In This Edition:
1.
Hot August Night
2.
Get on the Path
3.
Reach Out and Find a Partner
4.
The Care and Feeding of Partners
5.
Words to Ponder
Hot August Night
There is something about August that is comforting. No matter how
hot and disagreeable the weather, the days 'til autumn are now in sight.
The school soccer and football teams will be practicing again soon. The
humidity will lift. People will return to semi-normal schedules. We can
refocus our attention!
Get on the Path
In previous months we've discussed how when you win the battle for
your mind, you can win at nearly everything. Concurrently, as you age, the
harder it is to let go of attachments, but it's entirely attainable!
Fortunately, you can change at any age -- it simply requires making
conscious choices and sometimes taking unfamiliar paths.
Every new decision leads to more decisions. The action that you take
based on good thinking can change your career and your life. Sometimes, when
we're consumed by too many details -- too much information -- it makes sense
to switch mental gears and employ all of our faculties, especially the power
of intuition.
Time and time again, astounding achievements have been realized by
people who were able to look beyond what was known or accepted as true and
to use their intuitive faculties as well as recent observations to arrive
at current decisions.
Reach Out and Find a Partner
How often do we get stuck because we in our quest to be masters of
the universe, we don't link up with others who could assist us in wondrous
ways? Partnering with those around you can mean the difference as to whether
or not you accomplish something big that you'd like to get done. There is
something encouraging, stimulating, and even inspiring about partnering with
others who are seeking to achieve the same types of goals that you are.
It helps if you and your partner(s) proceed with the same intensity
to get something done. It also helps if you're striving for the same goal
at the same time, but it doesn't matter what you call yourselves (see
figures 1 and 2 on partnership terminology below). A classic example is two
workers studying for a career-related exam, such as the CPA Exam.
Of all the possible others with whom you could combine forces, your
professional peers are your easiest to identify and join in partnership.
Your peers consist of co-workers, other people in your line of work, and
others with whom you have a rather natural and easy communication channel.
Peer group partnerships tend to be more fluid, though potentially as
powerful as any of the other types of groups. Undoubtedly, you already
belong to one or more peer groups consisting of two or more people. If Kim
is one of the people you hang around with at work, and she also happens to
have expertise in a certain area that could make a big difference in your
ability to accomplish something, then Kim certainly is part of your array of
professional resources.
Every time you encounter another co-worker, however, you potentially
open yourself up to a world of opportunities, knowledge, contacts and
influence that you may not realize or notice based on a brief encounter.
Managers and staff people in other departments and other divisions who have
no formal role in what you're working on may serve as valuable resources.
Depending on their education, background, and experiences in general, you
may
find selected individuals who can serve as ad hoc trail guides, at least
pointing you in the right direction.
Consider this: a quick well-delivered phone call to one of these
valuable contacts, a one line email, or a brief encounter in the hallway
could result in you getting the right input at just the right time to propel
your project or task forward.
The Care and Feeding of Partners
In the professional services arena, accountants, attorneys,
dentists, doctors, engineers, and real estate agents traditionally initiate
firms as business partnerships. Changes in tax, liability, and estate
planning have combined to make the corporate form of organization far more
viable for many professional service firms. Still, even in the smallest of
informal groups, the two-person group, it is often preferred to have one
person who is in charge. Fifty-fifty partnerships sound fine, but can lead
to far more squabbles than those in which there is a clear leader.
When two friends form a partnership, trouble can loom because the
friendship itself can get in the way. If they've gotten along well for
years, each may assume that the same relationship is possible in a business
setting; however it's wise to be wary. Partnerships at work are a different
animal. Despite the pitfalls, there's something special about having one
other person with whom you partner that can draw out the best in both of
you.
As long as partners respect the capability and contributions of the
other, partnerships can go on and on, independent of what type of relations
the individuals have otherwise.
Words to Ponder
"Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to
your tasks." Phillips Brooks
"The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the
chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity." Mark
Twain
"When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment, or the
moment defines you." Kevin Costner in
Tin Cup
"Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought." Henri Bergson
"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right
things." Peter Drucker
