Saturday, March 22, 2014

About charisma

A wonderful talk by Olivia Fox Cabane on Charisma (Stanford Seminar)

She defines the Charisma equation as "Charisma = Presence + Power + Warmth"

A great talk on Power, Presence and Warmth and the role of self-confidence. However, what I find missing is the element of Trust. Charisma should also be linked to Trust. You have to come through as trustworthy.

"Charisma is not only how you make people feel about you, it is also how you make them feel about themselves" - Olivia Fox Cabane

Please check out the Youtube video.


Friday, March 14, 2014

Sierra Leone's former president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah dies at 82 - Vanguard News

FREETOWN  (AFP) – Sierra Leone’s former president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, widely credited with returning peace to the shattered west African nation after years of brutal civil war, died on Thursday aged 82.
Kabbah, who led the country during an 11-year conflict in which thousands had their limbs hacked off and 120,000 people were killed, was at home when he was pronounced dead, said John Benjamin, a family friend and former chairman of Kabbah’s party.
Late Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Late Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
The government of President Ernest Bai Koroma led tributes to Kabbah, describing him as “one of the pillars of democracy” in the country.
“He will go down in history as one of the leaders who stood tall in ensuring that he shook hands with people that were rejected by the majority of Sierra Leoneans during the war,” government spokesman Abdulai Bayraytay told reporters.
“If we are now enjoying peace and stability in Sierra Leone, there is no way president Kabbah could be dissociated from that.”
Bayraytay said Koroma would cut short a visit to Congo-Brazzaville to return to Freetown on Friday and pay his respects.
Kabbah was praised for launching a disarmament programme that led to the official end of the war in January 2002 with the help of a United Nations peacekeeping force and British military trainers.




Sierra Leone's former president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah dies at 82 - Vanguard News

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Aim for effectiveness, not efficiency

If our ultimate goal is to achieve something and make a difference (in people's lives), then we can say that we are effective when we achieve that goal. So, effectiveness is about achieving a goal and making a difference (doing the right thing).

Efficiency, on the other hand, is about doing things the best way possible. It is a measure of how well we did a specific task or performed an assignment (doing it right).

We may be very efficient in doing something, but if the ultimate result is meaningless, then we have not been effective. However, to be effective, we may need to improve certain processes (make them more efficient).

We can argue that the reason why we may want to be efficient in the first place, is to make us more effective. Efficiency for efficiency's sake is pointless. So, aim for effectiveness in all that you do. Efficiency will follow.

Do the right thing!

+Alpha