Tuesday Inspiration

What are you waiting for!!

Common, you don't need that much time, efforts and money to bring that great thought you are harboring in your mind to life. You need to start somewhere and you need to start now! Imagine how the world without these great individuals (Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama, Bill Gates Oprah Winfrey, Aliko Dangote, Ray Kroc of MacDonalds and others, who stopped at nothing but persevered enough to live their imaginations and dreams.

The fear of loosing shouldn't deter you from trying, keep in mind that there is no gain without pain. Challenge yourself  to be great and it will amaze you the great impact either small or big you will make in your life, family, friends and the world at large.

Be inspired this morning.

Dress, not so to KILL

There are some days we all go through moments like this, lol

So I woke up early this morning trying to search for a perfect and appropriate outfit to wear to the office this cold weather. None of the outfits that I browsed through in my closet  however seemed perfect for a Tuesday and to capture the mood I was in for this morning. It felt like I didn't even have anything to wear at all.

I ended up wearing anything I could place my hands on without any inspiration to it and now hours later I'm sitting right here in my office looking like an overdressed fellow ready to go on a hiking. I think my outfit is not making me feel pretty today.

I'm I the only one feeling this way today or there are a number of you that encountered this today?

Let us know😀

It's about HAPPINESS - Richard Branson

In a write up which he shared on his profile the founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson gives some insights on how he built his empire. Read below...

John Lennon said: “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” I find this sentiment to be so incredibly powerful and true.

Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.

You might find it odd to learn that some of the toughest times of my life correspond with moments where I have made a lot of money. I will never forget the sorrow I felt when we sold Virgin Records. 

I ran down Ladbroke Grove in London with tears streaming down my face. We had to sell – just as we’d signed Janet Jackson and the Rolling Stones – so that we could keep Virgin Atlantic afloat. In that moment, despite having a cheque for a billion dollars in my pocket, I felt like very sad.

When you build something from scratch and have a wonderful time learning, growing and laughing with the people that have helped you turn that business into something extraordinary, no amount of money can make you feel happy about selling. However, this money can be used to fund exciting new projects, and grow your brand further – something I wrote about in the aftermath of Virgin America’s deal with Alaska Airlines.

It’s a common misconception that money is every entrepreneur’s metric for success. It’s not, and nor should it be. I’ve never gone into business to make money. Every Virgin product and service has been made into a reality to make a positive difference in people’s lives. And by focusing on the happiness of our customers, we have been able to build a successful group of companies. The simple fact is, if you do good and have fun, the money will come.

Likewise, I’ve never felt successful because of my encounters with famous faces and names. While I’m incredibly grateful that I get to meet fascinating people and change makers, there’s nowhere that I feel more content or special then when I’m with my family. My family are my greatest achievement. When they are happy, I am happy, and that make me feel so successful.

I know I’m fortunate to live an extraordinary life - I’ve been knighted, met the most extraordinary people, and attended the most amazing events – but there’s never been a point in my career in which I’ve felt I’ve “made it”.  I’ve never thought as work as work and play as play – to me, it’s all living and learning. The way I see it, life is all about striving and growing. I never want to have made it, I want to continue making it!

One of the things that makes me most happy is being able to give back, which is why we started our not-for-profit foundation, Virgin Unite, to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and create real lasting change in the world. It’s also why my wife Joan and I joined Bill Gates and Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge, to dedicate the majority of our wealth to good causes.

Happiness isn’t just how I measure my success; it’s also the key to it. Most people would assume my business success, and the wealth that comes with it, have brought me happiness. But I know I am successful, wealthy and connected because I am happy. I wholeheartedly believe that happiness should be everyone’s goal.

Life’s too short to waste your time doing things that don’t light your fire. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, or aren’t having a lot of fun – despite the fact that you’re making a lot of money or rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous – then it’s time to move on to the something that does make you happy.

Written by

Richard Branson

Globalisation, the true way forward?

A PwC survey report questions the impact of free trade on climate change and inequality. 

In the article Larry Elliott from the Guardian reiterates that, "executives running the world’s leading companies share public scepticism about the benefits of globalisation and doubt whether breaking down barriers to trade has helped tackle climate change or inequality.

The annual health check of global boardrooms conducted by the consultancy firm PwC found the mood more upbeat than a year ago, despite the shockwaves caused in 2016 by the vote for Brexit and the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election.

But the survey, published to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, found that the bullishness about the benefits of globalisation had diminished in the 19 years since PwC first polled executives at the end of the 1990s.

Business leaders said they remained positive about the economic benefits of free movement of goods, people and capital but questioned whether globalisation had done anything to narrow the gap between rich and poor or to stop global warming.

Trump’s arrival in the White House later this week has also raised concerns about protectionism. Almost three fifths of those questioned said they were worried about trade barriers going up, rising to 64% in the US and Mexico.

Bob Moritz, PwC’s global chairman, said: “Despite a tumultuous 2016, CEO confidence is moving back up – albeit slowly and still a long way from the levels we saw back in 2007. But there are signs of optimism right across the globe, including in the UK and US, where, despite predictions of a Trump slump and a Brexit exit, CEOs’ confidence in their company’s growth are up from 2016.”

Fears that global companies would shun Britain after the shock EU referendum result were not supported by the PwC survey, which showed more chief executives pinpointing the UK for investment than a year ago.

The survey fund that 89% of UK chief executives said they were confident about their own company’s growth prospects in the year ahead, up from 85% a year ago. Confidence about the prospect for revenue was highest in India, followed by Brazil, Australia and the UK.

The findings reflect the better than expected performance of the economy since the EU referendum last June and will be welcomed by Theresa May before her speech on Tuesday outlining the government’s aims in the Brexit negotiations.

A year ago, confidence across the globe was dented by plunging commodity prices, falling stock prices and concerns about a slowdown in China.

The 2017 survey found that 38% of chief executives were very confident about the outlook for their companies against 35% in 2016 and 29% said they expected the global economy to grow more strongly over the next 12 months, up from 27%.

The poll of almost 1,400 executives from 79 countries was conducted between September and December last year. Moritz said the findings showed that business leaders were aware of the disquiet that led to the political shocks of 2016.

“Public discontent has the potential to erode trust which is needed for long term sustainable performance. The real challenge here, though, isn’t just one of how CEOs navigate, it’s about the need for CEOs to have a deeper, two-way relationship with stakeholders, customers, employees, and the public,” Moritz said.

“Understanding the root cause of the potential discontent or perception is a critical first step towards communicating the benefits of business for society. There’s a lot at stake if we do not achieve inclusive global growth.”

Source: The Guardian

Laughing at the wrong time

Everyone that knows me will probably tell you I'm a laughing chipmunk lol and can laugh for the world. I am easily amused and ohh when I laugh it's so contagious that the meanest person can't resist but join no matter what.

             
So on this fateful day at an annual training meeting, one of the facilitators who wasn't a native English speaker with a strong Arabic accent pronounced a word that meant something different in my native language.

I couldn't help but laughed out so loud that all the attendees laughed alongside.

It was really awkward because it wasn't suppose to be that funny, lol

Right after the section I approached during the lunch break to apologies for what happened and surprisingly he was ok and began laughing as well. He later mentioned that he had used that particular phrase in a different training meeting and thus expecting some kind of reaction from the audience when he uses the same word. And lo and behold I was the scape goat for that.

I promised myself not to laugh hysterically again, however it wasn't after two minutes that one of our colleagues cracked a not so funny joke that I had to come to his rescue by laughing, hehee

Around the coffee table - 3

Good morning great Tales readers. Another work week has began, it's 16th January already. Omg! I hope the year wont move fast once again on an Achilles heels just like the previous year.

Meeting my collegues downstairs for a cup of coffee from Starbucks.

The weekend was pretty engaging, coupled with stress of completing a work assignment before Monday. Will keep you updated on the various topics of discussion around our coffee table in the comments section.

Enjoy your coffee.

Morning Inspiration

If you allow people to make more withdrawals than deposits in your life, You will be out of balance and in the negative! Know when to close the account - Christie Williams 

Did You Know?

Understand the culture of the organisation in which you work especially of what makes a good employee.

My past 30 years in the corporate life, I was an executive and then thrown off the corporate ladder 7 years ago. And its been a slow climb back up since.

What have I learned?
Whatever you do, be competent in your current job. Its the only true currency you have. That being said, no amount of competence will protect you when the next re-organisation comes.

Never forget that relationships in business should be business relationships. You may have a friend or a lover at work, but the relationship will end the moment the opportunity to advance in the business is placed between you and your friend or lover. By the way,I strongly recommend keeping romance outside of the workplace.

Understand that politics id a fact of corporate life,and learn to deal with it. That means you take time to understand the views of the people involved in corporate conflicts,as well as the conflicts themselves.There will be times when you have to choose between being in the right or being employed. Its your choice

Understand the culture of the organisation,especially their expectations of what makes a good employee. They all say they believe in teamwork,dedication,hard-work,etc.But look at the employees who are successful, who get the recognition, who rise quickly - they represent what the company is looking for.What do they do that you can do?

Everything communicates. How you dress, how you stand, how you speak, etc. If you want to succeed in a corporate environment, you have to communicate that you are the kind of employee that represents the corporate success story'.

By Rob Pawlikowski - Quora

The Interview Scandal

My first ever interview was right after high school with a TV station for the role as a pesonal assistant. 

As occasion demands I did my background research on tips on great interviews, the time to arrive, what to wear and how to compose myself during the interview and everything possible to know about interviews.

Well, with all this research one would have  thought I would be fully prepared and geared for the day. Lol, it didn't happen as such as I decided to test the waters with my own craziness.

It's normal to arrive at an interview 30 minutes before start time or at least an hour early. But guess what I was there 4 hours early, yes 4 good hours early.

Events within this 4 hours as I sat patiently in the lobby could be the reason why I didn't qualify for the job, lol

The first 1 hour of my stay at the lobby was welcomed by the talk pretty receptionist,  however the next three hours afterwards was amazingly awkward, hehe. So this is what happened;

After one hour I asked whether there is any cafeteria around so I could go grab some breakfast since I had nothing before leaving home. Well she showed me the nearest cafeteria which was 15 minutes walk away, after my breakfast I decided to take another 20 minutes of walk around the vicinity.

Upon my return, I sat down gently and began reading a magazine which was on the desk, yes Vogue October issue, lol such an impression I was making right and there.

I was later introduced to the HR manager who had seen me earlier when she arrived at work 2 hours ago.

Everyone kept asking why I was so early and  my response was because I wanted to beat traffic and also because I didn’t have anything important to do at home at that moment. Yes! I said that!!! LOL

A terrible incident happened few minutes later. One of the visitors who was vacating the office walked into the transparent office door thinking it was opened.

His head created a big hole in the door with pieces of glass shattered all over the floor. Honestly the bang was so loud one would have thought it was two vehicles that have collided.

I laughed!! Yes I laughed out so loud it was quite contagious that all the staffs that came out to witness the  scene joined in laughing. Mind you this gentleman was bleeding from the forehead.

Tell me,  just tell me if you were an HR manager would you hire someone like me afterwards?!

Well the interview moment arrived and the session went well, except for the part I asked if they could print out my CV for me since I went empty handed. I was joined by three other individuals who were also interviewing for the same position.

I went home thinking out loud how events unfolded and I realized my mistakes. Thank God I learnt my lessons that young and can now say I have a best jobs I could think off.

Do you have any similar stories you would  like share? 

Send them Here

Pic credit :Fotolia

Good morning...

Good morning to you all.