Give me an "A"

MAP
If you read my previous post entitled, "Are you a genius", you are now waiting for me to explain the A in the MAP process of discovering your genius.  Well to recap since it has been a few days since I've posted, the M is Motivation.  It's about taking the time to discover or re-discover what you have a true passion for.  What you care about. What motivates you to take action.  But being motivated and passionate don't necessarily translate to being good at something.

A is for Abilities
So let's jump to the A - Abilities.  What comes easy to you?  Reading, Basketball, Cooking, Encouraging?  Stop reading and take a few minutes to jot down some thoughts on your abilities.  It's not just about your natural abilities but also those learned abilities and the ones you've gained through experience.  They can be functional or relational. Everyone has them so don't cop out and say, "I'm not good at anything."  You may not be a world class athlete but you may be a world class encourager.  If evaluating yourself is just too difficult ask someone who knows you very, very well to give you some direction. Now I say direction because you are the only one who can definitively say, "Yes, that's one of my abilities." Don't feel pressured by what others say if it doesn't feel right. Okay?

Give me a M, Give me an A...
We're not done yet though.  Having an idea of your Motivation and your Abilities is great but there's one more piece of the puzzle that will clarify the context in which you should use your Motivation and Abilities.  We'll get to the P in my next post.  Stay tuned.

Designing offices for the four work modes can boost productivity by more than 20 per cent

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1385fe50-ac1e-11dd-aa46-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

When I read this article in the Financial Times, I found it interesting that Gensler, the international architecture and interior design firm, has identified 4 work modes that more or less correlate with the 4 basic personality types. Hmmm. I like it - that is, I like the concept, not necessarily the way Edelman PR has implemented it in their London offices. I'm not much into "lights decorated with small paper drawings of Japanese erotica." That goes more to values than personality, I guess.

If education were this flexible in its approach would we see a 20% boost in learning?! In most of education, business and in life things end up being about understanding yourself, understanding others and then adapting to communicate in the way the other person (or organization) can best understand. This doesn't mean you shouldn't want to have a consistent brand. It just means you need to tailor how you communicate your brand's one thing to your different audience segments. From the personality side, one of my favorite books in this area is The Platinum Rule by Tony Alessandra. He says that it's not the Golden Rule that says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" that builds productive relationships but the Platinum Rule that states, "Do unto others as they would have done unto them." Another book from more of the brand side of the equation is The Experience Economy by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore who look at the 4 realms of Experience. Adapting-to-connect works in relationships and in the type of environment you provide in the workplace as well.

What should change at your office?

--Charles