Brother Can You Spare A Dime? Part 2

This week I had the privilege of helping someone who decided to change his life.  Doesn’t matter the circumstances; what matters is that the person reached out and took help when it was offered. We all find ourselves in situations where we need to ask for help. Does my pride prevent me from getting help  or do I accept graciously and humbly?

I hate asking for help. I hate the idea that I need help or that there’s anything in the world I can’t do all by myself. But the truth is that we all need a hand from time to time. So if you are struggling, ask for help. If you don’t get what you need from the first person you ask, try someone else. The lessons we learn when we’re vulnerable are exactly what make us approachable and able to help others.  On the other hand, if things are going well for you; reach out to someone. Everyday, the world presents us with opportunities to help each other.  It may be as simple as listening, a smile, a kind word or much more.

One last thing. When we let someone help us; we give them the chance to feel good about themselves. Think of it as a gift that goes both ways. Remember: we’re all in this together.

Photo Credit:  Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

Three Little Words

There was a blog called “In 3 words” that would pose a question and then ask people to submit their three word response.  A typical question was:  “What’s the last thing that made you want to tear your hair out? ” –  which elicited responses like, ‘my older daughter’ and ‘bosses bad day’.

One of my favorite bloggers, Chris Brogan, took the concept and suggested that people use the idea to come up with 3 words that will be their guiding pillars for the year. Yes, I know it’s March, but it’s never too late to get a new lease on personal and professional growth.  For 2011 — his 3 words are:  package, reinvest, flow. Not inspiring to me personally but I’ll bet they are helping Chris focus. Here are some of the submissions this post elicited:

• Smile, Fight, Create
• JUICY SO WHAT? WORTHY
• Get OUT There!
• Challenge, Empower, Collaborate
• Passion, Confidence, Balance
• Pleasure, People, Publish, Practice (Louise can’t seem to follow rules!)
• Integrity, Wisdom, Patience

My 3 words are: This One Day. My goal for 2011 is to conscious of the day, every day as I live it. That includes paying attention to my surroundings and the people I come in contact with as well as accomplishing my daily work. Looking forward to hearing about your 3 words.

Let’s Play Jeopardy! Answer: A Dental Hygiene Tool?

Ok, today we’re playing jeopardy. I’m giving you the question: What is Quora?

– A tool for improving dental hygiene?

– A movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor in WWII?

– An element of new math?

– A supplement guaranteed to help you lose 50 pounds in 3 weeks?

Give up? If I told you it was another social media tool and that it’s pretty cool, you  would never have started reading. But I tricked you… (are you still reading?)

Quora is a “continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it.” Hmmm, sounds like Wikipedia. Here are some ‘questions” that I’ve opted to follow:

• Why is Barnes and Noble doing well while Borders is near bankruptcy?
• What should the Winkelvoss twins have done to protect their idea?
• Why do start ups fail?
• What are some really good April Fools Day jokes to play on your friends?
• What life experiences help children develop concern for others?

If you have a curious mind, you may enjoy Quora. Oh by the way, here’s advice on using Quora for your job search. Now go start laughing, learning and collaborating!

Photo credit: http://www.nataliedee.com/053107/

I’m Great; Even When I Stink

Humility is interesting.

I saw Adam Sandler being interviewed on television. Even if you don’t like him or his movies, I think he’s a good example of how a combination of self confidence and humility can create success.

Adam told a story about when he was first starting out in stand up. While the audience wasn’t laughing very hard,  he was thinking, “I don’t understand why these people don’t see how funny I am!” He wasn’t discouraged; he didn’t stop. He believed in himself.

Listening to him talk about his latest project was inspiring because he was humble about his success without being phony or self-effacing.

My goal is to be genuine in all my interactions. This means that I recognize what I’m good at and can speak with confidence;  AND I know that I have something to learn from every person I meet. No one is better than me (no matter what they have accomplished) and I’ m not better than anyone else.

The Power of Two

I have a friend who talks about the power of two. One person can make a huge difference in the lives of many people. However, 2 people, joined in purpose and intent, can move mountains.

I believe that the way that we work, play and innovate is undergoing a revolution and social media/web 2.0 are at the heart of it. Beyond Facebook, Twitter and Linked In are wikis, online communities, videos, ning groups, meet ups, blogs, podcasts and so many more cool ways to communicate that we have barely begun to scratch the surface.

Back in the mid-1990′s, we used altavista to search for information on the then new “world wide web.” Remember?  If we had to use a search tool like that today, we would be tearing our hair out. The tools we have for collaboration are similarly unsophisticated compared to what we’ll have at our fingertips in just a few short years. The ways we want to work together are already evolving faster than the toolkit.

I have started a new blog, A Collaboration Nation to share ideas and get us thinking not only about tools for sharing ideas, but also how we work together. I came across a book called “The Power of Two” and from it, I took this excerpt;

Effective allies agree with these 3 statements:

• We focus on each other’s strengths, not weaknesses.
• We accept each other as we are and don’t try to change each other.
• We are understanding of each other when one of us makes mistakes.

In those cases where you work with one other person, how effective are you as a partner? When we focus on the power we have to make great things happen, guess what; great things happen.

The Bozo Explosion – How To Be an A+ Candidate

I just read a blog post from Guy Kawasaki called, “The Art of Recruiting” (2006).  In it, Guy talks about how the idea of  “A” players hiring other “A” players and “B” players hiring “C” players.  His conclusion is that “A” players actually need to hire “A+” players; candidates better than themselves. While “it takes self-confidence and self-awareness” to do this, “it’s the only way to build a great team.” The Bozo explosion, he notes, is the slippery slope of hiring “B” players who then hire all the way down to “Z” players.

So how do we get to be “A+” players? I’d like to suggest that while we may not all be “A+” players, we can learn to be “A+” versions of ourselves in our chosen field.

1. Commit to learning how to manage yourself (Peter Drucker) and never stop. Find a mentor or co-mentor and tackle the hard work of self examination. What can I do better; how can I be more effective? What are my strengths and how can I build on them?
2. Read books. Smart people write books.  I love to talk to people about the books that interest them.  Reading a book takes effort and it feels great when you finish.  Add the book and what you learned to your Linked In profile.
3. Listen. This seems so elementary and yet, I’m always working on this.  Here’s a test.  The next time you meet someone new, sit down immediately after your conversation and write down the questions you asked them.  Think about how much time you spent listening versus talking. After you shake hands to part company, honestly assess how well you listened. What are the 5 things you learned about that person? What did you admire about them? If you can’t recall, you probably could have listened better.
4. Demonstrate passion. Guy’s advice to recruiters is to hire passion not skills.  To job hunters he says, “Passion can overcome the lack of a ‘perfect’ educational background and work experience.

I learned to listen while raising my children. The more I talked, the less they listened. The more I listened, the more they talked. Pretty simple.  Let me know how you are growing to or maintaining your “A+” status. I need all the ideas I can get!