Encouraging engaging education

Take a moment and check out this fantastic advert that was produced for the NZ Air Force.

How and why does it work?  Contrasts and comparisons.

• Boring teacher, boring classroom, boring lesson.

Versus

• Exciting technology, exciting opportunity, exciting response.

Then there are the sub themes that really make the advert great.

• The girl who gets on the helicopter was the only student trying to learn in class.  This tells me self-motivation is a huge factor.
• The girl stands up in anticipation of what might come well before the others.  Therefore she senses opportunity before it happens.
• She only has to be asked once before she runs out the door to embrace the opportunity. 
• No one tells her what the risks are or what the withdrawal policy is.  The air force want risk takers who are prepared to jump in boots and all.

So there you go.  Even if you hate what it is you are doing or learning - be aware that opportunity is never far away.  You need to be open and aware that it could happen at any time.

Would you take the risk? 

Go on take a risk...

...what have you got to lose?  Nothing ventured - nothing gained.

http://wilderdom.com/images/RiskIsRealityB4.bmp

So why this post?  I have been in my present role for 3 and 1/2 years.  Now I feel the time is right to shoot for the stars and try something new.  My issue is though that I have been in my present role so long that I am unsure if trying for something new really is the way to go.

Then earlier today I had a great conversation with a work friend who wound me up about taking a risk.  "Why not have a go?" he said.  And so I argued with him becuase I my confidence and thinking was just far too narrow at that time.  My arguing with him was futile because he was right.  So now that I have my confidence up and some gusto in my stomach - it's time to go for it!

Sometimes we need to have someone challenge us, our thinking, and our motivations or lack of.  Now to get started on getting my CV and application looking sharp.  I challenge you to find someone who will challenge you!

 

Demonstrating Real Leadership

Real leadership is a persons ability to see a need or a gap and having the courage to take charge. 

Here is my example.  Today we had a large bunch (about 120) school kids jam packed into one small room and area.  They were fidgety unruly and generally noisy.  That's what kids do!

What I really did was show leadership. At this point in time the staff member who was co-ordinating the event had to go elsewhere because other staff members hadn't shown up.

Where the leadership aspect comes into play is where I took the lead and tried to get the kids attention and got them thinking about the environment they were in.  I did this by asking them questions, moving their attention away from themselves and interacting with them.

Then when the appropriate staff turned up I worked with the co-ordinator to get the kids heading in the right direction (focus groups).  In this case leadership was demonstrated through getting the kids (13 and 14 year olds) to focus on something bigger than them and something worthwhile.

Leadership was also displayed by the co-ordinator who made fast decisions, co-ordinated people, got responses and then debriefed at the end.  Leadership is best shown in the heat of the moment that at the end of the crisis.



Leadership isn't always demonstrated through big events and world changing actions.  Real leadership is displayed when someone has the courage to step into a situation and make a difference. 

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianauer/2886023344/)

Breeaking The Rules of Old Wisdom

If any one person or business has constantly set the bar far higher than anyone else - it's Richard Branson.  He is a man is willing to take a risk and throw caution to the wind to find success.

This great article - http://www.trendpov.com/node/384 -that sums up some of how Virgin works.

I encourage you to read it.

What cost - opportunity

Some opportunities in life are just too good to let go.  So when the chance came up to join a team of experts and professionals in my field of work - how could I say no?

Here's the real lesson of this story.  The opportunity of a lifetime (this is a voluntary position) was handed to me on a plate.  I said yes.  But the same opportunity also has implications for my existing (paid) employment such as - time away from work (not a lot but some), extra meetings (again not that many) and a bit of effort is required.

Now if my employee came to me and told me that such an opportunity existed for them to grow themselves and gain some new skills that benefit -

1. them in the first place (major reason and weighting);
2. their ability to do their job (a good reason but not the majority);
3. help the entire industry (a very good reason with some weight added),

what do you think I would say?  Yes, absolutely, go for it.

What answer do you think I got?  No.  So what did I do?  I ignored the answer I got and decided to go for it anyway.  So what is the cost going to be?  A couple of annual leave days a year to attend extra meetings and a few extra hours in the office to cover any time spent doing voluntary work for the organisation.

The best opportunities in life will cost you something.  Having the ability and opportunity to pursue the rewards of what you really want in life - far outweighs the meagre cost of travelling the road to get there.

"Sieze opportunity by the beard for it is bare behind"  Romanian proverb.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joriel/2421678471/)

Making The Right Choice

What is the right choice to make in any given situation?  How do you know if the choice you are making is right or wrong?

I have been working through exactly this kind of situation.  It is a 'what should I do' situation.  So where should we start when it comes to making choices?

I go back to my annual resolutions, goals and objectives that I set for myself in December of last year.  Those goals are - 1.  Compliance, 2. Excellence and 3.  Teamwork.

So the situation arose where I had to pick between a good option that was mainly for my benefit or an option whereby I would forfeit personal gain in order to be involved with and develop my team.

Okay - so it doesn't sound that bad - but - giving up a financial reward for little effort isn't as easy as it may sound.  I was pretty keen on ensuring I got the best personal reward.  Until I started reflecting on where I am at and what is important to me in 2010.

So I chose to go with the team option.  Giving up a bit of money in the short term I decided was a poor way to get ahead when compared to the benefits and rewards of working with the team to grow the financial benefits and rewards for everyone.

Guess what - after I made the decision to stay true to my goals I had a pair of breakthrough moments.  One - the conflicting appointment was shifted so I can still make a personal gain, and two - I may have a chance to do something I have always dreamed of and may now be able to do.

Moral of the story - stay true to yourself, act and think with integrity and the rewards will come your way.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/will-lion/3122985108/)

Crisis Management - Telecom New Zealand (Case Study)

Telecom New Zealand has been having a real hard time recently.  They engaged a new project and product offering.  Telecom installed an entire new network, called XT, with high speed capability across the country.

The system was buzzing along fine for a few months and then the unthinkable happened - the network failed!

Okay - they set to work to fix the problems as quick as they could.  Then a few weeks later the system crashed again, and then crashed again with a grand total of four crashes.  The crashes ranged from being nation wide for a few days, to occuring in a localised area for a few hours followed by inability of users to call emergency services.

Once the media sensed there was a 'news-worthy' story they started watching out for further fails.  Like vultures awaiting the dying prey to fall, the media waited.  And, unfortunately, they got what they wanted.

This post isn't bout the media and their coverage - it's about accountability.  Given the service crashed four times and affected different locations and types of customers who is responsible?  The most obvious place to start is the CEO.  They have the final sign off for crucial projects and therefore the buck stops with them.  Right?

Not necessarily.  Like the Toyota hearings being held in the Senate earlier in the year management may not have actually been at fault!

If I were the CEO of Telecom or Toyota here's what I would endeavor to do -

• Stay put.  I would do everything within my power to see the problems/projects completed.
• Be open and transparent.  There was no hiding the fact that there were issues going on.  Hiding away or trying to ignore the problems does nothing to solve them.  Create a plan or strategy for dealing with the issues (the more comprehensive the better) and then use the media to broadcast those ideas instead.  Make the media work for you and not the other way around.
• Rally internal support.  I would seek out those loyal to me firstly and make sure I had a team who were prepared to take the rap as well and see the project satisfactorily completed.  If I was unable to gather the level of support I needed then I would reconsider my first decision to stay put.
• Rally external support.  Ultimately shareholders and stakeholders are your employer.  I would be seeking out ways to get those persons on board as quick as I could.  The rlationship you have as CEO with the Chairman of the Board can be the making or the breaking of your employment position as well.
• Know when to call for help!  I would seek out extensive experts in their field.  No one person has the capability to deal with this type of situation.  Cool heads and intelligent people are needed to work through these issues. 

I am lucky(?) that I am not in the position of those CEO's and I wouldn't wish those fail scenarios on anyone.  But I do relish the opportunity to muse on what the Telecoms and Toyotas have done in their hour of crisis so that I can plan now for whatever may come in future years.

(Images - http://www.flickr.com/photos/francescobellu/3488788000/sizes/t/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/hulk4598/3381433179/)

Smart Recruitment

Want people to sell your product for you? Why not use people's networks to your advantage?

The good people at Vodafone New Zealand's HR department have come up with this great angle for their recruitment drive.

"Have you been made redundant? If you are a natural sales person, or a well connected business person, we can offer you a silver lining in your redundancy cloud! This exciting challenge will appeal to a wide variety of people, and could suit those from the finance/insurance, car sales and real estate industries (husband/wife teams are very welcome too!), along with well connected sales people and business managers from any industry."

How does it work? Find people who -

• Have been made redundant


• Are good at selling things


• Know people in a wide range of industry's


• Are willing to take a risk and set themselves up as roving sales people.

It might just work...