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When you think about it, really, relationships are everything.

Everything and everyone is interrelated and interconnected. The survival of one is dependent on the survival of the system to which that organism belongs and vice-versa.

When complex issues are taken together systemically, new insights appear, normally, unseen and oblivious to the decision-maker.

It sounds like a cliché, but what goes around, comes around.

In reality, what comes around, goes around faster than ever before. We know that serendipity is not that unpredictable. There's no such thing as chance encounters. 

Interconnections and interlinkages shouldn't just be in our social relations.

In many instances, the best innovation starts within the interstices of divergent and contrasting approaches and disciplines. Take the case of a watch that does tell a time but also act as monitor for abnormal heart conditions.  These permutations are bridging what we conceptually think as 'irrational and weird' combinations. 

Ideas are everywhere.

Systems collide and coalesce, depending on forces that impinged on or that works within. As I write this, many systems are failing us, and new systems have yet to be imagined and invented.  

Where will you be in the post-pandemic world- what systems are you trying to resuscitate or have you thought of leaving the old one for a better alternative? 
 

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Everyday my daughter and I would walk outside in the snowy yard and do all kinds of fun games.

She likes to walk and create new tracks which she would then connect together. 

We need to connect our actions with what's going on with the world, the natural environment, and people systems.

We need to connect what we're thinking with our customers and adjust service offerings with their needs.

We need to connect with other people and actors in our space not because we need them, but we can help and find synergy.


We need to build linkages with other sectors and industries which normally do not work together or seem to be opposite or in direct competition.  These are areas to be mined for opportunities to provide a win-win solution.

We need to connect as leaders and managers to our self-awareness and tap into the potential for creative expression inside and outside of our work.


There are many reasons to feel connected and be connected with. If you're in isolation, look into the mirror.


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Yesterday, my car got stuck in a muddy part of our acreage. With all the wheels spinning deep into the mud, I had no choice but to leave it to the expert. I called for help.

I wonder how this situation is transported in many scenarios in our lives and careers.

How many times we refuse to call for help when we should and not 'game' or 'risk' deepening our being stuck in the mire?

Most of the time:

We thought we can do it. DIY is always the first choice, anyway. Good for learning and making sure you get what you want. Safety, time lags, and wasted monies are consequences for poor planning and execution. 


We thought we don't need to bother anyone. On the contrary, before we get more into debt or trouble, we should call them now and not tomorrow.


We can survive and overcome. When was the last time, you flunk the interview/exam or going into a meeting completely unprepared and acting tentative?  There are clear consequences for misfires and trials.  Learn from the experts, become an expert, or completely walk away, because it's not your strong suit. 


The expert drove the car down in a slope and shared some kind words of instruction. He said, "Some people drive purposefully in a mud, but with not with you."

We need experts and friendly allies to help us, remind us of the things we easily forget, and steer us in the right direction.

But it all starts with asking for help. 

​Cheers!

Do you ever guess how this network economy works? There is no denying that we live in a hyper-networked and interdependent environment. The pandemic contagion provided a good point that one sneeze here can result to another upheaval over there. 

Business leaders and entrepreneurs whose work is about creating impact for society, environment, culture, and economy know that to win is to contradict the prevailing dog-eat-dog culture and transcend parochial interests. There are four strategies to lead with virtues in this dangerous time. 


Practice Generosity: prepare to give to get. It is a level-headed business strategy that operates from a point of feeding the market first, and then establishing reciprocal relationship where indispensability is established and accepted. 

Build your community: keep your allies and kindred friends close. They provide the nudge and the right strategies to keep you accountable and updated with best practice. Best of all, you can trust them with relevant market information outside of your immediate operations. 

Look up to real heroes: Where do we pledge allegiance to? There is no longer a center that holds everything but a series of multi-centers and nodes that operate and relate to one another based on needs and mutual benefits. We depend and become loyal to organizations and institutions that have risen above and beyond their calls of duty to excel in their missions. We look up to them for a way-out and a light to shine in moments of confusion. Who are your models and heroes? 

Renorm what networking is all about: Instead of the shallow forms of networking, aim to build robust and deep connections that transcend immediate interests to long-term mutuality. Beside and beyond business, there is a large unmet need to form stronger bonds, not just to keep isolation at bay but to support strong, healthy, resilient leaders in their journeys. The value of connection is never about quantity, but quality. 
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What are you doing right now to maintain the virtuous circles to lead boldly in this dangerous time? 

There is no better way than to rethink your organization, business, and life in this time.

We are not shocked that there are new cases of COVID19 in many places.

Wearing masks, social distancing, and keeping clean are a way of life.

Suddenly, we are immune to all the onslaught of changes that require enormous amount of adaptation. 

Yet, we refuse to see things clearly, isolate the positives of the situation and process them in a way that creates momentum for us.

The last time I checked, stronger companies are having their best seasons. People continue to invest in growth, both in business and in their lives. There is no limit to how people can adapt magnanimously to limits imposed by health and safety authorities. 

We should remain committed to being inured to epidemic but not immune to goodness and positives that abound everyday.

​Cheers to another great week!
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There is no life and work balance right now. It is all about our life.

Work at home has given a whole new taste of living life not in compartments but in fluidity and delighting in that fluidity.

What we learned from the lockdown is really about slowing down. Slowing down enables us to think, reflect, ponder about the most important aspects of our lives and our work. 

Without the distraction and wasted time of commute and going about our daily lives in mindless chatter and goings-on, we can be more attuned to the people around us, to the ideas that we hear, and we are more receptive and open to change.

When we really get connected to our most important essence, we become fully alive and able to become united with our purpose.

The obstacle to real greatness is the distractions all around us. Working from home is about controlling our environment and making clear boundaries about what is work and what is home, and enjoying a lot of downtime which is healthy and renewing for our families and for ourselves. This also allows us to be more critical of how much time we really need versus how much we have been expending to get our tasks done. Also, being fully present to accomplish work in our homes means, doing our best and taking off when it's time.

Slowing down means being more strategic about our use of time in the context of WFH.

The future is not about life and work balance but life balance.