Letters to a Young Diplomat: Plea for Participation

Picture of Eugenie Moore Anderson
In October 1949 President Truman appointed Anderson United States Ambassador to Denmark; she was the first American woman to serve as the chief of a mission abroad.

Ok, "plea" for participation sounds a bit desperate, but here's the deal: in times when our foreign policy is constantly questioned by other countries (and often rightly so), an art project highlighting a more human side to our activities overseas seems critical. Why art? At its best, art whittles down matters to powerful visual and forms that have residence. I leave you with one of my favorite art quotes.

There are moments in our lives, there are moments in our days, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign. It was in this hope that the arts were invented. Signposts on the way to what may be. Signposts toward greater knowledge.

Keith Ferrazzi on Networking

I was listening to podcasts online and stumbled on this one that seemed worth sharing: http://content.monster.com/articles/3473/18780/1/home.aspx

Below are a few of my notes from that interview, much of it from Keith Ferrazzi, Never Eat Alone What I liked about the podcast is Keith's focus on networking as natural. I love the Christmas package analogy because I do like meeting and helping other people. With this subtle shift in attitude, the conference or cocktail hour can become less anxiety-ridden and more pleasurable.

When you are at a conference / party:
-imagine that everyone's a Christmas package, and you get to unwrap them and discover their goals
-ask how can I help them be successful? what can I do for him or her?

Personal relationship action plan

How many people are going to be critical btw now and you achieving your dreams?
-probably 25 people (family, friends, etc)
-list 25 people
-list next 50
-list next 50
Then you'll have 125 people

Send a quick email to the top 25: keep in touch with them every other week.

It may sound contrived, but your family and best friends can be in that top 25, and we all know in the chaos of life, it's easy to fall out of touch. Sometimes, it helps to have weekly reminders to reach out to others. This is especially true when you are bouncing around the globe...