Ross Perot is 78 years old today. He is a successful businessman (founder of both Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems), one of the wealthiest people in America, and a former presidential candidate (1992 and 1996).

“Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led.”

Ross Perot (b. 6.27.1930)

Woodrow Wilson (no relation) was born 151 years ago today.

If you lose your wealth, you have lost nothing. If you lose your health, you have lost something. But if you lose your character, you have lost everything.

Woodrow Wilson

28th President of the United States (b. 12.28.1856 – d. 02.03.1924)

Keep looking, and you will find… Everyone who seeks, finds.

Walt Disney was undoubtedly one of the world’s best at making dreams come true. He was born 106 years ago today, and so we honor his birthday by sharing a couple of his thoughts about dreams:

It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.

and

Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy.

What are your dreams today? Do they seem impossible? I hope Walt Disney has offered a bit of inspiration to you to turn those dreams into reality.

But we eventually conquered the task, and with a final triumphant flourish I closed the door of the dishwasher and bent down to start the machine. When I hesitated for a moment to familiarize myself with the settings, my brother-in-law stepped in and instructed me “Just select ‘Normal’ and then push the ‘Start’ button.”

And then we thought… Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just select a “Normal” button for our family or work, and then everything and everyone around us would function in some pre-ordained and predictable fashion?

No guesswork.

No worries.

No problems.

Predictable, perfect, autopilot.

Imagine a brief pause here as we both ponder and savor this idea while looking up at the ceiling and thoughtfully rubbing our chins. Hmmm…

As enticing as it sounds at first, we decided we really wouldn’t enjoy a “Normal” button very much. We enjoy the differences among us and appreciate the uniqueness of each person in our family (most of the time). We love the surprises, the challenges, and the occasional chaos that come with the differences. We find comfort in the uniqueness of our family because it gives us a sense of identity and belonging. We have our own inside jokes and sometimes we even speak our own language. We’re probably the only family in which eggnog is called Steve. That’s just not “normal.”

And we like it that way.

Unfortunately, a lot of organizations are trying to press the “Normal” button. While companies often say they want innovative and risk-taking employees, they usually try to assimilate new employees as quickly as possible into a strict company culture. (i.e. “Normal.”) Ultimately, they value predictability and compliance.

When an employee doesn’t fit the mold, they may get poor reviews and be passed over for promotions, leaving management to wonder how they ended up with such an ill-suited employee. The employee is probably a wonderful and skilled person, but just doesn’t fit the organization’s definition of “Normal.” The sooner that both employee and employer recognize this, the better off both will be.

Do we really talk about this kind of stuff after cleaning the kitchen? Yep.

But I’ve already told you… we’re not Normal.

While most of my posts live a short life and retire quietly to the archives, this post from last spring about networking tips for introverts continues to get several hits hits every week, and has been referenced on other blogs. Since there seems to be a lot of interest in this topic, I continue to watch for articles and information that may add to the discussion.

This afternoon I was reviewing the blogs and websites of some of the people who have visited my blog and came across this interesting post on Ron Bland’s blog about how to start a conversation (written by Peter Murphy). Probably the biggest networking challenge for introverts is just trying to get the conversation started, so I thought this article could offer some valuable tips for my readers.

To these tips, I would offer one additional suggestion: Ask open-ended questions.

When you ask open-ended questions, you automatically get the other person talking. Most people enjoy answering thoughtful questions about themselves or topics they are interested in, and they tend to like people who listen to them talk. The other person will often (but not always) turn the table and ask you questions, giving you an opportunity to tell your story. It’s always easier to talk about yourself in response to a question.

When you ask open-ended questions, you also have a chance to listen well (Point #5 from Mr. Bland’s blog post). As you are listening, be alert for ways that you can help the person. You might be able to introduce them to someone who can help them. Or tell them about a related book or article or web site that may interest them. Remember that effective networking is more about giving than receiving.

Then my friend said something totally unexpected:

“It’s all this ‘personal branding’ stuff that just makes me sick.” [You can imagine two hands raised up with fingers making imaginary quotation marks in the air. You can also imagine some word other than "stuff"]. He continued: “This guy has probably been trained by some consultant to act this way because this is the way to make the sale.”

After listening to his passionate rant, I realized that he is not alone in his misunderstanding of personal branding. When I connect with job seekers, I discover than many are just as skeptical — albeit less vocal — about personal branding. Perhaps the term “branding” is too closely associated with the term “marketing” in a lot of minds. Whatever the reason, many people believe that personal branding is sort of like an “Extreme Makeover: Professional Edition” that turns you in to a completely different person.

Personal branding is about

1. knowing your unique skills, talents, passion, and personality traits (i.e. your “brand attributes”), and
2. proactively emphasizing those attributes to others

Seth Godin wrote an interesting post about personal branding today, in which he compares your personal brand to a caricature. He says:

A caricature falsely highlights various anomalies while diminishing the boring parts. So Jay Leno gets a ridiculous chin, or Jimmy Durante gets an even bigger nose (okay, he had a pretty big nose). The same is true for your brand, but even more so. The best brands are caricatures of their true selves.

I thought that summed it up pretty well. Personal branding isn’t about being something you aren’t or putting on a fake persona for someone else. It’s about promoting your “various anomalies” (the interesting things about you) and diminishing the boring parts.

This poster by Anthony Burrill is profound in it’s simplicity. Many organizations have a list of company values that most most employees can’t remember, much less comprehend. This poster conveys values that most people inherently understand, and are easy to remember.

Thanks to the KnowHR blog for finding and sharing this.

There lurks within me a streak of independence that loathes to ask for help, so I often end up spending too much time on a project, doing sloppy work on the project, or not completing the project.

Trying to do everything myself not only robs me, but it also has a negative affect on those around me. Consider the following points:

• My stress increases, so I have less patience for those around me.
• Other people have to work on or complete projects that I might otherwise be able to work on.
• I’m not transferring skills to others.
• I’m not building relationships with others.

 Yes, these seem like obvious points, but perhaps I needed a little reminder, courtesy of Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie founded and built Carnegie Steel Company (later US Steel) into one of the world’s largest companies, and in the process became one of the world’s wealthiest men. He was born 172 years ago today.

No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.

Andrew Carnegie (b. 11.25.1835 – d. 8.11.1919)