Here is one of my favorite writers and thinkers: Thomas Friedman. He is speaking to The Aspen Institute. This is a short snippet from his talk. Here he gives his daughters four pieces of advice for succeeding in the new, flat world of the 21st century.
Watch this. Connect Friedman's four pieces of advice to Newport's theory of Career Capital, which (to refresh) is that deliberate practice leads to rare and valuable skills. Those rare and valuable skills can (over time) be leveraged to gain increasing amounts of freedom, impact, and control in your work. And remember, freedom, impact, and control lead you to have work you love and have passion for.
Be sure to leave at least two connections. Then leave responses to feedback from two of your classmates.
Connection 1:
ReplyDeleteThink like an immigrant - how can you be so good, you can't be ignored?
Thomas Friedman says, "Think like an immigrant - Stay Hungry." New immigrants have, what Friedman calls, optimistic paranoia. This means that, even though they are optimistic that they will do well in their new home and lives, it could be taken from them at any moment. I believe that this is like how Cal Newport is trying to get us to think. We should always be optimistic, but always on our toes. If we aren't the best of the best, who is? Who Is challenging you for that title? You should always be learning and improving, so that you don't end up being ignored.
Connection 2:
Think like an artisan - Deliberate practice
Friedman also says to, "Think like an artisan and take pride in your work." An artisan creates works that are so good, he needs to carve his initials into them. Friedman says to take this approach to your work. Do your work so well that it makes you want to 'carve' your initials into it. This is similar to Newport's theory of deliberate practice. His example is guitarist Jordan Tice, who's work is so unique and so great, that it could only be his. Newport encourages us, like Friedman, to think like Tice and practice our work until we can take pride in it.
I agree. It is easy to point out a person who takes pride in what they do or make. It is very important to. If thou don't take pride in your work where will the recognition come from. How will people note the great things you have created?
DeleteI also believe constant learning his important to success. If we stop learning we stagnate and become content with our current situation.
Delete1. "Thing like a waitress at Perkins." Well, she practices control in her work. She might not control much as a waitress, but she controls, as Friedman says the distribution of fruit. As a result, she pleases her customers in a rare and valuable way, and, as a result, she receives a great tip. This, I think, illustrates that almost any form of work, under the right circumstances can lead to rare and valuable skills.
ReplyDelete2. I love the idea of "think like a new immigrant." For the immigrants the only way to work their way up is through deliberate practice. This applies to us in the new economy because, just like immigrants, we can have our jobs or our livelihoods taken from us at any second. Thus we like in paranoia. My brother, for example, has lost his job at least four times to automation. Luckily, he was wise to keep moving and learning (and gaining more rare and valuable skills) so that now he is in upper management at Crystal Sugar in Crookston. He lived in constant paranoia and kept gaining skills.
ReplyDeleteAlmost any job, as Friedman noted, can be automated or outsourced. Thus, it's vital to always be a little paranoid and do your best work in order to keep yourself at the cutting edge.
Look at the Detroit car industry. For much of their history they were at the cutting edge of cars. Yet, in the 1980s Japan began producing automobiles. Detroit still had the best engineers, mechanics, computer tech, and design people in the world. But they didn't stay on the cutting edge of car design and efficiency. Thus, foreign cars began to dominate the industry, leaving Detroit a shell of its former self.
They got lazy (via massive profits and worker compensation programs) and were almost driven out of the market.
I like when you mention that your brother, in order to overcome the automation, has built up rare and valuable skills as a form of job security because that's virtually what rare and valuable skills offer you other than the freedom, impact, and creativity that Newport discusses in his book.
DeleteConnection 1 - Think like a Waitress
ReplyDeleteFriedman uses the waitress example do demonstrate that everyone has control over their own sphere of influence. To think like an entrepreneur, and always try to improve things. This is an important point, its really important to improve the things you have control over and not worry about the thing you don't have control over.
Connection 2:
Think like a starter upper.
Friedman believes that we all should think like a new start up. To look for new opportunity everywhere and try to impact the world. If we think like a new startup, instead of looking at old things, we should look for things that have not been done before.
I agree. Even if you are at the top still thinking like a starter upper will allow you to go above and beyond the point you are at. On the other hand if you are at the top and don't think like a starter upper you are a lot more likely to plateau.
DeleteI agree with you that it is imperative that we always try to improve the things that we have control over, like an entrepreneur. With those few things in the world that we can control, we should always strive to be doing them better and better each day. If everyone had this mentality, always keeping in mind 'how can I do this even better,' the world would be a much better place.
DeleteI agree. If we look for new opportunities, we can take advantage of them and learn more rare and valuable skills.
DeleteI agree with you that people should look for new opportunities. That way you are looking for new things that have never been tried or done before. That way you can effect the world more.
Delete1. "Always think of yourself as a work in progress." What a great way to think! There is always something that we can do to improve, and like Friedman says "If you think you are finished, you really are finished." Once you think your done finished means that you are done improving. Once your done improving what is the point? You can't be or create anything out of the ordinary if you don't keep improving. Other people will continue improving while leaving you in the dust.
ReplyDelete2. "Think like a waitress in Perkins." What I got out of this is, whatever you do no matter the salary, do what you can to be special or unique. Instead of going through the motions be creative with what you can. Even if the job doesn't seem to have a point do what most people don't and you will be noticed eventually. Weather it's a tip or even a promotion, when you do things out of the ordinary you reconvene things out of the ordinary.
I agree with you're a work in progress. It tells you not to settle for just mediocre work. You should have an open mind about learning new things and becoming better.
DeleteI think where you mention that there is no point if you are "finished improving" ties really well into the chapter of Newport's book that my group has to teach where he mentions that it is the journey to a goal, not achieving the goal is what makes people happy.
DeleteI like the idea of always do things to make you stand out from the rest because thats what gets people promotions like you said, and eventually it will pay off.
DeleteI completely agree with you, I love that he says we need to think of ourselves as works in progress. I love this mentality and I live by it. In everything I do, I always ask myself, "What's the next step? How does this become bigger and better?" I always strive for perfection, and I believe that if just a few more of us thought like this, it could spread like wildfire and we would have a much better society.
ReplyDeleteThink like a starter upper- deliberate practice
ReplyDeleteWe should always be looking for new things to start. We shouldn’t always just go along with the things that are already there. We should start new things that are better than the already existing things. If new things aren’t started, the existing things will begin to plateau or peak, never getting better.
Think like a waitress at Perkins pancake house- impact
No matter what your job is or what pay you make, you can do something special at that job. Like the waitress, you could do something unexpected that others will appreciate. A job such as a waiter or waitress may seem like a terrible job, but somebody has to do it. And if someone does it, why not do it to the best of their ability?
I agree that we should venture out and find new things to try. We can't always live in a box with everything handed to us. I believe people are too scared to jump out of their comfort zone, me included. If we all did things that were uncomfortable to us, we would be more opened minded about things.
DeleteI like the thought of going out and trying new things because there might be something out there that you are exceptional at and it could because it could change your future for the good.
Delete"Think like an immigrant."
ReplyDeleteThis can be connected to Cal Newport's book because he keeps reminding us that you need to build up career capital and work at it very hard, as hard as you can. When the speaker talks about the immigrants attacking a task with vigor, oddly enough, it is very much like what Newport says, as I mentioned before.
"Think like an artisan."
This ties into Newport's book because it nearly exactly defines craftsman mindset. We are told that the artisan puts so much effort into their work and gets so much out of it that they are proud enough to carve their initials into it.
I agree that think like an artisan ties back to the craftsman mindset. People with that mindset are proud of what they have accomplished this far and happy to put their name on it.
DeleteI also agree with the think like an artisan does connect with craftsman mindset. The artisans put effort into their work and got so much out of it. They were so good they would carve their names into it. They knew that their hard work paid off in the end.
DeleteI agree that thinking like an immigrant connects most with the book because they utilize the craftsman mindset well.
DeleteThink like a waitress at Perkins:
ReplyDeleteAs a waitress you don’t control how much things cost or how much the cook puts on the plate. This waitress decided to do the things she could control, such as the amount of fruit, to the best of her ability. She treats her customers very well, so she ends up getting a better tip than most. She is a rare and valuable so people tend to tip more.
Always think of yourself as a work in progress:
I think that this is a great thing. He is saying there always a way for you to improve yourself or your business. That way you will become more successful in your career. If you think of yourself as finished, then you probably are. Nothing will change so people will pass you and you will be left behind.
I agree with you on the think of yourself as a work in progress. If we are always looking for ways to improve we will for sure be more successful. You need to always be noticed or else like you said you will be left behind.
DeleteThis is a good point. If you think of yourself as finished, you will be soon enough. Someone with more passion to grow is going to pass you soon enough.
DeleteThink like a waitress
ReplyDeleteI like when he talks about what the waitress does with the fruit. The waitress obviously does not have much control in her job. When she saw that she could control how much fruti she gave the customers she jumped right on the oppurtunity. She knew that the customers would like it and it got her more tips. She is using her rare and valuable skills to get the customers attention. We should always be looking for ways we can take control to catch others attention.
Think like a starter upper
We need to all take opputunites when they come. Big or small no matter what they are we could be impacting the world and we wouldnt even know it. Also stepping out of our comfort zones is a big thind that a lot of need to do. By doing that we are opening up so many more opputunites for ourselves to impact the world with out valuable skills.
I also like how he used the waitress giving extra fruit to the customer as an example. I think it really shows that what you control in your job, you should make the best of. Take your tasks and make them as rare and valuable as you can. Something that makes you stand out.
DeleteI really liked the waitress example too. As a waitress, she is ranked really low at her work place. She has basically no control over anything, other than the fruit and maybe a few other things. She took that opportunity to leave her mark, by giving them a little extra.
DeleteI like how you talk about the waitress. She used her skills to her advantage to improve her costumers experience and improve her own experience as well! That is a good example of how she is taking advantage of even the small opportunities.
DeleteAlways think of yourself as a work in progress. It's a good idea to keep an open mind. You should want to keep trying to be better. You have to be open to learning new things. Never settle for anything but your best.
ReplyDeletePerform a job as if it's good enough to carve your initials in. Never settle for anything but your best. Be like an artist and their artwork. They think their work is so good so they carve your initials in their work. Always want to be better then you are right now. Keep your mind open to all possibilities.
I totally agree! Open minds lead to innovation and success. And its true we should never settle, we're a generation who has a lot of potential.
Delete"Think like an immigrant" I like this because I think a lot of people get comfortable and just let things happen and don't try new things. Be optimistic and go out of your comfort zone. When you stay on your toes it allows you to learn new things causing you to stand out from the others.
ReplyDelete"Think like a waitress" I really can relate to this because I work at a gas station where we are told what to do, but there are small things that can get you more tips. I let the people use the coupon for the next time, and also I will wash their windows without them asking causing me to always gain more tips than the rest. Also it makes the customers a lot more pleasant.
I like that you say to stay on your toes. I think that it helps explain that you should be ready for any curveball thrown at you. Change is good, and you should accept it.
Delete1.Think of yourself as a work in progress. If you think you are finished, you are finished. You have pleated if you think that you are done. There is always room for improvement in everything. You can always learn something new. In fact, it's not what you know, it is what you do with it.
ReplyDelete2. Think like an artisan. They put so much work and effort into things they created that they were proud of the final product. They were so proud, that they would carve their initials into it. If we all had this mindset, our work would be so much better. We would work hard at everything we did because people would know that it was ours. When you really know that you have succeeded is when your work is so unique that you don't even need to carve your initials into it for people to know it is yours.
"Think like an artisan."
ReplyDeletePut your best work forward, always. This directly correlates with Newport's book when he talks about deliberate practice. If your work is not your best work, you need to throw all your efforts and time into it. When you do this, you will become so good they can't ignore you.
"Think like a new immigrant."
Immigrants are excited to start their lives in the new world. They are hungry for success, and approach every opportunity with more intensity than the average person. This goes over well with the boss figure, because they have something that is hard to find. This goes with Newport's book perfectly. The more rare and valuable skills you bring to the table, the better off you will be.
I agree with your thoughts on "Think like an artisan." To become so good they can't ignore you you must put in your best work EVERY day. If you are working just to slide by, your opportunities won't approve and you will be stuck where you are.
Delete"Think like an immigrant."
ReplyDeleteI liked this piece of advice because I think many people think that they don't have to work very hard to get a job or that a job will be handed to them. Friendman's words "Stay hungry" stuck out to me. Having the confidence to vigorously attack different challenges to land the best opportunities and jobs is a good personality trait to practice and have. "Staying hungry" requires deliberate practice which will lead you to have rare and valuable skills to later acquire career capital.
2. Think like an artisan.
Friedman says, "Do your job every day like you are going to carve your initials into your work." To be able to carve your initials into your work would require rare and valuable skills that will come from having deliberate practice at your job.Carving your initials into work would say that you are confident and proud of what you have accomplished. Newports craftsman mindset is what makes us proud of our work.
I agree that the craftsman mindset is what makes you proud of your work and that many people think that they will be handed a job when in reality they won't.
DeleteI like the idea of thinking like an immigrant because they come into the country knowing that nothing is going to be handed to them and so they used deliberate practice and hard work to achieve the craftsman's mindset.
ReplyDeleteThe second would be thinking like an artisan. You need to be proud and confident at what you do, but not only that you need to have the rare and valuable skills necessary to back up those "feelings."