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INFLUENCE FOR GOOD5/16/2024 We all have influence and yet some of us refuse to exert influence when it's important that we do so. I have been in conversations with a prospective client who was just wanting to be heard and not sold. By listening to what exactly was not being said, I offered to help out in their curriculum development of a course that was missing in their program. I got an instant project. The theme of my short seminar for the year, became lo and behold, the theme of the annual graduation ceremony and culminating research convocation. I'm very happy that it turned out well for them. There are ways by just speaking out, (not complaining or blaming) for an issue or a concern, will create opportunities for others to speak out or move in that direction. I was at a meeting one day. The chair of the meeting told us, "You're lucky you have a job. While others are being laid off, you have a paycheque every quarter." I said, "We are lucky that we have good jobs. We are here to ensure that everyone of us have a great working experience every time we come to the office." Heads nodding. Another meeting where Christian pastors asked: "What is this diversity project with the municipality all about? I responded that it's for building connections between the East and West side of our community and everything in between. Well, the rumors didn't match the reality. Recently I had a conversation with a Board Director for an interview to a Board position at a regional service organization. Mutually, we have arrived at a decision that I should defer my application after a few years when the organization had stabilized in its operation. I also added that, "The way the current Board is doing all the work of organizational development is untenable. No self-respecting Board Member should carry all the work that the Executive Director should be able to perform." Silence. You are influential to your family members, friends, and colleagues. You are influential to your boss, supervisors, and managers. You are influential to your service providers, your doctors, lawyers, staff, and the whole suppliers that you work with. They want to get your feedback, opinion in ways they can improve. You are influential to your spheres of community. Don't cede your influence to an arbitrary set of ideologies, rules, and dogmas. Don't be intimidated by the largeness of the room, the initials to the name, or the social media following, or anything exterior or externalized. Don't be the silent majority that takes the beating for everyone else and gets all the suffering. Don't try to please people and be obsequious. The opportunity to influence for good is always available, matter of fact, ubiquitous. Don't you see that I'm trying to influence you?
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THE NOW ZONE5/13/2024 Live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, and find eternity in each moment - Henry David Thoreau Some days are sublime. Some days are so bad you just wish that that the day would end soon. On both days, one thing is for certain: You only have that moment to live and after that, it's done. A new day and opportunity appears or so we hope. As the great poet and writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez said in his autobiography and memoir, "I didn't know that that was the last time I would see my friend. My last hug." I lost a great friend from cancer. She was just 35 years old. And some people in my life: family members, friends, colleagues, co-workers, one by one are passing on and will never be replaced. Because the Now Zone is what we have. The future is unknown. The past is a done-deal. Whoever can hold the present and contain its beauty or ugliness or its messiness is a person that is truly alive. Being alive is choosing against many choices to let it all run through but not sink on it. Make mistakes and take risks. Don't let small issues and events ruin your overall standing. One day, my daughter came to me, crying about the imperfect set of legs of her otherwise good drawing of Bluey. I told her, that those legs work for the drawing itself. And the drawing from which she based her work is not even great, just average. Average is alright. Now is the time to create. Tomorrow is for something else. Get into the Now Zone because it's the only place we can really live on.
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SMALL PIVOTS5/7/2024 At the time that you think you're set with your business strategies. You realized that you have to make small pivots along the way to make it work. Hence, the way strategies are developed nowadays is that it's not banking on certainty, but banking on uncertainty. It's designed for complexity and agility, not set in stone. You know that your strategies, whether the Big S or the small S are as good as your implementation. And in implementation, there's no one way to getting done. Sometimes you have to go to the back door to get to the front door. Sometimes, there's no other way than to make adjustments when signals are staring you in the face. Sometimes, you have to recalibrate your tactics in light of the changing environment. The marketplace is tough. If you're not delivering you might as well go home and not put up the fight. Or go home and get back the next day with better tactics and understanding of your business offerings/programs and your clients. Either way, strategizing is an on-going process. If you feel that you have arrived on strategy, it could barely mean that it's time for the next one. Don't be afraid to pivot in as many reiterations as you can. That's where you can get the most learning and absolute fun from. |