Maximise Potential

If I were my younger version now I would have made some changes based on my current knowledge and experience. First and foremost I would have set clear career goals and read more books at that time. In my 20’s I didn’t really think too much about continuous improvement on key skills on the job so I wish I had done that earlier. I would have developed better negotiation skills to get exactly what I wanted. When I landed my first job there were many aspects within the job description that was not easily understood by me, however I gave my best every single day and that helped. I would have also used the internet to my advantage. We all fear about our first job but we should see it as a challenge or more importantly as an opportunity to show the world and ourselves what we are made of. If I were looking for my first job in today’s information age I would feel ecstatic about the many opportunities available, the internet which provides so much information on every field, ability to...

Build a Cohesive Leadership Team Organizational health is the key advantage for all successful organizations. This is the subject of the book “The Advantage” by Patrick Lencioni. Organizations need to be both smart and healthy. He says that most organizations are smart and know what they do but few are healthy. These are the factors that determine organization health ·          Minimal Politics ·          Minimal Confusion ·          High Morale ·          High Productivity ·          Low Turnover I want to write about one of the concepts mentioned in the book that is building a Cohesive leadership team The only way to develop organization health is to build a team that is behaviorally unified. The team size should be between 8-9 and not less than 3 or more than 12. ...

The enemy of the best is the good. I like some of the principles outlined in the Jim Collins book Good to Great and it is one of my favorite business books. Yes it is a book defining what makes a company move from good to great but it also has lessons for individuals that can be applied. The important principles I found useful are Level 5 Leadership This is the type of leader who has professional will but at the same time displays utmost humility. Level 5 leaders have a ferocious resolve and determination to produce results while at the same time showing compelling modesty. The Level 5 leaders put the organizations success before their personal success.  They also leave behind an organization which will still perform at the highest level even when the Level 5 leader leaves. The author calls these clock builders instead of time builders. There is a lot to learn from this lesson that having humility is a great characteristic to possess and constantly keeping you...

Daniel Pink is an excellent author. I particularly liked his book “Drive.” The origins of motivation were interesting and discussed in detail. There are powerful examples provided to show why carrot and sticks don’t work, also why sometimes they are good.  There are two types of motivation he provides. One is Type X which is where the people do the work only for extrinsic rewards like money, status, recognition etc. Then there is type I people who do their work because of intrinsic motivation and they are self-directed. The Type X folks will not generally experience flow (the feeling of utmost pleasure and satisfaction while doing a task. This results when we lose the sense of time and get so engrossed in the work).  In the long run Type I will always outperform Type X.  However the author also cautions that we cannot classify someone as completely Type X or Type I because everyone has a combination of both with only varying degrees. Carrots and Sticks were la...

I love the book Talent Is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. It really demystifies talent and articulates what separates the great performers from others. The book starts with the question where does great performance come from. The author successfully argues that innate talent is not the reason for exceptional performance providing examples of Mozart and Tiger Woods. The key take away is that every exceptional performer had put in 10000 hours of deliberate practice before being called a genius. Mozart’s first work regarded as a master piece was his Piano Concerto No.9 composed when he was twenty one. By then Mozart had put in more than eighteen years of extreme expert training. This does not take away the genius aspect but only goes to prove that what we think is innate talent is actually the results of years of arduous hard work.  The book goes into depth on what deliberate practice is. It involves selecting a particular activity and going to lengths to practice on your areas ...

Here are a few of my thoughts on how to get the most out of life and enjoy it to the maximum. 1.         Burn your boats 2.         Be passionate 3.         Take time off to recharge regularly 4.         Exercise regularly 5.         Set goals for your life 6.         Have a personal mission statement 7.         Be kind and generous 8.         Have fun 9.         Be humble 10.      Love life 11.      Treat people with respect 12.      Pursue your work with fervor and passion 13.      Commit to excellence 14.      Keep learning and improving 15. ...