Entries Tagged 'People' ↓

You are Precious

P is for your Presence and for your Peaceful Nature, Pure Love and Personality.

R is for your Royal Regard for Self Respect, Respect for All and for the Living Natural World and Mother Earth around us.

E is for your Energy of Giving and Creating a Loving Atmosphere filled with Warmth and Gentleness.

C is for your Child-like Nature of Lightness, Playfulness and Cheerfulness.

I is for your Innocence with your Inner Glow, Inner Diamond and Intuitive Heart.

O is for Being at One with Wonder, Life, Thoughts, Feelings, Living Powers and simply Who you are. U is for You – Just being wonderful you full of an Inner Beauty that shines on the inside and shows itself on the outside,
and

S is for you being so, so, so special – a spirit, a soul – with an inner and outer smile.

Amanda Dentler and Peter Williams who wrote the above text are in Mauritius delivering seminars. May all attendees benefit from their precious teachings of both of them.

Intuitive Hearts offer another way of seeing life.

Last night was a great celebration night for the Oy King Sar Chan Society at the Imperial China Restaurant. Three Chan were praised and given all honors by the  Chan community for their distinction in their respective fields  following their official recognition by the Nation recently.

What is the purpose of Oy King Sar Chan society? As in many countries where Hakkas have settled, it is customary for the migrants to form benevolent organisation to look after the needs of the poorer members. Solidarity and assistance to the poor are Confucian values that the community of Hakka have always lived amongst the other values. Oy King Sar Chan society which has always been present received a legal status in Mauritius in 1945. This society restricted to members of the Chan clan aims to nurture good relationship amongst the clan members, defend its members and provide social services to the community.

Interestingly enough the Hakkas have always respected the equal rights of the gender: Hakka women were given the nick name of big footed woman, as in the older days the Hakka women supported by their male counter parts refused to have their foot bound . It was traditional for the Han women to bind their feet to keep them small, as a small footed woman was then a sign of distinction.

Of the three Chan’s celebrated last night, the common thread was most importantly the acclamation of these leaders’ perseverance in attaining success through education. This is again a essential Confucian value.

Denise Chan Youn Sen was awarded National recognition for her hard work and dedication as a government civil servant. At a low entry level, Denise joined the service as a temporary accounts clerk; she retired from her service as the Chief finance officer of the ministry of social services.

Yves Chan Kam Lon was awarded by the high distinction of the 2009 US state Alumni a title given to American University student who have outstanding performance in their career. He is now heading the National library and archives of Mauritius, the guardian of the heritage of the country.

As for young Benoit Chan Sui Ko, he won the Economics award Laureate 2008. This will be the start of his career.

The Chan have to be proud of these distinctions. More importantly may the Chinese community continue to contribute to the building of the Mauritian nation.

During my NLP trainings I had the opportunity to be exposed to the Walt Disney creativity method. Recently one of my friends  told me that she attributed the award of a contract she won to the Walt Disney Creativity Method she proposed.

Since the adoption of the Walt Disney Method in the 70’s as an NLP tool, Walt Disney has developed and promoted the tools used in house by their organisation to a new businesses. A Disney Institute has since been created to develop the Business Leaders of the world.

I would advise businesses leaders  to undergo training with them and learn from them. Even if you are not in the field of entertainment much has to be learned. I am particularly interested to learn more about the stategies of Disney. They have succesfully  created value in  merchandising the different brands and personalities they have created. I consider Disney as the top of the top in marketing after all Disney is a world class organisation.

How can you manage a queue of several hours of waiting customers whilst giving them a lasting excellent customer service?

Disney Institute began as a vision, and the visionary was Walt Disney himself.

Not only did Walt Disney re-define the world of entertainment, his legacy is found in a worldwide scope of motion pictures, Theme Parks, stage shows, books, magazines, television, merchandise, music, apparel, radio, resorts, a cruise line and more.

Of course, none of this would have been possible had he not also re-written the rules of business.

Walt Disney was, and will always remain, that rare breed: an artistic genius who, with the unflagging and essential support of his brother, Roy, created an effective organizational model and efficient work environment where employees were recognized for their achievements, encouraged to work as a team and, by striving for excellence, continually broke the confines of the status quo to surpass the expectations of the world.

Your Opportunity

Since Disney Institute opened in 1986, millions of attendees representing virtually every sector of business from every corner of the globe have had an opportunity to witness and experience these innovative business strategies.

Disney Institute remains the only professional development company where you will literally step into a “living laboratory” at Disney Theme Parks and Resorts for guided behind-the-scenes field experiences. Disneys brand of business excellence is also being taught at locations across the U.S. and, to date, in more than 40 countries around the world.

We have inspired leaders to change not only their business practices, but also to examine their business issues in an entirely new light. Like them, you will find your organization has more in common with Disney than you ever imagined.

Our Methods

Whether you tune into a Disney Institute WebCast, attend a workshop in your city, or immerse yourself in a multi-day program at a Disney Destination, the lessons we’ve developed are rooted in the time-tested visions and ideals of Walt Disney. As you “experience the business behind the magic,” you’ll discover our innovative training methods focused on three key program outcomes: Knowledge, Comprehension, and Application. These outcomes will clearly illustrate ways that you can adapt and apply these lessons into your organization.

As vital as the message are the messengers. Disney Institute facilitators include accomplished business leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, and executives who use dynamic and entertaining stories and demonstrations to explain effective business models and concepts. Depending on the program length and location, these sessions may be enhanced by facilitated discussions, team-building exercises, case studies, experiential activities, and behind-the-scenes guided tours at Disney Destinations. Disney Institute programs provide you with a business map that will help you chart a course for your organization, your division, and yourself.

Your return on this investment is across the board improvement. You’ll realize this improvement in processes, your work environment, and the delivery of customer service. You’ll sense it in yourself and your employees who are inspired to strive for excellence. Above all, you’ll see it in increased productivity and a renewed sense of purpose and potential.

In the late 90’s I was enrolled on a seminar conducted by an anthropologist Angeles Arrien. Whereas I was accustomed to the trilogy, I listened to her attentively on her four fold way. The Four-Fold Wayâ„¢ Program is an educational experience that demonstrates how to “walk the mystical path with practical feet.” It is designed to increase our respect for nature and each other, and enhance our ability to work cooperatively and creatively in teams. The program inspires “spirit in action” using the cross-cultural components of leadership and communication skills, creative problem-solving, health care, and education. The Four-Fold Wayâ„¢ Program emphasizes four major principles that integrate ancient cultural wisdoms into contemporary life.

In essence, she advised us to develop our 4 ways of actions.

The Way of the Warrior or Leader is to show up, or choose to be present. Being present allows us to access the human resources of power, presence, and communication. We express the way of the Leader through appropriate action, good timing, and clear communication.

The Way of the Healer or Caretaker is to pay attention to what has heart and meaning. Paying attention opens us to the human resources of love, gratitude, acknowledgment, and validation. We express the way of the Healer through our attitudes and actions that maintain personal health and support the welfare of our environment.

The Way of the Visionary or Creative Problem Solver is to tell the truth without blame or judgment. Truthfulness, authenticity, and integrity are keys to developing our vision and intuition. We express the way of the Visionary through personal creativity, goals, plans, and our ability to bring our life dreams and visions into the world.

The Way of the Teacher or Counselor is to be open to outcome, not attached to outcome. Openness and non-attachment help us recover the human resources of wisdom and objectivity. We express the way of the Teacher through our constructive communication and informational skills.

Optimum health is expressed in most cultures as a balance in all four areas: Leading, Healing, Visioning, and Teaching. Cross-culturally these four areas reflect the four human resources of Power, Love, Vision, and Wisdom. Most of us tend to over-express one area, while leaving the others underdeveloped. It is important to understand that these four ways are universal and available to all humankind, regardless of context, culture, structure, and practice. The Four-Fold Wayâ„¢ Program is structured to develop all four areas with equal emphasis to support optimum health, both individually and collectively, in our family, workplace, and communities.

I thought of this today because I am attending a party tonight for the 40^th Birthday of a friend. Last night I read on Face Book that she took a psycho test and was classified as a healer.

As you have probably learned the authorities are launching a program called Second Chance to alleviate the poverty and give a chance to the poorest of the poor.

« Autre mesure phare : la mise sur pied d’un Second Chance Programme , qui devait avoir été établi en janvier. Il s’agit d’un plan d’alphabétisation et de maîtrise des langues pour ceux ayant quitté l’école. Le but de ce programme est d’aider ceux- ci à s’insérer dans la vie professionnelle. « Ce programme a débuté ce mois- ci avec 220 étudiants dans 8 centres. Les étudiants vont bénéficier d’une allocation mensuelle de Rs 1 500 » , déclare le ministère de l’Education. »

I was very pleased to have been convened to a meeting of the evaluation to the team of social workers who have participated to the launch of this program. Caritas have been selected to spearhead this initiative of the government. Why?

The proposal of Caritas comprised 4 different elements that matches the needs of the sociological needs of the targeted population. Caritas have been working thereon for a number of years. Caritas have through the years researched the concepts and worked on the implementations required. Through a lengthy process of trials and errors Caritas have come up with a model that seems to hold the road.

‘Alphabetisation fonctionnelle’ has required years of research and the support of specialist in Education to be set up. The earlier research was done by Jean Pierre Carosin for 4 years and funded by Secours Catholique, later through Funds donated by the European community a specialist in Education of Belgian origin, Elise Ways was stationed in Mauritius for 4 years to carry on the implementation and development work. The objective of this ‘Alphabetisation fonctionnelle’ program is to fasten literacy for the underprivileged through a peer to peer learning experience.

Caritas spirit of Empowering the people by the people has always been present through the project. Caritas respects the freedom of the individual and work to increase the dignity and self esteem of the individual. At Caritas, every single human has potential of their own and thru his strengths other hidden talents may be developed. Sure enough the poor because of their conditions may have been disadvantaged Caritas‘s role is to empower them to bridge the gap.

Life skills management is another program which Caritas has developed using Covey leadership material as inspiration. There again, care has been taken to use a peer to peer sharing methodology instead of a top down, teacher to student teaching process. Learning occurs through eliciting collective intelligence from the group’s experience and building the capacities.

The two other elements of the proposed package are the value of work and personal and family budgeting.

Let us hope that Second Chance will bring some comfort and improve the conditions of the poor.

We are the world

We are the children

We are the one that make a brighter day

So let’s start giving

In 1985, you may recall the recording and publishing of this song that toppled at the charts. The revenue earned from this exercise was to raise funds to help the destitute children of poor Africa.

“We Are the World” written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and recorded by a supergroup of 45 popular musicians.

In a few hours Micheal Jackson will find his eternal abode in the celebrity cemetery of Los Angeles Forest Lawn. Micheal Jackson made his mark in the world.

Last night, whilst having fun with my two grand children who are only 8 and 5, I asked them if they knew of Micheal Jackson. Surely enough they knew him and they eagerly attempted a few dance steps on his moon walking. I was not a great fan of his music but have to admit somehow my musician vibes were touched by his works and have vibrated in harmony on his top tunes.

Good bye Micheal Jackson and thank you for your contribution to world music.

The 29th  June was the solemn feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. I read the homily of Pope Jean Paul II made on this feast in 2000, which shred lights of the missions of these saints and serve as models to us.

The naming of the two saints at the same time, as far as I am concerned, from my little knowledge, is the contrasting elements of their characters and behaviours. Just like there might be many means to one end, the stories I have of the different paths of those 2 saints indicates to me that God sets different ways to each person to reach Him.

I have in mind the comparison given the biblical comparison given by the personality profiling D.I.S.C.

St. Peter is classified in the ‘i’ category – out going, people. He needed as fuel ‘recognition’ to thrive and hungers for relationships. Whilst being impetuous, St Peter was big hearted, compassionate and friendly, he was also carefree and outgoing. Enthusiastic and impetuous Peter was sometimes over eager and saw things bigger than the reality. Influencers and inseminators are main of the traits the ‘I’ categories.

St. Paul on the other hand is classified in the ‘D’ category- outgoing, task. D category people need challenge and control, they thrive on conflicts. Strong willed leaders like St. Paul could me unemotional yet optimistic. Determined they drive forcefully with great innovations. The mission is to break the status quo and venture in unchartered area.

Victor Bout

I recently saw yesterday on TV, the development of the case of Victor Bout. I believe that he is still in Thailand waiting for extradition. The extradition process has been more complicated than forecasted it would seemed. He will appear in court in Thailand on the 11 August 2009 following his arrest on March 6, 2008.

You will recall that I blogged on this case earlier in mid March.

More than a James Bond thriller, the story of Victor A Bout arrest which I saw on TV and fully described by BBC seemed to me unreal.

I am keen to see the unwinding of this story which later might be taken as a base story for a thriller or a big screen film.

a latest blog written on Bout:

Those who do not know are

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 5:21-43.
When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet
and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?'”
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”
And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

——————————————————————————————————

We had a good gathering at the mass in Ming Tek centre. Not only the whole YIPTONG family were gathered to pray, were also present old friends and acquaintances of Yook Souk. Of the number of people present I recognised Liliane Sew Hee and her sister in law, Paul Sin chan, the wife of Miang Kwong Ng Wong Hing.

I found that the reading of the day to be appropriate: an extract of Mathews about the miracle of the daughter of Jairus from her death. “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” As much as we can be sad to acknowledge the departure of Yook Souk to his eternal abode, we have faith in the timeless world, that he is risen in our lord.

I would like to share with you today, the meditation of St. Peter Chrysologus on the reading of the day.

I am so pleased that I picked up an article where  my old friend Jay Owens is mentioned.  I have not seen for over 5 years: since my last visit to South Africa.

It looks like Jay is still active in training and running seminars and conferences.

Before retiring, Jay was running the Covey Leadership center in  Park Wood ,South Africa. He was of great help to me, he was sorting out the profiling of the participants of the Covey week end seminars I was conducting for a number of years. The center in South Africa was very convenient, the processing was faster and cheaper that sending off the documents to Utah, USA.

Thanks to Jay that I was given the opportunity to run a Covey seminar in Guinea Conakry. I took up the challenge of conducting a seminar with half of the audience speaking English and the other half speaking French. The Malaysian Telekon had taken over the national telephone company in Guinea and wanted to train all its managers on time managment the  Franklin Covey way.

Resolving business issues through crucial conversations

There are crucial conversations that we all tend to avoid. Our lives are poorer and our businesses less profitable because of it.

The need for crucial conversations in business covers a wide area of possibilities. They are the many topics we would rather avoid. In your place of work they could look something like this:

• Issues that involve gender, racial, cultural or other controversial factors
• Dealing with the poor performance of a subordinate, like giving an unfavourable performance review
• Talking to a co-worker, perhaps a manager, who behaves offensively or makes suggestive comments
• Disagreeing with a management decision
• Dealing with a serious disagreement between two or more departments in your business
• Resolving a serious disagreement between business partners
• Critiquing the work of an equal or someone senior to you
• Confronting a partner or manager who is contravening the company’s financial code
• Talking to a colleague who is hoarding information or resources
• Dealing with a difficult BEE or employment equity decision.

Most of us would rather avoid this sort of thing altogether. That is the comfortable route to take, but we follow that path to the detriment of our businesses and our relationships with other people.

The authors of Crucial Conversations – Tools for talking when stakes are high, say that no more than 10% of our daily conversations cover crucial issues. These are the pivotal issues, which if handled well make an immense difference to any organisation.

When facing difficult issues people react in one of three ways: we avoid them, handle them poorly or face them and handle them well. Jay Owens of The Human Edge, who will be hosting a Crucial Conversations workshop later this year, suggests three factors in which crucial conversations are most necessary. They are: high stakes matters on which results depend, differing opinions on which the parties involved feel strongly, and other matters that produce high emotions.

“Powerful emotions are the cause of most inability to communicate well,” says Owens. “Physiologically we don’t handle strong emotions well. To overcome this inherent human weakness a distinct skills set is needed. There are a few people who have it naturally. Most of us have to learn it.”

Owens teaches that our ability to influence other people, and therefore important outcomes, depends on how well we hold our crucial conversations. “Too often when crucial matters are raised people go over to silence, not contributing to the group’s understanding of the problem.”

Some endure the silence until eventually they can no longer contain themselves. Then they go over to violence, trying to control, compel and coerce others into their way of seeing things. “Silence and violence are the twin enemies of the productive sharing of information,” says Owens. He talks about the silence in the meeting room, followed by the violence in the corridor – people who do not contribute in the meeting, gossiping about the resultant decisions in the corridors.

The objective of Owens’ training is to create an environment where the best ideas can be put forward without fear. And fear is the fundamental problem when trying to get to the core issues that are holding back a company. People are afraid that the ideas they raise may meet with ridicule, tarnishing the image they have. Some may not want to leave a meeting to attend to something else that may have arisen for fear of being blamed while they are not in the room. Everyone may hold back on suggesting a new project for fear of it failing. Better for someone else to go first – in case it turns out to be a disaster. Under these conditions when people do not feel safe enough to air their views an environment exists in which people do not contribute towards the development of the company.

“An environment has to be created in which people feel free to put forward their best ideas,” says Owens. “We must guard against the reasons for silence in any staff member. This is the barrier that stops him or her from contributing.”

According to the authors of Crucial Conversations, two vital elements in resolving any issue are mutual respect and mutual purpose. Without the former, any sort of dialogue will be artificial and without the latter there is no point in even resolving the issues.

Owens’ first step towards holding a crucial conversation is to identify where you are stuck. Ask what the issue is that you are dealing with, that you also had to deal with yesterday and the day before yesterday. Once you have identified it, step away from the issue and ask yourself what the conversation is that we are not holding.

Once you have stepped out of the issue and into the process of dealing with it, three hard-hitting skills are recommended.

1. Apologise when appropriate. When you have made a mistake that has hurt others, start with an apology.
2. Contrast to fix misunderstanding. When someone may feel disrespected, but that was not your intention, step away from the argument and use a skill called contrasting. In it, you confirm your respect for the person and clarify your real purpose.
3. Employ CRIB:
   • C – commit to seeking mutual purpose
   • R – recognise the purpose behind the strategy
   • I – invent a mutual purpose
   • B – brainstorm new strategies.

In all of this the word purpose comes up again and again. Without a mutual purpose, there is no point in resolving anything.

If agreement exists on a mutual purpose, you will almost certainly need crucial conversations to deal with the issues that are bound to arise among human beings. Even the most talented among us need the co-operation of others.

Source: Succeed Magazine, www.succeed.co.za