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14 Jun 2016, 03:01
| FROM Xyeek: MBA 2018 Orientation Site From LBS |
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The MBA journey begins even before you start the course. This is true especially for the one year programs like INSEAD, but is also the case for London Business School. The MBA program team put together a very comprehensive orientation website which was launched in May shortly before the Admits Weekend: On the site, we have the ability to enrol for some pre-courses, important especially for |
20 Jun 2016, 11:01
| FROM The Oxford Comma: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People |
 This highly influential bestseller was first published over 25 years ago. I had wanted to read this book for a long time and I finally got around to it last month. While the book can be applied to both personal and professional goals, I read and interpreted it mostly from a professional viewpoint. The following three goals, the first three in fact struck a chord with me and I have detailed them below Be Proactive I was a very reactive person early on in my career but I have learned from watching others and through experience to be more proactive. This chapter introduces the concept of circle of influence vs circle of concern. Reactive people waste time focussing on things that they cannot control (circle of concern) because it is easier to do. This is a bad habit that I occasionally fall into as well and I was reminded to stick to focussing on what I can control (circle of influence). For example as a PM, it may be tempting to blame marketing, sales, or someone else for a missed deadline but that will achieve absolutely nothing other than alienating them. Focussing on being more efficient during scoping and development (circle of influence) would actually help in shipping features faster. Begin with the end in mind This chapter exhorts you to have a plan and work backwards with that plan in mind rather than mindlessly going about your daily life. For instance, rather than hope that you will be promoted to the next level after a few years at your current level, actively understand the skills that will be required and work towards acquiring them. (I did this as soon as I read this chapter and now I have a plan for the next phase of my career). Put first things first Having identified goals and the steps to take to achieve those goals, the third principle is about prioritising them. As a PM, there are a ton on things that you could work on. Deciding what is important is what isn’t is a decision that individuals must actively take in order to become effective. This chapter also asks a question that I found quite interesting – What is the one thing that you are not doing that you could do in your personal or professional life that would have the most positive impact? In my case, I decided that the answer was to read more books and become better at networking. I am an introvert and the second goal will not come naturally, but having identified it as critical, I have made a plan to get better at it. I did not find any of the other principles as compelling as the first three. This book is not one to be read, it is to be applied. Therefore, I highly recommend that you reserve a complete weekend for it, one day to read and another to apply the teachings to help you become a more effective person.  
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24 Jun 2016, 06:01
| FROM Xyeek: Shockingly It Happened - Post Referendum Discussions |
| So the last couple of weeks have seen a flurry of discussion in our MBA class https://gmatclub.com/chat group around Brexit, the referendum and currency exchange. Most of us believed the vote would be to remain, so it was quite unexpected to follow the vote counts today and learn that Brexit won the referendum. Naturally the pound has plunged in value, much to the annoyance of some of us who were keen on |
27 Jun 2016, 11:01
| FROM The Oxford Comma: Deep Work |
 Cal Newport is a computer science professor at GeorgeTown University, author, blogger and is obsessed with productivity. He writes on this topic in his popular Study Hacks blog. I was introduced to him and his work after I read an article of his in the New York Times where he argued that passion was overrated in picking a career and that it would follow in time if you focus on achieving mastery. Deep Work is his latest book and is a summarisation of many blog posts on the importance of focus in the workplace. For the uninitiated, deep work refers to activities performed in a distraction-free state that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. By contrast, shallow work refers to tasks that can easily performed while distracted i.e email, non essential meetings etc. So why then do so many spend so much time on shallow work? The answers are some of my favourite lines in the book – a) Deep work gets you promoted while shallow work keeps you from getting fired and b) Busyness is often used incorrectly as a proxy for productivity. The second one will sting those of us (myself included) who take pride in spending the day attending meeting and always being available through chat, email and phone throughout the day. Part 1 of the book focusses on why deep work is valuable while the second part is spent on detailing ways to get more productive. As with the last book I blogged about, this is not a book to read and move on. It’s essential to put it into practice if you agree with it and hope to benefit from it. Cal argues that focus is a skill to be practised and will not come naturally to many of us who are used to multitask endlessly. Some tips for focussing on deep work are to avoid social media and to avoid working after you leave the workplace. The most intriguing one to me was the idea of embracing boredom. Cal argues that the constant switching of tasks at the slightest hint of boredom teaches your mind to never tolerate boredom. Hence he argues against checking your smartphone when you are in a queue at a store or eating alone, instead he advises that you learn to be bored. He is also a big fan of structure and recommends planning your workday in hourly blocks. In the past I have written about the trend especially in software firms towards open offices. Cal abhors this trend and cites research that shows that such environments made it hard to focus. This puts him at odds with those such as Steven Johnson, Facebook, Google who argue that multitasking and open offices encourage innovation. Cal suggests a compromise using a hub and spoke model for a perfect workplace. While offices need to have spaces where people regularly meet and exchange ideas (hubs), they also need private areas (spokes) to focus. One of the critiques of the book is that the advice is much more applicable to those in academia than to those in management positions. Nevertheless, there is a lot of good advice in there and I plan to try out a few things that the book recommends and I will report back on my progress in a few months from now.  
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06 Jul 2016, 12:01
| FROM Ambitiousbusinessguy: Stuff to do before the MBA apps are out |
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As the flurry of MBA consultants begin their analyses on why schools have changed their applications or essay questions – I urge prospective applicants to keep calm. It’s easy to be ove… Source: Stuff to do before the MBA apps are out  
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06 Jul 2016, 20:01
| FROM Xyeek: Preparing to Move: Of Visas & Shipping |
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Moving countries is a real pain when it comes to trying to figure out what to do with your stuff. And I've got plenty of stuff. I've left a suitcase and bag with a mate in London when I was up in May for the Admits Weekend, but that's hardly made a ding in the amount of stuff I've managed to accumulate over the years. So I've spent the last month researching shipping options and getting various |
09 Jul 2016, 05:01
| FROM gmat4IMD: Interview by Gyan one |
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Rishabh from Gyan one services, India had a one to one interview with me where I shared my experience at IMD till now. https://www.gyanone.com/blog/life-at-imd-interview-with-imd-mba/ 
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17 Jul 2016, 06:01
| FROM mybjourney: Back to the real life |
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I barely remember taking decent rest in the last 60 hours. It’s been relentless with submissions, birthday celebration, exams, vacating the flat, meeting people before leaving and of course the GTC ball – well all had to be accommodated and were non negotiable. Hopped on to the flight to Mumbai and finally managed to grab some sleep, interspersed with a couple of movies that were too tempting to resist catching up on! After a day at Mumbai for induction with 11 other interns from International B schools, I am now I’m Bangalore (what are the odds that I’ll be back to the same city!) to join Aditya Birla’s e commerce firm which was launched 10 months back.  I’m excited and looking forward to the next two months of internship. However right now I’m still jet lagged and sleepy before a severe bout of Oxford withdrawal strikes me. Sigh. Hello, real life.  
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26 Jul 2016, 16:01
| FROM Yudanashi: London Daily |
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They say you get better at doing something by doing it. then doing it again … and again … and again, and you keep doing it until one day you look back at where you were and so see you’ve gotten better. Well I want to get better at writing and telling stories. To that end I am going to combine a few pieces of advice and write up to 500 words each day. I’ll publish it here and if people read it and give me feedback on it, great. If not at least there is a public record to keep me to task if I fail to publish. Years ago I read some advice on Lifehacker about how to be productive. It was your usual “not-reallly-about-productivity” advice but it included an anecdote from Jerry Seinfeld that has stayed in my head. The post discussed a conversation with the author and Jerry. “He [Jerry] revealed a unique calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write. Here’s how it works. He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. “After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.” “Don’t break the chain,” he said again for emphasis – My goal is to not break the chain. I am a recent Graduate with a Master in Business Administration working in London as a digital strategy consultant. I have a lot of interests and a past that reflects that. My writing will be on whatever is pressing to me that day. It might be interesting to you, it might not be. Frankly I don’t care. I only care if I break the chain. So with that in mind, stay tuned and tomorrow you’ll see your first Daily Dose of David. |
27 Jul 2016, 14:01
| FROM Yudanashi: Best Friends |
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A best friend tells you when you are full of ****. She tells you ‘if you audition for American Idol, you’ll be on the blooper reel’. She also will support you when you insist on auditioning anyway. A best friend will cheer you on when you need the encouragement to block out the haters, but he won’t simply tell you what you want to hear, he will challenge you to be better. Over the course of my life I’ve been blessed with many best friends and they have been my rock and support. They are who I call when I’ve had a breakup, who I celebrate with when I get a promotion. They are the source of wisdom and perspective when I’ve faced difficult decisions like where to move or what new fields to look into. They help me refine the answer to the questions ‘Where am I going?’ and ‘What am I even doing with my life?’ Businesses don’t have best friends. They are surrounded on all sides by enemies so much so that they read books on war and military strategy in order to learn how to defend themselves against attack or go on the warpath themselves. I’ve spent my time on the MBA and before as an independent consultant trying to figure out why a company would hire a consulting firm. At first I thought it was for liability protection, as in ‘if this plan fails we can blame it on the consultants and I can keep my job’. Then I thought it’s because they lack key capabilities. Both are true to an extent. But as I’ve spent time in-house with a strategy consulting firm I think the reality is, businesses need a best friend. Someone who will tell them honestly that what they are planning is a bad idea, and if they still decide to go through with it will build a plan to succeed as best they can. So now that I’m living in London, when I get asked the question moving forward ‘So what do you do’ I may just say that I’m business’ best friend, with all the good and bad that implies. |
28 Jul 2016, 12:01
| FROM Yudanashi: London Calling |
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From the first time I watched Lindsay Lohan in the Parent Trap I’ve been fascinated with London. I’ve kept it under wraps for years but I’ve subtly expressed my love of London over the years. From wearing a union jack belt buckle I found in my step brother’s closet after he moved out (sorry Tommy), to my keep calm and carry on phone case that made me instant besties with a client, to my love affair with the BBC and their programming of Robot Wars as a kid to Doctor Who and Sherlock today, including sneaking off to watch Queer as Folk UK on my laptop at BYU. So when I stepped off the plane in July 2014 to spend a week in London before meeting up with friends in Ireland I was giddy as could be. I hopped on the Tube and checked into my hotel near Buckingham Palace. I visited the British Museum, Soho, Covent Garden, Westminster Abbey, and even popped up to Oxford. That trip changed my life because I walked away from Oxford telling myself I’d be back someday and I did. I flew away from London’s Gatwick Airport headed to Dublin and I told myself that I had made it. This kid from Utah who had been kicked out of BYU, who had survived living in the middle of nowhere in Texas, whose Mom never graduated college had made it to London. This past month I’ve woken up in ‘my London flat’, walked to the tube and chatted with Sunni my coffee guy, found a local pub, found about a dozen ways to work for when the tube breaks down. I have upped my wardrobe to fit in with the ‘London Style’. Spent Sunday’s having brunch with friends and exploring the city. I am so far from becoming a Londoner it isn’t even funny, but at the same time I am closer than I’ve ever been before. London isn’t perfect but it has some of my favorite bits of every city. It is the political heart of the UK and (until recently) a lot of Europe in just the same way DC is. It is the financial heart like New York and has the theatre scene to back it up as well. It thrives on distinct neighborhoods just like Chicago with each one very proud of its heritage and even local football teams. It has a tech bubble in East London just like San Francisco, complete with areas I’d avoid as much as the Tenderloin. London has parks and green spaces, public transportation with connections to 4 international airports for cheap flights to Europe. London, while it may have its risks post-brexit, represents a unique chance for me to live where I’ve dreamed of and experience the new cultures that it has to offer. |
29 Jul 2016, 14:01
| FROM Yudanashi: London – The BEst Kept Secret |
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London is the best kept secret of the corporate world. It is English speaking and time delayed by only 5 hours. That means when London goes home at 5, San Francisco is just heading into work providing you with coverage from coast to continent for 16 hrs a day. London also is filled with productive employees who work hard but also realize, down to their bones, that work does not define them. They are more than ready to take off by 7pm and leave their laptops at the office. For context I once HD a job in DC literally a 12 minute walk from home. I was required to bring my laptop home. Londoners also have a realism when it comes to relaxing with coworkers. Within 2 days on the job I knew my coworker was dating a “free spirited artist” and that his drink of choice was a lager. He and I had had a handful of lunches together (Sad desk lunch is discouraged) and I know he values evening time with friends over morning time. London work life gives you the flexibility you need to work and live. London also recognizes the value in taking serious conversations about performance out of the office environment where a desk gets in the way of honesty. Instead they have them at the pub just downstairs. The London work environment is rigorous and is hard work, but it manages to produce amazing work without sucking your soul away like NYC and to be honest, all of the US professional services. I’m feeling very grateful for the chance to work here and look forward to my next review with my manager, this time over a Guinness. |
30 Jul 2016, 09:01
| FROM Yudanashi: Trump – Media Manipulator |
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Donald Trump won the GOP Primary because he manipulated the media each and every day. I’ve had this thought in my head for a while but it came back to me this week as I was sitting on the tube reading the 2012 book Trust Me; I’m Lying the confessions of media manipulator Ryan Holiday the former CMO of American Apparel. The book details the economic incentives that drive bloggers and the online news cycle of clickbait articles and scandal and how the author has used them time and time again to dominate media coverage and garner support for his clients. Holiday worked under the same media philosophy that Trump does, All press is good press. Especially in a world saturated by media where the worst thing is obscurity. I’ve lived in this world so it took me a while to read this book, but for those who haven’t had the curtain pulled back Holiday does so succinctly in this paragraph: “A portion of the advertising on blogs is sold directly by the publisher, a portion is sold by sales reps who work on commission, and the rest is sold by advertising networks that specialize in the remaining inventory. Regardless of who sells it or who buys it, what matters is that every ad impression on a site is monetized, if only for a few pennies. Each and every pageview is money in the pocket of the publisher.” While 4 years old, this book remains relevant as the situation has only gotten worse. With the NYTimes selling articles to advertisers the entire publishing world has become consumed with getting traffic to its pages to resell as ads. Because of this, it is relatively simple to manipulate the press and thus public opinion. Donald Trump is a master at this. He knew that as long as the story was focused on him then it would take the focus away from his opponents. If he wanted to take over 3 days worth of news, just simply say an absurdity and then either walk it back or enjoy the flocks of people with whom that rhetoric resonates with. The purest example of this is that the day Ted Cruz overtook Trump in Iowa by 10 points in polling Donald Trump announced a plan to ban all muslims from entering the country. Trump knew that if he stayed silent the news would be incentivized to focus on Cruz’s surge. Instead he gave them a juicier story guaranteed to steal the attention and for which editors would get the clicks they needed. If you are an editor which do you care about more, the truth that is boring or a sensational story that will boost your ratings? This isn’t a new phenomena as Ed Murrow once famously stated: “If we were to do the Second Coming of Christ in color for a full hour, there would be a considerable number of stations which would decline to carry it on the grounds that a Western or a quiz show would be more profitable.” While this isn’t new, the media is today being manipulated to promote a xenophobe. We can change that by installing AdBlockers and paying for quality news. By disavowing Trump for the xenophobe he is but also anyone who supports his xenophobic philosophy. Ryan Holiday concludes his book with this paragraph and it is how I will leave you today. “You cannot have your news instantly and have it done well. You cannot have your news reduced to 140 characters or less without losing large parts of it. You cannot manipulate the news but not expect it to be manipulated against you. You cannot have your news for free; you can only obscure the costs. If, as a culture, we can learn this lesson, and if we can learn to love the hard work, we will save ourselves much trouble and collateral damage. We must remember: There is no easy way.” |
31 Jul 2016, 12:01
| FROM The Oxford Comma: The Startup of You |
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The Startup of You by LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and author Ben Casnocha is a book that was released back in 2012. It was quite popular right around the time I started my MBA (was on several MBA reading lists) but I had not gotten around to reading it until now. I read it mostly for the content on networking and I will get to that in a bit. As the title suggests, the central premise of the book is that in today’s fast changing business environment, one should think of oneself as a startup and act accordingly. I found the chapter on developing a competitive advantage quite interesting. As a PM, when I work with my team to find the right positioning statement, we use a template such as “Because of [x,y, and z] our product does [a,b,and c] better than our competitors. The authors suggest applying that template to ourselves to see how we are positioned. If you are not able to, then it may be time to develop a competitive advantage. What is a competitive advantage? It’s a mix of your assets, aspirations and market realities. At the end of every chapter is a nice summary of the chapter along with short and long term things that the reader can do to benefit from the chapter. For instance, on the competitive advantage chapter, the reader is asked to come up with a competitive advantage statement (I’m still working to acquire the skills to be be able to write the one I want. They also offer suggestions on discovering your assets such as talking to your co-workers or friends or looking at Linkedin profiles of similar people for inspiration. “Chapter 4: It takes a network”, was the one that I was looking forward to the most as Reid Hoffman’s started Linkedin as a bet on the importance of networks. The chapter first explained the different types of networks and their benefits. This material was similar to the strong and weak ties that I first encountered during the Strategy and Innovation elective during my MBA. For the uninitiated, strong ties are close relationships i.e people who you can turn to for advice and who will always back you. Weak ties on the other hand are acquaintances who will expose you to information that you would not discover by yourself. Both are essential for a thriving career as together they make you better and help you land new opportunities. While I have built a few strong ties at work, I am lagging on the weak ties. I suspect this is true of most introverts. In the past, I had tended to dismiss this by telling myself that networking was inauthentic and slimy. Hoffman suggests that to get over this, you think of networking as a two way street i.e you are looking to help the other person just as you hope that they will help you. By first focussing on how you can help the other person, your mindset should change from “What’s in it for me?” to “What’s in it for us?”. There is also a lot of good advice on maintaining a network which I found quite interesting especially the concept of ‘gifts’. Btw, one hack for introverts that I got from the S&I course was to build strong relations with at least one ‘broker’ i.e a person who is a good networker. This person can then introduce you to their vast network of weak ties. Overall, I enjoyed the book. It’s a quick read and nothing dense, it’s mostly common sense if you really think about it. Like “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, this is not a book to read and move on, it’s highly recommended to note down some of the points listed at the back of each chapter and take the recommened action. Note: I plan to continue with a few more blog posts that deal with general career advice. This will be based on advice that I have read over the last few years and some of the mistakes I have made in my career. Look for them in the next few weeks.  
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31 Jul 2016, 14:01
| FROM Yudanashi: Mornings are for Adults |
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You can say many things about me except one. I am not a morning person. Unless by morning you mean about 10am. That being said, this morning the sun woke me up I felt energized. After doing some reading and catching up on emails and texts, I felt the need to do something else uncharacteristic. I put on my shoes and went for a run. I’ve never really enjoyed running but if I’m going to do it I need a view. Now where I live is nice but there isn’t really a good place to run that isn’t just houses and neighborhood. So instead I walked 20 minutes planning on running a 1 mile route around a garden nearby. As I get near the garden I realize I’m just another 5 minute walk from Kensington Palace so I keep walking. ‘I made it all the way to the palace so I might as well put it to good use’ I tell myself and so I find a route and end up running a 5k. Towards the end of my run I realize the pure insanity of this. Me. David Baker. Who hates mornings and running just voluntarily woke up early and accidentally ran 5k. WHAT!  It was at this point that I passed alongside this statue and realized what has happened. I’ve grown up. This morning I woke up and behaved like a responsible adult and in doing so went to the birthplace of Peter Pan so I could be reminded of that fact. I’ve been blessed to live in a fantasy world of school for the past year but that has ended, it’s time for me to put away my childish irresponsibility while keeping my childlike sense of learning. It’s time for me to wake up while still appreciating all around me like this view I caught on my run.  |
01 Aug 2016, 04:01
| FROM Xyeek: Flat-Hunting Around LBS |
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Now that we're in August, it's prime flat-hunting season in the suburbs around London Business School i.e Maida Vale, St John's Wood and Marylebone. A recent small survey of students unveiled the fact that around 50% have already found something but 50% are still looking. Based on my observations thus far, several have formed their own flat-hunting groups of 2-4 people early on so all that's |
01 Aug 2016, 16:01
| FROM Yudanashi: Finding Energy Without Carbs |
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I’m sorry that today’s post is not a real post. I wrote something for today but it isn’t quite ready yet but I hope it will be soon. Instead rather than not post, I’m writing this. And rather than be nothing, I’ll talk about food. I love food so much. Especially Pasta, Pizza, Burgers, Rice, basically all carbs. Its one main reason why I have a spare tire these days. In the UK I’ve justified it because at least there are no preservatives and I do a lot of walking and its worked. I’ve been able to maintain my weight while upping my carby foods. Today I ate no carbs. I had some Shakshuka for breakfast instead of my usual breakfast tacos. I had a Chipotle substitute with no tortilla and veggies instead of rice. I snacked on almonds and carrots and an apple and for dinner I made stir fry with Cauliflower rice. I’ve had headaches all day and my energy was really low until I had that snack. Maybe I’m not cut out for this adulting thing in the end. However, I think I might be and I’m going to keep it up. I’m not being crazy about 0-carbs or Only whole-grains. Its more recognizing that when I have a choice, consciously choosing the healthier option and recognizing the value of that. Don’t worry, I don’t think I could make a diet that didn’t have my cookies in them so those won’t be going anywhere. |
02 Aug 2016, 09:02
| FROM gmat4IMD: Interview by GyanOne |
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Rishabh from GyanOne MBA admission consultants, India had a one to one interview with me where I shared my experience at IMD till now. https://www.gyanone.com/blog/life-at-imd-interview-with-imd-mba/
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02 Aug 2016, 16:01
| FROM Yudanashi: The Past is Providential |
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Sometimes, what you are trying to run away from – catches up to you. My dad is a mining engineer by training and a serial entrepreneur by passion. Following a divorce and a rough & rocky relationship with my dad, I made it clear that I was NOT going to enter the family business, I was not going to ever work for my dad and nor would I be involved with mining. I was so adamant about this that Freshman year of college I declared my major as Pre-Dentistry because it was the furthest thing from mining I could think of. That and I’d always had an affinity to the character of Hermy the Elf I’ve since moved on from dentistry and ran into a half-dozen other majors before finding a passion for politics. My brothers, on the other hand have all worked for my Dad. I escaped to the safe refuge of Politics which is known for its low divorce rate (HA!) and thought I was all set. Then I saw how almost all of the people I respected had an MBA and so I looked into it. At first I was repulsed because I didn’t want to become the entrepreneur that my Dad was and wanted to avoid “business” as much as I could because of it. Eventually I got over that but only after starting my own consulting firm! This week, while working on my main client for this internship, I was placed onto an internal project related to Mining. I just about died from the humor of the situation. In the end I reached out to my Dad and my brother to pick their brains and as I tried to recall all of the endless stories I’d heard over the years. They were more than happy to share and jog my mind which wasn’t paying all that much attention the first time around. In the end, the value & insight I was able to bring to bear on the project was only because of my past. I’ve spent a long time running away from what I’ve been. From Mormonism to Mining. Today I had my view reenforced, my view that all of life’s experiences have value – even if it takes you a while to see it. |
03 Aug 2016, 16:01
| FROM Yudanashi: Brace for Feedback |
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The greatest gift you can receive is the gift of honest feedback. It may not feel great and hell it can downright hurt sometimes, but it is a gift and it is worth remembering that. Feedback gives you a point of view on your blindspots and gives you the opportunity to improve, but you have to be ready and open to it. I’ve spent a lot of time this year getting comfortable with myself and constantly checking my ego. After all, I have accomplished a lot in my few short years. From surviving BYU to leading comms for an LGBT non-profit. From being invited as a guest lecturer to debating at the Oxford Union. From helping a documentary get to Sundance, being recognized on the earnings call for Google, fencing at the Junior Olympics and performing at the Kennedy Center. To getting into Oxford and interning in London. On the other hand throughout my life I have been fired, expelled (twice), rejected again and again and again. I’ve been called names and lost friendships. I’ve bailed on commitments to others and to myself. I constantly find myself in a position of doubt, of feeling like an impostor. Feedback gives you the lens by which you can really see how you are doing. Last night I got some feedback on an evening call with my manager. It was something small and was really a misunderstanding on my part. What was interesting is that my manager told me, essentially “Don’t worry David, I’m not being critical.” The subtext being don’t think this means you aren’t going to get hired at the end of this internship, I’m just trying to redirect the work. I had to tell my manager “You don’t know me that well yet, but once you get to know me you’ll see that this is exactly what I needed.” This wasn’t always the case, but because I was in a position to receive feedback and be open to actioning it I was able to apply her feedback on something specific and apply it to a different piece of work entirely helping to improve what we were doing. The only reason I was able to be so open to this feedback was because I’ve spent time constantly riding the balance between the under-qualified and the over-confident versions of myself. And that was because of the amount I’ve been reading in order to learn from others. In one book a quote from Anne Lamott was included that stood out so much that I have a simple note alongside the passage that reads “**** this is accurate.” In keeping the imagery she evokes in the front of my mind I have remained open to feedback and learning without being paralyzed by fear. I’ll leave you with the passage because ****, it is accurate. “If you are not careful, station KFKD (K-****) will play in your head twenty-four hours a day, nonstop, in stereo. Out of the right speaker in your inner ear will come the endless stream of self-aggrandizement, the recitation of one’s specialness, of how much more open and gifted and brilliant and knowing and misunderstood and humble one is. Out of the left speaker will be the rap songs of self-loathing, the lists of all the things one doesn’t do well, of all the mistakes one has made today and over an entire lifetime, the doubt, the assertion that everything that one touches turns to ****, that one doesn’t do relationships well, that one is in every way a fraud, incapable of selfless love, that one had no talent or insight, and on and on and on.” |
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