Fakin' It

Stanley Bing wrote in his latest column in Fortune - Look, all of us who enter a work location everyday pretend, to one degree or another, to be something that we are not. We act as if we are cheerful when we are down in the dumps. We make financial projections we do not believe. If we are in banking, we profess confidence even when we are soiling our shorts.

For me, there are times when I portray to have more confidence than I actually have.
To be brave even though I am cowering inside.
To be hardworking and aggresive, even though all I want is some lazy and sluggish days.

Is this considered lying to the outside world? Pretending to be great?

How about those who actually believe they are someone they pretend to be? For example of a person who wonders "I am warmth, kind and caring to people, why people still not like me?", the answer is he is not. Maybe he believes that, but the truth is, he is just pretending to be warmth, kind and caring. People may be able to sense that and might not be comfortable around him.

I guess, no matter what we pretend to be, sometimes, we just need to tell the truth. I did tell my boss recently that I am a bit stressed out and lost in the current project that I am helping out. There is a huge risk for delay of the project. In doing that, I am telling him indirectly to look out for me in case I really fail to deliver. From a manager point of view, it is always good to warn your bosses what is coming rather the common "I am OK" or "Everything's fine" when things can always go wrong! Too many bosses had complained about their subordinates who tell them everything is fine, but "suddenly" some problems just appear from nowhere after a short period of time.

I found out that my boss did notice this (my predicament) even without me telling him. However, I think both of us feel better after I admitted it openly to him. At least, I am being honest to myself and to him.

So, maybe it is ok not to pretend to be the cool or the great person that you think you need to be? Maybe, it is just ok to smile and laugh at your own mistakes ? This made me remember my blunder yesterday. During an introduction in a meeting, I asked a person his name when I was already introduced to him on last Friday and I just spoken to him through the phone minutes ago to ask him where the meeting would be held. Because of the person's funny reaction, everyone was laughing, including myself. It felt great also to be able to laugh at my own self at this.

(Ok, that almost end my rambling).......

If you want to read Stanley Bing's column in Fortune, monitor the following link. I always read his column first when I receive my latest copy of Fortune. It is entertaining at most of the time. The article which I am saying here will be available soon in the site. Take note of this latest article in the website aslo - Of human brandage . Funny story, yet there is a lot of truth in it.

(Sorry, I continue to ramble).................

I am very busy in this period of times. So, I will be posting less frequently and also will have shorter post. But do not worry, I will try to keep up with blogging no matter how busy I am .

Only today, Paul Young , author of Product Beautiful blog (do note his latest interesting posting on Product Management at Google) had made my day by dropping me an email and also linking to my blog. It is a huge encouragement for me to have a great blogger connecting to me in that way. Looking back, I realized that my blog had made me closer to a lot of great people that I have the priviledge to know and some of whom I have managed.

Thanks , guys. I will continue to share my experiences and knowledge with you. Have a nice week!