Sheryl Sandberg is listed first on
Forbes’ list of world’s most powerful women. She started conquering technology
industry by working at Google after that she’s gone to work for Facebook where
she holds a position of Chief Operating Officer. She is also a first woman to
be elected as a member of Facebook’s board of directors. Sandberg put on paper
her journey to success and her will to lead in a book called “Lean in” where
she gives many pointers on how to be apart of this game and how to get to the
top.
The book is called “Lean in” and that is a
piece of advice she would give to anyone no matter what. It simply means be
involved, go out and get to know people and let’s be honest it’s good piece of
advice it’s not that common for computer scientists to socialize. But it’s even
more than that it’s not only for your own good you should lean in so you would
be recognized so people would say “oh yea I remember her she was in my chess
club”.
source: npr.com
A significant amount of this book is
dedicated to speaking up and seizing the opportunity not waiting for it to be
offered to you – that may never happen. Even when you feel under qualified and
think your CV is not good enough for a position that you really want there’s no
harm in trying. But is also about speaking up figuratively you want something –
do something.
As always to succeed you have to be
well –organized and you have to be able to plan ahead. Sheryl Sandberg also
didn’t leave this part out. She suggests having
both long and short - term plan. Long - term plan being dreams for
the future meanwhile the 18-month plan being more about goals that you can
start achieving right this moment.
The
part that shocked me the most was that getting to the top is not about saying
“yes” it’s more about saying “no” to yourself and to others. You can’t peruse
every idea that pops into your head and also you can’t agree to do everything
other people ask you to do. Sandberg confesses that it was Mark Zuckerberg that
told her during her first formal meeting that desire to be liked by everyone
would hold her back.
This
powerful woman visualizes career path not as ladder but as something more of a
jungle gym and she encourages everyone to do so as well. This way you won’t get
stuck at some kind of dead end and you won’t be perusing the conventional path.
Sandberg writes: “Jungle gyms offer more creative exploration”. There are many
ways to get to the top and that gives all of us a little bit of hope.
- Have you read Sandberg’s book? Do you recommend any other books on self-development?
- Do you agree that saying “yes” to one idea means saying “no” to other opportunities?
- What type of planning do you prefer? Do you think that having both a short-term and long-term plan is a good idea?
Comments
Answering to second question: yeah I agree with that. A lot of people are not very confident and they agree for everything. Having skill of saying no and being able to discuss it's something really useful.
Every person is different so for one person having both short-term and long-term plans may be a good thing and for others it will not work.
When it comes to planning, I do think that it is super important to both have a short and long term plan, and have them work together.
I don't necessary agree that "yes" for one idea means "no" to another, but I do agree that it's important to be able to say no. After all, it's important to do what's important/profitable/what you want to do, instead to do what others what you to do.
I totally agree to saying 'yes' to opportunities - this is how I got my first job. My CV was poor, but I did good at interview and they hired me. Now, I can develop my skills and take up new challenges
I've got few plans - short ones, as for now, and long term one - but this one is high level plan (no details)
2. Actually I try to act consequently in my life, because I believe that it is important to concentrate energy on one aim, rather than to spread it for many targets. However, sometimes exceptionally I can work on compromising, if I can feel it doesn’t disturb my internal rules.
3. My long-term plans usually are free from any details. They concern general idea of the targets I want to achieve. In this respect definitely I need such plans to have full picture of my “milestones” in my mind. However, for everyday life, those big plans have to indicate particular steps to be taken, so as gaining “milestones” could be possible. But the difference is in a way I treat the assumptions – I try to keep the big plans, while the everyday ones I can adapt to the dynamic situation, if it happens.
Your second question remained be about what Steve Jobs said on a conference:
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8eP99neOVs
I have a zen approach to planning: have an awareness to seize the opportunities and go with the flow. I plan how to complete particular tasks and achieve goals but I don't try to plan too far into the future.
If it comes to your second question i think it's true. We always have many opportunities. When we choose one option then we lose other. It's worth to think what we can loose but I think that the best way is think about optiosn, choose one and never back to lost opportunities. I often think back to my past choices and I wonder what would happen if I chose differently. It's really unfavorable and disruptive. Thinking like mine hinders focusing on the present and my goal. So why i try to stop think about the past like that.
I love planning and i always have a plan for my further and closer future. I often update my plans and change them so that they are the best in relation to the current situation.
It's pretty often true that saying "yes" to one thing means saying "no" to another. It's worth time to plan ahead and decide what's better for us in a long-term arrangements instead of accepting the inevitable after it's too late.
I think that having both long-term and short-term plan isn't just a good idea - it's a neccessity. We can't just live our lives with having only long or short-term plans. (Or maybe we can? I believe it's a bad idea, though.)
I agree that having both a short and a long-term plan is vital. It allows you to prioritize, as well as split large tasks into smaller, easily achievable goals.
I do not agree that “saying yes to one idea means saying no to other opportunities”, you should always say no to drugs for example :P
Long time planning can’t be really accomplished without a series of short term plans.
I agree with this statement, because sometimes we have to focus on something particular to get the best results than to disprese
I think it's better to a have plan in any case because it helps to concentrate our effort on doing particular things
I've never heard about the book "Lean in", but now I have to read it.
I somehow agree that saying "yes" to one idea is saying "no" to the other, but it's not always true. It's important to do what's important to you and not what others may find important or iteresting. So saying "yes" to one idea is saying "yes" to something you find important.
I think both short and long time planning is important. Long time planning, I mean your aim. Short term planning is what helps you achieve it.
I don't think that saying "yes" to one idea means saying "no" to other opportunities. You shouldn't be so limited. You have to check many possibilities.
In my opinion having short term and long term plan is a very good idea. Success in achieving short-term plans can set us positive on big goals. Step by step to make your dreams come true!
Nope, I believe its best to find your own way of dealing with things and go your own path, of course if it's not anything dumb...
>Do you agree that saying “yes” to one idea means saying “no” to other opportunities?
Usually it does- radiobuttons for example, also some bigger decisions in your life can't be undone.
>What type of planning do you prefer? Do you think that having both a short-term and long-term plan is a good idea?
A short term plan should at least somehow lead to the long-term one, otherwise it won't work, at least for me. Define a long-term objective, make preparations for it during shot-term smaller objectives, and finish it without bigger effort thanks to the successes of your smaller plans.