Comment on 12/26/08, and response

Average Joe wrote on Dec 26, 2008 7:25 AM:
"Praise for "hard work" vs "smartness" produces better results in children. WOW! At last something of substance and applicable to daily life. No fanciful rambling (well, at least not totally). Alicia, you’re finally catching on. Just one question: What does this do to the philosophy of "Working smarter not harder." and is this technique as effective on adults but only if properly applied?"

*****

Ha! Well, Average, you're welcome. I'm glad I wrote something helpful to you, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to check over the Bristol Press comments and reply.

I'm not sure what it is I'm meant to be "catching on" to, as I write an opinion column rather than straight news or a how-to, and opinions (especially ones we disagree with) may often be viewed as "fanciful rambling," but I'm glad you think I've done it. Or did it, that one time.

The saying "work smarter not harder" actually has nothing to do with being called "smart" versus "a hard worker" -- it's about working efficiently, and thinking through the process required to accomplish what you'd like before starting the work, rather than just beginning a task without planning.

This is a skill like any, and it can be encouraged in the same way any other skill would be: "Wow, A.J., I like the way you thought about your comment before you posted it. You spent half the time you might have normally spent on it and the result was just as good, because you put the work in in advance and made sure to plan out what you were going to say."

For instance. (I don't actually know if you planned your comment in advance, though it sounds like you'd been thinking about it -- or at least thinking about my column as "fanciful rambling" -- for awhile.)

Thinking strategically is a skill, in short, and that's what people mean when they say "work smarter."

Adults also benefit from having their efforts praised rather than their "smartness," yes. Effective management technique should include this rather than empty gold-starred "you're so smart!" -- though I would suspect that more often, bosses err on the side of not praising at all, rather than praising the wrong way.

Hope you've found some other columns since December that had substance and applied to your daily life, A.J. -- mine or anyone's -- and thanks for commenting.