When people used to dress up for job interviews, they would “dress for success.” Shoes, power outfits, and all of the accessories required to signal to the interviewer that you “deserved” the role. Now most interviews are done digitally. It’s rare that I hear about people having in-person interviews — unless applying local. Culturally, how do we signal in a digital world? Our interviewer is not aware that we might be wearing shorts underneath our well-spec’d tops. They might not know that we have sneakers on instead of nice shoes. Our interviewer might be dressed the same. How we signal changes. We must demonstrate who we are through our words and how we engage in a 2D space that is the “Zoom” interview. 2D connection comes from investing more time to get know people before the questions start. Spending more time learning about how people spend their time on the weekends. Spending more time working on creative problems to solve. The level and quality of the expression of our humanity increases (perhaps exponentially) in proportion to the amount technology integrates with our lives.
From Henry Oliver, author of “Second Act”:
Five ways to talent spot late bloomers1. Look for people who have been successful in the past.2. Look for people with secret lives.3. Look for the people who don’t fit in.4. Look for loners and those who are happy to change their context.5. Put up a beacon.🧵— Henry Oliver (@HenryEOliver) May 29, 2024
Sometimes….The amount of temperance and methodicalness ought to increase proportionate to the amount of reactivity someone wants you to express.Example:Action: Highly reactive person comes to you and demands your immediate attention and action. Reaction: You demonstrate more temperance and more method as you seek to understand what’s happening and what’s being asked of you. Note of CautionSituational awareness and context matter. If someone is yelling to run because there’s a fire in the building, that’s not the moment to stop and wonder.
First blog post.Life has shaped you into the person you are at this moment. You can leverage who you are to make a change in the world. The change you seek to make can help others do more and be more than they thought possible. Simple right? If so, how is it that we get lost in our “why” or our “reason” to live?Written August 26, 2019. Life changed dramatically. I look back and laugh. I’m thankful I’m here now.
About five and a half years ago, I wrote about gifts and risk.Honesty is a gift. It’s in short supply and high demand. Paradoxically, I wonder if it’s a gift we really want.“No, I don’t want to play your gig. I don’t like the people you pick to play with.” That’s an honest reply a musician might give to a band leader. That reply (almost) certainly gives that mad musician a bad reputation. “I am unable to accept your gig. Thanks for thinking of me. You might find some musicians on this Facebook group…”. That response is value-adding and may give you the musician a positive reputation. Honesty appears to be a net positive when combined with kindness and tact.
Remembering “the reason to live.”Today, I challenge you to not only be the change you seek to make but be a reason that someone ended their day happier and more fulfilled. … continuing the thought.If work is energy transferred by a force; and,If energy is the ability to do work; and,If energy cannot be created out of nothing but rather it’s transferred; and,If the passage of time is the movement of disorder to order; therefore,Is our reason to live our need to transfer our energy into work thereby stepping ourselves closer and closer to our ordered future selves? And if that’s true, that means that all work we create, must be work that matters — we have a finite amount of energy to spare.
You are wrong to think it’s a good thing to tell people they’re wrong.It doesn’t feel right telling you that. And I imagine it doesn’t feel right telling anybody that. Instead, I notice that people’s face light up when I say: “Thanks for your idea. Have you considered this better way?”Discovery is more fun than disappointment.
People never expect random and absurd questions. When received, people can’t seem to let them go. Almost 100% of the time, teams become way more present when engaged with a random question.Almost 100% of the time, teams don’t know if they should expect a random questions and are on the lookout for them.Almost 100% of the time, a random question is welcomed with a laugh, a smile, a “really?” and a thoughtful response. My last prompt to my team revealed the following (my team is based in Manila, Philippines):100% of people surveyed approve of bacon and believe there should be more of it.Mexican food is delicious, but there should be other diverse cuisines available in Metro Manila. Apparently Philippines is not great for curing meet or hard cheeses because of the humidity. In case you’re wondering if work gets done, it does. With a happy and productive heart.
I can remember going outside and seeing raccoon paw prints on the garage door. What were they doing? Looking for food? Shelter? Were they curious about the garage? The prints tell us that the raccoons crawled on the garage, we don’t necessarily see the impacts of their romp. The people you meet and the teams you lead may be like a garage door and you could see paw prints of people who left a mark before you encountered that person. Before judging a person, remember that what you’re seeing now is a shadow of their past. Being curious is always a better strategy than jumping to conclusions.Granting grace is almost always zero cost, with high benefits.
On a hike today I encountered deer and coyote tracks at the same place. The deer, the coyote, and myself were all at the same place, but we were not there at the same time. This is a useful metaphor for working with humans. I am writing this message to you from the past. I am thinking about you, I am thinking about what I saw and how it might be useful for you. I am trying to find the words to project this idea from my brain to your eyes. Now, you are here reading this message. My idea is with you and you get to decide if this is useful for you or not. When you are creating things for other people, keep in mind where those you seek to serve may be when they get your message.