LEADER OF LEADERS

By Steven on Fri, Jan 13, 2017

It is very easy to get caught up with so many things that you end up doing very little at all. This type of productivity will keep you in a mediocre state. A state in which you attain a level of success but never to reach the heights that you are capable of.

In order to have a great year as a doer it is imperative that you focus on one thing at a time and get that job done to the best of your ability. Dabbling will not help. How you choose what to focus on is entirely up to you. As a rule I would suggest that you start with the thing that is the most critical/ valuable and then from that position work your way down until you reach the least valuable/ critical.

Make sure that you do not get distracted as this will slow you down and render you ineffective. Turn the cellphone to silent,get in a quite place (if possible) and get the job done. There are numerous examples of people focusing on something to become the best at what they do so there is no need for me to explain the benefit in practical terms, logic itself does that.

May 2017 be the year that your focus takes you to the heights you could only dream of.

Have a blessed year
Steven

Do

By Steven on Thu, Jan 12, 2017

This two letter word is a gift for all of us in 2017. DO.

It is far easier to don’t than to do. It takes far less courage to don’t, far less energy and far less willpower. Be a doer in 2017.

There is a scripture in the bible that I love, it says “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10. How true is that statement? Do it with all your might! Be strong this year. Be a better you by doing what you do with all your might. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings or you will quickly fall into the trap and stagnation of the don’ts.

Meditation is good however don’t spend all your time coveting what you want, rather do. Aim to be the best doer you have ever been. Outperform yourself. Spend your energy constructively being a doer.

May you have an excellent 2017 doing what you do. My commitment to you this year is that I will DO a post daily on this site to inspire and challenge all that wish to read it. Look forward to engaging with you tomorrow.

Have a blessed year
Steven

Book review Success

The New Manager chosen as a top 6 business book (Ian Mann)

By Steven on Tue, Dec 13, 2016

Good news

There was recently and interview on Cape Talk where unbeknown to me, Ian Mann chose my book as one of the top 6 business books for 2016.

Whitfield interviewed Mann about his top-6 business books of 2016:

Here are the six books chosen

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross
The Founder’s Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth by Chris Zook, James Allen
The 100-Year Life: Living and working in an age of longevity by Lynda Gratton, Andrew Scott
The New Manager: How to become a leader in 52 Simple steps by Steven Jacobs
Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner

Truly honoured to get such great feedback

God bless
Steven

Motivation

Good morning all you beautiful people

By Steven on Wed, Dec 7, 2016

Do you start every day with a smile, a laugh and meditate on something spectacular? Do you turn off the radio and stop reading anything that will depress you? It’s your choice that matters. Some choose to listen to the most terrible stuff in the mornings and then wonder why they just can’t find joy during their day.

Self-motivation is not something that comes naturally it is something that needs to be nurtured. There is a beautiful verse in the bible that says

⁸Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4 verse 8 KJV

This is an incredible verse as it encourages one to meditate on the right stuff. What are you meditating on today? Your bank balance? The pressures you are facing at work? Crime? Violence? the future? If you were to write down all the thoughts that occupy your mind and ask someone else to read it, would they say you are full of life or full of death and destruction?

Please understand that your thoughts have a massive impact on your actions, as the scripture says “⁷For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” Proverbs 23 verse 7 KJV.

Still not convinced? Let me ask you a question and be honest in your answer. Name me one action that you did that never started with a thought in your head? If you can name an action then clearly there must be something incredibly wrong as your body is controlled by you, you are not controlled by your body.

If you choose to saturate yourself with love, great thoughts and you ensure that you only watch and listen to things that inspire and encourage you, it won’t be long before others start to be inspired by you.

May you have a fantastic day today and may it be filled with good thoughts, laughter and love.

Have a blessed day
Steven

Choice Time Wisdom

Make the right choices today!

By Steven on Tue, Oct 11, 2016

Today and every day that follows you will have the responsibility to make the right choices. It all starts when you wake up. Should I stay in bed a little longer or should I get up now? Then it comes to what you do when you get up. Should I look at my phone and read posts on Facebook or should I go have a shower and get ready for work? What should I eat for breakfast? What should I drink? What should I read? How should I drive when going to work? What route should I take? Do I speed or go at the speed limit?

When yo choices u get to work you are confronted with even more choices. Should I spend time talking to that person as the conversation is always fun? Should I get a coffee? Should I read my emails? Should I call some clients? What can I postpone for later? Where am I going to for lunch? What web pages should I look at? What should I eat? Who should I talk to?

The choices are all around us and in most cases we are totally oblivious to the fact that we even had a choice. The consequence of the choices we make could be devastating. We could be arriving late to work as a result of spending too much time on social media or sleeping too long. We could end up with a speeding ticket. Emails could be neglected and pile up as a result of wrong choices. Our physical bodies could become unhealthy as a result of choosing to eat the wrong types of food. If you find yourself in a place that you certainly do not want to be in just recheck the choices you made as it could quite easily be the consequence of those decisions.

The good news is that in the same way if you want to turn your life around start by making the right choices. Discipline your body by asking “is this a wise decision?” If it is then act on it. Initially it will be very difficult to do as your body will be in COMPLETE REBELLION to the choices you are making. No one finds making great decisions easy. The body wants you to feed it junk, it wants to have a social when it should be working, it wants to sleep later and it certainly does not want to go for a run.

Wise leaders make wise decisions with the greatest a resource that is forever depleting itself…..their TIME.

Have a blessed day
Steven

Leadership Manager Personal development

Need Help?

By Steven on Sun, Oct 2, 2016

Leadership Personal development Servant

What is your value system?

By Steven on Tue, Sep 27, 2016

serving This statement on serving sounds good and makes perfect sense or does it? So many quotes such as these pass our desk on a daily basis and in most cases we nod our head in agreement….but do we really believe it? Do we really practice it?

We presume that we are doing all the things we learnt, but are we? In truth leadership can become like driving a car. The longer we have been driving the more bad habits creep into our driving ability. We drive while texting or talking on our phone, we change lanes without indicating, we drive with one hand on the steering wheel, we sometimes forget to check our blind spots and can have many other bad habits. In fact our driving skills are only truly exposed when we have a learner driver wanting to learn how to drive from us. We may be able to teach the basics, but they will have to do things very differently if they want to pass the test. In fact we may even adjust some of the things we are doing whilst teaching them, purely because we suddenly become consciously aware of a bad habit we had developed.

Leadership is the same. We allow bad habits to creep in and unless we do an audit on ourselves we may not be consciously aware that we are actually being ineffective leaders. For this reason I highly recommend that leaders of people read leadership books and speak to other leaders. If possible they should go on leadership refresher courses. Yes, you may say that you learn nothing new. However that is just arrogance and shows how little you really know. Rather identify whether the lesson you have heard before is actually in operation in the way you lead. Ask yourself, “Am I doing this?”. Look for the gold nuggets that will make you a better leader. Get back to the basics. The only way we can become servant leaders is by learning that we need to serve those that follow us to the best of our ability and also understand that our skills can and will improve if we commit to a lifestyle of humility and learning.

Have a blessed day
Steven

Book review Leadership Manager

The New Manager – Reviews

By Steven on Wed, Sep 21, 2016

Aug 20^th 2016 – Amazon

5.0 out of 5 Stars – Must read for managers both old and new.

“Capturing the imagination of your audience through personal lessons and the willingness to share both the achievements and failures alike makes this an must have for all mangers”.

Aug 30^th 2016 – FIN 24

“In the introduction, Jacobs explains: “Now the big day has arrived (you have been appointed team leader,) you know the job, you know what has to be done, and you want to make a good impression. It’s a step into the unknown, but (this book,) The New Manager will be your mentor 24/7.” Having read the book carefully, I already have a list of people I am going to recommend it to. Included are members of my family, new managers in companies I am invested in, and client companies.

Jacobs has produced a valuable book – use it if you are at the beginning of your career, or share it with those who are”.

* Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works. Views expressed are his own.

http://www.fin24.com/Opinion/book-review-how-to-build-a-dream-team-20160830

Available at:

Exclusive books, Estoril Books, Bargain Books, Wordsworth and CNA

www.loot.com; www.amazon.com; http://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za

Appreciate Personal development Value

Do you VALUE everyone?

By Steven on Wed, Sep 14, 2016

In every company their greatest asset is certainly their people, yet somehow I feel that the quest to get everyone climbing up the corporate ladder is totally undervaluing those that don’t.

What is wrong with our thinking? The team player that loves their job and faithfully does it year in year out adds immense stability and value to the organization.. don’t they? Just yesterday I had a top client telling me how much they appreciated a particular person who had managed their relationship for years. In fact they said that the costs they pay are irrelevant as long as they had this person. Yet now the individual has moved on and they are longing for the same experience.

By way of observation it is easy to see that there are more non leaders than leaders in organizations. In fact when there are more leaders than non-leaders a company needs to retrench as the leaders become obsolete. Why are organizations sowing so much discontentment into their teams? So many motivational speakers are reaping the unintended consequence. Yes they are trying to make people positive and motivated however when this is hinged on a promotion it does the complete opposite. What are we actually saying? Are we saying that to be successful we have to be progressing up the ladder? How will that make the faithful employee feel who absolutely loved their job and now feels second rate as they have had the same job for ten years?

It’s painfully obvious that every company big or small needs every job filled with the right people and when people leave it costs them. It is equally obvious that every person has different drivers (even Maslow taught that). So what should the message be….. Enjoy what you are doing, excel at it and let us empower you to do the best damn job you can do. If you have a desire to lead let us develop you, if you have a desire to become the expert in your present role let us empower you. Let us reward loyalty with gratitude and acceptance.

May all that read this consider carefully what messages they are sending.. We fight discrimination; we fight people that put others down. Yet how many of our messages show that we appreciate all and value all irrespective of position?

Today I walked into a clean office, did that happen by itself? The cleaner is needed as much as the CEO, both have a purpose in the organization.

May we value all and encourage all in their chosen path.

Have a blessed day
Steven

Focus Leadership Manager

The New Manager

By Steven on Thu, Sep 8, 2016

I have searched for data but have not been successful yet on determining how many people in the world are promoted daily into managerial positions. My gut feel is that the number would be in its thousands if not in its tens of thousands. Every one of these newly appointed managers is going to need some guidance yet I wonder how many will ask for it?

When I was appointed into my first managerial position I don’t think I asked for help either. I mean I had led people before at school and in my church so how hard could it be? Boy was it easy when things were going right but when things went wrong, they went horribly wrong. Nothing had truly prepared me and I can be honest and say that I definitely made many mistakes, some of which had a definite impact on my financial wellness. Yet who could I speak to? Who could have prepared me for what I was to face?

Over the years I have loved raising up young new leaders in the workplace. It has been a privilege to be part of their leadership journey. In Ghana I would try and share my experiences as much as possible with these leaders to give them a head start as they did not need to go around the same mountains I did. Some of them heeded the advice and have done exceptionally well and others… well others have just continued on their own walk in their own way making their own repetitive mistakes.

Whilst in Ghana I knew I was going to head back to South Africa and there were two very clear projects that I had to complete. One was to finish a financial planning diploma that I had dropped out of many years before and the other was to finish writing my book I had spoken about for so many years of my life. I am pleased to say that I did finish both and have now got my eyes on a new goal. The book is a book I am proud of. Not in an arrogant way but more that I believe in it. I recently received an independent review from Ian Mann and he totally understood the value of the book and how it could help the New Manager, in fact I was deeply humbled to read that he was going to recommend it to family members. That blew me away.

The book will definitely help “any” first time manager or someone aspiring to become a manager. Why do I say this? I say this because I have written it as an “as is” book. The book tells it like it is. I share story after story of events that have taken place with me and others in leadership both the good and the bad so as to ensure that the reader is well prepared for their own journey ahead.

My greatest challenge right now is not whether people like the book or not. My greatest challenge is this “How do I ensure every new manager or someone aspiring to be a manager” knows about my book? This is the greatest challenge as so much of what we see is a fraction of what we are able to truly see. The internet is manipulated by the size of the wallet. Companies pay massive sums to ensure they come up first on search engines and news feeds. I know my book can help people but without your help my book will never get into the hands of those that need it most.

Please help in the quest to get “The New Manager” known by telling your training and HR partners about it or any new manager you know.

Have a blessed day
Steven