{"id":519,"date":"2006-04-15T20:17:06","date_gmt":"2006-04-16T04:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/2006\/04\/15\/a-window-to-ones-soul\/"},"modified":"2006-04-19T19:11:14","modified_gmt":"2006-04-20T03:11:14","slug":"a-window-to-ones-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/2006\/04\/15\/a-window-to-ones-soul\/","title":{"rendered":"A Window to One’s Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark<\/a> posted an article<\/a> about waiters and how to tell someone’s personality from how this person treats waiters. The article is very interesting and made me recall my own experience as a waiter as well as how some people I have known have treated them. It’s probably a pretty good indicator of, not just personality, but if this person can be a true friend, someone who’d extend a helping hand when you are in deep shit (metaphorically speaking).<\/p>\n

The article was based on a set of management rules developed by Bill Swanson, CEO of Raytheon Company, called Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management<\/i>. Raytheon gives the booklet away for free in hope to inspire young people to become leaders. I placed an order for a copy but couldn’t wait for it to come in the mail. So I Googled and found this instead<\/a> (taken from an article<\/a> at CCG):<\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  1. Learn to say, "I don’t know." If used when appropriate, it will be often.<\/li>\n
  2. It is easier to get into something than it is to get out of it.<\/li>\n
  3. If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.<\/li>\n
  4. Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what’s there, but few can see what isn’t there.<\/li>\n
  5. Presentation rule: When something appears on a slide presentation, assume the world knows about it, and deal with it accordingly.<\/li>\n
  6. Work for a boss with whom you are comfortable telling it like it is. Remember that you can’t pick your relatives, but you can pick your boss.<\/li>\n
  7. Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits are what they are supposed to be. Avoid Newton’s Law.<\/li>\n
  8. However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best efforts.<\/li>\n
  9. Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of difficulties, discouragement, or indifference. Don’t be known as a good starter but a poor finisher.<\/li>\n
  10. In doing your project, don’t wait for others; go after them, and make sure it gets done.<\/li>\n
  11. Confirm your instructions and the commitments of others in writing. Don’t assume it will get done!<\/li>\n
  12. Don’t be timid; speak up. Express yourself, and promote your ideas.<\/li>\n
  13. Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get it done.<\/li>\n
  14. Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports.<\/li>\n
  15. Be extremely careful of the accuracy of your statements.<\/li>\n
  16. Don’t overlook the fact that you are working for a boss.
    * Keep him or her informed. Avoid surprises!
    * Whatever the boss wants takes top priority.<\/li>\n
  17. Promises, schedules, and estimates are important instruments in a well-ordered business.
    * You must make promises. Don’t lean on the often-used phrase, "I can’t estimate it because it depends upon many uncertain factors."<\/li>\n
  18. Never direct a complaint to the top. A serious offense is to "cc" a person’s boss.<\/li>\n
  19. When dealing with outsiders, remember that you represent the company. Be careful of your commitments.<\/li>\n
  20. Cultivate the habit of "boiling matters down" to the simplest terms. An elevator speech is the best way.<\/li>\n
  21. Don’t get excited in engineering emergencies. Keep your feet on the ground.<\/li>\n
  22. Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions.<\/li>\n
  23. When making decisions, the “pros” are much easier to deal with than the “cons”. Your boss wants to see the “cons” also.<\/li>\n
  24. Don’t ever lose your sense of humor.<\/li>\n
  25. Have fun at what you do. It will reflect in your work. No one likes a grump except another grump.<\/li>\n
  26. Treat the name of the company as if it were your own.<\/li>\n
  27. Beg for the bad news.<\/li>\n
  28. You remember 1\/3 of what you read, 1\/2 of what people tell you, but 100% of what you feel.<\/li>\n
  29. You can’t publish a sneaker<\/li>\n
  30. When facing issues or problems that are becoming drawn-out, “short them to the ground.”<\/li>\n
  31. When faced with decisions, try to look at them as if you were one level up in the organization. Your perspective will change quickly.<\/li>\n
  32. A person who is nice to you but rude to others is not a nice person. (This rule never fails).<\/li>\n
  33. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, an amateur built an ark that survived a flood while a large group of professionals built the Titanic!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Additional rules from an interview in USA Today:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. When in charge, be in charge. “When you get the key to the bus, it’s time to drive.”<\/li>\n
    2. Hold people to the highest standard or the organization will gravitate toward mediocrity.<\/li>\n
    3. When things go wrong, true leaders take responsibility and rectify a mistake with speed and passion. They take action that most people would find too hard.<\/li>\n
    4. If you are doing something and it doesn’t work, no one will care that it was done on cost and on schedule. If it works and exceeds expectations, no one will remember if it was late and overrun.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      Good stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Mark posted an article about waiters and how to tell someone’s personality from how this person treats waiters. The article is very interesting and made me recall my own experience as a waiter as well as how some people I have known have treated them. It’s probably a pretty good indicator of, not just personality, … Continue reading “A Window to One’s Soul”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-day-to-day-life","category-philosophy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p54IqZ-8n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiredatom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}