Even if you’re extraordinary at the technical aspects of your job, it is still without a doubt necessary to distinguish oneself… “Soft skills” count for quite a bit.

Both Sally Hogshead and James Melton recently spoke at the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement about “making oneself likable, fascinating, and charming.” Julia McIntosh sums up the common themes discussed at the event and asks if it’s necessary to distinguish ourselves and how do we do it?

Think about the type of person you would rather work with…  Think about what’s common among the people that get things done.

Broaden the definition of “soft skills” and you can see why…

“Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual’s interactions, job performance and career prospects. Unlike hard skills, which are about a person’s skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills relate to a person’s ability to interact effectively with coworkers and customers and are broadly applicable both in and outside the workplace.”

“Soft Skills are behavioral competencies. Also known as Interpersonal Skills, or people skills, they include proficiencies such as communication skills, conflict resolution and negotiation, personal effectiveness, creative problem solving, strategic thinking, team building, influencing skills and selling skills, to name a few.”

How do you improve “soft skills”?

1. Do a SWOT analysis on yourself.  Brainstorm your personal Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats and assess what you need to focus improvement efforts on.  Mind Tools tells you how and even has a template you can use.
2. Create a S.M.A.R.T. goal for yourself to make sure you’re specific about what you’re wanting to improve.  Instead of trying to improve too much at one time, set it up in phases or smaller segments that are more manageable.  (Specific – Measurable – Attainable – Realistic – Timely) 
3. Create an Elevator Pitch that establishes a personal brand that you’re comfortable with.  Distinguish yourself and be able to effectively communicate this to others. Practice until you don’t sound rehearsed.  Friends and family should hear it several times before it gets tried elsewhere.
4. Get out there and network.  Look for local events that provide an opportunity to practice specific skills.  Start small and gradually increase your exposure.
5. Write it down for continuous improvement.  After each opportunity to network and/or otherwise practice “soft skills,” journal what worked, what didn’t and why.  In addition to continuous improvement, the journal is motivating in that you can track your progress.

At the end of the day, “you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

Reading Scott Rutherford’s latest post on surviving ASQ’s Word Conference on Quality and Improvement has left me with fond memories and a reminder that I’m really going to be missing out this year by not being able to attend!

So, next week, quality professionals from around the world will gather, network, learn and share ideas.  You can feel the passion the minute you enter the convention center.  Anyone that’s been there knows exactly what I mean.  It’s the place where quality is cool and the accepted idea that quality is pretty much everything rules the roost.

I’ve been involved with selecting and exhibiting at trade shows for many years now and think it’s quite fun.  Pro QC has always been supportive of me going to the ASQ events for professional development as well.  The ASQ events are hands-down my favorite.  The organizers obviously do a great job planning the speakers, after-hours opportunities, etc.  Speaking of, I actually came across Simon Sinek’s TEDx talk yesterday!

Whatever the show is, Scott really nails it on the preparation and planning in his post.  My suggestions through experience can be generalized for all shows and are similar:

You’re there to network.

Meeting people who share similar interests is awesome! While it may be easy to attach on to a small group, it’s important to manage your time and make sure you’re taking advantage of the face-to-face opportunity.  Even introverts can rest at ease knowing that everyone there has something in common.

Advice: Have personal business cards printed, in addition to your standard business cards.  

**I actually wrote an article about networking at events like this previously.

You’re there to learn.

Plan your time wisely and register for any seminars/workshops you want as soon as possible.  Listen-Listen-Listen.  I’ve always received either a physical and/or electronic copy of the content, so I try to really be present when I’m in the session.  I always have pen and paper but only write down insights or ideas.  There’s usually opportunities for questions as well, which can really help you customize the experience to get the most value.

Advice: I love concept mapping.  Lifehacker has a great article on note-taking covering various valuable options. 

Plan your day.  

Planning your day removes some of the chaos factor.  Get the venue layout and event schedule as soon as it’s available.

Advice: Actually put some thought into your attire. You’ll need clothing for walking around the event, after-hours functions, etc.  Really consider your shoe choice wisely, even if that seems silly… It only took one trade show wearing fancy heels for me to figure this one out. 

Summarize your day.

This may be a little too much for some.  But, as someone who enjoys writing anyway, I always make sure to summarize the day.  With so much going on and so many things to follow-up with when I get back, it’s important for me to kind of rehash my thoughts so that I can revisit them later and follow-up as necessary.  It takes the stress out of having to remember to remember.

Advice: Use social media if you can.  It’s a great way to “raise the voice” about your experience to others who are unable to attend.

Leave room.

Seriously, make sure you have room for all the stuff you’ll be bringing back.  Good one Scott!  Last year, my bag was crammed with all of the bookstore goodies.

Have fun!

Don’t get so wrapped up that you forget to have fun and enjoy the experience.

Follow all of the conference fun via Twitter – #wcqi13

My review of last year’s conference is here.

OK, I am going to preface this by saying I am generally not a reality show enthusiast.  But, I recently discovered Bravo’s Tabatha Takes Over and particularly enjoyed a segment on quality I happen to catch.

The gist of the whole series is that a badass stylist, Tabatha, visits suffering salons that are essentially on the verge of collapse.  The dynamic at most of these places is much like I remember high school, so there’s drama around every corner and a general theme of poor management.  Tabatha cleans house in a matter of days and always seems to turn the disparaging business around.

So, the episode with quality was addressing a complaint the stylists had concerning their inability to give quality cuts because they were held accountable to such a high quantity standard.  Of course other issues such as lack of training, poor team management, etc. were at play as well.

Tabatha brings the owner to some kind of restaurant and has her make a significant number of burgers in a ridiculously short amount of time.  The owner manages to make half of the required order, and they looked inedible.

A follow-up activity was to give the owner a variety of resources, fresh ingredients and no time limit and requests she make a burger in these conditions.  Obviously, the product looked quite delicious.

I thought this was kind of a nifty way to say that quality is what counts.  Bravo to Bravo…

This particular episode reminded me of one of my favorite people in the world, a dedicated Aveda stylist that puts a ridiculous amount of love into her craft.  

I try not to post politically charged stuff, but I simply must say something here.  Why are we dedicating resources to discuss who people should marry?  Let’s consider for a moment why anyone would want to cause hardship and unhappiness on someone just because of who they happen to love.  It’s illogical and cruel.

In trying to wrap my head around the other side of this issue, I can only think of two possible causes for such thinking:

Revenue

It’s immoral to claim revenue for such legislation, especially when you’re living in a nation founded on freedom. There’s a larger cost here. 

Religion

Separation of church and state.  Separation of church and state.

Let’s think about Pareto here and really focus on the 20% of our issues that are going to have the most significant impact on our country.  Even better, let’s not even consider this an issue anymore.