Entries by Engers Fernandez

FAILING FORWARD Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success

July 10, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , , /by

Failing forward is a strategic guide that helps people move beyond mistakes to fulfill their potential and achieve success.  In this book, John C. Maxwell took a closer look at failure and revealed that the secret of moving forward beyond failure is to use it as a lesson or stepping stone. He covers the top reason people fail and shows how to master fear instead of being mastered by it. Usually, failure is considered the opposite of success, but this is not true. Failure is not to be avoided but to be embraced.  It is a vital part of success. Learning to embrace failure, we will become stronger.  Each chapter of the book deeply explores the psychology of success and failure, using case studies of people, organizations, companies, and nations that managed to take advantage of their failure to succeed and even self-actualize.

Among my favorites stories in the book, we have the story of Mary Kay Ash, which Maxwell uses to make the point that the main difference between those who achieve and the average people is how people handle and respond to failure.

Other stories highlighted by Maxwell were, the story of the Major League Baseball player Tony Gwynn, and the founder of Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, Truett Cathy. The author leverages their stories to propose a new definition of failure. "Failure is the price a person pays for progress, as it provides growth and learning opportunities that would not be had otherwise."

One of the most impactful chapters is Chapter Four,  the section presents many statistics of research on how fear of failure can impede success. Maxwell uses many of this statistics and studies to explained what he calls the “Fear Cycle.” The Fear of  Cycle start with  Fear, followed by Inaction and Inexperience, and close with Inability, and as inability is the main pre-angle to fear, the fear cycle begins again.  The Chapter closed with useful tips on how to break the cycle. Maxwell showed how we can cut from the past to create our own breakthroughs. And he explains the process of how we can see failure as a unique opportunity to face ourselves, and understand our own weaknesses and deal effectively with them.

The last chapter of the books explained how to grasp the positive benefits that each "negative" experience brings, and leverage from those benefits to keep taking risks because that's the only way to succeed.

As Benjamin Franklin said “whatever hurts, instructs,” and most times people get in their own way of succeeding for one or a combination of the followings ten reasons:

1. Poor People Skills

2. A Negative Attitude

3. A Bad Fit

4. Lack of Focus

5. A Weak Commitment

6. Unwillingness to Change

7.A Short-Cut Mindset

8. Relying on Talent Alone

9. A Response to Poor Information

10. No Goals

In conclusion, Peter Drucker says, “The better a man is, the more mistakes he will make, the more new things he will try.” Mistakes really do pave the road for achievement.

THE BIG THREE - KEYPOINTS

Key Point #1: Failure creates new and a better opportunity

Key Point #2: Turn failure into knowledge and knowledge into success

Key Point #3: The only way to make failure useful is to learn from it.

One Last Thing

Achievers are given multiple reasons to believe they are failures. But in spite of that, they persevere. The average for entrepreneurs is 3.8 failures before they finally make it in business. But here is the key, fail early, fail fast, fail often, but always fail forward.

~John C. Maxwell, Falling Forward

Cashflow Quadrant. Guid to Financial Freedom

June 10, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

Robert Kiyosaki is an active investor in real estate and specializes in the development of small-cap companies. He teaches business and investment principles and shares some of his knowledge through his book, CashFlow Quadrant.

The Cashflow Quadrant describes the four ways income can be generated:

EMPLOYED: Working for someone for a paycheck.

SELF EMPLOYED: Working for yourself, receiving an income that depends on you.

BUSINESS: Owning process/system, i.e., work happens without them being present, so they get a paycheck even when they are not present.

INVESTMENT: Making your money work for you. none or little interaction is needed for getting a paycheck.

Robert does a great job explaining the complicated financial and economic concepts in a very simplistic way. He offers a plan for those on the left side of the quadrant (employed and self-employed) to move to the right side of the quadrant (business owners and investors). The right side of the quadrant is where the rich focus all their attention in order to become financially independent. As part of his plan, Kiyosaki explains that it is not enough to be making a lot of money. What is really important, what makes the difference, is to be financially free. Being financially free is the difference between a medical doctor, a highly paid employee and Jeff Bezos, wealthiest man in history.

Robert Kiyosaki’s main point is to earn enough financial literacy to move from one quadrant to another.

The quadrants are:

EMPLOYEE: This is probably the most challenging quadrant in which to become financially free. Most people fall into this quadrant because of the way their mindset has been programmed since childhood. They get the same suggestion from their parents while growing up, “study hard, find a high paying job and have a secure life.” Your parents’ advice, coupled with schools and colleges is designed to create employees who need security, live from paycheck to paycheck and depend on allowances. There is very small proportion of children who get advice from their parents to start investing or open their own business.

To this group, job security is more important than financial freedom. Although you can become rich in this quadrant, it is quite tough compared to other quadrants.

SELF-EMPLOYED: Those in this quadrant have the mindset of “if you want to do it right, you have to do it yourself.” They are sometimes referred to as "solo-people." They own their job and often do their work because of the perfectionist mindset, and they do not trust anyone else with their job. A few examples are the retail shop owner, small company, doctor, etc. They trade their time for money. Unlike employees who enjoy the benefits of medical allowances and paid leaves, the earnings of a self-employed is very fragile. If they get sick, it would be hard for them to make an income. The self-employed have to devote more time if they want to earn more. Their income is directly dependent on how much work they can do, i.e., their time equals money. Also, their freedom is more important than their financial independence.

BUSINESS OWNERS: This quadrant allows the best opportunity to become financially free. Those here are people who own the system or process where people work for them. According to Forbes, big companies are those with over 500 employees. However, in recent times, this rule is no longer valid. There many big companies which do not require 500 employees to work. For example, Whatsapp is a multi-billion company with less than 50 employees. Unlike the self-employed who can not stop working if they want a regular  income, the business owner does not need to trade his time for money as he owns the system. Even in their absence, their employees will work for them.

INVESTORS: This group of people make their money work for them. Investors are the fourth and highest level of the cashflow quadrant. You cannot jump into this quadrant without being successful in one of the other three quadrants mentioned above. The investors are one of the most financially free groups who make their money work for them. They invest in business stocks, real estate, etc. Most times, they do not need to get involved in the working of the business or asset they're investing in; hence they get plenty time, money and freedom.

In conclusion, it is comparatively easier and faster to become wealthy when you’re working on the right-hand side of the quadrant. You do not need to shift to another quadrant entirely at once. You can keep your feet in two or more quadrants. However, the best way to get rich is to stay on the right side of the cashflow quadrant.

 

THE BIG THREE - KEYPOINTS

Key point #1: The self-employed believe if you want to do it right, do it yourself.  Often self-employed people think they have a business, but if your business requires you to be there in order to keep generating an income, you don't own a business, you own a job.

Key point #2: If you own a process/system where others work for you, you’re a business owner. As a business owner, you are more comfortable to reach the ultimate goal, financial freedom by having your money working for you as an investor.

Key point #3: Everyone has money problems. For most people, money leaves faster than it comes. For others, they have money but cannot reinvest it fast enough. For those who can reinvest it, more money comes in. Yes, the rich do get richer.

One Last Thing:

"A lot of people are afraid to tell the truth, to say no. That's where toughness comes into play. Toughness is not being a bully. It's having  backbone." ~ Robert T. Kiyosaki, The Cashflow Quadrant.

How Did I Not See This Coming?

June 3, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , /by

One thing is clear to everyone who has been exposed to management… management is tough. In this book, Katy Tynan speaks about the misconceptions that many new managers have regarding what management is all about. Told in the form of a story, it follows the journey of fictitious character, Julie, a recently promoted team leader in a software development company. She’s just run head-on into a brick wall realizing that, even with the best of intentions, she has been doing things wrong.

Most new managers approach their new role optimistically. They believe that all they need to do is work harder and stay on top of all the tasks their team is responsible for. They aren’t thinking about leading a team, they are thinking about keeping track of a lot of tasks.

The first thing Julie learns is that it’s less about tasks, and more about articulating a sense of shared purpose, or a vision. Consider the values that your team members have in common, and how your work contributes to the goals of the whole company. Having a clear understanding of that purpose and vision is the key to prioritization, and to resolving conflicts.

The second challenge most new managers face is the realization that they don’t (and probably can’t) know everything. Before becoming a manager, you may have been an expert in a certain area, but once you make the transition, it’s not about expertise. It’s about your ability to help the people on your team do their best work. Managers most often need to focus on the “what” and not the “how”, which means leaving the details up to your team.

This leads to the third thing that Julie discovers in her journey. While most people who become managers know that goals are an important tool for tracking a team’s progress, they sometimes overlook how important it is to not just have goals but to align them with the vision and with the needs of the people on the team. It’s important to master the mechanics of setting and tracking goals, but they won’t get you very far if they aren’t connected to the larger objectives of the team and of the organization.

Goals are a little like ingredients when you’re cooking. If you go to the grocery store and pick up a random selection of vegetables, you can throw them all in a pot with some water or stock, and you will end up with something that looks like soup. But if you want to make a specific kind of soup, you have to get the right ingredients, combine them with the right spices and cook them for the right amount of time.

The fourth secret is that we all make mistakes. Sometimes it’s a project that goes off the rails. Other times it’s a tough day that makes you lose your cool when your goal as a manager is to have a calm and stable demeanor. The truth is that nobody is perfect and putting pressure on yourself to be perfect or feeling like a failure when you make a mistake is not going to help you in a management role. Keeping your focus on learning from mistakes and fostering a culture of learning rather than a culture of blame is one of the most positive changes you can make in your approach to leadership.

The fifth truth that Julie learns about management is about trust. Leadership comes from mutual trust. Trust is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Your team has to believe that they can trust you to keep your commitments, to tell them the truth and to go to bat for them if need be. You have to trust that your team members are doing their best, that they care about the work they do and the team as a whole. When trust breaks down, it becomes almost impossible to achieve any goal, no matter how well-aligned or constructed it is.

So to sum it up, this book covers five key truths about management:

  1. Vision: Define the values your team shares and measure everything against those values.
  2. Team: Know the strengths of your team members and focus on clearing the obstacles to their success.
  3. Goals: Focus on the output and recognize achievement.
  4. Learn and Adapt: Develop the habit of learning from each day’s work and focus on growth vs. perfection.
  5. Trust: Without trust there is no team.

This is a great book for new managers. There are many takeaways from this book and can only be acquired by getting a copy. It’s an invaluable tool and a great investment that you’ll not regret.

THE BIG THREE - KEY POINTS

Key point #1: Most new managers go into the role with good intentions, but they don’t know what they need to do differently to be a great leader. New managers need training and support to make the transition successfully.

Key point #2: The most important thing a new manager needs to do is create a vision and clearly articulate how the work the team does ties into that vision. From top to bottom, everything the team does needs to support those shared goals.

Key point #3: Today’s work environment is constantly changing. We all need to learn new skills and have a growth oriented mindset to be successful. The manager’s role is to facilitate that learning process, and to create an environment of trust where people can feel safe enough to learn and grow.

 

One Last Thing

The distinction between leading and managing is important. Managing consists of overseeing people who work for you, along with their time and money. Leading refers to your ability to influence and motivate those you oversee; you lead their energy. A great leader understands the difference and balances both. ~Anonymous

Unfuck Yourself

June 1, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , , /by

Gary John is a personal development expert in the industry. His “Urban Philosophy” approach represents a new trend of empowerment in both personal career and life mastery that has provided miraculous results for people in the quality and performance of their lives.

The author focuses on giving the readers the best way of living their best life and helping the reader find everything they have ever wanted residing within them. In this book, Gary differentiates assertive self-talk and narrative self- talk or affirmation. Instead of telling yourself “you’re not going to be great” rather tell yourself “you’re great." Self actualization has a great impact on self-perception. Take control and be the captain of your own ship. Stop limiting yourself to the reality you choose. To succeed, you have to prove those firmly held (negative) beliefs WRONG. And believe me, there is a solution for everything.

Unfuck yourself also talks about embracing uncertainty. We often steer away from uncertainty because of the need to feel safe. And today, this instinct can give rise to a negative effect. The author believes that if you want to win, you have to be willing to let others judge you. The worst decision is making no decision. The absence of decision leads to the absence of experience and  that ultimately boils down to the absence of learning. This can lead to the worst regrets in life. Another important way of getting out of your head and into your mind is to conquer fear. If you want to improve be comfortable to be thought of as foolish and stupid. There is no destination, there is always an exploration. You have to believe that you are what you do and not your thoughts. Who cares about your thought? Focus on your deeds. You don’t have to feel that you like it in order to do it. This mindset is the only way to happiness.

The author explores the art of relentlessness. You have to take what you want out of life. Do not wait to be given to you. It will be painful but nothing worth having comes easy. Be focused. Destroy obstacles one after the other. Expect nothing and learn to accept everything. Disappointment is an unmet expectation. The idea is to accept reality as it comes and deal with it with no emotional bias.

Love what you already possess and be in control of your emotional state. Dispute your beliefs. Dispute your interpretation of things. Accept and act. Own your reactions. Real life has more value to your outcomes than the narrative you have about it. Make a habit of questioning your mind, always put things in perspective. There is always a solution to everything.

Keep your mind set on winning. You are wired to win. If you find yourself suddenly struggling with something you normally excel at or you’re stuck in a shitty relationship, remember that you always have a choice to change the game. Just understand the rules of the game and understand the players, including yourself. Do not limit yourself to the reality of your choices. Do not stop doing what you want to keep winning, as the only way to unfuck yourself is by getting the reaffirmation of your greatness as you keep winning. When you lose, see it as a learning experience and win again.

 

THE BIG THREE - KEYPOINTS

Key point #1:  Be relentless. Don’t give up and be prepared for disappointments.

Key point #2: Expect nothing and accept everything that keeps you moving towards your goal.

Key point #3: Embrace uncertainty and strategize as most as possible.

 

One Last Thing:

“Life won’t stop for your pauses and procrastination. It won’t stop for your confusion or fear. It will continue right along without you. Whether you play an active part or not, the show will go on.”

― Gary John Bishop, Unfuck Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life

You Are a Badass

June 1, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , /by

You Are A Badass is a book which explains how and why we are the way we are. The author shows how we can embrace our inner badass, how to get over our own badass and finally, how to get out there and kick some ass!

Jen Sincero says, “My subconscious made me do it!” She emphasizes the important role the subconscious mind plays in every decision we make. She describes the subconscious mind as the blueprint for our lives; essentially comprising we consider to be our beliefs. She went further emphasizing  the importance of embracing the moment and being present. Doing it will let you lead a richer, joy-filled life. She says “being present gets you out of your head and connects you to source energy, which raises your frequency and attracts things like frequency to you.” And all the high-frequency things and experiences are already here, just waiting for you to be part of the party. All you have to do is shut up, show up and usher them in.

You Are A Badass also describes ego as a false self, the self that is essentially being an asshole. Ego is a big snooze because if your ego is acting up, it’s because we are still asleep and yet to realize how amazing we are and how wonderful the world is. The big snooze will do everything it can to stop you from changing and growing, especially since you’re attempting to obliterate the very identity that you and everyone else has come to know as ‘you’. The author took a step further by offering some thoughts to prevent the ugly ego from acting up. Some of which are:

-Stop at nothing

-Have faith

-Stay on course no matter what happens

-Believe that you are awesome

Jen prioritizes the concept of self-love, believing you can’t be unhappy with self-love. You have to start appreciating how special you are, drown yourself in affirmations, do things you love, let the love in and don’t compare yourself to others. You have to stop worrying about what others think and stay true to yourself. You can’t control people’s perception about you because it says more about them than it does you. What you can control is what you say and do. So keep being you and celebrate you.

This book also talks about the act of positive thinking. Through your life, send awesomeness to everyone around you. It can be as simple as smiling or by complimenting people and making them laugh.

In life, we get to choose and experience and in essence, our reality which comes down to choosing to create a life you want to live. Let go of things that don’t serve you well and change your reality to one filled with joy and happy experience. Jen said “most of the time, it's not lack of experience that’s holding us back but rather lack the determination to do the needful to be successful. We put so much energy into coming up with excuses why we can’t be, do or have the things that we want, so our next step is, designing the perfect distractions to keep us from our dreams." Jen highlights procrastination as one of the key ways you constantly self-sabotage.  All it takes to turn the fear factor around is learning to be comfortable instead of terrified of the unknown. And this is done through hope, the greatest gift to us humans is to belief in things not seen. So, we have to take a leap of faith into a real realm that you strongly desire to be in. Demand of yourself that you rise to the occasion and start living your damn life already.

As a closing argument, Jen sums it up by saying “give yourself the permission and the means to be who you are, regardless of what anybody else thinks or believes is possible. You are powerful, you are loved and you are surrounded by miracles. Believe what you desire is here and you can have it all, yes, all!  If haters going to hate, then doers going to do. So start doing!

THE BIG THREE - KEY POINTS

Key point #1: Don’t worry what people think about you. Keep doing what needs to be done. as a principle, only actions bring reactions. Do productive and positive actions.

Key point #2: Forgive yourself. Mistakes along the way are learning experiences. Perfection is an illusion for the ego.

Key point #3: Don’t let your ego or any one's ego gets in the way.

 

One Last Thing

“We only get to be in our bodies for a limited time, why not celebrate the journey instead of merely riding it out until it’s over?”

― Jen Sincero, You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

Zilch – The Power of Zero in Business

May 21, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , , /by

Nancy Lublin is the founder of Dress for Success and the CEO of the youth volunteering organization, Do Something. In her book, she draws out her concept on how to do more with less of everything, especially human and financial resources while still upholding innovation, creativity and passion. In a time when best-known companies have become non-for-profit organizations because of their dysfunctional models. There are many things profit-oriented organizations can learn from the not-for-profit organization. The challenge of not- for- profit organizations has been thriving in a tough environment where there is not enough money, people or time. This book focuses on how to do something with brand, people, finance and their suppliers.

Lublin addresses the structure and operating practice of the organization. She felt that unless an organization changes its operating model, the chance of survival is low. She decided to transition from operating out of physical offices in different cities to become online organization using social media. By transitioning, it could be faster in delivering its service and cheaper in its operating model. It could also be an organization that is web and social media based and doesn’t require local adult involvement on projects or charge people money to become a member. Nancy explained the five qualities she uses when screening ideas before acting on them: 1) First 2) Only 3) Faster 4) Better 5) Cheaper

Lublin went further to offer ways by which organizations can increase the value of their brand by focusing on hard work and not just marketing. She encourages leveraging on social media to support operations and growth. She also shares advice on ways in which organizations can get more out of their staff and the board of directors to bring value to the organization and not just showing up for meetings throughout the year. This can be done by creating organizational mission and culture where everyone feels like they are part of something big. It is amazing how motivated the employees will be. If there is something more important than profit at stake, it makes everyone more devote and engaged to success. You need to make everyone in the organization pursue the same purpose and develop an organization that communicates its mission.  

 

She proposes that companies should broaden their understanding of reward and compensation so that employees will be motivated and also offer great techniques for extracting the best from people like offering skill development, set specific and attainable goals, give millennials responsibility early, dole out titles and make your work environment communicate your mission etc.  She also shares advice on branding, doing more for customers, stretching finances and many more. She concluded each chapter with eleven questions to prompt creativity in specific areas.

According to Nancy, doing more with less is not so easy but the ideas in Zilch can make it a little easier to do. This book distills the best practice any company, private or public, can adopt.

THE BIG THREE - KEY POINTS

Key point #1:  Money does not make people work hard, everything else does.

Key point #2:  Make everyone in your company pursue a corporate goal.

Key point #3:  Leverage on social media for operation and growth.

One Last Thing

The way I think about culture is that modern humans have radically changed the way that they work and the way that they live. Companies need to change the way they manage and lead to match the way that modern humans actually work and live.”

– Brian Halligan, CEO, Hubspot

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

May 19, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , , , /by

In his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad,  Robert Kiyosaki makes an illustration of the mindset beliefs that make a rich person rich and a poor person poor. He does so by contrasting the advice of his real dad, who was poor, with the guidance of his financial mentor, his friend’s father, who was rich. The big idea is to have the right financial mindset which the education system does not teach.

At a very young age, Robert Kiyosaki learned the first rule of how to make money. The first rule was that the rich people do not work for money; their money works hard for them. Robert and his friend Mike worked for Mike’s father at a very young age. The first thing Mike’s father did was to pay them both 10 cents per hour. With this, they could experience a salary they find short and imagine how that works if multiplied over the time span of 50 years. Then Mike’s father, taught them working for free which taught them two lessons: first, most people are guided by fear of not being able to pay for their bills or desire. Secondly, the need to think of alternatives to make money which Robert and Mike did. At a very young age, they set up a small library room where they provided leftover magazines to other kids for a token.  Which became their first official, entrepreneurial venture.

One of the most interesting topics covered in the book, is Robert's idea about the differences between being poor and being broke. There is a difference between being poor and being broke. Poor is eternal while broke is temporary. Money, as they say, comes and goes but if you have the right education with regard to how money works, your power over money will be unlimited and you will begin to build wealth. Most people strive for the feeling of security when it comes to money,  driving them to be fearful about their money. This causes them to be directed by fear.. When fears enters, passion exits, and passion is one of the main driving forces to build wealth. The illusion that working for money is safer is ingrained in our heads since we are kids. The reality is that it’s easier to work for money, but as history has shown it’s not safer.  So, if you want to secure your financial wealth, don't work for money, work to learn.

Throughout the book, the author makes a case for teaching financial literacy. Financial literacy is an essential aspect of life and yet, it is not taught in school, not even in finance classes. With the level of simplicity, most people tend to ignore it and not focus on it.  However, there is only one rule: know the difference between an asset and a liability and buy the asset.  For instance, people think of a house as an asset. In accounting definition it is but, in reality, your home results in cash moving out of your pocket, the mortgage payment, insurance, property tax and the worst of all is that you missed opportunities because your money is stuck in your house instead of having it available to work for you. Instead of pretending your house is an investment, acknowledge it as an expense.  When you want to buy a liability, first buy an asset that generates enough cash to cover the liability

The author contends that making money is nearly as important as how you spend what you make. Therefore, the author urges young people to seek  work for what they will learn, and that they have opportunity to learn more than what they will earn. Aim to learn a little about a lot instead of seeking specialization because specialization is for employment and not being rich.

 Most importantly, the author recommends that you be sure to develop skills in communication, sales and marketing as those skills combined well with other skills are often necessary to create wealth.

Conclusively, this book lists important tips on how to start making money and to improve your financial life. Contrary to popular wisdom, it does not take money to make money. It takes education about money. Start early, buy a book, go to a seminar. Start small and practice. What is in your head determines what is in your hand. Money is only an idea. This book by far is one of the best available books for entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs to be and employees with the desire of understanding the basic concepts on the entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial mindsets. I received a copy of this book as a Christmas gift in December of 2004 from my girlfriend at that time, now my wife. The book changed my life. As a young medical doctor, it transformed my point of view in regards to work and in regards to my career path. Today, I am as excited for starting new lines of business inside the workplace (intrapreneurism) as I am outside of work (entrepreneurism). The book’s basic principles of 1) increasing your value in the market is to increase the value of the people around you, 2) creating life project teams, 3) increasing your assets and 4) acquiring as few liabilities as possible are as vital today as they were thirteen years ago. This book has many jewels. Getting yourself a copy would be a great investment.

THE BIG THREE - KEYPOINTS

Key point #1: The rich do not work for money

Key point #2: Know the difference between asset and liability and buy assets.

Key point #3: Don’t confuse your profession with your business. Bring replicable value to both of them.

One Last Thing

“I am concerned that too many people are focused too much on money and not on their greatest wealth, which is their education. If people are prepared to be flexible, keep an open mind and learn, they will grow richer and richer through the changes. If they think money will solve the problems, I am afraid those people will have a rough ride. Intelligence solves problems and produces money. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone.”

― Robert T. Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Hacking Work. Breaking Stupid Rules for Smart Results

May 13, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , /by

The authors identified the most straightforward way of working smarter and faster and therefore decided to expose the workaround codes that enable people to work more intelligently. The system is HACKING, that is, how to break free and really get stuff done.  Once staff members learn how to hack their work, they accomplish more in less time.

What many business leaders missed to admit, or probably afraid to explore is, that businesses structures and processes as we know it, is broken. Although hacking work is not new, technology is creating vast of opportunities to work smarter and faster.  Leaders that encourage new ways of doing things are outcast, outliers and judge by their C-suite counterparts, leading to isolation and accusations. This is a cruel reality that leaves most of us screwed and feeling helpless about change. We have become slaves to our infrastructures, to business controlling tool, procedures, and mandates.

The authors, write about some real-life examples from ordinary day folks like, Elizabeth a manager whose bosses would not approve her customer satisfaction project, even though the entire senior team deemed it crucial because of payoff wouldn’t be realized for at least four fiscal quarters. So she secretly videotaped customers voicing their complaints as well as their wish lists for enhancing the company’s product lines and posted it on YouTube. Within days, there was enough public outcry that senior management reversed their decision and approved her project.

Also, Matt, a new hired, that disagreed with his employer’s assessment process, he Googled “performance assessment” and built a seventeen-question mash-up that matched his career goals— not just the company’s goals for him. His boss and the HR department were shocked and pissed off, but he had spent months refining his performance tool. He did his homework, seeking advice from one of the gurus in the assessment field whom he’d contacted through LinkedIn. With the support of his co-workers, Matt stood his ground, and management ended up using his assessment in conjunction with their own.

These are not isolated incident. Bill and Josh are outing the most prominent open secret of the working world. Today’s top performers are taking matters into their own hands. They are bypassing sacred structures and breaking all sorts of rules just to get their work done. They are set to expose the cheat codes for work and to share them with the world.

Want to work smarter not harder? Start hacking. Wanting to leave a legacy that makes a difference? Start hacking. Wanting to be a better manager, leader or entrepreneur? Start hacking. Hackers never stayed within the lines of their coloring books neither do they allow childlike wonder to be squeezed out of them. They tend to figure out why anyone would give up digging their fingers into everything just to learn how it works and how they could be changed, that’s the core to any hackers drive: unleashing the untapped potentials in everything, reworking the status quo, so it works better.

Hacking work speaks to all workers who feel defeated by overbearing and outdated bureaucratic rules, regulations and old school paradigms that prevent work from getting done smoothly and efficiently.  Hacking work is a forbidden innovation. It is the act of getting what you need to do by identifying loopholes and creating workarounds.

It is taking the usual ways of doing things, and creating a bypass to produce improved results. Once employers know how to hack theory work, everything is up for grabs.

The authors dedicated this book to the benevolent hackers and introduced two things about benevolent hackers. Firstly, benevolent hackers challenge outdated rules and procedures. Secondly, see the future and pulls us towards it in whatever way works best.

Benevolent hackers are on a mission to save the business from itself and you from the business.

In conclusion, benevolent hacking is the duct tape of the work. It is the universal solution to every poorly designed and corporate centered procedure, tool, rule, and process.

THE BIG THREE - KEYPOINTS

Key point#1: Hacking work is not new

Key point#2: Hacking is bypassing, reworking, and bending the rules that keep you from doing your best.

Key point #3: Hacking work is not just for techies sometimes it involves simple changes in a relationship, sharing information differently or using tools you already have.

One Last Thing

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

 ~Warren Bennis

The Art of Thinking Clearly

May 12, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

The Art of Thinking Clearly translates complicated results from cognitive bias experiments, interprets and synthesizes them into short, easy to understand summaries.  Humans experience diverse reasoning patterns out of which many are limitations to logical thinking. Most cognitive errors made by humans are standard and can be identified when you know what you have been and are dealing with.

Knowing these will help you to minimize them, and then you can open yourself up to logical alternatives. The author opens up the reader’s mind to human psychology, reasoning and how to avoid cognitive errors for better decision making.

Among the logical errors, Dobelli explores survivorship bias or systematic overestimation of the chances for success and social proof or feeling that an action or decision is right because a lot of people are doing it. You come across survivorship bias when dealing with money and risk. It becomes especially pernicious when you become a member of the winning team. The author suggests an amazing solution to help clear your mind against survivorship bias, which is a frequent visitation of graves of once-promising projects, career and investment.

Clustering Illusion: When it comes to recognizing a pattern, we are oversensitive. However, it is best to regain your skepticism. If you or someone, close to you, thinks you have found a pattern, first take in consideration that may be pure chance. If it seems too reasonable to be true, see a mathematician and have the data tested statistically.

Social Proof:  It dictates that individuals tend to think they are behaving correctly as long as they act the same as other people.  In other words, the more people follow a particular idea, the better we think the idea is, and therefore support it.

Outcome Bias: Attributing positive outcomes to our capabilities and blaming external issues on external circumstances. This attribute was tested by having two groups of subjects take a personality test then arbitrarily assigning good or bad scores. The students with positive outcome believed the test results were fair and reflected their abilities. The students with the not so good score, on the other hand, found the test was garbage and didn’t reflect their personality. An excellent way to overcome your judgment is to listen to honest feedback and to learn from it without taking it personally.

An illusion of attention:  We often think that we notice everything around us but this couldn’t be farther from reality. As a Harvard study found, it is easier to lose attention than what we think. The experiment had subjects watch a video of students passing balls back and forth while counting how many times the player in white shirts passed the ball.  Later they were asked if there was something unusual that caught their attention. Half of the subjects did not notice anything unusual, unaware of the fact that in the middle of the video, someone dressed as a gorilla walked across the room pounding his chest. We tend to remember things which happen at the beginning and end of a stream of information forgetting what comes in the middle.

Lastly, amongst others is alternative blindness. Whenever people think about an offer, they become blind to alternatives. However, to be able to make the right decision, you have to go out of your mental limit.  

To overcome these cognitive errors in reasoning, we have to be aware of them and take a conscious effort to defeat them.

THE BIG THREE - KEY POINTS

Key point #1: Cognitive biases cause simple errors in most of our day to day thinking.

Keypoint #2: Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. Therefore, make decisions based on facts, only lazy minds are comfortable with the illusion that perception is reality, perception is perception, reality is reality.

Keypoint #3: We are drunk on our own ideas. To sober up, take a step back now and then and examine their quality in hindsight.

 

One Last Thing

“If you ever find yourself in a tight, unanimous group, you must speak your mind, even if your team does not like it.”

― Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly: Better Thinking, Better Decisions

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

May 3, 2018 /0 Comments/in , , , /by

Patrick Lencioni is an American writer who specializes in business management books, specifically in relation to team management. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team describes a pyramid of five layers which represent the maturity of a team. The maturity in which the team interacts is commonly known as teamwork. The layers are connected in a way that a team becomes more effective when moving  from the bottom layer to the top layer. The author reveals the basics of teamwork by using a leadership story, a fable of a technology company that is scraping to grow and find customers. As the team attempts to work through issues and make progress, the five dysfunctions of their team becomes very clear:

1- Absence of Trust

2- Fear of Conflict

3- Lack of Commitment

4- Avoidance of Accountability

5- Inattention to Results

Understanding these five dysfunctions is the first and most important step to reducing misunderstanding and confusion within a team.

ABSENCE OF TRUST:  The primary cause of the absence of trust is rooted in the inability of team members to show their weakness and be vulnerable with each other. The absence of trust is one of the most damaging traits in team dysfunctionality. A great deal of energy is wasted when team members invest their time in defensive behavior and are hesitant to ask for help or to offer help. Teams can overcome this dysfunction by creating an environment that encourages the sharing of experiences, following through with commitments to demonstrate credibility and developing strong insight into the distinctive characteristics of team members.

FEAR OF CONFLICT: Teams that lack trust are hindered from having a passionate debate about things that matter. This causes a team to replace conflict with artificial harmony. Understanding that conflict can be productive is highly essential when working with a team and can help a team overcome their fear of conflict.

LACK OF COMMITMENT: People are more willing to take on tasks when their opinion is included in the decision-making process. Productive teams make joint and transparent decisions and are confident that they have the support of other team members. It is only natural that when people do not feel committed to the outcome of a result, they feel less responsible for it. The commitment of team members exists when each member has the chance to offer their opinion. This can only be done comfortably when there is a warm environment. People will also be more open to allowing others talk to them about their responsibilities.

AVOIDANCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY: You can’t have accountability when a team doesn’t commit. People rarely hold each other accountable if they haven’t bought into the plan. Considering a well-organized team, it is the responsibility of the team members to hold each other accountable and accept responsibility when necessary. Often, success is measured by the level of progress. The WHAT, HOW, WHEN and WHY must be clearly communicated to the team.

INATTENTION TO RESULTS: When team members are not held accountable, they will often defer to looking out for their own personal interests rather than the team’s interest. A team can only become results oriented when all team members are focused on the team’s results rather than their own. In this regard, the primary role of a leader in overcoming this dysfunction is to set the tone for the team and lead by example. To prevent this dysfunction, you must start from the bottom of the pyramid and build trust between team members. The easiest way to get someone to trust you is to be authentic and reliable. Always do what you say and people will see you as a master of your words.

Patrick Lencioni wraps it up by describing how to improve a team’s result: by celebrating successes, discussing what is most important for the organization and addressing the most critical challenges of the team. In doing so, it encourages team members in a difficult situation to choose the company goal over their own personal goal.

THE BIG THREE - KEY POINTS

Key point #1: There are five dysfunctions of a team.

Key point #2: Leaders can overcome these dysfunctions by setting the tone and leading by example.

Key point #3: Successful teamwork is about combining common sense with an uncommon level of discipline and persistence.

One last thing

“Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think. Simply put, politics have no place in a functional team.”

― Patrick Lencioni