DID YOU MISS THE FIRST LESSON

DID YOU MISS THE FIRST LESSON

Missing a class can be one of the most expensive lessons in life. Over years of teaching and training, the most sticky and thorny issues that come up in later life are the result of one missed lesson in the early days. Missing an early class in history may lead to not liking the subject. While failing to attend to a geometry lesson can knock a person out of a design class. Not learning to do your homework on time may result in costly overtime for your boss. It is all comes back to you if it is not learned in that first lesson.

Allan

WILL YOU OR WONT YOU?

I can teach you if you will. If you wont, you will not learn.

DONT BE AS PROUD AS A WHEELBARROW

DON'T BE AS PROUD AS A WHEELBARROW

Most of us don't think of ourselves as proud until we look at what we have got. Then we realize that we are better than everyone else. As soon as we realize that, we act just a little bit special. We feel separate from the crowd and turn up our noses at those who are not like us. In short, that makes us proud.

Of course, you remember the story of the wheelbarrow and the cart… the wheelbarrow once had three wheels. It used to move so fast that you could never find it in the same place twice. It would pass with speeds that made others weep. Three wheels give you great strength and stability. Three wheels make you steady. In deed with three wheels, you can stand-alone. No one else had wheels so they didn't know how it feels

In those days, the cart had no wheels and used to be carried around by hand. You could find the cart wherever you put it down. It would never move. The wheelbarrow used to pass many carts along the street waiting for their owners to carry them around. He felt proud he could move around so much that he forgot what got him around.

One day a cart asked for just one of his wheels. The wheelbarrow thought for a moment and said what would you use to for. "I would move around like you" said the cart. "Like me?" asked the wheelbarrow beaming with pride. "In that case you can have two" said the wheelbarrow.  The owner of the cart soon came along and rolled his handcart down the street and was gone. They found the wheelbarrow where he stood. They have found him there ever since. He will do your every whim and only move if you move him. You never have to worry. He cant move alone.

Allan

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR LEADERSHIP IS IN TROUBLE

LEADERSHIP IN TROUBLE

I read the story of a leader on a plane that ran into engine in mid air. As you might imagine everyone on the plane was caught up in the trouble. The leader did not go looking for trouble, trouble found him. Such is the life of a leader. What do you do when the result is not up to you?

The whole plane went into a flurry of activity. Everyone was checking where the exit routes were. Some were talking in low tones. Others were talking in loud tones. Some prayed others cried. Many wondered why they ever got onto the plane.  Everyone was looking for a way out, but stayed in their seats. Mandela sat reading his newspaper deliberately studying the pages in full view of everyone.

This story has a happy ending. The pilots were able to communicate and correct the trouble with the help of ground staff. When the plane landed safely, everyone thanked God and cheered the crew.

When asked why he was not scared, Mandela said in effect, "I was scared stiff, but I had to stay calm for the peoples sake". When Leadership is in trouble the one thing you cannot do is panic.  If you panic, the people will follow you. If you don't, they will assume something is being done. The second thing you need to do is let the experts do the job. Third, continue doing what you were doing, that may be the greatest value you can add to the situation. The impression you give may be the most powerful statement you can ever make on the spot.

Allan

THE TRAGEDY OF LEADERSHIP IS TRANSPORT

THE TRAGEDY OF LEADERSHIP IS TRANSPORT

How indeed does transport translate to leadership? Transport to anywhere is often assumed until it is, for some reason, absent. That is when you realize its import. Leadership is the same. When things are going well you hardly notice it. It is when things go wrong that you notice that something is not happening and that someone is not doing their job. The person is the leader. You never think of the bus driver until the bus doesn't show up. Unfortunately, you only want to find out who he or she is when there has been an accident.

This is the tragedy of leadership. No one knows when a good job is being done. They only find out when the leader is gone or at the end of the game.  Followers keep leaders as long as they benefit from them. The moment benefits fail to come through the people get rid of the leader too. What must a leader do in such a situation? Jesus, a great leader of days gone by, knew how fickle and vain was the praise of men and put no stock in it. Leadership is service, sacrifice and success. The people want these things and will have no less. The people want transport to their goals. They love it when they are served, when someone sacrifices for them, and are happiest when they succeed.

If you want to lead, you must be prepared and not bitter for this. Your duty will be enjoyable because you serve, sacrifice and succeed. Not if you earn a lot or get praise of men - that comes at the very end. You can pay for management, but you cannot pay for leadership. It is given freely and willingly and openly or not at all. The tragedy of leadership is that not all leaders lead.

Allan

 

WHY YOU NEED CULTURE

WHY YOU NEED CULTURE

Every town has a culture. Every business has a culture. Every person has a habit. To know a person is to know their habits. Culture can tell you what a person is going to do and what they will not do. Culture tells you more about you than about them. It tells you what you should do to get to them. It can work for you or against you.

Leaders understand culture. They know it is a tool. Sometimes culture is the only thing they need to change to succeed. All the great "before and after" tales are stories of how leaders made a difference. To make culture work for you, carefully study the life and work habits of staff. Identify the habits that if changed could make a positive impact. Identify those that will take a long time to change. Start with those that will take a short time. Change may be gradual but it is also magical. The more you change, the more you change.

As you dismiss the old, remember you are only creating a new culture. Someday that culture may have to change. However, you need culture to drive today's success. Systems don't change people; people change systems. Culture changes people, but people can also change culture. You need culture to change the organization and succeed in business.

Allan

HOW TO USE AN OLD HOE

THE OLD JEMBE

A “Jembe” is another name for a “hoe”. It is a tool used to till the ground. It is made for use by one person at a time. It has a long arm and flat metal cap that wedges into the ground and turns the soil. A good jembe can last a lifetime.  Hoes are still used on farms in some parts of the world today.

This story is about Jess and Jeko. Jess and Jeko were friends. They lived in the same village. Their family farms were side by side just outside the main village gate. Jess and Jeko were old enough to farm their own pieces of land. They had worked together since they could lift a hoe. This year Jeko decided that she wanted a new Jembe. She would not use the old one.  Her parents told here that it would take some time to get the new one from the city.

January was a great time when all the villagers enjoyed last year’s crop. At the end of January, they began to till the land. Jeko waited for her new Jembe. Jess began to till the soil with her hoe. She was ashamed of her old hoe and woke up early in the morning to get her farm work done before 10 o’clock. In February, the early rains began. Jeko waited for her new hoe. By the end of February planting began as the main rains were about to begin. In March, the rains came on time and the crops grew. Still Jeko waited for her hoe.  Jess weeded her crops in late March. Jeko waited.

In April, the crops started to ripen. Jess was blessed with an early crop. Jeko ate some too, but she still wanted a new hoe. In May, the hoe came and Jeko was very, very happy. Jess harvested her crop and went home. That year was the year she would go to school. Jeko had to work alone wait another year all because of an old Jembe.

Allan