Friday, February 17, 2012

Definitions - What's a Strength? "Knowledge"


The last component of a strength is knowledge. Like with skill, you want to focus on adding most of your knowledge in areas that compliment your natural talents. And it's worth repeating, rapid learning or rapid knowledge acquisition is a very strong sign that a natural talent is in play.

In my workshops, I usually talk about two different kinds of knowledge. The first is book knowledge or classroom knowledge. And there are ever increasing ways to add book knowledge and classroom knowledge with the advent of the internet. Many are free. Here is a short list of ways to add classroom or book knowledge:

Books
Used Books
Industry Specific Magazines and Newspapers
On Line Books (Free)
Down loadable books on Ipads, Kindles, and other similar devices
Apps
College Classes (Audited classes can be free or low expense)
On Line College Classes (Top Universities Offer Classes for Free including Harvard, Stanford, and MIT)
Adult School

The second type of knowledge is experiential. There are some things you just can’t learn out of a book, from a class, or an instructor no matter how gifted. You have to get your hands dirty and do something to learn about it. This is why 10th grade biology has you dissect a frog. This is why medical school students work on a cadaver before you go rummaging around in a live body. Here is a short list of ways to get experiential knowledge:

Internships
Job Shadowing
Volunteering
Working for Free
“Hanging Around”
“Parallel Work”

Let me elaborate on “Hanging Around”. Let’s say you want to be a songwriter or audio guy that runs sound. You’ve confirmed that you actually have a good amount of talent. Next, you need to hang around with musicians. You need to hang around the music business. That might mean getting a job a The Guitar Center. That might mean you get a job loading or setting up music equipment. Your not working in your ideal position yet but you are in the right ballpark for opportunities to show up.

Another is “Parallel Work”. Susy and I have family member by marriage that finished his college degree and was contemplating medical school. He was Science and Math smart so that wasn’t an issue. He just didn’t know if he was cut out to handle the blood. Instead of rushing head first into medical school only to come out the other end $100,000 poorer and then finding out he didn’t like the blood, he took some “Parallel Work”. He became an “EMT” or an Emergency Medical Technician or Paramedic first. This gave him the opportunity to see how he did with the blood. As it happened he handled it fine and was off to med school.

You can probably figure out your own version of parallel work.

Let me make one more distinction about knowledge. In some ways I alluded to it my list of ways to get book knowledge but let me define it a little more clearly. Some people are best suited for very structured formalized education with a degree or some type of certification at the end. And some types of work demand this. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t care to have a surgeon work on me that hadn’t even bothered to graduate from medical school.

But some work really lends itself to independent study and frankly a degree isn’t very helpful. And the lines aren’t always that clear. Our favorite U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was a self-taught lawyer. Harry Truman didn’t graduate from college either.

If you gravitate toward independent study, I recommend you pick up a copy of “Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar: How Self-Education and the Pursuit of Passion Can Lead to a Lifetime of Success”. It’s written by James Marcus Bach. James dropped out of school at age 16 and a few years later was leading a team at Apple Computer. Today he is an expert in the field of computer software testing. He has taught this around the world at places like Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

If you want to be successful, education is not an option. You have to get education and keep getting it. Life-Long Learning is the only path that leads to sustained world-class performance. Most people should finish high school and even a couple of years of college. But some people just do better with off-road versions of education.

Bottom Line: Discover your natural talents and spend the majority of your development efforts adding knowledge that supports those talents.
Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Coaching, Class, and Collaborator Comments

The Purpose of this letter is to describe the benefits I enjoyed from my coaching experience with Dale Cobb. I had a very specific issue, which I needed help getting over the hump with. Our conversations were very helpful in keeping me on track and getting me to the finish line. I believe that Dale is a keen observer of the human condition and has the ability to reflect back an individuals thoughts and goals as one strives for success. I found the services offered by Dale to be timely and effective. In the future, I am sure I will be presented with challenges that require outside assistance. When that time comes, I will not hesitate to call on Dale for his fresh bright and insightful guidance.

Joe Sexton, Managing Partner, CFR Executive Search, Chicago, Illinois

“Working with Dale has always been rewarding. Dale has always been on the leading edge developing new ways of marketing his products and services. Always willing to try new approaches and follow through... Always convincing.”

Fred Friday, Junk King Franchise Owner, Chattanooga, Tennessee

"Dale has always impressed me with his integrity, marketing insights, compassion and follow through. He thinks outside the box, asks the questions that others fail to ask and has a real heart for training others to be the best they can be. You can count on Dale."

Tim Turner, Owner Turner Strategic, Atlanta, Georgia

“Dale is always the most prepared person in the room. He has the ability to listen and clarify the issue at hand. He is a creative, caring leader. He has always been a joy to work with.”

Beverly Sherman, Owner Creative Connections, Lansing, Michigan

“I would like to take the opportunity to offer my recommendation for Dale Cobb. He has the remarkable ability to clearly listen to a problem, understand the issues and suggest a course of action that satisfies the needs of me and my clients. I cannot tell you how many times his advice was precisely what I needed to close a deal or carefully resolve a difficult situation. He is resourceful and creative in his teaching style. Over all he helped me to be more efficient and successful in my career.”

Michael Ward, Houston, Texas

“Dale gives attention to detail and runs one of the best team meetings I’ve ever seen. He has the keen ability to make complex things seems simple enough that anyone could understand them.”

Elwyn Henderson, Owner-Partner Mosaic Images, Gilmer, Texas

“Thank you for all your time and encouragement. With your advice and direction, I was able to get a decent job offer. They even complimented my resume.”

Ben Davidson, Visalia, CA