An Interview Story by Mark Herschberg

Mark Herschberg

The first time it was 1999 and I was working in software in Boston–in other words, huge demand for software people and short supply.  I was using a recruiter and told him I wanted an early stage startup, less than 20 people, using Java technology, and accessible by subway.

The recruiter either didn’t care or didn’t understand.  In one case I was 10 minutes into a first interview and the guy was giving me an overview of the company that was later stage and 80 people.  I stopped him there and said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to waste your time. I’m looking for a smaller company and the recruiter has wasted both our time by not listening to what I asked for.”  Then I thanked the guy and left.  I then required phone conversations from companies the recruiter sent me before I went out. After two other similar incidents I stopped using the recruiter.

On multiple occasions I’ve received an offer for a job I didn’t quite want but I liked and respected the people.  When I turned them down I did so simply feeling that it wasn’t the right fit for me at the time (often direction I want my career to go versus direction the company is going, or have another offer I find more interesting) but I did so politely and often times kept in touch with some of the people I’ve met.  In some situations Ill even refer other candidates to them.  WHENEVER POSSIBLE I USE INTERVIEWS AS A CHANCE TO BUILD MY NETWORK, IN ADDITION TO FINDING EMPLOYMENT.  GIVEN THAT MOST INTERVIEWS DONT RESULT IN A JOB FOR ANY GIVEN INTERVIEW IM MORE LIKELY TO GET A BENEFIT FROM THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING RATHER THAN THE JOB OPPORTUNITY.

A few years back a friend of mine asked me to join him for breakfast.  An executive from Sears was in town and could use my advice.  We chatted over breakfast and he asked me to go back to his office to continue the conversation.  By the time lunch came around he offered me a job.  I had been consulting the last few years but was looking to get out of it.  Despite wanting to go internal to a company I replied, “I’m a 34 year old single guy living in Manhattan; you’re asking me to move to western Illinois where people get married in their 20s and divorced in their 40s.  If I move there my chances of dating and getting married would be pretty slim.  How about I come consult and help you out for a few months?”  And from there had a very enjoyable contract with Sears.

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State of the green economy by Aman Singh of the Vault.com

Last year, California reported that green jobs grew by 5 percent between 2007 and 2008, while total jobs declined by 1 percent. A report by Collaborative Economics for Next 10, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit, studied the state’s “core green economy” and determined that the number of green companies grew 45 percent between 1995 and 2008, simultaneously increasing jobs in renewables, energy efficiency and clean tech by as much as 36 percent.

Even more interesting: While a majority of these jobs existed before the recession, new positions such as energy auditors, solar panel installers and energy efficiency experts were created as well. And it’s not all blue collar either. According to the report, service-based green jobs, such as environmental consulting, made up 45 percent of green employment, while manufacturing, focused in energy efficiency and energy generation, accounted for another 21 percent.

These statistics from years when job growth was minimal across the country are encouraging if not downright uplifting. Chris Russell, who is the man behind job search sites like greenjobspider.com spoke to Vault recently on why “green” is the next great job market:

1. The private sector views the clean energy economy as a significant opportunity. Venture capital investment in clean technology reached a total of about $12.6 billion by the end of 2008. In 2008 alone, investors directed $5.9 billion into American businesses in this sector, a 48% increase over 2007 investment totals.

2. The U.S. government has invested 80 billion dollars for research and development of clean energy technology.

3. Legislation in certain states is being passed to require a certain percentage of renewable energy use.

4. Bloom Energy, a Silicon Valley fuel cell start-up has received $400 million in VC funds. When is the last time a start-up got that much cash?

5. The country has never been more energy conscious than it is today. People want to save money by being more energy efficient.

6. The number of jobs in America’s emerging clean energy economy grew nearly two-and-a-half times faster than overall jobs between 1998 and 2007.

7. The U.S. will eventually adopt a national standard mandating that we use renewable energy.

Links

http://www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa/blogs/entry-detail/?blog_id=1462&entry_id=11060

http://www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa/blogs/entry-detail/?blog_id=1462&entry_id=10582

http://www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa/blogs/entry-detail/?blog_id=1462&entry_id=10529

Thank you

Aman Singh, Vault.com Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Editor

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How the green economy will pull the US out of recession by LINDSAY SCHERR

LINDSAY SCHERR

By LINDSAY SCHERR

At this point, “Green” means a few things in the American marketplace: marketing or “green washing”; saving money as a bi-product of an increase in efficient procedures, manufacturing, and facility modifications; renewable energy generation; and overall innovation of the way we do things.

Innovation creates jobs, because someone has to make the new products, and then service the new way of doing things. Looking at ways to redesign our processes and the way we use resources and energy is crucial, not only to the planet, but there are many ways to cut expenses and reduce waste. There are many technologies out there that are simple to implement, and make enormous difference. Change equals the opportunity to create something new. We are in a new paradigm. We must innovate because as the economy indicates, the old way of doing things no longer works.

At Celadon, we offer Energy Management to large commercial property owners to help them cut costs by helping them to visualize, analyze and optimize their real-time energy use for maximum savings. Building owners save money, reduce common area costs, and can turn around and market their building as more energy efficient or green, which is attractive to eco-minded, yet financially concerned Tenants. In this case, the business saves money; the buildings become more valuable; systems run smoother and more efficiently and as a bi-product help people be Greener without a lot of effort or major capital outlay. Solutions that save money by creating more efficiency are prolific; they just need to be implemented. Those money savings can in turn be reallocated for new jobs. For example, when we are able to save a client $100,000 annually, they can hire new people or give higher returns to their investors.

Green innovation impacts both sides of the P & L statement. There are always better ways to do things. Innovation and change can bring about amazing results that increase marketability and sales while saving money and reducing the environmental impact. We have an opportunity to look for alternative that will do all the things listed above. Being efficient, being innovative, (AKA green) is just smart business.

Contact: LINDSAY SCHERR, Principal

WE CUT YOUR ENERGY COSTS WITH REAL-TIME MONITORING

Office: (877) 722-1028

www.CeladonEnterprises.com

Twitter.com/CeladonEnt

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What David Bowie Knows About Unplugging

MIchele Rosenthal

The problem for me: I’m an entrepreneur who (mostly) works from home. The bigger problem for us all: regardless of where we actually work, technology makes it easy never to leave the office. And even when we do, technology makes it easy for the office to follow us, softly whispering, pinging and updating no matter where we are.

How are we supposed to unplug when we’re virtually always plugged in? I’m a bit of a workaholic, so this was an enormous question for me. In desperation I sought (and found) a way to completely disconnect. I didn’t even have to go far from my office itself.

In 2007 I was working on my first memoir, the story of how I healed from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after remaining undiagnosed for almost twenty-five years. Long days of writing left me completely emotionally drained. In order not to drown in the tide of memory, I decided to balance writing with something that brought me joy: I decided to dance. A lot. At a local dance studio I signed up for classes. I did not know how to partner dance at all.

Three years have gone by. The book is complete and being released in 2011. I’ve launched a PTSD advocacy organization. I still work from home. With the office only a few steps from the bedroom you can imagine that with a startup it’s doubly difficult to unplug. I rely on dance to help me disconnect 4-5 nights a week. The benefits:

1 – you can’t connect  with your Blackberry and dance partner at the same time

2 – you can’t simultaneously Tweet and keep the beat

3 – you can’t consider business deals while you think about how to lead or follow

4 – smiling releases serotonin, a chemical that reduces stress

5 – laughing floods the brain with oxytocin, a chemical that enhances brain function

6 – dancers are serious about dance time; you have no choice but to focus on the moment

These are just some of the ways that dancing softly and gently wiggles the plug from the socket so that I disconnect from the pressures of branding, marketing, publicity and advocacy for a few hours at a time. The beauty is, while dance at first put me out of my comfort zone, it has, in the end, really developed me as a person. I’ve become (ahem) a really good dancer. Plus, I’ve made some fabulous new friends.  I’ve discovered things about myself, my mind and my body I didn’t even suspect.

Best of all, unplugging is a great way to shut down and reboot the creative systems in the brain, which means that unplugging is actually beneficial to my bottomline. When I get back to the office I feel rejuvenated, my mind is fresh and I see work issues with a new perspective. When I replug in I’m even more productive, flexible and creative than I was before I decided to take a break.

I think David Bowie was on to something when he said, Let’s dance!

Michele Rosenthal is the founder of www.healmyptsd.com.

Where to find Michele:

www.twitter.com/micheleptsd

www.facebook.com/healmyptsd

www.linkedin.com/michelerosenthal

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How I “Turn Off” – Top 5 Ways

Jim Estill

Jim Estill is a Partner in Canrock Ventures, an early stage technology venture fund.  He currently sits on the board of directors of RIM (Blackberry) and has done so since before they went public.  He is an active blogger at www.jimestill.com.

I sometimes feel I was there when “always on” and “no downtime” were invented.  I was on the RIM board when they were just bringing out their first Blackberry.  Little did we know then how much it would change our lives.

My leadership style has always been to be accessible and responsive.  This is a self set bar.  I know that I cause my own stress by setting my own always on standards.  And I also pride myself in my work ethic and think people will respect me more if I am quickly responsive.

So for me, not being on causes guilt.  So how do I get over guilt for not being always on?

I study time management (I even wrote a book on the topic – Time Leadership – Using the Secrets of Leadership for Time Management).  What I have learned is we often lead frantic lives chasing the unimportant while not getting to the most important.  So for me, it is about productivity.

One axiom in time management is often the important is not urgent and the unimportant is urgent.  For example, the ring of a phone says to most people “interrupt what you are doing and answer” even if it is a telemarketer.  And the ping or buzz of email calls “look at me”.

Knowing this has helped reduce the guilt (but I still have a bit).  So my top 5 ways to Turn Off are:

1 – Go for a run.  For me not exercising causes more guilt so I figure less guilt is better.  And of course it makes me healthier.  I also find people tend to be forgiving when I tell them I was running.

2 – I set “Focus” periods where I do not look at email.  I find I can accomplish more in a “Focus” period than flitting from email to task.  I started with 25 minute focus periods and even that short of a time helped.  I can now do over an hour without getting tremors.

3 – I list my priorities each night and keep those in front of me.  Nothing like a reminder to keep me on track.  And I remember “the urgent is not always the important”.

4 – I will tell people that I will be unavailable during a certain time.  People understand that.  They put up with it when I am in meetings so why not when I want to be more productive?

5 – Being bombarded by email and phone calls all the time can be a big turn off so sometimes I do the big Turn Off.  Devices have on/off switches – turning them off is acceptable.  Especially important to do this during sleep.

Use logic to prevail over guilt.  Higher productivity is worth it.

By Jim Estill.

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Richard Harmer: America is being held back by RED TAPE, not creators or innovators!!

Richard Harmer

America is being held back by RED TAPE, not creators or innovators!! We have LOTS of those! Too bad the best of the creators and inventors work for major corporations! Even if you’re “on your own” with a great idea, but have little or no money the government makes it impossible for you to make a real difference in innovation. Why? Has anyone bothered to ask… Why the hell is it so complicated for a low level employee to get an idea across in a major organization or company?! Even if the idea could cure cancer, forget about it!!  The “RIGHT” people didn’t come up with the idea! The people at the “top” MUST protect their own jobs AT ALL COST!!  So here comes the red tape…or “brick wall” I like to say.

It’s absolutely crazy to think, we as a nation will grow if the creators can’t create and the inventors cant invent, that’s how we got here!! That’s also why I don’t work in the “corporate” world, I’M SMART ENOUGH NOT TOO!!  Kind of the same reason why the good politicians shouldn’t be in politics; They can be highly affective if they don’t have their mouth ducked taped by the people that put them in the office to begin with!  This country is so filled with the “good ole boy” network that stagnation has set in! Look around! This is “The United States of Stagnation!”

To ALL businesses: If it’s NOT working, STOP doing it!!! I don’t care how long “it’s” been “that” way, CHANGE IT! Many times I get, “Richard, it’s complicated.” I say, “SIMPLIFY IT!” Lack of innovation starts with complexity, not the complexity for the innovation itself, but the complexity to get the innovation in front of others. Complexity starts with red tape and red tape is created by idiots that are protecting their money and jobs. If innovators and creators see the “brick wall” (red tape) ahead, why would they bother to invent or create?!

Look at Blockbuster…What the %$#@ are they doing?!  They don’t have a “business” problem they have a “perception” problem, which creates their business problem. Those at the top are too arrogant and the systems in place are too complex to make a change noticeable to the public so the perception can change. I’m sure they have their meetings and “internal” changes, but do YOU see it?!  I don’t! They’ll have to shake it up quite a bit if they want to survive. Move everyone from the center of the table to edge of the table so the creators can create and change can happen, so it can be seen.

America faces a tremendous problem if it can’t create, but we, as a nation, created the problem. It’s time for us to un-create it. Make it simple again so we can adjust for change and be innovative. Maybe then we can figure out health care, education, the economy, terrorism and all the other issues we’re dealing with today. If we can get rid of the red tape maybe we can get back to being the United States of America instead of the United States of Stagnation.

By Richard Harmer.