Your own site is like your own home, only it is online. If you’re looking forward to build your own site, such as yourname.com, here’s a training program I’m offering to help you with just that. You get free assistance in setting up your custom email IDs, such as you@yourname.com. Over the coming weeks and months, my goal is to help build as many online homes as possible!

Note: If you own a business, you can consider hiring me for your web design and branding requirements.

Why do you need your own site?

Radio was a luxury before TV was invented. TV was a luxury before computers came about. A PC was a luxury before Internet and emails happened.

Today, we have Internet and emails at the center of our lives at work and home. Your own site may seem like a luxury, but very soon, it’ll be an essential part of your identity and your brand. You cannot think of being without one or more.

In fact, your site, or rather your online brand, will be the central hub of your life, be it at home or office. You’ll communicate on your blog, share interesting stuff with your family and friends, discuss things that matter with your community and participate in causes you believe in. The biggest benefit will be seen in your career where you’ll have a clear differentiator compared to your peers.

Pick your course

The courses are organized in increasing levels of advanced topics. You’re encouraged to browse through the different courses and pick the ones that you’re interested in. For a customized package of courses, write to me.

• Beginner’s Course
  For the absolute newbie, I’ll offer end to end help in getting your site online and managing it without any assistance. Contact me for an initial discussion about your requirements, ideas, domain names, registration, setting up the new site, tutorials, duration of the course, and the charges involved.
• Intermediate Course
  For current bloggers and Internet-savvy individuals, I’ll offer help with migrating your existing sites to your own site and integrating it with your social network profiles. Contact me for an initial discussion about your requirements, ideas, domain names, registration, setting up the new site, tutorials, duration of the course, and the charges involved.
• Advanced Course
  For freelancers who want to pursue a career in web design and consulting, I’m offering advanced courses over multiple sessions. I’ll help you prepare for reviewing and taking up most types of assignments. Contact me for an initial discussion about the topics to be covered in the course, duration, and the charges involved.

Free with all courses

With all the courses:

• I’ll help with the integration of your domain with Google Apps to setup your custom mail ID (you@yourname.com) and mail server (http://mail.yourname.com/), your Google Docs repository (http://docs.yourname.com/) and more.
• I’ll offer tips and resources that have helped me gain my knowledge in the last few years.
• I’ll be available for any specific queries and issues over emails for the first three months after the course is completed.

For any related queries, feel free to contact me.

Happy online home!

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From Recession-proof Your Career by Jack Molisani (Intercom, March 2009 edition):

You’ve probably heard the expression “when my ship comes in.” Any idea where that expression comes from? In the nineteenth century, merchants in Europe would mortgage everything they owned to build and provision ships to sail to the new world. When (if) the ships finally returned loaded with furs and spices and other goods, the merchants would be rich beyond their wildest dreams.

However, as Chellie Campbell says in her book The Wealthy Spirit, “Some people are going down to the dock, waiting for their ship to come in—but they haven’t sent any out!”

You have to send out ships. Every call you make, every business card you give out, every newsletter article you write, and every presentation you give is a ship that might someday come in. It may take weeks or years for those ships to come in, but if you send enough out, they will come in.

So the secret to ongoing prosperity and “job security” is to keep sending out ships!

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You’re learning something to finish a job at hand before the deadline. A senior drops an email to ‘take care’ of something. And then your boss asks for the status. Work piling up, un-ending deadlines, expectations…sounds familiar?

There is no doubt that employers expect you to complete ‘at least’ 100% of your tasks, meaning you’re supposed to do your job. But your appraisal rating indicates a better hike/compensation if you ‘consistently’ exceed expectations, meaning you’ve got to do something over and above your job.

How can you deal with not just your job, but be innovative and take the initiative to do some of those ’special’ projects?

Relax. Think. Prioritize. Focus. Execute.

Relax. Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of tasks or deadlines at hand. Obviously, you can’t do all of them at the same time, so why worry about all of them at once?

Think. Which are the tasks you can complete independently and which are the ones you need help? Separate tasks based of deadlines, ease, dependencies and estimated time to complete.

Prioritize. Now that you’ve a list of your tasks, set priorities. You don’t need a software of keep track of things, you can do this mentally. Of course, the choice is all yours, whichever works for you. At the end, your list of tasks should look like a pipeline of whole/part of each task – to be completed one by one, within the deadlines and other constraints.

Focus. Break your day into sessions, of maybe an hour or so. Take regular breaks after each session. Begin your day with a plan and assign tasks to each session. Of course, there will be adhoc/urgent things that come up all the time, so be prepared to re-prioritize on the fly.

Execute. Set up a mental box around yourself during each session. Nothing else should interfere, unless of course, there are emergencies. Concentrate and work like a person on mission. Everything else can wait.

What next?

Set aside at least 30-60 minutes in the middle or at the end of the day for research, or extra ‘work’. Dig up things and understand where your group/organization is heading. Dig new trends. Brainstorm on which/how you add value to your team.

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Source: How to Captivate an Audience from How to Change the World by GuyKawasaki.

The four horsemen (horse-people?) of presentation skills are Garr Reynolds, Nancy Duarte, Bert Decker, and Jerry Weisman. Over at the American Express Open Forum blog, I just published an interview with Nancy Duarte called “How to Captivate an Audience.” In this interview she explains the“how” of making great presentations, so check it out.

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How good is (s)he? Am I going to build the rapport all over again? What happens to my appraisal? Is he going to approve my allowances? Is he strict with the timings? Are we still going out for team lunch? And so the list goes on.

Every person is different and everything is a package – you’ve a mix of things you like and hate. A manager is no exception. He is hired to this position by his boss to get some things done. He comes with a certain experience, skills, attitude and style.

In most cases, it’s the ’style’ factor that we’re worried of. Because that affects you, directly and immediately. Be open, understand the person, his needs, his must-do’s and don’t-do’s. Stick to it and deliver on your job. Outside the office, we all have families, and we all want to have fun. Try to make office a nice routine, if not fun.

My old manager hardly came to office once a week, she worked at a different location or timings. This gave the bunch of us the freedom to operate in our daily chores, but we sometimes felt the lack of direction and approvals took long time to come by.

My current manager shoots me a mail if a snail did not move at a certain time, in a certain direction. I was asked to login to a conference call, “right now”. I was asked to get some data “ASAP, please”. “Come to this office tomorrow, we’ve meetings”. Initially, I was bogged down by the never-ending demands. As we settled down with the pace, I realized the power of doing things now and the ‘God’ in the small details. That has given me the speed to go after any given challenge, talk to people no matter who they were and get things done. This is a lesson for life.

The point is, you can’t avoid changes. Either resist the change, crib about it and make your job miserable or be a part of it, learn to survive and thrive. The choice is yours, any day.

Possibly related posts:

1. Manager is the Boss
2. I'm Sick of My Job

It’s like saying I’m sick of driving through the same route everyday. It’s monotonous, boring, there’s not much happening and the manager is an as****e.

Most of us take the same route to office daily, drive or ride. We know the route well enough to take off-peak hours whenever we can. We know the bumps, we know the turns, we know which lane to be on to proceed faster ahead. I don’t think we feel bored of commuting by the same route. It often becomes mechanical, and hence a smooth, uneventful drive to and from office.

Switching from one job to another is much like changing your route. Before doing that, review what’s bothering you. See how you can make things better. Most often, it’s the people who make a difference at work. Try to mingle and jingle.

It’s nice to remember this. If we’re driving on the same route everyday, we could drive at higher speed and be safe at the same time. We could get efficient, we could multitask. Things which equally apply to your current job. Build on your strengths, increase your success rate and efficiency. You know the company, the people, the culture, where to look for things. Build on it.

If you’re still convinced that your true call lies elsewhere, go for it. No stopping you. Only this time, ensure you don’t get sick.

Possibly related posts:

1. Oh no, I’ve a new boss
2. Need for Speed: Time Vs Risk

Whether we like it or not, this is a fact.

Let’s not get into overwhelming emotions. Let’s take an objective look, based on the facts.

The manager hired you to do a job. In the name of the company, it’s the boss who signs your paycheck every month.

So, never say no to your manager. If he/she asks for more things to do, or places unrealistic goals, still never say no. Say you’ll check and get back, even if you’re 200% sure it can’t be done or accepted. Get back saying, "Ok boss, I can do it. If you want this in 1 hour, I will get it done. But I cannot guarantee the quality of the data/work. But if you can give me a day’s time (or more), I will guarantee the data will be perfect, pretty and may even have more relevant inputs. Now, you choose."

Always, give the manager the choice. Do whatever he/she says. If you can’t handle it, get out of the job. But most of us are often stuck for valid reasons. Until you fire your manager, know who is the boss.

Possibly related posts:

1. Oh no, I’ve a new boss