Author: The Information Badger

We’re all frightened of failure…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Uncategorized

Have you ever reflected on the path of your career and realised that in your formative years someone senior not only saw capabilities in you that you didn’t know you had, but also provided an opportunity for those capabilities to blossom that you did not expect? Have those capabilities been the bedrock of your working life and personal development ever since? If you can relate positively to these questions, then you’re likely to have experienced some success in your chosen career. Why? Because at a formative point early in your career you overcame your trepidation and fear of failure to take the opportunity that presented itself, and you’re likely to have retained that ‘I’ve never done that before, but I’ll give it a go’ attitude ever since.

The Information Badger’s formative point was at a photocopier producing handouts for a presentation. The company CEO, who the Badger had met a few times in meetings, walked by, said hello, then paused and enquired about the Badger’s current assignment. After being told the CEO grinned broadly and said the Badger’s talents were better suited to a leadership role on a major project widely known to be in severe difficulty. The Badger had no previous relevant experience, was somewhat taken aback, and cautiously voiced some concern about failing. The CEO chuckled and just said:

‘My dear boy, we are all frightened of failure, but just think how good you and the rest of us will feel if you succeed’.

The Badger joined the failing project the next day – in at the deep end with responsibility, accountability and authority never previously held. The Badger didn’t look back! The capabilities the CEO saw, and the Badger had no self-awareness of, blossomed generating great personal satisfaction, real career direction and benefits for the company.

The CEO’s words are remembered to this day. Why? Because they’re founded on insight, experience, and an understanding of what makes people tick. The latter is key because everyone has protective ‘I’ve never done that before and I can’t do it’ psychological wiring as a first response. Everyone has an inner fear of failure. If you’re able to recognise and overcome this, then you’re likely to ultimately maximise your personal and career success.

Everyone is different, of course, and success comes in many forms, but if you’re presented with something that’s out of your comfort zone then just remember that you’re wired to think you can’t do it! Parents often use the saying ‘There’s no such word as can’t, try!’ with their young children. Always strive to use this mantra as the starting point for your thought processes when presented with an opportunity beyond your comfort zone or experience. Remember…you’ll never really know your own capabilities, even if others can see them, unless you overcome your fears.

Mighty oaks from little acorns grow…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Uncategorized

Craftsmen have passed their knowledge and skills to the next generation to grow the ‘oaks’ of the future for centuries, but that doesn’t mean those receiving the knowledge avoid making the same mistakes as their predecessors. Why? Because people are just that, people not robots. People have different personalities, different beliefs, different cultural, social and life backgrounds, different strengths, weaknesses, and intellects, and different ways of absorbing knowledge. The Information Badger’s experience has been that the people who tend to grow speedily into ‘oaks’ in their chosen field are open-minded, creative problem solvers, swift learners from their own mistakes and those of others, and inherent absorbers of new knowledge everyday of their lives. Indeed, psychology research suggests that a life-long learning ethos is good for your career, your health, your wealth, your self-esteem and your quality of life.

So how does this relate to the Information Badger website? It’s simple really. Craftsmen never lose their knowledge, skills and wisdom, their desire to learn new things, or their motivation to pass knowledge on to others. Time moves on and the world changes, of course, but the learnings from experience often remain applicable and relevant across generations. Today’s internet and social media make it easier than ever before to share   learning points in a very accessible way that allows others to judge for themselves its value to their own work and the development of their own wisdom in their chosen field. The Information Badger website contributes knowledge based on this premise.

The world is in the throes of a fast-moving industrial revolution with information at its heart, and sharing and capitalising on knowledge from a broad experience base is vitally important. The three primary motives behind the Information Badger site are therefore simple and straightforward. The first is to reinforce Albert Einstein’s point that ‘The only source of knowledge is experience’ by contributing some experience-centred learning points to the global knowledge base for general consumption. The second is to encourage everyone to share their experience-centred learning points with the widest possible audience, regardless of the medium or approach used to achieve this.  The final motive is simply to encourage readers to always listen and learn from others, adopt an open-minded, life-long attitude to learning, and to think of themselves as the craftsmen who should ultimately also pass their own knowledge to the next generation.

Welcome to the Information Badger!