware and prepare for the conversation to naturally flow toward your researched materials.

2. Be Specific - Nothing is more valuable to a CEO than their time. If you are granted an audience ensure that you have a very detailed plan and purpose. Need a decision to be made? Perfect. Have all the relevant pros and cons at your fingertips and the high level numbers and impact in tow. Keep handouts to a minimum. And finally, think through the questions you’re likely to be asked and all possible courses of action so you don’t have to reschedule after you’ve “looked into that“.

3. Ask Questions – Although at times it seems like you should be doing most of the talking, be certain to come prepared with very specific questions. One of the best methods I’ve seen is to literally ask for help. I know, I know… you’re worried that you’ll look weak and that they hired you to have all of the answers. But face facts – the person in front of you ascended for a reason, so take a moment to benefit from their wisdom, guidance and experience.

4. Feed Their Ego – When someone decides that their purpose in life is to lead a multi-billion dollar firm, they just might think a little bit highly of themselves and their abilities. But let me caution you – no one likes a sycophant and CEOs can see suck ups coming from a mile away. Instead of directly complimenting her, find an indirect means to achieve the same end. For example, if the organization recently expanded into Asia you might mention, “… how well the APAC growth strategy has been perceived by the market“. You don’t just enter a new geography without the CEO leading the charge so the message, and compliment, will land.

5. Plan For Redirection – As your session comes to a close you will most certainly be directed to one of the CEO’s lieutenants for follow up and ongoing discussion. As part of your preparatory work you should think through the organizational structure and attempt to shape this outcome to your benefit. In fact, it’s perfectly appropriate to have a name or two in mind and to proactively ask, “Should I plan to run this through [name] as a next step?” They will appreciate the thoughtfulness and recognition that their participation is no longer appropriate or needed. But before you leave, be sure to ask the CEO (or the CEO’s assistant) to notify the subordinate that you’re following up on their suggestion and authority.

6. Say Thanks – This may seem painfully obvious but do take a moment to thank them for their time. I once worked with a colleague who would send hand written thank you notes after all of his C-suite meetings. Whether via the postal system or email, be certain to let the CEO know that you are grateful. One final thought (and this is absolutely critical!!) – be sure to thank the CEO’s executive assistant as well. Be effusive because assistants are both gatekeepers and trusted advisors and you will not get anywhere with the CEO without their help.

I hope this helps you avoid career limiting sessions like my own. Please share your stories, suggestions and comments below so that all can benefit from your time and experience with the top of the organizational food chain. And whatever you do, stay cool. They’re just people and some may even have a sense of humor. Good luck!

With the exception of the rare burst of wisdom from a drunken journeyman, much of my transit this year has been nothing short of horrific. Every trite travel truism you can possibly conjure has come into play as I’ve toured our great nation. As my frustration grew, I started to look for someone (anyone!) I could blame for my displeasure. It took a few strong in-flight beverages to deconstruct, but I’ve realized that you, fellow traveller, have behaved in seven ways that have destroyed my business travel bliss:

1. TSA What?

As if transported from an era when chiseled stone memorialized common knowledge, these wide-eyed newbies approach the security process replete with wonder and ignorance. “But I don’t want to take off my shoes.” “What do you mean I need to chug my Monster energy drink?” “A seven ounce tube of lube is against what rule, exactly?” These are actual words spoken by those line-jamming plebes who can’t comprehend the endless multi-media displays and government payrolled cattle herders surrounding every airport terminal. Welcome to the modern age and get it together people.

2. “Now Boarding…”

To you self-important and overly entitled status hoarders, I have a simple observation. Although you have chosen a life in the clouds over that of terra firma, stop acting like such assholes when your super-platinum-double-premier boarding group is called. Try and realize that the two dozen passengers you steamrolled with your siamese wheelie/laptop bag might not bow to your ascension to the top of the air jockey pyramid. Desperately crying out “Premier Executive!”, “Platinum!” or “Elite!” puts a target on your back that my venti latte may be magnetically drawn to.

3. “THAT SOUNDS GREAT!!”

I hate to burst the imaginary bubble you believe surrounds you and everything within a twenty foot radius, but I can kinda sorta hear every frickin’ word you’re screaming into your cell phone. Aunt Martha’s ass is still sore from her procedure? Got it. The big M&A transaction fell apart because the investment bank screwed up the valuation (with all firm names called out)? Bingo. Your client, the one accused of rape, was wearing a condom (followed by a big “Whew!” while fifty people wish you a slow death)? Roger that. You are in public. I can hear you, have a camera on my phone and immediate access to social media. Don’t make me break you.

4. Too Much Baggage

Welcome aboard and please be seated as quickly as possible so we can leave on time. Oh, and while you’re at it, pretend your overstuffed carry-on is a marshmallow that can be crammed into the tiny little spot that remains in the overhead. And if that magic trick doesn’t work, repeatedly slam the door until it breaks (which delayed my last flight), remove someone else’s nicely sized piece (causing a flight attendant to declare on a recent trip, “No way honey, get your shit outta there right now!” to applause) or just leave it jutting out and walk away. Passengers and crew alike are getting very surly and will jump on your ass in about two seconds on this one. And yes, I will laugh at your expense. Keep the entertainment coming fool.

5. Are You Comfy?

Ten minutes after takeoff and the little *ding* tells me it’s okay to take out electronics, and this being business travel, I need to get right to work by kicking open my trusty laptop. You, lovely person in front of me, decide that it’s your God-given American right to press that silver button and let gravity be your guide. And although I really don’t want the plane to turn around and jet fighters to scramble because I knocked on your head like a soft-boiled egg, how about we avoid the entire confrontation by you having a little courtesy for those behind you? Or maybe that’s too much to ask…

6. Lushes, Lovers and Losers

One of the beautiful (and occasionally nightmarish) things about modern air travel is the snapshot of Americana present on every single flight. Three of my favorites that I’ve recently encountered are lushes (including the drunk guy next to me who asked for two whiskeys and and shot of Patron, to which the flight attendant responded, “Sir, this is not a flying bar!“), the lovers (such as the couple next to me who nervously looked around while the woman pulled a blanket over her boyfriend’s crotch and they both started moaning) and the losers (like the creepy guy directly behind me who said, “It’s been years since I sat next to a pretty girl“, to which she brilliantly replied, “It’s been years since I maced someone on a plane“). By all means let your freak flag fly, just not in the friendly skies.

7. Get Me Off This Crazy Ride

Despite the first six eff-ups, somehow we manage to arrive at our destination intact and without bloodshed. Taxiing into the gate, cell phones get turned on, makeup is touched up, breath mints are popped and the tension builds toward the final battle – getting off the damn plane as soon as possible. Yet despite grade school knowledge of lines and the natural order of the seating, some people leap up as if cattle prodded, drag their 8,000 pound bag from the overhead and suddenly appear next to you with their chest heaving from the rush of it all. And God forbid the flight attendant asks that “you remain seated so that those with tight connections can make their flights“. Stay calm. Be polite. Wait your turn.

This has been quite cathartic, thank you. Despite my confidence that this is a good list, I’m certain I’ve missed some other gems which make your own travel a horror on high. Share your comments and stories below and I’ll see you at 35,000 feet.

His blindness to my gray hair aside, our conversation led to four reasons why he speaks the truth:

1. We’re Creatures of Habit – Tomorrow morning I want you to try a little experiment. When you step into the shower, try mixing up the order of your washing routine. Chances are you’ll fumble around and end up forgetting to rinse some nook or completely miss a particularly filthy cranny. And when you realize how futile (and unsanitary) this change can be, chances are you’ll go back to your old comfortable habits the next day. For it to stick, change requires persistent awareness and diligence.

2. We’re Stuck In The Past – Change carries the implication that the current state is no longer relevant. If you happen to personally be the catalyst for change, this requires the presence of mind to accept that what came before was flawed and no longer tenable. In the more likely scenario of change being thrust upon you, others are stating that the old way is either materially flawed or could be a hell of a lot better. Although it sounds like mumbo-jumbo bullshit, the reality is that change is a constant process, so whatever you love about the past will likely be dead and gone tomorrow.

3. We’re Part Of The Problem – You know that irritating adage that says, “You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem“? The pressure to come up with great ideas and solve world hunger while stopping smoking and losing twenty pounds can be a bit much at times. And then some jackass consultant/coach/advisor says, “Hey, all you need to do is [insert platitude] and you’ll be all set.” The truth of the matter is that sustainable change either happens from within or doesn’t happen at all.

4. Our Perspective Sucks – Remember borrowing a friends glasses for the first time and feeling like the world suddenly morphed into a funky, twisted mess? Chances are you immediately removed them and said something like, “Man, that gave me a headache. How do you wear those all day?” Your friend probably harrumphed, ripped them from your claw and wasn’t too pleased. When you look at a problem you might see nothing more than a funky, twisted mess, so find someone who can see the destination clearly because true change requires a completely new perspective.

Back to my friend the flying disaster of an executive. After two hours of conversation (and his third drink), I finally suggested that he quit his firm and move on. He patted my hand and said, “Friend, you are a wise sage” and then fell asleep. I’ve been watching the company for an announcement of his departure but unfortunately he is still there, cracking his head against the wall and likely telling strangers about the end of days. He probably hasn’t left yet because – let’s face it – change is so damn hard.

Will I fit in?

Some of us may have paused, eyebrows raised in concern and hesitation, looking back over our shoulders toward an equally reluctant parent, seeking that final little push that says:

Go on. It’s going to be okay.

And for most of us, it is just that – okay. Between victories and failures, years pass and we may still hear that quiet voice whispering its questions from a place we try not to visit. On some conscious level we wish we didn’t care so much about acceptance, about fitting in. Our hope is that individuality is rewarded and others see us for who we really are, not some cookie cutter projection of a certain sex, shape or complexion. And to stand out in some unique or distinguishing way we rebel against the so-called norm because it feels good – hell, it feels great! – and it works, albeit for a little while. But the paradox is always present… we want to be treated the same yet we often yearn to be different.

Eventually we find ourselves at the doorstep of our careers, assessing and being assessed, attempting to apply what little information we can gleam to determine if this organization is the place we belong. If these are the people we want to surround ourselves with. If this is the best use of our education, our skills, our energy and our time. And if we want to earn the trust and confidence of those in power, we desperately want to fit in and meet all their spoken and unspoken expectations.

It’s only later that we might realize that fitting in may be more than we had bargained for. And then the tradeoffs and rationalizations begin.

So what choices do you have as you balance earning a living against your desire to be you – the real you – in a work environment that both rewards and expects unquestioning conformity? For many, a double life is a real and pragmatic approach, the “work you” showing up when you’re expected to show up, expressing the right emotions for each situation you face and participating in a process that you truly believe (hope?) was borne less of design and more of necessity. But outside of the office? You’re the genuine article, the one who has untapped talents, passions and possibilities, the one who wishes there was some way of earning a paycheck for what truly sustains you.

But a double life can be exhausting. Employers are creeping more and more into your personal life, tethering you to always-on devices whose Pavlovian beeps and buzzes immediately return us to the trancelike state of work. The work you. The fitting in you. The one that earns the paycheck that provides food, and childcare, and vacations and a million other ways of incentivizing conformity. And we do it because everyone does it, and to not do it is irresponsible, childish and self-destructive. So we are told.

So you suppress the real you, push it down somewhere deep and tell it to stop bothering you with its ridiculous hopes and dreams. And one day, you forget the difference between the two “you”s, that this other you even existed.

I’ve spent my entire career watching the bright light of ideation, creativity and individuality be largely snuffed out by the machinery of the organizations we tirelessly serve. Instead of handing out performance reviews rewarding you for doing exactly what you were hired to do, let’s pass out two matches – one to burn the handbook that tells us that what’s expected is to be applauded and a second to spark true and sustainable change.

Take my hand as we walk into strange and unfamiliar surroundings of rewarding and promoting individuality in the workplace. And when your organizations pause, eyebrows raised in concern and hesitation, looking back over their shoulders with reticence, seeking that final little push, we can say:

Go on. It’s going to be okay.

Finally, Safe At Home

It’s quite easy to become so intently wrapped up in ourselves that we scarcely notice those around us. It’s never been easier to be alone, together. Our minds may be active but our bodies are often headphone-laden robots with the world as our green screen. And as of late, the airport has become the ultimate assembly of the disassociated, an unsuccessful supercollider chocked full of self-absorbed atoms.

To break this chain I’d like you to pause for a few minutes in the terminal, remove your earbuds, sit quietly and truly observe. An interesting transformation will occur as you begin to notice the subtle nuances of those around you.

Take the four-year-old girl who stood quizzically behind a glass partition, cat-clock eyes sweeping back and forth, taking in the noises and smells, rocking with an internal song that only she can know. How about the young man, knees pulled to his chest, listening attentively to the unburdening of his female companion (girlfriend? best friend? lifelong crush?), his occasional wide-eyed stare or upturned lip betraying pure adoration. Or perhaps the elderly woman abandoned in an airport wheelchair, motionless, afraid and so visibly lonely that I have to look away out of shame.

Each of these travelers have a story and I don’t know what’s brought them ever so briefly into my life. Who are they? What faces them at the other end of this flight? Is someone anticipating their arrival? I’ll likely never know.

I have travelled nearly every week of 2011, and after tens of thousands of miles of flight, I relish the moment when my key turns the lock, gravity takes hold of my bags, my coat finds the hook and I breathe in the air that is home.

The first greeting is a scrabble of eight dachshund paws rushing to see what could possibly be happening so late in the night, their old tubular bodies eventually erupting in a melee of excited barks and squeaks. The next and most pleasurable is the tiny voice of my sweetest heart, her sleepy tones causing me to smile and sigh.

As I get settled in and eventually attempt to sleep, I begin to wonder about the little girl, the love-struck teenager and the old woman. Were they able to catch their flights? Where are they tonight? And most importantly, when, if ever, will they finally be safe at home?

Although these situations have occurred many times since JobAngels was founded, they still come as a healthy shock to my system. For those of us who have weathered the past few years relatively intact, it’s often difficult to comprehend the magnitude of suffering that still permeates much of our society. And with many now back to work and out of the abyss, it’s convenient to assume that all is well and forgot the tens of millions still left behind. Despite thrusting myself deep into the plight of the unemployed, it often takes a call like this to shake me out of my own complacency to seek actionable solutions on behalf of those less fortunate.

As many of you know, JobAngels was born in January of 2009 from the extremely simplistic premise that each of us can help just one person find a job. There was no flash of brilliance and no divine intervention — this was nothing more than a hopeful belief that the generosity and support of one person could change the life of another.

Despite its humble beginnings on Twitter, it was you who turned JobAngels into a movement. You helped friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, acquaintances and complete strangers. You sent millions of messages, posted jobs, networked, revised resumes, provided a sympathetic ear, opened doors and ultimately gave one another the confidence to succeed. You caught the attention of the world and told your story in print, on television, on the radio and through every social media tool available. You filled auditoriums, churches, synagogues, mosques, schools, stadiums and classrooms to share your job seeking successes and failures. You came from all walks of life and celebrated the diversity that makes this country strong. You toiled through an unprecedented time in modern history and rallied to help one another survive.

I have spoken with so many of you these past few years that your stories have become my own. I’ve suffered in your fear, abandonment and despair but also reveled in your resilience, strength and optimism. And I wish… no, I know that I should have done more to help. Despite what many perceive to be a success I have remained unsatisfied with the work we’ve done. And so it is for the tens of millions of today’s underemployed and unemployed that we now move on to a new phase in our journey together.

For many months now I have sought a new home for our movement, one that carries the goodwill of our mission into a more tangible set of career management services. Core to a successful continuation would be a non-profit with the infrastructure and personnel to truly carry those in need toward the next destination in their own journey. I’m pleased to report that we have found an organization that exceeded all my expectations — Hiring for Hope.

Effective today, JobAngels is now officially part of the Hiring for Hope family. We have a new homepage that will guide you through all the free services that are now available to those in need. And if you’d like to continue to donate your time and expertise, Hiring for Hope welcomes you with open arms through the Voices of Hope Volunteer network. Along with several of the JobAngels volunteer leadership team, I will continue this journey with you as a member of the Hiring for Hope Board of Directors. We’ve also put together this short introductory video to give you a sense of the power and benefits of our newly combined entity:

I am so grateful to each and every one of you for allowing me to meaningfully participate in this movement. It’s important to note that I did not do so alone, so please take a moment to thank the following individuals who played such a key role in the our success:

• The original volunteer leadership team of Mark Cummuta, Deirdre Honner, Charee Klimek and Chris Bailey are some of the most selfless individuals you’ll ever meet. I’ve been so humbled and impressed by their generosity and thoughtfulness and I encourage each and every one of you to thank them directly.
• I’d also like to acknowledge the contributions of Teresa Basich and Shahrzad Arasteh for their LinkedIn and Twitter community management skills. These guardian angels had no idea what they were in for when they offered to jump into our highly vocal social media sites and I cannot thank them enough for their hard work and dedication to the cause.
• As for the individual who truly gave us wings, my thanks to Greg Grigoriou of Van Paul design for donating his time and skills to the creation of the JobAngels logo. Although the colors may have changed his original vision lives on.
• A special thank you to web designer Bill Borque of Zonegig for breathing life into our site. His patience, knowledge and vision for what’s possible helped to extend JobAngels well beyond our preexisting social networking presence.
• Finally, a thank you to the millions who have heard our message and helped one another get back to work. I’m proud to have walked and worked among you.

Please join me in the next phase of our journey by visiting the JobAngels Welcome Page today. Together we can make a difference.