The Art of Asking Questions

Lazy blog update today.  But still - this slideshare presentation is pretty cool.

The Power of Saying - Yes

In a weeks time I get a huge opportunity and the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream to be able to travel, and not only to travel, but travel into China.  To be honest I was pretty sure I would get there one day I just hadn'tfigured it would be in 7 days.

The really great aspect of the entire process of my being able to go all comes down to three basic things.

1. I said yes.
2. I was prepared at the right time.
3. I am ready to go and have the ability to.

In what I thought was just another plain day at work my boss asked me a completely random question.  Do you have a passport?  Answer - yes.  I had no idea where he was going with this.  Second question - is it current?  Answer - yes.  Now my interest was beginning to peak.  Then the third question - do you want to go to China?  Answer - Yes.

It really is that simple.  I made an on the spot decision and it has turned out to be all good.  To put this all into context what happened was my boss has previously visited China in the past few months and had an excellent time there.  While he was there he had the chance to meet faculty from the Nanjing Forestry University.

So what does this have to do with me?  The University have extended the invitation for us to visit again.  As my boss has been on a few international trips already recently he felt he did not have the time to commit with the ever increasing pressures of work.

So he decided to pass the opportunity on to someone else.  That someone - is me.  Awesome! 

So I must say a HUGE thanks to my wife is allowing me to go :-) and oh yeah - I even get to pop into Shanghai for the weekend for some sighseeing and shopping!  So I better bring home something nice!

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/3856140286/

Leadership Lessons - General Colin Powell

When you can't say it better than someone else, let them say if for you. Thanks to the team at Slideshare and more importantly - vivekpokhare for taking the time to capture the information and post this presentation.

General Colin Powell A Leadership Primer

View more presentations from vivekpokhare.

Job Management - It's all in the way you market yourself

Traditional job seeking websites list positions that are put their by employers looking for the right kind of person.  This process involves -

• Having a position to offer;
• Knowing what you are looking for before you advertise;
• Having no idea who is going to apply or what the quality of applicant may be;
• Then spending hours and hours looking through and vetting CV's and reumes that were a complete waste of time.

What alternatives are there?

1. Hire people on short term contracts.  Make an initial contract no more than three months in length and watch how the person goes.  Are they a a fit?  Are they who you thought they would be?  Does their skills match their CV?  If not, you still have an opt out option.  This is fairer on them and you as well.  And if the person fits the organisation they already know the job and can continue on at full speed.
2. Use social media to source people.  Find someone who knows someone who has the skills you are looking for and find out before you hire where they are at.  This is also a great way to pick up people who may currently be overseas and are returning soon but don't want to commit in to big a way upon their return.
3. http://www.greensky.co.nz/  This website reverses the standard 'looking for employment' process.  Employers can browse over the CV's and resumes of potential employees and can pre-decide who looks like a great fit for the company.  It is also a great wat to see peoples CVs and work historys in advance.  This kind of self advertisement also takes a bit of nouse and ago which are probably both skills that your organusation needs.

Try it.  It works.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfgallery/3537124962/)

Word of the Week - Evolve

e·volve (-vlv) v. e·volved, e·volv·ing, e·volves

1. a. To develop or achieve gradually: evolve a style of one's own.
b. To work (something) out; devise: "the schemes he evolved to line his purse" (S.J. Perelman).

2. Biology To develop (a characteristic) by evolutionary processes.

3. To give off; emit. (Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/absche/3054927857/)

In order for the manager to have a long and successful career like most things there must be a process of evolving and change.  No one person ever starts with all the answers, skills or key ingredients to be successful.

One key requirement is for the manager to be able to spot new trends, understand new technologies and be able to interact and work in a co-operative way with others.  Not onle does the manager have to be able to spot the trends they must also develop a strategy for incorporating or changing to embrace those changes.

It seems to me that the older we get the harder it is to keep in touch with the technological changes and demands of the day.  However the skills required to manage and interact with people don't change - much.
The medium is different but the message's are essentially the same.

So what are the message types - encouragment, endorsement, coaching and leading.  No matter how many changes the rest of or work undergoes these essential skills are timeless and will not change.

So there are two main points to this post -

1. To be a successful manager you need to be prepared to evolve and change your style and skills to ensure your longevity. 
2. The mediums for dealing with people have changed but the messages are the same.

If you have great people skills but cannot evolve to use technology I would expect that you will end up in a more manual close range type role c.f.a mre technical managing from a distance type role. 

"To sustain longevity, you have to evolve. "  Aries Spears

Leadership Lessons - From TED

This is a great video and while there are lessons given by the presenter, here a few more bits that I would like to add to the conversation -

• Taking the initiative is important. Somebody has to get started - right? The first mover see's an opportunity and grabs it. Completely unaware or without thinking about the outcomes or opportunities the situation provides he runs on instinct and it works.
• Recreating the first time never quite has the same spontaneity or freedom of choice to it. But the second time allows for better organization, co-operation and consistency.
• The first person always takes the risk to get started - but those who follow are better able to improve the product.
• The first person will always remember being the first person but may not receive the same credit he thinks he may deserve.
• Unless - the first guy is able to repeat his success on multiple occasions and to improve the style and outcomes of his offering.

Being first is cool very cool but through waiting and watching - you can improve and grow upon the successes of others.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lerdobi/422218584/)

Product Design - Apple iPod Shuffle - Brilliant!

(Disclaimer - I am not prehistoric or a neanderthal as far as technology goes- just new to Apple).

Much of this post will be unashamedly a shout out to Steve Jobs and the awesome people at Apple.  I have read a lot about Apple and the products they make.  I have seen others using their products and at times have used the Mac and the iPod.

However today was the first time I had the privelage of opening a brand new package from Apple.  And to be honest everything I had read and heard proved to be true!

The box containing the iPod was impeccable.  The product was able to be seen through the clear box and the headphones were viewable also.  All of the initial packaging said - "Open up and use me.  Go on, you know you want to!"

Then once the initial seal was broken the internal contents were laid out in such a way as to make sense.  On top was the actual player, followed by the headphones and last but by no means least were the instructions.  The instructions were not some book or too-many times folded piece of paper with 6 different languages on it.  Nope.  The cover of the instruction bok has a simple message - "Start here".  No mucking around, nothing superfluous, just cut to the chase plug it in and go instructions.  And those are only the looks...

When playing the iPod all of the controls are located on the headphones.  Simple, clean design and easy to use.  Volume and song choice are determined by clicking a button that sits perfectly just below shoulder height when the ear pieces are being used.  The iPod even has the ability to tell you the name of the song and artist while the track is playing! Honestly whoever thinks of these things should be kinghted.

I am truly blown away by the sheer engineering brilliance and design pedigree that show through on the Shuffle.  What excites me the most is the fact that someone took the time to think about the basic things - the instructions, the packaging, the size, the convenience of use.  Fantastic!

If all of Apple's products are packaged as well and work as well as my humble iPod shuffle then I am a guarenteed customer for life.  And fingers crossed I might be able to convine my wife to buy me more Apple products as Christmas......

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/asdesign46/3370492831/)

Seinfeld - Answering Phones and Avoiding People

Have you ever had a client/cutomer/colleague you just didn't want to speak to right now?  Check out this great laugh from Seinfeld.  It's titled - George's Answering Phone.  Enjoy!

Whoever the person was that invented the little screen on your telephone that tells you who is calling - deserves an award!

List - Audits

Creating the list

...is not the same as obeying the list.

Do you make the list you check off, follow and work on every day? When does it get made? Who approves it? Do you identify tasks or perform them?

If you had a better list, would you do better work? If you made the list instead of just obeying it, would you be a more valuable member of the team?

Yes, asking questions is often more valued than answering them. (If they're the right questions.)

(Source: This series of audit questions comes to you from: Seth Godin)

These questions are very similar to the questions I posed yesterday. However Seth's view is more micro where as mine was macro.

It is important to remember to view the world from other's perspectives and not just your own.

"I've got a new invention. It's a revolving bowl for tired Goldfish." Lefty Gomez.

Success - Defined

What is success and how can you measure it? This really short 3 and a half minute presentation will give you some fantastic ideas.

Watch the video - you'll experience the greatest impact within the shortest 3 and a half minutes of your life.

Micro Finance - making a real difference

There are plenty of people in the world who are searching for a breakthrough opportunity to change their lives. They need some funding, some support and some encouragement.

In most parts of the world you can - ask a bank for a loan or seek out an investor.

What about if you live in an under developed country? What then?

How about micro-loans and micro-finance. I personally am a member of Kiva. Kiva is a group of like minded people who lend small amounts of money to people across the globe to help them finance their businesses and to further their opportunities.

I highly recommend that you check it out - Kiva.org

Click here to see someone I have loaned to recently.

And here are some great reads that got me started -

• Hillary Clintons book "Living History"
• Paul Smith and Eric Thurmans book "A Billion Bootstraps".

Leadership Interviews - Number 2

Wendy Kopp, CEO of Teach for America - is a great role model. Ms Kopp is listed as having a Bachelors degree. What does that say? You don't have to have a PhD to be a great CEO!

What I find really interesting about Ms Kopp is the fact that when she first finished her study she noticed a need in the community at the low income end and ended up starting a community and social responsibility company that seeks to help under privileged kids.

Here's the lesson - if you follow your heart, use your smarts and open to change then anything is possibe.

Here's another lesson - often times you won't change the system from within, but you can create and provide solutions from the outside in.

Here is a video of an interview done with Ms Kopp.




There is also another great interview with her written up by the NY Times over here.