March 25, 2008
05:18 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
A week or so ago, I took a series of leadership and management training courses where I work. One of the tools we used was the Tracom Group's Social Style Self-Perception Questionnaire. It's all of 30 questions -- you have to select one of two options that detail how you see yourself interacting with the people in your life.
When you're done, your score places you in a quadrant that determines whether you're analytical, driving, amiable, or expressive -- or a combination of two. Additionally, you can also fall in what's called the "hub" position, in which your social style is more situational or nuanced. Interesting stuff!
Recommend This If you liked this, let others know:
February 16, 2008
05:20 pm | 0 recommendations | 3 comments
You'd think I'd have taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment by now, eh? Not so! But because I'm on a bit of a self-improvement kick so far this year, I decided it was high time. So this afternoon, I took the test through PersonalityDesk, which also offers several other assessment tests -- and perhaps more attractively, a telephone or email discussion of your results.
While my results -- which were ready in about an hour -- offered no real surprises, they were interesting, especially the type description and clarity of reported preferences, which indicates where you fall on a trajectory between the different preferences. I'm looking forward to the phone discussion -- which I'll schedule next week or so -- and in six months, I'll probably pony up for the longer Step II Interpretative Report.
Have you taken the MBTI? How have you used it in your work? Also, are there other personality assessments that you think are particularly useful? I'm curious to explore others to see what insight they might offer.
Recommend This If you liked this, let others know:
February 13, 2008
02:37 pm | 0 recommendations | 4 comments
The new edition of Design Within Reach's Workspace catalog arrived in the mail yesterday. And I felt like I was receiving a porn magazine. The catalog is as well designed as anything they sell, and I'm slightly ashamed of our Allsteel Inc. cube farm -- we couldn't have gone with Herman Miller, even?
Oh, that Liege desk. Meow, Quovis work table. Purr, Eames storage unit. But the real kicker for me is the veritable centerfold of office chairs on pp. 22-23. Eames, Mirra, Aeron, Liberty, Chadwick... I think I need a cold shower.
Recommend This If you liked this, let others know:
February 12, 2008
10:34 am | 0 recommendations | 1 comment
Last week, I got a phone call from the assistant for someone I didn't know. Apparently, he's a member of an organization I'm active in -- and he was calling area members in order to meet them and gauge whether there were any connections or synergies.
This person also appears to sell insurance, so I was somewhat skeptical, thinking that this was an easy way to check out potential sales leads. Regardless, I agreed to meet him for coffee yesterday afternoon.
He agreed to come to the neighborhood in which I work, and we arranged that he call from downstairs once he arrived. Then I'd go down and we'd repair to a local coffee shop. 30 minutes, 60 minutes, it's always worth meeting someone new.
Thing is, he never showed. The time we arranged came and went with no phone call. I called him, and the phone rang and rang. 30 minutes, 60 minutes, appointment long gone.
What was the point of that? Why have your assistant make an appointment you don't keep? Why not cancel or call ahead to say you're running late or need to reschedule? I kind of expect a call this week to do so, but I'm a little disappointed.
If you're going to cold call, show up. That's the whole point of the call.
Recommend This If you liked this, let others know:
February 11, 2008
07:47 pm | 0 recommendations | 1 comment
Some of the best tools are extremely simple and functional. And lately, I've been enamored with the Freecycle Network, a loosely knit group of people around the world who are dedicating to reusing cast-off items -- and thereby reducing the amount of waste they create.
Like Craigslist, eBay, and even Amazon Marketplace, it's a great way to get rid of Stuff You Don't Want, and while I use it as a sort of last resort -- say, if I can't unload something through one of the paying channels -- it's also an active, breathing embodiment of a philosophy of sorts. Even though making an exchange can be as easy as posting an item on the list, making arrangements for pickup with whomever expresses interest, and carrying it downstairs for them to cart off -- there's an energy and a spirit behind it that impresses me.
Tonight, I met Cecilia. She wanted several shopping bags of empty CD jewel cases that I'd posted a day or so ago. As I loaded the bags into her car, she told me that her husband was a musician, that he had a home studio, and that "empty CD cases are always useful."
Not only did I get rid of what could have been garbage, but I got to meet someone I might not have encountered otherwise -- and I got a story.
The model is simple to the extreme -- a series of Yahoo! Groups -- but it works. And that's wonderful.
Recommend This If you liked this, let others know:
