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Career Management

Mini-MBA: Buzzwords, Clichés, and Business Terms

CLE - Career limiting event (or experience). "When Henry shook his fist at the chariman of the board, that was a definite CLE."

COB - 1) Chairman of the Board, 2) Acronym for "close of business," generally pronounced C-O-B, not "cob." "I need that report COB (by close of business today)." Also EOB -- "end of business."

Consultant - Often described with tongue in cheek as "someone who borrows your watch to tell you what time it is." I define a consultant as "someone who wakes up every morning unemployed." There are four types: lone ranger, boutique, small regional firm, and national firm.

Core Competencies - Things you're really good at. Usually describable in short words or phrases such as leadership, team-building, strategic planning, project management, innovation, finance, or quality control. There are hundreds of work competencies.

Corporate Culture - The "look and feel" of an organization: its norms, values and behavioral and relational style. Who they hire, what they value, how they dress, their organiza-tional structure and operating principles. Often defined as "how we do things around here." Examples of cultures: teamwork, top-down, collegial, sweatshop, confrontational, entrepreneurial, bureaucratic, collaboration, control, competence, entitlement, or paternalistic. You should work in a culture that mirrors your style and values.

Corporate Politics or Politics - The gamesmanship that takes place in organizations. On the negative side, it includes such behaviors as sucking up, ass kissing, and backstabbing. On the positive side, it includes being politically correct, and having the emotional intelligence and people skills to get things done.

Corporation - A big, sick, dysfunctional family. While we think of brand name organizations like Coca Cola, Hertz, or AT&T as well-oiled machines, the internal reality is often different. Business organizations are intensely human enterprises, and therefore beset by people problems.

Crackberry - See Blackberry

Crisis - "An upset in a steady state." (Milt Hanson, gerontologist)

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) - Typically, a software system that helps you manage the accounts of your most valuable customers. Examples are Oracle and salesforce.com/. "Once we capture that data in the CRM we know exactly what products to pitch next."

Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) - Means "course of life." A list of lists. A chronological list of your Career activities. Not a resume.

Dashboard - A summary web page that shows key indicators to track the progress of a business issue. "All our human resources costs are tracked right here on this dashboard."

Deck - A PowerPoint slide show. "There were only 12 slides in the deck, but the presentation lasted two hours."

Deep Dive - To explore an issue in-depth. "We did a deep dive on that IRS audit. There's just nothing to fear."

Degreeitis - The process of adding another advanced degree to avoid facing questions such as, "What do I really want to do?" "Where do I fit in the world?" and "Who would hire me?" Often the diagnosis of the perpetual student.

Demotion - Being asked to take a smaller or less prestigious job in your organization, usually with reduced compensation. Demotion often involves humiliating ego busters, such as training your own replacement.

Difficult Questions - Interview questions designed to get the truth about who/what you really are. See Open-Ended Question.

Dotted Line - Reporting to more than one manager. "I report to the CEO, but I have a dotted line to the CFO in Milan."

Downsizing/Rightsizing - Actively reducing headcount by laying off people. Making the organization "the right size." When people leave an organization voluntarily, it's called "attrition."

Drill Down - To dig deeper into something, as, "After the 30,000 foot view, we'll drill down into the details." A meeting where such activities occur: "We need to schedule a drill-down to get to the root of the issue."

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25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank

Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
Variety. Every day is different.
Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.

As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.