Project 52: Week 33 (7/8/24)

Our reflection and invitation ...

"Adaptability is crucial in a rapidly changing world."

"Learn from failures and setbacks, but don't dwell on them."

"Embrace diversity and value different perspectives."

~ Tina Selig

"We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads form one to another that creates something."

~ Sandra Day O’Connor, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1981 - 2006)

"We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color."

~ Maya Angelou

"Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry."

~ Richard P. Feynman

We are delighted to continue with a year-long offering as part of Career Services initiatives and activities. ~ Gerald Doyle

Career Accompaniment: Week 33

Welcome to Following Threads

It frequently happens to all of us that we are still determining or are entirely unsure about the direction we want to move at a particular time. This uncertainty might be about our sense of inspiration, our career vision, fields we might want to explore, personal choices we need to make, or a multitude of other things.

In this context, we often invite our participants to “follow threads.”? By this, we mean to be alert to small cues about things that interest, fascinate, reward, or heal us and then to find small ways to explore those topics, noticing one clue or lead after another and following the trail of clues one after the other to see what we might learn.

For example, if someone feels unclear about a sense of inspiration, they might still begin to be aware of things that pique their interest.? It might be an article online, a film scene, a conversation about a topic with a friend, or noticing someone whose life and work they admire. When we see these tiny sparks of interest, we can look for ways to “follow the thread.”

If we like an article, we might see what the same author had written elsewhere. Maybe they have written a book. If they have written a book, they may reference other books, and so on.

If we find a topic of interest in conversation, we can Google the topic and see what else might be out there on that topic: more articles, books, video talks, podcasts, and so on.

If we find the spark in a movie scene or a work of art, what does an internet search tell us about works by the same author, other members of their “school,” or works on the same subject or theme, or works “liked” by others we admire or might come to admire?

Where do we get to by following threads? We might discover that the things that inspire us are becoming clearer and that we are more comfortable in crystallizing our sense of inspiration. Our understanding of career vision is becoming clearer. We might discover fields we want to explore further: marketplaces, skills, and knowledge. We might learn about people we want to meet and with whom we wish to conduct Conversations of Inquiry. We might discover books we want to read, conferences we want to attend, and groups we want to join.

Threads sometimes lead to stronger threads that can become “strings” or “ropes,” sometimes, they spread out to connect to a widening network of other threads that can lead in many coherent or incoherent directions. The choice of which threads to follow and how and for how long will be up to each of us. The critical observation we would offer is that when we feel stuck, uncertain, or just curious, following threads can be a great way to open, widen, or deepen our perspective to discover new insights, inspirations, and aspirations.

As always, I am ready to accompany you on any thread-following journeys.

Monday, 8 July 2024

Gerald Doyle

Additional Resource:

The little risks you can take to increase your luck | Tina Seelig

"Luck is rarely a lightning strike, isolated and dramatic -- it's much more like the wind, blowing constantly. Catching more of it is easy but not obvious. In this insightful talk, Stanford Engineering School professor Tina Seelig shares three unexpected ways to increase your luck -- and your ability to see and seize opportunities."

| Tina Seelig

1:33 Be willing to take small risks that get you out of your comfort zone

2:30 Different types of risks: intellectual, physical, financial, emotional, social, ethical, political

2:47 Stretch. Take some risks to get out of your comfort zone

5:21 My luck resulted from a series of small risks I took

6:00 Show appreciation to people who help you (acknowledge their help)

8:27 Don't judge your ideas (by labeling them good or bad)

8:38 In the seeds of terrible ideas, sometimes are things remarkable

10:47 Today's best companies started as crazy ideas

Tri Cosain materials are developed with my colleague and friend of 40+ years, Scott Downs.

Copyright Scott Downs and Gerald Doyle, 2023/24

Residing in Chicago, Gerald Doyle provides ministry placement research and consulting for Career Services at the Catholic Theological Union ( Herbert Quinde and Christina Zaker ), as well as career services and job search coaching to students, families, and community members at Wolcott College Preparatory High School ( Miriam Pike, Kelly Ramos) and through the The Tyree Institute.

He advises several tech companies, including Upkey ( Amir Badr ) and GetSet Learning (Eva Prokop); he has also joined TSI - Transforming Solutions, Inc. ( Dan Feely )in their Higher Education and Career Services practice.

Scott? Downs, a former investment banker, management consultant, and entrepreneur, now works as an Agile coach, seeking to call forward great leaders and organizations based on great cultures. He is a consultant with Expleo Group and is an associate of the TrustTemenos Leadership Academy.

Scott and Gerald are co-founders of Tri Cosain, a practice that weaves inspiration, learning, and career for leadership in life and work. Gerald and Scott co-authored 9 Questions for Leadership in Life and Work, Conversations of Inquiry, and several other volumes in the Tri Cosain series. Their work embraces equity, inclusion, diversity, and well-being as foundations for personal leadership.

Guest Respondent: I am pleased to introduce my colleague, Dr. Sakshi Chhabra, who will join me each week as a respondent, offering her reflections and insights.

Dr. Sakshi Chhabra, currently serving as an Assistant Professor at the School of Management and Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at BML Munjal University, India, holds a Ph.D. from BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, along with an MBA in Software Enterprise Management and a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication. With over seven years of academic experience, including roles as an Assistant Professor and Programme Coordinator specializing in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation, she has developed expertise in diverse subjects such as design thinking for entrepreneurs, managing innovation and technology, and social and sustainable entrepreneurship.

As a Senior member of IIC at Atal Thinking Labs at Jain University in Bangalore, she organizes workshops on design thinking, further demonstrating her commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

She has secured grants for research, including one from the Indian Council of Social Science & Research, and actively advocates for diversity and entrepreneurship. Her accomplishments include winning awards for best papers and posters at national and international conferences, being a peer reviewer and track chair, and being nominated for the "Future of Work 50" list by UPKEY, USA.? She has completed two Capstone projects applying design thinking principles under the supervision of Harvard and University of Chicago Alumni. She mentors at UPKEY and collaborates on research projects with the Bill Gates Foundation, focusing on women, sustainable, inclusive, and innovative entrepreneurship.