Too much to do and too little time to do it?  Not feeling terribly relaxed or stress-free?  No problem, says best-selling author, management consultant and veteran executive coach David Allen.  And there’s no mystery to achieving  what he calls “the art of stress-free productivity.”

It’s got everything to do with 2 important notions:

1. “capturing all the things that need to get done–now, later, someday, big, little, or in between–into a logical and trusted system outside of your head and off your mind;” and

2. “disciplining yourself to make front-end decisions” about all of these things so that you’ll always have a plan for the next actions that you can implement or negotiate at any moment.

Want to learn more?  Check out my recent interview with David Allen, by clicking on the media player on the right hand side of this page.

Have a great week!

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The five mistakes online job hunters make can cause an already tough job market to become even tougher.

But what if you don’t even know that you’re making the mistakes?  A recent column by The Wall Street Journal columnist Elizabeth Garone explores these two important issues:

– why we miss out on jobs we’re qualified to do

– how to approach job hunting online to get the job we seek

Her answers may surprise you.

For example, demonstrating good manners, making a high-quality presentation and the importance of networking in person, along with online efforts, all play an important part.  (For a link to her article: http://on.wsj.com/aD8CAQ)

To hear the complete interview, “Five Mistakes Online Job Hunters Make,” be sure to tune into Blogtalkradio’s Money Matters & More radio show tomorrow, July 29th at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). If you can’t hear it then, check out the podcast, which will be available just after the show ends.

Have any tips that have worked for you in online job hunting?  Email them to heathertaylormedia@gmail.com.

Don Draper knows a thing or two about fixing what’s broken when it comes to business.  Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a job seeker, he’s got some lessons to share.

In last night’s season premiere of Mad Men, his newly formed advertising firm seemed doomed for three reasons:

– He bombs an important media interview.

– He alienates his colleagues and staff.

– He loses clients.

So what does Super AdMan Don Draper do?

He does what the rest of we mortal entrepreneurs and job seekers have to do:  he hits the reset button.

In his case, that meant recognizing the cold reality of having a new company with diminishing revenues and the need to do three things:

1. Clarify what it is that he wants.  (In his case better press, more and better clients.)

2. Find a way to increase the firm’s visibility and viability by identifying his audience, the market he wants to reach. (In his case, it’s a The Wall Street Journal reporter.)

And a third element:

3. Make sure he’s got contacts that allow him to try to try correct his mistake, or at least try a do-over.

In Draper’s case, a colleague’s contact at The Wall Street Journal, enabled him to hit the reset button by pitching a compelling story to another high-visibility media outlet.

Now if he could just figure out his personal life…

(photo by Salvatore Vuono)

Twitter away for 15 minutes a day and that job you seek may soon be yours.

That’s the message from co-authors Susan Britton Whitcomb, Chandlee Bryan and Deb Dib, co-authors of the new book, The Twitter Job Search Guide, Find a Job and Advance Your Career in Just 15 Minutes a Day.

Earlier this week, co-author Chandlee Bryan joined me to talk about how a committment to Twittering at least 15 minutes a day can speed along the job search/career advancement track.  Here are couple of reasons why:

1. Successful job hunting involves successful networking.  Twitter is a way to grow a large and diverse network in your area of expertise.

2. Alot of the best and brightest minds in job search and career management are on Twitter.  Using Twitter taps into great (and free!) information.

3. Lots of recruiters and staffing managers tweet about fresh, live job openings.  Send a message to these folks and you’ve got a chance to stand out from the crowd of candidates who will be sending resumes to their inboxes.

Want to learn more?  Be sure to tune in to my interview tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.

Several years ago, I met a conferee at an association meeting and knew at once that she would be the perfect mentor.  She was intelligent, friendly and generous with her time.  If I wanted a sounding board, feedback or any kind of help in learning how to find another position or advance in my career, this individual seemed ideal.

The match didn’t work out in the end, (she was mentoring two other people already), but after reading The Mentee’s Guide, Making Mentoring Work for You and interviewing one of its co-authors, Dr. Lois J. Zachary, of Leadership Development Services, LLC, one thing is immediately clear.  Finding the right mentor requires some careful self-assessment and advance planning, not simply a gut feeling based on a first impression.  Here are some of their recommendations:

1. Identify your goal — why do you want a mentor?

2. Figure out what qualities you want in a mentor.

3. Determine what qualities in a mentor are “must haves”– What qualities are non-negotiable?

4.  Rank the remainng criteria — what do you want, in order of priority?

5. List possible mentors — Brainstorm a list of possibilities

6. Eliminate prospective mentors that don’t meet your requirements

7.Rate each mentor – Compare how well each of the remaining mentors stack up against one another

8.Make the decision after tallying up your responses

To hear the Money Matters & More interview with Lois J. Zachary, click onto the BlogTalkRadio media player to the right of this posting.  For more information about mentoring, check out the company blog: www.centerformentoringexcellence.com/blog

Have a great week!

What one experience do Oprah, Mozart and Eminen all share?  Mentoring.  Each of these individuals benefited from having a mentor show them the ropes.  In Oprah’s case, it’s been Maya Angelou.  For Mozart, it was Johann Christian Bach.  In Eminem’s case, it’s Dr. Dre.

How can mentoring help you find a job, get a promotion or start a new business in the 21st century?  Join me today at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern) to find out during my interview with best-selling author and mentoring expert Dr. Lois J. Zachary.  She’s co-author of the new book, The Mentee’s Guide, Making Mentoring Work for You.

Have a great week!

What’s holding back so many women entrepreneurs?

Is it women themselves, obstacles posed by stereotypes and misperceptions in the business environment as a whole, some combination of the two, or something else entirely?  The Wall Street Journal contributor Sharon Hadary, who’s also the former  and founding executive director of the Center for Women’s Business Research offers a survey of her findings on today’s edition of Money Matters & More at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern).  She’ll talk about what holds back women entrepreneurs in the 21st century, and what can be done about it.  To tune in, check out blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.com.

Have a great week!

How can you sell almost anything, no matter the economic climate–even when the “anything” includes “peddling nuclear power to environmentalists?”   Author, journalist and freelance writer David H. Freedman recently spent time with supersalesman John “Grizz” Deal and discovered Deal’s nearly fool-proof system for making a sale.

His article, On the Road With a Supersalesman can be found in the April 2010 issue of Inc. Freedman’s new book, Wrong:  Why Experts Keep Failing Us–And How to Know When Not to Trust Them will be published in June.

To hear today’s Money Matters & More interview with Freedman on Blogtalkradio, be sure to tune in at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern).  [Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more).

Have a great week!

Are you feeling stuck in your work and personal life?  Do you wonder why and want to do something about it?

Coach and consultant Kim George has some news for you:   no pill, person, information, motivation or circumstances will enable you to become great.  The truth is you’re already great.

Kim George joins me today on this week’s edition of Money Matters & More at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern) on Blogtalkradio to explain this good news.  To hear the live interview, click onto Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more. The author of Coaching Into Greatness. 4 Steps to Success in Business and Life George will talk about greatness and how each of us can eliminate the barriers that keep us from doing what we are able to do.

If you’d like to call into the show to ask a question or make a comment, please call the switchboard line at (646) 929-1832, between 10:25 and 10:45 a.m.

Have a great week!

If someone offered you a “mentor in your pocket” as you navigate the workplace in search of success, would you take it?

If your answer is yes, and you’re an African American woman, there’s good news.  Three dynamic and successful black female executives have written a kind of portable “mentor”, in the form of a new workplace guide called The Little Black Book of Success, Laws of Leadership for Black Women. With a combined total of nearly 100 years of senior management experience at Fortune 100 companies, authors Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood and Rhonda Joy McLean offer 40 ways to ensure workplace success, whether an individual is just starting out at entry level, is at mid-level or in the most senior positions.

To learn more, be sure to tune into the Money Matters & More radio show today at 10 a.m. Eastern.  Co-author Rhonda Joy McLean, Deputy General Counsel of Time, Inc. will answer questions about the best ways for African American women to successfully navigate the workplace in the 21st century.  To hear the live broadcast, click onto Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.

Have a great week!