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Further
Reading ...
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CREATING YOUR FIRST INVESTMENT CLUB - Thomas A Hilton Jr
An investment club is a group of people who meet at least once a month to increase their investment knowledge. They agree to contribute a predetermined amount of money which they then pool together to invest, typically, in the stock market. ...
Where is YOUR place in global markets? - Elena Petrova
Internet has changed our world fast and forever. Global markets are the feature affecting every industry. The whole world is watching “American Idol”, “Survivor” and “Friends”, listening to Eminem and Britney Spears, admiring “The Lord Of The...
Avoiding Wired Mistakes - June Campbell
You can't do anything on the Internet that you can't do in real life, but the Net lets you do it faster and in view of global audiences. When you're doing somewhat great, that's good. When you're making a gigantic mistake, it's less good. From a...
Find the Right Coach: 9 Guidelines for Executives - Dr Robert Karlsberg and Dr Jane Adler
Find the Right Coach: Nine Guidelines for Executives It seems that coaches are everywhere these days. Senior Executives are hiring executive consultants in increasing numbers, and for a wider variety of reasons. In the past, coaching was...
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About Your Work
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Written By:
Nan S. Russell
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I like Simon, one of three judges on American Idol. I find his feedback refreshingly honest. And while his words startle me with their ego wounding potential, the traditional feel-good, let-you-down-easy, sugar-coated feedback is not much of a gift. It’s hard to tell someone they’re not good enough and their dreams are not going to happen, at least in this venue. But not telling them is no gift either. Some contestants rise to the challenges he throws at them. Some don’t. And, some can’t. Which one are you?
The people who influenced me most in my career were those who gave me the hardest critiques. Stricken with a bruised-ego for days, or on occasion for months, inevitably their feedback helped me make the right life choices to improve, change direction, or stay the course with intensity. In fact, the boss who was the hardest on me is the one I thank the most. Good was not good enough if I was capable of better, and she was quick to point out when that was. No sugar coating from her. And the funny thing? When I was honest with myself, I knew she was right.
Being honest with yourself is one of the challenges to winning at working. We all have talents and abilities, but they’re not always in the areas we pursue at work. Too many people I’ve run across in my career have American Idol Syndrome (AIS). Like Idol contestants auditioning with little or no singing ability, these people believe they are good at what they do. They can’t understand why they don’t get the promotion, the outstanding review, or the highest increases. They view - continued below ...
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continued ...
themselves as varsity team material, but they play with junior varsity skills.
When I was a freshman at Stanford, I got a D in biology. Stanford graded on a bell-curve, so an 84% that might traditionally put me in a B category, was near the class bottom. Accustomed to A’s, first quarter grades woke me up. At first, I rationalized a D at Stanford was an A or a B at most any other school. But, reality prevailed. I wasn’t at another school. If I was going to compete at the school I was at, it was time to use more than high school skills to bring results.
Are you applying yourself? Are you as good as you could be to get the raise, the promotion, or the more interesting work? If these are things you want, don’t suffer from AIS. Give yourself some Simon-esk feedback. Ego aside. A Simon-esk answer to the questions, "how good are you?” and "are you in the right field?” offers you a chance at becoming happier and more successful at working. The answers give you choices: you can stay the course; find a playing field at your skill level; improve your skills to compete where you are; or change directions.
(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Sign up to receive Nan’s free eColumn,, Winning at Working, at http://www.winningatworking.com.
Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. Currently working on her first book, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and instructor.
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BENCHMARKING AND IMPROVING MANAGEMENT QUALITY - Harje Franzen
Summary By defining Management Quality as an organizational concept and applying established Quality methodology to the area of management, a great potential for improvement becomes apparent. This improvement translates directly to business results...
Use the Government Programs We Already Have - Darrin F Coe MA
I’ve been doing some research for an electronic book that I decided to write and self-publish over the internet. This research has led me to some conclusions concerning our country and the possibilities that exist for citizens to create wealth and a...
13 Free or Cheap Effective Advertising Methods - Donnie Baird
Advertising is the life blood of any business, no matter how big or how small. No advertising usually means no business. Large companies have an almost unlimited source of advertising dollars. Small business owners on the other hand, are limited...
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