Category Archives: Decision making

#91 Why is it so difficult?

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It is an understatement to say getting things done in the workplace is difficult. Getting things done is often akin to climbing the side of a cliff with just our hands, and no rope. When faced by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, your choices are:

  • Put up a fight. Someone is out to “get you” and you should not have to put up with it.
  • Ignore the problem, just keep doing your work. After all, if you don’t feed the problem, maybe it will starve to death. Your challenge here will be to not become passive aggressive.
  • Accept the problem with equanimity. You accept the lack of control and the need to relentlessly look for a way forward. You are doing your duty, and must keep doing it.
  • Change your job. Your current job is so dysfunctional, you’ve tried everything you can, life is too short, you decide to start over elsewhere. Then you realize it is the same everywhere.

It comes down to how many “difficult” problems you are facing and which ones are important. Assuming you have identified the critical ones, the follow up question is, do you have the skills and executive presence to deal with the problem? If you don’t have the skills, you can either change the problems you need to deal with, in your current or new job, or acquire the skills in your current job or in a new job.

This sounds well and good, but we all know how difficult it is. Don’t worry, misery loves company, and you have a lot of company! The trick is to stop being miserable and learn how to deal with difficult situations.

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#80 Types of “acumen”

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“Acumen” is the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions. There are a number of places where acumen can come in handy:

  • Business acumen: Do you know who your customer is? Do you know whether you can fulfill their needs and make a profit? Can you do it consistently, and better than the competition? Do you know how to negotiate a win-win agreement?
  • Financial acumen: Do you know how to manage money? Do you know the difference between cash flow and funds flow? Do you know how to cut costs and invest wisely? Do you know when you are paying too much for a product or service?
  • Moral acumen: Do you know what the “right thing” to do is in any give situation? Can you execute without getting caught in philosophical disputes?
  • Common sense: If you don’t understand this, you probably don’t have it.
  • Street smarts: Can you read a situation quickly and react even quicker to take advantage of it? The emphasis here is on speed and accuracy, and leading directly to effectiveness.

A well rounded person will have all of the above. The educational system in all countries seems to fall short in developing all these types of acumen (this is not a comment backed by research, but I’d be curious to see if I am wrong). Those born with a proclivity towards one of the types will pursue a career, profession, or career that requires that type of acumen. Those who have none of the above will flounder.

The biggest problem, in my mind, is that grown adults fall back on blaming their education and do not develop the self awareness and follow it up with a concentrated effort to develop one or more of the above.

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