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One Person’s Common Sense Is Another’s Quantum Physics
Dec 27 2011

Bullet Train - China

How many times have you wondered why someone does not see what you see or get what you get?  How many times have people questioned you when you didn’t do something the way they might do it?  Just as you’ve wondered why certain people are clueless, people have probably wondered the same about you.

I’ve had the opportunity recently to take some career assessment tests.  They are like those tests you took in high school with a career counselor that told you that you should become a nurse, a teacher or you had no worthwhile skills at all.  Well fortunately or unfortunately, I happen to have some skills/talents but some of them seem to be opposing.  In other words, I have an unusual mix of abilities that can cause internal angst (surprise!).  Most of them label me as someone who can do multiple things (Jill-Of-All-Trades) or in other words…shudder…an entrepreneur.  This means I can be a geneticist, a trial lawyer, a pharmaceutical sales rep, a recruiter, a coach/counselor, sports writer (I have no clue about professional sports) or even a barista at Starbuck’s as long as they let me rearrange the entire operations at the coffee shop.

I did the Kolbe Career Index A with business coach & friend Michelle Ewalt.  She gave me things to think about and questions to ask about potential career opportunities.  I did the Affini-T assessment with a new Austin company called Affintus, and that one tested my math problem solving skills that I’d half forgotten since taking Algebra many moons ago!  Earlier this year, I did the Strength’s Finder assessment.  All presented similar results but presented them in very different, unique ways.

I think the most important takeaway for me was that we are all so very different in how we view and approach the world, our responsibilities, and careers.  I have more understanding of someone when they don’t “get” how the things they do or say (or don’t do or say) can profoundly affect others, they don’t speak their mind, they can’t connect with people to form networks, or they get stuck and stay stuck instead of looking for alternative paths (common sense to me).  I hope to develop more patience with myself & others when I or they aren’t able to research something completely, execute to completion, or build a magnetic based bullet train (quantum physics to me – ouch that hurts my brain).  If we as parents and managers appreciated the differences and strength’s in people and let them do what they do best, we would create and build better, more sustainable businesses.

Author: | Filed under: entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, networking | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

2 Comments on “One Person’s Common Sense Is Another’s Quantum Physics”

  1. 1 Svetlana @ Life in Toronto said at 8:34 AM on January 6th, 2012:

    Hi Aruni,

    I So hear you! I never understood why most people look for and value stability and stick to only one profession for 40 years (even if they hate it!). I think it’s a big problem of our society – if you don’t have the same occupation in all your previous jobs in your resume, the employers don’t even consider you, which leaves only one choice – entrepreneurship. The most extreme example of such entrepreneur is my uncle, who was a lawyer, a teacher, a salesperson, a businessman, a priest, a musician, a poet, a general director and lately a healer and a seer, and all of that with great success!

  2. 2 Aruni said at 11:12 AM on January 20th, 2012:

    @Svetlana – I think we all have many aspects of ourselves that show up during different parts of our lives. We live longer. We are curious beings and to me that curiousity would generally mean after some time, we want to try new things but like you said the only “sensible” thing to do is label yourself an entrepreneur. 🙂