I am now in Nairobi, a great and vibrant city, but one of it's nicknames is Nairoberry (my backpack with a camera got stolen already). Yesterday, I had a great chat about the security situation here with one friend who has been here for 12 weeks already. She told me that it is a very safe place if you do not break the rules.
In the main header of my blog I wrote that life is game and that it has it's rules. My stay in Nairobi is a game as well and I broke one of it's rules. I put the backpack next to my chair instead of having it on my lap while eating out. It was not the Kenyan's who broke a rule by stealing my backpack it was me breaking a rule that you never keep your things out of sight here.
It is a very simple and powerful idea that can be applied to anything. Always get to know the local rules and be willing to follow them. The final takeaway is that the locals never break rules. It is their game and as a visitor, you have to play it. If you break any rule, you might get punished. In which case it is not the local people being bad or treating you unfairly, it is you breaking a local rule.
Here are some other rules I have Iearned here so far:
- look confident and that you know what you are doing
- walk fast on the streets, focused on where you are going and do not look people in the eyes (unless you want to speak to them in which case do so all the time)
- always bargain and offer either a bit less than what it usually costs or one third of what they quote you. Do not be afraid to walk away from an offer
- take time to ask questions, speak slowly. Do not ask yes/no questions because answer to those will always be Yes, ok, no problem...
Monday, 26 September 2011
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Complicated things?
I saw these couple lines by Dey Dos recently. They are so true!
"We complicate things too much. You miss someone? Call. Want to meet? Invite. Want to be understood? Explain yourself. Have questions? Ask. Don't like it ? Say it. Like it? State it. Are you in a bad mood? Express it. Want something? Ask in the best possible way to get a 'yes'. If you already have a 'no', take the risk of getting the 'yes'."
Dey Dos is an AIESEC Alumnus and his website is http://deydos.com/
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
A lesson about supporting innovation from Israel
How come some countries/organizations are more innovative than others? Good question and I would like to offer one insight on the topic having read a book called Start Up Nation, The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle by Dan Senor and Saul Singer and having visited Israel last week.
The book analyses how come a country of just 7.1 million people, less the sixty years old and surrounded by enemies has so many start-ups and technological patents (there are more Israeli NASDAQ companies than from all of Europe combined for example). I was reading the book while travelling around Israel and honestly, with the exception of Jerusalem, it looks like any other Middle Eastern country. The buildings were not too well maintained, there were bits of rubbish at lot of places and the street markets were bursting with fresh food and with local people. I would not have thought that this is one of the most innovative countries in the world by the looks of it.
The book offers lot of good explanations why the Israelis are so successful, the main ones being determination/stubbornness (chutzpah in Hebrew) of local people, cluster-like environment with the government supporting venture capitalism and the fact that everybody has to serve in the army for three years where they gain real life leadership skills while creating a great network for life. That is all true but what fascinated me the most was something else. It was the coexistence of order and disorder.
Coexistence of order and disorder
I think this mix is what makes Israel so unique and cannot be found in almost any other country. Israel is a mature democracy with uncorrupted politicians, good set of laws enforced by effective courts and bureaucrats that do not demand bribes and do not act as obstacle businesses. At the same time, it seemed to me that Israel managed to retain the kind of infectious energy, organic innovation, buzz on the streets whatever you like call it that I have seen before only in emerging economies and that I miss so much in the Western Europe.
Western Europe became organized to a point that this disruptive energy got mostly killed. On the other hand India has plenty of this 'positive disorder' but its legal and bureaucratic systems are painfully slow and corrupt. Similar thing can be argued about China where intellectual property rights are virtually non-existent. It is therefore difficult to innovate, attract sufficient foreign venture capital and successfully monetize ideas in such environments for one reason or another.
The main take-away I got is that any country or organization that wants to grow through innovation has to put basic governance framework in place and make sure it is enforced well. But at the same time it has to leave its people with enough freedom to work organically and to provide them with a space to implement their ideas quickly, fail, start again and finally succeed. They have to let order and disorder coexist together.
You can find out more about the book here: http://www.startupnationbook.com/
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Exchanging ideas
I am now reading a book called Start Up Nation about innovation and entrepreneurship in Israel and I found there a nice quote by George Bernard Shaw.
'If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will have an apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.'
'If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will have an apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.'
Saturday, 6 August 2011
What Great Leaders Do
I recently discovered the podcasts section in iTunes and started downloading all sorts of talks and lectures. One of the best ones I have heard so far is a talk called What Great Leaders do by Bob Sutton as part of the Stanford Technology Lectures - Entrepreneurial Though Leaders podcast.
Bob summarises there his book called Good Boss, Bad Boss and in just over half an hour talks us through qualities of both kind of bosses. It is great for anybody thinking about moving into leadership roles or as a call for reflection for those already being bosses. I could certainly relate to a lot of his points from my experience of leading AIESEC UK.
I will let you listen to it yourselves but the three points I liked the most were:
- Good boss acts on his/her intuition as if it was a fact but is open to listening and when new piece of information comes in that proves he is wrong he is willing to change his/her position.
- Good bosses allow and foster what he calls a loving conflict. That seems to be taken a bit from Good to Great by Jim Collins but what it is basically about is that it is all right to have conflicts as long as they are open, do not get personal and finish up constructively for benefit of the team/organization.
- The final one I want to mention is when he actually builds on Good to Great's concept of great organisations having a BHAG (a Big Hairy Audacious Goal - that is a statement which sets an ambition for the company for the next 20-30 years and which looks almost impossible to achieve without strong determination and a bit of hubris). Bob says that BHAGs freak people out and suggest that the best way to overcome this feeling is to break it into small and tangible steps which can be achieved quickly and create a sense of success to get the organisation moving towards achieving it's BHAG.
All in all, you would have probably heard most of the things Bob talks about before (and he himself acknowledges that this book is his take on the topics having read lots of various journal articles) but he summarises them very well and they are so important that you should hear them again anyways if you want to be/are managing others.
You can find it here: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=80867514
Bob summarises there his book called Good Boss, Bad Boss and in just over half an hour talks us through qualities of both kind of bosses. It is great for anybody thinking about moving into leadership roles or as a call for reflection for those already being bosses. I could certainly relate to a lot of his points from my experience of leading AIESEC UK.
I will let you listen to it yourselves but the three points I liked the most were:
- Good boss acts on his/her intuition as if it was a fact but is open to listening and when new piece of information comes in that proves he is wrong he is willing to change his/her position.
- Good bosses allow and foster what he calls a loving conflict. That seems to be taken a bit from Good to Great by Jim Collins but what it is basically about is that it is all right to have conflicts as long as they are open, do not get personal and finish up constructively for benefit of the team/organization.
- The final one I want to mention is when he actually builds on Good to Great's concept of great organisations having a BHAG (a Big Hairy Audacious Goal - that is a statement which sets an ambition for the company for the next 20-30 years and which looks almost impossible to achieve without strong determination and a bit of hubris). Bob says that BHAGs freak people out and suggest that the best way to overcome this feeling is to break it into small and tangible steps which can be achieved quickly and create a sense of success to get the organisation moving towards achieving it's BHAG.
All in all, you would have probably heard most of the things Bob talks about before (and he himself acknowledges that this book is his take on the topics having read lots of various journal articles) but he summarises them very well and they are so important that you should hear them again anyways if you want to be/are managing others.
You can find it here: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=80867514
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
A Meaningful stretch
Last Friday was my last day in the office as the President of AIESEC UK. It's been a great year and it also marked an end to my involvement with AIESEC UK for the time being.
I was at a conference in the Mexico City in February and together with outgoing presidents of other AIESEC chapters around the world, we were discussing what leaving the organisation will mean to us. All of us and our teams at the national offices were living AIESEC 24/7 for the past year or more. We were responsible for leading the organisation, bringing up new generations of members and ensuring that we stay relevant. We were surrounded by like-minded people, we were having an impact and we were enjoying it.
So the question What's next? was crucial and in many ways also a scary one. Will we be able to find anything as good and fulfilling as AIESEC anytime in the future again?
I approached it by trying to look at it from a more holistic perspective. What is it that makes this experience so unique? I identified two key elements that can be summarised as a 'meaningful stretch'.
A stretch is something that challenges you, something you are not familiar with and you have to learn how to either execute it or delegate it.
Meaningful is something that is achieving a positive impact. It can be impact on the environment, the people around you or simply yourselve.
The questions then stops being what else can be as good as AIESEC and it becomes what is my next meaningful stretch. We should be asking ourselves this question whenever we are finishing one period of our life or whenever we are just feeling a bit rusty in whatever we are doing. Life should a be a series of meaningful stretches and we should not be afraid to start from a scratch when switching from one to another.
Note:
I discussed this concept with one of my former directors at AIESEC UK. He liked it a lot but told me that the problem with finding a stretch is that we often do not what all the possibilities are. We then choose a stretch only from a domain of all stretches known to us. In reality there are many more options that we are not aware of. When thinking about our next meaningful stretch, do a proper research and do not just get comfortable with options known to you at the time.
I was at a conference in the Mexico City in February and together with outgoing presidents of other AIESEC chapters around the world, we were discussing what leaving the organisation will mean to us. All of us and our teams at the national offices were living AIESEC 24/7 for the past year or more. We were responsible for leading the organisation, bringing up new generations of members and ensuring that we stay relevant. We were surrounded by like-minded people, we were having an impact and we were enjoying it.
So the question What's next? was crucial and in many ways also a scary one. Will we be able to find anything as good and fulfilling as AIESEC anytime in the future again?
I approached it by trying to look at it from a more holistic perspective. What is it that makes this experience so unique? I identified two key elements that can be summarised as a 'meaningful stretch'.
A stretch is something that challenges you, something you are not familiar with and you have to learn how to either execute it or delegate it.
Meaningful is something that is achieving a positive impact. It can be impact on the environment, the people around you or simply yourselve.
The questions then stops being what else can be as good as AIESEC and it becomes what is my next meaningful stretch. We should be asking ourselves this question whenever we are finishing one period of our life or whenever we are just feeling a bit rusty in whatever we are doing. Life should a be a series of meaningful stretches and we should not be afraid to start from a scratch when switching from one to another.
Note:
I discussed this concept with one of my former directors at AIESEC UK. He liked it a lot but told me that the problem with finding a stretch is that we often do not what all the possibilities are. We then choose a stretch only from a domain of all stretches known to us. In reality there are many more options that we are not aware of. When thinking about our next meaningful stretch, do a proper research and do not just get comfortable with options known to you at the time.
Monday, 10 January 2011
Getting to the pot of gold
Who of you would like a pot of gold? Or your dream job, a good degree, a trip around the world or just anything else that you really want to achieve? Well the story has it that a pot of gold is usually at the end of a rainbow. Me and my fried, JC from AIESEC LSE, once came up with a framework to set and achieve your goals that we called the Rainbow. I was speaking about this concept at one conference some time ago and I would like to share it with you today.
When we decide to do something, we usually think only about the end result. A good job, a party or any other idea we might have. But how many times do we really make it happen? Way too often, it is just something we talk about, but we do not act on it. Why? Because it is too intangible, too distant, our brain simply stops working at the thought of it and we give up. Sounds familiar? At least that is what I have seen with myself and with many other people that I have worked with.
From my experience, it is not possible to get to the pot of gold with just one giant step. Yet people are often searching for that one step, that one action that will make things happen and that will get them where they want to be. When they do not find that one step, they give up. They forget that in order to get to a pot of gold, one needs to walk on a rainbow.
How does one walk on a rainbow?
There are three key rules:
1. Take only very small steps.
2. At the beginning it is uphill and therefore very difficult.
3. By the end it is downhill and therefore slippery, one can easily fall.
1. Take only very small steps
Break the task into a series of very small actions. Make them as simple as possible. The most important thing it to get walking, to take the first step. Do something easy today, that will set you on the track. And then take one small step every day towards your pot of gold. It can be as simple as calling a friend for advice, reading an article on the topic or writing down your thoughts. It does not matter that much what it is as long as you take one small step every day.
2. At the beginning, it is uphill and therefore very difficult.
It will not be easy at the beginning. The goal will seem to be too far away, too unrealistic and it will also be difficult to actually figure out how to get there. But that should not put you off. Just keep walking, one little step at a time.
3. By the end it is downhill and therefore slippery, one can easily fall.
And then you finally figure out how to do it. You get to the middle of the rainbow, you get halfway there and the pot of gold seems to be closer than ever. But be careful at this point. Lot of people think they are almost there, they start running towards they end goal (read they get comfortable about achieving it) but because the rainbow is now downhill and slippery, they fall. They underestimate the situation, they stop focusing, they get off the track. It is therefore important to keep taking those little steps every day, one at a time, until you reach your pot of gold. Only when you are holding it safely in your hands, you can have rest. Unless you spot a new pot of gold in the meantime obviously.
Next time I will write a post about what I have recently read in a book called Getting Things Done by David Allen and what nicely ties with this concept.
When we decide to do something, we usually think only about the end result. A good job, a party or any other idea we might have. But how many times do we really make it happen? Way too often, it is just something we talk about, but we do not act on it. Why? Because it is too intangible, too distant, our brain simply stops working at the thought of it and we give up. Sounds familiar? At least that is what I have seen with myself and with many other people that I have worked with.
From my experience, it is not possible to get to the pot of gold with just one giant step. Yet people are often searching for that one step, that one action that will make things happen and that will get them where they want to be. When they do not find that one step, they give up. They forget that in order to get to a pot of gold, one needs to walk on a rainbow.
How does one walk on a rainbow?
There are three key rules:
1. Take only very small steps.
2. At the beginning it is uphill and therefore very difficult.
3. By the end it is downhill and therefore slippery, one can easily fall.
1. Take only very small steps
Break the task into a series of very small actions. Make them as simple as possible. The most important thing it to get walking, to take the first step. Do something easy today, that will set you on the track. And then take one small step every day towards your pot of gold. It can be as simple as calling a friend for advice, reading an article on the topic or writing down your thoughts. It does not matter that much what it is as long as you take one small step every day.
2. At the beginning, it is uphill and therefore very difficult.
It will not be easy at the beginning. The goal will seem to be too far away, too unrealistic and it will also be difficult to actually figure out how to get there. But that should not put you off. Just keep walking, one little step at a time.
3. By the end it is downhill and therefore slippery, one can easily fall.
And then you finally figure out how to do it. You get to the middle of the rainbow, you get halfway there and the pot of gold seems to be closer than ever. But be careful at this point. Lot of people think they are almost there, they start running towards they end goal (read they get comfortable about achieving it) but because the rainbow is now downhill and slippery, they fall. They underestimate the situation, they stop focusing, they get off the track. It is therefore important to keep taking those little steps every day, one at a time, until you reach your pot of gold. Only when you are holding it safely in your hands, you can have rest. Unless you spot a new pot of gold in the meantime obviously.
Next time I will write a post about what I have recently read in a book called Getting Things Done by David Allen and what nicely ties with this concept.
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