Critical Thinking

To me, critical thinking is the process you take in order to achieve a goal.  It is the steps that you lay out in order to reach your desired outcome.  It is identifying what your goal is and then each step that you need to take in order to get there.  You define the outcome, how you plan on getting there, and then think of what issues you may come across along the way.  You want to identify as many issues you can before you get to them, that way you will be prepared to deal with them, once you encounter them.  This will make your theory or reasoning stronger as an outcome. 

One critical thinking skill I plan on using in my project is analysis.  I am going to analyze the difference between “onshoring” and “offshoring”.  What is the benefit of each and what are the cons of each.  I will need to do plenty of research to be able to compare and contrast the two.  Another skill I plan on using for my project is evaluation.  I will need to talk to many different people to get their opinions on the matter and then evaluate each one to see how their thoughts would apply to my project and what I am looking to achieve.  If offshoring works well for someone who makes calculators, that information may not necessarily apply to my company who makes 15 ton machines.  

The Little Black Book Reflection

After reading these pages from The Little Black Book, I have realized that I have not been doing close to enough networking, or preparation to network.  I really need to start taking advantage of the situations when they present themselves.  I need to be more outgoing and vulnerable.  I need to learn how to present myself so that I make myself appealing to others.

I believe that networking is a very powerful tool and is underutilized.  This reading has made me think about the people I work with and how they got their jobs.  First of all, my cousin and brother got a job at my company because they know me and I put in a good word for them.  I know a lot of the entry level people out of college got jobs either because they knew someone who works there or their father was friends with someone, or one of their friends got jobs there. 

I was in a meeting a couple months ago with some upper level management and I noticed that they were all talking about the same person that I didn’t know.  They finally filled me in that it was somebody from a different company that they used to work with.  All of these higher level employees knew each other from previous jobs.  This was the first real moment that I said to myself, “networking must pay off”.

Since then, I have been keeping business cards of everyone that I meet and try to keep in contact with people when I find out that they are moving on to a new job opportunity.  I have been scared for a while to join social networking sites online, because I was afraid of the security of these kinds of sites.  I have since joined LinkedIn, but still feel like I am not utilizing it to its potential.  I have a lot of work to do in this area; I feel like I need a class in social networking.

It was a little comforting knowing that I am not the only one out there who has this problem.  From this reading, I gathered that there are a lot of people out there who are in the same situation as me.  We are just not sure or comfortable with going out and meeting new people and trying to connect with them.  I know that in order to move on, or up, networking is the way to go.  I need to start now, and network as often as I can, and be as effective doing it as possible.

One point that stood out to me in this reading is that you want to give before you take.  If you help someone else out, they will remember that and will want to repay the favor.  If you show someone that you are able to solve problems or show how you are valuable in a way that it helps them, it will leave a more lasting effect than just telling them how you can help.  This reading talks about how you want to get to know someone a little bit on a more personal level before you go right in and ask for whatever it is that you are looking for.  It is easier to connect with someone if you get to know them first.

Another part of the reading that I thought was interesting and I could relate to is how they talked about six-degrees of separation.  You should be able to make contact with anyone by talking to six different people.  But, it goes on to talk about the less contacts you use; the more likely you are to make the connection.  I have been thinking about that and I can apply it to my contacts.  I feel like I need to start thinking outside my immediate contacts.

One area that I think I am underutilizing that I want to improve on is taking advantage of my personal contacts.  Being in the Air National Guard, once a month I go to my base and work and interact with 75 other people.  These people come from all over and have all different backgrounds.  Normally when we are there, we just focus on work and talk about what needs to be done.  What I want to do is to really talk to these guys to see what it is that they do outside of the ANG.  I am close to maybe five or six of the guys and no what they do, but within my immediate circle for that weekend, there are so many more people that I can talk to for networking.

Outside of just the people in my shop, there is a whole base full of people who have other careers outside the ANG.  Once I talk to my immediate circle, I can extend outward to the rest of the people on the base.  From the TDY’s and deployments that we go on every so often, I really get to know some of the people that I don’t normally get to interact with.  I have made some good connections; I just have a lot more work to do to expand in this area.

Networking is an extremely valuable tool to have but, won’t do you any good if you don’t use it properly.  You need to be prepared to network all the time.  You can’t be afraid to approach people and you need the self-confidence to sell yourself.  I know that I have a lot of work to do to be better at networking, and I am going to what I can to prepare myself to be able to network wherever I am.  

LBB Self-test

The Little Black Book Connection Self-Test

According to this connection self-test, I need Altoids and a makeover.  I really have not been very good at networking over the years.  I have met people and have taken business cards, but have not made any meaningful connections.  The only people in my networking data base are co-workers, friends and family.  This is a start, but nowhere near where I should be.

Thinking about it now, I should have a pretty big network to work with.  I have lots of friends, family members who know a lot of people, currently in school, still in the military, and I have my full-time job.  There are a lot of people in each of these groups that could be very valuable to helping me network.  After reading this, I now realize how and why I should be making these meaningful contacts.

Briggs Meyers

Until I got this assignment, I had never heard of the Briggs Meyers test.  I read about it and was a little skeptical about taking the test.  I wasn’t too sure that taking a quick test would be able to tell me what my learning preferences were.  After I took the Briggs Meyers test and read my results, I was amazed how accurate this test was.  I confirmed a few things that I already knew about myself, and realized a few things that were not apparent to me.

As I read through all the blurbs about what introverts prefer, I knew right away that was me.  I need to minimize distractions.  It is very hard for me to work in a loud, crowded area with a lot of other things going on.  Even at home, I need to shut the TV off, go to a quiet spot and just be left alone.  I really don’t like being like this because there are usually a ton of factors that I cannot control.  I realize that I need to work at being able to work wherever I am, and not let the distractions get to me.  I am not always going to be able to control my surroundings.

I knew I was a sensor since I was in high school.  I always like subjects that I knew I was going to use in the future.  I like learning stuff that had hard evidence to back it up.  I always liked math because I knew I would use it in real life, and there formulas that could always be proven.  I also enjoyed carpentry because it was hands on, I could apply the math, and I could use it now and in the future.  I have no problem with being a sensor.  I never really enjoyed theories.  I’d rather have evidence to back up what was being earned.

I think that Thinking and Learning goes hand-in-hand with being a Sensor.  I always want logical reasons for why I am learning something.  I always like to know “why” something is the way it is.  This is much like a sensor because I need the facts and the evidence.  It helps to debate others because I feel it can make you prove your points even more and reaffirm what you already know to be true.  I always like to learn from an expert of that field.  If I wanted to learn how to brew beer, I wouldn’t go to just any bartender, I would try to seek out Samuel Adams and learn from him.

In my everyday life, I know that I fall into the category of Perceiving and Learning.  I always adjust deadlines, or work with a flexible schedule.  But, I wish I was the opposite, or had more of the Judging and Learning characteristics in me.  I feel like I need to have a more defined schedule.  I need to clarify my expectations and not be so vague.  I have learned over the past couple years that when I am not defining every detail, what is expected is left open to interpretation.  In my mind I am expecting one thing, and then when the person is finished, I get something else and then I have to go back and re-explain what I want with more detail.  If I had done that in the beginning, there would be no reason to re-do it; I would be more efficient. 

The Briggs Meyers Test has helped me to identify my personality type and bring this information to the surface.  Now that I am aware of it, I can work on the areas that I think I need to improve.  It will help me become a better student, a better employee and an all-around better person.  If I know what personality type someone else is, it will help me communicate better with that person because I will know what their preferences are.

This I Believe

This I Believe

          When I joined the Air Force, and arrived at Basic Training, my life changed forever. I was expecting the change of moving, being away from my family and friends, being told what to wear, what to do and when to do it. But, what I wasn’t expecting was for my values to change. The first day we got there, we were all brought to an auditorium and went through a lot of presentations. The presentations were about the history and traditions of the Air Force, the structure, what we have done, what we’re doing now and where we’re going. Then there was one about being an Airman and what that meant.

          An Airman is a soldier in the Air Force. Everyone in the Air Force, from the newest recruit in Basic Training, to the highest ranking General is an Airman. All of us had the same core values. Our first core value is; Integrity First. Integrity is a character trait that says you are going to do the right thing, even when no one else is looking. The second is; Service before self. Your duty takes precedence over everything else. Your personal desires are secondary. The third core value is; Excellence in all you do. We are all striving to do better and be better in our service and in our lives.

At the time, I thought these were just words. I didn’t realize how much of an effect these would play in my life. Then, I arrived at my first base. Every day I would be reminded of these three core values, whether they would be on posters in the dining facility or, be brought up every time we had a squadron meeting. They would be posted in various places all over the base. And even as I did my job, I would think about these values and made sure I had these in mind when I would make every day decisions.

          It could be something as small as seeing someone drop a dollar bill out of their pocket as they are paying for something. Was that dollar going to make a huge difference in that person’s life if they didn’t have it? Probably not, but the right thing to do is to pick it up and give it back to them. When I was working on aircraft; if I was conducting an inspection and noticed that one of the hydraulic lines was a little frayed, but not yet leaking, I could either fix it then and there, or wait until the next time I worked on that aircraft. There could have been a million reasons for me not to replace it; it was hot that day, I wanted to get out of the sun, maybe the Red Sox were playing the Yankees on National television and it was one of the few times I could watch a game. I could just close up the aircraft and say I’ll change it next time. But what if the pilot took that aircraft up that day and that hose failed and that pilot died, just because I thought I could get away with doing a little less work that day. I needed to live by those core values every day I was in the Air force.

Now, it is ten years later and I still find myself living by these three core values. I have adopted these values from my military life, to my personal life and my work life. I know they have helped to mold me in to the person I am today.

          I believe in core values.