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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Tae Kwon Do


One activity I currently do with my family is Tae Kwon Do, specifically focusing on life protection and not competitions.  I had to do Tae Kwon Do Testing this Tuesday to test for my orange belt which is the 3rd belt for my class.  During the test Renshi Dickey had us repeat the 5 tenents which are: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control and Indomitable Spirit.  These are the tenents we should live our life with. It's not just saying the word but rather practicing these tenents throughout our life.  These tenets are vital to becoming a successful business analyst as well.  Let's take the definition (all taken from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary) of each tenent and relate it back to why it is important to business analysis:
  1. Courtesy
a.    Meaning: Behavior marked by polished manners or respect for other
b.    Application: As business analysts there is a level of respect we are given and a level of respect we must give to all project partners we work with.  It’s important that we respect our stakeholder’s opinions and ensure they feel that they are heard.  This kind act will make your job as a business analyst easier.  It’s easy to get so caught up in the work and forget some of the fundamental things that are needed to ensure people feel respected and valued.
2.  Integrity
a.    Meaning: Firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values
b.    Application: Integrity is the moral fabric of who you are.  Without integrity what do you have.  Without integrity your credibility and character are questioned.  It’s EXTREMELY important as business analysts we are integrous.  No matter the situation, it’s important we don’t lose this because once this is lost it’s very hard to get it back.
3.    Perseverance
a.    Meaning: Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering
b.    Application:  I do believe every business analyst, whether you are new to business analysis or have in business analysis for a while, you know you have to persevere through all the challenges and difficulties that come toward you daily.  A lot of the business analyst I know are passionate about business analysis and that can help to drive your perseverance because when you do something you are passionate about it helps you to make it through the difficulties, failures and/or opposition.
4. Self Control
a.    Meaning: Restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires
b.    Application:  There are many a days have to restrain myself from saying what I really want to say on projects I am on because it could result in career suicide.  As business analyst we have to ensure we have self control.  We need to know which battles to fight and which ones not to fight.  This can be very difficult but we have to be very strategic in what we do as business analyst, considering there are many organizations out there that do not know how to effectively use business analysts.
5.    Indomitable Spirit
a.    Meaning: Incapable of being subdued : unconquerable, indomitable courage
b.    Application: In Tae Kwon Do this allows you to overcome your fears.  When you do testing it can be overwhelming and you may have fear because you don’t know what to expect but you know you have the courage to do because you are out there doing it.  The same thing with business analysis.  There have been times when I have went into meetings not knowing what to expect or not really feeling that I’m totally prepared due to the audience I will be in front of.  However, when I get into the element it always comes out better than I thought. That indomitable spirit (the courage) outweighs the fear.  As business analysts we need to have this trait.

So you make ask, how do you gain these things if you don’t already possess them? More blog posts to come on this. ;-)

Regards,
Paula Bell

4 comments:

  1. This, I like! Thanks for sharing, Paula! :-)

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  2. Not a problem Andy. I'm glad you like.

    Regards,
    Paula

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  3. Great parallel, Paula. I specifically like the "perseverance" tenet. I think its crucial to recognize this, since getting the required level of information from stakeholders is essential to get the critical mass for requirements definition; and pushing through all the hurdles requires a lot of hard work and patience.

    Looking forward to more in the series! :) Thanks for sharing.

    - Yamo

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