The Starbucks Story

I was enjoying a cup of hot coffee at the Starbucks, 1st district in Vienna. I sat down close to the window looking at people going to work at 7am in the morning. I then realized that young friendly looking man stting near to me. He was dressed in dirty jeans and reading a newspaper.
Suddenly a homeless man in his fifties came in from the main entrance, and went to the counter. Immediately the young man stood up and said to the staff: “He is my guest, I will pay for his coffee”. The homeless man got his coffee, said “Thank you” to the young man, and left. Soon after this the young goodhearted man left too.
When I finally got out of Starbucks, I realized that the young goodhearted man was only 15 meters from the Starbucks to the left, sitting down on the cold asphalted street and playing guitar. He had his guitar bag for collecting coins. I left him 5 Euros and winked. I was thinking “What a great man he was; he had not much himself, but he still invited another homeless person for a cup of hot coffee in the morning…

High Performance Leadership

Today I received a recognition letter and certificate for completing the High Performance Leadership Program by Toastmasters International. The letter says:

Dear Toastmaster Viramo,

Congratulations on achieving the Leadership Excellence Award. Earning this award is a great accomplishment. Not every Toastmaster has the drive and dedication necessary to achieve this award.

Today, more than ever, our world needs strong, confident leaders. By completing a project using the High Performance Leadership program, you have demonstarted outstanding leadership skills. You are, indeed, an effective leader and a dedicated Toastmaster.

In your role as leader, you have shown that good leadership skills help to improve self-confidence and, by fostering understanding between people, aid in enhancing human relations.

I am privileged to recognize you with the Leadership Excellence award. Your outstandning achievement will serve as an inspiration to all Toastmasters.

Sincerely,

Nancy Langton, Director

Naturally it feels awesome to be recognized from the TMI head office for my personal achievement in such a formal way; it even feels better having achieved another goal and milestone of becoming a better speaker and leader. My own committment for myself is very strong:-). 

Toastmasters International educational system is wrapped tightly around on the deepest need of the human nature: the need for recognition. When you enter a Toastmasters Club anywhere in the world, you will be greeted by friendly fellow Toastmasters, and you will be continously supported along your journey  of becoming better speaker and leader, by the local, national and the international Toastmasters community. There are so many things corporations and businesses can learn from the VOLUNTEER organizations such as Toastmasters International. Respect!

Goal Setting with ABC

Have you ever heard of the ABC Method?
It is indeed a very powerful priority setting technique that you can use every single day. The power of ABC method lies in its simplicity. Here’s how it works: You start with a list of everything you have to do for the coming day. Think on paper. You then place an A, B, or C before each item on your list before you begin the first task.

 

Determine Your Top Priorities
An “A” item is defined as something that is very important. This is something that you must do. If you have more than one “A” task, you prioritize these tasks by writing A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on in front of each item. Your A-1 task is the BHG Big Hairy Goal, or the biggest and hairiest goal of all.

A “B” item is defined as a task that you should do, but it is nowhere as important as an “A” task. The rule is that you should never do a “B” task when there is an “A” task left undone. You should never be distracted by a “B” task when there is a Big Hairy Goal waiting for you is defined as something that would be nice to do, but for which there are no consequences at all, whether you do it or not. “C” tasks include phoning a friend, having coffee or lunch with a coworker or completing some personal business during work hours. This sort of activity has no affect at all on your work lif. After you have applied the ABC Method to your list, you will now be completely organized and ready to get more important things done faster.

Start with your A-1 task
The key to making this ABC Method work is for you to now discipline yourself to start immediately on your “A-1″ task and then stay at it until it is complete. Use your willpower to get going and stay going on this one job, the most important single task you could possibly be doing.

This habit and ability to think through, analyze and determine your priorities can be your springboard to higher levels of accomplishment, and greater self-esteem, self-respect and personal pride. When you develop the habit of concentrating on your “A-1,” most important activity, you will start getting more done than any two or three people around you.

Try it out, it works,…and its fun!
Practice this ABC Method every day and on every work or project list, before you begin work, for the next month. By that time, you will have developed the habit of setting and working on your highest priority tasks continously and you will be much more productive!

Present like Steve Jobs

This video highlights some “tactics” and styles that make Steve Jobs’ presentations awesome, cool, as well as inspirational. He is not only a remarkable innovator and businessperson but he also exceeds as an excellent public speaker:

The one thing you need to know

Thriving in today’s everchanging marketplace requires a new skill. It is not so much the drive, not the IQ type of intelligence, not necessarily even innovation, but FOCUS [pronounced in Austria FUK:US] - the kind of focus that both; filters out the trash in our lives and concentrates on the really essential.

After reading the awesome book by Marcus Buckingham: “First, break all the rules” many times, I recently finished another book by him: “The one thing you need to know.” This book consists of cool stories which are all building the logic towards into what is the real “one thing you need to know“.

The first story is oddly not about what you would perhaps expect it to be; it is about what it takes to have a happy marriage. I don’t want to spoil the impact for you and will reveal just the conclusion of a happy marriage to be with

Find the most generous explanation for each other’s behavior and believe it.

So quite alike what they say in the “Secret”. Believe it and be it! So, when a couple succeeds in doing this, they will also succeed with a long and happy marriage :-). I am testing this conclusion with my wife (we have a total of ~12 years together) and we do agree that it makes all the sense

Leadership

In Buckinghams book the one thing you need to know about leading is this:

Capitalize on the universal. Great leaders rally people to a better future.

I especially like the second sentance. Great leaders rally people to a better future. For me it means, that as leaders we should provide meaning to our employees (and to ourselves naturally). So, discovering what is really universal to us and capitalizing on it. The staff really needs clarity on

1) Who do we serve? —so what do we exist for?

2) What is our core strength? —together and as individuals

3) What is our core score? —what are we best at?
4) What actions can we take today? —to take us where we want to go…

Management

The one thing you need to know about managing according to Buckingham is this:

Great managers discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it.

I love it! But frist of all we should make that discovery on ourselves! Only then do we understand what it takes and can help others discover their strengths and uniquenesses… and capitalize on it. When you are the boss, you should know some unique characteristics of your stuff, especially these ones:

1) Strengths
2) Weaknesses
3) Triggers
4) Style of learning

I fully agree. If you know these and are using them and applying them and rallying them towards achieving the companys vision and mission, I bet you are well of.

Individual Success

Towards the end Buckingham states; whether you are a leader or a manager, you still are an individual person and need to find your own path to sustained individual success. It is this thread that finally leads Buckingham to the one thing you need to know:

Discover what you don’t like doing and stop doing it.

This is the core point of the whole book. Disappointed? You dont have to be, take it to your advice and read the book. It is really good. Think about it, how many people just spend time doing something that we dont like doing? When you look at businesses, shops, hotels, barber shops, whatever, you will find everywhere people that dont like what the are doing. But they are doing it anyway…To summarize, only focusing on your strengths is not enough. You will also need to find out your weaknesses (what you don’t like doing) and figure out a way to avoid doing it. The challenge is probably in the details. It will, in many cases, be harder to do than it seems. But when you think about it, it does make sense.

All in all, this book is easy-reading for anyone interested in his/her core strengths and potential and putting it to dance. I hope this short review encourages you to read the book…

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this book.