Loud Thinking

Archive for February, 2014

Can someone inform me that has WARID and Mobilink telecom collapsed only in my area or the telecommunication breakdown is countrywide?

Love is a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection.

“And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth,‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with love like that. It lights up the sky.”

Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273);
Persian poet, mystic

Identify Your Best Change Agents

When it comes to change management, half the battle is making sure you have the right leaders in place. Assess your leaders’ competencies, behavioral styles, and values with an eye for some key indicators. Effective change agents demonstrate flexibility and resilience; recognize growth opportunities; strive for results; lead courageously; and gain buy-in. If your organization is facing a transition, try evaluating people against this change-agent profile when hiring, assigning, or promoting. During interviews, zero in on these competencies and ask how they’ve demonstrated the related behaviors in their current and previous roles. Further, ask yourself whether they show evidence of being task-oriented and are strongly motivated by achievement and power – the executives who do are the ones best equipped to make change happen.

Adapted by HBR from “What Change Agents Value at Work” by Katherine Graham-Leviss.

A good lesson for our leaders, as well.

An extract from an email of the President of the United States..!

Earlier today, I signed an Executive Order to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for federal contract workers.

It’s the right thing to do. But what’s more, companies have found that when their employees earn more, they’re more motivated, they work harder, and they stick around longer. You should expect the same of your federal government.

The bottom line is this: We are a nation that believes in rewarding honest work with honest wages. And America deserves a raise.

President Barack Obama

Newfoundland CHARM

Two informally dressed ladies happened to start up a conversation during an endless wait in Toronto’s Terminal 3 airport.

The first lady was an arrogant Upper Canadian married to a wealthy businessman.

The second was a well-mannered elderly woman from Bell Island, Newfoundland.

When the conversation centred on whether they had any children, the Upper Canadian woman started by saying, “When my first child was born, my husband built a huge house for me.”

The lady from Bell Island commented, “Well, isn’t that nice?”

The first woman continued, “When my second child was born, my husband bought
me a Mercedes-Benz.”

Again, the lady from Bell Island commented, “Well, isn’t that nice?”

The first woman continued boasting, “Then, when my third child was born, my husband bought me this exquisite diamond bracelet.”

Yet again, the Bell Island lady commented, “Well, isn’t that nice?”

The first woman then asked her companion, “What did your husband buy for you when you had your first child?”

“My husband sent me to Charm School,” declared the Bell Island lady.

“Charm school?” the first woman cried, “Oh, my Lord! What on earth for?”

The elderly Bell Island lady responded, “Well, as an example; instead of saying, “Who gives a s–t?”, I learned to say, “Well, isn’t that nice…..”

“Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them.”

“If you’re climbing the ladder of life, you go rung by rung, one step at a time. Don’t look too far up, set your goals high but take one step at a time. Sometimes you don’t think you’re progressing until you step back and see how high you’ve really gone.”

— Donny Osmond

To Manage Your Workload, Defer Early and Often

You can make the greatest contribution to your organization by focusing on your own highest-value work. If you find yourself taking on an increasing number of projects and/or people, deflect tasks that someone else can do — even if you could help — before they ever hit your to-do list. Deferring is different from delegating. Delegating is handing off your responsibilities; deferring incorporates delegating, but also involves passing activities on to another appropriate party before they ever hit your to-do list. For example, if someone asks you an IT question, direct them to the Help Desk. If you’re invited to attend a meeting where you may offer some insight but other attendees could probably offer something similar, consider not going. Deferring shows respect for others’ competency and allows you the bandwidth to get done what only you can do, which is what your team really needs.

Adapted by HBR from “How Office Control Freaks Can Learn to Let Go” by Elizabeth Grace Saunders.

“Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won’t cheat, then you know he never will.”

John D. MacDonald (1916-1986);
Author