I’ve just been studying David McCandless’ amazingly informative “Infographic of the Day: What Colors Mean Across 10 Cultures,” in an article by Cliff Kuang, published in Fast Company Magazine online, Apr 26, 2010.

"Colours in Cultures," by David McCandless

“The chart encompasses 10 different cultures, and 62 emotions (!!!). The cultures are represented by concentric rings, and the emotions are represented by slices of the circle. Thus, if you want to understand about Japanese color sensibilities, you read around the graph. And if you want to learn what colors mean “danger” across cultures, you just read vertically, down section 15.”

Kuang says, “Colors are probably the most obvious way that design varies across cultures … But the funny thing is that for most designers and companies, those color sensibilities often don’t rise past ‘Red is lucky in China; blue is soothing in the West.’ That’s naive.”

Consider, for example that # 66, Personal Power is represented by purple in Western /American cultures; yellow in Hindi; and green in Native American.

# 77, Success = red in Native American, Chinese, Asian and South American; and green in African cultures.

# 46, Intelligence = blue in Western/American; white in Hindi and black in Asian.

This is not to say that you have to wear certain colors, but you need to be aware of what they represent to the organizations where you are trying to present yourself as the best candidate.  Do you wish to leave the impression that you are powerful, or maybe intelligence is key to who you are and what you can contribute?

In the same light, be aware of the colors the organization has chosen to represent itself. Is it a cool calm blue, a peaceful green or a powerful, highly energetic red/orange environment?

It’s not that your colors have to coordinate with the organization’s decor but they should not clash. Would your calm, introspective demeanor thrive in hot pink?

Most important: be authentic. Do not dress in flamboyant, flashy colors if your brightest hue is traditionally moss green. Be true to yourself and your colors – that is always the best path to long-term success!

Would text messages have been more effective than their trail of breadcrumbs? Not really. Sure the birds gobbled up their tasty breadcrumbs, but their cell phone’s battery could have died just as easily or, deep in the forest as they were, they could have lost their signal. Far better to rely on your own ingenuity than any ancillary tools…

Abandoned by their parents and lost in the woods, Hansel and Gretel soon learned they had to draw on their own resources to survive. Today, many of us have been abandoned by our employers – hopefully not as perniciously as the old woodcutter but still leaving us alone in the “bleak forest” of the job market wilderness.

Arthur Rackham

Several parallel lessons for today’s job seekers jump right off the pages of this cautionary fairytale.

First, of course, don’t trust your parents – or more to the point, don’t trust that your current job is going to be there forever. Even if everything seems peachy in your office, external elements (for H&G it was the wicked step-mother) can quickly turn your life upside-down.

Second, don’t be mislead by gingerbread houses. Some jobs may look luscious from the outside but once inside you may find you’re the tasty morsel.

Third, while you may – in your desperation to secure any job – have been lured into the wrong situation, you can still escape.

Gretel, pretending thermal ignorance, cleverly tricks the witch into popping her own head into the over to test the heat. Whereupon, Gretel shoves the witch all the way in and seals the oven door.

Gretel then frees Hansel from the cage where the witch had kept him while he “fattened up,” and together they cavort about in joy.

Alas, the story then begins to fall apart as a “little luck in the form of a white duck” escorts them safely home, where they discover their nasty stepmother has conveniently died.  Then, too, their instant forgiveness of their irresponsible father seems more than a bit of a stretch, but that’s fodder for a whole other story.

In a more positive light, let’s reflect back on how Gretel’s ingenuity caused the witch’s demise…

The good news is that such ingenuity is not only the provenance of youth or limited to fairytales. Last week, the NY Times published Tara Parker-Pope’s very reassuring interview with Barbara Strauch about her new book, “The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind.”

Strauch defines the new middle age as 40-65, and she says research has shown that during this time, “if we’re relatively healthy our brains may have a few issues, but on balance they’re better than ever during that period.” In fact, during this period, “the new modern middle age, we’re better at all sorts of things than we were at 20.”

When Parker-Pope asks, “what kinds of things does a middle-aged brain do better than a younger brain?” Strauch replies, “Inductive reasoning and problem solving — the logical use of your brain and actually getting to solutions. We get the gist of an argument better. We’re better at sizing up a situation and reaching a creative solution. They found social expertise peaks in middle age. That’s basically sorting out the world: are you a good guy or a bad guy?”

“Good Guys and Bad Guys” – Good Jobs and Bad Jobs.” Sounds like we still have the mettle and ingenuity to avoid the gingerbread, identify the witch and nip her culinary aspirations in the bud. And that’s without a “lucky white duck!”

Renown scholar, Harold Bloom, in his book, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, declared, “before Shakespeare, there was characterization; after Shakespeare, there was character, men and women with highly individual personalities.”

“Our highly individual personalities” are what set us apart in today’s highly competitive job market.  Those individual details transform the nitty gritty skills and experience data in our resumés into a living picture of who we are and what motivates us.  With so many highly qualified (skills and experience) candidates applying for so few positions, it is more important than ever to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the pack.

We need to stop dreading the “interview” and look at it as a real opportunity to breathe some life into our experience. That being said, particularly if you have a lot of experience, the interview is not a moment to ramble through your work history. Remember: less is more! Your details need to focus on specific experience that is strategically related to the job for which you are applying. For example, if you are applying for a job that involves creating networks of people and organizations which can be leveraged to collectively address a need, you should be prepared to share stories about the ways in which you have brought parties together, engaged and motivated them to act, and what results were achieved. Be brief and succinct but provide details that “tell” how you made it happen. You could describe how you identified key players and any challenges you faced bringing traditionally non-team players to the table. Hopefully, this involves gentle persuasion and not knocking heads together. Anyone can knock heads together, gentle persuasion where everyone feels part of a win-win solution is an art. And don’t be afraid to include a little humor. The person with whom you are interviewing wants to be assured you are committed but also that you do not consider work a forced march.

Listen to the ways in which you describe yourself. Are they relevant to the job at hand? Ask yourself if this sounds like a person with whom you would like to work? As you share your stories, your values, energy and enthusiasm will rise to the surface. These are not things you can manufacture. Greek characters were shaped and driven by their circumstances. Our personalities reflect choices we have made and provide a blueprint for choices we will make in the future. Those choices add meaning to our work and make our contributions meaningful – a compelling asset.

Fellow blogger, Leo Babauta, suggests a actionable alternative to the traditional, mind-numbing, guilt inducing “To-Do” list by which many of us function.

Art Courtesy of: www.smalldotsandbeautyspots.com

Leo writes,

“Most people reading this will have a to-do program, or a paper list or text file, listing not only projects and tasks but separate lists for home and work and possibly half a dozen different contexts.

Those who don’t have a to-do list probably feel they should, because they’re swamped and feeling overwhelmed.

I’m here to suggest: kill your to-do list.

It sucks up your time, and drains your motivation. Those who have to-do lists usually manage them constantly, or if they don’t they fall into disuse and get dusty and become worthless, while the person who’s fallen behind in maintaining the list feels constantly guilty. For those who keep up with the lists, they spend a lot of time on the lists they could be spending … doing something important.

And what of these lists? They’re long, you never get to the end of them, and half the time the tasks on the list never get done. While it feels good to check items off the list, it feels horrible having items that never get checked off. This is all useless spending of mental energy, because none of it gets you anywhere.

The only thing that matters is the actual doing.

So what’s a better system?

The One Thing System

Here’s what I do, and highly recommend to anyone willing to break free of the to-do list:

1.  I wake up in the morning, and decide what One Thing I’m excited about.

2.  Then I focus on doing that, pushing everything else aside, clearing distractions, and allowing myself to get caught up in the moment.

But … but … “

Read Leo’s complete post at www.zenhabits.net

Yes, those pithy 140 character manifestos are the heart of the matter, but those whom you choose to follow and those who choose to follow you are of equal import.  Each component constitutes your brand, so you need to think before you tweet.

Twitter offers a unique opportunity to promote your brand and your expertise but it is not just a one way street. Well it could be, but to use such a vast social media network just to promote yourself is a huge underutilization of the tool. Twitter is also a listening device and information filter. You can find the latest research and the response to that research. You can identify trends and position yourself vis à vis that intelligence accordingly. By focusing your tweets you can become an area issue expert – a thought leader – and connect with a highly targeted group that is directly relevant to your interests. These connections can be invaluable sources for new ideas and alternative, out-of-the-box ways of thinking.

Again, the beauty of Twitter is that you’re not just telling the world you are an expert. By tweeting in an authentic and transparent manner, people will take note and begin to follow you. They will find you, and Twitter is good about alerting you as to who is on your trail. I know because Twitter keeps emailing me about people who are following this blog. Even more, Twitter let’s you review your “follower’s” profile. Then you can decide if you want to be followed by that individual. If not, you can block them or, if you think you’re being spammed, alert Twitter and the powers behind the Tweets will investigate.

Once you have okay’d a follower, it’s easy to follow them in turn. However, I would caution against this until you are sure that they add something positive, credible and equally authentic to your network.

This is not a popularity contest where the Tweeter with the most followers wins. Remember, your Twitter network is very transparent and you will quickly lose credibility if it’s perceived you’re just racking up numbers and not monitoring content quality.

In the same way, don’t you start following any dog’s body under the sun. Make sure there is value added there for both you and your followers.

Last, but far from least Tweet. You need to contribute to the dialog. You have an opportunity to demonstrate your unique insights . If you provide valuable content, and share links to interesting,  on-topic articles and blog posts you will gain influential followers. If your Twitter “followers” find your content useful and insightful, they may re-tweet you, broadening your network and reinforcing your position as a thought leader.

You, too, should re-tweet. What you choose to re-tweet indicates what you find interesting or provocative and becomes part of your brand. Plus, it signifies that you are aware that you do not know everything and are open to learning more. Other Tweeters like to be recognized for their expertise also – and the more you share the more people will be willing to share with you.

The ‘twittersphere’ can be a rich medium if you cultivate it with care.

Write, Edit, Print, Proofread, Squint, Read Aloud and Then Have Your Computer Read Your Magnum Opus Back To You!

I’ve just discovered a new way to analyze the compositions (cover letters, business proposals, thank-you notes, stories and the odd bit of poetry) I create on my computer. I was familiar with all the time-tested functions: editing for content clarity; printing to assess narrative flow; proofreading to eradicate typos, misspelling, and punctuation errors; squinting at the printed document to check spacing and alignment; and reading aloud to determine if it sounds compelling.

I’ve always been fortunate to have friends willing via email “attachment land” to back-up my editing, proofreading and squinting skills with their own ruthless critique of my writing. The “Read Aloud” component, however, has always been illusive. Reading my own writing aloud is tricky because my mind will assume words are there when I haven’t actually typed them or it races ahead since, after multiple revisions, I almost know the document by heart.

My writing life changed when one of my editing gurus introduced me to “Alex.” Alex is just one of the many voices you can choose to read any text in your computer out loud to you. Once you know about Alex and his friends, it’s very easy to set up the “Read Aloud” feature on your computer. At least, it’s truly straightforward on my Mac. I’ll walk the uninitiated through the process here, and invite any PC users to please let us know how it can be done on your computers.

First step: Click on the Apple in the Top Menu Bar and select “System Preferences.”

In your System Preferences folder, select the microphone “Speech” Icon in the fourth column down :

In the Speech dialog box, select “Text to Speech.” Then choose your “System Voice.” I chose “Andy” but there are a number of other male and female voices ready to read to you.

I chose “Normal” “Speaking Rate but you can slow it down if you want to listen even more carefully. “Fast” may be okay if you want to speed read, but I cannot edit in speed read mode.

The last and final set-up step for the purpose of this exercise is to Check the “Speak selected text…” box and “Set Key.” I kept the key stroke simple: Command S (for speak to me.)

Give it a test run by retrieving a document from your files. Hit Command A to select all the text you’d like to hear. Then, type Command S and “Alex” (or whomsoever’s personality you have chosen) will immediately begin to read aloud to you.

Apologies to those who already know about this nifty tool but I thought it simply amazing and wanted to share with others who, like me, had no idea Alex was poised and ready to speak!

Here in Maine “resourcefulness” is a necessity and not just a positive attribute. Knowing, for example, that – due to our prolonged frost season -  it is unsafe to plant our gardens a moment before Memorial Day, some of us have created unique winter gardens from one of Maine’s most abundant natural resources: the stones, which thrive on our beaches year-round.

Rachel's Winter Garden

In a different but equally vital ode to resourcefulness, Helen Coster in  Forbes Magazine’s “Entrepreneurs” section, recently published a great top ten list of simple tricks to remembering names.

As much as we Savvy Seniors tout the value of social media networking, we never minimize the benefit of face-to-face, in-person networking. The big risk, however, is that just as you connect with the person most vital to your life, your work or your future you draw a blank on his or her name. It happens to the best of us. The only aspect that could be age specific is that the older we get, the more names we hold in our mental database.

Forbes presented the tips in a funky slide slow that’s a bit difficult to follow, so we’ve copied and pasted them here for your ease of reading and remembering. Our favorite – being as resourceful as we are – is #9, Speak Up.

Thank you, Forbes!

1. Plenty of business deals (and romantic rendezvous) have been foiled because someone failed to recall the right name at the right time. There are tricks to remembering names. Benjamin Levy, author of Remember Every Name Every Time, advocates the FACE method: “focus, ask, comment and employ.” Focus: Lock in on the person’s face. Ask: Inquire which version he prefers (“Is it Ted or Theodore?”). Comment: Say something about the name and cross-reference it in your head (“My college roommate’s name was Ted.”) Employ: Put the name to use–”Nice seeing you, Ted”–to drive it home.

2. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat: The most surefire strategy is to repeat the person’s name–both in your head, and out loud–as soon as possible after you’ve been introduced. Occasionally use the person’s name in conversation. “Pleasure to meet you, Bob,” or “Bob, so good to see you.” Don’t overdo it, of course, but don’t worry that Bob will recoil, either. He’d rather you remember his name than not.

3. Picture This: Turn someone’s name into an image that you can remember. When you meet Shirley, think of a Shirley temple. Don’t laugh – it works.

4. Spell It Out: Another imagery-based tactic: Ask someone to spell out his or her name. If you can picture the letters in your mind, you’ll have a better chance of remembering the name. A derivation on that: Imagine the person’s name written across his forehead, like a billboard.

5. Connect: Try to associate names with things people tell you about themselves (careers, hobbies) that will trigger the sound or association of the name in your mind. Fred likes to fish, Margarita runs a bar, you get the idea.

6. Word Play: Let the words do the work for you. Mnemonic devices (Dale works in sales) work nicely, as does alliteration (Jim from Jersey).

7. Lead the Way: If you know that your name will be hard to remember or pronounce, do other people a favor and help them out. They’ll return the favor – or, if you’re chatting with a Mike or a Bob, maybe they’ll make some big production out of their own common name, making it stick in your mind.

8. Put Pen to Paper: It’s not enough to write down a person’s name as soon as possible after meeting them. Record the name in a “new contacts” file, and include when and where you met.

9. Speak Up: Embarrassing as it seems, don’t be afraid to ask someone to repeat his or her name. Start out with a compliment, such as “I’ve had so much fun talking with you, and I’ve completely forgotten your name.” If you realize you’ve blanked on a name a few seconds after introduction, just say “I’m sorry, I missed your name.”

10. Prime the Pump: You spy a person, whose name you’ve forgotten, making her way toward you. What to do? If you’re speaking with someone you know, introduce them right off the bat. The newcomer will probably introduce herself on her own. Problem solved.

In today’s social media driven environment, opportunities to multitask at warp speed proliferate. Online, we can dance from snippet to snippet of news, music, e-books, webinars, job postings, how-to tips, etc, etc.  But how much of the “information” is our brain actually capable of absorbing?

Two (I was going to cite three but thought better of it after reading article #2) fascinating articles shed much needed light on the highly vaunted “art” of multitasking.

In The Myth of Multitasking, Karen Hopkins, reports, “when we think we’re getting better at multitasking, we’re really getting faster at switching back and forth between two different things at different times… training gets the ‘Thinking Brain’ to think a little faster. So we’re switching tasks quickly enough to appear to be doing them simultaneously. Which,” she continues, “is still nothing to shake a stick and sneeze at.”

I almost missed that simultaneous “shaking a stick and sneezing!”

In the second, more recent article published in Scientific American, How the Brain Keeps Track of Two Tasks at Once, Katherine Harmon points us to new research which”illustrates how the brain can simultaneously keep track of two separate goals, even while it is busy performing a task related to one of the aims, hinting that the mind might be better at multitasking than previously thought.”

Etienne Koechlin, director of the cognitive neuroscience laboratory at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Paris and coauthor of the new study shows that “rather than being totally devoted to one goal at a time, the human brain can distribute two goals to different hemispheres to keep them both in mind–if it perceives a worthy reward for doing so.”

Caveat Emptor!  I said I was only going to cite two articles, but I’ll just point you to this third one by Naomi Kenner and Russell Poldrack which tries to explain What Happens When You Try To Do Three Things at Once?

As I try to visualize this, the first thing that comes to mind is “visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads” but, then, they are all sugarplums, aren’t they?

"Can You See What I See?" illustration by Walter Wick

Rollo May, wrote in his book, The Courage to Create, that: “Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being… the creative act brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life.”

I remembered his words this morning when I saw Lynn Saville’s remarkably creative photographs in her NY Times piece, Scenes From the Night Shift.

Saville describes herself, “As a photographer, I work the night shift — when daylight gives way to moonlight, neon, and street light…”  and she discovers details barely discernible in the bright light of day.

Many of us in this third stage of our lives have become entrepreneurs, composing our own lives. Freed from the restraints and requirements of our early and mid-years and not seeing a ready-made niche, we begin to create our own design for a purposeful life. Mary Catherine Bateson, author the classic Composing a Life, has written a new book to be published in September, 2010.

In her new work, Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom, Bateson notes that,”with its unprecedented levels of health, energy, time, and resources, aging today is an improvisational art form calling for imagination and willingness to learn.”

No matter how powerful our imagination or willingness to learn, however, we cannot design a new life overnight. Success takes time, contemplation, testing, failing, reconsidering and trying again.  First, of course, we need to determine how we define success.

Reflective inquiry is required to assess priorities. We need to allow time to uncover those rich details which were masked by bright light of day.  It is time, as any night photographer must, to open the aperture and extend the exposure to capture the hidden aspects and patterns integral to bring our new lives into being.

Lynn Saville: "Fulton Landing Warehouse"

This fascinating “White” paper, Take Charge in Changing Times: Ten Career Tips from Australian, Joanna Maxwell is a must read. I rarely use “must,” preferring to let readers make their own choices, but there are so many valuable insights here, it is a must! The insights are grounded in reality – the kind of tips that first seem so obvious we cannot understand why we had not noticed them before. These “Ten Career Tips” are just as applicable for any aspect of our lives – not just our business genes. Even better – the words and the colourful art are incredibly good fun!

workincolour.com.au

Joanna’s highly creative website WorkInColour: Work.Think.Live.In Colour is a feast for your eyes, mind, body and soul. Enjoy!