Glasses. These are those round spectacles that many of us will have to begin to don once we turn 40 and sometimes make use look more "mature" than we would look without them. Outside of the typical usage of these to increase one's ability to read road signs from a distance or read a book that right in front of one's nose, there is also a metaphorical uses of glasses that can help each of us in our daily interactions with other that will improve our ability to live more productive and fulfilling lives. I refer to the ability to look at the world (different scenarios, people, yourself) through different sets of glasses when the situation merits it to accomplish a number of different tasks that will benefit us throughout our lives. In this week's blog, I wanted to share some of the major benefits of making this a regular practice in your life by focusing on its three major areas of benefit.
It can help you see your areas of weakness.
Often, when we look at ourselves, we generally think about what we see in the mirror. We typically feel that there are very few things about us that are not "perfect" but, surprisingly, we don't know many other people that are. For this reason, it helps tremendously if you are able to take a hard, objective look at yourself from time to time, as a stranger would. One exercise that will initially help with this would be to look at yourself in the mirror as as stranger would and quickly assess what would be your initial impression. Is your hair somewhat disheveled? Do you have extra weight that isn't attractive? Do your close fit on your well or are they too tight or too baggy? By doing this, we can get a quick snapshot into how we physically may come across to people to improve any areas of deficiency that we may see. Whether it gives you motivation to lose weight, do a better job of with your hair, or buy a whole new wardrobe, this can help you quickly assess where you need to improve. Now, let's turn this inward and identify the psychological or emotional areas in which we can do better. We should look at our behaviors and, instead of rationalizing them by the different "special scenarios" going on in our lives, we should look at them from the outside as a stranger would to get a sense of what they would think. This will allow us to more objectively assess our behaviors and give us more motivation to change those that present the wrong image or are holding us back from our various goals.
It gives you a different perspective to solve problems
Whenever we are put in a tough situation in which we just can't seem to come up with an answer, often if we remove ourselves from the scenario and look at it from the perspective of someone from the outside looking in or from the perspective of the adversarial party (if there is one), this will often give us an opportunity to come up with a creative solution that we may not have identified before due to our intimate involvement, and often skewed perspective, on the situation. This can be done in a number of ways. If you are typically a very emotional person, perhaps trying to look at a situation more analytically would help you identify a solution that is better for all parties involved. If you're in one specific group of people that is facing a problem with another group, perhaps trying to understand what is important to them by looking at the situation from their perspective will shed light on a resolution that would've never been identified had you not put yourself in their shoes.
It allows you to be more sympathetic to others
We know ourselves better than we know anyone else, so there are number of different things we may say or do that we automatically know what they indicate about us and what we mean by them. Unfortunately, everyone is not wired in the same manner that we are and often, our reaction or approach to a situation can be interpreted completely different from what we intended. This can often lead to negative impacts in your interactions with others and not allow you to achieve the results you desire. When working with other people (especially at work), always try to think what their lives are like and what this means in relation to how they may approach a situation in contrast to your approach. This can often allow you to easier communicate with this person and have a better overall understanding of who they are and what makes them tick to establish a deeper and more meaningful relationship. This is also very helpful in relationships/friendships in which a disagreement can be resolved by just truly understanding the other parties point of view. At the end of the day, this can make all the difference in the world.
Perspective. It seems so easy to have, but we often have a tendency to only have one: OURS. By consistently practicing wearing the glasses of other individuals in our lives, we are way more apt to identify our flaws easier, solve problems faster, and relate to others better. And while some people may not like the way they look in a pair, the benefits of sometimes having "four eyes" will beat out what two can do any day.
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Applying the Pareto Principle to Life
Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone enjoyed their time off and took time to truly enjoy some family time with their loved ones. This is always a good time of year to reflect on all the blessings we have been given that make our lives so special. It is also a good time to reflect on a number of things we set out to do in 2013 that we did not accomplish to get a sense of why and then create a plan to make sure that this doesn't happen in 2014. One concept that has paid tremendous dividends to me when I am beginning to evaluate how to make a complete change to take my abilities and level of success to "another level" is to apply the Pareto Principle to my life. The Pareto Principle is an ingenious discovery by Vilfredo Pareto in 1906 in which he observed that 80% of Italy's wealth was owned by 20% of the population. What this basically led to was a discovery that in many things in life, 80% of our ROI is usually associated with 20% of our actions. By applying this principle to our lives, there are several truths that come to the forefront that should allow us to improve the quality of our lives if we accept them and take actions to adjust accordingly.
80 percent of your headaches come from 20 percent of the people in your life.
This is one that is very dear to me because I am very much the type of person who believes you should only have positive people in your life. There are those individuals who are only energy-takers and never energy-givers. It seems their whole point in life is to find the negative in everything and then to make everyone see it as well. You should eliminate, or at least marginalize, these people's influence on your life. You can do this by simply eliminating the amount of time you spend with these individuals or removing them from your life all together. In relation to situations in which you cannot completely stop all interactions with this person (i.e. work), you can attempt to discuss these differences and see if you can come to any resolution to improve your relationship. If not, you may want to see if you can move to a different department or group if possible. If that still doesn't work, you can just try to eliminate the amount of time you must interact with this person or, as a last resort, look for a new job all together.
80 percent of your income comes from 20 percent of your activities
If you are in sales (like me), you definitely get a sense of why this principle is true. Often, we spend our entire day doing a number of different activities, from documentation to reporting to follow-up. What we realize, however, is that there are really only a handful of things that actually put money into our bank accounts. For sales, it is often prospecting and spending time in front of the customer that ultimately makes the most difference in relation to success. This can be the same with any job, however, if you break it down to what are the 2-3 activities that you must be really good at and do almost every day that will have the greatest impact on the benefit you are able to deliver to your company. If you are a teacher, perhaps it is teaching the best lesson by staying as focused and "in the moment" as possible with your students. If you are a chemical engineer, perhaps it is consistently iterating your design and approach to the development of new chemicals that produces the greatest benefits to your company's bottom line. Whatever it is, identify it and do your best to maximize the amount of focus and time you are able to put into that particular area of your work for greater success.
80 percent of your LACK of success comes from 20 percent of your choices.
Anyone who has ever experienced marginal success in life but can't quite get over that hump is familiar with this aspect of life. Often, the marginally successful do a lot of things right in relation to how they approach their day and focus on accomplishing various tasks. There is, however, one or two things that this person is doing incorrectly, or not at all, that is holding back the super success that is on the horizon. One has to consistently review the different vices once has in her or her life and try to eliminate them all if possible. It can seem like a very small thing when your one vice may be your mom's sweet potato pie, but that small thing could be a huge deterrent to your goal of losing 20 lbs if you're eating sweet potato pie each week. Consistently identify those things in your life that when you do them, there is something in the back of your head is telling you that it isn't "right." Fight to remove those things from your life and discipline yourself to overcome those temptations and you'll be surprise at the 80 percent improvement you might see as a result of it.
While we learned in grade school that 1=1 and 2=2, it appears that as we mature in life and math (i.e. calculus), these truths seemingly aren't as set in stone as we once thought. As you look at your life in 2014, take time to identify that 20 percent of your life that is holding back the 80 percent of your success. This could be those individuals who only bring you down and bring nothing positive to the table, that small number of things that you are NOT doing, or that small group of vices that you know you should eliminate from your life. Whatever it is, identify it TODAY and begin working to make sure that you don't allow ANYTHING (or ANYONE) hold you back in 2014!
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
80 percent of your headaches come from 20 percent of the people in your life.
This is one that is very dear to me because I am very much the type of person who believes you should only have positive people in your life. There are those individuals who are only energy-takers and never energy-givers. It seems their whole point in life is to find the negative in everything and then to make everyone see it as well. You should eliminate, or at least marginalize, these people's influence on your life. You can do this by simply eliminating the amount of time you spend with these individuals or removing them from your life all together. In relation to situations in which you cannot completely stop all interactions with this person (i.e. work), you can attempt to discuss these differences and see if you can come to any resolution to improve your relationship. If not, you may want to see if you can move to a different department or group if possible. If that still doesn't work, you can just try to eliminate the amount of time you must interact with this person or, as a last resort, look for a new job all together.
80 percent of your income comes from 20 percent of your activities
If you are in sales (like me), you definitely get a sense of why this principle is true. Often, we spend our entire day doing a number of different activities, from documentation to reporting to follow-up. What we realize, however, is that there are really only a handful of things that actually put money into our bank accounts. For sales, it is often prospecting and spending time in front of the customer that ultimately makes the most difference in relation to success. This can be the same with any job, however, if you break it down to what are the 2-3 activities that you must be really good at and do almost every day that will have the greatest impact on the benefit you are able to deliver to your company. If you are a teacher, perhaps it is teaching the best lesson by staying as focused and "in the moment" as possible with your students. If you are a chemical engineer, perhaps it is consistently iterating your design and approach to the development of new chemicals that produces the greatest benefits to your company's bottom line. Whatever it is, identify it and do your best to maximize the amount of focus and time you are able to put into that particular area of your work for greater success.
80 percent of your LACK of success comes from 20 percent of your choices.
Anyone who has ever experienced marginal success in life but can't quite get over that hump is familiar with this aspect of life. Often, the marginally successful do a lot of things right in relation to how they approach their day and focus on accomplishing various tasks. There is, however, one or two things that this person is doing incorrectly, or not at all, that is holding back the super success that is on the horizon. One has to consistently review the different vices once has in her or her life and try to eliminate them all if possible. It can seem like a very small thing when your one vice may be your mom's sweet potato pie, but that small thing could be a huge deterrent to your goal of losing 20 lbs if you're eating sweet potato pie each week. Consistently identify those things in your life that when you do them, there is something in the back of your head is telling you that it isn't "right." Fight to remove those things from your life and discipline yourself to overcome those temptations and you'll be surprise at the 80 percent improvement you might see as a result of it.
While we learned in grade school that 1=1 and 2=2, it appears that as we mature in life and math (i.e. calculus), these truths seemingly aren't as set in stone as we once thought. As you look at your life in 2014, take time to identify that 20 percent of your life that is holding back the 80 percent of your success. This could be those individuals who only bring you down and bring nothing positive to the table, that small number of things that you are NOT doing, or that small group of vices that you know you should eliminate from your life. Whatever it is, identify it TODAY and begin working to make sure that you don't allow ANYTHING (or ANYONE) hold you back in 2014!
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
How to Make AND Keep New Year's Resolutions
What a year. I can hardly believe that 2013 is almost in the books! Were you able to achieve everything you set out to do this year? If so, awesome job! Pat yourself on the back. If not, ask yourself why and begin asking what you are going to do to make sure this doesn't happen in 2014. In this last installment of Life: How to Get What You Want Out of It and my last blog of 2013, I wanted to share with you three simple tips and strategies to make your New Year's resolution making more effective and help you make 2014 your best year ever!
I. DON'T CHOOSE TOO MANY
What hurts many people when it comes to making resolutions is they try to change EVERYTHING. They attempt to become a COMPLETELY new person the next year, and when they have a misstep here or there, they COMPLETELY give up on trying to change and revert back to their old ways. When making New Year's resolutions, you should keep your commitments to 2-3 goals. That's it. No mas. This way you can stay focused on the specifics of what you need to do for those goals and not have to worry about trying to present this image of being a completely different person. You should also try to pick goals that will give you compounding results in relation to each other. For example, if you desire to lose weight for 2014. You three goals could be workout three days a week, cut back on drinking, and eating better. This way you will see the results much faster as they all work together to achieve your ultimate goal.
II. START SMALL
I'm always amazed at how people will try to go from having not worked out in the past three years to going to the gym six days a week for 90 minutes. I've been working out my entire life and going to the gym six days in a week is WAY too much for me. You can't go from Clark Kent to Superman overnight. Instead, start small by only going three days a week for 20-30 minutes. This way you are much more likely to stick to it and won't have the excuse of something coming up, as you can easily switch out your days if needed. If you want to go back to school to get another degree or complete your first one, don't try to take a full 15 hour semester to start out. It'll be too overwhelming and cause you the quit. Start by taking only one class to get back in the groove and discipline of reading, studying, and preparing for class. Once you start to see some success in either the gym, school, or whatever, you can then begin to increase the intensity and push yourself to do more and better.
III. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN
Sometimes, when individuals make New Years resolutions. they don't do the planning to ensure they will be as successful as possible at achieving their results. They think everything will just take care of itself because they said they would do this. Not so. As in anything in life, a fail to plan is a plan to fail. This planning takes place basically around two things: 1. The LOGISTICS of making sure you can commit to the things you desire and 2.Identification and elimination of DETERRENTS that can hinder your ability to be successful. In relation to logistics, you need to make sure that you've created a clear plan on how you are going to incorporate your new activity or focus in your life to give yourself the best chance to be successful. For example, if you are going to work out three days a week, you need to make sure that you know exactly what days you are going to go and make sure that you do not allow ANYTHING to take those days from you. If you are going to go to school, you need to make sure that you have time committed and blocked on your calendar for reading and studying to be successful. You have to think through the different logistics and what-ifs to prepare for them, so you will stay on your course and not get deterred. In relation deterrents, you must identify those people or things in your life that could keep you from being successful and eliminate or marginalize their impact on you. If you have a friend who likes to drink a lot and you are trying to cut back, you may want to cut back on how much you hang out with him/her. If you've committed to eating salad during the week, don't go to your favorite rib restaurant every day for lunch. The chance that you will slip will increase greatly, and if you are able to stand it, you're only torturing yourself anyway. Think about all the things, people, and places that could hurt your chances to be successful and make sure that you do everything in your power to keep them away or at bay.
That's it. That's all you need to know to make sure that you are creating the right New Year's resolutions to give yourself the best chance of actually sticking to them. Remember, however, that you don't have to wait until January 1st to begin turning over a new leaf. There no better time than NOW to begin creating the best you ever. Happy New Year to everyone, and I'll see you again in 2014.
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
I. DON'T CHOOSE TOO MANY
What hurts many people when it comes to making resolutions is they try to change EVERYTHING. They attempt to become a COMPLETELY new person the next year, and when they have a misstep here or there, they COMPLETELY give up on trying to change and revert back to their old ways. When making New Year's resolutions, you should keep your commitments to 2-3 goals. That's it. No mas. This way you can stay focused on the specifics of what you need to do for those goals and not have to worry about trying to present this image of being a completely different person. You should also try to pick goals that will give you compounding results in relation to each other. For example, if you desire to lose weight for 2014. You three goals could be workout three days a week, cut back on drinking, and eating better. This way you will see the results much faster as they all work together to achieve your ultimate goal.
II. START SMALL
I'm always amazed at how people will try to go from having not worked out in the past three years to going to the gym six days a week for 90 minutes. I've been working out my entire life and going to the gym six days in a week is WAY too much for me. You can't go from Clark Kent to Superman overnight. Instead, start small by only going three days a week for 20-30 minutes. This way you are much more likely to stick to it and won't have the excuse of something coming up, as you can easily switch out your days if needed. If you want to go back to school to get another degree or complete your first one, don't try to take a full 15 hour semester to start out. It'll be too overwhelming and cause you the quit. Start by taking only one class to get back in the groove and discipline of reading, studying, and preparing for class. Once you start to see some success in either the gym, school, or whatever, you can then begin to increase the intensity and push yourself to do more and better.
III. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN
Sometimes, when individuals make New Years resolutions. they don't do the planning to ensure they will be as successful as possible at achieving their results. They think everything will just take care of itself because they said they would do this. Not so. As in anything in life, a fail to plan is a plan to fail. This planning takes place basically around two things: 1. The LOGISTICS of making sure you can commit to the things you desire and 2.Identification and elimination of DETERRENTS that can hinder your ability to be successful. In relation to logistics, you need to make sure that you've created a clear plan on how you are going to incorporate your new activity or focus in your life to give yourself the best chance to be successful. For example, if you are going to work out three days a week, you need to make sure that you know exactly what days you are going to go and make sure that you do not allow ANYTHING to take those days from you. If you are going to go to school, you need to make sure that you have time committed and blocked on your calendar for reading and studying to be successful. You have to think through the different logistics and what-ifs to prepare for them, so you will stay on your course and not get deterred. In relation deterrents, you must identify those people or things in your life that could keep you from being successful and eliminate or marginalize their impact on you. If you have a friend who likes to drink a lot and you are trying to cut back, you may want to cut back on how much you hang out with him/her. If you've committed to eating salad during the week, don't go to your favorite rib restaurant every day for lunch. The chance that you will slip will increase greatly, and if you are able to stand it, you're only torturing yourself anyway. Think about all the things, people, and places that could hurt your chances to be successful and make sure that you do everything in your power to keep them away or at bay.
That's it. That's all you need to know to make sure that you are creating the right New Year's resolutions to give yourself the best chance of actually sticking to them. Remember, however, that you don't have to wait until January 1st to begin turning over a new leaf. There no better time than NOW to begin creating the best you ever. Happy New Year to everyone, and I'll see you again in 2014.
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
How to Stay Ahead of the Career Curve
In this week's installment to Life: How to Get What You Want Out of It, I want to focus on career planning and how to help people prevent an all too common tragedy that occurs from time to time. Sadly, this tragedy has happened to many. You spend 15-20 years working for a company to one day find out your skills are no longer needed, as the newest hotshot has passed you in ability and, subsequently, worth to the company. Often, when you spend so much time doing one type of job, it can be very hard to make any kind of change at that point in your life. It's almost like starting over as a novice in a new field, having to learn all of the different idiosyncrasies of your new position or industry. If this ever happens to you, there are various things you can do to bounce back and have a very productive remainder of your working life, but this week's blog is more focused on how to PREVENT this from ever happening. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so here are three simple tips that will serve as three "ounces" to keep the lost career cold away.
I.IDENTIFY TRENDS IN THE MARKET (INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF YOUR INDUSTRY)
One major way to stay ahead of the career curve and not be left on the street trying to hitch a ride back on to the highway of success is to always take the time to read industry magazines and other publications that give insight into what is happening in your industry. The only constant is the world is change, and you have to make sure that you are consistently aware of where the world is headed to be able to identify the next big opportunity. This can also be realized by identify trends in the world in general that could affect your industry and career. You didn't have to be a genius 20 years ago to realize that computers and the internet were going to have a major impact on the world. Making sure that you were computer proficient would've been a no-brainer. If you are a petroleum engineer today, you definitely need to make sure you are well educated in the world of clean energy, as it is only going to be more important and demanded with time. Any time you see commonalities in different clients or customers that could indicate the creation of a trend, the first thing you should think about is HOW will this affect my career in the future and WHAT do I need to do to make sure that I am well positioned to still be an asset to my company/industry if this trends continues.
II.CONSISTENTLY UPGRADE YOUR TALENT AND ABILITY
Now, once you've identified this trend and have a sense of how it will affect your career going forward, the next step is to identify and gain the skills and abilities you will need to hone to put yourself in the best position to be successful. It's amazing how many people there are in the world whose education ended when they formally left school. The super successful are the ones that are always looking for that next class or workshop to improve their skills in some area. They are always reading publications in their field to learn new tips and strategies of how to do their jobs better. By consistently working to attain new talents for use in your career, you put yourselves in the favor of the gods by becoming more and more valuable to your current company. Obtaining a higher level degree in your field or just attending workshops consistently will give your more options and marketability down the road, as well as increase your knowledge base to bring better decision making ability to the table when needed. The person who thinks he/she knows it all is doomed to lose to the person who knows this is never the case.
III. PLAN OUT EACH MOVE STRATEGICALLY IN TERMS OF YOUR LONG TERM GOALS
Once you've identifed the trends and have a sense of what skills you need to obtain/improve to achieve this goal, it's now time to strategically identify where you need to be within or outside of your company to take the most advantage of this reality. Any new position that you are seeking to attain should be planned out a year or two in advance, as you work the political and logistical aspects of making it a reality. For example: You work for a company that has a commercial and residential division, and you are on the residential side. Over time you begin to notice that all of the initiatives for the next year or two seem to focus around the commercial side, and you are hearing that this is where the CEO sees the most profitable growth coming from. Therefore, you need to begin to strategically align yourself with people on that side to prepare to make a change. This could be done through simple networking for subtle connections or by blatantly letting someone know you are interested in making a move. The important thing is to always think three steps ahead to know WHOM you need to talk to about this, WHAT things you need to do to get consideration for this move, and HOW to most efficiently and effectively make this happen.
Your career: It's like a cruel game of chess in which the pieces move, change,and sometimes disappear all the time. This can make it very hard to win, as what worked for your two years ago may not be effective at all today. The key to winning in life (just like in chess), however, is to always think as many steps ahead of your counterparts as possible. The more steps ahead you think, the better chance you have at winning and ensuring that your King is ALWAYS safe from capture.
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
I.IDENTIFY TRENDS IN THE MARKET (INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF YOUR INDUSTRY)
One major way to stay ahead of the career curve and not be left on the street trying to hitch a ride back on to the highway of success is to always take the time to read industry magazines and other publications that give insight into what is happening in your industry. The only constant is the world is change, and you have to make sure that you are consistently aware of where the world is headed to be able to identify the next big opportunity. This can also be realized by identify trends in the world in general that could affect your industry and career. You didn't have to be a genius 20 years ago to realize that computers and the internet were going to have a major impact on the world. Making sure that you were computer proficient would've been a no-brainer. If you are a petroleum engineer today, you definitely need to make sure you are well educated in the world of clean energy, as it is only going to be more important and demanded with time. Any time you see commonalities in different clients or customers that could indicate the creation of a trend, the first thing you should think about is HOW will this affect my career in the future and WHAT do I need to do to make sure that I am well positioned to still be an asset to my company/industry if this trends continues.
II.CONSISTENTLY UPGRADE YOUR TALENT AND ABILITY
Now, once you've identified this trend and have a sense of how it will affect your career going forward, the next step is to identify and gain the skills and abilities you will need to hone to put yourself in the best position to be successful. It's amazing how many people there are in the world whose education ended when they formally left school. The super successful are the ones that are always looking for that next class or workshop to improve their skills in some area. They are always reading publications in their field to learn new tips and strategies of how to do their jobs better. By consistently working to attain new talents for use in your career, you put yourselves in the favor of the gods by becoming more and more valuable to your current company. Obtaining a higher level degree in your field or just attending workshops consistently will give your more options and marketability down the road, as well as increase your knowledge base to bring better decision making ability to the table when needed. The person who thinks he/she knows it all is doomed to lose to the person who knows this is never the case.
III. PLAN OUT EACH MOVE STRATEGICALLY IN TERMS OF YOUR LONG TERM GOALS
Once you've identifed the trends and have a sense of what skills you need to obtain/improve to achieve this goal, it's now time to strategically identify where you need to be within or outside of your company to take the most advantage of this reality. Any new position that you are seeking to attain should be planned out a year or two in advance, as you work the political and logistical aspects of making it a reality. For example: You work for a company that has a commercial and residential division, and you are on the residential side. Over time you begin to notice that all of the initiatives for the next year or two seem to focus around the commercial side, and you are hearing that this is where the CEO sees the most profitable growth coming from. Therefore, you need to begin to strategically align yourself with people on that side to prepare to make a change. This could be done through simple networking for subtle connections or by blatantly letting someone know you are interested in making a move. The important thing is to always think three steps ahead to know WHOM you need to talk to about this, WHAT things you need to do to get consideration for this move, and HOW to most efficiently and effectively make this happen.
Your career: It's like a cruel game of chess in which the pieces move, change,and sometimes disappear all the time. This can make it very hard to win, as what worked for your two years ago may not be effective at all today. The key to winning in life (just like in chess), however, is to always think as many steps ahead of your counterparts as possible. The more steps ahead you think, the better chance you have at winning and ensuring that your King is ALWAYS safe from capture.
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
The Importance of Planning - How to Get What You Want Out of Life Series
I have had the pleasure of meeting many people in my life who have various philosophies on ways to live their lives. I am often very intrigued by those individuals who seem to have an allergic reaction to the concept of planning. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a planner. I just don't have this weekend planned out, but I probably have a very good idea of what I am going to do for the next four weekends...easily. It amazes me when you talk to someone who says, "It's only Tuesday, I haven't even thought about this weekend yet." Really? That leads me to believe that you are also the person who thinks, "I'm only 30, I haven't even thought about what my life is going to be like at 50." This is a HUGE mistake and one that many people make in life. I tell people that you need to AT LEAST have a 25-year plan of what your life is going to be like in the future. I actually have a 50-year plan that I'm currently working on. It's not that you have to stick to this plan and never make any changes (I've changed my 50-year plan often as I have matured and different things became more important than they used to be), but you have to have some sense of where you want to go. There are numerous reasons why this is the case.
I. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU CAN END UP ANYWHERE
This is probably the most obvious and maybe the reason that many people refuse to plan. Some people like the sense of spontaneity that comes with not having anything on the calendar for the weekend, in hopes that something "amazing" will happen. Wouldn't it be much better to just plan something amazing rather than hoping it will occur by happenstance. When you don't plan and don't have a strategic vision for your life, you can end of moving in circles without any true sense of accomplishment. Without focus and an understanding of what you desire to achieve, you could end up taking two steps forward, then three steps to the right, then two steps back and then threes steps to the left. Lo and behold, you are in the same place! Planning allows you to continue to make progress to some goal by understanding what you need to do EACH DAY to continue to move forward. If not, any new thing that crosses your path might distract you and hinder you from continuing to achieving your overall goal.
II. IT HELPS YOU MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS
In relation to how planning will help you stay focused on the direction you need to travel, planning will often help you make difficult decisions in life. When you are faced with a tough decision that you are struggling to make, often the question of which decision gets you closer to your ultimate goal can be the determining factor. Those who don't have a plan for their life will often be at the whim of every new fad, person, or situation that presents itself for enjoyment and pleasure. There's nothing wrong with partaking in these things as long as they don't detract from what you are trying to accomplish with your plan, but if you don't know what that plan is, you have no way to make that decision. You have to continually assess each decision that you make from day to day in light of what you ultimately have planned for your life and your family. This will often help you stay out of situations that, more often than not, would hurt rather than help your ultimate goal.
III. MOST PEOPLE DON'T DO IT
I love this reason because it can be related to almost any best practice in life. Just like most people don't read very much, exercise regularly, or eat very healthy, this is probably the biggest reason to do this. While there is enough in this world for everyone to have a fair share, you often are in competition for everything you can achieve against someone else. It's the nature of the world in which we live, and to have more than what others have you must be willing to do MORE than what others are willing to do. The Pareto Principle speaks of how, economically, 20 percent of the world's population owns 80 percent of the world's wealth. I would venture to guess there is a strong correlation between that 20 percent of the world and the percentage of people who plan out their lives and have a strategic vision for their future. By planning out your life, you have a much better chance of being part of this privileged minority.
Planning. It's something that many people don't like to do because it often takes a little bit of brain power to work out, so people would rather just "see what happens" in life. However, it is those individuals who strategically understand what they desire 25-50 years from now and have worked out a plan to achieve it who will do laps around those who don't. Henry Ford said that "Thinking is the hardest work there is which is probably the reason why so few engage in it." Take the time to think and plan out your life to put yourself in the "favor of the gods" and live a life of ultimate achievement. Therefore, next Tuesday when someone ask you what you're doing for the weekend, don't just say "I don't know" as most people do, but rather, "Let me THINK about that and get back to you." Your future self with thank you.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Continuous Improvement - How Do You Do It?
Last week, we discussed the importance of continuous improvement in one's life and how, as individuals, we will be able to slowly climb the hill of successful accomplishment by utilizing the various ropes, picks, and other tools at our disposal. This week, I will share with you what some of these ropes, picks, and other tools are and relay a plan of how to utilize these instruments of achievement to engineer your successful attainment of the mountain top and ultimate success. I will outline this by giving you an easy three step plan that, if followed, will guide your steps of focus on your career path like a GPS on over-priced and sometimes bug-infested smartphone.
Step I: Identify whom you desire to be 25 years from now
I know when you read this, you are thinking 25 years! I don't even know whom I desire to be next week! It's okay. The mark of a mature man/woman is one who has the ability to be flexible and change in consideration of changing circumstances and expectations. You don't have to have a 25 year plan set in stone, but you should have some sense of what you want to accomplish in the next 25 years. When you think of what you want to accomplish, the first thing you must consider in conjunction to this is whom is the person you need to become to accomplish those things. You don't have to plan out everything perfectly but just have a general overview of what would be able to do, what your life would look like, and how others will see you. When you have this view, you must then reverse engineer the vision and put together a plan that will allow you to slowly get to this place in your life. For example, if you desire to be a politician who is working on a national stage, then you need to start today to implement strategies that are going to put you in the best position to make this a reality. If you desire to be a well-known playwright or author, you must begin working today to start chipping at the next great work of literature. You should think about whom you desire to be holistically as well - not just in relation to your career and what you desire to accomplish, but also, what kind of overall demeanor do you possess. What things are you well-versed in from a worldly standpoint? Where have you been and what have you seen? You must consider the ENTIRE package in relation to the person you will be to work on your complete person.
Step II: Create a plan to work on becoming this person
Now once you have decided whom you need to be, it is time to reverse engineer what you need to do to become that person. Picking the various aspects of your life in which you desire to be successful, you must then break each of them down to specific actionable items that you can then put into place to begin to work towards that goal. For example, if you desire to be a well known politician in 25 years with aspirations on the White House, the first thing you need to do is to consider getting a degree in law or political science and then begin voraciously reading what is going on in the political world. If you desire to be a world class author and playwright, the first step may be to take a professional writing course to make sure this is truly your passion. Whatever your desire, you need to make sure to do something everyday that is working towards that goal. I would even go so far as to take the time to write out the actions that you desire to accomplish and then begin to check them off as you reach them. This will give you the motivation to continue to stay focused on the task and end goal even when things may become a little tough and challenging. Having a visual cue of what you desire to accomplish is always a great way to remain dedicated at all times.
Step III: Execute!
This is the one thing that the majority of us fail to do. Many talk a good game, and some can even get to the point that they may put it on paper, but it is the actual ability to execute that is the great divide between the achievers and the non-achievers. While being able to plan out your future may take long-term thinking, the actual ability to execute is greatly enhanced if one is more short-term in his/her thinking, forgetting what was done yesterday and what might be done tomorrow. Let me explain, often when we are faced with a decision, we think about when was the last time we did it and how that made us feel. If it was recent and we feel we did a good job of it, we have the tendency to give ourselves a "pass" for the current situation which we are in. If we feel we have the opportunity to do it again later down the road, we will also give ourselves a "pass" as we will tell ourselves we'll give it DOUBLE the effort later. You have to stop this. To be able to execute consistently, don't consider what you did yesterday or what you plan to do tomorrow. Just think about if you should or should not be doing something right now, and if that answer is yes, just begin doing it at that time. Don't think about if you are going to do it again tomorrow. Don't think about how many times you have done it in the past. Just stay focused on doing it at that single moment in time. Nine times out of ten, it will be much easier than you anticipated, and often, 10 times out of 10, you will be so glad you did.
Continuous improvement. It is not an easy task, which is why many of us never see this as a mandate for our lives. For that reason, anyone who has the foresight and intelligence to understand the great advantage this will give over them in the game of life will receive great benefit from it. While the road will not be easy (hence why so few people do it), the rewards of achievement and success will yield results that will dwarf the amount of work that was put in to achieve them. When would be the best time to begin this, you ask? How about RIGHT NOW.
Step I: Identify whom you desire to be 25 years from now
I know when you read this, you are thinking 25 years! I don't even know whom I desire to be next week! It's okay. The mark of a mature man/woman is one who has the ability to be flexible and change in consideration of changing circumstances and expectations. You don't have to have a 25 year plan set in stone, but you should have some sense of what you want to accomplish in the next 25 years. When you think of what you want to accomplish, the first thing you must consider in conjunction to this is whom is the person you need to become to accomplish those things. You don't have to plan out everything perfectly but just have a general overview of what would be able to do, what your life would look like, and how others will see you. When you have this view, you must then reverse engineer the vision and put together a plan that will allow you to slowly get to this place in your life. For example, if you desire to be a politician who is working on a national stage, then you need to start today to implement strategies that are going to put you in the best position to make this a reality. If you desire to be a well-known playwright or author, you must begin working today to start chipping at the next great work of literature. You should think about whom you desire to be holistically as well - not just in relation to your career and what you desire to accomplish, but also, what kind of overall demeanor do you possess. What things are you well-versed in from a worldly standpoint? Where have you been and what have you seen? You must consider the ENTIRE package in relation to the person you will be to work on your complete person.
Step II: Create a plan to work on becoming this person
Now once you have decided whom you need to be, it is time to reverse engineer what you need to do to become that person. Picking the various aspects of your life in which you desire to be successful, you must then break each of them down to specific actionable items that you can then put into place to begin to work towards that goal. For example, if you desire to be a well known politician in 25 years with aspirations on the White House, the first thing you need to do is to consider getting a degree in law or political science and then begin voraciously reading what is going on in the political world. If you desire to be a world class author and playwright, the first step may be to take a professional writing course to make sure this is truly your passion. Whatever your desire, you need to make sure to do something everyday that is working towards that goal. I would even go so far as to take the time to write out the actions that you desire to accomplish and then begin to check them off as you reach them. This will give you the motivation to continue to stay focused on the task and end goal even when things may become a little tough and challenging. Having a visual cue of what you desire to accomplish is always a great way to remain dedicated at all times.
Step III: Execute!
This is the one thing that the majority of us fail to do. Many talk a good game, and some can even get to the point that they may put it on paper, but it is the actual ability to execute that is the great divide between the achievers and the non-achievers. While being able to plan out your future may take long-term thinking, the actual ability to execute is greatly enhanced if one is more short-term in his/her thinking, forgetting what was done yesterday and what might be done tomorrow. Let me explain, often when we are faced with a decision, we think about when was the last time we did it and how that made us feel. If it was recent and we feel we did a good job of it, we have the tendency to give ourselves a "pass" for the current situation which we are in. If we feel we have the opportunity to do it again later down the road, we will also give ourselves a "pass" as we will tell ourselves we'll give it DOUBLE the effort later. You have to stop this. To be able to execute consistently, don't consider what you did yesterday or what you plan to do tomorrow. Just think about if you should or should not be doing something right now, and if that answer is yes, just begin doing it at that time. Don't think about if you are going to do it again tomorrow. Don't think about how many times you have done it in the past. Just stay focused on doing it at that single moment in time. Nine times out of ten, it will be much easier than you anticipated, and often, 10 times out of 10, you will be so glad you did.
Continuous improvement. It is not an easy task, which is why many of us never see this as a mandate for our lives. For that reason, anyone who has the foresight and intelligence to understand the great advantage this will give over them in the game of life will receive great benefit from it. While the road will not be easy (hence why so few people do it), the rewards of achievement and success will yield results that will dwarf the amount of work that was put in to achieve them. When would be the best time to begin this, you ask? How about RIGHT NOW.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
The Art of Continuous Improvement - Why Is It Important?
Life - It has a funny way of creeping up on us, doesn't it? One day, you are running in your mom's front yard, chasing the family pet without a care in the world and the next moment, you are trying to juggle your work, family, and monetary responsibilities so you don't drown in the sea of ever-changing things you have to do. It's interesting because, as we get older, and have more and more responsibilities hoisted upon our plate like a large spaghetti dish at our favorite Italian restaurant, we have a tendency to forget about ourselves in some way. I'm not saying forget about ourselves in the since that you don't know if you are alive or not (however, you can argue that in some unhappy household/marriages, this is INDEED the case), but I mean that we rarely have time to take a minute to reflect on what we desire for our future and how we can get there. We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of every day, that we forget, "What do WE want." In this first of a multi-segment series on LIFE (How to Get What You Want), I start with a concept that many people never consider once they graduate college and move on from the late night beer parties and suite shindigs - Improvement.
Now, I'm not saying that we don't consider improvement once we graduate college at all. Many people work to get better at their jobs so they can make more money as they climb the sometimes greased corporate ladder. Many of us, however, forget what it was like when we were young and we wanted to get better at EVERYTHING. We wanted to be sing better, run faster, and dress nicer. Everything that we saw older people do, we wanted to aspire to get to that level. What occurs, however, once we reach a certain level of acceptance from our peers, i.e. you look, dress, act, and interact like most people, we stop trying to get better at these things because we think we've made it. The stark reality of this situation, however, is that, while we may not look like a dork in our attire (some of us, that is) or be socially awkward in most situations (once again, this is NOT all of us), there is still much room for improvement in our lives. It is my belief that you should have this same child like approach to life and try to get better at EVERYTHING for your future. There are a few simple reasons why:
IF YOU'RE NOT GETTING BETTER, YOU'RE GETTING WORST
This is one of those statements that sounds a little crazy when you first hear it, but it actually makes sense. Think about it: if you aren't consistently working to improve some skill, whether it is writing, singing, or dancing, etc, doesn't it naturally atrophy over time? There are so many things that we get "okay" at in life, that we just stop trying to work to get better at. Rather it's being a better father, husband, or (cough) lover, sometimes we get so comfortable when we reach a certain point, that we just stop trying to improve. What occurs when we do this is that all those involved on the other side don't have as much (or any) excitement at the interaction because it may have become so predictable and "regular" that there is nothing to be excited about. If you desire to be great at anything, you have to consistently work on it to get better, or you'll get into a rut and everyone will know it.
LIFE IS ABOUT HAVING SOMETHING TO SHOOT FOR
Remember when you were a kid and the only thing you desired was to achieve that next goal in your life? Whether it was to get your license, go to college, or make the varsity basketball, when we were younger, we consistently dreamed about the future. As we get older, however, we start to only think about today, and, eventually, we even start to live in the past. Continuous improvement will prevent this from happening, as we are always working to achieve some goal in the future for our betterment. Having something in the future to shoot for often gives one greater motivation to attack the day. Some of the most miserable people in lives are those who don't have any goals or hopes of achieving anything in the future. By living a life of continuous improvement in EVERYTHING, you always have some future goal that you are working to achieve, as your target will move further and further out, as you improve.
THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE WILL IMPROVE
By attempting to be better at everything you do, you will consistently improve the quality of your daily life. By trying to get down to your "playing weight" again and then working to be in the best shape of your life, you will have more energy and enthusiasm for the day. By working to be better at your job, you have the opportunity for future promotions. By trying to be the best husband/father you can be, you will improve your family interaction and quality time together. Also, by working to get better at something that you've always dreamed of doing, you are fulfilling the natural innate human desire of mastery. This is why so many people appreciate others who are so very good at something. Intrinsically, we are all born with a desire to be an expert in some respect, and by working to continuously improve in all areas, we give us a better chance of making this a reality.
Continuous Improvement - The words bring to mind visions of a Buddhist Temple with the Dalai Lama standing in the background, encouraging one to find enlightenment. While that may be a little too spiritual for some, the concept is very practical and applicable to our everyday lives to reach heights of achievement and joy that most never see because they simply stop trying. And trying (as we know) is half the battle...GI JOE. :-)
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
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