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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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How do people who are too busy find time to (1) share their problems with others & (2) watch Reality TV?

by Rick Baker
On Jul 4, 2014

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

When 2 pet peeves collide...

(1) People ain't too busy - they just brainwash themselves that way.

(2) Reality TV just ain't - at least it ain't the sort of reality that creates value.

Tags:

Humour | I'm too busy! - I don't have time! | Thought Tweets

Misery enjoys company...but it makes a lousy dance partner.

by Rick Baker
On Jul 4, 2014

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

A parody of Wisdom of the Ages wrapped in a tribute to Nietzsche's Zarathustra.

Tags:

Humour | Thought Tweets

You are not paranoid - people ARE watching you.

by Rick Baker
On Jul 4, 2014

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

They are watching what you do. They have little ability to understand what you are thinking. Regardless, they are watching what you do. 

That makes you a role model.

That provides you an opportunity to lead by example.

Tags:

Humour | Thought Tweets

Knowledge becomes power only when it can be harnessed and put to good use...and that takes Skill!

by Rick Baker
On Jul 4, 2014

We could write up procedures and provide parts and tools to teach people how to build bicycles. And, left on their own, many people would be able to use our instructions to build bicycles. 

We could write up procedures to teach people how to ride those bicycles.  And, left on their own, most people would struggle learning how to ride those bicycles.

There is Knowledge.

And there is Skill.

These are two very different things.

And, one does not necessarily follow the other.

Knowledge can be digested and learned quickly.

As the saying goes, ‘Knowledge is not power…it is potential power’. Knowledge becomes power only when it can be harnessed and put to good use...and that takes Skill!

Skill is developed by doing actions and learning over time though trial, error, and adaptation.

People struggle to develop skills.

Those who expect quick & easy success often give up long before they have spent enough time to develop the skills required to master tasks. Others - the people who succeed at performance of tasks - have the gift of persistence/perseverance/tenacity and use that energizing gift to drive repeated trial-error-adaptation cycles of action…for as long as it takes to master skills.

Successful people do not give up on skill development. That is the essence of success.

About the energizing-gift that allows the development of skill…

As another saying goes, ‘Edison learned 10,000 ways to not make a light bulb before he discovered one way that worked’.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | STRENGTHS: People-Focused for Success

Good risk managers are allergic to mediocre leaders [and vice-versa].

by Rick Baker
On Jul 4, 2014

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Behind every great leader there is a great risk manager. It has always been that way. Now, more than ever risk management is an essential leadership priority. Risk management is an elite business function, intimately intertwined with strategic thinking.

Tags:

Humour | Thought Tweets

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear...but you can make a doggie treat...& maybe you can make a porcine purse.

by Rick Baker
On Jul 4, 2014

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Don't try to fit square talent pegs into round tasks. Don't burn up your energy battling weakness after weakness. Play to your strengths. 

There's a very-lucrative pet-food market and dogs have quite an appetite for treats.

There's a very-lucrative clothing and accessory industry...it's just possible porcine purses could be the next fashion rage. 

Sow's ears have their place in the world's economy. But, that place isn't in the raw material sections of silk-purse production plants.

Tags:

Humour | STRENGTHS: People-Focused for Success | Thought Tweets

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