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power points

Advertising agency head Steve McKee spends a lot of time in the swimming pool and recommends it highly. The pool is one of the few domains unsullied by e-mails, phone calls, texts and the like and, when you swim, you have little to do but think, which a rarity is these days.

Among his thoughts were 13 lessons from the pool to help you at work, which he shared on the Smart Brief Blog:

  • When the water’s cold, the best way to warm up is to get swimming: Starting something new can be intimidating, so we procrastinate. Instead, dive in.
     
  • Be careful when the water feels relaxing: If you choose, he says you can make a training pool feel like a hot tub. But don’t get too comfortable; you’ll be sweating soon.
     
  • There will always be resistance; getting through it gracefully is the point: To increase your efficiency, in the pool and outside, you need to learn how to reduce resistance.
     
  • You can add speed to form but not vice versa: “Tempo is temporary. Form is forever,” he says.
     
  • Flailing is the first step in drowning: Mindless activity won’t get you anywhere and can be exhausting. Sometimes the key to survival is to do less.
     
  • It’s okay to go through the motions occasionally as long as you maintain your discipline: Some days, the last thing you want to do is swim. Get out of bed and do it anyway. It’s important to be disciplined.
     
  • It doesn’t matter how deep the water gets if you swim on top: Don’t be scared. Fear is unproductive. Be confident. If you know what you’re doing, it will work out well.
     
  • Treading water is a skill: Sometimes you have no way to move forward. Accept the situation. It’s temporary. Conserve your energy.
     
  • The closer you are to the bottom, the more you will notice your progress: This comes from physics – the narrower your field of vision, the easier it is to determine if you are making headway.
     
  • Races are won and lost on the turns: No endeavour always heads in the same direction. There will be twists and turns. Knowing how to handle them effectively can be critical.
     
  • Waves should be welcomed: Learn how to breathe in rough water.
     
  • If the pace is too slow, you can always work on your stroke: “We all swim in circles occasionally. When you can’t be as productive as you would like, look for other ways to improve,” he says.
     
  • You can curse the pain for revealing you are weak or bless it for making you strong: Struggles are usually unpleasant but when you transcend them the sense of accomplishment is satisfying.

"In swimming, as in life, the difference between those who learn to thrive and those who take a dive is whether they view the water as friend or foe. That which slows you down can also lift you up. The choice is yours," he concludes.

Stop. Look. Listen.

When you were a kid, your parents told you that when you came to a railway track you should stop, look and listen. Communications consultant David Grossman urges you to follow the same advice in conversations to become an adept listener.

On his blog, he says the skill comes in two stages. The first is the listening basics:

  • Stop: Stop talking during conversation. Be quiet. Resist the urge to focus your attention on what you want to say next.
     
  • Look: Actually look directly at the person speaking, which helps to take in what they are saying. Avoid multi-tasking.
     
  • Listen: Listen with an open mind. Don’t be caught up in what you expect or want to hear. “If you’re someone who finishes other’s sentences or sometimes interrupts, those are two clues that you’re not listening,” he warns. Ask questions and paraphrase back what you are hearing to be sure you understand correctly.

When you are adept at those skills, he suggests trying these more advanced listening skills:

  • Listen for what is not said. If you don’t, you could miss something critical.
     
  • Adapt your listening style to the other person’s conversing style. “Introverts need more time to process, and listening means being comfortable with silence. Since extroverts think out loud, listening means more paraphrasing back to ensure you understand the main point he or she is trying to make in a potentially long-winded and confusing way,” he explains.
     
  • Ask questions that help to explain the broader issues at stake rather than getting caught up in narrower tactical issues. That means starting with open-ended questions like, “Help me understand ...” or “How do you envision ...?” or “What’s the outcome you seek?” Once you understand that dynamic, you should pursue more direct questions to learn more and better understand how these conclusions were arrived at.

You had to learn to swim or ride a bicycle. Similarly, he says you will need to consider how to listen effectively and then practise, practise, practise.

20 inconvenient career truths

Here are 20 inconvenient truths careers coach Chrissy Scivicque shared on the Eat Your Career blog:

  • Almost everyone starts at the bottom, and you probably will too.
     
  • There are no “right” answers for career fulfillment. Every path is different and every destination unique.
     
  • It is not enough to be good at what you do. In other words, talent and skill will only take you so far.
     
  • Work is not separate from the rest of your life. The notion of compartmentalizing it is a myth.
     
  • Professional growth requires discomfort.
     
  • If you’re unhappy with your career, it’s up to you to change it.
     
  • Almost every job has a trade-off. You are unlikely to get everything you want in one place.
     
  • Achieving long-term career goals requires sustained effort and deliberate action. It doesn’t occur by accident or coincidence.
     
  • Your career is about YOU.
     
  • A successful job search doesn’t happen overnight; it takes anywhere from three to six months.
     
  • If you hate your job, it probably won’t get better with time.
     
  • Just as any successful business owner has a business plan, every successful professional should have a career plan.
     
  • Money may be the reason you have to work, but it should not be the true motivation.
     
  • Bad career advice is everywhere. “If it sounds too simple to be true, it probably is,” she stresses.
     
  • If you find yourself job-hopping and nothing ever satisfies you for any period of time, it’s time to look at yourself.
     
  • Every company has a person who gets away with slacking off, taking all the credit or earning more than they deserve. But it’s not your problem; let it go.
     
  • If you’re not willing to invest in your career, why would any company be willing to invest in you?
     
  • Most people change careers three to seven times in their lives. (Which, she stresses, doesn’t mean that you will).
     
  • Layoffs happen, so you may get fired or forced out. You’ll survive and be stronger for it.
     
  • No one achieves career success alone. The most successful professionals nurture their networks, show support and give more than they expect to get.

Quick hits

  • Along with those lessons from the pool, take some lessons from dogs, which consultant Krissi Barr calls The Fido Factor: Dogs are faithful, inspirational, determined, and observant.
     
  • Improve your “time intelligence.” Raj Narayanaswamy, co-founder of the project and time management platform Replicon, tells Fast Company you should track your time for a week or more, so you can figure out how to be more effective. After tracking for six months, he found he was spending a quarter of his work day driving and adjusted his patterns.
     
  • A day spent doing important work is rare – and precious – says entrepreneur Seth Godin. Watch the tendency to allocate time to what’s fun, urgent, or fear-based.
     
  • To avoid setting up a meeting in a restaurant or café where you can’t hear the other person, try the iHearu app, which indicates the noise level at different times.
     
  • Your first thought is rarely your best thought, says blogger Shane Parrish. Schedule time to wrestle with a given issue at length.

Gordon Moore’s idea was that the power of the microprocessor would double every two years

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