This is Issue 68 already! Thanks for your continued interest! Do take a bit of time to write or call and tell me what you'd like to see included, and how else I can make the newsletter valuable for you.
I am trying out another format with the next few issues, and that is to have excerpts with links to the full articles or posts on my website. If you'd like to be a guest writer and contribute your thoughts, do let me know as well! Please forward the newsletter to whomever you know who might benefit from it. Also, do feel free to connect with me via my Facebook page and LinkedIn account. Have a great week ahead!
Self Esteem In Leaders. Overused? Vilified? 06 Nov 2012.
Download the pdf here.
~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
If you are a leader, read this with a view to being better equipped to grow yourself. It is only when we grow that we are able to help others. If you don't think you're a leader, I've got news for you - you had better be, because you are already a leader if you know people younger than yourself!
When it comes to questions of self esteem, we seem to embrace a wholesale dichotomy. There are those who extol it as a necessary virtue, while others say to beware of pride. I've found that, as in so many cases, truth lies somewhere in the middle, if we would only exert ourselves a little to find it. The same situation arises when we discuss the quality of humility. The entire spectrum of meaning, from severe self-deprecation to hidden pride, seems to manifest itself. The truth is that humility is nothing more than coming to an objective recognition of where one stands in life, and having an attitude of gratitude for people and circumstances that have helped us along the way.
Self esteem is somewhat similar. It is simply having an appreciation for who we are, recognizing our gifts, capabilities and capacities and deliberately contributing to the society in which we live in our own special ways. I do have a suspicion that we all know this to be true. So why do we allow ourselves to be trapped in a state of constant worry over whether we have too much or too little self esteem?
The answer to this is fear. Fear of "losing out" to others. Fear of rejection. Fear of not being good enough, whether in our own eyes or what we might perceive to be in the eyes of others. I am not talking about a healthy fear of heights, imminent danger or the kind of fear that actually keeps us alive. I am talking about fears of the imagination, fears which we conjure up for ourselves and which keep us boxed in and never able to fulfill all that we were meant to be and do. So how do we go about reducing the level of unnecessary fear? Too many people go down the road of false bravado, which never stands any true test requiring boldness. Here is what we ought to do instead. Read more...
For Whom The Bell Tolls. 04 Nov 2012.
You can download the pdf here.
~ The deadly effects of the bell curve on the concept and practice of leadership development and sustainment in business, and what can be done about it ~
I often ask participants at workshops I conduct whether they have gone to school, and this of course is greeted with cynical laughter, as participants give me the look of "Ok, so what's next?" Of course we've all gone to school, we're all products of our society. If you are reading this and have not been to school, you have come to live in a very different society indeed! Our experiences in school have shaped us and the ideas we have gotten stay with us to either buoy us jubilantly upwards or haunt us, depending on what they were, how we imbibed them, and how we have responded to these ideas.
Read more...
The Quality Of Loyalty. 05 Nov 2012.
Like mercy, the quality of loyalty is not strained. That means it cannot be forced out of anyone. Loyalty is always based on mutually-beneficial relationships, actual or perceived. Not only that, loyalty is an attitude of desiring the good of the person or entity that one is loyal to. Even symbiotic relationships do not necessarily demonstrate the existence of loyalty. For instance, a cleaner wrasse and larger fish have a symbiotic relationship. The larger fish get themselves cleaned by the cleaner wrasse, with all the health benefits that produces, and the cleaner wrasse get a great meal. Win-win situation. Would the larger fish eat the cleaner wrasse if food becomes scarce? Read more...
Dominate Your Market? Exploit Your Niche? 04 Nov 2012.
Heard these statements somewhere at some time? How about "Attracting your customers" and "Woo your buyers"? "Make it juicy for people"? While brand posturing, marketing and selling are of course very important, how many of you believe, really believe deep down inside, that your goods and services will truly deliver the highest value to your customers and clients? Read more...
From the Design Workz Blog. 08 Mar 2011.
Fonts - OTF/ TTF/ PS
In typography, fonts are best defined as a complete assortment of type in varying styles and sizes.
Fonts may not be a specification that is as prominent as other major components in printing and design, but it is nonetheless essential and highly relevant especially towards the overall aesthetic appeal of projects. Read more...
