ABSTRACT
If you are a lucky person you will instinctively know how to behave in a career-enhancing fashion. Unfortunately, too many of us stumble and fall when confronted with complex professional situations. The economic consequences of such missteps can be severe, and your quality of life, happiness, and personal self-image may suffer badly from faux pas that might have been avoided. Sometimes learning is painful or comes only after a great amount of introspection, and sometimes situations and people take on highly visible or extreme traits. They become almost caricatures. In these cases, an incident or individual stands out from the background clutter of life and comes into clear focus. Suddenly you see for the first time a life template that allows previously encountered events or people to fit into a model about which you
can think and speak. You become newly aware of connecting relationships between your words or conduct and resulting behavior of those around you. Be vigilant for these life templates and the learning experiences they can offer. They can be immensely helpful in improving your response to events and your interaction with those around you. Better social interaction with coworkers can dramatically minimize damaging blunders and can result in a more successful and satisfying career.
