Language is fluid and always changing, evolving in strange and often contradictory ways. So, for example, while North American and British English are mutually intelligible, several hundred years of separation have produced different sound systems and different vocabularies. These differences would be much more pronounced if we did not have printing presses and modern media…
In Eastern cultures, a premium is placed on modesty and even self-effacement. Even in our boisterous Western cultures, we generally agree that crass self-promotion is rude. And who wants to be rude? As a result, when asked to list our best characteristics, we often fall silent, or mumble a lot. And that can be a…
You don’t know what you don’t know, they say. And it’s also true that you don’t always know what you do know. Nowhere are these more problematic than when you are trying to inventory your own Giftings. Everyone excels at something, which is good, but that also creates a problem. The paradox is that whenever…
I don’t know about you, but not all my culinary efforts win the gold medal. Many a time the unlucky diners eat the production just to be polite. And more often than not when my cuisine lacks a little something, it’s because it lacks a little something. Forgetting to add lemon zest or a pinch…
So far we’ve learned that discerning our own unique Giftedness is no easy thing. We’ve seen that we can be “houseblind” to our own talents and aptitudes, and we’ve seen the advantages (but also limitations) of enlisting others to help us in our search. And unfortunately there is no $99 online test, or anything else,…
Whenever I get into the Big City I like to grab breakfast at one of my favourite “greasy spoon” diners. In truth, the place is pretty spotless, but you know the genre– lots of hot coffee, plates loaded with eggs over easy, bacon, homefries. Waitresses who know everyone by first name and reputation. And loud…
We know that the Alignment Principle tells us that everything is peachy when the Giftings of the professional align perfectly with the Needs of the client. The professional gets to be well compensated for doing what he or she loves to do, and the client gets a fair price for the exact result they needed….
Today our country is one hundred and fifty-five years old, and there’s much of which to be proud. Despite our smaller populace, by dint of our good fortune and industrious people, we sit at the table of the G7 economic heavy-hitters. We’re the destination of choice for immigrants from all over the world, and in…
The subconscious goes way quicker than the conscious, and that’s a good thing. It’s also a terrible thing, if you let it get ahead of you. Hunches and intuition save our bacon more often than we realize– there’s just something about a face or a mannerism that tells us to be cautious and to hold…
Of all of the Giftings, one of the most universal across the professions is solving, that is, the gift of being able to figure out and resolve problems. Think about it – when you go see your doctor with a vague complaint, you want her to listen to your complaints, run some tests, perhaps get…