Obama presidential inauguration 20 Jan 2009

“Monumental expectations for Obama's inauguration address”

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural address is one of the most anticipated speeches in decades, with many expecting his words to be chiseled into marble some day.

Obama has a high reputation in giving excellent speeches and tommorrow will mark a national milestone the inaugration of the first african american president. It is expected that Obama is likely honour Martin Luther Kings legacy and to refer to King and the dramatic struggles African-Americans have fought as they emerged from slavery and fought for full civil rights

In the 1963 speech, delivered to a civil rights rally on the Mall in Washington, King said:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Obama has said he has been studying previous inaugural addresses -- including President Abraham Lincoln's and the speeches President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave as he took office amid the Great Depression.

Tommorrow Obama will declare his administration's intent, making his first presidential speech and take office.

Here's wishing Barack all the best tomorrow on one of the memorable days in history and every other day afterwards

Source: CNN

Read More......

Summary only...

UK bosses undervalue IT

Type your summary here

“ UK business leaders value soft skills far higher than IT prowess, according to a Microsoft survey.”

Soft skills such as communication, flexibility, and initiative were seen as key attributes by the 500 UK business chiefs surveyed, while IT expertise was only seen as the seventh most important skill. Team working and interpersonal skills topped the poll as the most important traits needed to be successful in the workplace.

The perception of IT skills look set to change. When asked what skills would be important in a decade, the respondents put IT in second position behind team working and interpersonal skills.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said IT has tranformed everyone into an information worker. "In almost every job now, people use software and work with information to enable their organisation to operate more effectively," he said. "That's true for everyone from the retail store worker who uses a handheld scanner to track inventory to the CEO who uses business intelligence software to analyse critical market trends."

Source: CBR

Read More......

Summary only...

Great Leaders overcome Blindspots

“Leaders who are so successful can sometimes become too complacent and fail to see changes around them.”

Just the other day I came across an article in Business Week written by by Henry S. Givray "When CEOs Aren't Leaders" Givray writes that the terms "CEO" and "leader" have mistakenly become synonymous. Stating, nothing could be further from the truth. He goes onto described how CEOs are measured by quantitative results, and Leaders are shaped and defined by character. His distinction between the CEO who is expected to boost sales, improve profit margins, and make money for shareholders. Whereas the Leaders role is to inspire and enable others to do excellent work and realize their potential. As a result, they build successful, enduring organizations.

After reading "When CEOs Aren't Leaders" it made me think about Benjamin Gilad in "Business Blindspots" -- Denial, failure, or refusal to see reality are the biggest problems companies face. And how these problems wrecked IBM, Digital, General Motors, Sears, Hoffman-La Roche, Schwinn, American Express, Tandy, Citibank, Xerox, Kodak, etc.

Jack Welch, General Electric's CEO, once defined management as the task of "staring reality straight in the eye" and then having the courage to act. This is much easier said than done. There are two basic problems with this definition. First, management must be close enough to reality to stare it in the eye. Second, it must not only stare but also see what is in front of its face. This is a tall order. The reason why No.1 top management, through no fault of its own, is never close enough to the market. No.2 some top executives can't see competitive reality staring at them because of 'blindspots'

Many top managers face change only when it hits them in the head, then its too late. $64 billion answer is the people who are in touch with their people at ground level are facing reality, even when they stare straight at it. Nobody expects a CEO to be able to do everything. But you have to be able to recognize your blind spots and delegate someone else to manage. There is an old saying, "A good company has many leaders, a great company has but 3"

Read More......

Summary only...

Enlibra Coaching new website

Enlibra works with many intellectual stars delivering unique 3-dimensional Executve Corporate Life Coaching model with a difference. First the (executive) will experience essential aha moments discovering the solution to your problem, your coach brings out the best in you, raising your performance, enhancing skills and leadership qualities, modifying your attitudes, and working on issues related to EQ. Secondly, from a (corporate) perspective creating synergies that make organisations successful, and lastly (life) here we focus on the personal changes. Enlibra is the professional and personal transformation for CEOs, Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Organisations and individuals who want to function at their best, reach their potential, build solid business relationships, and be successful. You choose to work on all three areas or the most important one.

Read More......

Summary only...