Attending a recent awards night, I was struck by the MC reminding winners to thank the appropriate people, colleagues, friends, partners, along with husbands and wives, who contributed to their success. Some were gracious and sincere in their thanks, some made comedic remarks about lack of partners and some were cursory in their thanks to others, while some forgot the instructions completely. None of the above made it an unusual night in regards to graciousness. The winners were there for a reason, to pick up a trophy, after all it was all about them. Yet the question should be asked, was it only about them?
Grace is not about you, grace is about others, the others who help you everyday, the others who make your life better for knowing them and the others who give without wanting anything back and knowing how to show that appreciation. It's a mistake to point at manners, thank you's, opening doors, giving your seat to someone older and equating that with graciousness. Grace is what emanates from everything you have learnt, everything you have achieved with the help of others and what you give back.
Professor Adam Grant of the Wharton school opines on great leaders and how their grace, generosity and altruistic attitudes provide as much, if not more success than the individualistic, self aggrandising leader. For the last decade he has researched characteristics that make up the high achievers of the business world and society. Motivation, ability and opportunity were the common threads linking success but he was able to include a fourth when he studied interaction in the workplace. The choice we make when we interact with someone saw him ask the questions, how much value do we claim from that person or how much value do we give without concern for reciprocity. This led him to categorise people into takers, matchers and givers and ask which of these led to the most success.
The general answer for many was takers, those who achieve because of their high level of self interest, while givers were seen to continue to give with no reward, especially in business. Grant himself noticed the amount of paranoia in the business world, where people saw the need to be takers or be seen as exploited and taken advantage of. He subsequently found a dearth of givers and the landscape nothing but competition for the top. A famous example given, was Jonas Salk, who never acknowledged his partners, claiming the cure of polio for himself. A taker, he never won a Nobel Prize, was snubbed by his peers and was never accepted into the scientific societies he so wanted to become part of.
Yet interesting data from Grant's research, showed people who rate the concern of others above their own self interest ended up the biggest winners in business and society. Not taking away success from any of the three categories, Grant put forward the thinking that society is better off with the givers as leaders because the cascade effect makes everyone a winner, not just the head of the company or the leader of the society. He saw the grace of a giving attitude separating the great leaders from the great managers and research showed people who freely gave their time and knowledge to colleagues, employees and people in general, become the most admired and appreciated within their circles. Givers always see the best in people, givers build trust and givers elevate others to achieve. This can become contagious, for people see themselves in leaders who inspire and bring out the best in others and this duplication can only be good for all.
Not even the individual athlete, accepting an Olympic gold medal did it by themselves. Is it time to be gracious and thank the people who got you to where you are today?
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Kaffeeklatsch.
As a small child I spent many a Saturday afternoon listening to my Mother and her friends exchanging ideas, discussing the economics of the block we lived in, strategising how their husbands could get to the next level and sharing the odd piece of gossip. This was all done over a coffee in a social network that knew how to pass information quickly, when it was needed and how to use information effectively to gain advantage in the game of life. Kaffeeklatsch or coffee gossip as most translations construe, was the social networking group of any coffee drinkers in lounge rooms and cafes across Germany. For many others, especially anyone engaged in business, this scene, this networking over a coffee was considered unproductive and not necessary.
Not much difference today and history tells us, not much difference to the late 1600s when England first discovered coffee houses, considered by the establishment as places where production went to die. "The Grand Concern of England,” a pamphlet published in 1673, goes onto say that coffee houses and the tempting elixir were responsible for “the ruin of many serious and hopeful young gentlemen and tradesmen,” providing further apprehension that coffee and the social aspect of sharing the drink, would be the downfall of productivity.
Yet nothing could be further from the truth, when the first coffee house opened in Oxford, it gave rise to a place where innovation, ideas, politics, science and literature were discussed openly and candidly. As coffee houses spread, some even became popular for specialised subjects on science or shipping and as customers moved from cafe to cafe, information was passed, assessed for its usefulness, refined via discussion and passed on to become productive information. The coffee houses were the egalitarian equivalent of the today's social networking sites, where everyone could offer an opinion without backlash but never without a coffee. With an entry fee of one penny, the cost of a cup of coffee, some coffee houses went onto be called "penny universities" because so many of England's Royal Society spent hours debating the scientific topics of the day.
So it's with interest I read dire warnings from industry experts, who point at today's social networking, online and offline, as areas of unproductive time wasting, time wasting usually spent in a cafe. I'm not ashamed to say I do my best work over a coffee and it's often in the social confines of a cafe, because not much has changed from the coffee houses of Oxford or even the Kaffeeklatsch of my Mother. Ideas are exchanged, relationships built, the odd piece of gossip conveyed and all articulated in an open and honest environment built around the aroma of coffee beans. IbisWorld research, tells us there are 6,500 plus cafes in Australia, growing year on year, indicating the social affinity of the cafe as "the third place" of relevance after home and work is not diminishing but increasing.
Increasing because coffee, cafes and social networks, are not the great impediment of productivity as many see it, but more the gateway to social advancement via an espresso skillfully produced. I'm up for a coffee, who's with me?
Not much difference today and history tells us, not much difference to the late 1600s when England first discovered coffee houses, considered by the establishment as places where production went to die. "The Grand Concern of England,” a pamphlet published in 1673, goes onto say that coffee houses and the tempting elixir were responsible for “the ruin of many serious and hopeful young gentlemen and tradesmen,” providing further apprehension that coffee and the social aspect of sharing the drink, would be the downfall of productivity.
Yet nothing could be further from the truth, when the first coffee house opened in Oxford, it gave rise to a place where innovation, ideas, politics, science and literature were discussed openly and candidly. As coffee houses spread, some even became popular for specialised subjects on science or shipping and as customers moved from cafe to cafe, information was passed, assessed for its usefulness, refined via discussion and passed on to become productive information. The coffee houses were the egalitarian equivalent of the today's social networking sites, where everyone could offer an opinion without backlash but never without a coffee. With an entry fee of one penny, the cost of a cup of coffee, some coffee houses went onto be called "penny universities" because so many of England's Royal Society spent hours debating the scientific topics of the day.
So it's with interest I read dire warnings from industry experts, who point at today's social networking, online and offline, as areas of unproductive time wasting, time wasting usually spent in a cafe. I'm not ashamed to say I do my best work over a coffee and it's often in the social confines of a cafe, because not much has changed from the coffee houses of Oxford or even the Kaffeeklatsch of my Mother. Ideas are exchanged, relationships built, the odd piece of gossip conveyed and all articulated in an open and honest environment built around the aroma of coffee beans. IbisWorld research, tells us there are 6,500 plus cafes in Australia, growing year on year, indicating the social affinity of the cafe as "the third place" of relevance after home and work is not diminishing but increasing.
Increasing because coffee, cafes and social networks, are not the great impediment of productivity as many see it, but more the gateway to social advancement via an espresso skillfully produced. I'm up for a coffee, who's with me?
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
The people you meet.
It's sometimes easy to overlook what people are trying to achieve on a daily basis, especially when you meet them for the first time, but once you've connected with anyone extraordinary it's easy to share their vision. I'm not talking about global icons, news makers or those striving for celebrity in their field. I'm talking about real people making a difference, with limited resources and unlimited imagination and passion. It's always a privilege to meet such people because they bring a reality to a world occupied by acquisitional behavior, social preening and the "it's all about me" generations being courted by reality TV and online media.
I met a man today, who came back from his first vacation in over decade. A decade in which he rebuilt a zoo because his passion for conservation and his commitment to look after a thousand animals did not waver regardless of the challenges thrown at him. John Radnidge of Symbio Wildlife Park at Helensburgh, decided on a career change from the world of corporate finance to the world of saving animals he saw at risk of extinction, like the Sumatra tiger, estimated to be extinct sometime in the next decade. It took John 5 years of rebuilding before he wasn't embarrassed with a park he saw as essential for todays visitor and generations to come and the good life of weekly wages, company bonuses and public holidays have given way to 364 days with no weekends off, just a Christmas Day with the family, who still have to feed the animals.
The dedication of John, his family and the team of animal keepers cannot be questioned, especially when you consider their lack of remuneration in comparison with even the lowest paid retail shop assistant. The park is at a stage of expansion where John's resources are trying to keep up with his vision of new exhibitions, new enclosures, all to teach the next generation it's important to conserve and to preserve all we have been given when it comes to the animal world.
After talking with John for the shortest time, I felt like throwing in my job and shoveling tiger poo if it would help him out in the slightest. Yet people like John, aren't looking for charity or pity help, people like John need recognition for their sacrifices, people like John need support via attendance and people like John need to know their work matters. The passionate among us always stand out, even for the smallest cause because there are no agendas attached, just the good of all.
The next time you come across a John Radnidge, give him more than just the courtesy of your time, make sure you learn from his humility, make sure you pass on the message and if you are lucky enough to be able to make a difference, then you'll be the one that people will want to meet. John I'm ready to shovel that poo, whenever you need me.
I met a man today, who came back from his first vacation in over decade. A decade in which he rebuilt a zoo because his passion for conservation and his commitment to look after a thousand animals did not waver regardless of the challenges thrown at him. John Radnidge of Symbio Wildlife Park at Helensburgh, decided on a career change from the world of corporate finance to the world of saving animals he saw at risk of extinction, like the Sumatra tiger, estimated to be extinct sometime in the next decade. It took John 5 years of rebuilding before he wasn't embarrassed with a park he saw as essential for todays visitor and generations to come and the good life of weekly wages, company bonuses and public holidays have given way to 364 days with no weekends off, just a Christmas Day with the family, who still have to feed the animals.
The dedication of John, his family and the team of animal keepers cannot be questioned, especially when you consider their lack of remuneration in comparison with even the lowest paid retail shop assistant. The park is at a stage of expansion where John's resources are trying to keep up with his vision of new exhibitions, new enclosures, all to teach the next generation it's important to conserve and to preserve all we have been given when it comes to the animal world.
After talking with John for the shortest time, I felt like throwing in my job and shoveling tiger poo if it would help him out in the slightest. Yet people like John, aren't looking for charity or pity help, people like John need recognition for their sacrifices, people like John need support via attendance and people like John need to know their work matters. The passionate among us always stand out, even for the smallest cause because there are no agendas attached, just the good of all.
The next time you come across a John Radnidge, give him more than just the courtesy of your time, make sure you learn from his humility, make sure you pass on the message and if you are lucky enough to be able to make a difference, then you'll be the one that people will want to meet. John I'm ready to shovel that poo, whenever you need me.
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