Managing Oneself

This article touched on a number of valid points that are essential in discovering how you work as an individual, with others and overall how you can use that knowledge to be a more successful/productive YOU. The first element in determining how to manage yourself is to determine your strengths. You must know your strengths to know where you belong. When you discover your strengths, put yourself where your strengths will produce results. Continue to improve these strengths and acquire new skills when needed. Another element of managing yourself is to determine how you preform. Are you a reader or listener? How do you learn? And so on. How one learns is something that I found very interesting. My 8th grade teacher once explained the seven levels of learning to us... I cannot remember all of them but I do remember realizing that I function well at some levels of learning but not at others. For example, I function extremely well at the lowest level of learning: memorization. When studying for tests I find it easy to memorize terms, concepts, responses,etc. However, I do not function well at the highest level of learning which is being able to take an object/concept and completely break it down and then put it back together and explain step-by-step how you came back to the original object/concept. Knowing how you learn will not only be of benefit to yourself but will enable you to better understand how others learn and work more productively with them.
Your personal values must be compatible with the organization's values, they do not have to be identical but they must be close enough to work. I think this is a very important concept that many people either do not understand or do not acknowledge. Far too many people are in it for the money. In the end these people usually are not happy with their work and sometimes they are unhappy with their life in general as a result. I understand that money is a necessary thing in life, but it is not the only thing. People sell themselves short of happiness and success when they work for organizations whose vision that they do not believe in. The idea of the 'second half of your life' is a scary thought to most, but for those people who have worked for a company that they cannot relate to or do not believe in, the second half of their life can be just as depressing as the 25+ years they spent at the organization. Starting on a new venture later in life is terrifying no doubt, but it could be the beginning of a more successful and happy life that everyone is entitled to.

Pixar's Collective Creativity

I really enjoyed this article about the success of Pixar. Success in a creative company requires a slightly different approach in management style than traditional companies. The way in which they achieved this success is very relevant to radio. The first point made in the article that I found useful was the fact that the success of a project is dependent on a production team of 200-250 people, not just the producer and director; no matter how small an individual's contribution is, in the end it plays a major role in the overall success or failure of a project. When dealing with talented and creative individuals, however, the next challenge is how to get them to work together effectively. Pixar deals with this in multiple ways, the first is to take a chance on new ideas and fresh talent. In any industry it is so easy to stick with what works, its safe. Being safe however, does not ensure consistent success. The second facet of managing a creative team effectively is to realize that it is ok to hire people that are smarter than you... expertise in areas that you are not extremely knowledgeable in yourself will produce new ideas and ultimately create a better end product. Another important concept that I took from this article was that of 'creative leeway'; giving people the freedom to do what they want and supporting that fosters a productive work environment. Even though not every idea or concept people come up with will be successful there is also a way to manage and improve an employees work without undermining their authority, and I believe that is key in keeping up their confidence and ensuring their continued productivity in the future.
Pixar's operating principles were another element of the article that I found useful and innovative. I really liked the first point they made about allowing everyone to have the freedom to communicate with anyone; not having to check in with other people in your department before talking to higher-ups in another department. Again, the notion of complete freedom enable people to work without limitations or fear of punishment/termination. It is clear after reading the story of Pixar's success that trust and freedom are essential to an organizations success. Giving people the freedom to complete their work in their own way and trusting that they will not only do so, but produce positive/successful results when given the opportunity is the key element of a successful organization.