Thursday, June 21, 2007
Go Put Your Strengths to Work: Six Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance
By Marcus Buckingham
In 2001, Marcus Buckingham’s, Now, Discover Your Strengths, stormed the shelves of bookstores far and wide, proclaiming a strengths-based revolution on its way to becoming an international bestseller. The book advertised the approach of leveraging strengths rather than fixing weaknesses. As part of Buckingham’s efforts to spark a strength-based revolution, everyone who purchased the book was given access to the Clifton Strengths Finder assessment in order to identify their dominant strength themes.
In the years since its release, two million people have taken the Clifton Strengths Finder. Yet, to Buckingham’s dismay, research has not shown any signs of a strength-based revolution. In fact, in the years since Now Discover Your Strengths, the percentage of employees who claim to regularly tap into their strengths has not increased at all—it remains a mere 17%.
In writing Go Put Your Strengths to Work, Buckingham hopes to transfer the intellectual popularity of strength-based living into actual practice. Whereas Now, Discover Your Strengths familiarized readers with a language to dialog about strengths, Go Put Your Strengths to Work gives readers action steps to apply their strengths day-to-day on the job.
In the second chapter of Go Put Your Strengths to Work, Buckingham walks readers through the important process of capturing, clarifying, and confirming their strengths. Sharing his own experiences, Buckingham helps readers to define, with specificity, the activities in which they feel the strongest. As part of the exercises within the chapter, readers are challenged to create “strength statements” to verbalize the precise nature of their strengths.
In Chapter Five, entitled “Speak Up,” Buckingham gives advice to readers on initiating strength-based conversations in the workplace. He offers tactful, non-threatening tactics whereby readers can effectively voice their strengths and weaknesses to managers or co-workers. The chapter is immensely beneficial for the person who has a firm self-awareness of strengths, but is uncertain how to express them within the confines of job responsibilities.
Buckingham invites buyers of his book not only to read about strengths, but also to participate in applying them. Go Put Your Strengths to Work is a highly interactive book complete with codes for downloading inspiring narrative videos (from the DVD, Trombone Player Wanted). Readers can also take an online survey to measure their level of strengths engagement. Inside the back cover of the book are journal pages designed to help readers capture the activities which significantly strengthen or weaken them.
Marcus Buckingham is easily one of the most influential authors in today’s business world. His latest book, Go Put Your Strengths to Work, is an impressive attempt to aid readers in applying their strengths on the job. Readers will find themselves the beneficiaries of carefully crafted tools which will lead them into their sweet spot at work.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
In 2001, Marcus Buckingham’s, Now, Discover Your Strengths, stormed the shelves of bookstores far and wide, proclaiming a strengths-based revolution on its way to becoming an international bestseller. The book advertised the approach of leveraging strengths rather than fixing weaknesses. As part of Buckingham’s efforts to spark a strength-based revolution, everyone who purchased the book was given access to the Clifton Strengths Finder assessment in order to identify their dominant strength themes.
In the years since its release, two million people have taken the Clifton Strengths Finder. Yet, to Buckingham’s dismay, research has not shown any signs of a strength-based revolution. In fact, in the years since Now Discover Your Strengths, the percentage of employees who claim to regularly tap into their strengths has not increased at all—it remains a mere 17%.
In writing Go Put Your Strengths to Work, Buckingham hopes to transfer the intellectual popularity of strength-based living into actual practice. Whereas Now, Discover Your Strengths familiarized readers with a language to dialog about strengths, Go Put Your Strengths to Work gives readers action steps to apply their strengths day-to-day on the job.
In the second chapter of Go Put Your Strengths to Work, Buckingham walks readers through the important process of capturing, clarifying, and confirming their strengths. Sharing his own experiences, Buckingham helps readers to define, with specificity, the activities in which they feel the strongest. As part of the exercises within the chapter, readers are challenged to create “strength statements” to verbalize the precise nature of their strengths.
In Chapter Five, entitled “Speak Up,” Buckingham gives advice to readers on initiating strength-based conversations in the workplace. He offers tactful, non-threatening tactics whereby readers can effectively voice their strengths and weaknesses to managers or co-workers. The chapter is immensely beneficial for the person who has a firm self-awareness of strengths, but is uncertain how to express them within the confines of job responsibilities.
Buckingham invites buyers of his book not only to read about strengths, but also to participate in applying them. Go Put Your Strengths to Work is a highly interactive book complete with codes for downloading inspiring narrative videos (from the DVD, Trombone Player Wanted). Readers can also take an online survey to measure their level of strengths engagement. Inside the back cover of the book are journal pages designed to help readers capture the activities which significantly strengthen or weaken them.
Marcus Buckingham is easily one of the most influential authors in today’s business world. His latest book, Go Put Your Strengths to Work, is an impressive attempt to aid readers in applying their strengths on the job. Readers will find themselves the beneficiaries of carefully crafted tools which will lead them into their sweet spot at work.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
THE TOUGHEST CHOICES A LEADER MUST MAKE
Americans crave the right to choose. We revere our autonomy. We don’t want to participate in a predetermined plot; we want to create our own future. We are the masters of our own destiny—the captain of our ship. No one else is allowed at the helm.
The entertainment industry bears out the American preference for individual choice. As far back as 1979, Bantam Books begin publishing its Choose Your Own Adventure series. No longer was a reader tyrannized by the will of the author. Instead, by making crucial decisions at pivotal plot points, the reader could shape the outcome of the story.
In the infancy of the video gaming industry, most games followed a fairly predictable “mission.” Players guided characters through a prearranged series of levels to overthrow a villain and rescue a princess. Through time, the landscape of the gaming industry has shifted to cater to the American love of choice. The highest-selling PC game of all time, The Sims allows gamers to design, define, and guide the lives of its characters. At the end of 2006, Nintendo introduced the Wii to the market. The highly integrated system allows users to bowl or play baseball by physically maneuvering the controllers. No longer are gamers required to direct on-screen characters—now, gamers are the characters.
Television has also not been ignorant of its audience’s desire to participate in programming. Whereas judges solely used to determine the outcome of contests, now the viewing audience can pick who wins and loses by text messaging their votes to the show. American Idol and Dancing with the Stars have become cultural phenomenon in large part because of their interactive format, which draws the viewer into the show’s outcome.
As resolute as Americans can be about exercising our right to choose, it’s amazing how little thought we devote in choosing the direction of our lives. An alarming percentage of us simply drift through life as captives of circumstance. We don’t select a purpose for our lives, we don’t bother about the legacy we leave, and we aren’t strategic about which activities will take up our time.
In a feature for GovLeaders.org, Roy Blunt talks about the three most important choices a leader faces in life: purpose, usage of time, and legacy.
The First Choice – Purpose
Blunt ranks purpose as the top choice a leader must make. Why are you here? What do you hope to accomplish during your lifetime? What is the mission statement of your life? Perhaps the most fundamental of all human choices, selecting purpose guides every area of a leader’s life.
The Second Choice - Time
In Blunt’s opinion, the second most important choice made by leaders is how they use their most precious resource—time. In the words of Annie Dillard, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Each person is handed an equal allotment of hours each day. Leaders leverage their hours. They recognize how much today matters, and they prioritize the activities on which to spend their valuable minutes.
The Third Choice - Legacy
Blunt lists legacy as the third essential choice made by a leader. He describes legacy as “where your energies take you at the end of each day.” Every person must choose what they are chasing in life. Is personal fame the goal? Philanthropy? Relationships with friends and family? Whether a person’s leadership is remembered as worthwhile or worthless depends greatly upon his or her chosen legacy.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
The entertainment industry bears out the American preference for individual choice. As far back as 1979, Bantam Books begin publishing its Choose Your Own Adventure series. No longer was a reader tyrannized by the will of the author. Instead, by making crucial decisions at pivotal plot points, the reader could shape the outcome of the story.
In the infancy of the video gaming industry, most games followed a fairly predictable “mission.” Players guided characters through a prearranged series of levels to overthrow a villain and rescue a princess. Through time, the landscape of the gaming industry has shifted to cater to the American love of choice. The highest-selling PC game of all time, The Sims allows gamers to design, define, and guide the lives of its characters. At the end of 2006, Nintendo introduced the Wii to the market. The highly integrated system allows users to bowl or play baseball by physically maneuvering the controllers. No longer are gamers required to direct on-screen characters—now, gamers are the characters.
Television has also not been ignorant of its audience’s desire to participate in programming. Whereas judges solely used to determine the outcome of contests, now the viewing audience can pick who wins and loses by text messaging their votes to the show. American Idol and Dancing with the Stars have become cultural phenomenon in large part because of their interactive format, which draws the viewer into the show’s outcome.
As resolute as Americans can be about exercising our right to choose, it’s amazing how little thought we devote in choosing the direction of our lives. An alarming percentage of us simply drift through life as captives of circumstance. We don’t select a purpose for our lives, we don’t bother about the legacy we leave, and we aren’t strategic about which activities will take up our time.
In a feature for GovLeaders.org, Roy Blunt talks about the three most important choices a leader faces in life: purpose, usage of time, and legacy.
The First Choice – Purpose
Blunt ranks purpose as the top choice a leader must make. Why are you here? What do you hope to accomplish during your lifetime? What is the mission statement of your life? Perhaps the most fundamental of all human choices, selecting purpose guides every area of a leader’s life.
The Second Choice - Time
In Blunt’s opinion, the second most important choice made by leaders is how they use their most precious resource—time. In the words of Annie Dillard, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Each person is handed an equal allotment of hours each day. Leaders leverage their hours. They recognize how much today matters, and they prioritize the activities on which to spend their valuable minutes.
The Third Choice - Legacy
Blunt lists legacy as the third essential choice made by a leader. He describes legacy as “where your energies take you at the end of each day.” Every person must choose what they are chasing in life. Is personal fame the goal? Philanthropy? Relationships with friends and family? Whether a person’s leadership is remembered as worthwhile or worthless depends greatly upon his or her chosen legacy.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
THE QUEST FOR IMPERFECTION
We are imperfect people leading imperfect lives in an imperfect world.
We see evidence of this imperfection everyday in the mirror: whether it’s a receding hairline, wrinkles on our face, or the five pounds we’ve wanted to lose.
We are reminded of this imperfection periodically on the roadways: we get a flat tire, our car breaks down, or we are rear-ended.
We are taught this imperfection occasionally by nature: a tsunami wrecks a village, a tornado tears apart a town, or a hurricane decimates a city.
Even though we experience imperfection and accept it all around us, we still fall victim to our own perfectionist streaks from time to time. In her column for Yahoo! Finance, Penelope Trunk spots the dangers of perfectionism and advises readers to break the perfection habit.
The Debilitating Drawbacks of Perfectionism
A Hypercritical Attitude
Perfectionists suffer from an almost neurotic adherence to absurdly high standards. They agonize over the simplest of details, and they are intolerant with the slightest of errors.
Even worse, perfectionists may impose their exacting standards on others. For persons reporting to a perfectionist, the inability to match their manager’s lofty expectations can be intensely frustrating. Sensing their work will be judged as too slow or too sloppy (no matter much effort they put in), workers may be tempted to quit trying.
Paralysis by Analysis
Perfectionists may freeze up in the face of a project because they refuse to start until they see a chance of attaining perfection. Endlessly deliberating, they neglect action. By over-thinking, they rob themselves of initiative, and they may begin procrastinating.
Fear of Failure
Perfections have an irrational fear of failing. Instead of taking healthy risks, perfectionists focus all of their energy on maintaining a veneer of flawless performance. They are apt to squander time minimizing or hiding imperfections rather than capitalizing on their strengths.
Insights on Attaining Imperfection
Discern between Essentials and Non-essentials
A typo on the front page headline of the New York Times—essential. A typo on the agenda of an internal team meeting—non-essential. For those with the perfectionist bent, a healthy balance comes by recognizing which tasks require top-notch excellence and which tasks simply need to
be completed adequately.
Cut Yourself (and Others) Some Slack
Mistakes are a natural part of life. Try as hard as we’d like, we still fail from time to time. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice gives us an outlet for mistakes, and mistakes teach us how to be better.
Embrace Uncertainty
Perfectionists are prone to delay decisions until every last piece of information has been gathered and scrutinized. For those paralyzed by perfectionism, progress comes by making room for uncertainty. Decisions will always be accompanied by a degree of the unknown, and, as such, it is vitally important for a leader to be comfortable taking action.
Perfection is a destination no one will ever reach. Excellence is a journey open to all. Strive to do your best, and realize the reality of imperfection.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
We see evidence of this imperfection everyday in the mirror: whether it’s a receding hairline, wrinkles on our face, or the five pounds we’ve wanted to lose.
We are reminded of this imperfection periodically on the roadways: we get a flat tire, our car breaks down, or we are rear-ended.
We are taught this imperfection occasionally by nature: a tsunami wrecks a village, a tornado tears apart a town, or a hurricane decimates a city.
Even though we experience imperfection and accept it all around us, we still fall victim to our own perfectionist streaks from time to time. In her column for Yahoo! Finance, Penelope Trunk spots the dangers of perfectionism and advises readers to break the perfection habit.
The Debilitating Drawbacks of Perfectionism
A Hypercritical Attitude
Perfectionists suffer from an almost neurotic adherence to absurdly high standards. They agonize over the simplest of details, and they are intolerant with the slightest of errors.
Even worse, perfectionists may impose their exacting standards on others. For persons reporting to a perfectionist, the inability to match their manager’s lofty expectations can be intensely frustrating. Sensing their work will be judged as too slow or too sloppy (no matter much effort they put in), workers may be tempted to quit trying.
Paralysis by Analysis
Perfectionists may freeze up in the face of a project because they refuse to start until they see a chance of attaining perfection. Endlessly deliberating, they neglect action. By over-thinking, they rob themselves of initiative, and they may begin procrastinating.
Fear of Failure
Perfections have an irrational fear of failing. Instead of taking healthy risks, perfectionists focus all of their energy on maintaining a veneer of flawless performance. They are apt to squander time minimizing or hiding imperfections rather than capitalizing on their strengths.
Insights on Attaining Imperfection
Discern between Essentials and Non-essentials
A typo on the front page headline of the New York Times—essential. A typo on the agenda of an internal team meeting—non-essential. For those with the perfectionist bent, a healthy balance comes by recognizing which tasks require top-notch excellence and which tasks simply need to
be completed adequately.
Cut Yourself (and Others) Some Slack
Mistakes are a natural part of life. Try as hard as we’d like, we still fail from time to time. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice gives us an outlet for mistakes, and mistakes teach us how to be better.
Embrace Uncertainty
Perfectionists are prone to delay decisions until every last piece of information has been gathered and scrutinized. For those paralyzed by perfectionism, progress comes by making room for uncertainty. Decisions will always be accompanied by a degree of the unknown, and, as such, it is vitally important for a leader to be comfortable taking action.
Perfection is a destination no one will ever reach. Excellence is a journey open to all. Strive to do your best, and realize the reality of imperfection.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
The "Big 5" Challenges in Life
By Dr. John C. Maxwell
Successful people do not have less challenging lives than those who do not succeed. In fact, they may go through even greater challenges. What causes the separation? Successful people respond to difficulties differently.
It’s easy to have a great attitude when things are going our way. Attitude doesn’t become the difference maker until challenges arise. In this edition of Leadership Wired, we’ll look at “The Big 5,” a list of the top challenges experienced by leaders, and we’ll discuss steps to develop an appropriate attitude toward each challenge.
THE BIG 5
1. Discouragement
Over the course of my life, I’ve discovered that every leader gets discouraged. Plans fail, dreams drift out of range, or goals suffer setbacks. However, not every leader responds to discouragement the same way. Attitude dictates whether a discouraged leader will give up or get up.
Dealing Effectively With Discouragement
(1) Get the Right Perspective.
Seldom are circumstances as bad as they feel in the darkest moments. Try to put hard times in the proper perspective by distancing from them emotionally.
(2) See the Right People.
Relationships either build us up or tear us down. Leaders surround themselves with encouragers who lend support and lift the load.
(3) Say the Right Words.
Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, says this in his excellent work, Spiritual Depression, Its Cause and Cure: “Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself.” Thoughts stream into our minds beyond our control. Instead of succumbing to whichever thoughts happen to pop into our heads, we can purposefully fix our minds on the positive.
2. Problems
Just as every leader gets discouraged, so every leader runs into problems. When facing problems, adjusting your attitude can be a precursor to adjusting your situation. Remember: change on the outside always follows the change on the inside.
Principles for Handling Problems
(1) Define What A Problem Is
A problem is something I can do something about. If I cannot do something about a situation, it is a fact of life, not a problem.
(2) Anticipate Problems
A problem anticipated may be an opportunity, but a problem not anticipated is a simply a problem.
(3) Embrace Each Problem as a Potential Opportunity.
Problems are wake-up calls for creativity. They sharpen us by testing our reasoning and drawing out our creative juices.
3. Change
Change is an unavoidable and often unwelcome part of life. Change pushes us away from comfort by refusing to let us settle. By constantly forcing us to adapt, change sparks growth in our lives.
Coming to Terms with Change
(1) Determine that Change Will Be an Ongoing Part of Life.Years ago, Alfred P. Sloan made the statement that the key to success in management does not lie in your ability to adjust to change; it lies in your ability to anticipate change. When we see change coming we can move along with it rather than being blindsided by it.
(2) Make a Commitment to Pay the Price for Change.Along the journey, a leader must make sacrifices to stay abreast of change. If change doesn’t cost you, it’s not real change.
(3) Decide What You Are Not Willing to Change.Leaders have a general openness to change, but they refuse to be swayed in their convictions such as faith, values, and family.
4. Fear
Fear has the ability to exaggerate itself and spread throughout our life. When fear grips us, we are frozen and incapable of action. Worrisome thoughts fill our mind with distractions, and we are powerless to be productive.
How to “Fix” Your Fears
(1) Discover the Foundation of Fear.
Fears are more often based on feelings than facts. To control fear, search for its underlying emotion. More often than not, you’ll find fear has no rational root.
(2) Accept Fear as the Price of Progress.
Whenever we venture into new territory, we are met with the fear of the unknown. We must be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and face the fear of the unfamiliar.
(3) Feed the Right Emotion, Starve the Wrong One.
Many times we cannot hope to avoid the emotion of fear. Despite our best efforts to have courage, fear settles into the pit of our stomach like a rock. We may never eliminate fear, but we can refuse to let it dominate. If we act according to hope and optimism, eventually our action will transform our emotions.
5. Failure
I have seen many leaders with self-sabotaging traits stemming from an unhealthy perspective toward failure.
Some leaders live with a nagging sense of impending failure. They don’t believe they are good enough to succeed, and sooner or later they fulfill their self-expectations of failure.
Other leaders refuse to take risks. By sticking to safe paths, they assure themselves of failing to have significant impact.
Still other leaders allow failures to derail them. They see failure as a personal indictment rather than a step in the ongoing process of their growth as a leader.
How to Profit From Failure
(1) Change Your Vocabulary.
Every good leader I’ve ever met has had the amazing ability to turn a setback into a springboard for greater effectiveness. In his book, Leaders on Leadership: Interviews with Top Executives, Warren Bennis interviewed 70 of our nation’s top performers in numerous fields. None of them used the word “failure” to describe their mistakes. Instead they referred to “learning experiences,” “tuition paid,” “detours” or “opportunities for growth.”
(2) Keep a Sense of Humor.
Give yourself margin to make mistakes. Laugh at your failures rather than languishing in them.
(3) Make Failure a Learning Experience
We should never walk away from failure empty-handed. Each failure comes with lessons attached, and we can learn invaluable principles from them.
The Big 5 Recap:
(1) Everybody Gets Discouraged
(2) Everybody Has Problems
(3) Everybody Resists Change
(4) Everybody Feels Fear
(5) Everybody Experiences Failure
Attitude, the difference maker, is the one thing that enables a leader to rise above these challenges.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
Successful people do not have less challenging lives than those who do not succeed. In fact, they may go through even greater challenges. What causes the separation? Successful people respond to difficulties differently.
It’s easy to have a great attitude when things are going our way. Attitude doesn’t become the difference maker until challenges arise. In this edition of Leadership Wired, we’ll look at “The Big 5,” a list of the top challenges experienced by leaders, and we’ll discuss steps to develop an appropriate attitude toward each challenge.
THE BIG 5
1. Discouragement
Over the course of my life, I’ve discovered that every leader gets discouraged. Plans fail, dreams drift out of range, or goals suffer setbacks. However, not every leader responds to discouragement the same way. Attitude dictates whether a discouraged leader will give up or get up.
Dealing Effectively With Discouragement
(1) Get the Right Perspective.
Seldom are circumstances as bad as they feel in the darkest moments. Try to put hard times in the proper perspective by distancing from them emotionally.
(2) See the Right People.
Relationships either build us up or tear us down. Leaders surround themselves with encouragers who lend support and lift the load.
(3) Say the Right Words.
Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, says this in his excellent work, Spiritual Depression, Its Cause and Cure: “Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself.” Thoughts stream into our minds beyond our control. Instead of succumbing to whichever thoughts happen to pop into our heads, we can purposefully fix our minds on the positive.
2. Problems
Just as every leader gets discouraged, so every leader runs into problems. When facing problems, adjusting your attitude can be a precursor to adjusting your situation. Remember: change on the outside always follows the change on the inside.
Principles for Handling Problems
(1) Define What A Problem Is
A problem is something I can do something about. If I cannot do something about a situation, it is a fact of life, not a problem.
(2) Anticipate Problems
A problem anticipated may be an opportunity, but a problem not anticipated is a simply a problem.
(3) Embrace Each Problem as a Potential Opportunity.
Problems are wake-up calls for creativity. They sharpen us by testing our reasoning and drawing out our creative juices.
3. Change
Change is an unavoidable and often unwelcome part of life. Change pushes us away from comfort by refusing to let us settle. By constantly forcing us to adapt, change sparks growth in our lives.
Coming to Terms with Change
(1) Determine that Change Will Be an Ongoing Part of Life.Years ago, Alfred P. Sloan made the statement that the key to success in management does not lie in your ability to adjust to change; it lies in your ability to anticipate change. When we see change coming we can move along with it rather than being blindsided by it.
(2) Make a Commitment to Pay the Price for Change.Along the journey, a leader must make sacrifices to stay abreast of change. If change doesn’t cost you, it’s not real change.
(3) Decide What You Are Not Willing to Change.Leaders have a general openness to change, but they refuse to be swayed in their convictions such as faith, values, and family.
4. Fear
Fear has the ability to exaggerate itself and spread throughout our life. When fear grips us, we are frozen and incapable of action. Worrisome thoughts fill our mind with distractions, and we are powerless to be productive.
How to “Fix” Your Fears
(1) Discover the Foundation of Fear.
Fears are more often based on feelings than facts. To control fear, search for its underlying emotion. More often than not, you’ll find fear has no rational root.
(2) Accept Fear as the Price of Progress.
Whenever we venture into new territory, we are met with the fear of the unknown. We must be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and face the fear of the unfamiliar.
(3) Feed the Right Emotion, Starve the Wrong One.
Many times we cannot hope to avoid the emotion of fear. Despite our best efforts to have courage, fear settles into the pit of our stomach like a rock. We may never eliminate fear, but we can refuse to let it dominate. If we act according to hope and optimism, eventually our action will transform our emotions.
5. Failure
I have seen many leaders with self-sabotaging traits stemming from an unhealthy perspective toward failure.
Some leaders live with a nagging sense of impending failure. They don’t believe they are good enough to succeed, and sooner or later they fulfill their self-expectations of failure.
Other leaders refuse to take risks. By sticking to safe paths, they assure themselves of failing to have significant impact.
Still other leaders allow failures to derail them. They see failure as a personal indictment rather than a step in the ongoing process of their growth as a leader.
How to Profit From Failure
(1) Change Your Vocabulary.
Every good leader I’ve ever met has had the amazing ability to turn a setback into a springboard for greater effectiveness. In his book, Leaders on Leadership: Interviews with Top Executives, Warren Bennis interviewed 70 of our nation’s top performers in numerous fields. None of them used the word “failure” to describe their mistakes. Instead they referred to “learning experiences,” “tuition paid,” “detours” or “opportunities for growth.”
(2) Keep a Sense of Humor.
Give yourself margin to make mistakes. Laugh at your failures rather than languishing in them.
(3) Make Failure a Learning Experience
We should never walk away from failure empty-handed. Each failure comes with lessons attached, and we can learn invaluable principles from them.
The Big 5 Recap:
(1) Everybody Gets Discouraged
(2) Everybody Has Problems
(3) Everybody Resists Change
(4) Everybody Feels Fear
(5) Everybody Experiences Failure
Attitude, the difference maker, is the one thing that enables a leader to rise above these challenges.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Lost in Translation
Berikut adalah sebuah cerita tentang bagaimana sebuah pesan dikomunikasikan secara hirarkis dalam sebuah perusahaan, dari Direktur hingga ke karyawan bawahan.
Dari: Direktur - Kepada: General Manager "Besok akan ada gerhana matahari total pada jam sembilan pagi. Ini adalah kejadian yang tak bisa kita lihat setiap hari. Untuk menyambut dan melihat peristiwa langka ini, seluruh karyawan diminta untuk berkumpul di lapangan dengan berpakaian rapi. Saya akan menjelaskan fenomena alam ini kepada mereka. Bila hari hujan, dan kita tidak bisa melihatnya dengan jelas, kita berkumpul di kantin saja."
Dari: General Manager - Kepada: Manager "Sesuai dengan perintah Direktur, besok pada jam sembilan pagi akan ada gerhana matahari total. Bila hari hujan, kita tidak bisa berkumpul di lapangan untuk melihatnya dengan berpakaian rapi. Dengan demikian, peristiwa hilangnya matahari ini akan dijelaskan oleh Direktur di kantin. Ini adalah kejadian yang tak bisa kita lihat setiap hari."
Dari: Manager - Kepada: Supervisor "Sesuai dengan perintah Direktur, besok kita akan mengikuti peristiwa hilangnya matahari di kantin pada jam sembilan pagi dengan berpakaian rapi. Direktur akan menjelaskan apakah besok akan hujan atau tidak. Ini adalah kejadian yang tak bisa kita lihat setiap hari."
Dari: Supervisor - Kepada: Koordinator "Jika besok turun hujan di kantin, kejadian yang tak bisa kita lihat setiap hari, Direktur, dengan berpakaian rapi, akan menghilang jam sembilan pagi."
Dari: Koordinator - Kepada: Semua Staff "Besok pagi, pada jam sembilan, Direktur akan menghilang. Sayang sekali, kita tidak bisa lagi melihatnya setiap hari.
Dari: Staff ke Staff "Memang dia lebih baik pergi..."
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
Dari: Direktur - Kepada: General Manager "Besok akan ada gerhana matahari total pada jam sembilan pagi. Ini adalah kejadian yang tak bisa kita lihat setiap hari. Untuk menyambut dan melihat peristiwa langka ini, seluruh karyawan diminta untuk berkumpul di lapangan dengan berpakaian rapi. Saya akan menjelaskan fenomena alam ini kepada mereka. Bila hari hujan, dan kita tidak bisa melihatnya dengan jelas, kita berkumpul di kantin saja."
Dari: General Manager - Kepada: Manager "Sesuai dengan perintah Direktur, besok pada jam sembilan pagi akan ada gerhana matahari total. Bila hari hujan, kita tidak bisa berkumpul di lapangan untuk melihatnya dengan berpakaian rapi. Dengan demikian, peristiwa hilangnya matahari ini akan dijelaskan oleh Direktur di kantin. Ini adalah kejadian yang tak bisa kita lihat setiap hari."
Dari: Manager - Kepada: Supervisor "Sesuai dengan perintah Direktur, besok kita akan mengikuti peristiwa hilangnya matahari di kantin pada jam sembilan pagi dengan berpakaian rapi. Direktur akan menjelaskan apakah besok akan hujan atau tidak. Ini adalah kejadian yang tak bisa kita lihat setiap hari."
Dari: Supervisor - Kepada: Koordinator "Jika besok turun hujan di kantin, kejadian yang tak bisa kita lihat setiap hari, Direktur, dengan berpakaian rapi, akan menghilang jam sembilan pagi."
Dari: Koordinator - Kepada: Semua Staff "Besok pagi, pada jam sembilan, Direktur akan menghilang. Sayang sekali, kita tidak bisa lagi melihatnya setiap hari.
Dari: Staff ke Staff "Memang dia lebih baik pergi..."
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
Feng Shui
Secret #4 - The Dining Room
The dining room should be centrally located in the home in order to ensure an abundance of good ch'i engergy. Food is important in keeping you healthy and happy.
Round, oval and octagonal tables are more beneficial than square or rectangular tables, as there are no sharp edges to seperate people.
If you have a square table, try to get one with rounded corners.
The dining room should be well lit, with pictures placed on the wall that are relaxing to look at and soothing to the nerves.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
The dining room should be centrally located in the home in order to ensure an abundance of good ch'i engergy. Food is important in keeping you healthy and happy.
Round, oval and octagonal tables are more beneficial than square or rectangular tables, as there are no sharp edges to seperate people.
If you have a square table, try to get one with rounded corners.
The dining room should be well lit, with pictures placed on the wall that are relaxing to look at and soothing to the nerves.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
Feng Shui
Here are just a FEW of the "26 Secrets" that are revealed:
Secret 1 - The Front Door - How to work with what you have!
Secret 2 - The Living Room - organize the room for maximum energy
Secret 3 - The Bedroom - increase your love and romance with this!
Secret 4 - The Dining Room
Secret 5 - The Kitchen - one of the most important!
Secret 6 - Bathrooms
Secret 7 - Watch Your Back! - Great Office Feng Shui Secret!
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
Secret 1 - The Front Door - How to work with what you have!
Secret 2 - The Living Room - organize the room for maximum energy
Secret 3 - The Bedroom - increase your love and romance with this!
Secret 4 - The Dining Room
Secret 5 - The Kitchen - one of the most important!
Secret 6 - Bathrooms
Secret 7 - Watch Your Back! - Great Office Feng Shui Secret!
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
Feng Shui
Secret #5 - The Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home according to feng shui. Food prepared here indicates the quality of life one lives, and stronly reflects wealth. And it all begins with the stove!
The Chinese believe the kitchen and the placement of the stove is critical to the accumulation of wealth. The placement of the stove in the kitchen can bring extreme good luck to the owner, ensuring wealth and abundance. The stove can also ensure for the owners, a place of high position in the business world.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home according to feng shui. Food prepared here indicates the quality of life one lives, and stronly reflects wealth. And it all begins with the stove!
The Chinese believe the kitchen and the placement of the stove is critical to the accumulation of wealth. The placement of the stove in the kitchen can bring extreme good luck to the owner, ensuring wealth and abundance. The stove can also ensure for the owners, a place of high position in the business world.
Any Comments or Inputs are welcome
Feng Shui
Feng Shui
Feng Shui
