1. Networking isn’t reaching-out to contacts only when you need a new job. 2. Sending a handwritten note is incredibly more effective than an e-mail. 3. Stress isn’t having 5 college mid-terms in 2 days. Growing a career and family is. 4. You have to “walk the decks” to truly connect with your staff. 5. Bro hugs don’t convey strength and …
This is my house. My wife and I purchased it when we were in our 20’s. It’s not built on wealth or grandeur. It’s a modest home that suits us well and allowed us to raise our children in a great environment. As my career progressed, we could’ve gone bigger, spent more, had a …
Since I was a kid, I’ve always fashioned myself a bit of a writer. It’s likely what led me to my career in marketing, communications, advertising. I was invited to have lunch in Philadelphia in spring 2019 with the Dean of Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. I thought the lunch would be for a …
Seriously now. What can this kid possibly offer me? Read More »
Building and launching your personal brand or a search for that next great thing in your career can seem a daunting task…and it is, no doubt about that. When faced with this, most people don’t know how to get started, so they don’t. And they default to the behaviors that they know: develop a resume and wildly …
Most people don’t know how to get started, so they don’t. Read More »
I heard this phrase the other day and it really stuck with me. The world is full of makers and takers, those that work hard while others coast, those that do the right things when no one’s looking while others cut corners and only shine when the cameras are on. I’ve been a road paver …
Some people pave roads while others just drive on them. Read More »
A friend sent me this awesome LinkedIn Yeti mug. I’ve arrived! I’m someone now! Kidding aside, the gesture meant so much more than a simple gift. Sometime around 2005, a friend invited me to join the platform, so I did. It was an odd time at work. Admin changes were happening, marketing was de-emphasized. I …
Patrick was “supposed” to graduate college in May 2017. Instead, he graduated in December 2020. It’s taken him over 7 years to finish his college degree but he did it. He did it while fighting adversity, self-doubt, confusion. He started at Penn State in 2013 as a chemical engineering hopeful, hit a hard wall, took time off, worked …
Some will say it was 3 years’ late. I say it was right on time. Read More »
A few months ago, I thought about buying some Pitt gear considering that my daughter’s boyfriend was a Pitt grad and working with the Pitt football team. Nope, couldn’t do it I said back then. I wouldn’t be staying true to my Penn State brand. Well, I reversed course, for a good reason. I had …
I said I couldn’t, but I did (and for a good reason). Read More »
Time is our currency. That’s why it’s so easy to bypass writing a personal note when an e-mail is so much easier and quicker to do. after all, a personal notecard means buying a card, addressing an envelope, writing a message, inserting the card, sealing the envelope, dropping it in the mailbox. But a personally …
I was browsing my professional mug shots lately. I tend to get them redone every 5-7 years. The latest was done a year ago for a press release for a new role, with my previous photo taken in July 2015. A 4-year stretch between sittings. It was interesting to see the changes when comparing the …
You don’t need to be young. You need to be restless, curious, relevant. Read More »