Archive for March, 2011
The Fine Art of Making Lemonade
Posted by: | CommentsWhen life hands you a lemon, make lemonade – Dale Carnegie
In Life we are surrounded by lemons – and these are not always the fresh, tangy, invigorating variety loaded with Vitamin C that are good for our health. They are sometimes the sour fruit of our labours or relationships that have gone sour.
I don’t know when the good fruit became a metaphor to represent everything going wrong in our lives – such as a recently purchased car that simply will not run , a business opportunity we have invested in that does not get off the ground.
In my opinion there are no lemons – and we can turn it into the most amazing experience of our lives if we seek the lesson contained therein and then apply it for even better results, making a sweeter lemonade that is refreshing to drink, from an unbearably sour experience. Read More→
Influence or Charisma – Titles and Tiaras Not Required
Posted by: | CommentsCharisma is that sparkle in people that money can’t buy. It’s an invisible energy with visible effects. – Marianne Williamson.
All the media hype about the impending royal wedding of Prince William and commoner Kate Middleton, inevitably got me thinking about Princess Diana and her extraordinary Charisma.
She started her royal life as an immature young teenager walking shyly beside her royal husband and grew in stature and influence to capture the attention and hearts of the world that far surpassed anything any of her titled family had ever experienced.
Stripped of her title after the divorce from Prince Charles, she continued to wield her influence to benefit those who did not have a voice. So what is this elusive quality that inspires so many and distinguishes true leaders from the wannabes? Read More→
Changing Habits in 7 easy steps
Posted by: | CommentsAn unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones. – W. Somerset Maugham
Habits, as Agatha Christie once said, are curious things. People themselves don’t know they have them! So what is a habit? It is something that we have been doing for so long that we fail to notice it at all – its as though we are in autopilot mode and the habits are now what are leading our lives.
Some of these may be good habits, usually ingrained in the discipline of childhood- such as brushing our teeth in the mornings, keeping our commitments , washing our hands when we come in from the outdoors. We don’t usually wake up and say, what if I did not brush my teeth today. The habit will eventually force you into getting them cleaned sooner or later. Good habits protect us and make us successful. Read More→
The Weakest Link on Teams
Posted by: | CommentsThe weakest link in the chain is also the strongest. It can break the chain- Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
It is a scientific fact that if you loop 3 links in a chain, with each link capable of carrying different loads , for example one may carry an 80 lb weight, another 60 lbs and a third 25 lbs, when put to a stress test, the chain would always break at the weakest link.
This has provided a good figurative metaphor to describe many situations in life where a seemingly insignificant and inconsequential overlooked detail can crumble the strongest establishment and be the unseen cause of defeat for many team efforts – whether on the battlefield, in a family or on a corporate team.
The secret lies in not only being able to correctly identify the team member whose performance is impacting the success of the team, but also in managing the individual with compassion. Here’s how… Read More→
