HOW TO USE ALL YOUR RESOURCES

Brains are wonderful. So much is present within the small space between the ears. But there is so much more. There are millions of resources that express countless ideas and opinions , some wonderful and some not so much! But if the ONLY resource you use is your own brain, you are either sadly mistaken about its use as a complete reference source, you have delusions of grandeur, you are bulletproof, or you live on an island in the middle of an ocean.

Move through everyone you know with an open mind and listen to ideas that come from the top and bottom of the chain of power. It is not unusual for the least powerful person in an organization to have the clearest idea of what is going on in the system. To miss any link is like missing a chapter in a book: you never know which sentence in which paragraph in which chapter may be critical to the plot.

Managers should pay attention to which employees want to learn and which employees resist new information. An employee who is not open to new information is a risk. They are either sadly mistaken about their own use as a complete reference source, they have delusions of grandeur, are bulletproof, or live on an island in the middle of the ocean. Real experts are open to learning more. Be suspicious of an expert who sees themselves as the be-all and end-all resource of even their own field of expertise.

Expand Your Data Base

• ask questions

• demand off site training hours

• read books, magazines, pamphlets

• look at bibliographies for other book ideas

• eavesdrop on conversations when your are out for coffee

• surf the internet, see movies

• travel out of town

• take a class

• listen to the radio

• attend free lectures

• look at community bulletin boards

• go to counseling

• hire a consultant

• get a life coach

• grab free pamphlets at conferences, ask questions of speakers at workshops

• talk to your counterpart at the competition

• go out for coffee with someone you meet at a seminar, ask more questions

• go to used book sales, the library,

• talk with people more important than you

• talk with people less important than you

• seek wisdom from children, talk with a reference librarian

• read a doctoral dissertation or a masters thesis

• seek wisdom from traditions and people from other cultures

• ask your parents or grandparents for opinions before they are gone

• always keep your eyes and ears open for a new thought; be curious