A Whole New Mind

I don’t think of myself as a pure right-brain, however, Daniel Pink in the book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink it lists a set of skills that everyone needs to use in order to find success.

It is a bit like the American Way and the book does cover a bit of politics too; but I thought it was an interesting read.

Pink focuses on people belonging to the New World. I thought the list was interesting and I liked the creative way in which he has given names to the qualities:
1. Design – moving beyond function to engage the sense
2. Story – Narrative added to products and services – not just argument. Best of the six senses.
3. Symphony – Adding invention and big picture thinking (not just detail focus)
4. Empathy – Going beyond logic and engaging emotion and intuition.
5. Play – Bringing humour and light-heartedness to business and products.
6. Meaning – Feelings and values of products.

Pink talks about these six essential aptitudes on which he sees his professional success and personal fulfilment to have been based on. How do you fair against these six qualities that Pink sees as essential for the creative being? Do you need to practice or acquire any skills? Perhaps something to consider and food for thought…

Improve Your Memory

Few would disagree that improving our memories can enrich our lives in countless little ways – from ensuring that we remember birthdays, anniversaries and appointments to having impressive facts and figures always at our fingertips; and from recalling names and faces to being able to speak in public without notes.

Skillkick have published a book called ”Improve Your Memory” which provides a repertoire of ways to enhance memory – by training it to be more effective, and by following various tried and tested practical techniques and systems to combat forgetfulness; with visualizations, tips and practical instruction: a concise, fact-packed introduction to memory improvement.

The book covers the following key topics:-
Memory Exercise
Tips and habits for memory improvement
25 memory improvement tips and habits
How to improve long term memory
Goals, commitment and practice

”Improve Your Memory” is for all those people who believe they have a poor memory. The contents of this book will completely change your perspective on memory.

The book is available in Large Print and Braille. Please contact Skillkick direct for cost & postage.

If this subject is of interest, you may wish to attend Skillkick's Improve Your Memory training course.

Book Review: Creating You & Co

What are you reading at the moment? I recently finished reading ‘Creating You and Co” William Bridges, the author, talks about how in today’s business environment, workers must begin to think of themselves as independent contractors, not lifetime employees. He talks you through a process that examines the market’s needs and your own resources to find work that both satisfies and supports you. He provides a career development programme in four easy steps:

•How to discover and describe the unique mix of resoures that you bring to the new work place

•How to develop an eye for markets and use it to search for the best places to apply your resources

•How to combine the personal data about your resources with the external information about opportunitites into a viable product

•How to reinvent your career as a one person business, built around the creation and delivery of that product and how to create a practical plan to develop that business.

Part 1: WHY YOU NEED YOU AND CO has two chapters

In Chapter 1 ‘WHY IT’S SO HARD TO FIND A REALLY GOOD JOB’ – he talks about how jobs are changing and where to focus your energies. He advises on how you can look into the futre at what industries are developing. There are a list of questions to ask yourself.

In chapter 2, ‘FINDING YOUR LIFEWORK THROUGH YOUR D.A.T.A’ – the author discusses old qualifications and new qualifications and helps you to focus on your D.A.T.A – DESIRES, ABILITIES, TEMPERAMENT and ASSETS

Part 2: MINING YOUR D.A.T.A has four chapters

In chapter 3, ‘DESIRES:WHY YOU SHOULD DO WHAT YOU WANT’ – the author discusses why desires create effectiveness and how to identify your desires. He talks you through some key steps and there are some activities to do.

In chapter 4:. 'ABILITIES: WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT?' – the question ‘do you know what your abilities are’ is asked and looks at what you can do! What are your abilities? There’s a chart for you to complete looking at all areas of your life – hobbies, interests, family life, friends, relationships, professional relationships, other ativities etc.

In chapter 5: YOUR TEMPERAMENT AND YOUR VOCATION’ – the author asks you to look at the core of who you are. What is your temperament and what does it tell you?

In chapter 6: IDENTIFYING YOUR ASSETS - the chapter looks at skills, credentials, experiences and there’s a table to complete to work through an exercise.

Part 3: TURNING YOUR D.A.T.A INTO A PRODUCT has 4 chapters

In chapter 7: FINDING YOUR OPPORTUNITY – you examine your market, advice on how to identify potential markets and identify unmet needs. There’s a step by step exercise to follow.

In chapter 8: CREATING YOUR PRODUCT – looks at envisioning your market. The author talks about how you don’t need to be entrepreneur or have a cutting edge product. There’s an exercise to look at designing your product.

In chapter 9: RUNNING YOUR MICROBUSINESS - the author looks at the future of small business and a whole series of steps on how to remodel your career into a business.

In chapter 10: MAKING YOUR PLAN AND GETTING STARTED – the final chapter covers how to create your business plan.

All in all a brilliant book and one I definitely recommend!