skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Parties, Kris Kringles, etc. This is what we all get to deal with at this time of the year. We can't hide the fact that a lot of us spend so much time, effort and resources to celebrate this season of giving. Unfortunately, we didn't have the chance to since we just moved in to a new office a couple of days ago and we still have a lot of fixing to do. But that doesn't stop there. Our project director happened to send us an email about our Christmas wishlist for gift giving. While I may not be around when they have their Christmas party (I'll be going back home to the Philippines for Christmas), here's an email I sent out as my take on our Christmas wishlist. Dear boss,While I may not be around by the time you have our office Christmas party, here's my take on the Christmas wishlist. While everyone has their share of MP3 players, bluetooth headset, and all those fancy gadgets, here's mine. Its more of an insight than a request. A recent study by CityNews of Ontario, Canada revealed that that most employees throw away their co-workers’ “Secret Santa” gifts. I don't know about you but in my experience, I've probably given away 8 out of 10 presents I've got from the past Christmas celebrations at work (I don't like the idea of throwing away something that might be useful to someone else). To put numbers on those statistics, according to an unscientific Time Inc. Giftscriptions survey, 31 percent of people are throwing away their co-workers' presents. Still, 41 percent of respondents still bought additional presents for co-workers, and more than half report disliking the gifts they received. I guess those numbers have just stressed out what we have all been thru every Christmas season. Another more striking question could be, "Do you remember what you got for Christmas last year?" I bet a few, if not none, of us remember anything at all. With all of these facts, instead of exchanging gifts between co-workers, why don't we try something new? Why don't we donate a certain amount to noble causes or charitable institutions? I believe that we set a certain amount for those gifts that we give. Imagine, if we have like around 87 staff including management, a mere $20 each can raise $1740. Just imagine how far that amount could go - it could send like 5 kids to school for a year in Cambodia, provide clean drinking water to a community in South Africa, provide a decent meal for the malnourished kids in Ethiopia, buy over a thousand pairs of shoes for the less privileged in the Philippines, etc. The possibiities are infinite as Fujitsu slogan says. Not only did we make our gift giving worthwhile by cutting down on the statistics of throwing away unwanted presents, we can also make this a Christmas present we'll never forget. As we celebrate this season of giving, may we remember its true meaning amidst the shopping spree and stressful celebration. Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
I was reading a sample chapter of the book In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson when something quite obvious for somebody like me who does a lot of presentations struck me - we all love to hear stories. And every time I do presentations, that's what I strive to do, whether its a story about a DBA like me who's sick and tired to do repetitive tasks and tries to find new and exciting ways to do my work or someone else's story about his involvement in a community work. In my presentation at the PASS Community Summit 2007, I told about Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, and his drive to help the homeless in Detroit. Stories help us to prove a point, touch a heart, send a message or even just connect with people. It may be about others or about ourselves. But the stories worth telling are those that we ourselves experienced, be it our own or someone else's whom we've managed to feel. Sure, we can all do our research and search for stories about people and we can tell those. But nothing beats experience. It's to no surprise why TV hosts lead their guests to tell their own stories in their shows. Or people who write books go thru a lot of effort visiting the people they want to feature in their writings. Immersion to the experience are those types of stories worth telling - and those that create an impact. That's why I am making it a part of my personal growth to collect as many stories as I can. Imagine, a book became a best seller because it is filled with stories - yours and mine.
You will normally hear this in sales and business. Those who extend an extra mile to their clients will definitely keep them on a longer basis. Doing more what is expected, extending the service, etc.These are what describes the extra mile. In these days where cost of living is too expensive and one can barely make both ends meet, an extra mile simply means "expensive."You might end up asking, "Hey, now, what does this have to do withl iving a powerful life? Are we talking about business here?" Not at all. But let me tell you a secret. It's not actually a secret as a lot of people know this as a fact but do not capitalize on their knowledge of it. Simple, yet powerful. Most of the time, the more expensive an item is, the higher the quality. This is because those who made it have invested more on quality. Which explains why those Bally shoes and Tag Heuer watches are only available for those who can afford them. Which also explains why those people who are willing to spend that extra mile enhancing their skills are far better off than those who don't. Those who exert an effort to learn more know more. Those who exercise more are healthier. Those who save more have more. And the list goes on. In John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, he talks about The Law of Process where leaders are willing to go thru a process to become betterl eaders. Implicitly, I think he is also saying that only those who are wiling to go the extra mile will go thru the process. And those who do will eventually experience the true meaning of powerful living. It's not easy and definitely costly. But the rewards are far greater than the amount we invest.Are we willing to pay the price? Or do we see the price rather than the reward? The choice is up to us.
I was in the zoo with family and friends during the weekend for some time off. I don't go to the zoo quite often but every time I do, I look for those animal trainers who show off tricks they teach their pets. My first stop was the dog show. Same old stunts - jumping thru a set of hoops, climbing up ladders, etc. Quite fascinating indeed. Next was the marine animals show with the sea lions and the penguins. What you'll find common among animal trainers is their strategic use of positive reinforcement. You know, those times they feed the animals either before or after doing the stunts. The animals respond positively after those rewards are given and they perform as expected, even better. What's amazing is that animal trainers know more about leadership than most of our managers in the field. Ken Blanchard and Don Shula in their book The Little Book of Coaching, they higlight the fact that you need to be effective in your response to your staff's performance. Ken presents the four responses that people receive after they perform or do nothing - no response, negative, redirection and positive. We are very much familiar with the first two. When we do something significant in the organization, we get a "no response." Most managers think that it's supposed to be that way since we get paid to perform. But when we screw up, they come and whip us up real good and leave. Blanchard calls them the "seagull managers" who are descibed as those who are not around until something goes wrong, fly in, make a lot of noise, dump in on people and then fly out. Sounds familiar? I know it does as I've seen managers who treat people like this. I guess it's very common with Asians. But what we don't realize is that people respond to positive (and negative, as well) feedback. When something positive follows a good performance, they will want to repeat that in the future. Do you recall how many times you repeated some stunts you performed for your parents as a toddler when they told you how much they liked it? We thrive on positive feedback. And this is what managers should realize - to capitalize on positive reinforcement to bring out the best in people. After all, most, if not all, managers want a winning team. Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler in the 80's, once said, "Management is nothing more than motivating other people." This is absolutely true
Reality TV has been a favourite anywhere around the world. From American Idol to The Apprentice, people have been attracted to those who show their true colors. As I was watching Oprah's TV program, I learned about another reality TV show in the US which has been running for like 4 seasons now. Run's House, which is now on it's fourth season, is about former member of the popular multi-platinum 80's rap group Run-D.M.C. Rumor has it that fame and fortune kept him seeking for more which prompted him to turn into religion. Known as Rev Run after being ordained by Zoe Ministries, his family is the feature of MTVs' first family in the reality TV show Run's House. What is fascinating about the TV series is that it is plainly authentic - no scripts, no mu-cha-cha of what the audience will or will not like which normally drives the script, etc. It's all about the daily life of the Simmons family and how he balances being a father, husband, reverend, while teaching their kids about success and enduring pain. It touches the heart knowing that he promotes spirituality in a world dominated by all kinds of negativity. But what really captures the audience is the fact that this is reality TV in its true sense - authentic, real, honest-to-goodness. It is, after all, what we like about people.
I've been a fan of Tim Sanders for quite some time now, thanks to Injoy's Newsletter - Catalyst Monthly. Tim serves as a Leadership Coach for Internet giant Yahoo! and has written numerous books including the Likeability Factor and Love is The Killer App. What attracted me to this guy is that he is an advocate for good values in the business world. I was listening to an podcast interview of Tim Sanders where he highlights the importance of being real and authentic to be successful in today's business. I was readng one of his blog entry from www.sandersays.com which talks slightly about this. What the world needs today is genuineness, realness and authenticity. He talks about these factors as it affects leadership. In reality, we like people who satisfy our psychological need and if those needs are met, we reward them with our affection. Leaders in today's business world or in just about anything need to be authentic and real in order to succeed. What I have learned from Tim Sanders for the past days I've taken into action. I had a presentation yesterday for the joint Singapore SQL Server and .NET User Groups on SQL Server 2008. In a typical technical presentation, people would expect anything about the product to be highlighted. I want to break out of that expectation and be genuine. I have already thought about getting the audience engaged and giving away something which is out of the ordinary (Microsoft usually give away stuff like USB thumb drives and books). In my case, I plan to give away a pass to see the Bee Movie. Why not? People do deserve a break every now and then. I planned to have it a bit scripted. I asked a friend of mine to volunteer so I can give him the prize but that didn't work out too well as it wasn't "real" enough. This time, within the crowd, I ask for a "real" volunteer who would be up to the challenge I posed. After the task, I handed out the movie pass. Everyone was like astounded. We had a few laughs about whether it was a Blue movie or Bee Movie. But the important thing is, the crowd loved it, knowing that what they have just experienced is reality in action. This reminds me to always customize my presentation experience and always be real. In order to get the crowd's attention, be authentic. You'll be glad you did (they will be, too). After my session, the crowd went out for a brief coffee break and while I was packing my things up, I was playing around with the microphone with some gag-up voice-over sound mimicking a DJ introducing his guest. There were a few people inside the auditorium looking silly at me as if they were saying, "We can trust this guy because he's not fake." I'll take that as a compliment and will keep this experience in mind, knowing that being real can, indeed, make a difference in today's fast-paced business world - even in the technology sector
I was reading the latest newsletter of Injoy newsletter Life @ Work when I was shocked by this newfound fact. The article by Mike Metzger highlighted the fact that the term employee came from the French term "employé" which meant "to buy and hire" people to occupy "specific tasks." Looking at the way organizations treat their staff nowadays simply lives out this fact (and I wonder why). Mike's article highlights the fact that organizations need to emphasize the value of mentoring within the organization. The opposite of which is very true. Employees are being treated as such. Gone are the days when organizations treat their staff with highest respect, realizing that success without the employees is not possible. Emphasis is more on working hard and fast. This gives us the next thing in the list. The word career comes from the French "carriere" meaning "race course" or "to move head-long at high speed." So much so that everyone who works and has a good idea of what he or she wants often neglects the fact that life is more important than career. In my presentation at the Professional Association for SQL Server Summit last September, I talked about The Irony of Opposites for Success. One pointer I raised was the value of slowing down and how it relates to success. Too often we are bogged down with getting where we want to go the fastest way possible. I guess that's how most people define their career. But what we don't realize is that we are loosing too much by not slowing down. In this particular sense, slowing down may mean mentoring on somebody within the organization, thereby, treating the employee you are mentoring with utmost respect for their potential while at the same time cultivating a leadership environment. This is a win-win situation for both the individual and the organization - camaraderie is established between the employees and the mentor while building staff morale, increased staff productivity by learning first-hand from the mentor and a whole lot more. For the mentor, this process of slowing down to extend a portion of himself or herself to the mentee is an investment to multiplication. What this means is that further down the road, tasks can be delegated to the mentee in due time, thus, giving the mentor more time to focus on more challenging tasks. It is with these facts that organizations should reconsider how they should treat their staff and how working professionals should consider mentoring as part of their career goals. We all should.
I was reading an article on the Waltons of America –one of the wealthiest people in the world. They are the family members of the late Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart chain of stores that made it big in the retail industry. In one of my graduate programs, we were asked to read more on the company and make some analysis on their operations. But more than that, I was intrigued by what made such a company big and who was the one who made it that way. Sam Walton,happened to be born on a farm, worked extra hard just to make his way to the university and set out to do his own business after being employed for another retail company. So much for somebody who ended up being one of the world’s wealthiest men. But what’s notable is the fact that he was nobody before he became somebody.Everyday we are faced with challenges, sometimes bigger than us. We succumb to the pressures of life’s challenges, often times giving up and losing hope. What we don’t realize is that the challenges we face today – and how we deal with them – will be the foundation of who we will become tomorrow. Consider King David, the youngest among Jesse’s sons who was even neglected by his father. He could have told himself, “I didn’t plan to take care of the sheep after finishing high school” or probably “I don’t have a future being a shepherd.” But no, he considered his situation as a preparation for something really big.He was expectant, ambitious maybe. But I know one thing for sure. He used his situation to prepare. He may have no idea about it but we do. He’s gonna be Israel’s next king. But a king must be a warrior, not a shepherd. I cannot imagine what was going through David’s mind as he watched over his father’s sheep.Facing a lion or maybe a bear just to protect the herd, he struggled. And he prepared.I couldn’t help but reminisce the humbling times I went through myself. I started out as a technician fixing computers. That was more than a decade ago. My parents didn’t like the idea of me doing a blue-collar job, the fact that I was still studying back then.But for me, it’s a learning experience. I made money out of being one. And I never regretted it. Who would ever imagine that somebody like me who had humble beginnings would end up speaking in front of an international audience? Now, everybody thinks I made it big. I see it differently. Because whatever and wherever I am right now were the results of my small beginnings.Are you on a tight situation? You might not be watching sheep but you may be sweeping floors. Or probably you don’t see yourself in your current situation. Think again. Could it be that God wants you to be there for you to prepare yourself for something big? Or probably just to make you realize that where you are in right now is a launch pad to where God wants you to be. Take time to pause and ask yourself. An oak tree started from a small acorn.There’s power in small beginnings.
My work has been full of acronyms - TCP/IP, VPN, AD, SQL, WCF - name it. This blog is an attempt to living life to it's fullest, knowing and understanding that life is more than just making a living. I have been a student of life ever since and this blog will be all about lessons in life and practical Christianity. I'll look into leadership, management, relationships, attitude and Christianity in a practical sense. You'll read about the people I read about and what drives me to do so. This is the side of me that says "there is more to my life than my passion...and that is LIFE itself."Join me in my journey.
