Ever feel like someone just flips a switch at this time of the year and everyone is in holiday mode? I think it happened here in SA on Monday 15th Dec which makes me wonder whether there is any point to writing this post? Except of course I haven’t finished going through Donald Keough’s 10 commandments for business failure. I’m up to number 7 and with only three more to go perhaps this is as good a time as any? If you recall those I have already covered are ‘don’t take time to think’, ‘isolate yourself’, ‘love your bureaucracy’, ’send mixed messages’, ‘be afraid of the future’, and ‘don’t play too close to the foul line’. Remember that these are ways to guarantee failure in business.
The last three are ‘Quit taking risks’, ‘Be inflexible’ and ‘Assume infallibility’. Each has a particularly important role to play for any person contemplating the year ahead. With so much doom and gloom is there really a role for taking risks? The answer of course is yes – now is the time for people with vision and energy to exploit the opportunities that inevitably present themselves during times of trial - whether it is on the acquisition front in business or in conducting research into how you can improve your storyline And what about personal development? There is always a risk associated with personal development – you may fail, or out grow your current job or maybe even leave your friends and support group behind but the rewards are always there to be found if you have character enough to see what isn’t immediately obvious to those around you.
As for being inflexible and assuming infallibility these I have left to last becasue they too relate to issues of character. I measure the strength of a perosn on the basis of their humility and on their willingness to be flexible when circumstances dictate. There’s a reason why justice and the law are distinctly different entities and great people learn that early on in their careers. Sometimes to be just one needs to be flexibile when imposing sanction - suitably done flexibility becomes a source of strength not weakness.
As this is going to be my last post of 2008 let me conclude by admitting I have had the most amazing time sharing with you my thoughts and consider myself really priviliged that you have taken the time to read them. Blogs may be self indulgent but I’ve had a great deal of fun indulging myself and would recommend that you do the same.
In the year ahead think about taking risks, see flexibility as a sign of strength and be humble enough to recognise your potential for fallibility. Have an amazing 2009.
