Leadership - Thoughts and Observations

 

If we are paying attention, we would see examples of leadership in the university of life that offer lessons of consequence to all who are willing to learn. What we are about to embark upon in this article is not limited to what is being broadcast on the media; some examples can be said to be much closer to home. 

Without much ado, here we go:

• A leader should not depend on observing what he/she wants to hear, but look out for the lessons in what needs to be said to them. Do not surround yourselves with yes people. Yet, while seeking those who are frank and direct, do not tolerate rudeness from anyone. Be aware of who you are and whose you are. 
• Be clear about who you are serving; who relies on you for support, and who you can count on that offers reliability and consistency.
• Always be willing to weigh the advice you are given by your "supporters" with wisdom and clarity. 
• Ensure that you actions and reactions are consistent with the themes and messages you are supporting. 
• Be developmental always thinking about ways and means of improving those you lead and exposing them to positive opportunities for success and growth. 
• What legacy will you build and in what areas? Will you leadership build a platform that would enable others coming after you to have a foundation on which to build? Be precise about the type of organization that you want to build. 

The above list is by no means comprehensive but serves as a start for your leadership career. 

I would love to hear/read your feedback about what you think may be added and how do you see those approaches working for you. 

An Epidemic of Excellence

If we were to fight fire with fire, why couldn't we make an epidemic work for us as a region? With the recent pandemic fresh in our minds, we were able to see the impact it had on virtually every aspect of our society - commerce, trade, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, the environment and others. 

The tourism sector finally realizes that their locals are also people with spending power, and only now their backs are against the wall try to woo them in to use the products and services they sell. In many cases the locals, many of whom were treated badly before now reject them. It should be a wake up call for an industry that claims to offer hospitality, but only offered hospitality to people with foreign accents and foreign exchange. 

Hotels and restaurants clamour for industry recognised accolades of 5 star, green globe, luxury, prestigious, and the like; yet they lost to common touch of how to interact and treat their fellow citizens who work hard and save for vacations only to go overseas since they weren't appreciated in their own domicile. It's for this reason that Staycations may not have enjoyed more success than they could have. 

This was a discussion that many shared their thoughts on recently, and they were not complimentary to those who were hospitality practitioners. 

What can we do? We have to revamp the mindset of everyone in our countries.

As we learned, those of us who studied hospitality are no longer employed exclusively in tourism. We have gone into many diverse fields within which the what we learned in hospitality now plays an integral part in our careers. 

Business - Not suited for everyone

I know...the title of this can be offensive to some, however, given my time in the field I have found it to be true.

There's a lot involved in owning and managing a business. It is more so if you have the responsibility of staffing as well as the fulfillment to one's customers/clients. Rather than do a listing of what's required for business, perhaps a more blended approach would be more practical to those seeking to qualify themselves before entering the realm of business.

Though I can rattle off a list of characteristics necessary for the field of business, I get the feeling that a more detailed approach may be necessary to help the reader grasp what is really needed. In school, we get so caught up in passing exams and doing projects that like obtaining a driver's licence we only learn business when we get into it.

When you work for someone, you have a job which kind of shelters you. As I have often thought, doing a great job as a plumber doesn't necessarily equip you to run a great plumbing business. There are so many other elements involved. They include administration, operations, marketing, finance and accounting, paying attention to the legal elements including any intellectual property and contracts. Should you business be one that has staff, the HR issues never seem to stop - vacations, scheduling & payroll mixed with overdraft completes that episode. 

The invisible characteristics include determination, grit, discipline, backed up my character, fortitude, networks and competence are just some of the ingredients in the mix. If the mix isn't right, you'll know quickly. 

Do you have what it takes to be in business? Only you will know over time, but just remember, it's not for everyone. 

More wants than money...

 When you think about it, as we go through life and we take the opportunity to pause for a while, we would recognize that we have more wants than we have money. Why is that? 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I made the observation that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs stood the test of the environment. For the first time in my personal history, I was actually able to see people, myself included, relate to this pyramid as the lock down took place. We were content to functioning at the level of our basic needs. 

People had cheques that were totally useless since the banks we not accepting them; and that is when they were open. For the most part, as a people, we became creative in our survival. We noticed the laws of living and their consequences/benefits. Maybe, for the first time in the lives of many, we stopped to pay attention to how our lives were impacted, and really gave thought to our circumstances. 

To put in a nutshell what the news said, the challenges faced at the most basic physiological level of needs cause many to have experiences at the safety level that no human wants to experience. 

In an effort to regain a sense of "normal", governments the world over sought to integrate practices that would enable people to regain some of their lost footing in life as it relates to the attending of their psychological needs. 

Was it too fast, where we are seeking to build on an already weak foundation as it related to the fulfillment of the basic needs of people? Only time would tell. There is mixed opinions about that process with even the arguments being put forward to the crisis of the pandemic was for a disease that isn't real. The behaviors of many speak to their coping mechanisms that they have. It provides a more clear insight as to what some people may have had to experience when they were locked off from the rest of the world and having to deal with the train of thought some people had. Their experiences could have been no less than horrible. 

One thing that is being slowly realized; normal has changed, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. 

This post COVID-19 environment is going to really test our ability to be our brother's keeper. It is going to let us see the harsh reality that as a people we are going to have more wants than money.  

Do you know your reputation?

 We are all known for something. However in many instances, it would appear that we ourselves may be unaware of the reputation we carry. It may be due to many of us not paying attention to ourselves and what we portray. 

We often have opinions of others based on our interaction with them. Yet, we don't seem to be always aware of what others think of us, and often in the cases when we do, we are often wrong in our determinations. 

It's time to become conscious of who we are and whose we are. What are the standards we have developed and inculcated over the years of our existence? 

In 2020, we were forced to stop at times and reflect on our lives, our environment and the situations we faced. We reflected on the lives of those who passed away and the impact that it had on us. I wondered, if they were ever heard/were told any of the things we hear of them when the tributes came in. As a friend of mine, long gone from this life said to me when I was growing up; "were they alive to smell the roses". 

Many of us will receive bouquets when we die, but does it mean that we haven't truly lived if we never received a bouquet while we are alive? When we do, how do we take in the moment and crystalize the experience in our psyche?

Do people know us in a lopsided manner? Only by our work, our family lives, our church personas? How many of us can say that we are known totally by anyone where those who know us can truly speak of our character? 

We compartmentalize so much that many of us can be Saints-on-Sunday and Sinners-the-rest-of-the-time. 

Sometimes, we as a people lament that we are not appreciated by others. Yet, have we take the opportunity to appreciate ourselves for just who we are? 

We don't seem to be learning! Just recently there was a gun battle between youth, who aren't even old enough to have experienced life in its fullest; yet they were so willing to take the life of another. In the media, as someone who impacted us significantly in one way or another move on, we only then take the time to appreciate them after they've gone. 

Let's live life on new terms:

• Become a greater supporter of our fellow man;
• Exceed the expectations of others in your service to others;
• Recognize it's not the big things that seem to be in the spotlight that mean the most, but those seemingly insignificantly things that may seem to go unnoticed that make the biggest differences; 
• Love unconditionally; 
• Do things "Just-because". E.g. we sometimes get together for family celebrations, just because, we can. It doesn't have to be commemorating anything other than the freedom of life to commune and share with each other. There's so much that can be learned about each other just by sharing a meal. The generation gap is bridged, family values are shared, we get to value others as we share a kind word/moment. 

Start today to determine and shape the reputation that you want to have. Yes, you'll make mistakes along the way; it's part of the process. Get to know, who you are and whose you are; and live! 

Using your mobile technology to build your business

Businesses are becoming smaller in size, and hopefully with some planning, they can become more nimble within their environments. Many have been displaced within recent time and with their resources being limited, they need to have ways that they can get up to speed quickly. How can they do this, and do it well? This time, more than any, is when consideration needs to be given to the acquisition and use of mobile technology. 

The presence of so many different types of mobile technology in the market place gives rise to a diverse set up applications for a significant number of business opportunities. 

Many businesses are now functioning semi-remotely. Despite resources being scarce, there are mobile tech hardware and software that can help businesses gain traction within their chosen markets. There's literally no excuse not to function competently. 

Here's why:

• Smartphones can cost more than laptops/desktops and are versatile in their applications and dexterity of  functioning while the businessman/woman is on the move. 
• There are paid and free apps that enable the businesses to do the work of entire offices while on the go; and the available platforms support this process. 
• Delegation is easy and reliable. 
• Collaboration is easy, reliable and functional.
• Response rate is almost instantaneous. 
• Document management was also mobile complete with the virtual filing system(s). This is largely due to the memory capacity on most devices. 
• Backup systems are in the cloud making it absolutely difficult to lose information. 

Now that you are aware you have the technology. Here are some things that you need to be aware of:

• Changing devices is easy as information updates are instantaneous when you log in with you profile credentials. 
• Backups/Restoration is easy and reliable. 
• Your contacts are readily at hand should you need to make contact with them. 
• You can process invoices, refunds and track your bookkeeping activity directly from your mobile devices. 
• There are endless security services to protect your data. 
• You can easily manage your devices from your administrative panels and the information they can access. 
• You can see your schedule at a glance. 
• There is seamless integration between devices which means you can continue working even on the move. 
• There is talk to type technology so that you don't break stride with your productivity. 
• You can access movies and music should you need to gear back for a break. 
• There are a plethora of courses, workshops, and webinars to keep you in the know as you seek out more knowledge. 

No excuses are available any longer. Use your preferred mobile technology and get busy on building and developing your future and safeguarding your livelihood and that of those you care about. 

Check our website bladesandbladesconsultancy.com for continued posts and updates. Hope this helps move you in the direction of your most dominant thoughts of success. 

Mobile Phone Usage for Business

When considering business and the use of telecommunications, one thing that is being used increasingly is the mobile phone. Some people are competent in the use of their devices; for the most part, many aren't. 

When observing how people use their mobile phones, it oftentimes makes me wonder if they have given consideration as to the use of their device. Some people use their phones as unpaid comedians to forward jokes. Others send graphics that do not, shall we say, coincide with their branding. Some people are just seemingly lawless and will waste your data plans without any regard for the fact that they are costing you money needlessly. 

Here are some scenarios that mobile phone users tend to engage in:

• They call you and ask you to call them back since their credit is about to run out. Really? Who wants to make contact with whom? 
• WhatsApp calls for business reasons. The call quality is choppy in many instances and does not make for high-quality interaction that at least seems professional. 
• Then, they are those with the prepaid phones that run out in the midst of a conversation. Guess what, postpaid is always the cheaper option. Don't be afraid of the commitment. 
• The sending of non-business related graphics also ranks high on the list of not to-dos. 
• Purchasing mobile phones that cost more than a computer and then not possessing the ability to use the features is more than a little off-putting. I liken it to purchasing the Mercedes with its high powered engine and speed abilities; only to drive it at 25 kph on the highway. 

If used well, mobile phones can be a game-changer for business people. Here are some examples:

• Small businesses and mobile phones 
• Small businesses and mobile data 

When you consider your business planning, examine if you're using your mobile technology optimally.  You just may be surprised at how much you can save, but more importantly how your earnings can be enhanced if you use the technology properly.