Are you tired?

Do you need to work those long hours? If so, do you have the energy to sustain the effort?

Almost 1 in 5 people in Australia work more than 50 hours per week. And that's just the average figure. I've spoken with clients from a cross section of industries and in some areas such as engineering services and mining, that number is a lot higher.


What typically happens toward the end of the year is that people get tired. The difference this year is that there's nothing left in the tank. Most people have been working at 100% for the past two years to get through the GFC and now have to continue to work hard to keep business moving forward. But there's only so long that people can keep operating at this speed.


Most people need to rebuild their energy yet companies are failing to give them the opportunity to do so. In the absence of a letup in the relentless pressure, I think individuals will make their own decisions and look for a change. The seasonal churn after the Christmas break next year will probably be higher than usual as people decide over the holiday period to make a change then start looking for a new job.



In response to these issues, we've offered our Resilience for Knowledge Workers program as a public workshop for the first time in October. The demand was so great that we've rescheduled another one for November. This shows to me that energy levels are low and people are looking for a practical solution to increase energy to get them through to Christmas and through 2011.



Look after yourself. If you do decide to change, make sure that you think it through carefully.

Magnetic Relationships

Dr Miguel Lopes, a Portugese academic, has developed the concept of 'magnetic relationships'. His research focused on how entrepreneurs attract resources for new ventures, in particular the way in which the individual entrepreneur sells ideas and builds networks.

Successful entrepreneurs sell ideas through a mix of an engaging and persuasive style and the pure force of their personality.

Building a network involves two key strategies. The first is to develop 'legitimacy', in other words, building trust and authentic relationships with people. People who act in line with their values automatically attract other people.

The second is positioning oneself in the market. This involves three strategies:

1. Broaden the scope of the relationship with people with whom resources are exchanged. This allows a broader range of options should a particular type of resource be required in the future, whether it be physical or information.
2. Increase strong ties with important resource providers. Such people could be staff members, colleagues, suppliers etc. The aim here is to develop the relationship with a person that is based on more than just one topic or transaction.
3. Increase weak ties to as many people as possible. This is the traditional definition of networking. Meet as many people as you can. Such meetings generate opportunities through 'chance' encounters.

The concept of 'magnetic relationships' has immediate applicability to careers. We all know the importance of networking, but for most of us it is a difficult thing to do. The power of 'magnetic relationships' is that people will be attracted to you, making your networking easier. However, you still have to maintain your magnetism using the three strategies above:

1. Keep regularly in touch with those who you deal with. Try and meet other people around those you already deal with
2. Setup a system to stay in touch with those people that are important to you. They may play a number of different roles (eg mentor, information provider, networker etc) but the key is to remain visible.
3. Keep up the traditional networking. Yes, its hard work but its importance to your career cannot be overestimated. Make a goal to attend 1 networking function each month.

Remember that even magnets need to be re-magnetised, so keep at it!