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| Source: Pencil Lead Sculptures via Google+ Post |
Once upon a time, I had the opportunity to go for a job interview as a Director of Technology…someone who would be responsible for the whole kit-n-caboodle, not just instruction but also the boxes and wires.
“REMEMBER, No matter how right you are, no matter how hard you work, sometimes the dragon wins”
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| Source: http://greatreddragon.com/sampleGRD.jpg |
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| Source: http://fitforahappylife.com/files/2011/06/inner-peace-quote_125.jpg |
But not getting the job made me sensitive to how important it is to, as this article puts it, “Differentiate or die.”
To begin with, Hoffman says, ditch a grand life plan. Entrepreneurs don’t write a long business plan and execute it once; they’re always experimenting and adapting.
It also means using your network to pull in information and intelligence about where the growth opportunities are — and then investing in yourself to build skills that will allow you to take advantage of those opportunities.
You have to know which industries are working and what is happening inside them and then, Hoffman says, “find a way to add value in a way no one else can. For entrepreneurs it’s differentiate or die — that now goes for all of us.”
Read more: Why Finding Employment is Tougher, http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/16/3774411/why-finding-employment-is-tougher.html#ixzz1SKCAPhaO
As I reflected on my failure to attain a position I went after with everything I had, I had to ask myself, how can I add value in a way no one else can? Worse, reflecting now approximately 14 years later after failing to get that position, I have to ask at a time when so many have lost their jobs, is what I have “value in” still “of value” to someone else?
It’s critical I ask these questions but doing something about the answers I get is tough. As a blogger, educator, writer, would I be better off starting over and reinvesting my time studying to be something else? If not, what do I need to do to fundamentally move from “good” to “great,” to someone who has value to himself to someone who has value that is prized by others?
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| Source: Martin Koser’s Innovation Matrix on Google+ |
I’d like to think it’s more than just marketing, or you end up in the “All talk, no action” box. Of course, this matrix is meant to refer to forms, but why not play and apply it to our lives?
The main point with The Innovation Matrix is that improving your innovation performance is a journey of many steps, not simply one big leap. The matrix is designed to help us think about this more accurately, and to be more successful at improving our innovation performance.
“Most things fail,” and, as Watts says, “the curse of being able to measure everything is that you get slapped in the face with this reality all the time.”
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| Source: http://blogs.misd.k12.wa.us/d-instruction/files/2010/10/differentiation.jpg |
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I feel your pain, Miguel. Not that this makes things better, but sometimes the value a man like you adds to a school or system, is a value they don't realize they need to have.You are decades ahead of where most schools know they need to go, and that includes the exponential growth and use of technology that will happen in schools.All the best.Ric
I feel your pain, Miguel. Not that this makes things better, but sometimes the value a man like you adds to a school or system, is a value they don't realize they need to have.You are decades ahead of where most schools know they need to go, and that includes the exponential growth and use of technology that will happen in schools.All the best.Ric
@Ric, thanks for the feedback. Seth Godin wrote something that hit me between the eyes…http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/07/a-definition-of-a-leader.htmlThat said, I like to write. Maybe I just need to accept that.With appreciation for your kind words and what inspired them,Miguel
@Ric, thanks for the feedback. Seth Godin wrote something that hit me between the eyes…http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/07/a-definition-of-a-leader.htmlThat said, I like to write. Maybe I just need to accept that.With appreciation for your kind words and what inspired them,Miguel