Yes, I do.
When a business, which has moved beyond the typical growth pains of its founding phase, battles to become most of what it is, you will normally find the cause for this struggle in a combination of the following:
The Logic Filter is an independent initiative founded by Louis Fourie.
Its only business is life mentorship to young executives.
Its Regarding your Life program creates a respectful space around a sound intellectual framework, inviting talented people to rethink and refine the script of their lives.
It aims to equip authentic people with the core directional insights that underpin a happy, successful life.
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“My parents have just moved into a retirement village. They’ve been economically active until now, are financially independent and enjoy good health. Any tips I can pass on to them to ensure that their new context turns into an optimal experience?”
My first suggestion would be for them to stay engaged in activities through which they add value to society. Retirement doesn’t imply inactivity. Waking up with a purpose, every day, is a potent ‘youth serum’ and makes life a meaningful experience.
“I’ve recently been thrown in at the deep end of a management position. I haven’t really managed people before. Any principles you can suggest upon which I can build a solid management style? I really want to give it a serious go.”
I know we run the risk of oversimplifying the daunting task of getting people to effectively pull in the same direction, but I suggest you keep the following few pointers in mind in your quest to grow into a great leader:
- Be clear on the outcome you envision and expect. It implies that you yourself first need to have a well-structured picture in your own mind of the ideal outcomes you want your team to pursue. ‘Hard work’ without a clear vision is often as unproductive as idleness.
“Our first baby is due in a few months’ time. A few words of advice for first-time parents?”
We are shaped in a big way in a very short space of time. Around 80% of parenting impact plays out in the first 6 years of a human life. Nearly 80% of a child’s potential IQ is already determined by the age of 8. The first years matter!
Let your child feel welcome – always, everywhere. Demonstrate respect and trust in your household. Set an example of calmness and sincerity.
“Which were some of the wisest words you’ve come across in 2011?”
“Make fewer things, but make great things.”
From Robert Iger, CEO of Disney
We complicate our lives by harbouring way too many efforts with low returns, privately and in business. Eliminate waste – concentrate on what matters.
“What do you take from the Julius Malema judgement?”
Personally, I think the ‘Julius Malema years’ were a storm in a tea cup, intensified and dramatised by a certain section of the press. A fair slice of our population still struggles with a degree of post-traumatic stress, and characters like Mr. Malema is just the impetus they need to lose another few marbles. It is still quite difficult for many people to realise that a democracy is underpinned by an open, never-ending dialogue, irrespective of the quality of the arguments.
“When am I confident, and when am I arrogant?”
“As you become used to looking down on things, you unlearn to look up, and so miss all the valuable things still above you.”
Self-confidence is a quiet belief in a specific personal capacity. You acquire this type of ‘healthy’ confidence when you have proven that you are competent in that field, you feel good about it, and are doing what it takes to retain that competence. Healthy confidence is founded. It’s linked to an accomplishment, yet still accompanied by basic humility. And it’s not spreading to areas of your life where it’s not merited.
“What is your interpretation of Anders Breivik’s act of destruction in Norway?”
The massacre was a stark reminder of the dangers of rightist radicalism. Conservative extremists are high-risk people – in households, religions, communities and politics. They are fundamentally misinformed people, not always because of lack of intelligence, but because of the pattern according to which they have learned to give meaning to life.
“I am in my early 20’s and just about to start my career. How do I ensure solid, sustainable progress in the years ahead?”
Imagine your career as a 5-storey building with a flight of stairs connecting every floor – no elevator. At 20-something, you’ve just entered the lobby of the building – and you’re ready to tackle the first ‘staircase’.
Your only controllable challenge is the way in which you climb this first flight of stairs. In other words, the manner in which you engage your work will determine your progress.
“Do you share the view that South Africa will face a “Tunisia-style” revolution in the next 10 years (refer remarks by Moeletsi Mbeki and others)?”
No, I don’t.
The nature of our challenges are totally different from those in the Arab region, and I find it puzzling that some political commentators and academics can view life through such a simplistic lens. There are most probably a few ill-conceived wolf-wolf motives behind some of these comments, or a sign that some intellectuals are still stuck in a Sharpeville 1960/Soweto 1976 political time bubble. In fact, a few of these critics were quite vocal about ‘South Africa being the next Zimbabwe’ 10 years ago.