The Boss: Smart Is as Smart Does
September 13, 2006 by Mary Wynne-Wynter
I love these little stories that use anecdotes to share learning - so much more powerful than "how-to's". I will encourage all my clients to write their short story and plan to do my own.
The Boss: Smart Is as Smart Does: "When Marcy Syms began her career in management, there was an assumption that she may not have earned her position."
If I learned anything over the years, it’s that it is not necessary to show someone how smart you are. It will come across in the process of developing a business relationship. When I became less insecure about myself, I didn’t try as hard. What I would say, with certainty and with a good deal of experience, is that you do get to use everything you learn. No training or experience, good or bad, needs to be wasted.
One experience that I learned something from was in the early 1980’s, before Syms went public. I had been working with the company three or four years, in charge of human relations and real estate and other things. I was persuaded, perhaps by the force of personality of the person presenting it to me, to go into a particular county in this new market, a county different from the one we were supposed to go into. I had to sell the decision to my father and a couple of other executives.
I succeeded, and we entered the market. It turned out that the future development of roadways didn’t happen in the way we were enthusiastically told it would.
What I did was not separate the merits of the project from the personality of the presenter. That’s a hard lesson, especially if you haven’t been burnt enough times.
(Via NYT > Job Market.)