If you think people need to listen to your ideas just because they are bright, then go away and read this book that I just finished reading. The real world needs to be persuaded. In fact, you need to woo people to succeed in selling your ideas. Having smart ideas is necessary but not sufficient. Wharton Profs Shell and Moussa have tried to turn wooing into a science by giving those step by step instructions that people just LOVE! The picture of the two parakeets should become the mnemonic for you everytime you want to woo someone. Notice there is no club being used by the parakeet while wooing. Yeah, it is always about understanding the others needs and point of view before you start your spiel.

You are the rising star of the corporation. You are working at building a resume that will qualify you for the corner office in the next few years. You want to set the world record for being the youngest head of the corporation. In anticipation, you have started looking up models of corporate jets you could buy and the power suits you will need to order for the swearing in ceremony. In the midst of all this comes the email on the blackberry that your manager wants to know if you would be interested in a short term assignment to New Widgetovia, the country where your company has struck gold. You would need to be there for three months... maybe six... ummm ... a little bit more perhaps but hopefully not.

It is truly a magical moment when you read the manuscript and suddenly feel that there is nothing more left to add or to take away. If you add stuff you will feel the need to trim the fat and you cannot take away a single word without leaving gaps in the mind of the reader. It is that moment when you feel the most self-confident. You are ready to take the book to a publisher.

How did you decide on what career to pursue? Did you think it through or was it just a happy accident, a matter of chance or a choice that you have now learnt to tolerate because it pays for your current lifestyle. Are you the person who now believes, that everyone doesn't HAVE to just absolutely jump up with joy at going to work on a Monday morning. Let us face it - most people don't. Not unless you are wildly in love with your work and can't stop thinking about the ten different things to do at work that will give you a high. Even if the honest answer to your career lifestyle is "serendipity", remember you are spending several years of your life pursuing what may have been a chance outcome. You hope like hell you will like it. As an HR person, ever so often I meet people who are stuck in a job that they hate with all they have. Imagine what it would do to pursue a career designed around what they are passionate about. Careers and lives need to be in synch with each other. Else you are wasting your life and your talent just to earn a living to fund your lifestyle.