Are You a Noun or a Verb
by Miki Saxon
One of Wally Bock’s tips about planning (worth reading) lead me to reread a post I wrote on the same topic a couple of years ago and reposted as a Golden Oldie last February.
The crux of the post is the difference between nouns and verbs.
It is plan-the-verb that distinguishes the winners from the also-rans and it is the verb that keeps you ahead of the competition. (…) Plan-the-verb boosts initiative, encourages taking responsibility and speeds professional growth, providing you with a stronger in-house bench from which to grow.
It is always detrimental to value the noun—plan, leader, manager—more than the verb—plan, lead, manage—but in the business world it can be devastating.
Which are you?
Being a noun involves making announcements, pronouncements, discussions, and shifting paper from here to there — and (often) back again.
Being a verb requires initiative and action.
Verbs don’t wait to be told what needs doing; they actively look for it and each time they find it they move, of their own volition, to resolve it.
In most things in life you have a choice and this is no different.
While we are all part noun and part verb, it is our individual decisions that determine which trait grows and dominates.
Image credit: Jason Taellious
