"Just this once... I will never do it again." This is the start to a downward slope of the lack of morals and integrity. I will take it just this once, I'm desperate for cash, I will replace it before anyone realises. He/She is tempting, I will entertain him/her just this once, no one will…
I often I hear people talk about being self-made. That they started from the bottom and they have grown to be titans. Often stories of successful people are told as one lone ranger who single handedly overcame enormous obstacles to success. This narrative has not be told to reflect the truth. I believe a…
It is extremely difficult to find smart people willing to start useful projects. Smart people are ego driven, they are not willing to start a project that will fail, because they equate failure with personal failure. Doers are courageous. The need to do something outweighs personal ego. Doers are willing to get their hands dirty, something…
All great programmers learn the same way. They poke the box. They code something and see what the computer does. They change it and see what the computer does. They repeat the process again and again until they figure out how the box works. Starting a business is like poxing the box. You start, try…
At first, it seems as though the things you declare, espouse and promise matter a lot. And they do. For a while. But in the end, we will judge you on what you do. When the gap between what you say and what you do gets big enough, people stop listening. The compromises we make,…
I had a discussion with colleagues a few weeks ago about beauty. The discussion was around, do people get invited to speak at an event because they are beautiful? Do beautiful people get special treatment simply because they are beautiful? Does this mean not-so-beautiful people have to work extra hard to access the same opportunities…
Our hunger for knowledge can be at the roots of our failings or our success. Our hunger for knowledge can distract us or it can keep us engaged in a lifelong quest for deep learning and understanding. Some learning enhances our lives, some is irrelevant and simply distract us. Tabloid stories probably fall into the…
Yesterday I was asked are entrepreneurs born or made? This question is based on the notion that soft skills cannot be taught. Along the way, we have confirmed that technical skills can be taught (you are not born knowing engineering or copywriting or even graphic design, therefore they must be something we can teach), while…
If an employee in business walked out with a brand-new laptop every day, you would have him arrested, or at least fired. If your bookkeeper was embezzling money every month, you would do the same thing. But... ...When an employee demoralises the entire team by undermining a project, or when a team member checks out…
The soft skills, people skills, assertive kills, ability to speak up and express your point view and listen respectfully to others who disagree with you, are key to successful individual, team and company success. The hard skills are measurable, quantifiable, and easy to put into a spreadsheet. This gives you an easy way to demand…
The most important skills you need to become successful? It is not really about how well you can code or how many languages you know, but about the soft skills. When judging your friends or family, or defining traits you admire in other people, you rarely think about their technical capabilities. Instead, you focus on the way…
If you are passionate, be passionate enough to fail. Fail small, accept responsibility, repeat. The people who make change are the survivors of serial failure.
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