The times they are a-changin

Humans will remember “COVID-19” as the greatest challenge to our way of life. 

Times like this demand inspiration. I get mine from Bob Dylan …

“If your time to you Is worth savin’… Then you better start swimmin’… Or you’ll sink like a stone… For the times they are a-changin‘”

Sacrifice isn’t new to our history. Our forefathers sacrificed their lives through adversity so we can call freedom a human right. COVID-19 transcends national insularity, but at the same time is a klaxon call to our national psyche… 

“For he that gets hurt… Will be he who has stalled… There’s a battle outside… And it is ragin‘”

COVID-19 forces us to “sacrifice” our freedom up close to our doorstep; our “right” to social gatherings, weddings, visiting loved ones; celebrating the passing of the heroes who sacrificed for us; to whom we truly owe our way of life. 

Sacrifice and adversity are steppingstones to success. They gave birth to US independence. They gave rise to US technology dominance when we chose “to go to the Moon and do the other things… because that challenge is… one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”

Over time, few understand the true impact of these sacrifices by our people, but we all take them for granted and feel a sense of national pride at our world standing today.

 “Your old road is… Rapidly agin’… Please get out of the new one… If you can’t lend your hand… For the times they are a-changin’.”

To complete the Shakespearean triangle, some sacrifice, like that brought about by Covid-19, is thrust upon us. It hurts in ways we are unprepared for; that challenge our way of life. It brings fear of the unknown. Time to stand firm and stand fast…

That’s when sacrifice and adversity creates heroes. Some become national “legends,” with schools named after them. Most serve dutifully and get on with life. Job done, like 911. All are heroes. Like our health and care workers today. They strive, with or without PPE, to save those stricken with COVID-19 who need them. 

“Come senators, congressmen… Please heed the call… Don’t stand in the doorway… Don’t block up the hall.”

They are legends, regardless of whether our politicians help…

Like our health and care workers, and all those others who keep us fed, watered, warm and connected, adversity binds communities by a common experience; a common belief of worth and survival; a subconscious desire to lay down the petty to protect our fundamental way of life. COVID-19’s impact on our social well-being will have long lasting effects on how we live. It will also affect the way we work and collaborate… forever.

“It’ll soon shake your windows… And rattle your walls… For the times they are a-changin’”

Today, we need to support our health and care workers, and those who keep our way of life alive, and invest everything in medical vaccines against and solutions for future COVIDs. The rest of us need to stay focused to keep our economy and social fabric alive. Remotely. Digitally.

You don’t need my 4 decades in human resource management to know home working and remote collaboration will become the new norm. Maybe we’ll get a greener planet… but not without adversity across our social, environmental and economic life.

“Come writers and critics… Who prophesize with your pen… And keep your eyes wide… The chance won’t come again”

That adversity will drive new ways to organize remote working. It will accelerate Cloud adoption as never before imagined. 

While our governments and brave health and care workers sacrifice tirelessly to return our physical freedom, our online freedom, something we’ve not had to consider before, is under attack, courtesy of COVID-19 fuelled hacking opportunists… some perhaps state sponsored. As our way of life moves inexorably to the Cloud, we need to recognise that Cloud technology is not yet good enough to give us the digital freedom and privacy we deserve.

“Come mothers and fathers… Throughout the land… And don’t criticize… What you can’t understand… Your sons and your daughters… Are beyond your command… Your old road is

Rapidly agin’”

The current COVID-19 has hastily forced us to “work from home.” Many of us cannot access our data. That’s because organisations that control remote working under their own “lockdown” conditions, are poorly prepared, let alone culturally ready to make the jump to Cloud. That adds adversity to our lives. It adds stress to the national and global economic engine.

But it also brings a new dawn that balances opportunity and risk for our economy and global technology lead.

“The line it is drawn… The curse it is cast… The slow one now… Will later be fast… As the present now… Will later be past… The order is Rapidly fadin’”

COVID-19 threatens our physical freedom and our digital freedom. Both impact our privacy to do what we want when in the physical or digital world. 

Like our physical freedom, I believe our digital freedom, and our data privacy are a human right. Alarmingly, research shows over 12bn records were stolen last year by hackers. Each data breach against organisations that hold our data cost on average nearly $4m, eroding economic wealth.

Let’s be clear, that data represents our digital keepsakes; our treasured memories; our healthcare records; our most sacred and secret lives in digital form. 

With our forced acceleration to, and future in, the Cloud comes a pressing need to address how we keep our data safe, private and recoverable. That includes our data held by organisations that call us customers, patients, members or employees. 

“The order is… Rapidly fadin’… And the first one now… Will later be last”

Like a virus, hackers have no conscience. They don’t care who they hurt. 1 in 3 citizens globally have suffered from loss of their data privacy. Our world leading economy suffers most.

Nevertheless, COVID-19 has sparked a powerful reaction in our national psyche that can reverse this.

Our national culture, a concept most visible during wars, the space race and international sporting events, delivers innovation and success through sacrifice. That’s why people are coming together to help those in need, typified by the courageous sacrifice of our health and care workers, and our support for each other.

“And don’t speak too soon… For the wheel’s still in spin… And there’s no tellin’ who… That it’s namin’”

After COVID-19 we’ll embrace remote ways of working, safe from the threat we face today. We cannot predict how many of us will survive or have jobs, but we’ll change and grasp opportunities the new world offers. 

“For the loser now… Will be later to win… For the times they are a-changin’”

That’s why we need to tackle both COVID-19 and the hacker “virus” that threatens our digital freedom. Home, and “on the move,” working will become the norm. Instead of us moving closer to the data, the data will move with us, on demand; safe, private and recoverable by us and no one else.

We may never again habitually shake hands, hug, or fist bump. That’s why we need to embrace a more secure Cloud powered digital world in which we can collaborate in trust, knowing our data is private and protected.

So, I guess my conclusion is that our physical way of life is sacrosanct, but so is our digital life. Saving the former is non-negotiable. But we can’t allow hackers to destroy our digital economy or way of life. 

That’s why I’m dedicating my life to data privacy, to protect our freedom and data privacy in the digital age that, after COVID-19, will have been so hard won.

Inspiration Bob Dylan Lyric The times they are a-Changin

and William Shakespeare

POST4

A scorecard for life and work!

Many conversations start with a question!
How are you? How have you been? What have you been up to? And so on.

How did you feel when you were asked the questions? Did you feel like Oh Jeeze no!

We have all been there particularly when things have not been going so well. We have all had those moments…some moments lasting longer than others..

How do those moments change us? Have we become more than one person?
Different with different people…

I come across many people who tell me they are different people when they are at home than when they are at work.

Its not surprising to hear this I hear you say. Many of us show up differently given different circumstances.

The problem is who are we really?

The Questions of Faith and Fear

How do we show up each day?
What do we want to show and importantly what do we want to hide?
What do we want people to think of us?
What are we afraid of if we really show who we are?

Scorecards are life cards!

The thing is from the moment we were born we had a scorecard…how heavy, how long. What color eyes…… and so on.

It continued through infancy through to schools and sports, what were we good at what did we suck at!!

Remember first impressions and lasting impressions?

Life is a scorecard and yet when we get to work we are often different, we give lesser of ourselves and to our co-workers in many cases much less and yet…..

Work and Life
Productivity -Be the best you can be
Attendance -Be punctual when meeting friends
Quality -Be present and attentive
Safety -Do no harm to others – build relationships
Discipline -Fairness and honesty – Always

You see the thing is that each defines you and they cannot be separated:

Your Character
Your Curiosity
Your Courage

Are all ONE and the only thing you have to decide is whether faith of fear separates the REAL you from showing up.

HRMexplorer November 1st 2014
Picture courtesy of
http://www.clipartguide.com

Accept and Cherish!

It’s fathers’ day 2014

A time when many of us will have fond memories and for some not so fond.

Life will always throw as soft curves and sometimes not so soft.

It is often the ones we love that give us the highest of highs and lowest of lows.

In my deliberations each day I come across people who ask more questions then there answers.

Many are afraid of what they will hear but human nature takes us there all too often anyway.

We are curious creatures, us humans, it makes us reach the highest of achievements and takes us to places where there is deep consternation and pain.

Life as we know it is will always surprise us. That is what makes it so exciting and unpredictable.

If we all knew each day what the rest of our life would bring how would that define who we are?

Courage and character comes from meeting the challenges of the unknown and the challenges we never wanted.

Too many of our friends leave us each day whether it is through natural death, injury, or disease.

Sometimes we just need to believe in faith and simply accept and cherish what we have and make the best of things. It is only then that we will overcome the worst of things.

 

 

Picture courtesy of ‪Cherish Life Quotes As Diary.com | As Diary.

The 6 phases of relationships

Part of  The 4 stages of leadership – see my link http://wp.me/pTp83-lN

This blog is about the 6 phases of relationships and follows under Personal Reflection in my 4 stages of leadership model.

Phase 1 – Relationship with me! – Realization.

• What kind of relationship do I want to have with myself?
• Do I like who I am?
• Am I positive or negative in what I see or do?
• Do I even like ME and is this who I always want to be?
• Am I stuck in my own emotions and do I want to change?
• Do I know what I want from myself?
• Is the present person I am harming others?

Develop the vision of who you want to be.

Phase 2 – Relationships with my community – my Mask.

• Do people feel positively or negatively towards me?
• What do they see in my actions and behaviors?
• Does a different part of me come out when I am in my community of family, friends, coworkers and community?
• Do I even let them into my world or do I keep them out?
• Do they believe or trust me?
• Do I even trust myself?
• Do they want to be with me? – Do I want to be with me?
• Start to seek out others to define existing and future reality of who I need and want to be. Indeed is there a positive future if I do not seek help from others?

Develop oneness – get rid of different masks– look for support.

Phase 3 – Attraction – develop the person you like and need to become.

• Give yourself permission that it’s possible to be different.
• Release the chains that hold you in the past and move to the community that will help you move to your vision.
• Find the communities you need to be part off and seek help and develop new relationships that are trusting and supportive.
• Develop faith over fear for the change that is needed and yet to come.

Change is not the option the only option is whether you have the courage to choose it.

Phase 4 – Lets Hang out – Staying with your new community.

• Continue to develop the “likeability” and goodness factor.
• Hang out with people who engage and promote the person you have always wanted to become (and needed to become.)
• Be with people who support and reinforce who you are becoming.
• Start to behave not how others expect you but how you need to develop the new you.

Define your character based, not on what others expect you too, but in the knowledge that you are accountable for your own actions.

Phase 5 – Developing Awesomeness.

• Continue to develop and sustain your character through higher levels of trusting relationships.
• Remember that by becoming awesome you develop an ever-increasing community that sustains lifelong relationships.
• Reestablish relationships with those love ones that were harmed
• Know that by becoming awesome your actions will start to serve others and not yourself.

The first stage of servant leadership.

Phase 6 – SuperAwsome.

• Become a champion of memorable relationships.
• Share your experiences with others so that they can also be inspired.

The path to developing leadership in others.

 

‪ Picture courtesy of www.ashworthcreative.com

 

 

 

Are you doing all the right things to keep your employees?

Keeping your (Productive) employees should be at the top of your daily list.

Productive, effective employees that are motivated; give better customer service, up your sales, are more involved and stay longer with the company!

(And if they don’t your, training and development just became an expense)

Here is my top ten list:

1. Money does motivates and when it doesn’t it de-motivates!! It is as simple as that! Pay your employees their worth don’t take advantage of them.
2. Constantly share information with them, don’t keep them in the dark!  The more they know the more valuable they will feel and understand what they are supposed to do.
3. Clear job duties, accountabilities and goals are a must!  Your employees need to know who is doing what; clears up of a lot of misunderstandings and duplication.
4.  Ask you employees for feedback, who knows better what is going on than your employees.
5. Challenge your employees, give them ownership of projects, and let them soar!  They will feel more trusted and included. They will become loyal to you for giving them the opportunity.
6.  Give your employees room for growth; job training opportunities, day conferences, projects, and REAL tasks.  This will show value, and growth.
7. Encourage teamwork, group and inter department projects; give them a reason to work together.
8. Manage from distance.  Having the boss looking over your shoulder is stressful.
9. Coach your employees.  Instead of ordering them around, do this, do that, coach them to take responsibility.  Great leaders coach and they create a leadership environment.
10. Fire the losers!  They will spread negativity like wild fire!  This very action will actually grow respect among your employees. Having someone around just collecting the paycheck is frustrating for your team.

Remember one of the most important qualities is to let others grow. It is not your right to hang on to everything, or that it must be done your way, or you have to give all the solutions.

Original idea from Sister Mae I and a conversation with HRMexplorer

Picture courtesy of Google images