Tag: Talent

Story + Narrative, The Future of Work3 Comments

Farewell Guru, Hello Awesome.

ThisMuchWeKnow

When someone calls themselves a social media guru / ninja etc. I puke up in my mouth a little. Just sayin’. The great Guru boom is over pic.twitter.com/mmb7dQg0wj — Benedict Evans (@benedictevans) November 27, 2013 So I liked seeing this graphic on the death knell of the guru in job postings. Thank you, and good night, gurus everywhere. But what is this? Instead, the rise of the AWESOME! Oh, dear. As an Englishman, I used to use terms such as brilliant, wonderful, excellent. Now, living in N. America I use awesome, which, as my trusty source reference Urban Dictionary confirms, … Continue reading Farewell Guru, Hello Awesome.

Personal BrandingLeave a comment

My Personal Brand: Revisited. Being The Best In The World At *THIS*

ThisMuchWeKnow

It is time to revisit my personal brand.  We have been developing the personal branding system to fully synthesize the input elements and to get to the brand essence. The BrandBoards have been redesigned to better illustrate this. What is that essence? A bit of Head – Heart – Hand. Usually, people have a brand essence clearly in one of the HHH camps. This is good news. Here is where you make the biggest difference; how you show up BIG. Mine, very clearly, is a HEAD brand. I do my best work by thinking; intellectualizing. It does mean I cannot … Continue reading My Personal Brand: Revisited. Being The Best In The World At *THIS*

Personal Branding, Story + Narrative, The Future of Work1 Comment

#WorkHacks – Put Yourself First

ThisMuchWeKnow

The change agent extraordinaire  Joachim Stroh shared this beautiful, evocative graphic, saying: “It’s about you, but you’re not the only bee in the hive; the further you expand the more you grow. Putting yourself first is not about ego, not about me-me-me. No. It is about moving out into the world with conviction and self-awareness, to confirm to others ‘This is how I add value.’ Indeed, success for most of us comes not from individual brilliance, but from moving within, and asking help from, a community of supporters: “… individual expertise did not distinguish people as high performers. What distinguished high … Continue reading #WorkHacks – Put Yourself First

Social Business, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work1 Comment

#WorkHacks – Embrace Chaos

ThisMuchWeKnow

Twenty of the 25 (US) jobs with “the largest projected growth don’t require college degree (& are low-wage)” – via @BillIves. [BTW: Many of these jobs are healthcare related. Clearly, sickness and health cannot be automated/outsourced (so much).] Simple, repeatable tasks, wherever possible, are being replaced through automation. More complicated tasks, non-core, are outsourced to cheaper locations. If you want to be (well) paid as a (developed world) knowledge worker, you need to move up the value chain toward complexity and chaos. Complexity is difficult to pass on to someone else to deal with. It take more intellectual rigour and sophistication to … Continue reading #WorkHacks – Embrace Chaos

The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work2 Comments

Eat What You Study

ThisMuchWeKnow

I am no great of formal education. If I lived my life again, I would spend more energy tinkering on my own, rather than spending all those years expecting others to force-feed me stuff. It all starts out fine – check out the smiles on day one of school this week! – but enthusiasm quietens quickly. Education, as is, simply provides employers some sense of general intelligence and focused interest in a candidate. The usability of what was learned is left at the door. Adults learn by doing. Practice, practice, practice. Work harder. So, I liked this take on education your … Continue reading Eat What You Study

Personal Branding, Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work1 Comment

Introducing Your #SocBiz Change Team: The Lunatic, The Impotent, And The Bullshitter. Which One Are You?

ThisMuchWeKnow

Being called a (MarComms) Generalist has always made me slightly uncomfortable. It suggests an inability to define one’s service offering. The opposite, a Specialist, also lacks comfort. Being pigeonholed and isolated as a one-trick pony hardly brings succour. So I love how the genius (lunatic?) that was Kurt Vonnegut articulated these brilliant specialist archetypes in Bluebeard (via this kottke.org post) in talking about change. “[M]ost people cannot open their minds to new ideas unless a mind-opening team with a peculiar membership goes to work on them. Otherwise, life will go on exactly as before, no matter how painful, unrealistic, unjust, … Continue reading Introducing Your #SocBiz Change Team: The Lunatic, The Impotent, And The Bullshitter. Which One Are You?

Personal Branding, The Curious Will Inherit The World1 Comment

Personal Branding: Are You Curious?

ThisMuchWeKnow

Curiosity is the number one personal attribute to possess. Curiosity will enable you to deal with change, even embrace it. Furthermore, curiosity will enable you to drive the change; sponsor it; own it. And dealing with change is the number one business demand to deal with. I am always on the hunt for data on curiosity. You could say I am curious about curiosity. This is from Diane Dreher: Curiosity… “is positively correlated with creativity, intelligence, problem-solving ability, autonomy, a sense of personal control, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. It is also associated with positive affect, subjective well-being, better long-term health, … Continue reading Personal Branding: Are You Curious?

Personal Branding, Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

Knowing With The Head, The Heart, The Hands.

ThisMuchWeKnow

John Maeda always keeps it simple. His recent RISD Commencement introduction referenced Marshall Ganz; and how “moving people to action is about telling stories, and that our stories are formed by three ways of knowing.” Namely… knowing with the head knowing with the heart knowing with the hands This maps perfectly against the TMWK Personal Branding approach. Not only can we articulate our strengths through this triumvirate balance, we can also lead others with stories that exhibit the same attributes. Continue reading Knowing With The Head, The Heart, The Hands.

The Future of WorkLeave a comment

20 Things 20 (Somethings) Don’t Get – Forbes

ThisMuchWeKnow

I am hiring #TheNewBrian. There are a few recommendations I have for people trying to establish themselves in MarComms. The most fundamental one is: Work Hard(er). When you have few other responsibilities (family, mortgage etc.) then just give it your all, and not just at work, but around work. Perform during office hours, but read, research, hyperlink all the time. It will move you ahead of your cohort and, indeed, your leaders double-quick. This article from Jason Nazar on Forbes – 20 Things 20-Year-Olds Don’t Get – Forbes – is chock-full of relevant advice for that person seeking, expecting, hoping, planning for success. … Continue reading 20 Things 20 (Somethings) Don’t Get – Forbes

Social Business, The Future of Work1 Comment

“Everybody” Is The New “High Potential”

ThisMuchWeKnow

Once, many, many years ago, aged 13 or so, I was called out as High Potential (Hi-Po) at my local school. I was put in some kind of brainiac class and given challenging mental gymnastics to solve. I am not sure for what end the class was conceived. I remember enjoying it, but probably its main outcome was that I thought I was more special than I was. It took a few years for the arrogance to wear off – when I flunked my A level exams aged 18 and, instead of going to Cambridge to prepare myself for running … Continue reading “Everybody” Is The New “High Potential”