Dennis Freed, Principal In Charge/Senior VP at Bovis Lend Lease LMB Inc.

Readers: It is suggested that you read “Understanding Knowledge to Become Successful” before reading this piece.

What I learned on a particular day in the sixth grade is that the colors, smells, songs, and touches of the universe are just as important as math and science. What I learned several decades later is that the satisfaction with and development of our five senses are an intricate part of our success.

To be a truly successful person you must know how to enjoy, appreciate, manage and manipulate all five senses.

-Inventors are limited if they cannot sell and convince others to buy.
-Artists who possess business acumen can share their creations more readily.
-Creativity added to a spreadsheet is the difference between understanding and bewilderment.

Sixth Grade Insights

In sixth grade we were forced – and I use the word forced in a sixth grader’s understanding – to take a class in music appreciation. It was the class where you could clown around in yet experience only half of our parents’ wrath. After all, it was only music appreciation and not a core subject with grades that would be important to our future college acceptances.

One music appreciation class stands out in my memory. This day would change my life and the way I perceived, analyzed and appreciated all the wonders the universe has to offer. When we arrived at class, a frail-looking substitute teacher in her 60s stood in front of the class. Now, a substitute teacher in sixth grade, even in a core subject class, meant prime time for fooling around. In music appreciation, it was an opportunity for all-out anarchy.

As you could imagine, our antics were boundless and plentiful. Suddenly, in frustration, the substitute teacher screamed out, “Class, be quiet!” Then quickly adjusting her voice to a soothing tone, she said, “I have something of importance to share with you.” Some unknown force silenced our shenanigans. Was it her change in tone, our sympathy for her frailty or the message that radiated from her? We listened to her intently as she told us:

“The world is made up of beautiful and wonderful creations. Each day a new one unfolds before your eyes. Look outside, how many colors do you see? How many birds are flying by?”

With that, she opened a window and continued:

“Inhale the smell of spring grass. Listen to the birds sing. Even enjoy the sounds of the cars passing by.”

By this time most of the class had returned to their sixth-grade antics. Hand gestures were abundant and the taunts being flung at the substitute teacher were mentally if not physically harmful. But she continued, ignoring the shenanigans.

Her voice tightened as she shared more wisdom:

“Now close your eyes and put your fingers in your ears so you can’t see or hear. This is what it is like to lose your hearing and sight. You will never know if or when you will lose your eyesight, your hearing, use of a hand, a leg … Appreciate everything around you. Learn to enjoy all the colors, sounds, smells, and touches the world and nature have to offer. Because one day they may vanish and you will only have your memories to enjoy what you lost.”

WOW! For a sixth grader, this is quite a message. By the time the substitute teacher finished, the class was out of control. But I sat in my chair divinely touched by what this venerable woman had to say. I was from the “Gigantor and Speed Racer” generation. We never thought like this. Our visions were of the moon and science, not of the arts. We thought of bettering mankind through new inventions, not saving the environment or creating artistic masterpieces. We did not pay much attention to our surroundings but only thought about how to make them different.

Learn Everything You Can

The body struggles without the use of the five senses and thrives when they are developed and used efficiently. The same is true for developing the working professional. Learn everything you can and your understanding increases. Knowledge is power, but diversified knowledge is even more powerful.

• Learn the arts as well as the formulas. Appreciating an opera may spark your next great idea.
• Learn management as well as individual creativity.
• Learn meditation and spirituality, as well as physics.
• Learn yoga as well as weight lifting.

Understanding mechanical engineering motivated one of America’s greatest artists, Alexander Calder, to invent the mobile. He studied mechanical engineering and then applied what he learned to art. Did you ever see one of his gigantic, eloquent steel mobiles gently dance in a spring breeze? To see and understand a Calder mobile is to understand the power of diverse knowledge.

Da Vinci and Michelangelo are the true models for complete knowledge because they embraced the arts, engineering, literature and politics. In their age, they needed acumen in politics to explore the wonders of science and art. Without political savvy they might have succumbed to being mere craftsmen, not the great artists and inventors we know.

Using Diversified Knowledge

But you may content that we have limited time to learn all the wonders this universe has to offer us. Poppycock, I say. You can learn all the great marvels to one degree or another. Some topics may fascinate you and you will become proficient in them. You may only touch the surface of others, but at least you can become aware of their possibilities.

The more you know, the more you can tap into when ideas are needed and goals must be reached. To learn, you may have to give up watching the football game, a rerun of “Sex in the City” or a night spent drinking with friends.

Choices must be made. Do you thirst to learn more to succeed further, or do you want to stay on your current floor and remain content with your current achievements (see the posting on Knowledge)? There is no correct answer because success, joy and happiness are individual aspirations and possessions.

From a Sixth-Grade Boy Inspired by a Substitute Teacher to Success

My own personal development is one of variety. Growing up, my brother always teased me about how I never stuck to any one hobby. As a kid I loved to play with everything and participated in many sports.

• One day it was baseball and the next rainy day my friend and I modified our slot cars.
• One year I dived into model rockets and the next few years into model railroading.
• For many years I had tropical fish of various types and then abandoned that interest until decades later.
• I once tried to make my own light bulb and studied every aspect required to make it work, only to abandon the project to learn how to use a woodworking lathe.
• I would read classics for a time, then switch to military history and then physics.
• My musical interests range from Gregorian chants to heavy metal and everything in between.

To this day I dance around with hobbies, interests, sports, reading and so on. These varied interests have made me a well-rounded person who is knowledgeable in numerous fields. I can carry on an in-depth conversation regarding various topics and play some sports with proficiency. On other topics I can conduct a casual conversation and understand enough to make decisions or just have plain fun participating in the sport.

Being diverse in knowledge allows me to question and think for myself. It is extremely useful when I get expert advice from consultants and need to agree or further question. The greatest part of being diverse is that it allows me to catch or recognize the sparks of knowledge passing my way each day. I may not be an expert in most fields, but I understand the joys of many.

Applying Diversified Knowledge on the Job

Let me relate this concept to a business example… We were at the height of the 2006 real estate explosion and qualified experienced professionals were hard to come by. Many of our staff was working one or two levels above their comfort zone and mistakes were being made at unacceptable levels.

I recalled reading why the Americans destroyed the Japanese Air Force even though the Japanese planes were far superior to the U.S. planes early on in the war. One of the key factors attributed to the Allies’ success was that we retired our veteran fliers and assigned them to teach new recruits. These veteran fliers shared their wisdom, battle experiences and knowledge with the raw recruits. The Japanese kept their veterans flying and fighting until they died. Our veterans lived and taught. Their veterans could not pass on their knowledge and it died with them.

With this historical lesson in mind, I retired one of my key knowledgeable general superintendents from running a single project. Instead, I assigned him to sharing knowledge and plugging holes whenever his expertise was called upon. I lost the ability to have him perform on a single project, but his educating others enriched numerous additional projects. I culled the insight I’d gained from reading about military history and applied it on the job, a decision that lead to the success of many future projects.

Another example is how to employ artistic creativity to develop aesthetic-looking spreadsheets. See the posting BIG, BOLD, and COLORFUL for further explanation.

In conclusion, the body struggles without the use of the five senses yet thrives when they are developed and used efficiently. The same holds true for the working professional. Learn everything you can and your understanding increases. As we know, knowledge is power, but diversified knowledge is the strongest power one can obtain. Only then can the world unfold to you.

 

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