What makes someone an effective hire then boils down to three characteristics. Do they have the knowledge to do the job? Are they motivated to work hard? Do they have social skills that will make it easy for them to work with others?How can we assess for these during the hiring process?
Business education seems to leave gaps in skills that demand human interaction and working across geographies and diverse groups. The entrance examination of a B-School is such that it is hard for a non-engineer to compete. Hardly any Humanities graduates can make it past the entrance examination that is tilted in favor of quantitative skills.It is no surprise that many of us struggle in the workplace to influence colleagues who do not report to us. Or to work with the matrix structures where power lines are fuzzy and influence lines matter.This is just what Humanities teach us. How to interact with human beings. To deal with ambiguity and fuzziness.
With the Fourth Industrial Revolution bringing in exponential changes, leaders are missing one important element — rethinking the process of learning. People are learning in multiple ways. Paperbacks exist with e-Books. Analog business models exist with digital. Physical stores exist with online formats. There is another word for it – omnichannel, and that is what learning must be.
Have you ever wondered how to define talent? In ancient times the word talent was referred to as a measure of silver that was paid in exchange of someone's work. Better output by the person resulted in more payment - hence more "talent".We get fooled because we believe since we spend a lot of time with human beings we must be good at evaluating their talent and potential. There is a science of human behavior and a science to talent, just like there is science to astrophysics.
Congratulations! Your resume passed the six-seconds test. Now, you’ve been asked for your availability for a video interview. Unless you are a YouTube star, facing a camera and appearing comfortable answering questions is a stressful situation. If the video interview is a step towards finding your dream job, the stakes are even higher. Here are some tips for avoiding the potential awkwardness of this increasingly common practice and letting your best self has a chance to shine through.
For the film makers, writers, lyricists and comedians, the streaming giants may offer a safe haven where opinions that are not palatable to the majority can be expressed. The stand-up comedians can do their routine without fear of a backlash other than the market forces. If viewers do not watch the shows or rate it poorly, the artistes will be taken off the air or at the very least not invited back. Free speech that challenges our worldview may thrive in the fringes while the mainstream cinema continues to dole out what is safe but bland.
Start by listing down five things you are grateful for and do that once a week. It could be the people who are or were in your life; the possessions that have meaning for you; the generosity of a stranger or a skill you have picked up and the sight of a sunrise that left you awestruck. Just writing a sentence about each of the five things once a week for two months can make you more optimistic and happier. Gratitude is different from indebtedness. Indebtedness creates a feeling of obligation to pay back. Gratitude makes you realize that you matter much more to the person than you ever imagined.
As you step into the world of work, you are bringing to it the freshness of ideas and the power to change things. And yet, there is the danger that all too soon you will forget why you came to a place like this.NO, you were not here to understand the corporate sector or the intricate theories of management. You came here to understand yourself and your strengths. To believe how easy it is to make a difference. That is the power of higher education. To instil in you the belief that you can make the world a better place.
