The worst life advice: Persist and you will succeed

Many motivational quotes convey this message - keep at it, believe in yourself, stay true to the course, and eventually you will make it. This can be horrible advice. Banging your head against the wall again and again will break your head before you break the wall. One key element people forget is to work smart, to expand your mindset. Working hard is not enough. 

Learn, and you will succeed. 

What is entrepreneurship based on kindness?

 

Do you associate the word "entrepreneurship" with "kindness"? I was recently invited to be a speaker for a group of entrepreneurs, to speak on high-performance organisation culture. I was inspired by their mindset of having kindness and love as the foundation of business. If you don't love your work, your employees and your customers, you cannot run a productive and sustainable business. Thank you Vistage Group VEE-46! 

The older you get, the lonelier you become?

Have you experienced meeting the stereotypical get-off-my-lawn grumpy old man? As we get older, we sometimes wonder whether we are growing to become one of them. With age we gain experience, but also pride, ego. We become less and less able to listen to and accept others' views. We get worse in empathising with others, especially those who are younger. That's why we keep complaining "Young people these days... "  

Stay a child. Be curious. Ask questions. We should be getting better and better in developing interesting and meaningful relationships. If we feel lonelier, then the problem is with us. 

I hate holidays

Most people cheer when unexpected public holidays are announced. It's one more day away from work, to play, to rest, to enjoy ourselves. 

The thing is - life doesn't give us holidays. We still need to put food on the table. The client still needs the project delivered by the same deadline. We still need to pay our staff on time. To me, forced holidays are disruptive. I'd rather take holidays, for rest and for play, on my terms. We don't need holidays to escape our work when we find work we love, or we learn to find love in our work.  

How do you get loyalty from employees?

 

People can write whole books on this topic. In the end, it just comes down to two things. (1) Pay them enough. (2) Respect them. 

Is there a third you would add? 

小事做不了，大事做不好 If you can't get the small things right, why do you expect you can do the big things well?

 

有看过 Slam Dunk 的人，会知道基本功夫的重要。主角樱木花道自认天才，起初是不削基本功夫，也讨厌所谓的平民上篮的。我们的工作、事业上，是不是也很多我们不削的小事？开会迟到五分钟？客户晚上来的信息明早才回复？我们处理小事的态度，其实反映了我们做所有事的格局。

If you have read / watched Slam Dunk, you will know the importance of basic training. Initially the main character Sakuragi Hanamichi despised basic training because he only wanted to do great things. In our work and our businesses, how well do we handle the small things? Are we punctual for meetings? Respond to messages within the same day? Yes, these may be small things, but how do you the small things reflects your attitude in everything you do. 

Develop people by confirming, not by correcting

It is easy to see mistakes our people make, point them out, and tell our people not to repeat the same mistakes. What we often neglect are the times they do things right. We forget to praise the right behaviours. When we don't reinforce the right behaviours and actions, these are missed opportunities. Developing people only by correcting creates timid employees who only want to avoid making mistakes. Develop people by confirming. You build their confidence. You constantly remind them what are the right things they should keep doing.

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

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