Some measure greatness in height and weight, but great people are never so tall as when they bend their knees to help lift someone who has fallen.  Some measure greatness in physical strength, but great people are never so strong as when they carry the burden of a downtrodden stranger.  Some measure greatness in terms of financial gain, but those who give generously to others have a wealth that is far better than money.  Some measure greatness in applause and fame, but those who seek opportunity to serve in quiet or unpopular ways gain the highest praise.  Some measure greatness in their own ability to reach goals, yet those who spur others toward a higher purpose for the good of all is the most successful of all.

How is that Spelled?

Dash off an email to a client. Tap out a quick text message to a colleague. Jot down some notes in Messenger and send it to a direct report. Forward a key piece of information about a deal to a coworkers with a comment. The speed of business is accelerating, and people are communicating more than ever… and we’re in a bigger hurry than ever to click “send”. Communication tools abound and we use them all. WhatsApp. Messenger. Email. Text. Slack. With a click, messages are sent by professionals with no way to take them back… even when they’ve made an egregious error. 

The Things We Say Wrong

In business, we write A LOT.  Text messages.  Instant messages.  Emails.  Posts and comments on social media.  Requests for Proposals.  Reports.  Presentations.  Blogs.  And, these days, business executives are penning books more than ever before… even if they’d never published anything before.  In almost any job, we are required to write.  And, how we write says a lot about who we are.  When a message has grammatical, syntax or spelling errors or uses words incorrectly, it can make a person seem uneducated or simple, even if they are highly intelligent.  While they say that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, people will most certainly judge a book if the title has a typo or uses an incorrect turn of phrase.

We are writing more than ever before.  While technology provides a myriad of tools to catch errors — spell check, thesaurus, spelling and grammar check – those tools are not perfect.  They can fix some things but not all.  And, in some mediums — such as text or instant messaging — there are no such tools.  In fact, auto-correct can sometimes even add to the mistakes.   It is important to be able to write well even when there is no help from technology… especially when there is no help from technology.

Boosting Drive for more Action

Drive is an executive function of the brain.  It is a cognitive skill that spurs action.  Drive is what makes you work hard, put forth effort and persevere.  Drive is what keeps you going long after motivation has evaporated.  It’s the stuff that makes you keep doing a good job even when you’re no longer excited to do the work.  It makes you stay at a job even after the initial thrill of a new job has worn off.  For example, it’s what keeps scientists researching even after they’ve hit brick walls and roadblocks.  It is what keeps a business owner, like Elon Musk, working on spaceships that can take people and cargo into space and then return safely to earth.  Drive is what pushes us forward to make the impossible possible. 

Motivation and Drive – Two Sides of the Same Coin

Actions speak louder than words.  In our fast-changing and increasingly complex world, power is in the hands of those who act decisively and consistently.   Persistence pays.  We are commanded in ads to “Just do it.”  This mantra is all about taking action.  It says that being able to take action, stay-the-course and persevere in an endeavor is more valuable than being smart, skilled or a smooth talker.  It is certainly true that most leaders would prefer to have highly-motivated, driven employees than ones who are geniuses, talented or personable, but don’t get the job done. 

Updating Helps Us Succeed

How well a person’s brain functions is very important.  This determines how well the individual performs at work, and that can have a profound impact on their socio-economic level and overall success.  As adults, we need cognitive abilities to succeed in life and support the development of our kids and grandkids.  These capabilities help us to get and keep a job, provide care for those who can’t care for themselves, manage a household, and contribute productively to the community. When these skills don’t work as they should, the person (and sometimes the whole family) pays the price.  This is especially true of certain Executive Functions, referred to as the Core Capabilities.  These Core Capabilities include working memory, planning, focus, self-control, awareness, flexibility and updating.Updating Helps Us SucceedHow well a person’s brain functions is very important.  This determines how well the individual performs at work, and that can have a profound impact on their socio-economic level and overall success.  As adults, we need cognitive abilities to succeed in life and support the development of our kids and grandkids.  These capabilities help us to get and keep a job, provide care for those who can’t care for themselves, manage a household, and contribute productively to the community. When these skills don’t work as they should, the person (and sometimes the whole family) pays the price.  This is especially true of certain Executive Functions, referred to as the Core Capabilities.  These Core Capabilities include working memory, planning, focus, self-control, awareness, flexibility and updating.

Updating Helps Us Achieve

The human mind performs many cognitive tasks that control how well we learn, work and manage life.  They aren’t part of IQ or EQ.  These are “executive functions” like self-control, planning, adapting, viewing things from different perspectives, creating new ideas, storing and retrieving information to perform complex tasks, making decisions, using reasoning or logic to solve problems, and much more.  Development of our Executive Functions starts early – some as early as infancy – and matures significantly during the preschool years.  Our Executive Functions continue to develop through adolescence and well into adulthood.  Some studies suggest that Executive Functions may be even more important for academic success than IQ or EQ.  It’s these cognitive processes that help us get things done.  After all, most jobs do not require genius intelligence or deep interpersonal skills, but they do require us to be able to store and retrieve information, solve problems, show up for work on time every day, make decisions, plan and then update plans. Continue reading →

Cognitive Flexibility Boosts Creativity

When we think of a leader who is “flexible”, we think of someone who is able to modify or adjust his thoughts and behaviors to a new, changing or unexpected situation.  All professionals – and definitely all business leaders — must be able to do that.  But actually, when it comes to Executive Functions, this kind of cognitive shifting or adjustment is actually known as “adaptability”.  It’s like the children’s game of “Simon Says.”  When new instructions direct you to jump on your right foot, cognitive adaptability allows you to quickly switch to jumping just on your right foot.  An example of cognitive adaptability is when restaurants began selling all food as take-out when social distancing and government regulations prohibited dining in for customers. Continue reading →

Fluid Intelligence and Problem Solving

Doctors solve health problems by diagnosing the ailment and prescribing a cure.  Computer programmers solve work flow and process problems by finding faster and better ways to accomplish tasks digitally.  Farmers solve environmental problems — such as drought or flooding, pests, erosion, nutrient depletion, etc. — in order to maximize their harvest.  Even jobs that may not seem like they require much problem solving (mail carrier; chef; receptionist) do require problem solving in certain situations.  Problem solving is a commonly-used skill needed in most occupations.  This cognitive ability is part of Fluid Intelligence, and it is one of the most important Executive Functions that individuals possess. Continue reading →