Focus | LEADER OF LEADERS

Neglect

By Steven on Wed, Jan 25, 2017

Its amazing how easy it is to fall into neglect. There is a proverb that I love that says, “a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and so poverty will come upon you like a robber and your want like an armed man (Proverbs 23 vs 33)

It is not the BIG things that cause us to fall into difficulties, it is the “little things”. If we neglect to do something small that we should be doing that thing can snowball into something massive. Most neglect happens because we were sleeping. This does not necessarily refer to actual sleeping but also that our mind was sleeping. We were just not alert enough. In the job you have how many things are you supposed to be doing on a daily basis? If you are the leader of a team what are the things you should be looking at daily? Are you sleeping in any of them? Have you started to neglect the small things?

I am considering building some sort of chart highlighting all the “chores” that should be done daily. The reason for this is that in my work environment there are many emails, phone calls and spontaneous meetings that take place that can quite easily cause me to neglect something as I get so caught up in the moment. What is your strategy today?

Have a blessed day

Steven

Do today what you wish to become tomorrow

By Steven on Tue, Jan 17, 2017

So many people have wonderful dreams and hopes for their future. They plan to become something wonderful and get all excited about the future.

How do they fulfill those dreams? The answer lies in what they are doing in their today’s. As I write this I have a dream of loosing weight, gaining muscle and getting a lot fitter. At the age of 44 I somehow feel things a lot more than I use to. The muscles ache easier and to gain weight is so easy yet it is not healthy. I now have to watch what I eat and exercise daily which is no easy task especially with my screaming body and mind. The senses pick up every smell, the eyes see every cake, the mind tries to convince me that it won’t make a difference if I have one bite. Yet I know that in order to achieve my dream I must discipline this body today, one second at a time.

Its only been a couple of days but I have set the plan in motion and made myself accountable to my wife and kids, so that they can also help me keep on the straight and narrow. I also remind myself of a time in the past that I went through this and how I overcame the challenges. I can do it again.

Yes you can only achieve your dreams through the things you do in your today’s.

Focus

By Steven on Fri, Jan 13, 2017

It is very easy to get caught up with so many things that you end up doing very little at all. This type of productivity will keep you in a mediocre state. A state in which you attain a level of success but never to reach the heights that you are capable of.

In order to have a great year as a doer it is imperative that you focus on one thing at a time and get that job done to the best of your ability. Dabbling will not help. How you choose what to focus on is entirely up to you. As a rule I would suggest that you start with the thing that is the most critical/ valuable and then from that position work your way down until you reach the least valuable/ critical.

Make sure that you do not get distracted as this will slow you down and render you ineffective. Turn the cellphone to silent,get in a quite place (if possible) and get the job done. There are numerous examples of people focusing on something to become the best at what they do so there is no need for me to explain the benefit in practical terms, logic itself does that.

May 2017 be the year that your focus takes you to the heights you could only dream of.

God bless

Steven

Focus Leadership Manager

My GREATEST CHALLENGE right now and how YOU can help me.

By Steven on Thu, Sep 8, 2016

I have searched for data but have not been successful yet on determining how many people in the world are promoted daily into managerial positions. My gut feel is that the number would be in its thousands if not in its tens of thousands. Every one of these newly appointed managers is going to need some guidance yet I wonder how many will ask for it?

When I was appointed into my first managerial position I don’t think I asked for help either. I mean I had led people before at school and in my church so how hard could it be? Boy was it easy when things were going right but when things went wrong, they went horribly wrong. Nothing had truly prepared me and I can be honest and say that I definitely made many mistakes, some of which had a definite impact on my financial wellness. Yet who could I speak to? Who could have prepared me for what I was to face?

Over the years I have loved raising up young new leaders in the workplace. It has been a privilege to be part of their leadership journey. In Ghana I would try and share my experiences as much as possible with these leaders to give them a head start as they did not need to go around the same mountains I did. Some of them heeded the advice and have done exceptionally well and others… well others have just continued on their own walk in their own way making their own repetitive mistakes.

Whilst in Ghana I knew I was going to head back to South Africa and there were two very clear projects that I had to complete. One was to finish a financial planning diploma that I had dropped out of many years before and the other was to finish writing my book I had spoken about for so many years of my life. I am pleased to say that I did finish both and have now got my eyes on a new goal. The book is a book I am proud of. Not in an arrogant way but more that I believe in it. I recently received an independent review from Ian Mann and he totally understood the value of the book and how it could help the New Manager, in fact I was deeply humbled to read that he was going to recommend it to family members. That blew me away.

The book will definitely help “any” first time manager or someone aspiring to become a manager. Why do I say this? I say this because I have written it as an “as is” book. The book tells it like it is. I share story after story of events that have taken place with me and others in leadership both the good and the bad so as to ensure that the reader is well prepared for their own journey ahead.

My greatest challenge right now is not whether people like the book or not. My greatest challenge is this “How do I ensure every new manager or someone aspiring to be a manager” knows about my book? This is the greatest challenge as so much of what we see is a fraction of what we are able to truly see. The internet is manipulated by the size of the wallet. Companies pay massive sums to ensure they come up first on search engines and news feeds. I know my book can help people but without your help my book will never get into the hands of those that need it most.

Please help in the quest to get “The New Manager” known by telling your training and HR partners about it or any new manager you know.

God bless new manager cover

Focus Marketing

28 October 2015 – The Power of FOCUS

By Steven on Wed, Oct 28, 2015

I have just finished reading a fantastic book called “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing” by Al Ries and Jack Trout and published by Harper Collins Business. I found it to be extremely useful and what really made sense to me was the impact that a company could have if they were focused in their approach. Where is your focus as an individual or as a leader? What are you wanting to achieve? Where is your place in the market?

In this day and age a “Jack of all trades” could end up as a “Jake of none” as there is so much competition and the specialist could quite easily erode any market share that a generalist has so patiently gained. The reason for this is that the consumer might not know where to place you in their mind. Who are you, they may ask? How do you become top of mind if you are everything? The key to building your brand is to understand what you are and how you want your customer to perceive you. It is like my website “leader of leaders”. What exactly is leader of leaders? At face value it could be perceived as a site for leaders who lead leaders yet is that what this site is all about.

I have much work to do to crystallize what the exact purpose is but until I do it will be difficult to build a strong brand and for that I am extremely grateful to Al Ries and Jack Trout as they have helped me to unpack that I do have a gap that I need to fill. They have also helped me to understand the importance and science of marketing. I would highly recommend that you get a copy of the book it will certainly challenge you. Hope you have a fantastic day.

God bless