The only thing more interesting than a story about another person is a story about our own self.
Why is this so?
Because, naturally, most of us are more interested in reading about ourselves than reading a condensed history of the ten most famous people who ever lived.
This is the natural way of human behaviour and there doesn’t seem to be any indication that this is suddenly about to change.
DFQ #07:
In 100 words or less, post a story about yourself.Focus on your Top Strength from DFQ#6 and think of an amusing story that illustrates, or derives from, your top strength.
As you think about this story, recall some details about the setting, the people involved, the provocation and the ‘punch line’ or the outcome.
Don’t feel the need to interpret the story or comment too much on it–just tell it!
We are your devoted audience. Make it a good one 🙂
(NOTE: I realise this is a bit like karaoke and asks you to step-up. But if this DFQ is not for you, no problem, just skip it. All SOT training (even leadership training) is opt-in/opt-out).
One of my top strengths is integrity – authenticity and honesty. Of course, you can be authentic and honest without the slightest idea of tact, wisdom or appropriateness. At the age of 23 I worked for the 3rd largest insurance company in Australia. I had an entry level IT job.
I decided top management had the wrong philosophy – so I wrote a LONG letter to the CEO, marched on over to corporate headquarters, took the lift to the top floor/executive suite – and hand delivered it.
The next day, my supervisors’ supervisor paid me a visit. “While I kind of agree with your philosophy, I have to say it would be best if you resigned today”.
So I left, and a few years later, the 3rd largest insurance company in Australia went out of business. I guess the CEO never heeded my advice … 🙂
It all started with a little kid, who simply shook me out of my slumber. I had just finished a session with girls of a high school – free sessions which I routinely take with school students. This little kid came up to me and said ‘ Sir, every one tells us to study, to learn but no one ever shows us how to learn’. That stumped me. We talk about big things but miss the basics.
What this little girl meant was that the kids want to learn skills for studying effectively & not just lectured at. This unfortunately is the case every where.
I was jolted out of complacency and since that day I have made every effort to translate knowledge into skills before attempting to transfer the same. More than 80% of what we learn happens visually, hence demonstration or exhibiting the way things happen create better understanding.
Showing is always better than telling.
Love of Learning – I believe that everyone should learn, & as a professional, I love to share my knowledge. I recently changed jobs, & I suggested seminars during lunch breaks – these both make people more interested in sharing in general, & make people more interesting. I volunteered for the first (on “Thinking”), & decided to re-use slides from the only seminar I did at the last place I was contracting.
I began (yesterday) with something along the lines of “I should be nervous about this presentation – the last time I gave it, my contract was terminated on that day.”
This morning, the head of HR asked me to have a meeting with someone from my contracting firm. This caught everyone’s attention – it turns out they only wanted to do a survey on OH&S.
One of my strengths is curiosity. Part of this is a curiosity to see how people react to strange situations. This often tells me a lot about that person in a short time. A while ago I phoned to speak to a client. He was not at home and the phone was answered by his 11 year old son who did not know me. He told me that his father was not home without asking who it was who was calling. Because he failed to identify me I started making silly remarks (not hurtful) as to possibilities why his father was not at home. This carried on for a while, without him still asking who I was. I eventually ended the conversation. This satisfied my curiosity as to the nature of the child , and that he was relaxed and tolerant. I had a good chuckle after I put down the phone!
Love of Learning
When I was a young boy about 7 or 8 just before transistors arrived we had a valve radios with dials that you’d turn to tune into the station. One of our sets was so good that you could pick up short wave transmissions very little of which i could understand. Unfortunately for these radios my curiosity to see how the worked resulted in them being dismantled valve by valve, screw by screw until there was just a pile of bits left. Unfortunately, remember I was only 8, there was no way I knew how to get them back together!
Strength: Creativity
Thinking can be dangerous.
Many years ago I and other fresh graduates were interviewed by a large company as potential management trainees. Two days of exercises included assessing information about two brothers and advising them if they should quit their jobs to realize their dream of running their own business. I advised one to do it while the other worked to provide financial support and join later.
During a group discussion the other candidates rejected my idea, agreeing that I had broken the rules. One actually got quite angry and accused me of cheating.
PS I was offered the job.
Curiosity and Love for learning! very complementary
Just last year I travelled to Argentina, first time in South America, on work commitments. I had been in Buenos Aires for about four weeks all by myself but had enjoyed my time there no less, sampled great many red meat varieties with the local wines. Met interesting locals as well as lots of Brazilians.
I was left with about a week to head back to South Africa and had giving up any hope of meeting at least one countryman.
When one day, during my many works in that fabulous city, right across and approaching the pedestrian crossing was a man walking in a manner that shouted something at me.
As the lights turned green we approached the center of a major road, eye contact! Then I said “Ola”, he responded back with and “Olaa”.
Everyone here in Buenos Aires greets with an “ola” But I knew the sound of that one, that “Ola” sounded closer to home! So I ventured, “go jwang” (native slang for what’s up)…Incredibly, he responds back, “Shapo, go jwang?”(Cool, What’s up?).
We share a great laughter, more incredible he comes from the same city as I do.
Curiosity? can also be easily substantiated by how I found SOT. And don’t I just have the “Love for learning”?
Love- Not sure if this story really counts, because it is more my Mum and dad’s story but I’ll try and bring it around to my storyin the end.
My father came to Australia from Italy after the war. Along with my uncle and a cousin of my father they worked hard trying to make a life for themselves.
My mother came to Australia a few years later At this stage she was single and naive and came to meet her brother who was already here.
Mum’s brother and an aunty of my mum’s arranged to have men brought around to court mum and eventually marry. Mum did not like this and began to hate this new country. She did not like any of the men and refused to even see them.
My father was not invited to these meetings, even though mum’s brother knew him. He did happen to give another guy a lift to one of these meetings, and from there my mother and father never parted. My father treated my mother like a princess and my mother adored my father.
My father died 16 years ago and my mother has never stopped loving him. she has now lived in Balaclava (Melbourne, Australia) for over 55 years and loves this country. We often talk about the what ifs, but I’m so glad it worked out the way it did.
I try to emulate my father and I don’t take love for granted.
Open mind-ness.
Not much to say other than daily life…
Gratitude. My parents have always supported me in what ever I chose to do with my life including studies, work, living in Japan, the UK and travelling abroad.
When I moved to London my dad was so excited that I had ridden on a double decker bus that I thought to myself: they must come to London and experience a part of this wonderful world that they have always encouraged me to explore. My parents never prioritised overseas travel and mum had never been outside Australia.
So when I offered to buy them return airfares to London (even though I was on a meagre salary at the time) they had no excused but to pack their bags and get excited. I planned the whole trip and we had 3 of the most amazing weeks together in England, Scotland, Wales and Paris.
These memories we have are simply priceless.