Let us now explore what I think we must do as individuals to survive the crisis;
- We must become proactive.
This is what is described as a victor as opposed to a victim approach to matters. As some put it, "We must happen to circumstances and not let circumstances happen to us".
To be proactive is to begin with the end in mind. What do you stand for? Why do you work for your current employer? Do you work just for the salary or the pay? I propose to you that if we truly are going to get our enterprises to win, it must start by you saying "Yes I Can"! The individual must be sufficiently empowered to be a self-leader and a self-starter!
- We must develop a mentality of ownership
One of the management gospels I am best known for preaching is my plea to employees to stop thinking employment and begin to see themselves as independent contractors! We must begin to think like business owners. The single most important reason you will go on to be the head of your division; The General Manager or the CEO of the next enterprise is your internalization of this fact. It does not matter that you are an account officer, manager or cleaner-you can choose to work like an independent contractor. Independent contractors out-perform all employees on all counts- service delivery, creativity, passion for the work etc. They work like they own the enterprise. They are necessarily leaders to be emulated! They largely worked at their job like business owners, project managers and independent contractors!
- You must be known as a problem-solver.
This will make you popular with your employer and attract people to you and hence a constituency to lead. I love looking at third alternatives to problems. I lead numerous successful initiatives because of my problem-solving approach. Obviously to be a problem solver you must have the interest of the enterprise at the core and the courage to take action. Many of us are cowards and hence die many times over in our fear. The courage to take action will distinguish you as an extra-ordinary performer. In every enterprise I have worked, the one thing every employer will tell you is that I have courage. I made mistakes alright but that does not negate the fact that I had courage that more often than not carried the day!
- We must be solution-oriented people.
Leaders who are solution oriented attract a following. Ordinarily they pursue the best interests of the enterprise/employer. They get promoted as opposed to the rules-oriented staff that at best get inflationary salary increases. It is such employees enterprises are looking for. They are not necessarily right in everything they do but they do everything in the best interests of the enterprise and although they may fail many times, the one time they succeed may change the destiny of an entire enterprise! You must say "Yes I Can" to problems that need solutions for your enterprise. Do not say it is the enterprise's problem! One of the things I know for a fact is that I always let my employer take precedence whenever there was a conflict between my needs as an individual and those of the enterprise during my tenure of work. You must give your best and your all to everything you do!
- We must nurture an abundance mentality.
The abundance mentality is a deep belief that there is enough to go round- enough jobs, sufficient customers, enough resources-it is a "Yes I Can" mentality. It is thinking big and believing big like US President Obama! Two years ago, I believed that we can raise shillings 100 million endowment fund in 10 years for the Palmhouse Foundation, a charity I co-founded with my wife and now lead with others. I still believe we can so! We have 10 million shillings already. If you have an attitude of abundance, the world will reward you with abundance- this is not some hype or cliché!
The scarcity mentality tells you the market for your company products are saturated; that there is too much competition for the job you want; that it is hard to achieve the results. This mentality encourages you to undermine your colleagues in your effort to get ahead of them. It is tells you "'Maisha ni ngumu sana"! It tells you that your tribesmen are being finished, that Kenya does not have enough cake to go round and hence you must grab your share before someone else does. I never tire to tell the story of a friend I once approached to donate money to Palmhouse Foundation. He responded by telling me that him and a group of friends educate a few from his village and therefore he cannot contribute to educate others. The amazing thing is that his village has the bigger share of our scholarships!! Only an abundance mentality would allow him to see the bigger picture! Like Tim Saunders' a former Yahoo Leadership Coach once said ". Scarcity is the greatest crisis today in our society. There is no greater threat to your organization or enterprise's future than the scarcity mindset" End of quote. I say to you that there is no greater threat to our enterprise's future than a scarcity mindset in the people who work for those enterprises! I appeal to you to collaborate with others! As an individual I urge you to do all in your means to get over the scarcity mentality and you will unlock potential you have never known to have!
- You must be an individual who elicits credibility and trust.
Your customers and those around you must trust you. Your employer must be able to trust you. You must as an individual be worthy of trust. For you to be able to say "Yes I can" you must be someone people must trust. I have often told the stories of my credibility tests years ago with a big contract. To this day I reap great rewards from my credible and trusted behavior! Your credibility will be your long term competitive advantage as an individual. I cannot remember an industry where credibility and trust is in higher demand than in banking. The lack of credibility and trust is costing your industry and the economies unnecessarily a fortune!
- To be able to say "Yes I Can" and ultimately "Yes We Can", we must look for balance in life.
You must endeavor to have a healthy work-life balance. Many of us make the mistake of working very hard and burning the midnight oil only to realize that they burn the candle at both ends. While those who work exceptionally hard may initially show success, they are not likely to finish strong and are likely to fail on other important scores in life. It is important to have a healthy body if you wish to deliver long term. You need a healthy mind, a healthy body and a healthy spirit to be able to say "Yes I Can". The mind is kept healthy through learning, reading and the search for knowledge; the body is kept fit through physical exercise while the spirit is kept fit through acts of charity. People will tell you that they have little time to keep fit but like Stephen Covey says, it is like one sawing a tree so hard that they continue to saw with a blunt saw because they have no time to sharpen the saw. Take time as an individual to sharpen the saw through mental, physical and spiritual renewal.
We must remember that we come to work at G4S as fathers, mothers, family members and community members. Long are the days you told employees to leave their problems at home! Any enterprise that wishes to succeed today must allow the employees to bring their hearts and minds to work! We must endeavor to lead balanced lives. To lead lives that balances our various roles besides that of serving at G4S. I cannot begin to narrate to you how many of my friends; some CEO's of great enterprise in town who have lost or are at the verge of losing their marriages and families for failing to balance their lives. I seek to live balanced life- learning, exercising, serving the community and endeavor to have a family life! I do not pretend it is easy but if one consciously pursues it, they are bound to achieve it!
- We must appreciate the opportunity to work.
At a time like this when all we hear about is retrenchments and re-engineering I think we should appreciate the opportunity G4S has given us to do some work. I think we also owe it to many who have no jobs out there. We should not always ask what G4S can do for us- we must ask ourselves what we can do for G4S. This, in my view, is not the time to whine about salary rises; about bonus or about perks! These are hard times. We are privileged to be here this morning! It is not a right or entitlement. Let us learn to appreciate our opportunity to serve at G4S. Like some one once put it "The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one". I was impressed by the approach G4S has taken in ensuring that employees do not loose jobs. Employees on their part must reciprocate this admirable move by giving their best.
- We must work with technology to amplify our creative imagination.
Technology has democratized the knowledge arena but some people still refuse to adopt it at their peril! Someone made the point recently that you do not need a degree in journalism to write you own blog; you may not need an architect to draw your house plan because you can download an architectural plan on the web; you may not need an accountant anymore to write your books; QuickBooks and host of much such technology are available! Last month I did 4 transactions through Mpesa that could not have taken me 10 minute to execute! Before technology came to rescue us, this took days through our bureaucratic and expensive banking system! What are you doing to use the best technology available to deliver your services? The tools of creativity have been democratized to a large extent by technology thus emancipating the human imagination. I recall days British Airways had sales managers and hundreds of travel agents. Technology has dealt a death sentence on many who refused to re-invent and adopt technology. Look out – they will try to re-invent the way the job of selling is done!!
These days whenever I am on Skype at peak hours there are tens of millions of others. You do not need a passport any longer to be a citizen of the global community that the internet has brought our way!
- Finally I appeal to us as individuals to brand ourselves as "Yes I Can" brands.
You are the story teller of your own life. You are the brand you! I tell people that they must avoid being ordinary and look for a place in the extra –ordinary. To do this you must be a "Yes I Can" person. One who is credible and trustworthy; one who builds a wide circle of influence; one who seeks new knowledge; one who respects time; one who under-promises and over-delivers; one who is passionate about what they do at G4S and whatever else they take on in life! We must be a people who seize the moment to become extra-ordinary brands!
I do not take the common line that my boss will not let me do this or that or that I have no power to do ABCD! I tell people that powerlessness is a state of mind and besides power is never given- power is grabbed! In my own working career I have done things that even my own immediate boss had no power to do! You do not need anyone's authority to deliver the mission and vision of G4S! Do whatever it takes! Yes You Can!
YES WE CAN!
Thank you
© Eric Kimani 2009
--Karibu Jukwaa la www.mwanabidii.com
Pata nafasi mpya za Kazi www.kazibongo.blogspot.com
Blogu ya Habari na Picha www.patahabari.blogspot.com
Kujiondoa Tuma Email kwenda
wanabidii+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com Utapata Email ya kudhibitisha ukishatuma
Disclaimer:
Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.
0 comments:
Post a Comment