After a busy weekend came Monday morning, a moment that, I have to admit, am not very fond of. But in this sleepy moment, between prayers that this is a mistake (and it’s actually Sunday) and effort to get out of the house an interesting though came along. Continue reading …
Estonia – an example for me and others
Today during a meeting with someone from a big Estonian company, I got a simple question: What do you like about Estonia? The answer came very easy and I decided (now that my website is back online after a few months) to share it with you.
I like Estonia because: Read More…
Keep being a kid
All rights reserved to ::JWK:: (via Flickr)
Go back to when you were a kid. Do you remember how it was? Were you different in terms of behaviors than you are now?
I was for sure. Now I am trying to keep that kid alive. Why? Because I think kids can do so many things better than adults, especially than those that take themselves too seriously. So here are the things I believe kids do better than adults and are also the reason why you should keep your young spirit alive.
Kids are creative
They know no boundaries. Anything that crosses their mind is materialized. Children have so many more ideas than you and me (… combined). Imagine how that kind of creativity could help you now, in your job, in the situations you are facing and when it comes to find new solutions to old problems. Children are not aware of this and Read More…
Questions of life …
via Horia Varlan (Flickr)
Simple things in life are, or can be, complicated. Sounds weird I know. But I have 2 questions for you:
- Who are you?
- What do you want?
They seem simple enough questions at a first glance, but once you try to answer them they get more complicated. They say that people are looking for the answers to these questions for a life time. Can you answer them? Are you confident about your answer?
Once you know who you are and what you want, everything else should come easier than it does now. Answers don’t come easy but you can always get help. To be completely honest, I am not sure I have the answers, but my experience in AIESEC and being in international events like the Global Leaders Summit in Mexico City helps me get closer to those answers. I just hope you find a way to get your answers.
You can’t do it!
via windy_sydney (flickr)
Today I was going through some of my notes and found something very interesting. It’s a story that I recommend you read. Unfortunately I don’t know who is the author (if you know please tell me), but it’s not me so I can’t take credit for it.
“As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a rope tied to their legs. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to, but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
“Well”, he said, “when they are very young Read More…
Mistakes a first time manager can do
via www.christuniversity.in
The moment you get promoted or selected in a managerial position you get excited. Nothing wrong in that as long as you keep in mind that the new position comes with new responsibilities, will require you to learn new skills and believe it or not, it’s different than the job you did before.
Everyone makes mistakes, but there are some of those mistakes that you could avoid:
- Focus on tasks and not on people – as a manager you will have a team and that team will carry out most of the tasks. Focus on the people that are doing those tasks and not on the tasks themselves. Track them of course but keep in mind that task don’t do themselves. People carry out tasks. And unless you want Read More…
How the first boat trip can change you
I am writing this from a boat that takes me from Tallinn to Helsinki that got me thinking a bit. You might think about what and why? I got very excited because this was the first time I am on a big ship crossing the sea. Suddenly I realized how often we ignore those little experiences, the one that for many seem so normal, but for some of us are firsts. How we diminish their importance and therefor miss some important lessons.
In fact it’s not about just the first boat trip. Can be the first plane you took, the first time you live alone, even the first time you pay a bill. But how can these firsts change you or help you improve? In case it’s not very clear or obvious here are a few things you might learn from my perspective: Read More…
Selecting your team
Everyone knows that having a good management team is important (if not vital) to running a successful organization. So the question is how to select your team? How to make sure that you have the best?
I have a list of criteria that I follow. Dos and don’ts if you want. And an interview is vital to get these cleared out. I am not an HR expert, but I took part in some selection panels and I had to choose some teams to lead. So here it goes:
- Fit with the position and context – if they were good at what they were previously doing doesn’t automatically mean they will be good in the new position. It doesn’t even matter if they were in a higher rank before. The context is different, plans and vision for the organization might be different. Make sure the person you select is able to handle those
- Look for behaviors – people might talk the talk but can they walk the walk? Often people try to oversell themselves. Are all those characteristics they are trying to sell proven by facts or previous actions? Testing this takes some subtlety but it will give the outcome a hole turnaround.
- Responsibility – very important. Read More…
