Today while I was refuelling the car I recognized that the gas station was pretty empty. The clerk was little bored and I tried to start a small talk with her and said: “Quite empty here, isn’t it?”
She responded: “Yes, because yesterday the Petrol price was low. And all people have refuelled already.”
This was an interesting statement. When I refuel the gas, the price is usually relatively high and I have to painfully learn that the day before the price was low. So I was very curious and asked the lady: “How do people know, when the Petrol price is low?”
To my big surprise she said: “Usually Monday is a good day to refuel your car.” This is exactly what I am going to do in the future. Who said “ask and you will get”? This guy is a genius!
Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
My Brain on the Web
In one of my NLP training session I learnt that we do not only have one brain sitting insight the head, but also other brains, one sitting near our stomach, one sitting near our heart. They function autonomously and control a large part of our feelings, actions and thoughts.
Today I discovered that we all have at least one more brain: the brain on the web. Let me give you an example.
I was thinking if it is the right time to start my coaching business which I planned for long time. I posted to a networking community called Coaching about what is the chance to sustain to become a full time professional coach. To my surprise, more than 10 professional coaches responded to my question with highly valuable and relevant answers, suggestions and advises. More than 690 clicks on the article thread within 4 days. Today I am smarter on this topic than few days ago.
If you ask the right questions to the right target audiences on the web, I am certain that you will get the answers virtually for any cases. So is the web part of us or is the web outside us? I would argue that we do not stop ourselves by the boundary of our body. The web is part of us. And I am grateful that internet made this part of us more accessible to us and that I am more and more aware of my brain on the web. I commit to use my web brain more wisely :-) in the future.
Today I discovered that we all have at least one more brain: the brain on the web. Let me give you an example.
I was thinking if it is the right time to start my coaching business which I planned for long time. I posted to a networking community called Coaching about what is the chance to sustain to become a full time professional coach. To my surprise, more than 10 professional coaches responded to my question with highly valuable and relevant answers, suggestions and advises. More than 690 clicks on the article thread within 4 days. Today I am smarter on this topic than few days ago.
If you ask the right questions to the right target audiences on the web, I am certain that you will get the answers virtually for any cases. So is the web part of us or is the web outside us? I would argue that we do not stop ourselves by the boundary of our body. The web is part of us. And I am grateful that internet made this part of us more accessible to us and that I am more and more aware of my brain on the web. I commit to use my web brain more wisely :-) in the future.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
3 Ways to Quickly Learn Any New Subjects: Visual, Auditive, or Kinaesthetic
In today’s dynamic environment you may need to often change job, move to other industry or location, or enter into completely different business as before. Quickly learning a new subject becomes the chief skill for your career, your financial success and your level of happiness. So what are the most efficient ways to learn a new subject?
The answer is “It depends”. You have three different main channels of learning: the visual, the auditive and the kinaesthetic. Most likely you have developed a preferred channel of learning a new skill. For lot professionals due to our current education system the preferred channel is visual.
If you are a visual type, you may want to start to collect as much as possible reading material for the subject. Thanks google you can find tons of documents, presentations, graphics, photos and videos on internet. Scan quickly all the materials you can find out. Then start to ask yourself a simple question: what do I want to achieve at the end of the reading journey? Be specific about your goals. The next step is to select top three materials which you believe will lead you quickly toward your goals. Then start to read and often pause and test if you have already achieved some of your goals. Revise your reading strategies, when you have the feeling that you are off the track.
In case you are auditive type, the best way to learn is to talk with the best experts in this area. Ask around: “Who are the best experts in the area?” Then schedule a time with them one by one by saying: “I spoke with a lot of people and found out that YOU are the expert in this subject. I want to learn more from you. Would you mind to spend one hour with me to talk about it?” Usually he or she will agree. And then before you go to the first expert, prepare a list of precise questions what you like to have answered. Before you go to the next expert, prepare another list, because then you already know a lot. At the end of an interview you can ask the expert: “Who else I should talk to be beneficial for me?”
Should you are a kinaesthetic type the best way is “learning by doing”. Volunteer in projects related to the subject or take seminars where there are role plays or where you can work on case studies. If you are lucky to be able to work on projects, speak with the project leader: “I am new in the subject and have a lot to learn, but my skills are communicating with people, I am good at influencing people to give their best, (or what so ever fits to you), may I use my skills to add value to the project, while I can learn?” If you meet a good project leader, then he and you will quickly figure out how to place you to contribute to the project, while you can learn.
Even though you may have a preferred learning channel, you can still combine the different learning methods to activate simultaneously all three main channels, visual, auditive and kinaesthetic. This holistic approach will deliver you the best learning results.
In case you have unlearnt to use one of the main learning channel, starting to play a music instrument will reactivate it, because you have to use your eyes to see the notes, while you are using your ears to listen to the music and playing the instrument with your hands. The best thing in practicing music instrument is that you learn while you are having fun. And having fun should be the key motivation for learning anything!
The answer is “It depends”. You have three different main channels of learning: the visual, the auditive and the kinaesthetic. Most likely you have developed a preferred channel of learning a new skill. For lot professionals due to our current education system the preferred channel is visual.
If you are a visual type, you may want to start to collect as much as possible reading material for the subject. Thanks google you can find tons of documents, presentations, graphics, photos and videos on internet. Scan quickly all the materials you can find out. Then start to ask yourself a simple question: what do I want to achieve at the end of the reading journey? Be specific about your goals. The next step is to select top three materials which you believe will lead you quickly toward your goals. Then start to read and often pause and test if you have already achieved some of your goals. Revise your reading strategies, when you have the feeling that you are off the track.
In case you are auditive type, the best way to learn is to talk with the best experts in this area. Ask around: “Who are the best experts in the area?” Then schedule a time with them one by one by saying: “I spoke with a lot of people and found out that YOU are the expert in this subject. I want to learn more from you. Would you mind to spend one hour with me to talk about it?” Usually he or she will agree. And then before you go to the first expert, prepare a list of precise questions what you like to have answered. Before you go to the next expert, prepare another list, because then you already know a lot. At the end of an interview you can ask the expert: “Who else I should talk to be beneficial for me?”
Should you are a kinaesthetic type the best way is “learning by doing”. Volunteer in projects related to the subject or take seminars where there are role plays or where you can work on case studies. If you are lucky to be able to work on projects, speak with the project leader: “I am new in the subject and have a lot to learn, but my skills are communicating with people, I am good at influencing people to give their best, (or what so ever fits to you), may I use my skills to add value to the project, while I can learn?” If you meet a good project leader, then he and you will quickly figure out how to place you to contribute to the project, while you can learn.
Even though you may have a preferred learning channel, you can still combine the different learning methods to activate simultaneously all three main channels, visual, auditive and kinaesthetic. This holistic approach will deliver you the best learning results.
In case you have unlearnt to use one of the main learning channel, starting to play a music instrument will reactivate it, because you have to use your eyes to see the notes, while you are using your ears to listen to the music and playing the instrument with your hands. The best thing in practicing music instrument is that you learn while you are having fun. And having fun should be the key motivation for learning anything!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Call for Creating a Culture of Talent Development
In many companies, talent development is considered privilege for elites. They invest only in the high potentials and leaders. The vast majority will be ignored for trainings or other development opportunities.
In contrast, some high performance companies take talent development more seriously. They invest more money to cover most of their employees, if not all. They apply the principles of sun shining: it should reach every corner on earth.
Recently I read two books by and about Barack Obama “Audacity of Hope” and “The Change We Can Believe in”. One of Obama’s policies is to take care of the majority of the American population in terms of education, health care, tax benefits, because those are the people who build the backbone of United Stated.
What is the backbone of a company? The 80% of people who actually do the work. Those people need to be developed. They are the real assets of a company whose value need to be increased, year over year.
There is an urgency to create a culture where talent development is on every one’s agenda and on management top priority. This is not only a long term issue. This is not only a strategic issue. It is short team and tactic. The whole surviving and striving of a company in today’s highly competitive environment are based on people, on their knowledge levels, skills and motivation to do and be the best they can.
In contrast, some high performance companies take talent development more seriously. They invest more money to cover most of their employees, if not all. They apply the principles of sun shining: it should reach every corner on earth.
Recently I read two books by and about Barack Obama “Audacity of Hope” and “The Change We Can Believe in”. One of Obama’s policies is to take care of the majority of the American population in terms of education, health care, tax benefits, because those are the people who build the backbone of United Stated.
What is the backbone of a company? The 80% of people who actually do the work. Those people need to be developed. They are the real assets of a company whose value need to be increased, year over year.
There is an urgency to create a culture where talent development is on every one’s agenda and on management top priority. This is not only a long term issue. This is not only a strategic issue. It is short team and tactic. The whole surviving and striving of a company in today’s highly competitive environment are based on people, on their knowledge levels, skills and motivation to do and be the best they can.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
What Are Your Employees Really Looking For Most?
I meet weekly a manager for lunch to discuss management issues we face. And here is the conversation once we had:
I: “What do you think is the most important thing all employees are looking for?”
He: “hmmm...”
I: “They are all desperately looking for recognition.”
He: “How do you come to that conclusion?”
I: “Why do you think they work hard until late night? Why do you think they come to ask for promotion or salary increase? Why do you think they are sometimes lack of motivation?”
He: “They want to earn recognition, claim for recognition and strike for recognition.”
I: “But why do we pay so little attention to giving recognition?”
He: “Because we do not get enough recognition ourselves, so why should we give to others? We are more often beaten up than recognized.”
I: “Yes. This is the turning point. Even we do not get enough recognition, there are no logical reasons why we should not give it freely and generously to others. It is for free in most cases and there is immediate return. The more you give recognitions to others, the more you will receive from others. It is similar like love.”
He: “This is really a great conversation. Thanks.” :-)
I: “You are a quick learner.” :-)
I: “What do you think is the most important thing all employees are looking for?”
He: “hmmm...”
I: “They are all desperately looking for recognition.”
He: “How do you come to that conclusion?”
I: “Why do you think they work hard until late night? Why do you think they come to ask for promotion or salary increase? Why do you think they are sometimes lack of motivation?”
He: “They want to earn recognition, claim for recognition and strike for recognition.”
I: “But why do we pay so little attention to giving recognition?”
He: “Because we do not get enough recognition ourselves, so why should we give to others? We are more often beaten up than recognized.”
I: “Yes. This is the turning point. Even we do not get enough recognition, there are no logical reasons why we should not give it freely and generously to others. It is for free in most cases and there is immediate return. The more you give recognitions to others, the more you will receive from others. It is similar like love.”
He: “This is really a great conversation. Thanks.” :-)
I: “You are a quick learner.” :-)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Future Value of Time
Every morning I share taxi with two colleagues on the way to the office. And we wait for each other on the taxi rank near the subway station at around 8:20am. When I come earlier, usually between 5 to 10 minutes, I sit down in the subway station and use the time to read business books. You could bridge 5 to 10 minutes easily by doing nothing and just wait. However here is what I have learnt about time.The first concept about time is the famous “time is money”. Actually, most people, maybe over 90% of working adults get paid by their time. Every one may have a different hourly rate, but principally they sell their time either to their employers or to their clients and customers. People are more generous to waste their time, but they are more careful about money, even small change.
The second concept is that actually you can “invest” your time to generate future value. Learning a skill or building an expertise with your time is a great way to invest your time. By learning smartly you will be able to increase your hourly rate, because you will be capable doing a higher paid job or offer a higher value services. Think about what you could earn with 5 minutes some day and then decide, if you still want to waste it.
The third concept is that time is your life. Suppose you want to live 80 years. That is exactly 42 millions minutes. That's all the time you have and it is very limited and individual, no one can really lend you any more time. So to waste your time is equivalent to waste your life. And maybe this is the most common sin across country and culture boarders in the whole world.
The second concept is that actually you can “invest” your time to generate future value. Learning a skill or building an expertise with your time is a great way to invest your time. By learning smartly you will be able to increase your hourly rate, because you will be capable doing a higher paid job or offer a higher value services. Think about what you could earn with 5 minutes some day and then decide, if you still want to waste it.
The third concept is that time is your life. Suppose you want to live 80 years. That is exactly 42 millions minutes. That's all the time you have and it is very limited and individual, no one can really lend you any more time. So to waste your time is equivalent to waste your life. And maybe this is the most common sin across country and culture boarders in the whole world.
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