Posts by Phil Charles
What critical skills do technical professionals need for future success?
So big question is this: how do technical professionals like us protect our future career and build our professional practice? You spend your early years being told it’s important to get a good education. As an aspiring professional, you study hard and get a qualification. You do well at college or university, which leads you…
Read MoreSelling is an important skill for professionals
Any professional knows that at some point, you have to sell. Not only private sector professionals such as consultants and contractors, but public sector professionals as well. But what if you’re not a “born” salesperson? Dan Pink, author of “To Sell is Human” presents the case that everyone is now a seller — someone who persuades others…
Read MoreHow You Should Invest in Your Professional Practice
Most professionals get a degree. To the world, that degree means you know something, but to some professionals, it means you are done learning. Your teachability index is how teachable you are at any given time. As a child your index is high, but after you think you know something, for some professionals, your index…
Read MoreHow to get things done, today!
Some days you begin with the best intentions … and end with the feeling that you achieved nothing of substance. You sit down at your desk, determined to get things done. Then you answer a dozen emails… take a few phone calls… answer a question from your boss… help a colleague solve a problem… And…
Read MoreThe Two-Step Process for Getting Smarter
Oh no, I could never do that… I’m not smart enough. So you think you need a high IQ? All too frequently, this is the kind of thing you hear from people who have big dreams… but who think they don’t have what it takes to make those dreams come true. They not only think…
Read MoreGet started, don’t put it off
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Mark Twain (1835-1910) You cannot manage time. Time stops for no-one. And you can’t store time. You can control how you use your time, what you do first, what you do second and so on. However, we all procrastinate. A key to high performance is overcoming procrastination…
Read MoreAre you a rational or biased professional?
We like to think we are rational decision-making professionals. But the research shows we all have a vast number of biases. Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of behaviour, which means we deviate from making rational judgments. Many of these biases are mental shortcuts, called heuristics, that our brain uses to help us make decisions. Wikipedia…
Read MoreHow to Read a Book!
But do you know how to read really well? Reading well is what How To Read A Book by Adler is all about. Adler identified four levels of reading: elementary inspectional analytical synoptical. Each of these reading levels is cumulative, meaning you can’t progress to a higher level without mastering the levels that come before. Progressing through…
Read MoreContinuing your education?
The academic curriculum cannot keep pace with the demands of industry, nor the demands of working professionals. The content of undergraduate education has diminished over the course of the past few decades – primarily in an effort to reduce the cost burden (to government and students), produce more graduates, and maintain the financial outcomes for…
Read MoreWhy you should be a life-long learner
You finish high school, go on to university, and maybe pursue graduate education – all with the plan of preparing yourself for a career. When you are in your early 20’s, school feels like a means to an end – you have been at school for 16 years or more. Once you have a few years in…
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