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Showing posts from September, 2016

WHEN THE VISION FINALLY SPEAKS, WHEN IT TARRIES NO MORE!

WHEN THE VISION FINALLY SPEAKS, WHEN IT TARRIES NO MORE! Having envisaged a certain desired state of affairs and order of things with faith and trust that it surely comes to pass when the time is right, with vivid imagination one can't help but feel as if they have experienced that scenario before in real life. One may also initially feel as if one's mind is playing games with them as things play out, however we soon realise that it is all real and could be happening a second time indeed because it would have occurred in the mind already and validated by our desire to realise it because a visionary always works with the end in mind. The strategy is designed backwards from finish to start and executed forwards with fiery determination. This is what happens when the vision speaks! When it finally comes to pass and tarries no more at the appointed time. Our faith is revived and whatever doubt that may have crept in during the season of waiting is dispelled like the darkness

HOW STEWARDSHIP ACHIEVES MORE - MERE COOPERATION BECOMES TOTAL COLLABORATION

HOW STEWARDSHIP ACHIEVES MORE - MERE COOPERATION BECOMES TOTAL COLLABORATION Stewardship as a concept is phenomenal, historically a steward was an officer in a royal household  and if one looks up the definition of this word we find among others these three meanings given as follows; (i)A person employed to manage and take care of another's property, big house or estate. (ii) An official appointed to  supervise arrangements or keep order at a large event (iii) A person who looks after the passengers on a ship, aircraft or train and brings them meals It is interesting to note that in one dimension the steward seems to be a lowly individual who looks after passengers, brings them meals whilst they sit and give orders, in another dimension the steward is an official who is appointed to manage the property of another, supervising with authority. The two dimensions may seem to be on the extreme opposite ends with one wielding power and the other having power wielded over them

GOVERNANCE - HOW DO WE ADDRESS SYSTEMIC CRISES WHOSE EFFECTS AFFECT US DIRECTLY AND PERSONALLY?

GOVERNANCE - HOW DO WE ADDRESS SYSTEMIC CRISES WHOSE EFFECTS AFFECT US DIRECTLY AND PERSONALLY? In my formative years with English language not being my mother tongue I would often hear the term GOVERNMENT harped about in the news both on radio and television as well as amongst adults as they deliberated on current affairs. " Government has done this and government is saying that" On and on the discussions would go, so my young self got the impression that Government was this big, strong, powerful, living and breathing  individual who could decree and declare things as he pleased to his subjects. Thanks to education and growing up I began to appreciate as the years went by up to this day that there is no such individual but rather Government is a system by which a nation, state or community is regulated, controlled and run generally. Having grasped the concept of government looking at how things work between citizens and their respective governments and how crises are

MANAGEMENT - WHY THERE'S A THIN LINE BETWEEN MONITORING & MEDDLING

MANAGEMENT -  WHY THERE'S A THIN LINE BETWEEN MONITORING AND MEDDLING Managers and leaders work through people, in professional work set ups the relationship between managers and the people under them is that of supervisor and subordinate. In this context we are using that premise to say everyone to whom another person reports is a supervisor  be it the chief executive or president and whoever reports upwards is a subordinate. Supervisors therefore have a duty to ensure that their subordinates understand what is expected of them and impart the relevant knowledge and provide adequate skills training to them in order to carry out their work. As a subordinate carries out tasks repeatedly they gain experience and what is called task-relevant maturity. This is a very essential element for the supervisors to grasp and learn to exploit well. Andrew S. Grove in High output  Management says Task-relevant maturity, has nothing to do with a subordinate's general work experience or

WHEN THE WOES MOUNT & THERE'S NO WAY OUT, REMEMBER THIS - THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY OUT!!

WHEN THE WOES MOUNT & THERE'S NO WAY OUT, REMEMBER THIS - THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY!! There is absolutely nothing new under the sun! Yes nothing at all! One may pause and say really? did your forefathers use nano technology or ever sit in a driverless car? Well they didn't BUT they had their own go at innovation and technological advancement from the stone age, iron age right up to this digital and information age, yet as much as all this may be several centuries apart there is a common denominator - we all have used matter and substance to create what we need and how sophisticated what we have created is relative. So it has always been matter and substance so yes nothing is new under the sun! We have used material analogy above to qualify our statement that nothing is new and the same holds true for life situations good and bad no matter how extreme. So one may find themselves in a fix looking  around and see no solution in sight or way out of the difficult and impossib

WHAT'S THE SECRET TO ATTAINING ALL OBJECTIVES WITHOUT EXCEPTION? - GTD

WHAT'S THE SECRET TO ATTAINING ALL OBJECTIVES WITHOUT EXCEPTION? - GTD! GTD??? - Yes! That is the secret and formula for attaining objectives and accomplishing missions, it is Getting Things Done! A very simple yet guaranteed formula, nothing in individual or organisational objectives moves unless the people move and actually get things done with end result in mind. Getting things done means doing specific, clearly outlined and defined tasks with measurable progress and outcomes. In individual cases one ought to know that when they rest for any reason as the one with full responsibility of carrying out the specific tasks, the progress of the mission does the same it rests as well!  However this is not to say we must madly push ourselves beyond reasonable limits for fear of the project resting when we do, the point being made here is that rest must not be random, it must be part of the plan and taken timeously with the resting time incorporated into the overall time-frame ex

HOW DOES A LEADER ACHIEVE SUCCESS WITH AND THROUGH THEIR TEAM? - TRUST AND DELEGATION

HOW DOES A LEADER ACHIEVE SUCCESS WITH AND THROUGH THEIR TEAM? - TRUST AND DELEGATION A leader at any and all levels has the duty of instructor and teacher. If this duty and role is executed well the leader will almost certainly achieve success. How so? The leader is the repository of the primary vision, mission and objectives of the undertaking be it commercial or other form of organisation, for this reason it follows by default that they should be able to articulate the vision and mission of the collective and break it down to strategy and actionable tactics to the team that reports to them. This is done by way of instruction and practically showing example of execution and realising the expected results. This instils and builds confidence in the team and as such the team readily coorperates in executing the strategy with each member doing their bit knowing that the leader is overlooking the bigger picture and guiding accordingly. Once the leader is satisfied with the team&#

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE GOOD WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU ARE PLAYING HARD BALL TO GET AHEAD NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE GOOD WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU ARE PLAYING HARD BALL TO GET AHEAD NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES? "Amid the prosperity of the wicked, how hard it is to keep the flock focused". These are the words taken took from a homily by one great priest I know. Indeed when all about you are losing their heads and disregarding or rather arm-twisting the law and bending the rules just to make a buck and be successful it is hard to stay focused and be led by the goodness instilled and cultured in you since your childhood and positive upbringing by one's parents and guardians. The question therefore as the topic says; "Is it possible to be good when all about you are playing hard ball and doing whatever it takes?" The honest and true answer is that as much as it is hard without a doubt because we are human and we are fallible, YES! It is possible to be good, to be kind, to be respectful and maintain one's integrity amidst all the crazy action happening around

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE GOOD WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU ARE PLAYING HARD BALL TO GET AHEAD NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE GOOD WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU ARE PLAYING HARD BALL TO GET AHEAD NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES? "Amid the prosperity of the wicked, how hard it is to keep the flock focused". These are the words taken took from a homily by one great priest I know. Indeed when all about you are losing their heads and disregarding or rather arm-twisting the law and bending the rules just to make a buck and be successful it is hard to stay focused and be led by the goodness instilled and cultured in you since your childhood and positive upbringing by one's parents and guardians. The question therefore as the topic says; "Is it possible to be good when all about you are playing hard ball and doing whatever it takes?" The honest and true answer is that as much as it is hard without a doubt because we are human and we are fallible, YES! It is possible to be good, to be kind, to be respectful and maintain one's integrity amidst all the crazy action happening around

LOCATED BY DIVINE GRACE - THE UNMERITED FAVOUR OF THE GRACIOUS FATHER

LOCATED BY DIVINE GRACE - THE UNMERITED FAVOR OF THE GRACIOUS FATHER Grace, the unmerited favor of God, bestowal of blessings and salvation from our sinfulness. A wonderful God whose mercy endures forever, from everlasting to everlasting even reaching unto children's children upon them that fear Him. (conf. Psalm 103:17) No matter where we are in our lives be it times of plenty or need we are all better off with grace upon us. In the shining spotlight of prominence grace shines much brighter and sets us apart and in the blackness of obscurity and the valley of the shadow of death grace is able to locate us and shine upon us without fail when we taste of the Lord's mercy. Remember He dwells in unapproachable light (conf. 1 Timothy 6:16), so one can just imagine such light, even a little bit of it beaming onto our darkness, it's phenomenal in the least. Three apostles of Jesus Peter, James and   John caught a glimpse of that light at the transfiguration and so did Saul o

TEAM BUILDING: WHY WE SHOULDN'T BE HASTY TO WRITE OFF THE "WEAKEST LINK", THEY MIGHT JUST TURN OUT TO BE THE STRONGEST!

TEAM BUILDING: WHY WE SHOULDN'T BE HASTY TO WRITE OFF THE "WEAKEST LINK", THEY MIGHT JUST TURN OUT TO BE THE STRONGEST! We have all heard the saying " a chain is as strong as its weakest link.." Maybe in not so many words but the meaning and essence of the statement is generally well known and accepted. No matter how strong a team you may build with exceptional performers who deliver beyond expectations, if one of them is not up to par or delivers flawed results the whole team effort is affected and the final result of the team effort becomes always directly proportional to that one member's performance at each particular instance. If that ball-dropping team member raises his game and puts in a good worthwhile effort the results show an improvement and if they perform as their usual mediocre self everybody is frustrated especially the leader who has to take flak for the whole team. The usually logical thing to do under such circumstances is to take the

VISION - HOW TO FUEL AND SUSTAIN IT TO FRUITION

VISION - HOW TO FUEL AND SUSTAIN IT TO FRUITION Vision requires sustenance for it to be followed through by everyone on whom it is dependent and to whom it is relevant. To sustain the vision and maintain focus even under circumstances where there is very little visible evidence to show for it, a lot of faith must be thrown behind it after all faith is the evidence of things unseen - yet! because when the time is right and all that needs to be done is done and the requisite work is put in, the vision can do nothing but manifest in fullness and glory. Whatever vision we have we must stand ready to sustain and fuel it with our faith in all circumstances, sometimes our work becomes the subject of ridicule to those who do not share our vision or worse still those who have no idea what our vision is and that we actually have one and are doing what we are doing headed in the direction of the vision coming to pass. Do you think Michelangelo Buonarotti was never distracted from his work