Right Attitudes » Ideas for Impact
» by Nagesh Belludi

Being reproached for giving to an unworthy person, Aristotle said,
‘I did not give it to the man, but to humanity.’
* Samuel Johnson

You should respect each other and refrain from disputes;
you should not, like water and oil, repel each other,
but should, like milk and water, mingle together.
* Gouthama Buddha

Everything a human being wants can be divided
into four components: love, adventure, power and fame.
* Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I do like a little bit of butter to my bread.
* A.A. Milne

Wait not till tomorrow, what can be done today.
For you do not know what tomorrow may bring.
* Anonymous

No matter how much progress one makes,
there is always the thrill of just beginning.
* Robert H. Goddard

What is a friend? I will tell you.
It is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.
* Frank Crane

Always follow your heart,
it’s the one thing stronger than your mind.
* Rob Niemeyer

A hug is the body’s battery re-charge
* Unknown

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.
* Voltaire

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

A friend is a person who knows
all about you but likes you anyway.
* Unknown

I expect nothing. I fear no one. I am free.
* Nikos Kazantzakis

From the moment it is touched, the heart cannot dry up.
* Louis Bouraloue

If we wish to free ourselves from enslavement,
we must choose freedom and the responsibility this entails.
* Leo Buscaglia

No smile is as beautiful as the one that struggles through tears.
* Unknown

A man who dares to waste one hour of time
has not discovered the value of life.
* Charles Darwin

Winners find reasons to …
Losers find excuses not to.
* Unknown

The secret of success is this: there is no secret of success.
* Elbert Hubbard

You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose
You’re on your own
And you know what you know
And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go
* Dr. Seuss

Those who do too much for their children,
will soon discover they can do nothing with their children.
* Neal A. Maxwell

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

An Act of Astonishing Leadership

In a sermon on the meaning of work, Nancy Ortberg of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, recalled an astonishing leadership act from when she worked as an emergency room nurse earlier in her career.

“It was about 10:30 p.m. The room was a mess. I was finishing up some work on the chart before going home. The doctor with whom I loved working was debriefing a new doctor, who had done a very respectable, competent job, telling him what he’d done well and what he could have done differently.”

“Then he put his hand on the young doctor’s shoulder and said, ‘When you finished, did you notice the young man from housekeeping who came in to clean the room?’ There was a completely blank look on the young doctor’s face.”

“The older doctor said, ‘His name is Carlos. He’s been here for three years. He does a fabulous job. When he comes in he gets the room turned around so fast that you and I can get our next patients in quickly. His wife’s name is Maria. They have four children.’ Then he named each of the four children and gave each child’s age.”

“The older doctor went on to say, ‘He lives in a rented house about three blocks from here, in Santa Ana. They’ve been up from Mexico for about five years. His name is Carlos,’ he repeated. Then he said, ‘Next week I would like you to tell me something about Carlos that I don’t already know. Okay? Now, let’s go check on the rest of the patients.’”

“I remember standing there writing my nursing notes–stunned–and thinking, I have just witnessed breathtaking leadership.”

Call for Action: Get to Know People

Getting to know and caring for people is the foundation of great relationships, both in our personal and professional lives. We know little about the people we interact with on a daily basis — often, we know nothing beyond their first and last names, and their functional responsibilities.

Here are seven fundamental steps to help know people.

• Most people are enthusiastic about sharing their stories — of where they grew up, their life-experiences, travels, hobbies, interests, or children. Depending on the level of acquaintance, gauge whether a specific person would be comfortable with talking about himself/herself.
• Consider asking open-ended questions. Initial questions can focus on a favourite sport, travel or school/career history.
• A person’s desk may provide clues for conversation starters. Some people have pictures of kids, pets or their hometown. Others have memorabilia from a sports team they support or their school. Some others have plaques from the awards and recognitions they won. People are keen to talk about these interests — they are great topics to start conversations on.
• Listen carefully. Make a mental note of the details the person provides.
• Relate to the other person’s stories and share your experiences. This helps the other person to get to know you too.
• After your conversation, jot down a few details to facilitate a follow-up conversation later. For instance, if your project manager talked about her children, write down the kids’ names, their school, etc.
• Be careful not to pry too deep. Steer away from conversations on social or economic status, health, faith, and other personal details. Watch for gestures of discomfort when you ask questions.

Listening to people and getting to know them transforms your relationships: it helps you connect with people positively and discover shared values/interests. At a higher level, it demonstrates your caring for your people and helps you influence them or facilitate change, depending on the nature of your relationship with them.

Notes: Reference to Nancy Ortberg’s sermon via Guy Kawasaki of Garage Ventures and Rich Karlgaard of Forbes Magazine.

***See other articles related to Ideas for Impact, network, networking, interpersonal relationships, personality development, leadership skills, people skills, managerial skills

Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind.
* F. Scott Fitzgerald

Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.
* Guillaume Apollinaire

Nature arms each man with some faculty which
enables hium to do easily some feat impossible to any other.
* Ralph Waldo Emerson

Living is a form of not being sure,
not knowing what next or how.
The moment you know how, you begin to die a little.
The artist never entirely knows. We guess.
We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.
* Agnes de Mille

The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.
* Blaise Pascal

We are judged by our actions, not our intentions.
We may have a heart of gold, but so does a hardboiled egg!
* Unknown

When a management with a reputation for brilliance
tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics,
it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.
* Warren Buffett

Mourning is not the index of true love.
It reflects love of the object,
of its shape only, but that is not love.
True love is shown by the certainty that
the object of love is in the Self and
that it can never become non-existent.
* Ramana Maharshi

Success is getting and achieving what you want.
Happiness is wanting and being content with what you get.
* Bernard Meltzer

Be silent, or speak something worth hearing.
* Unknown

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

We have all committed e-mail mistakes. We have seen a personal message sent to one recipient appear on mailing lists, we have sent impulsive e-mails while hot-headed, we have accidentally sent e-mails to the wrong recipients, we have misspelled names of important people, and so forth.

An opinion poll conducted by America Online and Opinion Research Corporation in the year 2005 listed features that e-mail users desire.

• 43% of the respondents asked for the ability to un-send a message that has not been read
• 43% of the respondents asked for the ability to track where an e-mail has been forwarded
• 27% of the respondents asked for a lock on e-mail so it cannot be forwarded
• 27% of the respondents asked for a pop-up that asks the user to double-check who they are sending the e-mail to
• 14% of the respondents asked for the ability to un-send a message that has already been read

Guidelines to Avoid E-mail Embarrassments

The technology of e-mails is such that you lose control over the content and distribution of an e-mail message as soon as you send it. Here are a few guidelines to avoid potential embarrassments from e-mails.

• Be judicious to whom you send e-mail to, and who you copy on e-mails. Use the ‘To’ field to list e-mail addresses of people who need to take action. Use the ‘CC’ (carbon copy) field to list e-mail addresses of people who need to be informed. Do not copy e-mails just to keep other people ‘in-the-loop.’
• ‘Reply to All’ only if you really need your message to be read by everyone who received the original message.
• Always examine the ‘To’ field before you compose a personal reply to an e-mail you received through a mailing list.
• Do not forward to any message you received via ‘BCC’ (blind carbon copy.) Reply to the sender only, if necessary.
• Ask the sender for appropriateness before forwarding any sensitive information you received from him/her.
• Assume that any message that can be misunderstood will be misunderstood. Proof-read the content before you send out e-mails. Read the message from the recipients’ perspective and examine if you can edit your composition to avoid possible misinterpretations.
• Never send an e-mail when angry. After composing the e-mail, wait for an hour or two before sending your e-mail. Examine alternate means for relaying your information and closing the communication loop.

***See other articles related to email, email communication, effective communication

“Retired is being twice tired, I’ve thought.
First tired of working, then tired of not.”
- Richard Armour (American poet)

Retiring is a significant transitional event in one’s life. Retirement is ideally a happy stage of one’s life–an opportunity to relax and lead a peaceful life after decades of hard work. Yet, retirement can be stressful for numerous reasons: not being financially well prepared, failing health, the prospect of not being around people, or, missing work.

Managers can reduce retirement stress by offering retirees a soft-landing. As an alternative to cutting responsibilities abruptly, a prudent manager can allow a near-retiree to work for fewer hours and gradually handover responsibilities to successors. Part-time work can also help near-retirees to discover interests and activities they can retire to.

Consider the flexibility that your organization can allow. Encourage the retiree to contemplate various options you can offer. Do not impose any plan—the retiree will support any arrangement he/she helped establish.

A soft-landing will help retirees brace themselves for the substantial changes in lifestyle following retirement.

***See other articles related to retirement, managing people

Robert Nardelli, the former CEO of retailing giant Home Depot, offered great career advice in a “CEO Series” interview at the Stern School of Business, New York University, in 2003. Here is a video and a transcript of his interview.

Robert Nardelli’s on Getting Recognition

I started my career in General Electric (GE) as a manufacturing engineer in the refrigeration plant. When I had an opportunity to volunteer in the ‘feature and appearance council’ or to help design new handles, I would snap the opportunity so that I was able to get tremendous exposure to the thinking and be recognized as someone that could do functional crossover. It served me well throughout my whole career.

When GE implemented a new financial accounting system, the company was looking for someone to volunteer to be the program manager. I did not know anything about accounting and finance, but still said I will lead the initiative. Of course, this was in addition to my day job.

Such opportunities exist in every organization. You can seize those opportunities and learn through broader experiences. They gave me a base of understanding and confidence. When I faced adversity at higher positions, I felt good about my experience and abilities.

Call for Action

Getting management to recognize you for promotions and leadership positions can be challenging, especially at large companies. Career success is often said to be not about what you know but about “who you know.” In the new world of work, where competition is more intense than ever before, what really matters more is who knows you and what they know about you.

Robert Nardelli recommends that volunteering on a variety of organizational initiatives is one way to get the recognition you deserve. When you volunteer on cross-functional committees for product improvement or professional development, the decision-makers can get to know you, your skills, abilities and career interests. Such exposure will help them consider you for challenging assignments in the future.

Volunteer in your company’s initiatives, connect with other functions, broaden your skills, and, build a network.

***See other articles related to Ideas for impact, networking, career success, promotions, career performance

[Notes: (1) Robert Nardelli's photo from the website of the Stern School of Business, New York University, (2) Robert Nardelli's words (above) were altered for clarity and conciseness for this article.]

To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be.
* Miguel de Unamuno

Habit is a man’s sole comfort.
We dislike doing without even
unpleasant things to which we have become accustomed.
* Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Every grown-up man consists wholly of habits,
although he is often unaware of it and
even denies having any habits at all.
* Georges Gurdjieff

The best way to break a bad habit is to drop it.
* Leo Aikman

How does the meadow flower its bloom unfold?
Because the lovely little flower is free
Down to its root, and in that freedom bold.
* William Wordsworth

Every man is his own chief enemy.
* Anacharsis

Courage and modesty are the most unequivocal of virtues,
for they are of a kind that hypocrisy cannot imitate;
they too have this quality in common,
that they are expressed by the same color.
* Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Life can be found only in the present moment.
The past is gone, the future is not yet here,
and if we do not go back to ourselves in
the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.
* Thich Nhat Hanh

Aim for success, not perfection.
Never give up your right to be wrong,
because then you will lose the ability
to learn new things and move forward with your life
* David M. Burns

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

In the February 2006 issue of the Entrepreneur magazine, “Smart Moves” columnist Chris Penttila offered twenty-five ways to simplify business and life for entrepreneurs. Here are his three guidelines to create more personal-time for ourselves.

• Create boundaries. Set aside 10 minutes after lunch to make and return personal calls. Set a time for leaving the office every day, no matter how busy you are. And spend at least two hours doing something fun before you burn some late-night oil. Your family will thank you.
• Shorten your to-do list. “A to-do list is nothing but a wish list.” A long to-do list leaves less time to focus on revenue-generating ideas. Instead, focus on the top three urgent tasks for the day. The rest can wait.
• Love your inner Luddite. Entrepreneurs who become slaves to gadgets “are running reactive businesses and being reactive with their time.” Try working unplugged–this means no internet connection and absolutely no phone calls–for one hour every morning. It will give you a sense of accomplishment that lasts all day.

Call for Action

“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”
– Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918,) French Poet

Balancing the various demands on our time is a challenge for most of us. Evaluate your daily routines and habits. Use the above guidelines to simplify your lifestyle and spend time on people, hobbies, travel and activities you enjoy. Brainstorm ideas with friends and family. Be realistic in what you can expect to achieve; do not over-plan. On your journey to success and prosperity in life, make sure you enjoy the journey.

***See other articles related to work-life balance, time-off, relaxation, productivity, work-life