transformation
Amazon Leadership Principles
Our Leadership Principles aren’t just a pretty inspirational wall hanging.
These Principles work hard, just like we do.
Amazonians use them, every day, whether they’re discussing ideas for new projects, deciding on the best solution for a customer’s problem, or interviewing candidates.
It’s just one of the things that makes Amazon peculiar……..
Pointlessness of Regret
Once, on a mindfulness retreat, I remember our instructor asked us to do one of those odd exercises that are a specialty of meditation teachers. He got us to stand in a circle, then he asked us all to take a step forward. After a few seconds of silence he said, “Now try not to have taken that step.” I had never heard—or more importantly experienced—anything that struck me more powerfully with the pointlessness of certain regrets. Continue reading
The people who push our buttons most can be our best teachers
“The people who push our buttons most can be our best teachers – they can show us where we are not finished with our own work. It means that all the jerks who show up in my life are there to teach me something. Continue reading
not complexity so much as “complicatedness”
The real curse is not complexity so much as “complicatedness,” by which we mean the proliferation of cumbersome organizational mechanisms—structures, procedures, rules, and roles—that companies put in place in an effort to deal with the mounting complexity of modern business . Continue reading
‘He Decided Very Young to Write His Own Life Story’
Bill Clinton Eulogizes Muhammad Ali
“I think he decided something that I hope every young person here will decide, I think he decided very young to write his own life story,” he said.
“I think he decided before he could have possibly worked it all out and before fate and time could work their will on him, he decided he would never be disempowered, he decided not his grace nor his place nor the expectations of others would strip from him the power to write his own story,” Clinton continued.
“He figured out from a very young age who he was and what he believed and how he could live through the consequences of acting in line with his beliefs,” he said. “Not many people make it to that last step.” Continue reading
Real Change Leaders
Put performance reviews aside and use common sense to answer three simple questions about the individuals you put in charge of decision nodes:
Does this person have the attitude, the necessary social skills, and the right expertise?
Continue reading
He bet on himself—and won
Whether evoking wagons or ships, George (Lucas) thought in terms of a long view; he believed in the future and his ability to shape it. Continue reading
Sharpening the Saw
The lumberjack story has been made popular by a reference to it in Stephen Covey’s best Selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People due to all of the metaphorical messages about life contained within it.
The Lumberjack story.
It was the final of the annual lumberjack competition, only 2 competitors remained, an older experienced lumberjack and a younger, stronger lumberjack.
The rules of the competition were quite simply he who could fell the most trees in 24 hours was the overall winner.
The younger lumberjack was full of enthusiasm and went off into the wood and set to work straight away, he worked all through the day and all through the night, he felt more and more confident with every tree he felled that he would win, because he knew that he had superior youth and stamina than the older lumberjack that he could also hear working away in another part of the forest.
At regular intervals throughout the day the noise of trees being felled coming from the other part of the forest would stop, the younger lumberjack took heart from this thinking that this meant that the older lumberjack was taking a rest, whereas he could use his superior youth and strength and stamina to just keep going.
At the end of the competition the younger lumberjack felt confident he had won, he looked in front of him at the piles of felled trees that were the result of his superhuman effort.
At the medal ceremony the younger lumberjack stood on the podium still confident and expecting to be awarded the prize of champion lumberjack, next to him stood the older lumberjack who he was surprised to see also looked a lot less exhausted than he did.
When the results were read out the younger lumberjack was devastated to hear that the older lumberjack had chopped down significantly more trees than he had, he turned to the older lumber jack and said,
“How can this be”?
“I heard you take a rest every hour whilst I worked continuously through the night”,
“and I am younger, stronger and fitter than you old man”!
The older lumberjack turned to him and said;
“Every hour I took a break to rest and sharpen my saw”
– Stephen R. Covey
Seeking and Understanding
Seeking is based on some reason, Understanding is without any!
Seeking is with an effort and purpose, Understanding is spontaneous and effortless!
Understanding is absent in Seeking, While the ‘seeker’ is absent in the Understanding!
Seeking consists of seeker, seeking and the sought, While this trinity is utterly absent in the Understanding! Search consists of search, searcher and the searched, Understanding denies the very ‘searcher’! Continue reading
ONE TUSK 