Building Successful Careers

These literally refer to old-time wood burning cooking stoves. Stoves were used for heat as well as preparing food so they were always in use. When the cook was cooking, food was put on the front burner where she could watch it. The back burner was for things to be served or dealt with later. For example, the cook would have a pot of soup on the back burner and would add bits and pieces of food over a long period of time. It may cook for days. The soup would eventually be served to the family. So when you put something on the back burner in the business world, you delay making a decision or working on it until later. When the project hits the front burner, it has become important enough to work on now.

Many managers are not comfortable asking the team to perform basic job duties. We have to remind everyone that we are paid to do our jobs. Managers are paid to manage the workload and set reasonable assignments for team members. Team members are paid to accomplish these tasks. If your team members are not self-starters, it may be necessary to point out what is required of them.

Food terms are often used in clichés. Soups to nuts refers to something served at the beginning of a meal, soup; to something served at the end of the meal, nuts. In the business world we mean this is all encompassing. “Tell me everything from soup to nuts.”

Brushing your teeth in two seconds is quite efficient but not effective.

No one is born with directions. Most leaders usually develop the vision in business, technology, team and organization. Leaders mostly likely are surrounded by an intelligent team, which provides data, opinions and options. What separated the leader from the regular team member is the unique ability to simply the situation, take the risk, identify the direction, validate and recalibrate the direction with his team along the way toward the target.

StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath This book helps you to understand human strengths, also provides the test to identify your top five strengths.