Overall I really enjoyed taking the class and the people I was able to meet. One the first day of class you said that this class will be the most important class that we would take at the U. You went on to say that this class with be different from any other class we will take at the U. While sitting in class listening to these claims I was thinking in my head “this lady is really off her rocker.� But, to my surprise, it really was. The concepts we learned and discussed were actually concepts that will be important in out careers. More important they are concepts that we will actually use and have a need for. Not many classes at the U really provide you with career specific training, which is really cool. I also think that most of us in the class were seniors, so it was also a good time for me to take it.
Likes – dislikes – and recommendations
Daniel Goldman – I was really unsure about this guy at first. Our first reading assignment was the first 40 pages of Emotional Intelligence. I have to say that it took me a long time to get through it. Like Karen said in class, this man took 40 pages to tell us something that could have been summed up in 5 pages. However, the farther and father I got into it, the more and more I appreciated it. I think that I probably took more from this book then any other concept we talked about in class.
Fujishin – This was actually my favorite book when I skimmed though them before the first day of class, maybe because it was the smallest. How knows? But the farther I got into it, the more I didn’t care for it. I thought Fujishin took the most basic concepts and ideas and put them on paper. I thought he was extremely forward, and stimulated little to know though because of it. Even skimming back over the book now I’m amazed by his concepts. “Myth 5: I must like and be liked by everyone.� I find it hard to believe that anyone would really believe that or need a book to tell you that. Also I found his discussion on the five dysfunctional roles of teams to be a little general too. These are roles that we see everyday, be just have different names for them. Our own class for example …
The controller – this is that guy who always has to answer every question…you know the one
The blamer – these are the people who are offer excuses to problems instead of solutions.
The pleaser – these are the shy people in class that will not every let us know what there true opinion is
The distracter – these are the class clowns, any names pop into your head?
The Ghost – these are two people in my mind that when I look around the class there are two people who I don’t know there names.
Maybe it is just a poor attitude on my part, but that was my least favorite thing in class.
Tipping Point – I really liked the tipping point because it wasn’t just another text book. It was all examples that I could remember and relate to. I like how Gladwell used airwalk, specific people, and the Baltimore needle exchange to make his point. By doing so it was easier to connect his concepts to our real life.
Fish – Fish is fish. I have read it a few times for different classes, and I have also seen the movie. I think the concepts are great, very true that any work can use a little “fish� in it. We had to apply it to a job I was working at about three years ago. The concepts were chalked up to be hooky, but it had a profound affect. Because we were constantly making fun of it, and joking around, we found our play. Once we were all laughing and having a great time, that energy flowed over into the other three concepts and on to our customers as well. Strange…I think so.
All of the presentation and papers were what they were. I get really nervous standing in front of people and talking, so they were not my favorite. But I understand why we did them, and it was a nice change. The only thing I didn’t like was the leader presentation. I think I would have gotten more into it if we could have chosen a leader that we felt had had an impression on us, or that we looked up to. Other than that I think the class as great. It was always a nice break for me because it wasn’t a stressful class, and the learning environment was very calm, friendly, and casual. Thanks, I know I will use what I have learned in this class for the rest of my life.
Thanks again,
Blake
Like Mary-Jane, we all can get into ruts in our lives that appear to have no end result. Obviously she was very unhappy with her job. This is apparent when she says “the toxic energy dump is what you hate most about the second floor� (p.28). The situation was not the most ideal, but it was what it was.
In our work life we really have two options to consider if we want to keep our mental health at the end of the day. We can go to work and make the most of it. By choosing this we can incorporate some of the concepts from Fish and have the best day we possibly can. We can incorporate the four concepts of choosing our attitude, play, make their day, and be present into our everyday goals to help with our success at work. Mary-Jane realized this and tried to incorporate as much as she could when she wrote out her outline for work. This is apparent by the questions she asked herself:
• Are you being bored, or are you being world famous?
• How could we have more fun and create more energy?
• How can we make each other’s days?
• The fish guys are fully present at work. What can they teach us about being present for each other and our customers? (p.78)
This type of attitude or list would be perfect for someone who is questioning their career and its outcome. I think that anyone in a rut could sit down and brainstorm some ideas by asking their self the same questions Mary-Jane did.
There has been times though were I had to look at the other option to the career question. I think that before you travel down the road of using the fish concepts you need to ask yourself if you like your job. I’m not trying to say here that everyone has to love their job all the time, but you should have some interest in it or in the people who you work with. For instance, one of the first jobs I had was doing housekeeping for a large resort. Not being a very glamorous job, you can imagine that not many people my age were doing the same for the summer. My best friend and I took the job together thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad as long as we could suffer through it together. But since we were both younger and new, we never got to work with each other. Two problems are apparent to me that were not apparent then. First, my attitude was horrible. I went into the job, without even working one day, and had already decided that I hating it. Second, because the person I was working with was not my best friend, I put up a wall between them and me. Another example was my first when I moved down to the cities to go to school. The job was waiting tables in a suburb. I had lots of experience from up north, but quickly found out that at a corporate restaurant the bottom line was the dollar. Previously, the people, staff and quests, were what was considered important. I loved the people I worked with, but didn’t really care for the guests or the management. Everyday was like pulling teeth to go to work because I hated it. The longer and longer it went on the worse and worse it got. Finally in a blow-up with a manager of mine she told me something so profound but so simple. She said “Blake, if you hate your job so much, just quit.� “It is only a job, and you shouldn’t be that unhappy.� She was exactly right, there was nothing holding me to the job and I did quit. Best decision I have ever made job wise.
When in a rut like Mary-Jane or myself you need to make solid decisions, and stick to your guns. Either go to work and give it 100% everyday, or get out. I’m sure when I left the suburb waiting job some of the tension was lifted. Like you always hear, you are either part of the problem, or part of the solution. My only advice when choosing option 2 is you want to make sure you can find work somewhere. Your job might seem unbearable, but try sleeping without a roof over your head and then think about how bad your job stunk. Also, I made the decision to quit at the drop of a hat, but I knew I was unhappy for a long time. As discussed in class I would go home and think about your decision for a couple of days. If you still have the same convictions, then take action.