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This is a column for the disgruntled. It s easy to get disheartened as we watch
colleagues sail through a three-hour presentation on no sleep after running a
marathon over the weekend and coaching their child s pre-school dance class
before work.
What s their secret?
Not wishing to sound bitter BBC Capital feels there may be a pattern here a
combination of advantages giving some people the competitive edge. We went to
question-and answer-site Quora to find out what its users believed to be the
biggest innate skill someone could have that provides an unfair advantage at
work.
Sleepless in
One of the most popular answers, receiving a staggering 2,000-plus votes, came
from Ivan Mazour, founder of Ometria, who simply wrote: Not needing a lot of
sleep.
This is a genuine and unfair advantage over others, he said, since it is
almost entirely genetic and not based around lifestyle or nutrition.
He added: Some people Margaret Thatcher, Napoleon were able to function
very effectively on just four hours of sleep, leaving them 20 hours in the day
to be productive. Others need eight hours just to feel normal and that is four
hours that they fall behind every single day, with no way of changing that.
What are you smiling about?
Sondra Webber, who works in marketing, wrote optimism as her pick for the
biggest unfair advantage. She said studies show optimistic people are more
successful, and happier, because they believe in themselves and more or less
make it happen.
Maybe it s not the caffeine
A baffled and frustrated Andy Warwick, who edits online learning materials for
the Sochi Olympic Games, picked energy.
He wrote: Some people have higher natural levels of energy than others, and
it's no coincidence that such people are often high achievers. Those of us who
are more laid-back or innately lethargic tend to progress more slowly.
He describes a friend who zips around as though he has an intravenous energy
drink drip permanently pumping him full of caffeine . The colleague checks off
tasks and attends meetings throughout which he is always alert and
contributing without a moment s rest. He often skips lunch, too. Myself, I get
exhausted just watching.
He wrote despairingly: I'm sure you all know people like this, those annoying
ones who need little sleep and have seemingly boundless physical and mental
energy. It's your co-worker who studies for [an advanced degree], plays in
weekend sports leagues, learns a language, reads a book a week and still has
time when they get home to cook, help the kids with the homework and work on
the car. I hate these people.
He wrote: They have the endurance to outlast everyone else and the energy and
focus to be more productive, thus they tend to advance more quickly through the
ranks.
Just like it happened yesterday
Software engineer, Tushar Mahule, picked memory as the most significant
unfair advantage. He wrote that a great memory can contribute to professional
excellence . A lot of that comes from experience, which eventually boils down
to remembering your mistakes and learning from them.
A good memory benefits your people skills significantly, he wrote, since this
enables you to recall tiny details about other people's lives. Bring up those
topics, inquire about them and you connect instantly! He also added
self-belief to the mix: Being able to recall your achievements, big or small,
in full H-D can do wonders to one's confidence at critical junctures.
And he also added efficiency: Just imagine being able to keep a track of all
the things that you want to do without recording them externally likes on a
paper. He wrote: Eventually, having a great memory can potentially lead to a
very satisfying and happy life.
Born lucky?
On a more serious note, and well worth considering after feasting on too much
food over the festive period, author, Aman Anand pointed out that a lot of
answers will relate directly to first world advantages.
He wrote: The answer is simple access to an ample supply of food. In 2010,
there were 925m people who were hungry and malnourished. He added: Why is
this unfair? Because it is well within the capabilities of global capitalism to
bring this figure down to zero.