Goggle’ing Yourself

You should occasionally “google” yourself, if nothing else to sanitize and update results. There’s also the challenge of others having identical name, which creates confusion when someone is stalking you or simply referencing your pedigree. With little effort you can control the results, simply by adding location tag.

One way to accomplish this is by appending location intelligence to your name with dash or parentheses. For example, I am from Seattle, but currently live in Bend. Those locations quickly distinguishes me from others with same moniker.

All you need to do is edit all sites where you are presented; add “Bend/Seattle” naming convention, in my example. That’s it. When people search for you the results will be effectively more accurate.

Astute interviewing for hiring

No hiring manager thinks they can be fooled by an interviewing subject. Whereas, in reality every hiring manager can be fooled!

If you accept my premise, then consider the following practice to protect against costly mistakes. While, there are instances when a candidate is referred by someone you know and trust. Even so, it makes sense to “flesh out the details.”

The truth lies in the details. Typical CV/resumes list abstracts of accomplishments, such as % of quotas, negotiated significant transactions/contracts, and/or mergers/acquisitions. But, just don’t settle for high-level discourse.

Formulate sequentially probing questions that focus on a single event and dig deeper. Ask follow-up questions, which reveal level of hands-on involvement. Because, often you will learn that other individuals may have contributed to said accomplishments and may be more deserving of actual accolades.

It boils down to how you phrase your questions, but obviously you are either setting a trap or learning that in fact the interviewee was involved in most integral and relevant minutiae.

For example, ask who else was on their team. Ask who actually created the content and delivered resulting deliverable. Ask what may seem trivial questions, but will ultimately reveals all important truths.

Reverse Pilot Program

Best Practice: Suppress this or that, which “Essentialism” book calls a Reverse Pilot.  While a traditional pilot program provides an opportunity to test out a new product or approach to measure positive impact, a reverse pilot has the opposite intent with goal to strip away useless/toxic or productivity-killing activities.  With all “pilots” the concept is add/remove the activity and see what happens.

Two-Book Referral

I now formally apply this “best practice” when I meet smart people, who coincidentally are usually avid readers. It is non-invasive and therefore usually well-received. All you do is ask for referral of two books to read.

The request places onus, but akin to solicitation of advice, the effect flatters most people. Another interesting by-product is that the book recommendations are usually quite unique, because they are only being asked for two.

Thus, the recommender will scrutinize and usually pick “winners.” While I love spontaneity and “Blink-thin-slicing” you will be best-served by giving the recommender as much time as necessary.

I have found that about half the time, you receive an answer immediately, and otherwise it comes in the next day or so. Infrequently, will you be turned down.

Tangential thought…where I may have once been defined by athletic or professional accomplishments, today it is safe to say I am perceived as a voracious reader!

Mucho Gusto

Spanish aphorism, which means “pleased to meet you.” Words uttered, kudos and the sentiments they convey can have wonderful effect. But, too often people fail to leverage available opportunities. It is so easy to say “thank you,” “congratulations” and so on.

Self-Optimization

Hint: take a week (or a day) and write down every single thing you do and how much time you spend doing it. Why?  The actionable insights will enable dramatic improvements, i.e. optimize and streamline your daily activities and performance.

Memory tool

Memory as a skill or tool is taken for granted, whereas ability to memorize significant data is invaluable and offers wide-ranging leverage.

When I think back to my formative years, perhaps teachers required memorization of some passage or poem, country and state capitals, and Periodic Table of (Chemical) Elements.  However, memory in and of itself was not taught and why not?  

In healthcare, differential diagnosis (abbreviated DDx) is method of analysis to arrive at correct diagnosis.  DDx involves distinguishing particular disease or condition from others that present with similar clinical features.  Having deep knowledge (in other words: memory) is crucial.

Take game of chess.  What if you memorized moves from previously-played Grandmaster games?  Those memories would greatly enhance your positional strategies and tactics.  ‘Three Hundred Chess Games’ is one of the most helpful and instructive chess books ever published.  If you want to win at chess, why not study this book?

I’m racking my brain, which comes from Medieval torture device used to extract confessions and information, and I can’t recall where memory directly served my professional purposes.  No doubt having good memory helped in many ways, but fail to identify linear linkage.  

At one time, I memorized every area code in the U.S.  But, then zillion more were added, which really annoyed me. What good did this do me?

P.S.: sometimes having good memory backfires, as your partner may not want to be reminded of something.

Be Happy

Contemplating happiness is nothing new. While many have serious issues with depression, my mind simply does not go there and never has. However, I’ve noticed recently that internal and external influences have directly affected my overall “happy equation” and thankfully, in positive ways.

I could posit neuro-scientific hypotheses, but rather use examples of actual changes (occurring since April) all of which have enhanced my life:

1. Diet – removed sugar and alcohol – have reset and shifted weight, but seems effects are also mental

2. Relationship – removed girlfriend – while losing companionship and affection (both of which I covet) it would seem subtraction was beneficial

3. Media – continue to largely suppress all forms of negative news content – information is still leveraged, but not dwelled upon

4. Philosophy – continue to expand my mind through reading – books (rather than TV) provide access to wide and varied thought leadership

In general, I’ve found rhythm that resonates. These are not profound observations, but they do reveal pathways. Eating well is not easy for everybody, but maxim “you are what you eat” is hard to refute. While 6-year relationship is difficult to walk away from, consider calculus, because “not quitting” is poor decision versus overall well-being and sustained happiness. It is hard to avoid and not be impacted by pandemic, fires, politics and more, but you can escape by exploring books on philosophy and your favorite genres.

Lastly, develop toolkit and best practices. Know what makes you happy and enforce positive habits. As an afterthought, my daily yoga practice may also be instrumental to “happy place.”

Pressures

Pressures cause stress and anxiety.

My tendency is to draw analogies between business and personal, although this one may be a stretch. In business, internal and/or external pressures cause action or reaction. With personal, just about everything creates tension. Emotion is the common denominator per analogy.

In business, competition is #1 concern of CEOs, which often causes emotional reactions. With personal, your brain chemistry will determine reactions. Identifying, adopting, and applying related best practices will serve your well-being. Consider my examples and develop your own.

To trigger relaxation and de-stress, listen to classical/symphony music, read fiction, practice yoga in quiet sanctuary (if your home permits,) get out in nature away from hustle-and-bustle with hike or bike. To sustain tranquility, suppress toxic information and/or people. For me, avoiding “news” brings solace. Occasionally, check “local” news per Google News and follow “curated” content per Twitter, such as Explore.org.

Project Management – Premortem

Premortem uses prospective hindsight to identify risks at outset; the hypothetical opposite of postmortem.  Postmortem allows health professionals to learn what caused patient’s death.  Premortem comes at the beginning rather than end, thus improve rather than autopsy. 

Premortem operates on assumption “patient” has died or project has failed, and asks what went wrong?  Task is to generate plausible reasons (i.e. independently write down every reason for failure—especially the kinds of things not ordinarily mentioned as potential problems, for fear of being impolitic.)  Next, each reads one reason from his or her list; everyone states a different reason until all have been recorded. 

Moreover, premortem’s prospective hindsight approach offers benefits that other methods don’t.  By describing weaknesses, team members feel valued for their intelligence and experience, and others learn from them.  In the end, premortem may be the best way to circumvent any need for a painful postmortem.