I had the privilege of meeting a young woman in the Rocinha favela in Rio. This favela is the largest in Latin America, housing over 120,000 people in 1 square mile. Through the help of the amazing Vera Cordeiro and her team at Saude Crianca, this young woman’s life was turned around. From unemployed, with
Heard of the management saying “check ypur ego at the door”? Well, guess what. There is no check-in booth when it comes to how you deal with people. All of us come to meetings and people interactions, with all of us. Our fears, worries, concerns, work/life balance issues, and yes, our egos! And that is
Packing your suitcase When we pack our suitcase for a long trip or a vacation,we always plan for what we need and pack accordingly and leave enough space for things we might add during the trip. Such methodical well thought out planning results in a peaceful and less stressful ( read succesful ) trip. This
Focus on the NOW! How many times have you chaired or been part of meetings that drift? An old boss of mine once described meetings as “gatherings where minutes are taken and hours are wasted”. Don’t let this happen, all work time is precious and should be productive. “time is money” I recently attended a
Ever notice how easy it is to become a slave to your schedule, to that day planner? Ever find yourself struggling to find a time to ” fit in” that drink with a friend, or that catch-up with a colleague? Chances are you are scheduling your time, your life to tightly. Leave room for the
In February 1996 Garry Kasparov, one of the world’s greatest chess Grand Masters, began an historic chess match in front of a packed audience in Philadelphia. Historic because his opponent was not in the room. His opponent was Deep Blue, the chess supercomputer designed by IBM and connected to Philidelphia from California by a relatively
In times of uncertainty and ambiguity, employees look at their leaders for guidance and reassurance. They want to know that their leaders are in control and are capable of charting the way to a brighter future. They also want to know that their personal contribution is appreciated and valued, and they want to feel that
Thomas Horton says ” good decisions and good intentions are not the same thing”. This is absolutely right. It is not in the making of the decision that things happen. Its in the deployment, in the execution. A friend of mine observed that just because an email goes out with a new process or policy,
Whether it is with our customers or with other stakeholders, how we manage expectations is crucial to perception and satisfaction of the outcome. When we overpromise, we set up to disappoint. And overpromising is not as simple an issue as just selling more than you have. No-one does that deliberately. It typically comes from an
Sharpening the saw I met with a colleague the other day and he told me that he is always looking for a way, in his job ” to sharpen the saw”. In other words, to fine-tune his skills and approach, to always keep the edge. Sometimes we fall into the comfort zone. We are happy