CEO Strategic Foresight

There is a story that is your story.  It is the story of perseverance, dedication and excellence.  It is the story of suffering, pain and rejection.  It is the story of not being enough.  As you read this you are also writing the next chapter of your own story.  When you write your story, you are also writing the story of many others.  You are influential.  You are a leader.  You are a CEO.

Not Enough

Even though you have been at this for many years you are at a point where you need to transcend who you are so your business and organisation can transcend itself.  Deep inside you there is lingering power that can only be released with the help of your Creator.  You know this is true, but it seems like a mountain that is impossible to overcome. Continue reading “CEO Strategic Foresight”

The Battle of the Egos

Many people see capitalism and business as evil.  …Understandably so.  Many leaders in business today are missing the point.  Business is there to serve society.  The future leader of business needs to be a fulfilled individual if he or she wants to truly lead for good and not greed.

True leaders cannot desire to have Continue reading “The Battle of the Egos”

Blind Intelligence

I cannot believe how many people in business simply accept the current mediocre leadership culture.  I am utterly frustrated with the number of really smart people that will settle for second best when it comes to creating freedom.  Freedom?

Simple: free to choose when I work; free to choose where I work (and therefore skipping toxic exhaust fumes on my daily commute); free to choose how work gets structured (so that we can be creative and simply brilliant Continue reading “Blind Intelligence”

It’s Easier to Make It in This World Than it is to Change It

I have mentioned this quote in the past, but after a good conversation with a friend earlier today I thought it would be good to focus on it specifically:  It is easier to make it in this world than it is to change it.  Why?  Because you have to be willing to change yourself first.  Something I learned with greater depth in 2015 when I completed a U.Lab online certification at MIT through edX.

The course specifically focuses on changing business, society and self.  During our conversation my friend, very eloquently, indicated that the self should be first in order to emphasize that is where it all begins (the focus of the course is nonetheless very much on changing yourself first).  Throughout the course I had the chance to interact with variety of individuals all over the world Continue reading “It’s Easier to Make It in This World Than it is to Change It”

The Simple Truth Behind Long-Term Business Success

Whenever I make a business decision and whenever I study the truly successful companies globally I find a powerful and simple similarity:  Look to improve all the lives involved in any decision and profit will follow.  Sure, you can ignore this in the short-term and simply look to benefit yourself, but in the long term the companies that earn the greatest profit (financially, emotionally, socially, etc.) are the companies that look to serve a greater cause than money.

The challenge is that in order to do this the leadership, and especially the ownership, of the organisation has to be focused on total wealth creation at all levels.  This means that: Continue reading “The Simple Truth Behind Long-Term Business Success”

How I am Crafting my Career from a Calling

woodworking-691329_960_720Over the last decade I have had approximately 15 jobs in about as many organisations.  It has ranged from consulting to coaching and facilitation to lecturing.  I could not still because I was hungry to find out who I am; what I am good at and ultimately I wanted to have an impact by adding value from my highest potential.

This has not changed a bit!  In fact, I have now entered a phase in my life where I am starting to weave together, or craft, a fulfilling career from following a calling.  After high school I took a year off and it was during this year that I discovered passion and purpose deep inside me.  It is a passion and a purpose that is eternally inspired.

Left to my own devices I would have most probably not been as alive as I am today – who knows where I would have ended up!?
…But here I am crafting a career from calling.  The big insight for today is an old one: Continue reading “How I am Crafting my Career from a Calling”

The Power of Systems

SONY DSC

As much as I believe in the current and future potential of the people I work with, the clients I serve and the students I mentor, humans conform to systems whatever they are.  We can’t help it.  Once we encounter a system we are confronted with a choice:  conform or rebel.  Perhaps their is a nuanced approach (there always is) depending on the severity of the system, but at the extremes there are ultimately only two options over the long term – conform or rebel (in a good way).

I see it on a daily basis – whether it is a system to manage payments in a shop that is demanding and that reflects distrust or whether it is a system of control, like signing in and controlling people’s movement, we are confronted with systems that influence our lives.

Organisations seem to forget that systems are not neutral or passive, they are normative.  They carry the values of those who created them.  When putting a system in place it can empower individuals to make their own decisions, encourage cooperation, streamline the business or it can hamper progress, encourage dissent and destroy morale. Continue reading “The Power of Systems”

The Power of Systems

SONY DSC

As much as I believe in the current and future potential of the people I work with, the clients I serve and the students I mentor, humans conform to systems whatever they are.  We can’t help it.  Once we encounter a system we are confronted with a choice:  conform or rebel.  Perhaps their is a nuanced approach (there always is) depending on the severity of the system, but at the extremes there are ultimately only two options over the long term – conform or rebel (in a good way).

I see it on a daily basis – whether it is a system to manage payments in a shop that is demanding and that reflects distrust or whether it is a system of control, like signing in and controlling people’s movement, we are confronted with systems that influence our lives.

Organisations seem to forget that systems are not neutral or passive, they are normative.  They carry the values of those who created them.  When putting a system in place it can empower individuals to make their own decisions, encourage cooperation, streamline the business or it can hamper progress, encourage dissent and destroy morale. Continue reading “The Power of Systems”