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Inspirational Quotations #176

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Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.
—George Herbert (Welsh Anglican Poet)

Dreams don’t come true. Dreams are true.
—Anonymous

And what is laughter anyway? Changing the angle of vision. That is what you love a friend for: the ability to change your angle of vision, bring back your best self when you feel worst, remind you of your strengths when you feel weak.
—Erica Jong (American Novelist)

Life gives us tragedies and heartaches, but it also gives us reasons to celebrate, and we must not allow the tragedies to stop us celebrating the good times, but celebrate them all the more.
—Rudy Giuliani (American Politician)

Execution is the job of the business leader.
—Lawrence Bossidy

Nobody gives you power. You just take it.
—Unknown

The trouble with opportunity is that it only knocks. Temptation kicks the door in.
—Unknown

Always remember, look forwards not back, believing in making your dreams all come true. Always believe in the best you can be and have faith in the things that you do.
—Unknown

Some people think it’s holding on that
makes one strong. Sometimes it’s letting go.
—Sylvia Robinson

The thing that matters is not what you bear, but how you bear it.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (Roman Philosopher)

Working Exercise into a Busy Day

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The benefits of physical activity and exercise are well known: reduced risk of chronic diseases, lower stresses, increased physical fitness, improved sleep, greater self-confidence, etc. However, incorporating physical activity into our demanding schedules can be very challenging.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal offered five great guidelines to help include exercise into a busy day. See the full article here.

  1. Exercise early in the morning. Typically, after work, you’re hungry, exhausted and you have family obligations. Exercising early in the morning can give a great energy boost.
  2. Stay close to home or office for convenience. If possible, possess exercise equipment at home.
  3. Mix exercise with family time. For instance, ask family or friends to join you in the morning-walks; this will help you stay motivated.
  4. Do a weekend workout. The weekend offers two days of opportunity.
  5. Stay active during the day. Mix exercise into your daily activities.

Call for Action

With the help of a physician or a personal trainer, choose activities that are appropriate for your fitness level and your goals. Be realistic in what you can achieve. Schedule exercise in your calendar.

Make the most of small bits of time that become available during the day. Take the stairs instead of an elevator; park your car as far as possible in the parking lot and walk into your office; take a quick walk around your office building when you need a break from work.

Take time out–do not exercise every day. Regular breaks allow for recovery and return to exercise with renewed vigour.

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Inspirational Quotations #175

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Everything a human being wants can be divided into four components: love, adventure, power and fame.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German Poet)

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

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.
—Buddhist Teaching

No matter how much progress one makes, there is always the thrill of just beginning.
—Robert H. Goddard (American Inventor)

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

I do like a little bit of butter to my bread.
—A. A. Milne (English Children’s Books Writer)

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

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.
—Voltaire (French Philosopher)

A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.
—Frank Hall Crane

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

Inspirational Quotations #174

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If we wish to free ourselves from enslavement, we must choose freedom and the responsibility this entails.
—Leo Buscaglia (American Motivational Speaker)

A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.
—Charles Darwin (British Naturalist)

Winners find reasons to …|Losers find excuses not to.
—Unknown

Those who do too much for their children, will soon discover they can do nothing with their children.
—Neal A. Maxwell (American Mormon Religious Leader)

From the moment it is touched, the heart cannot dry up.
—Louis Bourdaloue

I expect nothing. I fear no one. I am free.
—Nikos Kazantzakis (German Greek Philosopher)

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

The secret of success is this: there is no secret of success.
—Elbert Hubbard (American Writer)

A friend is a person who knows all about you-and still likes you.
—Elbert Hubbard (American Writer)

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own.And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’) (American Children’s Books Writer)

The Foundation of Great Relationships: Get to Know People

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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.

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Inspirational Quotations #173

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Nature arms each man with some faculty which enables him to do easily some feat impossible to any other, and thus makes him necessary to society.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Philosopher)

Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (American Novelist)

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 usually the reputation of the business that remains intact.
—Warren Buffett (American Investor)

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 (American Dancer)

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 (Indian Hindu Mystic)

Success is getting and achieving what you want. Happiness is wanting and being content with what you get.
—Bernard Meltzer (American Radio Personality)

The heart has its reasons, which Reason does not know. We feel it in a thousand things. It is the heart which feels God, and not Reason. This, then, is perfect faith: God felt in the heart.
—Blaise Pascal (French Catholic Mathematician)

Be silent, or speak something worth hearing.
—Unknown

Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.
—Guillaume Apollinaire (Italian-born French Poet)

Avoid E-mail Embarrassments [Effective Emails #1]

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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.

  • Guidelines to Avoid E-mail EmbarrassmentsBe 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.

Managerial Skills #2: Offering Retirees a Soft-landing

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“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.

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Get the Recognition to Help Career Advancement

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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 Recognition to Help Career Advancement 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.

[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.]

Inspirational Quotations #172

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Every man is his own chief enemy.
—Anacharsis (Scythian Philosopher)

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 (Armenian Philosopher)

To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be.
—Miguel de Unamuno (Spanish Essayist)

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. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person.
—David M. Burns

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 (English Poet)

Every man is his own worst enemy.
—Common Proverb

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 (Vietnamese Buddhist Religious Leader)

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 (German Poet)