Good afternoon all,

When was the last time you took a really good look at yourself? When was the last time you asked yourself what value do I add to what I do? Am I the best that I can be? Am I the person who people look up to or do they avoid me like the plague?

You may be asking why should you ask these questions of yourself and what is the purpose? Well, my point is that I do not believe many of us receive feedback on a regular basis from our colleagues, peers and managers. Feedback that would allow us to grow and become excellent at what we do and who we are when we interact with people. I believe in the continual growth and without feedback and self-reflection growth is stunted.

Many people believe that they are the "dogs bollocks", and English expression exemplifying brilliance at whatever the subject matter at hand. This type of egotistical thinking can and does lead to lethargy, arrogance and the ultimately failure. Many people are scared to provide feedback even in a constructive way for fear of seen to be critical and hurting someone's feelings. Most of us do not even ask for feedback and in the event that we do get it we become defensive and start arguing with the person providing the feedback. What this does is that the provider of feedback will not be so willing to do so in the future.

Self reflection is another methodology that can be utilized to see where were are compared to where we think we are. To continually grow we must change and to change we must step out of the excessively used cliche of a box and look from without to what is happening within. So when we stand there looking within it may be also beneficial to ask a trusted colleague to look in with you and give you some critical feedback. Questions like, what could I have done differently? What could I have done better? Did I get the result I wanted? If not what could I do differently next time?

Whilst you ask these questions your companion could also interject with thoughts of their own that could add a different perspective. It takes a very big person to be able to do this on a continuous basis, and the bigger a person becomes the more self reflection they need to step up to the next level. Don't get me wrong most people are not up for this challenge, even though they lack no resources to become the best at what they do.

In my opinion everyone has the capacity to draw from within strength, resources, creativity to excel at their vocation and become a true leader, but many fail to do so, and most of them fail because they do not recognize where they go wrong and take corrective action. Corrective action usually comes to late in the form of getting fired or not being hired, losing friends, colleagues and supporters in the process.

Shah Alam

Hello Readers,

Do you know when it is time to hang up your hat? Does anyone know when they should walk away and look at a new purpose in life?

I am seeing more and more that the answer is a resounding "no". Over the last few years I have come across numerous individuals both within teams that I have partaken in and client people who just don't know when to quit.

These individuals believe that they still know what they are talking about and have a dogged tenacity in their abilities to deliver. Yet, in reality they fail to give any value either in quality or quantity.

I believe it comes down to the fact that people do not have other interests or are so narrowly focussed that they do not see in what other way they can serve humanity. That service of humanity could be anything, anything that makes use of one's unique talents, skills and passions.

Take Michael Schumacher returning to F1, in my opinion "big mistake". Now he is critisized as a former champ who keeps crashing into other racers trying to jeopardize their efforts. So when he does eventually stop, that is what he will be known for rather than his previous championship status.

My message is evaluate yourself regularly as you reach the top of your game and if it is time to go, do it gracefully and find another purpose.

That's all for today

Shah Alam

Can politics be harmful to a company?

Yes I definitely think so. In the last decade as a consultant I have seen political games being played across all levels of an organisation. I've seen individuals who are the "yes" man or woman to their bosses. These "yes" people will tag along regardless of whether decisions will benefit the organization in any way.

I've seen examples of where senior management have commenced an initiative to improve or change the business for the better, then as is normal in business a new CEO comes in and those initiatives are dropped. This is not because the new CEO has proposed an alternative but rather to please the newcomer and ensure the individuals are on his good books, because he/she said not to proceed.

Of course certain amount of politicking does oil the machinery that are the behemoths of business world. Funnily, the larger the company the more political wrangling is prevalent. However excessive politics can freeze a business and make it immobile.

Decisions are stymied action is not taken and competitive edge is lost.

Internal politics can cause ill-feeling amongst colleagues, it can cause undue stress and a myriad of other symptoms which ultimately lead to lower productivity, a greater number of sick days and ultimately a huge cost to the business.

Unfortunately, as is human nature certain individuals encourage such behaviour within their departments, divisions and teams. This is part of ensuring their empire survives (see my previous article Empires Strike Back). Others resign and take the attitude of if you can't beat them then join them.

I don't think politics within any business can be eradicated, purely because we are all humans and it is nigh on impossible to say what an individual brings to a job apart from their academic and business experience.

However, I think it is crucial that management see this as a disease and weed out such behaviour where it is identifiable. In the business world there is only one model that should be supported above all others and that is meritocracy.

That ends today's musing, till the next time.

Shah Alam

Good morning again from London. My good friend and colleague Ramsi talked about numbers recently and how important they are in business, they are the lifeblood. Look at the world financial crisis today, it is all about numbers.

However today I am going to discuss one of the softer sides of business, namely coaching. Coaching in business and in the general populace has seen a huge explosion over the last decade. With the likes of Tony Robbins and other motivational coaches bringing the subject into the mainstream. Having worked and travelled in the US it seems that people of that nation tend to embrace personal development far more openly than other corners of the globe.

Coaching uses a lot of sporting analogy, whether it be American Football, Basketball, Tennis or some of the marathon running superstars of this world. One of the great examples is Lance Armstrong who has overcome great personal hardship to win the Tour De France again and again. Take Andre Agassi in his heyday, when he walked onto Centre Court at Wimbledon he had a certain air about him that said he was going to win the match.

Now in business everyday life may not be the one chance to shine and win the gold medal or first prize, but it is the accumulation of all those little successes that make good achievers into great achievers and great achievers into superstar achievers.

Alas, many great people are overlooked or are not given the opportunity because of many reasons. It could be company culture, it could be there are no opportunities in the department, maybe the management isn't right. Whatever it is there could be a whole host of reason why a talented indvidual is missed.

Now! It is upto organizations and the senior management wirthin them to foster a culture of coaching for success, to bring out the best, to enable creativity and create people who will make a company succeed exponentially. Coaching does not have to be a formal sit-down session with someone and it does not have to be a subordinate being coached by their superior, in a matrix environment anyone can coach anyone.

I would go so far as to say an individual can coach themselves. To look at yourself and then review the issue, concern or goal at hand and then think and I mean think to come up with solutions. Sometimes there may not be a solution, but it's this ability to take a step back and see the wood for the trees that really does help.

What we must not also forget is once someone clocks out of the office and goes home, realistically how much time do you think they will spend on personal development and growth? There will be some people who do look at themselves and question how to become better both personally and professionally. When a person returns back to the office the next day we as companies and management do not know what happened at home? did that person have a good weekend or bad weekend? what frame of mind are they coming to work with? are they feeling positive saying as Jim Carey does '..somebody stop me...' in The Mask or something else.

It is incumbent on organizations, management, HR and colleagues alike to work together to get the best out of each other.

I have listed below a set of tasks that individuals and teams can perform to achieve a greater level of awareness and success whether it be personally or in our chosen vocation.

1. Think Positive - always expect the best as one thought leads to another, ensure those thoughts that run through your head are the ones that you want
2. Clear Goals - have clear goals of what you want, whether it's to run 5 marathons in 2 years or to become the CEO of your company in 15 years
3. Be Curious - ask questions, there never is a stupid question, you can only learn and grow by being inquisitive
4. Stimulate Your Mind - even if this mean playing those brain training games on the Nintendo DS or playing Sudoku
5. Creative Visualization - try to see the solution in your minds eye. See what a future scenario might look like to get some ideas on solutions
6. Laugh - In India they have laughter clubs that help people de-stress, as the old saying goes laughter is the best medicine. So book that Saturday night comedy show
7. Physically Active - this is one of my favorites,  for me nothing beats a good 10 mile run or a 30 minute workout on a punchbag
8. Intense Concentraion - here don't just concentrate on a something you are doing or trying to find a solution to, concentrate so hard that you may only fall short of Einstein's genius. In this day and age of speed no one likes to sit and think. Try it you will be amazed
9. 100% Responsibility - you are wholly responsible for your life, your career, your success, your failures and everything else in between, so be careful how you go about your day-to-day activities
10. Burning Desire - This will be a tough one for many people. You must have a burning desire to succeed in anything. Another term I use is Monomaniac, to not stop unless success is achieved. You look at some of the great achievements made by the likes of Edison, Bannister, Einstein, Alexander the Great all of these individuals and others did not stop until they achieved their dreams, even if it meant loved ones got hurt. So ask yourself how badly do you want that goal?

One that note I will bid farewell and I look forward to sharing a few more anecdotes in the coming week

Shah Alam