By the Eternal!

There is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college in the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this or that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies; do the thing – “carry a message to Garcia!” 

The man who, when given a letter for Garcia, quietly takes the message, without asking any idiotic questions, and with no lurking intention of chucking it into the nearest sewer, or of doing anything else but deliver it, never gets “laid off,” nor has to go on strike for higher wages.

Civilization is one long anxious search for just such individuals. Anything such a man asks will be granted; his kind is so rare that no employer can afford to let him go.

He is wanted in every city, town, and village – in every office, shop, store and factory. The world cries out for such; he is needed, and needed badly—the man who can !

Source – A message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.803/pdf/hubbard1899.pdf

1. Execution – Also known as “Getting shit done” is the ability to get things done. Execution is a blockbuster strength. It includes drive, energy, grit, courage, a sense of urgency, doing whatever it takes to get the results, persevering, go-getting attitude, achievement orientation and wanting to go the extra mile.

40-50% of our effectiveness comes from execution. Even if a person is illiterate, but he has this blockbuster strength, he can make a way for himself in the world.

Of course, he may have fewer opportunities available for him. But in the set of opportunities available to him, he can be excellent. For e.g., he may be an unskilled labourer, but his ability to execute will make him one among the top performers in his team. 

2. Emotional Intelligence (Self Management & Relationship Management)  – Self Management includes self awareness, maturity, self discipline, ability to regulate destructive impulses, maintaining composure and performing under stress and pressure.

Relationship Management includes empathy, social awareness, communication, ability to influence and win people over. These skills are critical for leadership, but make no mistake, they are also very useful for individual contributors, unorganised sector and junior level roles.

If the highly driven unskilled labourer possesses emotional intelligence, then it takes his performance a couple of notches higher.

3. Critical Thinking – This includes learnability, problem solving abilities, planning, creativity, logic, reasoning, decision making, analysis and synthesis. If the unskilled labourer has execution, emotional intelligence and critical thinking as his strengths, he will be a star performer in his team, and even become a high potential worker who can rise to higher levels in his line of work

These 3 strengths are the first principles for career success. All other competencies build further upon them, and can be acquired if these 3 are in place. Make sure you develop these abilities and your career will rock.

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