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July 2022
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PARANOIA TO THE NTH DEGREE3/19/2020 I don't know who started this in the provinces but travelling outside of the Canadian province which you are based on, can get you to be quarantined for 14 days too not just for international flights.
This policy is part of the 'overabundance of caution' that propels everyone to do the self-isolation without feeling the symptoms from the COVID-19 virus. They said that the symptoms can surface within 4-5 days after travelling and it is prudent to stay at home within those days. The part that struck me the most was the information being peddled around that children can supposedly 'carriers' of the virus without them getting sick or feeling sick. How can one determine that unless the child has been tested officially? How can one say that the child can be a carrier so social distancing is no longer an option but a must? What is the best scientific evidence behind this assertion? Testings are those who are considered vulnerable, have history of international flights to areas where the virus is prevalent or exhibiting symptoms of the disease. For regular folks who are not feeling it, it is just best to do social distancing and refrain from going to crowded places where exposure is high. With this, only through testing can you officially know that you are positive or negative. People are dying with regular flu, other communicable diseases, and illness from cancers, hyper-tension, lungs, and liver complications. These diseases are the underlying causes of deaths from COVID-19 where seniors, small children, and people with complicated health issues are the most vulnerable. We cannot be too blind and ignorant to follow anything that is said on the media or told by our relations. We have to question the premise and see if it fits the overall evidence paradigm presented to us by the public health authorities. We cannot allow paranoia to creep into our strategies to curb out the spread of the virus. We should stop hoarding and stop panic buying so that those who are in real need can get their supplies without hassle. The ugly head of division, hatred, and exclusion, and anti-Chinese statements are coming out now and we need to put a stop to these fear-based reactions. You cannot lead from a fear-based perspective.
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BRANDING YOU1/13/2020 Nowadays, people get told to build a brand, maintain a brand, and defend that brand.
If you an individual executive, a solo entrepreneur, a fledgling start-up founder, business coaches will tell you to build a brand. A brand is a representation of quality and other great qualities in the mind of the consumer. With all the hype and padding about brand and branding, the branding power doesn't take place in the context where there is no market at all, or where quality is suspect, or where the ability to deliver is almost nil. Branding activities cannot mask the lack of clarity in company direction, the lack of congruence with market realities, and the lack of executive presence in matters of great importance to stakeholders. It is also not helpful when the value proposition is unclear and undifferentiated. Forcing to come up with a brand without dealing with the fundamentals will be like forcing a cow to jump through a series of hoops. Where branding helps when the public is unaware of what the product, service, or individual stands for value, and other good traits, what separates it from the herd, and what makes it an attractive force to belong to, to feel affinity with, to become a part of it network. To work and maintain a brand is a lifelong activity that does not rest when you reach the zenith of success or great fortune. It has to be alive, well, and highly articulated in the noisiest corners of the marketplace. Despite the push to do the same marketing and branding strategies and follow the bandwagon, it is best to keep it to the most doable and simple that reflects your style and personality, without creating an enormous costs to maintain. If its your personal brand, there are no wrong or right answers, only wrong and right questions to begin with. Start with the fundamental why questions and you will begin to unravel those brand characteristics.
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PRESSING THE WRONG BUTTON1/6/2020 My three-year-old daughter claims that "she pressed the wrong button" and apologized for making a mistake or making a minor infraction. I don't know about you but I find this to be very apt.
We have a lot of buttons in front of us all the time. We try to press the right button but that doesn't mean that we do it with 100% accuracy. We do the balancing act: searching for understanding in light of uncertainty and complexity, looking for commonalities and broad-based agreements, pursuing the high road. Understanding the right cues and contexts, and ensuring we practice empathy, active listening, and regard for others is always good at any situation. But sometimes, we misread people and situations, we overreact or become stone-walled, or sometimes react badly with the slightest provocation. Making mistakes is part of our humanity in the context of many buttons. We have to stop incriminating ourselves, instead treat mistakes as a vehicle for learning and evolution. It is never fatal unless, it becomes an ego issue. Defiance is better left to more substantive issues of the day.
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FACTS OVER FICTION12/19/2019 A couple of weeks ago, we ended up watching some snippets of the famous "Sound of Music" film. My 3-year old daughter couldn't be helped but started singing the songs. I grew up with this film too like many millions of children worldwide.
Being the highest-grossing film of all time, it transcended time, culture, and boundaries and spoke universally to all. Yet, there were definite strategic departures from the real lives of the Von Trapp family. -They didn't escape from the Nazis as depicted: they boarded a train instead -Maria was not in love with the Captain; -There were 10 children but only 7 when they left Austria; -The Austrians didn't recognize edelweiss as a national flower and so on and so forth. These ensure that the film is as marketable as possible with the broadest audience particularly, families and children. It was an astounding success in all counts, but the public wasn't really aware and able to distinguish between fact and fiction. To this day, we relished with the saccharine story oblivious to the facts, the former, unfortunately shaping public consciousness up to this day. Decision-making as we all know, calls for the careful examination of facts to arrive at an outcome that is amenable to all parties concerned. But when the facts that we know were half-truths, the thinking process will be flawed and at worst, the findings will be suspect. When assumptions are not tested and challenged, we go by popular vote or consensus because that is politically correct; we missed out on what provocation and challenge could produce-a deep appreciation of the issues and a more strategic approach to getting to solutions. The sad reality is the facts are fodders for fiction and fiction mimics reality. But make no mistake, triple-check your facts, weigh in on the evidence, and then move to create a compelling case that eliminates the tendency to do more research or other unnecessary steps.
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MANAGING PERCEPTIONS8/5/2019 Why is it that negative critics always dominate the conversation about a brand, company, organization, or product while the rest of the happy, satisfied, and loyal customers are not heard from?
According to a study done in Texas, negative feedback is 11th times likely to be dominant than positive, satisfied comment. This 11 dissatisfied people will then talk to at least 5 (average) other people about their dissatisfaction. This goes to show that perception is malleable and can be shaped on the basis of who is doing what to whom. Word-of-mouth works if it's positive, it could be fatal if it's negative and totally based on misinformation and has the purpose to damage the reputation of your organization, brand, or products. To say, in this world we live, going viral- can be both a bane and a boon. The lessons in corporate and management history suggest that we need to take a stock, monitor, evauate, and strategize how we are projecting ourselves out there, what kinds of things are being said about us, and how we can favorably turn those conversations to our favor and advantage. This is not about propaganda or fake news, this is an honest-to-goodness management of public relations. If you can't control how you want to be perceived, some one will create it for you and that is the least comforting things as an idea. When was the last time you heard from a delighted customer? Why don't you toot your own horn, and harvest your own successes and achievements. You are not making it up, there is social proof on every thing that you will declare out there. What is worst is that the deluge of uber-the-top negativity has been allowed to poison the minds of those who are just fence-sitters and observers? There is so much on the line here. That has to stop and you can make concrete, tangible, and long-term commitment to making it work. If you can post your comments on Facebook and Twitter account everyday, you can do more on this area than just being passive and reactive.
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PRESS ZERO FOR INTELLIGENCE7/9/2019 I called the bank one day hoping to speak to a banker about my lack of access to my online account.
I called the toll number and I got these options: Press 1: For banking hours and locations Press 2: Credit card questions Press 3: For loans, insurance Press 4: for other products Press 5: for loss of card, etc. Press 6: For online banking I pressed 6 I got led to a number of options Please dial your number Please dial your birth date followed by a # key Oopps, sorry I didn't get your number, try again. I tried again and then the line went dead. Can we just talk to another sane human being who has a moderate level of intelligence, can understand our frustrations, and can handle our issues adequately? Enough of these robocalls!
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MANAGEMENT BY WALKING AROUND6/25/2019 A few years ago, I was a victim of the 'management by walking around' practice. Having been a staff myself, it confused me tremendously why management and executives have to do the rounds by walking around, pretending to be really curious and interested of personnel's work. What exactly can be derived by walking around the hall other than disturbing staff' precious time focused on real work and getting into chitchat with those that have nothing to do at the moment.
Visibility is good when there is a strategic purpose to visibility. Visibility alone is nothing. Creating real genuine interpersonal relations is good but when it gets down to work, your boss is not your friend and vice-versa. Also, this family vibe in many companies and organizations is also fake. This is not a family relation, this is business and you have a job to do and will get appraise at the next six-month mark. There is a tremendous waste of monies and time on team building exercises meant to look like everyone is having a happy time, fetching water, building sand castles, catching people up when they fall, rappelling down ravines -all in the name of team work. There is no team work in that superficial encounters. Real team work is about solving real problems and challenges as a team and experiencing satisfction from joint accomplishments. He found me cutting some papers for my program activity for children. "This is work," I told him and he said, "good job," and turned around. Nuf said. |
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