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These are some amazing articles.
11-Jul-2019: Thursday
Today I read an article by Maura Thomas in HBR.org titled 'To Control Your Life, Control what you Pay Attention To'. Your attention determines the experiences you have and the experiences determine the life you live. You mst control your attention to contol your life. This is the age of distraction and it is even more important to focus on things that matter.
To be consistently productive and handle stress better, we must strengthen our attention management. It is the practice of controlling distractions, being present in the moment, finding flow and maximizing focus. It will help to unleash your genius. Attention Management is deliberate rather than reactive. Part of it is becoming aware of when your attention is diverted.
It helps take control over your life and priorities. Many a time we talk of what is important for us, by we hardleyspen time on them. One example for me is writing. My passion for writing will not have any impact if I am not consistent and focused. Before you know, days, weeks and months would have passed before you know that you have not made an impact.
What are the factors that prevent us from focusing on things that matter?
These days there are a number of stimuli to distract us. This is where attention management offers a solution. Practicing attention management means fighting distractions. through the day in support of your priorities.
Author divides factors that impact attention management into two, External and Internal. External factors are technology (Social Media, Emails etc) and working environment. Choose a time to focus on technology. Keep the phone in silent mode to control your environment. Try wearing head phones or try going to an isolated area to work.
Second internal factor is your thoughts. Minds are made to wander. Practice noticing when your mind wanders and gently bring the focus back on. Jotting down pending tasks is a way of handling your thoughts.
Practicing attention management will not eliminate distraction, but it will build your attention muscle enabling you to reclaim your life, control your actions to control your life.
12-Jul-2019: Friday
Today I read an article written by Amy Jen Su for HBR Ascend titled 'How to Help Someone Discover the Work that Excites Them'. She says that up to 87% of American workforce is unable to contribute their full potential because they do not have passion for their work. This gap is important since passionate works strive to continually improve their performance. How does a leader guide others to their passion?
`First suggestion is for the leader to adopt a 'Servant Leader' mindset. A servant leader considers himself as a servant of whom he is working with. He is a servant first. He starts wit an intention to serve. The test of his success is the answer to the question 'Do those served to on to become servant leaders?'. If there are many 'Yes' answers, then he is a successful servant leader.
Second it help the people to discover and unlock their passion. This can be achieved at logical points in the people's career flow. In advance of new experiences (at the beginning of a new project, for example) ask them what they expect out of new experience, what they intend to learn etc, or after key milestones ask what they learned, what they were proud of doing, what was the inspiring thing that came our of the project etc, or at annual performance reviews asks them what they enjoyed doing the best, or during career development meeting ask theme what they are passionate about.The idea is to find work at the intersection of passion and contribution.
Third suggestion is to know when someone is ready to move on. Become a leader who accepts churn. Help a good employee move on. Such leaders maintain a relationship with them even after they move on.
Not a great article. I expected it to guide me find my passion. That is not the case here.
15-Jul-2019: Monday
Today I read an article written by Alice Boyes for HBR.org titled 'Five ways smart people sabotage their success'. Article says that many smart people do not achieve their potential. Raw intelligence is not everything. Intelligent people do not achieve their potential since they are subtly undermining themselves in five ways.
One, smart people devalue other skills like relationship building, street smartness etc. They over-concentrate on intellect. they do not pay attention to workplace diplomacy. They do not think that it is important to look personable. This is because many smart people get a lot of appreciation for their intellect during their younger days. They feel that they don't have to focus on other areas. The way to solve is to use your strengths to overcome your weaknesses. You need to understand what is important for success and plan accordingly. It is easy since they can understand what is important since they are smart.
The second challenge is that the smart people find team work frustrating. People take time to process stuff and this can make a smart person impatient. If a person has spend time in class with less smart kids, they develop this behavior. Smart people some time feel difficult to delegate.
The solution is to be compassionate abut your internal reactions and be patient while working with others. Learn to appreciate the power of diversity.
Three, smart people attach a lot of self esteem to being smart. This could lead them to avoid situations where they are not the smartest in the room. They could also find it difficult to take critical feedback or to take risky initiatives with potential for failure.
Solution is to accept that you may not be the smartest person in the room and learn to develop relationships with smarter people.
Fourth challenge is that smart people get bored easily. If one is both smart and curious, they will bet bore when their curiosity is sated. That will make them move from one opportunity to another, not becoming expert in anything. If your smart, curious and love learning, you will find yourself losing interest in anything once you figured it out.
Solution is to take a 30000 feet view of when it is worth tolerating some boredom to generate easy wins. Sometimes it is lucrative to spend time on tasks that are boring. Additionally, ensure you have opportunities for learning across life including hobbies, health, work etc
The fifth challenge is that smart people sometimes see in-depth thinking and reflection as a solution to every problem. Bright people are accustomed to succeeding through their thinking skills and can overlook when a different approach might be more beneficial. That is analysis paralysis.
Solution is to notice when thinking becomes an unhealthy obsession. Consider other strategies that could help. Take break from thinking. Allow yourself to learn by doing rather than doing advanced research. Whenever you find yourself ruminating, that is negatively timed over-thinking, disrupt it by solving a puzzle. This is an effective strategy to break out of negative thinking
Great article.
28-Jul-19: Sunday
Today I read an article written by Steven Handel in The Emotion Machine titled 'How to Take Advantage of Opportunities on a Daily Basis'. It says that when we change our thinking and perception towards a more opportunistic mindset, we can invite and take advantage of more opportunities on a daily basis.
- Believe in Freewill: Those who believe that you are in control of their life are more likely to spot opportunities. You are a conscious thinker and actor who participates wit your environment, rather than a puppet on a string.
- Have an Openness to Possibility: Be open to new perspectives, new idea and new beliefs that you may not have previously considered. It opens you to more creative ways of interpreting the information you get about your world.
- Take Quick Action: on the opportunities that pass you by on a daily basis. Develop a healthy urgency. Take action while they are still available.
- Be aware: Your ability to discover new opportunities is dependent on your awareness of our environment and surroundings. While increased awareness helps you discover new opportunities, it also improves skills in problem solving and creativity.
- Learn Optimism: Expect good things to happen to you. Optimism can be learned and cultivated. Optimism can invite good things into your lives.
Nice article. Talks about things I already know, though.
28-Jul-2019: Sunday
Today I read n article in HBR Org titled 'Why talented People do not Use Their Strengths' written by Whitney Johnson. It says that in many Organizations people are in roles not suited to their strengths. She gives the example of John Cave, whose strengths was in innovation, but who was working in administration. Once this gentleman was move to a new role that suited his strengths, he developed innovative solutions to many common problems.
People do not play to their strengths because they underplay their strengths. Often our super powers are things we do effortlessly, almost reflexively. When someone identifies that as our super power, we say 'but that is so easy'. It is easy for you because it is your super power.
How do you identify your strengths?
One, look for what exasperates you. This can be a sign of a skill that comes easily to you and makes you frustrated if that doesn't come easily to others. That may be your super skill
Two, look for compliments you dismiss. When you are good at something, you get complimented for it. Notices these moments. That may be others identifying your super skill.
Three, what do you think about when you have nothing to think about? Mulling over something is a sign that it matters to you. If it matters to you that much, it must be something that you are good at.
Also try to look for genius in people. You may aid someone else's self-discovery. People working to their strengths is what makes the world a better place.
Nice article.
31-Jul-2019: Wednesday
Today I read an interesting article in Silvernest Blog titled 'First Job Interview in Twenty Years? Here is how to Nail It'. It is written by John Tarnoff.
The article gives seven suggestions for those who are going to attend an interview after a long period of not being in the workforce. These are:
1. Own it: Be yourself. Remember that all you can do in this interview is to give your 100%. Do not oversell and show excessive enthusiasm. Just be yourself and present your case logically, forcefully and with respect.
2. Show what you stand for: Whatever be your age, be curious, adaptable, resourceful and persistent. Be quietly inspiring, give credit to your team and discuss your life and work experience as a gift. Let your demeanor tell the interviewers why your age can be beneficial to their Organization and fit the role.
3. Don't let 'Hiring Mom and Dad' perceptions define you: Expect to be interviewed by younger people who may be dismissive about your age. Present your case logically. Give examples of why you have no issues with working with a younger team. Remember that they are not recruiting you because of 'How great you were / are', they are recruiting you to support their mission and goal. Tell them how you will do it.
4. Interview the company: Remember, just as they are recruiting you, you are recruiting them as well. By asking perceptive questions relating to the company and the role, show that you understand the company and culture and how in your opinion you will fit well. While asking questions, be interested in the answers that you get.
5. Be transparent: Do not hide. Be authentic and answer difficult questions with honesty. Do not hesitate to strategically admit your mistakes. Explain your failures from the point of view of lessons learned. A little vulnerability can go a long way towards creating empathy.
6. It is not the job, it is the fit: The interviewer will be looking to see if you 'fit' the role. Will others enjoy working with you? Will the team benefit from your experience? Will you be able to gracefully handle the inevitable friction and bluntness that is a part of a corporate job. How will you handle the 'age bias'.
7. Follow up never gets old: While some thing have changed in the recruitment process, fundamentals never change. Thanking the interviewer by email. Over the next week, it may help to send a follow up mail. This could show your persistence and the interest in this job.
Remember to enjoy the process. Remember that this is only one interview and you may have others. Remember that you are sitting at the interview table because the company felt that you could fit the role after reviewing your CV. Remember to continue learning and expanding your vistas.
My take: Remember that in the last two decades when you were out of the job market, the market itself has changed significantly. Technology has advanced, job profiles have changed and new entrepreneur class has evolved with different expectations. Ensure to be up-to-date on the current events and brush up on developments relating to the job that you are interested in. Also, do not get discouraged by rejections and (most important) do not link them to your age. Even young candidates get rejected these days. Project your strengths and make a great case on why you are suited for the job
I am the right person to review this article since I talk from experience. I gave up on the traditional career ladder long time ago to follow my passion of implementing ERP. I have worked in teams with members who are younger than me and have had my share of taunts related to my age. I have found that having a self-deprecating sense of humour is the best way to handle such challenges. Also learn to ignore some of these. Time will show your worth to the team.
Best wishes.
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