Jo McDermott

Success

  • Career Check-up

    Why a Career Check-up? Those of us who do what we should have annual physical check-ups.  People who practice preventative health care are much healthier.  We take our cars for their regularly scheduled maintenance milestones.  Our cars last longer, drive… Continue reading

  • Let’s talk about the most marketable skill of all

    Which Skill is So Marketable? What is that, you ask?  What could possibly be the MOST marketable skill?  EXECUTION.  Execution comes in all flavors–marketing, IT, Project Management, Human Resources, strategy, operations, software, finance and on and on. Organizations spend tons… Continue reading

  • Moms At Work

    Happy Mother’s Day On this Mother’s Day, I thought would I write about women at work. I grew up not only with a mother who worked outside the home, but with a grandmother who always had as well (starting when… Continue reading

  • What The Heck Are Unwritten Rules?

    Four Problems There are four problems to being able to understand the unwritten rules in your organizations.  The first is that you believe you know the rules (these are your beliefs about how organizations are supposed to work) and that… Continue reading

  • Get Off Your Butt! DIY Executive Development

    I’m going to rant a little l talk to people all the time who are sitting around waiting for their company to “do something” about their development.  They know that they are talented (and for the most part, the company… Continue reading

  • Don’t Take Your Needs to Work

    Basics/Needs/Wants My first exposure to the idea of how my needs impacted my career came from Laura Berman Fortgang’s book, Take Yourself to the Top. Fortgang divides things into basics/needs/wants.  Most of us can tell what the basics are–enough food, housing,… Continue reading

  • Can You Really Earn a Living Doing What You Love?

    Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow You hear it all the time.  “Do what you love and the money will follow?” But is it true?  I’d have to say, “Kind of.”  When you are working doing things you… Continue reading

  • Keeping Up

    Why Should I Care? I talk to people who want to get promoted.  I talk to people who just lost their job.  I talk to people who want to go work for a cool company they know about.  I talk… Continue reading

  • My Boss Doesn’t Listen to Me!

    What Language Are You Speaking? My first question to you is– Are you speaking your boss’ language?  And, I’m sure your answer is, “Of Course!”  But are you really?  One of the most important tools that I use to help… Continue reading

  • New Job? Here’s What You Do:

    First Thing The first thing you do is remember that you don’t know what you don’t know.  Be very careful about your assumptions.  If you had the same job in a different organization, remember it might not be the same… Continue reading