5 ms·

Managing Oneself (2005)

125 points by bx376 2y ago

joe_the_user 2y ago
Edit: Oh shit, I'm wrong below.... ... Peter Drucker, author of What Color Is Your Parachute? I have to say that while that book is likely "good for what it is", I utterly and completely despised it for what it was promoted as. Essentially, What Color Is Your Parachute was the standard thing that career councilors promoted for how to find a job - however it gives the ordinary seeker of an ordinary job nothing whatsoever but rather just tells everyone "become unique and find your unique niche". Whether that's good or bad advice, it's not the advice said ordinary seeker asked for and it was shitty trick that ordinary career counselors handed job seekers this book by default.
- Jtsummers 2y ago
  No, Drucker didn't write What Color Is Your Parachute?, that was written by Richard Nelson Bolles (had to look it up, I'd never heard of it before now).
- abeyer 2y ago
  Maybe we just have vastly different understandings of "ordinary" job seekers, "ordinary" career counselors, and why they'd interact... but I'm not sure I get the point? Isn't the book the basis of exactly what one would want a career counselor for? I'd expect a counselor to bring more personal and customized advice along, too, but telling someone to start with understanding the book doesn't seem like a bad approach. Now it's true that if what you're trying to do is get a job tomorrow, then yes, the book isn't going to help much with that... but that's not why I'd visit a career counselor either.
- drjasonharrison 2y ago
  The concept of an "ordinary job seeker" sounds like a cog in a machine where employers are desperate to hire any warm-bodied adult. One of the reasons "What color is your parachute" is promoted is that it discusses determining your skills and what you enjoy doing. It also promotes the idea that talking to people (information interviewing) is an effective way to find out deeply about jobs outside of the classifieds, the job boards, etc., when there are more job seekers than openings.
- treme 2y ago
  Be careful next time you criticize someone's work haphazardly and expose yourself as someone that criticizes management book author who doesn't know Drucker.
- an_aparallel 2y ago
  i think what that book does is create an opportunity to decide you're going to do some introspection. If that's too much hard work...so be it. It took me a solid 1.5 weeks of full time effort after work doing the exercises in this book. I honestly loved it. Its fruits are a living document, and there are so many ideas, tests and so on which i think are incredibly useful. Right after reading it - i took the advise of calling companies out of the blue much more seriously, and the difference in conversations was encouraging.
seism 2y ago
"Of all the important pieces of self-knowledge, understanding how you learn is the easiest to acquire." It's also not something that needs to be kept private, is it? I haven't come across too many people expressing their preference on social media profiles and such. As if we are worried about getting bombarded by edu-spam.
- nuclearnice3 2y ago
  In an overall excellent article with lots of tangible advice, I found the learning style bit weak. Wikipedia: "Although there is ample evidence that individuals express personal preferences on how they prefer to receive information,few studies have found validity in using learning styles in education." [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles
  - pnt12 2y ago
    Veritasium has a video on this: https://youtu.be/rhgwIhB58PA https://youtu.be/rhgwIhB58PA
m463 2y ago
The astronaut in the photo should learn to tuck his pant legs into his boots, especially in a vacuum.
- Brajeshwar 2y ago
  This looks more like someone who enthusiastically came to a costume party but turned out to be a different theme than he had in mind. So, contemplating life by the side of the pool on which part of the message he misinterpreted that he wore a different costume.
musicale 2y ago
> History’s great achievers—a Napoléon, a da Vinci, a Mozart—have always managed themselves. Turned out OK for one of them.
- zxt_tzx 2y ago
  It's always a little dubious when modern people pretend to have high confidence about the behaviors of long-dead people to serve their modern purposes. (Another example: oh you're an INFJ, just like Moses from the Bible!)
  - 0xdeadbeefbabe 2y ago
    Our ancient ancestors never had to deal with such deep thoughts, so we can't help but make dubious comparisons because our brains haven't evolved enough. Yes, it's so lazy. Modern people ought to pretend to greater laziness, and then things would go better.
- Topfi 2y ago
  Honestly, I have a hard time seeing any of those specific three as a paragon of self-management. More, I feel they are prime examples that self-management is not a necessity and may actually hinder success. I mean, it's hard to say this without being both blunt and sounding reductive (though using them as the opening line and clear examples for such an article does the same, so here goes), but one was a major gambling addict with severe financial issues to the end, the others ambitions led him into exile to say the least and the last had less focus than a moth during 4th of July fireworks.
  - kevindamm 2y ago
    Yes, and imagine managing any of them.
- ozim 2y ago
  I think interesting take on the same idea I saw lately was "Every Dead Body on Mt. Everest Was Once a Highly Motivated Person". It seems not that new but still.
rramadass 2y ago
Related: 2-vol "On Managing Yourself" from HBR's 10 Must Reads series.
Bean_Weasley 2y ago
[dead]
teleforce 2y ago
This article is part of the Harvard Business Review HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself [1]. The book [1] itself is part of HBR 10 Must Read Series: [1] HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself (with bonus article "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen): https://store.hbr.org/product/hbr-s-10-must-reads-on-managing-yourself-with-bonus-article-how-will-you-measure-your-life-by-clayton-m-christensen/12572 https://store.hbr.org/product/hbr-s-10-must-reads-on-managin... [2] HBR 10 Must Read Series: https://store.hbr.org/books/hbr-10-must-read-series/ https://store.hbr.org/books/hbr-10-must-read-series/
TimMurnaghan 2y ago
The only source for the "I refuse to see a pimp in the mirror in the morning when I shave." quote that I can find is Drucker hmself. The German Ambassador didn't resign in 1906. Maybe it was a deputy or a different country, or it's just made up?
neogodless 2y ago
https://archive.ph/9P5bZ https://archive.ph/9P5bZ
fuzzythinker 2y ago
Can someone tell me what a "reader" is in "reader vs. listener"?

125 points by bx376 2y ago

Edit: Oh shit, I'm wrong below.... ... Peter Drucker, author of What Color Is Your Parachute? I have to say that while that book is likely "good for what it is", I utterly and completely despised it for what it was promoted as. Essentially, What Color Is Your Parachute was the standard thing that career councilors promoted for how to find a job - however it gives the ordinary seeker of an ordinary job nothing whatsoever but rather just tells everyone "become unique and find your unique niche". Whether that's good or bad advice, it's not the advice said ordinary seeker asked for and it was shitty trick that ordinary career counselors handed job seekers this book by default.

Jtsummers 2y ago
No, Drucker didn't write What Color Is Your Parachute?, that was written by Richard Nelson Bolles (had to look it up, I'd never heard of it before now).
abeyer 2y ago
Maybe we just have vastly different understandings of "ordinary" job seekers, "ordinary" career counselors, and why they'd interact... but I'm not sure I get the point? Isn't the book the basis of exactly what one would want a career counselor for? I'd expect a counselor to bring more personal and customized advice along, too, but telling someone to start with understanding the book doesn't seem like a bad approach. Now it's true that if what you're trying to do is get a job tomorrow, then yes, the book isn't going to help much with that... but that's not why I'd visit a career counselor either.
drjasonharrison 2y ago
The concept of an "ordinary job seeker" sounds like a cog in a machine where employers are desperate to hire any warm-bodied adult. One of the reasons "What color is your parachute" is promoted is that it discusses determining your skills and what you enjoy doing. It also promotes the idea that talking to people (information interviewing) is an effective way to find out deeply about jobs outside of the classifieds, the job boards, etc., when there are more job seekers than openings.
treme 2y ago
Be careful next time you criticize someone's work haphazardly and expose yourself as someone that criticizes management book author who doesn't know Drucker.
an_aparallel 2y ago
i think what that book does is create an opportunity to decide you're going to do some introspection. If that's too much hard work...so be it. It took me a solid 1.5 weeks of full time effort after work doing the exercises in this book. I honestly loved it. Its fruits are a living document, and there are so many ideas, tests and so on which i think are incredibly useful. Right after reading it - i took the advise of calling companies out of the blue much more seriously, and the difference in conversations was encouraging.

seism 2y ago

"Of all the important pieces of self-knowledge, understanding how you learn is the easiest to acquire." It's also not something that needs to be kept private, is it? I haven't come across too many people expressing their preference on social media profiles and such. As if we are worried about getting bombarded by edu-spam.

nuclearnice3 2y ago
In an overall excellent article with lots of tangible advice, I found the learning style bit weak. Wikipedia: "Although there is ample evidence that individuals express personal preferences on how they prefer to receive information,few studies have found validity in using learning styles in education." [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles
- pnt12 2y ago
  Veritasium has a video on this: https://youtu.be/rhgwIhB58PA https://youtu.be/rhgwIhB58PA

m463 2y ago

The astronaut in the photo should learn to tuck his pant legs into his boots, especially in a vacuum.

Brajeshwar 2y ago
This looks more like someone who enthusiastically came to a costume party but turned out to be a different theme than he had in mind. So, contemplating life by the side of the pool on which part of the message he misinterpreted that he wore a different costume.

musicale 2y ago

> History’s great achievers—a Napoléon, a da Vinci, a Mozart—have always managed themselves. Turned out OK for one of them.

zxt_tzx 2y ago
It's always a little dubious when modern people pretend to have high confidence about the behaviors of long-dead people to serve their modern purposes. (Another example: oh you're an INFJ, just like Moses from the Bible!)
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 2y ago
  Our ancient ancestors never had to deal with such deep thoughts, so we can't help but make dubious comparisons because our brains haven't evolved enough. Yes, it's so lazy. Modern people ought to pretend to greater laziness, and then things would go better.
Topfi 2y ago
Honestly, I have a hard time seeing any of those specific three as a paragon of self-management. More, I feel they are prime examples that self-management is not a necessity and may actually hinder success. I mean, it's hard to say this without being both blunt and sounding reductive (though using them as the opening line and clear examples for such an article does the same, so here goes), but one was a major gambling addict with severe financial issues to the end, the others ambitions led him into exile to say the least and the last had less focus than a moth during 4th of July fireworks.
- kevindamm 2y ago
  Yes, and imagine managing any of them.
ozim 2y ago
I think interesting take on the same idea I saw lately was "Every Dead Body on Mt. Everest Was Once a Highly Motivated Person". It seems not that new but still.

rramadass 2y ago

Related: 2-vol "On Managing Yourself" from HBR's 10 Must Reads series.

Bean_Weasley 2y ago

[dead]

teleforce 2y ago

This article is part of the Harvard Business Review HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself [1]. The book [1] itself is part of HBR 10 Must Read Series: [1] HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself (with bonus article "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen): https://store.hbr.org/product/hbr-s-10-must-reads-on-managing-yourself-with-bonus-article-how-will-you-measure-your-life-by-clayton-m-christensen/12572 https://store.hbr.org/product/hbr-s-10-must-reads-on-managin... [2] HBR 10 Must Read Series: https://store.hbr.org/books/hbr-10-must-read-series/ https://store.hbr.org/books/hbr-10-must-read-series/

TimMurnaghan 2y ago

The only source for the "I refuse to see a pimp in the mirror in the morning when I shave." quote that I can find is Drucker hmself. The German Ambassador didn't resign in 1906. Maybe it was a deputy or a different country, or it's just made up?

neogodless 2y ago

https://archive.ph/9P5bZ https://archive.ph/9P5bZ

fuzzythinker 2y ago

Can someone tell me what a "reader" is in "reader vs. listener"?