LEADER OF LEADERS

Happy days

By Steven on Sat, Nov 28, 2015

God is so good and I am so grateful to Him for all He has done for my family and I. We are very blessed to have such beautiful children and such an amazing life in Him. The spiritual wellness of our home has certainly been a gift from Him. I honestly feel that in Him we have managed to do so much more than if we had gone it alone. In life it is so easy to get caught up in the challenges that we forget to look at the BIG picture.

It is so wonderful that the sun does its circuit around the earth again and again as well as the moon, giving us spectacular sunsets and sunrises. It’s a gift that we freely enjoy. It is wonderful to be loved and to give love. I certainly hope that today you are dazzled by something beautiful that you have not noticed before. I certainly hope that you allow yourself the luxury of setting aside all your challenges (don’t worry you can easily pick them up again) and for a moment meditate on something that will encourage you, look at the trees, the grass, the skies, the stars, look at something bigger than yourself, enjoy the view, call a friend, hug someone. Give yourself permission to ignore the news. Give yourself permission to run and laugh.

If you have lost someone dear to you give yourself permission to cry until there are no tears left, meditate on all those wonderful moments you had together. Give yourself permission to run again knowing that no matter whether you laugh again or enjoy yourself it in no way diminishes the fact that the one you loved will always be with you wherever you go, deep inside your heart.

Life is full of surprises, surprise yourself today, may it be full of laughter and love.

God bless

Steven

Hard work

Do not despise the day of small beginnings

By Steven on Sat, Nov 21, 2015

Everything starts small before it becomes big. The human being starts as a small little egg in the womb of its mother. The giant tree starts as a small seed in the ground. It would be a foolish thing to look at a seed and despise it as without the seed there can be no tree.

So many of us are not prepared to do the small and as a result never get to do the big. We want but we don’t have. If only they taught children in school the principle that the instantaneous is but a dream and not reality. The games they play on their iPad did not miraculously appear but were developed for many months before they saw the light of day. The principle of hard work never killed anyone yet without hard work their can be no life.

May we not despise the day of small beginnings.

Patience

Patience does not mean inaction

By Steven on Tue, Nov 17, 2015

The word patience speaks for itself. It is not an easy word to absorb or exercise. I mean what happens if you wait for something and it does not happen? What guarantee do we have that something will come to pass as a result of us doing nothing but waiting?

I think the key to patience lies in its activity not its inactivity. What do we do whilst we are patiently waiting for something special to happen. What would be the boundary line that if overstepped would mean we are no longer being patient? Patience does not mean sitting idly by, waiting for something to happen. Patience is needed to ensure that one does not give up when so close to the finish line. A student that is starting their studies needs to exert patience throughout their years of studies knowing that although things seem to be going slowly that through diligence day by day they are getting closer to their end goal of graduation.

The employee who has just started their journey in the workplace needs to be patient in building a great reputation and not creating negativity in the workplace as they believe that they have not been promoted quick enough. The photographer has all their equipment laid out and ready to snap however they have to wait patiently for that perfect moment and not a second too soon before they take the picture. In life true patience can only exist in the presence of purpose as without it there is no reason to be patient. The great news about this is that when the purpose is established then the action that needs to take place can also be established and that action needs to be done with patience. This is true for the professional sportsmen who awaits patiently for their moment of opportunity by working hard in the background, doing hours and hours of routines to hone their skills, so that when they get their chance they can take it with both hands.

The person who has no patience will be under cooked and invariably not maximize their opportunity when it comes their way. There are so many examples of individuals that were promoted too soon that have failed dismally. There are even more examples of individuals that have given up too soon, as they did not have the patience to endure the pain of self sacrifice in order to achieve the great reward that is guaranteed for the diligent.

If you have a great goal in mind for the future what actions do you need to do patiently in your today and more importantly how will you keep yourself doing those great actions when everything inside of you cries “ENOUGH”, I want it and I want it now.

It is imperative that you can break through the temptation to short circuit the patient process that is needed to achieve your goals.

Future

The future

By Steven on Sun, Nov 15, 2015

One of the great challenges leaders have today is embracing new technologies in their ways of working. The latest developments could save them time and money if used correctly yet how many leaders fully understand the potential that lies within the latest offerings that are available today?

In practical terms there are applications available that can track exactly where a vehicle is. Instead of using this tool to micro manage a team member why does the leader not use it as a coaching tool on territory management? It would be an easy thing at the end of the week to show a team member their travel plan and how they could have been more efficient in their time management. There are also amazing data analysis tools available that could dissect your data into meaningful actions. It is quite clear that Facebook is using an analytic tool to determine what advert you see as the closer it gets to know your wants, the more hits their advertisers will get, the more money they will make. When does your customer purchase your offering from you? is it consistent or inconsistent? Is there anything you can preempt? What about the calls that come into your office? How are you controlling them? How are you making the experience a better one? How are you using technology in this aspect?

Companies always complain about communication and how they struggle to get everyone to read important emails or complete important surveys. Surely this can be enhanced as well through a fantastic app? The cost needn’t be exorbitant however it would be easy to offset the cost against future savings/ earnings.

The key is that in your organisation right now you can get your greatest asset to help you find these initiatives. You don’t have to hire an external consultant to do it for you, just set your team to work and give them an incentive to find the best ideas that your company could implement.

Do not be like an ostrich that puts it’s head in the sand, be the leader of the pack and use anything and everything that will make your organisation a better one.

Adventure

New adventure

By Steven on Sun, Nov 8, 2015

It’s been quite a journey developing this new website, but a very rewarding one. The future certainly looks bright and although it has possibly taken four times as long doing it myself instead of outsourcing the benefits can’t be underestimated. Perseverance certainly pays off.

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