Success Secrets of Sherlock Holmes: Life Lessons From the Master Detective

Author:David Acord
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery, Non-Fiction
ISBN: 0399536981
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2011-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

SECRET 17

How to Be a Good Watson

I swear that another day shall not have passed before I have done all that man can do to reach the heart of the mystery. —WATSON, IN THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES We have just seen the important qualities to look for in a good long-term partner who can support your efforts. But what if you’re the prospective partner—in other words, what if you’re a Watson working for a Holmes? How can you leverage the relationship to not only help your Holmes succeed but also achieve your own goals as well?

Let’s go over a few more qualities you’ll need to become the perfect Watson: 1. Have a genuine interest in your partner’s work. You can’t be 1S supportive of someone else’s dreams if you don’t believe in R them or, worse yet, find them boring. Watson was in1L

2.

3. trigued by Holmes’s occupation, and he got a real thrill out

of helping him solve cases. Watson’s own medical back

ground also came in handy from time to time. Although

he wasn’t as devoted to crime solving as Holmes, it was

fulfilling enough to keep him coming back for more.

Don’t want what your partner has. If you’re the junior part

ner, so to speak, it helps if your goals are different from

the other person. If you want to be that other person—

have all of his or her talent and power—then your role as

a supportive partner is shaky to say the least. Jealousy can

begin to creep in to the relationship, and you might find

yourself subconsciously undermining your partner to

show that you, in fact, have what it takes to be Holmes.

The key is to want to succeed on your own terms and to

recognize the benefits of being the second-in-command:

What can you learn from your position that will help you

achieve your own unique goals?

Have other interests outside of your work. In other words,

have a life. Watson was married and had a successful med

ical practice. Whereas Holmes put all of his eggs in one

basket and combined his life with his work, Watson, as the

junior partner in the enterprise, maintained a healthy dis

tance. This stance—having one foot in the real world and 1S one foot in the adventurous world of Holmes—kept WatR

1L

SUCCESS SECRETS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES son grounded. He was able to play devil’s advocate and view Holmes’s theories through the prism of practicality and common sense.

4. Challenge your Holmes for the right reasons. One of Watson’s most admirable qualities was that he never grew envious and embittered over Holmes’s incredible talent. When he challenged one of Holmes’s assumptions or questioned his modus operandi, he did so out of a genuine sense of concern (or just plain curiosity), not ego. Like Holmes, Watson had an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

5. Use your talents to fill gaps in the partnership. If you want to succeed as a right-hand man, you will need to do an honest inventory—not only of your own skills and shortcomings but of your Holmes’s strengths and weaknesses, too. You probably already have a good idea of what you do well and not so well.

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