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The 6 Benefits of Building a Team

If you’re familiar with John Maxwell’s The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, then you must know about the first law: The Law of Significance. It states that one is too small a number to achieve greatness, thus the importance of forming a team. And how effective this team on achieving the goal depends on the quality of their teamwork and manifesting the other 16 laws.

But what is a team?

In simple words, a team is consists of people who work together to achieve a specific goal. And relationships between people are strengthened and made even more special when they start to work as a team.

Isn’t it better to work alone?

Photo by Elisabetta Foco

Whenever we hear stories of individuals who’ve achieved so much, we’re always fascinated on how they seemingly overcame all the challenges by themselves. But Maxwell proved that notion is wrong. There’s no such thing as self-made man. The Lone Ranger is a myth. And as a Chinese proverb states, “Behind an able man there are always other able men.”

Maxwell also cited some of the reasons some people prefer to work on their goals alone. Factors such as ego, insecurity, naiveté and temperament hinder us from working well with others. But if we’re willing to give ourselves and others the chance, we’ll soon find out that we’re only capable of achieving something of any significance when we start to reach out and ask for help.

The 6 Benefits of Building a Team

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The following are the six (6) ways on which we can always benefit from creating a team. These are based from C. Gene Wilkes’ work, Jesus on Leadership:

Teams involve more people, thus affording more resources, ideas and energy than would an individual.
Teams maximize a leader’s potential and minimize their weaknesses. Strengths and weaknesses are more exposed in individuals.
Teams provide multiple perspective on how to meet a need or reach a goal, thus devising several alternatives for each situation. Individual insight is seldom as broad and deep as a group’s when it takes on a problem.
Teams share the credit for victories and the blame for losses. This fosters genuine humility and authentic community. Individuals take credit and blame alone. This fosters pride and sometimes a sense of failure.
Teams keep leaders accountable for the goal. Individuals connected to no one can change the goal without accountability.
Teams can simply do more than an individual.

Understanding the significance of working with others is fundamental on achieving success. The rest of the Indisputable Laws of Teamwork would help a leader make the team more efficient and effective in achieving the goal. You may check out the book at Amazon.com.

You may also share this article as an infographic:

As always, thanks for dropping by!

Featured Photo by James Thomas

4 Ways to Regain Your Motivation When You Have None

Motivation is a tricky thing.

We all wish we’re always at 100% – that our energies would never waver or the flames of our passions never dull. But we’re fragile, fallible human beings. There would always be times when we feel down, when our motivation seems to reach a state of hibernation. This situation is perfectly normal and okay. But what’s not okay is to be content in staying low inside that depressing hole.

Whenever everything feels like draining or overwhelming, I’d do one of the activities below to regain my motivation. These are not hard and fast rules and you may find that some doesn’t apply to you. But you can definitely give them a try:

4 WAYS TO REGAIN MOTIVATION

1. Go back to your “Whys”.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters

It’s so easy to get lost when you’re so into something. So try and go back to the basics. Dig out that list you created when you first started. On each line, you’re sure to see or remember why you’d committed to doing them in the first place.

Being reminded of the reasons that you’re doing something re-frames the situation and may get you back on track. It may also help you make sense of what’s been happening. It can also help you identify the next step you have to take. And sooner, rather than later, you’ll find that drive to go on.

2. Think about the opportunities.

Photo by Aziz Acharki

There are times when fear gets the better of us that it dampens our motivation. But this only happens when we’re so focus on the burdens instead of the benefits, of the opportunities. If we’re able to re-channel our focus and anticipate the good things that may come, we can regain the excitement that we’ve lost. This excitement may just topple fear and will allow us to regain the strength to take the next best step forward.

3. Get help from your support group.

Photo by Ben White

Sure, we’d like to think that we can take care of our own issues, but reaching out to our support group can never hurt. If nothing else, they can be our greatest source of external motivation. Your support group may include your family, friends or colleagues. They can be the concrete parts of our “whys” or they can be the models we strive hard to become one day. Their love and support may just be the forces that we need to get our drive back.

4. Give yourself a break.

Photo by kosal ley

It may be for a short while or long vacation. But let there be a healthy space between you and your goals. You need time so you can replenish your energy and your inspiration. Taking a step back allows you to see how far you’ve come and how much you’ve accomplished. This also gives you time to strategize. Indulge in a fun activity or go to that place you’ve wanted to go for the longest time. Read a book. Meditate. Pray. Play can also be beneficial. Let that inner kid roam free.

How about you, how do you take your motivation back? Tell us about them on the comments section below.

As always, thanks for dropping by.

Featured Photo by Braden Collum

Insights on the Four Consumer Generations: A Marketer’s Guide

Businesses know that they can’t be everything to everyone. Focus is key if you want your product/service to remain competitive and relevant. That’s why you should get as close as possible to the market you’d like to serve. Insights on your target market’s behavior and preferences are very important in formulating your marketing or business strategy.

Consumer insights allow you to identify which segment of the market needed your product the most and thus, the more profitable to serve. They also help you create effective and relevant communication materials. This information will ultimately guide your decision on selecting the most efficient channels to deliver your messages and products from.

The following information is an excerpt based on a Yes Lifecycle Marketing survey of more than 1,000 consumers who have received a marketing email in the past year. The company wants the report to serve as a guidebook for marketers looking to reach and engage shoppers from each generation.

INSIGHTS ON THE FOUR CONSUMER GENERATIONS

As always, thanks for dropping by.

Useful Links:

Download the free white paper from Yes! Lifecycle Marketing.

Photo Credits:

Centennials: Photo by Alexis Brown

Millennials: Photo by rawpixel.com

Generation X: Photo from Unsplash

Baby Boomer: Photo by Thomas Hafeneth

Infographic Template by Canva

5 Amazing Ted Talks That You Absolutely Can’t Miss

You can always find interesting, funny and amazing talks at Ted.com. What follows is a list of my all-time favorites. They span a wide range of disciplines and ideas but you’re sure to benefit from them. If you have time to spare, watch and read on.

The Happy Secret to Better Work

This talk re-frames our perspective on how to achieve happiness. We’re raised to believe that the harder we work, the more successful we get, the happier we become. But Shawn Achor would like to reverse that formula. He says that being happy starts with training the brain to become more positive.

According to his study, “… our brains work in the opposite order. If you can raise somebody’s level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage, which is your brain at positive performs significantly better than at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise. In fact, we’ve found that every single business outcome improves. Your brain at positive is 31% more productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed. You’re 37% better at sales. Doctors are 19 percent faster, more accurate at coming up with the correct diagnosis when positive instead of negative, neutral or stressed.”

How then can we achieve this happiness advantage? He gives us the following recommendations:

List three new things you’re grateful for 21 days in a row. This way the brain would learn to scan the world not for the negative, but for the positive first.
Journal about your positive experiences so that the brain re-lives the way it feels.
Meditation and exercise.
Random acts of kindness.

Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe

“When we feel safe inside the organization, we will naturally combine our talents and our strengths and work tirelessly to face the dangers outside and seize the opportunities.” – Simon Sinek

To make your people feel safe and taken care of are signs of good leadership. I couldn’t agree more when he said that when leaders decide to put people first, when they show willingness to sacrifice comforts and tangible results so that people remain and feel safe and feel that they belong, remarkable things happen.

He’s cited two companies who’re so good at this principle and they’re thriving businesses right now. Just imagine working for that particular company that’s willing to keep you for a lifetime.

Also he’s given a damn good definition of leadership. Leadership is never about the rank. Like him, I’ve encountered so many people who occupy higher rungs in a company. They’re people of authority for sure, but definitely not leaders. Leadership is a choice – to go first, to make sacrifices so your people may gain and succeed. And what do leaders gain from all this? It’s the absolute willingness of their people to do the same for them.

Your Elusive Creative Genius

From the author of Eat, Pray, Love, this talk tackles the daunting issue that every artist face after creating their best, most acclaimed work by far: Will they ever surpass their most recent achievement?

This thought is certainly scary and puts a lot of pressure on the artist while getting the “next big work” out there.

According to her, life need not to be full of anguish if you never happen to believe that the most extraordinary aspect of your being comes from you. In some ancient cultures, they have the idea of a disembodied creative creature called genius. While in some places, artists can have that single, transcendent moment when they seem to become a vessel so spectators can have a glimpse of God. And so in recognizing this distance between the artist and the work, artists may be able to retain that sanity, that courage to get on with the work and just stubbornly show up until it is done.

Beautiful Minds Are Free From Fear

Sometimes, fear can be so strong and paralyzing. When it hits, Robert Grant gives the following recommendations on how to overcome fear:

Practice gratitude. It’s impossible to be fearful and grateful at the same time.
Intentional Decision. Anything that can happen to you in your life can either the best or the worst thing. You decide which is which. Every day you wake up, you get to decide whether it’s going to be a good day or a bad day. It’s all up to you.

How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over

Whenever you feel stuck or dissatisfied with your life, Mel Robbins says that you gotta force yourself out of the following:

Out of your head. Most especially when you’re just wallowing on your negative thoughts.
Past your feelings. Because you’re never gonna feel like getting what you want when you’re so focused on your emotions.
Out of your comfort zone. Because that’s where everything starts to happen.

And she says it’s very important to act on our impulse. Because if we don’t marry the impulse with a physical action, we’re going to trigger our emergency break and we’ll never get to do what we want to do in the first place.

You may have your own set of Ted Talks favorites. Put them on the comment section or send them my way so I can add them here.

As always, thanks for dropping by!

Featured Photo by Avi Richards

4 Brand Campaigns That Try to Break Social Norms

Norms.

It’s one of the most influential factors that shape who we are, the society and the times we live in. We grow up and we just accept that there’s always a certain way of doing things. Or we hold on to beliefs, no matter how limiting they are, because so many people are holding on to the same truths.

So we go on passively accepting that such is life. We tell ourselves: life isn’t always fair, there are more questions than answers, time’s ticking away and we got to get on with it.

But the beauty of time is that it brings change. Change that can take the form of a revolution – one that can either be subtle or really violent. And often times, the most disruptive changes are brought about not by arms or force, but by thoughts and emotions.

What follows are four brand campaigns trying to break social norms. Each brand tries to put an idea out there. All aiming to encourage audiences to take a stand, to do something whether it’s for or against the beliefs that we find to be true, meaningful and important in our lives.

Brand Campaign 1: Dove’s Real Beauty

Arguably, one of the most controversial ideas ever to puzzle mankind is the definition of beauty. The royals, the artists, even the lay people on streets have their own take on what makes someone or something beautiful. For the most part, it is a subjective evaluation, but society also pushes the “ideal” standards of beauty that everyone feels pressured to strive for.

Dove’s campaign for real beauty is not only groundbreaking. It’s also brave. Definitely edgy. And most of all dynamic. It all started with this time lapse video of a model. And from then on, the brand never stopped it’s advocacy on telling women all over the world that beauty cannot be put in a box, or measured, or even labeled. The brand’s message is to forever appreciate yourself and be proud of who you are.

Here another one from Dove:

Brand Campaign 2: SK-II’s Change Destiny

I’d like to believe that the tradition of marrying off daughters springs from a very positive, loving place. But we all know history. Women were often given away for dowries, for political gains, or simply to lessen the burden from their own families.

Asian societies, no matter how open and advanced they’ve become, still stick to the notion that women are homemakers. And they must be married off at a certain age. Otherwise, they’re not fulfilling their duty to the society because they did not do what they’re expected to do.

In this very moving brand campaign, “leftover women” tries to reach their parents hearts – trying to make them see the reason behind their choices and assuring them that it’s still okay. They’re still going to be productive, meaningful individuals even without husbands or families. Being single past the marrying age doesn’t reduce who they are and doesn’t make them lesser members of the society.

Brand Campaign 3: P&G’s My Black is Beautiful

Launched at the height nationalistic sentiment, biases and prejudice, this campaign aims to encourage everyone to speak up and find ways on how to get along amidst all the differences. It makes the audiences uncomfortable because it highlights a social issue that was once considered taboo. As the ad says, “It’s time for everyone to talk about bias.”

Brand Campaign 4: Always’ Like A Girl

You’ve heard it before. When you’re acting so soft, so sentimental or weak, you’re more likely to be called a “girl”. Here’s a brave re-frame of the that notorious term by Always. It gives emphasis on a girl’s strength and amazing potential.

Most of these ads may have been all about women and their rights, but don’t think that I’m discriminating other genders or belittling other social issues. If you’ve come across a campaign that truly inspired you, let us know about them. You can either put them in the comments or send me a personal message so I can add them on the list.

As always, thanks for dropping by!

Featured Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi

Inspirational Quotes for Life

Most of the time, the combination of right words spoken at the right time is all the encouragement that you need. Whether they be from a fictional character or spoken by someone IRL, the impact that these quotes have can never be underestimated. These quotes have the potential to inspire us, to strengthen us and to make us see from a different perspective.

I’m going to try to update this post every week by adding five (5) quotes every time. Please feel free to drop by every Monday to see the recent uploads.

Think about your possibilities. You are a work in progress. Believe in what you can become.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. – Lao Tzu
Photo by Marina Vitale

It all starts in believing. You can do anything you set your mind to. — It all starts in believing. You can do anything you set your mind into.

Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes. – Benjamin Disraeli
Photo by Joshua Earle

The past is over and it has no power over you. What matters now is where you intend to go, who you wanted to be.

The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving. – Oliver Wendell Holmes
Photo by Danka & Peter

Either you run the day, or the day runs you. – Jim Rohn
Photo by Dai KE

Become the great person you know you can become.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great makes you feel that you, too, can become great. – Mark Twain
Photo by Andrew Worley

Find the best in everybody. Just keep waiting no matter how long it takes. No one is all evil. Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out. – Randy Pausch
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo

So the braver you are, the more life is there for you.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. – Anais Nin
Photo from Unsplash.com

Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy. – Pema Chodron
Photo from Unsplash.com

Do you want it badly enough that you’re ready to do everything just to get pass the brick wall?

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people. – Randy Pausch
Photo from Canva.com

It your life. You’re in charge. Take the lead.

To achieve major success in life, you must accept 100% responsibility for your life and results. Nothing less will do. – Jack Canfield
Photo from Unsplash.com

Lessons and Regrets Over a Dear Friend’s Passing

Regret brings a certain bitterness to your tongue. It’s a thought or a feeling you’d rather not have. But it always lingers. And as a social experiment proved, regrets usually come with the word “not“. And here be one my deepest regrets. One that gives me ultimate sadness every time I think about it.

REGRETS ABOUT A DEAR FRIEND’S PASSING

When I was 27, one of my friends died. Before that, I knew she suffers from a brain disease from childhood. Her symptoms just kept on getting worse into adulthood. When the pain has become so severe, she was admitted to a hospital, just 50 ft or so from where I work. But I’ve never even once gone to visit her. I get off work every 5 pm, and never in her week of being in the hospital have I shown myself.

And on a Thursday night, one of our mutual friends sent me a message, telling me that she’s passed away.

I never went to her wake or her funeral. She was buried in the same place as my grandparents. But never, never even once have I visited her grave. Looking back, I realized, I was ashamed. I was so ashamed I wasn’t there and I had the gall to call myself her friend. Ashamed that of all our friends, I was the one closest to where she was. Just 50 ft away and I never went to see her, not once. I was ashamed and thought I’m a terrible friend. And I used to say that friendship means a lot to me.

A month after she died, I dreamed of her. She told me, it’s all right. I can let go. She told me she was just saying goodbye. I remember telling her sorry, over and over. I woke up crying. Even in my dream, she’s continued to be the friend that she was – thoughtful, kind, gentle.

And I was just a mess, keeping to my reasons that none of my feelings will ever bring her back. But I realized my non-feeling wasn’t doing me good as well. Guilt, grief and pain consumed me. And I tell you that no amount of beer or any other alcohol would’ve numb the feeling.

And as for all the wounds I’ve had, this one is much deserved and I’m willing to let it fester. Most of our friends say it’s all right. And I would heal. I know that, but let me hurt a little more, a little ways every time I think about it, about her. It’s my shitty way of honoring our friendship, of our ties that I let loose.

WHAT DID I LEARN? SO MUCH AND SO LITTLE.

I could never say that I’ve learned from this since I still have trouble feeling for other people. I feel so awkward whenever somebody’s having a hard time. Or someone’s sharing their sad experience. I don’t know. I always have this moment of non-feeling, where I just wait for their emotion to pass so I can walk on. I’m still terrible. But I’m working on it.

Once, I tried to stay with a friend after she had a car accident. Sometimes I send power thoughts to friends who’re experiencing hard times.

I try not to be awkward all the time.

Finally, I tell friends how blessed I am to have them in my life whenever I could. I send them messages, I say it to them personally whenever I get the chance.

I try to be there for them whenever I can.

And I’m trying to be a better friend, the best way I can.

4 Reminders for a Successful Career Change

I’ve recently had a career change. I moved to Operations from being in Admin for about three years. It’s not so far off from my previous position, though instead of calculating growth and creating plans to increase market share, I went to giving out solutions on how customers can take better care of their credit cards accounts. (I never thought I’d be debt collector, ever! I personally hate debts!)

Anyway, I made all the considerations before I applied for my current job – the working hours, industry culture, some pay cuts. But I know, I’m not the only career shifter who’s having the occasional blues. Sometimes, I really miss working late into the night, the nonstop follow-ups, as well as going around town to make sure that people know about my brand. I just really miss the ‘going-out’ part the most. I find the walls of my current office suffocating sometimes and I really like to get away. Then I’ll remind myself of the reasons I’m right here.

So, for those who have recently change careers, I hope the following reminders would be helpful to you. Whenever I feel the urge to leave or become sad or miss the life I left behind, these are what I think about:

1. The “Why” of the Career Change.

We’ll all have our reasons. Reasons we deemed valid and important and urgent. We wouldn’t take all the risks and accept trade-offs if our reason is not worth betting on. You must always go back to that. And remember that changing careers is like starting over, drawing square one. And I’m sure even before you went to that first job interview, you’re mind’s made up. This is what you wanted to do. Be thankful now that you got it. Live it. Focus on the opportunities. Remember, it’s your win because you get to start over. Some people never even had their chance.

2. The 3 A’s – Adjust Aptitude and Attitude.

You’ve had work experience, learning curve is not some strange, new concept for you. You know you got to adjust, it’s either you’ve got to shave off or gain an edge so you can follow on this new track. You have to gain skills, and that means learning, which also means it’d take time and patience and effort and love. You got to develop genuine love for what you’re doing. It’s the only way, it’s the only way you can succeed. That would depend much on the attitude that you’ll bring into the job. Keep the enthusiasm, keep being interested. Learn. Never stop. Reach out. Ask. But remember to do your own research, too. There’s just too much that people can teach you.

3. Reach Goals.

Of course, you’ve got to measure up. Determine what you’re aiming for. Break them down so you can work on them on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. Challenging yourself to surpass the minimum requirement of the passing scores will keep you motivated. Also, you may look at it as an indication of how flexible your skills are.

4. New Connections.

Your new environment gives you the opportunity to connect with new sets of people – different backgrounds, expertise and culture, even. And being around these people can be really exciting, though intimidating some of the time. But it’s going to bring you new experiences and joy. It’s going to expand your relationships and it opens possibilities for friendships, mentor-ship and inspirations. People can really be awesome. And if you just wait long enough, they’d surprise you.

You may also have your own set of reminders for a successful career change. We’d like to hear them. Please free to leave a comment below.

As always, thanks for dropping by.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Review

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a short story written by James Thurber. And though the film adaptation has taken liberties with the plot and the details, Walter Mitty’s charm didn’t fade. In fact, the movie has enhanced Walter’s vivid imagination and amplified all the reasons we can all relate to this man.

MEET WALTER MITTY

Walter is given to fantastic daydreaming. And he’s never picky as to where or when he’s going to zone out. He can be at a train station, in a company meeting, in a conversation with the person he fancies or in between the time he contemplates riding a helicopter with a drunk pilot.

He’s been with Life Magazine for 16 years, serving the same department. But it’s now time for the organization to transition to being a full-blown digital publication. He’s got a great working relationship with Sean O’Connell, a world-famous photographer. The two of them have never met in person, though.

Now, Walter has to submit photo 25, the “quintessence” of O’Connell’s work, especially dedicated to Life’s last issue. But number 25 is lost. In his quest to recover this super important photo, Walter is lead to a series of adventure, encounters and discoveries that he never thought he’d ever have.

WHY IT’S WORTHY

The film encourages the audience to dream and pursue those dreams with passion. Whatever handicaps we may have in life, we shouldn’t put off the adventures that our hearts truly desire. We may think that we’re busy with life or fear is so strong but we’re only going to find our release the moment we just up and do it.

Of course, there’d be moments when we’re going to fail. And it will hurt us. But still, we come out as the winner. It’s because we realize that whatever we gained is always better than what we initially strive for.

If you’ve got the time and you want to spend it on something truly worthwhile and beautiful, put this movie on. You’ll never regret a moment of it.

Check out the full cast and crew right here.

Chef – A Comedy-Drama Film on Family, Life and Passion

Chef has got to be one of the most realistic, ordinary and yet captivating films about a family that I’ve ever seen in a long, long while. It’s not pretending to be deep or profound. It doesn’t have those significantly long silent frames but is consists of authentic life scenarios that makes you realize that you may have come across each type of character in the film. The movie did away with overly dramatic acts, but it made sure that touching scenes will get to you every time, as in every time.

Me saying that it’s about family shouldn’t make you expect something like it’s a Little Miss Sunshine kind of film. It’s focus is Carl Casper – a father to a little boy of 10, a divorcee, a chef at a locally reputable LA restaurant and currently preparing to please a local food blogger in the name of Ramsey Mitchell.

CHEF: WHY IT’S WORTHY

PASSION

It’s about a man wanting to live out his passion. His main goal is to touch people’s lives with the food he makes. But I guess entropy is not unique to the corporate world. It happens whenever somebody hires you and instead of letting you do your own thing, they insist that you keep with what’s working and stop there. No exploration, no risks, no growth. And that’s like a life sentence or slow death sentence for any passionate man. Chef Casper has been in a creative rut in the last 10 years.

FOOD

It’s also about food and how it’s tied with the people and place where it comes from. I guess, eating is one of the most intimate things that you can do publicly and socially. The more people you share it with, the better it tastes. The moment that you take in local food, you also take in a culture. It’s like an initiation to a foreign society or a community. It’s taking in a little of everything else in that place. And aside from gaining nutrition, you gain a new perspective, too.

LIFE, FAMILY

Chef encourages you to inspire others about what moves you and to be open and willing to take in opportunities when they present themselves. It’s also about taking a step back, clearing your head and focusing on what really matters. It’s a film of second chances, reinventing yourself and keeping true to who you really are. Starting over may seem daunting, but it’s the only way to redeem yourself.

And, family is most important, kin or not.

CHEF: POWERHOUSE CAST AND AMAZING SOUND TRACK

Chef has a powerhouse of actors. Before this film, I didn’t know Jon Favreau, but I developed a deep respect for his art. I was pleasantly surprised with the actors in supporting and cameo roles, too. Check the full cast right here.

And to top it off, it has an amazing soundtrack. It features the lively beat of rumba, as well as soul and blues tracks from Marvin Gaye and Gary Clark Jr. The music lends an excellent layer of emotion and color to the film.

I recommend for families to watch it. It doesn’t matter the season. It would be quality time anytime you choose to watch Chef.