Escape from Corporate America

Pamela Skillings has written a fun AND serious book called "ESCAPE from CORPORATE AMERICA:  a practical guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams."

Here are some of the lists from the book:

The Benefits Of Corporate Jobs

1. Steady paycheck.
2. Benefits.
3. Paid vacation days.
4. Prestige.
5. Free office supplies.
6. Résumé building.
7. Mom's approval.
8. Structured career path.
9. Friendships forged in shared misery.

The Drawbacks Of Corporate Jobs

1. Excessive workloads.
2. Tedious work
3. Grueling commutes.
4. Endless meetings.
5. Cubicles.
6. Fluorescent lighting.
7. Open bar at the holiday party
8. Sense of worthlessness.
9. Bad coffee.
10. Neckties and panty hose.
11. Mean and/or idiotic bosses.

The Phases of Corporate Disillusionment

Phase 1:  Typical Honeymoon Phase Behaviour
Phase 2.  Denial:  "My Job Is Great, I Tell You, Just Great."
Phase 3.  Bitching:  "This Job Sucks."
Phase 4.  Bargaining:  "I Can Make It Work Somehow."
Phase 5.  Depression:  "What's the Point?  There's No Way Out."
Phase 6.  Acceptance or Change:  "I Guess Things Could Be Worse" or "It's Time to Make a Change."

The most common reasons behind dissatisfaction with
cubicle life.

1. Corporate Burnout
2. Terminal Boredom
3. Square Peg Syndrome
4. Balance Disorder
5. Meaning Deficiency
6. Toxic Workplace Blues
7. Exploring Escape Routes

Seven alternatives to your current corporate rut.

1. Corporate Jobs That Don't Suck
2. Take a Break
3. Swim in a Smaller Pond
4. Go Solo
5. Build A Business
6. Follow Your Creative Dreams
7. Make A Difference

This summary may make the book sound flip, but it's not.  It's a thorough and helpful examination of a serious subject.

Clients as friends as Clients

Daniel F. Hunter, Special Counsel at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP in New York has posed the following questions:

1) Should friends become clients?  I am often afraid to ask friends for legal work because it might "taint" our friendship and make me feel like a service provider any time I go over to their house and see their kids, etc.

2) Should clients become friends?  When this happens I feel I am less able to give objective advice and I sense that the clients feel like they can ask me legal questions at any time of day or night.  For example, if we play squash all they want is free legal advice on the squash courts.  Very frustrating.

***

I would vote "no" for both cases.  For me, there's all the difference between knowing how to be friendly with clients and actually being friends who socialise regularly.

But others, I think, might vote differently.

What do the rest of you lawyers, consultants, accountants, financial planners and other advisors out there think?

Blogging

Linas Simonis has just published an e-book called "The New Rules of Business Blogs".  You can find it on www.positioningstrategy.com.