New Adventures for the Old You (part 3)
Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 12:20PM
6. Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see. Reinventing yourself means taking inventory about who you really are and what you are really about. Its about the process of understanding the relationship between the new developing you and the unique opportunities that are lying (already there) waiting to be unearthed by you. This requires your own personal/professional archaeological expedition. You're not depending on what you hear at the water cooler at work or what some national poll said about job opportunities but by doing your own personal research with books, people, web sites, newspapers, magazines, and the list goes on. One important lesson that I've learned over the years is that whether working down the street, in the next city or overseas - nothing is as it appears. Don't depend on hearsay. Find out out for yourself what the real deal is.
7. Perfect the art of conversation. When I worked in recruitment and marketing at Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington, DC a huge part of my job was to know how to engage people in conversation. Find out about their lives. Who are they? What are they interested in? Where have they been? Where do they want to go? As you can see these are all questions (and during these conversations I learned an inordinate amount of interesting things!) In this process of talking and listening to CEOs, diplomats, ambassadors, educators and students (to name a few), I often discovered that the questions they asked me allowed only limited responses - which is problematic - especially if you are in the information seeking department. People didn't know how to ask good questions. I can't begin to emphasize the power of asking a good question (let alone multiple questions). If you want to reinvent yourself and sharpen your conversation skills. . . know how to ask excellent questions. I guarantee it will introduce you to new ideas, places and opportunities, and create a conversation of immense value.
8. Know the art of storytelling. When in the process of changing careers or taking a new path in life nothing is more important than knowing what your story is and how to tell it. Why did 'No Country for Old Men' win the Academy Award for best picture? Why are the Harry Potter books the third best selling book series of all time? Because they tell an interesting story that engages people. Your story about you needs to capture peoples attention. It needs to draw them in. It needs to make them think. It needs to encourage them to ask questions. If you ever read Rolling Stone's articles about new or legendary artists - there is always a back story. These artists want you to know who they are and why you should buy their music. Even though many of us aren't rock stars the principal still applies. Who are you and why should we pay any attention to you?
9. See the negative space. Seeing what others don't see is key to reinventing yourself. That means you have the ability to identify and exploit opportunities that are not apparent to others. HIGHLY ADVANTAGEOUS. This means knowing how to look at situations and scenarios and see what's there, but maybe not so obvious. For example see the FedEx logo below. What do you see?
10. Think at the intersection (not outside the box). Ladies and gentlemen if you are about to embark on your new journey by thinking outside the box, you might want to reconsider. Thinking at the intersection (in our opinion) is where it's at. As they say 'nothing is new under the sun'. But what can be new is the way you intersect ideas. When reinventing yourself you are in essence at the intersection. The old you intersecting with the new you. That's where the future is. For you and the new market in which you are reinventing yourself to be a part of. All you have to do is open your eyes to see the intersection in action; Apple (nike+ipod), Pinkberry (yogurt+designer environment+music), Netflix (movie renting +internet +US mail system) to name just a few.
