I believe success is just a fleeting moment when your realities match your expectations.

I also realize, for many, the number of those moments they experience overtime defines what they (and perhaps others) see as a successful life.

So why are some people more successful than others?

I have met many people in many lands over my life and although opportunities for some seem limited, even amongst those in the direst of circumstances, there are some people that make a great success of their life. I am talking about success when it is measured against the relative or real opportunities that exist for individuals due to the circumstances of their existence.

What is it that helps some rise whilst others languish in mediocrity?

Obviously there is no simple answer however I have noticed some common traits in those that succeed.

The first pillar of success (or trait that successful people seem to have) is that: “those who succeed invariably believe that SUCCESS IS A CHOICE”.

I read an article titled “SUCCESS IS A CHOICE!! It is that simple…” by a Jim McGilvary where he told a story of business woman who could not get her business to where she wanted it to be. He said in the article:

“I told her and I am telling you:

• Make no more excuses for not having success

• Hold yourself accountable for the good and the bad

• STOP the negative thinking

• STOP worrying about the “naysayers”

• Laugh in the face of the unknown and…

• Make the choice right now, that you will do what it takes to have success.

He goes on by saying:

“I will leave you with one last thought: To fail is to have tried. To try [in itself] is to have success. You cannot have success without some failure. Choose to try, whether you fail or succeed. You cannot have success without trying. Keep choosing to have success and you will have it. It is as simple as that.”

Now perhaps his advice is a little glib and it is not quite “as simple as that” particularly for those who are very in difficult situations, however if you think about it the logic is quite sound.

So point one is you must choose to succeed.

The second pillar is:

The need to have a STRONG PERSONAL VISION

In the video “The Power of Vision” Joel Barker explores the value of having a strong personal vision of a positive future. He stresses that this is a key, not only to success, but in some cases to survival itself. In one segment he tells the story of Viktor Frankl and says; “this remarkable man is the author of the outstanding book Man’s Search for Meaning.” Frankl he explains was a prisoner in Ausweise and Barker tells how “his strong sense of having a future saved both his life and the life of others.” The survivors had a common trait and he says… and I quote:  “all of those who made it through had [or at least believed they had] something significant yet to do in their future”. A vision of a positive future is a powerful driver in us all.

The third pillar is competence.

All people will naturally gravitate to those whom are competent. So what is competence? “ Competence is: ‘the ability to create and apply a solution to a particular problem’. Whether the problem is a leaky tap or a brain tumour competent people will always be sought after and success usually follows them. How do you become competent, learn, fail, re-learn, adjust, practice and hone your skill and build your knowledge and experience. There are no shortcuts.

The fourth pillar of success (or personal trait) is the ability to win during times of change and uncertainty.

Notice I didn’t say cope. Coping is just not good enough for success, we need to find ways to excel in a constantly changing universe. The skills you will need to do that are primarily an ability to stay focussed on your goals, a willingness to remain optimistic and an attitude of persistence and high levels of commitment. You need to have the strength of character to stay true to your vision even in times of great uncertainty. You will also need to develop an ability to analyze situations, deal with half-truths and minimal information and with all that still seek out and grasp opportunities to thrive.

Finally the fifth pillar is: To be able to work well with others.

That means you have to become a student of (and reach some reasonable level of understanding of) human nature. You must to succeed be willing to engage in politics. Politics is always present when humans are together whether at social outings or in the workplace. As part of working well with others you must become expert in communication… particularly the “learning to listen” part of communication. The are many articles and posts on this website covering the issues (or art) of communication and I commend them to you.

So what is success, other than what I have said so far it’s a lot of hard work, which of course is the reality of our existence… because… nobody… truly gets a free ride. Wait you say what about those that are born into successful rich families. Well they have the same problem as the rest of us, often their realities just do not match up to their (or even others) expectations.

A discussion on free speech and the need to maintain our right to say things that upset those around us. The stifling of free speech is one of the most important issues of our time.

I have recently seen a crazy example of this: Qantas was at the centre of a scandal after posting a photo of two guys who wore black face-paint and afro wigs after they posted a photograph of the marketing stunt on the micro-blogging site. The guys were dressed and made up to look like Radike Samo. complete with Afro Wig, Aus rugby kit and face paint, They were snapped a photo with “Samo” himself. The airline however after congratulating the two fans changed its tune after an angry Twitter backlash and then issued an apology. This was not a racist action and Samo himself seems to have had no problem with it. The guys were honouring a great Aussie team member. Give me a break PC crowd… get back in your dark little narrow box.

Dr Thilo Sarrazin, former central banker and author; Dr Janet Albrechtsen, columnist with The Australian; Professor James Allan, bills-of-rights scholar; and Brendan O’Neill, pulls-no-punches journalist and editor of the popular online UK publication spiked for a closer look into the pervasive problem of political correctness.

Beware of political correctness and the motive of those that peddle it as they are attempting to “muzzle free speech, stifle genuine inquiry and destroy independent thinking”.

The value of allowing yourself to be vulnerable!

In a particular it can explain why many around us (that come from high uncertainty avoidance societies) show anxiety about an uncertain future particularly in times of change and how change induces stress (and often aggressiveness) and why for some formal rules and structures are protected to reduce risk. New ideas on ways of doing things for some can be seen as little more than, not to be tolerated ‘deviant’ behavior. Uncertainty avoidance individuals who feel relatively threatened will strive to believe in a common set of absolute truths (“the way we did it in the past”), with time focus being the now and the past and the traditional hierarchy seen as determining their wellbeing. These individuals will constantly seek direction from a trusted leader in the hierarchy and avoid personal responsibility because mistakes are seen as ‘sins’ that will exact punishment.

Although here again I have been discussing societies in general some families I believe produce these types of individuals in all societies so when looking to influence others around us we must be conscious of these traits. Again it is best to ask (tactfully) to understand another’s motivation rather than assuming.

If we add to a work situation a “masculine society”, assertive, materialistic, quantity of life individual who is trying to lead/manage and associate with a; sensitive, relationship oriented, group-welfare valuing, ‘quality of life’ driven flock of people, you can see why difficulties occur. A great example; many hotel GM’s are Austrian, who rank as no 2 in the world in masculine orientation. Imagine an Austrian GM trying to deal with a Thai workforce that rank at no 44, i.e. have a more “feminine” or relationship approach to life.

Part 6 final and back to main orglearn blog

What are the differences between individualist and collectivist societies? Well it is “I” v.’s “We”. In individualist societies the wife and kids need me to support them v.’s in collectivist, the ‘extended’ family, parents, uncles, aunts etc., who will protect me in exchange for my loyalty. Individualism is also about speaking our mind, regardless of the situation as honesty counts and leads to respect v.’s think before you speak, harmony is imperative, what I say may bring shame and loss of face to my group, I must show respect. In individualistic societies employees contract their services to achieve a common goal based on aligned visions and they are promoted primarily on competence. In collectivist societies employees build relationships with their organizations based on the moral worth of the employer along similar lines to the family concept and expect to be promoted due to their overall connections and associations. Managers in the first case manage individuals and the task rules the relationships whereas in the second case they manage (or control) groups in which the relationships are more important than the task.

In individualistic societies education is about learning how to learn and ‘academic degrees’ signify economic worth and create self-respect v.’s an the attitude that education is to learn how to do things and the value of a degree is its power to provide a way into higher status groups. Also in individualistic societies personal rights, such as the right to privacy and personal freedom prevail; whereas in collectivist societies group interests prevail to the point where groups are likely to invade our privacy as equality overrides the rights of the individual. In these collectivist societies individuals are expected to join a state of ‘groupthink’. Finally in individualistic societies self-fulfillment (almost at any cost) is the ultimate goal v.’s that of a collectivist society where harmony and consensus are the ultimate goals.

So what do you do if you’re and individual in a collectivist society… spend time, build relationships, see business as a long-term partnership, think total group… and most of all… be prepared to do it their way!

IN A FOREIGN CULTURE MANAGEMENT POSITION BE PREPARED TO ACCEPT A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE WORLD… OR THE FRUSTRATION MAY WELL KILL YOU!

Continue to part 5

Hofstede’s research indicated four main areas of national culture; small or large power distance, individualistic or collectivist philosophy, high or low uncertainty avoidance and finally quantity of life (materialistic), versus quality of life (relationships and concern for each other). As managers/leaders Hofstede helps us understand what we may be dealing with when we are working in a multi-racial or international group. Remember, these are ‘clues’ to potential differences in doctrines, not facts and they should only be used to help us figure out what questions it might be worth asking to explore why one individual reacts to certain stimuli differently to another.

A few examples of small and large power distance are; inequalities among people should be minimized (small), v’s Inequalities among people are both expected and desired (large), parents and children are equal (small) v’s parents expect obedience and children show respect (large). In the classroom teachers are our equals (although experts) who transfer impersonal ‘truths’ and expect students to show initiative (small) v’s teachers are gurus that take all the initiative and transfer ‘personal’ wisdom (large). In organisations in small distance societies, decentralized hierarchies (which bring inequality) are established for convenience only, whereas in large power distance societies hierarchical inequality with power centralized is a reflection of ‘real’ existence and it is expected to maintain this ‘natural’ inequality. Again in small distance societies, moderately paid, resourceful democratic bosses are expected to consult with reasonably paid subordinates, versus (large) where highly paid benevolent autocrats are expected to be good ‘mums’ and ‘dads’ and tell poorly paid subordinates what to do. Importantly in small power distance societies, power is based on formal position, expertise, the ability to give rewards and its use should be legitimate and subject to the criteria of good and evil. Conversely in large distance societies power is based on association with powerful individuals, family or friends, charisma, the ability to use force, where might prevails over right, that is, whoever holds the power is right and good.

Direct page viewers can go to main blog to check out other posts by clicking on the white “orglearn.org” in the header panel above!

If you are looking for an overseas posting take a look at the free blank resume form and make sure you include some cross cultural abilities in your competencies!

“THE ONLY VALID REASON TO SEEK POWER IS TO CREATE SOMETHING POSITIVE” (Ric influenced by Blanchard)

part 4

Admittedly it is dangerous to comment or make judgments regarding another’s culture however sometimes I believe it is necessary.

With that said did I once have the misfortune to listen to a young American professor while he advised a willing audience of ‘expats’ and ‘locals’ on the intricacies of dealing across cultures and how they should approach their life and work assignments in this case in Taiwan. He eagerly gave a broad brush explanation of how the Taiwanese behave and why, based on the studies of the renowned G. Hofstede. This professor (cultural consultant) was obviously selling his wares and insisting that cross-cultural training was essential for those being posted overseas. In my view cross-cultural training is often unless carefully selected and moderated represent nothing more than help you (and I) try to break the rules of good human relations. However there are some handy practices and behaviors that can at least bring a civilized approach to dealing with others of a different persuasion or those whom have a different perspective on what is a priority or on what constitutes

GOOD IDEA: NEVER TELL SOMEONE ABOUT THEIR CULTURE… ASK

So what is a reasonable starting point when thinking about or dealing with cross-cultural relations? Perhaps the following can be used as basic ground-rules for those interacting with different cultural groups? We must believe and act as if the following where true (as it is)…

No-one is an expert on any culture – not even their own
Another’s culture is not better or worse than our own – just different (well maybe see part 3)
Stereotyping or generalizing is inept, stupid and intellectually unsound
We must be flexible and able to accept a lack of clarity and a differing view
Always ask about another’s ways and never tell someone about their culture
And of course… DO NOT assume anything… ever!

If you are going to invest (or perhaps waste) your money on cross cultural training check very carefully that it will not create non-thinking individuals or worse, a bunch of inflexible experts that can clearly stereotype ‘lesser beings’ (or greater gods). Don’t let your staff become users of a bunch of unsound generalizations that will relieve them (and/or us) of the responsibility of asking what motivates those they (or we) associate with and manage.

part 3

To begin lets look at what a culture is and how it manifests itself in our behavior. According to a variety of dictionaries the key words are “type of civilization”, “manners & tastes”, “ideas and customs” and “beliefs, way of life and art”. Again to look at a simple example the ideas, values and customs of the accounting department will very really differ from those in the sales and marketing department.

Why you should take my observations and opinions on culture at least as reasonable.

Having lived in and/or worked in seven ‘foreign’ Asian countries, being in a cross cultural marriage, having a son in a cross cultural marriage and having friends from diverse national and religious backgrounds hopefully qualifies me to provide some accurate observations on culture. In addition at the basic level I have worked in debt collection, sales, advertising-creative, manufacturing, education and corporate training so my work with many corporate cultures has been pretty much part of my career.

At this point I would also like to state that many so called ‘cultural difficulties’ in international organisations where “expats” work with “locals” are often little more than a tactic by which ‘locals’ or ‘expats’ will try to justify a lousy attitude, unethical behaviour or worse, try to support an intellectually unsound work or business practice. The cry, “you don’t understand our culture” is often no more than a ploy to… dare I say it… avoid reality, ignore changes that may be being implemented or to and cop out of necessary activities or operational standards.

Part 2

If my memory serves me well Malthusian Law went something like this:

‘The world will never be overpopulated as population growth is limited by war, pestilence, famine and natural disasters.’

From a personal or individual perspective this means that if you are to survive you need to protect yourself from all these natural forces by astutely being somewhere where these occurrences are not likely to happen.

Now for many this is not possible, however if you are by chance lucky enough to have some control over your existence you should consider these factors carefully.

From a work-life point of view lets see what you can do to give yourself the best chance of surviving or even thriving.

WAR: Often times in your career you will come across a war at work. Interdepartmental rivalries, battles for limited resources, personality clashes and straightforward power struggles. It is human nature for us in conflict situations to seek allies or to be sought out as supporters for one side of an argument or another. Can I suggest if you are put in a situation where you are being recruited on a position, where others are in conflict, at all costs stay out of the fray and remain neutral. Keep away from the combatants and focus on your own job role and performance.

PESTILENCE: The major disease I have witnessed in organizations is that of “poor cultural attitudes”. Every organization has cultural norms that have grown over time based on the personalities within the company and or the legacy that others have left. Often the cultural norms of a company can limit or even destroy its competitiveness in ever changing markets. Our fear of change, reliance on how things have been done in the past, power groups with vested interests in maintaining the status quo and being blinded victims of our own past successes can all create very sick organizations. If you find yourself in a company that is maintaining traditions that are out of step with current market realities don’t hang around, go out and find a more healthy place to work.

FAMINE: Old style companies, working in ever shrinking markets, trying to survive on outmoded products or services will over time starve to death and if you stay on working for one of them you may well suffer the same fate. I have had personal experience with this when in Australia the government deregulated the banking industry and finance companies as a result were starved of funds and business opportunities. I hung on for a few years however those that updated their skill set and changed industries early did best over the years that ensued. There are virtually no ‘real’ finance companies left in Australia today. Much of America’s traditional manufacturing is of course suffering, or has already suffered, the same fate.

*Link for direct page viewers return to main career success blog to check out other posts!

By the way if any of the Malthusian issues are currently impacting on your career you may like to take a look at the free blank resume form and take the law into your own hands by using the document to move on to less dangerous places of existence!

Finally…

NATURAL DISASTERS: Perhaps one of the greatest natural disasters that can befall  most of us from a work perspective is a takeover or merger. In this type of scenario there will be all sorts of misinformation, false promises and spin floating around and you will have two choices, stay and be part of the rescue process to rebuild the new radically changed organization or head out on the first evacuation flight you can get. In the merger I was involved in I chose the former however after two years, even though I had a more senior and better paid position, I didn’t like the culture and business practices of the new organization and resigned. Some of my former colleagues from day one of the merger process resisted the change and were offered a handsome golden handshake. In retrospect I should have taken the same approach. Now you might find this to be counter intuitive however when you are part of a takeover/merger you should consider your future and your options very carefully and remember no matter how smart you are no one is indispensable. I guess if you can maneuver yourself into a position of getting enough money to live and study enough to gain new and more sought after skills in a new company, or perhaps even different career, you may well be better off over time.

In classical neuroscience, the adult brain was considered an immutable machine, it was all about evolution and genes, what you got you were stuck with. Additionally it was believed that every part had a specific purpose, none could be repaired, IQ was fixed and that was that. Great news IT’S NOT TRUE!

Myths of the Brain

Old theory: Different parts of the brain control different parts of our body. Wrong.

Past belief: After a serious stroke, a person was crippled for life with minimal improvement likely. Wrong.

You have been told: That mental decline in old age is inevitable and if you are predisposed to it’s just bad luck. Wrong.

The Positive Side

Today’s much more sophisticated equipment and modern experiments have proven that the brain is malleable and able to change and grow. Not only is it able to respond to injury with amazing functional reorganization, it can actually respond to changes in input by coming up with a new anatomic configuration. It’s a “use it and grow it” versus ‘use it or lose it” deal, pretty much the same rule that applies to every other organ and muscle in the body.

Knowing this we, if we are smart can come up with various methods that we can consciously apply to reshape and ‘improve our brain. Dr Doidge’s book “The Brain that Changes Itself” gives insights about learning and shaping our mind and if applied in a positive way how we can help us improve our chances for a more successful rewarding and even happier life. The book is very uplifting as we explore all the possibilities we can exploit because of the way we can improve our brains performance and even repair it through mental exercise if it is damaged. ‘Doidge is positive in his outlook presenting ideas on how our thoughts can switch on specific genes and alter our brain anatomy.  He presents a sound case for how intelligence can be improved with brain exercises, how we can improve our cognition, perception and talents even by allowing our imagination shape our minds’. I guess this is similar to the old idea of imagined performance which is all positive in outcomes and how mental practice can be a great adjunct to actual physical practice which creates varying inputs based on actual outcomes that will range from poor to excellent.

There are many therapies explained in the book however the one that stands out for me is the story of the amputee that has 10 years of excruciating “phantom” pain in his missing elbow. When he is assisted by putting his good arm into a box lined with mirrors his brain is fooled into thinking it is his missing arm and he does some stretching exercises and the within a month his brain reorganizes its misfiring brain circuits and the illusion of the arm and its pain vanishes. Pretty powerful stuff.

What it Means for Managers Insights from: Agile Advice Dot Com

Agile Brains – Agile Teams

http://www.agileadvice.com/archives/2007/07/the_brain_that.html

‘Insight: Practice and practice. The method here is to follow an exact and complete set of rules until they are perfected and only after that try variations. By perfecting the rules, we allow our brains to demonstrate that we have truly internalized (or mapped) the knowledge’ i.e. put it into long-term memory and created a habit.

‘Insight: Practice as it relates to time and frequency. Shorter iterations allow for more repetition of the basic rules and structures, which allows for more effective internalizing. Under the right conditions, brain maps change quickly (minutes), but in order to “stick”, the changes have to be reinforced over the course of months.’

‘Insight: The importance of practice when we are delivering training (rather than when we are coaching a team). Instruction will be much better if it is simply packed with a mini project that is executed over multiple extremely short iterations.’

The Learning Mind has a Downside

Doidge also explains how the plastic nature of the mind affects mental mind maps in even mundane daily activities.  Societal and cultural differences and behaviors can have as much impact on the mind as trauma and physical injury which means our attitude and abilities are constantly changing in line with our personal experiences, indoctrinations, social differences or environment.

As one reviewer of the book put it: “These implications of rewiring the mind however, are also to be cautioned.  The brain is actually so malleable it is also quite vulnerable to its surroundings and seemingly little impact input to the mind can make a drastic change to the way we perceive and handle the world around us.  The impact of media and television are showing significant impact and damage on the mind leading to disorders become more and more prevalent in today’s young people. This is something to be cautious of as people can highly influence and shape the mind as well.  Parents, peers, and leaders all make a significant contribution to the structure of our brains and while it can be changed, it is not always easy to do so.”

From this still relatively new experimental data,  “the entirety of human experience: creativity, love, addiction, obsession, anger” and particularly the all important issue of human empathy and compassion “can be seen as a series distinct electrical associations are manipulated by the brain itself and of course by the brains, thought and actions of others… for better or worse”.

Neuroplasticity well may prove a curse as the brain can also as Doidge puts it “think itself into ruts”, ‘with electrical habits difficult to eradicate’.

So here’s the reason for the headline: ‘the implications for external re-engineering of the human brain are ominous, for if the brain is malleable it is also endlessly vulnerable, not only to its own mistakes but also to the ambitions and excesses of others, whether they are misguided parents, well-meaning cultural trendsetters or despotic national leaders’.

The real cruncher comes in the Appendix which is a must read where Doidge explains the indoctrination techniques of North Korea and how the brains of the North Koreans have been physically altered to such an extent that no reasonable use of logical argument will ever change their attitude to the outside world. So what you might think… then ask yourself what is happening to home schooled kids in America or Madrassa indoctrinated single view kids in Pakistan or single view of the world children of some other Middle Eastern countries.

Suddenly your optimism may dissipate.

Doidge’s book tells us that our brains are remarkably flexible, malleable… plastic and provides an enlightening and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain, until you think about the ramifications of the information presented in the Annexure.

This “neuroplastic revolution,” (or discovery) has dramatic implications for the future of our children in a more and more polarized and violent world. There is great potential for misuse of the brain’s plasticity – brainwashing being the assumption – Doidge leaves speculations about the future of neuroplasticity to us, the readers.