If we're managers, then
regardless of our title we are responsible for managing people. This
means that those skills known as "Soft Skills", the ones
supposedly difficult measure are your biggest asset. If I'm a project
manager then my success at delivering projects on time has little to do
with my knowledge of project management technology and nearly everything
to do with my ability to manage a group of people into a high
performance team working together to met that deadline. Ultimately, soft
skills deliver hard benefits.
Announcement! As of August 14th 2007 Peter now has
a daily Blog! 
Not the
Assessment you were looking for
What attributes really make a good employee?
The Rhythm
of your Ability
Do you know when you're better?
Advice and
Suggestions for Meeting Planners
Meeting Planners need advice as well.
Simple Wisdoms. Difficult Lessons?
What's the value and purpose of a Quote?
18+1 bits
of advice for Speakers
If you are a speaker, or deal with speakers - you
might find humor here.
Notes to a
Novice Manager
Some simple concepts for anyone on the road to
Management
Hunting
Gorillas in Corporate Corridors
On the art (and consequences) of ignoring the issue
The Art of
Problem Solving
IA smorgasbord of PS ideas and concepts
Great Job!
But...
How one little word can ruin your intent
The
Motivation Contradiction
Is it really true that we can't Motivate employees?
Speaker
Secrets
How to give a Presentation without having a nervous
breakdown
At the
Heart of People Skills
Why do we treat employees the way we do?
The Age of
Lean and Mean
When Organizational Core Values go sour
From Mere
Greetings, to Great Meetings
Some observations on the dynamics of Conferences
I Asked
for Apple Pie (MP3)
A little 90 second Keynote on Customer Service
These are
called PowerPlugs
Let me know what you think of it... Guestbook
Credit
Legerdemain for Managers
A lesson from the Highest Secret Order of Management
The
Fight, or Flight of the Butterflies (MP3)
A little 90 second Keynote on Stress - These are
called PowerPlugs
Let me know what you think of it... Guestbook
Pebble
in a Sandal
Wishful thinking is just that.
Rules
Without Reasons
To follow the "spirit" of the law, they
need to know it.
The
Consequence of Attitude
A summary of a survey on "Bad Attitude"
The 7 Flaws
of Useful People
When Bad people go Right!
Five Tick
Tocks to increase Creativity
Stay in the Moment and look forward
We're All
Creative
(MP3)
A little 90 second Keynote on Creativity - These are
called PowerPlugs
Let me know what you think of it... Guestbook
When the
Schoolyard Bully Graduates
The Bully in the corridor
Creativity
by Rote and Mechanism
Is there a Low Road to Creativity?
The Best We
Can
The Art of Deciding without all the Information we'd
like
School's
out, we can Cheat now!
The #1 Bad lesson taught in school
Why don't
they respond?
The first rule in negotiating
Stop Annoying your Audience
What not to do when presenting
Team Building isn't a Game
Why having fun isn't good enough
A Plan for all Reasons
A bare bones contingency planning session
Consider your ethics when speaking of access
The demise of respect for copyrights
Thinking the Unthinkable
Looking to the future of a technological advance
Lessons
from Neon
The reasons why technology fails to deploy.
Opportunities
right under our noses
The source of all creativity.
The Proper
use of Graphics
How graphics can inform and lie.
Making
Stone Soup
What's necessary to extract benefit from Technology?
Forced
Analogies
A recipe for creativity.
Return to
Publications Directory
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Truth Pick #159
Never tell people how to do things.
Tell them what to do and
they will surprise you
with their ingenuity.
General George S. Patton, Jr.
In the physical world we use levers to multiply our physical strength. In the social world managers fulfill the same function with respect to organizational effort. Like a well placed lever, managers enable greater social achievement.
Those managers attempting to control every thought and action, minimize their power to leverage. A good lever doesn't exert effort, it channels effort to a single point of action.
To attempt the control of effort is ultimately to restrict it. Dictating a solution stifles creativity. It asserts the manager, and the manager alone has the right, or knows how, to think.
In the well intentioned effort to get it right, novice managers assume everyone else will get it wrong.
Ironically, it is usually our proven ability to get things done that raises us to management. To place that behind us, and give up control of the solution, is contrary to our nature.
Set only my destination and the world is my resource. Define the path I must walk and I can only watch my step.
(c) 2004 Peter de Jager
Pdejager@technobility.com
For more Truth Picks visit:-
www.truthpicks.com
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