Odds and Ends - October 9, 2001
We're not a nation of readers, but there's no point in waiting for the movie version of this Web site. So, I'll offer a few brief (just a few paragraphs apiece) ruminations, suggestions, hints, ideas, and strategies below, in this every-so-often updated section of the site. These won't be the last word on any of the topics below, but just enough to whet your appetite. They don't represent the end, or even the beginning of the end, but, at least, the end of the beginning. (If you know who originally said this, email me -- you get extra credit.)
Self Management: The Basics
"My life has been one long obstacle course," Jack Paar once wrote, "with me as the chief obstacle." Sound like you? If so, you are normal. The single most important career skill you can develop is the ability to manage yourself. The reason? We all have weaknesses, blind spots, an Achilles' heel or two. (If you don't think you have any, one of your weaknesses is that you are self-deluded.) But a successful person knows how to manage his or her weaknesses, rather than being managed by them.
Note that I said "manage", not "cure". You can't change the essence of who you are; some things will always come naturally for you, and others will always represent activities in which you should never be allowed to engage without adult supervision. But you can keep your weaknesses from becoming career killers by paying attention to your basic makeup or temperament.
Temperament, as readers of these articles should already know (if not, click here for a quick refresher), represents the inner motivational core of who you are... how you're hard-wired, what makes you tick, what you can't help but be, your default mode. Respect your temperament, because excellence means playing the cards you're dealt, not bemoaning the lack of those you don't have. Contact Business Development Group if you are interested in learning more about temperament and career self-management.
Enhancing Cooperation in Your Organization
Tired of bickering, infighting, finger-pointing, name-calling, and out-and-out trench warfare in your organization? Not sure if there is any real answer short of firing everybody on your payroll and starting over? There just might be an alternative... if you're willing to develop a culture of cooperation, not competition, in your company.
Social psychologist Elliott Aronson has made a name for himself by developing the so-called "jigsaw classroom" technique for educators. You can learn about that idea by clicking on this convenient hyperlink (which will take you outside of this Web site, so if you don't know how to find your way back, you're on your own -- Internet newbies, please click at your own risk). Aronson is writing for educators, but these same ideas can easily be adapted to the workplace. You can adapt them for free if you want to -- or you can ask for help. (I don't have Aronson's explicit permission to point you to his site, but then, I'm offering you access to free information with no strings attached, so who can complain?)
The basic idea is to divide work tasks into components that are interdependent -- the success of the entire team relies upon respecting the contributions of each member -- so that rejecting any member of the team means guaranteed failure for all. To discuss my thoughts about some uses of this idea and its implications, contact Business Development Group.
Historical Literacy in a Changing America
The world will never be the same after September 11 (for an overview of my perspective on this reality, click here). Some names that were previously the province of only a few geopolitical experts -- Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban -- are suddenly household words. But how well do you understand the real grievances America's enemies have against us? Take this simple quiz and find out.
1. What does the word "Taliban" mean?
2. In a recent speech, Osama bin Laden complained that his people "have been suffering for eighty years", but America has turned a deaf ear to their cries. What event happened eighty years ago to which he is referring?
3. We have heard much about calls for a "jihad", which the American press usually translates as "holy war". However, that is not the original meaning of that term. What is it?
If you know all three answers, you might just want to pursue a career with the State Department.
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