Managing up as a way to get what you want is a great trick. I got my first glimpse of this technique when a former boss once spoke about management by attraction. This is the process by which you create such a great work culture that it simply draws people in organically versus having to work hard at promoting it. Managing up as a way to get what you want is actually a microcosm of this concept. What you are doing is managing the person in a way that draws them to you without realizing that you are actually using…

This recipe is grand because it can be cooked in the morning and eaten in the evening. Start in the evening by soaking some black eyed peas and some navy beans. These can be pressure cooked in the morning while DW takes a shower(*) and you cut up some green onions (I found a few in the fridge), a normal big onion (basket over the counter), jalapeno peppers (didn’t have any, so I improvised and took some out of the vinegar/killer pepper spicy bottle), a handful of corn (from the freezer). Mix all this together will a big can of…

Do you know about LinkedIn’s Name Pronunciation feature? I love it because it offers both obvious and subtle benefits. Create a Global Database of Name Pronunciations First, if we all take a moment to use this feature, we’ll create a global database of name pronunciations. Learn to Pronounce Other People’s Names Correctly Then, we’ll have a quick, easy way to learn how to pronounce the names of people we’re about to meet. Nothing is more core to our identities than our names. Thus, people who pronounce them correctly get some halo effect. That’s a learning error psychologist Edward Thorndike identified…

If you’re a Gen Xer like me, you probably did everything “right.” You went to school, got the job, saved what you could, and crossed your fingers that retirement would eventually arrive and not suck. But now? Things look different. Raises are rare. Layoffs are common. And the idea of chilling at 65 sounds more like fiction than fact. That corporate ladder we climbed? It leads straight into burnout or irrelevance if we’re not careful. The good news? There is another path. It starts with a newsletter. Newsletters Build Leverage, Not Just Likes Unlike social media, a newsletter gives you:…

I recently had a client ask me if he should apply for a position he knew he was overqualified for. He had recently been laid off, and in an effort to try and get back to work as quickly as possible, he was casting a wide net. My short answer was … no. But I could completely understand his reasoning. He was thinking, “Hey, I’ve got all this great experience. I could jump right in and practically do this job in my sleep.” But unfortunately, employers don’t see it this way. ​If you apply for a job when you’re overqualified, these…

Welcome back to another monthly update from Root of Good! This month’s update is a little later than usual since I’ve been on vacation during the first part of March. We got home a few days ago and I’m finally catching up on things around the house.  Our last cruise was actually two week-long cruises back to back on the MSC Seascape sailing out of Miami. We had perfect weather that let us explore some new islands or new parts of the islands we’ve already been to in the past.  Now we get to enjoy almost a month at home…

Storytelling may seem like a topic more appropriate for preschoolers than job seekers, but the most astute and successful job seekers understand how important it is to be able to articulate an interesting and compelling story detailing their work history and accomplishments. Do not underestimate the importance of outlining your background and describing it effectively. Hiring managers want to read your story, and they want you to prove you are a good fit for the job. It’s important to note: the story you tell should focus more on the skills and information the employer wants to see and less on…

Welcome back to another monthly update from Root of Good! We have enjoyed almost a full month back at home in Raleigh since our last vacation but we’re about to hit the high seas again in a couple of days.  We also managed to take a short mini-vacation in the middle of March with all of our kids. Our family visited the Outer Banks of North Carolina for two days during a nice and warm weekend.   Overall, March was a busy month for me between preparing my own taxes and planning a bunch of trips throughout the summer and fall.…

If you’re a solopreneur, coach, or creator planning to launch a newsletter in 2025, you’ve likely asked this question: “Should I use Beehiiv or Substack?” I get this question a lot—most recently from Brett Trainer, host of the Corporate Escapee Podcast. He’s looking to build a newsletter for his podcast and coaching business and wanted help choosing between Beehiiv and Substack. Since I’m meeting with him this week, I figured I’d break it all down here too. I use Beehiiv myself (and I’m an affiliate), but I wanted this to be a fair comparison based on real-world needs. If you’re…

  If you ask most job seekers when they are least likely to look for a job, it’s now.  It’s that time of year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s when our lives go in overdrive. It’s a joyous time but it’s also frenzied and stressful. Family obligations, holiday preparations, and social events fill our calendar. Each day our in-box explodes with additional requests for our time, money or both.  Add to that a job search, and it is all enough to make you want to crawl into a hole and hide.  The prospect is tempting. But while you can’t rightly put on hold…