August 2011
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In This Edition: 1. Hot August Night 2. Get on the Path 3. Reach Out and Find a Partner 4. The Care and Feeding of Partners 5. Words to Ponder Hot August Night There is something about August that is comforting. No matter how hot and disagreeable the weather, autumn is now in sight. The school soccer and football teams will be practicing again soon. The humidity will lift. People will return to semi-normal schedules. We can refocus our attention! Get on the Path In previous months we’ve discussed the idea that when you win the battle for your mind, you can win at nearly everything. Concurrently, as you age, the harder it is to let go of attachments — but it’s entirely attainable! Fortunately, you can change at any age. It simply requires making conscious choices and sometimes taking unfamiliar paths. Every new decision leads to more new decisions. The actions that you take based on good thinking can change your career and your life. Sometimes, when we’re consumed by too many details — too much information — it makes sense to switch mental gears and employ all of our faculties, especially the power of intuition. Time and time again, astounding achievements have been realized by people who were able to look beyond what was known or accepted as true. You can use your intuitive faculties as well as recent observations to arrive at current decisions. Reach Out and Find a Partner How often do we get stuck because, in our quest to be masters of the universe, we don’t link up with others who could assist us in wondrous ways? Partnering with those around you can mean the difference between whether or not you accomplish something big that you’d like to get done. There is something encouraging, stimulating, and even inspiring about partnering with others who are seeking to achieve the same types of goals that you are. It helps if you and your partner(s) proceed with the same intensity. It also helps if you’re striving for the same goal at the same time, but it doesn’t matter what you call yourselves (see figures 1 and 2 on partnership terminology below). A classic example is two workers studying for a career-related exam, such as the CPA Exam. Of all the possible others with whom you could combine forces, your professional peers are the easiest to identify and join in partnership. Your peers consist of co-workers, other people in your line of work, and others with whom you have a rather natural and easy communication channel. Peer group partnerships tend to be more fluid, though potentially as powerful as any of the other types of groups. Undoubtedly, you already belong to one or more peer groups consisting of two or more people. If Kim is one of the people you hang around with at work, and she also happens to have expertise in a certain area that could make a big difference in your ability to accomplish something, then Kim is certainly part of your array of professional resources. Every time you encounter another co-worker, you potentially open yourself up to a world of opportunities, knowledge, contacts and influence that you may not realize or notice based on a brief encounter. Managers and staff-people in other departments and other divisions who have no formal role in what you’re working on may serve as valuable resources. Depending on their education, background, and experiences in general, you may find selected individuals who can serve as ad hoc trail guides, at least. Consider this: a quick, well-delivered phone call to one of these valuable contacts, a one-line email, or a brief encounter in the hallway could result in you getting the right input at just the right time to propel your project or task forward. The Care and Feeding of Partners In the professional services arena, accountants, attorneys, dentists, doctors, engineers, and real estate agents traditionally initiate firms as business partnerships. Changes in tax, liability, and estate planning have combined to make the corporate form of organization far more viable for many professional service firms. Still, even in the smallest of informal groups, the two-person group, it is often preferrable to have one person who is in charge. Fifty-fifty partnerships sound fine, but can lead to a power struggle. When two friends form a partnership, trouble can loom because the friendship itself can get in the way. If they’ve gotten along well for years, each may assume that the same relationship is possible in a business setting; however, it’s wise to be wary. Partnerships at work are a different animal. Despite the pitfalls, there’s something special about having one other person with whom you partner that can draw out the best in both of you. As long as partners respect the capability and contributions of the other, partnerships can go on and on, independent of what type of relations the individuals have otherwise. Words to Ponder “Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks.” Phillips Brooks “The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity.” Mark Twain “When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment, or the moment defines you.” Kevin Costner in Tin Cup “Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.” Henri Bergson “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker |
