Be Different or be dead

April 28, 2014

Effective leaders hate problems; they expect solutions

Source: Unsplash

Don’t bring me the problem; bring me the solution — Roy, on the receiving end

My best boss and mentor declared this whenever someone tried to pass a problem to him; he would have nothing of it.

He was different from many of his peers who felt obligated to be the problem solver and therefore “force” his direct reports to depend on him.

As a direct report, I wanted to learn about the business and solving problems was THE best way to do it. Having my boss provide all the answers didn’t help teach me the business and it certainly didn’t enable me to grow.

This was his approach.

1. He would insist that our problem discussion was focused on the solution I thought would work.

2. He insisted that I identify a number of potential options with pros and cons of each.

3. He expected I did my homework in terms of the customer value each option would create. This was the number one criteria he used to judge the ranking of the options I presented.

4. He probed each option; asked me tons of questions; took a copious amount of notes.

5. He asked me to consider our discussion for 24 hours before deciding on the solution I thought was best.

6, He directed me to advise him the direction I was taking.

7. I was held accountable for the impact of my decision. I had to report back to him in 30-60 days on the results.

That was it. I defined the problem; outlined a range of potential solutions with the pros and cons of each; he added value through his questions; I made the call and was held accountable.

I learned, felt respected; developed leadership skills and mentored others on the same approach.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 4.28.14 at 03:13 am by Roy Osing
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March 31, 2014

Why adding your twist can make an amazing career

Source: Unsplash

Why adding your twist can make an amazing career.

Successful people add their own twist to their career plan.

Why is it that certain people are more successful than others?

Is it because they are more intelligent? More academic degrees?

NO!

It’s because the winners have a with a twist attitude.

They approach things differently than others.

They see what someone else is doing and asks themselves “what twist could I add to make it stand out, to make it uniquely me?”

How someone else approaches a problem or challenge is viewed as the bar they seek to vault over.

They don’t conform to the expectations of others. They look for a SURPRISE opportunity to demonstrate that their DNA to go beyond what is expected.

The “What the hell are they doing?” response to their actions is an indicator of success.

Step out.

Express yourself.

Add your twist.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 3.31.14 at 05:19 am by Roy Osing
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March 24, 2014

Why success comes from being different than ‘the best’

Source: Pexels

Why success comes from being different than ‘the best’.

‘The best’ describes someone who conforms to expectations more closely than the rest of their herd. Spells more accurately; answers history questions more correctly; obtains the highest mark in the math exam.

The best does a masterful job of performing their task according to the rules of the day; they colour inside the lines perfectly

There are certain professions where conformance to “standard operating procedure” is vital: landing airplanes and performing heart surgery come to mind as functions that require “in the box” thinking and performance (until something goes wrong at least).

In business, conformance is not what drives success. It drives mediocrity and sameness in the herd

Organizations who consistently succeed are brilliant at inventing a new box to play in.

They create new lines to draw in.

They are masters at non-conformity and contrarianism. They focus on breaking away from the herd.

Don’t press yourself or others to be The Best.

Honour weird, odd, quirky, strange, “out there”, ridiculous and unusual.

They will get you to where you need to go.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 3.24.14 at 06:44 am by Roy Osing
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January 6, 2014

Why shocking success comes from being controversial and contrarian

Source: Unsplash

Why shocking success comes from being controversial and contrarian.

CoNTRARIANS get noticed.

— They offend some; they amaze others.

— They don’t propagate the same-old same-old boring stuff everyone else does.

— They oppose every aspect of the status quo.

— They make people nervous.

— They are the topic of conversation.

— Their friends are weird.

CoNTRARIANS get remarked about

— They get quoted.

— They add a different dimension to the conversation.

— They are admired for their outspokenness.

— They attract a quirky different following than everyone else.

— They are copied by other divergents.

Pick a CoNTRARIAN point of view and shout it out.

LOUDLY because there is way too much clutter to be heard if you don’t.

And celebrate whatever you get back.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 1.6.14 at 05:03 am by Roy Osing
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