Some thoughts on Creating Expertise
Expertise is an interesting topic. One might visit my website and see that I frequently reference creating expertise, at the same time they find a variety of topics spoken about on this site. At one point, I was convinced if I wanted to become an expert I needed to focus on just one subject professionally. I have considered this for a long time and now feel differently about creating expertise. Let’s look at Thomas Jefferson as a case study on expertise. Jefferson could be considered one of the most accomplished men in public life as well as the most versatile, jack of all trade if you will. The proverbial, “jack of all trades, master of none.” Yet Jefferson was considered an expert in many areas: architecture, civil engineering, geography, mathematics, ethnology, anthropology, mechanics, the sciences, and politics. Thomas Edison makes another excellent case study on expertise. Edison developed a reputation…
Preparation for success is most of the victory
For many, the last day and first day of the year is a day for gathering with family and friends. For me and those I often spend this time of year with, games are an important part of the festivities. I love board games, I love the strategic nature of testing myself against the games. Some times my ideas pay off, other times I learn a really good way to not play that game… I do not mind losing at a game especially early on as I am working through the processes necessary to meet the objectives of the game. I will often test different theories in relation to what I understand of the rules, available actions or processes that can be taken, as well as the defined outcomes that are desired as victory conditions of the game. Today was no different. As I was introduced to a new game,…
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The Deception of Multi-tasking
Multi-tasking is one of those things that sounds like a good idea at first glance but upon consideration loses its credibility when looking at real-world examples. The premise is that there are opportunities where two separate tasks can be done at the same time allowing for more tasks knocked off the todo list. The truth is we don’t multi-task, we task-switch and during that task-switch, we lose concentration and time. First, let’s talk about computers. Here is the ultimate task-switcher—not multi-tasker. Computers quickly switch between the tasks at hand and offer the appearance of multi-tasking. I am not going to go into the technicals, but rather a common experience you may have noticed. Here’s how it plays out. You are in a rush and fire up the computer, impatiently as it is waking from sleep you jump to your favorite search engine… hmmm this seems to be taking longer than…
I don’t mind failure.
I read lots of thoughtful posts and memes about— “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ― Thomas A. Edison I really need to find the source on that, I like to often quote Abe Lincoln and his “You can trust everything you find on the internet” proclamation. Not that I am questioning Edison, it sounds a very Edison thing to say. Nevertheless, I want to point out I don’t mind the use of the word failed or failure in the context of a specific goal, project, or business. I just don’t think of the word as being entirely negative as I feel is sometimes the supposition of many dogooder comments “You never failed if you learned something”. Here are two examples of my failures. Retail startup—My first business failed miserably, no dodging that one. It simply did. I failed to create a viable ongoing business.…
Goals: Failure allows our success to be attainable.
We often joke about not setting goals to avoid setting ourselves up for failure. I have failed before, more than once—and at times I earned that failure. I know how failure feels. I have succeeded before, more than once—and at times I earned that success. I know how success feels. It is true that failure, when viewed properly, can be one of our greatest learning experiences as we work toward goals. Failure, when it does not stop us, is just a milestone on our path. There is no use in looking back or stumbling forward making the same mistake over and over. When we experience failure we can analyze, learn, make adjustments, gain focus, and move forward. One step closer to success. If the time has been taken to set and define goals, then as we stumble our focus can more easily return to the desired destination. If there is…
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Defined by Goals
One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Defined goals are critical to any organization. How else will the direction the organization is headed be known? Goals should define where we are headed in 25 years, 10 years, 1 year, 6 months, tomorrow, and in ten minutes. Goals allow for focus on what matters most and what matters now. Goals keep us on task. We should ask ourselves if what we are doing now and tomorrow is going to lead us to where we want to be a year from now. The strategy of the organization should be defined by the end goal, with all tactics employed pointing in the…
Why are small business owners not using social media?
When I started my first business, not many people used the web. Google was not there for me, no Facebook Fan Pages, no Twitter, no Instagram, and no Foursquare check-in. Social media… what was that? TV ads, print ads, and direct mail were expensive for me to run long campaigns. Not a lot of inexpensive ways to get my company out in front of my desired clients. I enjoy visiting small businesses, attending farmers markets, and any place I can meet interesting talented entrepreneurs. I love the small business owner and often ask business owners how I can follow their company. The responses surprise me, often a company has made no efforts to create an online presence. No Facebook, no Twitter, no Pinterest, no anything. Other times I am told I can follow the company on Facebook or Twitter; but when I go to Like or Follow, there is no…
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