本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛1. The art of being concise lies in thinking bottom up but speaking top-down.
People commonly gather and reason through great many details, then arrive at a conclusion. This is the thinking process. When you present before an SM, learn to speak your conclusion first, then if necesesary, support/defend with mid-level or bottom-level details depending on how detail-oriented your SM is. That is a top-down approach. It is a miraculous training towards an exectuive quality.
2. Stop saying, " I am sorry to bother you..." (SM would laugh in his mind and say silently, "Then don't!"), but simply say, "Do you have a moment to..." or " Can I have 15 minutes of your time to...". You are only subordinate to your SM structurally at work, but otherwise you are equal. Our Chinese modesty does not help us but only spoil certain SM boosting unecessary ego of theirs.
3. Stand on SM's plane and you will learn more. Supply your SM with a ground view of the forest, but start and end the conversation with his helicopter view. After all, your work is to facilitate his needs of information and ideas AT HIS LEVEL, not yours. Take this opportunity to train yourself to look at things using his perspetive and you will be a SM someday.
4. About delivery time. Allow me to slightly disagree with Joyce's suggestion. Those who make it to the corner office can artfully master the skill of "Under promise but over deliver". Borrow the wisdom of the famous monkey keeper. Instead of giving the monkeys 3 chestnuts in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, he managed the monkey's expectation by proposing 4 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. Nothing in total change, but he effectively managed the monkeys' expectation and created artificial satisfaction in them. As to when exactly you should deliver your work, each case can be different. Some SM can be so easily spoiled and you need to carefully manage their expectation.
5. It may also be a good thing to do to do a one-minutes wrap-up at the end. Rephrase what you have discussed, what has been agreed upon, what to follow-up, when to meet next and what to achieve at next meeting. This reaffirm the SM of your understanding and is a good habbit to practice. If you need to complete the work leverage other staff's efforts, make sure you use your SM to make an annoucement.
6. I toally agree with Joyce on the last point. SM is a human being too. Be a bit away from our traditional Chinese chef-sub relationship and habit of showing excessive respect. Work is work. Go into his/her office knowing you are on a equal playing field workwise. Avoid being overly courteous. The real courtesy lies in understanding SM's needs, perspetive and urgency and work smartly (esp. know what is important to do, what is not, form his/her perspective) to support them.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
People commonly gather and reason through great many details, then arrive at a conclusion. This is the thinking process. When you present before an SM, learn to speak your conclusion first, then if necesesary, support/defend with mid-level or bottom-level details depending on how detail-oriented your SM is. That is a top-down approach. It is a miraculous training towards an exectuive quality.
2. Stop saying, " I am sorry to bother you..." (SM would laugh in his mind and say silently, "Then don't!"), but simply say, "Do you have a moment to..." or " Can I have 15 minutes of your time to...". You are only subordinate to your SM structurally at work, but otherwise you are equal. Our Chinese modesty does not help us but only spoil certain SM boosting unecessary ego of theirs.
3. Stand on SM's plane and you will learn more. Supply your SM with a ground view of the forest, but start and end the conversation with his helicopter view. After all, your work is to facilitate his needs of information and ideas AT HIS LEVEL, not yours. Take this opportunity to train yourself to look at things using his perspetive and you will be a SM someday.
4. About delivery time. Allow me to slightly disagree with Joyce's suggestion. Those who make it to the corner office can artfully master the skill of "Under promise but over deliver". Borrow the wisdom of the famous monkey keeper. Instead of giving the monkeys 3 chestnuts in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, he managed the monkey's expectation by proposing 4 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. Nothing in total change, but he effectively managed the monkeys' expectation and created artificial satisfaction in them. As to when exactly you should deliver your work, each case can be different. Some SM can be so easily spoiled and you need to carefully manage their expectation.
5. It may also be a good thing to do to do a one-minutes wrap-up at the end. Rephrase what you have discussed, what has been agreed upon, what to follow-up, when to meet next and what to achieve at next meeting. This reaffirm the SM of your understanding and is a good habbit to practice. If you need to complete the work leverage other staff's efforts, make sure you use your SM to make an annoucement.
6. I toally agree with Joyce on the last point. SM is a human being too. Be a bit away from our traditional Chinese chef-sub relationship and habit of showing excessive respect. Work is work. Go into his/her office knowing you are on a equal playing field workwise. Avoid being overly courteous. The real courtesy lies in understanding SM's needs, perspetive and urgency and work smartly (esp. know what is important to do, what is not, form his/her perspective) to support them.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net