Yipee! Last Blog!

I want to give you a lobotomy about change. I want you to forget everything you’ve ever learned about what it takes to create great results. I want you to realize that nearly all operating prescriptions for creating large-scale corporate change are nothing but myths.

The Myth of the Change Program: This approach comes with the launch event, the tag line, and the cascading activities.

The Myth of the Burning Platform: This one says that change starts only when there’s a crisis that persuades “unmotivated” employees to accept the need for change.

The Myth of Stock Options: Stock options, high salaries, and bonuses are incentives that grease the wheels of change.

The Myth of Fear-Driven Change: The fear of being left behind, the fear of watching others win, the fear of presiding over monumental failure—all are drivers of change, we’re told.

The Myth of Acquisitions: You can buy your way to growth, so it figures that you can buy your way to greatness.

The Myth of Technology-Driven Change: The breakthrough that you’re looking for can be achieved by using technology to leapfrog the competition.

The Myth of Revolution: Big change has to be wrenching, extreme, painful—one big, discontinuous, shattering break.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Totally wrong.

http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/good-to-great.html

I love that this breaks this down the Myths for us and dishevels our preconceived notions.


Picture two animals: a fox and a hedgehog. Which are you? An ancient Greek parable distinguishes between foxes, which know many small things, and hedgehogs, which know one big thing. All good-to-great leaders, it turns out, are hedgehogs. They know how to simplify a complex world into a single, organizing idea—the kind of basic principle that unifies, organizes, and guides all decisions. That’s not to say hedgehogs are simplistic. Like great thinkers, who take complexities and boil them down into simple, yet profound, ideas (Adam Smith and the invisible hand, Darwin and evolution), leaders of good-to-great companies develop a Hedgehog Concept that is simple but that reflects penetrating insight and deep understanding.


This is awesome! I had never heard of the Hedgehog parable. It makes complete sense. I will try to live my life as a hedgehog rather than a fox. 

Communication in Leadership

Read about this experiment and applied it to my life. Maybe this explains why my family,friends, and fraternity do the same things year after year. It’s they way its always been done..

(This is reportedly based on an actual experiment conducted in the U.K.)

Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling.

Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.

One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing the obvious. But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder.

All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea why.

However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder.

A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him.

This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he’s not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he’s attacking the new monkey.

One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.

What did I get out of this? Shake things up and do something different! Communication cuts down on repeating mindless things. If leaders would step in and address why we did things, you could figuratively cut the fat. 

Warren Buffet

Warren is a modern day Robin Hood. The only difference is instead of taking from the rich and giving to the poor he just asks for them to do it. Not only that, but he leads by example. Warren has pledged to give 99% of his money to charities.Bill Gates is jumping on this bandwagon too. Imagine if the rest of the billionaires were to take after Warren Buffet?  Read more about what this inspiring and giving man is doing here at:http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/15/news/newsmakers/Warren_Buffett_Pledge_Letter.fortune/index.htm

An excerpt:

“The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us down that course.” -Warren Buffet

I hope other leaders pick up on what Warren and Bill Gates have done.

Communication

I was at my bank today; there was a short queue.There was an Asian lady in front of me who was trying to exchange yen for dollars.It was obvious she was a little irritated . . . She said to the teller, “Why it change? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla fo yen. Today I only get hunat eighty? Why it change?”The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, “Fluctuations.”The Asian lady said, “Fluc you white people too”


Communication in the workplace is awfully important. IF you aren't on the same page productivity might as well be thrown out the door. 

To Be Different? Or To Not Be Different?

Once upona time there was a crooked tree n a straight tree They grew next to eachother Everyday the straight tree looked at the crooked tree n said Youre crooked Youve always been crooked Youll continue to be crooked But look at me Im tall n Im straight One day the lumberjacks came in the forest n looked around The manager said Cut all the straight trees That crooked tree is still there growing strong growing strange

Tipping

Generosity is not solely based on one’s economic status, but instead, includes the individual’s pure intentions of looking out for society’s common good and giving from the heart. Generosity should reflect the individual’s passion to help others. In Buddhism, generosity is the antidote to the self-chosen poison called greed. <–From Wikipedia

After working at the Hilton serving for the past month I’ve greatly benefited from peoples generosity. In fact its makes up a majority of my income. Without people’s generosity I would make $2.5o an hour, which is not very great at all. After coming to this realization I have found myself relating more to people working hard and noticed how deserving they are of generosity. Tipping servers has become a whole new thing to me!  I suggest everyone reconsider your views on people in the service industry and look into your own life at where you can be generous whether it be with your money or your time. Remember! By refreshing others you in turn refresh yourself!

Hello, Is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone at home
Come on now 
I hear you're feeling down
I can ease your pain
And get you on your feet again
Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts

There is no pain, you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain, you would not understand
This is not how I am 
I have become comfortably numb