Warning: Do Not Read!

Yes that’s right, don’t read this if you’re looking for anything other than free advice from a master networker, inspiring entrepreneur, and someone who always seems to be on the cutting edge of new trends and technology.

Scott Westerman is an Area Vice President at Comcast, Founder of The Emergency Email Network, and along with his wife, Colleen, established the Scott & Colleen Westerman Technology Endowment at Michigan State University.  More than that he pursues his goals with an instensity that is electric and makes you want to go accomplish all your dreams too.  Whenever I ask Scott for advice he is happy to share his thoughts, and when he does, I shut up and listen.  

Here’s Scott’s advice for the out of college crew:

I always tell new grads to dream big dreams, assume that anything is possible and work backwards from there. Envision as clearly as possible what your world will look like five years from now, all the way down to the car you’ll drive, the house you’ll own, the vacations you’ll take, what your office will be like and the equipment at the gym where you’ll be working out. Somehow, that visualization exercise seems to make dreams come true.Whatever scares you, feel the fear and do it anyway. Seek feedback, even when it hurts. Embrace failure as the learning experience it is, and don’t be afraid to take a 180 degree career turn if your heart tells you to. In the end, life is really about finding your Joy and pursuing it with reckless abandon. Keep Keith Ferrazzi’s book by your side. Read Jim Collins “Good to Great” and memorize the “Level 5″ and the “Stockdale Paradox” chapters. Avoid the energy suckers and invest your time with unselfish people. Like Keith says, give generously without expecting anything in return, build the network before you need it and reach out to those “aspirational contacts”, people at the top of the game who you admire. You’ll be surprised how many of them will welcome you. That’s how I met Rob Curley (the best and brightest newspaper new media guy in the world), sang with the Spinners (my favorite Motown group), became friends with nearly all of my WKNR idols, got the chance to interview Keith, and spent an evening hanging out with Barak Obama (when he was first running for Senate).

Thanks Scott!

For more ‘Westerman-isms’, visit him online here.

Chef Robert Irvine: Credibility Destroyed in Less than 17 Days

Watching the Food Network is usually one of my favorite things to do at night, so I was shocked to discover one of their chefs wasn’t the professional he claimed to be.   Recently you may have been disappointed to hear that Robert Irvine, TV chef and host of ‘Dinner: Impossible’, was fired from his show after being caught in a lie.

Lying on your resume is one of the easiest ways to destroy your credibility, especially when information is so readily available to employers with an Internet connection, which is just about everybody!

Chef Irvine declared, among other falsehoods, that he was knighted by the Queen of England, owned a castle in Scotland, and cooked for several U.S. presidents (read the article that sparked the controversy here).

Second on the list of ways you can destroy your credibility is to dodge the issue once it comes to light. Look, we all make mistakes, so if you’re caught in even a half truth at work or in your personal life, come clean. Completely. Just let it all out and seek forgiveness, you’ll always come out ahead in the long run.

Recently one of my former managers was caught lying to his employer regarding another job he was interviewing for. He made the critical error of announcing his intentions to make more money at another position to several colleagues, and management caught wind. Can you relate to this? We’ve all been caught in a little white lie now and again, when it comes to work and your relationships, don’t lose credibility. My former manager has certainly tarnished his and will have to work hard to earn it back.

Credibility is the combination of trustworthiness and expertise according to the definition posted on Wikipedia. Work on your expertise, which comes with time and experience, and never forget that your trustworthiness takes a lifetime to achieve and about 5 seconds to destroy.

What issues do you face with credibility? Writing the perfect, yet honest, resume? Let us at First College, Now What? know what you’re thinking.

Best,

Joe