Happy Birthday Peter!

Born in Vienna on November 19, 1909, Peter Drucker had a profound impact on how people around the world organize themselves in the realms of business, government and civil society.

In this book, The Daily Drucker, you will find 366 daily readings harvested from Drucker’s lifetime of work. At the bottom of each page, the reader will find an action point that spells out exactly how to put Drucker’s ideas into practice. It is as if the wisest and most action-oriented management consultant in the world is in the room, offering his timeless gems of advice. The Daily Drucker is for anyone who seeks to understand and put to use Drucker’s powerful words and ideas.

Now, if your looking for the online version, you'll find it here.

Motivation

“Motivate them...” It was an off the cuff remark from one of my students, but it stopped me cold. I stopped the presentation (Training and Development) and said “It’s time for Prof. Wright’s talk on motivation. “ Now, if you have not had the pleasure of listening to me:

A) go on and on and on about motivation and/or

B) talk about why Intrinsic motivation is so powerful and/or

C) say “You can’t motivate anyone to do anything, but you can influence and sway their behavior by changing their environment”

or you don’t believe any of it this, take a look at this great YouTube clip:

Did You Know 4.0...

If you watched the original 'Shift happens' video, you may be interested to know that a newly updated version, Did You Know 4.0 has now been released. It tends to focus on convergence, rise of social media, fall of traditional sources and comes with lots of facts and figures (with citations!). It's certainly interesting and I assigned it to my class. Always thought provoking…

Book Review: Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Robert Cialdini, Noah Goldstein, and Steve J. Martin

Authors Noah Goldstein, Steve Martin, and Robert Cialdini provide what they promise: 50 case studies where science determined the difference between “yes” and “no” responses.

The book is a quick read and the 50 chapters are short and the writing style familiar. But Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways To Be Persuasive stands out for two reasons: everything is backed up by hard data and there is a prominent focus on the ethical use of the techniques.

Yes! does not get bogged down with numbers, but the authors are very clear about the research and testing that goes into their conclusions. For example, let’s imagine that your business relies on your employees making deals. In one of the Yes! experiments, when one group of test subjects was asked to mimic a negotiator’s physical behavior, they reached a deal 67% of the time. Think about your imaginary business for a second. How much would a 10% decrease in deal-making hurt you? What about 20%? Non-mimicking pairs of negotiators reached a deal only 12.5% of the time – a difference of more than 54%. Perhaps that’s enough for you to start considering the authors persuasive techniques.

We also like this book is because the ethical ramifications of the work are never hidden away. The authors advocate that not only is unethical persuasion distasteful, but that it’s less profitable too. The authors contend,

“Often the first influence strategy that comes to mind will not be the most ethical – or the wisest, as was demonstrated…as ethical persuaders, we can take comfort in knowing that those who do choose to wield social influence as a destructive weapon, rather than a constructive tool, will inevitably end up pointing that weapon at themselves and shooting themselves in the foot”

This isn’t a perfect book . A few of the stories are boring and some of the humor falls flat. Nonetheless, we recommend it. It’s perfect for a business trip and quick enough to be read in a weekend.

Pomp & Circumstance

Yes, it’s that time of year. Pomp & Circumstance is pounding in many heads and mortarboards are flying. Graduation season – the commencement of a new stage of life. This year, my stepson Brian is graduating from High School and my niece and nephew are graduating from college. So, in their honor of their considerable achievements, here are a few lessons from my journey I’d like to share. And for those of us whose commencement was a bit in the past, it’s a nice reminder.

Life is supposed to be fun, so laugh - A Lot! Take your school, your homework, and your career choices seriously, but always take yourself lightly! People like being with people who smile and make them laugh. Remember that the safest target for your humor will always be you. When you laugh at yourself before others do, you win!

Life can be difficult and sometimes unfair. College is more difficult than high school; life is more difficult than college. Every increase in the degree of difficulty lets you experience the satisfaction of mastering that next level. Stretch your mental and relationship muscles and they will work better. Maturity and true optimism comes from overcoming increasingly tough obstacles. While you may not believe it right now, you have what it takes to overcome life's difficulties. The hard part is proving it to yourself.

Your attitude is the biggest choice you will make. You are going to make mistakes. However, instead of beating yourself up, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?” Then stop looking in the rearview mirror and start looking ahead and use the lesson to make your life better.

Develop a sense of gratitude. Be thankful for what life gives you every day. The next time you feel like hosting your own “pity party”, write down your blessings instead of your problems.

Be nice to all the people you meet along the way. It's not only what you know that will get you ahead, but also how you treat others you live and work with. Not everyone you meet will be nice in return. In the end, however, nice people do get ahead.

No one I know is good at all these lessons, least of all me. I’m still working on them, but they are worth learning and remembering. So whatever stage of life you are commencing, make memories, make a difference and enjoy the journey.

Setting an Example...

A commonly offered definition of leadership is accomplishing results through people doing things they might not ordinarily want to do. Setting an example is perhaps the most basic way that leaders get effective results. In Peters and Waterman’s classic, they talked extensively about “management by walking around.” Certainly, this is one way to get out and set an example.

However, a recent CBS News piece on Haruka Nishimatsu, President and CEO of Japan Air, gives a superior example of this concept:

Nishimatsu provides a great example of someone who will not only run a company, but how to encourage people to take the initiative, giving them a feeling of job ownership. Put in the context of the economic meltdown, the majority of these steps should be a no brainer, something all leaders, at every level others need to take a long hard look at.

Every day there are countless ways, both positive and negative, in which leaders set an example. The leaders conduct, the way they treat other people and the attitude they bring to work every day is an example of what they want their team to do.

So, what kind of example are you setting?

Attitude...

Many people believe that their attitude is not their own choice. For many, attitude depends upon people and circumstances. If people are nice to them, then they have a good attitude. On the other hand, if someone treats them unfairly, then they have a bad attitude.

Awhile back, someone sent me this email. You may have read it too. It certainly brings home the point of attitudes.

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'

He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.'

'Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or ... I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.' Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.'

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon after that, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?'

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my kids,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked

He continued, '...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity.' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything. And, your attitude is your choice.

We can blame circumstances for our attitude. We can blame the actions of others for our attitude. We can even blame the dog. But the truth is, we decide, we choose and we determine our attitude at any given moment.

The attitude that you have right now, at this very moment, is the one you have chosen to carry around. It is determined by your thoughts.

Think about it. When was the last time you had a lousy attitude and a great day? Do you think that a connection exists between attitude, thoughts and physical realities of the day you are having? Of course it does!

Undoubtedly, there will days with circumstances that we cannot change. There may be people we deal with that act like jerks. Yet, regardless of what we are faced with each day, we can choose to let it affect our attitude, or we can choose to not let it affect our attitude.

What will be your choice?

Change...

With all the events of the past few months, I thought this inspirational speech given by Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Corporation, at the 37th Annual Convocation 2002, IIM, Ahmedabad. Through his thought provoking speech, he shares his guiding principles to stay afloat in a changing world. While his speech was given seven years ago, it seems so relevant today.

11 Lessons on Change Management: Azim Premji

While change and uncertainty have always been a part of life, what has been shocking over the last year has been both the quantum and suddenness of change. For many people who were cruising along on placid waters, the wind was knocked out of their sails. The entire logic of doing business was turned on its head. Not only business, but also every aspect of human life has been impacted by the change. What lies ahead is even more dynamic and uncertain. I would like to use this opportunity to share with you some of our own guiding principles of staying afloat in a changing world. This is based on our experience in Wipro. Hope you find them useful.

First,be alert for the first signs of change. Change descends on every one equally; it is just that some realize it faster. Some changes are sudden but many others are gradual. While sudden changes get attention because they are dramatic, it is the gradual changes that are ignored till it is too late. You must have all heard of story of the frog in boiling water. If the Temperature of the water is suddenly increased, the frog realizes it and jumps out of the water. But if the temperature is very slowly increased, one degree at a time, the frog does not realize it till it boils to death. You must develop your own early warning system, which warns you of changes and calls your attention to it. In the case of change, being forewarned is being forearmed.

Second, anticipate change even when things are going right. Most people wait for something to go wrong before they think of change. It is like going to the doctor for a check up only when you are seriously sick or thinking of maintaining your vehicle only when it breaks down. The biggest enemy of future success is past success. When you succeed, you feel that you must be doing something right for it to happen. But when the parameters for success changes, doing the same things may or may not continue to lead to success. Guard against complacency all the time. Complacency makes you blind to the early signals from the environment that something is going wrong.

Third, always look at the opportunities that change represents. Managing change has a lot to go with our own attitude towards it. It is proverbial half-full or half-empty glass approach. For every problem that change represents, there is an opportunity lurking in disguise somewhere. It is up to you to spot it before someone else does.

Fourth, do not allow routines to become chains. For many of us the routine we have got accustomed to obstruct change. Routines represent our own zones of comfort. There is a sense of predictability about them. They have structured our time and even our thought in a certain way. While routines are useful, do not let them enslave you. Deliberately break out of them from time to time.

Fifth, realize that fear of the unknown is natural. With change comes a feeling of insecurity. Many people believe that brave people are not afflicted by this malady. The truth is different. Every one feels the fear of unknown. Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to manage fear without getting paralyzed. Feel the fear, but move on regardless.

Sixth, keep renewing yourself. This prepares you to anticipate change and be ready for it when it comes. Constantly ask yourself what new skills and competencies will be needed. Begin working on them before it becomes necessary and you will have a natural advantage. The greatest benefit of your education lies not only in what you have learnt, but also in working how to learn. Formal education is the beginning of the journey of learning. Yet I do meet youngsters who feel that they have already learnt all there is to learn. You have to constantly learn about people and how to interact effectively with them. In the world of tomorrow, only those individuals and organizations will succeed who have mastered the art of rapid and on-going learning.

Seventh, surround yourself with people who are open to change. If you are always in the company of cynics, you will soon find yourself becoming like them. A cynic knows all the reasons why something cannot be done. Instead, spend time with people who have a “can-do” approach. Choose your advisors and mentors correctly. Pessimism is contagious, but then so is enthusiasm. In fact, reasonable optimism can be an amazing force multiplier.

Eighth, play to win. I have said this many times in the past. Playing to win is not the same as cutting corners. When you play to win, you stretch yourself to your maximum and use all your potential. It also helps you to concentrate your energy on what you can influence instead of getting bogged down with the worry of what you cannot change. Do your best and leave the rest.

Ninth, respect yourself. The world will reward you on your successes. Success requires no explanation and failure permits none. But you need to respect yourself enough so that your self-confidence remains intact whether you succeed or fail. If you succeed 90 percent of the time, you are doing fine. If you are succeeding all the time, you should ask yourself if you are taking enough risks. If you do not take enough risks, you may also be losing out on many opportunities. Think through but take the plunge. If some things do go wrong, learn from them.

I came across this interesting story some time ago: One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and begin to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that fell on his back, the donkey was doing some thing amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and totted off! Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick is to not to get bogged down by it. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping. And by never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Tenth, in spite of all the change around you, decide upon what you will never change - your core values. Take your time to decide what they are but once you do, do not compromise on them for any reason. Integrity is one such value.

Finally, we must remember that succeeding in a changing world is beyond just surviving. It is our responsibility to create and contribute something to the world that has given us so much. We must remember that many have contributed to our success, including our parents and others from our society. All of us have a responsibility to utilize our potential for making our nation a better place for others, who may not be as well endowed as us, or as fortunate in having the opportunities that we have received.