“Boldness in business is the first, second and third thing.”

- H.G. Bobbs

Business requires a confidence that borders on brashness. No one will believe what you are “selling,” especially if you are selling yourself, if you are not conveying great confidence. Being bold is an outward manifestation of inner confidence. It is daring to be different, a willingness to look stupid, and a demand to be first. Boldness almost always works, and nothing works like it. Nothing is more important in business than boldness. Go ahead, try it; you have nothing to lose.

© 2009 Alan L. Sklover. Commercial uses prohibited. All rights reserved and strictly enforced.

Question:  I have had a similar situation as several of your readers who have written in about Performance Improvement Plans (“PIP’s”). I challenged mine, but my employer insists that I have no choice: I must go through the PIP process, or be fired. Should I continue to challenge the PIP process, or should I submit to the process? 

        Latitia  
        New York, New York 

Answer:   I don’t see your situation as one in which you must make an “either – or” decision. That is, I believe you can continue to challenge the facts of the PIP, the conclusion that you deserve a PIP, how the process is being run, and the motivations for placing you on a PIP, AND, at the same time, go through the PIP process, to the best of your abilities.

Unless your boss owns the company, he or she probably has a boss, who also has a boss, and so on. And, too, there may very well be a Board of Directors or a Board of Trustees you could “appeal” to, as well.

Don’t believe what you are told about having limited options, and don’t presume your options are limited. Your options in dealing with any set of circumstances is limited only by your imagination.  

        Best, Al Sklover

© 2009 Alan L. Sklover, All Rights Reserved.

Question:  My company requires two weeks notice in order to be re-hirable. Is it considered a ‘two week notice’ if I give 3 weeks, but request one day off the first week, ask for the second week off, and then inform them I won’t be able to return for the third week?

        Carol 
        Miami, Florida

Answer:   No.

        Best, Al Sklover

© 2009 Alan L. Sklover, All Rights Reserved.

Question: I’ve been working for my current employer for 14 years with steady promotions and pay raises along the way. I’ve never received a bad review. Today I was assigned to a new boss who, to be frank, is someone I really can’t stand. He has a tremendous ego, he always tries to make himself look good at the expense of others, and I have seen him step on many others. How can I tell Senior Management that I don’t want to work for this person?

I’m sure you will tell me that in today’s job market I should be grateful just to have a job. What do you recommend I do?

Caroline
Novato, California

Answer: I do believe that in this economy, as in every economy, every employed person should be appreciative of having a job. But that does not mean that an employee should not take steps to maintain that job as a job that is enjoyable, in which the employee is productive, and in which the employee would like to remain.

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“Two roads diverged in a wood and I … I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.”

- Robert Frost

Your path is unique. It is not what others urge you, it is not what others ask of you, and it surely is not necessarily what others have chosen for themselves. It is your path and no one else’s. Find your path, choose your path. It will make all the difference.

© 2009 Alan L. Sklover. Commercial uses prohibited. All rights reserved and strictly enforced.

Question: My husband and I worked for the same employer for 20 years. We then resigned to work for a friend we had known for many years. When we spoke with our new employer, we were told that “You will have a job for the rest of your lives.”

We were both laid off last fall, and since then we have both been replaced. Is this legal?

Denise
Jasper, Alabama

Answer: As a general rule, employee and employers are free to reach agreements on the details of their employment relation.  One of the details they may agree on is how long they will work together; we generally refer to that as the “term” of the relation. Some employment relations are by agreement intended to last for one year. Most employers and employees have a relation in which they agree that either can end the relation whenever they wish; we refer to that as an “at will” relation.

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Question: I started a new job last fall, and this spring my employer told me I had to sign an employment contract, or I would be fired. The employment contract had things in it I did not like at all. Can my employer do that?

Mary Ann
Salem, Oregon

Answer: Yes. When you become an employee, if you do not have an employment contract, you are considered an “at will” employee. That simply means that either you or your employer can end the relation any time, for any proper reason.

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Question: Is there life beyond a firing in a persecution sort of way?

My husband was fired from his CFO job after the CEO took off with $10 million. My husband had nothing at all to do with it. There have been shareholder lawsuits, and the company has started a lawsuit against my husband and others. We are also fighting against government agencies. Nasty articles have been written in the paper. His reputation has been all but ruined. I think people in hiring positions and investors all know he is under this “bubble.” Nothing he has tried seems to pan out. Should he get a career coach or a head hunter? I don’t think this thing will get over soon.

Rachel
Edmond, Oklahoma

Answer: Your family’s predicament is surely a difficult one. It seems like there is an awful lot pressing down on you. My thoughts are that the “career coach” idea may be your best path out of it.

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“Never raise your hand to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected.”

- Red Buttons

All the dads know the truth: being a father is all about giving. This is the day you hope to hear, just this once, “Thanks.” Hold on to that thought; it may be a year before you hear it again. Like my son, Sam, once told me, “Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t have to buy a present.” Oh, well…being a father is still my favorite hobby. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

© 2009 Alan L. Sklover. Commercial uses prohibited. All rights reserved and strictly enforced.

Question: I was offered a severance package dated April 2, 2009, and given 21 days to accept it, that is, until April 23rd. On April 15th, I signed it, but forgot to mail it back until May 20th, that is 35 days late. Can my former employer refuse to pay?

Yolanda
Simi Valley, California

Answer: Legally speaking, the answer is “Yes.” Is your former employer likely to reject it? The answer to that question is almost definitely, “No.”

First, “legally speaking”: An offer is considered “accepted” at the moment the “acceptance” is delivered. In your case, that would be May 21st or 22nd. Since a “deadline” of April 23rd had been set, the employer could “reject” the late acceptance.

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