Right Attitudes

Ideas for Impact

Archives for February 2009

Inspirational Quotations #260

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To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.
—Unknown

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
—Oscar Wilde (Irish Poet)

Thou shalt not separate thy being from being, and the rest, but merge the ocean in the deep, the drop within the ocean.
—Helena Blavatsky (Ukrainian-born American Theosophist)

Follow the three Rs:|Respect for self,|Respect for others and|Responsibility for all your actions.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader)

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
—Paul Boese

First you get on, then you get honest, then you get honors.
—Lew Wasserman

You should have the determination of a bumble-bee—aerodynamics says it cannot fly, but still it flies.
—A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (Indian Head of State, Scientist)

In any contest between power and patience, bet on patience.
—W. B. Prescott

Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.
—Thomas Jefferson (American Head of State)

A quarrel is quickly settled when deserted by one party: there is no battle unless there be two.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (Roman Philosopher)

Inspirational Quotations #259

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By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity.
—John Howard

There are two kinds of truth, small truth and great truth. You can recognize a small truth because its opposite is a falsehood. The opposite of a great truth is another truth.
—Niels Bohr (Danish Physicist)

Good, the more communicated, more abundant grows.
—John Milton (English Poet)

If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.
—Thomas Edison (American Inventor)

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
—Albert Einstein (German-born Theoretical Physicist)

To some extent, while we think we are simply driving to work every morning to earn a living, the soul knows it is secretly engaged in a life-or-death struggle for its existence.
—David Whyte

There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.
—Niels Bohr (Danish Physicist)

Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.” Tell this to everyone—“Have no fear.”
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

He restrains his friend from committing sins, and induces him to do good deeds. He conceals the unseemly secrets of a friend, projecting only his good qualities. He does not desert his friend in difficulties, but gives timely assistance. Saints describe these as the characteristics of a true friend.
—Subhashita Manjari

If our thoughts and hopes are elsewhere, it is impossible for us to set our faces steadily toward the work required of us.
—Anonymous

You can’t think of risks. I have nothing to lose. You either make something that you like, or you don’t, and you throw it to the universe.
—Mike Myers

Systems-Thinking as a Trait for Career Success

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In this Fast Company article, Gary Flake, Director of Live Labs at Microsoft identifies Systems Thinking as an important trait for career success.

There are three traits that will serve anyone wanting any role at any company, not just ours: systems thinking, passion, and clear communication. Systems thinking is a way of looking at the world that allows you to see how many small pieces come together to make a more complex whole. System thinkers see the hidden interconnections that bind together the parts and know how to make the best use of ambiguity and uncertainty as a result.

Gary’s reflection reiterates the importance of understanding context and perspective in our jobs. A previous blog article and a podcast discussed this indispensable trait for success.

Systems Thinking for a Big Picture Approach

From an early age, we’re taught to break apart problems in order to make complex tasks and subjects easier to deal with. But this creates a bigger problem . . . we lose the ability to see the consequences of our actions, and we lose a sense of connection to a larger whole.
* Peter Senge

Traditional methods of problem analysis concentrate on dividing problems into smaller, more comprehensible components. The drawback of understanding isolated or unrelated elements, functions, and events is that the effects of changes to one element on other elements of the whole are rarely considered.

In contrast, the discipline of Systems Thinking emphasizes analyzing the whole in terms of interrelationships of its elements. Examining structures, relationships, and outcomes facilitates taking into account any secondary consequences of decisions and actions pertaining individual elements.

We work in increasingly connected organizations where an event that affects one part of an organization is likely to have a meaningful effect–in the short-term or the long-term–on another part of the organization. The discipline of Systems Thinking enables us to develop a broader, holistic perspective of problems and opportunities in businesses and make effective decisions.

Resources, References

Over the last couple of decades, System Thinking has evolved into a formal discipline and has incorporated several rigorous analysis techniques. Here are two excellent resources to help you gain more knowledge of these methods.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. Howard Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future // Books in Brief
  2. This is Yoga for the Brain: Multidisciplinary Learning
  3. You Can’t Develop Solutions Unless You Realize You Got Problems: Problem Finding is an Undervalued Skill
  4. Finding Potential Problems & Risk Analysis: A Case Study on ‘The Three Faces of Eve’
  5. Four Ideas for Business Improvement Ideas

Pretending to Know-it-All and Failing to Admit Ignorance

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Often, professionals suppose that being considered smart, intelligent, or “on top of things” implies presenting themselves with much self-confidence, and requiring knowing everything. Consequently, they tend to force themselves to pretend to “know it all” and hesitate to respond with an “I don’t know.” When superiors, peers, or employees ask tough questions, they habitually fail to admit their ignorance and force some misguided answer out of themselves.

Think about it: having to know all the answers can actually be quite stressful. It drives professionals to think incessantly about potential challenges, risks, and outcomes. The constant pressure to be “on guard” can steer them towards supposing the worst.

“I Don’t Know; Let me Find Out” is a Perfectly Acceptable Answer

Effective professionals recognize that perfection, flawlessness, and other superlatives are often masks. They acknowledge what they do not know and promise to follow up in proper time and get the right answers. Rather than losing their standing, they gain the trust of their people.

Acknowledging that they do not have answers to all questions, releases professionals of unwarranted worry. This opens the door for others to assist with relevant inputs and promotes good judgment.

There is a downside, however, to repeatedly admitting not knowing many things. A professional is expected to be knowledge about all the essential aspects of her job and explicate all the relevant data to drive her decisions. Where the organization depends on her to know the answers to certain questions, any hints to heedlessness, neglect, or oblivion can weigh down her standing within her organization.

Inspirational Quotations #258

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Our lives are measured not by gain but giving
—Unknown

Many run about after happiness like an absent-minded man hunting for his hat, while it is in his hand or on his head.
—James Sharp

It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray.
—Aesop (Greek Fabulist)

Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.
—Washington Irving (American Author)

Character is higher than intellect… a great soul will be strong to live, as well as to think.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Philosopher)

A drop of water has the tastes of the water of the seven seas: there is no need to experience all the ways of worldly life. The reflections of the moon on one thousand rivers are from the same moon: the mind must be full of light.
—Hong Zicheng

Act so in the valley that you need not fear those who stand on the hill.
—Danish Proverb

When we talk about understanding, surely it takes place only when the mind listens completely, the mind being your heart, your nerves, your ears, when you give your whole attention to it.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti (Indian Philosopher)

No matter how good you are, there’s a lot of luck involved.
—Reggie Miller (American Sportsperson)

Sixty years ago I knew everything; now I know nothing; education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
—William C. Durant (American Entrepreneur)