FINANCE - Stagnant? Career on hold? Maybe time to change?

Link - Career Advice from FORTUNE MAGAZINE


Here's what you can do now to have a more successful career

COMMENTARY by  Frans Hijkoop  SEPTEMBER 3, 2015, 11:00 AM EDT
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Next time your company makes a decision you don’t like, don’t take it personally.

The Fortune 500 Insider Network is our newest online community where top executives from the Fortune 500 share ideas and offer leadership advice with Fortune’s global audience. Frans Hijkoop, chief human resources officer at MetLife, has answered the question: Looking back, what advice would you give your younger self about career development?

In my line of work, career development is always a hot topic. Whether I’m in our headquarters in New York City or one of the nearly 50 countries where MetLife does business, I often get questions about it.

So if I could travel back in time and talk with a young Frans Hijkoop about his career development, I’d basically give him the same advice I give my MetLife  MET -2.47% colleagues.

Have a goal in mind, but be flexible in how you get there

First of all, set a career goal so that you have a compass as your career progresses. Once set, keep an open mind about the many paths that can take you toward your goal. The best moves aren’t always linear or upward.

In the late ‘90s, when I worked as Pepsi’s head of HR for Europe and Africa, I was asked to take on an additional role as GM of the Ukraine business — not exactly an obvious career move, but I’m glad I did it. The experience gave me a much broader perspective — one that I think also made me a better HR executive. So don’t be too rigid about your career path. Leave your comfort zone. Build different skills. Try things that truly stretch you. You’ll develop more depth and breadth than those who pursue a narrow path.

Look for opportunities to leave your mark

Careers are, by definition, long-term affairs. Don’t spend all those years without leaving your mark. Work should have meaning and provide you with opportunities to make an impact. That was my main reason for joining MetLife four years ago. I saw a great U.S. company with a real desire to go global, and felt I could use my 20-plus years of international experience to really contribute to the company’s success as a global industry leader. It has been a wonderful move for me. Wherever you are in your profession, look for the link between your personal efforts and the organization’s success, and you’ll have a very fulfilling career.

Focus on the best qualities in your managers

I’ve been fortunate to work for some great people over the years — leaders who cared about what I could contribute, who allowed me to take charge, and who were there to support me if needed. I’ve also worked for some who were far less accomplished. Whenever that happens, I’d encourage you to focus on what these individuals are good at rather than what they are bad at. Every manager has strengths and skills you can learn from. And if they don’t, you’ll at least develop a good sense of what not to do as you manage more people as your career progresses. So watch your managers closely and identify their strengths and opportunities. It will give you a helpful perspective on what works and what does not, and will allow you to become the best leader you can be.

Changing environments can accelerate your personal growth

Although there are many benefits associated with developing your career within one organization, changing companies can be a major growth booster. Moving from one organization to another accelerates your development and pushes you to adapt your approach and succeed in a different environment.

In the early part of my career in Holland and the U.K., I worked for Unilever  UN -1.96% , a true career company which excelled in grooming internal talent for bigger and better things over time. I loved my time there, but after seven years, I started to feel that there was probably more to be learned elsewhere. And I was right. I’d describe my move to PepsiCo  PEP -1.42%  in 1996 as a total shock to the system, but the truth is that I learned more in my first six months at PepsiCo than I could have learned in six more years at Unilever. Changing companies can literally open up a whole new world for you.

Deal with change and don’t take everything personally

Market conditions or other factors often push companies to adapt their strategies and change the way they operate. When that happens, even the best people can get derailed. “They can’t do this to me!” is a common reaction, sometimes followed by active resistance and other dysfunctional behavior. Needless to say, this won’t have a positive impact on reputation or growth prospects.

So next time your company makes a decision you don’t like, try to step back and form an objective point of view. Put yourself in the decision maker’s shoes and analyze the “why” behind the decision. If you can depersonalize the situation, you will find it much easier to adjust and actively move forward. And if you do that, you’re bound to be more successful as you continue to develop your reputation and your career.

Health - Is Leaky Gut Syndrome Real or just VooDoo Medicine?

I really want to believe that my self diagnosis of "Leaky Gut Syndrome" is real.

I have all the symptoms. but the medical establishment cannot even agree that it's real?

Why not? Maybe the vast "Medical Health Care Complex" doesn't want to know?

Maybe the effect to the immune system is a multi-billion dollar engine that affects Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, and many Autoimmune related problems like arthritis and allergies?

Leaky Gut Syndrome: What Is It?

What you should know if you think you have leaky gut syndrome.

By Matt McMillen 
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

"Leaky gut syndrome" is said to have symptoms including bloating, gas, cramps, food sensitivities, and aches and pains. But it's something of a medical mystery.

“From an MD’s standpoint, it’s a very gray area,” says gastroenterologist Donald Kirby, MD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic. “Physicians don’t know enough about the gut, which is our biggest immune system organ.”

"Leaky gut syndrome" isn't a diagnosis taught in medical school. Instead, "leaky gut really means you’ve got a diagnosis that still needs to be made,” Kirby says. “You hope that your doctor is a good-enough Sherlock Holmes, but sometimes it is very hard to make a diagnosis.”

“We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists,” says Linda A. Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center. “In the absence of evidence, we don’t know what it means or what therapies can directly address it.”

8 Digestive Health Supplements

Intestinal Permeability

A possible cause of leaky gut is increased intestinal permeability or intestinal hyperpermeability.

That could happen when tight junctions in the gut, which control what passes through the lining of the small intestine, don't work properly. That could let substances leak into the bloodstream.

People with celiac disease and Crohn’s disease experience this. “Molecules can get across in some cases, such as Crohn’s, but we don’t know all the causes,” Lee says. Whether hyperpermeability is more of a contributing factor or a consequence is unclear.

But why or how this would happen in someone without those conditions is not clear.

Little is known about other causes of leaky gut that aren't linked to certain types of drugs, radiation therapy, or food allergies.

Unsolved Mystery

Leaky gut symptoms aren't unique. They're shared by other problems, too. And tests often fail to uncover a definite cause of the problem. That can leave people without a diagnosis and, therefore, untreated.

It’s crucial, Kirby says, to find a doctor who will take time with you and take your concerns seriously.

“You may have leaky gut and we may be able to treat what causes it,” Kirby says. “If you have something going on, it is incumbent upon the medical community to listen to you.”

Unfortunately, Lee says, not all doctors make the effort to get at the root of the problem, and that’s what frequently sends patients to alternative practitioners.

“Often, the reason they have resorted to alternative medicine is because of what they have been told and how they have been treated by other practitioners,” Lee says.  “We need to listen.”

Treatment Without Research

In her clinic, Lee combines conventional medicine with evidenced-based complementary therapies. But with leaky gut, she says, the evidence -- about what causes it and how to treat it -- has yet to fully accumulate. This is something that is essential for patients to understand.

“We are in the infancy of understanding what to do,” Lee says. “People who are making claims about what to do are doing so without evidence.”

For example, many web sites offering information on leaky gut, recommend taking L-glutamine supplements to strengthen the lining of the small intestine. Lee says that, theoretically, that makes sense, given glutamine’s role in intestinal function -- but there is no research to back up such claims.

“There’s no evidence that if I give you a pile of glutamine pills, that you will improve,” Lee says.

Lifestyle May Matter

Treating the underlying condition, such as Crohn’s or celiac disease, will often resolve symptoms associated with the condition. But without a firm diagnosis, a doctor's hands are often tied by a lack of evidence.

Diet likely plays a big role in having a leaky gut, Lee and Kirby agree. So if you have symptoms of leaky gut, you would do well to see a gastroenterologist who is also trained in nutrition.

Chronic stress may also be a factor, Lee says. “You need to tend to your stress, whether through medication or meditation. That’s what you need to focus on.”

Lee says that lifestyle modifications, such as those that reduce stressand improve the diet, may be among the best ways to treat leaky gut, particularly when no underlying condition is identified. “Chronic health problems are so often due to lifestyle, and we don’t have pills for those,” she says. “We’re talking about the way we live and the way we eat.”

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