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Ordinary People Taking Action
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Are you the ASKER or the ASKED?3/16/2018 Friday Guest Post By: Kathy Clifford, Founding Director at Kathy Clifford Are those who ASK more successful in life?
Who are the Askers in your life? At your workplace? Last night, my 10-year-old daughter asked if we could go to the drugstore to look at eyebrow pencils. I said no, we are not going to the drugstore tonight - it's not a priority. Then 5 minutes later in the grocery store, she asked for potato chips. I said no…and then changed to okay, but…you can't have them tonight. Then back in the car, she asked again to turn right and go to the drugstore…pleeeeezzzz! I said, NO - we are not going there tonight. Give it a rest! And then I said, "but good for you to keep asking. You are a great asker and that is one of your signature strengths. Hang on to it! You will go far if you just keep asking". She doesn't take the "no" personally, she doesn't spend any time worrying about it, she just moves on and asks for the next thing she wants. Kaya is most definitely the asker.
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Customer Service3/15/2018 I grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington, and in the 90’s found my first part-time job working for the clothing retailer, Nordstrom. I was excited to have a paying job – and I won’t lie – as a 16-year-old girl, I was excited to receive the employee discount on clothes.
I started in the stock room. My job was to take all the clothes from the fitting rooms, then rehang or fold each item and return it to the sales floor. I can’t tell you how many piles of sweaters, jeans, and skirts sat waiting for me on those dressing room floors. So much sorting. Additionally, it was important that clothing returned to the floor be organized by size and appropriate color, with precisely one finger space between hangers. The racks should be full, but not too full. Folded clothes should have sharp edges. It was an important job because unpurchased clothing needed to get back on the department floor quickly to maximize its sale potential. It was also at the bottom of the list of jobs that people wanted to do. Starting at the bottom and working your way up like this teaches you a lot. It ensures that you understand all the various positions as you receive promotions – giving you the ability to relate to those you manage.
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Coaching to Improve3/14/2018 I’m a mom of two middle-school-aged children who are both active with sports. My son plays basketball and soccer; my daughter is a dancer and cheerleader. Before settling into these activities, they both went through various years of trying different sports. My son, as it turned out, became a phenomenal baseball player in elementary school. Stay with me for a moment while I talk about his 7-year baseball career, and how I think it relates to the professional world.
It was spring 2009 when we registered Jake, then 5 years old, for his first team sport. Although he looked awesome in the baseball outfit, the baseball skills weren’t quite there. If memory serves, there might have been more playing in the dirt than playing baseball that season. We – really, he – stuck with it.
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Advice. Opinions. Counsel.3/13/2018 Recently, a legal colleague and I were absorbed in a conversation reflecting on the difference between the following words: advice, opinion and counsel. I enjoy spending time with people who think in unique ways, something my legal colleague excels at. I value this diversity of thought.
During our lunch, a Google search of the three words led to an online dictionary. There, we found these definitions:
This conversation arose from a discussion about advice I was given with regards to Thinking People Consulting needing errors and omissions insurance. I had heard mixed opinions about whether this was necessary. In the end, I took the counsel’s recommendation and purchased the insurance. How is that for using all three words together? See, they get confusing.
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If it scares you, do it.3/12/2018 Back in November, I had coffee with a long-time colleague, who said to me, “If it scares you, do it.” Afterward, his comment stayed with me. It made me think of all the times I’ve heard that same, recurring theme. If it scares you, it’s meant to be. If it scares you, you’ll learn from it. If it scares you, opportunity is right there.
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Guest Post By: Tom Perry, Founder, Engaged Pursuit
It’s not all about skills and impact. Often, hiring comes down to likability and organizational-fit. Here’s an example when likability tipped the scale in a hiring decision. I’d like to show you the part likability played in a hiring decision. Like previous Case Studies, I’m keeping all the names (and some of the specifics) confidential. This is the story of Toby. Toby spent months as a vendor/contractor in a Seattle-based tech company. His dream – to become a full-time employee in the organization. Toby had a few years professional experience under his belt and achieved great results in his current role. Plus, he was a great addition to the team’s culture – he got along with everyone and always had a smile on his face (talk about engaged)! Toby was stoked when a full-time role finally opened-up on the team. This was his opportunity.
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The Gift of Feedback3/8/2018 In our front hallway closet sits a stack of seemingly unrelated items – this would be our re-gift pile. Gifts that either people have given us that we don’t fit or don’t like, or gag gifts from white elephant parties over the years. Next to the re-gift pile is the return pile – gifts that we have the intention of returning. The ones we fail to return often make their way over to the re-gift pile. Throughout the rest of the house, gifts are carefully placed. Placed on shelves for all to see. Placed in drawers to pull out when appropriate. Carefully hung in the bedroom closet or folded in the dresser. These gifts are used numerous times and often become some of my absolute favorite things. I’ve noticed throughout the years that my taste changes – that impacts the response to gifts. There are some classic items that I’ll never turn down, some trendy items that are quickly outdated, and things that I started out loving and then ended up not loving so much. Conversely, there are some gifts that I was unsure about at first but learned to like – or dare I say love. Years ago, I came across the recommendation that feedback should be considered a gift. At first it struck me as odd to think about it that way – especially unwanted or unasked for feedback and most definitely feedback that I didn’t agree with. How could that be a gift?
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The Unintentional Impact3/7/2018 Some statistics I have read about Facebook:
Yet why do so many people secretly, and not so secretly, hate Facebook? For many, Facebook causes people to look at others. To compare – taking someone else’s outside image and holding it up against the inside image of themselves. It’s stated that Facebook users spend more time examining other people’s posts than they do making their own posts. They aren’t using Facebook to get in touch and to stay in touch with friends – they’re using the site for “social surveillance”. According to author Meg Jay PhD, who wrote "The Defining Decade", Social surveillance usually includes judging people based on the content of their posts, how attractive they are, and how exciting their life appears.
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Is common sense common?3/6/2018 As a coach, a facilitator, and a mother, I have the privilege of talking with a lot of different people. Brian, a colleague of mine, has plenty of opportunities to interact with others, too, as the CEO of a medium-sized company, an amateur soccer player and a father. Brian and I both have numerous colleagues and, of course, a decent number of friends and acquaintances. The point is, we both connect with a lot of people daily.
Brian sat across the table from me and sipped his coffee. He stated, “We carry unconscious models around in our heads, which organize perception in the first place. Means that even if something is common, our perceptions are different, so it’s hard to really have common ground.” The thing about Brian and I is that we often like to debate things – looking at concepts from different viewpoints makes our conversations richer. The topic of today’s debate? Whether common sense is really common.
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Dogs and Public Speaking3/5/2018 Jerry Seinfeld once stated, “People’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. That means for the average person they would rather be in the casket at the funeral than giving the eulogy.” According to another source, when people were asked the question, “What are you most afraid of?” the number one fear named was speaking before a group, followed by heights, insects and bugs, financial problems, deep water, sickness and, finally, death. Then there is this statistic: 74 percent of people have anxiety associated with public speaking. I’ll admit this information came to me secondhand and I may be lacking some citations here. But based on the volumes of information available on the subject, I think it’s safe to say that the fear of public speaking is remarkably widespread. |