Here is your Five-Bullet Monday
A quote I am pondering:
"Find your uniqueness and exploit it in the service of others." - Larry Wright
I like this quote because it crisply captures three important principles; 1) finding our uniqueness - what we are the best at; 2) developing that unique skill or ability and maximizing it; and 3) doing that firstly and foremost to help serve others. If we can nail just those three principles, we will already have accomplished much in our lives.
A question I am asking myself:
What should I prioritize and then obsess on?
Prioritizing, then obsessing on that priority, is one of the fundamental principles from the book, Great at Work that we have given leaders in our business to read. Instead of taking on more and more and trying to be something to everybody, we do far better by saying "No" to many asks, so we deliver outstanding results on the one or two things that matter the most.
A book I am reading:
The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company – Ram Charan and Walter Dixon
I am going through this book preparing for our on-site leadership immersion sessions in Tumbler Ridge starting this week, which I will be helping host. The book explains how a leader develops, how to build a framework conducive to the formation of leaders and future leaders and why this is crucial for organizations. I also found it very helpful how the authors explain the seven phases of leadership and the six transitions between them that a leader must pass to achieve an optimal management level. I think this book should be compulsory reading for everyone involved in selecting and developing leaders.
My favourite podcast this week:
The Tim Ferris Show #543: Legendary Investor John Doer on Picking Winner
John Doer is probably best known for his first book, Measure What Matters, and for being an original investor in and board member of Google, mentoring Larry Page and Sergey Bin in the process. He is a very thoughtful leader and is now focusing his efforts on solving our global climate crisis. I found him so impressive that I decided to get his book and am halfway through it as I write this.
Hugh-Tips
Check your bank statements frequently
I checked my credit card statement over the weekend and found some fraudulent charges that had already mounted to nearly $2,500. I immediately got hold of the bank who froze the card, and I have now started the process of getting this money back. If I hadn't checked the card, those fraudulent charges could well be double that by now. The banks normally are pretty good at picking up unusual charges, but this time they missed it. That shows that we need to always be vigilant and check our online statements frequently, at least weekly, because you never know who might be trying to get their hands on your money.
My highlight this last week
Expanding my rental accommodation and getting my furniture out of storage
At the beginning of October, I rented a two-bedroom suite in a newly built house here near the top of West Vancouver. I love my little place here, with its newness and quietness, distant view of the ocean, a stream running nearby, and deer frequently in the garden. Last week, my landlady offered to rent me the entire bottom floor of the house for a reasonable increase. That gave me more than double the space I had before, and I could bring over the remaining furniture I had in storage. I also scored a new home theatre, sauna and steam shower. Woohoo!
My challenge to you for this week
Try eating different foods
I have a friend who has been introducing me to new foods over the last two weeks. I realized I had become a little staid in my food choices, and discovering new tastes and meal options has been enlightening. Are your food choices static? Well, maybe you could stretch your boundaries a little this coming week and try some different meals. Yes, it might result in one of two misses, but it could also open up new worlds of cuisine that you have not yet experienced, and you will be wondering why you didn't branch out sooner.
Have an awesome week
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