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February 2023
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PERCEIVING RISKS & REWARDS8/25/2020 Tired of wearing mask? I hear you.
I was talking to a colleague from Australia last week. She said that in her country, they are required to wear mask everywhere at a 250+ rate of new infections a day. While I said, I was driving by a lake last week for a presentation, people are enjoying every inch of the beach space. No mask at all. There is a dissonance between what the public health authorities are asking everyone to do and what people are doing otherwise. People go to the beaches, enjoy public events and restaurants, avail of health services, and outdoor sports and recreations, like they used to. The fatigue in keeping the rules of social distancing and wearing masks is a social phenomenon. There is a certain limit to how far the public can keep up with restrictions in the name of collective public safety, health, and well-being. The social deviance is a response to this but there are deeper factors at play. It is beginning to show that individual registers to risks and rewards are very different and sometimes, antithetical to the establishment. In fact, I would surmise that instead of being able to curb out deviant behaviors through fines and penalties, it will rise up as force to reckon with. How much of what is perceived are purveyors of real risks? How much is pure fluff and can be dismissed as overreaction? Perception is reality. Perception is the only real thing.
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DON'T LOSE YOUR PASSION8/25/2020 Passion, apparently, is not something that we 'love' to do.
It comes from the Latin word 'passio' which means 'to suffer' as in the Passion of Christ (His suffering on the cross). Passion is about something that we cannot ignore and it pains us if we are not doing or being that person that we want. That pain and suffering that comes out of it is what we should call our passion. In current parlance, it becomes synonymous to either love or rage, all in strong amounts, which dilutes the essence of the concept. As leaders we are driven to achieve and measure thing that matter. In our drive to win and excel, we, sometimes, lose the central fact of life. Our passion is not doing what is comfortable, convenient, and extremely easy. Our passion is to continue provoking understanding, soliciting insights, and encouraging debates that will increase our effectiveness and awareness about the ambiguities that we face. Instead of comforting ourselves in our 'nice, cozy positions and status, we should look out for radical ways to extend our humanity and impact. It is not with coziness that we learn lots, it is the crucible of trials, tribulations, and challenges that we become better at our work and in ourselves. Discomforted situations reveal great things about individuals, institutions, and societies. On the other hand, a lot of our discomfort stem from our resistance to evolve hoping that some things will reveal themselves in better light or go away in due time. Most things do not get fixed on their own. What do you think about at night when you are about to sleep? Are you comforted by what you achieved or discomforted by what you are trying to resist doing or becoming?
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THE BOSSY GENERATION8/20/2020 Bossy is the word they use for girls and women exhibiting strong leadership qualities, while boys and men are labelled as leaders with a great future early on.
Let's reframe the word bossy for the next generation of girls and young women who are ready to take on the world with their talents, aspirations, and contributions. They need to be nurtured for what they can be and do rather than what roles they are expected to fulfill. They should be accepted for who they are, not what parents or caregivers expect them to grow to be. They should be enabled to explore themselves with many options to choose from, than what traditional paths would call them into. As a society, we owe this to the younger generation to be claim their space with less barriers and obstacles imposed on them, less prejudices they face, and less judgments on themselves and their choices. Let's build up the next generation of people that is proud to be called bossy and living up for it! Trees are like girls. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.-Chinese Proverb
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AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE8/17/2020 I started the day with a sense of gratitude.
At 43, I am well, healthy, better, and productive and loved by family and friends. I am more patient, generous, and persevering than a few years ago. I am better at listening and understanding and refraining from making judgments of others and their situations. I am better at making commitments and doing them, and taking at stab at new challenging projects. There is nothing you can't do in this interesting time when technology is at your finger tips. There is nothing that can't be done with talent, passion, and hard work. There is nothing that gets in your way unless you allow it to do so. Cheers to another year of great fun, adventure, and learning! Yes, can I have my cake, now?
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BEYOND RESILIENCE8/12/2020 Yesterday, I spoke at Trico Changemakers Studio and it was a delight to have a very engaging discussion with the members present.
What I observed about the resilience narrative is that they are based on patterns and a sense of predictability that is not present right now in a climate of ambiguity, uncertainty, complexity, and volatility. I have made a Beyond Resilience paradigm to show what we are missing out on many important themes. Insead of asking yourselves, are you ready to bring your kids to schools, ask about how education can be reimagined for the future generation. Instead of asking how can we solve homelessness together, why don't reimagine how the vulnerable population can be part of us, not something to be considered separate, different, and wanting? We asked the wrong questions therefore get the wrong answers. We need bold imagination for a future that is not what we desire, but we can thrive and build stronger. Let's start a conversation.
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UP-SOLVING THE PROBLEM8/10/2020 An intervention at the right moment, with the right degree, and with the right approach can lead to savings (clap, clap), and prevention of future troubles for the organization.
The longer you wait for external assistance, the less control you have of the situation. The less control you have, the more chances of stagnation and decline in quality of management. That decline can lead to more personnel problems down the road. Sitting on the problem or doing it yourself can create an enormous amount of risks, unknown and unidentified. The leader has to take action and create opportunities for solutions to emerge. Are you waiting for the problem to surface or are you solving them before it erupts on your face? Let's face it: it's more expensive to clean up afterwards.
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THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLES8/6/2020 Do you ever guess how this network economy works? There is no denying that we live in a hyper-networked and interdependent environment. The pandemic contagion provided a good point that one sneeze here can result to another upheaval over there.
Business leaders and entrepreneurs whose work is about creating impact for society, environment, culture, and economy know that to win is to contradict the prevailing dog-eat-dog culture and transcend parochial interests. There are four strategies to lead with virtues in this dangerous time. Practice Generosity: prepare to give to get. It is a level-headed business strategy that operates from a point of feeding the market first, and then establishing reciprocal relationship where indispensability is established and accepted. Build your community: keep your allies and kindred friends close. They provide the nudge and the right strategies to keep you accountable and updated with best practice. Best of all, you can trust them with relevant market information outside of your immediate operations. Look up to real heroes: Where do we pledge allegiance to? There is no longer a center that holds everything but a series of multi-centers and nodes that operate and relate to one another based on needs and mutual benefits. We depend and become loyal to organizations and institutions that have risen above and beyond their calls of duty to excel in their missions. We look up to them for a way-out and a light to shine in moments of confusion. Who are your models and heroes? Renorm what networking is all about: Instead of the shallow forms of networking, aim to build robust and deep connections that transcend immediate interests to long-term mutuality. Beside and beyond business, there is a large unmet need to form stronger bonds, not just to keep isolation at bay but to support strong, healthy, resilient leaders in their journeys. The value of connection is never about quantity, but quality. What are you doing right now to maintain the virtuous circles to lead boldly in this dangerous time? |
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