A few years ago, I was a victim of the 'management by walking around' practice. Having been a staff myself, it confused me tremendously why management and executives have to do the rounds by walking around, pretending to be really curious and interested of personnel's work. What exactly can be derived by walking around the hall other than disturbing staff' precious time focused on real work and getting into chitchat with those that have nothing to do at the moment. Visibility is good when there is a strategic purpose to visibility. Visibility alone is nothing. Creating real genuine interpersonal relations is good but when it gets down to work, your boss is not your friend and vice-versa. Also, this family vibe in many companies and organizations is also fake. This is not a family relation, this is business and you have a job to do and will get appraise at the next six-month mark. There is a tremendous waste of monies and time on team building exercises meant to look like everyone is having a happy time, fetching water, building sand castles, catching people up when they fall, rappelling down ravines -all in the name of team work. There is no team work in that superficial encounters. Real team work is about solving real problems and challenges as a team and experiencing satisfction from joint accomplishments. He found me cutting some papers for my program activity for children. "This is work," I told him and he said, "good job," and turned around. Nuf said. Facebook has recently announced its new cryptocurrency which is called, Libra. Libra will be independent of Facebook and will evolve not only as a currency but a financial institution eventually. Facebook being one of the three tech giants, entered the cryptocurrency race and this is not surprising. Governments and regulators are uniquely aware of the benefits as well as the concerns about the dominance of the big 3: wiping small competitors, disregarding regulations and rules, and imposing their heftiness on every one else. When giants ruled the earth, a billion years ago, the rest of the species grew too. And yet in the era of uber-competition and massive technological race, it is really a zero-sum game- the swiftest with the mostest? If the government can't battle with the billion-dollar corporations in terms of implementing regulations to support consumers' interests, where will the consumers go for protection, support, and welfare? In geo-politics, the rise of the two superpowers 60 years ago culminated in the dominance of only one big superpower- the United States of America which became the 'accidental cop' of the world. Yet, regional powers have emerged with renewed vigor, upsetting the hegemony of a superpower using trade, economics, and partnerships to leverage their reach amongst other nations and impose their interests. This echoes what has been the current narrative about it: it is good when it is benevolent and moral, and it's really bad when it acts like an evil empire- which can be embodied in one organization at any given time. Scarcity mentality in people is very dangerous. And if applied in organizations, it is doubly lethal. It can cause organizations to be reactive, defensive, and insecure, hoarding the little asset they have thinking that it would protect them from the ravages of change. With little that they have, they are afraid to invest in strengthening their core and increasing their value, thereby getting stuck in diminishing returns. They are not ready to innovate, experiment, take prudent risks, change anything substantial because they are afraid to lose. Being afraid to lose instead of going for the win is what separates the winning organizations from those that have decided to stay behind and wait. Who says that space travel is still a dream? Not anymore. NASA just announced that they will be commercializing some of their work which means going towards space tourism since the US government will be withdrawing support for their operations in the next few years. Commercializing space travel is the next frontier for those in the affluent sector where millions of monies are taken for granted. What kind of services, products, and experiences would space travel need for various customers and clients? What innovation would it usher next? Why it is important to get there first? I can't wait to see and find out. This is not for the future. This is definitely for now. "Fly me to the moon Let me play among the stars Let me see what spring is like On-a Jupiter or Mars" We know that analysis paralysis sucks. Thinking about it drives you to inaction. There are million ways why you should not do it. But there is only 1 reason why it hurts when you don't. This one important reason should give you the impetus to do it. Starting gives you the confidence to proceed without always asking yourself if this is right thing to do. When you started, you have at least give it a chance to flourish rather to let a million excuses drive your thinking. Start and learn and stop and continue on. There is no need to rush. It is your timing that is the most important timing of all. Don't let a dramatic event stop your tracks before you get the lessons learned or get the message. Improve your value and organizational value rapidly by cutting off the status quo that no longer serves your mission, purpose, and strategies. It is easy to be riding on the waves when the economy is on an upswing, everyone likes the ride up there, the air is thin but fresh. When the economy tanks out, everyone thinks about cutting their losses and downsizing to manageable levels. It is time to stop reacting to world events, economic catastrophes, outside offers, and deals. It is time to start innovating and building a better base for tomorrow by thinking for the future, not for the past and the present. It will be stale by the time you launch it. Remember- stop waiting for a dramatic event. By that, it means one thing- you are being let go and the organization has suffered more to deserve a radical shakedown. |
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