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The world is at the brink of an all-out trade war. The Trump tariffs were imposed, despite his aides warning just how costly the move could be, meeting after meeting. Then China launched petro-yuan which evoked a surge in global prices for oil and is seen as a blow to the US dollar.
"ASKHOLE": A person who constantly asks for your advice, yet always does the opposite of what you told them.
We've heard about such people and there were times I am guilty myself. People hate feeling ignored. Unfortunately, when we ask for input and appear to ignore it, people feel frustrated, and devalued.
The truth is that most people will work with a decision when they are clear about what is required and why the decision was made. It doesn't mean they have to love it. They're adults and don't expect every decision will got their way.
We save ourselves grief, misunderstanding and hurt feelings when everyone knows up front how the decision will be made. When someone says, "you asked for my opinion and then ignored it. I don't know why I even bother!" he/she was under the impression that the team would decide by consensus when in reality it was the leader's decision. This type of confusion wastes heaps of precious time and energy and sucks the soul from the team.
As a leader, I am conscious about maintaining a delicate balance between pushing and guiding. In decision making, sometimes I might dominate, but I do not domineer. I lead the team. I do not rule them.
When you are a sales leader, you have to make decisions with the information at your disposal, rather than what you wish you might have. For this reason, I was often perceived of making snap decisions. I never had a problem reaching a decision based on imperfect information. That's just the way the world works.
When I was young I made many more impulsive decision than in my later years. I also made some ill-considered decisions that I came to regret. There were occasions where hesitancy cost me. Whichever way, nothing beats the lessons on decision-making imparted by the accounts of the way Winston Churchill saved Britain from the Nazis. The new PM's decision to fight rather than talk was courageous – and right.
Former Liverpool and England player, Jamie Carragher spat at a 14-year-old girl in the face. He was being goaded by her father, a United fan, after Liverpool's defeat to Manchester United recently. He was also caught on camera.
Today, so much of what we put out into the world lives on forever and can be seen and heard by the masses.
My point is that everything we do - or don't - is examined in all quarters. From the way we dress to our speech patterns to what pictures are at our workstations. If you are a leader, people are going to follow you. Everything you do - or leave undone - takes on greater meaning because of your position.
By nature and occupation, I am a talker. I enjoy having my say. For the longest time, I would never dream of conceding an argument. I'd fight for my opinion until my lungs gave out. But now I've learned that I don't have to have the last word - and sometimes I don't even have to have the first!
It's best not to have enemies, but if someone crosses you in manner that requires you to fight, take it to them, but do it with honor and integrity. If you win, move on, be humble and don't rub it in. If you lose, or it turns out you were wrong; admit it, apologize if necessary and be a gracious loser.
To develop a strong personal brand, we must act with care, kindness, compassion and integrity. This is something that has been lost on current generations as countless young people push their way through crowded streets and walk through doorways held open for them without a simple acknowledgement or thank you
As much as we can control our own fate, we're still what others say about us.
Frozen, the Broadway Musical which previewed last month could go on to crush The Lion King, the blockbuster which has raked in an eye-popping $8.1bn. Yes, that's a "b", more money than all the new Star Wars films combined. The Lion King and Frozen — have one major theme in common: They're about relationships. Whereas the first film focus on the father-son relationship, Frozen is delve into sisterhood.
Life is more about memories than milestones. Many of my best memories of friendships were of sports and games, talking and laughing. I have discovered that the key to success in business and to a rich and rewarding personal life is personal relationships.
Friends will come and go throughout life. That's why we should value them while they are here. I realize I should have worked harder at some relationships, that I would have personally benefitted from spending more time with certain people. It is not about staying in touch with your friends. It is about giving myself the gift of their company too. Don't let life get in the way.
We might not be destined to have the same number of years in our lives, but we do have the same number of hours in our days. How and with whom are you spending yours? When you spend time with the wrong person, you can never retrieve those hours again. My gauge is this: if the person is not pouring good into my life in any meaningful way, I should probably spend less time with him or her. I'm probably wasting my precious life on someone not worthy of it. As I've gotten older, I've learned not to spend any appreciable time with someone who's not helping me be a better man.
Don't react to toxic people. Not giving them a reaction when they desperately seek it, is far more powerful. The only way to win against toxic people is not to play.
We cannot change the people around us but we can change the people who choose to be around.
President for Life? Xi Jinping May Now Be China's New Emperor. Newsweek's headlines blared following China’s Communist Party announced a proposal to abolish term limits for its highest office
Life is like a game of Monopoly. You may own hotels on Mayfair or you may be renting on Pall Mall. But in the end, it all goes back in the box.
Dying people know this. Their belongings or assets or what they have achieved are of no consequence whatsoever at the end. What occupies the thoughts of dying people are how they lived their lives, what they did and if they had made a positive difference to those they left behind.
I'm sure we've all heard that 40 is the new 30 or that 50 is the new 40. I'm here to tell you it's a lie! Contrary to what the media wants us to believe, 50 is the same old 50 and 40 is the same old 40.
Now past 50, what once looked like eternity ahead of me is now within reach. And while I do not fear the end of the game, I do want to make sure I finish well, that I leave something behind no one can take away from me.
I do not know where you are in the game. If you are in your 20s, you have probably just started graduate school or a job and have an exciting game ahead of you. Much of what I write will seem far off to you. Many youth regard old age as a foreign country.
Now this is true: Life expectancy is increasing, medicine is always making impressive advancements, and many of us have committed to healthier diets and more physical exercise. And yet there is no guarantee that you're going to live a long life. You could still get cancer, have a heart attack or get into an accident of some kind.
In truth, we don't control when we come into this world, and we don't control when - or how - we leave it. The only thing we control is what we live for. I'd rather live for a cause, than just because.
I don't think any of us likes to think about "leaving." I sure don't. But we all know what's coming - why not make the most of every precious bit of time we're given?
Michelle Obama said that the White House had better food than Buckingham Palace. She admitted, though, that the palace has “better china.”
Blowing out someone else's candle does not make yours shine brighter.
I know a friend who eats good food and exercises like a maniac. Then he gets on the scales and he has only lost 2kg. In many ways this is great. The problem is he wants to lose 10kg. So he gets depressed that he has lost "only" 2 and begin to focus on the 8 he hasn't lost, rather than celebrating the 2 that he has lost. He doesn't celebrate his progress; he focuses on this lack of perfection.
We must each follow our own star in our own way at our own time. Be happy with what is. Why should we long for something more or something else? Why shouldn't we be happy with the way things are?
It all seemed so noble, even seemed so saintly: "Reach for the top. Don't settle for second best." The rhetoric is unrealistic. Nothing is ever perfect. My best was always flawed.
Like all our tendencies, perfectionism had deeper, unexposed roots. For example "People will criticize me," or "what will mum and dad say?" It may well be our competitiveness is simply our way of getting approval.
Most of the people I know are reluctant to admit that the demon of competitiveness has dominated them. They set unrealistic standards and have unrealistic expectations. "Her salary is higher than mine!" "Their workload is lighter though I contribute more!" The high price is always a downward spiral. Very often our frustrated hopes degenerate gradually into a disappointed anger.
I achieved - perhaps not at the highest level, but on whatever scale of joy, contentment and prosperity everyone else was measured by, I was definitely higher and better and more than some others. Statistically, I was miles away from the lowest and worst.
So I say to you: seek growth, not perfection. A good way to choose growth is to set out to enjoy. And here is the surprise bonus. If you set out to enjoy, you will actually do a better job than if you are determined to make it perfect. You'll most likely notice an improvement in your performance. Setting out to achieve perfection, by contrast, will become stressful and demoralizing. The end result will probably be discouragement. And discouragement always wants to quit, to give it all up.
A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.
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