"What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” Well, while that’s not quite true, we all get the idea. That’s also the premise of Nassim Taleb’s book ‘Antifragiel’ which talks about how various stress on different systems (from the human body to the financial markets) actually benefit from temporary stress because it allows them to develop great resilience and long-term strength. For example, going to the gym to put your body under temporary stress will ‘weaken’ your muscles for the day but strengthen them overall. Dealing with challenging new situations in work is often stressful, but prepares us for doing that in the future.
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Yea, I know... sometimes you have to work late because there is so much on. That's fine - I get it. But the problem comes when we are working late for the wrong reasons. Here they are...
Not able to delegate properly
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Having a good mentor is a great way to start your career. They can save you time, teach you tips and tricks and introduce you to connections that will help you throughout your working life. Below is an extract from a piece written by Ryan Holiday, which offers some excellent tips for navigating the start of an internship.
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You might be surprised to find out that some people find it difficult to say 'no'. Perhaps they think it's rude, impolite or inflexible. It's not. Of course, it's always good to show a collaborative spirit, to be open to change, constructive criticism, and to do things that are in the best interest of the group (within reason).
However, if something is clearly negative for the person involved, it's important to be able to have the difficult conversation; to say 'no'; or ask for what you really want (e.g. more money, time, responsibility). With that in mind, you have to find your own comfortable way of saying it but here are some examples:
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Stress is a part of life and cannot be totally avoided - so we need to learn to deal with it as best as possible. Consider these things that are inside your control and...
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What if you knew exactly how you were doing at work? What if your goals, bonuses, performance reviews, successes and failures were all available not only to you but to everyone in your company? How would you feel? Nervous right? Scared or anxious?
This is what happens at the worlds top hedge fund - Brightwater, run by Ray Dalio, and he attributes his success to the system.
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“There’s nowhere to go” is a common complaint from employees working for small or medium companies. It signifies a drop in motivation as even though they enjoy the environment and the work if they feel there are no opportunities for progression, they start to look elsewhere. This is further compounded by their managers agreeing with them about the state of the organisation. Here’s a strategy that may help.
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Did you prepare for the interview? Do you know what questions they are going to ask? Do you know what they want you to say? With a bit of preparation, it's not difficult to prepare perfect answers to typical interview questions. It's also easy to prepare for trickier questions regardless of the topic - it's a process and can be learned. Of course, the problem with all of this is that it is an act on behalf of both parties. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to continue hiring employees in this manner or assume it's an effective way of getting the best person for the role.
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What if you wanted to study more about leadership, marketing, sales and strategy? What if you wanted to do an MBA but didn't have the time, money or opportunity? Below are 25 handpicked books that I think are an excellent crash course in business. No, they don't cover every area, in particular finance has been omitted. But they do teach a lot of valuable lessons and have been of huge value to me personally.
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"One of the best paradoxes of leadership is a leader's need to be both stubborn and open-minded. A leader must insist on sticking to the vision and stay on course to the destination. But he must be open-minded during the process." Simon Sinek
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Kevin Kelly, a writer and editor from the US penned a wonderful blog called 1000 True Fans. Check it out here if you haven't read it before. Although I'm sure that many of you may have read it before, it's such an important piece that it's worth reviewing again here.
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"That was my car and that's where I was sitting", he said as he pointed to a photo showing a massive hole in the front of a three-door hatchback where the driver's seat should be. 8 years later and still undergoing surgery, he has been through a lot. I was surprised by how frank this young man was and impressed with his light-hearted way of talking about the moment his life changed forever. Any problem I had seemed totally trivial in comparison.
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Writing is a tough gig for many reasons:
- Coming up with ideas is difficult
- Crafting and sculpting an engaging piece is tricky
- Sitting down to actually do the work is a struggle and
- Selling it (directly or indirectly) can often be a real roadblock
There are usually only two options for a career. Work for someone else or start a business, right? Nobody ever tells you about the third option - I was surprised that I didn't know until recently, even though I spent four years studying business in college.
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Our world is changing so quickly, I believe it's imperative that we develop the ability to learn quickly in order to keep up. Our employers or our clients often require us to consume and understand large amounts of information in a short space of time. This is very challenging without practice.
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