Grace

Leadership is accepting responsibility to create positive change

He was born into a middle class family and his parents had worked hard to save money for his college. Michael was very excited as he wrote his final year exams and, was even more excited a few months later when he discovered that he had graduated with honors. His Dad had promised him a special gift if he graduated with honors. Very proud of himself, Michael called his Dad and asked for the special gift. “It’s in your room”, his Dad replied. Michael rushed home, ran upstairs to his room, flung his door open and went straight for the sealed package on his bed. He tore it open and was very disappointed when he saw that the gift was a Bible. Disappointed he flung the book across the room, stormed out of the house in anger and for the next 20 years refused to speak with his Dad.

One day, Michael got a call that his Dad had died of a sudden heart attack. He made out time to attend the funeral after which he went back to the family house to see it one more time. He walked up to his previous room and, was surprised to notice that the Bible gift he was given more than 20 years ago was still where he left it. He picked it up and as he shook the dust off the book, a key dropped to the floor. He picked up the key and read the attached tag: “ Your key to a new mercedes benz. Congratulations on graduating with honors. Proud of you son!...Your Dad”

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me…1 Cor 15:10

One of the most important lessons I keep learning as a person of faith is that God’s Grace is available to help me as a leader. However, I’ve also learned that the fact something is freely available does not mean that I will receive it automatically. I need to seek for and respond properly to the available free gift. I need to continuously position myself properly to receive God’s grace - for salvation, restoration, healing, ministry. It is completely free but, requires the right response in order to tap into or receive it.

The following are seven things I try to do daily to help me tap into God’s Grace:

- Talk to God in the morning
- Apologize to God for areas where I’ve missed it and ask for help to do better
- Study the bible to know more about God and His promises to me
- Look for an opportunity to love others around me without any strings attached
- Look for an opportunity to add value to those around me so that the Grace I received is used to help others.
- Ask for Grace to achieve all the things I’ve been called to do
- Obey the leadings of God’s Spirit in my heart

I must confess that sometimes I fail to do all of the aforementioned but I don’t stop trying because I know my Father in heaven is merciful and faithful.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me - Phil 4:13

You Are Unique

Patrick

Studying Hard!

It’s been a very busy period since the beginning of the MBA program and, I may have underestimated the amount of time the program would require of me. The two weeks residency session - in Cornell and Queens- was amazing (and very rigorous). I met half of the entire class and, my team. The professors are great and, have the ability to engage a class over a 6-8 hr period. I’m back in Kingston and commuting almost every weekend to Toronto/Markham for my classes - a 3 hr drive from where I live. Crazy, isn't it?

We had our accounting final exam this past Sunday (yes, a Sunday!), and it felt strange writing an exam in a university setting after a hiatus from it. Good news is that I was able to write the exam in Kingston. Accounting has never been one of my favourite subjects but John did an amazing job in helping me understand accounting (for the first time in my life)! Finance exam is next and Business Decision model is around the corner! Anyways, enough of school and back to Innovation.

I've been reading various synopsis of what may happen to Blackberry. It's strange that a company that once had a major share of the market is now struggling for survival. Even-though I want to be optimistic that BB is still a going concern, I must confess that the outlook for them is dim and the end to a fairy Canadian tale may be imminent. It's another bitter lesson in Innovation, underlining the importance of continuously assess/anticipate your customers' ever changing needs and responding quickly to them. It's also a lesson in humility: to never think that you are too big to fail and respect your competitors. As a Canadian, I really hope that they can turn things around; it's looking like they are in line to become the next Kodak, Nortel, Blockbuster.

In an era of unprecedented change, business complexities, increased consumer literacy, advanced technological platform and, accelerated delivery of new ideas, the market is very unforgiving to companies that are slow in delivering innovative solutions that meet customers' need!

Patrick

Back to School...

It's amazing how much we can achieve when we refuse to allow fear hold us back!

It's been a busy six months of the year and I haven't had time to write on this blog. Within this period I've had the opportunity to learn more about myself, about leadership and, to get a clearer understanding of my purpose in life. One of the most exciting thing that is happening in my life is that I will be going back to school next week. I'm starting the Cornell-Queen's EMBA program and excited about all the things I'm going to learn and, new friends I will make. I will be spending some time in residence at both Cornell and Queens with weekend boardroom classes in Markham. It's going to be a rough ride for the next 17 months, but, I'm excited because it's a dream come true for me. I'm happy that I took the first step in applying to the program without knowing where funding will come from or/and if I will even be accepted. God is faithful and I have the financing needed to embark on this journey.

"I can do what you can't do and you can do what I can't do. Together we can do great things." ~ Mother Teresa

One of the things about the program is the amount of "rich" materials from both schools you have access to. Even though I'm starting next month, I already have some assignments and reading materials ahead of the classes in Cornell. As I work through the reading materials, especially those on leading and managing organizations, a common theme that seems to be popping out at me is around self awareness and authenticity of leadership. I think that the first step in becoming an effective leader is in getting to know yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses. I think a fully self-aware leader will be more effective in selecting the right team that will complement his areas of weakness and not compete with him. Poor leaders try to learn and master every thing they need in order to lead their organization. Great leaders are fully aware of their capabilities and hire the best individuals to complement their strengths. A leader who is great at visioning and poor at executing would do well to hire someone who is excellent at executing (and maybe not as visionary as the leader). The biggest mistakes some leaders make is to hire folks that think, talk, act, behave, and execute like they do. Now, hiring a strong team is not an excuse for the leader to wallow in ignorance. Great leaders continue to learn from their team because they understand that a leader must be able to fly at 30,000 feet and, also be able to crawl at ground zero. They also appreciate the Law of Blind-spot which states that every leader has several blindspots, so they hire a team diverse enough to cover their blind-spots as a leader.

Well, I'm looking forward to school and, excited about the future. I've come to realize that I cannot afford to leave my personal development to my environment, the media or even to my workplace. The responsibility to learn and grow lies on my shoulders. I've learnt that growth is not automatic, neither does it happen by chance; it's deliberate and must be planned for. I've also learnt that it's never foolish to begin preparing for a transition no matter how many years away it is or where you are in your career (Muriel Wilkins). Not everybody will be able to attend a business school (or any other formal education); but everybody can continue to learn and grow in the area of their calling in order to fulfill their purpose.

"Income seldom exceeds personal development" - Jim Rohn

You Are Unique

Patrick

Favourite 2012 Quotes on Innovation

I've been inspired by the things I've learnt about Innovation in 2012 and looking forward to learning more about this subject in 2013. Below are some of my favourite quotes on the topic of innovation:

“Innovation is anything, but business as usual.” - Anonymous

"...if we don't continue to value innovation and take risks, we leave ourselves open to future disruptive technologies" - Deidre H Caldbeck

"Pursuing strategies that play to your strengths but undermine your partners is a recipe for failure" - Ron Adner on Collaborative Innovation

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it" - Alan Kay

"Very successful companies ensure that their company culture does not stifle innovation across all levels of the organization. " - Patrick Egbunonu

"Involved people make for better innovation" - Brad Bird

"I always view problems as opportunities in work clothes" - Henry Kaiser

"...Business model innovation requires the creation of actionable and purposeful networks" - Saul Kaplan

"To be innovative, you need to ask: where else has someone seen and solved that problem?" - Clayton Christensen

"As we study innovation, we need to consider whether the question is better answered in a fast- or slow-moving industry context." -Clayton Christensen

"The culture of a company goes a long way to determine if innovation thrives or dies"

"Research has shown that most innovation happens as the result of something outside your industry being applied to your own. "- Tony Hsie

"Innovation is irrelevant. Useful innovation is what you want. "- John Kotter

"A hedgehog concept is not a goal to be the best, it is an understanding of what you can be the best at"- Jim Collins

“Many great ideas have been lost because the people who had them could not stand being laughed at.” - Anon

"The enterprise that does not innovate inevitably ages and declines.- PF. Drucker

"Business model innovation is really just learning how to combine and recombine capabilities in new ways to deliver value"- Saul Kaplan

"Customer experience must be at the heart of any innovation and design process"- Saul Kaplan

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower" - Steve Jobs

"Innovation almost always is not successful the first time out" -Clayton Christensen

"The most important thing we do to encourage innovation is give people the freedom to fail"...Robert Kotick

"Companies must solve a cultural and accounting dilemma that serves as a barrier to innovation" - Globe and Mail

"The more you practice, the more you discover your strengths and weaknesses"- Ade Sobanjo

"Innovation is the only sustainable strategy for creating long term value" - Gary Hamel

"If there's a way to do it better, either find it or find someone that can help you find it" - Patrick Egbunonu

Happy New Year!

Patrick

Collaborative Innovation!

"If there's a way to do it better, either find it or find someone that can help you find it - Patrick Egbunonu

In a previous blog, I explained that Innovation is different from Invention. Innovation is several steps ahead of invention as it entails bringing something new to the market place. Different types of innovation have been highlighted in academic and industry articles. One of the most popular topic in the field of Innovation is "Disruptive" Innovation, first introduced by the management guru Clayton Christensen.

More recently, I've been thinking about, and studying, the concept of "Collaborative Innovation"- the process whereby one party works with another party to develop unique products, processes, ideas that are eventually made available in the market place. Open Innovation, though a little bit different, is a similar term used to define this type of Innovation. With today's fast paced rate of change, it's becoming more and more important to tap into resources within and outside one's organization in order to deliver innovative products and/or processes. Today's social media platform gives organizations powerful tools to engage customers, suppliers and other parties in collaborative innovation. The good news is that given how closely connected the world is today, companies can tap into talents, customers, suppliers across the globe to come up innovative solutions to pressing customer problems.

"One can chase a thousand and two can chase ten thousand - Deut 32:30

A few things to consider before embarking on any type of collaborative innovation includes:

1) What problem do you want to solve - What's in it for customer?
2) What does your company benefit by solving the problem - What's in it for you?
3) Why can't your company solve this problem in-house?
4) What does your collaborator gain by solving this problem - What's in it for the other party?
5) How do you sustain the relationship with your collaborators?
6) What can you offer your collaborators that your competitors can't?
7) Have you identified your co-innovation risks and, defined ways to mitigate them?

"When innovation depends on collaboration, pursuing strategies that play to your strengths but undermine your partners is a recipe for failure." - Ron Adner

The Law of Intentionality

There are many who wait for things to happen. There are some who watch things happen. There are very few who make things happen.

A key difference between those that achieve their dreams and a lot of individuals who don't is that the achievers intentionally pursue their dreams and, do things that would help them get closer to their expected end. It is great to have a big dream and talk about it but many dreamers have not taken time to understand what it would take to achieve the dream, decide if they are willing to pay the price and just do it.

"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!' "Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of ten thousand is strong enough to defeat the twenty thousand soldiers who are marching against him? If he is not able, then while the enemy is still far away, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace. - Luke 14:28-32

The fist step in applying the law of intentionality is understanding what it would cost to succeed in business, overcome an obstacle, raise great children and have a wonderful family, advance in career, succeed in service to the community, achieve my dreams. This cost can be financial, time, skills, personnel, knowledge, family time, relationships, focus. We waste time, resources when we run on passion or emotions without taking time to apply this first step in the law of intentionality.

Counting the cost may include writing a business plan, interviewing individuals who may be doing what you plan to do (to a certain degree), giving deep thought to the benefits and impact on your life of pursuing that dream, and praying.

Have you counted the cost?

You Are Unique

Patrick

To Encourage Innovation, Eradicate Blame

BY KEN BLANCHARD AND SCOTT BLANCHARD

Leaders who take a more constructive approach to failure can begin eliminating the fear, reticence, and inertia that plagues many organizations.

There is a big difference between identifying the cause of a negative outcome and looking for someone to blame it on. Identifying the cause of a negative outcome is productive. You can use that information to avoid the situation in the future and also help people take responsibility for fixing it and moving on.

Finding fault and assigning blame, on the other hand, creates a situation where people become stuck and paralyzed. It’s a negative approach that assumes neglect or malfeasance that requires punishment. This type of attitude produces a risk-averse organization where people play it safe instead of stepping out and trying new ideas.
Now your organization takes on a culture similar to the classic arcade game, Whac-A-Mole, where most employees keep their head down except for the unsuspecting novice who pops his head up only to have the oversized mallet pound him or her back down if their initiative fails. Once an organization develops that type of culture, it is very difficult for innovation to take hold.

We know that the most innovative environments are those where people are allowed to learn from past mistakes, grow, develop, and improve. That's what evolution and innovation look like. That's how Thomas Edison was able to learn from the thousands of times he failed due to using the wrong material for his light bulb filament. Each time, he recognized that he was one step closer to finding the right material.

It’s also the approach used by WD-40 Company--manufacturers of the ubiquitous “water displacement” product of the same name--whose closely guarded formula was discovered on the 40th try back in 1953.

As CEO Garry Ridge has describes it, part of WD-40’s ongoing success with innovation can be traced back to a culture where employees share the positive and negative outcomes of any situation. As Ridge explains, “At WD-40 Company, we don’t make mistakes. We have learning moments. We give people permission to have a conversation about things that go wrong.”

Three steps for moving forward

When people’s fear of making a mistake becomes a problem, you are cutting yourself off from the necessary ingredients for learning and innovation. For leaders interested in creating a culture that sees mistakes as learning opportunities instead of fault-finding exercises, here are three ways to get started.

Examine your current attitude toward mistakes. As a company, what’s your typical reaction to mistakes and failures? Are they seen as an opportunity to learn or to assign blame? Look at this from an individual aspect also. How are you wired internally? Are you overly critical, or do you learn from your mistakes and move on? It’s important to learn from your mistakes, but don't live in the past. If you tend to dwell on negative thoughts about yourself, consider how this negativity might be spilling out into your perceptions of others. Negativity is a habit. Consider the impact.

Consider your impact as a leader. What you are doing to encourage people to take risks and try something truly innovative? Are you celebrating the vigor of their pursuit even though the outcome is uncertain? Keeping new ideas alive is hard work. It always takes longer than you think it will, you run into problems, and it very rarely goes as originally planned. Are you recognizing the efforts of people who take risks in spite of the threat of failure?

Find ways to engage in positive practices as a discipline. It's so easy for things to turn negative. That’s what keeps a lid on so many organizations. As a leader, it’s important to move from fault and blame to cause and responsibility. Typically, when something goes wrong, the immediate response is find out who was at fault, punish them, and then bring in someone new to be responsible for moving the organization forward. Why not give your current people the same benefit of the doubt that you would a new person? Instead of assigning blame, look to assign responsibility for moving the organization forward given what was just learned.

Leaders who take this more constructive approach can begin eliminating the fear, reticence, and inertia that plagues many organizations. Develop practices that accentuate the positive and help people feel secure in knowing the organization wants them to step forward and try new things confidently. With practice, you’ll see the difference you can make in the generation, pursuit, and adoption of new ideas.

Culled from Fast Company publication

Don't Take Your Relationships for Granted

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outsidethe door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.

My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.-- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband....

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you.If you do, you just might save a marriage.Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

- Adejumoke Ehizojie

Test it!

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure...Bill Cosby

The first litmus test for your dreams is Desire. The online Free Dictionary defines desire as a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. Desire is not necessary the same as interest. Desire speaks to a strong commitment to a cause, a goal, a vision, a dream. The strength of our desires fuels our drive to persist through the seasons of adversity every dreamer goes through. Desire is what gets you out of bed with a shout, and takes you to bed with a smile.

Glenn Cunningham was born in Atlanta, Kan., and had high hopes of becoming an athlete. When he was 7 he had an accident and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor suggested that his leg should be amputated but Glenn, though young refused. At that tender age the doctor told him that he would never walk again. Here was Young Glenn’s reply: “Sir, I won’t just walk again, I will also run”. Not wanting to discourage him, the doctor did not reply as he saw this statement as a mere rambling from a lame kid.

With intensive therapy and application, he overcame the odds and by high school was running competitively. He was the fastest miler in the Amateur Athletic Union in 1933 and 1935-38, and in 1934 he set a world record (4:06.7). He became one of the greatest U.S. middle-distance runner. He not only walked, he ran; he not only ran, he broke records.

If Glenn did not hide his gift because of an accident that occurred in the past, I am now more than ever determined that no matter the accident(s) that have happened or that will happen in my life, I will keep pressing on until I make my mark in my generation using my God giving gift(s).

“…a ship is safest when in harbour but it was not made for the harbour, it was made for the sea”…Anonymous

Some questions to help you check your dreams using this "desire" litmus test includes:

* Do I have a strong desire to pursue this dream or are my only interested?
* Is this something I will be willing to pursue if money was not a problem?
* Is this something I go to bed thinking about and wake up thinking about?
* Do I always need someone's encouragement to continue pursuing this dream?
* Would I be willing to keep pursuing this dream even if I don't become famous or get noticed?
* Do I feel a sense of joy anytime I'm engaged in activities in line with this dream?
* Do I get excited when I talk about this dream and/or when I'm in the company of individuals pursuing similar dreams?
* Are my willing to do what it takes to pursue this dream?
* How bad do I want this dream?
* Do I feel a sense of peace on the inside whenever I think about this dream?

His first animation company went bankrupt and he was fired by a news editor because he lacked imagination. Legend has it that he was turned down 302 times before he got financing for creating Disney World. Walt Disney's desire to realize his dreams was so strong that the failures he had encountered did not stop him. He moved to Hollywood after the bankruptcy and, with his brother, set up cartoon studio.Within a short time they received an order from New York for the The Alice Comedies. Walt Disney would go on to create several cartoon characters including the very famous Mickey Mouse character. Walt Disney holds the record for both the most Academy Award nominations (59) and the number of Oscars awarded (22). He also earned four honorary Oscars. His last competitive Academy Award was posthumous.

Without a strong desire to act on and persistently pursue our dreams, they will never become realities.

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you...Walt Disney

Why Dreams Fail!

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true...John Maxwell

Born in Spain, Arnaldus de Villa Nova was educated by Dominicans and studied medicine at Naples. His medical skills brought him great reputation as he treated kings, popes, and other famous people. This gave him reason to travel widely in Spain, France, Italy, and North Africa (Paragraph Source). One of the discoveries ascribed to Arnaldus is the litmus test which is used to test the acidity of materials. As I thought about dreams, I couldn’t help but think about the several dreams I’ve had and attempted which had failed. The businesses built, ideas implemented, relationships started, decisions taken that have come back to haunt me. I couldn’t help but wonder if, like the litmus test for acidity, there are some basic tests that one could run their dreams through before they begin.

I love big thinking but I also love realistic thinking. Can you imagine a 50 year old dreaming of becoming a soccer star? That's a big dream but, I don't think it is realistic. Perhaps he could modify his dream to focus on becoming a great soccer coach.

From an early age, football was a major part of Jose Mourinho's life. As a teenager, Mourinho travelled to attend his father's weekend matches and when his father had became a coach, Mourinho began observing training sessions and scouting opposing teams. Mourinho wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father by becoming a footballer and so he joined the Belenenses youth team. Graduating to the senior level, he played at Rio Ave (where his father was coach), Belenenses, and Sesimbra. He lacked the requisite pace and power to become a professional and chose to focus on becoming a football coach instead. After his mother enrolled him in a business school, Mourinho dropped out on his first day, deciding he would rather focus on sport, and chose to attend the Instituto Superior de Educação Física (ISEF), Technical University of Lisbon, to study sports science. He taught physical education at various schools and after five years, he had earned his diploma, receiving consistently good marks throughout the course.After attending coaching courses held by the English and Scottish Football Associations, former Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh took note of the young Portuguese's drive and attention to detail.Mourinho sought to redefine the role of coach in football by mixing coaching theory with motivational and psychological techniques.

Today, Jose Mourinho is regarded as one of the best coaches in the world. He is the first coach to win the professional leagues in Spain, Italy, Portugal and England. Mourinho's Inter team is the only Italian club to have won the treble. He is also one of three coaches that have won the champions league with two different clubs. In eight seasons of club management, including an eight month sabbatical in 2007–08, Mourinho has led his clubs to win their domestic league seven times, the UEFA Champions League twice and the UEFA Cup once. Since 2002, Mourinho has not gone a full calendar year without winning at least one trophy (Source)

When dreams are not realistic, nightmares are inevitable

I think many dreams fail because we haven’t stepped back to test them in our minds, our hearts before starting off. I believe that dreams fail because we haven’t shared them with the right individuals or validated if this is the reason for our design. In this book, I try to capture five litmus tests we could run our dreams through before we begin. I’m sure there are several but these are the ones that I’ve started using for my dreams - based on experiences from my failures.

Pursue Your Dreams!

Everyone is following someone's dream; whose are you following?

One of the things I've discovered about great leaders is that they are dreamers and visionaries. In addition to dreaming, they also have the courage to faithfully and patiently pursue their dreams. I personally believe John Maxwell's philosophy that "Leadership is Influence". I also believe that influence can be achieved when we solve problems that add value to people's lives.

John Spreitzer was a graduate of J. Reuben Clark Law School and practised at Dykema. Although he had become a very successful lawyer, John knew that his real dream was to become a teacher. According to his wife, "He was a fabulous lawyer but that was not his calling." In 2004 and at the age of 51, John left the legal profession and became a school teacher. According to Brian Dickerson, "John began teaching at Chippewa Valley in September 2004 and quickly established a reputation as a teacher who would do whatever it took to help his students succeed.". Seven years later, John collapsed at an athletic club and died shortly. Below are some of his former students' comments (taken from ratemyteachers.com):

***Mr Spreitzer was the best teacher I had in freshmen year. I'm a senior now and I wouldn't be the writer I am today without him. He cared more about his students more than any other teacher I know. He made me take honors English in 10th grade, which led me to go on in high school and take AP classes. He was a true inspiration to me. Thank you Mr Spreitzer. RIP***

***My favorite teacher I've ever had the pleasure of being taught by. He knew and loved what he taught, and his passion for it will not be forgotten by those who had him as their teacher. Like he always told us, he'd **** before he quit doing what he loved. Rest in peace, sir.***

***Rest in peace Mr Spreitzer. I'll never forget your class; you were incredible. You taught me more than just English.***

***You were such a great teacher and I will surely miss him and his passion for teaching. To his family give my deepest condolences and they are in my prayers R.I.P Mr Spreitzer you where truly a great person.***

I'm happy that John was able to follow his dream of becoming a teacher even though it occurred in the last 7 years of his life. I wonder what's stopping you from following yours

Every individual is born as a solution to a problem in the world. I believe that God sent each human being into the world as an answer to a specific cry. The passion to solve that problem is sown - at birth - as a dream in that individual. For most individuals, this dream -to solve a specific problem- is replaced by someone else's dream (or fear) and they end up living lives and building careers that have nothing to do with what they were originally made for. Whether it is the dream of our parents, family, friends, we must come to the point in life where we decide to step out of the dreams of others and follow our dreams. There are several reasons why many individuals never follow their dreams:

- It doesn’t make sense (of course it never made sense when the Wright brothers said that man could fly)

- I have the passion but not the knowledge (Graham Bell felt the same way about the telephone and his mentor told him to Get It!)

- It doesn’t look lucrative (at the start! Money follows value and not the other way)

- My mama told me that I would never make it (did she make it? According to Zig Ziglar, "The most important opinion is the opinion we have about ourselves.")

- I made a huge mess of myself the last time I tried using my gifts (that was yesterday, which ended yesterday)

- I’m afraid of what may happen, what others may think, of failing (False Evidence Appearing Real)

- I don’t look popular doing that (Rosa Parks did something unpopular that history stills remembers)

- No one’s ever done this before (Roger Bannister was told the same thing)

What is your reason!

“When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson


You Are Unique!

Innovate or Die!

“The vast majority of human beings dislike and even actually dread all notions with which they are not familiar... Hence it comes about that at their first appearance innovators have generally been persecuted, and always derided as fools and madmen.”― Aldous Huxley

In 1876 a young inventor in his late twenties approached one of the leading communications company in that era -Western Union- and offered them the opportunity to purchase the patents to his invention for $100,000 (equivalence of about $2 million today). Alexandra Graham Bell had just invented the telephone and was offering the invention to Western Union at a ridiculously cheap price. Western Union declined to purchase the innovation and the President (of Western Union), William Orton, famously said (regarding Graham Bell's invention)- "What use could this company make of an electrical toy".

Alexandra Bell and his partners launched the first telephone in 1878 and all it could do was provide communication for individuals within a couple of miles of each other. It was perfectly suited to short distance communication, a service that did not compete with Western Union -whose niche market was long distance communication via the telegram. Over a period of time the Bell company would improve on their technology and by 1910 purchased a controlling interest in Western Union - the same company whose president called Graham Bell's invention an electrical toy.

“In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.” ― Eric Hoffer

As mentioned in an earlier blog, innovation is different from invention. Invention is the creation of a novel product, idea, service or process. Innovation does not stop at the creation of a better product, service or process but, includes the availability of the improved product, service or process to the community, market place, government.

With all the changes and complexities in today's world, there are five things (or more) we can learn from the Western Union story:

- never underestimate the power of little innovations; they are the seeds for tomorrow's big breakthroughs;
- don't be afraid to consider new ways of doing something even if the old way seems to be working and relevant today;
- it is dangerous to be guided (only) by short term results without thinking about the sustainability of the current business model in light of current and future customer needs and tastes;
- be wary of disruptive innovations that focus on customers who are currently not being served (or underserved) by your product or services;
- it's either we continuously innovate -as businesses, organizations, community, country, individuals- or be ready to die!

“If humans can live for 100 years, why do companies die so young.”― Sukant Ratnakar, Open the Windows

You Are Unique!