STCerri International e-Zine/Newsletter
Greetings!
I know, I know. Where have I been?
A lot of you have given me great compliments regarding my e-Zines. Thank you. You have also asked me where have I been lately. A lot has been going on. I have been very busy...
* I have three public workshops scheduled for September in Colorado
* I presented a keynote at the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
* I will be starting an on-line-coaching programs (watch for it next week)
* Plus other stuff that is too much to detail
* and I took a vacation
AND I am back to writing my e-Zines.
In this e-Zine I want to address leadership and management and the communication of that leadership and management to direct reports in a meeting.
Be well,
Steven Cerri
P.S. Feel free to pass this e-Zine on to a friend.
Note: If you have missed any of my previous e-Zines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived e-Zines/Newsletters
Leading Is Not Easy
Many "organizational executives" (also known as managers and leaders) try to find ways to "inspire" their teams especially in important meetings. They attempt to find ways to "motivate" their direct reports or, at the very least, ensure that they are not "demotivated".
Most would-be managers and leaders get caught up in believing the drivel that is often put forth regarding management and leadership and how to convey those qualities.
The usual verbal "catch phrase" we hear sounds like this: "leaders inspire" and "managers perspire" . Or we may hear, "leaders know what to do" while "managers know how to do it". It is all just nonsense.
Manager versus Leader
Those of you who have read my e-Zines know that I do not differentiate between management and leadership.
Many people believe management and leadership to be two very distinct capabilities, they are; and two independent capabilities, they are not. My first-hand experience is that management and leadership are actually two sides of the same coin.
That is, leaders who cannot and do not competently manage will fail as leaders AND managers who cannot and do not competently lead will remain middle mangers until they get passed over enough times to leave or are fired.
It is true, one must "usually" become a manager before they can be a leader. This is generally the path with the highest probability of success. So the young engineers in the crowd, do not be so anxious to be labeled a "leader". First be a good manager.
However, once on the path of management, an engineer who is a manager must at times, lead and vice versa, in order to be successful long-term.
So for the remainder of this e-Zine I will use the following definitions:
* Manager-Leader are those who understand that management and leadership are two sides of the same coin. They understand that managers must lead and leaders must manage.
* Organizational Executives are those managers or leaders in organizations who still assume that management and leadership are distinct and independent capabilities.
The Manager-Leader can be the president of the United States, the CEO of a corporation, a middle manager or a supervisor. All will, at times, need to display the qualities of both management and leadership in order to be successful.
Of course the challenge is that management and leadership are taught traits. No one is a born leader. (For a full explanation of why this is true you will have to review my previous e-Zines.)
"The cream rises to the top"
Some Organizational Executives believe that the best way to inspire their direct reports is to tell them as little as possible and let them work it out for themselves. This approach is referred to by many names, such as:
* "empowering your direct reports"
* "cream rises to the top and therefore, the best employees will rise to the occasion"
* "trial by fire"
* "do not micromanage your direct reports, let them manage themselves
This form of leadership is often wasteful of talent and generally does not work. Organizational Executives who use this approach generally do not understand motivation and are therefore, ineffective at it.
"Tell them what to do and then watch that they do it"
Some Organizational Executives will take the opposite approach and decide that the best way to get results is to "tell" their direct reports what to do and then watch them to ensure that they do it. These Organizational Executives often get labeled as "micromanagers", generally something thought to be avoided. There is not much motivation here, just a lot of direction.
"Bring in the Big Guns"
Another approach often used to motivate the team is to quote the great authors on management and leadership. This often entails quoting professors from Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and other well known business schools, or authors on management and leadership who have been on the "best sellers list".
Or, the Organizational Executive will quote philosophers or religious leaders.
They throw in everything but the kitchen sink in an effort to find a way to motivate their team.
Unfortunately even the "Big Guns" and their quotes and words of wisdom often fall on deaf ears.
Designing a presentation to motivate the team
I have had the opportunity to witness many an Organizational Executive give a presentation in which they attempted to inspire their direct reports by quoting prominent authors and professors on the subject of leadership and management.
The unfortunate part of all this was that, while the speaker thought it made sense to quote Harvard scholars on management and leadership, the scholars quoted had never managed a day in their lives. And while the phrases quoted made sense to the manager-leader, they failed to move the team.
How do I know? I saw the looks on their faces. The heads tiled down toward the floor. The people looking at their computers in front of them, instead of paying attention, and the general apathy in the room. No one took notes. No one even made a comment or asked a question.
The professors and so-called experts who are often quoted usually have only "observed" the managers and leaders they say they have researched. In many cases, the professors-turned-authors and gurus never interviewed the managers and leaders they quote, but rather sent their students to observe and interview the practicing executives. The students then returned with their observations and the professors used the notes to write their books. This is a common practice.
Based on these second and third-hand "observations" the professors often speak with presumed authority about what "they observed" and what they learned about management and leadership.
Unfortunately, in most of the presentations I have witnessed, their quotes had no true relevance to what was happening in the corporation nor to the team at the time.
But the company leader or manager thought that by quoting these so-called authorities, he could inspire his direct reports to some end. Frankly it is nonsense and it seldom achieves the desired results.
People who look for quotes, short quips, and inspiring phrases to "fire-up" the team are mislead.
Management and leadership cannot be reduced to a few quotes nor to the "Top 10 Best Practices. The Organizational Executive who believes that quick phrases will move a team to action is under a delusion.
It is a constant surprise to me that people will listen to and follow, like lemmings, the words of people who "have never done but only observed".
Would you let a heart surgeon operate on you if he or she had only "observed" an experienced surgeon and not practiced as an intern?
Would you fly in an airplane with a pilot who had only watched others fly and never practiced in a simulator or taken pilot instruction from an experienced instructor?
Would you send astronauts into space for a spacewalk without hours in a swimming pool simulating weightlessness?
But people take advice everyday from people who have never done what they are advising. It does not make any sense to me.
Do This Instead
So if you are a Manager-Leader and you want to motivate your team, instead of quoting Harvard professors who have never been "in the trenches", you can take a much more effective approach.
Instead of beginning your presentation with what will sound like a lecture punctuated with words of wisdom from "inspiring leaders", a better approach would be to ask your direct reports these two simple yet powerful questions. I call them the Two Big Questions.
1. What is working well in our company from your (the team's) perspective?
2. What is missing?
These two questions will give you the insight into what is going on with your direct reports. It will give you information regarding where your team is focusing "their attention". It will give you information about where the "motivational levers" exist for your team.
For sure, if you ask these questions at the beginning of a meeting, you will not have the time to prepare a series of "inspirational charts" before the meeting. It will require you to be "fast on your feet" because you will not know exactly where to go with your presentation until you get the answers to these questions from your team. But it is only through the Big Questions that you, the manger-leader, can understand what will "actually motivate the team".
Each person is different
The Manager-Leader must understand that each person on the team is motivated in a slightly different way. The manager-leader included. You must not be looking for a way to motivate people like yourself only, but be focused on "what motivates the team?"
Talk to your team, not AT your team
When a Manager-Leader is attempting to motivate direct reports, it is extremely important to put the motivational dialogue in terms that the direct reports can relate to.
It does no good to talk about metaphors or examples that are not directly "relate-able" to the team. We must understand the motivational forces at work in the worlds and the minds of the direct reports, and these two questions provide that information.
That means that the Manager-Leader must not attempt to motivate the team based on his or her idea of motivation. The Manager-Leader must remove himself or herself from the equation.
The only way to motivate others is to understand what motivates others. In order to motivate another person we must understand the structure of their mental maps. Then it is important for us to put our motivational dialogue into the words and language that matches the motivational criteria in the mental maps of the person or people being motivated.
If we are attempting to motivate a team of people we must "cover all the bases". We must include in our motivational dialogue all the "references" that connect with all the different people we are attempting to motivate.
One size does not fit all!
So what is a better approach? What approach do I take when I want to motivate my team? How would I suggest the manager-leader behave in order to be more inspiring to the team?
First as I indicated previously, it is critical to determine what the team thinks is working well and what is missing. There are a number of ways to get the answers to the Two Big Questions.
First: in real-time. At the meeting you can ask the Two Big Questions and engage your team in a discussion. Right then, in the meeting.
Second: use a questionnaire. You can request your team's written response to the questions before the meeting takes place. This would allow you to prepare yourself and a presentation for the discussion you want to have.
Third: you can have one-on-one. Either in-person or over the phone, you can have one-on-one conversations in which you can casually ask the Two Big Questions and then use this information to prepare for your presentation. This is my preferred approach.
In this way, the manager-leader "joins" the team members in their worlds and then directs them to the world that he or she wants them to put their attention on.
This approach is much more "inspiring" and "motivating" and much more successful than quoting the latest pop-guru.
Build a bridge
Instead of the manager-leader attempting to motivate the team to head in a direction without a "bridge" from where they are to where he wants them to be, he instead joins them where "they are" and builds a bridge that allows them to confidently and with motivation, move from where they are to where he wants them to be.
This is always the most effective form of motivation and inspiration.
Quoting scholars who have no idea what your team is experiencing and relying on those words to do your job is a sure way to, after presenting your motivational talk, wonder why no one is taking the actions you expected.
Remember; motivation, inspiration, leadership, and management exist in the present, they exist in the relationship between you and your team. They do not exist in the words of scholars who have never been in your shoes or most certainly are not there in the room with you and your direct reports.
You, the manager-leader of your team, must take responsibility for your team. You cannot pass it on to someone else and then wonder why your team is not performing up to standards that were articulated by someone else. The answer is not in quoting someone who is not you, or someone who is not in the room with you and your team, or someone who has not experienced what your team is going through, or even someone who may not presently be alive.
No one ever said management and leadership were easy. They are not and no one can do them for you.
Be well,
Steven
Global Worldwide Office in Orlando Florida - US. Branch Office in Anaheim California - US.
Minggu, 01 Agustus 2010
The Number 1 Leadership Rule
STCerri International E-zine/Newsletter
Greetings!
The #1 Leadership Rule You Need To Know!
If you were to pick one and only one leadership rule, I've put it in this ezine/newsletter. Everything else about leadership pales in comparison to this rule and I've devoted this week's ezine/newsletter to just this topic.
Be well,
Steven Cerri
P.S. Those of you in the San Francisco/Bay Area, I'm giving a talk at the AIAA meeting on Thursday, January 22. The topic is a comparison of different personality style instruments (i.e., Myers-Briggs, etc.) and if they are useful. You can get more information at www.aiaa-sf.org.
P.S.S. Feel free to pass this Ezine/Newsletter on to a friend.
Note: If you have missed my previous Ezines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived E-zines/Newsletters
"The first rule of management and leadership"
Is that an ear-worm I'm hearing?
Ever have one of those songs or tune that gets stuck in your head and just won't leave? It repeats over and over. An "ear worm" I think they're called.
Well, there's one in the world of leadership too. It comes up every now and then, especially when something big is happening in the world of leadership, such as now with the change in US presidents.
It's usually put forth by news commentators who don't know much about the real mechanics of leadership and are quoting something they heard or read somewhere, someplace.
And because it's so common and it sounds so "true" I've decided to clear this up.
What they get wrong.
So what is this error that I am so boldly proclaiming people often get wrong about management and leadership? It's this phrase:
"Leadership is the ability to get people to do what they don't want to do". Or some variation on that theme. It's wrong. Period.
Every four years or every time we have to do something painful as a nation or every time people believe that someone has to make a sacrifice, then someone says, "Oh that takes real leadership... you know... leadership is getting people to do what they don't really want to do."
It was said of George Bush and now it's being said of Barack Obama. It's being said about the "bail out". It's being said about the sacrifices people will be asked to make.
And whenever the sacrifices are significant, we ask for "great leadership" because it is great leadership that will get us to do what we don't really want to do. Right?
That's not the way human beings work.
Let's get this really clear... it is impossible for a human being to do what they don't want to do. We are not wired to do anything we don't want to do. To act (or even to not act) requires "volition" which means it is impossible to do something that we don't want to do. (Don't worry, I'll explain how this works by the end of this ezine/newsletter).
Humans as coins.
Imagine that every human being is a coin. As we know, on one side of US coinage is a "head" or bust of a prominent historical figure and on the other side is something that is not a bust of someone and we call this a "tail". If we use the analogy that human beings are like coins then each human being is motivated to move toward what they want (we can call this heads) or they are motivated to move away from what we don't want (we can call this tails).
There is no in-between. We either move toward what we want or we move away from what we don't want. Both are actions to do what we want to do. Neither one is a movement to do something we don't want. Both are movements to do what we do want... either to gain or to avoid.
That's not the way human beings work.
These two motivating forces are "hard-wired" in us.
The moving away from motivation (the tails side of our coin) is driven by our desire for survival. It is generally a result of our primitive emotional functions in the Amygdala. This portion of our brain is very old and has been programmed to help us survive. It is where much of our fear-based behavior originates and current research indicates that the fears we have are mostly learned.
The Amygdala is also a critical component of our ability to generate cognitive dissonance and it's what drives us to look out for what has changed, what is dangerous, to our survival. As I said, this is the "tails" portion of our brain.
The "heads" side of our brain is the "Neo-Cortex" including the "frontal lobes". These parts of our brain are constantly thinking of possibilities and future projections in time of those possibilities. They attempt to make sense of the world and allow us to create new worlds.
And these two parts of our brain are constantly in competition for who will win the tug of dueling motivational forces.
Just look around.
Now if you'll recall last weeks' ezine/newsletter, you know that I highly value personal experience as a validation of the truth about the world we live in. Well, just look around you. It's everywhere in the media. Both sides of the human coin are everywhere in our daily lives.
Some people in the news emphasize that we have not been attached by terrorists since 9/11, and so we must continue doing what we've been doing to keep us safe (a moving away from statement).
Others emphasize that this is a time of new hope, and it's time to re-think our policies and create something new (a moving toward statement).
Some emphasize that this could be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and may actually be as severe as the Great Depression, and therefore we must be careful not to do anything that worsens the situation (a moving away from statement).
While others emphasize that, while this will be serious, we can make changes and work our way out of this and create a more stable financial world in the future, (a moving toward statement).
These are examples of how people can emphasize a moving away from motivation or emphasize a moving toward motivation. Which one resonates with you will tell you a little about how you move through the world. (By the way, the nation is very closely split on moving away from and moving towards and that is why our elections of late have been so close.)
Fear can be a powerful motivator.
Now because the primitive brain (which includes the Amygdala) is so old and deserves a great deal of credit for our survival, it is very powerful indeed. That means, all things being equal, survival will almost always win over any moving toward strategy. The fact that we are here is testimony to that fact.
So moving away from fear, is a powerful motivator in our world. I remember when I was a small boy and the Soviet Union still existed, every election cycle the candidates would begin shouting about the threat that the Soviet Union posed. It seemed that during every election there were only three topics that rose to the top of the election agenda... the fear brought about by the Soviet Union; the fear brought about by crime in the streets; and the fear brought about by loosing ones job. Fear, fear, fear. The politicians then, as some do now, played to the primitive brain of people, eliciting a moving away from strategy which often helped them win the election.
Priorities can change so watch the context
I want to give you one more example of moving toward and moving away from in the current financial situation.
A year ago, most people would never have given a thought to putting their cash in a bank savings account. Putting cash in a bank savings account is a "moving away from" motivation because it is geared around the "safety" of your cash not making a lot more of it.
Instead, a year ago, most people had a moving toward motivation. "I'll put my money in the stock market, or a hedge fund, or I'll buy a house because the value of all of these is going to go up... a moving toward motivation. Moving toward more value.
Fast forward to a few months ago. The financial environment has changed, drastically. There is a great deal of risk... everywhere. Survival is now at the top of the list. Keeping the money a person has is much more important than making any money with it because the risk is so high. So survival, maintaining the safety of one's cash, a moving away from motivation, has now gone from the bottom of the priority list to the top of the priority list.
So what was unthinkable a year ago, putting ones cash in a FDIC insured savings account, now seems prudent. Is it getting people to do something they don't want to do (put money in savings accounts) or is this just a shift from moving towards to moving away from? You know my answer.
So in a short time, we (indeed the whole world) have shifted from a moving toward strategy to a moving away from strategy. We have moved from a growth, possibility, and creation strategy to a survival, maintenance, stop-loss strategy. (By the way, we won't get out of this financial situation until we shift back to a moving toward motivation.)
Now what does this have to do with management?
Here is how this all translates to management and why the people who talk about leadership, I think, get it wrong when they say leadership is about making people do what they don't want to do.
Moving away from strategies and moving away from actions are often interpreted as "people doing something they don't want to do." So the leader who can motivate people to move away from something, often appears to be motivating people to do something they really don't want to do. The embedded presupposition is that people want to move toward what they want and don't want to move away from what they don't want. But it's not true. It all depends on the context.
Regardless of whether people are moving toward what they want or moving away from what they don't want, they are still doing what they want to do. It's just that a moving away from strategy is based on fear and a moving toward strategy is based on possibility.
Notice how just what I've told you to this point has probably changed your perception in relation to management and leadership. Notice if there is a shift in the clarity of your perception regarding leadership as you read these two statements:
1. Leadership is getting people to do something they don't want to do.
2. Leadership is getting people to do something based on the possibility of an outcome or the fear of an outcome.
Notice how statement number 2 gives you so much more clarity regarding motivation and action about "how" to lead.
So which do you use?
Now here is the important point... there is a place for both motivations; moving towards and moving away from. In fact, there are certain people who prefer to be motivated by moving away from. They tend to be the people who believe their "glass is always half empty".
So I'm not going to suggest that leaders ought never to motivate using a moving away from motivation. At times its useful. And there are people who will like it and respond to it.
However, I personally prefer to use a moving toward motivation strategy whenever possible. I have at times, used moving away from strategies in leadership, but rarely.
By far the most powerful, effective, inspiring, and successful forms of motivation are those that employ moving towards. This has been my experience.
This ought to now make clear why there are some managers who are tyrants and are still successful. A "moving away from" leader will tend to attract "moving away from" direct reports. They will work well together. A "moving toward" direct report working for a "moving away from" manager will think the manager to be too negative and intimidating and too much of a bully.
A "moving away from" direct report who works for a "moving toward" manager will think the manager is too positive, and doesn't really see how dangerous the world is.
In the final analysis, the best leaders can adjust their leadership style to accommodate the preferred style of each direct report, whether one-on-one or as a group.
And the final rules are...
So here is my final leadership rule now expanded into all its corollaries:
Leadership Rule. True great leadership is getting people to do something as a result of the excitement of achieving the possibility of an outcome or as a result of action prompted by avoiding the fear of an outcome.
Associated Corollaries
1. There is no such thing as "Leadership is getting people to do something they don't want to do. It's impossible for people to do what they don't want to do.
2. People are in constant tug between moving toward and moving away from.
3. Great leaders know how to assess the best motivaiton strategy based on the individuals and the team psychology.
4. A combination of moving towards and moving away from can often be more effective than using any one mode.
5. Too much "moving away from" leadership tends to drain an individual or team of it's energy and ultimately the team will disintegrate if too much moving away from strategy is employed.
6. The greatest creativity, possibility, and energy come from moving toward strategies.
If you have any comments please add them to the end of this blog. I'd be very interested in your ideas.
Have fun leading!
Be well,
Steven
Greetings!
The #1 Leadership Rule You Need To Know!
If you were to pick one and only one leadership rule, I've put it in this ezine/newsletter. Everything else about leadership pales in comparison to this rule and I've devoted this week's ezine/newsletter to just this topic.
Be well,
Steven Cerri
P.S. Those of you in the San Francisco/Bay Area, I'm giving a talk at the AIAA meeting on Thursday, January 22. The topic is a comparison of different personality style instruments (i.e., Myers-Briggs, etc.) and if they are useful. You can get more information at www.aiaa-sf.org.
P.S.S. Feel free to pass this Ezine/Newsletter on to a friend.
Note: If you have missed my previous Ezines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived E-zines/Newsletters
"The first rule of management and leadership"
Is that an ear-worm I'm hearing?
Ever have one of those songs or tune that gets stuck in your head and just won't leave? It repeats over and over. An "ear worm" I think they're called.
Well, there's one in the world of leadership too. It comes up every now and then, especially when something big is happening in the world of leadership, such as now with the change in US presidents.
It's usually put forth by news commentators who don't know much about the real mechanics of leadership and are quoting something they heard or read somewhere, someplace.
And because it's so common and it sounds so "true" I've decided to clear this up.
What they get wrong.
So what is this error that I am so boldly proclaiming people often get wrong about management and leadership? It's this phrase:
"Leadership is the ability to get people to do what they don't want to do". Or some variation on that theme. It's wrong. Period.
Every four years or every time we have to do something painful as a nation or every time people believe that someone has to make a sacrifice, then someone says, "Oh that takes real leadership... you know... leadership is getting people to do what they don't really want to do."
It was said of George Bush and now it's being said of Barack Obama. It's being said about the "bail out". It's being said about the sacrifices people will be asked to make.
And whenever the sacrifices are significant, we ask for "great leadership" because it is great leadership that will get us to do what we don't really want to do. Right?
That's not the way human beings work.
Let's get this really clear... it is impossible for a human being to do what they don't want to do. We are not wired to do anything we don't want to do. To act (or even to not act) requires "volition" which means it is impossible to do something that we don't want to do. (Don't worry, I'll explain how this works by the end of this ezine/newsletter).
Humans as coins.
Imagine that every human being is a coin. As we know, on one side of US coinage is a "head" or bust of a prominent historical figure and on the other side is something that is not a bust of someone and we call this a "tail". If we use the analogy that human beings are like coins then each human being is motivated to move toward what they want (we can call this heads) or they are motivated to move away from what we don't want (we can call this tails).
There is no in-between. We either move toward what we want or we move away from what we don't want. Both are actions to do what we want to do. Neither one is a movement to do something we don't want. Both are movements to do what we do want... either to gain or to avoid.
That's not the way human beings work.
These two motivating forces are "hard-wired" in us.
The moving away from motivation (the tails side of our coin) is driven by our desire for survival. It is generally a result of our primitive emotional functions in the Amygdala. This portion of our brain is very old and has been programmed to help us survive. It is where much of our fear-based behavior originates and current research indicates that the fears we have are mostly learned.
The Amygdala is also a critical component of our ability to generate cognitive dissonance and it's what drives us to look out for what has changed, what is dangerous, to our survival. As I said, this is the "tails" portion of our brain.
The "heads" side of our brain is the "Neo-Cortex" including the "frontal lobes". These parts of our brain are constantly thinking of possibilities and future projections in time of those possibilities. They attempt to make sense of the world and allow us to create new worlds.
And these two parts of our brain are constantly in competition for who will win the tug of dueling motivational forces.
Just look around.
Now if you'll recall last weeks' ezine/newsletter, you know that I highly value personal experience as a validation of the truth about the world we live in. Well, just look around you. It's everywhere in the media. Both sides of the human coin are everywhere in our daily lives.
Some people in the news emphasize that we have not been attached by terrorists since 9/11, and so we must continue doing what we've been doing to keep us safe (a moving away from statement).
Others emphasize that this is a time of new hope, and it's time to re-think our policies and create something new (a moving toward statement).
Some emphasize that this could be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and may actually be as severe as the Great Depression, and therefore we must be careful not to do anything that worsens the situation (a moving away from statement).
While others emphasize that, while this will be serious, we can make changes and work our way out of this and create a more stable financial world in the future, (a moving toward statement).
These are examples of how people can emphasize a moving away from motivation or emphasize a moving toward motivation. Which one resonates with you will tell you a little about how you move through the world. (By the way, the nation is very closely split on moving away from and moving towards and that is why our elections of late have been so close.)
Fear can be a powerful motivator.
Now because the primitive brain (which includes the Amygdala) is so old and deserves a great deal of credit for our survival, it is very powerful indeed. That means, all things being equal, survival will almost always win over any moving toward strategy. The fact that we are here is testimony to that fact.
So moving away from fear, is a powerful motivator in our world. I remember when I was a small boy and the Soviet Union still existed, every election cycle the candidates would begin shouting about the threat that the Soviet Union posed. It seemed that during every election there were only three topics that rose to the top of the election agenda... the fear brought about by the Soviet Union; the fear brought about by crime in the streets; and the fear brought about by loosing ones job. Fear, fear, fear. The politicians then, as some do now, played to the primitive brain of people, eliciting a moving away from strategy which often helped them win the election.
Priorities can change so watch the context
I want to give you one more example of moving toward and moving away from in the current financial situation.
A year ago, most people would never have given a thought to putting their cash in a bank savings account. Putting cash in a bank savings account is a "moving away from" motivation because it is geared around the "safety" of your cash not making a lot more of it.
Instead, a year ago, most people had a moving toward motivation. "I'll put my money in the stock market, or a hedge fund, or I'll buy a house because the value of all of these is going to go up... a moving toward motivation. Moving toward more value.
Fast forward to a few months ago. The financial environment has changed, drastically. There is a great deal of risk... everywhere. Survival is now at the top of the list. Keeping the money a person has is much more important than making any money with it because the risk is so high. So survival, maintaining the safety of one's cash, a moving away from motivation, has now gone from the bottom of the priority list to the top of the priority list.
So what was unthinkable a year ago, putting ones cash in a FDIC insured savings account, now seems prudent. Is it getting people to do something they don't want to do (put money in savings accounts) or is this just a shift from moving towards to moving away from? You know my answer.
So in a short time, we (indeed the whole world) have shifted from a moving toward strategy to a moving away from strategy. We have moved from a growth, possibility, and creation strategy to a survival, maintenance, stop-loss strategy. (By the way, we won't get out of this financial situation until we shift back to a moving toward motivation.)
Now what does this have to do with management?
Here is how this all translates to management and why the people who talk about leadership, I think, get it wrong when they say leadership is about making people do what they don't want to do.
Moving away from strategies and moving away from actions are often interpreted as "people doing something they don't want to do." So the leader who can motivate people to move away from something, often appears to be motivating people to do something they really don't want to do. The embedded presupposition is that people want to move toward what they want and don't want to move away from what they don't want. But it's not true. It all depends on the context.
Regardless of whether people are moving toward what they want or moving away from what they don't want, they are still doing what they want to do. It's just that a moving away from strategy is based on fear and a moving toward strategy is based on possibility.
Notice how just what I've told you to this point has probably changed your perception in relation to management and leadership. Notice if there is a shift in the clarity of your perception regarding leadership as you read these two statements:
1. Leadership is getting people to do something they don't want to do.
2. Leadership is getting people to do something based on the possibility of an outcome or the fear of an outcome.
Notice how statement number 2 gives you so much more clarity regarding motivation and action about "how" to lead.
So which do you use?
Now here is the important point... there is a place for both motivations; moving towards and moving away from. In fact, there are certain people who prefer to be motivated by moving away from. They tend to be the people who believe their "glass is always half empty".
So I'm not going to suggest that leaders ought never to motivate using a moving away from motivation. At times its useful. And there are people who will like it and respond to it.
However, I personally prefer to use a moving toward motivation strategy whenever possible. I have at times, used moving away from strategies in leadership, but rarely.
By far the most powerful, effective, inspiring, and successful forms of motivation are those that employ moving towards. This has been my experience.
This ought to now make clear why there are some managers who are tyrants and are still successful. A "moving away from" leader will tend to attract "moving away from" direct reports. They will work well together. A "moving toward" direct report working for a "moving away from" manager will think the manager to be too negative and intimidating and too much of a bully.
A "moving away from" direct report who works for a "moving toward" manager will think the manager is too positive, and doesn't really see how dangerous the world is.
In the final analysis, the best leaders can adjust their leadership style to accommodate the preferred style of each direct report, whether one-on-one or as a group.
And the final rules are...
So here is my final leadership rule now expanded into all its corollaries:
Leadership Rule. True great leadership is getting people to do something as a result of the excitement of achieving the possibility of an outcome or as a result of action prompted by avoiding the fear of an outcome.
Associated Corollaries
1. There is no such thing as "Leadership is getting people to do something they don't want to do. It's impossible for people to do what they don't want to do.
2. People are in constant tug between moving toward and moving away from.
3. Great leaders know how to assess the best motivaiton strategy based on the individuals and the team psychology.
4. A combination of moving towards and moving away from can often be more effective than using any one mode.
5. Too much "moving away from" leadership tends to drain an individual or team of it's energy and ultimately the team will disintegrate if too much moving away from strategy is employed.
6. The greatest creativity, possibility, and energy come from moving toward strategies.
If you have any comments please add them to the end of this blog. I'd be very interested in your ideas.
Have fun leading!
Be well,
Steven
Mentoring and Coaching
STCerri International E-zine/Newsletter
Greetings!
Finding a mentor or coach
This week I was interviewed by Dice (the IT job portal) for an upcoming on-line resource they are preparing to assist young IT professionals in advancing their careers. I was asked what my three top suggestions were for IT professionals who wanted to advance their IT career. We ended the interview on the topic of what makes a good coach or mentor.
The interview got me thinking about how to select a really good mentor and/or coach, whether inside your organization or outside.
I know my own coaches and mentors were extremely instrumental in helping me with my career. So I thought I would share with you some of my thoughts on what are the important qualities to look for when selecting a mentor or coach.
Enjoy and be well,
Steven Cerri
P.S. Feel free to pass this Ezine on to a friend.
Note: If you have missed my previous Ezines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived Ezines/Newsletters
"Mentoring and Coaching IS What You Think!"
There is a lot of discussion about the importance of mentoring and of coaching for engineers regarding their careers. Many want mentors and coaches to tell them "what to do". It seems our world is filled with people who want to know "what to do" in order to be successful.
As engineers and technical managers, we often believe that if we just know what to do, we can do it and we will therefore be successful. Knowing what to do seems to be the key.
And yet... the world is filled with people who know a great deal about what to do and yet things don't change.
Here are some examples.
How many people want to change something in their lives? How many want to exercise regularly, loose weight, stop smoking, save money... the list is almost endless.
And for those who want to know what to do in order to exercise regularly, loose weight, stop smoking, or save money, there are more books and more courses than one can read or attend in a life-time (primarily because there are more and more coming onto the market every day.)
But gaining knowledge about "what to do" does not seem to change behavior in many situations. People read books and attend workshops and nothing seems to change. They diet endlessly. They exercise for a while then keep paying their gym memberships but never attend. They stop smoking and then start again. They save, paying themselves first, while running up their credit cards.
In the final analysis, it seems that changing behavior is not just about "knowing what to do". There seems to be more than one variable to this equation.
How do we change behavior?
The question then is how do we change behavior and how do we move our behavior toward that of a successful long-term engineering career or toward successful engineering management?
What are the important characteristics in a mentor or coach? And how does this relate to your career?
The answer to these questions is embedded in the "way you think", or more precisely, the way you and your coach or mentor think.
Another way to say it is that it is in your way of "being". And let me be clear, the way you think and the way of being are not the same as attitude. Attitude is the by-product of the way you think and your way of being. So someone telling you to change your attitude is putting the cart before the horse.
Think of it this way
Your way of being ... leads to and produces ...
what you do ... which leads to and produces ...
what you have.
Summarized it becomes: Being --> Doing --> Having
Most people focus on having. They think they want to have, have, have.
Some, especially we engineers and technical managers, think that knowing what to do is the key. But alas, doing is not the key either.
So what's up?
The first step in the process is the most important step. And that step is accessing a state of Being that will produce the doing. It is the state of being that drives what we will do and the doing, in turn, leads us to what we will have.
So when seeking a mentor or a coach what should you look for and what should you ask for? What are the important qualities? Should you seek out someone who has specific successful behaviors and ask for coaching and mentoring around How To Do those specific positive behaviors?
As I said, knowing what do to does not guarantee success. While you want to find a mentor or coach who knows "how" to be successful, that is not the whole story.
So what else is important when looking for a coach or mentor? What should the young engineer or technical manager ask of their coach or mentor?
The answer is that the coach or mentor should convey the "why" and the "mental and physiological state of being" that causes the behavior to show up. You want to know how your coach or mentor "thinks" and "is" when doing.
You see, as you move from engineer to team lead, to technical manager, to director, to vice president, to CEO you are paid less and less for technical know how and more and more for your judgment.
Let me restate that; as you move up the organizational ladder, you are paid not just for what you know but also for your judgment. And judgment is the "appropriate" application of what you know to situations that are, in general, relatively ambiguous and uncertain as to their moral, ethical, business, and operational boundaries and outcomes.
Therefore, if you want to fully and effectively utilize a mentor and coach, you must find people who will share with you their thought processes, their judgments, that ultimately lead to their actions.
This requirement in turn, necessitates a mentor or coach who is self-reflective enough to know "why" they do things. And this is not an easy person to find.
A good coach or mentor is hard to find
Have you ever read a book by an author who got his or her information by asking executives, managers, and business leaders to explain what they did and why? Have you noticed that the leaders and managers tell the author what they did and their reasons and it all sounds very logical and reasonable? And have you noticed that when you attempt to implement the actions described in the book, there doesn't seem to be a fit and match between your motivations and the suggested and necessary actions?
That's because the "logical explanation" for one's behavior is seldom the true motivation. That's why it is very, very, very difficult to trust a book that purports to describe what and why a manager took a specific action in a certain situation.
In reality, the reason, the motivation, the state of being that gives rise to an action is often far removed from the "common sense" rationale that would seem reasonably connected to the action.
For this reason, if you want a mentor or coach you must find someone who not only can tell you "what they did" but also have a real connection to their motives so they can tell you "why they did it". This kind of coach or mentor is difficult to find and worth their weight in gold.
This is why mentors and coaches get such mixed reviews. Even coaches and mentors within your companies are often oriented around what to be doing as opposed to the "who you must be" when taking the action.
A different model of action
You see, in my model, action is the last stage in a process. Many people assume that knowing what to do is the be all and end all to action. Actually, in my model, action is the end stage in a four state process that begins with your "map" of the world. In essence, your state of being. Your sense of who you are.
It is the state of being, the sense of who you are that gives rise to action.
Find a coach or mentor who understands this and you will learn what it takes to be a great manager and leader. Find a coach or mentor who understands this and you will learn judgment, and slowly develop your own judgment. This is the path to true leadership. It is the path to truly being able to be paid for your judgment. It is also why management and leadership cannot happen over night. The development of these skills and internal states takes time.
When I coached and mentored my direct reports we would spend more time discussing and understanding "why" to do something and who they had to "be" than on the actual "doing".
And now when I coach and mentor my clients there is a healthy balance between what action to be doing, why to be doing it, and who the person has to be in order to successfully accomplish the action.
Summary of how to find a coach or mentor.
Here are four steps you can use to find a good coach or mentor:
1. Find someone who HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL in the area you are also interested in being successful. (It's called modeling. You want to model someone who's behavior has been the behavior you want to emulate or model.)
2. Find someone who is self-aware enough to be able to tell you not only what they have done, but also why they have done it and, here is the most important concept, "What had to be true for them in order to have the specific behavior you are attempting to model?".
3. Find someone who has the patience to talk you through this process over and over and over and over and over again. Learning to manage or lead doesn't happen over night.
4. Find someone with whom you have a psychological and communication compatibility. Someone you can communicate with comfortably. Someone you respect and who respects you.
These four criteria are important because there are ten questions (at least) you will want to ask your mentor or coach over and over again, and they are:
Question #1: "Tell me again, what you did, what the steps were and what the end result was?"
Question #2: "What motivated you to do that... What was going through your mind when you decided to do that?"
Question #3: "If you had to do it all over again, would you do it that way or would you change it?"
Question #4: "Where you moving toward something you wanted to accomplish and attain or were you moving away from something you wanted to avoid or minimize?"
Question #5: "Did you ask for advice from others or did you decide on your own to take this action?"
Question #6: If you sought and received advice from others, from whom did you seek it and how much weight did you give their advice in your decision?
Question #7: "Where you focused on the immediate impact of your decision or did you take into account the greater organization or company?"
Question #8: "Based on how it turned out, would you do it the same way now?"
Question #9: "What would you do different, if anything, now that you have been through it?"
Question #10: "How did you feel internally before you made the decision, as you made the decision, and after you made the decision."
These are the 10 questions that you want to be able to ask your mentor or coach in order to extract the real "keys to the kingdom". As you can see these are not so much about what was done but why it was done.
Be well,
Steven
Greetings!
Finding a mentor or coach
This week I was interviewed by Dice (the IT job portal) for an upcoming on-line resource they are preparing to assist young IT professionals in advancing their careers. I was asked what my three top suggestions were for IT professionals who wanted to advance their IT career. We ended the interview on the topic of what makes a good coach or mentor.
The interview got me thinking about how to select a really good mentor and/or coach, whether inside your organization or outside.
I know my own coaches and mentors were extremely instrumental in helping me with my career. So I thought I would share with you some of my thoughts on what are the important qualities to look for when selecting a mentor or coach.
Enjoy and be well,
Steven Cerri
P.S. Feel free to pass this Ezine on to a friend.
Note: If you have missed my previous Ezines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived Ezines/Newsletters
"Mentoring and Coaching IS What You Think!"
There is a lot of discussion about the importance of mentoring and of coaching for engineers regarding their careers. Many want mentors and coaches to tell them "what to do". It seems our world is filled with people who want to know "what to do" in order to be successful.
As engineers and technical managers, we often believe that if we just know what to do, we can do it and we will therefore be successful. Knowing what to do seems to be the key.
And yet... the world is filled with people who know a great deal about what to do and yet things don't change.
Here are some examples.
How many people want to change something in their lives? How many want to exercise regularly, loose weight, stop smoking, save money... the list is almost endless.
And for those who want to know what to do in order to exercise regularly, loose weight, stop smoking, or save money, there are more books and more courses than one can read or attend in a life-time (primarily because there are more and more coming onto the market every day.)
But gaining knowledge about "what to do" does not seem to change behavior in many situations. People read books and attend workshops and nothing seems to change. They diet endlessly. They exercise for a while then keep paying their gym memberships but never attend. They stop smoking and then start again. They save, paying themselves first, while running up their credit cards.
In the final analysis, it seems that changing behavior is not just about "knowing what to do". There seems to be more than one variable to this equation.
How do we change behavior?
The question then is how do we change behavior and how do we move our behavior toward that of a successful long-term engineering career or toward successful engineering management?
What are the important characteristics in a mentor or coach? And how does this relate to your career?
The answer to these questions is embedded in the "way you think", or more precisely, the way you and your coach or mentor think.
Another way to say it is that it is in your way of "being". And let me be clear, the way you think and the way of being are not the same as attitude. Attitude is the by-product of the way you think and your way of being. So someone telling you to change your attitude is putting the cart before the horse.
Think of it this way
Your way of being ... leads to and produces ...
what you do ... which leads to and produces ...
what you have.
Summarized it becomes: Being --> Doing --> Having
Most people focus on having. They think they want to have, have, have.
Some, especially we engineers and technical managers, think that knowing what to do is the key. But alas, doing is not the key either.
So what's up?
The first step in the process is the most important step. And that step is accessing a state of Being that will produce the doing. It is the state of being that drives what we will do and the doing, in turn, leads us to what we will have.
So when seeking a mentor or a coach what should you look for and what should you ask for? What are the important qualities? Should you seek out someone who has specific successful behaviors and ask for coaching and mentoring around How To Do those specific positive behaviors?
As I said, knowing what do to does not guarantee success. While you want to find a mentor or coach who knows "how" to be successful, that is not the whole story.
So what else is important when looking for a coach or mentor? What should the young engineer or technical manager ask of their coach or mentor?
The answer is that the coach or mentor should convey the "why" and the "mental and physiological state of being" that causes the behavior to show up. You want to know how your coach or mentor "thinks" and "is" when doing.
You see, as you move from engineer to team lead, to technical manager, to director, to vice president, to CEO you are paid less and less for technical know how and more and more for your judgment.
Let me restate that; as you move up the organizational ladder, you are paid not just for what you know but also for your judgment. And judgment is the "appropriate" application of what you know to situations that are, in general, relatively ambiguous and uncertain as to their moral, ethical, business, and operational boundaries and outcomes.
Therefore, if you want to fully and effectively utilize a mentor and coach, you must find people who will share with you their thought processes, their judgments, that ultimately lead to their actions.
This requirement in turn, necessitates a mentor or coach who is self-reflective enough to know "why" they do things. And this is not an easy person to find.
A good coach or mentor is hard to find
Have you ever read a book by an author who got his or her information by asking executives, managers, and business leaders to explain what they did and why? Have you noticed that the leaders and managers tell the author what they did and their reasons and it all sounds very logical and reasonable? And have you noticed that when you attempt to implement the actions described in the book, there doesn't seem to be a fit and match between your motivations and the suggested and necessary actions?
That's because the "logical explanation" for one's behavior is seldom the true motivation. That's why it is very, very, very difficult to trust a book that purports to describe what and why a manager took a specific action in a certain situation.
In reality, the reason, the motivation, the state of being that gives rise to an action is often far removed from the "common sense" rationale that would seem reasonably connected to the action.
For this reason, if you want a mentor or coach you must find someone who not only can tell you "what they did" but also have a real connection to their motives so they can tell you "why they did it". This kind of coach or mentor is difficult to find and worth their weight in gold.
This is why mentors and coaches get such mixed reviews. Even coaches and mentors within your companies are often oriented around what to be doing as opposed to the "who you must be" when taking the action.
A different model of action
You see, in my model, action is the last stage in a process. Many people assume that knowing what to do is the be all and end all to action. Actually, in my model, action is the end stage in a four state process that begins with your "map" of the world. In essence, your state of being. Your sense of who you are.
It is the state of being, the sense of who you are that gives rise to action.
Find a coach or mentor who understands this and you will learn what it takes to be a great manager and leader. Find a coach or mentor who understands this and you will learn judgment, and slowly develop your own judgment. This is the path to true leadership. It is the path to truly being able to be paid for your judgment. It is also why management and leadership cannot happen over night. The development of these skills and internal states takes time.
When I coached and mentored my direct reports we would spend more time discussing and understanding "why" to do something and who they had to "be" than on the actual "doing".
And now when I coach and mentor my clients there is a healthy balance between what action to be doing, why to be doing it, and who the person has to be in order to successfully accomplish the action.
Summary of how to find a coach or mentor.
Here are four steps you can use to find a good coach or mentor:
1. Find someone who HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL in the area you are also interested in being successful. (It's called modeling. You want to model someone who's behavior has been the behavior you want to emulate or model.)
2. Find someone who is self-aware enough to be able to tell you not only what they have done, but also why they have done it and, here is the most important concept, "What had to be true for them in order to have the specific behavior you are attempting to model?".
3. Find someone who has the patience to talk you through this process over and over and over and over and over again. Learning to manage or lead doesn't happen over night.
4. Find someone with whom you have a psychological and communication compatibility. Someone you can communicate with comfortably. Someone you respect and who respects you.
These four criteria are important because there are ten questions (at least) you will want to ask your mentor or coach over and over again, and they are:
Question #1: "Tell me again, what you did, what the steps were and what the end result was?"
Question #2: "What motivated you to do that... What was going through your mind when you decided to do that?"
Question #3: "If you had to do it all over again, would you do it that way or would you change it?"
Question #4: "Where you moving toward something you wanted to accomplish and attain or were you moving away from something you wanted to avoid or minimize?"
Question #5: "Did you ask for advice from others or did you decide on your own to take this action?"
Question #6: If you sought and received advice from others, from whom did you seek it and how much weight did you give their advice in your decision?
Question #7: "Where you focused on the immediate impact of your decision or did you take into account the greater organization or company?"
Question #8: "Based on how it turned out, would you do it the same way now?"
Question #9: "What would you do different, if anything, now that you have been through it?"
Question #10: "How did you feel internally before you made the decision, as you made the decision, and after you made the decision."
These are the 10 questions that you want to be able to ask your mentor or coach in order to extract the real "keys to the kingdom". As you can see these are not so much about what was done but why it was done.
Be well,
Steven
We're out of money and we're not done
STCerri International E-zine/Newsletter
Greetings!
Welcome to this month's Ezine.
This month's Ezine/Newsletter contains a fifth case study from my current experience.
This case study is about "A subcontractor who has run out of money", and is still on contract to deliver the product.
It happens often. You contract for something to be done. In this case, software. The contractor runs out of money before completing the software. What do you do?
How would you handle the case I've outlined below?
Enjoy and be well.
Steven Cerri
Note: If you have missed any of my previous ezines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived E-zines/Newsletters
In This Issue (Click on items of interest.)
"We're out of money..."
Influencing Wthout Authority Workshop
Free Ebook and Free Stuff
Skype
Main Article: "We're out of money and we're not done!"
Here's the situation.
You've just been hired by a company, as director of engineering, to manage four programs. Each program has a program manager who reports directly to you.
Upon arriving at work, within the first week, you are told that one of the four programs under your responsibility is a fixed-price contract. The program manager has briefed you and you are told that the contract has an A-Phase and a B-Phase. The A-Phase requires your sub-contractor to develop software within a given time frame for a given price.
During the A-Phase, your company's team is to perform certain document inventory tasks.
After some meetings and some digging you discover that the contract was initiated three months prior to your arrival. Your company's team hasn't yet started the inventory tasks and the time and money have been consumed. And the subcontractor is out of money and the software is not completed.
Welcome to work.
What do you do?
Do you run around accusing people of being incompetent? Do you behave like the "general in charge" in an attempt to turn things around? Or do you role up your sleeves and chip in with the teams? Or do you "coach" the program manager and the subcontractor into doing the work?
But, oh yeah, I almost forgot to remind you, there isn't any more money, and it isn't likely that the customer is going to dump more money into Phase-A since this is just the reason they negotiated a fixed-price contract in the first place.
The only solution that seemed to have a chance!
It seemed to me, that even though I had authority; after all, I was the director of engineering, playing hard ball just didn't seem to be a way to solve this situation. So, while I had plenty of authority, I realized that, actually, it was only organizational authority. It wasn't "real" authority. It wasn't the kind of authority that was going to move anyone to action that they were not inclined to take.
So, while I was in a "position" of authority, I didn't have any "motivational" authority. It was going to be necessary for me to behave as if I had no authority.
So that's what I did. I asked my team what they suggested. What would they do if they were in charge of this contract at this juncture?
Their response was that the inventory tasks would have to be done "by hand" and it would take 6 to 8 days to count the materials.
After further discussion, I put forth my request... "If I work with you, side-by-side, would you be willing to count the inventory by hand over the course of four weekends? The company will provide lunch and we'll get it done. And I can't pay you."
There answer was.... "Yes".
Armed with this commitment from our team, I set up a meeting with the director of programs (i.e., my counterpart) at our subcontracting company. I proposed that his company and his team, finish the software on their "nickel", just like we were doing with our team.
His answer was... "Yes".
Two months later, the inventory was accurately absorbed into the new tracking system, the software was complete, and Phase-B was initiated with new funding. The contract continued for the next three years on budget and on schedule.
And the bottom line is...
We often believe that having authority saves the day. Young engineering managers believe that being given a title, being given "official" authority will make life easy.
It doesn't.
Being given official authority is often of little use. The truly excellent managers and leaders can manage and lead without the official title of either. We, once again, get back to "Influencing Without Authority" or at the very least, "Influencing Without the Help of Authority".
In the final analysis, influence is about finding a connection between what you want to have happen and the desires and motivational drivers of those you want to help you make it happen. No connection... no influence... no desired outcome.
The more powerful the connection the manager or leader can make between the desired outcome and the motivational drivers and "influencers" of the people needed to make it happen, the more effective the manager or leader will be, with or without authority.
In my career, I only used/use my "official" authority when everything else fails. For me, my true authority rests in the "relationships" I develop with the people I want to lead. It's there commitment to me and the relationship we develop that makes influencing effective.
Good luck and be well,
Steven
Greetings!
Welcome to this month's Ezine.
This month's Ezine/Newsletter contains a fifth case study from my current experience.
This case study is about "A subcontractor who has run out of money", and is still on contract to deliver the product.
It happens often. You contract for something to be done. In this case, software. The contractor runs out of money before completing the software. What do you do?
How would you handle the case I've outlined below?
Enjoy and be well.
Steven Cerri
Note: If you have missed any of my previous ezines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived E-zines/Newsletters
In This Issue (Click on items of interest.)
"We're out of money..."
Influencing Wthout Authority Workshop
Free Ebook and Free Stuff
Skype
Main Article: "We're out of money and we're not done!"
Here's the situation.
You've just been hired by a company, as director of engineering, to manage four programs. Each program has a program manager who reports directly to you.
Upon arriving at work, within the first week, you are told that one of the four programs under your responsibility is a fixed-price contract. The program manager has briefed you and you are told that the contract has an A-Phase and a B-Phase. The A-Phase requires your sub-contractor to develop software within a given time frame for a given price.
During the A-Phase, your company's team is to perform certain document inventory tasks.
After some meetings and some digging you discover that the contract was initiated three months prior to your arrival. Your company's team hasn't yet started the inventory tasks and the time and money have been consumed. And the subcontractor is out of money and the software is not completed.
Welcome to work.
What do you do?
Do you run around accusing people of being incompetent? Do you behave like the "general in charge" in an attempt to turn things around? Or do you role up your sleeves and chip in with the teams? Or do you "coach" the program manager and the subcontractor into doing the work?
But, oh yeah, I almost forgot to remind you, there isn't any more money, and it isn't likely that the customer is going to dump more money into Phase-A since this is just the reason they negotiated a fixed-price contract in the first place.
The only solution that seemed to have a chance!
It seemed to me, that even though I had authority; after all, I was the director of engineering, playing hard ball just didn't seem to be a way to solve this situation. So, while I had plenty of authority, I realized that, actually, it was only organizational authority. It wasn't "real" authority. It wasn't the kind of authority that was going to move anyone to action that they were not inclined to take.
So, while I was in a "position" of authority, I didn't have any "motivational" authority. It was going to be necessary for me to behave as if I had no authority.
So that's what I did. I asked my team what they suggested. What would they do if they were in charge of this contract at this juncture?
Their response was that the inventory tasks would have to be done "by hand" and it would take 6 to 8 days to count the materials.
After further discussion, I put forth my request... "If I work with you, side-by-side, would you be willing to count the inventory by hand over the course of four weekends? The company will provide lunch and we'll get it done. And I can't pay you."
There answer was.... "Yes".
Armed with this commitment from our team, I set up a meeting with the director of programs (i.e., my counterpart) at our subcontracting company. I proposed that his company and his team, finish the software on their "nickel", just like we were doing with our team.
His answer was... "Yes".
Two months later, the inventory was accurately absorbed into the new tracking system, the software was complete, and Phase-B was initiated with new funding. The contract continued for the next three years on budget and on schedule.
And the bottom line is...
We often believe that having authority saves the day. Young engineering managers believe that being given a title, being given "official" authority will make life easy.
It doesn't.
Being given official authority is often of little use. The truly excellent managers and leaders can manage and lead without the official title of either. We, once again, get back to "Influencing Without Authority" or at the very least, "Influencing Without the Help of Authority".
In the final analysis, influence is about finding a connection between what you want to have happen and the desires and motivational drivers of those you want to help you make it happen. No connection... no influence... no desired outcome.
The more powerful the connection the manager or leader can make between the desired outcome and the motivational drivers and "influencers" of the people needed to make it happen, the more effective the manager or leader will be, with or without authority.
In my career, I only used/use my "official" authority when everything else fails. For me, my true authority rests in the "relationships" I develop with the people I want to lead. It's there commitment to me and the relationship we develop that makes influencing effective.
Good luck and be well,
Steven
Autonomy as a direct report
STCerri International E-zine/Newsletter
#11: April 2008
Greetings!
How to get some autonomy as a direct report?
If you are an engineer, a technical professional, or non-technical direct report, how do you achieve some autonomy when you manager wants to manage you closely? That's what this Newsletter/E-zine is about.
Enjoy and be well.
Steven Cerri
Note: If you have missed any of my previous e-zines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived E-zines/Newsletters
Note-Note: I could have put short summaries in each section and then sent you through links to different web pages, but who wants to bounce around. Everything is right here in this one email. No links to other URLs. Just click on the article titles immediately below this box to move to those topics you are interested in and avoid those you're not. This newsletter/e-zine is packed... it's a 20 minute read.
In This Issue (Click on items of interest.)
"Micromanagement Is Everywhere!" (< 10 minute read)
"How Easy Is All This?" (< 10 minute read)
Free Stuff
Skype Has Been Added
Blogs
Article #1: "Micromanagement seems to be everywhere!"
(10 minute read)
Did you every purchase a new car and all of a sudden you see your make, model, and color car on the road everywhere. Now that you have one, it seems so does everyone else.
Well, the same phenomenon has occurred with me and the topic of "micromanagement". Now that I've completed my 3-CD set titled "Succeeding Without Micromanagement", it seems that everyone I talk to is complaining about being micromanaged or is concerned about being perceived as a micromanager.
So since it seems like such a common phenomenon, I'm going to devote this issue to micromanagement and I'm going to give you some concrete ways to avoid it.
Let's begin with a discussion of what micromanagement looks like, The primary questions are; "How do you know when you are micromanaged?" What's the evidence in your mind that you are being micromanaged?"
1. Is it because your manager calls you every day?
2. Is it because you manager calls you three times a day?
3. Is it that your manager wants to know at 8 in the morning what you intend to accomplish by the end of the day, and at the end of the day wants to know what you did accomplish?
4. Is it that your manager wants a weekly status report by close of business on Friday for the previous week?
5. Is it that your manager wants a plan, schedule, and budget before your begin your project.
6. Is it that your manager wants a monthly status meeting regarding your progress?
What is clear in my mind is that micromanagement is always very, very personal. What sets off your button regarding micromanagement may not set off mine, or may not set of the other people on your team.
Micromanagement is personal.
That's the first principle I want to convey. Micromanagement is very personal it is not the same for everyone.
In fact, I coach direct reports and managers who are upset that their managers don't manage them "close enough or often enough". They are actually complaining to me that they are not be managed ENOUGH!
So it's very important to get clear that....
One person's micromanagement is another person's supportive and concerned manager. One person's concerned and supportive manager is another person's over-bearing, overly-controlling manager.
Therefore, micromanagement doesn't have a "general" or "universal" definition. It doesn't have a baseline behavior that defines it. So if you are going to talk about it, be clear about exactly what you mean.
This leads us to the very critical point. This is the biggest fact about micromanagement... micromanagement is all about the structure of the relationship between the direct report and the manager. That is the key. Micromanagement is in the relationship.
If you are a manager and you want to avoid being a micromanager, then you must structure a manager-direct report relationship that is the right mix of management and freedom based on you, the manager, the direct report, and the situation.
And here is the "kicker".... very often when I'm coaching engineers and technical professionals who think they are being managed too closely, I will actually coach them to give the manager what the manager wants.
The first response from the engineer is that I must be crazy. "How can giving my manager what he or she wants, all this information and reporting, get me the autonomy and freedom I seek?" That's what they usually say.
My response to that question is always the same and here it is:
I believe people are always doing the best they can. They are always attempting to do what they think is the right behavior for the situation even if you don't think so. Therefore, my approach is to assume the manager has a good intention. I don't automatically assume that the manager is a vindictive, control freak.
In fact, if we can find that "good intention" that is motivating the manager, we might be able to find a way to provide the manager with what he or she wants AND provide the engineer/direct report with the freedom and independence that he or she wants. We just might be able to find a win-win scenario.
Case in point. I'm going to share with you a case of a direct report that I coached through a difficult situation. This direct report works for a small business and has been managed relatively closely by his manager for some time. He has felt micromanaged and he complained to me that he wanted to be managed less closely. He wanted more autonomy and freedom than his manager was willing to give him and the more he attempted to get autonomy the more his manager tightened her grip and made his reporting even more onerous.
My first coaching point with this direct report was that the manager was doing this for some reason, probably legitimate in the manager's mind. So that is where we started. The direct report's task was to give the manager what she was asking for without fighting over it.
At first the direct report didn't understand how this was going to get him the autonomy he wanted. But he agreed to follow my suggestions and instructions.
He began to provide reports on the status of his tasks as the manager requested. He even suggested ways to improve the status reports.
I suggested other forms he could use to transmit data regarding the status of his tasks and projects. The manager appreciated these efforts on the part of the direct report.
After several months of this support for the manager, which by the way, turned out not to be very difficult or imposing on the direct report, the manager began to give the direct report more autonomy.
The outcome is that now the direct report and the manager have become much more of a team. The direct report is still providing the manager with the project reports but the format is streamlined and easy and doesn't take much time at all. The manager is so comfortable with the relationship that she has actually begun to manage him less closely. She actually gave him the autonomy he was originally seeking.
The direct report recently asked me, "So what happened here? How did this actually occur?"
My response was, "By giving your manager what she asked for and seeming to give up your drive for autonomy, you actually allowed the manager to be so comfortable with the communication between the two of you that she was willing to give you the autonomy you originally asked for."
By enhancing the relationship, the direct report actually reduced the level of micromanagement the manager thought she needed to feel comfortable. By "giving up the drive for autonomy, and by enhancing the manager/direct-report relationship, the direct report actually got more autonomy."
So the bottom line is that, in my experience, micromanagement is not something anyone has to live with. Engineers, scientists, and direct reports don't have to tolerate micromanagement if they understand how to set up the relationship with their manger. And managers don't have to worry about being perceived as micromanagers if they understand how to set up the relationship with their direct reports.
In my experience, micromanagement it's just not a big deal. That's why you'll often hear me say, "micromanagement doesn't really exist".
Be well,
Steven
How Easy Is All This?
(10 minute read)
As you read my blogs and my Newsletters/E-zines, you might be thinking, "Oh sure. You say it as if it's so easy, but what I want to know Steven is, How easy is it to keep my manager from micromanaging me? How easy is it for me, a direct report, to control my managers' perception and behavior. It's got to be easier said than done."
Well, those are important questions and I'm sure many of you are wondering the same thing. Well, my answer is that it is very easy to manage your managers' behavior if you know what to do and how to do it.
It's very much like the story of the ship that had a problem with its steam engine. You may have heard this story before but it bears repeating in this instance.
There was a ship that was in the harbor and it was discovered that it's steam engine wasn't working. No one seemed to know what to do to get it to work. "Expert" after "Expert" was brought in and none of them knew what to do to fix it.
Finally, the owner of the ship hired an old man who specialized in steam engines. He looked over the steam engine, put his ear against the boiler here and there, then in one spot on the steam engine he used his hammer and gave it a "tap". The steam engine fired up and began to work perfectly.
The old man presented the owner with a bill for $10,000. The owner was flabbergasted. "How can you present me with a bill of $10,000. You just gave the steam engine a little tap with your hammer and you want $10,000 for that?"
The old man replied, "It's $500 for the tap and $9,500 for knowing where and how to tap."
The same applies to what I've been talking about with micromanagement and managing your manager. Let me give you an example.
Several months back, I was having dinner with a prospective client. In casual conversation she was bemoaning her manager's behavior. She indicated that he didn't give her independence. He wasn't really allowing her to contribute the way she could. He wasn't taking her advice in areas where she had significant experience compared to everyone else in the office. And with the economy beginning to affect her company's revenues, she feared the situation would only get more intense and more restrictive. She feared she would not get a good review which was coming up and things seemed gloomy as far as she was concerned.
So I gave her specific suggestions. I explained a new way for her to think about her manager. I explained a new way for her to think about his motives. Then I gave her specific behaviors to exhibit. I explained how to talk to her manager. What to say. Questions to ask. I gave her new ways to be in partnership with her manager; ways to behave that would allow him to recognize that she was indeed attempting to help the organization and him. And we continued to have an enjoyable dinner.
She apparently went back and implemented my suggestions. The results of which are as follows:
1. Her relationship with her manager has changed completely and changed for the better.
2. He did conduct her performance review, and he gave her the highest rating possible and the highest pay raise allowed.
3. He has given her much more autonomy resulting in her proposing a new program for the group.
The point of this case is that working effectively with your manager doesn't take a miracle. It's takes knowledge and a willingness to be flexible enough to implement that knowledge.
And, by the way, the same applies to managers who want to establish great working relationships with their direct reports. It can be done. It is easy... if you know where and how to tap.
Be well,
Steven
#11: April 2008
Greetings!
How to get some autonomy as a direct report?
If you are an engineer, a technical professional, or non-technical direct report, how do you achieve some autonomy when you manager wants to manage you closely? That's what this Newsletter/E-zine is about.
Enjoy and be well.
Steven Cerri
Note: If you have missed any of my previous e-zines/newsletters you can find them archived at: Archived E-zines/Newsletters
Note-Note: I could have put short summaries in each section and then sent you through links to different web pages, but who wants to bounce around. Everything is right here in this one email. No links to other URLs. Just click on the article titles immediately below this box to move to those topics you are interested in and avoid those you're not. This newsletter/e-zine is packed... it's a 20 minute read.
In This Issue (Click on items of interest.)
"Micromanagement Is Everywhere!" (< 10 minute read)
"How Easy Is All This?" (< 10 minute read)
Free Stuff
Skype Has Been Added
Blogs
Article #1: "Micromanagement seems to be everywhere!"
(10 minute read)
Did you every purchase a new car and all of a sudden you see your make, model, and color car on the road everywhere. Now that you have one, it seems so does everyone else.
Well, the same phenomenon has occurred with me and the topic of "micromanagement". Now that I've completed my 3-CD set titled "Succeeding Without Micromanagement", it seems that everyone I talk to is complaining about being micromanaged or is concerned about being perceived as a micromanager.
So since it seems like such a common phenomenon, I'm going to devote this issue to micromanagement and I'm going to give you some concrete ways to avoid it.
Let's begin with a discussion of what micromanagement looks like, The primary questions are; "How do you know when you are micromanaged?" What's the evidence in your mind that you are being micromanaged?"
1. Is it because your manager calls you every day?
2. Is it because you manager calls you three times a day?
3. Is it that your manager wants to know at 8 in the morning what you intend to accomplish by the end of the day, and at the end of the day wants to know what you did accomplish?
4. Is it that your manager wants a weekly status report by close of business on Friday for the previous week?
5. Is it that your manager wants a plan, schedule, and budget before your begin your project.
6. Is it that your manager wants a monthly status meeting regarding your progress?
What is clear in my mind is that micromanagement is always very, very personal. What sets off your button regarding micromanagement may not set off mine, or may not set of the other people on your team.
Micromanagement is personal.
That's the first principle I want to convey. Micromanagement is very personal it is not the same for everyone.
In fact, I coach direct reports and managers who are upset that their managers don't manage them "close enough or often enough". They are actually complaining to me that they are not be managed ENOUGH!
So it's very important to get clear that....
One person's micromanagement is another person's supportive and concerned manager. One person's concerned and supportive manager is another person's over-bearing, overly-controlling manager.
Therefore, micromanagement doesn't have a "general" or "universal" definition. It doesn't have a baseline behavior that defines it. So if you are going to talk about it, be clear about exactly what you mean.
This leads us to the very critical point. This is the biggest fact about micromanagement... micromanagement is all about the structure of the relationship between the direct report and the manager. That is the key. Micromanagement is in the relationship.
If you are a manager and you want to avoid being a micromanager, then you must structure a manager-direct report relationship that is the right mix of management and freedom based on you, the manager, the direct report, and the situation.
And here is the "kicker".... very often when I'm coaching engineers and technical professionals who think they are being managed too closely, I will actually coach them to give the manager what the manager wants.
The first response from the engineer is that I must be crazy. "How can giving my manager what he or she wants, all this information and reporting, get me the autonomy and freedom I seek?" That's what they usually say.
My response to that question is always the same and here it is:
I believe people are always doing the best they can. They are always attempting to do what they think is the right behavior for the situation even if you don't think so. Therefore, my approach is to assume the manager has a good intention. I don't automatically assume that the manager is a vindictive, control freak.
In fact, if we can find that "good intention" that is motivating the manager, we might be able to find a way to provide the manager with what he or she wants AND provide the engineer/direct report with the freedom and independence that he or she wants. We just might be able to find a win-win scenario.
Case in point. I'm going to share with you a case of a direct report that I coached through a difficult situation. This direct report works for a small business and has been managed relatively closely by his manager for some time. He has felt micromanaged and he complained to me that he wanted to be managed less closely. He wanted more autonomy and freedom than his manager was willing to give him and the more he attempted to get autonomy the more his manager tightened her grip and made his reporting even more onerous.
My first coaching point with this direct report was that the manager was doing this for some reason, probably legitimate in the manager's mind. So that is where we started. The direct report's task was to give the manager what she was asking for without fighting over it.
At first the direct report didn't understand how this was going to get him the autonomy he wanted. But he agreed to follow my suggestions and instructions.
He began to provide reports on the status of his tasks as the manager requested. He even suggested ways to improve the status reports.
I suggested other forms he could use to transmit data regarding the status of his tasks and projects. The manager appreciated these efforts on the part of the direct report.
After several months of this support for the manager, which by the way, turned out not to be very difficult or imposing on the direct report, the manager began to give the direct report more autonomy.
The outcome is that now the direct report and the manager have become much more of a team. The direct report is still providing the manager with the project reports but the format is streamlined and easy and doesn't take much time at all. The manager is so comfortable with the relationship that she has actually begun to manage him less closely. She actually gave him the autonomy he was originally seeking.
The direct report recently asked me, "So what happened here? How did this actually occur?"
My response was, "By giving your manager what she asked for and seeming to give up your drive for autonomy, you actually allowed the manager to be so comfortable with the communication between the two of you that she was willing to give you the autonomy you originally asked for."
By enhancing the relationship, the direct report actually reduced the level of micromanagement the manager thought she needed to feel comfortable. By "giving up the drive for autonomy, and by enhancing the manager/direct-report relationship, the direct report actually got more autonomy."
So the bottom line is that, in my experience, micromanagement is not something anyone has to live with. Engineers, scientists, and direct reports don't have to tolerate micromanagement if they understand how to set up the relationship with their manger. And managers don't have to worry about being perceived as micromanagers if they understand how to set up the relationship with their direct reports.
In my experience, micromanagement it's just not a big deal. That's why you'll often hear me say, "micromanagement doesn't really exist".
Be well,
Steven
How Easy Is All This?
(10 minute read)
As you read my blogs and my Newsletters/E-zines, you might be thinking, "Oh sure. You say it as if it's so easy, but what I want to know Steven is, How easy is it to keep my manager from micromanaging me? How easy is it for me, a direct report, to control my managers' perception and behavior. It's got to be easier said than done."
Well, those are important questions and I'm sure many of you are wondering the same thing. Well, my answer is that it is very easy to manage your managers' behavior if you know what to do and how to do it.
It's very much like the story of the ship that had a problem with its steam engine. You may have heard this story before but it bears repeating in this instance.
There was a ship that was in the harbor and it was discovered that it's steam engine wasn't working. No one seemed to know what to do to get it to work. "Expert" after "Expert" was brought in and none of them knew what to do to fix it.
Finally, the owner of the ship hired an old man who specialized in steam engines. He looked over the steam engine, put his ear against the boiler here and there, then in one spot on the steam engine he used his hammer and gave it a "tap". The steam engine fired up and began to work perfectly.
The old man presented the owner with a bill for $10,000. The owner was flabbergasted. "How can you present me with a bill of $10,000. You just gave the steam engine a little tap with your hammer and you want $10,000 for that?"
The old man replied, "It's $500 for the tap and $9,500 for knowing where and how to tap."
The same applies to what I've been talking about with micromanagement and managing your manager. Let me give you an example.
Several months back, I was having dinner with a prospective client. In casual conversation she was bemoaning her manager's behavior. She indicated that he didn't give her independence. He wasn't really allowing her to contribute the way she could. He wasn't taking her advice in areas where she had significant experience compared to everyone else in the office. And with the economy beginning to affect her company's revenues, she feared the situation would only get more intense and more restrictive. She feared she would not get a good review which was coming up and things seemed gloomy as far as she was concerned.
So I gave her specific suggestions. I explained a new way for her to think about her manager. I explained a new way for her to think about his motives. Then I gave her specific behaviors to exhibit. I explained how to talk to her manager. What to say. Questions to ask. I gave her new ways to be in partnership with her manager; ways to behave that would allow him to recognize that she was indeed attempting to help the organization and him. And we continued to have an enjoyable dinner.
She apparently went back and implemented my suggestions. The results of which are as follows:
1. Her relationship with her manager has changed completely and changed for the better.
2. He did conduct her performance review, and he gave her the highest rating possible and the highest pay raise allowed.
3. He has given her much more autonomy resulting in her proposing a new program for the group.
The point of this case is that working effectively with your manager doesn't take a miracle. It's takes knowledge and a willingness to be flexible enough to implement that knowledge.
And, by the way, the same applies to managers who want to establish great working relationships with their direct reports. It can be done. It is easy... if you know where and how to tap.
Be well,
Steven
Rejeki Positif
ingatlah:
Ketika anda menyukai seseorang, anda pasti akan memberikan senyuman manis
kepadanya, ini merupakan tanda bahwa anda suka padanya dan bersedia menerima
kehadirannya.
Senyuman merupakan ekspresi diri bahwa anda menyukai orang yang berada tepat di
hadapan anda.
salam,
Dwika
===========================
Rejekimu dipengaruhi Senyuman mu
*soegiantohartono.blogspot.com
Kalau anda tidak tahu untuk apa anda tersenyum, mungkin anda berpikir bahwa
tersenyum itu tidak penting. Namun begitu, tahukah anda bahwa senyuman itu dapat
berdampak positif bagi diri anda – bagi pekerjaan, karier dan bisnis maupun
kesehatan emosional dan spiritual anda.
Di dalam diri anda terdapat banyak sekali karunia Tuhan, dan salah satunya
adalah kemampuan anda untuk tersenyum. Maksud dan tujuan pemberian karunia ini
adalah baik, dimana dengan tersenyum anda dapat memberikan kesejukan dan
keindahan pada dunia ini. Selain itu anda bisa membuat diri anda sendiri untuk
merasa senang dan bahagia, ketika anda melepaskan senyuman. Oleh karena itu
janganlah menghambat sifat alami ini untuk muncul ke permukaan.
Senyuman merupakan ekspresi diri yang menyatakan bahwa anda sendang merasa
senang dan bahagia. Coba anda ingat ketika anda mengalami stess, apakah anda
bisa tersenyum ? jadi cara anda mengekspresikan kebahagiaan itu hanyalah lewat
senyuman itu.
Senyuman merupakan ekspresi diri bahwa anda menyukai orang yang berada tepat di
hadapan anda.
Ketika anda menyukai seseorang, anda pasti akan memberikan senyuman manis
kepadanya, ini merupakan tanda bahwa anda suka padanya dan bersedia menerima
kehadirannya. Kalau anda tidak menyukai orang yang di depan anda, tentu anda
akan cuek atau memasang wajah kaku.
Senyuman merupakan pintu dalam menjalin hubungan-hubungan lebih lanjut.
Dengan memberikan senyuman berarti anda telah membuka pintu untuk menerima
kehadiran orang lain, dimana anda siap untuk melanjutkan hubungan lebih lanjut.
Dalam dunia bisnis, hubungan yang telah terjalin dengan erat, tentu akan terjadi
suatu transaksi bisnis.
Senyuman dapat menyejukan hati orang. Senyuman yang manis dapat menyejukan hati
orang yang sedang marah. Kemarahan itu akan berhenti saat anda membalasnya
dengan senyuman yang manis dan tulus.
Senyuman memiliki kekuatan untuk menarik. Senyuman akan mempengaruhi suasana
hati seseorang, senyuman yang manis mampu untuk menarik orang-orang agar
mendekat kepada anda. Mungkin anda pernah berjumpa dengan seseorang yang
memasang tampang seram dan kaku, apakah anda bersedia untuk mendekatkan diri
kepada orang seperti itu ?. ketika banyak orang mendekatkan diri kepada anda,
sudah pasti akan banyak kesempatan akan datang kepada anda.
Dengan memberikan senyuman kepada orang lain, berarti anda telah menjadi saluran
bagi berkat Tuhan. Berkat Tuhan itu bisa dalam bentuk apa saja, dan anda
sebetulnya adalah saluran bagi kehendak Tuhan. Dengan tersenyum kepada orang
lain, sebetulnya anda telah memberikan jalan bagi Tuhan untuk mengekspresikan
cinta-kasihNya kepada umatNya. Jadi jangan menghambat ekspresi Tuhan yang ingin
lewat melalui diri anda.
Tersenyum dapat membuat diri anda senang dan bahagia. Dengan memberikan
senyuman, berarti anda telah membuat orang lain senang, dengan begitu anda pun
akan ikut merasa senang dan bahagia.
Senyuman juga merupakan cerminan dari isi pikiran-pikiran anda, ketika anda
mengalami keruwetan pikiran, anda sulit tersenyum. Dan hanya orang yang
bahagialah yang mampu untuk tersenyum. Buatlah diri anda bahagia, agar anda bisa
tersenyum.
Dengan senyuman mencerminkan keramahan dan lemah lembut diri anda. Orang yang
stress akan sulit bersikap dan berpilaku lemah lembut dan ramah, dia perlu
melembutkan pikirannya dahulu barulah dia bisa berprilaku lemah lembuh dan
ramah.
Memberikan senyuman adalah salah satu bentuk pelayanan yang bisa anda berikan
kepada orang lain.
Dewasa ini banyak perusahaan seperti bank, hotel, supermarket, travel biro,
airlines dan lain sebagainya meminta karyawannya untuk tersenyum ketika melayani
pelanggan-pelanggan. Untuk apa ? mereka sadar bahwa dengan senyuman manis yang
di berikan para karyawannya tentu dapat menarik minat pelanggan-pelanggan untuk
membeli produk dan jasa yang mereka tawarkan.
Sebetulnya produk yang di jual oleh perusahan-perusahaan itu tidaklah hanya
berupa barang semata, namun lebih dari itu termasuk pelayanan terhadap pelanggan
dan di dalam pelayanan itu terdapat senyuman para karyawan. Walaupun anda
memiliki produk yang baik, namun anda sombong dan tidak ramah kepada pelanggan,
tentu pelanggan anda akan berpaling kepada perusahaan lain.
Bila anda seorang pemimpin perusahaan, orang-orang seperti apa yang ingin anda
pekerjakan pada perusahaan anda ? tentu salah satunya adalah orang yang memiliki
kemampuan untuk tersenyum, bukan ?.
Nah, kalau sekarang posisi anda sebagai karyawan, penjual dan pemilik usaha
alangkah bijaksananya kalau anda mulai berlatih dan membiasakan diri untuk
tersenyum, karena keberhasilan anda dalam pekerjaan, karier dan bisnis tidak
hanya tergangung pada kemapuan intelektual anda atau produk yang baik saja,
tetapi juga tergantung pada kemampuan anda melepaskan senyuman yang indah dan
tulus.
Berikanlah senyum manismu dengan perasaan tulus kepada setiap orang, dan balasan
akan datang kepada anda secara berlimpah.
Salam Bahagia dan Sejahtera.
Ketika anda menyukai seseorang, anda pasti akan memberikan senyuman manis
kepadanya, ini merupakan tanda bahwa anda suka padanya dan bersedia menerima
kehadirannya.
Senyuman merupakan ekspresi diri bahwa anda menyukai orang yang berada tepat di
hadapan anda.
salam,
Dwika
===========================
Rejekimu dipengaruhi Senyuman mu
*soegiantohartono.blogspot.com
Kalau anda tidak tahu untuk apa anda tersenyum, mungkin anda berpikir bahwa
tersenyum itu tidak penting. Namun begitu, tahukah anda bahwa senyuman itu dapat
berdampak positif bagi diri anda – bagi pekerjaan, karier dan bisnis maupun
kesehatan emosional dan spiritual anda.
Di dalam diri anda terdapat banyak sekali karunia Tuhan, dan salah satunya
adalah kemampuan anda untuk tersenyum. Maksud dan tujuan pemberian karunia ini
adalah baik, dimana dengan tersenyum anda dapat memberikan kesejukan dan
keindahan pada dunia ini. Selain itu anda bisa membuat diri anda sendiri untuk
merasa senang dan bahagia, ketika anda melepaskan senyuman. Oleh karena itu
janganlah menghambat sifat alami ini untuk muncul ke permukaan.
Senyuman merupakan ekspresi diri yang menyatakan bahwa anda sendang merasa
senang dan bahagia. Coba anda ingat ketika anda mengalami stess, apakah anda
bisa tersenyum ? jadi cara anda mengekspresikan kebahagiaan itu hanyalah lewat
senyuman itu.
Senyuman merupakan ekspresi diri bahwa anda menyukai orang yang berada tepat di
hadapan anda.
Ketika anda menyukai seseorang, anda pasti akan memberikan senyuman manis
kepadanya, ini merupakan tanda bahwa anda suka padanya dan bersedia menerima
kehadirannya. Kalau anda tidak menyukai orang yang di depan anda, tentu anda
akan cuek atau memasang wajah kaku.
Senyuman merupakan pintu dalam menjalin hubungan-hubungan lebih lanjut.
Dengan memberikan senyuman berarti anda telah membuka pintu untuk menerima
kehadiran orang lain, dimana anda siap untuk melanjutkan hubungan lebih lanjut.
Dalam dunia bisnis, hubungan yang telah terjalin dengan erat, tentu akan terjadi
suatu transaksi bisnis.
Senyuman dapat menyejukan hati orang. Senyuman yang manis dapat menyejukan hati
orang yang sedang marah. Kemarahan itu akan berhenti saat anda membalasnya
dengan senyuman yang manis dan tulus.
Senyuman memiliki kekuatan untuk menarik. Senyuman akan mempengaruhi suasana
hati seseorang, senyuman yang manis mampu untuk menarik orang-orang agar
mendekat kepada anda. Mungkin anda pernah berjumpa dengan seseorang yang
memasang tampang seram dan kaku, apakah anda bersedia untuk mendekatkan diri
kepada orang seperti itu ?. ketika banyak orang mendekatkan diri kepada anda,
sudah pasti akan banyak kesempatan akan datang kepada anda.
Dengan memberikan senyuman kepada orang lain, berarti anda telah menjadi saluran
bagi berkat Tuhan. Berkat Tuhan itu bisa dalam bentuk apa saja, dan anda
sebetulnya adalah saluran bagi kehendak Tuhan. Dengan tersenyum kepada orang
lain, sebetulnya anda telah memberikan jalan bagi Tuhan untuk mengekspresikan
cinta-kasihNya kepada umatNya. Jadi jangan menghambat ekspresi Tuhan yang ingin
lewat melalui diri anda.
Tersenyum dapat membuat diri anda senang dan bahagia. Dengan memberikan
senyuman, berarti anda telah membuat orang lain senang, dengan begitu anda pun
akan ikut merasa senang dan bahagia.
Senyuman juga merupakan cerminan dari isi pikiran-pikiran anda, ketika anda
mengalami keruwetan pikiran, anda sulit tersenyum. Dan hanya orang yang
bahagialah yang mampu untuk tersenyum. Buatlah diri anda bahagia, agar anda bisa
tersenyum.
Dengan senyuman mencerminkan keramahan dan lemah lembut diri anda. Orang yang
stress akan sulit bersikap dan berpilaku lemah lembut dan ramah, dia perlu
melembutkan pikirannya dahulu barulah dia bisa berprilaku lemah lembuh dan
ramah.
Memberikan senyuman adalah salah satu bentuk pelayanan yang bisa anda berikan
kepada orang lain.
Dewasa ini banyak perusahaan seperti bank, hotel, supermarket, travel biro,
airlines dan lain sebagainya meminta karyawannya untuk tersenyum ketika melayani
pelanggan-pelanggan. Untuk apa ? mereka sadar bahwa dengan senyuman manis yang
di berikan para karyawannya tentu dapat menarik minat pelanggan-pelanggan untuk
membeli produk dan jasa yang mereka tawarkan.
Sebetulnya produk yang di jual oleh perusahan-perusahaan itu tidaklah hanya
berupa barang semata, namun lebih dari itu termasuk pelayanan terhadap pelanggan
dan di dalam pelayanan itu terdapat senyuman para karyawan. Walaupun anda
memiliki produk yang baik, namun anda sombong dan tidak ramah kepada pelanggan,
tentu pelanggan anda akan berpaling kepada perusahaan lain.
Bila anda seorang pemimpin perusahaan, orang-orang seperti apa yang ingin anda
pekerjakan pada perusahaan anda ? tentu salah satunya adalah orang yang memiliki
kemampuan untuk tersenyum, bukan ?.
Nah, kalau sekarang posisi anda sebagai karyawan, penjual dan pemilik usaha
alangkah bijaksananya kalau anda mulai berlatih dan membiasakan diri untuk
tersenyum, karena keberhasilan anda dalam pekerjaan, karier dan bisnis tidak
hanya tergangung pada kemapuan intelektual anda atau produk yang baik saja,
tetapi juga tergantung pada kemampuan anda melepaskan senyuman yang indah dan
tulus.
Berikanlah senyum manismu dengan perasaan tulus kepada setiap orang, dan balasan
akan datang kepada anda secara berlimpah.
Salam Bahagia dan Sejahtera.
Mendidik Anda cukup "keras"
ingatlah:
Kesulitan-kesulitanmasalah, kegagalan, beban kehidupan, konflik, dan berbagai
hal negatif lainnya justru akan dapat memperkuat orang-orang yang memiliki
semangat juang tinggi, dengan tujuan hidup yang pasti, serta keteguhan hati yang
kuat.
salam,
Dwika
VIDE Incorporated.
====================================
Seni Hidup Susah
*mujahidsamurai.multiply.com
"Mendidik seorang anak yang setelah dewasa siap menjadi orang miskin jauh
lebih sulit daripada mendidik anak yang setelah dewasa siap menjadi orang kaya."
Begitulah kalimat yang pernah diucapkan ayah saya. Sampai sekarang, rasanya
masih terngiang-ngiang sekali dalam benak saya kalimat tersebut saat pertama
kali keluar dari mulut ayah. Waktu itu adalah ketika saya kelas 6 SD. Saat itu
mungkin saya belum cukup dewasa, tapi saya cukup bisa mencerna perkataan ayah
saya. Sesaat setelah mendengarkan kalimat itu keluar dari lisan ayah, seolah
saya telah mendapatkan jawaban atas apa yang sering saya alami di masa yang
sudah lalu. Ya... saya kira itulah sebabnya kenapa selama ini ayah mendidik saya
cukup "keras".
Mulai dari kecil saya tidak pernah dibiasakan mendapatkan segala sesuatu yang
saya inginkan dengan cara mudah, walaupun saya tau ayah pasti dapat
memberikannya dengan mudah kalau beliau mau. Terkadang saya pun sering mengeluh
dan bercerita pada ibu saya, kok kenapa kalau ingin ini ingin itu rasanya sulit
sekali memintanya. Apalagi kalau keinginan itu yang bersifat hiburan atau
kesenangan semata. Tapi lain halnya kalau soal pendidikan, ayah pasti tanpa
pikir panjang akan langsung mengeluarkan isi dompetnya begitu saya memintanya.
Sebagai anak-anak, waktu itu, tentu saya tidak pernah terfikir bahwa itu adalah
pola pendidikan yang ayah terapkan pada saya dan adik-adik saya. Sering kali
perasaan yang saya rasakan saat itu hanya sebuah kekecewaan semata tanpa ada
nilai pendidikan yang bisa saya ambil. Tapi seiring berjalannya waktu, semakin
bertambah dewasanya usia saya, maka saya pun semakin bisa berfikir dan merenungi
setiap kejadian yang saya alami di masa lalu itu. Sampai akhirnya saya sadar
betul bahwa sebenarnya itu semua hanya cara ayah saya dalam mendidik
anak-anaknya, persis seperti ungkapan kalimat yang saya tulis di awal paragraf
di atas.
Sebagai contoh saja, ketika saya SD, saya tidak pernah diantar-antar dengan
orangtua sebagaimana layaknya anak-anak, kecuali 6 bulan pertama saat saya
pertama kali masuk SD, saya sering diantar jemput oleh ibu. Dari rumah saya
harus jalan kaki sampai depan komplek rumah yang jaraknya sekitar 800 meter.
Lalu dilanjutkan naik angkot yang jaraknya sampai sekolah kira-kira 8 KM.
Padahal saat itu mungkin bisa saja ayah saya mengantar saya sebelum berangkat ke
kantor dengan mobilnya. Saya diberi uang saku secukupnya bahkan waktu itu
terbilang kecil jika dibandingkan dengan uang saku teman-teman saya yang lain.
Bayangkan! Saya hanya diberi Rp. 500,-. Untuk naik angkot pulang pergi Rp.
200,-. Uang segitu saat itu memang bernilai cukup besar, dan sisa uang Rp. 300,-
masih bisa untuk jajan makanan kecil. Itulah sebabnya sejak kecil saya jadi suka
cari akal bagaimana caranya bisa dapat uang jajan lebih tanpa harus minta
orangtua. Ya waktu itu yang terfikir adalah dengan cara jualan dan mengajari
teman pelajaran sekolah dengan imbalan traktir jajan dari mereka.
Pengalaman-pengalaman seperti itu terus saya alami sampai saya SMA, bahkan saat
kuliah. Saya tidak pernah merasa bahwa apa yang saya peroleh itu didapat dengan
cara yang mudah. Semuanya serba harus dengan perjuangan di tengah fasilitas yang
terbatas. Tapi efek dari pendidikan ayah saya tersebut, dapat saya rasakan
manfaatnya dari waktu ke waktu. Hingga akhirnya saya menjadi sangat bersahabat
dengan yang namanya kesulitan dan kegagalan. Bahkan saat ini terkadang saya
malah suka menyengaja diri saya agar terlibat dalam kesulitan, walaupun
sebenarnya saya tau cara yang mudahnya. Misalnya, ketika SMA saya mulai
diberikan ayah sebuah motor untuk transportasi pulang pergi dari sekolah, tempat
les, dan rumah. Tapi walaupun begitu, saya malah lebih sering memarkir motor
saya di garasi rumah, dan berangkat ke sekolah atau tempat les dengan berjalan
kaki dan naik angkot. Beberapa teman saya menganggap saya aneh dengan tingkah
yang seperti itu. Tapi itulah cara saya dalam mendidik diri saya sendiri.
Menurut kamu, apakah sebenarnya yang ada di benak para pecinta alam yang sering
naik turun gunung, menyusuri sungai, bahkan tidur hanya beralaskan rumput dan
beratapkan langit saja. Mengapa mereka mau mempersulit diri mereka sendiri
dengan tidur di hutan belantara yang serba gelap, udaranya dingin, bahkan tidak
lepas dari ancaman binatang buas. Sementara mereka sebenarnya bisa saja tidur di
atas kasur yang empuk, atau nonton TV sambil mengemil makanan ringan. Mengapa
mereka malah memilih yang sulit daripada segala kemudahan? Pemikiran seperti
itulah yang sering saya gunakan. Justru dari kesulitan yang dihadapilah manusia
akan belajar. Dia tidak akan pernah belajar sesuatu yang berharga jika dia
terbiasa dengan segala sesuatu yang enak dan mudah dia dapatkan.
Coba kita perhatikan sebuah pohon. Terpaan angin kencang dengan mudah akan dapat
menumbangkan pohon-pohon yang rapuh dan berakar dangkal. Tetapi sebaliknya,
terpaan angin kencang yang sama justru akan memperkuat pohon-pohon yang kokoh
dan berakar dalam. Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, 'terpaan angin kencang' berupa
masalah, kegagalan, beban kehidupan, konflik, dan berbagai hal negatif lainnya
dapat dengan mudah menghancurkan orang-orang rapuh yang tidak memiliki semangat
juang dan menjalani hidup tanpa tujuan. Sebaliknya, kesulitan-kesulitan yang
sama justru akan dapat memperkuat orang-orang yang memiliki semangat juang
tinggi, dengan tujuan hidup yang pasti, serta keteguhan hati yang kuat.
Setiap orang pastilah pernah mengalami kesulitan dalam hidupnya, kondisi–kondisi
genting atau bahkan saat–saat kritis dalam hidupnya. Kebanyakan orang sangat
tidak menyukai atau bahkan membenci hal tesebut. Namun sering tanpa kita sadari
bersama, bahwa justru hanya dalam keadaan kritis seperti itulah diri kita baru
dapat mengeluarkan kemampuan yang sesungguhnya dan tumbuh menjadi individu yang
jauh lebih baik dari sebelumnya.
Setiap orang pastilah pernah mengalami hal tersulit dalam hidupnya, tetapi yang
membedakan antara orang gagal dan berhasil adalah respon atas tindakan dari hal
yang mereka alami. Jika kita dapat mengambil manfaat atas hal buruk atau kritis
yang menimpa kita, maka niscaya kita kelak akan menjadi sukses di kemudian hari.
Saya memang belum merasa telah ada pada suatu titik yang disebut kesuksesan.
Sebab pada hakikatnya yang layak menilai seseorang sukses atau tidak tentulah
harus orang lain, bukan diri sendiri. Tapi setidaknya, lewat apa yang sudah ayah
saya ajarkan kepada saya. Kemudian serangkaian usaha yang saya lalukan sesuai
dengan pandangan hidup saya tentang hidup itu sendiri, telah menjadikan saya
seorang Dimas yang sekarang ini
Kesulitan-kesulitanmasalah, kegagalan, beban kehidupan, konflik, dan berbagai
hal negatif lainnya justru akan dapat memperkuat orang-orang yang memiliki
semangat juang tinggi, dengan tujuan hidup yang pasti, serta keteguhan hati yang
kuat.
salam,
Dwika
VIDE Incorporated.
====================================
Seni Hidup Susah
*mujahidsamurai.multiply.com
"Mendidik seorang anak yang setelah dewasa siap menjadi orang miskin jauh
lebih sulit daripada mendidik anak yang setelah dewasa siap menjadi orang kaya."
Begitulah kalimat yang pernah diucapkan ayah saya. Sampai sekarang, rasanya
masih terngiang-ngiang sekali dalam benak saya kalimat tersebut saat pertama
kali keluar dari mulut ayah. Waktu itu adalah ketika saya kelas 6 SD. Saat itu
mungkin saya belum cukup dewasa, tapi saya cukup bisa mencerna perkataan ayah
saya. Sesaat setelah mendengarkan kalimat itu keluar dari lisan ayah, seolah
saya telah mendapatkan jawaban atas apa yang sering saya alami di masa yang
sudah lalu. Ya... saya kira itulah sebabnya kenapa selama ini ayah mendidik saya
cukup "keras".
Mulai dari kecil saya tidak pernah dibiasakan mendapatkan segala sesuatu yang
saya inginkan dengan cara mudah, walaupun saya tau ayah pasti dapat
memberikannya dengan mudah kalau beliau mau. Terkadang saya pun sering mengeluh
dan bercerita pada ibu saya, kok kenapa kalau ingin ini ingin itu rasanya sulit
sekali memintanya. Apalagi kalau keinginan itu yang bersifat hiburan atau
kesenangan semata. Tapi lain halnya kalau soal pendidikan, ayah pasti tanpa
pikir panjang akan langsung mengeluarkan isi dompetnya begitu saya memintanya.
Sebagai anak-anak, waktu itu, tentu saya tidak pernah terfikir bahwa itu adalah
pola pendidikan yang ayah terapkan pada saya dan adik-adik saya. Sering kali
perasaan yang saya rasakan saat itu hanya sebuah kekecewaan semata tanpa ada
nilai pendidikan yang bisa saya ambil. Tapi seiring berjalannya waktu, semakin
bertambah dewasanya usia saya, maka saya pun semakin bisa berfikir dan merenungi
setiap kejadian yang saya alami di masa lalu itu. Sampai akhirnya saya sadar
betul bahwa sebenarnya itu semua hanya cara ayah saya dalam mendidik
anak-anaknya, persis seperti ungkapan kalimat yang saya tulis di awal paragraf
di atas.
Sebagai contoh saja, ketika saya SD, saya tidak pernah diantar-antar dengan
orangtua sebagaimana layaknya anak-anak, kecuali 6 bulan pertama saat saya
pertama kali masuk SD, saya sering diantar jemput oleh ibu. Dari rumah saya
harus jalan kaki sampai depan komplek rumah yang jaraknya sekitar 800 meter.
Lalu dilanjutkan naik angkot yang jaraknya sampai sekolah kira-kira 8 KM.
Padahal saat itu mungkin bisa saja ayah saya mengantar saya sebelum berangkat ke
kantor dengan mobilnya. Saya diberi uang saku secukupnya bahkan waktu itu
terbilang kecil jika dibandingkan dengan uang saku teman-teman saya yang lain.
Bayangkan! Saya hanya diberi Rp. 500,-. Untuk naik angkot pulang pergi Rp.
200,-. Uang segitu saat itu memang bernilai cukup besar, dan sisa uang Rp. 300,-
masih bisa untuk jajan makanan kecil. Itulah sebabnya sejak kecil saya jadi suka
cari akal bagaimana caranya bisa dapat uang jajan lebih tanpa harus minta
orangtua. Ya waktu itu yang terfikir adalah dengan cara jualan dan mengajari
teman pelajaran sekolah dengan imbalan traktir jajan dari mereka.
Pengalaman-pengalaman seperti itu terus saya alami sampai saya SMA, bahkan saat
kuliah. Saya tidak pernah merasa bahwa apa yang saya peroleh itu didapat dengan
cara yang mudah. Semuanya serba harus dengan perjuangan di tengah fasilitas yang
terbatas. Tapi efek dari pendidikan ayah saya tersebut, dapat saya rasakan
manfaatnya dari waktu ke waktu. Hingga akhirnya saya menjadi sangat bersahabat
dengan yang namanya kesulitan dan kegagalan. Bahkan saat ini terkadang saya
malah suka menyengaja diri saya agar terlibat dalam kesulitan, walaupun
sebenarnya saya tau cara yang mudahnya. Misalnya, ketika SMA saya mulai
diberikan ayah sebuah motor untuk transportasi pulang pergi dari sekolah, tempat
les, dan rumah. Tapi walaupun begitu, saya malah lebih sering memarkir motor
saya di garasi rumah, dan berangkat ke sekolah atau tempat les dengan berjalan
kaki dan naik angkot. Beberapa teman saya menganggap saya aneh dengan tingkah
yang seperti itu. Tapi itulah cara saya dalam mendidik diri saya sendiri.
Menurut kamu, apakah sebenarnya yang ada di benak para pecinta alam yang sering
naik turun gunung, menyusuri sungai, bahkan tidur hanya beralaskan rumput dan
beratapkan langit saja. Mengapa mereka mau mempersulit diri mereka sendiri
dengan tidur di hutan belantara yang serba gelap, udaranya dingin, bahkan tidak
lepas dari ancaman binatang buas. Sementara mereka sebenarnya bisa saja tidur di
atas kasur yang empuk, atau nonton TV sambil mengemil makanan ringan. Mengapa
mereka malah memilih yang sulit daripada segala kemudahan? Pemikiran seperti
itulah yang sering saya gunakan. Justru dari kesulitan yang dihadapilah manusia
akan belajar. Dia tidak akan pernah belajar sesuatu yang berharga jika dia
terbiasa dengan segala sesuatu yang enak dan mudah dia dapatkan.
Coba kita perhatikan sebuah pohon. Terpaan angin kencang dengan mudah akan dapat
menumbangkan pohon-pohon yang rapuh dan berakar dangkal. Tetapi sebaliknya,
terpaan angin kencang yang sama justru akan memperkuat pohon-pohon yang kokoh
dan berakar dalam. Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, 'terpaan angin kencang' berupa
masalah, kegagalan, beban kehidupan, konflik, dan berbagai hal negatif lainnya
dapat dengan mudah menghancurkan orang-orang rapuh yang tidak memiliki semangat
juang dan menjalani hidup tanpa tujuan. Sebaliknya, kesulitan-kesulitan yang
sama justru akan dapat memperkuat orang-orang yang memiliki semangat juang
tinggi, dengan tujuan hidup yang pasti, serta keteguhan hati yang kuat.
Setiap orang pastilah pernah mengalami kesulitan dalam hidupnya, kondisi–kondisi
genting atau bahkan saat–saat kritis dalam hidupnya. Kebanyakan orang sangat
tidak menyukai atau bahkan membenci hal tesebut. Namun sering tanpa kita sadari
bersama, bahwa justru hanya dalam keadaan kritis seperti itulah diri kita baru
dapat mengeluarkan kemampuan yang sesungguhnya dan tumbuh menjadi individu yang
jauh lebih baik dari sebelumnya.
Setiap orang pastilah pernah mengalami hal tersulit dalam hidupnya, tetapi yang
membedakan antara orang gagal dan berhasil adalah respon atas tindakan dari hal
yang mereka alami. Jika kita dapat mengambil manfaat atas hal buruk atau kritis
yang menimpa kita, maka niscaya kita kelak akan menjadi sukses di kemudian hari.
Saya memang belum merasa telah ada pada suatu titik yang disebut kesuksesan.
Sebab pada hakikatnya yang layak menilai seseorang sukses atau tidak tentulah
harus orang lain, bukan diri sendiri. Tapi setidaknya, lewat apa yang sudah ayah
saya ajarkan kepada saya. Kemudian serangkaian usaha yang saya lalukan sesuai
dengan pandangan hidup saya tentang hidup itu sendiri, telah menjadikan saya
seorang Dimas yang sekarang ini
Bertahan Hidup vs Mengejar Impian
ingatlah:
Anda ingin anak-anak Anda nanti bisa mengejar impian mereka sesuai minat dan
bakatnya.
salam,
Dwika
VIDE Inc.
==========================
Bertahan Hidup vs Mengejar Impian
*sitijenang.wordpress.com
Bakat konon perlu dikembangkan sedini mungkin. Namun, ternyata tak semua
orang sukses menemukan minat dan bakatnya sejak usia dini. Contohnya
Eddie Van Halen atau lengkapnya Edward Lodewijk “Eddie” Van Halen.
Si Eddie waktu kecil malah sempat kursus
piano, selain memang sering menang di lomba-lomba penampilan bakat di
Belanda sana. Sementara itu, Alex, abangnya juga sama-sama belajar
piano. Nah, tapi ketika sudah beberapa lama belajar memencet tuts,
Eddie merasa piano kurang menantang dan malah merasa bosan. Dia lalu
bilang begini, “Who wants to sit in front of the piano? That’s boring.”
Belakangan ternyata anak berdarah Indonesia itu lebih tertarik
dengan gitar, sedangkan abangnya malah suka menabuh drum. Alhasil,
mereka berdua membuat band “Van Halen”. Mengekor tren posting video di
blog Mas Lambang, saya juga mau ikut-ikutan.
Berikut ini seri belajar gitar ala Eddie Van Halen:
Video di atas adalah solo gitar legendaris Si Eddie itu. Di
mana-mana solo gitarnya selalu begitu. Berikutnya adalah gitaris amatir
yang menirukan teknik-teknik gitarnya.
Video terakhir yang saya pilih sesuai dengan kenyataan 'pahit' yang
harus saya terima, tidak menjadi gitaris profesional, The Dream is
Over. Saya mungkin generasi tumbal yang harus mengorbankan diri demi
self-preservation, bertahan hidup dulu, tidak penting sesuai bakat atau
tidak. Tapi, saya ingin anak-anak saya nanti bisa mengejar impian
mereka sesuai minat dan bakatnya.
Anda ingin anak-anak Anda nanti bisa mengejar impian mereka sesuai minat dan
bakatnya.
salam,
Dwika
VIDE Inc.
==========================
Bertahan Hidup vs Mengejar Impian
*sitijenang.wordpress.com
Bakat konon perlu dikembangkan sedini mungkin. Namun, ternyata tak semua
orang sukses menemukan minat dan bakatnya sejak usia dini. Contohnya
Eddie Van Halen atau lengkapnya Edward Lodewijk “Eddie” Van Halen.
Si Eddie waktu kecil malah sempat kursus
piano, selain memang sering menang di lomba-lomba penampilan bakat di
Belanda sana. Sementara itu, Alex, abangnya juga sama-sama belajar
piano. Nah, tapi ketika sudah beberapa lama belajar memencet tuts,
Eddie merasa piano kurang menantang dan malah merasa bosan. Dia lalu
bilang begini, “Who wants to sit in front of the piano? That’s boring.”
Belakangan ternyata anak berdarah Indonesia itu lebih tertarik
dengan gitar, sedangkan abangnya malah suka menabuh drum. Alhasil,
mereka berdua membuat band “Van Halen”. Mengekor tren posting video di
blog Mas Lambang, saya juga mau ikut-ikutan.
Berikut ini seri belajar gitar ala Eddie Van Halen:
Video di atas adalah solo gitar legendaris Si Eddie itu. Di
mana-mana solo gitarnya selalu begitu. Berikutnya adalah gitaris amatir
yang menirukan teknik-teknik gitarnya.
Video terakhir yang saya pilih sesuai dengan kenyataan 'pahit' yang
harus saya terima, tidak menjadi gitaris profesional, The Dream is
Over. Saya mungkin generasi tumbal yang harus mengorbankan diri demi
self-preservation, bertahan hidup dulu, tidak penting sesuai bakat atau
tidak. Tapi, saya ingin anak-anak saya nanti bisa mengejar impian
mereka sesuai minat dan bakatnya.
Kesuksesan Paling Besar
ingatlah:
Kesuksesan yang paling besar dalam hidup adalah bisa bangkit kembali dari
kegagalan
salam,
Dwika
==================
Menyikapi Kegagalan
*soegiantohartono.blogspot.com
Seorang guru spiritual terkemuka Master Cheng Yen., yang juga penulis buku
Sanubari Teduh, menasehati : “ Kesuksesan yang paling besar dalam hidup adalah
bisa bangkit kembali dari kegagalan “.
Gagal dan Sukses itu sesungguhnya hanyalah suatu pola pikir, bila anda mengalami
kegagalan dan sampai menyebabkan anda terpuruk, ini di sebabkan karena anda
terlalu melekat pada kegagalan itu.
Namun kalau anda bisa menerima kegagalan itu apa adanya, anda pun sebetulnya
bisa berbahagia dalam kondisi yang sedang menderita.
Jadi, apakah anda terpuruk dan menderita atau bahagia ketika mengalami
kegagalan, ini semata merupakan pilihan murni anda sendiri.
Kalau anda merasa terpuruk dan meratapi nasib, sehingga anda frustrasi dan
kecewa berat atau putus asa; jangan mencoba untuk menyalahkan orang lain, karena
itu salah anda sendiri memilih pikiran yang ingin anda pikirkan.
Sukses dan gagal, ibarat sekeping uang logam dengan dua permukaan. Satu sisi
adalah sukses dan sisi lainnya gagal. Oleh karena itu anda tidak mungkin
terlepas dari pengalaman kegagalan ini. Anda akan terus mengalami peristiwa ini
sebelum anda sukses. Dia lah sahabat anda sebelum anda sukses, karena dia yang
memberi banyak pelajaran yang berarti bagi kehidupan anda. Maka dari itu
janganlah curiga dan berprasangka buruk terhadap kegagalan itu.
Kalau anda gagal, jangan menyebutnya itu gagal, katakan pada diri anda bahwa
anda belum sukses, atau sasaran anda belum sesuai dengan yang anda inginkan.
Kalimat ini lebih memotivasi diri anda dan membuka sumber daya yang anda miliki.
Di dunia ini ada sebuah hukum yang pasti dan berlaku bagi siapa saja, itu adalah
Hukum Kompensasi. Hukum ini mengatakan bahwa setiap kejadian yang tidak
menyenangkan atau yang tidak menguntungkan, ada sesuatu yang lebih baik di
baliknya. Kalau anda bersikap positif terhadap kegagalan yang anda temui, tentu
di balik hal ini ada sesuatu yang lebih baik yang sedang menanti anda. namun
begitu, ini tergantung bagaimana anda menyikapi, dan memandang nya.
Dengan bersikap positif, anda masih bisa bersyukur dan pikiran anda akan menjadi
tenang dan rileks, sehingga anda mulai bisa melihat kesempatan baik lainnya.
Bagaimana cara memandang kegagalan sebagai hal yang positif ?, bacalah tulisan
di bawah ini dan coba anda renungkan :
1. Gagal itu bukan takdir.
Ingatkan kepada diri anda bahwa Kegagalan adalah Sukses yang tertunda, bukan
takdir. Sehingga anda masih mempunyai harapan untuk bisa sukses.
Kegagalan adalah sebuah hasil yang belum sesuai dengan apa yang anda harapan,
dimana sebetulnya masih ada banyak harapan bagi anda untuk sukses.
2. Kegagalan tidak harus melemahkan kemampuan anda
Kegagalan memberikan kesempatan kepada kita untuk belajar kembali, guna
memperbaiki diri.
Setiap orang yang sukses, selalu pernah mengalami kegagalan, tingkatkan
kemampuan anda dengan belajar kembali, sehingga percaya diri anda lebih baik,
dan anda bisa melakukan tindakan yang lebih baik dan efektif dikemudian hari.
3. Kegagalan bukan cacat pribadi
Jangan pernah mengatakan bahwa kegagalan anda karena anda tidak berbakat, kurang
pandai, kurang pendidikan dan lain sebagainya. Kalau anda mau belajar kembali
dan mengembangkan diri anda lebih baik, tentu akan bisa mencapai kesuksesan yang
anda inginkan.
Cintailah pekerjaan anda, sehingga anda akan termotivasi untuk mendalami bidang
pekerjaan anda.
4. Gagal tidak seharusnya membuat putus asa.
Orang memang lebih mudah untuk putus asa bila mengalami kegagalan, hal ini
disebabkan karena orang tersebut kurang ke-uletan, ketekunan , kegigihan dan
kesabaran.
Berputus ada merupakan sikap mental dan karakter yang lemah, oleh karena itu
kembangkan dan perkuat karakter anda.
Orang yang mudah putus asa, biasanya adalah orang-orang yang lemah imannya,
kurang bersyukur dan suka menginginkan hasil yang instant tanpa mau bersusah
payah.
Untuk membangkitkan semangat anda, bayangkan diri anda telah mencapai
keberhasilan yang anda harapkan, lihatlah kegembiraan yang di rasakan oleh
orang-orang terdekata anda.
5. Kegagalan hanya bersifat sementara.
Bagi orang yang ulet, tekun, sabar dan terus besemangat, keberhasilan itu akan
nyata suatu saat. Tidak ada kegagalan yang bersifat permanen, dia menjadi
permanen bila anda tidak berupaya apa pun. Disini anda harus berjuang untuk
mengalahkan nasib diri sendiri.
Renungkan sasaran anda setiap hari, perkuat keyakinan anda, suatu hari jalan itu
akan muncul.
Kuncinya adalah terimalah kegagalan itu apa adanya, jangan mengeluh, putus asa
dan benci. Gunakan kegagalan ini sebagai bahan evaluasi dan analisa apa yang
belum sempurna, renungkan dan temukan sebuah strategi yang baru untuk bertindak.
Lakukan … dan lihatlah apa yang akan terjadi.
Salam Bahagia dan Sejahtera
Kesuksesan yang paling besar dalam hidup adalah bisa bangkit kembali dari
kegagalan
salam,
Dwika
==================
Menyikapi Kegagalan
*soegiantohartono.blogspot.com
Seorang guru spiritual terkemuka Master Cheng Yen., yang juga penulis buku
Sanubari Teduh, menasehati : “ Kesuksesan yang paling besar dalam hidup adalah
bisa bangkit kembali dari kegagalan “.
Gagal dan Sukses itu sesungguhnya hanyalah suatu pola pikir, bila anda mengalami
kegagalan dan sampai menyebabkan anda terpuruk, ini di sebabkan karena anda
terlalu melekat pada kegagalan itu.
Namun kalau anda bisa menerima kegagalan itu apa adanya, anda pun sebetulnya
bisa berbahagia dalam kondisi yang sedang menderita.
Jadi, apakah anda terpuruk dan menderita atau bahagia ketika mengalami
kegagalan, ini semata merupakan pilihan murni anda sendiri.
Kalau anda merasa terpuruk dan meratapi nasib, sehingga anda frustrasi dan
kecewa berat atau putus asa; jangan mencoba untuk menyalahkan orang lain, karena
itu salah anda sendiri memilih pikiran yang ingin anda pikirkan.
Sukses dan gagal, ibarat sekeping uang logam dengan dua permukaan. Satu sisi
adalah sukses dan sisi lainnya gagal. Oleh karena itu anda tidak mungkin
terlepas dari pengalaman kegagalan ini. Anda akan terus mengalami peristiwa ini
sebelum anda sukses. Dia lah sahabat anda sebelum anda sukses, karena dia yang
memberi banyak pelajaran yang berarti bagi kehidupan anda. Maka dari itu
janganlah curiga dan berprasangka buruk terhadap kegagalan itu.
Kalau anda gagal, jangan menyebutnya itu gagal, katakan pada diri anda bahwa
anda belum sukses, atau sasaran anda belum sesuai dengan yang anda inginkan.
Kalimat ini lebih memotivasi diri anda dan membuka sumber daya yang anda miliki.
Di dunia ini ada sebuah hukum yang pasti dan berlaku bagi siapa saja, itu adalah
Hukum Kompensasi. Hukum ini mengatakan bahwa setiap kejadian yang tidak
menyenangkan atau yang tidak menguntungkan, ada sesuatu yang lebih baik di
baliknya. Kalau anda bersikap positif terhadap kegagalan yang anda temui, tentu
di balik hal ini ada sesuatu yang lebih baik yang sedang menanti anda. namun
begitu, ini tergantung bagaimana anda menyikapi, dan memandang nya.
Dengan bersikap positif, anda masih bisa bersyukur dan pikiran anda akan menjadi
tenang dan rileks, sehingga anda mulai bisa melihat kesempatan baik lainnya.
Bagaimana cara memandang kegagalan sebagai hal yang positif ?, bacalah tulisan
di bawah ini dan coba anda renungkan :
1. Gagal itu bukan takdir.
Ingatkan kepada diri anda bahwa Kegagalan adalah Sukses yang tertunda, bukan
takdir. Sehingga anda masih mempunyai harapan untuk bisa sukses.
Kegagalan adalah sebuah hasil yang belum sesuai dengan apa yang anda harapan,
dimana sebetulnya masih ada banyak harapan bagi anda untuk sukses.
2. Kegagalan tidak harus melemahkan kemampuan anda
Kegagalan memberikan kesempatan kepada kita untuk belajar kembali, guna
memperbaiki diri.
Setiap orang yang sukses, selalu pernah mengalami kegagalan, tingkatkan
kemampuan anda dengan belajar kembali, sehingga percaya diri anda lebih baik,
dan anda bisa melakukan tindakan yang lebih baik dan efektif dikemudian hari.
3. Kegagalan bukan cacat pribadi
Jangan pernah mengatakan bahwa kegagalan anda karena anda tidak berbakat, kurang
pandai, kurang pendidikan dan lain sebagainya. Kalau anda mau belajar kembali
dan mengembangkan diri anda lebih baik, tentu akan bisa mencapai kesuksesan yang
anda inginkan.
Cintailah pekerjaan anda, sehingga anda akan termotivasi untuk mendalami bidang
pekerjaan anda.
4. Gagal tidak seharusnya membuat putus asa.
Orang memang lebih mudah untuk putus asa bila mengalami kegagalan, hal ini
disebabkan karena orang tersebut kurang ke-uletan, ketekunan , kegigihan dan
kesabaran.
Berputus ada merupakan sikap mental dan karakter yang lemah, oleh karena itu
kembangkan dan perkuat karakter anda.
Orang yang mudah putus asa, biasanya adalah orang-orang yang lemah imannya,
kurang bersyukur dan suka menginginkan hasil yang instant tanpa mau bersusah
payah.
Untuk membangkitkan semangat anda, bayangkan diri anda telah mencapai
keberhasilan yang anda harapkan, lihatlah kegembiraan yang di rasakan oleh
orang-orang terdekata anda.
5. Kegagalan hanya bersifat sementara.
Bagi orang yang ulet, tekun, sabar dan terus besemangat, keberhasilan itu akan
nyata suatu saat. Tidak ada kegagalan yang bersifat permanen, dia menjadi
permanen bila anda tidak berupaya apa pun. Disini anda harus berjuang untuk
mengalahkan nasib diri sendiri.
Renungkan sasaran anda setiap hari, perkuat keyakinan anda, suatu hari jalan itu
akan muncul.
Kuncinya adalah terimalah kegagalan itu apa adanya, jangan mengeluh, putus asa
dan benci. Gunakan kegagalan ini sebagai bahan evaluasi dan analisa apa yang
belum sempurna, renungkan dan temukan sebuah strategi yang baru untuk bertindak.
Lakukan … dan lihatlah apa yang akan terjadi.
Salam Bahagia dan Sejahtera
Kalkulus Akuntansi
ingatlah:
Dengan menguasai kalkulus dasar tepatnya turunan pertama dan kedua, mahasiswa
akan dapat menurunkan sendiri persamaan untuk EOQ. Mahasiswa lebih suka
menghafal daripada menggunakan logikanya.
salam,
Dwika
VIDE Inc.
------------------------------------------------
Matematika, keuangan, & investasi
Oleh: Budi Frensidy
Sebagai penulis buku Matematika Ekonomi dan Matematika Keuangan, saya sering
mendapat pertanyaan tentang perbedaan keduanya. Penjelasan singkat saya adalah
matematika ekonomi berguna untuk mempelajari ekonomi mikro dan makro, sedangkan
matematika keuangan sangat relevan untuk memahami akuntansi, keuangan, dan
investasi.
Tanpa mempelajari matematika keuangan, mahasiswa dan lulusan keuangan akan
sulit membedakan tingkat bunga versus tingkat diskonto, bunga biasa vs bunga
tepat, bunga sederhana vs bunga majemuk, bunga diskrit vs bunga kontinu, bunga
flat vs bunga efektif, anuitas biasa vs anuitas di muka, aplikasi present value
vs future value, skedul amortisasi utang (KPR dan KKB) vs skedul akumulasi dana
(sinking fund), return berdasarkan waktu vs return berdasarkan uang, return
aritmetik vs return geometrik, dan macam-macam metode penghitungan indeks
saham.
Ada tiga pasar dalam perekonomian yaitu pasar barang dan jasa atau sektor riil,
pasar finansial yang terdiri atas pasar uang dan pasar modal, dan pasar tenaga
kerja. Dalam pasar barang dan jasa, variabel utama adalah harga, dan dalam
pasar tenaga kerja adalah gaji dan upah.
Adapun, dalam pasar finansial, variabel paling penting itu adalah tingkat bunga
dan istilah lain yang berkaitan dengannya yaitu yield, tingkat diskonto, dan
return. Karena itu, memahami matematika keuangan yang sering juga disebut
matematika tingkat bunga adalah kunci untuk menguasai akuntansi, keuangan, dan
investasi.
Kalkulus dalam akuntansi
Ini tidak berarti mahasiswa akuntansi dan keuangan tidak memerlukan matematika
ekonomi. Sama seperti manfaat dari mempelajari ekonomi mikro dan makro, tidak
ada ruginya mereka diajari matematika ekonomi sebagai prioritas kedua setelah
matematika keuangan.
Dalam akuntansi dan manajemen keuangan, mahasiswa belajar bahwa ada dua biaya
yang berhubungan dengan persediaan yaitu biaya pemesanan dan biaya penyimpanan.
Ada tradeoff antara keduanya. Jika pemesanan dilakukan dalam jumlah besar,
biaya pemesanan tahunan rendah, tetapi biaya penyimpanan besar. Sebaliknya,
untuk pemesanan dalam jumlah kecil, pemesanan tahunan akan sering, sehingga
biaya pemesanan tinggi sementara biaya penyimpanan rendah.
Karena itu, mereka diharapkan mampu menentukan jumlah pembelian untuk setiap
pemesanan atau economic order quantity (EOQ) yang meminimumkan total biaya
persediaan tahunan yang terdiri atas dua biaya di atas.
Dengan menguasai kalkulus dasar tepatnya turunan pertama dan kedua, mahasiswa
akuntansi dan keuangan akan dapat menurunkan sendiri persamaan untuk EOQ ini.
Pada praktiknya, karena terbiasa menghafal, hampir tidak ada mahasiswa yang
mampu melakukannya. Inilah susahnya mahasiswa kita termasuk mahasiswa keuangan
yang lebih suka menghafal daripada menggunakan logikanya.
Aplikasi dalam investasi
Dalam ilmu fisika, kita mengenal kecepatan dan percepatan sebagai turunan
pertama dan kedua dari fungsi jarak yang ditempuh (dalam waktu). Dalam
investasi, turunan pertama dan kedua itu adalah return nominal dan pertumbuhan
return.
Aplikasinya, kita dapat merumuskan strategi investasi yang tepat dengan
menggunakan turunan pertama dan turunan kedua. Pertama, carilah aset yang
return nominalnya positif sebagai necessary condition dan hindari aset yang
return-nya negatif.
Kedua, carilah aset yang juga mampu memberikan pertumbuhan return positif
sebagai sufficient condition. Tidak sulit mencari alternatif investasi yang
mampu memberikan return nominal positif. Sebagian besar aset memenuhi kriteria
ini, tetapi tidak banyak yang memberikan pertumbuhan return positif.
Memahami konsep sederhana di atas, mahasiswa akuntansi dan keuangan akan dapat
menjawab perbedaan antara pernyataan 'The rich get richer' dan 'The rich get
faster richer'.
Ungkapan 'yang kaya semakin kaya' mengandung arti turunan pertama adalah
positif, tetapi tidak menyebutkan apa-apa tentang turunan kedua. Turunan kedua
mungkin positif, negatif, atau nol.
Adapun, dalam ungkapan 'yang kaya semakin lebih cepat kaya', baik turunan
pertama maupun turunan kedua positif. Contohnya adalah investasi dalam saham
yang fungsi harganya Rp1.000, Rp1.200, Rp1.600, Rp2.500, dan seterusnya.
Orang kaya terutama pengusaha umumnya tidak hanya ingin menjadi lebih kaya.
Karena, jika sekadar menjadi lebih kaya, mungkin saja diperlukan waktu yang
lebih lama untuk mendobelkan kekayaan, misalnya dari sebelumnya 8 tahun menjadi
10 tahun.
Yang diinginkan adalah semakin lebih cepat kaya yaitu semakin cepat dapat
mendobelkan kekayaannya. Jika sebelumnya, diperlukan waktu 8 tahun, berikutnya
mesti 6 tahun, setelah itu target menjadi 4 tahun, demikian seterusnya. Ini
hanya dapat terealisasi jika turunan kedua juga positif.
Aplikasi penting lainnya dari kalkulus dalam investasi adalah mengukur risiko
harga atau risiko tingkat bunga sebuah obligasi. Ukuran untuk ini dikenal
sebagai durasi yang tidak lain adalah elastisitas perubahan harga obligasi
terhadap perubahan yield.
Elastisitas harga obligasi terhadap perubahan yield ini adalah turunan pertama
fungsi harga obligasi terhadap yield. Untuk memperoleh hasil yang lebih akurat
terutama untuk perubahan yield yang cukup besar, investor umumnya juga
memerlukan turunan keduanya yaitu konveksitas.
Mengetahui durasi dan konveksitas sebuah obligasi, kita mudah menghitung
perubahan nilai obligasi atau portofolio obligasi jika terjadi perubahan yield
di pasar.
Contohnya, jika durasi sebuah obligasi adalah 4, maka kenaikan yield 1% akan
menyebabkan penurunan harga sekitar 4%. Berapa persentase tepatnya hingga dua
angka desimal ditentukan oleh konveksitasnya. Kesimpulannya, keuangan dan
investasi itu sangat dekat dengan matematika.
Dengan menguasai kalkulus dasar tepatnya turunan pertama dan kedua, mahasiswa
akan dapat menurunkan sendiri persamaan untuk EOQ. Mahasiswa lebih suka
menghafal daripada menggunakan logikanya.
salam,
Dwika
VIDE Inc.
------------------------------------------------
Matematika, keuangan, & investasi
Oleh: Budi Frensidy
Sebagai penulis buku Matematika Ekonomi dan Matematika Keuangan, saya sering
mendapat pertanyaan tentang perbedaan keduanya. Penjelasan singkat saya adalah
matematika ekonomi berguna untuk mempelajari ekonomi mikro dan makro, sedangkan
matematika keuangan sangat relevan untuk memahami akuntansi, keuangan, dan
investasi.
Tanpa mempelajari matematika keuangan, mahasiswa dan lulusan keuangan akan
sulit membedakan tingkat bunga versus tingkat diskonto, bunga biasa vs bunga
tepat, bunga sederhana vs bunga majemuk, bunga diskrit vs bunga kontinu, bunga
flat vs bunga efektif, anuitas biasa vs anuitas di muka, aplikasi present value
vs future value, skedul amortisasi utang (KPR dan KKB) vs skedul akumulasi dana
(sinking fund), return berdasarkan waktu vs return berdasarkan uang, return
aritmetik vs return geometrik, dan macam-macam metode penghitungan indeks
saham.
Ada tiga pasar dalam perekonomian yaitu pasar barang dan jasa atau sektor riil,
pasar finansial yang terdiri atas pasar uang dan pasar modal, dan pasar tenaga
kerja. Dalam pasar barang dan jasa, variabel utama adalah harga, dan dalam
pasar tenaga kerja adalah gaji dan upah.
Adapun, dalam pasar finansial, variabel paling penting itu adalah tingkat bunga
dan istilah lain yang berkaitan dengannya yaitu yield, tingkat diskonto, dan
return. Karena itu, memahami matematika keuangan yang sering juga disebut
matematika tingkat bunga adalah kunci untuk menguasai akuntansi, keuangan, dan
investasi.
Kalkulus dalam akuntansi
Ini tidak berarti mahasiswa akuntansi dan keuangan tidak memerlukan matematika
ekonomi. Sama seperti manfaat dari mempelajari ekonomi mikro dan makro, tidak
ada ruginya mereka diajari matematika ekonomi sebagai prioritas kedua setelah
matematika keuangan.
Dalam akuntansi dan manajemen keuangan, mahasiswa belajar bahwa ada dua biaya
yang berhubungan dengan persediaan yaitu biaya pemesanan dan biaya penyimpanan.
Ada tradeoff antara keduanya. Jika pemesanan dilakukan dalam jumlah besar,
biaya pemesanan tahunan rendah, tetapi biaya penyimpanan besar. Sebaliknya,
untuk pemesanan dalam jumlah kecil, pemesanan tahunan akan sering, sehingga
biaya pemesanan tinggi sementara biaya penyimpanan rendah.
Karena itu, mereka diharapkan mampu menentukan jumlah pembelian untuk setiap
pemesanan atau economic order quantity (EOQ) yang meminimumkan total biaya
persediaan tahunan yang terdiri atas dua biaya di atas.
Dengan menguasai kalkulus dasar tepatnya turunan pertama dan kedua, mahasiswa
akuntansi dan keuangan akan dapat menurunkan sendiri persamaan untuk EOQ ini.
Pada praktiknya, karena terbiasa menghafal, hampir tidak ada mahasiswa yang
mampu melakukannya. Inilah susahnya mahasiswa kita termasuk mahasiswa keuangan
yang lebih suka menghafal daripada menggunakan logikanya.
Aplikasi dalam investasi
Dalam ilmu fisika, kita mengenal kecepatan dan percepatan sebagai turunan
pertama dan kedua dari fungsi jarak yang ditempuh (dalam waktu). Dalam
investasi, turunan pertama dan kedua itu adalah return nominal dan pertumbuhan
return.
Aplikasinya, kita dapat merumuskan strategi investasi yang tepat dengan
menggunakan turunan pertama dan turunan kedua. Pertama, carilah aset yang
return nominalnya positif sebagai necessary condition dan hindari aset yang
return-nya negatif.
Kedua, carilah aset yang juga mampu memberikan pertumbuhan return positif
sebagai sufficient condition. Tidak sulit mencari alternatif investasi yang
mampu memberikan return nominal positif. Sebagian besar aset memenuhi kriteria
ini, tetapi tidak banyak yang memberikan pertumbuhan return positif.
Memahami konsep sederhana di atas, mahasiswa akuntansi dan keuangan akan dapat
menjawab perbedaan antara pernyataan 'The rich get richer' dan 'The rich get
faster richer'.
Ungkapan 'yang kaya semakin kaya' mengandung arti turunan pertama adalah
positif, tetapi tidak menyebutkan apa-apa tentang turunan kedua. Turunan kedua
mungkin positif, negatif, atau nol.
Adapun, dalam ungkapan 'yang kaya semakin lebih cepat kaya', baik turunan
pertama maupun turunan kedua positif. Contohnya adalah investasi dalam saham
yang fungsi harganya Rp1.000, Rp1.200, Rp1.600, Rp2.500, dan seterusnya.
Orang kaya terutama pengusaha umumnya tidak hanya ingin menjadi lebih kaya.
Karena, jika sekadar menjadi lebih kaya, mungkin saja diperlukan waktu yang
lebih lama untuk mendobelkan kekayaan, misalnya dari sebelumnya 8 tahun menjadi
10 tahun.
Yang diinginkan adalah semakin lebih cepat kaya yaitu semakin cepat dapat
mendobelkan kekayaannya. Jika sebelumnya, diperlukan waktu 8 tahun, berikutnya
mesti 6 tahun, setelah itu target menjadi 4 tahun, demikian seterusnya. Ini
hanya dapat terealisasi jika turunan kedua juga positif.
Aplikasi penting lainnya dari kalkulus dalam investasi adalah mengukur risiko
harga atau risiko tingkat bunga sebuah obligasi. Ukuran untuk ini dikenal
sebagai durasi yang tidak lain adalah elastisitas perubahan harga obligasi
terhadap perubahan yield.
Elastisitas harga obligasi terhadap perubahan yield ini adalah turunan pertama
fungsi harga obligasi terhadap yield. Untuk memperoleh hasil yang lebih akurat
terutama untuk perubahan yield yang cukup besar, investor umumnya juga
memerlukan turunan keduanya yaitu konveksitas.
Mengetahui durasi dan konveksitas sebuah obligasi, kita mudah menghitung
perubahan nilai obligasi atau portofolio obligasi jika terjadi perubahan yield
di pasar.
Contohnya, jika durasi sebuah obligasi adalah 4, maka kenaikan yield 1% akan
menyebabkan penurunan harga sekitar 4%. Berapa persentase tepatnya hingga dua
angka desimal ditentukan oleh konveksitasnya. Kesimpulannya, keuangan dan
investasi itu sangat dekat dengan matematika.
Terapi Berfikir Positif
ingatlah:
Positif thinking agar hidup kita bermanfaat, setidaknya bermanfaat bagi diri
sendiri dan tidak menambah beban orang lain…..
salam,
Dwika
======================
Terapi Berfikir Positif
Posted By Jauhari
Sejak Kecil, olahraga favorit saya adalah sepakbola, apa saja saya
jadikan bola saat itu, dan setiap ada waktu saya dan konco-konco lawas selalu
sempatkan main bola, entah di pekarangan tetangga atau di lapangan desa ponjong.
Saat itu televisi belum seperti sampah seperti kita lihat sekarang (maksud saya
sebut sampah karena sangat banyaknya, jadi mirip sampah bukan? ) Jadi saya
tidak punya team favorit, hanya pemain favorit, itu saja hanya Kang Supri, Kang
Warto, Kang Tono dan Kang Maksum ini adalah JAGOAN LOKAL desa Ponjong
Kami tak kenal Siapa Striker manchester united, liverpool, barcelona apalagi
inter milan,
kami hanya kenal nama nama bule seperti Maradona, Pele, Johan Cruif dan
Klisman dan Frans Beckbaur (bener ndak nulisnya) itu hanya karena ada Piala
Dunia yang di tayangkan di Tipi Sejuta Umat (TVRI)
rmain Bola & Terapi Berfikir Positip
Hubungan diatas dengan terapi berfikir positif karena saya sering sekali
mengalami hal yang saya sebut tidak masuk
akal. Hal tersebut adalah ketika saya bermain dengan temen temen yang
sudah biasa kami bertemu saya bisa bermain lepas dan tanpa hambatan,
aksi gaya pele bisa saya lakukan tapi dan herannya ketika bermain dengan team
asing atau dengan
komunitas lebih besar (dengan team di desa ponjong), kemampuan saya ini
seperti OFF tidak mau menyala, sifat ini ternyata karena saya terlalu
negatif thingking terhadap diri sendiri, sikap bahwa saya kurang mampu
bersaing, takut dan lain sebagainya… sifat inilah yang menyebabkan
kemampuan tidak bisa keluar 100%.
Ketika saya bermain untuk team Sekolah Muhammadiyah 3 Yogyakarta dan maupun Team
Sepakbola Elektro Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang kami terbukti bisa
menyesuaikan diri, Dus itupun ketika bermain untuk Kantor Lama,
saya tetep bisa bermain lepas, Tapi ketika bermain lagi di lapangan
desa ponjong, kemampuan saya seperti hilang tanpa bekas lagi.
Ternyata secara tidak sadar, alam bawah sadar saya telah membuat
suatu pikiran, kalau saya bermain di rumah, saya tidak bisa saya kurang
mampu. Itulah yang menyebabkan kemampuan alami tidak keluar. Hal ini
baru baru saja saya sadari setelah membaca buku karya Dr. Ibrahim Elfiky,
seorang motivator muslim asal Kanada. Dari tulisan tulisan yang saya baca,
perlunya kita terapi berfikir positif, agar kita bisa selalu menampilkan yang
terbaik dari diri kita, dan membuang pikiran negatif,
karena berdasar buku ini, baik atau negatif suatu keadaan tergantung
alam pikiran kita mengolahnya… kita bisa menjadi pecundang atau
pemenang tergantung pikiran kita.
Ingat ingatlah selalu untuk bisa mem filter segala SPAM PIKIRAN (negatif
thinking) dan segera menggantinya dengan positif thinking agar hidup kita
bermanfaat, setidaknya bermanfaat bagi diri sendiri dan tidak menambah beban
orang lain…..
Positif thinking agar hidup kita bermanfaat, setidaknya bermanfaat bagi diri
sendiri dan tidak menambah beban orang lain…..
salam,
Dwika
======================
Terapi Berfikir Positif
Posted By Jauhari
Sejak Kecil, olahraga favorit saya adalah sepakbola, apa saja saya
jadikan bola saat itu, dan setiap ada waktu saya dan konco-konco lawas selalu
sempatkan main bola, entah di pekarangan tetangga atau di lapangan desa ponjong.
Saat itu televisi belum seperti sampah seperti kita lihat sekarang (maksud saya
sebut sampah karena sangat banyaknya, jadi mirip sampah bukan? ) Jadi saya
tidak punya team favorit, hanya pemain favorit, itu saja hanya Kang Supri, Kang
Warto, Kang Tono dan Kang Maksum ini adalah JAGOAN LOKAL desa Ponjong
Kami tak kenal Siapa Striker manchester united, liverpool, barcelona apalagi
inter milan,
kami hanya kenal nama nama bule seperti Maradona, Pele, Johan Cruif dan
Klisman dan Frans Beckbaur (bener ndak nulisnya) itu hanya karena ada Piala
Dunia yang di tayangkan di Tipi Sejuta Umat (TVRI)
rmain Bola & Terapi Berfikir Positip
Hubungan diatas dengan terapi berfikir positif karena saya sering sekali
mengalami hal yang saya sebut tidak masuk
akal. Hal tersebut adalah ketika saya bermain dengan temen temen yang
sudah biasa kami bertemu saya bisa bermain lepas dan tanpa hambatan,
aksi gaya pele bisa saya lakukan tapi dan herannya ketika bermain dengan team
asing atau dengan
komunitas lebih besar (dengan team di desa ponjong), kemampuan saya ini
seperti OFF tidak mau menyala, sifat ini ternyata karena saya terlalu
negatif thingking terhadap diri sendiri, sikap bahwa saya kurang mampu
bersaing, takut dan lain sebagainya… sifat inilah yang menyebabkan
kemampuan tidak bisa keluar 100%.
Ketika saya bermain untuk team Sekolah Muhammadiyah 3 Yogyakarta dan maupun Team
Sepakbola Elektro Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang kami terbukti bisa
menyesuaikan diri, Dus itupun ketika bermain untuk Kantor Lama,
saya tetep bisa bermain lepas, Tapi ketika bermain lagi di lapangan
desa ponjong, kemampuan saya seperti hilang tanpa bekas lagi.
Ternyata secara tidak sadar, alam bawah sadar saya telah membuat
suatu pikiran, kalau saya bermain di rumah, saya tidak bisa saya kurang
mampu. Itulah yang menyebabkan kemampuan alami tidak keluar. Hal ini
baru baru saja saya sadari setelah membaca buku karya Dr. Ibrahim Elfiky,
seorang motivator muslim asal Kanada. Dari tulisan tulisan yang saya baca,
perlunya kita terapi berfikir positif, agar kita bisa selalu menampilkan yang
terbaik dari diri kita, dan membuang pikiran negatif,
karena berdasar buku ini, baik atau negatif suatu keadaan tergantung
alam pikiran kita mengolahnya… kita bisa menjadi pecundang atau
pemenang tergantung pikiran kita.
Ingat ingatlah selalu untuk bisa mem filter segala SPAM PIKIRAN (negatif
thinking) dan segera menggantinya dengan positif thinking agar hidup kita
bermanfaat, setidaknya bermanfaat bagi diri sendiri dan tidak menambah beban
orang lain…..