Critical Skills

Welcome to the Critical Skills Blog, home to over a thousand human-generated articles—never AI—on topics that matter to continuous education. To find articles of interest, use the “Search” tab. Please feel free to comment, and please subscribe. All content on this site is free.

  • “Critical Skills” vs “Core Competencies”

    There IS a significant difference between the “Critical Skills” and “Core Competencies.” BusinessDirectory.com defines “Core Competencies” as follows: “A unique ability that a company acquires from its founders or develops and that cannot be easily imitated. Core competencies are what give a company one or more competitive advantages, in creating… More⇢

  • You Need the Critical Skills to Get Ahead and Stay There!

    In fact, everyone does! “Why?” you ask. Well, without them you might have some problems. You have limited ability to communicate your ideas. You have difficulty making things happen. You are not an effective contributor as a member of a team. You are unaware of the appropriate technology available to… More⇢

  • Teaching the SCANS Competencies

    In 1992, the US Department of Labor published the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report entitled “Learning for Living: A Blueprint for High Performance.” This report articulate the three SCANS “Foundation Skills” and the five SCANS “Competencies” that defined the know-how that students and workers need for workplace… More⇢

  • The “Continued Education” Skill

    The “Continued Education” skill is simply the ability to constantly learn new techniques, master changing technologies, keep up with changes in an industry, and the like. Perhaps it is not a “skill” per se, but actually a “discipline.” A good example is that of a woman who became an MD… More⇢

  • The “Time Management” Skill

    The “Time Management” skill is pretty simple in concept, but is often a struggle for all of us. The “Time Management” skill enables an individual to determine what tasks are most important and how to devote the appropriate amount of time to accomplish those tasks to a high level of… More⇢

  • The “Technology” Skill

    The “Technology” skill does NOT mean that you should be good at designing electronic circuit boards or anything that even resembles technical design or expertise. Instead, the “Technology” skill is simply an ability to SELECT the appropriate technology that is most efficient and useful to accomplish a specific task. For… More⇢

  • The “Interpersonal” Skill

    The “Interpersonal” skill is NOT how well you make new friends or get along with people in general. “Interpersonal – Teamwork” is the skill that enables you to demonstrate, through your interaction with others and your performance on the job, that you are a valued member of the team. It… More⇢

  • The “Analysis” Skill

    The “Analysis” skill is perhaps the toughest skill to master and, if you watch any particular news channel these days, is probably the skill that is most abused. In logical terms, it is simply “P implies Q” i.e., a hypothesis through a logical process will imply a conclusion. If the… More⇢

  • The “Information” Skill

    The “Information” skill is simply the ability to gather and sort relevant information pertaining to a particular problem to be solved or issue to be resolved. It is much like what a physician does when doing various tests to assist in a diagnosis of an individual’s illness, what an attorney… More⇢

Meet Your Host – Charles Cranston Jett

Charles Cranston Jett is an author, civic educator, and Professional Certified Coach based in Chicago. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (Class of 1964) and Harvard Business School, he served during the Cold War aboard the nuclear submarine USS Ray (SSN 653), where his tactical innovations helped inspire Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan character. He developed the Field Studies methodology to teach “Critical Skills” and was endorsed by the Department of Labor in 1994. He is the author of six books, including Super Nuke!, hosts three podcasts, and writes across his Critical Skills Blog and Civic Sage platforms on history, leadership, and the health of the American republic. He and his wife, Dr. Nancy Church, co-host the Chicago Salons at Water Tower Residences.