hamsters running on a wheel

I have just been to a a hot spring. Had much time to stop and reflect.

Too often in the "action is everything" world we live in, we are hamsters running on a wheel. Day in and day out, we run faster and faster, doing the same things in the same ways we've always done them. Trouble is, we're often doing the wrong things: things that drain critical resources from those few effective tasks that really will make us successful.

Leave a legacy

David's bbm this morning read: "The placing of Emmanuel's urn Ceremony will be held at No. 1, Punggol Place at Fo Guang Shan at 11am on Wednesday, 21 Nov"

Emmanuel was 37. He was a colleague and a friend.

I am sure within each of us,there exists a longing to leave a legacy, some proof that we were here. We need to know that our lives, our being here mattered.

Hence, the need to create something of value, to accomplish something worthwhile.

Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry - Mark Twain

Pressure into positive energy

Recent research shows that optimism is essential to strong sales performance.

The higher we go in an organization, the more important our selling and persuading skills are - internally as well as externally. To me, a leader is someone who can translate pressure into positive energy.

Noticing progress

We hold our 9+3 review this coming Friday.

We are goal-oriented beings. We like to see results. Our 9+3 review involves noticing progress, and also celebrating and building on it.

I love the idea of focusing at the same time on how far we've come and on the vivid imagery of where we want to be. Both of these targets are empowering targets - 1 reminds us of our success and creates momentum for more of the same. The other keeps us inspired to continue moving forward.

Recharging batteries

A football game lasts 90 minutes. That's a lot of time to be running up and down the field in continuous motion. Even with the half-time breaks, superstars rarely play the whole game. They can't if they're going to remain effective.

Resting our players at work makes equally good sense. If someone's coming off a tough, time-consuming and energy-sapping project, I now try to let her recharge her batteries, especially if she'd been going flat out for a while. I'm going to help someone recover by resisting the temptation to dump another tough project in her lap immediately.

To this end, I've scheduled a play afternoon with the intention to help people relax, rejuvenate and recover.

Hard work is different from great work

"The hotel team works till late at night. The China team works through weekends," John crowed.

There is a big difference between hard work and great work. And while Asians love the person who "gives it his all", as a coach and sales leader, I will take the natural performer over the grinder every time.

Pareto

"For the next 3 months, just focus on the RFPs and the groups," the direction rang out.

Us, leaders with a track record of fast action have learned to set priorities based on an old maxim called Pareto's principle.

Ruthlessness starts with a cold, hard analysis of what's important and what's not. And then we have to choose what is likely to yield the most results and do that first, leaving the rest to solve itself or go undone.