Tag: change

Motivated by urge

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If you want people to buy into your ideas and plans, you have to be clear about your thinking and decision-making process.

Why is this more important than what we used to do yesterday?
Why was this option chosen instead of the others?
What does this all mean for my work routine?
What’s in it for me, the team, the company if we are successful?
How does success even look like in this scenario?

When you answer these (and other) questions about your new urgency, and you do it publicly, it is much more likely that people will follow, accept new tasks and overtime, understand the reasons of a late night e-mail. When you don’t, on the other hand, it feels like a managerial caprice, something people are asked to follow now for no particular reason other than gut feelings, a breath of wind in a storm.

Nobody is motivated by urge.

Anybody will do

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We have spent the past few decades complaining so much about politics and politicians that now we have offered our countries to businessmen, comedians, men on the street on a silver plate.

Being disappointed with part of a category, or even with a category at large, should not necessarily mean discredit that category completely. And definitely it should not mean that somebody more similar to us and that speaks our language could do a much better job and give prestige back to the category. Honestly, that’s just a way to keep complaining about the category in new forms and fashion few years down the road. And to see the category destroyed once and for all.

We could instead try to take back ownership of the category, refine the definition in a way that is more appropriate to our age and times, be absolutely clear on how we want members of the category to behave and what we will or we will not accept of them. And then, be active in guiding the development of the category in the direction we want it to develop.

It’s all about responsibility after all, and particularly these days we should stop thinking that anybody will do for the job but us.

Giving

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Why do you give?

Option number 1 is, because by giving you expect the other(s) to feel obliged to giving you back at some point. For as bad and opportunistic as this sounds, we often approach giving from this standpoint, believing our action will lead to some sort of return at a later moment in time. Working hard to get a promotion is a good and quite common example.

Option number 2 is, because by giving you expect the other(s) to feel inspired to giving back at some point. You have certainly noticed the two tiny yet important differences: first of all, inspiration is a better call to action than obligation; secondly, you remove yourself from being the recipient of the giving back. Working hard to set a high standard for others to aspire to (no matter when, where, and how they’ll get there) is a good and fairly uncommon example.

Option 1 binds others to your plans, option 2 frees them to find their own way to fulfill their act of giving. Option 1 sets you for disappointment and others for dissatisfaction, option 2 sets you for amazement and others for discovery. Option 1 understands work for a reward, option 2 is work for the sake of doing work.

Be mindful when you choose.

Insecure

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If you feel insecure, say it out loud.

The alternative is to try to take control of everything, check that work is done according to your taste, grab both strategy and execution, possibly move from one place to the next without achieving nothing that is worth sharing, shout in the face of those who bear no responsibility, be kind with those who bear plenty, judge for the fear of being judged, diminish others to maintain the feeling to be on top.

If you feel insecure, say it out loud. While people tend to stay clear from the behaviour listed above, they appreciate vulnerability and the capacity to own one’s own feelings. Furthermore, the moment you name it is the moment you start getting more secure. And a whole new world will open for you.

200

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Today is my 200th post on this blog.

As I write day after day, I realize there are two broad topics that I enjoy to focus on. Strictly interrelated, but different.

The first one is about awareness. Understanding who we are as persons. It has a lot to do with soul-searching, empowering us to deeply grasp what we are around for, what we set out to do, why that matters to us. It is a curious aspect, as most people are not really into it. We have the tendency to focus our efforts and attention on action, rather than reflection. I was definitely not into it, until a few years back.

The second one is about practice. Do what you are doing, for the reasons and with the determination you have shed light upon with reflection. Be consistent with it, not letting failures or defeats interrupt the flow. Or in case you get to interrupt it for any reasons, understanding that it is not the end of who you are, and the things you practice will still be there for you once you are ready to commit to them anew.

The two are inseparable, they are in constant dialogue: doing things without understanding the reasons why you are doing them, or knowing who you are without expressing yourself in the world in some ways, is sad and disappointing.

The real magic happens when there is alignment between awareness and practice. It is not a thing for the moment, rather something to approach with long term in mind. And yet, there’s no better moment to start than right now.