Michael Jordan: a proponent of Extreme Focus (source of image)
How does one truly achieve one’s dreams? What are the secrets behind ultra-successful folks who make a “dent in the Universe”?
The answer according to NBA Orlando Magic’s Senior Vice President Pat Williams and author Jim Denney is “Extreme Focus”.
If you’ve never heard of Sir Ken Robinson, you obviously haven’t followed the TED series of inspirational talks.
A renowned thinker in the the “development of human potential”, Robinson spoke about the need to reinvent education to better develop the diverse talents, aptitudes and passions of individuals all over the world.
Should you hire a General (like Cao Cao) or a highly specialised Sniper? (courtesy of Rongwen’s blog)
In the Human Resource function of any organisation, an age-old dilemma commonly exists.
Should a company hire somebody with years of vertical expertise with deep and specialised knowledge in a niche area? Should it instead recruit somebody with horizontal expertise (ie a generalist) who may even hail from an entirely different profession or industry altogether? How about a candidate with a mixture of both horizontal and vertical areas of specialisation?
Should you control your subordinate’s every move? (courtesy of River Empowerment)
There are two major schools of thought in leadership and management.
The first approach is the older “Command and Control” style. Here, an authoritative leader uses a clearly domineering way of getting things done. Charging ahead like a bull, he/she will steamroll over anything – or anybody – who gets in his or her way. Instructions given are clear, specific and often unidirectional. Its “my way or the highway”.
Managers should lead by example and be there when it matters (Universal Studios Singapore)
Leadership and management are two of the most difficult tasks any manager needs to do in today’s organisation.
The new rules of work mandate that hierarchical ways of bossing people around will no longer work. Against such a backdrop, how can you and your leadership team engage your team members more effectively and impactfully?
If you don’t already know it, paying people more money – at least beyond a certain point – will not result in better performance. In fact, the old carrot-and-stick approach to management is broken.
That’s what bestselling author and careerist Daniel Pink claims. According to the motivational speaker and writer, higher financial incentives only work for traditionally mechanistic roles – manufacturing tasks, book-keeping, software programming and the like.
Courtesy of Diverse Connections
One of the key strategies in the Human Resource function of any organisation is to hire the right people at the right price.
While human capital are the most important assets in any organisation, the process of recruitment is often more like a “hit and miss” strategy which usually depend on the following factors…
There are two modes of cognitive reasoning that are universally defined: convergent and divergent thinking.
Convergent thinking is the one that is more frequently employed at work, in schools, and often at home. It is a form of thinking employing deductive reasoning, which looks at bringing together information that is focussed on solving a problem. Often, convergent thinking is useful for situations where a single correct solution exists. Such modes of thinking are commonly employed in scientific, engineering, financial and other analytical fields (like much of Police work).
MC Escher’s “Relativity” (source of image)
Does success always mean moving up the corporate ladder? What if you can consciously choose to go sideways instead?
Traditionally, organisational progress meant getting promoted and scaling up the rungs of management. However, things are certainly changing in this day and age.
