Francis Rants

Fond of Her

2009-10-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

She looks fairest among the city girls
The prettiest rose in the rose garden,
The brightest star in the sky,
With eyes as soft as dove's
A dazzling beauty & pleasant sight to behold,
Who walks & dances slowly & gracefully,
But sooo out of my reach :-(

She got a pleasant voice,
That reveals a kind heart.
She got a firm tone,
That represents a voice of reasoning.
She is a good conversationalist,
That will leave you wanting for more.
But sooo out of my reach :-(

She got a good perspective of life & life issues
And we see things through the same lenses
Always seeing the bigger picture, from the bird’s view
She is a typical local girl,
Brought t up in my neighboring hood
But sooo out of my reach :-(

Ever done anything wild in your life?

2009-03-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

I took my 92 yr. old grandpa to the mall the other day to buy some new shoes .
We decided to grab a bite at the food court.

I noticed he was watching a teenager sitting next to him. The teenager had
spiked hair in all different colors: green, red, orange, and blue. My grandpa kept
staring at him. The teenager would look and find him staring every time.

When the teenager had had enough, he sarcastically asked, 'What's the
matter old man, never done anything wild in your life?' Knowing my grandpa,
I quickly swallowed my food so that I would not choke on his response,
knowing he would have a good one, and in classic style he did not bat an
eye in his response.

'Got drunk once and had sex with a peacock. I was just wondering if you
were my son.

Self Control, Patience, Humility

2009-03-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Three most important qualities a young man / woman of my generation should cultivate / possess are:
1. Self-Control: Your demons can & will destroy your life if you don't keep them in check...
2. Patience: You'll have to realize your dreams will take time to achieve...
3. Humility: Starting from the bottom requires an extraordinary amount of this virtue which is the most important of all...

QUIZZ

2009-03-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional. Scroll down for each answer. The questions are NOT that difficult. But don't scroll down UNTIL you have answered the question!

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the
refrigerator?

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant a nd close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend.... except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the animal conference. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.

Send this out to frustrate all of your smart friends.This is the most annoying 'quiz' i have ever taken, thnks for being a friend in my time of misery as i took this.............lol...

On Ethics............

2009-03-03T01:55:00.000-08:00

While writing this article about ethics, it reminded me of a story I must have read somewhere about a young English parliamentarian who had just be elected into office. When he entered the house for the first time, he approached a sage and asked, “Tell me sir, do you think I should participate in today’s debate?” Then the old man looked at him with piercing eyes and said. “To be honest young man, I would recommend you keep quiet. Its better people wonder why you didn’t speak than wonder why you did.”

The same advice may apply here. Ethics is a sensitive issue, and neither I am an authority on that field, but I feel it’s important to talk about it.

Everywhere we turn today there are signs of ethical deterioration. Just a few weeks ago, we saw several cabinet nominees in Obama administration resign due to tax controversy. Closer back home hardly does a month pass by before the media reports MD so as so has been sent home over corrupt deals. We also have maize scandal, triton scandal name them. Inside trading in NSE, sex scandals between university students and lecturers, in secondary school admission, in government officers, on our roads daily etc.

Obviously, all these people, or us in most cases believe that we have to cheat to win, to seal that deal, to be successful. We believe that nice guys finish last. However this is against the universal wisdom. We all know that though we might temporarily get our end, in the end it will come to haunt us.

This begs the billion dollar question? What is wrong?

Before you point fingers to Ruto for the Maize scandal, or Okungu for the Triton etc, first examine your ethical thermometer first. How many hours do you steal from your employer to spend on Facebook, chatting or on YP mails? How many times have you taken office stationary home? How many times do you use office telephone to make personal calls? Have you ever taken undeserved “sick” leave? Have you ever interfered with the petty cash or have you had your receipts for some goods you bought on behalf of the company inflated to pocket the extra cash?

To ensure that people behave ethically, some companies have a code of ethics, some especially the small and middle sized doesn’t. How about in our interaction outside the workplace, in our personal lives? Do you have a personal code of conduct, guiding principles that you evaluate against anything you say or do; a set of personal value you live by?

Luckily you don’t have to have them. Us human beings are uniquely made and one major difference between us and animals is that we have a conscience. You don’t need to read a your company code of conduct to know that using office time to do personal work is wrong. You definitely always feel you are doing wrong. For us Christian and Muslim, we have a lot of ethical guideline in the bible and Koran e.g. the 10 commandments. Yet we always don’t follow them partly because we have not deeply internalized them or because of the allure of short term gratification. But no truly successful person ever got there without ethics as one of the fundamental principles in which they live by. The same is true of businesses. Business which doesn’t operate ethically doesn’t last long, pyramid schemes being a case in point; don’t go past the 2nd year yet companies are ethical exist for centuries e.g. Procter and gamble have existed since 1837. The same case with you, though you might temporarily seem to have succeeded using unethical ways, soon you will be on your way down the ladder.

In Rotary and Rotaract we have what I can call an ethical check questions, commonly known as the 4- Way Test. It is a 24 word guideline which is the public face of Rotary commitment to business ethics, what guides Rotarians(Members of Rotary) and Rotaractors(Members of Rotaract) interaction in their lives, when making every decision all day wrong. It goes like this.

Of the things we think, say or do
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Another ethical check I have ever come across was; cannot remember from which source.
• Is it legal?
• Is it balanced?
• How will it make me feel about myself?

Whichever the ethical guide you use, they all a have some common underlying principle; fairness. The Golden rule which comes from the bible says, “Do unto others what you want them do unto you.” Those who have ever read the book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey, know the habit number 4: Win-Win. Try as much as possible to ensure that in every deal, both or all of you win. Not that you win at the real expense of someone else i.e. win-lose. If we were to follow that then we won’t see a lot of mergers which benefit the shareholders while many employees are sent packing. No-wander very few mergers especially in Kenya ever succeed.

Ethics issues doesn’t come in just big ways, Let's say you are taking your family to Nairobi National Park. As you enter the gates and take out your wallet to pay for admission, you notice a sign that says children under six go in free.
"Ah!" you think to yourself. "My youngest child turned six a few weeks ago, but I'll tell them she's still five and save a few shillings. It's only a tiny untruth, nobody will know the difference and the KWS will certainly not go bankrupt because of it."
But one of your older sons, who is no fool, overhears your exchange with the attendant at the counter and quizzes you about it as you all pass through. After all, didn’t he see you celebrate the birthday last weekend?.
"Don't worry about it, son," you tell him reassuringly. "Everybody does it."
Then a year later, you're shocked when this same son is caught cheating in a school exam, or helping himself to an chocolate in the supermarket when he no one is was looking the that way. You angrily demand to know how he could dare to bring such shame upon the entire family.
"But Dad," he protests. "Everybody does it."

Its upon us as young professional to ensure that we behave ethically in all aspects of life, in our workplace, in our business, in our relationships, in our families. Its upon us as young parents to ensure that we set an exemplary standard to our children. It is good if each of us had an ethical guide, posted somewhere in the wall either in your office or bedroom which we can always refer to, to us solve ethical dilemmas when faced with one. Let’s build our society on ethical ground, ethical rocks.

Yes, nice guys seem to finish last, but what you don’t realize is that they usually are running in a different race.

"I Screwed Up"

2009-02-23T01:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was reflecting about responsibility and accountability especially in leadership, and then remembered a link I had bookmarked a month earlier "I have screwed up".
This got me thinking. How many of us are man/woman enough to admit honestly when we have made a mistake? For most of us once we make a mistake, then the common next logical step to make is duck and deny and lie!

On another note, kwani the Kenyan political leaders and business/corporate leaders never screws up? Kindly note Obama even never sent his spokesman, no! The guy had the guts to stand in front of cameras without flinching and say "I'm here on television saying I screwed up, and that's part of the era of responsibility. It's not never making mistakes; it's owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them and that's what we intend to do." You can watch the full interview here.

Our dear country is suffering from a deficit of taking responsibility and being accountable, whether it's in our relationships, in our marriages, in (mis) management of shareholders investments in companies and public utilities and well as taxpayers' money the government manages.

I found such an admission really refreshing. I just hope we learnt something from this guy and hope we gonna see more of such often! The backs stops with you. Dont pass it!

Innocent Beer

2009-02-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

A guy, sitting outside his home about to be evicted from his house, was contemplating how the future would be after he had divorced his wife, lost his children and lost his job...

He notices a crate of beer bottles and walks up to it. He takes out an empty bottle, smashing it into the concrete wall Swearing, "You are the reason I don't have a wife", second bottle, "You are the reason I don't have my children", third bottle "You are the Reason I lost my job".
He notices the fourth bottle is sealed and still full of beer. He takes the bottle, puts it aside and says "Stand aside my dear friend, I know you were not involved"

Exemplary Leadership

2009-02-19T00:35:00.000-08:00

Japan Airline Boss Sets Exec Example (CBS Evening News). Here`s another great report about Haruka Nishimatsu`s leadership at Japan Airlines. There`s nothing complicated here. This should be recognizable to everyone who works for a living -- those who earn their way every day. It`s leadership. Many leaders brand themselves special and leadership itself as some special art that only a few can master. I think that`s propaganda. The best leaders grow from the bottom up, they continually earn their support serving the community from which they came, and they don`t distance themselves from everyone once they attain their status. Simple. Nishimatsu is rare. So is leadership.

The Sky Is Falling

2009-02-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

One day Chicken Little was walking in the woods when -- KERPLUNK -- an acorn fell on her head "Oh my goodness!" said Chicken Little. "The sky is falling! I must go and tell the king."

On her way to the king's palace, Chicken Little met Henny Penny. Henny Penny said that she was going into the woods to hunt for worms. "Oh no, don't go!" said Chicken Little. "I was there and the sky fell on my head! Come with me to tell the king."

So Henny Penny joined Chicken Little and they went along and went along as fast as they could. Soon they met Cocky Locky, who said, "I'm going to the woods to hunt for seeds." "Oh no, don't go!" said Henny Penny. "The sky is falling there! Come with us to tell the king."

So Cocky Locky joined Henny Penny and Chicken Little, and they went along and went along as fast as they could. Soon they met Turkey Lurkey, who was planning to go to the woods to look for berries.
"Oh no, don't go!" said Cocky Locky. "The sky is falling there! Come with us to tell the king " So Turkey Lurkey joined Cocky Locky, Henny Penny and Chicken Little, and they went along as fast as they could.

Then who should appear on the path but sly old Foxy Woxy. "Where are you going, my fine feathered friends?" asked Foxy Woxy. He spoke in a polite manner, so as not to frighten them. "The sky is falling!" cried Chicken Little. "We must tell the king." "I know a shortcut to the palace," said Foxy Woxy sweetly. "Come and follow me." But wicked Foxy Woxy did not lead the others to the palace. He led them right up to the entrance of his foxhole. Once they were inside, Foxy Woxy was planning to gobble them up!

Just as Chicken Little and the others were about to go into the fox's hole, they heard a strange sound and stopped. It was the king's hunting dogs, growling and howling. How Foxy Woxy ran, across the meadows and through the forests, with the hounds close behind. He ran until he was far, far away and never dared to come back again.

After that day, Chicken Little always carried an umbrella with her when she walked in the woods. The umbrella was a present from the king. And if -- KERPLUNK -- an acorn fell, Chicken Little didn't mind a bit. In fact, she didn't notice it at all.

In this version of the old favorite Chicken Little story, everybody comes out okay - - except, that is, the fox. A casual reading of the story reveals the adorable, but not extremely astute, Chicken Little
leading her friends into potential harm’s way because of her propensity to blow little things out of proportion. She’s imagining harm that is not there and subsequently almost falls prey to harm that is actually there. She’s worried about things that don’t even exist. And these worries cause her to neglect her judgment, act in haste, and do something unwise. Chicken Little also put her friends in harm’s way because of her fears. There was Henny Penny out there hunting for worms, doing the thing that Henny Penny does naturally, being the best hen she could be. Henny Penny was generally a very healthy, self actualized hen. She understood that hens by their nature hunt worms. She was there, hunting worms, being a hen. And there was Cocky Locky. All he wanted to do on that sunny day was go into the woods and hunt for seeds. See, Cocky Locky was a rather mindful, fully integrated rooster, spending his
moments walking on his path through the woods, keeping his eyes on the ground for seeds. He understood that seeds were what kept him alive, and could there be any more pleasant way of living life
than by taking a walk on a sunny day into the woods looking down at the fine earth and enjoying the bounty at his feet? Turkey Lurkey was also on her way to the woods on this fine summer morning. She knew that the combination of the recent rains in the forest with the warm summer sunshine had created the most delicious berries of the season. Ah, the rapture of this harvest! Turkey Lurkey understood that the summer season was fleeting and that these berries wouldn’t last long. So she was off to the woods to rejoice in ecstasy at the feast ahead of her, finding her bliss while it was available. But there’s Chicken Little, getting everybody stirred up. Chicken Little had to do a little work getting everybody excited, but she eventually convinced the self-actualized Henny Penny, the mindful Cocky Locky and ecstatic Turkey Lurkey to put aside what was truly important to follow her in her frenzied attempt to find somebody who would keep her safe from a perceived harm.

How many times have you been led away from living your lives to the fullest? Someone tells you there’s something just beyond the next hill that will harm you? We end up running around in a frenzied rush looking for salvation from that perceived harm. We start suffering from stress, anxiety, excess worry. We get ulcers and headaches. Who is the chicken in your life? Your friends, your workmates, your parents, your spouse?

Have you ever been jolted awake in the middle of the night by the sense that something is horribly out of control? Like there’s a group of people in your head and they’re reminding you of a list of problems: Galfriend amekuacha, you haven’t paid your bills, all the things you didn't get done today, people you didn't call back ,you didn’t close the sale, decisions you’re worried about?

We can spend our entire lives staving off the inevitable, or we can spend our lives being fully present. Do I really want to live to be 80 years old if my entire life is full of worry and anxiety?

It is hard to find peace of mind . I tend to think it’s because we must trust and love people in order to get there. We understand that others have a certain amount of control over circumstances that impact us, and that’s pretty frightening. We would like to be totally self sufficient. But that’s not possible. Other people in our lives have power. They have the pwer to hold us, comfort us, love us, lift us up, and also, yes, on occasion to hurt us and harm us.

Perhaps our natural inclination or reaction is to believe that we can’t trust anyone, coz people betray each other. Well, it’s true that sometimes people do betray each other. And the world can be dangerous. But we can’t change that. We can only change ourselves, slow down and be right here, right now. We can look around at the people you meet and interact and begin the slow process of trusting. Oh, betrayal will take place, but not every time. When we reach out to trust someone and that someone does not betray you, the cloud of anxiety will start to lift and the nxt thing you know, we’re more content and peaceful.

We can make positive changes in the families, workplace and for our dear country Kenya. But not by worrying

When the deepest part of you becomes engaged in what you’re doing, when your activities and actions become gratifying and purposeful, when what you do serves both yourself and others, when you do not tire within but seek the sweet satisfaction of your life and your work, you are doing what you were meant to be doing. You are not burdened with anxiety, fear and worry

And nobody can save me from myself, but me. I must do my own soul work, as you must do yours. We all already have everything we need within us to live a full and meaningful life. No one is promised complete immunity from the discords and suprises of life while on earth. Problems will inevitably arise, upende usipende. We can choose to deal with before they get here, and then be completely exhausted when the problems arise.

Chicken Little felt that the king, in all his wisdom, could save her from the falling sky. Well, here in Kenya we don’t have a wise king. We only have ourselves to rely on. And harm will come our way. Foxy Loxy will not stay out of the forest forever. He will be back. And big acorns will fall on our heads (for those of you who have been walking through the yard of our house here in the fall, you know how true this statement is). Will we be the panicky Chicken Little? Or the self-actualized Henny
Penny, the mindful Cocky Locky and the ecstatic Turkey Lurkey? Not that they were perfect, by any means. As a matter of fact, they were moments away from being devoured by Foxy Loxy. My metaphor is clearly falling apart. Let me see if I can pull it together here. Okay, maybe we’ll all be saved by big dogs. In the meantime, Let us be mindful, be present. Lets us act from a place of peace.

Good day all

Be Conscious of Abilene Paradox

2009-02-15T09:57:00.001-08:00

We’ve all been there. You don’t agree at all with a decision being made, but you fear that you are in the minority - if not the only one - in disagreement. Instead of prolonging debate/argument, and risking raising the ire of others in the team or group, you concede. Instead of expressing your true thoughts on the matter, you feign agreement without consideration for the future consequences of not speaking up.

Yesterday Sunday afternoon, while flipping through the book, The Ultimate Business Resource, I learned about an interesting phenomenon called the “Abilene Paradox.” The paradox was coined by management expert Jerry B. Harvey and is illustrated by the parable below that is supposedly based on a personal experience of his.

On a hot afternoon visiting in Coleman, Texas, the family is comfortably playing dominoes on a porch, until the father-in-law suggests that they take a trip to Abilene [53 miles north] for dinner. The wife says, “Sounds like a great idea.” The husband, despite having reservations because the drive is long and hot, thinks that his preferences must be out-of-step with the group and says, “Sounds good to me. I just hope your mother wants to go.” The mother-in-law then says, “Of course I want to go. I haven’t been to Abilene in a long time.”

The drive is hot, dusty, and long. When they arrive at the cafeteria, the food is as bad. They arrive back home four hours later, exhausted.

One of them dishonestly says, “It was a great trip, wasn’t it.” The mother-in-law says that, actually, she would rather have stayed home, but went along since the other three were so enthusiastic. The husband says, “I wasn’t delighted to be doing what we were doing. I only went to satisfy the rest of you.” The wife says, “I just went along to keep you happy. I would have had to be crazy to want to go out in the heat like that.” The father-in-law then says that he only suggested it because he thought the others might be bored.

The group sits back, perplexed that they together decided to take a trip which none of them wanted. They each would have preferred to sit comfortably, but did not admit to it when they still had time to enjoy the afternoon.

The heart of Harvey’s message, in my view, may be summed up in the following points:

1. While the benefit of coming to decisions as a group is that more points of view will filter out the weakest options, groups sometimes reach incorrect decisions because of false consensus.
2. People will go along with what they perceive to be “the crowd” even if, in reality, there is no “crowd.”
3. People tend to have an impression - either warranted or unwarranted - that there will be repercussions to speaking out against ideas with which they don’t agree.
4. If we acknowledge that the paradox exists, we can be more conscious of it, and strive to avoid it.

Have you ever failed to express your opposing viewpoint when your thoughts that ran contrary to what you considered to be the popular opinion? I know I have. No one wants to be perceived as contrarian. What if no one speaks up and the results - which could have been averted - are disastrous?

I see a lot of layers to this paradox. First, it is facilitators/leaders job to foster an environment where people are comfortable expressing their views, and challenging the perceived status quo. Second, it is incumbent on the various role players within a group to take a true ownership stake in the success of the group. This means having the courage to speak your mind, when appropriate. Third, when you do have courage and an environment that is friendly to free-flow of ideas and opinions, you have to be careful to take the paradox too far in the other direction. We all know people who look for every opportunity to disagree on every matter, no matter how minute, and yes, I have seen them on this group. No one wants to be that guy.

That’s the Abilene paradox,: Nobody may think we’re sailing a good course, but if nobody is willing to rock the boat – thinking we’ll be the only one – we may end up continuing as is, until we all go under...

Have a Abilene paradox- free week.

3 Useful Rules During Tough Times

2009-02-15T03:51:00.000-08:00

If you are a kind of person who always deals with projects or doing long term assignments, then you will find these three rules which I have developed within the last 2 years useful.

The first one is that I always remind myself, “It isn’t going to be easy.” Anyway if it was easy, everyone else would be doing it but they aren’t. And if they doing it, then it would not give me the competitive advantage over them. As I said here, it’s never good to always think things gonna be easy, or to be over optimistic!

The second reminder I have is, “Keep kicking the ball up the hill.” This is a metaphor that seems so vivid to me on how to get things done. You want to get the ball over the hill so you kick it. By the time you've taken 2 or three steps it is rolling back to you and you have to give it another good kick. It may hve gone 20 to 30 ft up the hill with the kick, but in reality it is moving in the same relative speed as you are as you make your way up the hill. You just have to keep kicking it till you finally get it over. A lot of things feel like this while at work. While I wish others would pick up the ball and run with it, when it comes down to getting something done that is really important to me, I just have to keep kicking till it's over the top.

The third reminder is to keep telling myself that, “Cool heads win the day.” When things don't go the way I want them to go, I'm tempted to say, “I'm gonna rip your lips off!” But these outbursts don't will always have a negative effect. People get offended when you tell them if they don't do something you'll rip their lips off. What I now try to do, especially when am under pressure, is to stop before a the meeting or before the call or hitting the send button, and remind myself that cool heads do in fact win the day. Nobody likes to have their lips ripped off, or reprimanded or reproached.

Have a cool week

Nothing Like -- "In the future i will....."

2009-02-15T01:37:00.000-08:00

There exist as many viable futures as our imaginative mind can imagine, especially when we understand deeply the dynamics at work right now which hold the opportunity to become the author of new.

The future is not what will happen, the future is what is happening. The present and the future are not neatly separated as many of us want to imagine, but they are rather intertwined. Each of us is in the process of becoming, of becoming irrelevant in the future or becoming the harbinger of the future. The long term is not anything that will happen someday; it is what each of us is building or forfeiting by the myriad decision we make each and every day. To quote William Jennings, he said “Destiny is not a matter of choice: it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

Next time you say, "In future I want to………………", think twice, or think again. Start today, start now by the series of small steps and decisions that you will make, to make the future you want.

Never be optimistic!

2009-02-15T01:36:00.000-08:00

Over the December holiday I read a business book called "Good to Great". In it is a parable the author Jim Collins calls the Stockdale paradox, named after an US Admiral called Jim Stockdale. The post by Josiah: So are going to be optimistic or pessimistic? prompted me to write this and and answers is none of the two.

Jim Stockdale was the highest ranking US military officer imprisoned in Vietnam. He was held in the "Hanoi Hilton" and repeatedly tortured over 8 years. Collins describes going to lunch with Stockdale (can you imagine?) and trying to understand how he survived 8 years as a Prisoner of War, while so many died after just months in captivity.

Here's how Stockdale put it. "I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade."
"Who didn't make it out"?
"The optimists. They were the ones who said 'we're going to be out by Christmas'. And, Christmas would come and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Moi Day, and then it would be Christmas again. Then they died of a broken heart."
So, on the one hand it was about unswerving faith that one will ultimately prevail while on the other hand it's about banishing all false hopes? As usual, the guy who lived it says it best.
"You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

Holding those two seemingly contradictory notions in his head simultaneously was the key to Stockdale surviving, even thriving, in his experience. And, I believe, it is a perfect summary of the mindset we've got to have while looking for a job, starting a company, dealing with a marital problem, or any other life challenge and even politics. You've got to do everything you can to make it happen. But, you can never let your belief and faith cloud your confrontation with reality.

Yes don't forget, we shall not only prevail, but prevail in the end. And again don't be too optimistic. Face the brutal facts of reality.

It's a paradox and to add a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald : "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

Avoid The Tyranny Of The "Or," And Embrace The Genius Of The "And."

2009-02-15T01:32:00.000-08:00

Most of us have been brought up to believe things come in binary, good or bad, A or B, you are either conservative or liberal, you can either buy a quality product or a cheap product.

We also like to classify things into neat boxes with descriptive labels on them. Many are the times I see myself put socks in one drawer, underwares in another one, and then struggle with the question of where handkerchiefs should go.

But we don't do it with just physical items. We also classify people: Kikuyu and Luos, doctors and marketers, old and young, experts and general practitioners, those who ate oranges and those who ate bananas etc. etc

In a book called Build to last, the authors James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras studied visionary companies (companies that outlive their founders and stay fresh throughout big changes in the world they work in), and noticed that what makes these companies different from their competition has a lot to do with seeing past the classifications.

Collins and Porras write:

[Visionary companies] do not oppress themselves with what we call the "Tyranny of the OR"–the rational view that cannot easily accept paradox, that cannot live with two seemingly contradictory forces or ideas at the same time. The "Tyranny of the OR" pushes people to believe that things must be either A OR B, but not both.

But what do the visionary companies, bound to be successful, do? According to Collins and Porras:

Instead of being oppressed by the "Tyranny of the OR," highly visionary companies liberate themselves with the "Genius of the AND"–the ability to embrace both extremes of a number of dimensions at the same time. Instead of choosing between A OR B, they figure out a way to have both A AND B.

What happens if we have many different interests in life? Will we pick choice A or B or C or D?

If we're attracted to many different pursuits and can't commit to any single one of them for our career, degree, or income source, then good for us! Leonardo da Vinci was in the same boat. He's considered by many to be the greatest genius of all time.

The notion that we have to commit to a single trade for life (or even for a decade or two) I think only makes sense if we want to live like an industrial worker drone. But then we're just filling the role of a cog in a giant machine, perfectly disposable and easily replaced by similar cogs.

Let me guess… the people telling you and me (maybe even yelling) to pick one thing and commit to it are also on the drone path themselves, right? Do we honestly want their results? Or would like something better?

It's perfectly okay for us to reject the drone path, you know. Lots of people do, and they're much happier for it. But they aren't the same people that will tell at us, "Pick one thing and stick to it, or you'll never amount to anything." Instead they'll probably say, "The more interests you pursue, the smarter you'll become."

The next time someone tells you to settle down and pick just one thing for your career, your degree or diploma course, or your source of income, I recommend you reply as follows: "I appreciate your concern, but since I don't share your dream of becoming a prized poodle, I must reject your advice as being utterly stupid." ):

The Chinese have a good philosophy on this called yin and yang . Kindly read it on this wikipedia link and get more enlightened.

Just my thoughts/opinions though,
and everyone is entitled to his/her own.

Francis Mwangi.

Are we a group of monkeys?

2009-02-15T01:29:00.000-08:00

Please take two minutes to read this story... and at the end of it ask yourself if it sounds familiar!

This story is about an experiment which a group of scientist conducted in order to study the behavior of monkeys in terms of team play. The setup of the experiment was quite simple. There where five monkeys kept in a cage, with a ladder kept in the middle of the cage. A bunch of bananas was kept on top of the ladder!

Now, the moment monkeys saw the banana on top, they tried to climb up the ladder and grab the banana. But what the scientists did was, the moment any monkey tried going up the ladder, they would shower freezing cold water on rest of the four monkeys.

After a few cold shower, the monkeys understood that they are subjected to the cold showers only when any of them try to go up the ladder. So next time any monkey tried going up the ladder, the rest of them would beat him black and blue!

After several beatings, every monkey gave up tried going up the ladder, even after having the temptation of the bunch of bananas right in front of their eyes!

Now the scientists brought a change in the setup. A monkey from the set of five, was replaced with a new monkey. This new monkey, the moment saw the bunch of bananas, tried to go up the ladder and grab it!

Upon this, as per the usual practice, rest of the four monkeys gave him a severe beating! After couple of such beatings, the new monkey also gave up trying going up the ladder and grab the bananas, without ever knowing why he was being beaten for going up the ladder and grabbing the bananas..

Now the scientists made more changes and replaced one of the old four monkeys with a new one. This time, same as the last time,first thing the new monkey did was to try going up the ladder and grab the banana! But upon this, he was severely bashed. This time, even our last replaced monkey, joined in beating the new monkey. Neither the new monkey knew why he was being beaten on trying to go up the ladder, nor our last replaced monkey knew why he is beating the new monkey on trying to climb up the ladder!

Going ahead with the experiment, the scientists kept replacing old monkeys with new ones and every time the beating was repeated.

After some time what was left was a group of five monkeys who never received a cold shower but which never tried climbing up the ladder to grab the bananas and kept beating any monkey who tried climbing up the ladder and grab the bananas!

If it was ever possible to ask these five monkeys why they beat any other monkey who try to go up the ladder and grab the bananas, I'm sure the answer would be.. "I don't know... but that's how things are done over here!"

In life, most of the time we would encounter people, at work, among friends, peers, even family members, who would throw their solid fist on you every time you try to go up the ladder, without any justifiable reason or point! But unfortunately... "That's how things are done around here!"

We have a choice... either we can continue being a monkey and go on with bashing and beating.. or stop being one and start climbing the up the ladder!!

"Only two things are infinite.. the Universe and Human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure of the former!" –That is what Albert Einstein once said.

Francis Mwangi

Are you a hedgehog or a fox?

2009-02-15T01:20:00.000-08:00

Hi Hedgehogs and Foxes!

These are not the most glamorous of all the beasts to compare ourselves with, for sure.

So how did the lowly hedgehog become the mammalian mentor for all of us?

I first came to learn of this while reading a business bestseller book by Jim Collins called Good to Great.

Jim Collins actually borrows this story from a famous essay "The Hedgehogs and the Fox" by Isaiah Berlin. Isaiah divided the world into hedgehogs and foxes, based upon an ancient great parable: "The fox knows MANY things, but the hedgehog knows ONE big thing."

The fox is cunning, crafty, sleek and sly. He is able to devise a myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks upon the hedgehog. Day in day out, the fox circles around the hedgehog den waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Fast sleek, beautiful, fleet of foot and crafty – the fox looks like a sure winner. The hedgehog on the other hand is a dowdier creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between a porcupine and a small armadillo. He waddles along, going his simple day searching for lunch and taking care of his home.

The fox waits in cunning silence at the juncture in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own business, wanders right in the path of the fox. "Aha I got you know!" thinks the fox. He leaps out, bounding across the ground lightening fast. The hedgehog sensing danger looks up and thinks, "Here we go again. Will he ever learn?" He rolls up into a perfect little ball, becoming a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions. The fox, bounding toward his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack…Each day, some version of this battle between the hedgehog and the fox takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins."

Yes, the hedgehog ALWAYS wins!

Think about this: Are you a hedgehog, or a fox?

"Foxes" pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity whereas "hedgehogs" simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything- a hedgehog idea. For "hedgehog", anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance.

Our answer holds the key to whether we will be successful in our business ventures or in personal life!

Nobody wants to be a hedgehog, lets admit it. How boring is that? A hedgehog doesn't see much of the world. He's too focused for that. He doesn't learn all the latest hunting tools and tricks because his world view is boiled down to just what he needs.

Let's look at our own great athletes who always win the great marathon in the world. I understand they always wake up at 3:00am, to practice, every day, focusing on the next marathon challenge. The next marathon is all they think about. And NOTHING else matters!

Making a wild guess, I am sure you are an employee or self employed, or a job seeker and we have been trained to multitask, juggling many balls on the air at the same times. Our bosses want us to be busy, working hard, doing as much as possible. But most likely the guy who gets the promotion or has the very successful business is the one who focused on fewer tasks and did them well.

Okay, so it's good to be a hedgehog.

How do we become one if we're a fox by nature?

It's simple. Imagine if you were able to clarify for yourself; (1) what you are most passionate about, (2) what you are genetically encoded for -- your natural strengths and innate abilities and (3) what you can do with your talents and passion to make a significant contribution to others and make your living doing it. Where these three dimensions intersect is your Hedgehog Concept, what you can naturally be best at.

You need all three to have a Hedgehog Concept. If you make a lot of money doing things that you can never be your best at or that you don't care deeply about, you'll have material things, but not fulfillment. If you are doing something at your best but aren't passionate about it, you'll never be able to sustain interest and enthusiasm. Finally, if you're passionate about something, but can't be your best at it or if it doesn't make economic sense or contribute to others, then it can be a fun-filled hobby, but you won't be making a living at it.

Those who are living their best life, to one degree or another are hedgehogs. They use their hedgehog nature to drive toward being at their best and contributing to others. By comparison, the foxes never clarify the three dimensions and instead remain scattered, diffused, and inconsistent.

So, hedgehogs and foxes, my fellow YPs, let us keep working at it and someday we'll be hedgehogs too, if we aren't one already.

No offence intended.

BTW, of the two principals in the coalition government, who is a hedgehog and who is a fox? :-)

On a light note

2008-10-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time in a village in India, a man announced to the villagers
that he would buy monkeys for $10.
The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the
forest and started catching them.
The man bought thousands at $10, but, as the supply started to diminish,
the villagers stopped their efforts. The man further announced that he
would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they
started catching monkeys again.
Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to
their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys
became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone
catch it!
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since
he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act
as buyer, on his behalf.
In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: 'Look at
all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will
sell them to you at $35 and when he returns from the city, you can sell
them back to him for $50.'
The villagers squeezed together their savings and bought all the
monkeys.
Then they never saw the man or his assistant again, only monkeys
everywhere! Welcome to WALL STREET.

HOW FAR CAN YOU TRUST A FRIEND?

2008-08-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

How far can you trust a friend? Mutua left to go help in the Crusades and decided that his wife Mueni should wear a chastity belt. (Steel underwear) So he locks her up and gives the key to his best friend, Mogaka. He tells him, "If I'm not back in four years, unlock my wife and
set her free to live a normal life." So Mutua leaves on horseback and about a half hour later, he sees a cloud of dust behind him. He waits for it to come closer and sees Mogaka. "What's wrong?" He asks. Mogaka replies: "You gave me the wrong key!"

Distinctive Competence / Core Competence

2008-08-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

As an avid reader of business books, one in a while I come across business buzzword some of which I like.

This time round it was Distinctive Competence. It means a unique thing a company does really well. The qualities or attributes that sets it aside from other competitors and peers. I work with a company that’s deals with selling of Generators and Water pumps. But unlike other firms that just sell, we are the only company that combines with installation and commissioning of our products. That is our Distinctive Competence, that is what sets us aside from others.

What is your individual Distinctive Competence? What makes you unique as an individual? What is your Distinctive Competence that differentiates you from your friends?

Beijing’s Eight Commandments

2008-08-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

The Chinese government has a penchant for doing things perfectly. To ensure that thousands of visitors expected in the Chinese capital Beijing do not undergo one moment of embarrassment, The Peoples Republic of China has come up with some stipulations on how the locals could relate to the teenagers.

If you are traveling to the Olympics, rest be assured that the Chinese government is doing everything in its power to protect your right to privacy.

Their latest measure to protect your rights is a list of “ 8 Don’t Ask Questions" - presented as a guide to the locals about how to show proper hospitality(one assumes that they don’t teach this at school.) Posters around Beijing advise locals about asking inappropriate questions. Some of the blacklisted inquires read: “ Don’t ask about income and expenses, don’t ask about love life or marriage, don’t ask about health, don’t ask about someone’s home or address, don’t ask about personal experience, don’t ask about religious beliefs or political views, don’t ask what someone else does."

So folks if, while in Beijing enjoying a lager, a pretty Chinese girl walks up to you and says "take me back to your hotel room", don’t be astonished about her manners. It is her government cutting down on verbal foreplay.

Why i am a rotaractor !

2008-08-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

Three reasons why am a rotaracor in descending order.

1.For Fun: Have always enjoyed the fellowship and have made many friends through club fellowships and activities.

2. To find Meaning: To add meaning to my life by contributing to the society through participating in clubs community projects.

3. To Learn : To learn a few things especially through taking some responsibilities within the club so as to strengthen the rotaract family

What does it take to offer quality services?

2008-08-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

We have changed our internet service provider in our firm 3 times in the last 2 months. The primary reason being their services are pathetic. Internet connection is always slow, support department takes weeks to rectify a problem. And this is not just specific to the three firms, but a common feature in Kenyan firms in the service industry.

I tend to be convinced anyone can make it in any service industry with the basic minimum requirement skills. All one will need to do is to offer timely, quality and reliable services his or her clients, and keep them happy! Not frustrated customers like I am now.