Almost daily at work I run into the same old phrase: “I don’t know how to [whatever]…”

This is not said in an inquisitive manner.  Rather, it is stated as a fact and a closing statement.  This bothers me.

If you are saying that at work, chances are that what you don’t know is something you have been called upon to do.  With that type of attitude you will stagnate and never progress.  In time you will likely begin to wonder “Why are all of those people getting raises and promotions while I go nowhere?”

The answer is shockingly simple.  Watch the people that progress and you will quickly see a pattern; rather than saying “I don’t know how to…” they ask “How do I…?”

It’s a very small change in your approach to things that can make a tremendous difference in your career and life in general.

By changing these statements you open the potential for a flood of new information and skill which you can use to make your life easier.

Don’t want to ask your peers for help?  No worries…Here’s a tip/confession: I don’t know a lot of things. When run into a situation that I don’t know the answer to I Google it. There. I said it.  I take those 5 minutes out of my day and ask Google “How do I” and 8/10 times I come up with the answer and then I know for next time.  It’s so very simple…

Want to know something else?  You boss or senior team respect people who ask questions.  I love answering my co-workers questions.  It means that they quite likely will not ask me again next time.  If I am discussing the performance of team members with others, the people who positively stand out are the ones that ask questions because it shows that they are generally interested and engaged in their jobs.  There is one caveat to be aware of related to this though.  You need to retain the answers you are given!  Answering a question from a person once or twice is fine.  But if the same question is asked 5, 6, 7 times…you will stand out for all the wrong reasons.

To be content with your ignorance is only a disservice to yourself.  There is really no excuse for it when you are at work.  Whether or not you are in a job you want to stay if for the long term or not, learning and asking questions will never hurt.  It may lead you down a path to where you really want be and it may give you that shining recommendation from your boss that lands you your dream job.

Ask, question, progress…choosing ignorance will only haunt you later.

I’m not in application development, but hey…I like to dabble, and bug our developers with suggestions and code fixes…

One of the newest features of this blackberry over my last, the 8700, is the addition of the built in GPS receiver.  While I generally do know where I am, I have played with GPS before and I do like the idea of having a handheld device capable of giving me my location to within a few metres.  It seems so Star Trek, and being that I am a nerd who grew up wishing he were aboard the Enterprise (any one of them), something that brings me closer to Trektopia is always a welcome addition to my life.  The GPS in this device seems to be quite capable and has functioned well in my limited testing.  It finds the satellites quickly, and promptly tells me where I’m at.

While the built in software doesn’t have the capability of speaking turn by turn directions to me, I believe there are other 3rd party applications that offer this.  I am not too interested in that though.  I find if I have a map, which I always have handy by way of Google maps, and I know where I am on that map…reaching my destination is not too difficult.

Another addition is the voice dialing system.  Now, there have been around for quite some time, but I do like this implementation.  Rather than having to create a specific voice command for each voice dialing entry as I have had to do in the past with other cell phones, this one uses a voice recognition system that will allow me to speak the name of the contact as it appears in my address book without any prior training.   It has been quite good at understanding me so far.  Again, one step closer to the Trektopia. "Computer, tea, earl gray, hot."

And finally, I am glad they finally added expandable memory via a MicroSD card slot.  Now I can use my BB in a similar manner to a USB memory stick, which I so often have trouble keeping track of.  I have yet to lose my Blackberry.

I do love the toys…..

It didn’t help much that I was a touch hung over from a round of Beer-Food-Darts at the pub last night.  A few hours out with the boys to clear my head.  (Sort of)

I long for the weekend, but it’s always too short.

It makes me tired just thinking about it….

A few people sat and worked through a fire alarm at work today.  That’s how worried they seemed about pleasing our client that is not too impressed at the moment.  Seriously…If to make the client happy I had to put myself at even a miniscule risk of burning alive, I would quit.  No.  I will not burn for you.  And I  fully intend on convincing the other people I work with to adopt the same attitude.  It’s just work….

I was guaranteed a raise and a bonus within the first 2 minutes. Most of the time was not even spent reviewing me as my manager and I agreed with my own self assessment to the letter.

Makes I feel good I must say.

Not sure how the others are doing, but the reviews have thankfully not added too much stress to the week. So my earlier post thankfully did not become self fulfilling.

Anyway, just thought I’d mention it.

It’s the first week in about a month that I’ve had to work an entire 5 day work week. The prospect seems quite daunting and tiring.

It’s also performance review week. The week I have to say to my boss just how gosh darn awesome I am. Not something I’m worried about, despite the fact that it’s my first ever formal performance review. Despite my not being particularly worried about how awesome I am, it still adds a little bit of stress as the other 14 people around me are all being reviewed this week as well. Many of them may have trouble proving their awesomeness, and I have a feeling that stress will affect the group as a whole.

We’ll see. I don’t want to become a victim of a self fulfilling prophecy…

At this moment a few things go through your mind like…

• Am I wearing underwear today?
• How long has this hole been there?
• How many people saw it and decided not to mention it?
• How many people liked what they saw?
• How many people will have nightmares?
• Is my ass really that fat?
• Why didn’t I notice the breeze?
• Who made these crappy pants anyhow?
• Will people make fun of my spongebob squarpants underpants?

Welcome to my afternoon though processes….