I’m Talented at Being Annoying
Posted on April 26, 2013 by Ching under Confessions, Leadership.
Last night I shared with Brian some of the things I’ve learned in Leadership Elite over the last few weeks. I told him that talent is more important than experience, education, and intelligence when selecting someone for a job. I told him that even the most menial jobs require talent. He didn’t buy it.
I read him some excerpts from the book that we’re reading in class, First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
- I asked him the following questions:
- Is there a 4th of July in Mexico?
- If the doctor gave you three pills and told you to take one every half hour, how long would they last?
- How many species of each type of animal did Moses take into the ark?
Guess what. He got all three questions wrong. I told him that it’s not him. It’s because of his filters. Our filters are the building blocks of our talents. He was like, “Not this again!” Did I mention that he really hates it whenever I go through training?
Anyway, I did get him to agree that he has a talent for organizing things. He can bring order to the most chaotic of environments. His desk is always neat and organized. He’s even helped me clean and organize my own desk. When there isn’t an organized process for doing things, he creates one. When I look at my messy closet, I am overwhelmed; yet he can organize everything within minutes. Organization is not just something he is good at — he’s talented at it.
I thought for a moment and asked, “So what’s my talent?”
“Being annoying,” Brian replied. After I glared at him and we laughed together, he admitted, “Actually, you are talented at learning things.”
I think he’s absolutely right. It explains why I learn choreo in Zumba really quickly. It explains why I love going to school. It explains why I’m always eager to receive training and acquire new skills. It explains why I enjoy getting up early on Saturday mornings and sitting in a Spanish class that I’m not even enrolled in. It explains why I embrace new information rather than rejecting it. It’s not because I’m gullible or impressionable, though I am at times. It’s because I’m an empty cup ready to be filled. I’m a sponge that just wants to soak things up. I am this way because I have a talent for learning (or so we’ve concluded).
You know what excites me most about this revelation? I just learned something new about myself.
FOLLOW UP:
While I was typing this post, the doorbell rang. Brian answered the door and talked to the guy outside.
I was like, “Who was that?” Apparently it’s some guy going door to door, offering lawn care services.
“That would suck,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“Going door to door.”
“Not if you’re talented at it!”
And that, my friends, is the reason why talent is important when hiring someone to do a job.
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