Quotes#16

There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential."
-Rusty Berkus

Big Think Strategy

Bernd H. Schmitt argues that Business leaders need bold strategies to stay relevant and win. In "Big Think Strategy," the author explains ( based on some corporate examples) how one can bring bold thinking into current business by sourcing big ideas and executing them creatively.
According to Schmitt any leader can overcome institutionalized "small think"--the inertia, the narrow-mindedness, and the aversion to risk that block true innovation. A great Book from the Harvard Business School Press

Why is it that by presenting a new idea/challenge/project; people tend to see things from different perspectives? While some might search for the positive points in it looking at ( for example) new business opportunities , others will tend to search for roadblocks and for reasons not to go for it ? Is the glass half empty or half full? according to Wikipedia this is a common expression, used rhetorically to indicate that a particular situation could be a cause for optimism (half full), pessimism (half empty) or as a general litmus test simply determine if an individual is an optimist or a pessimist. The purpose of the question is to demonstrate that the situation may be seen in different ways depending on one's point of view and that there may be opportunity in the situation as well as trouble.

Quotes#15

A leader leads by example not by Force.

Sun Tzu

"I think it's very difficult to lead today when people are not really truly participating in the decision. You won't be able to attract and retain great people if they don't feel like they are part of the authorship of the strategy and the authorship of the really critical issues. If you don't give people an opportunity to really be engaged, they won't stay."
Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks

The Language of Business ...........Part 1

By negotiating with a Japanese counterpart some rules should be respected,… among others;… you should always be concerned that Your Japanese counterpart never looses his face; you can avoid this by, NOT; expressing sharp disagreement, embarrassing him, criticizing him in public or by showing disrespect. Causing loss of face can completely disrupt a promising business negotiation.Instead you should be committed to use polite forms of address and observing local customs and traditions, by acting like this you are effectively building a solid long-lasting Business relationship.If you make a mistake you may be able to save your face with a humble apology. And you can save the other party's face for example by allowing him a graceful exit from a difficult negotiating position.
Shouldn’t we also apply these rules as a universal rule in The Global Language of Business?
What do you think?

Let´s Brainstorm a bit of what is acknowledged as one of the most common Business killers: lack of focus.
With scarce resources to expend, heading to a specific, well-defined vision is critical for new companies. When entrepreneurs try to tackle too many problems or chase too many business opportunities at one time, they often end up with no trophy at All.
What do You think?

Assertiveness

A leader’s goal is to steer the direction of his or her company. By being assertive in delegating tasks to his subordinates without being too autocratic or threatening, assertive leaders will achieve high levels of confidence and respect among their followers.

According to Wikipedia, Assertiveness is a trait taught by many personal development experts and psychotherapists and the subject of many popular self-help books. It is linked to self-esteem and considered an important communication skill.
As a communication style and strategy, assertiveness is distinguished from aggression and passivity. How people deal with personal boundaries; their own and those of other people, helps to distinguish between these three concepts. Passive communicators do not defend their own personal boundaries and thus allow aggressive people to harm or otherwise unduly influence them. They are also typically not likely to risk trying to influence anyone else. Aggressive people do not respect the personal boundaries of others and thus are liable to harm others while trying to influence them. A person communicates assertively by not being afraid to speak his or her mind or trying to influence others, but doing so in a way that respects the personal boundaries of others. They are also willing to defend themselves against aggressive incursions.

By definition Assertive style of behavior is to express your own feelings in an honest and respectful way that does not insult people and to stand up for your rights while you know what you say is not the only valid truth. Being assertive is to one's benefit most of the time but it does not mean that one always gets what he/she wants. The result of being assertive is that 1) you feel good about yourself 2) other people know how to deal with you and there is nothing vague about dealing with you.
Assertiveness seems to be a key characteristic that describes a competent leader it can be also confused as overbearing or being pushy, but in general terms it is more clearly stated as the ability to pursue the path that seems the best for the organization/company.
What do You think ?

Charisma

Every Leader in the business world in his relentless quest to achieve significant success is obsessed with getting things done; effectively and efficiently. Those leaders want to be heard, seen, respected, and appreciated.
They are often willing to go more than the “usual” “extra mile” to reach the top of success. But often, in spite of all the efforts, success is still absent. Could the answer lie in the need to develop `Leadership Charisma’ ?
What do we exactly mean by Charisma ?
According to Wikipedia, The word charisma (from the Greek word χάρισμα (kharisma), "gift" or "divine favor," from kharizesthai, "to favor," from kharis, "favor": see also charism) refers to a rare trait found in certain human personalities usually including extreme charm and a 'magnetic' quality of personality and/or appearance along with innate and powerfully sophisticated personal communicability and persuasiveness. Though very difficult or even impossible to define accurately (due to a lack of widely accepted criteria in regard to the trait), charisma is often used to describe an (elusive, even undefinable) personality trait that often includes the seemingly 'supernatural' or uncanny ability to lead, charm, persuade, inspire, and/or influence people. It refers especially to a quality in certain people who easily draw the attention and admiration (or even hatred if the charisma is negative) of others due to a 'magnetic' quality of personality and/or appearance. Similar terms/phrases related to charisma include: grace, exuberance, equanimity, mystique, positive energy, joie de vivre, extreme charm, personal magnetism, personal appeal, "electricity," and allure, among many others. Usually many of these specific qualities must be present within a single individual for the person to be considered highly charismatic by the public and their peers.
Despite the strong emotions they so often induce in others, charismatic individuals generally project unusual calmness, confidence, assertiveness, dominance, authenticity, and focus, and almost always possess superb communication and/or oral skills. Although the etymology of the word ("divine gift") might suggest that charisma can't be acquired, and despite the persistent inability to accurately define or even fully understand the concept, it is believed that charisma can be taught and/or learned. Others disagree with this assertion and maintain that it is an inborn trait and that it cannot be learned, taught, or 'gained.'

The power of a solid vision…

The Spirit of St. Louis is the name of the airplane that Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic .In search of potential sponsors for that project Lindbergh was put in contact with the head of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, Harold Bixby. Meeting with Bixby, Lindbergh predicted great things for St. Louis if the city were to put its support behind such an historic flight. Painting a picture of St. Louis as an aviation hub, Lindbergh convinced Bixby to sponsor his flight. A budget of $15,000 was agreed upon.
http://www.charleslindbergh.com/

How to motivate employees ?

“Alignment of aims, purpose and values between staff, teams and organization is the most fundamental aspect of motivation. The better the alignment and personal association with organizational aims, the better the platform for motivation. Where people find it difficult to align and associate with the organizational aims, then most motivational ideas and activities will have a reduced level of success. Motivation is a complex area. It's different for each person. Motivational receptiveness and potential in everyone changes from day to day, from situation to situation. Get the alignment and values right, and motivational methods work better. Motivational methods of any sort will not work if people and organisation are not aligned. People are motivated towards something they can relate to and something they can believe in. Times have changed. People want more. You should view the following motivational methods and ideas as structures, activities and building blocks, to be used when you have a solid foundation in place. The foundation is a cohesive alignment of people's needs and values with the aims and purpose of the organization.”

Source: http://www.businessballs.com

Quotes # 14

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
This is a text extract of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, and delivered on June 12, 2005 at Stanford University

What is the impact of my performance in the overall picture?

Some Workplace surveys I had access to indicated that only a low percentage of inquiries (15-25% ) stated that the organizations these people work for had their organization's strategy well communicated, and everyone's work priorities aligned to support those strategies .I assume that a huge amount of performance being "managed" in the marketplace may not have a positive impact in the companies performance.
Are the goal-settings form the organizations aligned top –down ?
Are managers' goals linked to global strategy?
Is it not wiser to link all employees' goals ?
Does everybody in the organization understand why their personal goal matter to the organization?
Some more food for thought ?

Quotes # 13

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men; the other 999 follow women

"Groucho Marx"

Leading versus Managing ( Part 5)

" To improve our performance and achive our goals we need strong leaders:
people who can motivate their teams to achieve their objectives and deliver results.
We need managers who are accountable, agressive, adaptable, assertive, motivating and forward thinking, mature and international in their outlook. We call these qualities the leadership Imperatives and we recruit , appraise and develop our managers against them."

"Managing for value" Cadbury Schweppes

Quotes # 12

“Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others. “

Jonathan Winters

Shakleton´s Leadership Example

One of the biggest leadership lesson one can extract from Shackleton's experiences while his expedition ship, the Endurance, was trapped and then crushed in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea was the fact that during the 22-month Shackleton had to face changing circumstances and constant danger that enabled to bring the best in each of his crew member. Each contributed to the team's survival, starting with Captain Frank Worsley, whose exceptional navigation guided the men to Elephant and South Georgia Islands, carpenter Chippy McNeish, who tooke care of the lifeboats, cook Charles Green, who created meals day after day with scarce resources, Alexander Macklin and James McIlroy, two doctors, who saved steward Perce Blackborow from gangrene resulting from frostbite and ending in the second-in-command Frank Wild, who served as front man of the 21 men on Elephant Island after the departure of Shackleton for South Georgia. Twenty-eight ordinary-turned-extraordinary men, who survived nearly two years of unimaginable hardship at the end of the Earth, led by Shackleton's example and his ability to constantly ,under blistering conditions, boosting Team spirit and morale motivating and inspiring his crew to achieve their common objective the survival of All expedition members.

Quotes #11

“The fastest growth industry in the US will soon be continuous education of adults because everything happens and changes so fast” Peter F. Drucker

“Leaders should have self-confidence. They get comfortable in their own skin by being grounded emotionally, being supportive of others, and having had the freedom to fail.”

US. Army Colonel Thomas Matthews who led the Task Force Ranger mission in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 . Those events served as basis for the Film “ Black Hawk Down “ from Ridley Scott.

Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, and safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. – Sir Ernest Shackleston in a 1890 job ad description for his first Antarctic expedition.
Would this be motivation enough to apply currently for a job in today’s corporate world?

Persuasion

According to the Wikipdia :”Persuasion is a form of influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not only logical) means. It is a problem-solving strategy and relies on "appeals" rather than force.” If that is to be true than we are facing Leadership in his deepest roots. What do You think ?

WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.

http://www.worldchanging.com/about/

The WILL to improve.....(2)

This small and intense project-based class will involve a series of team efforts to “spread” positive behavior, which will be bolstered by exposure to and coaching from industry experts and academics. The projects will include spreading the adoption of Firefox web browser, learning and applying methods from hip-hop to fuel the spread of fads, and a capstone project on spreading financially responsible individual behavior. Project teams will be composed of master’s students from diverse disciplines including engineering, design, business, the behavioral sciences, and education.
Learning how to become a better design thinker will be a major focus of this course. Students will apply the “build to think” philosophy of the d.school and create prototypes of everything from viral marketing campaigns to entire businesses. While there will substantial helpings of theory delivered throughout the quarter, this is a course for people who want to get their hands dirty, to get out in the world and do things.

Source: Stanford University