Former President Jimmy Carter was recently in the news. At age 95, he had surgery to relieve pressure from his brain after several recent falls. First reports indicate the surgery went well.

Since leaving the White House, the former president has taught Sunday School on a regular basis.  Even now, despite his weakened health, he still schedules himself for teaching twice a month. At 95, most of us wouldn’t be so ambitious.

Additionally, Jimmy Carter has been very committed to the work of Habitat for Humanity. When physically able, he still goes to project sites to swing a hammer, lend his name, and encourage volunteers.

Amazon rose as a juggernaut in the marketplace and many competitors scratch their heads and say, how can we compete? The casual observer might think Amazon will never lose their dominant position.  

A hundred plus years ago people said the same things about Sears.  Sears was a dominant retailer, and other companies struggled to compete. America was different then.  Sixty per cent of the people lived outside of cities. Sears marketed itself as “the cheapest supply house on earth.”  Similarly today, Amazon markets itself as the least costly option for buying goods.

Anyone who makes marketing or sales calls will experience people who send clear signals that they don’t want to talk to you. They may be polite but quickly send you on your way.   Others may not look up from their computer screen or use body language to suggest that the sooner you leave, the better.

I have learned that that when you have an A-list prospect who has rejected you, it is still effective to make another contact for several reasons. 

When I was in international trade, there were complex processes involved in picking up shipments.   For example,  when a shipment arrived from Thailand or Europe, it meant that someone must to arrive at a port of exit at an appropriate time, board the vessel or airplane that arrived in the United States, clear customs, receive the shipment and deliver it promptly to the customer. Customers didn’t care about how complicated the process was.  They were only interested in that we were committed to service in terms of time and price. 

Frequently, an employer will ask for more work from an employee, more than what the basic job description may have identified.  I have been guilty of this to accomplish an important task but also because I felt some employees were capable of doing more. At times we can push too hard in ways that leave the employee overcommitted.  This requires the staff member to make choices about what work to do and what work to delay.

Experience as taught me that when I had additional work thrust in my direction, I would sit down with my boss and explain my current projects and how my committed time was already scheduled.  Then, I asked my supervisor how to delay or delete some tasks in order to take on the new assignment. Sometimes I just wanted my manager to realize my dilemma and figure out another way to get the task done without me. However, when an employee finds themselves in an untenable position, it may be time to start looking for another job.