The Secret

OK, so Oprah might have beat me to the punch with this one. And so maybe I'm usually not a big fan of anything Oprah.... but she didn't do half bad with recommending The Secret (well sort of).

So "What is the secret???" Well.... first of all don't believe the hype. There is no "secret". Essentially, the main idea behind this DVD (and accompanying book, audiobook, and etc...) is "The Law of Attraction" or "thoughts become things". Throw in a whole bunch of New Age magic:

1. Desire - Wish for what you want hard enough
2. Deliver - The universe will provide
3. Align - Align yourself with the universe and all your wishes come true.
   

And don't worry about working for your goals, because the Universe will provide. Ehhhh... no. I don't really agree with their idea of the Universe being your genie (and don't even get me started with how they are totally off with the original story of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp).

What this DVD does is bring together is a bunch of sound bites, a lot of hype, but then... for the discerning viewer a few gems of truth. Here's a few that I found.

1. Understand and respect the power of the mind. This reminds me a lot of the Tony Robbins that I have been listening to. The first part "desire" (or whatever they call it) is simple and universal. You need to know what you want before you can get it. And furthermore, if you concentrate on the things you don't want, you'll probably get those too (kind of a "keep your eyes on the road, not on the wall" type of deal).
   
2. (Related to the above). Visualize reaching your goal and live your goal - before you reach it. This brings to mind anecdotes of patients who had "terminal cancer" and were able to cure themselves with the power of visualization and the strength of their own mind. But this about this on a day-to-day life basis. What do they always tell you at your job? No, not "No Internet for personal use", but "To get promoted to a higher position, you need to start taking on the responsibilities of that position.
   
3. Be thankful and show gratitude for everything good in your life. This is another important concept. You will be much happier if you are thankful for what you have. Also, I believe you can't grow beyond your current situation until you appreciate where you are now, as the foundation for where you want to go or become.
   
4. You need to align yourself properly in order to receive the "gifts from the Universe". OK, let me explain this one. They mostly glossed over it, and I think that is a shame. But think about it. Suppose you want something. Suppose you want to become a better leader. You know deep down in yourself and you are constantly thinking about it, but you don't "align yourself with the Universe". Nothing happens. However, if you were "aligned correctly with the Universe" you would realize that there is a world of teachers, books, and experiences out there for you to learn from. Then you would be able to make use of those opportunities and make progress towards your goal.
   

Overall, it's an entertaining video. A little bit wonky, and probably not for beginners to personal development / self help.

Anyway, so if you've watched this DVD or the other associated profit making stuff. Let me know what you think about it in the comments. Thanks!

Until next time,
-Jason

Move Away from the "Genius with a Thousand Helpers" Mentality

Alright, so this one might be a little bit similar to the last post, but it is something that needs to be reiterated.

Actually the term "Genius with a Thousand Helpers" is a Termed that I found to be particularly telling from Good To Great. I've also briefly touched on this subject before, but lets get a little more in depth with it.

What is a "Genius with a Thousand Helpers"? Well... lets see... how about we think of someone like Steve Jobs, the famed founder and current CEO of Apple Computers. He definitely is a technological, marketing, and business genius. He envisioned the golden age of personal computers, turned a shiny white little box into the IT-gadget of the past decade, and turned a small computer company that should have been blown out of the water years ago, into a money making machine.

OK, so now you might be asking... "Why is this bad... it all ended up well?"

I would answer, that it's not as simple as this. Jobs has also been labeled as one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs by Fortune magazine, and it was probably this "genius bordering on insanity" that got him fired from Apple computer in the mid 1990's.

Sure, you can be domineering, bark orders, and not take any advice from others... but how long do you think that will last? How long do you think people will follow you no matter how much money you try to coerce them with?

Jobs lasted about 15 years before he was fired from the company that he founded. It seems almost luck that he has been able to come back to the company as it's CEO. But think how limited the company is. It can only grow as far as Job's vision, because he will not tolerate differing ideas. (Arguments from critics are often quickly dismissed as "bullshit"). Also, I'm generalizing here, but to him, the other senior management in the company, are merely "helpers". People who "make the company work" but do not determine the grand strategies of the company.

The most obvious problem with this is that, treating employees as "peons" doesn't do much to keep them happy, motivated, and productive. Secondly, not allowing team members to make decisions on their own, stunts their own development as leaders. Who will be able to take over the company if this "genius" leaves/retires/dies? No one will have the proper skills to properly take the reigns. Finally, two heads are better than one --> a whole team of heads is definitely better than one (that is if everyone is communicating in an effective and respectful manner).

To me, I think these "Genius's with a Thousand Helpers" or "Rockstar Leaders" just like feeding their egos. Who wouldn't want to be surrounded by people who always acquiesce to your "superior intellect / leadership abilities / whatever". But for me, I think I would rather be surrounded by people who were smarter and better than I am, so that I can maybe learn something from them.

What do you think? As always comments are appreciated.

-Jason

Leaders Don't Go It Alone

Have you ever seen one of those motivational posters? You know, the ones with something like a rainbow or a lion and a nice one liner of sage advice. Yes I know you've seen them, at work, at school, or heck even at the doctor's office.

Anyway, a little while ago I saw one of these posters that had an eagle and said something like "Leaders Go It Alone". I can't disagree with this sentiment more. Granted, sometimes leaders need to make the tough decisions which may be unpopular, or sometimes the leader will have to "remove someone from the team". However, leaders never go it alone!

Lets think about it. Assuming that a leader has to make a tough decision, that she knows will not go over well with the rest of the team. What should she do?

1. Well the first thing I would do is to do what leaders do best, use your influence to explain to the team why this is the right thing to do.
2. Next, listen! The team will probably have some very good reasons for doing things a different way. Maybe they have thought of things that you hadn't realized. Maybe, it would be best after all to do things their way.
   
3. Discuss both sides of the argument. Make sure everyone understands all of the costs and benefits.
   

OK, so lets say our leader has done her best to convince us and we (the team) have done our best to convince her but to no avail. Should she now storm out of the room, say "Damn it all, I am the boss, we'll do what I say, and I don't care what you think!"

Probably not the best idea right? Right. I would say a good leader should check her ego at the door and go with the team. I think it is such a problem these days that we glorify those people who act like loose canon's not caring about anybody else but themselves. While the selfish part of ourselves might want to run off, do things our way, and hope that everything works out in our favor just to come back and say "I told you so!"... most likely, if you have built a competent team they will be the ones who will be right.

So what do you think? No, I don't want to hear stories about "the one time I went it alone and was right". What these stories inevitably leave out is how this act strained the relationship between team and leader. But still, comments are much appreciated!

-Jason

Leadership and Politics

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying the warmer weather on this lazy Sunday afternoon. (Did you all remember to set your clocks forward today for Daylight Savings Time?)

Anyway, I just wanted to make a quick post about Leadership and Politics. Like them or not, in the United States, our elected politicians are our leaders. By default that makes each and every one of us their followers. But we have the choice to vote for and elect our own leaders! And that is why as responsible citizens and followers, we must take the time to understand these people who we are electing to be our leaders.

So I know the next Presidential election is over a year away, but if you've seen anything on the news, you've probably heard about the race thats ramping up already. Therefore, all I can say is GET INFORMED AND GET INVOLVED!

A friend of mine has created a website VoteIssues08, and he promises to help organize the promises / platforms of all of the candidates, as well as to let people "vote" (American Idol style) for their favorite candidates and on issues important to them. So check it out!

-Jason

The Greatest Salesman in the World

Good Morning everyone! I hope you are all enjoying this lazy Sunday afternoon. Drumroll please.... time for my first post in quite a while. ^_^

Anyway, lets get down to business. I recently finished this book called The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino. It's not exactly a book about leadership, but then again I wouldn't say it is merely a book for sales people. Essentially, the book is a parable (with an overt Christian theme) which tells the story of a young boy, who is given the knowledge of 10 ancient scrolls. These scrolls contain the secret to becoming the Greatest Salesman in the world. I'll go over the main points of each scroll.

1. Today I am a new person and can make the choice to succeed. I will read these scrolls religiously, over and over again, everyday.
   
2. I will greet each day with love in my heart. - Love and respect others (your customers / your followers). You'll get ten times the love and respect back.
   
3. I will persist until I succeed. - Life is tough out there. Being a leader is also tough. But if you persist you can win!
4. I am nature's greatest miracle. - You are unique. Make the most out of your uniqueness, live everyday and your life to the fullest.
   
5. I will live this day as if it is my last. - Don't get caught up with guilt, the "I should haves, I could have, and I would haves." Also, don't get caught up with worrying about the future. JUST DO IT!
   
6. Today I will be master of my emotions. - Tony Robbins took this idea and ran with it. If you can master yourself, changing your state and looking at the positive, you can do anything.
7. I will laugh at the world. - Smile! Even if you are at the very bottom, things can only go up.
   
8. Today I will multiply my value one hundred fold. - The human mind is an amazing thing. A mountain of sand touched with human genius can become a super computer. Aim high, believe in yourself, and you will create wonders!
9. My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action. - Just do it! (and Nike please don't sue me).
   
10. Only for guidance I will pray, that I may be shown the way to acquire these things (gold, love, good health, fame success, happiness) and my prayers will always be answered. - Now, Og Mandino isn't specifically saying to pray to God (the Judeo-Christian god) but instead recognizing that people sometimes need something else. Something beyond just themselves and the visible world. No matter what this higher force might be, ask for guidance. This can very well be likened to "When the student is ready the teacher will appear." If we are caught up in the thoughts of "I want this!" we might never put our minds to "How can I get this?".
    

For such a small book, this is some heavy stuff. So let it sink in. Think about it. Actually, that is how this book works. It is an affirmation. Reading it over and over again. Saying the words out loud every day, will make an impact down in your subconscious.

This book has been out since the 60's. You can probably pick up a used copy for pretty cheap. (I bought a copy on Amazon for a penny - plus shipping). Check it out!!

Until next time,
-Jason

Template Working Again

OK so I've "fixed" the template for all you IE users. (Well ok I didn't fix it, I just imported a new template and then customized it to look more or less like how it was before). Now I only have to make the text column a little bit wider....

I'll save that for another time.

Best,
-Jason

No I am not Dead

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for being away for so long. I've been quite busy with work and everything else. Though I have started getting involved with the Philadelphia chapter of NAAAP (The National Association of Asian American Professionals). They seem like a really cool bunch, and the organization is probably bursting with opportunities for leadership, so we'll see how this goes!

In other news, I found out that Accenture (the company that I work for) has an entire mini-website dedicated to leadership. Long story short, it had quite a few reprinted articles from the Harvard Business Review which I spent a good chunk of the past few weeks (and at least 5-6 hours on this lazy freezing cold Sunday) to read.

So depending on how everything else goes we'll see if I can't get a few posts in by the end of today. If not, within the next few days.

So please stay tuned!!

-Jason

Mission Statements (II)

OK so I've been reading Ken Blanchard's (One Minute Manager) new book Leading at a Higher Level (He sent me an autographed copy so I had better read it cover to cover ^_^).

The book is actually broken up into essays / chapters that are written by a number of different people on his research team. But anyway, one section on writing mission statements is slightly different from what I wrote about before though more or less analogous.

Again it is broken up into three parts:

• Significant purpose - The why of the mission statement
• Picture of the future - The what of the mission statement
• Clear Values - Clear and ranked values direct the day to day running of your team

I would have to agree.... though I feel there still might be a place for the how that I mentioned in the previous post about mission statements... though how's might be related more to objectives than to mission statements. Any ideas on this matter as always are well appreciated in the comments section!

However, the WHY is something I totally agree with. Sometimes this can get muddled in with the what, but other times, especially with long lived organizations, you need a stronger why. (If your mission was to land a man on the moon, and you have already achieved this, why else should your organization exist?)

Anyway, much more reading to get through. Until next time!
-Jason

Internet Explorer Issues

Hi Everyone!
Just wanted to apologize for the blog not working for IE users.... (switch to Firefox) . But as you can see from Firefox, I've changed the template a little bit... and it broke in IE. I'll be trying to fix things back up, but in the mean time please be patient, Thank You!!! ^_^
-Jason

"Scientific" Analysis of Leadership = Boring

-_-' alright, I'll probably get hate mail for this. But maybe someone can help straighten me out, and help me find this more useful. So a while ago I read through three or four books that explained some "scientific" studies on leadership.

Going through my notes, I'll pick on the "Multiple Linkage Model". I'll make this as brief as possible. A leader's effectiveness is driven by the leader's behavior, however there are many situational variables, such as corporate culture, that will influence the effectiveness of a leader's behavior. (Yelling and swearing at subordinates might work in the military, but will probably get you fired at your job). Similarly, intervening variables, such as subordinate's level of ability, available resources, natural disasters... can also influence results and effectiveness.

OK, my response to this "Duh!". Ok maybe I have a prejudice against this because it took the better part of a book to explain this in its original form (I see in my notebook where I drifted off to sleep with my handwriting becoming unrecognizable). I also just completed a Computer Based Training course on leadership where I sat through almost three hours of early 90's computer graphics that described four or five more theories of leadership.

I can't help but think, "How does this make me a better Young Leader?" Does anyone have any opinions about this? Is it better to think of leadership in the scientific (almost psychological) manner that you might read about in musty books? Or is it more reasonable to think about leadership from the basis of a few very basic principles and build up from there?

I would think that people are so incredible complex that it would be more effective to think about leadership from the ground up. Comments welcome and appreciated! Thank You!!

-Jason