6. Take Risks
February 17, 2012
November 18, 2011
Without Boundaries. Without Limits.
Point to Ponder:
September 01, 2011
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined*
POINT TO PONDER
“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
- Steve Jobs
STORYLINE
REFLECTION
"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple."
- Steve Jobs
As a tribute I wanted to “connect the dots backwards” in the unconventional life of a remarkable visionary.
Steve Jobs was born in 1955, adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs.
In 1969 meets Steve Wozniak while working over the summer at Hewlett Packard. By 1972, they are building and selling blue boxes to Berkeley students.
In 1973, Jobs attends Reed college only to drop out one semester later. He does however stick around to crash classes and credits a typeface class for his innovation of fonts on personal computers. Steve also becomes interested in eastern mysticism at this time and it is here he first experiments with drugs.
In 1974 Jobs convinces his employer at Atari to send him abroad. He is sent to Germany to work at the Atari plant there.
Afterwards he ventures to India to seek spiritual enlightenment. He does not find it there and returns to Atari.
Shortly after he ventures with his girlfriend and friend to a hippie commune in Oregon. There they fast only eating apples occasionally.
In 1975 Jobs and Wozniak start building computers in their garage.
1976, Apple Computers is incorporated.
In 1978, Jobs unveils the Apple 2 computer which is a hit. Personally, Jobs becomes a father to a daughter with ex-girlfriend Chris Ann-Brennan.
From there, the rest is history. http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/06/excellence-is-n.html
It is interesting to look at Steve Jobs' life and it's easy to say that he is an anomaly, the exception to the rule. I included some of the facts because I felt every journey, especially ones that are unconventional, often live outside the norm. I personally was surprised while doing research for this article that Jobs had done all kinds of unconventional things including dropping out of college. I highlight this not to celebrate it but to point out that every path is different, difficult and often confusing. The courage is to pursue it anyway.
Bonus: Steve explains the rule of success in this one minute video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuNQgln6TL0&feature=related
*Quoted from Henry David Thoreau
August 11, 2011
*In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy.
POINT TO PONDER
Our experiences define us but can also hold us to outdated beliefs and focusing on what can't work rather than what will.
STORYLINE by Rajiv Shah
Slavomir Rawicz' “The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom” recounts Rawicz' incarceration by the Russian military in a Serbian POW camp, and how he led six prisoners over 4,000 miles – through the unforgiving Serbian winter terrain, Gobi desert, Tibet, Himalayas, and India - to their freedom.
During his early days in prison, Rawicz's first ally becomes Khabarov, a man who has dreamed of escape ever since his incarceration, four years prior. He has studied the terrain, how to create a diversion, and what it will take to survive in the excruciating climate that surrounds the jail – nature proving to be the harshest prison of all.
When a snow storm blows in and makes visibility low, Rawicz decides that it is the best time to escape. The blizzard will cloak their break from the prison and cover their tracks as they trek deep into the wilderness. They are set to go.
Rawicz wakes his friend Khabarov and tells him it is time, that the conditions couldn't better for their escape. Khabarov balks. He goes through the scenario in his mind, as he has many times before, eventually counting all the ways their plan will fail, even though the opportunity of freedom is right in front of him.
His years in prison, his dreams of escape, his research and experience come to a head in that pivotal moment, and Khabarov chooses not to go with his friend. He stays behind, fearful and convinced by his experiences that their plan will not work. He can't change and his experiences in the prison keep him from his freedom - a freedom that Rawicz and his six companions find.
REFLECTION
I came across the title for this reflection* while perusing the gift shop at the Getty Villa in Malibu. On a magnet was this little tidbit of wisdom from J. Paul Getty, and I've been thinking about it ever since.
Around the world, we are on the brink of major change economically and socially. Change that has left our leaders in great upheaval and wondering the best course of action. Change that has forced us to reexamine how we choose to live.
There are people that believe that the end is near. I believe that what is happening is not the end, but a new beginning, a shift in the way we live. Jobs are scarce, the US government has raised the debt ceiling, and we are being forced to change our daily habits. Does that mean we are close to the end?
Not in my opinion. We are just having to learn a new way. Our experiences define us but can also hold us to outdated beliefs and focusing on what can't work rather than what will. Much like Rawicz and Khabarov in the story, our experiences can keep us from acknowledging the conditions currently in front of us. Often our experiences lead us to focus on the harsh realities rather than the possibilities for change and growth. Especially in today's climate, not taking any action and continuing to proceed in the same way is a prison unto itself.
*Title quoted from J. Paul Getty
June 02, 2011
Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
Points to Ponder:
Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman
Story Line:
Bashir in the video represents an old dog, not because of his age or years of service but because he is resting on his laurels. Where as Zena Doolittle, of similar age, represents the dog with new tricks; full of energy and enthusiasm, willing to learn new methods, willing to take risks and innovate.
Recently, when I was going over my album and came across the pictures of them in action, it reminded me of one scene from the movie Major League. Rick Vaughn, a young and enthusiastic pitcher who wants his team to win, confronts the veteran third baseman Roger Dorn who refuses to field ground balls. Dorn, who lives in an expensive home with a luxurious lifestyle, tells Vaughn that he does not want to go an extra mile (take risks) to field the ball - afraid that any injury can damage his upcoming contract negotiations.
But Vaughn refuses to give up and eventually charges up the entire team, mostly made up of worn out players, with his enthusiasm and they went on to win the championship.
Reflection:
The last five decades in high technology industry has given me an opportunity to witness the enormous transformation that the entire world has gone through in the way we work, the way we communicate and the way we live. Incredible amount of new tools and methods emerge every day.
This enormous transformation in technology has also required an associated transformation in the management technology (a,k.a Psychology of management), how we manage the organization and it’s most important asset, people. For a person like me (Pencil/Paper and Typewriter generation) who has spent five decades in this industry (An Old Dog?), it has required rapid and significant transformation in how we mange multiple generations of people (PC generation, Internet Generation and now FB/Twitter generation). I have numerous and humorous stories collected over time, but let us save them for another day and another time.
The key learning I have from managing people since early 80s is a few sentences from a famous Poem by Kahlil Gibran (apologies for changing a few words for this article)
Your employees work for you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may share with them your experiences and wisdom but not impose your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may strive to help them, but seek not to make them like you. For business goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
Original Poem by Gibran: http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2011/01/your-children-are-not-your-children-by-kahlil-gibran.html
May 05, 2011
Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.
"If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner. You know what a winner is? A winner is somebody who has given her/his best effort, who has tried the hardest she/he possibly can, who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within her/him to accomplish something. It does not mean s/he accomplished or failed, it means s/he has given it their best. That is a Winner." - Walter Payton.
Storyline: Originally published on November 2008 under the title "Tough times do not last, but tough people do" - Repeated with an update:
In these times of global financial crisis, stock market meltdowns, wars and employment worries, I would like to share the remarkable life story of a "common" person that has been anything but common. Her friends and relatives affectionately call her “My Lola” (Grandma). I met her during my visit to Manila in 1978 and got to know her more during my expatriate assignment in the early '80s. Here is her story:
She was born to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother. At the age of 12, she lost both her parents and was left to take care of three younger siblings. In order to survive, she started a small business: she supported the family by selling fruits, vegetables & fish to locals in the market.
During the second world war, most of the people in her town were slaughtered by the occupying force. She escaped death only because of the kindness of one enemy soldier. After the war, she got married and started another business that provided a comfortable, middle-class living for the next 30 years.
Sadly, in the mid '70s, a fire destroyed her home and her business. Before she could launch another venture, one of her teenage sons developed a rare disease and died, after long and very expensive medical treatment which drained the family savings. A year later, another teenage son met with an accident and died, while trying to help the family. One would think that this is enough misery for one person in one lifetime.
Unfortunately, in the early '80s, her eldest son and her husband died. She was left to support the three remaining young children by herself. She learned to read and speak English while taking care of a young boy; she would make the little one read a book, and while moving her finger on every word, listen carefully and pick up the pronunciation.
Eventually she went abroad and for the last 27 years her life has turned for the better. Last December, on her 77th birthday, I asked her for a formal interview. After recapturing many of her experiences, and her creative approaches for surviving and eventually thriving in life, I asked her the final question. “What kept you going on in life with all that has happened?”
“Hope” she answered. “I never gave up thinking that tomorrow will be better than today and kept on going. Every day was precious and I gave my best efforts.”
Personally I have not met anyone who has been through so much in one life time. But what she said in her final answer is what I witness every time I see her. Last Sunday, I chatted with her about the current global problems. She told me, “Trust me. Things will get better.”
UPDATE: The above story was published in November 2008. Shortly after, “My Lola” (Mrs. Lim) developed some major health issues. In past two and a half years, she defied five calls by specialists for her demise and showed remarkable recoveries each time, to the surprise of all. Her willpower was inspirational to all who were fortunate to witness it. But today, her body gave way. During her life she fought every adversity/battle hard, never gave up and came through. And her last battle was no different. She demonstrated in all conversations and actions that she was going to give every ounce of energy she had and not give up on her own.
As one care taker put it: “They leave the way they live.”
Reflection: from the poem by Gene Autry:
“Now somewhere, there stands the man/woman
His/her duty o’er and won
The world will ne’er forget him/her
To him/her we say, “Well done.’”
To live in the hearts one leaves behind is not to die.
April 07, 2011
The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book
Point to Ponder:
"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child." - Carl Jung.
"I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework." -Lily Tomlin as Edith Ann.
Story Line: By George Samuel
I want to talk about a true life story which exemplifies true leadership to me. The context of this story is in an educational institution, but its implication can be in any business environment wherever there are leaders and employees.
The story is about a girl, Sarah, who in 1985 was attending a Parent / Teacher meeting with her parents in her elementary school during her 1st grade. Her teacher, Ms. Solomon was a very strict person who taught English and other subjects. When Sarah’s parents approached the teacher, she took them aside and said emphatically "Your daughter is very slow in class, she sits back of the class (as she was tall in her class), and is scared to answer questions when I ask her. Add to that, she gets sick quite often. She needs 1:1 coaching and a lot of prayers to get to the next grade". Imagine how sorry her parents felt after the meeting. Since then, they focused on pushing Sarah to be more outgoing, spend time with her class work, and allow less time for play. But somehow all their efforts were not delivering results.
Every year at the end of the class term, they would be very nervous to see whether Sarah has progressed to the next grade. As her school bus would reach their bus stop and Sarah would come down, the first thing was to check her report card ... and then heave a sigh of relief that she barely made the cut to the next grade. Things continued like this for the next 3 years, until one day as she was preparing to go to school to pick up her end term report, she said "Mommy, I am excited to go to get my grades. I think I will get 5 As this time". Her Mom smiled and thought it was her childish mind wishing for the stars - whereas in reality it would be a miracle for her to just move on to the next grade, as always.
A few hours later, her school bus arrived, we saw Sarah coming down the steps and falling over her Mom’s outstretched arms. She said "Did I not tell you that I will get 5 A’s. Here, see my report!". As her Mom opened the report card, she started crying in joy! She had never seen so many A’s in her report card and not a single F. How did this miracle take place?
As it happens, in the 4th grade, Sarah had a teacher Ms. Sheila, who for some unknown reason wanted to talk more with the shy girl. She would ask questions like "What do you like to do, what makes you happy?" and would patiently wait for Sarah to respond slowly. She mentioned that she would go to church and Sunday school regularly and learn new songs. Her teacher asked her to sing these songs to her. Seeing a talent in her, the teacher took a chance. She asked her school headmistress, "Every afternoon, before the school is dismissed, you say a short prayer. Is it possible that after that, Sarah can sing a small song as well?" The headmistress thought for a moment, and then approved it. Sarah loved it and did a good job. She got another chance soon and within no time, Sarah was regularly singing in front of others for other events.
Now, Sarah was no longer an unknown student, as other kids and other teachers started recognizing her for her talent. Sarah started feeling confident. Right at this time, her teacher said "Just like you are good in your singing, you can be excellent in your academics if you want. You just need to work hard and I will help you". That was all Sarah needed. Since then, she started putting focus in her studies, wanting to do well in her exams. That confidence garnered through singing was now been seen in her attentiveness and results in her tests culminating to that winter day when she came home with 5 As in her report card.
Since then, Sarah has not looked back. She continued singing in her church and with her strong work ethic, stood first in her high school exams and then a few years later, got admission to a reputed medical school. After doing exceedingly well there, she is now completing her residency at a top US hospital. All of this would not have been possible, if the 4th grade teacher did not believe that Sarah had the potential to do well. How do I know Sarah? She happens to be my younger sister and so I was able to see all of this in front of my eyes.
Reflection:
Every leader in an organization has the opportunity to develop talents in their employees. It takes time and effort but will only start if you look at each individual and try to find their passions and blend that to the company needs. If you have someone who believed in you, feel free to share your story to others.
October 21, 2010
Failure is not an option (Apollo 13 and innovation)
POINT TO PONDER: Don't tell me how it can't be done, tell me how it can be done.
STORYLINE: Failure is not an option. By Mike Yakos
The movie APOLLO 13 is based on a true story. It is the story of three astronauts sent into space when an oxygen tank ruptures during blast off and puts the lives of the Apollo 13 astronauts at risk. As the space ship is approaching its journey to the moon and subsequent trip back to the earth, NASA discovers that the carbon dioxide levels in the cabin are approaching dangerous levels and that the CO2 filters in the lunar module were meant for two men for only 1-2 days. If the space ship is to return to earth with the astronauts alive, the team at NASA needs to come up with a solution to this problem fast.
What unfolds is a scene from the film where a scientist charges into a conference room and throws a bunch of gear on the table. He then articulates that these are the items available on the ship, and the NASA employees in the room need find a way to create a CO2 filter using only these items.
Many of the scientists looked around the table, thinking that the astronauts were doomed but the commander played by Ed Harris would bellow the famous line, "failure is not an option." The team put aside the reasons it wouldn't work and got moving on the possibilities of why it could. Ultimately, they found a solution that saved those astronauts lives.
A Wikipedia search notes innovation as being a change in the thought process for doing something, or the useful application of new inventions or discoveries (1).
Based on my experience here a few qualities of leaders which can drive innovation and are exemplified in the film (which occurred in a short amount of time due to the dangers involved):
• Set clear goals and expectations
• Continue to raise the bar and don’t be afraid to strive for goals which may seem unattainable
• Encourage employee growth through training, job rotation, work project opportunities, etc.
• Don’t be encumbered by past norms and challenge the organization for “out of the box” ideas.
Q. Was there a clear goal? Of course, figure out a solution or the astronauts wouldn’t make it back alive.
Q. Did NASA management define the solution? No, they defined the problem and what equipment was available to the astronauts and then challenged the engineers to come up with a creative solution to meet the goal.
REFLECTION:The Apollo 13 mission is an extreme example with lives on the line, however, conceptually when management challenges their groups to “ridiculous” goals it’s amazing what creative juices tend to be stirred.
One recent experience in my organization was the challenge our management put forth last year at the peak of the worst economic downturn: “What would it take to thrive in the environment of shrinking resources? What if we get half the money, have double the scope, and still want to retain our talented workforce?” We had to find creative solutions. Several teams were put together to work on this challenge and it was amazing the amount of ideas that came out of it and how the healthy competition between groups provided an energy that catalyzed creativity.
This challenge brought three big benefits: 1. Instead of worrying about economy and where the next axe is going to fall, we got engrossed in creative pursuits 2. We discovered that our talents and what we do has universal applicability; any field and any country. 3. We discovered opportunities to offer our services in emerging market businesses and raise capital.
It is amazing how many great innovations occur when one focuses on how it can be done and failure is not an option.
1. McKeown, Max (2008). The Truth About Innovation. London, UK: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0273719122.
2. Thanks to Rajiv Shah and Cynthia Kwon for edits.
September 16, 2010
Just Speed Up The Boat
"Join in the new game that's sweeping the country. It's called Bureaucracy! Everybody stands in a circle. The first person to do anything loses." - Javier Pascal Salcedo
"In any bureaucracy, paperwork increases as you spend more and more time reporting on the less and less you are doing" (reference)
Story Line: Just speed up the boat
As with many stories in Friday Reflections, this one happened Once Upon a Time.
The boss of a rather large global group had flown in from another state and summoned his local team to discuss a project the team had initiated that had shown great results in their department.
The boss went through standard customary motions as happens in many meetings, and after showing a lot of interest in the project told the three team members in attendance, “Your work is revolutionary and you have gotten great results in your environment. But now there is a similar initiative by a very large support group that they call Company Wide Excellence. They have not been able to show progress with many more resources, and you guys are making them look bad.”
The boss continued, “It is time you let go of your project to them and concentrate on other work.”
The newest employee in the group, who coincidentally was also in his first job after graduation, told the boss, “We can work with them to explore scaling our work to speed up Company Wide Excellence”
The boss, a little annoyed at naïvete of the young man said, “You don’t understand. You guys are like a speed boat going against a super tanker. They can crush you. Do you understand what I am saying?”
The young man, not being savvy in understanding the hidden message said “Yes, we understand. All that we have to do is speed up so the super tanker can never catch us.”
Sequel: That young man, after delivering great results to his employer, left and is now owner of a successful business. And those Corporate Wide Excellence folks? After creating a massive bureaucracy which was dissolved a few years later, they are retired or working at other places.
September 09, 2010
People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross
POINT TO PONDER:
People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross.
-Unknown
STORYLINE by Rajiv Shah:
Susan Boyle stood backstage at the Clyde Auditorium waiting her turn to audition for the 2009 season of BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT. She was forty-seven years old, overweight, with an awkward haircut that was graying at the temples and thick caterpillar eyebrows that furrowed when the stage lights turned her way. She walked onstage in her outdated dress, coal black stockings and microphone cradled in her hand – seemingly the evening’s joke for the audience. The audience scoffed when she said she wanted to be a professional singer and shook their heads when she stated that she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige.
Susan’s story to get onto the stage wasn’t easy. She had turned up to audition at the urging of her mother – two years prior – right before she passed away. Susan was so distraught at her mother’s passing that she did not emerge from her house for five days. She had been living at home with her mother - caring for her when she fell ill - and well into her forties Susan had never been kissed or married. Susan was awkward, unattractive, and her greatest dream was in becoming a professional singer seemed reserved for the young and beautiful.
That’s what Susan believed as she had been quietly taking vocal lessons and singing with the choir at the local parish church. Her mother was ailing but encouraged her daughter to risk - to get up onstage in front of more people than the numbers in her church provided.
Susan wasn’t sure she had what it took. She loved to sing and her mother believed in her, but the voice of doubt kept ringing in her head. She reasoned that singing contests were as much about looks as they were about her voice. And who was she to believe that someone in their forties could become a pop star? Susan Boyle wanted to pull out of BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT.Susan had already dropped out of another competition called X-FACTOR a few years earlier but she had good reason. In 1995 she auditioned for Michael Barrymore on his show, MY KIND OF PEOPLE, only to be mocked by Barrymore during her audition because of her looks. When her mother passed away in 2007, she put singing in the farthest recesses of her mind.
Two years had passed since her mother’s death and in her memory, Susan kept her audition. She now stood before BRTAIN’S GOT TALENT judges Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan, and the infamous Simon Cowell who was notorious for being cruel to untalented contestants. As the audience squirmed, Susan Boyle put the microphone up to her lips to sing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables.
The rest of her audition can be seen at the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk
REFLECTION:
Doubt is a dangerous adversary. It is most dangerous because it comes to you as a voice that seems to be your best friend, an advisor, and protector. It feeds on your fears and stops you from pursuing your dreams by outlining all the possible pitfalls along the way. It will make promises of failure and play them over and over in your head should you find the courage to pursue your dream. This voice is most dangerous because it sounds LOGICAL and REASONABLE and when pitfalls come into your path, as they always will, it will seize the opportunity to exaggerate them. It is the voice that will tell you that Susan Boyle’s story is not your story and cannot be – the details are different - she posses more talent than you, is luckier than you, and her story cannot be yours.
So you might continue as you always have, keeping your hobby just a hobby, following your passion only when you have the time, and secretly wanting more than you feel comfortable to admit. Because the voice has been right all along - dreams are meant to be dreams and that this is the reality you deserve.
