Tag Archives: Think

“Is it form over function or function over form?”

Posted on by
Reply

contraforma-awkward-rockerGooglefreeimages082814

 

Here’s a Post which was published by LinkedIn.com within the past half-hour.:

 

“Have you ever been told, “That’s not what you are supposed to do.  That responsibility belongs to someone else.”  While you may have a Title for your position, it doesn’t necessarily explain what you actually do.  A Form usually relates to one thing and a Function relates to the activity of a specific Form.

The answer may lie in what binds the Function to the Form, whether by a job description, perceptions, testimonials or accomplishments.  As we begin to think about our upcoming Labor Day – how would you describe what you do – is it Form over Function or Function over Form? 

What do your customers expect from you. . . Function or Form? How often has it happened to you that you visit a retail store and what you wanted to buy is not sold by the Form name of the retail store?   Perhaps you contacted an Accounting firm, only to learn that the specialty service you want to hire is not found within the firm’s members?   Form over function sounds simple, but it isn’t.   

Another way of looking at form over function and function over form is to consider the word “feedback”.    Is feedback just a comment or response, or your understanding of what was said, or advice, or an opinion or a demonstration of your listening skills?  While you may have merely given encouragement to someone’s decision, it was received as advice, which was not your intention.   Perhaps this topic is another puzzle for us to work out in our careers because we live in a fluid, every-changing world.  

Consider as you Choose How You Want to be Known As, what is your answer to the Form or Function question.  Have a great day!” 

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

 

What’s your insightful oversight…

Gallery

Posted on by

This gallery contains 2 photos.

It’s always a new experience to witness what an Editor chooses for the public to read, admire, or enhance an understanding about the world at large.  I recently set up a software portfolio of my interests and discovered, yet again how … Continue reading →

“Hear, Heard and Hearing”

Gallery

Posted on by

This gallery contains 1 photo.

            I published a Post on LinkedIn.com this morning, and hope you find value in it’s message:  http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140811163252-32215190-hear-heard-and-hearing   “Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

Missed, Misstep or Mistake

Gallery

Posted on by

This gallery contains 2 photos.

  Mistakes are the portals of discovery. James Joyce    Since we are not perfect, we often place stress on ourselves when we don’t fully understand what happened following a “blip” in our careers.  Was it a mistake or a … Continue reading →

Right now, at this moment, and no place else

Aside

ResilienceHefferBlogspotdotcomGoogle121713

During your career, I’m sure you have realized it’s not easy to answer the question, “What do you want, right now, at this moment?”  Perhaps it’s because we don’t often get what we want or we don’t give ourselves permission to get what we want.  The reasons for this are so numerous; they would easily fill an unabridged dictionary.  So how would you answer the question, “Right now, at this moment, and no place else, what do you want?”

Perhaps there are actions available to you right now.  Are they reasonable, at this moment?  If the WANT is within your reach, what impact does not attaining your WANT have in your life right now?

A well-respected Neuroscientist, Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, offers tips on “How to Reset Your Brain” as follows:

 

Change is Pain.     Behaviorism doesn’t work.

Humanism is over rated.  FOCUS is power.

Expectation shapes reality.

Start by leaving problems in the past.

Focus on identifying and creating new behaviors.

Self-insight creates change, not advices.

 

Dr. Schwartz explains that the reasons why goals weren’t met may be valid, i.e. the goals didn’t support or generate change.  So give yourself time to think.  When you do so, you generate new circuits of thought.  And with continued practice, new behaviors of change help you to achieve your WANTS.

Dr. Schwartz also tells us to remind ourselves to think regularly.  As you Choose Who You Want to be Known As this Summer weekend in July, consider whether this is an avenue that brings value to you.  Enjoy.

 

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

Notes:  AMEX OPEN FORUM, Strategy and Business Section, “The Neuroscience of Change, or How to Reset Your Brains.” Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine. December 8, 2011.

http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Belief, Believed, Believing…

Aside

valuesAndBeliefs.00Ning063014

 

 

A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.  Henrik Ibsen

 

Recently, I heard a statement made by former President Bill Clinton that made me stop what I was doing because I chose to believe what he said.  (http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-transcript-june-29-2014-n143826).  I was reminded how often we believe what we hear because it may make sense to us, yet it doesn’t meet the reality of facts.  What leads us to believe something is true or not?   Belief, Believed, Believing  may come into play with our answer.

We say, I can’t believe it” — when we hear good news about someone we know and we say, “I can’t believe it” when we hear very sad news about a tragedy.  On the other hand, we choose to believe our impressions of someone we just met, because we have a belief our judgment is correct.  Our birth and business cultures strongly influence us as to our Beliefs, what we Believed and are Believing.  Our experiences and schooling surely play out in our Beliefs as well.  As we are approaching the remembrance of the founding of our country in a few days, why do we believe so strongly in America and its values?

What we regard as true is a belief.  Frequently in our careers, we may be asked to describe what we do for a living and how we would describe what we do in a few words. We want our answers believed.

As we Choose Who We Want to be Known As – We Believe in ourselves and what we do.  Have a great Holiday Week!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

Notes: http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-transcript-june-29-2014-n143826.

The description of the word “belief”, Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

Judging, judged, judge

Aside

we-judgeBING032414

 

 

The frog never judges, never evaluates, and never gives advice – it merely offers questions.  Dr. Karl Albrecht

 

Frequently in our careers, we find ourselves being judged by our actions, or lack of action on an issue.  How do we handle it?  We may answer, “I forgot,” “I guess I didn’t make it a priority.”  “Thanks for reminding me, I’ll take care of it right now.”   The answers are many and varied in response to someone who may be in a situation of  Judging, Judged or Judge.  Dr. Karl Albrecht in his 2004 book entitled,  Conversations With a Frog (http://www.amazon.com/Conversations-Frog-Dr-Karl-Albrecht/dp/0913351172)  guides us to consider asking questions and not evaluate or judge someone because within a professional coaching situation, questions are the norm.

 

Dr. Wayne Dyer offers the following thought:

Green_Leaf_2WayneDyerquoteonjudgingothersBING032414This quotation begs the question of whether how you would act in a situation comes out in a conversation and not how the person you may be speaking to has acted.    It’s a learned practice not to judge others.   Experts tells us a new habit can be learned within some 21 days.   The Season of Spring often helps us look forward to new ways and opportunities to develop ourselves.   If it’s a good fit for you, consider how you Choose Who You Want to be Known As in the next situation of Judging, Judged, Judge.

 

Have a wonder Spring Season in your Career!

 

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach & Change Agent

 

 

 

A Way for Silence

Aside

euripides-poet-silence-is-true-wisdoms-best

When you fall down, are you alone or are you in public, or was someone nearby that helped you stand straight.  Because I have a weak right ankle, there have been a few times I have fallen down during the daytime in pubic when the pavement was not even.  The way of Silence surrounding this event is astonishing.

Since I did grow up in a football family, I watched the 2014 Super Bowl.  Early on,  sports announcers gave positive explanations why the Professional Denver Broncos may have been nervous and missed certain plays.  This worldwide event has been taken apart and analyzed by many experts in the sports field.  This blog is focusing on a different aspect to this event. . . The way of Silence.

Many of us have grown up with advice, “If you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything.”  When someone is down, you don’t step on them and make they feel worse.

I took a look for a reporter’s take on the 2014 Super Bowl published this morning and found: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947809-super-bowl-2014-blowout-score-was-most-shocking-result-in-years.  The way of Silence was taken by a reporter who gave quiet reflection.  He wrote in a positive way how the Broncos were not the only Offense Team beaten in a Super Bowl.  The way of Silence allowed reframing to take the sting out of the Broncos performance.

We can’t change what happened yesterday in our careers.  We can only Choose Who We Want to be Known As when we fall down.  Hopefully, we can fall into the Way of Silence and reframe the situation.  Have a great week!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coaching & Change Agent

Notes:  http://en.wordpress.com/tos/

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947809-super-bowl-2014-blowout-score-was-most-shocking-result-in-years

The SOMETHING we deal with wherever we are…

Aside

ResilienceHefferBlogspotdotcomGoogle121713

Last week when I awoke, it was one degree outside.  When I came home, some 13 hours later and as I opened my car door and stepped out, it felt wonderful and much warmer.  It really did.  I checked my cell phone and was surprised to read it was only 14 degrees.   What?  That’s all?  The something we deal with wherever we are is getting through our day the best we can by being resilient.

Snow fell this week in Vietnam; it caused a traffic jam, not primarily because of the weather.  Many people who had never seen snow drove to see where it fell.  Snow fell over the Middle East as well.  A Jordanian Prince joined other people to help a motorist out of a snow bank.  Below is a Picasso image of resilience that the editor(s) of http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/   chose to represent resilience.  What do you think?

resilienceEssentiallifeskillsdotnetGoogle121713

When we are at our workplace, the SOMETHING we deal with  usually comes up when an emotional response takes place.    [Should I take a moment and manage my emotions before speaking to anyone else?]   How did this happen?  What’s the first response to our staff?  What information do we need that we don’t as yet have?  What must we address right now, later today or tomorrow?   How am I dealing with the element of survival at this moment?  What can I do that I haven’t done before to control myself, and remain aware of what’s going on to assist other people?

As you choose Who You Want to be Known As this week, when YOU deal with that SOMETHING, consider this – – – 395807_157593734356934_1584943477_n2karlinsloanwordpressdotcomGoogle121713

I hope you Shine brightly, whatever your activity this week.

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

Note:  The images shown in this blog post were allowed to be copied and pasted from Google Images.

 

No ONE is looking…

Aside

P14927734noOneislookingGoogle092613

The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.  Coach John Wooten

Another Season has begun this week and people seem busier than ever to catch up on what may not have been finished or even started on their “short list” for 2013.   Many of our Leaders continue to show how they manage themselves in times of increased disharmony in the world.   While the detractors seem never to be satisfied, it’s a lesson for us to witness the positive history unfold before us.

Character tough times reveals truthGoogle092613

Wherever we work, we’ve seen situations that don’t make sense to us.  How did that person get the promotion?  What’s the story behind that?  What could I have done differently to  place myself in line for a promotion?  Why didn’t I create an opportunity to be considered for a promotion?        We accept realities of what we can do and what we cannot do.  Yet, as human beings, we work on how we accept the unknown and what the unknown means in our day-to-day lives.

The quotations about Character shown in this Blog remind us of a quotation, from different perspectives.  http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/sitesearch?FILTER=colQuotations&query=character+is+who+you+are+when+no+one+is+looking  Leaders may not always be right.  They may not always be aware  when someone is “looking” at what they do.  They may not be aware how often someone is watching their performance under very stressful situations.  They do, however, influence us and challenge us to decide whether we agree or disagree with their actions.

3ab79fde905ba3028fbadca1b7841856_viewthosewhodonothingforyogoogle092513uWhat do you do best when challenged with an unknown?  How do you handle yourself when your boss is watching you at work?  Do you act the same way with your co-workers as you do with your boss?  When no one is looking, Who do you want to be known as?

Have a great Fall Season as you look, watch or be yourself!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coaching and Change Agent