January 11, 2012

Guest Blog - Frankly Speaking / Are You Staring at a Blank Canvas?

Are You Staring at a Blank Canvass
The Power in Saying Hello

Thanks to Frank Palmer for this second Blog post from his “Weekly Messages” to his Team at DDB Canada…

“I recently read a interesting article about Professional Hockey Players who just retired. One player said: “I considered myself as well prepared to leave pro hockey as anybody and it was still quite a shock to me. Suddenly you are staring at this blank canvas that is the rest of your life. And it’s time to paint something different.” The lesson learned here is that we all need to be prepared to be thinking about what to do or where to go in life all the time. Hockey for most players can be a blessing and a curse. They get to live their dream and passion, then when it’s over they find it tough to find a second passion.

I have a passion for business. It’s my first and second passion. For the majority of my working life it’s been advertising and communications and it’s been a life-long passion. Finding your passion might mean that you need to let go of your current fears in order to experience more joy, freedom and fun.

My question to you is: What would you do if you weren’t doing what you are currently doing today? What career would you seek out that would ignite you all over again?

There’s many new businesses that excite and ignite me. If you are looking to find your passion you must let your true purpose guide you. I’m not sure that all Hockey Players truly wanted to be Hockey Players. I believe that it was their parents dream for some or most of them. No different than a lawyer or dentist wanting their children to follow in their footsteps.

Author/poet Carl Sandburg said:
“Time is the coin of our life. It is the only coin we have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spent it for you.”

I think that far too often we get stuck in a comfort zone and before to long it gets too late to do anything about it. We become at ease being in a place or zone where we can’t shine.

And in some cases the people or companies they work for won’t let them shine. I have loved what I’ve done, but there’s also many other businesses where I know my passion can shine.

We need to always ask ourselves a few questions:
-What motivates me?- What fulfills me? -What is it that keeps me passionate? -What comes naturally to me?-What can I do that includes having Fun?

Seems to me that in order to fill up that life canvas of yours with happiness and passion you will need to “Do what you Love and be able to have Fun at it.”

Remember you’re your own problem - you’re your own solution. So don’t leave your life canvas blank.

Frank”

Posted 1.11.12 at 05:34 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 4, 2012

Guest Blog - Frankly Speaking / The Power in Saying Hello.

The Power in Saying Hello

Frank Palmer is the Chairman & CEO of DDB Canada and is known as the “winningest” man in Canadian advertising. From his humble beginnings in Vancouver over 40 years ago, Frank has created Canada’s most creatively acclaimed marketing communications agency, remade DDB into a powerhouse brand, and changed the face of Canadian advertising.

Frank is DiFFERENT. He is an amazing guy with out-of-the-box thinking and relentless energy to pursue his many innovative projects. He is a Leader who shows his people the ways to better themselves and realize their potential.

Every week Frank sends a personal message to his Team on something he believes will make a difference to their lives enhance the performance in his organization.

He has graciously agreed to allow me to post a selection of his “Weekly Messages” in my Blog. This is the first Post. “Listen” to Frank’s words and add them to your repertoire of Learnings that will certainkly make you DiFFERENT, successful and a better person.
Frank Palmer...
“Truly noticing others is fundamental to their self-worth.

I believe that the word ‘Hello’ is a very important one.
It’s a word that doesn’t get worn out because it’s not used as much as it should be. It’s as important as saying ‘Good-bye’.

Let’s face it, we all need recognition. We need to feel important and that we need to feel that we matter. Unless we were born with no feelings, every human has a basic and natural desire to be acknowledged. What we need to realise is also that saying hello is just plain “good manners.” It displays respect, caring and consideration. Far too often today in our age of self-satisfaction and instant internet gratification it seems that we all care more for our BB’s, iPads and iPhones etc than we do for those that we work with?
In good soil where we nurture plants, they usually grow better. It then would seem to me that if we display good manners by taking the time to recognise others with a simple hello it will help in making their day as well as help growing it.
It’s a simple greeting that says that we hope that they will have a good day.
Try saying hello more often.. and say it while giving them eye contact.

It will help nurture them to grow healthier.
Frank”

Posted 1.4.12 at 05:03 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 26, 2011

Are You Flawed?

3 Colossal Time Wasters
7 Things Putterers Do to be Great Leaders
Business Sales: 4 Clues to Intimacy

NO!
You are Unique.
DiFFERENT.
Special.
Distinctive.
Remarkable.
Visible.
Uncommon… In some way.
Flawed in someone else’s context or Frame of Reference perhaps. 
But INCREDIBLE in others.
Your challenge is to find a Frame that allows you to express yourself.
To realize your potential.
To contribute.
To be Happy.
To realize your dreams.
What’s a Frame? A social network. A skill. A competency. A hobby. A business. A belief. A physical challenge. A community. A profession. A neighborhood. A family.
Channel your emotions and energy away from defending YOU in the wrong Frame.
Away from feeling bad that you’re not fitting in.

Rather, push YOU to discover your Frame.
Where you can stand-out.
Where you can make a difference.

Cheers,
Roy


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Posted 12.26.11 at 05:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 24, 2011

Go Fish

Leaders SERVE
Who Sets The Rules?
Success: Is There a Silver Bullet?
Chasing stuff is fun. It’s non-threatening. It provides here-and-now gratification. It’s organizational Comfort Food.

Go Fish. Pick a card. Follow the instructions. Where does it lead? Who knows until you pick another card.

Many organizations function like this. Tactics rule. Immediate Opportunities dominate how time is consumed. Performance is often measured by how many things a person has on the go. How many projects they are working on.

Tactical driven activity, unfortunately, suffers from a lack of strategic congruence. You never know how much progress you’re making.

Get your strategic thinking straight BEFORE you give chase to action. Be sure you are focusing on what is absolutely necessary to do in order to deliver your strategy.

If you can’t define precisely how your actions contribute to the strategy STOP!

Go find a fish that is schooled on where your journey leads.

Cheers,
Roy


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Posted 11.24.11 at 05:28 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)