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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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The 1 Thing Everyone Wants

by Rick Baker
On Nov 5, 2013

What's the 1 thing everyone wants?

If we knew that then we would have a much better chance of understanding others, communicating with others, working with others...getting along with others...helping others...influencing others.

So let's explore that together.

One of the first things I can recall learning about human needs was Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs' [1940's psychology].

With 'people's wants' in mind, Abraham Maslow spelled out the basics and the hierarchy of human needs...

 

Let's assume the basic needs are covered. Let's assume the physiological and safety needs are covered. That's a reasonable assumption: if you are reading this Thought Post then it is likely your basic needs are covered. You are reading in response to some other need.

After the basic needs are covered, what comes next? and - What's the 1 thing everyone wants?

Is Maslow right? Has he accurately narrowed it down to 4 things?, i.e., Love, Belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization...with Love and Belonging coming ahead of Esteem and Self-actualization?

Perhaps the one thing everyone wants is:

  • Love - that inexplicable state of mind that connects 2 human beings in a most-special way
  • Belonging - that sense of connectedness, being part of something larger
  • Esteem - containing value and being held in high regard
  • Self-actualization - to realize one's full potential 

In the late 1800's, Friedrich Nietzsche [my favourite philosopher] had a strong and clear view:

"Physiologists should think again before postulating the drive to self-preservation as the cardinal drive in an organic being. A living thing desires above all to vent its strength - life as such is will to power -: self-preservation is only one of the indirect and most frequent consequences of it."

'Venting one's strength' - that's a different twist. It captures both Esteem and Self-actualization.

Sigmund Freud had a different view, which he expressed about 100 years ago. He felt people's actions are a result of two major drives: the sex urge and the desire to be great. And, he wrote:

“What we call happiness in the strictest sense comes from the (preferably sudden) satisfaction of needs which have been dammed up to a high degree.”

If we extract the physiological drive [sex urge], we are left with 'the desire to be great'

The often-quoted philosopher William James said, "The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."

And Dale Carnegie, mirroring the views of philosopher John Dewey, taught - "The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important."

There's a common thread here:

Everyone wants to use personal strengths to create value and influence others to confirm appreciation of that value.

 ***

For another day...

Internal: one's Strength [Innate Talent + Opportunity + Specialized Knowledge + Practised Skills = Strength]

Action: more than just thought

Ego: the thing that craves

External: internal locus of control is at play here

Influence: it is not enough to just do, others must be affected...others must be influenced

***

And - no wonder Constructive Criticism is an Oxymoron.

Taking SWOT to an even better place

by Rick Baker
On Oct 28, 2013

STRENGTHS: The Gallup people presented Strengths as a combination of Talent, Knowledge, & Skills. Talent is not enough on its own. It must be coupled with Knowledge. We clarify that the Knowledge must be specialized, focused, and consistent with what it takes to achieve goals. Talent coupled with Knowledge is not enough...it is essential that Skills be practised until tasks and processes are mastered. Only then can one possess and vent Strengths. On top of that Gallup wisdom, we added Opportunities. That's where leaders fit in. Leaders recognize Talent, provide access to Knowledge and training & development in the form of practising. In this way, leaders provide the Opportunities for the development of Strengths.

P=2S+O: Bosses exist to delegate tasks and processes and manage the people who do those tasks and processes. That being the framework for business, bosses really don't want to hear Problems. Bosses only want to hear Problems when the Problems are used to introduce Solutions...and, every once in a while, Opportunities. That's the P=2S+O philosophy. That's why we created the P=2S+O tool.

SWOT is a strategic planning tool developed a couple of generations ago. It can be used to sort thoughts about business processes & business situations. And, as was recently brought to our attention by Don Peart, SWOT can be used to sort thoughts about people.

Business Contains Only 3 Things: People, Process, & Situations.

The thinking around SWOT's application for business Processes & Situations is on the record. Just Google 'SWOT' and you will find much theory and practical advice.

The first 3 thoughts that came to me when Don Peart talked about applying SWOT thinking to People were:

  1. There's a lot of common ground shared by SWOT and our definition of personal Strength.
  2. P=2S+O is a practical tool, designed to cause people to focus on Solutions while keeping their minds and eyes open for Opportunities.
  3. When recruiting we could use SWOT thinking as an umbrella over our definition of Strengths and our P=2S+O philosophy.
Here's the picture...

 

There are many possible ways to apply SWOT thinking to People: recruiting, training, etc.

...more to follow

How much thought do you invest in training your people?

by Rick Baker
On Oct 25, 2013

There are many ways to construct a training and staff-development plan for the people in your business.

Here is one way to start.

Think about how the 80/20 Rule applies to the tasks performed by your people.

Create a list of the 20% of tasks that contribute 80% of the results you desire.

Then, for each task, answer two questions:

  1. "Is this a routine Task or is it a not-Routine task?"
  2. "Is it a Technical task [specific to your business & industry] or is it an Interpersonal task [people influencing people]?"
Create a 1-page picture [like below] and insert your Top 20% tasks into the 4 quadrants.
 
 
When this is done you will have a picture of the Top 20% of the work-tasks you want your people to perform.
 
This picture can be used to 'troubleshoot' your training and development programs...just ask,
 
"What stands out?"
  • Not sure whether a task is Routine or not-Routine? [Better figure that out!]
  • Too much emphasis on Technical tasks, at the expense of developing Interpersonal strengths? [Better balance that out!]
When you sort these things out and are comfortable you have the right balance, do a double-check: apply the 80/20 Rule again, then ask,
 
"What stands out?"
  • Are you balancing your training and development programs across your Top 4% tasks?
  • Are you balancing your training and development programs at all reporting levels?
 

***

 

Why do this Routine/not-Routine/Technical/Interpersonal quadrant picture of your 80/20 Rule tasks?

Here's an introductory answer...

Business consists of 3 things: People, Process, & Situations. People create the Process. The Process consists of series of tasks. The People find themselves in various situations. Often, when problems arise, Situations appear more complicated. Often, simple solutions are missed and time, effort, and money are wasted. For this reason, it is important to ensure Routine tasks are not ignored and are supported by simple tools, including checklists. Much time, effort, and money is dedicated to R&D, invention, & innovation. That covers a very important area of tasks. However, when these not-Routine Technical tasks and processes are ruined because Routine Technical tasks were not performed properly...well, the lessons can be very painful. Consider, for example the crashing of the Flying Fortress during its highly-touted test flight.

Similarly, many businesses invest heavily in training and development for not-Routine Interpersonal tasks such as media training and handling crucial conversations while they fail to train people how to make decisions and listen to one another. These basic Routine Interpersonal tasks, when covered well, pave the path for top-notch business performance.

And NOTE: time has a way of eroding and changing memories. So, we must repeat, repeat, repeat if we want to ensure our people have the training and development they need to possess desirable business strengths. And to inspire...let's inject some creativity into it and make training and development experiences enjoyable. Failure to Repeat: Well, that's a fatal flaw!

Thought Tweet #853

by Rick Baker
On Oct 23, 2013

Thought Tweet #853 Using talent and venting strengths...that’s self-expression at its best.


The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Talents + Opportunities + Specialized Knowledge + Practiced Skills = Personal Strengths

Venting our Personal Strengths - that's 'people-excellence'.

 

Tags:

STRENGTHS: People-Focused for Success | Thought Tweets

Put your foot down...say "No" to "No"

by Rick Baker
On Oct 15, 2013

Beliefs: some good, some not-so-good

Beliefs intertwine with perceptions and patterns in your brain. Then beliefs manifest their influence, acting as your 'internal filters'. These filters guide your view of the world. These filters guide your behaviour. Your beliefs become deeply-held in your subconscious mind. From that strong base, your beliefs generate your habits…some good, some bad. Your beliefs determine your appetite for new things, your attitude toward change, and your ability to replace bad habits with good habits.

Do you know the true nature and depths of your beliefs?

Have you taken the time to 'dig deep' and understand your most-powerful beliefs?

These beliefs, your strong-and-deeply-rooted beliefs, govern your life: deep beliefs are the roots of your greatest joys; deep beliefs are the roots of your darkest fears.

Your deepest and most-strongly-held beliefs aid your efforts toward certain goals while they resist your efforts toward other goals. In these ways, your beliefs are fundamental to your life. They are fundamental to how you feel during your life and they are fundamental to whether or not you achieve the success you desire.

Where did your beliefs come from?

When it comes to questions like this, all of us are students. None of us know with certainty why or how we have beliefs. Yet, certain things make sense to us. As examples:

·         We perceive things and our perceptions of those things are taken to our brains

·         Our brains file vast amounts of information in memory, for future reference

·         Our brains like to simplify our lives so they sort things into patterns/concepts

·         With repetition bits and pieces of information solidify into bigger pieces and then into patterns

·         Diversity of perceptions expand and complicate perceptions, building a hierarchy of sorted/related patterns [and concepts]

An illustration...

When we are infants we hear our parents say the word "No". That's an audio perception. As our parents repeat the word "No" we learn "No" is an important part of our lives. Simple repetition of that spoken word causes neurons in our brains to construct deeper "No" pathways. Recognizing the importance of "No", our infant brains begin to build a "No" pattern. Our infant brains quickly pick up diverse perceptions that will feed into the "No" pattern. A parent may show an angry face while saying the word "No". The visual body language signal and the verbal sound signal send 2 separate messages, both of which feed into the growing "No" pattern in our infant brains. We notice/perceive that different situations precede our parents’ "No" messages. We perceive more diversity, more repetition and the "No" pattern becomes stronger, deeper, and more-nuanced. Even as infants we have a very broad and deep understanding of the word “No”. We recognize its sound, we recognize what it looks like when it is written, we recognize the facial expressions and the various forms of body language that accompany the word “No”, and we know the word “No” is expressed to us as a result of a wide range of different situations.

We learn our parents are not the only ones who deliver "No" messages to us. Other family members, to varying degrees, deliver "No" messages. We meet neighbours who have little people of their own and both those neighbours and the toddlers they bring into our lives add more "No" to our perceptions.

Why all this discussion around the word “No”?

That question begs the questions…

Do you understand how the pattern/concept “No” has fed negatives into your belief system?

Do you understand the extent the pattern/concept “No” throttles your efforts toward your desired goals & success?

Do you understand how to go about repairing the damage the word “No” has done to you belief system?

Are you willing to make an effort to find out?

Thought Tweet #843

by Rick Baker
On Oct 9, 2013

Thought Tweet #843 Self-Improvement happens when mind-sets come to aid skill-sets.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Some people embrace life-long learning. Those people become the best leaders. They tend to understand their talents & strengths. They tend to apply their brainpower to focused work-tasks. That allows them to build skill-sets and master work-tasks. They take talent to task. They bolster that talent with knowledge, thinking, and practiced-skills.

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.