My personal spin on things in the world that take no talent by Schnurman

Mark Schnurman, Eastern Consolidated

I always like to attribute my ideas to people smarter than me. When I first saw this list, I was anxious to find out what great philosopher or business thinker conjured this great thought. I hoped for a Descartes or Drucker. It is with great pause that I must cite the Internet. This concept is ubiquitous in the world Al Gore invented.

What is this great concept? It is my personal spin simple exposition of the things in the world that take no talent.

• Being on time;

• Working hard;

• Being prepared;

• Maintaining a positive attitude;

• Following rules;

• Being coachable;

• Constantly learning; and

• Being a team player.

So simple these thoughts are and yet so few people consistently achieve them. Let’s dig in a little bit.

Being on time. This is a simple function of leaving on time. I am in the office before 8:00 every day and commute an hour from N.J. Whenever someone tells me they will be late I roll my eyes. Why? Because they have made an active decision not to be on time.

Working hard. This is the price of entry into the real world.

Being prepared. Preparation indicates a person cares about what they are doing; lack of preparation tells people their time is not valued.

Maintaining a positive attitude. Smile. Stay upbeat. People are a hell of a lot more attractive to do business with when they are upbeat and enthusiastic.

Following rules. Rules are not made to be broken. Rules serve the purpose of guiding us through life and work.

Being coachable. It is an incredible privilege to have people in your life who care enough about you to provide feedback. I am fortunate to have Eastern’s leadership team of Daun Paris, Peter Hauspurg and Peter Takiff. They care enough about me to provide feedback and to coach me up. If you have someone in your life who takes the time to help you succeed consider yourself lucky and make the most of it!

Constant learning. The day you stop trying to learn should be the day you hang it up. When I look at my life and career I always strive to continue learning and use it as one of the great differentiators. I sat next to Kip in high school and he was right– knowledge is power. Never pass up the chance to learn.

Be a team player. One of the great joys in life is working with others. It takes hard work to be difficult, self-centered and obstinate. It is much easier to get along with people and not take things personally.

One of the things I learned many years ago that gets constantly reinforced is that there are many people smarter and more talented than I am. But if I take care of the things that don’t require talent I will be ok.

Mark Schnurman is chief sales officer, principal at Eastern Consolidated, New York, N.Y.