Chinese business people are reading the Jewish Talmud, like we read Sun Tzu's treatise on war strategy to gain insights into business tactics. Some of the fad in that large Asian country is based on old stereotypical prejudices that Jews dominate business and are really good at negotiating. Whatever their reasons, many of them are trying to get better at their business by discovering new ideas to adopt.
How are you doing? Are you renewing your mind? Are you walking the talk of "personnel development is important"? The answer should be "yes" since you too are a "personnel".
Once, a boss chided me for going to conferences, workshops and reading books and lots of magazine articles. "All your ideas are coming from someone else?" he'd complain. "Why do you think there's someone out there who can tell us what we should do?" Sounding like an Old West rancher, he'd despise any "book-learnin' and such." Interestingly, in a few years, he was often recommending that his staff read certain books. Unfortunately, he'd reject any of the ideas that seem to apply to his business. His staff was frustrated with another book to read that would not have any discussion or follow-up as to the validity of the resource's ideas.
Literature is not the only way to renew yourself. Exposure to others' practices and experiences is helpful. Peer councils are beneficial. We should be life-long students.
Today, draft or review your own development plan. Earlier I quoted the saying, "The herd can only run as fast as the lead horse." Your team needs you to be the best you can be.
For C12 and Truth@Work members, you are probably familiar with the Romans passage that exhorts us to renew ourselves and transform our mind. There is a proverb that says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Make sure your sharp. Pick good sharp people to be around, to whom you can listen and of whose writings will lead you forward.
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