The Courage to Try
A very honest military man tells us his story:
As a sergeant in a parachute regiment, I took part in several night-time exercises. Once, I was seated next to a lieutenant fresh from jump school. He was quiet and looked a bit pale, so I struck up a conversation. "Scared, lieutenant?" I asked.
He replied, "No, just a bit apprehensive." I asked, "What's the difference?"
Leaders Like Bus Drivers
I have to take EDSA every day of my life. Crowded most of the time as vehicles travel at the lightning speed of 30 kilometers per hour perhaps many times slower. And when traffic is light, I watch out for those dangerous, reckless and negligent bus drivers who race each other to get to their stops.
Now this got me thinking.
Do Not Lose Your Good People
Do you know how difficult it is to get good people to work for you?
And do you know how challenging it is to have the same good people remain with you when they are offered better positions and better pay somewhere else and when I say somewhere else I mean your competitors? To work abroad where the pay is maybe 5 to 10 times more than you can afford is a no-contest situation but when your good people leave you because you did not handle them correctly, then the fault is yours. And it’s really a dumb thing you did if you allow that to happen. Some sources estimate that as many as 65 percent of people leaving companies do so because of their managers. We may say that people quit their job or their company, but the reality is that they usually quit their lousy bosses.
On Politics and Politicians
It’s election time. Politicians are on the move. They need to win votes. And so as much as they do not like to but because every single vote counts, they had to go to the Indian reservation to do their campaigning. The politicians know that this year’s election will be a close fight and getting the Native American Indian vote will be crucial.
They were all assembled in the Council Hall to hear the speech. The politician had worked up to his finale, and the crowd was getting more and more excited. “I promise better education opportunities for Native Americans!" The crowd went wild, shouting “Hoya! Hoya!” The politician was a bit puzzled by the native word, but was encouraged by their enthusiasm. “I promise gambling reforms to allow a Casino on the Reservation!” “Hoya! Hoya!” cried the crowd, stomping their feet. “I promise more social reforms and job opportunities for Native Americans!” The crowd reached a frenzied pitch shouting “Hoya! Hoya! Hoya!”
A Letter to Change a Life
Tom Peters in his latest book entitled “The Little Big Things” tells us a story. Retired United States Navy Captain Mike Abrashoff knows the importance of saying “thank you.”
In his first book, “It’s Your Ship,” he related how he sent letters to the parents of his crew members on the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold... Putting himself in those parent’ shoes, he imagined how happy they would be to hear from the commanding officer that their sons and daughters were doing well. And he figured that those parents would, in turn, call their children to tell them how proud they were of them.
Being Debt Free
There is an unpleasant scene happening as the landlord and its artist tenant were fighting over the rent. It is obvious that the artist has been deep in debt and could not pay the rent and so the following conversation ensued:
The penniless artist was cornered by the landlord, who demanded several months’ back rent. “Just think,” the artist pleaded, “someday tourists will be pointing to this building and say, ‘The great abstract painter Antonio Garcia used to live here.’
Small Moments in Leadership
An unusual tribute was paid to Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandburg. The poet wrote, "Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect."
Lincoln demonstrated then and now how a person can possess both a will of iron and a heart of tenderness. Nothing deterred the president during the American Civil War from his "noble" cause, and few persons have ever endured more criticism and detractors than Lincoln. Yet he was no more a man of steel than one of velvet.
When General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army, Lincoln sent an unexpected message to the enemy commander. "Tell your men they may keep their horses; they'll need them for plowing," said the president. Then this: "Tell your men they may keep their rifles; they'll need them for hunting." When Lee read those words he wept.
This is why Lincoln was a statesman. He was not a mere politician.
Are Soft Skills Important?
I get invitations to speak to people in the corporate world all the time.
I smile a little whenever HR people say, “Francis, we feel there is a need for us to train our people on “soft skills.” Others would brand it as “values training.”
The question is: “Are soft skills training necessary?”
When it comes to soft skills, most people think they are all about those warm-and-fuzzy people skills. While hard skills refer to the technical ability and the factual knowledge needed to do the job. However you define them, soft skills still suffer from a fundamental lack of respect. After all, how could anything described as “SOFT” be valued in the hard-charging, results-driven business world or impact the bottom line?
Point of Reference
The 11th Asia Pacific Life Insurance Council (APLIC) Congress was held in Macau 2 weeks ago. Chairperson for the conference Nenette Aseniero of Sunlife Financials did a fantastic job. Thousands of delegates representing different countries assembled in The Venetian Hotel for 3 days of learning and fun. Nenette was able to do pull it off and this in spite of the economic gloom and turmoil that is besetting the whole financial world.
I looked at the roster of speakers. Most of them are from the industry. But I was greatly comforted to see that another Filipino speaker Vic Quisumbing, top man from Grepalife would be speaking too. Nenette and Vic are both achievers Filipinos can be proud of.
Is Jackie Chan Right or Wrong? Tell Me What You Think.
My good Email-buddy Philip See gave me this article written by Associate Press writer Annie Huwant in Taipei. The question is: Would too much democracy on a nation of many undisciplined citizenry destroy a society? Would the points tackled in this article be applicable to the Philippines too? Write me your thoughts and opinions in the comments. Please refrain from using foul languages and derogatory remarks or the comments will be blocked. You may vote on the Poll at the right as well.
HONG KONG - Action star Jackie Chan 's comments wondering whether Chinese people "need to be controlled" have drawn sharp rebuke in his native Hong Kong and in Taiwan.
Chan told a business forum in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that a free society may not be beneficial for China 's authoritarian mainland.
"I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said Saturday. "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want."