August 2015 - Survive to Alive

31st August 201524th April 2019

Leadership Hoo-Ha and Other Boring Stuff

I have a great passion to see leaders in society bring about transformation to the benefit of all. I am especially interested in the character of the new generation leaders in business.

Too Much Noise

In line with this passion I constantly scan all my newsletters, updates, community discussions and posts to see what is buzzing. Unfortunately I come across too much leadership hoo-ha (otherwise known as jargon, theories and techniques) that muddy the waters. For many years I have felt that I was over-simplifying things by being primarily concerned with the motivation for leadership, i.e. who we are as a source of leadership.

Whenever I looked around I saw that there were “cool new trends” emphasized by people with smart jargon. More and more I would simply skip this kind of stuff and look for real meaning behind the boring words.

They may forget what you said — but they will never forget how you made them feel.
—Carl W. Buehner

There is so much noise out there that we have forgotten what it all comes down to. It comes down to heart. It is the heart of leadership – the why – that matters most.

Focus

The point is that along with the really big boring words that everyone forgets we will not forget the emotional condition leaders leave us in. Focusing on the skills and techniques as the primary responsibility of a leader is also very boring. Digging in and growing is however the really hard work that we are neglecting in society and business. We are being overwhelmed by tools, techniques and whatever the flavour of the month is.

Focus on the human being. The potential of each individual related in community is powerful. It is the job of leader in any organisation to remember this. The leader needs to cut through the noise and maintain the most important focus of why.

Who do You Think You Are?

We lead from who we are. The personality of the organisation takes on the personality of the CEO. It is truly rare to find a CEO that can focus on people and results. We need CEO’s and leaders that understand the new world of quantum physics in relation to Newtonian physics.

I know you are following what I am saying. If you are this CEO that wants to lead from a sens of higher purpose I know I can work with you. Your sense of self knowledge and desire for good is what sets you apart. I invite you to take your leadership to the next level. Be grounded in higher purpose and transcend uncertainty.

Go from survive to alive.

28th August 2015

No. 101

This post is no. 101 on this blog. It did not start out as survivetoalive.com but it represents a progression, dedication and passion over a number of years (check out the archive for more detail). Sometimes there were only a few blogs throughout the year when things were tough and other times there were more.

In the last few months however, I have been focused on posting once a week – like today. Many other authors I know publish many more post on a weekly basis but at the moment my focus is on organic progression. I find that this blog should reflect a desire for wisdom, patience and trust.

Society is so busy creating and destroying material wealth that right now it is important not to let fear into your heart. In my work with businesses, students and leaders the presence of fear can be a killer blow to any good intention. To know who I am, why I am here and staying true to this calling brings great trust that I will be okay, even when things are tough.

During my twenties I was privileged to work with entrepreneurs and corporates alike. I was hasty, hungry and scared but I believe none of this compares to my lifelong desire to improve. Not only improve my skills and abilities but in fact improve the condition of my being – being at peace, being at rest, being focused, being patient. Learn to let go.

So today #101 is the first post in a long legacy of writing, connecting, learning and inspiration. Once again today I am going from just surviving to really living.

21st August 2015

Human Resource Management – Kinda Like Any Other Resource… Right?

What is a business without the people that help to achieve the vision and strategy? People are the most important asset a company has. Without people the organisation is nothing.

We have all heard these well-intended words before and yet when many of us go to work we feel that we are treated much like any other resource the company uses at its disposal in order to get the job done. In other words people are seen as an expense when recorded by accountants. There is no correlating entry into accounting that lists the actual value of the people, their skills and experience to a company.

So what happens is that human beings are turned into human doings and ‘managed’ like any other resource. And when we speak of a resource we want to pay as little as possible and get as much benefit as possible. Here I would like to refer to the way that we have utilised natural resources, financial resources and off-course the most valuable resource – time!

If we look at the trend we can see an overhasty approach that indiscriminately exploits all the resources that we have in the service of, many times, an empty outcome. WHY?

So, yes! – We do utilise people as we do other resources. If we want to improve the way we work with people we need to think of how we go about our relationships in general. In order to do business we don’t need resources, we need relationships. The awareness of how these relationships, from natural to human, have an impact on our present and our future is the art of connectedness.

>> Thanks Steph and Ty for the awesome pic!

21st August 2015

Human Resource Management – Kinda Like Any Other Resource… Right?

What is a business without the people that help to achieve the vision and strategy? People are the most important asset a company has. Without people the organisation is nothing.

If we look at the trend we can see an overhasty approach that indiscriminately exploits all the resources that we have in the service of, many times, an empty outcome. WHY?

>> Thanks Steph and Ty for the awesome pic!

14th August 2015

Rule No. 6

Ever hear about rule number 6?
…One day the president of a country was sitting in his chambers with a very important international guest in the midst of high-level discussions when one of his adivsors storms into the chambers announcing that there is an emergency that they urgently need to discuss with the president.

The President pauses for a moment, looks at his advisor and politelty asks the advisor to remember rule number 6. The advisor smiles and apologises for the interruption and respectfully leaves the chambers.

The President and his guest continue with their conversation for a few minutes when, very abruptly and rather rudely, another advisor enters the chamber with yet another urgent matter. Once again the President turns to his advisor requesting that rule number 6 please be observed. As before the advisor leaves the chamber quite relieved.

Just as the President and his guest get to a critical part of the discussion the chamber doors open a third time and the same event repeats itself – a big crisis, the President requesting that rule number 6 be observed and the advisor leaving with a smile.

So by now, just like the guest , you are wondering what is rule number 6, right? The guest proceeds, with great curiosity, to ask the President what is rule number 6?
The President answers that rule number 6 is: “Do not take yourself so seriously”. The guest is enraptured by this approach for a joyous few moments but then pauses and asks: “What are the other rules?”

“That is simple” says the President, “There are no other rules.”

Fairly frequently when I get all worked up by circumstances I remember rule number 6. Many times it simply makes me smile. When I pause, take a deep breath and realise that it’s not really all that serious I am truly relieved. And when the problem shrinks in my mind it is much easier to solve.

Don’t take yourself too seriously and go from survive to alive!

7th August 2015

The Danger of Empty Comparisons

Don’t we have a lovely world filled with big data, statistics, and, off course, comparisons! Everywhere we go we can see that we are not thin enough, pretty enough, successful enough or rich enough. Billboards, magazines and TV ads are jut a few of the wonderful sources we have that gives us the benchmark of the having-existence we need to conform to.

Once again, like last week, I ask what are you reading, listening to and watching? The global consumer economy is based on our willingness to compare ourselves to an irrelevant standard of having stuff that will seemingly make us deliriously happy.

I ask you to make only one comparison – Are you being the person you need to be in order to be you? What are the big things that you are avoiding on a daily basis – the quiet time you are skipping, the small thank you note you need to write to your loved one, the smile you need to wear when you are at the grocery store, the exercise routine that you finally need to incorporate in your LIFE.
Pick one and just do it!

It is a matter of urgency. Don’t tell yourself you can go without it for another day. Compare a life filled with joy, satisfaction, peace and abundance of spirit because you do things that matter vs. a life of postponement filled with empty things because you made the wrong comparison.

Go from survive to alive!