This collection of work-connected articles covers a wide range of the tools necessary to get employment, to do a good job and to progress. As a tradesperson needs first to know his tools and then to practice with them, so administrative and personal skills are only gained with frequent use and review.
The tools in this book are not to be learned parrot-fashion. They need to be applied thoughtfully and critically because circumstances change and not every tool can be used in the same way in every situation.
Excerpt:
There are many aspects to following a successful career. They are mostly derived from two characteristics of personality: ability and application. A person with much ability has an easier time than another who is less able but the individual with less ability can also succeed through greater application.
Ability covers a person’s capacity to solve problems by logical means. This has been called intelligence. However, just being clever is not sufficient to ensure career success. Intelligence must be balanced with personality: how a person behaves in a particular situation – whether a leader or a follower, diplomatic or forthright, assertive or sociable, formal or relaxed, decisive or hesitant. All of these characteristics will contribute to the ease with which a person can fit into an organisation.
Application is related to how hard a person tries. Physical fitness can be defined in terms of strength, stamina, suppleness, skill and psychological drive or determination. So it is with fitness to succeed in employment. The psychological drive is the will to succeed. Skill comes from knowing the rules and practising them to a level of competence. Suppleness is the flexibility to survive in changing situations. Stamina means perseverance through the tough times, when dealing with difficult situations or temperamental colleagues. Strength is acquired by training and it does not come easily. Application means applying all of these characteristics in the context of employment.
This collection of work-connected articles covers a wide range of the tools necessary to get employment, to do a good job and to progress. As a tradesperson needs first to know his tools and then to practice with them, so administrative skills are not gained in a moment. “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”. So this compendium contains some tools. They are not to be learned parrot-fashion, but applied thoughtfully and critically because circumstances change and not every tool can be used in the same way in every situation.
These guidelines are intended to help you and your colleagues avoid some pitfalls and to be able to do better what you may already do well.
