In his book, Genius at Work, author Dick Richard's premise is that we all have genius, no matter how much we might fight the notion, no matter how much we don't recognize our own genius. (What is genius?)
Recognizing -- that is identifying and putting a name on -- our unique genius is a difficult task, he asserts.
To help us name our genius, he suggests a peculiar exercise: that we look at the negative labels that people have used to describe us (say bossy or stubborn, etc.) Exploring those labels that hurt us most is where clues of our genius lies.
In a counterintutive way, he helps us see that what we are trying to accomplish at those times when others found us annoying, is the genius.
It's a powerful exercise. In just a couple of minutes I came up with "Affecting Others Profoundly." Funny how that can be both annoying and genius.
Read his exercise here. What did you come up with?
Be sure to catch his other resources:
Chapter 1 of his book
Article that appeared in T&D Nov 2005 issue
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