tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post5059847304983300982..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: A Harvard Education In A BookAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-5025232219389067592008-11-04T22:50:00.000-05:002008-11-04T22:50:00.000-05:00In his excellent autobiography, Tom Watson Jr, the...In his excellent autobiography, Tom Watson Jr, the longtime head of IBM, wrote about his friend Al Williams, who came from a very hardscrabble background (from a mining region, no college) to become a senior financial executive. Watson, whose position at the time could best be defined by the phrase "boss's son," was impressed with the man's savoir-faire, and asked him how he, with his background, had become so smooth. The answer: "I found out people I admired bought their clothes at Brooks Brothers, so that's where I started buying mine. I noticed I couldn't talk easily at dinner parties, so I began to read the classics." Williams also made a practice of listening to classical music every evening.<BR/><BR/>It's interesting, and perhaps depressing, to speculate what a similar "self-improvement" program might look like today.David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-44669188948187375382008-11-04T22:04:00.000-05:002008-11-04T22:04:00.000-05:00I do this all the time. I am very much a generalis...I do this all the time. I am very much a generalist, and I am fairly good at using a smattering of knowledge to bridge a gap with someone with whom I am speaking. Just today, a client commented about how much I knew about his business. I don't really know that much -- for instance I couldn't start immediately doing his business -- but I do know enough to TALK about it intelligently. As a salesperson, I find this very useful.<BR/>It helps that I am sincerely interested in people and their stories. I truly enjoy learning about the people I meet, and hearing about what interests and moves them. So I look for ways to build bridges with them, to connect over common experiences, common viewpoints and even common vocabulary -- or as you would say, common markers. This may be a kind of emotional intelligence as well. It's not so much about masquerading to impress as attempting to relate or connect with someone.Dubbahdeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00075702513873912334noreply@blogger.com