Leadership Quote

"Life is full of risks, but until you turn them into opportunities, they will always remain uncertain."

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Faith is the substance of hope (Part II)

The four areas that we talked about, self-discipline, vision, rectitude, and leave a legacy are essentially the body-mind-heart-spirit respectively.

Every human being has to have their needs fulfilled in at least one of these four areas. So,e when your bodily needs call to replenish food, it is how you exercise self-discipline to accept some food and reject others.

You get the point.

Having said that, very often these needs are also closely linked in such a way that we sometimes don't even notice it. For instance, when we are bombarded with ads about a certain brand, it creates a visual image that goes into our subconscious mind, where it evokes certain feelings in the heart, so that we will want (bodily) it.

In a corporate context, it could be that because the work you do (body) is purposeful (spirit) and hence it creates a good feeling (heart) that you want to apply your intellect (mind) wholly.

Therefore, these are the four areas where when they coalesce together form the substance of hope, and that is faith.

Faith is the substance of hope (Part I)

Have you ever been in a situation, where you were given a certain task that you have no previous experience in?

How did you overcome that? Did you give up and said you've done it before and hence don't even attempt it? Or did you find a way to accomplish the task despite the odds?

My personal experience was when I was task to make a presentation to a Chinese company, which is publicly listed in Singapore, about why they will need to engage a team of professionals who are trained in the management of relations with the investment community in the region. (We got the contract.)

My first immediate reaction was, "but I can't do it as I have never done it before!" The reply to my response was, "if you were hungry and there is a bowl of rice in front of you, the only thing is you can only eat it with a pair of chopsticks; and let's say you don't know how to use chopsticks, would you learn or walk away from the food?"

I believe we all have been in situations like this before, so do we find a way to get it done or do we walk away from it?

There could be times when we did get it done and there are also instances that we walk away from it all; for better or worse.

Some people may find it really absurd that if you have never had the experience, then how would you know what to do? There will also be some who says, when you believe it, you will see it.

Let's not get spiritual about it but look at it not based on intellect, logic, or reasoning but look at it from the marvels that the human brain can do. At least this way, we know that everyone can do it, provided they put their mind into it and not just merely dream about it.

Let's look at some examples that we can all relate to. For instance, sales people face situations where, either they are selling services or products, they will often have to deal with questions like what are their track record, success stories, if they are selling services.

When it comes to products, they will often need to leverage on the products' brand name. Simply because people trust brands that they are familiar with. Brands that deliver on their promises. Same with services, people want to trust that you, the sales person, can deliver on your promise.

I think, for most people, the toughest is for them to have confidence or trust themselves. We sometimes are not sure if we are up to the task, if we might screw up, if we might look like a fool. And that's why for some of us we gave up on a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, a singer, a veterinarian.

Hence, for situations like this, how do we have confidence in ourselves, even for tasks that we have no apparent previous experience in? How do we rise up to the occasion?

I believe that, if we want something so badly, whether it is to challenge ourselves or just to force ourselves out of our comfort zone, to achieve our dreams, to hope that we can do something worthwhile for ourselves and our family (or even mankind), we can do it. And at the cognitive level, we just need to have our brains see it. It may even defy logic and reasoning.

Did the Wright brothers defy logic and reasoning that man can fly? Did Edison defy logic and reasoning about light bulbs? They probably have one thing in common and that is imagination. As Einstein said, imagination is more important than knowledge. And he would know best, as if he didn't day-dream in class about how light travelled, we would not have E=MC2.

So, while we can imagine, visualize, day-dream; whatever you call it, we still need an element of hope that our dreams and vision can come true. And it is important to have a vision, for when there is no vision; the people perish.

And to be able to have hope and hold it in our minds till it becomes a reality, we need to know what is hope (positive) made up. I believe that faith is the substance of hope.

For when we have faith, our hopes and dreams can stay alive, and if our hopes and dreams can stay alive, then we can do something to work towards it and make it a reality. But how do you teach someone to have faith if they have never seen "faith" or does not have any idea how to "have faith"?

Faith can mean, in a context, having faith in your doctor, having faith in marriage, having faith in a friend, having faith in a product, having faith in the plan, having faith in a situation. But how can one have faith in themselves? Or how do you have others have faith in you, even when you do not have a track record or experience or a degree to your name?

I believe that faith comes from trustworthiness. In order words, before you can convince another to have faith in you, you must have faith in yourselves. You must, prove to yourself, that you can trust yourself, that you have confidence in yourself, that you believe in your own self that you can accomplish the task.

And in order to do that, you must have personal mastery, or mastery over oneself. The greatest enemy is within. You are your own client. You are your fiercest critic. Therefore, the four most important areas to work on are; self-discipline, vision, rectitude, and leave a legacy.

We will explore these four areas in our next discussion.

Experienced vs. New Ideas

Recent announcements by Obama have caught the attention of skeptics and advocates alike. Many of his economic committee and advisors are who's who in their field, lending extensive experience to the one-term senator who now has the most powerful job on earth (or is it still?).

Hence, the talk around town has been, "what ever happened to change?"

In the Wall Street Journal (Nov 26) article, "Obama works on economic plan; Volcker tapped for advisory role", Mr Obama was quoted as saying that "what we are going to do is combine experience with fresh thinking, but understand where the vision for change comes from, first and foremost. It comes from me."

You see, Hitler led an army in an attempt to wipe out the Jews, while Churchill led an army to liberate a nation. In order to achieve the aims of either man, a strong, competent, and dedicated force was needed. However the main difference lies in their vision.

Henceforth, in Obama's case, he needed a team that is strong, competent, and dedicated too. His team must have individuals who have the expertise to complete the task. The task where he envisaged, which is to change not only America, but also the world.

Seen in this context, what we can learn from is that, a leader must, first and foremost, have a vision that has good intentions. After which, you will then engage others in meaningful ways so that you can expand your circle of influence so that, while recognising others' strengths, expertise, and differences. In this way, you will then be able to lead them into the professional arena to collectively achieve the higher order goal.

So, with change at the back of his mind, and putting together a strong team, Obama will, and can succeed in this new economy.

Happy (Part II)

You may sum up that life is but about relationships. No man is an island and being social animals, we cannot survive in solitude. Neither can we be everything to everyone nor do we have all the skills, wisdom, or abilities to achieve everything. We all achieve our goals through others. We leverage, we seek synergies, we work in teams.

Therefore, at the interpersonal level, it is all about relationships. How we build, strengthen, and grow relationships are dependent on the same three elements at the personal level.

We need to observe the natural laws of "personal mastery" and they are self-discipline, rectitude, vision, and leave a legacy". At the interpersonal level, we have another four more components of empathetic listening, synergy, abundance, and leverage. And the conduit of these two sets of natural laws is "engaged".

As we, at the personal level, work from the inside-out, and by engaging others who share similar set of values, dreams, and purpose with us to also work from the inside-out; we achieve two things. One, we are able to engaged another person to also work from inside-out, and because we share similar sets of values, dreams, and purpose; we expand our circle of influence through those that we have engaged.

In a corporate context, the next two levels are evident. Of course, it can apply to the family, not for profit, community, and social context. In any organization, there will be a certain hierarchy where someone reports to someone else. And usually, that someone else is called a "manager" or its equivalent.

Sometimes people mistaken and say, a manager is one that manages people. Well, perhaps in the industrialized age, where workers are managed purely through 'external motivational' factors, such as rules and regulations (e-motivated away) and compensation and benefits (e-motivated towards).

If you still operate within those environment then you may need those external motivated factors. Or, if in your organization, where there are a lot of back-stabbing, politics, or distrust; then those external motivated factors are still needed.

However if you operate in an environment where people are highly valued for their contributions, their creativity and innovativeness, their passion, and their purpose in life, then those external motivated factors are not going to work. Having said that, in any corporate setting, there is a need for both external motivated away and towards factors. Thing is, deciding on what's the balance is indeed more of an art than a science.

Here, at the managerial level is where we talk about systems and processes. You see, every organization needs systems and processes to oil the very wheels that run the firm. Without systems and processes, the situation will be chaotic. Every does things according to their liking and preferences. Imagine, if a bank doesn't have systems and processes, you may get your check cleared in one day some of the time and have it cleared in three days at other times.

What happens here is that, you, the customer, begin to have doubts the next time you does any business transactions with the bank. We see this in some countries, where preferences are given to a select few, where they get their things done faster than others. One example would be in China, where people talk about guan-xi, where if you have it things get done. If you don't have it, then you may have to 'comply' with some customs to get your things through.

Imagine having to work in such an organization, you'd be wondering if you were passed up for that promotion was it because of your abilities or was it because your boss have his favourite. Of course even with systems and processes in place that can still happen. Which is why the last two levels are so critical, that even having systems in place does not guarantee an equitable treatment.

Therefore at this level it is where managers need to manage these systems so that they are effective in achieving the goals and objectives of the departments and organization. So the responsibilities of managers here is to ensure effectiveness through constant monitoring, assessment, and review.

With regards to reviews, we can talk about different levels of reviews; including program reviews, process reviews, and systems reviews. Program reviews will look at the particular program to see how effective it was. Process reviews will look at how the program can be carried out in a more effective and innovative manner, including looking at can we do the same with less.

Systems reviews are key as they look at the program in a larger context and the impact it has on overall goals. But before we can conduct a systemic review, alignment must be established. And that is what happens at the fourth-level, organization, where we look for alignment of systems to the overall goals, culture, and purpose of the organization.

How this can be established is where top management must ensure that every system, process, program, practice, policy, strategy, and structure must be aligned to the goals, culture, and purpose. In other words, if you want a culture of excellence in the pursuit of organization's goals, you must, as top management, ensure that those processes, strategies, etc are indeed encouraging, supporting, or acknowledging those desired behaviors.

Hence, in summary, from the personal level where everyone embarks on their journeys towards personal mastery so that at the interpersonal level they are able to engage each other in a way that is purposeful and given the systems that are effective in helping them achieve their goals, which in turn are aligned to the purpose, culture, and goals of the organization; can this be a happy, sustainable, and great organization.

Live by the sword, die by the sword

I've been plagued by this thought that you've gotta be successful before you have the 'right' to talk about success.

Well, I've thought about it and am approaching it from a different point of view.

Sometime back, as I listened to Tony Robbins' Lesson in Mastery, he mentioned about conducting yourself as if you are already a public figure.

I think he has a valid point. His rationale for saying that is, if you conduct yourself as if you're already a public figure, then you would always be consistent with what you say you are. In short, walk the talk.

As I blog regularly about issues, opinions, and my perspectives; some people come to expect that my behaviors are consistent with what I write.

In a sense, there is added pressure as you would want be consistent with what you write. Meaning to say, we will practice what we preach.

There are some who doubt what people like Robbins teaches, or whether Obama will be the man that he says he is. Or they might say that Covey is more authentic as he does not claim to be perfect.

I think in a way, we are not being fair, by expecting someone who says one thing but does another. We are all humans and humans err. No doubt. I believe that while we blog about issues like what I discuss, we are, by no means perfect or always doing the right things.

Granted, if I blog about "engaged mastery" but consistently do not demonstrate in the way I behave, then it is only fair to say that I do not practice what I preach.

However, if under certain circumstances I slip and do not behave in the way that I say I would, though in most cases I am consistent, then I firmly believe that I should be given some leeway.

Don't get me wrong, I am not finding excuses to give myself an exit clause. What we are talking about is being consistent.

You see, if someone slips from time to time, we ought not be too quick to judge. However if that someone deviate most of the time, then judgement is deemed fair.

There were times when people come up to me and say, you did not do what you said you would do. Yes, I acknowledge it. My sense is, as long as I am aware of it, and am looking at how I can do better the next time, I don't see what's the fuss. However if I deny and say that my actions were justified, while at the same time refusing to make improvements then I think I deserve the boot.

In a sense, it is like all public figures. Everyone is out to catch them with their hands in the cookie jar. Or people who are too quick to judge. Is it fair? Are we out to 'catch' them? Or should we give them the due respect?

I believe it this way.

We who dared to make a commitment publicly should be given a chance. We lay our claims about how or what we should do. Having said that, we should be taken to task should we consistently fail to deliver.

How does one get stronger, mind or character? It is during this testing times. Under normal circumstances, or in a non-challenged environment of course we are able to live by our values. It is easy. But it is when trying times happen that's when if we stick to our guns and still choose to live by those values, that's when our character gets stronger. Yes, we may waiver under pressure too, but we must then have the guts to admit our mistakes and move on.

I think, when we have made a commitment to live by a certain set of values; when we come under attack and still chose to live by those values, we emerge stronger in our character. That's what building character is all about.

But if we slipped, we must then also be open about it and readily admit our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, say how we will do it differently in future, and move on.

And for those of us who might be too quick to judge, let us be a little more kind and be prepared to give others another chance.

So it is two-way.

Besides, with the internet this is how we can either succeed in a big way or fail miserably. Because netizens would be quick, and merciless in making their judgements about us. Hence, it gives us a chance to work on our character and emerge stronger.

Finally as a parting shot, I appreciate and owe a great deal of gratitude to all those who gave me this opportunity to strengthen my character. Thank you...

Happy

How can your organization become one that is happy, where your customers; stakeholders; shareholders; partners; suppliers; and staff are happy?

Some people, including myself, believe that "happiness" is a state of mind. Indeed!

As we phrase the question as "being", not "having". It is because we believe in the "be-do-have" paradigm, so we must first BE happy, so that we are happy DOING what we're doing, which then lead us to HAVE happy outcomes.

Notice we said outcomes and not results, as the latter might give others the notion that it must only be positive results. It is not necessary as it can be not so positive results but yet we are happy with it as we know that we have done our best.

Of course that is not to say that, being happy means even accepting not so positive results. Quite the contrary, as because we are happy, we will evaluate the outcomes, including the process that leads to these outcomes, and look at the positive side of things by asking ourselves what we can learn from the process itself. That is of course about our attitude as well.

Sure, we can go on about the state of mind and the "be-do-have" paradigm but it may not allow someone else, who is not happy concrete steps to work towards happiness.

I believe there are four critical levels that need to be worked on so that we can be happy. Starting at the bottom of the four levels is "personal". If at the personal level, people are not happy then we might as well forget about a happy organization.

Hence, at the personal level how does one work on happiness? I believe it is to do with personal mastery. As we can have an elaborated discussion about personal mastery, here, allow me to offer you the broad steps in personal mastery. In a nutshell, the way, I believe, that one can work on personal mastery is to acknowledge three fundamental concepts; i.e. circle of influence, working from the inside-out, and natural laws.

In our previous discussion we talked about natural laws as laws or rules that operate in the environment regardless of whether you acknowledge it or not. Working from the inside-out is the T.E.A.M. approach, where we focus on our mindset, attitude, efforts, and targets. And finally, the circle of influence will allow you to focus on what you have influence on rather than what you do not have influence on.

Once we have embarked on our journey towards personal mastery then we can move on to the next level. (Note, one never quite arrive at achieving personal mastery as it is a life-long journey without a finishing line) At the next level, which is "interpersonal", our focus is on "engaged mastery".

Roots and Fruits

I think using the tree as a metaphor for values and behaviors is an excellent one. This was previously illustrated by Stephen M.R. Covey in his book, "The Speed of Trust".

When we talk about "values" and "behaviors", the link here is that values must be translated into behaviors. The reason is because, values are like the roots of a tree. You cannot see the roots of a tree, unless of course you unearth it, as it is underground. Just like values, you cannot tell just by looking at a person what his values are. And if someone tells you he can be trusted, where trust being a value, you are not able to make out whether what he is saying is the truth. Of course you can give him the benefit of the doubt. But what you can observe are his behaviors.

If someone tells you he can be trusted, what might be some of the behaviors that you must see in order for you to trust him? These behaviors must be consistent with "trust". Of course our interpretations might differ, but fundamentally, if trust is a value, you might expect the person to tell the truth about his background. Or you might expect the person to exhibit behaviors such as being dependable, returning a call when he says he will, being on time when an appointment is made, etc.

And of course, the person could slip on one or two occasions, and we might even overlook those instances.

At times, the person may even want to be consistent with a value that he wants to uphold. Like, if an ex-convict tells you that he can be trusted. Do we give him the opportunity to prove himself or do we deny him the chance?

This is where the tree analogy becomes interesting. Say, when you see a tree now, do you think that the tree was there all along? Or did it grew out of seeds? Of course it does. So, when we plant the seeds today, we will also need to take several steps forward so that it can blossom into a tree, and possibly one that bears fruit. So, what are the steps we can take?

We'll need to water the seeds everyday. Possibly add fertilizers. Loosen the soil once in a while. Clear the weeds around the plant. In other words, before we can see the tree, we need to take the necessary steps to nurture it, care for it, give it attention, make sure it gets enough sunlight. Because if we don't, if we neglect it, if we throw coffee in the soil, then not only we will not see the tree, the seeds might not even grow.

Hence, the one thing we must understand is that, the tree is subjected to what we call, natural laws. These natural laws must be observed. We must learn of these natural laws in order for our tree to grow. Say, for instance, we ignore just one of these natural laws. Sunlight. We keep the seeds indoors, while we continue to water it, give it fertilizers; do you think the tree will have any chances of survival? Absolutely not!

Hence, values being the roots, need to be cultivated. It needs to be nurtured. It also needs the right environment to flourish. Especially when it is a value that one has just began to embrace it. It will need to observe the equivalent of the natural laws to blossom into fruits.

Of course, one great way of looking at values and behaviors is to use the logical levels of change first introduced by Gregory Bateson. Some people believe that it is the environment that shapes their behaviors. But of course, we all would have experiences that shows us given the same environment or situation, two people can behave differently.

So, if environment is quite the factor that causes us to behave in a particular way, then what is?

Some believe that it is capabilities that determine our behavior. While it is true in some instances, like unless you have the capability to know how to swim, your behavior in a pool will be very different from someone else who doesn't know how to swim.

However one can also think of a capability that we all have in common. That capability is to murder another person. But why we don't do it, I hope, is because we believe that it is wrong to take another man's life. So how we behave is also a function of our beliefs and values.

And where do beliefs and values come from? They come from our experiences, educational background, upbringing, the company we keep, for instance. And all those aforementioned will form our mindset or identity.

Therefore, if you take the advice of Stephen Covey's Habit 1: Be Proactive, you will work on behaviors if you want to make minor changes. But if you'd like to make a quantum leap, work on mindset. Work on your identity. Because once you are able to shift your mindset, you see a new you, the behavioral changes will happen. Therefore working from inside-out, will require you to start with your mindset, your identity.

And just like the tree that observe natural laws, when you do make that shift in terms of mindset, you will also need to observe the natural laws here.

And the natural laws here are similar to those as the tree. You'll need to work on it everyday. Give it the attention everyday. You will need to constantly remind yourself of the behaviors that are consistent with this new identity. In short, it doesn't happen over night. And unless sufficient attention is given to it, it too will die. And you might revert to the old ways. And then people will see that your behaviors are not consistent with your stated values, and hence you will lose the trust that others see in you.

So, in order to get the fruits (behaviors) that we want, we must have the right roots (values), while observing the natural laws that operate in this environment.

Elements of a Winning Strategy for Obama

After studying the Obama presidential campaign, we began to draw several key learning points that led to his successful bid.

Here, we will discuss the three fundamental important elements that have created a winning strategy that is based on Mr Obama's campaign.

One of the most talked about is his choice of the theme for his campaign; change. Mr Obama's campaign was not just about gathering more votes or just winning the bid for presidency, its about change; and that change is not just for America, but it is to change the world together.

It is not only bold and ambitious, but it is also the fact that even with less experience, money, and a funny name, he talked about the Audacity of Hope that these changes can bring.

In a word, it is BIG. And because of the size of his hope, it created synergy, he is able to excite others, gives them the energy and motivation, and of course the inspiration that this hope will bring.

In addition, he understands the MINDSET of the people better than his opponent, to be able to see things from their perspectives; to be able to relate with the Maytag workers being laid off, with the emotions of those families who have loved ones, like Shamus, serving the country, with the father who wonders how he can afford to pay for prescription drugs for his son now that he is unemployed.

And that he is able to promote his ideals as being WORTHWHILE to the cause of the Nation, to be able to align the outcomes to the core beliefs of the people; that no one wants their tax dollars to be wasted on fighting someone else's war. And more importantly, it is also about the changes that will allow more people to realise the American Dream. Often citing himself as an example.

Henceforth, in sum, these are the key points again. To begin, you must have a main message. What is the essence of your message?

Next, your main message must be BIG, so that it can allow as many people as possible to participate. Then, in order to communicate your main message clearly and effectively, you will need to understand the MINDSET of the people you are talking to. So that you can present your main message in a manner that is WORTHWHILE to them.

Now, I encourage you to reflect on these key points (or you can remember it as BMW) and see how it may apply to you in the three areas of your life; personal (self), people (relationship with others), and professional (in your working environment).

Please do write to me (leadership@tanmelvyn.com) so that we can share our thoughts on this subject.

Is he the next Obama?

He has established himself as an entrepreneur, speaker, author, scholar, and community servant.

A "serial entrepreneur", he also previously launched four socially responsible business ventures.

First, selling compact discs and cassette tapes out of his dormitory in college and using the proceeds to fund high school outreach activities, where it later evolved into his second venture; a firm committed to providing the highest caliber training and development for emerging and seasoned professionals.

Third, he co-founded a multi-disciplinary consulting firm that specialized in the unique needs of inner city communities. And fourth, an organization with a mission to ensure that affordable housing was equipped for the 21st century by implementing innovative, sustainable, broadband network and telecommunications solutions.

A sought after public speaker for corporate, youth and community groups, he has been featured on nationally televised programs such as The Today Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, and CNN, as well as featured in Parade magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe.

He holds five academic degrees including the last, where he made history as the first African-American ever to receive a Rhodes Scholarship at Rutgers University.

He is also a published writer and academic scholar, where he is currently co-authoring a book with his Rutgers roommate and business partner, tentatively entitled, Black Faces in White Places, which chronicles their experiences as African Americans who have successfully navigagted predominantly white institutions.

He maintains an active involvement in community service and is a national spokesperson for Autism Speaks, the National Black MBA Association (Gold Key Access events), New Jersey Reads ("Change a Life Through Literacy" campaign) and Junior Achievement of New York (Groundhog Job Shadow Day program).

And, of course, he is the winner of the Apprentice Season 4.

His name?

Dr. Randal Pinkett.

Key Lessons on "Change Management" from Barack Obama

Given the results of the recent U.S. presidential elections, leaders of organizations (both private and public) can draw three key lessons from the President-elect Mr Obama's election campaign about change management.

We've all heard the phase, "people are resistant to changes". The converse is true, on the contrary. People DO NOT resist changes. They resist the uncertainty that changes bring about. People know that some changes are good. But what they fear are the uncertainties.

So, the three key lessons that one can learn from Mr Obama are: clear communications about these changes, the plans behind how these changes will unfold, and how each individual are involved in making these changes happen.

But before we discuss in detailed about these three key lessons, let's examine the underlying systems and structures that must be in place. To bring about successful change management, the organization's existing systems & structures and processes & policies must be re-examined.

Henceforth, the systems & structures and processes & policies must support and/or reinforce the outcomes of these changes. For instance, if you want more cooperation amongst your staff, you will need to identify current systems & structures and processes & policies that do not support or worse, run counter to cooperation. If you want more creativity than the systems & structures and processes & policies must allow for creative efforts to exist, if not flourish.

This is only, but at one level. And this level is what most consultants or corporate management experts will recommend. We offer another level, where the key lessons are drawn from the successful campaign for presidency by Mr Obama.

The level that we've discussed above is an "external" level. Meaning, at the organizational level, these systems & structures and processes & policies can do to reinforce, support, acknowledge, and encourage the behaviors that bring about the desired outcomes of the "change". However, though external factors can succeed, it can also be implemented but staff still feel disengaged or worse, disenfranchised.

This is where the internal factors become so critical that, we believe, even if those external factors are not present, with a strong internal desire for this "change", "change" can still happen. These internal factors address the very issue of "people resist changes" directly and effectively.

First, "changes" must be communicated clearly to staff. As changes often, though not always, require a shift in mindset, it must be communicated in such a way that it creates a vivid picture of the outcomes for the staff. People need to know what will these changes bring about, what are the benefits and what might be the pitfalls.

As long as the benefits outweigh the pitfalls, as well as the current situation, people are gonna want in. Mr Obama made it clear that with him as the Commander-in-Chief, he will work to bring about the changes, that will not only benefit the people but will bring the people out of this current mess.

So, one of the best ways to communicate such changes, spell out the plans ahead, and give examples of how each individual can be involved is to use a technique that Walt Disney had employed when creating his famous Mickey Mouse cartoons. That technique has allowed the Walt Disney Company to capture the imagination of millions of people over many generations.

The technique that we are talking about is the "story-boarding" technique. The "story-board" technique allows you to build up the "story" from where we are currently to where we want to be. Masterful usage of this technique has allowed its users to build their stories to a climax, where the listeners become totally inspired, as in the case of Mr Obama. Essentially, it progressively shows how we, as an organization, can do this together.

There is a six-step process that you can follow to help you design your own "story" in communicating the "changes", which you want to bring about. Let's examine these steps in greater details in our next discussion.

*Note: Of course there are some leaders who do this at a subconscious level, meaning they do it without knowing that the principles are essentially that of the "story-board" technique. Thing is, if it is subconscious then the ability to re-create the same desirable outcomes then become opportunistic.

The Hardest Part (Chapter 2)

So, how do we get to motivate our folks at work, so that they can become self-motivated? Ideal situation is when they do not need supervision, instead they need directions, they need resources, they need supporting structures and systems to help them do their work. In other words, you/me as the manager/leader just do that and get out of the way.

I believe it all comes down to four areas; namely body, mind, heart, and spirit. You see, until we know that someone else is engaging us in all four areas, we'll never really feel appreciated. We can be paid a huge sum of money, but our opinion is not wanted, our passion is not needed, and we are asked to 'dig a hole, then fill it'. How's that for motivation?

So, how exactly do we engage another in the body, mind, heart, and spirit realms? When it comes to body and mind, these two can be external motivational factors. Recognition for their contributions, rewards, benefits, and compensation; these are all external motivational factors. Rules and regulations, policies to abide by, adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) are also external motivational factors. If you've been following our discussion, you would quickly point out that the first group of external motivational factors are "towards", while the second group are "away".

So, for internal motivational factors, these are more to do with identifying the heart and spirit realms. Heart will include their passion, their conscience, their feel good factors, their feel bad factors. For instance, John C Maxwell preached about giving someone a reputation to keep. That is like saying, "well, I know that you are a responsible person, and you will do this to the best of your ability; won't you?" of course you've got to mean it. Don't use it as an emotional blackmail apparatus or it will backfire faster than you can spell "emotions". So, if you mean it, the person will definitely do his best. Because he is internally motivated away from being irresponsible or internally motivated towards being responsible.

Whether it is away or towards, it all depends on the individual. For someone it can be motivated towards, while for another it can be motivated away.

Finally on the issue of 'spirit', I don't mean it in the religious manner. It is more of the purpose of the person. For instance, when working with schools and teachers, we always link it back to the very reason why they came into this profession. Once we are able to help them link whatever they are doing to this particular reason, and here we are assuming they do it for benevolent reasons, it almost always lead to a more meaningful outcome.

Now, don't you want to know that whatever you do, your deeds are viewed as a force for good? Don't we all want to leave a legacy behind where our offsprings and generations after us will and can benefit from it? If you want that, so do your co-workers, your supervisees, your business partners, your associates, your parents, your children, your spouse, and everyone else.

The Hardest Part (Chapter 1)

You know, for some people, they'd always see the negative aspects of things. Even if the situation is a good one, they'll almost able to find faults with it. Then, there are those that no matter what happens, they'll always be optimistic about it, be it good or bad.

One way to tell which type they are is to listen to their language patterns. Some clues include, "looking on the brighter side of things", "happy problem (whatever that means)", am sure you can think of some more.

Anyways, we're not saying which type is better, as both has their good points and their bad points (talking about the two types, there's the third that are both; where President Truman asked for a one-arm economist). How so? Well, for a start, in certain situations we want to be able to uphold some principles we hold dear, while in others, we'd rather move away from those principles.

While it seems obvious, it is not always so. For instance some people might want to be rich (externally motivated towards) but don't do a thing because it is in conflict with their internal motivation factors like having to work hard so as to become rich, where that is in conflict with an internal value of wanting to spend time with family and friends.

As such, these people struggle all their lives (until they find a solution) and yet lose both; wealth and family. Sad huh? Well, what's worse is their need to find a solution (or compromise) to their issue. It is a dilemma that they need to overcome. Want this, but cannot afford to lose that.

Talk about hardest part.

Motivation - Towards or Away? Internal or External?

For most of us who are in a managerial position (or even as a parent), there is a common question on our minds. How do we motivate our staff (or children)? Of course there are some individuals who are self motivated. They will do the work to the best of their abilities, whether with or without supervision. However, this group is small. And because of them being self motivated, this group will rise above the crowd and usually become very influential in their field.

Hence, the question begs, how do we get the vast majority of people in your organization to be like this small group? I believe before we go out and start putting in place checks and measures or change our compensation and benefits systems, we need to first understand how it works, motivation that is, on people.

If we were to categorize motivation, I suggest looking at it from four-quadrants. If you take a piece of paper and draw a big box and further divide that big box into four smaller boxes, you would name quadrant one (top left hand corner box): (external - away); quadrant two (top right hand corner box): (external - towards); quadrant three (lower left hand corner box): (internal - away); and quadrant four (lower right hand corner box): (internal - towards).

Now, let us examine each quadrant. For quadrant one - externally motivated away, it would be situations where one is afraid of external forces from happening and hence wants to avoid it. It could be, one is afraid that he might be fired if he fails to perform at work and hence does his best to avoid that from happening.

Quadrant two - externally motivated towards, it could be situations such as one is motivated by that promotion and hence does his best to gain that promotion.

Quadrant three - internally motivated away, could be when one believes that he should perform to the best of his ability or otherwise they may see themselves as irresponsible people and because they do not want to be associated with being such, hence they will do their work to the best of their abilities.

Quadrant four - internally motivated towards is where one believes that he is a responsible person and hence wants to live up to their identity so, they will do their work to the best of their abilities.

Now, the time is some people believe that being motivated away is not good, whether internally or externally, because once they found out that, for instance, as long as they do their best (whatever their best may be and that in itself is subjective) they will never call themselves irresponsible (internally) or that they know that they cannot be fired no matter what they do (externally), they will continue into their current state. While that is true in itself, as an organization we will have to organise our resources in such a way that it will deliver the desired results.

That is why, in any organization (good ones that is), there will be rules and regulations (external - motivated away) and rewards and recognition schemes (external - motivated towards). Hence, the organization is creating an environment that either supports, encourages, or acknowledges these desired behaviors or it will have policies that govern how individuals should behave or suffer the consequences.

However, while these systems and processes are good, there cannot be too many rules and regulations or it will be too stifling an environment nor can it be too relaxed where everyone gets away with anything. Alternatively, there cannot be an ever increasing numbers of reward schemes or recognition platforms as it is not sustainable.

Hence, designing such systems and processes is not only an art, not a science; it should also be formulated in such a way that people find it too stifling or too relaxed.

Therefore the solution is to really identify the internally motivational sources of each individual and work with them accordingly. This will be the topic for our next discussion.

Change - We Need It

Many decades from now, we will be discussing at the dinner table, about these chain of events that we are witnessing right now.

Let's face it, the world is currently going through a systemic change that have caught some of us by surprise. We might not have anticipated the collapse of Lehman Brothers, or the successful bid for presidency by Barack Obama, or that Lewis Hamilton will be the youngest black driver to emerge an F1 champion.

Sometime back, if you were to ask me what is a constant, I would have responded "change", like everybody else. Well, for a fact, I have always subscribed to that point of view that while change is necessary, it should not be change for change sake.

Change, can however be stressful for many people, as change is something that is out of our circle of influence. Of course when we try to control something that is outside our circle of influence it inevitably cause us stress. If in doubt, try controlling your teenage children. Certainly you can try, using threats, bribes, or even your authority; you may win the battle but lose the war. In other words, you may succeed in getting them to do what you want, but that relationship is strained. Same goes for supervisor-supervisee relationships.

Change, can also be fun, exciting, and even rewarding for others. That happens when they choose, rightfully, to control their own attitudes and actions towards change. In other words, they choose to embrace the changes and respond to that, based on their Triple A approach; attitudes, abilities, and actions. However, even for this group of individuals they are only responding to the changes, or in a word, reactive. They watch things happen and then choose their Triple A approach and respond to it.

How one can really benefit from change is to first accept the fact that change is a constant, change is here to stay, and change will be a part of our lives. Following that, one can also anticipate the change; then choose your Triple A approach to it.

Finally, there is also a small group of individuals who not only anticipate, but 'make' 'change' happen. For this small group change can be really rewarding, not necessarily only financially but also rewarding in terms of relationships, achievements, emotionally, and spiritually.

How can you and I be part of this small group of individuals, so that only can we embrace changes, anticipate changes, but also create changes? I believe, to do so, we need to embrace another constant in life, and that constant comprises of a list of principles.

Before we discuss in details what are these principles, let us first get an understanding of what are principles. Principles are essentially natural laws. In other words, these principles apply to you and I, whether we choose to acknowledge them, work against them, or even ignore them (at your own peril).

An example would be gravity. You can acknowledge it or ignore it; it will still work on you; unless you are not standing on this planet. You can choose to ignore it, and maintain that attitude that gravity has no effect on you by walking out of the window of a high rise building, only to realise too late that, no one on earth escapes from the pull of gravity. Looking at it from a different angle, natural laws or principles have consequences that you cannot ignore.

As such, principles are the other constant in life that we cannot ignore. So, what might those principles be that can help us become part of that small group that only acknowledge change, but are the ones that make changes happen? We'll examine these principles in our next discussion.

MVV (Part II)

The "body-mind-heart" concept has been widely researched and discussed by many scholars over the last few decades. One of the recent offering presented was the "Hedgehog Concept", where Jim Collins talked about the 3 elements coming together.

He spoke about the need to have passion (heart) and talent (mind) for something that you do, and on top of that, there must be a market for it (body). Once you identify these three elements in your life, according to Collins, you will hit the sweet spot. I disagree.

Because I may have the passion for making lots of money (heart), with a unique talent (mind) for procuring drugs, which incidentally has a huge market for it (body). Now, where does that leaves me??

I believe that even with the body-mind-heart aligned, we will still need the 'spirit' to help us achieve a meaningful and purposeful goal. Or, in other words, with the 'spirit' in check, we will be able to be remembered for the right reasons; to leave a legacy.

One individual who has the body-mind-heart aligned and also left a long lasting memory, although not a good one, is Adolf Hitler. He had the skill, knowledge, and passion to eliminate the Jews and create a superior Aryan race was not only disastrous but also him being remembered for the wrong reasons.

Henceforth, we then propose looking at the body-mind-heart through a different lens, that of Engaged Mastery.
Body, we see it as self-discipline, for skills, for behaviors, and physical needs (such as compensation, extrinsic rewards and recognition).

For mind, we see it as the ability to envisage, hold a vision, the ability to imagine, to first create a goal in your mind, your knowledge, intellect.

And finally for heart, we call it rectitude, values, conscience, the moral compass, the true north, passion. Now, some of you might point out that the Hitler example does not hold, as Hitler does not have values. Hitler had values, criminals have values, the Mafia has values, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) has values; it's just that their values are not aligned to the moral compass, the true north, in one word; rectitude.

So, what about in the organizational context where the body-mind-heart apply? I believe the heart represents the organization's values (as discussed above these refer to be values of rectitude). These values will then guide the staff of the organization of their 'body' or behaviors. In other words, the means to the end, which is the 'mind' or the 'vision' of the organization.

Every organizational values must be translated into behavioral activities to suggest what the staff will do, in order to meet its targets. For instance, a value of 'courage' can be translated into staff giving sincere and constructive feedback to their reports. Another example could be, to be able to take longer than usual to complete a project for a client, if it is in the best interest of the client, even when bosses are demanding faster turn around for projects.

As you can see, the same value of 'courage' can be interpreted differently for different individuals. And the reason why they are interpreted differently is beyond semantics. The reason is because each one of us have a different mindset due to social conditioning, experiences, or up-bringing. And to elaborate on 'mindset', it is essentially linked to our identity of who we are, what's our purpose (leave a legacy), what is our personal mission.

If we embodied the 'identity' of a warrior, then courage can mean defending our country (or feudal lords) with our lives. If our identity is that of a 'people developer', then courage can mean, giving honest but constructive feedback to our supervisees. And should we carry the identity of a 'sales person' paid entirely on commissions, courage can mean acquiring customers in an ethical manner, though it may be slower.

Therefore, it is important that organizations discuss and solicit the views of their staff, especially for global companies. As many of them across different cultures and generations will have differing interpretations. And these values must drive the behaviors (the body) of the staff. In other words, values, which are internal, must be translated into behaviors, which are observable. Only by doing so, the organization can then determine if the current behaviors of their staff is a manifestation of the core values of the organization.

Also, many people says, it is ability or capability that drives behaviors. Or put it simply, the reason why we do something is because we know how to. While this is the case for some cases, such as until we know how to swim do we venture to dive into the pool, it is not so in many cases.

One can say that we all have the 'ability' to murder another person. But the reason why we don't do it (or behave like Hitler) is because of our values. Hence, truly it is more of 'values' (heart) that drives behaviors (body).

Finally, in the context of the organization, the 'mind' is that of its vision. Where it want to be, the goals, targets, objectives it want to achieve. And to add to that, vision is not just some motherhood words put together to impress anyone. Instead, it should be to inspire everyone.

A vision (mind) tells us of where we want to go, the values (heart) determines the actions (body) in which we will take to achieve our vision. Only with these three in place and aligned to our mission (leave a legacy), will we be able to achieve enduring success that our customers not only trust but also respect us.

MVV (Part I)

It is the time of the year again. Time when many schools are now going into the review of their activities in the last 10 months and also a time of reflection.

During this time is also when schools will revisit their mission, vision, and values.

Today, we'll discuss why a clearly defined mission, vision, and values are important not only for any organization but also for individuals.

Firstly, let's talk a little about mission, vision, and values (MVV) from an individual's perspective. Before we can discuss this, we will need to understand that we must always work at all four-levels of a person. Working at just one or two levels will create an unbalanced life, hence the need to work at all four-levels is to enable one to look at a person in a holistic fashion.

So what exactly are the four-levels? They are body-mind-heart-spirit. According to the Principles of Engaged Mastery, these four-levels are self-discipline, vision, rectitude, and leave a legacy. In Covey's language, they are the 4Ls; live, learn, love, and leave a legacy.

Why all four-levels? Let's say, you only focus on the 'heart', and all you do is just to be a good person, someone with the right character, if you'd like, but without the skills (body), knowledge (mind), and purpose (leave a legacy); you will just remain a good person. But others may not entrust you with an important task, even though they know of your good intentions, but you just don't have the skills or knowledge to allow you to complete the task.

Similar examples can be presented for the other aspects, but for economic reasons, we'll just leave it at the example above.

So, how does it link to MVV? And besides, MVV is three factors, but here we're talking about four-levels? Reasons follow immediately.

Mission, at the individual level, is linked to "leave a legacy" or purpose in life. Basically, we're talking about why do we exist. What's God's reason for putting us here on earth. We, I believe, are all here for a purpose, whether you believe it or not, we do have a reason for our existence. The reason may not be obvious but it is there. It can be as simple as to be here to bring up my children to be good and responsible people (for a mom) or it can be as huge as eradicating poverty (for Mother Teresa).

The reason must be uncovered. It will reveal itself to you, but you must do the work of uncovering it. Without this purpose, we'll basically just live day-to-day and then wonder what happened?

In the context of an organization, the purpose of the organization's existence can be found in its mission statement. So for those of us who are serious about this, know that a mission statement is not some lofty words we put up to impress our staff, stakeholders, investors, or customers.

In the private sector context some people think businesses exist to make money. Its like we live to eat (as opposed to 'eat to live'). True, when there's no margin, there's no mission. No matter how good your intentions are (just like the examples we discussed above), without a strong offering and a sound strategy, you will be out of business in no time. But making profits being the only purpose can be disastrous, for everyone.

Unless, we follow the Japanese, as Mr Inamori mentioned that profits, in Japanese kanji characters mean "mouke", which is made up of two others, "shinjiru" meaning "to trust" and "mono" meaning "people". I found this to be really interesting as it offers us a different perspective about "profits". He said that, the more customers can trust us, the more business we'll have. Having said that, he believes that it should be more than trust. The business must earn customers' respect.

And to be able to earn customers' respect, we'll need to look at the other three areas of 'body-mind-heart' at both the individual and organizational perspectives.

Till then, let us reflect, today, on our 'mission' in life, what is our purpose and how do we want to 'leave a legacy'.

What's with a Brand?

What comes to mind when you think of hamburgers, sports apparel, diapers, tissue papers, and luxury leather goods? Your answers might very well be; McDonald's, Nike, Huggies, Kleenex, and Louis Vuitton.

These are essentially brands that we are all familiar with. Also, we do pay a premium for these products as well. So what is it with 'brands'?

Well, for a start, brands represent quality that we can trust. For instance, McDonald's around the world taste somewhat the same. Hence, whether we order a Big Mac in New Zealand, China, or Malaysia; we are certain that the taste and quality would not differ by much.

On the same note, we pay a premium for a Louis Vuitton bag because it communicates a sense of quality, class, and, in some parts of the world; status symbols.

Why does Nike pay Tiger Woods huge sums of money to wear its clothes and use its clubs? Because Nike understands that Tiger Woods, being the world-renowned golfer, wins at most competitions he played. Hence, viewers of those golf tournaments will associate Tiger Woods with winning, and hence will also associate what he wears with the feel-good feeling of 'winning'. Therefore, you and I will pick up a Nike apparel because we want to also be associate with this feel-good feelings.

In other words, brands facilitate the manner in which we do business with them. For a brand that we trust, as in the case of McDonald's, we can order a Big Mac overseas without much hesitation because we know the quality of the food. For a brand that we associate good feelings with, we almost always choose that brand like in the case of Nike and sports.

And because of the trust we have in the brands, we do business with them faster, we will also do business with them more, we are likely to also recommend them to our friends, we would mind less when paying more for its products, and finally, we also feel good doing business with them.

Just like products, I believe that individuals can also benefit from branding. Especially in this new economy, where individuals have more choices available to them now more so than any time in history, the individual who are able to successfully brand themselves in a manner that others trust, they will find, just like we mentioned above, people would want do business with them more, people would spend less time thinking about whether or not to do business with them, people are also likely to recommend them to their friends, and even if people had to pay them more for their services, they might mind less, and finally, people also feel good doing business with them.

Before we talk about how should one go about branding ourselves, let's look at some critical elements about branding.

First, for a brand to be trusted, it must deliver the value that it promised consistently. That is one of the reasons why companies that understands the worth of their brands will do anything to defend it.

Second, for a brand to have enduring success, it must stay relevant. For instance, in the early days of cellular phones, people would go for a Motorola. But these days, Motorola is finding itself having to fight for its survival in the cellular phone market.

Third, for a brand to be associated with feel-good emotions, it must understand the concept of conditioning. What it means is that, consumers must be able to link the brand to a certain positive emotion automatically.

Finally, for a brand to be able to command a premium for its products, even where the competition offers a lower price, it must be respected. In other words, you value the worth of the brand.

Next, we will discuss how individuals can use these same steps to brand themselves so that they can enjoy enduring success in this new economy.

Triple A

Often times, the response I get from the teachers we interact with, about what's really an important element they look out for in a high potential candidate; one common answer is "attitude".

According to the Princeton definition of "attitude", it is a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and disposition to act in certain ways.

While attitude is important, if not critical, I believe that there are also other factors involved. Because one can have a positive attitude towards certain things and still get it very wrong. For instance, I was once asked, why is it that there are people who have the right attitude but we still do not entrust them with certain tasks? I'm sure if you have been a manager before, you would have had a similar experience.

This, I believe, is because in any endeavor, we must adopt a Triple A approach, which is Attitude, Ability, and Actions. While attitude tops the list, because we need to have the right values, the right mindset, right habits; we'd also need to have the right ability and take the right actions.

To illustrate, identifying the right abilities is crucial as otherwise, we will always be using the same technique or tool for every problem. Additionally, the right actions are also just as critical. It doesn't matter what your attitude and/or abilities are, but if you take the wrong actions (running east looking for a sunset) it will never allow you to reach your goal.

So, how do we identify the right attitude, ability, and actions?

Would you make the switch (Singtel vs Starhub)

This is going to be a first for me, though it is a discussion on 'personal' issue, it is seen through the lens of 'engaged mastery'.

Due to the recent announcement of the technical recession, several issues have been raised and one of which is the increase in fixed-line telephone subscription and call charges from January 1, 2009. To be fair, Singtel states that it has withheld any increase in charges for the last 18 years.

With regards to whether the hike should be effected now, I think it depends on whose perspective you view the issue from. For instance, as a Singtel shareholder, one would ask "why haven't the charges been revised until now?"

If from the perspective of the consumer, one might ask "if Singtel can not revise their charges for the last 18 years, why now especially that we are in a technical recession?"

With that, we will stop our discussion here about the price hike and instead focus on the comparison of a Singtel line and a Starhub digital voice.

Based on Singtel's information on the revision of the subscription and call charges, here's the facts of the increase. The $10 increase per annum works out to a 10 percent increase of the subscription ($107/year to $117.70/year). Singtel shows it is an increase of 83 cents a month, which if expressed in terms of percentage, it is still an 10 percent increase.

As for call charges, the increase is from 0.7 cents to 0.8 cents; or a 14.3 percent increase. Of course this depends on whether you are calling during the peak or off-peak hours (there is a slight change in the definition of peak and off-peak but it has little significant impact on the revision).

To entice customers to save the trees and make payments promptly (through GIRO); Singtel is offering a one-off rebate of $10 which works out to the entire year's subscription price hike. So, there's some consolation here.

A check with Starhub reveals that it is offering free Digital Voice service to anyone who is (1) a Maxonline or Cable TV subscriber and (2) porting their current fixed-line phone over to Starhub. It also offers free unlimited calls both in-coming and out-coming (valid till 31 Dec 2010) and free monthly subscription (valid till 31 Dec 2010). Based on Starhub's website, for non Maxonline or Cable TV subscribers the monthly subscription would be approximately $9.80 (before GST), which is some 18 percent higher than Singtel's fixed-line monthly subscription. Of course there is a one-off $89.88 fee for its hardware should you decide not to port your phone number.

Just like to ask my friends two questions:

(1) With these basic costs comparison, would you make the switch (that is if you haven't already).

(2) If you are already using Starhub Digital Voice, are you able to use it (a) for faxing purposes and (b) with multiple handsets?

What do you do when you don't achieve your goals?

What do you do when the goals you set, you failed to achieve them? There are usually one of two responses. Either we quit setting goals altogether (these stuffs don't work as well as they say it will) or we change the way in which we set them.

The first option is direct. No more goals setting for me. The second option deserves a little more explanation. Before we talk about changing the way we set goals, let's not forget the quote by Einstein, "to keep doing things the same way and expect different results is insanity". So, what exactly are the things we need to change?

To begin, let's draw a semi-circle and write the word "environment" above the line of the semi-circle. Next, on the left of the word "environment" draw an arrow with the head pointing to the top of the page. And on the right of the word "environment" draw another arrow with the head pointing to the bottom of the page.

What this symbolizes is the following; some people believe it is the environment that affects us. For instance, some of us may point to the fact that our current environment caused us to behave in a certain way. Some usual responses include, the economy is not doing well so we have less orders or my spouse doesn't trust me to do anything.

On the other hand, there is also a small group of us who believe that it is us that shape our environment. For instance, courtesy begins with me is a good example. Regardless of what others do to me, I will always be courteous to them. Or I will always respect and trust my friends regardless.

A parallel we've drawn in the school's context is the concept of rewards system and demerit points system. Some believe that values are caught and not taught and hence, we will reward students who demonstrate good behaviours. While others believe that everyone is good, until they show otherwise.

The former is akin to guilty until proven innocent, while the latter has the same principle as innocent until proven guilty. It creates a very different world. One tends to see everyone as good, while the other tends to view everyone with suspicion.

So, what relevance does this has to do with goal setting? Very much, I believe. If we believe its the environment that shapes us, then we have very little control over what can happen, and we end up feeling stressed. However when we believe it is us that shape the environment, then the only thing we need to control is ourselves. That said, mastery over self is but one of the most challenging things in life. Indeed, as there is no greater mastery that the mastery of self.

Once we understand this concept, of us being in a position to shape the environment; we will also need to understand that the only thing we can control is ourselves, and hence self-mastery must be the mother of all goals to be achieved. I'm not saying it is easy, I've spent many years and sometimes still find myself struggling to defeat the greatest enemy of all, myself.

Now, so you might think that once you have achieved self-mastery you will be able to achieve any goals! Why, that is but only half-truth. Achieving self-mastery is only one part of the story here. The other part of the story is to do with the environment. You might think, hey, you were just saying to achieve any goals we need to have self-mastery. Now you are telling me there is more to it??

We need to understand that as we work on our self-mastery, we can be a force to shape the environment. However, we also need to understand that as the environment is a function of many other influences, we cannot not ignore the happenings around us in order to help us better able to formulate winning strategies to achieve our goals.

Intention, Decision, and Action

On the second day of the IAF Congress 2008, we had the honour of being trained by Christian Tissier Shihan. One of the main take-away from his session was the idea of having your Intention, Decision, and Action being aligned.

Simply put, if your Intention is to go from point A to point B, and while you are at point A with your uke holding on to your hand; the only way you can arrive at point B is to 'bring' your uke along; using a kokyu-nage technique.

Just like during our NLP training, we were encouraged to set our intention for the day at the start of each class. The main reason for doing so is so that during the course of the day, we can be more aware of our surroundings and circumstances so that we don't fall back to our old habits.

For instance, sometimes when being snapped at, we may react in an angry manner. So, if we'd set our intentions at the start of the day to be patient, seek to understand then to be understood. Then we may remind ourselves under such circumstances to respond according to our intentions set at the start of the day.

Hence, according to my interpretation of Christian Tissier Shihan's "Intention, Decision, and Action", it means that after we set our intention, if our decisions and actions are aligned to our intention, we will have a higher probability of achieving our goals.

Which brings to mind an interesting application of this Aikido concept to our daily lives. We all set goals to achieve certain aims in life, be it professional, personal, and/or in our relationships with people (let's just call it "people" for parsimonity reasons). And what actions we take will determine whether or not we will achieve our goals. Of course the basic assumption here is that our goals are not evil by nature. (It can be though, but that's a different topic altogether)

But what determine our actions is basically our decisions. Our decisions are in turn largely determined by our conditioning. For instance one can set a goal to get at least 6 hours of sleep daily so that he can rise early in the morning and not feel tired and also not having to rush to go to work. But because of his conditioning (i.e. he has been sleeping late for a long while now) he may still go to bed late (action) and hence still get up late the next morning (results).

So in order for him to really decide (decision) to go to bed early, and to have him actually do it (actions), he will need to re-organise his routine or change his habits or working style (conditioning) so that it is possible for him to retire early.

So how does one go about this "conditioning" exercise so that his decisions and actions will help him achieve his goal? The answer is through setting your intentions right at the start. In other words, to make a promise and keep it. We can start with small promises so that we don't feel overwhelmed or have too big a promise that sets us up for failure.

Perhaps we can start by setting our intentions everyday before we start our day, so that we can be more aware of our schedule and the need to go to bed on time. So, why don't we try for the next 7 days by starting each day by setting our intention to decide to take some small actions so that we can achieve our goals be it in the personal, people, or professional realm?

The Crossroads in Life

Have you ever been in a crossroad situation? I mean, you come to a point where you have to decide which path to choose. And each path has its glory and also its dangers. It looks as if either is just as good or as bad.

Sometimes the crossroad situation is a lot simpler, as in whether to go to a play or not. But the fact remains that, whichever path you choose can lead you to very different results.

Some people you speak to, they might even say, well, what can I do, I have no choice. Or they may even say that under current circumstances they have no choice but to do this, or do that.

In actuality, sometimes it is because they choose not to choose. Or in other words, because they allow the environment to act on them (the boss, spouse, colleagues, clients, friends, family) and decide for them what they should do, and in turn, they choose not to make a different choice.

As a result, they claim that they have no choice. Yeah, you may say its semantics or its a matter of perspective. Truth is, never had there been a better time that the availability of choices is larger than ever.

There are actually 4 quadrant of choices, its either you leave it (walk away), live with it (putting up with it), change it (try to control others or the situation), or change self (deal with it). My sense is in this new economy, where the consumer are better informed, they have the mobility, they may even have the skills, and information is readily available; the ability to 'change self' is becoming more important than ever before.

Changing self is not just about re-inventing yourself. Changing self is also about taking full responsibility for your actions. Changing self also requires certain skills set such as the ability to anticipate the impact that current (or even future) trends have on your circumstances.

The ability to change self is an idea whose time has come. And increasingly so in today's environment where new rules are being made, paradigms are shifting, and the world is getting (or already) flat.

But one may ask, what are the necessary skills for changing self? I believe it goes beyond just skills set, but it also involves the mind set.

The mind set will involve individuals seeing themselves to be able to make better choices, but to ensure that those choices are the appropriate ones; they need to be able to take personal responsibility and lead themselves. This is a fundamental shift from the previous paradigm where only people with formal authority are considered leaders. Now, everyone has the ability to become a leader, but first and foremost they must have self-leadership.

With that fundamental shift in paradigm now they can look at the skills set that are needed. 4 fundamental skills set include, the ability to anticipate; the ability to translate information into use; the ability to win with people; and the ability to find purpose in what they do.

So, how do you now choose?

Are you excited about (prepared for) the changes ahead?

To be honest, I am indeed very excited about how things will work out in the next 18 months. The circumstances surrounding the global financial markets are indeed worriesome for many and fearful for some. Also, this wave of bank failures will consequently have its effects on businesses and also on consumers like you and I.

I've always marvelled at the availability of the credit markets, which allow for many consumers (and more so for companies) to purchase more than they could afford at the time of the purchases. Also, it provided companies and businesses to go about their day-to-day activities. Additionally, with the credit markets, it also allowed companies to do more businesses than they could otherwise.

Just take for instance, not everyone can purchase an automobile and pay off for it in cash at the time of purchase (whether it makes financial sense even if one can afford to its another matter altogether). So, imagine without credit markets (like in China until only some time back), anyone who wants to buy one will either have to save up until he can afford one or dismiss the idea altogether.

With that, everyone suffers, in the sense that automobile companies will see slow sales and the consumers would not able to afford one until much later. Which is why, with any emerging economy, the financial industry is a good barometer of the economy (and also a good instrument for exponential growth). Of course, there is good credit and there is bad credit. Both consumers and the lenders must abide by certain sound principles or the situation can grow ugly, like it is now.

Against this backdrop, though we cannot be sure if McCain or Obama will be the one cleaning up this mess, we can be certain that the financial market will change significantly after this saga. How it will change is anybody's guess. But change it will be. Maybe it is coincidental, or maybe these guys have great foresight. The Obama-Biden duo certainly led the wave for the need to change.

Of course, given the brief description about the instrumental role financial institutions play in an emerging economy, or for that matter, any economy; this financial meltdown will have not only a multiplier effect on the economies, it will also have many spillover effects on other areas as well. In other words, not only will businesses be affected, the way regulators perform their roles will also be very different. In fact, it will have such huge impact on every single person or entity that deals with a financial institution.

I don't know about you, but everyone I know has dealings with financial institutions, be it a big or small way. As such, if there are changes in the ways financial institutions operates, it will definitely affect you and me, it's no longer a question of 'if', but 'how' or 'how much'. To add a different perspective, after this saga, the way people perceive financial institutions will also change. As there may be those who suffered loses or had their suspicions confirmed. Either way, there will be an impact, where magnitude is the only question.

So, why am I excited? In this new environment, economic rules will change. And chances are, when these rules change, those not aware (or refuse to acknowledge it) of what these new rules are will see themselves falling behind. Its not a question of what can the government do, but what can you and I do in this new economy, to take charge of this situation. And with these new rules, it will take not only a new mind-set or paradigm; but also a new skill-set and tool-set.

Its like you were invited to a game of tennis, and you know the rules well. You've been in competition and won some important games. So, you arrive at the court with your gear and shoes. But when the game got underway, suddenly your opponent is playing tennis but not by hitting the ball with a racquet but kicking it with his feet. Instead, he is using the rules of football in this game called 'tennis'. Of course, you can revolt and walk out of the game, saying to yourself, I don't believe this! And the next time you go to a tennis match, you see that's how people play 'tennis' now! And those people who were once good are now struggling (that is if they still choose to play). Those that are excelling in the game are those who are adaptable, they are able to understand 'tennis' using rules from 'football'. And they have also picked up new skills such as how to kick the tennis balls. Also, they have changed their shoes to give them better power, precision, and speed.

This is exactly what will happen when the dust settle, and the new rules are being spelt out for the 'new economy'. And the bellwethers of this 'new economy' will become 'leaders' when they understand these new rules and choose to adopt a different mind-set, acquire a different skill-set, and use a different tool-set. What specifically these three 'sets' are, will be the subject of yet another discussion.

Promises to our Children

I still remember very vividly one particular lesson during my primary school days about "children being the future owners of our country". It was about how, if we bring our children up to become useful citizens, we, as a nation would succeed.

In conjunction with the 2008 Work Plan Seminar, I will like to contribute my thoughts in the area of keeping promises to our children. As we strive each day, as a team of our firm (some of whom are previous educators themselves) to partner School to become enduring leading organizations, we find our work being more and more critical.

Our guiding principle when working with Schools has always been, serve the Schools to the best our abilities so that we can work alongside teachers as they go into the classrooms to make an impact on the children.

Here, instead of pretending knowing how to educate a child, I like to describe how, as a team, we need to keep pushing the envelope so that our vision of nurturing new generation leaders can materialize.

Trust, as defined by Stephen MR Covey, comprises of both character and competence. Hence, our team must strive to live by a certain set of principle-centered values to guide us in the way we conduct ourselves. This set of values, as I see it, comprises of 9 components. It is SERVES ALL. All in all, we ourselves must be a leader to begin with, so that we are able to influence with integrity. To have integrity, we must live by the values of SERVES ALL. It stands for Self-Discipline, Empathy, Rectitude, Visionary, Engaged Mastery, Synergistic, Abundance, Leverage, and Live, Learn, Love, and Leave a Legacy.

In the area of competence, we must strive to better ourselves, acquiring knowledge,learning skills, and developing competencies that are not just relevant but also anticipative. Further, we should not only be able to transfer those knowledge, skills, and competencies into practice, we must also strive to synthesize and create winning strategies that will benefit the Schools.

Having said that, we must also hold in our head a bold yet realistic vision. And that vision is to nurture a new generation of leaders whom we call Leaders In New Economy (LINE). These LINE will go into the classrooms to help their students become useful citizens of the future.

Finally, we must be guided by our moral compass, which is tied to our personal mission statement, where we ourselves find purpose in our work with LINE.

This, will be LINE's promises to our children.

RAP Strategies

How do you deal with it? I mean, in your personal life, when you make plans for the future, what is the approach you take? What about in your professional arena? Or even in your day-to-day activities when meeting with friends? How do you deal with it?

What is it?

Well, do you start taking actions only when things happen? Like, does it need to be when the situation gets bad enough only then will you take action? Or do you take a proactive approach to take the initiative to prevent something from happening? Or do you learn to anticipate what's going to happen and start taking action?

For instance, some people let their savings dwindle to a level that hits them before they take actions. Some may take a proactive approach by looking at how they can 'protect' their savings and start an investment account so that their savings can grow. However, I believe, there is a small group of people who would anticipate what's going to happen to the economy or their jobs, so they start taking actions immediately.

So, how do you deal with it? I believe all of us uses a combination of all three approaches in various aspects of our lives. But the more successful people use the anticipative approach in their lives and that's why they are successful.

Let's look at each approach in detailed. Some of us are more reactive because we may not know enough of the situation we are in, until something happens, then we'll take action. For instance, with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, some people were caught unaware and only when the news were out, then they panic and decide to take some actions to cover their losses. And the reason why they only take actions after the news was out was because they didn't understand what they are in for.

In another scenario, someone may take a proactive approach to investment. That means, even while they are comfortable, they will take the initiative to speak with others, read up, and then draw up an action plan to grow their savings. While this approach is good, it may be limited to their own skills in terms of research and analysis.

However a savvy investor will look at what might happen in the next few days, or weeks, or months. Like Oei Hong Leong, who anticipated that AIG might be bailed out and hence their shares will recover, bought the shares at a low and made a tidy sum in the turn around. Though many may say, well, he has the market knowledge but it is too risky. Or is it?

We will continue to discuss how you too can learn skills to develop or enhance your ability to anticipate...

I Have A Dream

As we live through the various era like the industrialized age, the information age, and now the knowledge age; I cannot help but see signs of things to come.

In the industrialized age, the thinking or the paradigm was, if you can manufacture something better and faster that met the needs of individuals and organizations, you'd win. You'll capture market share, drive the competition out of business, and dominate the market. Think light bulbs.

Then came the information age, where if you knew something that others don't and are able to get it to the market faster then the competition, you'd win.

Now, in the knowledge age, where information is abundant, the one who'd win is the individual who is able to use the information to create something that meet the needs of individuals and organizations.

In the knowledge age, something that was previously not available becomes readily available. Something that was only made known to a privileged few, is not wide-spread. Incidentally, the people who operate out of this environment will also understand that information is no longer king. But knowing how to use the information in a manner that is effective is also crucial.

I have a dream that in this knowledge age, everyone is a leader in his or her own right. Where every single individual has an unique skill that is highly sought after by the market.

I have a dream that in this knowledge age, everyone will have the opportunity to fully express him or her self in a manner that is aligned to their personal mission. They will be doing meaningful work and will be highly recognized. If they are not, they are free to move to another environment that allows them to.

I have a dream that in this knowledge age, organizations will fully benefit from the availability of services where they can pick and choose that will serve their needs in a way that is tailored to those needs.

I have a dream that in this knowledge age, governments will recognize and acknowledge the value of these individuals and engage them in meaningful ways to serve the needs of their constituents.

I have a dream that in this knowledge age, students become teachers and teachers learn from their students. Where students will teach each others and the role of teachers will be to facilitate and guide the students within principle-centered guidelines.

I have a dream that in this knowledge age, employees and employers switch roles. Where the employers will simply be a provider of infrastructural support and become an administrator for their employees. It will be the employees that decide the pay packages of their employers.

I have a dream that in this knowledge age, families and communities become an even more instrumental unit of society, where their members can contribute in ways that allow their families and communities to engage in meaningful endeavors that serve the bigger purpose.

In this knowledge age, where there is no lack of technical competency in whatever areas you can imagine, where if there is a need, there is a free agent somewhere that will be able to serve those needs.

As individuals in the knowledge age are all leaders in their own rights, meaning they are able to influence with integrity and their values are aligned to that of the larger society, so what is the one thing that will allow one individual to set himself apart from others?

The difference that makes the difference

I've always asked, what is a framework? Why are frameworks useful and how can we be trained to design a framework that helps us.

One of the most powerful frameworks I use is that of the neurological levels of change, or as I've called it, the "circles of influence". Those of you who are familiar with Covey's work will remember the circle of influence as quoted in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I do see many circles, not just one in which we work within. Many of us already apply it subconsciously. Of course the danger of subconscious level is that we do not get the outcomes consistently. In other words, sometimes we get the results we want and sometimes we don't.

It even frustrate us, especially when others look to us for solutions when they know that we have achieved some success in the past, but we don't or can't replicate it over and over again. Or worse, we become 'lucky'.

So, what is the difference that makes the difference? I believe is the combination of three factors, which are frameworks, interdependency, and strategies. We can take someone else's strategies to apply it to our situation. But unless the circumstances are exactly the same, then the strategies might work. However when the situation changes, we become lost, and worse still when we try to apply the exact same strategy over and over again, we find that after a while we just give up altogether.

So, if strategies aren't important then why is it that people spend millions engaging consultants to help them? I believe a good consultant will be able to tell the difference of the applicability of one strategy in a situation but when the rules changes, they'd recognize that there would be another more appropriate strategy.

However that is not good enough unless the consultant has a whole suite of strategies that he has previous experience with that he can, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of the hat, quickly identify the appropriate strategy for the situation.

But what happens when a totally situation arises? Or when the rules have changed, hence whatever strategies that were formulated in the past just doesn't work anymore? For instance, if you had in the past been successful selling your wares via advertisements placed in the newspapers. But assuming now, where only a small percentage of your potential customers read the newspapers, do you think applying the same strategy would work? Even if you advertise more and learnt positive mental attitude would that help? The answer is obvious.

So, a great consultant is one where she understands the principle of interdependency and also have the ability to formulate new winning strategies that are not only ground-breaking but also work! In order to do that, she must also have a good framework to help her.

For instance, if she was engaged as a consultant for the business in the example quoted above, she would take into account, the interdependence of the habits of the potential customers. She would also adapt from various sources and use a principle-centered framework to help her design winning strategies for her client. As a result, the client not only get to capture market share but would also most likely become a dominant player in the market, in other words, become an enduring leading organization.

So how does one select a framework that can do that? Any framework is as good as the assumptions that underpin it. For example, if you chose a framework, you'd need to make sure that you understand the limitations of it. Or put it differently, understand the basis in which the framework was developed. So go further than just the workings of the framework but ask yourself in what circumstances would this framework fail? Even principle-centered frameworks can fail if certain conditions were not met.

Given that, examine closely those conditions and once you've understood these conditions and also its interdependency, you then design the structures and systems to support these conditions. Or in a different context, be able to tweak the underlying conditions of the framework so that it would bring you the results that you want. Only then, will you be always able to formulate winning strategies for the new economy.

PM in LO part 2

Personal Mastery has been a favorite topic of mine, both professionally and personally. I understand that the journey of personal mastery is not an easy one, but when we embark on it, many fascinating things happen. For one, we become more aware of ourselves and some may even in the process discover themselves. Their life's mission, their hopes and dreams, their aspirations, and also their disappointments.

I read with interest, a religious newsletter today, which talked about changing the mindsets of others. On another occasion, a Head of Department asked how does one change another's mindset. Before we even think of changing anybody's mindset, we ourselves need to understand two things. One, what is our own mindset, and two, how do we know if our own mindset is accurate?

Your mindset is just as good, or as erroneous as mine! You may insist that your view is very bit correct (seeing the old lady), while I may verify that mine is in every sense most accurate (seeing the young lady). We can argue and you'd like to change my mindset and I would very much like to change yours so that we can both see the old/young lady!

This is where the phrase, "the map is not the territory" comes into play. You see, when you have a wrong map of the territory, it doesn't matter whether how you change your attitude or behaviors, you ain't going to get there. Let's say for instance, you have a map of Los Angeles, whereby you are in New York trying to get to Manhattan, will having a positive Attitude get you there? Or will changing your behaviors such as driving faster, or changing vehicle get you there, to your target? The answer is obvious.

So when you have the wrong map (mindset), changing your attitude or behaviors won't get you to your target. Instead if you got yourself the right map, then changing your attitude or behaviors would make a difference!

Now, how does this relates to personal mastery or even to a learning organization? First, you need to examine your mindset to make sure it is ARE (accurate, relevant, and engaged). The first two, we have already explored, i.e. accurate would at least lead you to your targets. Relevance is also important as having a map that is out-dated, though still accurate but very accurate in an anachronistic fashion is also not helping. But what about a mindset that is also engaged?

You see, by having an engaged mindset, one will first have an awareness of his current mindset. Until you are aware of your current mindset and the belief that it is just as accurate and relevant as the next guy, you will want to make sure that you listen to the guy, as he may bring in some insights for you. He may have some areas that are accurate and relevant, which you can then update yours and make yours even more accurate and relevant.

Besides having an engaged mindset, you will also understand the law of interdependence. That is how we behave will impact on how others will respond to us. When someone is rude when talking to you, chances are you will find that you'll be impolite as well. If you say your spouse doesn't give you attention, is it because of how you much attention you have given? Interdependence is also clear in an organizational context. Because we feel that someone cannot be trusted, we will give him less responsibilities. And because we gave him less responsibilities, he may feel less engaged and as a result become less enthusiastic. And when we see the lack of enthusiasm, we then prove to ourselves that he is incapable. And so the vicious cycle goes.

As such, a person with an engaged mindset will first understand the principle of interdependency. And as such, will take an approach such as first to understand then to be understood. With that, he will listen, rather than judge or make assumptions about another person. Before he thinks of 'changing a person's mindset', he will remember the self-discipline of practicing empathy so as to understand this person's mindset, to see how accurate, relevant, and engaged. After that, he will share a vision that is relevant to both and that is the right thing to do, where they will seek synergistic and win-win solutions for all. They can then leverage on each others' strengths and along the way think about how they can learn from each other and also from others along the way, so that they can continually make sure that their mindsets and also that of the organization can learn, improve, and move to the next level.

That is why personal mastery is so important in a learning organization!

Putting First Things First

As I started using the FranklinCovey Planning System, there were a few things that I struggled with. One was, how do I even formulate my own Personal Mission Statement. What constitute a Personal Mission Statement? Secondly, it was the 3 Habit of putting first thing first.

The whole concept is really seductive. You plan your week according to your highest priorities. Based on your personal compass (another tool that I struggled with), we would identify our Big Rocks. These Big Rocks will have a "Sharpen the Saw" dimension and also the various roles (or responsibilities) that you play. For the "Sharpen the Saw" dimension, you'll see your live as one indivisible whole; working on the physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. You'd identify the Big Rocks in those 4 areas, like physical: running 3 times a week or getting at least 6 hours of sleep; social/emotional: being aware of the triggers that cause disempowering emotions; mental: reading "systems thinking", and spiritual: review and reflect on personal mission statement and values daily.

Once you've done that's move on to the different roles in your life. Your responsibility as a spouse, friend, consultant, project manager, etc. In each of these roles, identify the Big Rocks, or the one thing if you did this week that will have the maximum impact in those areas of your life. Then, you'd schedule those Big Rocks in your weekly planning so that they don't get 'lost'.

The idea is, if you have a bucket, and you need to fill the bucket with Big Rocks, small stones, pebbles, and water; you would put in the Big Rocks first, so that the bucket would not overflow.

Now, the challenge I faced was, yeah, you have all these big rocks, but I have meetings to attend, reports to write, proposal to present, emails to reply to; how do I fill those big rocks? Of course the thinking was, just fill in those Big Rocks first, and schedule the rest of your tasks around it. But the issue is, these reports, proposals are all urgent AND important! How do I get the Big Rocks (i.e. the important but not urgent stuffs) in with such a tight schedule?

Oh, this doesn't work as well as it say or claim it would. So how do we get this to work? Simple actually! Currently we might be overwhelmed with issues, meetings, reports, and emails. The simple idea is to allocate 20% or 30% of your time for big rocks. Over time, mind you this won't be easy or fast, you will find ourselves working within the quadrant 2 or on the things that are important but not urgent. These are the things that you put first.