andrewnicol.net

A workforce to be feared...

"Create a workforce that customers know and competitors fear"

BOOK: Change to Strange

A Vision of wrong

"With out a clear vision of what wrong looks like, you and your workforce have to deal with the pain of doing something hard and often painful without knowing why"

Change to Strange- Pg 173

Persistence

Persistence isn't using the same tactics over and over. That's just annoying.

Persistence is having the same goal over and over.

From Seth Godin's Blog

Strategy is externally focused

Because strategic direction defines the nature of the desired relationship between a business and its customers, objectives are only strategic when they lead to outcomes that are recognised by customers. Strategy objectives, therefore, are always externally focused. Internal objectives – creating better employee involvement, or becoming one of the best work places in America – do not qualify as strategic objectives unless they create changes that are recognised by customers. Businesses should not neglect internal improvements, but, in order to be strategic, internal improvements should be directed at improving performance in ways that are noticeable to customers.

Real Time Strategy pg 67

Ancient words...

In essentials, unity;

in action, freedom;

and in all things, trust.

- Aristotle

Born or made?

We share the conclusion with others that the right answer is between these two extremes ...

There is no question that some people come into the world endowed with self-confidence and a keen intellect. That is clearly an advantage. But of that group, only a small number move on to remarkable achievements as leaders. The difference appears to be hard work, thoughtful and tenacious effort, zeal for learning, and a willingness to extend beyond one's normal comfort zone.

The Extraordinary Leader pg 231

Stable vs dynamic workforce.

Real Time Strategy - Pg 36

Keeping it fresh.

Uppermost in the mind of a compassionate leader is the constant quest to know and understand the will of God, and to seek His wisdom and guidance. ...

Effective leaders must be willing ti be in the state of constant learning. There is no relaxing or even plateauing.

Servant leaders are characterized by a thorough and ever expanding knowledge of God's Word. They use their biblical wisdom, and understand clearly the grace of God.

Compassionate Leadership - Pg 116

Ancient words...

In essentials, unity; in action, freedom; and in all things, trust. - Aristotle

Compassionate Leadership - pg 121

Sexy

SEXY.

For some reason I really like the provocative nature of this word. Its a funny word because said in the right situation with the right amount of, well, passion; you can actually make grown men flinch.

Noticeably flinch!

The America Heritage Dictionary says that it is slang for HIGHLY appealing or interesting.

For me, sexy is a great way to describe the need to build a brand that is fun, fascinating, fanatical, and edgy.

It encapsulates, and provokes, a dynamic that I would like every organization and industry I work with to have. That is, that they become HIGHLY appealing.

That they become interesting.

That they become sexy.

The problem with sexy is that it is hard to catch if you don’t have it.

You have to      c  h  a  s  e     i  t  .  .  .

And sometimes when you get it, it was not what you wanted. Just ask Don Rabbit.

[NB I think this is a post about being appealing, just in case you wondered]

www.fishpond.co.nz - online books & dvds

You may have noticed the “Buy Now at Fishpond” button at the bottom of my book posts.

Well I must admit that I didn’t hold out much hope for a NZ based book affiliate programme, but I have actually earned commission off the 4 books I have linked to www.fishpond.co.nz.

I earn 10% on any purchases you make after clicking the click. So far I have earned the grand total of $4, but that is $4 more than I thought I would earn. Cynical I know.

I have also brought a number of books from Fishpond, and to date there has not been a book that I have looked up that I have not found. Historically I would import books direct from the US, but fishpond does it for me and gives me a GST receipt.

Very cool.

Oh. And they also do music and dvd's.

Check it out and don’t forget to click my link.

5 very brief book reviews...

Here are some books I have read lately. I have been in catch up mode as I once again found myself with 9 books I had started reading.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Succeed - by Michael E. Gerber

Yeah, the narrative style does little for me, but the concept is a good one. He basically says most people start businesses because they are technically good at something (the book uses the example of making pies). Being technically good at making pies, doesn’t make you good at running a business.

My key lesson was the Turn Key Revolution which basically means you systemize everything and act like a franchise.  3 out of 5.

Boundaries: When to say Yes, When to Say No - by Henry Cloud
I actually thought I would enjoy this book far more than I did. I really enjoyed his writing style in “9 things you must do”. I found this book to be beneath me. I know that sounds arrogant, but I simply didn’t get much out of it. I believe in boundaries, but this book did little to expand the concept for me. 2 out of 5.

RULES OF THE RED RUBBER BALL - by Kevin Carroll
Read it on a plane flight from Hamilton to Christchurch. Easy read. I liked the fun layout. A great reminder to chase and live your dreams. 4 out of 5.

The Extraordinary Leader : Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders - by John H. Zenger
An interesting book that follows a similar vein to “Good to Great”, though not as compelling. The authors conduct a significant amount of research into what makes an extraordinary leader. It would appear that it comes down to those who work hard at developing one to two key strengths. Being good in every competence is less relevant than being stunning at one or two. 4 out of 5.

Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church - by Mark Driscoll
I powered through this awesome book. (it wasn’t one of my nine) Really enjoyed his writing style, candor, humour and passion. Recommend it for anyone wanting a different and freshing perspective on Post Modern Christianity. 5 out of 5.

Australia T&L

One of the things that Aussie are doing well is in combining their industry recruitment and branding under one umbrella organization.

They brand themselves as T&L.

This includes Road Transport, Logistics, Warehousing, Rail, Sea, Air. Anything but self loading freight. Check out a Virtual Careers Expo they have set-up at Virtual Careers.

This sort of collective behavior is seriously lacking in NZ.

The week that was…

A sad week this week. Went to the funeral of my uncle Terry. He was my Mum’s only living immediate family member and an awesome uncle. Craig and I spoke at the funeral.

As I reflected on his life I know that his life challenges me to be a great uncle. One that takes a genuine and unique interest in my nephews and nieces.

Some posts I wrote in the last week:

Made or Born @ lead2live.com

Expectations @lead2live.com

Australia T&L @viewpoint.net.nz

My mood generally is good, but overloaded. Need to work out what I can stop doing...  Problem is I have a huge week ahead.

Born or made?

We share the conclusion with others that the right answer is between these two extremes ...

There is no question that some people come into the world endowed with self-confidence and a keen intellect. That is clearly an advantage. But of that group, only a small number move on to remarkable achievements as leaders. The difference appears to be hard work, thoughtful and tenacious effort, zeal for learning, and a willingness to extend beyond one's normal comfort zone.

The Extraordinary Leader pg 231

Danger alright...

Now that I have my pilots licence for planes, I have started thinking about how inconvenient they are. A helicopter would be so much better. I could drop into the vacant land next to agóge HQ. It would be great.

Well on Friday a Robinson R44 dropped into our neighbours CKL. It encapsulated all of my dreams. The sign by the tail rotor, with agoge in the background, is a warning in more ways than one...

The Helicopter HLG is owned by Meridian Holdings Limited in Auckland.

Expectations

Recently I flew on Pacific Blue for the first time.  As it was my first flight I had expectations. Big Ones. Cool crew, more seat room, modern planes. It was to be an adventure.

On my first flight the crew were dull, boring and lifeless. Their attempts at humour were staged and had as much heart as frozen dead fish. My second flight was far more entertaining, the crew obviously enjoyed each other and started their own onboard dating service over the PA. On my final flight the crew were chatty and entertaining.

Surprisingly however, Pacific Blue did not live up to my expectations.

The first crew let them down. I hadn’t expected the seats to be so hard (yip really). I hadn’t thought about the fact I would need to buy a drink of water, and that the minimum visa transaction was $10. I don’t carry cash.

They did not meet my expectations. Not through any fault of their own but because I had the wrong expectations.

Jim flew with them a week later and loved them, metaphorically of course. His expectations were different. 

So…

In business, in life, or in love, expectations are the root of most problems.

Over and over and over again I have expectations for people that I forget to tell them about.  I think it is one of my greatest leadership struggles as it happened to me twice on Friday. They in turn have expectations of me that they don’t tell me about. I fail to meet their expectations and they mine.

All because we didn’t communicate well.

We become disappointed with each other,

Annoyed,

Even ANGRY!

Expectations, if I don’t communicate them, ARE MY PROBLEM.