Loren Greiff: Portfolio Rocket

These are bumpy times economically and for many of us it’s a period of professional redefinition. What path are we on and is it the career we truly desire? How can we best showcase our skill sets and the value-add we bring? Host Chris Schembra’s guest on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times has a methodology that focuses on these questions and much more. Loren Greiff, Founder & President at PortfolioRocket, has developed a framework that’s applicable across industry sectors as well as the many phases of our career development. It’s as much about defining our own core values and the expertise we offer as it is identifying the workplace culture best suited to our fundamental vision. Loren shares her proprietary four-step process for reimagining – and bringing to reality – a job that feels like exactly the right fit. You’ll come away inspired to redefine what you bring to the table and leverage your network – most especially those 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree contacts that hold far more promise than you might imagine! The market right now is fluid, but the one thing that remains consistent always, says Loren, is the importance of being fully ourselves and clear about what we have to contribute: “This is not about contorting yourself and playing Cirque du Soleil with your career,” says Loren, who also hosts Career Blast in a Half. “This is about really advocating and treating yourself as somebody who is going to transform an organization.”If you’re ready to retool your career trajectory, now is the time to book a discovery call with Loren, which you can do at this link. You’ll also find inspiration and wisdom in her podcast, Career Blast in a Half.If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience or subscribe to our newsletter, please visit this link.Click hereto hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainerswho have shared their human stories on Gratitude Through Hard Times. KEY TOPICS:If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be and why? No doubt or hesitation – Eileen Jones, a high school English teacher who was the first person to acknowledge Loren’s writing talent and develop her voice. Cheers to her!Yes, And: What enabled Loren to be both an outlier and standard-bearer; perform as a maverick while also maintaining impeccable dignity.Research shows that thought leaders are regarded as having two things:Authenticity.Information to share of value to others.Applying the Methodology: How Loren’s framework has proven elastic enough to adapt easily across the full range of industry sectors, from legal to ops to HR to creative.Shedding the Cloak: What prompted Loren to break with the hiring/recruitment industry status quo in order to establish a creative alternative model.Sheltering: About putting a repeatable process in place for migrating out of blocked, unhappy workplace situations.Loren’s Four-Step Proprietary Process:Step 1: Get Clear!Ask yourself what you’ve been doing and why.Determine your core values, the benchmark for evaluating opportunities going forward.Establish how people are going to find you via 15-20 keywords relevant to your skill set .Identify 10-15 companies that meet your ideal criteria.Showcase specific problems you’ve solved or successes you’ve had.Create boundaries around the conditions under which you want to meet.Step 2: All about Your Assets!Reimagine LinkedIn as more than a profile. It needs to convert interest and generate activity/connections.Create content – which includes strategically commenting on other people’s posts. Join conversations!Develop marketing materials with effective (timely) messaging.Design collateral (visual and written) that is accessible.Step 3: Networking with strangers!Reach out to 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree links – which are going to be your more useful allies in finding a new niche.Formulate pitches that will demonstrate preparation and initiative.Learn how to ask sharper, more mind-blowing questions.Step 4: Do your homework (aka Sniff Testing)!Perform due diligence on your prospective employer.Ensure that onboarding and your 30/60/90-day plan are in place.Keep eyes and ears open for unexpected leads or connections.Scan the landscape for business challenges to which you can bring your vision, expertise and solutions.Shout-Out for Eileen Jones: Thank you for your example, bravery, wit, class – all the known and unknown gifts you’ve given Loren over the years! QUOTABLE“Being a rebel can be blended with a lot of discernment, decorum and the ability to be kind and loving and just a really wonderful person.” (Loren) While it’s not without its merits, the whole industry of hiring and recruiting was just broken. It was a calling for me that you are either going to be part of a continuous problem or you are going to create a different kind of solution.” (Loren) “I realized that if I was going to launch a business it had to solve a big problem – a problem so relevant that it resonates with anyone in the job search process.” (Loren) “If you don’t know how to navigate forward in your career, you need to have a system that is rinseable and repeatable (because) with the churn rate this will happen over and over and over again.” (Loren) “At some point in life when we realize we’re miserable, we either continue the same patterns and getting the same jobs … or we take a pause and a new approach.” (Chris) “The real transformation happens when you are developing relationships with 2nd, 3rd, 4th degree connections, which are known as your weaker ties. The weak links are your stronger ties.” (Loren) “The hidden job market is available to every single one of us … and can come through multiple areas – content, conversation, somebody standing in line at the post office. You don’t know so you have to keep your eyes and ears open.” (Loren) “This is not about contorting yourself and playing Cirque du Soleil with your career. This is about really advocating and treating yourself as somebody who is going to transform an organization.” (Loren) “You’ve got to figure out the unique problem that you can solve … You want to really know and be able to articulate what that problem is and what it will change.” (Loren) LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:Seneca’s Letter 13 on “groundless fears” can be found here.More about Stanford's study: "Strength Through Weak Ties" by Mark Granovetter as featured in "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,""Personal Socrates: Questions That Will Upgrade Your Life from Legends & World-Class Performers," by Marc Champagne.Learn about the podcast Big Questions with Cal Fussman.More about the marketing and branding maestro, Seth Godin, available here. ABOUT OUR GUEST:Loren Grieff’s career took off in New York as a VP at J. Walter Thompson. For the past decade+ she has established herself as a top performer recognized for a unique ability to serve demanding clients, identify talent unicorns and drive excellence in the industry. PortfolioRocket is the culmination of more than 25 years of corporate design and marketing positions across global agencies, corporate in-house teams, creative staffing and management consulting. FOLLOW LOREN:WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | PODCAST ABOUT OUR HOST:Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times. FOLLOW CHRIS:WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS