Professional Skills

Whether you are out to make money, earn prestige, help others, or any other endeavor, there are skills that go along with your profession. The surgeon’s expertise in the operating room could be significant, yet what people will remember is the bedside manner. The salesman may know everything about his product. However, his real job is understanding people. There are more examples than I could possibly tell you, the real worth of any professional is knowing the intricacies of their trade.

Learning those intricacies used to be something that took decades to accomplish. Yet now, with worldwide connections that our new technologies bring us, we can learn so much more in far less time. With this ability to share knowledge comes a much higher chance to innovate and collaborate on real breakthroughs within the profession. Yet wisdom is not always gained through knowing, it is achieved through doing.

You actually have to apply your trade, whatever it may be. Whatever you learn through study is only useful after you have tried that knowledge and used it until you thoroughly understand it. Only then are those new skills a real asset.

As you study and learn and attempt to use new ideas, you will find that there are many opinions with many protocols, and you are going to have to discover which ones will work best for you, and which ideas just do not hold water. It is through this hands-on trial and error that you’re going to understand what works for you and what does not. This may seem tedious and time-consuming, yet it is the only way to become the best that you can be.

Does this mean you will study more, learn more, test more, and try more things to help those whom you work for and with? Yes. What do you get in return for all this? If you do this right, you may know more, help more, earn more, gain more prestige, and more respect. In this trade-off, please remember to take time to enjoy your surroundings, cherish the ones you love, and respect your coworkers.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Author: Mike Balof

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Mike used to lay in bed at night and worry about what would happen if his plant closed or found himself without a job. One day his plant closed. Rather than panic and hysteria (OK, maybe a little) Mike found himself carried away on the adventure of his life. Mike started with the best job he ever had working at Home Depot. He spent 8 years working with job seekers at a local workforce center, helping them to find employment. He then started his own company developing courses, writing books and urging others to follow their own paths into the future. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and a Bachelor of Business Management, earned through the University of Phoenix and an AAS degree in Electronics Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Mike is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. View all posts by Mike Balof