Marilyn vos Savant Archives - denisgmclaughlin.com

Don’t focus on your weakness.

Apr 26

Never compare your weakness with someone else’s strength. What may be easy for others can be difficult for you. I am going to let you in on a secret – you have strengths that others call their weakness.

Here are three tips for not focusing on your weakness:

Don’t give up. Don’t say I can’t because, say I can if…You may have tried ten, twenty, or even more times already. But if you didn’t succeed yet, then you just haven’t tried the way that works for you. Think of what you have done that has worked before and try it again. Research what others have done in your situation and adapt it to your strengths.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

Work together. I recently heard a very successful person say that he could easily count the mistakes that he made on his own, but they are far outweighed by the successes he had while working with others. Don’t just do what you can do alone, partner with people who share your dream and support each other on your journey.

“An arch consists of two weaknesses, which, leaning on each other become a strength.” – Leonardo Di Vinci

Build your strengths. If you want to achieve the best from life, then you have to give your best to life. In whatever you are naturally good at doing, become great. In whatever you like to do, love it. Be the best you!

“Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.” – Marilyn vos Savant

Dig deep enough before making decisions

Feb 09

Don’t make decisions based only on where you are; make decisions based on where you want to be. Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is quoted as saying, “We are not a product of our circumstances, we are a product of our decisions.”

Your circumstances do play a part in your future, but only to ground you as you decide what to do next.

Jonathan Schaeffer, the creator of computer chess programs, calculated that there are 197,742 different ways that the players in a chess match could play their first two moves. When you expand that to the first three moves the possible outcomes becomes 121 million. In chess, as in life, your decisions don’t end when you first decide, but continue through each step as you evaluate what’s next.

When faced with choices, before you decide, commit to settle for nothing less than knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Today we have the ability to receive more information than at any time in history. Take care to evaluate what you know before deciding where to go.

“It is the brain, the little gray cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within – not without.” – Agatha Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot

Invest the time it takes to be the best. How long should you think and evaluate options before you decide? It depends on the potential impact of the decision and the level of experience you have in the area. A greater chance of impact and a lesser degree of experience require more time. Stay with it until you feel that you have the ability to make the best decision possible.

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”– Albert Einstein

Pay attention to how the facts fit together. The first step in decision making is a knowledge of the facts. Next comes an understanding of why the facts are what they are. Most important is to obtain the wisdom to apply what you now know and understand to make the best decision possible. This comes from broadening your view through other people and other similar decisions that have been made.

“To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.” Marilyn vos Savant

Profit from your analysis. You will never have all the answers needed to make a perfect decision. Don’t let that stop you from asking as many questions as reasonable to make the best decision possible.

“I don’t pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about.” – Arthur C. Clarke

Your strengths are like diamonds in the rough.

Feb 20

Diamonds are carbon that has fully developed its strength. It is a naturally occurring mineral, the hardest mineral known today. All diamonds start as carbon in its most basic form. Only after mining, cleaning, and cutting are they ready to be used in industrial tools or polished into beautiful jewelry.

Just like the diamond in the rough, everyone is born with strengths inside of them, but that potential needs to be set free. Michaelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

Here are the three steps to bringing forth the leader inside of everyone on your team.

Prepare them to recognize and use their potential.

Mining for people’s strengths can be a challenge. In this area I am a big fan of the Strenghfinders books and tools. I have used these for many years with several hundreds of former and current team members. The key concept in the book is that each person is born with certain natural strengths. Some might call these talent. These strengths are in areas such as communication, strategy, learning, maximizing, analytics and others. Your strengths do not define what you can do, but they help you understand how you could best approach what you do.

I start every mentoring relationship, and every leadership assignment with a thorough review of the Strengthfinders results. As the author Tom Rath said, “The key to human development is building on who you already are.”

I have not once had anyone disagree with their Strengthfinder results. But, somehow seeing their strengths in print as strengths, frees people to use them to their maximum potential.

Polish their strength so they can shine

The true beauty of a diamond does not show until it is cleaned and polished. Recognizing the potential of your strengths only offers potential success until your strengths are allowed to shine. Once my team knows their strengths we use every opportunity for them to practice. We work together to bring their full potential to the surface. This brings rewards in two ways: my team develops confidence in their strengths, and other people recognize their success.

Marilyn vos Savant, the columnist Ask Marilyn, is known as the person with the highest recorded IQ at 228. Her take on this area is, “Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.”

Point them in the right direction

Not all diamonds are destined for the jewelry store. In fact about seventy-five percent of diamonds are used for industrial cutting tools. Of the twenty-five percent that are used for jewelry, each diamond’s use is based on the four C’s: color, clarity, carat, and cut.

Your final job as a leader is to place your team in the roles that will allow them to make the most of their strengths. This gives each member of the team personal success, and it provides the best opportunity for team success. Five time NBA All Star Paul Westphal said, “The key to any game is to use your strengths…”

Every successful leader was once a diamond in the rough.

Sep 12

Diamonds are a naturally occurring mineral, the hardest mineral known today. All diamonds start as carbon in its most basic form. Only after mining, cleaning, and cutting are they ready to be used in industrial tools or polished into beautiful jewelry.

Just like the diamond in the rough, everyone is born with the potential to be a leader inside of them, but that potential needs to be set free. Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

Here are the three steps to bringing forth the leader inside of everyone on your team.