She needs her wallet for holding latte money, change for the parking meter and her drivers license (just. in. case). She needs a pen or two or three - usually in varied colors. She needs a small package of tissues (runny nose season), wet hand wipes (KIDS!), a pad of paper and/or a journal. She needs space for her cell phone when it isn’t glued to her ear, spare earrings in case she loses one that should be glued to her ear and something to tie back her hair so you can see things dangle from her ear.

She needs a tweezers, nail clipper and at least one nail file. She needs unmentionables, a list of things to mention at an upcoming meeting and a pack of gum so as to avoid offending meeting participants.

She needs something to make her stink pretty (mmm…perfume), check her pretty (mirror, mirror) and fix her pretty (oil blotters anyone?).

Women, for as organized as they are, seem to consistently forget to have one very important accessory with them

EVERY

WHERE

THEY

GO.

Business cards.

Several years ago when I worked for a company at the start of my career I was handed a box of business cards.  For the life of me I couldn’t figure out WHY I needed a box of business cards.  It seemed like such an unnecessary expense for the company to incur considering I only worked with the internal team.  As my time at that particular company wore on two things started happening:

1. The company grew
2. My interactions with people from outside of the company increased.

I was finding myself in meetings with vendors and potential vendors.  I was finding myself in meetings with co-workers that I hadn’t met previously.  I quickly learned that instead of writing my name and number down for these people again and again and again I could bring and share my business cards with these individuals.

After some time I was sent to training for the company.  The training was filled with 10 people and an instructor that I didn’t work with or know and would possibly never see again.  But wait!  These people that I spent a week in training with were NICE!  They were INTELLIGENT!  They were in my line of WORK!  Hello networking opportunity, good-bye business cards!

Over the years I have found many uses for my business cards and it is very rare that I don’t have any on me or at least very close to me.  Whether you are self-employed or working for a larger organization there are several occasions for utilizing those business cards like:

1. Training events.
2. Vendor presentations.
3. New hires.
4. Internal meetings with resources you haven’t met previously.
5. Interviews.
6. Networking events.
7. Social outings.
8. Your child’s backpack.
9. Your child’s back pocket (at large public places like zoo’s and museums).
10. Random meetings.
11. Volunteer activities.
12. Client meetings.

There are probably many more times when a business card could be utilized.   Can you think of any that I missed?

I would like to add one disclaimer to my list though.  Never (and I do mean NEVER) share any personal information about yourself with someone that either: (A) gives you the heebie jeebies or (B) is not introduced to you by a trusted contact.  When using your business card in social settings you do NOT give your card to some smokin’ hottie at the end of the bar.  In fact, you do not tell him your last name, the city you live in or the name of the company you work for.

If you aren’t going to exercise caution when sharing your business cards I’m going to have to add to my list of things you never leave home without:

A big mean freakin’ dog. 

And I HONESTLY do not know how you will fit a pit bull into your bag.

I know some of you *coughs* Nataly *coughs* have noticed my absence here on Work It, Mom! in recent weeks. Others of you *coughs* Kate *coughs* were warned to expect precisely nothing from me asked to forgive me for excusing myself from a special project we were working on. I purposely did not share the details of where I have been until things shook out in full at the office but now, after several weeks of announcements, changes in roles and responsibilities and other varied communications it is safe to share with you some career news.

…drumroll, please….

Several months ago I had made a career decision that I wanted to become certified in my field of work (Business Systems Analyst). After spending some time doing research I discovered that there will be a BA Symposium here in the Minneapolis market later this summer. In the process of researching BA certification I also ran across what I’ll call BA Bootcamp which is essentially a three-day crash course in preparing Business Analysts for the Certification test that will be offered at the above mentioned BA Symposium.

Got all that?

I registered for the three day bootcamp and have been keeping a watchful eye on the Symposium website so that I can get registration details just as soon as they become available. I have been spending a lot of time doing my homework to prepare both for the upcoming three day training, the certification exam this summer as well as putting time into researching the pro’s and con’s of being A) certified and B) a member of the business analyst institute.

I have, in essence, made a solid commitment to my career as a Business Analyst in recent months. Which is not to say I want to be a Business Analyst FOREVER! But I did, in my head, commit to taking the courses and joining the various organizations that could help me advance my business systems analyst skills.

I will tell you that being a Business Analyst absolutely suits me. I have worn a variety of other career hats and enjoyed darn near every one of them. But the analyst role suits me quite well and I always hope that the work I do as a Business Analyst suits my peers, customers and managers well too.

So as you can see, I love what I do and am setting myself up to do it for another few years.

But wait! There’s NEWS!

In about the last week of March, on a delightfully chilly Friday morning, I was joyfully working from home when I received a 7am-ish email from my manager noting that we needed to speak.

Urgently.

Now?

Yes.

Does instant messaging work?

No.

Phone call?

Yes.

In the phone call he asked me if I was sitting down and if I wanted to get up and grab something to drink. I asked if I should be spiking this proposed drink and he said he’d let me decide that.

To be perfectly honest it was in this very moment that I didn’t know if I was going to be fired, promoted or demoted but something BIG was about to happen.

It turned out to be good news although many (including myself) have joked that I have drawn the short straw on this deal. To be perfectly honest, I don’t see it that way. What I learned on that delightfully cold Friday morning was that in an urgent management meeting it was decided that my management team wanted me to lead not one but two projects that were deemed very important to the company.

Obviously I am not going to get into the details of those projects (company confidential donchyaknow) but I will share this: I accepted the assignments gladly. Not because I want to be a Project Manager (been there done that) but because these opportunities will increase my visibility within the organization. When the time comes that I decided I don’t want to be a Business Analyst anymore or when the “I want a promotion bug” bites me in the kazoofus, I will hopefully have done a fantastic job managing these projects thereby opening many doors for myself within the company.

Now as I have shared this news with people in my personal life (those are the people that have NO! CLUE! what I actually do for a living) they have said again and again something to the effect of “YAAY! A promotion!” to which I respond “Not yet.”

I have encountered many people that view my new role as a promotion and are completely perplexed that I am not demanding a formal promotion and raise in pay for taking on this assignment.  I will tell you what I have told them:

Sometimes being asked to take on additional responsibilities isn’t worthy of more money until you PROVE you can handle those responsibilities.

Would I love a bump in pay?  HELL YES.

Would I turn it down if offered to me?  HELL NO.

But unfortunately in the world of business, that is not always how it works.  Sometimes, to get ahead, you have to stay where you are just a bit longer than you’d like.  Raises, in most large organizations, are issued during annual reviews so the way I see it, between now and the time of my next review I have the opportunity to prove to my management team that I can do SO! MUCH! MORE! than they originally hired me for.

When it comes to managing your career have you ever taken on additional responsibilities without additional pay?  Did you have the mindset that in the long run, if you met your goals and obligations, you would be fairly compensated with a nice increase in pay or benefits?  How did it work out for you?  Were you compensated as you expected or bitterly disappointed in the end?

Discuss…

[Open note to my manager: you can just put "GLADLY ACCEPTED OFFER OF SALARY INCREASE" on my HR papers when the opportunity presents itself.]

So in the spirit of sharing things that I found interesting on the world wide internets (but do not have time to actually write lengthy commentary on) I now present a listing of interesting things I found whilst browsing my inbox and Google Reader recently.

IT Salary Survey: Not all technical certifications are created equal.

Master these 10 processes to sharpen your project management skills.

Tips to Spring clean your career.

Tuesdays are employees most productive days.

Know how much the other guy earns?

Have you read anything interesting on the web recently that you would like to share?

“I like to sound like I’m wise beyond my years, but really I’m just a cranky bitch.”

So fitting for this post. So very, very fitting.

Just before I went on medical leave at the tail end of 2007 I ran across a website called The Personal MBA and became quickly interested in their published reading list. I decided to head over to my local bookstore to see which books on the reading list were available for immediate sale. Being an impatient bitch I didn’t want to bother with ordering anything.

One book had captured my interest by title alone: StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. I was quite pleased to see it displayed on a shelf for immediate sale.

As I typically do when shopping for books I reviewed three things in the book:

1. The table of contents.
2. The first paragraph of the inside flap.
3. The chances I would find anything in the book I could take action on. Quickly.

I was quite pleased to find that the table of contents and inside flap were interesting. I also felt confident that there was information in this book that would be meaningful enough that I could somehow leverage it for my own personal and professional development. Quickly.

So I purchased the book and did something I never do: I actually READ IT. Usually, I skim more than I read which is why I was also happy to find a book on speed reading on the same shopping trip but we can chat about that another time.

I digress.

I read the book. Quickly. And I couldn’t finish it fast enough knowing that at the end of the book I would find my personal key to access the top secret portion of the StrenthsFinder website available to drop dead sexy and uber intelligent girl geeks people that got off their wallet to buy the book.

The message I received from reading this book came through loud and clear:

STOP TRYING TO FIX YOUR SHORTCOMINGS KATHYHOWE! YOU HAVE STRENGTHS! DEVELOP THEM!

This concept, as simple as it is, rang incredibly true with me. It was like I saw my life flash before my eyes.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! Terminally shy child tries to play nicely (or play at all) with other children.

JUNIOR HIGH! Math and Science MUST be focused on because YOU, dear KathyHowe, SUCK at it.

HIGH SCHOOL! For your good work burning your Home Economics assignment you get to take Home Economics AGAIN!

Meanwhile, it was not possible for me to allot extra time to things I was interested in and this soured me on the school experience. As a result I have spent my adulthood chasing work that amused me, stimulated me and pushed me to excel at things I actually enjoyed. Reading StrengthsFinder 2.0 reaffirmed that my focus needs to continue to be on developing my passions and strengths.

Since reading the book (and taking the quiz on the website) I have referred many people to the book and have referred back to my quiz results again and again. I have learned some interesting things about myself by reading this book. Things that I think I knew about myself at a subconcious level. The book and the website? They pushed these strengths to the forefront and ever since I have focused on being better at each of them.

Books are always nice to read but if you are looking for something that can help you identify and develop your strengths go get yourself a copy of StrengthsFinder 2.0 right away. As an example, here are some things I learned (or rediscovered) about myself:

1. I am skilled at pinpointing trends.
2. I am able to identify opportunities that others may overlook.
3. I am capable of devising alternative courses of action and choosing the best plan of action.
4. I can handle many assignments at once.
5. I naturally give others my full attention and acknowledge their thoughts and feelings.
6. I engage life with gusto and approach things with creativity.
7. I empower others with my confidence.
8. I easily stir enthusiasm. (NOTE: this must be really true. This week a co-worker compared me to a Kindergarten Teacher for my ability to get people enthusiastically on task).
9. Capable of discovering facts and weighing them carefully for presentation.
10. Willing to express myself freely.

So there it is, 10 (out of a list of probably 100) things I have re-discovered about myself. I approach every day with a reminder that my strengths are exactly that: STRENGTHS. And I make every attempt to leverage them in the workplace and at home.

Go ahead now. Embrace your inner bitch. Or your inner task master. Or your inner confidence builder. Whatever your strength is: develop it.

Don’t be jealous.

It is Egg McMuffin AND popcorn day in my office.

One co-worker is making popcorn in our theater sized popcorn maker.

Another just brought in Egg McMuffins for the entire team.

What kind of goodies do you have in your office?

How do I feel about religion in the workplace?

I quickly knew my answer:

If God can write clear documentation, elicit requirements, manage a work breakdown structure, make popcorn or fix the copier he is MORE than welcome in my workplace.

But in my opinion there is no other reason for God to be in the workplace.

CNN has an article called “When God goes to the office“. Go read it and come back. No really.

Go now.

I’ll wait.

OK. Here is what I think:

1. If someone wants to have a casual conversation or spirited debate over lunch on the subject of religion I am AOK with that.
2. If someone wants to wear a cross or other religious symbol, by all means go for it.
3. If someone would like to put a small, tasteful religious something-or-other on their desk or in their office, I can support that.
4. If someone wants to invite a religious official into the workplace they can expect me to be conveniently missing in action.
5. If someone wants to incorporate prayer into company-wide assembly’s they can suck it.
6. If someone wants to suggest that I accept Jesus while I wait for my stuff to come off of the printer they should be prepared for me to provide them a swift kick in the ass.

If it isn’t obvious, I am rather against religion in the workplace and I would quickly resign if I ever felt like the religion of company leaders was being forced (or strongly suggested) upon me.

Have you ever worked in an environment that incorporated religion into the workplace?

How do you feel about religion in the workplace? How much (or how little) could you/would you tolerate?

Do tell…

I received some great feedback on my original post on the subject and based on those comments I dabbled around on the internet looking for more information about becoming a Certified Business Analyst Professional (CBAP).   I have also done more generic research on the benefits of being certified.  While it all made perfectly good sense to me none of the information I read pushed me over the edge to go after my certification.

That changed last week when my CEO pushed me over the edge.

I like to think that I work for a fairly progressive company.  We are certainly a family-friendly environment and without a doubt there is fun being had in the office.   So you shouldn’t be surprised when I tell you that our CEO maintains a blog.  As much as I would love to link you to it, his blog is only available internally.  Despite that fact I am going to go out on a limb and share with you the one sentence out of one of Harry Debes’ recent blog posts that pushed me DIRECTLY over the edge:

“You’re not a lawyer unless you have passed the bar exam and remain in good standing.”

Kids, I had a major AH-HA! moment when I read those words.

I have an attorney.  I have had an attorney for many years and I ADORE MY ATTORNEY.  She is so knowledgeable and I trust her to infinity and beyond.  Granted, much of my adoration for her is because over the years she has done wonderful work for me.  That said, one of the reasons she does good work for me is because she has taken the time to do her homework to stay current on changes in the law.  She has made time for classes and exams and research and self-study.  If she didn’t stay current she would not be a good attorney and right now she ISN’T a good attorney.

SHE IS A GREAT ATTORNEY.

I would not trust someone with less training or experience to be my attorney so why should my employer trust a business analyst that doesn’t take the time to keep their skills fresh?

So there you have it.  My CEO pushed me over the edge.  This morning I sat down with my manager and discussed what I need to do in terms of training to be able to take the certification exam later this year.

Do you think certification will make my head look big?

So I deleted his comment.

I find it mildly disappointing that I can’t hit a delete key to magically erase other assholes from my life. Not that there are really all that many because I think I have really brushed up my skills in the department of detecting and ditching asshole types from my life. But sometimes you just cannot escape being in their presence. Sadly, assholes are everywhere. From the internet to our neighborhoods and even *gasp* our workplaces.

So what’s a girl to do when she wants an asshole-free existence? Who Stole My Stapler now presents….

KathyHowe’s tips for living an asshole-free life:

1. Kill ‘em with kindness. OK. I confess. Kindness won’t ACTUALLY kill them but 9 times out of 10 an asshole that is treated with sugary sweetness will buckle quickly.
2. Don’t engage. Responding to assholetry with more assholetry is like adding a truckload of dirt to a mole hill. I see a mountain in your future. Go read Dana’s well-written post on why we respond the way we do and where it gets us.
3. Remember that everyone is entitled to their opinion. Their version of reality does not have to be yours. Embrace diverse ideas.
4. When resistance is futile and you feel you absolutely MUST respond share your response with a (mostly, somewhat, kinda sorta) unbiased 3rd party. After sharing your response with them you may feel better and not need to respond to the original asshole. The other possibility here is that the (mostly, somewhat, kinda sorta) unbiased 3rd party might have an approach or perspective that you have not considered.

For tips on dealing with Office Politics (and ultimately difficult people) check out 7 Habits to Win In Office Politics, by Lawrence Cheok.

Be sure to watch this video!!!

Dealing with Difficult People Versus Them Dealing with You.

Because I have been so absorbed with my very emotional boy child this week I am mentally (and physically) quite drained which means I have exactly BUPKIS to offer you.

In the spirit of providing you something new and interesting to cast your eyes upon I now present to you…

::drumroll::

Who Stole My Staplers Hodge Podge of Internet Goodness

In link form. Of course.

Eight Sticky Boss Situations and How to Handle Them.

Lead, Follow, and Get Out of the Way.

Overcoming Burnout.

Too Few Manners at Work.

Job Satisfaction:  Can You Love the One Your with Before You Move On?

Do You Make This Mistake as a Professional?

And that my friends concludes this edition of Who Stole My Staplers Hodge Podge of Internet Goodness.  Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go Google “Testosterone Poisoning Therapy” before I end up in a special place for special people.

I just read an article on Women’s Health Magazine that reminded me of something that I have a hard time comprehending:

Why do women chase men more than they chase the career of their dreams?

Leslie Bennetts has written her story far more eloquently than I ever could. Of course the difference between Leslie and I is the fact that my career has always been exceptionally important to me. I never felt I had to choose between it or a man. So I guess the reality is I could never write Leslie’s story.

Leslie writes:

“The unexpected truth is that my career has given me far more enduring gifts than my lovers ever did. Even a loving marriage, which nurtures me in innumerable ways, is not the focus of my existence. My husband, an editor and culture critic, is engrossed in his professional life; thank heavens I have mine. My children have been my priority for nearly two decades, but they are leaving the nest. What would I do with myself if I didn’t have my own agenda to pursue?”

I can tell you that without a doubt I am a better person for having a career that I love. I have worked in jobs that didn’t challenge me and I have worked in environments that were stressful and cruel. Over the years I have realized that a job I really love is made up of many components:

1. The work is challenging but not maddening. There is a difference between struggling to achieve the impossible and being inspired to achieve something new.
2. My co-workers are fun and entertaining, can handle stressful situations with style and grace, and are dedicated to doing what is right for the company as a whole. They are timely, reliable, courteous and complete smart asses when appropriate.
3. My manager can make me laugh so hard I snort. I can trust my manager with important work topics and when appropriate, private matters as well. My manager is someone I have faith in and know I can go to anytime for feedback and advice.
4. The atmosphere is upbeat and fun. Playful banter is not discouraged, office parties and games are the norm and treats like popcorn are provided on schedule.

Here on Work It, Mom! we all have at least one thing in common: motherhood. What we don’t have in common is our marital status. Maybe it is easy for me to claim that my career is and has been important to me because I am joyfully unattached. I do not feel like I need a significant other to make me happy because as crazy as this may seem:

I  AM  happy.

I also don’t have to divide my time and attention between career and spouse. It is most definitely divided between kids, pets, friends, extended family and household responsibilities. But their isn’t another adult in this house that I have to take into consideration when I decide to make changes (big or small) to my career. Maybe having one less person to be accountable to on a daily basis makes it easier for me, as a single woman, be more passionate about doing work that fulfills me.

I’ve been in a bad relationship and thank the heavens I am out of that. I have also been in bad work situations and thank the heavens I am out of that too. What I don’t understand is why, when it comes to our careers, women would choose to ignore their career dreams?

We fiercely shop for the best deals on shoes and school supplies and we insist on getting good medical care for our families. We demand that our teachers teach our kids but when it comes to our worklife, the place we typically spend the majority of our time, we lose our fire. Is it that we spend all of our energy serving others and at the end of the day have nothing left to give ourselves?

Why is it OK for women to sacrifice what is important to THEM for the sake of supporting what is important to their significant other? Why would you pursue finding Mr. Right with more energy and passion than you would your career?

If we are going to spend 40 hours a week doing something, shouldn’t it be a top priority that we ENJOY it!?!?

If you are ready to begin a love affair with your career I STRONGLY encourage you to follow this link to Susan M. Heathfield’s article Love Your Work. She has put a lot of time into writing a really informative article on the subject and providing links to resources to help you get started.

So tell me.  What are you waiting for?