Rule no.6

Dear Friends

Not sure if you have heard about Benjamin Zander? Benjamin Zander (born 9 March 1939 in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England) is an English conductor, who is currently the musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He has many Ted Talk and You Tube video’s online. Take some time out your day and watch his story. He also wrote the book ‘ the art of possibility’ a great read 🙂

The just of it is that he gives all his students an A at the beginning of the year and requests them to write a paper on why they deserve the A and how they plan to retain the A till the end of the year. Just a different way of looking at life basically. We are all born with amazing talents, some we know we have some we learn along the way. Benjamin believes that there is a super start in every student and therefore in everybody. You need to find out what that is and then claim your prize through hard work and dedication.

My favorite part about Benjamin’s philosophy and outlook on teaching is Rule No 6 !  https://www.techwell.com/techwell-insights/2015/06/rule-number-6-don-t-take-yourself-so-seriously ,that’s correct … don’t take yourself to Seriously !! As Leaders and Managers we get so carried away by the bottom line, KPI’s and the P&L. Yes those are important but more important is how you engage with your team. How do you bring out the best in your team ? This all starts with trust, recognition and reward. Reward is not only money…Think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, a sin-sear thanks you goes a very long way.

We are in crazy times with reduced customer demand and reduced work forces in most industries / companies around the world. Now is the time to take stock of your team and make sure you as the leader and manager practices a People First  strategy. One of the Board Members at WSI famously said : Do your people work first, the rest of the day can then be focused on the customer. Business and Retail is a team sport, we need People. Branson reminds us to take care of our people as they take care of your customers. So True and in the coming years this will need to be critical focus of your business.

Happy trading, don’t forget rule NO 6 🙂

Charles