Anyone who has tried to push a new idea to friends or family has probably met some interesting reactions. It's always hard to convince people to go along with your ideas because most of the time many ideas may seem too good to be true.
When we discuss ideas we have a perfect image in our minds of what should be happening. We have all of the components lined up and we've hit the ground running; however, we need to get past the criticism. Sometimes this may be the most disheartening part. Trusted friends and relatives turning you down because it doesn't sit well with them. But why is this? Is it because they don't like you or the idea?
From what I've found, it's not so much of either. When people try to pitch me an idea, my first reaction is to think, "What's in it for me?" As selfish as it may sound, many people want to know why they should get involved. As new ideas come and go, people become accustomed to just doing things they've always done and it's difficult to change your habits. That's why the ideas hit such a hard barrier.
When I've been the one pitching the ideas, it seems like people agree with me that they are good ideas and that they would like to see how it goes, but that doesn't mean much in the end. It basically means that they are going to sit by and if it goes well, they are going to give you a congratulations and try to get in on the action. Though there is much to be said about this behavior, it's not the main focus.
The main focus is what you are able to do to get people interested in actually helping you with either a project or doing something that will actually benefit you in the end. So what are you able to do?
The first thing that I would recommend is getting to know a significant amount of people; expand your network. There are many types of people in the world with various skills and abilities, but also concerns and thresholds. People can only bear so much before they give way and other people just can't contribute. The more people that you have in your Rolodex and the more people that you have a personal relationship with, the better your chances will be of getting support.
The second thing that I would recommend is to collaborate with yourself before you begin collaborating with others. There's nothing that pains me more than having to listen to someone who doesn't know what they are trying to do and doesn't know how they are going to do it. You need to have things set up before-hand. You are going to be the "project manager" for your endeavor and you're going to have to know a thing or two before you get started.
The third thing is to develop trust. There is no reason why people would ever want to contribute if the element of trust does not exist. Trust needs to exist within and without your project and be a part of everything that you are asking others to do. You need to lead the way and not be a bystander. People have to be able to rely on you.
I've always tried to get my friends and family in on the ideas that I come with; however, bizarre they may be. In the past, my fore-sight got the best of me and I needed to learn a lesson or two. As I've gotten older, it has become apparent that there is something else that is important. The way that you approach. The common cliche that people run up against is people assuming that you want them to buy something or you want their money straight-up. I find that this has some truth. You need to know what you are asking. There are some things that just are bad ideas.
To conclude, I believe that the best way to get people to like your ideas is to make it appeal to them; help them to understand how it can be a part of their lives. Generally people aren't going to take time to just do something, especially if they've already forgotten about it. There needs to be the catch; the thing that gets them. Putting that together may be the hardest part, but it is by far the most essential.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Determination Will Bring Growth
For people that have read my blog before, they will remember my post about pruning yourself in order to bring growth. I talked about my plants which I keep in a makeshift terrarium and which had not been doing so well. As hard as it was for me to trim the plant and be sure not to kill it, I trimmed the leaves and other parts which appeared to be dying. By the time I was done, there seemed to be nothing left but weak looking stems which would fall over given just a gust or a yawn. Today, coming home from a successful day of challenges, I found within the soil green sprouts and new life.
Often times, we feel like these beaten plants having nothing left to contribute but to shrivel up and die. The days of our glory have passed us by; however, be not so dismayed. With every death, there is a new beginning, a chance to renew yourself and find new passion. Anton Chekhov reminisced about the end of the long winter and we may all see the coming of the Spring.
In work, this may not be easy. To reinvent yourself is a drawn out task full of trial and error. You discover many new things at which you don't seem to be very good at and it is easy to become discouraged. The thing is, it may not be so easy to change the way that you think. Many of the occupations which we fill are advancing professions with new ideas and concepts which develop every month or year. But there is hope.
Having a skill or ability that you have developed over the years is a great asset. The determination and work ethic within you will push you further. Most of the time it won't be that raw ability which you possess, but your teach-ability and understanding what needs to be done. I think that the world is becoming concentrated with people who have nice and thought-provoking ideas, but there aren't many people who are willing to go out there and do what needs to be done.
But that's what needs to be done. The trimmed houseplant cannot sit still or it will rot away. It clings to life to sprout its leaves and bask in the Spring and Summer sun. We too must not be still. We must pursue dreams and reach for the stars. As we continue to climb, little by little, we will reach new heights. The only thing that we need is vision.
Often times, we feel like these beaten plants having nothing left to contribute but to shrivel up and die. The days of our glory have passed us by; however, be not so dismayed. With every death, there is a new beginning, a chance to renew yourself and find new passion. Anton Chekhov reminisced about the end of the long winter and we may all see the coming of the Spring.
In work, this may not be easy. To reinvent yourself is a drawn out task full of trial and error. You discover many new things at which you don't seem to be very good at and it is easy to become discouraged. The thing is, it may not be so easy to change the way that you think. Many of the occupations which we fill are advancing professions with new ideas and concepts which develop every month or year. But there is hope.
Having a skill or ability that you have developed over the years is a great asset. The determination and work ethic within you will push you further. Most of the time it won't be that raw ability which you possess, but your teach-ability and understanding what needs to be done. I think that the world is becoming concentrated with people who have nice and thought-provoking ideas, but there aren't many people who are willing to go out there and do what needs to be done.
But that's what needs to be done. The trimmed houseplant cannot sit still or it will rot away. It clings to life to sprout its leaves and bask in the Spring and Summer sun. We too must not be still. We must pursue dreams and reach for the stars. As we continue to climb, little by little, we will reach new heights. The only thing that we need is vision.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Diversity: A Manager's Game
I've read many reports about people claiming that the efforts for increasing diversity are poor; that under-represented groups are not getting as much attention as they should and should be encouraged more to fill certain positions. As callous as this may sound, diversity may not be as big an issue when managers have a proper mindset, but how can you identify this mindset outright and what does that mean for a company?
The problem of diversity has historically been that of unfair treatment of certain races or genders, or even heritage. It hasn't always been the one-sided issue of him or her, but discrimination based on culture such as being Irish or Eastern European; but these are less noticed nowadays as discrimination has taken a different banner. As people migrate to various regions, diversity grows. It has been happening for years and isn't going to stop anytime soon. Though there are some regions that are definitely more diverse than others, it is still plain to see the effects as years pass by.
But what is the casualty of not being diversified or being open to diversity? In my opinion, it is the cost of being unaware of the resources which are available. Many men and women of different cultures and backgrounds have experience which would be beneficial to the companies and corporations to which they are applying. The discriminatory manager is actually hurting their company by having underlying prejudices, passing on opportunities to attract new life to the company by making valuable investments. One of the main points of expanding business is reaching out to the demographics which have low interaction with your business, but this may not always be the case.
So what are the benefits of pushing diversity? At this point in time, in the cultural confusion which our country is undergoing, it is a necessity to require that diversity be advertised or pushed. Organizational watchdogs and individuals alike will dawn their soapbox and criticize companies or even universities for not having pages and brochures dedicated to diversity; but this doesn't mean that places are not diversified. But how can you avoid being criticized for not broadcasting diversity? Well, it seems like you can't. Even the passive voice is overthrown by the screaming of the few.
But I find that the problem of diversity is becoming less about who you're hiring and more about feelings. Companies don't want to offend anyone, but people are becoming more sensitive to obscure meanings which may lie behind commercials. When you're watching t.v, it is obvious that companies are trying to push diversity. See how many things you can spot.
As I see it, people are working hard to make their businesses as effective as they can be and diversity is a byproduct of this mentality. Though many companies yield opportunities based on the concept of appearing diverse, diversity isn't something that you do, it's something that you are. To bring this to a point, one of my favorite movies is "Remember the Titans". Based on historical events, it reminds us of how closed-minded we used to be. But the real part of it is that in the end, harnessing the abilities of the people in the team and working together, they were able to succeed and become unified. As they returned from camp, race wasn't an issue. To them it was a thing of the past. Taking advantage of opportunities to learn and grow is something that we can always benefit from.
My hope is that people will realize that race and gender shouldn't be an issue in accepting the capabilities and contributions of individuals. To quote Martin Luther King, "that they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Put aside the superficial bandages and attempts to repair the past and begin to see the new world as that of seizing opportunity. As managers and employees do this, productivity will increase and the issue of discrimination will fade to the recesses of the history.
The problem of diversity has historically been that of unfair treatment of certain races or genders, or even heritage. It hasn't always been the one-sided issue of him or her, but discrimination based on culture such as being Irish or Eastern European; but these are less noticed nowadays as discrimination has taken a different banner. As people migrate to various regions, diversity grows. It has been happening for years and isn't going to stop anytime soon. Though there are some regions that are definitely more diverse than others, it is still plain to see the effects as years pass by.
But what is the casualty of not being diversified or being open to diversity? In my opinion, it is the cost of being unaware of the resources which are available. Many men and women of different cultures and backgrounds have experience which would be beneficial to the companies and corporations to which they are applying. The discriminatory manager is actually hurting their company by having underlying prejudices, passing on opportunities to attract new life to the company by making valuable investments. One of the main points of expanding business is reaching out to the demographics which have low interaction with your business, but this may not always be the case.
So what are the benefits of pushing diversity? At this point in time, in the cultural confusion which our country is undergoing, it is a necessity to require that diversity be advertised or pushed. Organizational watchdogs and individuals alike will dawn their soapbox and criticize companies or even universities for not having pages and brochures dedicated to diversity; but this doesn't mean that places are not diversified. But how can you avoid being criticized for not broadcasting diversity? Well, it seems like you can't. Even the passive voice is overthrown by the screaming of the few.
But I find that the problem of diversity is becoming less about who you're hiring and more about feelings. Companies don't want to offend anyone, but people are becoming more sensitive to obscure meanings which may lie behind commercials. When you're watching t.v, it is obvious that companies are trying to push diversity. See how many things you can spot.
As I see it, people are working hard to make their businesses as effective as they can be and diversity is a byproduct of this mentality. Though many companies yield opportunities based on the concept of appearing diverse, diversity isn't something that you do, it's something that you are. To bring this to a point, one of my favorite movies is "Remember the Titans". Based on historical events, it reminds us of how closed-minded we used to be. But the real part of it is that in the end, harnessing the abilities of the people in the team and working together, they were able to succeed and become unified. As they returned from camp, race wasn't an issue. To them it was a thing of the past. Taking advantage of opportunities to learn and grow is something that we can always benefit from.
My hope is that people will realize that race and gender shouldn't be an issue in accepting the capabilities and contributions of individuals. To quote Martin Luther King, "that they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Put aside the superficial bandages and attempts to repair the past and begin to see the new world as that of seizing opportunity. As managers and employees do this, productivity will increase and the issue of discrimination will fade to the recesses of the history.
Multitasking: The Illusion of Efficiency
We're all familiar with juggling different things throughout the day. Many of the posts that I have written recently have dealt with maintaining your schedule and organizing your life. One of the things that I feel strongly about is multitasking and how it is affecting our lives.
Many of us multitask everyday, but how much are we actually able to do before we reach our limit. I'm sure that we've all had the experiences when we've been talking to someone while writing and start typing what we were saying. For things such as this it is easy to understand why this happens, but we need to understand that it pervades our lives.
One of the ways to see this is by using Moore's law as a benchmark. Moore's law states that approximately every 18 months computing efficiency will double. This was true for many decades, but recently computing power has taken another turn. Engineers have just about made components just as small as they can get. In other words, in order to increase computing speed we have to find a way to combine processor cores to work on the same problems. If you look at your computer now, you might have up to four core-processors built-in. This allows your computer to work on multiple problems at the same time and greatly enhances processing speed.
The problem is, you can't just link different brains to your brain. At some point, the inertia of your thoughts overwhelms your ability to keep things straight. It's not that we aren't able to do multiple things at the same time, but the ability of doing those things deteriorates as more things are added. It's complexity that disallows us from doing so many things and jumping from item to item doesn't help. We all know what happens when you jump from screen to screen on your computer when you have so many things running. Eventually, you're going to crash.
To conclude, it is better to do one thing right and get it done and progress to the next task. If you try to pull yourself in too many directions, your work will only get worse. Do yourself a favor and focus on one thing at a time. Realizing limitations can be a hard thing to do, but the benefits of being realistic can improve performance.
Many of us multitask everyday, but how much are we actually able to do before we reach our limit. I'm sure that we've all had the experiences when we've been talking to someone while writing and start typing what we were saying. For things such as this it is easy to understand why this happens, but we need to understand that it pervades our lives.
One of the ways to see this is by using Moore's law as a benchmark. Moore's law states that approximately every 18 months computing efficiency will double. This was true for many decades, but recently computing power has taken another turn. Engineers have just about made components just as small as they can get. In other words, in order to increase computing speed we have to find a way to combine processor cores to work on the same problems. If you look at your computer now, you might have up to four core-processors built-in. This allows your computer to work on multiple problems at the same time and greatly enhances processing speed.
The problem is, you can't just link different brains to your brain. At some point, the inertia of your thoughts overwhelms your ability to keep things straight. It's not that we aren't able to do multiple things at the same time, but the ability of doing those things deteriorates as more things are added. It's complexity that disallows us from doing so many things and jumping from item to item doesn't help. We all know what happens when you jump from screen to screen on your computer when you have so many things running. Eventually, you're going to crash.
To conclude, it is better to do one thing right and get it done and progress to the next task. If you try to pull yourself in too many directions, your work will only get worse. Do yourself a favor and focus on one thing at a time. Realizing limitations can be a hard thing to do, but the benefits of being realistic can improve performance.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)