Monday 24 December 2012

Can We Do Without a Central Bank? Yes, BUT...read on by Martin Udogie


I have just picked up my last book for the year. It’s the 500-page LORDS OF FINANCE by Liaquat Ahamed. (Yes, not Ahmed).

Nigeria was amalgamated into one country in 1914. We will be 100 years old in 2014; just about a year from now (the planning for this celebration ought to begin NOW).

But it wasn’t until 1959, one year to our Independence in 1960, that we had a functional Central Bank. So how did we cope?

You might argue that, that was in the “olden” days as we like to say. But even nowadays, there are countries without their own central bank. And the list may surprise you: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, etc. They are members of 17 European countries with one common central bank, called the ECB (the European Central Bank).

This is one of those "breakthrough thinking", the hallmark of creativity and innovation, that you are taught in strategy consulting. Learning to think of the unthinkable, to think out-of-the-box. To question settled wisdom.

Example: Why do we shake with the right hand? Why do we read a book from the first chapter to the last, unlike British Prime Minister, David Cameron who reads from the last chapter to the first.

But back to the Lords of Finance.

For 70-plus years, between 1836 and 1907, “the United States survived and even prospered without a central bank.”

But financial crisis is always lurking around the corner. So as bank after bank started to experience a run (more people taking money out than depositing), the country always turned to J. Pierpont Morgan, “the preeminent financier of his generation.”

Yes, he is the founder of the blue-chip banking powerhouse, J. P Morgan.

According to the book, “He had lived through more panics than had any other banker, in 1895 actually bailing out the United States government itself…”

So, Mr. Morgan, an individual, was the defacto central banker to the United States of America.

It wasn’t until the aging Mr. Morgan started having, shall we say, a bit more rewarding interest than financial crisis management that the U.S started to think of a more reliable, structured framework for central banking.

J. P. Morgan was “now seventy years old, semi-retired, and focused primarily on amassing an unsurpassed art collection and yachting to more congenial climes with a bevy of middle-aged mistresses.”

But the United States had actually experimented with central banking before J.P Morgan. In 1791 Alexander Hamilton, then the U.S Secretary of the Treasury had created the country’s first central bank, the First Bank of the United States.

This was 123 years before Nigeria existed. We are indeed a very young country. (Makes you wonder how we were functioning during these times….our forefathers were geniuses).

In 1811 the First Bank’s charter was allowed to expire. In 1816, the country tried again, setting up what came to be known as the Second Bank of the United States.

In 1836, the Second Bank’s charter was also not renewed. This was the void that a younger and more focused J.P Morgan filled. Until he was 70...

The book is essentially about how the world’s most powerful central banks of the era before now, held sway, for better and for worse.

Some books begin each chapter with a quote. This book is no exception. But it is in a class of itself in this regard.

Here’s one that is possibly my favourite of all time, so far (I’m still reading though):

“Anybody who goes to see a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined.”

Eeeh!

MERRY XMAS!

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Martin Udogie, founder of BOTTOMLINE Newsletter, can be contacted as follow:

LinkedIn: MARTIN UDOGIE

Facebook: MARTIN UDOGIE

Twitter: @UDOGIE

Friday 21 December 2012

Reflections: Breakdown in 2012 - Breakthrough in 2013? (Part Three) by Lucira Jane Nebelung


* Reflections: Contnd..

Commitment to Our Future:

The reverse of "live" is "evil." Anything that does not foster life, foster love is "evil." When all we do is take, see what we can get, separate ourselves from one anther, and disown the results of our thoughts, feelings and choices, we are evil.

Life invites us to take a pledge for 2013 and beyond to live fully, to engage with life and others with love - care, understanding, respect, and responsiveness. Life invites us to commit to leading as love which is leadership in service to life - Universal Leadership.

Universal Leadership is an openness that is empty of preconceptions and conditions and full of possibility and potential. Universal Leaders act from and foster our unity. Common ground and deep care for the greatest good are established in our inherent unity that is love, not in agreement around an external issue. We only unite with others from the inside. Universal Leaders honor our totality of being as human and spirit. Universal Leaders call forth the human spirit that is in each of us to express. Universal Leaders make an unconditional commitment to consciously create a future that serves life. Universal Leaders are consciously awake, spiritually aware, and psychologically integrated.

Universal Leadership is our personal choice. The ultimate paradox is that we can change the world only through individual change of what's inside: our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and values of how we view and interact with life. Violence, exploitation and oppression will continue until we end the war within, the battle to suppress the truth of the heart: our connection and unity as human beings and with all of life.

In this season of great joy that brought us deep sorrow, may we recognize that Newtown is showing us both our polarities and our unity and so recognize both our individual and collective responsibility in creating our world. May this be the blessing and gift of all who died or suffered in this and all other human-made violence and catastrophes and natural disasters of recent years. May Newtown truly bring us a "New-town", a new life, a new way of being.

As 2012 is ending let us start anew, full of possibility, refreshing the canvas of our lives. In our rebirth, let us celebrate, be grateful, and honor life. In our rebirth, let us celebrate, be grateful, and honor that we are the only species on earth with the capacity to make conscious choices and know that we are the creators of our experience. In our rebirth, let us celebrate, be grateful, and honor that we are an expression of spirit in all that is. In our rebirth, let us consciously live the truth of our being, the truth of love.

As Universal Leaders we sense an opening into which love can be brought forth. We are ready. Now is the time. We are the ones to midwife love. Let us trust the goodness in life and allow ourselves to be moved by love, the unity within. Then, and only then, will there be peace on earth.

Will we make this ultimate commitment? Will we let our lives, our hearts, speak? Will we bring light to the world on this day of the longest night of darkness? Will we say yes to truth, the light, the movement of love that we are?

"I lead by word and deed simply because I am here doing what I do.

The power for authentic leadership is not found in external arrangements but in the human heart. Authentic leaders in every setting, aim at liberating the heart, their own and others', so that its power can liberate the world.... External reality does not impinge upon us as an ultimate constraint: if we who are privileged find ourselves confined, it is only because we have conspired in our own imprisonment... We make the world what it is by projecting our spirit on it, for better or for worse. If our institutions are rigid, it is because our hearts fear change; if they set us in mindless competition with each other, it is because we value victory above all else; if they are heedless of human well-being, it because something in us is heartless as well.

We all can make choices about what we are going to project, and with those choices we help grow the world that is. Consciousness precedes being: consciousness, yours and mine, can form, deform or reform our world. Our complicity in world-making is a source of awesome and sometimes painful responsibility - and a source of profound hope for change. It is the ground of our common call to leadership, the truth that makes leaders of us all."

Let Your Life Speak.

Parker Palmer

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Lucira Jane Nebelung is the Founder & Principal of Leading as Love.

Reflections: Breakdown in 2012 - Breakthrough in 2013? (Part Two) by Lucira Jane Nebelung


* Reflections:.. Contnd..

About Love and Life

Why do we avoid speaking of and practicing "love"? It is a focal point and deepest value of all the world's traditions and a majority of us say that we see ourselves as either religious or spiritual. Religious, spiritual or not, love is the most universal of human values. Look in the mirror. What we actually value is what shows up in the choices and actions of our day-to-day lives. Our hypocrisies are rampant; we live divided lives.

Love is simply a label that we give the energy of unity that we sense or feel that is present in all things. It is what physicists call the quantum or unified field. It is the source of our drive for connection, coherence and wholeness; for purpose and meaning; for self-determination and choice; for evolution and mastery. It is the energy of engagement and co-creation. We experience and express love as common ground, serving the greater good and engaging with care, understanding, respect, and responsiveness. Love is about acknowledgment, acceptance and appreciation for all that life offers.

Love is an openness that is full of possibility to realize the potential of the moment for the good in life to express. Yet we fear this openness, this space. It feels empty, void, that we are out of control. It is only in this openness that is without constraint that the greatest good can be known and expressed. Love as unity is life, the spirit in all things. The emptiness we feel and try to fill with external things is a denial of our unity, our spirit, our love within.

Fear distorts our perception; it blocks our ability to see, feel and experience this unity. Fear drives our habitual patterns of behavior anchored in the belief in separation. Fear drives our insatiable desire for power and "winning at all costs." Fear is prevalent when we take positions, control, dominate, exploit, or oppress others; treat people as objects, kill or maim, and destroy nature. The source of fear is our beliefs about how life should be, our personal and social conditioning based in the past. Fear alienates us from living life and from one another.

Much of what we call "love," are actually our fear-based projections of not having it. Hence, our experience of love depends on feelings of attraction, affection, attachment, and approval. It is based in our conditioned beliefs and fears of being alone, outcast, rejected. It is our idea about what love should be that separates us, serves to protect our egos and get something from others, not the reality of love as unity. Love, unity, is always present. Acting from fear and suppressing the experience of love results in chaos and suffering. In every moment we either choose love or react from fear.

Love, as unity, is of the heart which the mind does not comprehend. Our awareness and consciousness of life comes only from the heart. The mind can only produce ideas and thoughts about how life should be. Only the heart gives us the direct experience of life as it is and who we are. Honesty is the truth of the mind; truth is the honesty of the heart. Love is the truth of the heart. Love is the only answer. Love is the energy that makes all things possible. Engagement with life is the dynamic movement of giving and receiving love.

Focus expands. Will we focus on love - care, understanding, respect? Or, will we focus on fear - fight, flight, freeze? Will we focus on the eternal presence and stillness of love within ourselves? Or, will we focus on the incessant search and striving for external validation that results in duality and polarization, right/wrong, good/bad? This is our unrelenting battle. Love grows love. Fear grows fear. At the same time, fear contracts and limits our experience of life. Love generates the infinite expansion of life and its gifts. Love is the one value that we universally share yet we allow fear to govern our lives. Fear dissolves when we think with our hearts and love with our minds.

Through our shared emotions, the pain of traumatic events serves to break our hearts open, liberating us from the mind's fears and allowing our true nature to be revealed. Traumatic events can awaken us to the truth of our being as spirit, as love, in human form. Heroes emerge and we all find the courage and resolve to respond. We show our greatest strength and power in our vulnerability and willingness to experience emotional pain. This is love.

Participation in transformation is an individual choice to release our conditioned, fear-based beliefs and actions and instead live from our heart.When we think and act from care, understanding and respect for ourselves and all of life, we move with and facilitate our shift.When we act from fear, resisting the shift, we continue to have intense "negative" experiences.

Our world is a perfect reflection of our collective hearts and consciousness that is made manifest. Will we choose to live in the present moment reality of love as unity or in the ongoing shadow of fear, projecting and broadcasting our past into our future experience?

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Lucira Jane Nebelung is the Founder & Principal of Leading as Love.

What it means to "Grandfather" some people by Martin Udogie


I first heard this word from Seyi Bickersteth, Managing Partner, at then, Arthur Andersen. It was in the mid-1990s, and a policy had just been introduced to the combined Andersen firm (the consulting arm Andersen Consulting, and the auditors, Arthur Andersen).

Seyi was explaining how a category of staff would have to be “grandfathered” to qualify for the benefits. I thought it was just a nice-sounding jargon, and not a proper word. There was no google then, no Blackberry, no Wikipedia. So, I didn’t bother to look it up anywhere.

But reading my current book, Proofiness, I came across the origin of the word. Here it is.

America used to have a “Poll tax”. You weren’t allowed to vote unless you had paid the poll tax. This tax effectively disenfranchised many eligible African American voters, who could not afford the tax.

But curiously, many white voters were exempted from paying the tax (and therefore allowed to vote) because of a “grandfather clause.” The clause exempted a person from the poll tax if he could prove that his grandfather had the right to vote – which white folks could prove and African Americans, could not, as generations before them had never voted.

Nowadays, a grandfather clause refers to an exemption from a new law based upon prior circumstances.

Warm regards.
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Martin Udogie is the publisher of BOTTOMLINE Newsletter

Reflections: Breakdown in 2012 - Breakthrough in 2013? (Part One) by Lucira Jane Nebelung


Today is the day the world is supposed to "end." Given all that we have been experiencingand witnessing, maybe it is. Perhaps what is ending is the world as we know it.

Perhaps what is ending is a world we blindly created and lived. Perhaps what is ending is our unconscious focus on fear - fight, flight, freeze - with a radical shift to consciously live and lead our lives from love - care, understanding, respect.

The world we know will end - bringing the opportunity for new beginnings - when we choose and commit to change ourselves.

Breakdown to Breakthrough

Globally, we have experienced a multitude of violent, catastrophic and devastating events in the last 10+ years. We are seeing generations of abuse and exploitation exposed. Many of us have withdrawn emotionally, mentally and physically, ignoring our inhumanity and indifference towards one another. What happened last Friday and since in Newtown is, in the word of a friend who lives there, "surreal", beyond mental comprehension and understanding. We all deeply feel and share sorrow, rage and despair at the loss of these innocent lives.

Newtown brings a loss of innocence to all of us. The worst in us and the best in us were revealed in the same moments. We can no longer close our eyes, be silent, and pretend ignorance. Newtown is our "tipping point" for how we create our future. If we allow, our breaking hearts will wake us up to courage, resolve and perseverance that says "never again." Not just to gun violence but to all the ways that we are violated and we violate others.

This means we stop looking outside of ourselves for something or someone else to blame or "fix." The truth is that what's on the inside shows up on the outside. Together, we ourselves have created a society with the conditions that enabled this to happen. Our collective concepts, actions and laws are an amalgamation of our individual thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and values that we largely force on one another.

Our individual responsibilities as human beings mean responsiveness to one another. We have seen the enemy and it is us. We created this tragedy and have a hand in every one of the others. We are all responsible by what we accept and how we act. Both as individuals and as a society, we can no longer be innocent of our creations.

Life is showing us what is unsustainable. It's not about gun laws which are merely one symptom.It's about the fundamentals of every aspect of our social structures: government, business, education, and religion. The old way, the way of fear, is in breakdown. When the Romans encountered a "problem", they wrote new laws. When the Greeks encountered a "problem", they created a new approach or concept. We can't legislate ourselves to universal peace and prosperity.

Breakdown can only bring breakthrough when we fully engage with one another with an intention of universal well-being. Breakthrough means conscious choice and response rather than automatic, fear-based, conditioned reactions. Breakthrough means a life of integrity, the conscious integration and wholeness of mind, heart, body and soul; thoughts, emotions, actions and spirit. Breakthrough means authenticity, being the author of life and acting from the core of our being, that which unites us.

...../To be Continued..

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Lucira Jane Nebelung is a Faculty member of the Center for Leadership Studies, The Graduate Institute, and Founder & Principal of "Leading as Love". She wrote in from Norwich, Connecticut Area.

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Articles for publication must have full contact details, including name, address and telephone number of sender and sent by email to: onlinewoolwich@yahoo.co.uk.

Monday 10 December 2012

Numbers Do Lie - Beware of These by Martin Udogie


I am reading PROOFINESS by Charles Seife. What can a book like this possibly be about? It was for lack of a better book to buy and read that I picked up this title at Glendora, Shoprite, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos over this weekend.

And what a treasure it is turning out to be.

Most of us take numbers as fact. We accept anything with numbers attached as automatic proof (hence the title).

And politicians, Pastors, academics, “experts”, brands (especially brands) are taking advantage of this to make bogus claims and spread falsehood. And they seem to be getting away with it.

On October 16, 1995, Louis Farrakhan, leader of Nation of Islam, held an enormous rally: the “Million Man Match.” Of course the gathering was “branded” as such long before the event. Long before anyone knew whether a million men (not counting women) would actually show up.

True, the crowd at the National Mall in Washington that day was huge. But did it really live up to its “Million Man” name?

Mr. Farrankhan was adamant that it did. But the Park Service, the agency responsible for providing official crowd figures claimed it was 400,000 people, give or take 20%. Furious, Mr. Farrakhan threatened to sue. Park Service backed down.

Because anyone countering a claim of one million (for whatever purpose it serves), must show proof. No one actually counted the people. So none had any proof. Not Farrakhan. Not Park Service.

Since then, the Park Service stopped estimating crowd sizes. If anyone is gullible enough to fall for cheap publicity, well, it’s their piece of cake.

It is when you see Old Trafford at full capacity (75,000 plus) that you appreciate the sheer magnitude of a One Million crowd size. One million will overwhelm any location and its facilities.

Yet, we keep hearing this claim, even here in Nigeria. Anyway, no need to go there.

There is an aging guide at a natural history museum who conducts visitors around the exhibits. The tour ends with the most spectacular sight in the museum. It is the skeleton of a fearsome dinosaur – a tyrannosaurus.

One day, a teenager gestures at the old guide and asks, “How old is it?”

“Sixty-five million and thirty-eight years old,” the guide responds proudly.

“How could you possibly know that?” the teenager shoots back.

“Simple! On the very day that I started working here at the museum, I asked a scientist the very same question. He told me that the skeleton was 65 million years old. That was 38 years ago.”

Seeking to achieve exactitude by attaching 38 years to the 65 million-year scientific estimate to claim that the skeleton is 65,000,0038 years old was completely absurd. And WRONG!

This is because the original 65m year-age was a rough estimate. Fossil dates can be off by a few hundred thousand or even a few million years.

And how many are we really in the world? 7 billion, if you believe today’s numbers.

On October 13, 1999, with TV flashbulbs popping around him, UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, held a young Bosnian boy, welcoming him to the world as the six billionth person on earth.

Really?

The 6th billionth baby happened to have just been delivered as Kofi Annan was visiting Sarajevo. P-L-E-A-S-E! When every minute, 51 babies are born in India, 11 of them in the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, according to BBC. The book is full of so many of such deception by numbers, from currencies, to graphs, measurements, advertisements, etc.

A final one I will like to share with you is the use of averages. To most people, “average” means “typical”. Well, not quite. It depends.

If you say the average salary at a company is $100,000, then each employee earns $100,000, more or less. Infact, that may not be the case. Let’s illustrate.

Salaries of ten people added together and divided by 10, gives the average salary.

Company A salaries: $100,000 + $101,000 + $98,500 + $99,700 + $103,200 + $100,300 + $99,000 + $96,800 + $100,000 + $ 101,500 = $1,000,000

$1,000,000 divided by 10, gives $100,000.

Company B salaries: $999,991 (CEO salary), plus nine Interns each with $1 salary. $999,9991 + $9 = $1,000,000.

$1,000,000 divided by 10, gives $100,000.

But is the “average” salary in Company B truly $100,000?

If a new hire is going to join both companies strictly based on “average” salary, in which of the companies, would he realistically expect to earn $100,000?

There are just so many instances of such numbers-game going on in the world, that the book documents.

This book has taught me two lessons:

1. Never judge a book by its cover, as is often advised, to which I would add, by its title

2. It is amazing what one can often stumble upon when you allow your reading to roam a bit.

Warm regards.
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Martin Udogie is the founder of BOTTOMLINE Newsletter:

Join him on LinkedIn, and Facebook (MARTIN UDOGIE)

Twitter (@UDOGIE)

Wednesday 28 November 2012

How Habits Shape You by Martin Udogie



I am reading, THE POWER OF HABIT: Why We Do What We Do And How To Change, by Charles Duhigg.



As a power forward for the Boston Celtics, Basket ball legend Larry Bird, was a 12-time NBA All-Star, voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times among several accolades. He was once asked to film a TV commercial in which he was supposed to mimic the act of missing a basket narrowly.



But the TV crew kept filming and filming and filming. Why? Because Larry Bird just couldn’t miss. His movement, consciousness, approach to the basket, etc had become accustomed to successfully shooting a basket. He couldn’t get himself to miss. Not missing had become a habit.



According to Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”



Everyone is shaped by habits. There are good habits and bad habits. At the core of people of excellence are certain habits that define them. That they have cultivated over time.



According to the author, “Most of the choices we make each day may feel like they are the products of well-considered decision-making, but they are not. They are habits.



And habits have an enormous impact on our performance, and happiness. He says “There is nothing you can’t do if you get the habits right.”



But here is an example you may relate with better.



Serena Williams and her sister Venus visited Lagos recently. We received them at Ikoyi Club for a tennis coaching clinic for junior tennis players and learners.



The format was simple. Each young player would hit some balls with either sister until he or she misses and then make way for another learner.



This continued rather leisurely and with a lot of fun. Until a certain young player (he couldn’t have been more than 10 years of age) got into some kind of rally with Serena. Then the crowd started applauding the youngster’s return strokes.



Before you knew it, Serena had gotten serious. She took a few steps backward to create some court space for herself and started hitting some serious return strokes, until the young player inevitably, hit a wrong return (what is called an Unforced Error in tennis). But Serena forced the error!



My God. This was supposed to be fun, yet, Serena got serious.



Then I remembered her saying once that she hates to lose…in any game, whether in a Grand Slam final or at some coaching clinic in Ikoyi Club.



Not losing has become a habit for her!

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Martin Udogie is the Founder & Publisher "BottomLINE Newsletter".


What Leading With Vision Really Means by Erika Andersen



The essence of farsightedness in business is not simply envisioning a possible successful future--it's being able to articulate it in a way that’s both compelling and inclusive.



We are drawn to leaders who articulate a possible future in a way that speaks to us and includes us. Farsighted leaders use their clarity of vision and their articulation of a successful future to pull people out of fear or shortsightedness and into hopefulness and a sense of purpose.



People want leaders who look beyond today. They want to have the sense there is a master plan to carry them through whatever short-term trials and tribulations arise. (The recession! The crazy media landscape! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) They look to the leader to articulate, in a compelling way, a clear and positive future state toward which they can direct their efforts. When leaders focus only on the current crisis or this quarter’s numbers, it seems to us that they’re more interested in maintain the status quo or protecting themselves than in creating a successful future. They are not seen as leaders.



People also want to see that the leader’s farsightedness is based on a deep sense of what’s necessary, right, and good for the business and the team rather than what’s simply expeditious, popular, or self-serving. We want to feel that our leaders’ “far-sight” is focused on the greater good, that their vision promotes the group and not just their own selfish interests. A truly farsighted leader envisions a possible future that responds to and resonates with people’s aspirations for their individual and collective success. When employees or potential employees hear about the good leader’s vision, their visceral response is, “Yes, I want to go there too.”



This is not to imply that the visionary leader simply goes for the easy win, then thing to which people will most easily commit. True visionaries often see possibilities where other see difficulty and dead-ends. Most people in the first decade of the twentieth century saw motorcars as a fad for the rich, a frivolous and uncertain fancy that would never replace the dependability of the horse. Henry Ford’s vision of a nation where every family would have an automobile seemed laughable, impossible, and even dangerous. Only the clarity of his vision and his consistency in moving toward it brought the support from others that he needed to make his vision a reality.



This brings up a critical point about farsightedness: the leader must not only articulate her vision; she must live it. It can’t be something she dusts off for quarterly staff meetings. People must witness the vision serving as the leader’s compass. She must use it as a screen for strategy and action. True farsightedness in a leader is both practical and aspirational.



A clear and compelling vision can drive extraordinary business results. It provides a focus for people’s decisions and actions, and it creates that feeling of “tribe” that most people find necessary and motivating.



This quality of leadership is especially important when the enterprise is a new one and the future is uncharted. One stunning example of this kind of farsightedness is how Steve Jobs operated at the start of Apple. When Jobs and Wozniak founded Apple Computers in 1976, the personal computer was still new and untested. Moreover, the idea that almost everyone would one day have a computer and that computers would be as accessible and easy-to-use as televisions or telephones seemed like craziness.



But then along came these two young men with exactly these ideas. And Jobs, especially, continued to articulate this possible future in a way that brought together capital, a workforce, and a marketing plan that ultimately led to the achievement of the future he envisioned thirty-five years ago.



The essence of farsightedness is not only envisioning a possible successful future but also articulate it in a way that’s both compelling and inclusive. Compelling means that it’s meaningful to those who hear it, that it’s attractive to them. Inclusive means they want to help make it happen and feel they can have an important part to play in moving toward it.



Clearly Steve Jobs was able (I encourage you to watch any of his company presentations on YouTube or at the apple.com Web site) to express his vision for the future in this way. In January 1984, when Jobs introduced the first Macintosh computer at Apple’s annual shareholders’ meeting, an attendee described the level of enthusiasm as “pandemonium.” As the first commercially successful small computer with a graphical user interface, the Macintosh represented, and still represents, the realization of a vision that was both compelling and inclusive.



How to be farsighted



You may be thinking, Okay, but how do I become more farsighted if that’s not one of my strengths? Fortunately, my colleagues and I have gotten clearer over the years on the specific behaviors that make up each of these leadership attributes.



We start with farsighted. When you deconstruct this element, these are the key behaviors of which it consists:



Leaders who are farsighted: 1. See possible futures that are good for the enterprise 2. Articulate their vision in a compelling and inclusive way 3. Model their vision 4. See past obstacles 5. Invite others to participate in the vision

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Excerpted from Leading So People Will Follow (Jossey-Bass; October 2012) by Erika Andersen. All rights reserved.



Erika Andersen is a nationally known leadership coach and the founder of Proteus International, a consulting, coaching and training firm focused uniquely on leader readiness. She is the author of Leading So People Will Follow (Jossey-Bass; October 2012).


Monday 26 November 2012

NO REGRETS: Lessons in Reform by Martin Udogie



I would have titled the book, NO REGRETS: Lessons in Reform. You’ll see why later.



I have just finished reading REFORMING THE UNREFORMABLE by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. A simple and straightforward book, it took me three days to read.



But for her timely “elevator pitch” to President Bush in the White House, Nigeria’s successful debt forgiveness campaign could have taken a different twist and turn, and not necessarily for the better.



What is an elevator pitch? Business Plan experts and private equity gurus always advise potential venture capital fund seekers to have an elevator pitch for their business start-ups. This is the very brief but persuasive story you will have to make should you per chance, run into a Bill Gates (or an Aliko Dangote) in an elevator ride to get him interested in your business idea, knowing that all you have will be seconds….



How did this play out in the White House visit? Now, we all know that President Bush is famous for clowning about. So one has to be sharp and alert, else, you might find yourself playing along with him.



It was May 5, 2005, and Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, as Finance Minister, accompanied President Obasanjo on an official visit to the White House. A key mission was to solicit President’s Bush’s support for Nigeria’s debt relief. Let’s quote from the book:



“President Obasanjo explained our desire for debt relief and presented the tremendous change Nigeria was undergoing in implementing difficult economic reforms. President Bush responded that Nigeria was an oil-rich country and that oil prices were high. Nigeria should be lending money to the United States, not asking for debt relief, he joked. It seemed that our request was about to be brushed aside. I was terrified that we were about to miss a unique opportunity. I broke protocol by jumping in and asking my president’s permission to explain this issue further for President Bush. He gave his permission, and I knew I had only a few seconds to make our case.”



And she did. What she said in those few seconds swayed President Bush. Again in her words: “These two points seemed to catch President Bush’s attention and interest, and he said we should send him a letter outlining the points I had just made.”



What were these two brief but profound points? Well, you have to read the book, or at the very least, buy the book. The “pitch” is on page 111.



The book has a lot of interesting and anecdotal facts and figures. But it is also spiced with enough drama to keep it engaging. Here are a few:



She once almost received a dirty slap from another female minister at a Cabinet meeting. And she did infact resign as Minister of Finance, after having just been sworn into office in July 2003. Why? Well, buy the book. It’s on pages 9 –11.



And yes, she loved the nick name, “Okonjo wahala”



I would have titled the book, “NO REGRETS: Lessons in Reform.”



There’s nothing wrong with Reforming the Unreformable as a title. But reminiscing in the concluding pages of the book, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala says:



“I won and lost friends along the way, and created trust, but also suffered betrayal. In the final analysis, I learned a lot about my country, and I have absolutely no regrets.”

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Martin Udogie is the founder & publisher BottomLINE Newsletter. He can be contacted through his primary email is udogie@yahoo.com


Saturday 10 November 2012

Leadership Branding For Small And Medium Enterprises By Benson Agoha



Come to think of it, we all survive by `selling something’, at least this is the case in every market economy, and I can’t think of many exchange environments where this does not take place. Pricing standards and convertibility issues aside, the marketability of most products, and the value you derive from their sale depends, to a large extent, on branding.



Branding helps positioning and emotional connection with your prospects. It enables the delivery of messages to your stakeholders, confirms your credibility and even motivates purchases in the mind of the onlooker. Branding assists easy decision making and enhances consumer loyalty. It is not just about your prospects but rather, it is about all stakeholders, being able to identify with, and be assured that, this `mark’ is able to solve their problems. An organisation needs its prospects as much as it needs its loyal customers.



`Name’ sells! is a common saying, but `name’ can only sell, when it has become a brand. Oftentimes, I find myself annoyed each time I log onto my twitter account only to discover that I have lost followers, even as I gain a few more. This is in spite of the fact that I sign in and tweet nearly every day. No organisation is happy to regularly lose clients even if they are gaining a few more.



When leadership is properly branded, it sales, not just the organisation, but its products. But to properly brand leadership, it has to be weighed against the competition. That is, against externalities, Like organisations that provide alternative solution programmes.



Leadership branding is the articulate and masterful presentation of the exceptional skills of management as an iconic unit. It is an assurance quality profile and mark, needed for any organisation that desires trust and to be taken seriously at the market place. Leadership branding is ensuring that the management acquires a reputation, known out there for its excellence and ability to solve customer – and investor - problems and deliver consistent qualitative and satisfying results.



Leadership branding for the small and medium enterprise takes the same procedure as the big organisation. The difference is in the amount of investment that will be required to pull it off. Every customer wants value for the money they are paying for the product or service and getting satisfied means they can learn to trust the organisation and the leadership.



To successfully brand your leadership as iconic, ensure that you define your aim and set your targets accordingly. Design and communicate understandable strategies for achieving that target, while acquiring qualified skills and talents, as well as dedicated human resources that can provide broad-based solution to clients’ requirements and needs. Institute a culture of excellence by which every member of the organisation must operate and build in contingency loops that can enable the introduction and attachment of new techniques and technologies without necessarily disrupting activities.



Management must also introduce continuing and broad-based assessment programme to ensure that staff are continually brought up to date with their skills. And as I always encourage my medium sized clients, develop and introduce an easy-to-recognise `mark’, an `icon’ that can be easily associated with,and seen, as the representative of the organisation. Ensure that this `Mark’, also sometimes called `Logo’, is not yet in use and that you are not infringing on a patented intellectual property. If desirable, make sure that the Mark is registered with the Intellectual Property Office and, continually evaluate the programme with a view to correcting slack points.



Iconic leadership brands presents the stakeholder with a mark that is recognisable and instantly trusted. Organisations that have successfully branded leadership insist that if their `Mark is not on it, the quality is not in it’, a claim that can only be made possible by the trust accruable from the consistent delivery of high quality services to their clients and investors.


Tuesday 6 November 2012

Why People Are Poor - They "Borrow" to "Save" by Martin Udogie





I’m reading Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, both of MIT, and perhaps the word’s leading academic authorities on poverty issues. They say only poor people will “borrow in order to save.”



Does this remind you of anything? It should. Some have said that using a low benchmark of $75 dollars for the 2013 Budget, creates a budget deficit which forces us to “borrow” while “saving” the excess from our crude oil sales.



Given the stature and pedigree of the authors, Poor Economics is likely to be an interesting book.



I am often asked how I choose the books I read. Well, here’s the secret….and not in any order:



1. Recommendations. Just like most people, I read books that come HIGHLY recommended. But I appreciate if the recommendation comes with a few reasons why I should read it. And of course, who is doing the recommendation. Poor Economics was recommended by Tayo. Same as my last book, Interventions by Kofi Annan (Fareed Zakaria). There are more in this category.



2. Authors. There are some authors that I read ANY book from them. Two of them are Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers, Blink, Tipping Point, What the Dog Saw), Jim Collins (Good to Great, Built to Last, How The Mighty Fall, etc). These are two authors that know how to use stories to grab and hold your attention. If you want to cultivate the habit of reading, then read ANY book by these two. Anytime you use stories to make your point (whether writing or speaking), you get AND hold people’s attention. And these two authors are experts in the use of this technique. John Maxwell belongs here as well.



Let me digress quickly by sharing a story….a true life story. A lady that runs an orphanage recently received a call to come for an 8-year-old child who had been previously adopted as a baby, but was now being returned by the “parent”.



I used the opportunity to relay a story told by my Priest. Two teenage girls went to register at a high school. The teacher was confused that two girls born three months apart (March and June) will say they are twins born of the same parents. They told the teacher that actually, one of them was adopted in the same hospital and around the same period that their mother had one of them. So, the teacher asked who among them was adopted. They didn’t know. They said their parents have never told them, and quite honestly, they don’t care.



Amazing parents, don’t you think? The Priest was giving a homily about being our brother’s keeper, seeing the image and likeness of God in fellow human beings, etc.



But remember what I said about story telling… in writing or speaking. Now back to how I choose the books I read.



3. Books written by famous people at the highest level of leadership in business or governance. Obama, Clinton, Bush, Blair, Mandela, Lee Kuan Yew, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice (great writer), John McCain, Kofi Annan, Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, Alan Greenspan, The Pope (Yes, I’m Catholic….but have also read books by Joel Osteen), Omon N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolo Kpolo, Oba Erediauwa, Oba of Benin. I have read books by all above. You’ll notice that these books tend to be either biographies or memoirs.



4. Titles. I’m sometimes also drawn to titles. I love Known and Unknown by Donald Rumsfeld, Smartest Guys in the Room, (about the collapse of Enron), Street Fighters (about the collapse of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers), Too Big To Fail (about US Government-administered bail out of the financial sector), etc.



However, I will not read ANY book that is printed in black ink and white paper. I’m allergic to them. But have you observed anyway, that all bestsellers are written in black ink and light brownish paper? That’s the standard these days.



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Martin Udogie is Founder & Publisher of BottomLINE Newsletter based in Nigeria.



Readers can contact him directly by email through: udogie@yahoo.com


Friday 2 November 2012

The Dilemma of Leading Stubborn Managers by Benson Agoha



Leading in a `stubborn environment’ can be debilitating and, leading stubborn managers can present a plate-full of dilemma to the leader. But if a task has to be done, it must be done. Leading is not just about inspiring others and guiding them through plain and rough terrain, to reach a desired end. It is about handling the challenges that arise as a result of the team working together to reach their goal. We have had situations of mutiny, revolt and disobedience confronting leaders but managing situations that threaten the smooth completion of a task can push a leader to the edge.



I have seen a quote that suggests that “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” Unless this rhetoric was invented for the 20th century, I must insist that this no longer holds exactly true. But while a leader must not know, go or show the way, in “The Human Zoo”, Desmond Morris, insists that, on instruction, his subordinates or surrogates should be able to do so. The same goes for when a mutiny erupts among the ranks and file of the group. Here, a leader’s effectiveness, or that of his close loyal subordinates, is tested. The extent of obedience and execution of his directives highlights his leadership proficiency.



The difference between a leader in the military and his corporate counterpart, is in the method of handling mutiny and insubordination. In peace and normal times, it would appear that anyone can lead. Indeed, in enlightened environments with self-respecting colleagues anyone can play the role of a leader. It is during crisis and when faced with challenges, that this role is re-evaluated, and performance of the title holder, qualified. So that the question will no longer be `what makes a leader?’ But what makes a `good, charismatic, or great leader’?



Crises and adversity are potent tests, and determinants of a leader’s character and self-will. A leader faces a test of his might when challenged by a colleague, but when leading a group of enlightened managers with stubborn streaks, he faces a dilemma. This dilemma can even be worse, if the stubborn manager is a high achiever. It’s like having a fly perch on the most sensitive part of your skin. Some managers are stubborn and iconoclastic, testing the limits, challenging normalcy and walking tight ropes. Some are active Order getters, who work hard, laugh less and deliver astounding results but, just won’t play by the rule.







As I wrote this article, I deferred posting by one day to sample opinions of a small brain storming group in an interactive session. I asked, what will you do with such manager? One asked if the organisation has any policy and that he believed that the policy should sort such situations out. Another said the culture within the firm should be given a review. A third said an outright dismissal would be in order.



As can be inferred, the length of service of a leader is contingent upon his performance. Performance determines the level of satisfaction. So then why do stubborn managers win awards? And how will a leader handle a stubborn manager to perform to Award deserving levels? And, as a leader, how well do you know your subordinates?



The truth is that even high achieving, target breaking stubborn managers, need inspiration and no leader can inspire an individual he does not understand, nor can he motivate nor capably take measures that can reinforce positive behaviours from him. Understanding his subordinates enables the leader to lead them with satisfaction. Communicating with them either directly or through close subordinates is also very important. Effective communication enhances mutual understanding and helps the leader to discuss deviation from expectations – deviation from set norms, decline in productivity such as short-fall in set targets or even changes in behaviours. Communication helps followers understand expectations and how to relate acceptably with other members.



While leading stubborn managers sometimes presents a leader with a dilemma, understanding him well right from his early days in the organisation goes a long way to reducing its gravity and impact on the leaders personality.


Monday 29 October 2012

Kofi Annan's INTERVENTIONS - reminds me of role definition by Martin Udogie



I’m reading INTERVENTIONS by Kofi Annan. It was recently recommended by Fareed Zakaria on GPS, the CNN programme he anchors. Currently my best TV programme.



INTERVENTIONS is a memoir.



It was not too long ago that I came to understand the meaning of Memoir. It is an account of a person pertaining to a specific period of his life. It is different from a person’s life history, called Biography, or Autobiography, if written by the person himself or herself.



INTERVENTIONS covers the over 40 years of Kofi Annan’s service to the United Nations, the last ten as Secretary-General.



I am particularly interested in the book because of what I once stumbled upon as the role of UN Secretary-General. When the UN was established immediately after the Second World War, the world powers did not want whoever was going to head the body to be powerful. They didn’t want an unelected, unaccountable and uncontrollable World President.



So they deliberately defined the role of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to be merely, “chief administrative officer” of the organisation. A glorified clerk, if you like.



Some who occupied this role, played by this restrictive job description, and had uneventful tenures.



Until the unforgettable Swede, Dag Hammarskjold became the Secretary-General in 1953. He was bold, courageous, and fearless. He would admonish, cajole, threaten, etc. He was, yes, uncontrollable.



Whenever he was reminded that he was a mere administrative officer, it was said that he would respond thus: Forget my job description. My job title says Secretary-General. I am both Secretary and a General. There is so much this allows me to do.



Mr. Dag Hammarskjold died while still in office, in a helicopter crash in Congo, in what some believe may not have been entirely an accident.



Now, let’s see how Kofi Annan played his role…



Did you know that Mr. Kofi Annan set the school record for the 100m sprint for his university in the U.S? He was also the drummer for the college musical group, and was a member of Ambassadors for Friendship, a small group of students sent out every year to tour the nooks and crannies of the United States.



He was certainly not a “Triangular Student.”



Warm regards!

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Martin Udogie is Founder & Publisher of BottomLINE Newsletter based in Nigeria. Readers can contact him directly by email through: udogie@yahoo.com


Friday 26 October 2012

Every Poll Was Wrong - It's A Landslide! by Lucira Jane Nebelung


Here it is, November 7, 2012. We the people of the United States have elected our President and Congress. Every poll was wrong - it's a landslide! How did we get here?


After the final Presidential debate a couple of weeks ago, something remarkable began to happen. We realized that our freedom requires awareness because with awareness we have real choice. We realized that once we stopped listening to the noise, we could see that what we were paying attention to really didn't matter. We started dropping our beliefs and labels of Republican and Democrat and opening our eyes and minds to see ourselves and the candidates as we are as people.

We began questioning the real importance of hard and fast positions on the issues and ideologies. We saw that the ideologies such as capitalism, liberalism, conservatism, and fundamentalism are not what made this country great. These beliefs about how life should be separate rather than unite us and do not provide long-term solutions. We saw that imposing our beliefs and choices on others violates everyone's freedom, including our own. We recognized that what was most important about this election is leadership and integrity and began looking closely at the candidates themselves and how they lead their lives.

We realized that we have a mixed view of what it means to be a leader. We used the term loosely. We called anyone with a position of authority a leader. We called people leaders when they commit to an ideology, policy or profits. We called people leaders when they appear "in control of" and dominating situations.

We saw that many people who we have called leaders have their own rules: focus on accumulating and maintaining wealth and power; take action based on self-serving self-interest and personal gain; and exploit and manipulate people, resources, systems, and situations.

We decided enough is enough. We decided to stop playing by these rules that don't serve our individual or collective dignity and well-being as human beings. We realized that if a candidate followed and managed by these rules or ideology, they aren't leading and they lack integrity. We recognized that we ourselves contributed to everything that we complain about by our complacency and conformity. We recognized that it is our responsibility for creating the future we want for ourselves. We decided to stop giving our power away.

We decided that public protests are slow to bring about change so we began looking within ourselves for answers. We stopped paying attention to what the campaigns and polls and media were saying and listened instead to what we know to be true in our hearts as people. We realized that what made this country great is our diversity and standing for the dignity and well-being and freedom of all people, everywhere.

We realized that we want true leadership that brings us together and moves us forward. We decided to drop the ideological paths that limit our vision, blind us to possibilities, and force one viewpoint or choice on the rest of us. We realized that leaders create unity in diversity with shared power and where all benefit.

We recognized that above all, leaders are people who demonstrate the best in us as human beings, our virtues. Leaders show us the polarities that divide us and bring us to the higher truth of a situation, one that establishes common ground and serves the greatest good. We chose as leaders those who we trust will come together, collaborate and move forward with the best solutions for all of us and the future well-being of our children and our children's children.

We decided that true leaders: * Care about everyone's dignity and well-being as human beings and bringing forth our best. We sought leaders who appreciate us as people, our hopes and dreams, and who focus on generating shared power and prosperity. * Understand without judgment, accepting each of us and what we believe. We sought leaders who appreciate what our lives are like and who seek and value all perspectives. * Respect without control, granting the freedom to choose. We sought leaders who appreciate that we know what is best for us and who take action based on our interdependence to create sustainable advantage for everyone and everything. * Respond in the present, within our current context. We sought leaders who appreciate what was learned from the past and who move forward with inspiration for our shared future. We sought leaders who act with wisdom.

We recognized that it is care, understanding, respect, and responsiveness that invite us to follow, even if we might not fully agree. We appreciate that leaders have a broader perspective, a bigger picture view with the potential to address all interests.

We sought leaders who blame and criticize no one, hide and avoid nothing, take personal responsibility and accept the consequences of past choices and actions. We sought leaders whose thoughts, feelings, words, actions are consistent across every interaction, both public and private, and reflect the best in us as human beings. This is integrity. This is who we can trust.

We realized that in today's volatile world we need thoughtful leaders and for the United States to be a world leader we must care about, understand and respect others' choices as nations even when we might not make the same choices for ourselves. We recognized the United States can lead on the world stage only when we enter into dialogue rather than control by physical force. We voted to set an example and send a message to the rest of the world that what made us great as a nation is our stand for freedom and equality, human rights and shared power, and the opportunity for a ­­­­­­­­­­­­­better quality of life when we all work together and contribute our best.

We recognized that the President and Congress are stewards: Of the people, by the people, and for the people. We elect them to focus on what's possible, the big picture, and higher truths: Power to the people as we lead our lives. Common ground. Greater good. Care. Understanding. Respect. Responsiveness.

Our votes reflected what we value. We value human dignity and well-being for all. We value freedom for everyone in all aspects of life. We value wisdom. We value integrity. We value common ground and serving the greater good. Most importantly, we value our own worth and power, that we each make a difference. We voted in record numbers.

Today we are breathing a collective sigh of relief. We made the best choices for ourselves as a nation and for our place in the world. In the end, we voted only for those who showed they can rise above politics and get things done that enhance the quality of life for all. In the end, we decided to trust in truth and we voted for those who clearly value people over things, actions over words, and all of us together rather than just some of us. In the end, WE won.

What will November 7 bring? What story will we be telling? How will we vote? Will we rise to the occasion and choose the best in us as human beings whether we agree with everything or not? This is our defining moment.

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Lucira Jane Nebelung is a Faculty member of the Center for Leadership Studies, The Graduate Institute, and Founder & Principal of "Leading as Love". She wrote in from Norwich, Connecticut Area.

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Articles for publication must have full contact details, including name, address and telephone number of sender and sent by email to: onlinewoolwich@yahoo.co.uk.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Beware of these 3 Myths in the Fed Budget by Martin Udogie



In 1967, in a paper titled Socialism and Rural Development, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania laid out his proposals to establish self-sufficient socialist villages across the country. In what was to become a “villagising” movement, he began compelling people to live and work in the village, declaring that “To live in a village is an order”.



“Between 1973 and 1977, some 11 million people were placed in new villages, in what amounted to the largest mass movement in Africa’s history.



It was a disastrous policy that the country is still reeling from today.



At about the same time, Singapore was modernizing its country, also forcefully herding people, including farmers with their chickens or pigs, petty traders, the poor, etc into gleaming skyscrapers.



Today, Singapore, with just 4 million people, is richer than Britain having grown its GDP per capita from about $300 to over $35,000.



That Agriculture holds the key to Nigeria’s economic transformation is one of the three myths I address in my article that will appear in Business Day, tomorrow, Friday, October 26. You can lso access it online at www.buinessdayonline.com.



If our agriculture strategy is aimed at cutting our high import bill, then it is a sound policy. But it is NOT the solution to youth unemployment. This is because no graduate youth, having spent 4 – 5 years in the university, will go back to subsistence farming. It will not happen. And commercial farming is NOT labour intensive.



As I always say, don’t take my word for it. Let’s hear from the experts who have studied this phenomenon:



Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner in their book, Super Freaknomics write as follows:



“In the late 18th Century America, it took 19 out of 20 workers to feed the country’s inhabitants and provide a surplus for export, according to economist Milton Friedman. Two hundred years later, only 1 of 20 American workers was needed to feed a larger population, while also making the United States the largest single exporter of food in the world.”



What happened? Agricultural revolution gave way to the industrial Revolution.



China is also copying and pasting, the Singaporean strategy. “There is no better way of generating economic growth and raising per capita income than generating industrial jobs for rural inhabitants. That’s exactly what happened in China during the last two decades, as peasants left their fields to work in the factories of the eastern and southern coasts.” – from The China Strategy by Edward Tse.



Look out for Business Day tomorrow, Friday, October 26th for the full article.



Happy holidays!



Martin Udogie

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Martin Udogie is Founder & Publisher of BottomLINE Newsletter based in Nigeria.



Readers can contact him directly by email through: udogie@yahoo.com


Tuesday 16 October 2012

THE CHALLENGES OF LEADING WITH UNCONDITIONAL LOVE by Benson Agoha


Academics and Leaders of thought are watching and listening as the argument rages.

One school of thought, the proponents of Unconditional Love (UL) in Leadership, say it is practicable. On the opposite side are those who brand their proposition as wishful thinking. But it seems to me that, to stand any chance of a headway with this issue, we must allow ourselves personal visits to the topic under discussion.

While the argument rages in our various `thought rooms’, class rooms or internet forum, we must ask ourselves, and be honest as we attempt an answer, can we manage our respective `dominions’ with unconditional love? If we cannot manage our micro environment through unconditional love, how can we market the idea to the macro environment?

Are you managing your household, loving unconditionally? Or rather more to the home front, are you managing yourself `loving all aspect of you unconditionally’? Do you feed your stomach and care less about applying cream to your hair before you leave your house? Do you rub cream to your face and legs, while ignoring your toe or ankle area? These are simple tests and there is a saying among Christians that he `who is faithful in little is faithful in much’.

Unconditional love should be an unequivocal spread of compassion and humane feeling across and around every member of the in-group, such that no one should at any time, feel left out or cheated out of an opportunity. Clearly, the manager has a tough job doing this. As it stands now, leaders already have enough difficulty `being fair’, which by itself, has been given a relative interpretation, conditioned by contingencies.

Strategic management thinkers know that contingencies and a leader’s response to them test his proficiency. It is on the basis of these tests that he can be assessed and qualified as either `good’, `bad` or `great’. These qualities, themselves, are often contestable. But if contingencies test a leader’s proficiency, unconditional love in leadership is his/her ultimate test.

Proponents of Unconditional Love in leadership, include my good friend Jane Barrash, Executive Director of the Continuum Center.

In a paper presented at the Institute of Leadership and Global Education in Canada earlier this month, Jane clamoured for a quantum shift, such that will bring a new paradigm of leadership and love. In her words …” Our Quantum leaders will be role models for the change that starts within and moves you to a deep connection with others…"

Jane concluded by saying that … “The Cartesian, mechanistic, rational paradigm has steered us into many walls of anxiety and overwhelm, isolation and incarceration. It's time for entering a new universe of possibility, where the inner world is a gold mind and self-discovery leads to a new sense of relationship to everyone and everything else. At a time that rates of employee dissatisfaction are high, and loyalty rates are low, the kinds of trainings and environments most needed and in demand by employees are those that promote positive internal emotional states and, because those internal states are linked to high performance, those are benefits leaders want as well.”

Jane must know, for other than this gradual change, which must start with self-examination, analysis and change, much of what are put out there in defence of UL are imaginary impracticalities.

However, as any student of policy and strategic studies know, contingencies often call for decisions that may not be fair or generally popular. Popularity is an evidence of fairness of decision makers.

In `Managing Compassionately’, Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn wrote that “compassion”, not unconditional love, “can be thought”. And in as much as a leader is encouraged to lead with compassion, he must be wise, for he advised that “Wisdom without compassion is ruthlessness, compassion without wisdom is folly”.

The `litmus test’ of the practicality of UL in leadership will include:

a)how to choose and maintain fairness between two competing extremes.

b)how to be fair when a leader is faced with a strategic decision, much of which won’t necessarily have to be made public.

c)Determining how to communicate bad news and still keep the face smiling.

d)How to show unconditional love to subordinates who challenge you.

e)Whether to accept that unconditional love in leadership must be conditional.

f)Deciding the borderline between UL and foolishness, especially when being taken for a ride.

The challenge may yet be huge and to teach unconditional love in leadership, even as development programs, we must articulate adequately.

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Benson Agoha is the founder of Woolwich Online.

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Articles for publication must have full contact details, including name, address and telephone number of sender and sent by email to: onlinewoolwich@yahoo.co.uk.

Saturday 13 October 2012

4-Ways to Make and Execute Life-Changing Decisions by Benson Agoha




Make no mistake about it, you will face challenges. Alright, you have heard it all before. And you probably did from the best brains around. But no one situation is the same and life-changing decisions don’t come easy. There are always costs and sacrifices to ponder whether you really want to go ahead. There are also always peculiarities of situations, and decisions, though an everyday part of our experience, are not by any means easy.



So how do we make decisions that are life-changing – and more importantly, ensure we implement it successfully? There are four ready issues to consider:



Self/Situational Analysis: Organise yourself and ensure you understand your peculiar situation. Understanding who you are, where you are and what you are capable of will enable you to start out, making the right moves. It will answer such questions as whether the time is right, just as whether you are even ready or not.



Lack of self-analysis can have serious and devastating consequences. Imagine a neophyte, with no climbing, terrain or weather experience setting out to climb Mount Everest, just to make a name for himself. Not only will he have the tough terrain to contend with, but chances are that he could pay seriously for his nonchalance. If he failed to consult with his physician, he would be taking his health for granted. If he refused to train in advance, he has already prepared his mentality to accept failure. And if he failed to take the relevant kits, then he would have prepared himself for suicide. David Walliams, inspite of his preparations, took ill several times during his last adventure to swim the River Thames. Claire Squires died running the 2012 London Marathon. But although hazards do not deter the brave, it is always advisable to be prepared before stepping out.



Self/situational analysis enables a sincere evaluation of an individual’s abilities and capabilities. It helps him come to terms with his own peculiar strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (swot). It enables him set the right and achievable targets and sets a solid base for other plans.



Situational analysis helps him identify problem areas and see whether he can do anything about them. Does he have the right skill, is this the right time, will the project require funding and has he got it? If not, does he have access to available sources of funds? He must ask himself questions and try to offer honest answers.



Information: It is often said that information is power, and nowhere is this more relevant that when venturing into unfamiliar territory. Gathering relevant information educates and equips you with necessary tools for making the next logical step once the result of your self-assessment is positive. Through information gathering, questions about characteristics, possible problems, contingencies and possible sources of help, if and when needed, can be answered. Information enhances knowledge and knowledge empowers. Knowledge creates confidence and even goodwill.



Action Plan: Set up a plan of action to implement your program. Action plans are sequential programs for carrying out your plan. Your organisational skills and ability to get your ducks on a row are tested here. Action plans usually act as a guide and helps you maintain implementation along a chosen track. Action plans provide a streamline for implementing decisions and tests your self-discipline. Can you focus, and ensure that what you have set out to achieve is what you continue to aspire to achieve, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles?



Focus: Focusing is perhaps, the toughest of the challenges and obstacles a decision maker will face. There will be temptations, and distractions will threaten to derail you. But will they? Should they? To make it, you must be alert at all times, as this is the only way you can spot distractions timely and take the necessary decisions to ignore them. Focusing may require you to be mean. And may earn you bad names, hatred and envy, but if you want it badly, you have to put up with it. Friends and peers may have contradictory and maybe parallel opinion that insists on you making a choice between your goal and them or theirs – which will it be? If you need it badly, you have to focus to maintain course.



Focus will test your willingness, readiness, determination, shock-absorber and even poise. Focus is an important test of character and it is success is unimaginable without it. Focus is the one characteristic that all great achievers who have made life-changing decisions at some point, have in common. So if you want it badly, be prepared to ruffle a few distracting feathers.



And yes, as you go along, always remember to re-evaluate. Reviewing grounds already covered will enable you to spot mistakes and areas deserving of correction.



I see success not very far ahead!

Monday 1 October 2012

Why ‘Employers’ Don’t (Appear to) CARE

by Alan Adler

A couple of weeks ago I published a blog titled: “How to Get Employees to CARE.” I received several emails from readers who shared experiences and examples of ”employees” who cared, but ”employers” who didn’t. To all who sent emails, thank you for suggesting this topic.

So, now for a different twist: “Why Employers Don’t (Appear to) CARE.”

It doesn’t matter if it’s a direct report manager or the president of the company, all too often; it appears that employers don’t care.

Today I’d like to focus on a few reasons why employers might not care. NOTE: This may frustrate some, making it even harder to have a good attitude at work; however, it’s good to know what may be, behind the apathy. In virtually every instance where employers appear not to care, the root cause can be traced to their practice of outmoded, ineffective, inefficient and obsolete LEADERSHIP SKILLS. After all, hardly any business schools in the U.S require courses on this topic. This lack of knowledge causes fear of changing the culture — the civilization we work in.

The upshot of this behavior is a “culture by default.” Where, more often than not, fear and distrust permeate the workplace. People feel they’re walking on eggshells. Most employees feel discouraged and have a “we vs. them” attitude. Their performance slips and either they try to hang in because after all, “it is a job and money,” or they leave. While this is going on, customers sense the negativity and take their business elsewhere. Vendors, suppliers and other stakeholders are also impacted. And perhaps worst of all, the longer an employer continues to accept a culture by default, the longer the business suffers.

A few other symptoms include, employers who: *Are not models but rather exceptions to the values they encourage and thus destroy their own credibility. ◦Spend so much time working “in” their business that they have little time to work “on” their business. ◦Are too often driven by performance and profit, rather than creating value. ◦Tend to be so focused on ”bottom line” that they miss the big picture. ◦Are not strategic thinkers and therefore, justify their existence by micromanaging. ◦Don’t seem to appreciate the value of intellectual capital. ◦Are in denial that “they” be may be the reason their employees are “disengaged.” ◦Fail to recognize how much happy, productive employees, impact the business in a positive way.

Now, as much as I hate to admit it, there is little that can be done to get employers to care. There are heads of organizations that simply Just Don’t Care. They’ve made it to the top, are making big bucks (with the lifestyle that goes with it), and if someone quits, they can be replaced. They don’t effectively communicate or interact with their employees; they give orders and expect them to be carried out, and typically are not interested in changing their own behavior. These heads of organizations either don’t know how, or are not interested in creating value for the business.

Fortunately, culture can be changed when employers are ready and willing to make improvements. However, the process requires employers who know how to listen and willing to modify behavior. There are several chapters devoted to this topic in my new book UpStream — Are YOU ready to turn YOUR business around? I’m also a strong advocate of periodically bringing in, an outside expert. Someone with “fresh eyes” and “fresh ideas,” who can coach key managers to become practitioners of today’s effective leadership and management styles.

When there is an (intentional) strong positive culture — employers and employees CARE and COLLABORATE. The results are endless. Just like the title from the classic Dr. Seuss book: Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

They say that great leaders are great influencers. And while we know that many great leaders don’t in fact, “lead” anything, they still can be great influencers on others, to do the right thing.

Please leave a comment about organizations where employers and employees CARE. It would also be helpful if you could share an example of how they do that.

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Alan Adler, a Management Consultant, Business Coach and Author, wrote in from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Thursday 27 September 2012

Developing The Inner H.E.R.O

by RD Kosor

Greetings! I wanted to share something with you that applies to everyone: developing the inner HERO!

What is the inner H.E.R.O.? Put plainly, it is the psychological strength and know-how necessary to take on the unknown. Consider the current economic environment. Program cut-backs, corporate mergers, downsizing, and lay-offs have littered the landscape for nearly ten years. No industry is immune to the reality of the new global marketplace. Hence, no one’s job is truly secure because no one can, with any certainty, predict what will happen tomorrow.

A little over five years ago, social science researchers began looking deeper into the psychological makeup of those individuals who calmly pull through challenges and don’t allow adversity to impact their output. What they landed on was the existence of four key psychological components necessary to withstand the professional unknown: Hope, Self-Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism. Once discovered, they set out to determine whether those four psychological characteristics could be developed in people. The results of the research overwhelmingly support the development of psychological capital.

Unfortunately, social science researchers are not trainers. Their interest is purely empirical. As a researcher myself, I understand the necessity of being removed from the process. However, my background is all about taking the impact that human capital has on businesses and molding it in such a way that improves competitiveness and strengthens the bottom line. How better to do that than to train.

The Metamorphosis leadership training program begins with the development of each trainee’s inner H.E.R.O. Hope development is very goal-focused. Once individual goals are defined, hope is created through the process of crafting specific and multiple pathways toward the end result. From there, willpower becomes the focus of the overarching theme of Hope. Self-Efficacy requires task-mastery and understanding how to pull strength from teammates engaging in the same activities. Resilience requires learning how to bounce back stronger that before after experiencing disappointment. Learned optimism is a shift in the mindset created by fear of the unknown. Perception and reality are primary learning topics during this portion of the training.

The results of developing the inner H.E.R.O. include diminished occupational stress (considered an epidemic by the World Health Organization), decreased negative turnover, and increased job satisfaction. For an organization, it is imperative to have employees who feel value and purpose in their jobs on a daily basis. Taking it a step further, organizations can help each employee develop a psychological skill set that will enhance their performance and create positive attitudes in the workplace.

I’ve seen people who walk through their daily jobs with negative attitudes and fear of the unknown. That kind of fear can be debilitating, not only to a person’s outlook and positive approach to life but to a company! Owners want to employ the kind of people who will add value to their product or service. Being an employee is so much more than collecting a paycheck! It’s about being an essential part of producing a product or service that someone truly needs. It is when that connection is made that employees become part of the solution rather than the problem. It’s my job to make that happen and the development of psychological capital is step one toward achieving that goal.

Metamorphosis is not your traditional training company. Our purpose is to elicit the kind of change that takes time and continues indefinitely. Each trainee is equipped with the knowledge and skill to implement their learned material immediately upon returning to work. Our pull through program brings the trainer back six weeks after training ends to ensure that implementation is occurring, that challenges to the change process are discussed and overcome, and that each trainee is focused on continuing the metamorphosis over the long term. For six months following training, each trainee has continued access to the trainer for advice or to bounce ideas off of.

Awesome, isn’t it? And that’s only half of the program! The second half is just as amazing. I haven’t even begun to explain the kind of workshop activities that engage our learners! Metamorphosis is the only training company in the country with this curriculum. I never tire of hearing how unique this curriculum is or how effective it is at building innovation and team creativity. This experience truly packs a punch!

When you’re considering the training needs of your internal customers, take a moment to shoot me an email. I’d love nothing more than to schedule a conversation that will undoubtedly launch you and your workforce into an exciting shift from the status quo.

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RD Kosor PhD, Trainer, Author and Transformational Leader, is an Adjunct Professor at the Arkansas Tech University, and founder of Metamorphosis.

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