very academic quarter for the past few years, a good colleague has invited me to be a guest speaker in her senior-level college management class and talk about leadership. I’m on the schedule tonight and I love this experience.
It’s great to have to stand in front of a group of early-career professionals and go through the humbling experience of recognizing that you are talking based on the road traveled and their view is on the unchartered horizons in front of them.
Whether you enjoy speaking in public or would rather have honey smeared all over you and be staked to an anthill, the ability to speak effectively in public is one of the admission tickets to success in many professions. Master this art form and doors open effortlessly in front of you. A very wise manager once indicated something to the effect of, “you will be as successful as you are able to communicate.” It’s an odd twist of words, but the point is clear.
Grab a cup of something hot and enjoy these two quick-reads. Patrick Lencioni offers good advice for managing upwards and Dan and Chip Heath skewer the slogan writers.
While I stand behind my post on Personal Quality Programs as the best way to make improvements in your life, I am a goal-oriented person and resolutions are like a challenge just daring me to achieve. I cannot move through the New Year holiday without organizing my ambitions into a neat little list.
My parting observation is that it is absolutely essential for us to explore and develop our skills and talents in our professional lives. Life is precious and preciously short, and it’s a good idea to quit wasting time and start sorting out how to leverage our strengths and talents in our work.
