The Invisible Mentor

Archive for January, 2010

The most successful people have mental and verbal abilities that would delight any philosopher of yore. How did they become that way? One book and one word at a time. To be smarter than your peers requires  setting aside time everyday to develop your mental and verbal powers.

1. Learn a word a day
2. Read a book each week and choose books that make you think
3. While reading record interesting phrases to use as quotations in your written communications to make them shine
4. While reading always be on the lookout for ways to apply the information to your work and life
5. Connect the new information to what you already know. Never read in a vacuum
6. Join the Great Books Foundation
7. Join the Center for the Study of Great Ideas
8. Sign up for the School of Thinking‘s newsletter
9. Subscribe to book summaries
10. Join an online book club

If you consistently do the above 10 things, in no time people will not only notice, but also admire the change in you.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

Photo Credit: via Apture

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A few days ago I viewed a video on using role models to help you acquire a skill faster, and getting what you want. After I watched the video for the second time something clicked and I realized that the video was a great tool for readers of the Invisible Mentor blog. Here is the video.

What are your thoughts about the video? How might you use role models or invisible mentors to get what you want? What are three ways in which you can use the technique described in the video? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

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I know there is a lot of information, but go through it slowly and think about it. At some point I will have a PDF of the interviews for download. While reading, jot down the information that applies to your unique situation. How would you answer the interview questions. After you have read the interview extract what you perceive as five great ideas.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am a 48-year old woman, married to a Danish man. We have four children together ages 9-23. Our daughter is the oldest and only the two youngest live at home. I am from Houston, Texas, and moved to Denmark (to a small town north of Copenhagen) in 1985.

Since 1988 we have lived in an old house, built in 1922, which we have refurbished and continue to change and maintain. We also have a fairly big lot, by Danish standards, and one rooster and 11 hens. I spend a lot of money on organic vegetables and fruit as well as milk. I have cut down on the amount of frequency of our meat consumption. I also whole-heartedly support Obama and am very concerned about the environment.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

I have had domestic help for years. We just got an au pair and that has really helped. Housework is important but boring, time consuming, and perpetual. (Note from Avil: au pairs share responsibility for the family and some of the housework)

What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

That I haven’t travelled more. Still so many places I haven’t seen.

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

1. Learn to listen.
2. It is better to give than receive, especially when it’s unexpected.
3. The golden rule still applies.
4. Love is infinite—your children teach you this.
5. Good health, physical and mental, really is priceless.

When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

Food, friends, family, films

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Swimming laps, jogging, and listening to great talk radio.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

There’s a better way to do it. Find it! Thomas Edison

How do you define success?

I think it has something to do with being honest, realistic, and altruistic to an extent.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Devoting time to focus on the right things

What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Not so sure that I have but I do keep up and change the content of a course to be as relevant as possible.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

If you don’t love it, leave it. Do something else. There are a lot of options.

If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?

Nelson Mandela, Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Albert Einstein, Peter Drucker. I wouldn’t say much, just listen and feel

Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply? Did you have an emotional or intellectual attachment to this book? Why?

Maybe Robert Pirsig’s Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance because it is so brutally honest and goes into such depth about quality.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.

Books I haven’t read yet. Comprehensive books about philosophy, literature, history, art and science/technology

What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

That’s really tough. It would have to be something that didn’t make me feel lonely.

What excites you about life?

Having choices, freedom and happiness

How do you nurture your soul?

Eclectic choices in reading, music and food

If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

That the natural aging process on my body wasn’t so overt

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I feel loved

What are three takeaway from Lynn’s interview? How can you apply Linda’s interview? Which aspects resonated with you? What are your five great ideas? Here are 10 great ideas that I pulled from the complete interview.

10 Great Ideas

1. Simplify difficult to understand information
2. Understand the different learning styles so that you can improve communication (Three learning styles are visual, auditory and kinesthetic)
3. People have different perspectives on what they perceive as being important
4. Read, read, read
5. Travel and see the world
6. Keep improving the way you do things. Thomas Edison said, “There’s a better way to do it.”
7. Focus on the things that will take you where you need to go
8. Change to remain relevant
9. You always have options
10. “If you don’t love it, leave it. Do something else.”

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

About Lynn Kahle

Originally from Houston, Texas, Lynn has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark since 1985. She holds a degree in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University and worked in industrial sales (pipe, valves and fittings) in Texas and joined Brüel & Kjaer in Denmark in the electro-acoustics department, heading up sales and marketing of studio microphones.

Since 1989, Lynn has been an associate professor of international marketing at Copenhagen University College of Engineering, global business engineering department, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Copenhagen Business School’s marketing department. Her topic is Experience Innovation, which is what led her to the GEL (Good Experience Live) conference and Creative Good. She produced euroGel2006 in Copenhagen and is the moderator for Executive Council 9.

Lynn is married to a Dane and they have four children, an old house, and lots of Wyandot hens and one rooster.

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Note: The link  for the book is an Amazon affiliate link.

I am always amazed at my interviewees, they are all so awesome and you can benefit from their wisdom and experience. I conduct these interviews as much for my benefit as yours. I know there is a lot of information, but go through it slowly and think about it.

At some point I will have a PDF of the interviews for download. While reading, jot down the information that applies to your unique situation. How would you answer the interview questions. After you have read Part 1 of the interview extract what you perceive as five great ideas.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am a 48-year old woman, married to a Danish man. We have four children together ages 9-23. Our daughter is the oldest and only the two youngest live at home. I am from Houston, Texas, and moved to Denmark (to a small town north of Copenhagen) in 1985.

Since 1988 we have lived in an old house, built in 1922, which we have refurbished and continue to change and maintain. We also have a fairly big lot, by Danish standards, and one rooster and 11 hens. I spend a lot of money on organic vegetables and fruit as well as milk. I have cut down on the amount of frequency of our meat consumption. I also whole-heartedly support Obama and am very concerned about the environment.

What’s a typical day like for you?

That depends on the time of year and which day of the week it is. My “real” day job is as associate professor at an engineering college where I teach marketing, innovation and business studies. I am also working on and desperately trying to finish my dissertation at Copenhagen Business School. I would like to have had this finished a couple of years ago but I do have a full-time job on the side. I also work as a moderator for an executive council. We meet twice a year in the U.S. I wish I could make my living doing this as I learn so much and enjoy networking.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

I love to learn…anything. I am constantly trying to improve myself and to help others. I think about happiness a lot and doing the right thing.

If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I would have started exercising earlier and participated in a sport(s) of some kind. I also think I would have either taken engineering more seriously or studied something else. I sometimes regret that I didn’t end up making a living doing what I studied in a more direct way.

What’s the most important business (or other) discovery you’ve made in the past year?

The power of social networking. Lots of potential, lots of garbage too.

What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

The Internet, available information, and the limited shelf life of text books.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

Information overload, technology, and my inability to keep up. What to prioritize in teaching? I feel like we have to sacrifice depth to breadth sometimes.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

As a teacher I really work on context and communicating the big picture, as I understand it, through my own experience to my students.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

Communicating, in the sense of making difficult subject matter less elusive

Describe a major business (or other) challenge you had and how you resolved it.

Trying to understand different learning styles. A coaching program one year ago helped me to realize and accept this.

What lessons did you learn in the process?

People have different perspectives on what they think is important, also in a temporal context.

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

Being invited to write my Ph.D. at CBS, by the department head, Ricky Wilke

Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

Not understanding the responsibilities and expectations of my first job in Denmark. I have since learned to prioritize and plan better, especially in a longer-term perspective.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

Assuming that my parents were always right and knew what was best for me. I should have accepted a scholarship I was offered and studied on the East Coast. My mother wanted me to stay close to home and my father wanted me to study engineering. I ended up doing both, at Texas A&M University. I never fit in, didn’t really enjoy it, and should have moved far away and found more liberal and intellectual folks to be in my sphere. I have done this as an adult.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

Leaving the U.S. which ended up being permanent (so far). It means that I sometimes feel as if I am in no man’s land, culturally. I can feel extremely alienated from U.S. culture and I’m not Danish either. I think it has been a wise choice in terms of quality of life and a good place to rear children.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Living overseas as a child (twice), learning two languages other than English, and moving as an adult to Denmark.

What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

It’s not original but it’s genuine…my four children!

How did mentors influence your life?

I can’t think of any mentors and that makes me sad…

As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

READ.

What are three takeaway from Lynn’s interview? How can you apply Linda’s interview? Which aspects resonated with you? What are your five great ideas?

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

About Lynn Kahle

Originally from Houston, Texas, Lynn has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark since 1985. She holds a degree in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University and worked in industrial sales (pipe, valves and fittings) in Texas and joined Brüel & Kjaer in Denmark in the electro-acoustics department, heading up sales and marketing of studio microphones.

Since 1989, Lynn has been an associate professor of international marketing at Copenhagen University College of Engineering, global business engineering department, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Copenhagen Business School’s marketing department. Her topic is Experience Innovation, which is what led her to the GEL (Good Experience Live) conference and Creative Good. She produced euroGel2006 in Copenhagen and is the moderator for Executive Council 9.

Lynn is married to a Dane and they have four children, an old house, and lots of Wyandot hens and one rooster.

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For Martin Luther King Day I decided to re-post Thinking Without Border which included information about Martin Luther King Jr. I just saw King: Man of Peace in a Time of War. King is also remembered for his famous speech I Have  a Dream.  If you have never listened to I Have a  Dream, here it is:

What are your thoughts? Is the speech relevant today? If you gave a speech titled I have a dream, what would it include?

Here is the Thinking Without Borders post from June 2009:

We are socialized to think and act a certain way. And, we often put self-imposed barriers around ourselves. To break free, let’s start making small changes, simple shifts in our mindset.

Take a few minutes to read and think about the Martin Luther King quote below.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

What’s your interpretation of the quote? Let your mind wander! There are no right or wrong answers, they are your thoughts, let them take you wherever. Break those self-imposed chains to your thinking, and step beyond your boundaries. For once, think without borders.

Isn’t it freeing?

Let me share a piece of me with you. When I think of the Martin Luther King quote, I think that I am my brother’s keeper, and that my actions will impact others.

I also think that we are all connected, which leads my mind to the Butterfly Effect, a concept where a butterfly flapping its wings in one region, could trigger a tornado (or some other act) in another region.

My mind then roams to The Hundredth Monkey principle, where after a certain point, new information (or learned behaviour) introduced, ceases to be new and is in the collective consciousness.

Just for today, start with the Martin Luther King quote, and let your mind take you wherever. You never know what great ideas you’ll generate simply by giving yourself permission to think without borders.

What are your thoughts? Do you dare to think without borders? If you were to think without borders, what dreams would you have? And, how would your I Have a Dream speech change? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

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Interesting articles by Zemanta

• Steven Spielberg Has a Dream About Martin Luther King Jr. (cinematical.com)
• April 4, 1968: Scenes From MLK’s Last Day (queerty.com)