Leadership

I just read an interesting article in Wired magazine about how we learn.  The author interviewed Robert Bjork, the director of UCLA's Learning and Forgetting Lab (yes, there is such a place).  Below are a few take-homes. Interleaving.  Instead of trying to master one topic or skill at a time, interleaving is the process of rotating through several related skills or topics. According to Bjork, memory works better when many different connections are made as opposed to just one. Get mobile.  In other words, vary the places where you study.  If you will need to know the information in more than one location, Bjork suggests studying in more than one location. Wait.  "The more difficult and involved the retrieval, the more beneficial it is."  Bjork suggests spacing your studying times in a way that requires the mind to dig deeper and work harder at remembering what you studied the first…

A good article appeared last week in Forbes' online magazine about how to retain top talent.  Actually, it sought to answer the question: "Why does top talent leave?"  The author boiled ten reasons down to two primary factors: Top talent doesn't like being poorly managed Top talent doesn't like "organizational lameness" (shifting priorities, no vision, uninspiring atmosphere) So, to flip this over to the positive side, how do you retain top talent? If you are a manager, learn to manage well.  Your staff or employees don't require perfection; but they respond well to a leader who is growing and sharpening their skills.  If you are in a hiring position, hire managers with good people skills.  Competencies can be supplemented with additional hands and feet.  You can't contract out people skills. Secondly, examine your culture.  High capacity people want to make more than a marginal difference.  They can't swim long in…

Passing this along from yesterday's Wall Street Journal. ********************* Thinking Outside the Box - Literally By Christopher Shea Just how potent is the metaphor “thinking outside the box”? To find out, researchers built a literal box out of PVC pipe and cardboard — 5′ cubed. Roughly 100 test subjects were given a 10-question word-association test designed to measure one kind of creativity (sample item: What one word links “measure,” “worm,” “video”?). As they answered, participants sat inside the box, sat outside of it, or sat in a room sans box. People sitting outside the box answered more questions correctly than either of the other two groups (and the difference couldn’t be explained by claustrophobia or confusion, both of which were measured). Creativity seemed to be spurred by the acting out of a familiar figure of speech, the researchers said. (The cover story for the experiment was that was exploring the…

Just finished reading "Necessary Endings" by Henry Cloud.  It's a great book for thinking through the necessary changes we encounter in life.  Two of my favorite sections were about pruning and how to to discern the difference between hope and wishful thinking.

When it comes to work or vocation, it's common to hear: "Do what you love."  Sounds good ... But I love eating donuts.  As much as I love donuts, I know if I only eat donuts, I'll die a fat (but happy) man.  To be healthy, I can't just eat what I love -- sometimes I have to eat things that I know are good for me but may not be the most enjoyable experience. Successful people don't just do what they love (i.e., are passionate about); they also do what they are good at.  They take into account their strengths and act accordingly.  Satisfaction comes when passion and strengths are aligned. What do you love?