Living in More Than One World
I read like a fiend…books, magazines, newspapers and online. But The Technician Shop is not about me. As much as I’d like to shout out what I’ve read, for the most part I will not*. Technicians are inundated with information. Maybe more like bombarded. I am most sensitive to the time you have for personal development. So when I recommend a book or resource, it’s with this in mind. The books I do recommend will be bite sized and easy to read, or I’ll point to certain parts of a book that are relevant to you.
Today, I’m recommending the whole darn book. Living in More Than One World by Bruce Rosenstein. Bruce’s book is based upon the teachings of perhaps the greatest management teacher of all time, Peter Drucker. Living in More Than One World is all about you, not your manager (though it would be to him in his own sense).
Bruce’s book is centralized around what he calls a total life, which consists of family, friends, work, education, associates and affiliation groups. What caught my eye is how this philosophy parallels what I described in It’s All About You.
In an interview with Bruce, Peter Drucker described people who were satisfied and content as those who lived in more than one world. A quick view of the book’s chapters will provide more clarity:
- Designing your total life
- Developing your core competencies
- Creating your future
- Exercising your generosity
- Teaching and learning
- Launching your journey
Early on in the book you will note that Bruce writes this book for knowledge workers, a term that Drucker coined back in the 1950′s. Here is his definition:
People who work with what they know and can learn and who thus own and control their own means of production. Their knowledge is portable and not dependent on any particular employer or industry.
You might have heard that knowledge workers are white collar workers. They are, but technicians who are frequently described as blue 
collar workers, also fall into this class. Maybe even more so, as continuing education is almost mandatory for technicians who must engage their minds before they can engage their hands.
Living in More Than One World is an excellent, MUST read book! By the way, Bruce’s book is hot off the press. Recommend a copy to your coworkers and manager.
*I have read extensively on marketing, writing, design, management, personal branding and leadership and would be happy to recommend books, learn your point of view or trade information away from this forum if you’re interested.
Image by NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center
