Monday 30 December 2019

Recommended reading lists

I agree with the saying that 'leaders are readers'. The very best leaders I know are curious. They're informed and aware of what's happening in the world.

Here's my full recommended reading list.

And here's the top 21 list pictured. Start here should you not yet be in the reading habit or want to restart it.

Be remarkable.
Ian

Friday 20 December 2019

Life is a gift we never stop unwrapping

Christmas has very little to do with real life. By all means celebrate it however you wish.

Reality though is who you are and what you do every day.

You are not what you believe. By all means believe in whomever and whatever you wish. Just don't place too much emphasis on your beliefs.

Who you are and what you do every day matters way beyond your beliefs.

You are not even your thoughts. You are the human being having your thoughts. 

It took me a very long time of learning and mastering meditation to understand this. And this is an ongoing journey!

You are who you choose to become.  And you get to decide many times every day as I explore in this post.



The best way that I know of to continually make wise choices is to see life as a gift we never stop unwrapping.

To do this we need to stay curious. We need a sense of wonder and awe about life. Life is more about questions than answers.

Loved ones, friends, colleagues, neighbours and even strangers must be cherished. We travel the journey of our life alone yet the great paradox is that we need other people for it to matter, have meaning and to be worthwhile.

I wish you and yours all the very best.

Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 18 December 2019

3 ways to sustain high touch in a high tech world

John Naisbitt first developed the concept of high tech, high touch in his 1982 bestseller 'Megatrends'. His central idea was that in a world full of technology, people will still long for personal, human contact.

He then explored this idea in his 1999 book 'High Tech/High Touch'.

I think this idea is still highly relevant today.

John Naisbitt latest books.

To sustain high tech/high touch I continually contemplate and answer in my own best way the following 3 questions:

1) How best can I use technology to enhance the human experience of my clients?

2) How best can I use technology that means my work is meaningful for me and highly valuable for my clients?

3) In what ways can I provide value for my clients and those who are candidates that surprises them without using some technical gizmo?

Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian


Monday 16 December 2019

Becoming a Modern Elder - wisdom from Chip Conley

I love this TEDx talk by Chip Conley. I reflect on Chip's great book wisdom@work here.



My favourite take aways:

from Chip: "Wisdom is not taught. It's shared.

Middlescence. More from Barabar Waxman here.


Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Friday 13 December 2019

The future is full of infinite possibilities. What are you choosing?

Every day we determine our destiny by the choices we make and don't make.

I often look at this picture and contemplate the wise words of Viktor Frankl to remind myself of the power of choosing.


I often think too of my friend and colleague W. Mitchell's famous edict:


The future is full of infinite possibilities. What are you choosing?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 11 December 2019

The 25 Goal Setting Questions Everyone Needs to Answer with Keith Abraham

I love this from my friend and colleague Keith Abraham.


There's a link to download the worksheet underneath the video.

Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 9 December 2019

The Hedonist’s Guide To Getting Things Done: Goal Setting Made Easy - guest post by Gihan Perera

This is a guest post by Gihan Perera.


Most goal-setting programs are hard. The system might sound easy, but achieving the goals is difficult. It usually takes discipline, willpower, a strong mindset, hard work, sacrifice and struggle.

No wonder most people fail at their goals or New Year’s Resolutions!

I’ve got a different approach to goal setting: This coming year, choose, plan and achieve goals that bring you joy, ease and happiness – not only when you achieve them, but along the way as well.

Now I know this flies in the face of many (most?) goal-setting programs! So be warned that what I’m going to share here might be controversial, confronting or conflicting with other advice you’ve seen. But hey – if you do embrace my advice, you will enjoy the next twelve months. So what have you got to lose?

The title of this article is tongue in cheek. A hedonist is purely motivated by pleasure, perhaps even selfish pleasure. I’m not suggesting that’s appropriate as a way of life. But I do think we spend way too much time in our life doing things we don’t want, that we’re not good at, with people we don’t like, and without getting any reward. Why not do something different this year?

Heck, there’ll be plenty of times when life isn’t perfect. Sure, you might get stuck in traffic, fight with your partner, struggle getting the kids to sleep, do work that you don’t want to do just because it’s in your job description, or force yourself to be more disciplined at work. But those things are going to happen anyway. Why would you deliberately schedule more of those things in your goal setting as well?

So do yourself a favour when you’re setting your goals for the year: Don’t create goals and activities that involve struggle, complication, hardship and sacrifice. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, especially if you’ve done other goal-setting programs. But hang in there – I’ll explain …

I’ve got ten guidelines here, broken down into three areas: Choosing the right goals (4 guidelines), planning (3) and taking action (3).

Choose
1. Do what you love

It’s surprising how many people set a goal because they think they “should” do it, or they “need” to do it, or somebody else wants it for them. Those goals are the first to go when life gets in the way.

So only choose goals that you want to achieve. In fact, I’ll go a step further and say you should only choose goals that you will love to achieve. This isn’t about being selfish; it’s about choosing wisely.

2. Love who you’ll be

Think carefully: Are you going to be happy – truly happy – with the person you’re going to become if you do achieve your goals?

If you get that big promotion, will you be OK spending more time away from your spouse and kids? If you go on that carrot juice diet and lose 20 kilos, can you tolerate having to gaze longingly and wistfully at chocolate cake from now until the end of your life? If you get all those business travel opportunities, can you cope with spending wasted hours in airports, taxi queues and hotel rooms?

Be sure you’re willing to accept all the consequences of achieving your goal.

3. Think big

Most people don’t fail because their goals are too big; they fail because their goals are too small. Those goals are easily forgotten or tossed aside when something bigger comes along. So make sure you set big – but achievable – goals.

As Jonathon Kozol says:

“Pick battles big enough to matter; small enough to win.”

4. Know the reason why

It’s not the “what” and “how” of a goal that motivates you; it’s the “why”. Sometimes you’ll end up with something that wasn’t exactly what you imagined, but it still achieves the same result.

Plan
5. Love what you do

Plan to enjoy the journey. If it takes willpower, discipline or sacrifice to achieve your goal, it’s harder to do and easier to slip up. Instead, make it fun!

It’s no fun to crawling out of bed an hour early to exercise, but perhaps you can make it fun by exercising with a friend, so you make it a social event as well.

It’s no fun to set aside 10% of your income for wealth creation, but what if you also set aside another 10% as “play money”, to be spent on fun and frivolity?

It’s no fun to call past customers to bring them back into your fold, but what if you invited them to a cocktail party instead?

6. Hang out with people you like

Life’s too short to spend with people you don’t like, love, inspire or are inspired by.

Decide who you want to spend more time with this year, and make sure they’re part of your journey. They don’t have to be actively involved in helping you achieve your goals – although that’s a bonus. But make sure they’re around. And be especially sure you don’t neglect them while achieving your goals.

7. Get help

Whatever your goals, there’s a good chance somebody else has already achieved them. So find the right mentors and ask for their help. You might have to pay, or you might not. Either way, it’s the best way to fast-track your success.

Do
8. Start before you’re ready

You won’t have all your preparation complete. You won’t know exactly what path to follow. There’s always a reason not to start today. But if you’re waiting for the perfect moment to get started, you’ll be waiting a long time. The perfect moment is now.

9. Take a big step first

A rocket uses most of its fuel in escaping the Earth’s atmosphere. After that, it takes very little energy to keep going.

Many of your goals – especially the biggest and most important goals – are similar. Don’t start with baby steps; start with massive strides. The good news is that often just a few strides can make a big difference, and then everything else is easy.

Obviously I’m not suggesting you do dangerous things, like suddenly taking up squash if you’re unfit. But if it’s OK to start walking for 30 minutes a day, start walking. Don’t “build up to it” with unnecessary little steps – e.g. buying new sneakers, starting a journal to record your progress, telling all your Facebook friends, shopping for a new T-shirt to celebrate the start of the journey, and plotting the optimal walking route for different weather conditions. Sure, these small steps are easy, but it’s the first big step (literally in this case) that matters.

10. Do something every day

Do something towards at least one of your goals every day. After all, why wouldn’t you? These activities are fun, not a burden or a chore. So, in addition to working towards your goals, you’re adding some fun and enjoyment to every day of your life!

More importantly, at the end of the year, you will have taken 365 steps – enjoyable steps – towards achieving your goals. That’s 365 more than the average person.

So that’s it. Those are my ten guidelines for easy goal setting.

Good luck, and I wish you all the best for making 2020 the best year of your life.

More from Gihan.

Friday 6 December 2019

How trustworthy are your sources of information?

Your Innovation Journey

Innovation i.e. changing what's normal when the status quo is no longer serving you, your family, the  communities to which you belong, or your customers/clients, begins with information that you turn into insight.

You then turn insight into inspiration which then becomes an idea or several. Then you choose one idea and implement it.

You're following this process or something similar a lot lately is my guess because all of us want to thrive in what some folk describe as the decade of disruption.

Below is a process I often use with my clients. Increasingly the first and final steps are becoming ever more crucial.

Information

What is the actual truth of the matter? is a question I am asking much more lately. It's impossible to tell sometimes without a lot of research. How trustworthy are your sources of information?

You may find this Greg Bean article of interest and value. It's called 'Media dead silent as Wikileaks insider explodes the myths around Julian Assange'

Should you start the innovation journey with a lie, a mistruth or a doubtful fact it can lead to disaster right?

Integrate and AAR

I see many people instigating or implementing something new. What I don't see as often is after-action-reviews (AAR) and integrating new perceptions and learning with what is already working well. 

After-action-reviews are a game-changer because while every detail is still fresh in people’s hearts and minds is really the only time to effectively review performance. This is why all the great sports coaches get their teams in the room privately straight after the game and before they speak with anyone else. More about AAR here.


Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 4 December 2019

No more black or cyber for me, You?

I don't know where Black Friday or Cyber Monday came from. Frankly I don't care.

What I do know is that I instantly deleted a lot of emails when I saw these words in the past week or so.

I also unsubscribed from many of the sources of these emails.

I don't need any more stuff.

I definitely don't need anybody trying to flog me stuff based on a trumped up reason that bears no resemblance to my situation.

Some say data is the new oil. I don't know. What I do know is that just because you have my data doesn't mean you understand me or know me.

The more that you demonstrate that you don't know me, the less likely it is that I'm going to buy anything from you?

Is it just me? Or is consumerism in need of disruption?

Your thoughts?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 2 December 2019

Where's your extra 101 days of learning before 2022?

I found this 2018 Future Jobs Report from the World Economic Forum a valuable read. The most valuable piece for me is this prediction: "On average, employees will need 101 days of retraining and upskilling in the period up to 2022." Where's your extra 101 days of learning before 2022?
Maybe I can help you.

My Possibility Leadership program is now available just online. It's still you and I and maybe some of your team working together live, we're just taking advantage of technology. In this case Zoom and where appropriate the good old telephone!

Learn more here and get in touch when completing the one page performance possibility pulse check resonates with you.

Up until 31st January 2020 I'm offering a special investment that will never be repeated. Maybe you can do some of your 101 days before then! I'm happy to schedule for later too and lock in the special investment offer.

Be remarkable.
Ian