Onassis and Me

The Aristotle Onassis Model

In 1970 Aristotle Onassis was relaxing in the bar of the London Palladium during a performance. The variety show on stage held no interest for him, he was most likely with Jackie and some friends and he had removed himself from the audience and was now enjoying his customary Johnnie Walker Black Label.

At the Interval the audience started to fill the bar and a man and woman walked in with their 8 year old son. Onassis looked at the boy, who was wearing a suit and a tie, and smiled, walked over to the couple and said in his gruff voice something along the lines of, 'You have the smartest young man I have seen in a long while'. He then patted the boy on the head and gave him a five pound note. Then, with a smile, a slight nod and a wave he walked off to meet his party of guests. People looked at the couple with their son and the man said to his wife, 'You know who that was don't you?'

£5 was a LOT of money in 1970. The evening out for the couple and their son had been something the man had been saving up for for two months. The suit the boy was wearing (a blue two tone single breasted) came from the Peter Pan Outfitters for children in the Commercial Road in East London.

The couple were my Mum and Dad.
If ONLY I had kept that five pound note Onassis gave me!

Ever since that moment I have been interested in the life of Aristotle Onassis.

Aristotle Onassis was one of the most successful, publicized and examined people in the world during the middle of the 20th century. Today, 38 years after his death, he is principally remembered as an ultra-rich shipping magnate, touring the world on his magnificent yacht and for his romance with the diva soprano Maria Callas and marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy. Before he attained business and social heights, however, he was a very rough, uncultured, non-work of art. His effort to change a dim future is worth a look: and is instructional as a teaching aid that anyone can utilize in pursuit of success.

Onassis was born in Smyrna of Greek parents. At the end of World War I he, along with millions of others, was forced into refugee status and arrived in Argentina as a penniless immigrant. His Spanish was minimal, his education limited and his skills on offer were not highly prized. Nevertheless, he examined his circumstance realistically and with deep analysis. He recognized that out of post-war chaos would come opportunity for the agile and creative entrepreneur. Being broke was just an obstacle, not a closed, door to Onassis.

As Onassis learnt the ways of Argentine society and business he noticed that there were specific clubs, restaurants, hotels and theatres that were almost exclusively frequented by the successful business and political class. Always a keen observer of human nature, he realized that contacts and friendships of value to an ambitious fellow like himself could only be nurtured in this rarefied realm. Onassis was determined to find a way in.

He worked mundane jobs, including a stint as a telephone operator. However, he was different from co-workers and other immigrants. He immersed himself in all things Argentine and he saved every cent he earned that was not needed for basic sustenance. Most importantly, he recognized the old saying; “the rich are different from you and me” was so true. He needed to emulate the rich in order to become rich. He never looked at successful people as the enemy. He had aspirations, not jealousy in his heart.

Onassis became addicted to quality in all areas of life. While still poor, he saved every peso until he could afford a Saville Row hand cut suit. He only had one suit, but it was elegant. He also observed that the rich seemed to appear healthier, happier. They seemed to sport suntan skin as a badge of their fortunate lifestyle. Onassis developed a lifetime addiction to pursuit of the perfect suntan. His tan was internationally famous long before the actor George Hamilton gained similar fame. To this day, a suntan is an emblem of the good life for the successful class.

A Saville Row suit, quality personal furnishings and a suntan that reeked of idle leisure and success were only a start. Onassis was still a rough diamond. Nevertheless, he believed in his ultimate destiny. He would have a drink every night at the bar of the Intercontinental Hotel in Buenos Aires, the cities finest. Only one drink, because that was all he could afford. He still worked as a telephone operator, but he kept his parallel lives as a blue-collar worker and social status seeker firmly differentiated.

His nightly visits to the Intercontinental Hotel bar gradually lead to his building a network of business and social contacts. The famous Argentine soprano Claudia Musa frequently visited the hotel. She was an adored opera star and a cultured beauty. Onassis was basically a nobody and a poser. And yet, he pursued the beautiful singer, and with his usual tenacity he won her heart. This drive to win would be displayed in every area of his long and exciting life.

Onassis recognized that Argentine women preferred a type of sweet Turkish tobacco that was not widely available in South America. Utilizing his newly found relationships; he brokered an import deal for an inventory of the tobacco. He assembled the capital necessary to organize a small factory and began to market several brands of Turkish cigarettes. This small, but successful deal was the basis for his later international business prominence.

Onassis recognized that World War II was imminent. The movement of war materiel was going to become crucial to the Allies winning the war. Shipping would be highly profitable, if he could find an inventory of ships to purchase. With customary elan, he found a small fleet of sturdy but well used freighters on the St. Lawrence Waterway and arranged a tight line of credit to purchase the motley flotilla. He was on his way to becoming the most famous shipping magnate in history.

Entrepreneurs, in order to succeed, often must change elements of their personal lifestyle. We have all heard the old adage, “success breeds success”. No one practised this truism more fully and instructively than Aristotle Onassis. He bought one high quality suit. He squired beautiful women. He went to the finest clubs, even though he could not afford much more than one drink. He used his new environment, new contacts and network to benefit his single-minded pursuit of success. Why did Willy Sutton rob banks: because that was where the money was! Onassis also made the elemental decision to hang out where the money was.

One of the most difficult aspects of the entrepreneurial process that must be overcome is the need to adjust lifestyle. Sacrifice today will pay dividends tomorrow. Venture capital usually will not be found in a pool hall. The necessity to improve one’s self-presentation and to network continually is paramount. You must be constantly closing the sale, improving your skills and totally focus on achieving your goal.

Aristotle Onassis worked blue-collar jobs, spoke Spanish as a third language, was a displaced immigrant on a strange continent and had zero personal assets. Nevertheless, he organized a personal plan to overcome his obstacles and lead a life of legendary accomplishment.

I spend a great deal of time training and coaching people and corporations to overcome hurdles. Some easily recognize the need to change habits and to utilize pieces of the Onassis template. They often have the ability to succeed. Many more unfortunately, decide that they know best, markets will adapt to their wants and a shortcut to success can be taken. They always fail. This is an absolute observation.

At the harbour of Nidri is a statue of the man who has inspired me and, through my work, inspires others. You can also see Skorpios from there. There is no way I can visit his grave as he is entombed with his two children on the private island but the statue is the nearest I can get to 'The Great Onassis' again in person.

Quotes:

“To be successful, keep looking tanned, live in an elegant building (even if you're in the cellar), be seen in smart restaurants (even if you only nurse one drink) and if you borrow, borrow big.”

“If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.”

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”

“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.”

“The secret of business is to know something nobody else knows”

“After a certain point, money is meaningless. It ceases to be the goal. The game is what counts.”

“I have no friends and no enemies -- only competitors.”

“Get a sun lamp to keep you looking as if you have just come back from somewhere expensive”

“Find a priest who understands English and doesn't look like Rasputin.”

“The more you own, the more you know you don't own.”

“Always carry a notebook. Write down ideas and information. Write down everything you know and hear about a person you meet. That way, next time you meet them, you know how much time to give them.”

The Success Indicator via The Huffington Post

I just wanted to share with you an amazing and very incisive graphic by MaryEllen Tribby about what make some people more successful than others.

It seems to boil down to one thing...successful people 'get it!'

 

One other thing to notice...

The successful person is a female figure and the unsuccessful figure is a male figure.

That seems endemic in society at present, from graphics like this right the way up to furniture ads on TV.  The female is seen as capable and organisational and the man justs drifts around doing nothing or just does the wrong thing, sometimes surprised by the actions of the female.

Surely just accidental...   ;-)

 

Are you the business? Shame.....

In the world of personal development most of the companies rely on the main person.

Otherwise known as...

The face of the company.
The owner.
The person who writes the programs.
The person who delivers the training.
The person people want to see, hear or be trained by.

I have that challenge.

Many other companies have that challenge.

I know what you are thinking; "You say that like it's a bad thing!"

It is.

Not now...but in the future.

If you have a company and you are considering selling it, retiring and hoping it will continue, or even considering floating it...bad news.

You are the Company. People are buying you.

You need to take yourself out of your business.

You need to remove yourself from the daily running of your business.

Why? Because otherwise you will remain a vital element of the company and you will never be able to sell it without you going along as part of the package. You need to delegate all your tasks within the company to other people, so that the business can function effectively on its own without you being involved.

Your business will never be able to grow beyond what you can physically do yourself.

A buyer will only want to buy the business if you come along with it. Your plan to spend your time on a yacht sipping champagne has been well and truly scuppered. You are now an employee (albeit a very well paid one).

If you can teach what you do to a like minded person who works for you, do so. You must ensure that the business is capable of continuing while you take time out.

If your business is like this, do it now; I am.

If it's a new business you are starting then look closely at your business model and make sure it is scalable.
In other words, can it grow without you being there?

If the answer is no, it's a non starter. Think of a new idea.

Celebrate a Life

Tonight I shall go and have a drink for Margaret Thatcher's life. I shall raise my glass to the night sky, and THANK HER, and celebrate her life. A large Talisker, her tipple.

 

Some people seem to have a very strange view of history. So here are a few little nuggets with how and more specifically WHY a lot of industries were destroyed by her, and what's more, ...destroyed with the MANDATE OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE.

 

The seventies were blighted by the trade unions waiting for winter and then coming out on strike at it's heart. Holding the country to ransom for ANNUAL pay rises of up to 36% ABOVE inflation. This was the likes of Scargill and co. And they bled us dry. We were bankrupted by them. And then the Winter of Discontent happened. And they ALL came out. Miners, power workers, transport workers; even funeral directors, everything tied into the TGWU came out. One of my Grandparents lay on a slab for 2 months waiting to be buried. The entire country was a ruin. Rubbish not collected for months, rats everywhere. And the unions laughed, and brought down Callaghan's Labour Government.

 

And Thatcher stood up at the General Election and made ONE SIMPLE PROMISE.

 

Elect me. And THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. ELECT ME AND I WILL DESTROY THEM.

 

She won a landslide. On that promise.  And she became the last elected Prime Minister to actually hold true to her election promise. She did exactly what she said. She utterly destroyed the unions. Obliterated them. The cost was those industries. We knew that would be the price. But we would not allow them to hold us to ransom again. What she did, she did with our BLESSING. The socialists and people who backed those strikes have only themselves to blame for what happened.

 

Baroness Thatcher didn't destroy those industries and communities for fun or as part of a class war. She did it to stop them holding the country to ransom again. And then she held the purse strings tight and re-built the economy and the country and Britain again stood tall and thrived. And we won back the global respect we had lost while the left wing ruled.

 

In the Falklands they were thankful for her being in office. Those who went 'south' in '82 did so knowing they had a leader who would not - and did not- interfere. She sent the military and allowed them to do their job. Gave them money, the equipment and most of all THE FREEDOM to get the job done. Our lands had been invaded. We had a gun up our nose. SHE led us.

 

Frankly Thatcher took a very broken Britain by the hand like a strict old fashioned Matron and LED THE COUNTRY BACK TO WHERE IT HAD ONCE BEEN.

 

We were the worlds 3rd major power in ALL respects. And as for the world, it has NEVER been safer than when Thatcher was in Downing Street, Reagan was in the White House and Gorbachev was in the Kremlin as the three spoke DAILY.

 

They laid the ground for the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Russians were TERRIFIED of her. And the world again feared/ respected Britain.

 

And lets not forget that she gave people the full right to buy their own council property. Her vision was that the TENNANT and the tennant alone could buy that property.As soon as her party stabbed her in the back the feeding frenzy began as under her the famous Tory grandee greed was held in check. So they stabbed her, led by the europro traitor Heseltine - who didn't have the guts to face her openly and alone - they arranged her removal. And we have been a broken patsy for europe ever since.

 

So yes, tonight I will celebrate the life of Baroness Thatcher, with thanks, with respect, and with sadness, because she allowed me to know what we could be, what we could achieve, what it meant to be BRITISH.  She Didn't just LEAD Britain.  She SAVED Britain.  She made Britain GREAT again, and all we have done since she was removed from power, is let 'them' mess it up again.

 

RIP Baroness Thatcher...and THANK YOU!  No one else in the Government has the nerve to do what you did.

RIP Baroness Thatcher

I am greatly saddened to hear of the passing of our greatest Peacetime Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher. She was truly a great lady and a major influence of mine. I have practically every autobiography and book about her in my Library.

I can remember being 17 years old walking around London and seeing bags of uncollected rubbish piled high in the streets. We, as a country, were financially crippled. We had high unemployment, unrest, strikes...you name it, we had it.



Aunt Betty and Margaret Thatcher

Then, when Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, Britain was classified as a dirty dump, “the sick man of Europe” and on the brink of total economic collapse. When she left power in 1990, it was one of the financial capitals of the world. She defined the 80's 'loadsamoney' mentality. She is associated with her political philosophy of Thatcherism, based on low taxation, low public spending, free markets and mass privatization. I, personally, love Margaret Thatcher for her honesty, bluntness, strength of character and her radicalism.

I took this pic at the Conference

Many others hate her, though, mainly on the left of politics who believed that she destroyed workers rights and slashed public spending. During her tenure she had to deal with mass unemployment, out of control inflation, endless strikes, a war with the Falklands and an attempted assassination by the IRA. In February 2007, she became the first British Prime Minister to be honoured with a statue in the House of Commons while still alive; a testament to her incredible legacy.

Here are some classic quotes from Margaret Thatcher...

1. Pennies don’t fall from heaven – they have to be earned here on earth.

2. No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions; he had money as well.

3. Economics are the method; the object is to change the heart and soul.

4. My policies are based not on some economics theory, but on things I and millions like me were brought up with: an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay; live within your means; put by a nest egg for a rainy day; pay your bills on time; support the police.

5. Defeat? I do not recognise the meaning of the word.

6. I, personally, have always voted for the death penalty because I believe that people who go out prepared to take the lives of other people forfeit their own right to live. I believe that the death penalty should be used only very rarely, but I believe that no-one should go out certain that no matter how cruel, how vicious, how hideous their murder, they themselves will not suffer the death penalty.

7. Socialists cry “Power to the people”, and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean—power over people, power to the State.

8. There’s no such thing as society.

9. A man may climb Everest for himself, but at the summit he plants his country’s flag.

10. (to Conservative backbench MP John Whittingdale) The trouble with you, John, is that your spine does not reach your brain.

11. For every idealistic peacemaker willing to renounce his self-defence in favour of a weapons-free world, there is at least one warmaker anxious to exploit the other’s good intentions.

12. Constitutions have to be written on hearts, not just paper.

13. If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.

14. To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.

15. To wear your heart on your sleeve isn’t a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.

16. Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.

17. I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.

18. If you want to cut your own throat, don’t come to me for a bandage.

19. There can be no liberty unless there is economic liberty.

20. I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it.

21. It pays to know the enemy – not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.

22. It is not the creation of wealth that is wrong, but the love of money for its own sake.

23. I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.

24. Popular capitalism is nothing less than a crusade to enfranchise the many in the economic life of the nation.

25. Imagine a Labour canvasser talking on the doorstep to those East German families when they settle in on freedom’s side of the wall. “You want to keep more of the money you earn? I’m afraid that’s very selfish. We shall want to tax that away. You want to own shares in your firm? We can’t have that. The state has to own your firm. You want to choose where to send your children to school? That’s very divisive. You’ll send your child where we tell you.”

Two StandOuts.....

26. I don’t think there will be a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime. – BBC interview, 1973

27. Geoffrey Howe asked me why people take an instant dislike to him. I told him "Geoffrey, it saves so much time!"

Kill The Monster Early.....

I have a friend who got a parking ticket. He stuck it in a drawer to deal with later. You know, later? When he had the time?

Three days later he pulled the ticket out and saw that he was being fined £40. He had a week left to pay it. He put it on the hallway table and went to work.

A week later it was still there. When he remembered to look at it he had one day left before it increased to £60.

Should he reschedule his meeting so that he could go and pay the fine now? In his mind he did a quick calculation.
“It’s only another £20 for heavens' sake!”
Hmmm. Is it?
“I spend more than that on cigarettes each week!” he thought.
Well, that’s that rationalized!

Another week went by. And then another.
He forgot all about it.
He went on holiday.
When he got back his car had been lifted and impounded and to get it back he had to pay the costs on top of the original fine.

The fine, if he had dealt with it straight away, was only £40.
He paid out £480.00 that day to get his car back.

Kill the monster early.
In business we make choices every day. We decide what direction we are going to take, what strategy to use, who to send on a particular job. All those choices are pro-active. We have to react in the same positive way. When something happens we have to decide right away a course of action otherwise things change.

Some people tend to sweep things under the carpet.
Someone causes a problem or a challenge? Sweep it under the carpet.
Some people keep on doing that again and again until nobody can open the door because of a huge pile of crap under the carpet.

Problems (£40 fine?) can be brushed off or ignored for a while. They turn into concerns.
Concerns (£60 fine increase) cause a little consternation and can be time consuming but, some people deal with them by delaying action. The concerns turn into a crisis!

A crisis (car towed and £480 bill) is when and only when some people act. All that trouble and financial cost and yet, back in the days of the £40 it would have been so simple. Just deal with it at the time and get rid of it. Do it NOW!

In business, never ever let anything just sit and rot away. Always deal with things immediately if that can be done. Never, ever, put things off to another day. Do the tough stuff first and then do the easy stuff.

Here’s a case in point...

You must have seen the Alien films.

They are great and I always get a kick out of watching them. Do you remember that scene in the first film when Cain has that alien burst out of his chest?

The pic at the top of this post is the scene.
I always think of how different it would have been if I had been on that spaceship....
 

Just as the little alien runs across the table I would have smashed it with a sledge hammer and flattened it.

Turn to camera and say:
“If we had let that out of the room it would have killed everyone!”

Roll credits!

Strong or Weak?

I like things strong.

I like challenges.

I will take on any situation.

I have no fear.

Fear is, False Evidence Appearing Real. That's all.

It's not reality.

I know a lot of people who give it large, the big'un, all the front. Most do it by letter or online because that's where they belong, in the dark, hidden, safe. Some have the nerve to do it in person but when push comes to shove, or punch, or kick...they crumble like dust.

I understand fear. I understand strength. I understand courage.
Courage is not the absence of fear, it's the ability to act in spite of fear.

If someone is trying (thats one of their words - try(ing) - they can never 'do') to impose fear or frighten you. If someone is threatening you physically, verbally, business wise...so what? What can they do to you? Nothing? Well, actually, they can do something. It's called 'only what you let them'.

Realise one simple fact. They are behind/ below you. So far behind you all they can dream of is being you.

In fact they are so far behind you, the only reason you can see them is because you are lapping them!

Who cares what they say or do; it doesn't matter, they are irrelevant.

 They don't know what they are doing. THATS the level of intelligence they have.

And it ain't much! ;-)

If I gave you a present, and you said 'no thanks', who owns the present? That's right; I still do. Thats what you do with the low lifes, the scum, the idiots, the mood hoovers, the energy vampires, the people who want to hold you back, the people who want to derail you or your business.

Remember: there is no need to dream up all manner of torture for these people. No point in thinking up ways to harm them.

Why? Because anything you dream up in those dark moments when you feel that you have been sleighted or harmed will be eclipsed by the damage they will do to themselves on a regular basis.

People look at them and laugh.

There is nothing to FEAR. Be strong...they hate it, because they cant be strong...

The reason they don't like you is simple...it's because they can't be you! 

Authenticity Vs Inauthenticity

In 2010 Domino’s Pizza made a decision to come out and tell the truth about their Pizzas. They agreed that they tasted like cardboard.


In 1991 during a speech to the Institute of Directors, Gerald Ratner, the CEO of Ratner’s Jewellers said ‘People ask, “How can you sell this (earrings) for such a low price?” I say, “because it’s total crap.”’

In both instances the business world was shocked at the honesty. I would assume the shareholders had a ‘moment’ too. Wow! If some leaders could just fake authenticity they would be happy but, there IS no faking it. With Domino’s it’s a consumable but it was only a recipe issue, the quality is not in question, nobody was poisoned, nobody had their health compromised.

With Ratners it WAS purely a quality issue, the goods were not worth the money. Domino’s merely agreed with/confirmed what people had been saying. Ratner admitted something nobody knew for certain. Domino’s continues…Ratners went down the tube.

Authenticity is not an easy subject to tackle and wrestle to the ground. One needs to step outside of conventional thought on authenticity. It takes a lot of courage to discuss authenticity/inauthenticity as it lifts the lid on things we may keep hidden, knowingly or unknowingly. Taking part in this chat will certainly broaden our awareness of ourselves, as a Leader and as a person.

A superficial description of authentic is being real, genuine, the “real deal”, honest. Would you be as honest as Ratners or Domino’s? If your business made a monumental mistake, it’s all very well admitting this to your people but would you admit it to the world, your clients or SKYNEWS? How far does authenticity go before we have to make a stand and be, to all intents and purposes, Inauthentic because the outcome may determine that we cannot be authentic in that instance?

The definition I use of Authenticity is: Being and acting consistent with who you hold yourself out to be for others, and who you hold yourself out to be for yourself.

The central definition is ‘who you hold yourself out to be’. It is NOT your personality, not your thoughts, not your feelings and not social protocols…it is more a DECLARATION that you make, a stand you take on yourself, a commitment to a set of values.

Bill George, Harvard Business School Professor of Leadership and author said:
“After years of studying leaders and their traits, I believe that Leadership begins and ends with authenticity.”

The cold hard truth is that because of certain situations, with certain people, in some ways and at certain times we can all be Inauthentic. Because we avoid at all costs confronting our inauthenticity’s, we are consistently inauthentic about being inauthentic. Is it possible for a person to determine when they are being genuine?

Above all else, Authenticity is CENTRAL to leadership and to being a leader.
Are you authentic all the time? Even when NO ONE is watching?

 

Attitudes Are Contagious, Is Yours Worth Catching?

What do you see written here?...

Do you see ‘Opportunity is Nowhere’?
Good. If you like that sort of thinking…..But, do you know what is better? What you SHOULD be reading?

‘Opportunity Is Now Here!’

It’s your choice, you decide, your conscious and unconscious minds conspire to read whatever it thinks you want to read. If you are wired to see ‘nowhere’ then your attitude is going to stop you from seeing Opportunity all around you.

How important is attitude to a Leader? How important is attitude, period? Underlying EVERYTHING we do is attitude….How we do what we do, how we engage with people, how we see and plan the future (our own and our company) and what we takeaway from any situation.
Bad attitudes are infectious. One person in a company with a bad attitude can infect the entire team until one day everyone is sitting on the steps outside with their office in a cardboard box asking ‘what happened?’ Have you ever gone to a meeting, or a party, and thought, ‘this is going to be a total waste of time’? It was wasn’t it? You made it so. You pre-conditioned your mind.

Somewhere between starting school and getting our first set of business cards printed we lost the importance of attitude. We focus on learning, skills and ability. But great attitude is infectious too. It breeds other great attitudes.

Try this….My New Years gift to you?

I am going to take you away from your job for six months and let you stay all expenses paid on my private island. All meals, drinks, entertainment, expenses: all covered. How cool is that? Not just for you but for ALL your family. What a deal? Am I a great guy or what?

I am also going to pay you your salary…as long as you do ONE thing….

Place an advert in the newspaper for your replacement. They have to be good. They have to be BRILLIANT at being you for six months. If they mess up, share prices drop, staff go on strike or they are just hopeless in the role….it will be your fault and I am bringing you back to reality in 12 hours…1^st flight home (economy).

You have TEN words in this advert to describe what you do. Ten words that define what you do as a leader. Ten words that sum up the attributes that person must have to take over from you while you sunbathe and walk on that white beach and swim in that blue ocean.

Does your list look like a little like this one?

1. Conscientious
2. People person
3. Punctual
4. Good with numbers
5. Smart
6. Confident
7. Good listener
8. Decisive
9. Positive
10. Can train staff

That’s a list a group of insurance salespeople wrote on a whiteboard last month and it is almost identical to the list I always get.

Notice anything?

For one thing, the 80/20 principle.

8 out of the 10 attributes are clearly ATTITUDE!

The other two have a foot in both the attitude and the skill camps.

We teach SKILLS…we assume people bring great attitudes with them.

As a leader our attitude is the most important facet of our being. It is the Mindset of a great leader. It is a magnet for success.

MOVE!

Flow, like water...Be flexible...whoever has flexibility in a situation controls the situation....

but remember that as Leaders we must move forward, and keep moving...

and never, EVER, stop moving...

Is That A Pack of Dogs in my Boardroom/ Office/ Timeline?

If you are a Leader and you want to be followed blindly, without question, with obedience, servitude and adoration...get a DOG!

Friends are great.  Of course they are. And people who agree with you are good too, as long as they really mean it.... adoring sycophantic acolytes are to be avoided at all costs.

Why would you, a real leader, surround yourself with people who just blindly agree and nod their head at everything you say and do?  A group of people who, to all intents and purposes, are JUST LIKE YOU!

Why would you want a team or group of people who do nothing but blow sunshine up your ass?

Do you REALLY think that you will make ANY progress in life or business by having a support group around you who do nothing but tell you 'You're right!' or 'I agree!' or 'Fantastic idea!' and never EVER question you about ANYTHING?

How long before you start to think 'I wonder what they say when I am not around?'...'I wonder what they DO when I am not around?'  It won't be long before you start thinking that as soon as you shut that door or put the phone down, they all throw their heads back and laugh like maniacs.

It's not paranoia, it's human nature.  Surely there comes a time when all that ass kissing makes you think, 'Is this for real?'

I have always subscribed to the belief that if two people in your organization say the same things, do the same things, have the same opinions, think the same things, believe the same things...sack one of them....they are walking overhead!

What you need to do as a leader is mentor, drive, empower and teach your team how to fly. I am a believer in teaching people how to 'think different'.  In doing all of that, you are going to learn a lot from them as well as them learning from you. 

What the hell are you going to learn from a group of people who can't think for themselves and rely on you to give them an idea or a thought that they can agree with?

If you go through life surrounded by people blowing sunshine up your keister then you are going nowhere.  And it will not be long before you start to believe your own hype. 

Again, I quote Monty Pythons Life of Brian:
Brian: You are all individuals...
Lone Voice in Crowd: I'm not!

You need a group or a team of people with their own minds, own ideas, own brains, who interact, question, agree with you only when they really do agree with you, and are there to learn and to teach others (including you).

If nobody disagrees with you, questions your motives and ideas, or tells you 'thats a really bad idea' you are going to start believing that you can do no wrong and, guess what?  YOU CAN DO A LOT OF WRONG!!

There are a lot of tribes, clubs, cliques, communities, groups and teams who empower, enrich, push, mentor, drive and coach each other to do more, do better, and go further.  It is all down to the Leader encouraging that.

If you are part of a 'my way or the highway' collective....its a highway to nowhere....you deserve better!

Authentic Authenticity

AUTHENTICITY

Some people say that Authenticity is a big thing. I think it is bigger than we think.  In many cases it's the ONLY thing some people have.

An Authentic Leader is seen to be a beacon of hope, a strong example, an ethical person who does the right thing.  They are seen to be someone others aspire to be.  They are magnetic forces because others want to align with them for one or both of two reasons.

1. Trust

2. Hoping that some of the magic rubs off on them.

Having the strength to confront your inauthenticities is hard.  Some may say it's the hardest thing you can do because you are looking at yourself in a new way.  When you admit, to yourself and others, your inauthenticities then you are being AUTHENTIC about them.  Denying they exist is further compounding them.

"If you cannot find the courage to be authentic about your inauthenticities, you can forget about being a leader...The actionable access to authenticity is being authentic about your inauthenticities..."

At some point we are Inauthentic as well as being Authentic at other times.  Certainly, situations can determine who we are or what we say and do.  To be authentic we must discover and confront our inauthenticities.  We must also be honest, and tell the truth, to ourselves and others about when we are not being genuine (authentic).  But, how far do we go with that?

In 2010 Domino’s Pizza made a decision to come out and tell the truth about their Pizzas. They agreed that they tasted like cardboard.

In 1991 during a speech to the Institute of Directors, Gerald Ratner, the CEO of Ratner’s Jewellers said ‘People ask, "How can you sell these (earrings) for such a low price?” I say, "because it's total crap."’

In both instances the business world was shocked at the honesty. I would assume the shareholders had a ‘moment’ too. Wow! If some leaders could just fake authenticity they would be happy but, there IS no faking it. With Domino’s it’s a consumable but it was only a recipe issue, the quality is not in question, nobody was poisoned, nobody had their health compromised. With Ratners it WAS purely a quality issue, the goods were not worth the money . Domino’s continues…Ratners went down the tube.

Authenticity is not an easy subject to tackle and wrestle to the ground. One needs to step outside of conventional thought on authenticity. It takes a lot of courage to discuss authenticity/inauthenticity as it lifts the lid on things we may keep hidden, knowingly or unknowingly. Taking part in this chat will certainly broaden our awareness of ourselves, as a Leader and as a person.

A superficial description of authentic is being real, genuine, the “real deal”, honest. Would you be as honest as Ratners or Domino’s? If your business made a monumental mistake, it’s all very well admitting this to your people but would you admit it to the world, your clients or SKYNEWS? How far does authenticity go before we have to make a stand and be, to all intents and purposes, Inauthentic because the outcome may determine that we cannot be authentic in that instance? 

The definition I use of Authenticity is: Being and acting consistent with who you hold yourself out to be for others, and who you hold yourself out to be for yourself.

The central definition is ‘who you hold yourself out to be’. It is NOT your personality, not your thoughts, not your feelings and not social protocols…it is more a DECLARATION that you make, a stand you take on yourself, a commitment to a set of values.

Bill George, Harvard Business School Professor of Leadership and author said:
“After years of studying leaders and their traits, I believe that Leadership begins and ends with authenticity.”

The cold hard truth is that because of certain situations, with certain people, in some ways and at certain times we can all be Inauthentic. Because we avoid at all costs confronting our inauthenticity’s, we are consistently inauthentic about being inauthentic. What if you find yourself discussing ‘How does a person determine when they are being genuine?’

Above all else, Authenticity is CENTRAL to leadership and to being a leader.

Are you authentic all the time? Even when NO ONE is watching? 

If you are Authentic, or if you are aware that you are Inauthentic sometimes, then you have a very great chance of being an exceptional leader.

Belief Vs Reality

The following post is about a completely different area of Beliefs. It forms part of the new HPT TRANSFORMATION course and in some cases may seem to contradict what we normally believe. This post is about what we really Believe. Our core beliefs. 

IS YOUR BELIEF A REALITY?

Beliefs are, in the majority of cases, a lie. They are not the truth. The truth has to be experienced. Unless we have experienced something, it is not real.

Sometimes, the truth is so believable; people usually just believe it instead of experiencing it.

Everyone has a belief system. These systems were formed when we were children.

Here are a few you may recognize:

· Dad goes to work and Mum stays home to look after the kids.

· If you’re good you go to heaven.

· You must eat up your greens.

· You must eat three square meals a day.

· Love is never having to say you are sorry.

· Hard work is good for you.

· You will never be tall unless you stand up straight

· You will never amount to anything unless you work hard.

It is probably a result of our ingrained beliefs about what a relationship should be, as opposed to the reality of the actuality of a relationship that has resulted in the high divorce rate.

When we separate what we BELIEVE from what we EXPERIENCE we will begin to run our lives, but not before.

The problem with a belief is that we take it to be the truth. That’s fine if you imprint a belief in your mind that you will achieve, you can do it, you will attain success….but we have thousands of other beliefs that do not serve us. Those ‘other’ beliefs are detrimental and if we take THEM to be the truth we could get stuck in them.

In other words most of us persist in thinking and doing what we learnt long ago, rather than acting out of our experience in response to whatever is happening now.

A classic story illustrates this point:

A man watches his wife cutting an inch off the end of the Lamb bone before putting it in the oven to roast. After watching her do this a few times before, her husband asks her why. She tells him that her mother always did it that way. A few weeks later the husband asks his Mother-In-Law why she cuts an inch off the end of the lamb bone. She tells him, “My mother always did it that way.” The Grandmother is very old, in her 90’s, and when the husband and wife visit her one day he asks her the same question. “Your granddaughter, and your daughter, cut an inch off the end of the lamb bone before they put the lamb in the oven. They do it because you always did. Why did you do that?”

The old lady looks at the husband and says, “Well, in those days, I had a very small oven and the leg of lamb wouldn’t fit unless I cut an inch off the end of the bone!”

Most people are cutting an inch off the end of something in their lives to fit into an oven that’s no longer too small for it.

Most people are stuck in a melodramatic soap opera of their lives with the same four or five problems they have always had. The bigger problem is that they continue with beliefs that have been carved into their minds since childhood and they are the reason they keep repeating the behaviour.

Here is a frightening example:
 

You trip over when you are five years old and cut your knee and your mother says, 'Don't cry; crying is bad," so you don't cry. Then you have a fall while skiing when you are 17 and you break your leg but you keep a stiff upper lip and you don't cry because crying is bad. Then when you are 24 you break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and you really thought that they were 'the one' and you STILL don't cry.
 

The more you repress your feelings the more your consciousness shuts down. You become barely alive. You act like a zombie. You function mechanically and get a reputation as 'a bit of a cold fish'.

The reality is that as you function mechanically more and more, in some cases, you become successful at it. Here's a reality check: Mechanical success is not any more satisfying than failure.

I took my psychology training years ago and therapy has always been concerned with the way people are run, or how they function, by what was rather than what is and how to free people from their past. That never sat comfortably with me. I know hundreds of people who trained just like me and never questioned it.
 

There are 2 reasons they didn't question it:

1. FEAR! As in: 'Don't make waves....if you question it they will flunk you.'

and

2. Cut the end of the bone off the Leg of Lamb! 
 

What do I mean by that? Think about it. 
 

That's right: It has ALWAYS been done that way, so there must be a good reason for it.
 

How does HPT (Human Potential Transformation) differ from Therapy? Therapy is concerned with curing people of an 'illness' whereas HPT offers people an experience of themselves, and the ability to design a future.

It is evident from my travels and studies, and from the Transformational Change work I have done in the last two years which, I admit, has become more extreme and direct, that Belief Systems are, by and large, a myth.

Belief Systems are created by knowledge or data without experience.

If you experience something, it is real for you.

If you communicate it to somebody, it is real for them because you are expressing your experience.

If they tell it to someone else, it's a lie. It is merely a belief without the component of experience.

 

A belief is a very powerful thing. You can kill or you can cure with one. I have earned my living for many years training people to believe in themselves, which is a good thing. You CAN believe in yourself because you have the experience of yourself, you are your own reality. I can prove to you, from my beliefs, that what I think and see is true.

 

I ask people what they expect to get out of the training program and the list can be very diverse. Some say they want to get to know themselves, some say they want to make better decisions, have more self confidence, be more decisive, fall in love, be more open, sell more product, be a better leader or manager....

 

What they ALL have in common is a set of expectations!

 

They truly believe that their happiness is dependant on more love, money, power, sex, self confidence, etc. Each has a belief system that relates satisfaction to something they are striving for.

 

The REALITY is that their happiness is a function of accepting what is, and make it separate from what was and what is to come.

 

Belief is a structure which can contain very little information in terms of making it useful in your consciousness or well-being.

 

HPT works on Observation and not Belief. Observation has nothing to do with the senses, perceptions or belief systems. It only deals with direct experience...REALITY.

 

One of the core HPT Observations is that Life can be considered to be three foot long, and the first two feet eleven inches are about the material aspects of life (food,clothing and shelter) and what's known as 'psychological needs'. You need someone to love you and someone you can love back. You need self esteem, recognition and respect from others.

 

After people fill their needs they start to look what it MEANS to fill their needs. They start to realize that there is no true satisfaction in just filling your needs and they look beyond that. And THAT is the last inch. THAT is what HPT is all about.

 

It is the last inch, that has been cut off the bone again and again. That Inch is the life changer.


That last inch is where we discover TRANSFORMATION.

The Belief Filter - the Negative side

Your belief is conditioned by your perception of the world around you.

That perception is from information that your brain filters through from the world and presents to you in a form you can understand. Filters do exactly what they say they do. They filter. The brain obeys the filters it imposes and this, in turn, constructs the reality around you.

Your perception of the world is put together by the information the filters allow.

Let’s have an example of this.

How many times have you lost your keys? You’ve put them down somewhere but where are they? You have no idea. So you go on the usual well tried route around the house. Search and find. Hallway, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, bedroom, lounge. Nothing!

What do you do next? You go on the same route but with more energy! Again, still no joy. Nothing! They have disappeared. In comes your partner, or flatmate.

“What are you doing?” they ask.

“I’ve lost my keys,” you tell them, “Where have you put them?”

(Apportioning blame seems to make some people feel better!)

Why is it, after you have told someone you have lost something, that they can look in a place you have checked three times and find what it was you were looking for?

It’s because their mind is tuned in to finding rather than losing.

You, on the other hand, say to yourself: “I’ve lost my keys, I’ve lost my keys!” and embark upon this manic search.

You could walk past the table your keys are lying on and your eyes say to you, “They’re on the table.” You say to yourself, “I’ve lost my keys.” Your brain says, “Ok then, you’re the boss!” and goes with you, not your eyes.

It refuses the information your eyes give it.

You go on the circuit. No joy! You go on the circuit again and, as you pass the table with your keys, your eyes say, “On the table, on the table!” but you ignore it, believing that your keys are lost.

Your eyes see the keys and say to your brain 'There they are'. The process is: key’s -eyes - eyes - brain. In the brain is the Reticular Activating System. This decides what comes in and what stays out. Your eyes spot the keys and tells your Brain but the RAS says, “Ssshh! The keys are lost!” This is your filter. Your eyes say 'Oh OK then, let's do another circuit' and off you go again.

Think about when you buy a car. Say for instance you decide to buy a brand new Arctic Silver Range Rover Sport series. And why not? What happens when you start to drive around in it? What do you see in front of you, in your rear view mirror and coming the other way? Range Rover Sports! Everywhere. They are all over the place.

Now you have got one, your mind says, “Look over there, there’s one. Look, there’s another!” Now you have one, your mind starts to filter in the information. Before you bought one you were under the impression that there weren’t many around so your brain believed it. Now you have one, your mind is open for information and here it is!

Belief is a make or break. It can shape your destiny or destroy it. Belief in yourself is the most important factor in the make up of success. Belief in what you do is the overriding factor in whether or not you are successful. Strength of mind and purpose is the main ingredient in your battle with the odds. If the odds are stacked against you, belief is the one thing that will carry you through.

Has Your Reality Check Bounced?

IS YOUR BELIEF A REALITY?

Beliefs are, in the majority of cases, a lie. They are not the truth.  The truth has to be experienced. Unless we have experienced something, it is not real.

Sometimes, the truth is so believable; people usually just believe it instead of experiencing it.

Everyone has a belief system.  These systems were formed when we were children.

Here are a few you may recognize:

·         Dad goes to work and Mum stays home to look after the kids.

·         If you’re good you go to heaven.

·         You must eat up your greens.

·         You must eat three square meals a day.

·         Love is never having to say you are sorry.

·         Hard work is good for you.

·         You will never be tall unless you stand up straight

·         You will never amount to anything unless you work hard.

 

It is probably a result of our ingrained beliefs about what a relationship should be, as opposed to the reality of the actuality of a relationship that has resulted in the high divorce rate.

When we separate what we BELIEVE from what we EXPERIENCE we will begin to run our lives, but not before.

The problem with a belief is that we take it to be the truth.  That’s fine if you imprint a belief in your mind that you will achieve, you can do it, you will attain success….but we have thousands of other beliefs that do not serve us.  Those ‘other’ beliefs are detrimental and if we take THEM to be the truth we could get stuck in them.

In other words most of us persist in thinking and doing what we learnt long ago, rather than acting out of our experience in response to whatever is happening now.

A classic story illustrates this point:

A man watches his wife cutting an inch off the end of the Lamb bone before putting it in the oven to roast.  After watching her do this a few times before, her husband asks her why.  She tells him that her mother always did it that way.  A few weeks later the husband asks his Mother-In-Law why she cuts an inch off the end of the lamb bone.  She tells him, “My mother always did it that way.”  The Grandmother is very old, in her 90’s, and when the husband and wife visit her one day he asks her the same question. “Your granddaughter, and your daughter, cut an inch off the end of the lamb bone before they put the lamb in the oven. They do it because you always did. Why did you do that?”

The old lady looks at the husband and says, “Well, in those days, I had a very small oven and the leg of lamb wouldn’t fit unless I cut an inch off the end of the bone!”

Most people are cutting an inch off the end of something in their lives to fit into an oven that’s no longer too small for it.

Most people are stuck in a melodramatic soap opera of their lives with the same four or five problems they have always had.  The bigger problem is that they continue with beliefs that have been carved into their minds since childhood and they are the reason they keep repeating the behaviour.

Here is a frightening example:

You trip over when you are five years old and cut your knee and your mother says, 'Don't cry; crying is bad," so you don't cry.  Then you have a fall while skiing when you are 17 and you break your leg but you keep a stiff upper lip and you don't cry because crying is bad.  Then when you are 24 you break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and you really thought that they were 'the one' and you STILL don't cry.

The more you repress your feelings the more your consciousness shuts down.  You become barely alive.  You act like a zombie.  You function mechanically and get a reputation as 'a bit of a cold fish'.

 

The reality is that as you function mechanically more and more, in some cases, you become successful at it.  Here's a reality check: Mechanical success is not any more satisfying than failure.

 

I took my psychology training years ago and therapy has always been concerned with the way people are run, or how they function, by what was rather than what is and how to free people from their past.  That never sat comfortably with me.  I know hundreds of people who trained just like me and never questioned it. 

 

There are 2 reasons they didn't question it:

1. FEAR! As in: 'Don't make waves....if you question it they will flunk you.'

and

2. Cut the end of the bone off the Leg of Lamb! 

 

What do I mean by that?  Think about it.  

 

That's right:  It has ALWAYS been done that way, so there must be a good reason for it.

How does HPT (Human Potential Transformation) differ from Therapy?  Therapy is concerned with curing people of an 'illness' whereas HPT offers people an experience of themselves, and the ability to design a future.

 

It is evident from my travels and studies, and from the Transformational Change work I have done in the last two years which, I admit, has become more extreme and direct, that Belief Systems are, by and large, a myth.

 

Belief Systems are created by knowledge or data without experience.

 

If you experience something, it is real for you.

If you communicate it to somebody, it is real for them because you are expressing your experience.

If they tell it to someone else, it's a lie.  It is merely a belief without the component of experience.

 

A belief is a very powerful thing.  You can kill or you can cure with one.  I have earned my living for many years training people to believe in themselves, which is good.  You CAN believe in yourself because you have the experience of yourself, you are your own reality.  I can prove to you, from my beliefs, that what I think and see is true.

 

I ask people what they expect to get out of the training program and the list can be very diverse. Some say they want to get to know themselves, some say they want to make better decisions, have more self confidence, be more decisive, fall in love, be more open, sell more product, be a better leader or manager....

 

What they ALL have in common is a set of expectations!

 

They truly believe that their happiness is dependant on more love, money, power, sex, self confidence, etc.  Each has a belief system that relates satisfaction to something they are striving for.

 

The REALITY is that their happiness is a function of accepting what is, and make it separate from what was and what is to come.

 

Belief is a structure which can contain very little information in terms of making it useful in your consciousness or well-being.

 

HPT works on Observation and not Belief.  Observation has nothing to do with the senses, perceptions or belief systems. It only deals with direct experience...REALITY.

 

One of the core HPT Observations is that Life can be considered to be three foot long, and the first two feet eleven inches are about the material aspects of life (food,clothing and shelter) and what's known as 'psychological needs'. You need someone to love you and someone you can love back. You need self esteem, recognition and respect from others.

 

After people fill their needs they start to look what it MEANS to fill their needs.  They start to realize that there is no true satisfaction in just filling your needs and they look beyond that.  And THAT is the last inch.  THAT is what HPT is all about.

 

It is the last inch, that has been cut off the bone again and again.  That Inch is the life changer. 

That last inch is where we discover TRANSFORMATION.