Extract from Rene Descartes’s Letter to Issac Beeckman
March 30, 2007
The following is an excellent extract from philosopher Rene Descartes’s letter to mathematician Issac Beekman which exemplifies some of the best traits of Ambition, Appreciation, Clarity, Faith, Gratitude, Inspiration, Reverence and Truth, which we can all endeavour to inculcate more of.
“What I want to produce is… a completely new science, which would provide a general solution of all possible equations involving any sort of quantity, whether continuous or discrete, each according to its nature…
I am hoping to demonstrate what sort of problems can be solved exclusively in this way, so that almost nothing in geometry will remain to be discovered. This is of course a gigantic task, one hardly suitable for a single person; indeed it is an incredibly ambitious project. But through the confusing darkness I have caught a glimpse of some sort of light, and with the aid of this I will be able to dispel even the thickest obscurities.
Do not expect anything from my muse at the moment, for while I am preparing for the journey about to begin tomorrow, my mind has already set out on the voyage. I am still uncertain ‘where fate may take me, where my foot may rest’.
I promise to see that my Mechanics or Geometry is put in order, and I will salute you as the promoter and prime author of my studies.
For it was you alone who roused me from my state of indolence and reawakened the learning which by then had almost disappeared from my memory; and when my mind strayed from serious pursuits it was you who led it back to worthier things. Thus, if perhaps I should produce something not wholly to be despised, you can rightly claim it all as your own.”
What insights and appreciations did you gather from the above, what are your thoughts on it and how can this assist you?
And as usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon me (by clicking on the above hyperlink ), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 3 9018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
What is The Purpose of Business? - By Manoj Sharma
March 30, 2007
As long as we are all working, in one way or another we are all in business.
We trade / exchange our time, experiences, expertise and resources.
We work / produce / create products, services and ideas.
We earn our keep in one way or another.
We consume / waste / spend / invest what we earn and/or have earned.
We horde / accumulate / put aside / leverage our resources.
We gain / acquire actively and/or passively and might even be given.
We may even help / assist / contribute to others along the way.
And so on. With what end in mind?
To make money?
To change the world?
To achieve something of significance?
To express our identity?
To gain and apply knowledge?
To build relationships?
To be happy?
To be independent?
To connect with others?
To survive?
To be secure?
To provide for others?
To thrive?
Why do we do what we do? Is it because it is something to do? Or is it a purposeful activity?
The question we need to ask is, “What is our purpose of business?”
Peter Drucker famously wrote, “The purpose of a business is to create a customer.”
What do you think? Is Peter Drucker spot on?
Or is the purpose of business…
To generate profits?
To create financial wealth for shareholders and stakeholders?
To provide solutions to customers?
To get the best out of people?
To create value?
To reduce costs?
To differentiate?
To serve society?
To come up with innovative products, services and ideas?
To elevate the consciousness of humanity?
To make the world a better place?
To outmaneuver the competition?
To be better than the next?
What is your opinion?
Is it possible that the only way to really know your true purpose of business is to take a look at what you actually do in reality? What drives you?
And as usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon me (by clicking on the above hyperlink ), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 3 9018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality
March 29, 2007
Recommended by FLIP HAAGSMA
By Ken Wilber
The spiritual intellectual Ken Wilber takes on the hottest theory in modern physics, known as the “M Theory,” or the “The Theory of Everything.” As Wilber explains, it is “a model that would unite all the known laws of the universe into one all-embracing theory that would literally explain everything in existence.” Of course this new “M Theory” opens up a can of wormy, slippery questions, which Wilber addresses: “What does ‘everything’ actually mean? Would this new theory in physics explain, say, the meaning of human poetry? Or how economics work? Or the stages of psychosexual development?”
Being Ken Wilber, he couldn’t resist answering these questions by folding the “Theory of Everything” into some of his own personal visions and theories. This overlay is presented in his signature straightforward, clearly written style. The upshot is that common readers can easily follow Wilber on a quantum journey and wind up with a lasting souvenir–a scientific and spiritual understanding of how the mind, body, soul, and universe all work together like a never-ending symphony. And that’s just in the first four chapters.
From there he shows readers the practical applications of this vision–explaining how it could lead to more integrative styles of business, education, medicine, ecology, and even how we address world conflicts. Wilber admits that this “holistic quest is an ever-receding dream, a horizon that constantly retreats as we approach it.” Nonetheless, he can still take readers on an incredible journey–one that’s well worth the price of the ticket. –Gail Hudson
Click here to purchase this DifferWorld’s recommended book from Amazon.
For more recommended Business Books please go to http://www.differworld.com/business-books/
And as usual, please feel free to send Flip your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon Flip (by clicking on this hyperlink), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 3 9018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
How to Create Abundant Time by Manoj Sharma
March 29, 2007
Do you find yourself running out of time?
If you are, chances are good that you are either not doing what needs to be done in the manner it needs to be done, or you have fallen into the “get there fast trap”. Most likely it is a combination of both.
We live in a fast paced world where everything needs to be done instantly.
You probably have goals, aspirations and dreams and would preferably like to have achieved them yesterday. What you might need to recognize is that being in a hurry to achieve your goals or not to give them enough time in the sun, is to guarantee that you will always running out of time.
Even if you were to achieve your goals by rushing through time, what would you really have achieved?
Those with depth, understand the meaning of a hollow victory, while the shallow live only to trumpet their triumphs.
Substance is the key to sustainable and scalable success, while immediacy of success does not necessarily require substance. You can get somewhere fast, without the necessary foundations, but you may get there at the expense of being a person of substance.
“What is the problem with that?”, I am often asked. “Nothing! Especially if you do not care for what you have achieved to last or to be built upon.” is my standard answer.
However, I am sure, in most cases, you would much rather have the success you’ve achieved, in whatever your endeavour, to last or to be built upon, so that you are not constantly in a never ending chase. From an accounting sense is fundamentally the difference between temporary income and asset based income. Both are incomes, but from different propositions leading to different ends.
Too many people are trapped in survival, security, consumption and gratification mindsets. Everything around us seems to promote them. The above mindsets exist at the expense of thriving, freedom, creation and fulfillment mindsets.
Rudyard Kipling started his Ballad of East and West with the following lines,
“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the Earth.”
Please note, there are rules and there are games, and there are rules beyond the rules and games beyond the games. At the basic level of the game, which we are playing, the rules are that, survival does not meet thriving, security does not meet freedom, consumption does not meet creation and gratification does not meet fulfillment. They are twains that never shall meet on this level.
So, consider taking a long term approach towards thriving, freedom, creation and fulfillment instead and do it holistically. Focus on your future end point, not just your present problems, issues, difficulties, obstacles and challenges. This will cause opportunities to create your future to turn up in abundance and present problems, issues, difficulties, obstacles and challenges to diminish. Focusing on your future needs, wants and desires will shift your present reality. The ills of fear, greed and even competition will dissolve. You can take my word for it or discover it for yourself.
In my keynotes, seminars, workshops, courses and coachings I have often challenged people with the question, “How big is your world?”
Too many of us live in a small word. The me, myself and I centric world. The smaller your world, the less wealth there can be in it. The bigger your world, the more wealth there can be in it. (When I refer to wealth I am referring to a combination of both financial and non-financial wealth.)
One of the toughest things for a human being to do is to truly figure out, what do they really want, as this takes deep contemplation and independent thought. So, what do you really need, want and desire? (If you still don’t know, invest in some Professional Coaching right now. It will assist you tremendously to clear your mind and have you live purposefully. And this is just for starters.) Once you figure that out, work towards creating your future now, knowing that it will take a conscious, diligent, long term effort on your part.
Just like your yesterday disappeared into today, your today will disappear into your tomorrow. Create your tomorrow by focusing on it in the now. Live your future now.
Living your future now will create an abundance of time because slowly and surely everything that you were previously engaged in that is not aligned to that future now will fall off. This will give you more time, that you can then use to deepen your focus on your future now. This is how those in the know, create an abundance of time. It is the “slowing down to move faster” and “doing less to achieve more” philosophy that sounds to many like a contradiction.
In reality there is no contradiction here. A contradiction of principles only exists when the human mind has not resolved what seems like a paradox. Read the above again and again if you have to.
Einstein called time the fourth dimension and he identified its relativity. His work however, did not focus on how to bring this dimension on your side.
Creating and living your future now is how you bring the fourth dimension and relativity of time on your side. This is how you too can create abundant time.
Put this into practice. This is one facet of Time Excellence. You will not just have more time, but thriving, freedom, creation and fulfillment will follow.
And as usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon me (by clicking on this hyperlink), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 3 9018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
11 Key Concepts for Effective Management by Kazuo Inamori
March 27, 2007
1) Establish Clear Goals
Answer the ‘Why am I doing what I’m doing?’ question. Aim high. Make your goal as just, as fair, and as honorable as possible. At KYOCERA our goal was to strive towards both the material and spiritual fulfillment of all employees in the company and through that serve mankind in its progress and prosperity. Keep the objective as large and as multifaceted as possible. It must moreover be something that every member of the company can believe in so that it can become everyone’s goal. In this way the company will be a unified whole.
2) Establish Specific Targets
By ‘target’ I mean a numerical goal for the company to aim for. It has to be a specific objective, such as, ’so many years from now we want our sales to be this much and our profits to be this high.’ You must have this kind of clear, specific target. You must make it your target and want to attain it with your whole heart and it must definitely be reached.
‘Someday we will definitely be the biggest company in all of Kyoto. Once we are the biggest in Kyoto we will become the biggest ceramics company in Japan. After we have become the biggest in Japan, we’ll become the biggest in the world. This is our target - no matter what!’
3) Work Harder Than Anybody Else
‘Work steadily, one step at a time, on the basic business; maintain unceasing diligence.’ All great things are only achieved by taking one small step at a time and doing this over and over again. Although many of you might think this is obvious, few people can actually achieve it. Nothing great ever came from mere talent and efficiency. What it takes is real work. They say there is no genius that can defeat hard work - and this is absolutely right.
4) Keep Sales At A Maximum And Expenses At A Minimum
‘Count what comes in and control what goes out. Don’t seek profit; that will come later.’ Maximizing sales requires clever and original ideas. Minimizing expenses also requires clever and original ideas.
5) Pricing Is The Heart Of Management
A manager must find the price. Above all a profit producing price, that his customers will be glad to pay for the product.
6) Do Not Be Afraid To Dream
‘Have unlimited dreams so strong that they penetrate your subconscious.’
If we have something we wish to succeed in, we must think about it 24 hours a day. Then we will be thinking about the idea we need to achieve, that ambition, 24 hours a day, and before we know it, we will be moving towards its realization.
7) A Manager Must Be A Fighter
A manager must be willing to take on all comers - and be assured of victory every time. Once a manager has decided what he wants he must have the strength of will to achieve it, no matter what.
To succeed in the face of brutal competition requires both a strong determination and the competitive drive to maintain it.
8) Be Sincere And Generous
‘Have partners in business. Enjoy the work. And make sure everybody has fun.’
The greater your competitive edge the greater the kindness you need to have in your heart. The basic rule of any business is: The buyer must be happy and the seller must be happy. In addition to striving for success, you need to be decent to everyone you work with - including your customers and your employees.
9) Look Ahead With Cheerful Confidence
‘Life turns out the way you plan it in your heart.’
In addition to having the quality of being intensely ambitious and tremendously competitive, you must also have a cheerful disposition. You cannot be constantly critical or negative. A gloomy face must be avoided at all cost, and any behaviour that makes employees feel dissatisfied or unfairly treated is unacceptable. You have to keep your dreams alive in your heart and maintain a positive and acceptable attitude no matter what comes up.
10) Good Management Takes Guts
‘Cowardly behaviour is untenable.’
To make decisions that uphold these fundamental principles takes a lot of courage, because the correct decision will not always be welcomed by everyone. Making the correct decision in the face of possible unpleasantness takes real courage.
11) Be Original And Have Creative Ideas
‘Continue, without pause, to improve tomorrow more than today, and the next day more than that. ‘
Have creative and original ideas everyday. Original work does not refer only to difficult tasks such as developing high level technology. It is about continually improving your work place through innovative ideas. Making it a better place tomorrow than it was today and making it even better the following day. ‘What can I, in my place, do to correct yesterday’s errors and work more efficiently than yesterday?’
Genuine originality is not related to education or innate ability. It comes instead from constantly thinking innovatively, from never being satisfied with the current situation, and from constantly working, even unknown to everyone else, to improve things.
And as usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon me (by clicking on this hyperlink), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 3 9018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
Written Words Are A Dead Medium Of Communication by Socrates
March 27, 2007
This dialogue between the great Socrates and Phaedrus provides a wonderful understanding for the need for dialogue, human touch and interaction that are some of the many benefits of being Professionally Coached and not to be over reliant on books and written words, which are a valuable resource, but a poor substitute.
Socrates:
Well, then, someone who thinks that he can set down an art in writing, and equally someone who accepts something from writing as though it were going to be clear and reliable, must be very simple minded. How can they possible think that words which have been written down can do more than serve as a reminder to those who already know what the writing is about?
Phaedrus:
Quite right.
Socrates:
You know, Phaedrus, writing shares a strange feature with painting. The offspring of painting stand there as if they were alive, but if anyone asks them anything they are solemnly silent. The same is true of written words. You’d think they were speaking as if they had some understanding, but if you question anything that has been said because you want to learn more, it gives just the same message over and over. Once it has been written down, every discourse rolls about everywhere, reaching just as much those with understanding as those who have no business with it, and it does not know to whom it should speak and to whom not. And when it is faulted and attacked unfairly, it always needs its father’s support; alone, it cannot defend itself or come to its own support.
Phaedrus:
You are quite right about that too.
What are you realizing about what is needed for you to advance further?
And as usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon me (by clicking on this hyperlink), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 3 9018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
The Mirror Principle by Manoj Sharma
March 27, 2007
The Mirror Principle is the starting point of great things.
The Mirror Principle
If you are not happy - first take a look at the person in the mirror
If your family is not harmonious - first take a look at the person in the mirror (Thanks Mom!)
If your team is not producing - first take a look at the person in the mirror
If your organization is not contributing - first take a look at the person in the mirror
If your community is not working together - first take a look at the person in the mirror
If your country is not advancing - first take a look at the person in the mirror
If your world is not in good shape - first take a look at the person in the mirror
It is tough, it is true and it is the only place where change has to start.
And as usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon me (by clicking on this hyperlink), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 3 9018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
Your Organization Desperately Needs To Boost Profitability, Performance and Fulfillment Right Now by Manoj Sharma
March 25, 2007
A recent Gallup Poll showed that 70% of employees felt “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” at work. Taken across the board, that is potentially 7 out of 10 employees in your organization. Just imagine your organization’s loss of productivity. The mind boggles at the terrifying repercussions of this truth, zapping away rapidly at the strengths and advantages of your organization. The world is constantly changing and the change these days catches up very fast.
Today, organizations the world over, have a desperate need to improve profitability. Their shareholders and stakeholders demand it.
Organizations the world over, also have a desperate need to improve their value propositions. Their customers and potential customers demand it.
Furthermore, organizations the world over are facing an unprecedented challenge on the work-life balance front. This is a fulfillment issue. And the people within organizations (you) demand it.
What is obvious, to those in the know, is that to improve profitability, value propositions and fulfillment requires a boost in performance. Performance is the means to just about any worthy end an organization (and an individual, team, community, country, etc.) desires to achieve. This is self-evident in the fact that some of an organization’s biggest concerns - productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, optimization, gain, output, yield, turnover, volume, economies, potency, quantity, quality, efficacy and just-in-time are all performance related issues.
What’s not so obvious, is how to actually boost performance in a workable, immediate, sustainable and scalable way. And this is where we at DifferWorld can be a huge asset to your organization.
Years of experience working with top notch multi national corporations have shown that the first problem with performance, is that the dynamics of performance are generally poorly understood and therefore cannot fully be addressed.
Allow me to shed some light on the components of performance, with the intention to assist you boost profitability, value propositions and fulfilment for you, your teams and your organization.
It is important to note from the onset, that when we talk of performance we must speak of it as a combination of attitudes, attributes and actions.
Attitude being the manner, disposition and feeling with which the activity is conducted.
Attribute being the quality and characteristics of the activity.
And Actions being the mental and/or physical exertions in the activity itself.
Performance then becomes everything in relation to activity (inclusive of attitudes, attributes and actions) undertaken towards achieving a preordained objective.
While activity is instrumental to performance, to boost performance however requires effort. Effort to make the attitudes, attributes and actions more efficient and effective. The intention here being to ultimately improve efficacy.
Now admittedly, there are infinite ways to immediately boost organizational performance, just as there are infinite ways to skin a cat.
Many of these ways have a great initial effect, but sadly, few truly last. To have an initiative last requires it to be firmly lodged in the hearts and mind of people, not necessarily the system.
General training initiatives can have phenomenally positive effects, but in most cases these initiatives are more akin to taking pain killers to cure a stomach ulcer. All the pain killers are really doing is temporarily eliminating the pain while the ulcer unknowingly gets worse. (Looking from a broader perspective this “quick fix, fast-patch tendency”, largely explains the state of the world at large). This creates if anything, a dependency on the pain killer but does not find a cure for the ulcer or prevent other ulcers, thus preventing the efficient and effective workings of the human body and mind too. The same is true for an organization.
Most general non-technical trainings run in organizations have this unfortunate effect, as rarely is a long-term practical and holistic view taken, leading to unsustainable and effectively short-term performance improvements.
The solution certainly resides in professional coaching initiatives for your organization which are a sustainable and scalable solution to boosting performance due to the fact they sits on a foundation of “principle-based, immediately-actionable, core-knowledge that can literally be employed forever”.
How can your organization get started to benefit from higher levels of performance?
Being a leader ask yourself these 7 questions about your organization…
1) What are my organization’s greatest challenges?
2) What results are we producing?
3) What results are we not producing?
4) What initiatives have we run?
5) What have been the effects of these initiatives?
6) What desirables were we not able to produce through these initiatives?
7) What do we need to do differently to achieve what we desire?
When the seventh question is asked and answered, the real work can begin. Professional coaching for profitability and fulfillment requires subtle tweaks or radical shifts in performance. This requires the need to do things differently from how they were done before. Creativity, invention and innovation are prerequisites.
We are all aware that a subtle shift in the orientation of a ship sailing across the Pacific Ocean can have a dramatic impact on its final destination. And that is how critical improvements in mindsets, skillsets and business sets are for your organization to be able to sustain and scale profitability, performance and fulfillment levels.
It is increasingly a poorly kept secret that we at DifferWorld are fast gaining a great reputation for being one of the world’s best at professional coaching for profitability, performance and fulfillment. And there is a really good reason for it. It is because we are gaining international leadership when it comes to professional coaching for mindsets, skillsets and business sets simultaneously. And also because we invest a lot of our time in individuals and ensure dramatic forward leaps are made. Why? It is a simple and powerful philosophy.
Consider that when individuals are weakened, families are weakened. When families are weakened, people as a whole are weakened. When people as a whole are weakened, teams are weakened. When teams are weakened, organizations are weakened. When organizations are weakened, communities are weakened. When communities are weakened, countries are weakened. When countries are weakened, the world is weakened. The world rests on the shoulders of individuals. Individuals like you and I.
It is clear that any significant lasting change has to start with the individual, and professional coaching in organizations, done the DifferWorld way, is organization factored, yet individual-centric and ultimately designed to take an individual, team and/or organization from their Present Life Situation to their Ideal Life Situation in the most efficient and effective way possible.
The bottom line is that to strengthen the individual, requires a improvement in the individuals mindsets, followed by an improvement in skillsets/business sets that need to be translated into business sets/skillsets to enhance proficiency (The skillsets / business sets - business sets/ skillsets order depends on the situation). Professional Coaching, done the DifferWorld way is unparalleled as a tool to do exactly that. The genius is not in the idea. The genius is in being able to make the idea reality.
I do not consider myself to be a good writer, and take the Socrates’s view that Written Words Are A Dead Medium Of Communication. So I do apologize, if the message does not speak as fluidly as it could, but I believe you get the gist of it.
If you would like to boost your organizations profitability, performance and fulfillment level, consider focusing heavily first on key individuals and then the organization one person or team at a time. Also keep The Mirror Principle in mind as it is the starting point of great things.
Finally I’d like to leave you with a parting thought that a 32 year veteran of human resource development from a multi-national organization said to me last year, when attending Coaching Champions to be a DifferWorld Certified Professional Coach.
He said, “I always thought that consulting, speaking and training were great. Now I realize that consulting, speaking and training with coaching is even better.”
And as usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon me (by clicking on this hyperlink), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 3 9018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company
March 24, 2007
Recommended by MANOJ SHARMA
By James Collins
This work provides entrepreneurs with building blocks to help their companies sustain high performance, play a leadership role in their industries, and remain successful for generations.
Readers will discover the five key elements involved in guiding a company to lasting success, a blueprint for managing a thriving company, and plenty of real-world examples.
Click here to purchase this DifferWorld’s recommended book from Amazon.
For more recommended Business Books please go to http://www.differworld.com/business-books
And as usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com. And if you’d like a FREE CONSULTATION on how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free to call upon me (by clicking on this hyperlink), at (65) 6338 5669 / (61) 39018 6790 or emailing Info@DifferWorld.com now!
What Are Some Of Your Goals For 2007?
March 23, 2007