Hiring or Recruiting

In one of his classic posts, Seth Godin highlighted the difference between hiring and recruiting. He said,
"Hiring is what you do when you let the world know that you're accepting applications from people looking for a job.
Recruiting is the act of finding the very best person for a job and persuading them to stop doing what they're doing and come join you.
Hiring is easy and fast and is basically a retail operation.
Recruiting is artful and slow and is essentially a direct marketing effort.
Recruiting raises the bar because it demands you have a job worth quitting for. The recruiter doesn't solve an urgent problem for the person being recruited, in fact, they create one. That person already has a job (hence no problem). The problem being created is that until they change over to your job, they'll be unhappy. That's a huge hurdle for a job to overcome, which leads to this key question:
Is your job opening so good you could recruit great people for it?
If not, perhaps you need to work on that."
I really like this. I had to ask myself, "was I recruited or hired into the job I am in now?"
I know the answer and I am glad for it.

Learn how to say NO!

There's a law against drivers who talk on their cell phones while driving here but the problem hasn't gotten to crisis level yet. Unlike in countries where highways and expressways are norm. There had been just too many accidents caused by "cell phones distraction," they call it. There are just too many who had been addicted to their gadgets, even while driving. There are also others who can't help themselves. So technology companies try to solve the problem caused by technology ... by technology with more technology.
This is not the best and only solution. Technology can only help so much.
The solution has to be with ourselves, the users of technology.
This brings us to the whole issue of learning how to say NO! And at the same time, when to say YES! It has to be a willful decision that is to be carried by action. Knowing what we should do is not good enough. It should be a decisive action that brings that "should" to action. Yet, for some, the excuse would be, "I don't know how!" This is simply an excuse. Knowhow can be learnt and then that completes the cycle of learning how to say No! and when to say Yes!

Values

During the Q&A session at the end of an interview with George Foreman, he was asked about the top three values he wanted to impart to his (10) kids, yes, he has ten. His answer was:

- Get up early in the morning.
- Take advice and listen.
- Strive to be the nicest human being ever.

Kevin Eikenberry commented: "These clearly aren't just thoughts valuable for children. Think about how these sound advice can both apply to us and those that we coach, mentor and lead."

I wonder, if you were to ask the same questions, what would you say you will impart to your children? What would you impart to those you strive to influence?

Big Mo

"One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals." ~ Michael Korda

Getting started may sometimes be the easiest thing to do. Sustaining and maintaining the momentum can be much more difficult. Lately, the word "sustainable" has been overused. It is everywhere. Yet, it does not even begin to sink in for many people. To sustain is to keep going. It's all about momentum.

Everything in life is in motion. When it stops it is dead. Now that we have started, steering momentum becomes more manageable, just keep at it. To keep it going, we just have to pour in resources.

The first resource is responsibility. Take charge! The second resource is action. Act on it. If you do nothing, nothing gets done. The third resource is to have the right attitude. Let the fire in your heart leap out.

On the other hand, watch out for these dampers: doubt, procrastination, devotion to false symbols, complacency and lost of purpose.

Now get on it! What do you want to accomplish?

Kick it!

Another long lapse. We shall catch up. Been thinking quite a bit on what disciplines really meant.
We discipline ourselves for various reasons. Kicking a bad habit is one. If we want to kick a habit, we invariably need to replace it with another. Repeat it often and the new habit is formed. That process of repetition is discipline.
We need motivation to keep at it. It is like nourishment for the brain. It cannot be done in one sitting. It has to be done continually with regular top-ups.
Is there a habit you need to kick? Start by asking what habit do you want to replace it with.
For me, it will be to keep apathy at bay. The new habit is to keep a fresh entry here as regular as weekly. We are back.

Reflection

Hiatus or Sabbath? Not sure if it's either. One thing is sure and that is much had happened in the intervening months since the last entry in this blog. It was also time for reflection. To move on there is a need for this. So it is with growth and learning. Without reflection, nothing much can be accomplished. The most immediate reflection now is how to help others to understand power play. It comes back to what Janet Hagberg said about Real Power. Power by gestalt is real power: when one does not need power to be powerful. To get there, we need reflection. I am still reflecting not so much to amass power but to learn how to give up power.

Mediocrity

Mediocrity is getting stuck half way up the mountain. When one who felt he had accomplished much but still not there yet had decided to take a break which then turned out to be a long break. Such breaks break us. Such is being mediocre.
It is when we think we had done enough and still not the best we can do, we become mediocre. Not good enough gets us nowhere, instead it drags us back.
I was talking with a mediocrity-ridden store assistant last week and that store lost a customer. I won't go back there again as long as that store continues to allow its employees to think and behave that way.
Doing 10% less may not get you 10% less, it actually sets you back 90% which is 0.

Think before we act

Jet Li told a group recently that he enjoyed his villainous role in a movie. He said, "When you play the good guy, you have to take care of everyone and do the right things. It's fun to play a character when you don't need to think too much."
The implications here speaks much. To be villainous is simply just being spontaneous. On the contrary, to be the good guy requires one to think before you act. It's easy to be bad ... but to be good?
What can we learn from this?

Fixing the One Thing

It has been said to focus is to make the main thing the main thing. What is the one thing in your life that is the main thing? Found it, focus on it.
The preacher was long-winded. His congregation knows it and had mentioned it to him. And now the new pastor in his church does the same thing. The feedback couldn't be more clear. So why not fix it?
A youth pastor had received complaints that he is out of touch with his youths. Many young people have stopped coming. Some even shared it with their parents who told their senior pastor. Everyone knows, so why not fix it?
A church elder is the lead elder in his congregation. But he is not well-liked. He was elected mainly because he was influential and powerful. People know he's not a good spiritual leader, so why not fix it?
If your "one thing" in whatever you do is the key part of what you do, wouldn't you change to fix the problem if there's one?
However, if it is the lack of will or ignorance that is holding you back, it's time something intentional be done to solve the problem. The long-winded preacher can learn to cut his time down in his preaching by being more focused. The youth pastor can benefit from some reflection and learning through attending some youth events or meeting with other youth pastors. The elder can be told his condition and be encouraged to allow God to use him in appropriate ways.
In all these, it just takes a commitment, not just waiting for a miracle.
If something's not right, why not fix it? Particularly if it is the One Thing?