plus 1, Lance Stephenson choosing job instead of career - Cincinnati.com

Lance Stephenson choosing job instead of career - Cincinnati.com

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 03:52 PM PDT

CINCINNATI - He was staying, then he wasn't. Next year, he was going to show us the "real'' Lance Stephenson. Now that package gets unwrapped in the NBA, he hopes. What changed, and what does it matter?

They hear things, these kids. Their heads get filled with how good they are, how Coach is holding them back, how much money they'll make in The League etc.

They're not old or wise enough to filter it all properly, and too often, they don't get enough smart help. They leave too soon. They end up having a job and not a career. Bob Huggins said that. He was right.

• Stephenson enters NBA draft
• XU's Crawford enters name too
• Paul Daugherty's Morning Line blog
• Follow Paul Daugherty on Twitter

Maybe all the above will not apply to Born Ready. All the noise he has heard in the last few months will turn out to be sage advice. No one should begrudge a guy who wants to follow his dream. Stephenson has a very young daughter and a family that could use his help. He did what he thought was best.

It probably won't be. By his own admission, he doesn't have the game right now for an NBA career. He doesn't shoot well. He might have the instincts -- and the IQ for the game -- to overcome that. He didn't show them at UC. You could argue it two ways:

• UC's offense didn't suit Stephenson's slash-and-create style.

• Or: Stephenson never felt comfortable being The Man.

I kept waiting for this New York phenom to take over games, because that is what New York phenoms do. I kept waiting to see that NYC swagger, the I'm-better-than-you 'tude that is a trademark of players from the five boroughs.

(I saw it, but from Xavier's Terrell Holloway, a Long Island guy.)

It appeared occasionally. Stephenson would get frustrated when the Bearcats weren't scoring much, which was a lot of the time. He'd get a look on his face that suggested, "I can do better than this.'' And for a few minutes, he'd be the player we thought UC was getting when he signed.

That was the exception. The norm was a guy who lingered on the perimeter, settling for jump shots he mostly missed. He was a good player. Not a feared one.

I said this in early January about Mick Cronin's fourth team, and it never changed: Cronin did so much subbing and so much tweaking of his lineup, nobody ever knew his role, or became comfortable. Stephenson averaged 28 minutes a game; that should have been 34 or 35 minutes.

For a New York guy, his psyche seemed fragile. Cronin should have used the early season to establish Stephenson as The Man, and stuck with that, regardless of Stephenson's growing pains.

That should have extended to the entire team, so that by the time the Big East season arrived, the starting five would be set and the role players would know what was expected of them.

Instead, UC played musical chairs all year. Where have you gone, Jaquon Parker? Oh, there you are. The results were disappointing.

(Speaking of disappointing: Is it too early to wonder how the Bearcats will be next winter, a scoring-challenged team minus its two top scorers?)

It's a sociological issue. Lots of us raised in suburbia might wonder why someone going to college for free would give that up at age 19, to go to work for a living. When my roommates and I debated whether to study or party, I often won the argument with this: "It's four years of your life. What are you going to remember?''

I'm not Stephenson. But the thought does occur: If you waited all your life to be a pro, what's one more year? Especially when the difference between a job and a career could be in the balance? Your family has come this far. Why not see it through, for another college season? Financially, the long run looks a lot better that way.

We don't live much for the long run now, any of us. Max-out this credit card, flip this house. Live for today. Stephenson's just living for today. Good luck to him.

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Career coach Kepcher: Job advice I wish I'd known when ... - New York Daily News

Posted: 06 Apr 2010 04:12 AM PDT

Carolyn Kepcher

Monday, April 5th 2010, 4:00 AM

Many people look back on their careers and obsess about decisions they wish they could go back and change.

While you can't turn back the hands of time, what advice would you give to your younger self if you could?

You should think about that when you give career advice to young people, whether they are relatives, friends or co-workers.

Manhattan corporate communications consultant Ivy Cohen recently suggested I pose the advice-to-your-younger-self question to several people in the working world. Some common themes emerged:

EARLY LESSONS
"I was fortunate to be raised by enlightened parents who taught me that leadership, academic achievement and competition were characteristics of girls as well as boys," Cohen said.
Cohen has made it a habit to help kids experience these life-shaping lessons. One small example is that she makes a point of making eye contact and shaking hands whenever meeting a young child, which helps them to get used to making and receiving formal introductions, an important social skill.

NO LIMITS
When asked what they want to be when they grow up, kids offer a variety of answers with certainty and clarity. Children's book author Renata Bowers wrote her first book, "Frieda B. Herself," with the intention of inspiring readers to dream their dreams big. She learned that the message of her book also resonated with adults.

"Many kids and even adults will change their minds about what they want to be, which is perfectly fine," Bowers said. "However, some will also be derailed by their own lack of confidence, which is not at all fine and is a choice they will often live to regret."

It's wise to change an unsatisfying career path, but it's never a good choice to get off that path before you even start because of fear you might fail. Accept it right now: You might fail. Try anyway.

ALWAYS LEARNING
Children can be taught to look for lessons in life experiences, good or bad. It's a career skill that will serve well.

"Encourage kids to get into competitive sports or club activities," said Army Lt. Col. Christine Harvey. "This is an incredible way to teach them team-building, leadership and communication skills. It is also imperative that they experience and learn to cope with defeat."

THE UNKNOWN
Careers are full of bumps in the road and detours that change our paths completely. Sometimes we land in a place never expected. At the time, that may seem like the end of the world. But we are defined not by what happened to us, but by how we handled those times — and by the successes we were able to make out of those circumstances.

Your Money columnist Carolyn Kepcher, author of the best-selling business book, "Carolyn 101," and the upcoming "Work Her Way," is the former "Apprentice" star who thrived working for one of America's toughest bosses. She's now CEO of Carolyn & Company Media (workherway.com), an enterprise created by and for career women.

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