Posted by: maureen in reward, game, connection on
Feb 19, 2012
Every stroke counts.
It’s a philosophy
Keith Gockenbach lives by. Keith’s a chemical engineer who became a professional golfer in midlife. He credits much of his success in the office and on the course to knowing every stroke--every connection--matters. “Everyone I meet can help me in some way,” he says. “Everyone I meet is important.” So he’s nice to (you guessed it) everyone.
Being nice is its own reward, but there are other benefits.
You don’t waste time dividing people into categories like “worth being nice to.” You don’t suffer the consequences of guessing wrong when that person flies past you in the game of life. And it’s more fun to play that game when you realize you can’t know how much someone will figure in the outcome.
Posted by: maureen in wonder, party, connection on
Oct 6, 2011
You’ve researched the company and you have intelligent questions to ask of the interviewer. You’ve driven the route between your home and that office, so you know how early you’ll have to leave. Your Sunday best is pressed, your answer to the “tell me a little bit about yourself” question rehearsed until it sounds natural--no, that isn’t a contradiction in terms--and now all that’s left to do is relax.
Fluffy can help.
Joan Ranquet, who helps people communicate with their pets, says her clients often wonder why their dogs or cats are staring at them. What do they want?
“What if they don’t want anything?” Joan asks. “What if they’re just enjoying the connection with you?”
All you have to do is accidentally knock over a trash can for your pet to think it’s time for a party. So have your party, and ace your interview. It’s just what the animal doctor ordered!
Ever notice how difficult it is to concentrate when the person talking to you has spinach in her teeth?
It is for me, anyway. She could be telling me I won the lottery--which would really be something, considering I don’t play--and I'd be thinking, "She has spinach in her teeth!"
The same is true for people who talk too fast, or talk too much.
It’s distracting.
Connie Dieken is the author of
Talk Less, Say More…and she has such a relaxed way of speaking you’ll find it easy to believe she knows what she’s talking about.
Which I would sum up like this…
Make sure you have a connection before you try to make a point. Get right to that point, and don’t bury it in too much information because there’s a lot of competition for someone’s attention. And finally, ask for what you want--it isn’t a treasure hunt, for crying out loud!
Enough said?
Posted by: maureen in waitressing, design, connection on
Mar 24, 2010
I loved waitressing so much--at first anyway--it threw me. So when I got an offer to become a sales representative in my dream field of radio, I was torn. “How much would they have to pay me before I’d want to quit waitressing?” I finally asked myself. And the answer was, “I don’t want to quit doing that."
Did it have to be one or the other?
If I kept waitressing on the side, I wouldn't be desperate when I walked into the office of a potential advertising client because I wouldn't need that sale to pay the rent. My soon-to-be sales manager agreed, to my surprise, and told me this was one of the most intelligent proposals he'd ever heard.
There were flaws in the plan, as we soon learned. I found it difficult, for example, to do my best on an eight-to-five job when I'd been up until one o'clock that morning serving drinks. My manager could tell how exhausted I was after only a week, and offered to let me come in at eleven on the days that followed cocktail shifts. Bliss!
I wasn’t desperate while selling radio advertising, but I never got very good at it…which didn't surprise me. Accepting another sales position was like taking everything I’d learned about myself and setting fire to it. Then again, I felt called toward the experiment--and I'm glad I answered. I learned a lot, and eventually made the connections that helped me get into the programming side of radio.
The biggest thing I learned was to be more creative when designing a career. I made a wish, asked for help, and followed the advice of bestselling business author Harvey Mackay: “Don’t say no for the other guy.”
