Sunday, June 06, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tom Peters on Social Media
An Amateur's View of Social Media Circa May 2010 Disorganized Musings
Tom writes - "On the evening of May 26, I made my first "presentation" (an informal talk) on social media. The affair, called "Sweets & Tweets," was held in Georgetown and hosted by corporate social media consultant Debbie Weil. I participate in social media somewhat myself, but in no way, shape, or form am an expert. Moreover, I did not spend an enormous amount of time preparing—the talk was intended to be "off the cuff." But with my obsessive penchant for lists (ah, engineers), I did jot a few things down which I shall simply call "musings from an incredibly old guy and unadulterated amateur" on social media:"
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Thick Skinned Project Managers
Many people have fallen into a bad habit of taking things too personally because they want to protect the smaller picture (self) instead of the big picture (other people, relationships, the situation, and sometimes the truth). How do we get through the times where having a positive attitude seems impossible? Well, we can always choose to act as if the positive feelings/attitudes are still there. It is that simple, and it is always our choice.
We choose all of our feelings and actions. No one else is at fault for what we think, what we feel, and how we act. As Project Managers we can't let others dictate how we feel about ourselves. Project Managers by nature need to have thick skin and can't let the opinions of a few dictate how we feel and act.
It isn't a radical idea to believe that we can choose how to behave, regardless of how we feel. Additionally, by changing our behavior we might just discover that behaving differently can change how we feel. This changing of behavior knocks aside the notion that feelings help us find truth, especially when we are trying to assess an important business or life situation.
I feel that the old saying "Perception is Reality" is destructive. Many people act solely on what they perceive. Perception is only Perception. We can argue about what Reality is, or is not, but basing Reality on what we perceive can really screw up Reality for us and everybody else.
Mental Note for Slow Learners: Sometimes it seems like you can't change anything. Sometimes by changing yourself you change everything.
We choose all of our feelings and actions. No one else is at fault for what we think, what we feel, and how we act. As Project Managers we can't let others dictate how we feel about ourselves. Project Managers by nature need to have thick skin and can't let the opinions of a few dictate how we feel and act.
It isn't a radical idea to believe that we can choose how to behave, regardless of how we feel. Additionally, by changing our behavior we might just discover that behaving differently can change how we feel. This changing of behavior knocks aside the notion that feelings help us find truth, especially when we are trying to assess an important business or life situation.
I feel that the old saying "Perception is Reality" is destructive. Many people act solely on what they perceive. Perception is only Perception. We can argue about what Reality is, or is not, but basing Reality on what we perceive can really screw up Reality for us and everybody else.
Mental Note for Slow Learners: Sometimes it seems like you can't change anything. Sometimes by changing yourself you change everything.