Work, success, and meaning at every stage of your career
Building skills on the job
Change Anything is subtitled “The New Science of Personal Success.” Written by Kerry Patterson , Joseph Grenny , David Maxfield , Ron McMillan , and Al Switzler, the book bills itself as a strategic, step by step system for adopting—and sticking to—better behaviors. The authors have tested behavior changing methods, and claim to be able to help anyone break bad habits – from addiction to overeating to being stuck in your career.
One of the reasons I find it hard to ask for recommendations is that I sometimes get asked for one by people I don’t know well. I take my reputation very seriously, and giving a personal endorsement to someone is for me, a very big deal. After all, your reputation hangs on this person’s future performance. If the person turns out not to be competent, your judgment is questioned. If the person does something bad, your character is in question.
Mark McGuinness, a creative entrepreneur, says that a creative person needs three things to be happy:
Freedom – to do what you want, when you want and how you want it. Not just in
holidays and spare time – but also doing meaningful work, in your own way.
Money – to maintain your independence and fund your creative projects. Of course you want a nice place to live, but you’re not so worried about a bigger car than the guy next door. You’d rather spend money on experiences than status symbols.
Time – to spend as you please, exploring the world and allowing your mind to wander in search of new ideas.
Most jobseekers know that an error on your resume will prevent you from becoming a serious candidate for a job. It’s pretty easy to make sure your resume is immaculate; it’s only one document. But for every resume you send out, you probably send dozens of email and other electronic correspondence.
The beginning of the calendar year is a natural time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished and what you’d rather change about yourself. Here are some questions to ask about your personal brand.
Being tuned in to other people’s emotions – and taking steps to make them feel better about themselves – will help you become more likeable. Lowndes says that people will associate you – and the memory of you – with the emotion they experienced when they met you. If you make someone uncomfortable, she’ll avoid you. Make him feel warm and appreciated, and he’ll get a warm feeling whenever he thinks about you.
Leil Lowndes is a management consultant and speaker and author of How to Instantly Connect with Anyone: 96 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships. Her book helps you understand the basics of making other people feel comfortable and, well, good around you. Her theory is that if you make someone feel good about themselves, they will get a warm, Pavlovian feeling every time they see you. Conversely, if you make people uncomfortable, that sense of unease follows whenever they see you.
If you’re a big-picture, inspirational leader, you may rely heavily on your charisma and persuasive skills to win over skeptics. That’s fine, until you encounter a data-driven analytical type who cares more about whether you’ve done your homework than how fine your words are.
Personality conflicts are a fact of life in the office. Even if a team has the same goals, they will differ on how to achieve them. Understanding your own communication style and decision process is important if you want a successful team. Even more important than self awareness, though, is your ability to adapt to the other team members’ styles when communicating with them.
So, genius (or at least mastery) is achievable for all of us. That’s the good news – you don’t have to be born brilliant to become brilliant. That’s also the bad news – you’re only as good as you want to be.
Your Work, Your Way 