Wow, I’m guessing that did not go as planned. What I’m referring to is a photo that a gentleman posted on LinkedIn, ‘a business-oriented social networking service’. The photo was of his daughter holding a sign that read ‘My Daddy will quit smoking if I get 1,000 likes’. The comments on the post were fast and furious, and although there were some that considered it a good cause, most either completely berated the gentleman or voiced their disgust in the poorly placed campaign.

Here are a couple examples of comments, but I’ll leave them as anonymous:

“Why are you posting this on a professional networking site!? Is this a sad way to gain connections?”

“An executive using his child as networking leverage is pathetic.”

In my opinion, it was posted in the wrong environment, and it should have been on Facebook, ‘an online social networking service.’

Yesterday on LinkedIn, I saw a graphic that stated ‘Type the FIRST THREE words you see’ (which I’ve modified as an image to support this blog). You’ll notice words such as intelligence, freedom, love, win, etc., but all I see is a waste of time.

Knowing your environment and what it will tolerate is important, but it can be critical in some situations.

• With holiday parties around the corner, staff need to keep in mind that they are still in a professional environment with their colleagues, and not treat it like a wild night out with friends.

• Travelling to another country that has different customs than where you typically travel, could land you in jail or worse, so you should research and educate yourself pre-trip.

• Crossing a picket line to a business you’ve visited for years will have a completely different atmosphere and employees may act out of character, so training would be suggested.

I would like to openly admit that I have some OCD tendencies, and am extremely detail oriented at times.

People in my life are used to it and either roll their eyes or poke fun, but often find themselves saying “Okay, you were right, good thing we did it that way.” Whether I’m harping about locking the front door (even if ‘you’re going right back out’), spreading olive slices evenly across homemade pizza (to ensure every bite gets the same amount), or taking umbrellas ‘just in case’ as we head out for Halloween with the kids (we were poured on and the umbrellas were very needed).

In my opinion, planning ahead, and considering all potential outcomes strengthens your position, regardless of what that position is.

Whether my colleagues at AFIMAC govern their personal lives this way, I’m not sure, but I know they do when it comes to planning for clients. As example, Michael Husnik (Director of Operations at AFIMAC) and his team spent months working with a client preparing for a potential strike, and a few months back Michael sent an update email internally, as he often does, detailing the below:

“The client explained to me that the union’s upper hand was taken away by how prepared management was for the strike today which became evident and visible to the union over the last 24hrs.  The union leadership is now considering taking the last offer presented by management to the membership which they were not going to do previously.”

The union did not strike, and a deal was reached. I’d consider that a strength of position win, so well done Michael.