What is a workaround, you say? It’s a temporary fix that gets you moving again when things get stuck or broken.

In this book, Russell Bishop outlines strategies for “How to Conquer Anything That Stand in Your Way at Work.” These types of strategies are especially applicable when work situations make you feel frustrated and ineffective. In today’s work environment that is a common feeling with few solutions offered and it’s a big contributor to work stress. That is why I wanted to review “Workarounds That Work” for some fresh ideas.

Russell begins by pointing out that workarounds have varying levels of risk that are important to consider before choosing a strategy. Then, the first question to yourself should be, “What can I do to make a difference that requires no one’s permission other than my own?” Even before that you must free your mind from the blame game to get mentally prepared to focus on and create a viable solution. Russell writes,

Assume the positive. Just about all workarounds start with you and your internal attitude, intention, and determination. If you bump into something in your organization that seems like a roadblock, it may be useful to consider that what now appears to be a hindrance might have originated as something helpful (page 10).

In the beginning of the book, Russell is quick to emphasize that all workarounds begin with you and he goes on to describe three circles of your environment: control, influence, and respond. Next, he outlines the three basic elements of creating workarounds: intention, accountability, and response-ability.

In the chapter about communication, a neat distinction is made about listening vs waiting to speak vs malicious listening. The workarounds that Russell suggests are questions you can ask to move a stagnated discussion on to something useful.

Russell shares excellent strategies for workarounds in decision making, moving beyond consensus leadership, making the most of meetings (including dealing with disengaged attendees), and e-mail management that are spot on!

The last two chapters of the book were the highlight for me. In “Overcoming Criticism, Complaints, and Resistance,” Russell introduces the “minus 6″ mentality and how to turn that around. He reframed complaining by explaining three types of complainers and how to get at useful information they may provide. There were some very clever descriptions in this chapter too such as describing complainers as skilled at “one-downmanship” and that playing with gravity is what happens at the Olympics. Love it!

In the final chapter “Multitasking Our Way to Oblivion,” Russell contrasted multi-taskers with serial taskers and explained that many of us are distracted taskers and half-taskers. He pointed out that a more viable way to go is to “become a uni-tasker and supreme multi-goaler!”

I enjoyed this book and found it to be a very good professional development read with outstanding, outside-the-box, practical strategies to consider.

The book is available at Amazon.com. You can learn more at the website for the book where you can also download a free chapter — WorkaroundsThatWork.com.

Also, check out Russell’s Top Three Tips audio on e-CareerCoach.com.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of “Work Arounds That Work” by Russell Bishop. I received no other compensation for this review.

Cool movie by Dr. Jim Bright at The Factory Podcast on chaos and careers.

What do I want?

What is fulfilling to me?

Where am I choosing to focus?

There is definitely something to be learned by studying those who find their success by following their bliss. Here are some things that characterize those kinds of people.

• They have a zest for their work which fuels their zest for life.
• Most of the time they are happy and energetic and generally a breath of fresh air.
• They seem above the fray and are usually relaxed and composed.
• They are proud of their contributions and move along with confidence and ease.
• They will talk to anyone about what they do for a living with pride and enthusiasm.

How can anyone have that?

It begins with knowing it is possible, and believing you can tap into that kind of abundance. Then move to some visualization…see yourself in those shoes and feel it in your body as if you were already there!

• Imagine that others find you joyful to be around and that even complete strangers will support you in your goals.
• Be cognizant of when you are in a zone, when things are coming easily. These “flow” experiences are major hints that you are on the right track and they will help you identify your passion. Appreciate that feeling as often as you can. In fact, appreciate all good feelings you notice no matter what observation brings them!
• Look for people who are in a groove, study their success, and imagine how you would feel if you had results like them. Focus on the pieces that feel good to you and be inspired to your next action steps then enjoy and appreciate your progress as you go on your way.

There’s a difficult time between where you are now and where you want to be that must be managed when you are changing careers. One thing that helps is to focus more on what you want next rather than what you don’t like about where you are currently because that makes the current day-to-day very difficult and keeps a negative vibe going in you. So during times of change, its important to focus on the excitement of what is coming but with an ability to be appreciative of where you are now and how far you’ve come.

• Ever notice that often you’re trained to do tasks that aren’t on the job description?

• It seems that often one only gets “meets expectations” for doing what is outlined in the job description on annual reviews.

• One thing that is kind of neat is that often the highest praise and potential for advancement comes when taking charge of something that is not on the job description.

Morale of the story: Don’t take a job description too literally —and use that to your advantage to customize a job to best match your strengths.

Annual performance reviews provide excellent material for employer/manager quotes. Save them each year, and more than that set goals from them and use them as a reference before your next review.

Millionaire Blueprints is one of my favorite reads. There are great stories in here to inspire entrepreneurs and people in traditional careers since the featured bios demonstrate a lot of creative thinking and persistence. You can also feel the passion of people in all kinds of businesses and careers which is very inspirational.

I think reading good stuff like this makes an abundance mindset more likely by helping to keep us more aware of opportunities all around us as well as our own potential based on our unique combination of personal strengths.

This weekend, I was offered the opportunity to attend a webinar for free. The invitation was sent out very last minute but it was an event scheduled from 9am-5pm for Saturday and Sunday with several speakers scheduled on topics like building a successful membership site, SEO, and how to teach webinars.

The event was free for a very good reason. The developers were in the middle of putting together a new product that they were anticipating selling for $1900.00. By having the free webinar it did several things for them.

First, it forced them to get their stuff together by a certain deadline. As most of us know, often without a deadline things just keep getting put on the back burner. So this fixes that problem by making the development of the new product a priority since many people will be signed in and waiting for it.

Secondly, they get the chance to really refine their material with feedback from actual participants. This, of course, will only make a better product in the end. These presenters spent a good deal of time on the last day asking for brutal feedback that they will use to great effect, I’m sure.

Also, they made about 140 people feel pretty special by being in on their presentation for free while at the same time referring attendees other products they are selling now. Pretty slick move really. They created a win-win situation for themselves and others. Thankfully, the mention of the other products they were selling was not obtrusive or rude.

But as I come back to my office on Monday morning I am feeling a little dumbfounded. I am so perplexed about the boldness of asking for a price of nineteen hundred dollars for an info product. Last year, I paid $1000.00 for two info products on vastly different and specific topics. One was worth it, the other not quite. But $1900 for a CD with audio and video on it from a two day webinar? Surely I am missing something and there will be more to the product than that. I suppose we shall see after they launch it.

All that being said, there are times when a product is worth that big price tag, but it needs to be one heck of a product or experience! Or a solid guarantee that you will make more money after learning from them than what you spent in the first place.