Do you promote or do you recruit?

 

There is a role in your organisation you are going to create. No one has the exact skills or experience needed. The person in this position will be leading an existing team of eight, and needs to work closely with a few other teams. It is a new venture for the organisation and you expect many challenges ahead. Would you promote someone from your existing staff to fill this position, because you need someone who already knows your organisation and its culture, and already has rapport with other departments? Or would you recruit from outside, bringing in new perspectives and experience which your organisation lacks?

No one owes you their time

 

"I'm an excellent artist! Why aren't people buying my work? Why are other mediocre artists getting more commission work than me?"

Sometimes we get frustrated because despite our time and effort working on a product, a project or a proposal, we are not getting the traction we expect. We feel offended when people don't even bother to listen. The truth is we never deserve anyone's time, attention or patronage. We should not expect it in the first place. We are not entitled to it. Instead, we learn from the rejection, we move on to a more appropriate audience, or we rework our product to bring better value to our audience. When you bring value to the table, people will be willing to spend time with you. If you find this post useful, please like, comment and share.

Do you use the S-curve in managing your teams?

 

The S-curve has three parts. The launch point is when you are new to a role or task. You struggle and you learn slowly. The sweet spot is when you are growing quickly. The mastery point is when you've learnt almost all there is to learn, and you start to get bored.

For employees to grow professionally, they must keep going through S-curve cycles. If you are not challenging them, they will stagnate. However, beware not to have the whole team at the same stage at the same time. A team member at the launch point needs colleagues at other stages who will support him. A team member at the sweet spot and one at the mastery point complement each other well, one bringing new ideas and the other having rich experience. If you find this post useful, please like, comment and share.

How to build a winning team

 

Everyone wants a winning team. Who do you think are people who make a winning team? Competitive people who hunger for victory? Ambitious people who don't settle for less? Ruthless players who go all out to crush the opposition? These may be brilliant superstars, but they don't necessarily make the best team. The true winning team is not so much about defeating opponents. It is more about collaboration and creating value for everyone. 

If you have a superb sales team but they are obsessed with doing better and looking better than your other departments, this will become toxic to your company culture. If you have a competent sales team which works closely with other departments, helps them, and gets help from them, you will have a higher performing organisation. 

This and other tips in my book Every Employee an Entrepreneur: 

• Shopee Malaysia
• Lazada Malaysia
• Google Playstore e-book
• Amazon
• Amazon Kindle e-book

The quickest way to lose credibility - complain

 

Whether it's when you're at a job interview, or you are speaking to a potential business partner. If you come across as the type who keeps complaining, you will be perceived as a person who moans instead of a person who solves problems.

Yes, complaining is natural. It is a conversation starter. Most people like to complain. If you want to build trust, learn to complain less, and think of what you can do to make things better. If you find this post useful, please like, comment and share.

The B-words

 Being Busy is good. Being Blind is not. If you are Busy doing something you love, something you believe in, something that creates value for the world, you find happiness. If you are "Busy" doing many things without knowing your why or having any clear direction where you are heading, then you are just being Blind. In Mandarin, Busy (忙) and Blind (盲) are pronounced in the exact same way - mang2. Always be clear whether you are being Busy or being Blind. 

Even when you are Busy (and not Blind), you have beware of this B-word: Burnout. Sometimes you just need this other B-word: take a Break. 

If you find this post useful, please like, comment and share. 

What happens when I tell people I'm in BNI?

Often they look at me like I'm an insurance agent, from an MLM, or even from some cult. Indeed in the past there were people who tried to sell me the idea, and they made BNI sound like a get-rich-quick scheme. I almost swore never to touch BNI again.

I have spent almost a year in BNI now, and it was time to consider whether to renew my membership. As with all things, when we come to decisions like this, we naturally think about what we are putting in, and what we are getting out of it. What we are willing to give, and what we expect to get. As I reflect on this, I come to appreciate that for me this is now a community I am part of. It is not just a transaction where I spend time and money to get more business. It is more about what kind of person I want to become. I am here because I get to know a group of people who are smarter, kinder, more experienced, more successful, and more generous than me, and they make me a better person. When I am a better person, I run a better business. If you want to explore BNI, or any other organisation or company to be part of, look past the pitches and spiels. Look for the right community to be part of, and look for people who will make you want to be a better person.

What hiking taught me - in the end, it's just you and your trail

Know your pace.

Once when I went hiking, there were hikers behind me and I could hear them. They were quick and I knew I was in their way. Sometimes they overtook me when the path was wider. Whenever same fast hikers caught up to me from behind, I couldn't help feeling pressured. I went faster trying not to slow them down. Due to my rashness, I slipped and sprained my ankle. The rest of that hike was a slow and painful one. In hindsight, I should have just stopped and stepped aside to let faster hikers pass me, instead of forcing myself to match their pace.

There are other times when I catch up to hikers who are slower than me. In the past I grumbled in my heart and willed them to move faster (it doesn't work). Now if I get impatient I say "sorry, passing through" and I overtake them. They are happy to let me pass. They would probably feel pressured if I keep sticking close behind them.

It is the same in your business, in your career, and in your learning. Don't get distracted by how fast others are, or how slow they are. Find what works for you. In the end it's just you and your trail. Be accountable to yourself, and you do you.

The Fountains of Paradise

This novel by Arthur C. Clarke was first published in 1979, and won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It describes the construction of a space elevator. It is a story about hope, human tenacity and daring to dream big. What moves me is how we come to realise how small we are individually, and yet how big a purpose we can be part of, when we learn to see beyond ourselves.