Teachers Corner | THRIVE | EDUCATION ASIA | 139
The staff who stand out are those who go the extra mile and who care to do the job properly. They are also the people who look after themselves so that they are able to maintain high standards over a long period of time. She gives suggestions for how to set your own bar and stick to it. As she writes: “if you expect world-class performance from yourself, treat yourself like a star athlete.” In this style, Wood takes each of these nine seemingly unappealing personality traits and redefines them into positive action in the workplace. This makes them memorable, light and easily actionable. Each chapter concludes with a summary of actions to implement, all done with a sense of lighthearted determination. Wood doesn’t take herself too seriously, but she takes her work incredibly seriously. Ultimately, she is encouraging us to push ourselves more, to embrace our uniqueness and to put in a little more thought and effort in the right places, which will lead to a lot more visibility and success. As she writes “A bit much leads to much more.” It turns out that this is exactly the inspiration I needed to embrace and celebrate my inner wonderful weird self. What, I wonder, is yours? Regret weighs far more than failure.
a roadmap for how to classify and navigate the work which serves and excites us. In being obsessed, Wood writes about the importance of “professional persistence” and of being firm but cheerful, calm but committed. Everything we dream of lies on the other side of fear.
Starting with being weird, Wood gives examples of when people’s personalities have stood out, making them unique and memorable. Nike, for example, were happy to pay the NBA fine when Michael Jordan wore his red and black Air Jordans which violated the NBA code - it created enough publicity to make them legendary. She gives other, more personal examples of when people allowed their character and quirks to shine through and how this made them stand out. She advises us to do the same. Similarly, Wood suggests that we exhibit selfish traits. By this she means that we should be our own cheerleaders, ask for what we want and need and learn how to say no to small things in order to be able to say yes to bigger things. She touches on the concept of NAPs (Not Actually Promotable tasks) which are the subject of The No Club, and she gives
BUY THE BOOK
Powered by FlippingBook