Lessons and wisdom from a CEO

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the CEO of my company’s group of companies, Mr. Harald Weinbrecht, for lunch and managed to get some interesting tips on leadership and management. As he was conversing with my other colleagues, I decided to watch and observe him and get a feel of the person. 

As the top brass, what I managed to see in this man was a friendly, down to earth and most animated character. He was a jovial fellow who was quite straight with his answers and some good humor based on first impressions. 

When I finally managed to pluck enough courage to speak to him, I already knew that I had to make the best of it as possible. Since my responsibilities lie with managing my team, I decided to find out what sort of simple advice I could use in my daily operations.

If there is a special mention, there was one part where he was getting to know everybody and decided to ask me a question, “So, I guess you are the brains behind all the operations being run here?” To be honest, I was caught somewhat unprepared as he was flattering me and I knew that if I did not answer properly, I could get off on the wrong foot (not something you want to do when you are in front of your boss’s boss). 

I quickly retreated to my humble and modest personality and instead answered back, “Oh no! I just coordinate stuff and make sure everything runs smoothly. If anybody deserves credit, it’s my team since I have got smart people working for me so I have less to worry about.” You can bet I was very surprised by him as his immediate response was giving me a hearty laugh and responding with “I LIKE THAT ANSWER!” 

As it turns out, I was following one of his principals which he shared with me later during lunch. As a summary of the lunch interview, I have listed below what I managed to obtain during that precious hour or two and also added in some of my own conclusions and wisdom into the mix.

• Don’t be afraid to talk to anybody. Even though they may be the CEO, treat that person just like how you would treat the next guy. I am serious, he actually said that (probably from the various shyness radiating from my other colleagues around me and probably a bit from myself). Ask questions and take a genuine interest in other people since this will build rapport.
• Find out what you like to do or your passion and continue to do that until you succeed. You will not last long when you are doing something that you do not like. As I have discovered time and time again, through books, articles, seminars and talks with people, passion is the one key ingredient or that fire in the belly that takes people from being average to being awesome. I am not surprised to find that repeated again here during this encounter.
• A leader points his people in a direction. It does not have to be the right direction all the time but a leader has to be confident enough to know that leadership is about pointing out a path where none had existed before. This inspires trust and allows people to rally and get something or anything done at all. While the path may turn out to be a wrong one, it is the duty of the leader to learn from that mistake and move on. At least in a time where nobody rises to the challenge, a leader shows the way. 
• Consider leadership like an inverse pyramid. It is the leaders serving the people under them, not the typical traditional hierarchy where it is the other way around. The questions that the leader should ask are such as “What can I (as management) do for you (workers)?” and “How can I make your job better and allow you to perform to the best of your potential?” This advice is very enlightening as I have read about it before but not really heard them from the mouth of a CEO. Rather than the staff working for the benefit of the boss, this concept flips it on its head literally so that it’s the bosses working for their staff. While this may sound idealistic and probably is, it is nonetheless a good ideal to strive for.
• Definition of leadership – One who takes all the blame and none of the credit. While it may sound crude to those looking for an ego boost every time they climb the ladder, it makes a lot of sense since as you progress higher, you have less work to do but you have more responsibility to ensure that it all works out. So the ones that really working their sweat are your subordinates and thus deserve the praise should everything goes well. As a leader, you take all the flak and make sure that your team looks good. 
• Growing is about getting out of the comfort zone. I once heard a more coarse way of putting it, “Either you are growing or you are dying” and this holds somewhat true. When you are comfortable, you tend to get complacent. When you are growing, you will go through many rough patches and learn more from your mistakes and that’s what makes a great man. The great man is the man who experiences more of the unknown than the one who is not testing the boundaries of his own capabilities. 
• Don’t overestimate or underestimate your capabilities, get a system to track it so you know exactly what you can or cannot do. He tells me that he has seen people tend to be arrogant and overconfident of their abilities just to find themselves short when it is time to perform. There are also the others who can do so much more with their abilities but tend to downplay them because they think they are not up to the challenge and thus selling themselves short. He calls it a waste of resources for either case. 
• Good old fashion hard work. Just as everything else in life, nothing replaces blood, sweat and tears when getting it down to completing a tasks whatever it may be. As long as you have your direction, its all about solid hard work to turn a plan into reality. 
• Success is when opportunity meets preparation. Opportunity is always available around you but tends to be lost when you are not prepared to receive it. When you have planned and prepared for it either through the acquisition of knowledge, experience, hard work and wisdom, only then with a bit of luck, you will be greeted with success. Don’t worry too much about not being able to get opportunities, prepare yourself well first and let opportunity find you instead.

Wise Sayings to Remember From the Elderly

I thought I would help compile a list of some wise saying that I have come across which I find to be very meaningful and hopefully enlightening to be passed around. Sometimes, our parents or aged relatives share some good advice from time to time when there is a meet up. How often do we actually commit these to memory and how many actually practice on a daily basis?

Wise sayings to be remembered as you go through life:

• Do not hold bitterness in your heart especially to those who have wronged you in anyway. Do not expect anybody to treat you well. This is not about having a low opinion of others but to be prepared and expect that everybody else will be looking out for themselves first and foremost since the first human instinct is self-preservation. However, for those people who treat you well, family or friends or even total strangers (if it is possible in this day and age), you have to be grateful that life has given you a helping hand and cherish it but always be careful since everybody has a purpose in their dealings with you.
• Everyone and everything in the world is impermanent which includes any want or need. In the Buddhist philosophy, this is the paramount realization of enlightenment and by understanding this alone, you can start to live an uncomplicated life and taking things as they come since eventually at a certain point, they or it will leave you. This applies to relationships, materialistic things and even yourself.
• Life is too short to doing something that does not mean a lot to you. Don’t waste your life doing something you don’t love or have interest in doing. The earlier you realize that and what you are passionate about, the better you will enjoy what life has to offer you.
• The greatest emotion of love is simply a fleeting feeling. Again, this relates to the concept of impermanence where nothing in the world or the universe will last forever. Love with all its sweetness and bitterness are merely a strong emotional feeling which will pass with the passage of time. The only way it survives is what sort of additional assistance it receives from you to keep it burning. By understanding this, you will be able to love freely and be able to withstand the harshness that love comes with.
• You don’t have to receive good education in order to be successful in life (a lot of successful people made it without it) BUT that does not mean you can emulate their footsteps since for these people, a combination of determination, passion, preparation and a bit of luck happened to converge some point in their life which enabled them to be successful. The only way to prepare for success is to be ready with the right knowledge at the right time and that is where whatever knowledge you managed to learn before can help propel you to greater heights.
• Always honor your promises but never always expect others to keep theirs. You have the ability to choose to be good to other people but you don’t have control over whether they will return the favor. It is a blessing since you will be able to sleep easier knowing that you honored your side of the bargain and if they do return the favor, it is icing on the cake and a bonus to you.
• There is no such thing as a free lunch. You probably will have to earn your keep and work to the best of your abilities and just grind your teeth when the going gets rough. If you were hoping to make a fast buck gambling, the probability and odds are greatly stacked against you. Striking it rich through the lottery is just like hoping to be struck by lightning. The only way you can guarantee 100 percent that you will get a free lunch is when you work for it and you can call it your own.

How to make a difference in your career

Are you worried that you might lose your job? Or perhaps wondering if you are on the right track? I have sometimes also wondered to myself if that is the case. My previous work experiences tell me that that should not be the primary concern if you have been putting in the right consistent effort and your goals are aligned with those of the company. If you have these two things going for you already then you are somewhat 50 percent there. However, these days, keeping the job you have is a task in itself and requires additional thought and effort to sustain a progressive and positive growth. I have kept a few additional pointers below to stay ahead of the game.

Keeping fit and healthy
This is extremely critical especially in our fast paced world where a person burning out happens more frequently than the computers they are working on. I would even venture as far as to say that without your health, all the wealth in the world would mean nothing. It is not just having higher levels of tolerance to stress as well but a mind that is sharp and an energy level to match. It is paramount that everybody focused on obtaining this first and foremost before applying the rest of the principals stated here.

Going the extra mile
Sometimes, employers are looking out for talents who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get down to work when the company needs them most. The Chinese character for crisis is also the inverse of opportunity and this is the time to shine. Having worked in two smaller organizations, I know this for a fact since there is never enough hands rowing the oars. It also pays to be somewhat of a jack of all trades in this respect. At the end of the day, it all comes to getting the job done and if you are recognized for that fact, you definitely have a better bargaining chip with management when the right time comes around. Even if the situation doesn’t appear, keep a record of your own accomplishments that stand out as having gone above and beyond the call of duty so that it can be flaunted (at specific strategic times) during appraisals or the occasional banter with the boss or better still at the new job you are aiming for.

Be a motivator or cheerleader in your workplace
Nobody likes people who are negative in the workplace as it is a sure way to bring morale down. If you ever had somebody pour cold water on your ideas and opinions, you will probably get my drift. Turn that situation around and be a supporter of the people around you. Get them to speak their mind and share their thoughts. Encourage them and even go as far to participate in realizing their ideas will definitely get you some brownie points in the office while making you look as a team player. Your enthusiasm will also be contagious and the word will spread that you are wonderful company to work with. Don’t be surprised when people will also start admiring you and will reciprocate by supporting your causes as well. Perhaps your next promotion will be due to the collective voices and hands which are supporting you from the side, above and below you.

Show gratitude when due and shower praise for others
We all need somebody to appreciate our efforts no matter how little it is or how often it is dismissed by those trying to be modest. Deep down inside, we are all longing for a sense of appreciation for our efforts. You may be the CEO of the company or a lowly janitor but each individual in the organization has a part to play and therefore stand equal in terms of importance to the healthy functioning of the company. The same way our parents taught us the significance of a simple “Thank You” or even congratulating us on the accomplishments of our youth from academic or extracurricular achievements, these also apply to your career or everyday work.

Be aware and always on the lookout
Keep in mind that your objectives and goals that you have set for yourself and your career. Always, always remember that you are looking out for yourself first and foremost. While it is true that employers are always doing their best to keep their employees satisfied or working for them, that doesn’t mean you should stay on if it does not meet your long term objectives whether it may be climbing up the corporate ladder or starting your own business or whatever for that matter. Look to create value and hone your skills in alignment with your future self that you want to be. You owe it to yourself to stay true to yourself above all.

How to calm your mind and find inner peace

If there is one thing that I believe very strongly in is that the our physical manifestation on this plane of existence is a combined harmony between both the mind and the body. Today, I would like to delve into the mind since represents our projection of our mental and also our physical well being. It is extremely imperative and important that we take better care of it than even your spouse. That is not to say that your spouse is not important but if you can't even handle your own mind, I would suggest not trying to handle two minds in that case.

I have come up with some ideas on some strategies on how we can obtain some peace of mind. Now, use as many or as little from the list below and find what you are most comfortable with. Not all of them will work immediately and some need the right timing or direction in order to see some results. But never, never give up searching for a peaceful mind since without it, you may be setting yourself up for a mental breakdown.

• Listen to calming music. My recommendation is to listen to music from the baroque era or from Mozart which has a steady tempo of 60 beats a minute which helps calm the mind and regulate the body thus giving improved concentration.
• Selecting calming colors to surround you with. There are some areas where you spend alot of time in such as your room, study or workplace. Fill it up with soothing images, pictures or relaxing colors that is either green, blue, purple, lavender or violet.
• Pick out some favorite calming quotes. I stumbled across one quote recently and let me share it with you: "A man is not rightly conditioned until he is a happy, healthy, and prosperous being; and happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a harmonious adjustment of the inner with the outer of the man with his surroundings." ~ James Allen
• Try some natural herbs. Look out for some of these to promote calmness but not as something to get addicted to. Among the known herbs are such as Roman chamomile, lavender, skullcap, passionflower and valerian.
• Eat foods with lots of anti-oxidants. Certain foods contain vitamins that help repair and revitalizes the body and these normally fall into the category of vegetables, grains and fruit. Some examples are such as sprouts, bananas, kiwifruit, beans, lentils, nuts and oats. Or you can go vegetarian for a whole day to really reduce the stress.
• A good long hot shower to soak away the stress. The Japanese people are famous for their "onsen" which is a culture unlike any other. They consider bathing in a bath full of hot water (or hot spring water) as spa and relaxation. They even have more than 3000 resorts set up thoughout the country just to cater to this national pastime.
• Find solitude in your room or somewhere like a park. When you are alone, some good things to do during this period is to consider meditation or simple reflection of the past week or actions taken.
• Getting sufficient exercise. You can start working out preferably somewhere closer to nature like taking a stroll or a jog in the park. Getting your adrenaline pumping is a great way to help you sleep better as well while keeping your body fit and in shape as well.

3 Simple Ways of Achieving Your Dreams

Dreams can be a very complex thing and I will not start going into the details since it differs from one person to another. Normally, I would rate dreams as something that can be hard to obtain since we can only picture it successful in the mind. Bringing it forth into reality is like trying to build castles in the sky without the materials or the expertise. I would like to turn that around by saying that we DO have castles in the sky, it’s just that the naked eye can’t see it. What I am referring to is the International Space Station or ISS. Now, you may say that it’s not really a castle and not medieval enough but think about it, the person (long ago) who coined the proverb must have meant it as the impossible but now with the skills and technology we have, we are actually taking our first steps in colonizing space, the so called final frontier.


In this article, I would to pay tribute to Muhammad Ali (and his quotes which I will be sharing), a real dream achiever, who like all the champions who came before and after him and share some of his quotes. At the same time, I also would like to share how each of our dreams can be accomplished no matter how large or small they are. However, like anybody who aspires to reach it, I would like to keep it as simple as possible. In fact, there is only 3 simple steps (but application is of these will be the determinator) of how well a person achieves it or fall short of obtaining it. So let’s get to business:


Steady Unwavering Focus. The one most important thing that we all could use in our daily lives with the advent of technology, we are bombarded with concepts, ideas, advertisements, books, people, the Internet and everything in between that strives and demands our attention. I pray that we will not encounter an age where it would like the Minority Report and have holograph advertisements popping out of nowhere trying to demand my attention. If we all did this one thing which is to focus on one goal at a time and just ignore the distractions taking us away from our goal, I think we would be able to achieve almost anything we set our mind to.

“Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill”

~Muhammad Ali


Break Your Dream Down to the Achievable Portions. “Failing to plan is planning to fail”, a cliché and often overused proverb but planning is not good enough. Sometimes a plan is still just a general idea of where you want to go and is an outline. If you can break this plan (or elephant) down into tiny chunks which you sincerely BELIEVE that you can accomplish, your plan will never take off. Dreams are like the final destination or the end product of what you would like to see in your life, but it’s the little steps that take you there is real meaning behind all the imagination and separates those who continue to see it in ethereal form or those who are daring enough to form reality with it.

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, ''Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.''

~Muhammad Ali


Consistent Action on the Achieving Those Portions. Ahhhh, the final piece of the puzzle. Action, action, action. Most of us would probably give up at the first step, many more will ignore the second and perhaps only a handful who are courageous enough to take this final step will even at some time falter along the way. But never fear, as long as the dream is worthy enough of those willing to undertake the challenge, they will always return and seek to rectify their actions. Consistency, perseverance and persistence are the long standing traits of any successful dreamer cum reality bringer. Again, as mentioned in the previous point, the little steps are the ones that make up the journey. Sure, you can cheat along the way and be flexible with taking or not taking the steps but it will prolong or even detract you from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”

~Muhammad Ali


So I wish you all good luck and skill in achieving all that you were meant to be, want to be or need to be. May your dreams come true!