No they're not dumb

Decisions are made based on the amount of information presented to you.  And more often you'll find out how much of that essential information was lacking or needed based from the results of that decision.

If the information isn't ripe, complete, or satisfied, then there is a high possibility of wrong assumptions.

I've met a lot of agents from companies who always fall short of intuitiveness and pro-activeness.  Probably because they pretend too much that they know enough.  No they don't.  I wish I could say they're dumb but they're not.  Lazy maybe but not dumb.

So if you encounter people like these, it's either you replace them or reeducate them.  That's where your leadership trait kicks in.  The choice is yours.

Between time, cost, and quality

Decisions are made not because you are brave and bold.  They're made because you believe you know enough to decide on such.  Bravery, like confidence, is the consequence of good knowledge, positive attitude, reputation, and insight.

However, decisions are often initiated and anchored on cost first, then time, and quality is ranked last before a "balance" is met.  But is it really?

Well yes balance should be met.  But how do you know how much your idea would cost you and when it is acceptable to the target audience?

At the first inception of your grand idea, you never think about time and cost, correct?  All that matters to you at that time is how to make the idea happen and work.  That effort of thinking is non-quantifiable.  Yet many managers still attempt to measure them.

You only get to appreciate quality over time.  Don't forget creativity.  If you have it, cost shouldn't be much of an issue.

Non-quantifiables for non-quantifiables.  Quality decisions are made from good knowledge, positive attitude, reputation, and insight.  Quality comes first.  Balance it later.

Lucifer is not a devil

Really.  He's not.  Or is 'she'?

Photo from Wikipedia: Lucifer (Le génie du mal) by Guillaume Geefs (Cathedral of St. Paul, Liège, Belgium)

The name Lucifer is an English derivative from the Latin words lucem ferre meaning the light-bearer.  Gary Zukav explains more.

In his book The Seat of the Soul, Lucifer's character was dissected as the "giver of light".  The fallen angel's purpose was meant as a challenger of souls, to help us in deciding choices between resistance (to temptation) and giving in to others' "power".

Souls as he defined them are illuminations of love in our inner being.  The amount of love we have and give is manifested by its brightness.  And because the soul's sole purpose is to love and only to love, the illumination it projects depends on every person's interaction with the physical.

In application, this means that if one was born, raised, and immersed in a community of bribery, deceit, lies, skepticism, and all other unfavorable events, the soul darkens.  The opposite is that if one's physical orientation to the world is moved with motivation and encouragement, the soul brightens.  Thus the term "enlightened".

Lucifer's role in our lives is therefore important.  At times when we feel seduced to do the things our conscience forbids us, the light-giver is actually at work allowing us to do the choosing between good and bad.  We get to choose between giving in or giving up.

In the musical words of Ursula, the Disney octo-maid seawitch , "Poor unfortunate souls... in pain, in need".

At the end of the day it's important to be cautious to choose and work with the right people.

Facebook Is Like... Yahoo Is Like... And Google Is Like...

Ok... After ranting about Facebook, I'm still guilty of using it. I did say I don't hate it, didn't I?

From what I see on my screen, Facebook seems to be replicating what Yahoo was doing before. Only this time it's in social networking service format. I think Facebook is trying to be everything to everyone.

Yahoo for a significant time was a portal trying to be everything to everyone.

Yet Google is god.

Information you need delivered in seconds. Better than a prayer don't you think? Yahoo's search engine at one time was actually subscribed to Google... so essentially Yahoo was actually Google.

Google challenges itself and keeps on doing it. Constantly improving its service for better opportunities to users.

They introduced AdSense, that online advertising service that allow advertisers to share a cent chip of their profit while users resume doing what they're supposed to do - search, blog, search, chat, bookmark, search, rant, search, blog, etc...

Then they learned how to monetize from search boxes, feeds, and very soon videos.

Yes YouTubers will be empowered.

In fact it's in its testing stage in key countries as we speak. Maybe I'm even months late. YouTube, the biggest video repository in the planet will become another passive income stream.

How's that?

Such a beautiful entrepreneurial concept, isn't it? Who would've thought of an idea where an advertiser could share it's income to the market?

Google did.

Stay tuned.

Share

Here are a couple of mantras I've adhered to that served as one of my guiding principles. I thought of sharing it.

1. Work with people that are better than you.

I think it was John Lennon who said that a band is like a tennis game. You'll never know how good (or bad) you are until you start playing with other professionals. Collaboration is the key to improvement. Challenge yourself. Take calculated risks.

2. Share the results of your work.

What good is your idea if it only stays in the 4 corners of your bedroom? Go out and make the world see what you can do. Sharing allows learning and the more we learn, the more we find how much there is to learn.

A musician's skill can only beneficial when shared with other fellow musicians.

Decisions By Numbers Please?

Not all things are quantifiable. If anything most of the brilliant decisions made by great men and women in history were based on insight and hindsight - subjective and bold ones to the core.

In a corporate environment however, executives, managers, VPs, CEOs, and what have you, were trained to believe that numbers and graphs guarantee a bearing anchored on the belief that figures make very important and crucial decisions achievable.

Numbers are drafted because there is the need for a reference point. A ground. A footing. Whatever one calls it, it "validates" a cause.

Maybe to a significant mark this is understandable.

Graphic presentations are drawn to satiate the visual boss. Verbal (and sometimes non-verbal) communications provide a comprehensive canvas for the auditory boss. The kinesthetic boss may merit another approach - and this can be more challenging.

In these categories of bosses, all aspects must be measurable. Or should it?

Numbers. We attempt to always ensure that quantity between quantity is established... in the process, quality gets more often ignored. So now the CEO for example gets a truck load of numerical information on top his desk.

But amidst all the numbers being served on the plate, it will still and always be the boss' opinion that reigns supreme. Opinions are non-quantifiable.

At the end of the day, until a decision is made, you remain left alone.

So if numbers are supposed to help the boss decide... how on earth can one validate a performance evaluation?

If numbers are supposed to help the boss decide... how on earth can one validate a job evaluation?

If numbers are supposed to help the boss decide... how on earth can one validate an incentive program?

If numbers are supposed to help the boss decide... how can one validate which facility is better between this office space and that?


More numbers anyone?


Decisions please?