Make the unknown known

Trikini: a matching bikini and face mask set. Coronavirus couture: One designer in Italy hit the headlines this month when she created the trikini. The surgical face mask has become a symbol of our times, an essential item in everyday life. The designer face mask is the new must-have fashion item. With masks advised for the foreseeable future, people are finding ways to incorporate them into their outfits. High-profile figures have started to match their masks to their outfits. Images of a matching mask and suit outfit garnered more than 100,000 likes on Twitter.

With the mask on, when we can’t see the lower half of the face, it’s easy to be misunderstood. Behind a mask, the distinction is not so clear: Are you wincing at me? Do you just have a lot of crow’s-feet? Was what you said an insult or a joke?

The mask is worn not to protect and not to hide.

Being transparent and open is one of the most important leadership habits you will ever develop. Will it be uncomfortable? Probably. Will it create lots of reactions? Yes. But it is the right thing to do.

During this pandemic, the situation we face is changing so fast and is so uncertain, when information is unavailable or inconsistent, that communication, transparency and guidance  is more important now than ever before.

This month, we accelerated digital options and hosted a dilogy of large scale virtual engagement webinars for customers to share and exchange views on this new normal.

These experiences are critical for customers in the short term, and the impact will build positive relationships that are bound to last long after the crisis has ended.

Those who are trusted are candid: they are not afraid to tell the truth in the clearest terms possible. Appearing to hide something breeds skepticism. Whether it is during hard economic conditions, or during a new project, being transparent puts customers and team members on the same page and builds trust. 

Yes, being confidential about appropriate matters is important, but when you're willing to share relevant information, they will give you the benefit of doubt. Being transparent implies giving bad news when appropriate, even though you know it could hurt. Leaders who are frank and transparent become trusted and the team, in spite of uncertain times, remains unified. 

Seth Godin puts it this way: "Earn trust, earn trust, earn trust. Then you can worry about the rest."

 

Staying power

"Just Do It" slogan became: "For once, don't do it. Don't pretend there's not a problem in America". Nike released the 60-second "Don't Do It" campaign on its social channels. As protesters pour into streets across the country set off by the killing of George Floyd, corporate America is speaking out. Some high profile CEOs and business leaders have done this publicly on social media channels while others have issued internal statements to their company’s employees.

In light of the "dehumanization" of black people incidents history, Mayor Jacob Frey commented, "Being black in America should not be a death sentence."

Will it ever stop?

There is no undoing the past. With great sadness, I will tell you that. There is no forgetting or letting go of regret.  

Going through the long game, for example, a ten-year voyage of trials and tribulations. Of disappointment without giving in. Ironhearted and ready to endure whatever punishment the Gods decide you must. Now that's perseverance.

Life is not about one obstacle, but many. Perseverance is a matter of will. Endurance. Resilience. The good thing about perseverance is that it can't be stopped by anything besides death.

We whine and complain and mope when things won't go our way. We're crushed when what we were "promised" is revoked - as if that is not allowed to happen. We can go around or under or backward - we can keep going, advancing, even if we're stopped in one particular direction.

Our actions can be constrained, but our will can't be. Our plans - even our bodies - can be broken. No matter how many times we are thrown back, we alone retain the power to decide to go once more. Or to try another route. Or, at the very least, to accept this reality and decide upon a new aim.

There was a time in my life when i thought that life could not get any better. Things were going very well indeed. Then I entered one of the darkest periods of my time, my life.  It's during this time that I find out what I am made of - grit, determination and an enduring faith in my dream. I truly believe that God does not close one door, without opening up another.

We can't control the barriers or the people who put them there. But we control ourselves - and that is sufficient.

It's easy to talk about how important it is to believe in yourself and what you're doing, and never give up. The hard part is actually doing it. Getting pushed down many times and standing back up again and again is one of the hardest things to do in life.

That's why it is so important to find contentment and meaning in the daily grind, in the struggle. Perseverance is a constant pursuit, but to be truly good at it, and to be resilient, requires that you enjoy the ride of your life, whatever that roller coaster may look like and however different it may differ from what you envisioned.

There are endless great success stories of our time about those who have fought incredible odds to succeed. J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book while going through a divorce, living in a small apartment with her son with the assistance of the government, and mourning her mom who had recently passed away. The manuscript was rejected by twelve different publishers. Not one, two or even three. Twelve.

One yes has much more power than a thousand no's. Its power is so great that it can wipe out the memory of those rejections. When you get the yes you want, the no's will no longer matter.

Open our eyes to what is already there

Being contained in our homes—maybe for months—is already reorienting our relationship to government, to the outside world, even to each other. It will be near-impossible to put that genie back in the bottle, with many people learning that the difference between having to put on a tie and commute for an hour or working efficiently at home was always just the ability to download one or two apps. No one knows exactly what will come. Will touch become taboo? 


But this crisis presents a revived appreciation for the outdoors and life’s other simple pleasures. We could travel almost without limitations and meet people without restrictions. For a long time, we’ve probably taken for granted the ability to see our colleagues every day and maybe didn’t realize how valuable that was.

It is important to note that for a tikme in my life, I chose to be blind. Because of that choice, I was blind not only to beauty; I was also blind to forgiveness, to the value in others and a host of other things. These past two months of lockdown has left me determined to not feel regrets at the end of my own time, whenever that will be. There was no way I was going to be given the gift of this wisdom and not learn by it.

It's too easy to want more from life, and that's fine to a degree, since expanding who we are is part of dreaming and growing. But as we will never have everything we want and will always be growing, appreciating what we already have along the way is the most important thing.

Here's a wake-up call question: If you had one year to live, how would you organize your life?

In business, growth is good. In executive waistlines, growth isn't. Health and fitness are virtually ignored by a preponderance of top executives. We've all heard the basic rules of peak performance: get the proper amount of rest, eat a good diet and exercise. Somehow many top leaders think they do not need what the rest of us mere mortals must have to be at our best. 

Here's a million-dollar question: If someone you love died today, what would you regret?

Would you regret not communicating how much you loved and cared for the individual? Or that you had not paid enough attention to supporting the other person's life? 

We can never know how long we are here for or how long those we love will be. Don't lose touch with the friends you value most. Those who accept you as who you are, and who know you very well, are worth more than anything in the end. Many of my best memories of friendships were of walkimg, talking and laughing. Don't let life get in the way. 

If you often find yourself thinking "if only", it's time to take back responsibility for your life and your schedule and priorities. It's that simple. When it comes to living, it's now or never. There's no "later."

Life is over so quickly. Some of us will live a long life, many of us won't. We spend so much time making plans for the future, often assuming all of the time in the world, when all we ever have is out life today. 

Each day is as precious as our last, because one of these days, it will be.

Do what counts

WFH burnout is real. Workplace burnout doesn't just happen to people who put in long hours at the office. It's also a threat to the millions of people due to the suddenness of having to work from home. How can we “leave our work at the door” if we are no longer going out the door?


Google announced May 22 as a company holiday to tackle WFH burnout. 


You know the type: the kind of eager beaver who is so “committed” that they are first to boot up the computer, last to shutdown, never takes a break, grinds right through lunch, always eager to take on a new project, months of unused vacation and personal days piled up. Our culture loves these people, considering them the very definition of the word dedication.


Don’t get me wrong. I am not against honest labour. I am not suggesting that hard work is not paramount to growth. But hard work will no more make you an inspired performer than practicing your penmanship will earn you a Pulitzer Prize for poetry. 


Rest is a good thing. The benefits of rest are supported by a large body of scientific evidence. It’s not that people want to wear themselves down. While it was easier to compartmentalize your workweek with things like commutes, weekend plans, and Monday morning banter, our current situation has made those boundaries disappear. For some, isolation and for others, working at home in the presence of their families add to the stress. 

As a leader, I hold my team's well-being at the heart of my motivational outlook. Before you slight well-being as too "fluffy" consider the perspective of Dr Dirk Veldhort who was adamant: "with well-being, you can create value for yourself and your organization. Without it, short-term productivity is less probable and long-term growth is almost impossible." Blindness to WFH burnout shows you are not adapting to the needs of the moment. 

Realistically, there is never going to be a time when nothing is on your plate. Leaders constantly see new things to fix or act upon. Busi-ness leaders get in a cycle of setting impossible expectations of themselves and their teams. 

A leader must create breathing room on a daily basis. Leaders who do less but do more of the right things are more effective. 

 

Care more

Corona Divorce. That term is trending on Japanese social media sites as couples in lockdown grow fed up with each other. “My husband’s loud voice. The television is on loudly all day. My husband snoring as he lays in the middle of the living room,” wrote one Japanese wife on Twitter. “I’ve put up with this for 10 days. How many more days will it last? Will my spirit hold?”

Life in lockdown has changed almost everything about the way we live and work. Life has changed like never before. From struggling to keep a business afloat to the experience of redundancy or furlough,  from the effect on your children to your work-life balance, cooking habits and entertainment under lockdown, all of us are having to learn to adapt.

There has never been a more crucial time for strong leadership than at any time in history. With anxieties on job security and an unscheduled crash course in 100% remote leadership, the impact of disruption affects different people–mentally, emotionally and operationally–in different ways. Four weeks ago, we would never have expected that our meetings, our conferences would all need to take place from our home offices or our kitchen tables.

I'll say this simply: how you treat people when times are good and how you treat them when times turn bad will define your true measure of wealth. A major part of my 2020 has been spent trying to understand what it really means to be a virtual leader - particularly under conditions of adversity and ambiguity.

Leadership isn't a punch-in/punch-out position, it's a privilege. When you sacrifice for your team, it gains loyalty, which is again a privilege. The people I have the opportunity to lead do things because they care, not because they have to.

You build influence and forge genuine relationships when you put their needs before your needs. You want to be the type of leader who walks into the room and says, "There you are!" instead of "Here I am!"

As a leader, I gave more and got much more in return. In order to be a true leader, you need to have a deep passion for helping the people you're leading. Of course, I am in no way saying I do things perfectly, or that I always get things right with our people. Sometimes I blow it completely. But no one will tell you I don't try.

Under extreme pressure, the ability to lighten up, celebrate and laugh can make all the difference. It can break a spirit of depression and stimulate creativity.  It can cut through fear and tension. Finally, it can enable a team to refocus, renergize and surmount daunting obstacles. When times were not so bad, celebration came easily. What is most impressive, however, is that the spirit of celebration continued throughout these darkest of days, when cheerful rituals  could easily have turned to deep despair.

We meet virtually for team bonding games and activities. It creats an upbeat mood and a way of thinking about life that sustains us through these grimmest of times.

Optimism can be sparked by reframing tough situations in positive, empowering ways. It is important to note that the concept of reframing is not simply saying blithely that things will be all right. Rather, it is to take the difficult situation and envision all the possible outcomes, both positive and negative. We looked thought about what could be the most critical priorities, what are the key opportunities for action and what concrete things can we do to create a sense of momentum and forward movement.

People have an incredible B.S. screen. They know when you're smoking them, and they know when you are being real.

My team see me showing up via casual calls, messages, video chats, both individual and group. There are ways of showing up which do not take much effort and no money whatsoever. But they do take interest. Little things count. Sometimes little things count the most. Small deeds are far better than great intentions.  Everyone wants to know that their leader takes an interest in them for the long term and ants them to succeed. People don’t care how much you know. They want to know how much you care. 

Caring leads to trust. Care and compassion have an impact on the bottom line. Rainbows after storms. Never let a good crisis go to waste.

Taking stock

Zoom is the king of the quarantine economy. Usage of Zoom has grown 1,900% since December as large numbers of people stay connected while practising social distancing and has even spread into personal space through weddings and “zoom parties”. It is now worth more than American Airlines, Expedia and Hilton combined. 

Boy, does 2020 feel different. The hope so many of us felt in the 2010s was gone, and in its place was a creeping dread about the future.

Most important here and now is the concept that a crisis is often one of life's "wake up" calls. It often takes this alarms going off before we become fully conscious of where our lives have been heading.

In these dizzying, depressing days of lockdown and restricted movement, that's what I needed. I needed to remember who I was, where I came from, what I believed, and why I fought so hard and so long for it.

Success has always been my primary focus and at one time, I had defined success as being financially independent. I slowly began to understand that it was not really money I was after but rather the things money could buy. I looked at all the things I had accumulated and realized that this success did not feel as good as I believed it should. But if life was not about getting rich, then what else was there?

Can you imagine how shallow it would be, if at your funeral, all anyone talked about was how great your abs were, or your lovely hair, or how sleek your car looked, or how avant-garde your apartment was? Yet these are the exact things most of us spend our time working on, worrying about, and wishing for.

I'm not suggesting folks should be unconcerned with how they resent themselves to the world, or that they shouldn't be able to enjoy the fruits of their success.

No matter where you find yourself at this moment you, too, can begin the renewal process. Who we are and where we want to go determine what we do and what we accomplish.

Ask enough people what they want in life and you'll hear happiness as the overwhelming response. We want to live more meaningful lives. The happiest people I know are people who have a sense of mission. They have a joy that nobody can take away from them. Even in the middle of tremendous trials, they still have an enormous capacity for joy. They have a sense that they are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. Their lives make sense to them. Does life make sense to you? Are you at peace with who you are, where you are, and what you are doing? Is the ladder you're climbing up leaning against the right wall?

The trouble is in the knowing.

Your unique mission may involve raising a child, becoming an effective leader or loving someone with all your heart. Our greatest strength is our ability to make a difference in the lives of other people.

Life after COVID-19 will be different. Your family situation may change. Market conditions are constantly changing. We also change internally.

Things are going to be hard for a long time. But we are going to be okay. All of us. This is the power of the powerless.

Moments matter

How to get out of the coronavirus lockdown? An immunity passport. The UK's Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested that anyone who've had the virus, have got the antibodies and therefore have immunity might be issued with a certificate and can return to a more normal life.

Perhaps half the world's population is living some form of restriction to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Marriott has just issued an inspiring message: We will travel again. Soon, we will step out from behind our screens and explore this wonderful world once more.

For me one of the greatest joys in life is travelling. Can you imagine a life without travelling? What a weary, weary life it would be.

If you had told me while I was in secondary school that I would travel to 233 cities across 48 countries in the world, the idea would seemed nothing more than absurd to me. I am constantly in awe of the life I am living. There are a lot of hotels and airports, it's sometimes a hassle to find a good meal, something or someone is always running late, there are a lot of wake-up calls at 4.30am, and the glamour of travel wears off very quickly.

We travel because, no matter how comfortable we are at home, there's always a part of us that wants - that needs - to see new vistas, buy new souvenirs, try new food, learn new words and have all the other travel adventures that make us want to kiss our doormats when we finally get home.

We all have defining travel moments in our lives - meaningful experiences that stand out in our memory.
 We do not remember days. We remember moments.

Research has found that in recalling an experience, we ignore most of what happened and focus instead on a few particular moments. Moments are what we remember and what we cherish.

Most parents don't take their kids to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter just for the place or event itself, but rather to make that shared experienced part of everyday family conversations for months, and even years, afterward.

This is what I hope you take away from this article: We can be the designers of moments that deliver happiness, pride and connection. These extraordinary minutes and hours and days - they are just what make life meaningful.