People who waste your time and people who build your life
There are two kinds of people: those who waste your time and those who make your time productive.
This distinction has little to do with whether the people in question are your friends or relatives; whether they entertain you; whether they are smart or not; whether they have institutional credentials; or whether they know you personally or have met you in person.
Here are some of the people who waste your time: news anchors; trendy magazine writers; friends who like to gossip; unambitious and unfocused coworkers; uncaring and/or incompetent bosses; news reporters; ad agencies and the media people; fiction writers.
Here are the people who are likely to make your time productive: authors of non-fiction books; seminar leaders; smart friends; ambitious, focused coworkers and colleagues; fellow members of the professional or business association you belong to.
Please note that the people who "waste" your time are not "bad" people. You might enjoy their company very much, because they entertain you or make you feel good. It's just that they don't bring you information, knowledge or resources that can help you to build a better life.
Of course, if they're your friends, it doesn't mean you should abandon them just because they don't make your time productive. But one good idea to consider is to share your goals with them, so they can help you reach them.
If you're one of the 14 million users of Linkedin, you might also consider sharing your professional or business goals with your connections. Furthermore, you could tell them what information or knowledge or resources you need the most, so they could -- if they wish -- help you out if they come across such information, knowledge or resources.
This is what Peter Drucker called "information literacy." He said a person should act responsibly by forwarding to coworkers precisely the information they need, and by requesting from other people the information that she needs.
Every day, there are 150,000 new users of Facebook. Every week, there are 60,000 new users of Linkedin. It's great that people are becoming more and more connected.
The critical and strategic question is, "Do these connected people know what their connections need, in terms of information, to become more productive in life and to succeed?"
This distinction has little to do with whether the people in question are your friends or relatives; whether they entertain you; whether they are smart or not; whether they have institutional credentials; or whether they know you personally or have met you in person.
Here are some of the people who waste your time: news anchors; trendy magazine writers; friends who like to gossip; unambitious and unfocused coworkers; uncaring and/or incompetent bosses; news reporters; ad agencies and the media people; fiction writers.
Here are the people who are likely to make your time productive: authors of non-fiction books; seminar leaders; smart friends; ambitious, focused coworkers and colleagues; fellow members of the professional or business association you belong to.
Please note that the people who "waste" your time are not "bad" people. You might enjoy their company very much, because they entertain you or make you feel good. It's just that they don't bring you information, knowledge or resources that can help you to build a better life.
Of course, if they're your friends, it doesn't mean you should abandon them just because they don't make your time productive. But one good idea to consider is to share your goals with them, so they can help you reach them.
If you're one of the 14 million users of Linkedin, you might also consider sharing your professional or business goals with your connections. Furthermore, you could tell them what information or knowledge or resources you need the most, so they could -- if they wish -- help you out if they come across such information, knowledge or resources.
This is what Peter Drucker called "information literacy." He said a person should act responsibly by forwarding to coworkers precisely the information they need, and by requesting from other people the information that she needs.
Every day, there are 150,000 new users of Facebook. Every week, there are 60,000 new users of Linkedin. It's great that people are becoming more and more connected.
The critical and strategic question is, "Do these connected people know what their connections need, in terms of information, to become more productive in life and to succeed?"
posted by Super Peter at 4:26 PM
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