Do You Really Know Who You Are?
Monday November 17th 2008, 9:29 am
Filed under: Perspectives in Brief

Who Are You?

In times of economic challenges most people look at life from a position of what isn’t working as opposed to what is. Even more so, if you equate yourselves with what you do rather than who you are, and you’re struggling in your work, it will fundamentally impact your life. You’ve heard me say “Attitude is contagious.” It’s not only contagious to others but to yourselves as well as you talk yourself into something or out of something. If you’re going to self-talk it might as well be in a way that energizes you and helps you succeed even in the midst of difficult times.  

Don’t ever take your gifts for granted.

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” - Patanjali (c. 1st to 3rd century BC).

If you can’t put your finger on what talents stand out among all the rest, ask those closest to you. Then ask them how you could do more of that and start the energy…start the conversation. Inspire your talents to come out to play! If you can’t put your finger on what talents stand out among all the rest, ask those closest to you. Then ask them how you could do more of that and start the energy…start the conversation. Inspire your talents to come out to play!

Tech Stuff to Play With: If you haven’t yet discovered this, SlideShare is the world’s largest community for sharing presentations. It’s rich in content and a way for you to share your material globally. Check it out at http://www.slideshare.net

And not to forget… As always this newsletter will be posted here. If you like this newsletter or think someone would benefit from it, please forward the web link to others though pricing specials are only available to subscribers.

I’ll leave you with this…

“Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.” - Vaclav Havel

With deepest respect,

Donna Karlin
Founder and Principal
A Better Perspective
http://www.abetterperspective.com

ISSN 1913-6307    

 



Vision With Action Can Change the World
Monday November 10th 2008, 2:49 pm
Filed under: Perspectives in Brief

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” - Joel Barker.

So make that vision something powerful.

Choosing to change how an organization functions, runs and its overall dynamics are one thing but doing it in such a way as to engender the best response of the staff is yet another.  Emotions run high when the status quo is changed, whether or not it’s for the best.  Unless it means something to those impacted by the change they won’t engage and you’ll have a tug of war on your hands.  That’s happening right now in more organizations than I can count.  I’ll be talking about Public Service transformation at the next Conference Board Conference in Ottawa.  Why?  Because it’s the topic on everyone’s mind right now, public and private sector alike.  Organizations know they’re transforming…they’re just not sure why, or in some cases how and feel as if they’re in limbo.

When the world is upside down from economy to security, not to mention job stability, it’s even harder to implement change.  Ask yourself, “Is this really necessary right now”?  If the answer is yes, you’d better believe you’ll need to be able to articulate the reasons for it and what benefits everyone will get because of the change.  If you can’t show your people why it’s in everyone’s best interest, it’s going to be an uphill battle and there’s a good chance your transformation will fall flat.

Questions that have to be answered are :

1. What are you changing from and why?
2. What are you changing towards?

If you don’t have the answers to those questions as leadership or followership, then get them. If your role is to implement the changes leadership have put in place, then speak to your people and often.  Blank or empty ’space’ will be filled with their own stories and they’re rarely good ones.  The relationship between the design of the change and the success of it are two very different things.

As always this newsletter will be posted here.  If you like this newsletter or think someone would benefit from it, please forward the web link to others though pricing specials are only available to subscribers.

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I’ll leave you with this:
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“The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created–created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination.” — John Schaar

With deepest respect,
Donna Karlin
Founder and Principal
A Better Perspective
http://www.abetterperspective.com/

ISSN 1913-6307