Posted on Wednesday, July 8, 2015

5 Reasons Role Models Make Better Leaders

Transformational growth happens when we are purposeful

Kenneth Blanchard, an author and management expert, says this: “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”

Reading is a culture that is developed consciously. Growing up, I could only lay claim to the schoolbooks I had. Food inspired my love for reading.

I borrowed a classmate’s copy of The Famous Five by Enid Blyton. One thing stood out from the book. As Georgina (George), her three cousins and their dog went out camping, they fried bacon and eggs for breakfast. Afternoon tea was accompanied with cake!

In my mind! I could taste the delicious bacon. Having grown up with just the basics and the occasional treats once in a blue moon, this book brought to life possibilities beyond my current status then. When my mum served pumpkin and black tea, out came the Famous Five.

Posted on Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Worry No More!

4 Steps to Stop Worrying and Start Living

At the end of this post, you can watch my interview with Bruce Van Horn, bestselling author of “Worry No More! 4 Steps to Stop Worrying and Start Living”. There is an audio version for you too!

It felt like the longest drive I have taken in my life. Yet it was only 160 kilometers long.

Anxiety plagued my mind. I was going home for the first time in a decade! That is how long it had been since I had last seen my dad.

The fact that my children had never set foot in the where house I grew up compounded my worry. They too had never met their grand-father. How would the meeting unfold?

When I informed my wife of my decision to reconnect with my dad, even she was astounded. She understood the pain that this separation had caused. Her response just compounded my worry of this whole experience going south on me.

But on Fathers Day, my family and I hit the road. I had to confront my fear and worry. It was time to wrestle with my fate. A time of renewal.

Posted on Friday, June 19, 2015

Why Your Worst Doesn’t Define You

In pursuit of the third leg to celebrate Fatherhood...

It cost Socrates his life when he said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” But it still got me thinking about a niggling issue I had to deal with.

I lost my sleep at 3:00 AM. Actually, this whole week has been restless and sleepless. My attempt at lulling myself back to sleep frustrates me the more. I get out of bed, brew a pot of coffee, and try to write. Nothing happens!

It feels like my thoughts are on remote control. For an hour, I struggle to focus. Finally, out of desperation, I turn to watch a TED Talk. And it hits me like a run-away train! In it, I finally found a missing piece in my puzzle of life.

It occurred to me that Father’s Day has been heavy on my mind. Actually, I have sub-consciously thought of this day every year for the last 20 years. But I have locked it deep in my mind in a bid to forget it.

All along, three questions have plagued me: How does it feel to have a father? What does it mean to have a father… Really? How do I define father?

Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2015

The Undisciplined Pursuit Of More

When you forget your Why, your brand reputation suffers...

Consider this. You are a dominant market leader worth millions of dollars. There are opportunities to grow – and diversify – your market.

However, there is one major blot on your otherwise dominance in the market. Customers desperately cry out to you to deliver your promise.

I have been a customer of a leading telecom for over a decade. The last 3 years have been the worst in terms of quality; from their products to customer service.

Don’t get me started on dropped and static-laden calls that are the order of the day. I have to go upstairs to get a decent signal. On countless occasions, I have had to tell my callers, “Please let me text you!”

With the call quality worse than a two-way radio, I could only hear half of what they were trying to communicate to me.

A quick common-sense check: it is time to move from the ice-age.

Posted on Sunday, May 31, 2015

Why Your Brand Determines Your Leadership

Branding Is Much Deeper Than Mere Visibility

It was a morning that would change everything for Dr. Richard Mayoyo. “Bang! Bang!” Two gunshots rang out. He’d been shot!

Dr. Mayoyo was driving his blue Volkswagen Jetta on a Johannesburg road in South Africa. He had just dropped off his seven-year old son at school for an athletics event.

Growing up, Dr. Mayoyo had a gruelling childhood. His father left them when he was two. At nine, his mother died in a road accident. He would experience death again at 17. As he visited a friend in hospital, a woman in the next bed stopped crying… and died. One of the attending doctors said, “She didn’t have any money anyway.”

His life’s goal was born there and then. He would become a doctor. His objective… to provide an answer such suffering for poor people. He scraped through with a tiny government bursary, hard work and a dream. Seven years later, he earned a place as a neurosurgery registrar at Johannesburg General Hospital.

Posted on Thursday, May 21, 2015

Is Your Brand Primed For Success?

Trying to make sense of the brand-leadership continuum

The air is thick with dust in the sweltering heat. The cattle are in a state of a controlled panic. Confused mooing adds to the organized chaos.

In the corner of the kraal, a fire heats the branding irons to red-hot. In the meantime, a cowboy has wrestled a steer to the ground. He reaches out for one branding irons.

With a sizzle, the fur and skin get a permanent mark. Upon release, the pain propels the steer into a full gallop. The steer has a brand for life! Its ownership becomes indisputable.

“Is your brand primed for success?” This question has persisted in my mind the last couple of weeks. I felt inspired into a critical re-think of my brand strategy and action. It also provides you with an opportunity to engage with the question too.

Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2015

Leadership Growth Isn’t Rocket Science

3 Perspectives From Leadership With Kids

One question is currently reverberating in our household. “Daddy, can I help you?” This question is repeated by one of our three kids at least once a day.

At first, it would irritate me. The timing isn’t always convenient. Like yesterday. I was in the middle of a small construction project. At hand, I had both power and hand tools. Not the best combination especially with kids around.

Darkness was approaching and the skies were grey with heavy clouds. Time was running out, the last thing I wanted was an interruption.

When you run your own business, each minute you can invest in it is valuable. It is easy to take on a return-on-investment approach. Any deviation can determine whether you get paid or not.

Posted on Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Leadership Is Until The Whistle Blows

5 Leadership Lessons From A Mountain Bike Trail

The morning was chilly and cloudy as my seven-year old son and I set out on an adventure. We were off to a father-son event out in the forest. And for me, it was time to take my leadership and mentoring a notch higher.

At the staging area, there were trampolines, slides, obstacle races, and great music. But our attraction was to ride our mountain bikes into the forest. My son had made it very clear that it had to be done.

I had been to this particular forest many times before. We had walked the trails with family and friends. In my mind, our bike ride was going to be a walk in the park. And the first leg was exactly that.

We accompanied our under-12’s on a four-kilometer ride. When we got back to the staging area, I was in for a big surprise. The adults were to race on a real mountain bike trail!

In our briefing, we were warned to ride carefully. There were twists, turns, and some rough sections. This wasn’t what I had signed up for! I just wanted to hang out with my son for some easy Saturday morning fun.

Posted on Thursday, April 30, 2015

Why Crisis Can Be Good For You!

Crisis is good. It stirs up the spirit and awakens the moribund. Crisis offers an opportunity to ask questions.

But a crisis doesn’t just emerge out of nothing. It rarely just shows up. By definition, a crisis is a time of intense difficulty or danger or when a difficult or important decision must be made.

In other words, crises are just the tipping point of something that had been building up. A crisis is the outcome of procrastination and negligence. It occurs when we ignore, overlook or fail to take notice of the symptoms leading to the crisis..

It is very easy to ignore procrastination and laziness. The problem is that we just don’t realize the effects until it is too late.

In Habits & Time – Make Them Count In 3 Steps, I mentioned how procrastination derailed me from my goals. It caused friction in some relationships. That specific crisis helped me to deal with deeper issues within me.

Posted on Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Habits & Time – Make Yours Count In 3 Steps

If I don’t deliberately plan my habits and time well, toxic patterns emerge. Eventually, I will implode. Terrible mistakes become inevitable.

The habits we adopt govern our leadership. It is easy to gain weight. All it takes is to sit, eat whatever comes your way and sleep less. Losing that weight, on the other hand, is a painful process. You have to contend with an exercise regimen, carefully monitored diet, and serious discipline.

Slip up and you shape out pretty fast! Laziness is the path of least resistance. It takes you to destinations you don’t want to explore.

In reality, my goals are my life-line. I had developed a decent rhythm on my weekly goals. However, there is always something competing for that goal-setting time.

Detailing those goals became “tedious”. I was approaching it as an unpleasant but necessary task. They became unpleasant when I began to slide back into procrastination.