[CAUT] William Wolfram (Mary's post)

[Mark Cramer]

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Thanks for your timely and encouraging post Mary.

Many of us try to share and recieve technical advice, but we tend to stop
short of mentioning the fact "poor interpersonal skills" can undermine an
otherwise potentially succesfull career.

(there's a certain attendant in a local lumberyard I describe as having a
"career-limiting mouth" ;>)

Thanks also for illustrating that the "fact" these skills "can" be learned
and practiced.

(I will have to call a client this week and apologize for a spontaneous
comment I made about their piano. Ten minutes after the fact, replaying it
in my head, I realize it came out "a little different" than intended)  (my
"career-limiting mouth" in action!)

Some folk are "naturally gifted" with people skills, some with salesmanship,
while others possess uncanny technical or deductive skills.

The rest of us have to "work" at it.

So a "third thanks" Mary, for busting some persistent myths!

best regards,
Mark Cramer,
Brandon University


  -----Original Message-----
  From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Mary
Smith
  Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 9:00 AM
  To: College and University Technicians
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] William Wolfram


  Hi Wim,

  OK, I have one thing to offer you regarding "thick skin." Steve Covey's
book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" is extremely helpful. I
actually did teach a class based on this book a couple years back at a
National seminar, habits adapted for piano techs, of course. One of the ways
this book was helpful to me was that I learned to set my own internal
"barometer" in terms of my work and skill level, i.e., set my own goals,
values, and system of evaluation. Of course, we always rely on external
input (or else we get into REAL trouble!), but bear in mind that YOU
determine the course of your work. Seek to understand the other guy before
you seek to be understood Habit #5, I think), but also know yourself well
enough to remain unshaken when your work is criticized. Also, I think about
what one of my friends (a professional violinist) told me about how there is
no secret to success, but the secret to failure is trying to please
everybody (my own personal challenge!). Anyway - there's my little pep talk
for you!

  Cheers,
  Mary

  At 10:24 AM 3/8/2005 -0500, you wrote:

    In a message dated 3/7/05 6:17:39 P.M. Central Standard Time,
hgreeley@stanford.edu writes:

      Concert work is a crap shoot, no matter how good/bad one might
individually be as a technician.  You/one/_anyone_ is only as good as
your/their last tuning...period.  Further, survival is not at all
necessarily reserved for the most fit.  There is a very simple bottom line
which must be addressed before getting too deep into concert work (beyond
the point of it being a relatively occasional service for the local
MTA/whatever); and, that is, just how thick is your/anyone's skin?  Doing
"real" concert work is brutal...not at all the way it is seemingly idealized
by so many.  One either learns to live with the inevitable slings and
arrows, or, wisely, one chooses to leave the field to those whose egos
either need and/or can withstand the onslaught.


    Horace

    Thank you for your advice. This is the one area of concert work that I
need to develop. (creating a thick skin). As far as I know,  this is not a
class I have not seen offered at any convention.

    Wim

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