This blog moves to QAspire.com/Blog

QAspire blog has moved to www.qaspire.com/blog. I moved this WordPress hosted blog to custom-hosted WordPress. This will allow access to better themes, plugins to enhance user experience.

If you subscribe via a RSS reader you will need to update your feed to receive updates from the new site:

QAspire.com/Blog’s New RSS Feed Location is http://qaspire.com/blog/?feed=rss2. Please update your RSS subscription.

You can check out the new blog by clicking here. I have also written a welcome post there. I intend to continue blogging on the new QAspire.com/blog.

Blogging has been a very enriching experience so far. I started this blog in April 2006 and today, the blog has more than 250 posts with an average daily readership of 80-100 unique visits and number of comments on each post. I have been able to keep in touch with lot of old colleagues via this blog and have made new friends. It can’t get better than this.

Thanks to everyone who contributed in making this blog successful and I do know that you will check out my new blog and continue your support.

Thanks again and see you at QAspire.com/blog.

Great Quotes: Credits of Life!

Read these two great quotes on Twitter and thought of sharing! Without much ado, here they go:

“People are capable of greater things than they perform. They are sent into the world with bills of credit, and seldom redeem them.” – Walpole

“Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.” ~ Christopher Parker

Have a great Tuesday!

Great Quote: Vincent Van Gogh on Profession and Passion

“Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.” – Vincent Van Gogh

I have been using Twitter increasingly to post great quotes – its quick and easy! But this quote was so profound that it demanded a post.

Thanks to Lisa Haneberg to have pointed me to Helping You Succeed blog post on “7 Career Killers“. The post starts with this quote.

Check out by earlier blog posts on similar topics : Great Quotes: Work and Play, Follow your Energies, Passion Power, Actualizing with the self

Have a great Wednesday!

Great Quote: by Warren Bennis – Leadership means being yourself

Last week, I was talking to a group of 15 middle managers in our organization sharing my views on Leadership. One important thing I discussed with them was that leadership can only stem from doing something you really love doing. We can only express ourselves fully when we love what we do. With this expression comes a uniqueness in practice, understanding and learning. Result is excellence. Leadership stems from excellence. In a way, Leadership is all about excellence.

In this regards, I read a great quote “Practice of Leadership” blog:

“No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders. So the point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself, to use yourself completely – all your skills, gifts and energies – in order to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You, must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and to enjoy the process of becoming.” – Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader

My key takeaways from this:

• Leadership is a result of doing what you love doing and pursue your calling.
• Leadership is a result of expressing yourself fully in your area of work to achieve excellence. It is about being yourself.
• Leadership without personal excellence is not possible.

Have a great day ahead!

Also read on this blog: Great Quotes: Work and Play, Follow your Energies, Passion Power, Actualizing with the self

Thoughts on Humility & Leadership

The branch of tree that bears fruits leans down. When leaders assume higher responsibilities, they become more humble.

Recently, one of my friends, an very senior Oncologist performed more than 10 complex stem cell transplants for cancer patients and gave them a new lease of life. When I met him to congratulate, he said, “I am only a medium through which God heals people”. He could have boasted about his achievements and tooted his horns. He chose to be humble.

Humility means being unpretentious, being modest. A humble person is the one who does not think he/she is better or more important than others. The moment you start thinking that you are more important than others, you stop leading.

Here are some interesting insights I found across the blogosphere on humility and how it is important for professionals, managers and leaders alike.

I read an excellent article on Humility over at ezinearticles.com by Marilyn Lustgarten. Marylin says -

A leader whose only focus is on him or herself, and how much they know or are capable of doing alone, typically also lacks empathy – the ability to stand in another’s shoes and understand what it must feel like to be them in a situation – which is why it’s possible to steal someone else’s thunder without thinking…or blinking.

Unfortunately, history has not been kind to arrogant leaders who only learn what it means to be humble when they, and by association, their organizations, are brought low by public humiliation.

I also read an interesting post “Leader or Pusher?” at Lead on Purpose blog by Michael Ray Hopkin. Here is an excerpt:

To become a leader, practice these principles:

• Courage: Leaders do not allow fear to direct their decisions. They possess the poise to make tough decisions, and they stand by the consequences. When times are tough they have the mettle to persevere.
• Integrity: Leaders are consistent in their actions, values and principles. Integrity plays an important part in their work life and their personal life.  Their motives are aligned with their organizations and with their own internal beliefs.
• Humility: Leaders are humble. They are not weak or spineless but they posses an inner confidence that guides their actions. They are not in it to glorify themselves but to lift others.The best leaders are confidently humble.

"Be Different" and other great lists from Nicholas Bate

Nicholas Bate is at it again – lists I mean. He is simply too good at articulating his thoughts in lists of 10, 25 and 100 points. Lists that are provocative and call for action. I did refer to his “Professionalism 101″ list earlier. This time around, its “Be Different 25” – list of 25 things you can do to be different.

You should read the full list on his blog, but here are 10 that I liked the most:

• Be punctual;
• Encourage others;
• Listen to understand;
• Get really, really good at some things;
• Accept the above may take you years, but it’ll be fun;
• Lead whether or not you have manager/leader/supervisor in your job title;
• Grab every damn opportunity;
• When those run out: create your own damn opportunities;
• Say thank you;
• Be grateful;

By the way, there is one more list titled “Outrageous101” – I like it each and every point mentioned there. So if I try to list down my favorites, I am afraid, I will end up reproducing the w hole post!

So, I would recommend that you read it yourself – Outrageous101. Outrageous thinking, outrageous goals, outrageous value and outrageous living!

I feel so upbeat when I read these lists and I am sure you will too! Enjoy!

Twitter Updates – March 2009 (Great Quotes)

Here are a few selected Twitter updates I posted through March 2009. March was a month of quotes and I found a lot of appealing and interesting quotes from people whom I follow on Twitter. While I love all of them, I specially like the ones marked in bold.

For those new toTwitter, RT stands for Retweet which simply means re-posting the tweets posted by others.

If you enjoy these tweets, you can start following me @tnvora! See you on Twitter.

• Great RT @rosasay A conversation is like a dance. Someone leads, someone follows. Try to lead at the same time, you’ll end up with sore toes.
• RT @silixell “If you posses something that you can’t give away, then it posses you.” Frank Sinatra #quote
• Note at my dentist’s office: “Your teeth – you get them free twice, third time you have to pay for it”
• “Workaholsim is as bad to productivity as alcoholism.”
• “No matter what business you are into, you are in the people business!“- heard Tom Peters saying this in one of the podcast!
• RT @SusanOrchard A lady at a recent networking event had on a button that said “I refuse to participate in the recession.” – What about you?
• RT @Mike_Wesely #QUOTE: “Love is a game that two can play and both win.” ~Eva Gabor
• Spend just a bit more timewith all your staff:(1) to show that they are valued and (2) to check they know EXACTLY how to do their job well.
• Stars shine brighter when surrounded by other stars. Questn: Are you a star? If so, are you surrounded by stars who help you shine brighter?
• RT @raj_bokdia “I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.” Elbert Hubbard
• RT @Mike_Wesely #QUOTE: “Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; a boss says “Go!” – a leader says “Let’s go!” ~E.M. Kelly
• #GreatQuote “If you want to know what a man is, place him in authority.” – Yugoslav proverb
• “Leaders live in fish bowl and are always being watched. They should always be conscious of that fact and take advantage of it.” Gene Klann
• “Men don’t follow titles they follow courage…” – this quote emphasizes that leaderships is not about title, position or rank!
• RT @wclements “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” -Mark Twain
• RT @Ben14864 #QUOTE “Most people fail in life because they major in minor things.” – Anthony Robbins
• Very Interesting – RT @BreakThruGuy “Worry is like a rocking chair – it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.” ~Unknown
• RT @rosasay “The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret.” —Nido Qubein
• #GreatThought If ethics are poor at the top, that behavior is copied down through the organization. –Robert Noyce
• #GreatQuote “There is good in everybody – Boost, don’t Knock.”
• RT @BreakThruGuy RT @iquote “Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up.” — Jesse Jackson
• RT @nametagscott To bring more of yourself to any situation, just ask: Am I currently acting in harmony with the way I see myself?
• “All things being equal people will do business with people they like. All things not being equal, they still will.” -John C. Maxwell
• Expect the best only after giving your best, consistently!
• I think that failure is acceptable after you have given your best. Accepting failure without giving your best attempt is criminal.
• RT @UpbeatNow Very nice. RT @janebutton “Wisdom is knowing the right path to take…integrity is taking it.” — M.H. McKee
• Insightful Question: “If you don’t enjoy what you have, how could you be happier with more?” – RT @BreakThruGuy @ChipEFTRT @HemalRadia
• RT @alexmalave Environment beats Discipline.
• MUST READ: A truly inspiring story at Boston.com – that “E” in CEO can sometimes stand for “Empathy”. http://tinyurl.com/c7gh9l
• #QUOTE “Nearly all men can stand adversity – but give him power, and the extent of his character will be revealed.” -Anonymous
• RT @SKanderson “The desire to win only matters when coupled with the desire to prepare.”10:41 PM Mar 16th from web
• RT @Mike_Wesely #QUOTE: “I’ve never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.” ~~Author Unknown
• RT @MarvinTowler “The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.” -Robert Frost
• RT @BreakThruGuy @silixell “Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.”–Lois McMaster Bujold
• A gem from Seth Godin – “The only thing worse than starting something and failing… is not starting something.” http://tinyurl.com/bsd4us
• “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience – well, that comes from poor judgment.” -British author A.A. Milne
• #QUOTE “Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.” -Josh Billings
• #QUOTES “Life is luck, make it.” – Mother Teresa
• #QUOTE The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow. –William Pollard
• #QUOTE “If it wasn’t for the rocks the river would have no song.”
• #QUOTE “Life is a grindstone whether it grinds you down or polishes you up – it depends on what you are made of.”
• #QUOTE “Needs can be met, greeds never.”
• RT Ben14864: #QUOTE “Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.” – J. Donald Walters
• RT @Mike_Wesely #QUOTE: “He was a self-made man who owed his lack of success to nobody. ~Joseph Heller. (Just loved this one) Good Day!
• RT @Mike_Wesely “If Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock.” ~Arthur Goldberg
• RT @Ben14864 “The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” – David Russell
• RT @JayKoch @Ben14864 “The world has the habit of making room for a man whose words and actions show that he knows where he’s going.- N.Hill
• @Mike_Wesely “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and to discover that the prisoner was you.” Read more @ my blog http://tinyurl.com/dmr4vh
• #GreatThought “Some people just don’t want freedom of choice though, they want freedom from it.” http://tinyurl.com/brf5eq
• RT @Mike_Wesel #QUOTE: “Rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose.” ~~Woodrow Wilson
• RT @JayKoch “People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• #PowerQuote “The most effective marketing is human to human; everything else is a compromise.” http://tinyurl.com/agu93u10:50 PM Mar 5th from TwitterBar
• RT @nametagscott MANAGER: “But my door is always open!” EMPLOYEE: “True. My question is – Are your mind and heart open too?
• #TRIVIA When month & day form square root of year,math geeks celebrate “Square Root Day”. 3/3/09 was that day which comes only 9 times in a century.
• #GreatQuotes “It isn’t the mountain that wears you out, its the grain of sand in your shoes”
• A professional knows it is very easy to attack/destroy, much harder to build, augment, be help and think abundant. http://qaspire.com/
• On web, why would someone connect to you if you have not built a value-based relationship? Even if they connect would that be helpful?
• Ten Personal Commandments of Management/Leadership at http://www.qaspire.com/ What commandments do you follow to lead?
• #SundayHumor Palmist to a Politician: You stand a good chance of winning elections since both the head and heart lines are missing!
• #SundayHumor Palmist to a man: You have nothing left in your right hand and you have nothing right in your left hand!

Do you “Matter”?

You were born to lead.

Build a team.

Create community.

Guide an enterprise.

Inspire by example.

Have big shoulders.

Make those around you better.

Matter.

This was so inspiring that I did not feel like writing anything more. Hat Tip to Blog Post titled “Matter” at “The Business Brickyard” blog.

Importance of Professional Value and a Great Story About Charles Steinmetz

I wrote earlier about the explicit and tacit value that an individual brings to the organization. But how do you do value-addition?

According to me, one can add value to the organization by 1) Doing things the way they should be done and finding better ways of doing it 2) Solving critical business problems (technical or organizational)

In this regards, I re-read a great story about the importance of value over at Management Stories blog. I read this story long time back, but I reproduce it here because of its relevance in the current time.

Here it goes –

Charles Steinmetz was once called out of retirement by General Electric to help it locate a problem in an intricate system of complex machines. Having spent some time tinkering with and testing various parts of the system, he finally placed a chalk-marked ‘X’ on a small component in one machine. GE’s engineers promptly examined the component, and were amazed to find the defect in the precise location of Steinmetz’s mark.

Some time later, GE received an invoice from the wily engineer – for $10,000. Incredulous, they protested the bill and challenged him to itemize it. Steinmetz did so: “Making one chalk mark: $1,” he wrote. “Knowing where to place it: $9,999.”

GE paid the bill! Charles Steinmetz was a German-US Electrical Engineer who invented Alternate Current (AC) to initiate electrical era in the United States.

It is when you nurture a particular skill to such a level where you can fix a small component (problem) without losing the sight of the complex machine (organizational perspective) that you start generating exceptional value for the organization. That is my learning from this story.

Here are a few quotes from the same man who raised a huge bill for a seemingly trivial task!

• No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions.
• I have succeeded in getting my actual work down to thirty minutes a day. That leaves me eighteen hours for engineering. (Talks a ton about nurturing a skill).

Attributes of a Professional – Great List

I read a quote long back which said that a professionals do what’s necessary, even when they don’t feel like doing it. That was the best articulation of professionalism so far for me. But that’s just one.

Want to know 101 attributes of a real professional? Then jump on to Nicholas Bate’s blog title “Business of Life + Life of Business” to learn about 101 attributes of a professional. (Title of the post is “Professionalism101”)

The list is mind blowing and very comprehensive – and here are the attributes I liked the most (and the ones I could easily relate myself with)

A professional

• has a pen;
• Knows what’s important.
• He/she prefers I/we and owning an issue rather than he/she/they and blaming others.
• Thanks people; whether or not the person was just ‘doing their job’;
• Looks people in the eye and speaks clearly, rather than mutter from the depths of their laptop.
• Doesn’t check their phone in the middle of your conversation.
• Leads through skill, competence and attitude not (solely) job title.
• Listens to understand not just to be polite.
• Doesn’t use ‘everybody’ does it’ as an excuse.
• Reads deep;
• Reads wide;
• Knows that leadership is a mindset.
• Its very easy to attack/destroy-
• Much harder to build, augment, be a help and think abundant
• Says sorry;
• Says how can I help you?
• Knows it takes years to achieve over-night success;
• Is inspired by all kinds of sources;

Read the full list here.