8/7/2019 Profile Toolbox

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/profile-toolbox 1/2

Psonlcourage 

nd bingpsnt

Personalcourage

On the road to success,

most of us will endure

at least one failure.

The important part

is to get up after you

fail and try again.

Failure merely brings

you closer to eventual

success. Rather than

fearing failures and letting the fear prevent

you from trying, consider failures as learning

experiences. Learning how to fail is almosta requirement for eventually becoming

successful. Don’t fear to fail today – it helps

you to succeed tomorrow!

 You can use Toolbox materials at work, to link

with your blog, when giving a presentation –

or forward it to colleagues. The background ideas

are available in a variety of web sources.

Psonl

Braery is doing what needs to be done in the faceof fear. When everyone else fails, the economy is brokenand all the odds seem against you, your time has come!

In slides:www.slidsh.nt

In pdf-format:www.scibd.com

Failure

is good

“Courageis going

from failureto failure

without losing

enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill 

3

The wholemagazine:www.issuu.com

dierent skills than most of us are formally

trained to have. This especially concerns

those of us who are over 40 years old.

“One of the most courageous actions,

in my opinion, is to look outside your comfort

zone and ask yourself if your actions are

supporting your ambition, potential and

the results you want to achieve.”

Our internal voices of pessimism and fear lead to a mindset

that is more prone to avoid action or to criticize the solutions

of others rather than to seek durable solutions ourselves.

“To change your mindset doesn’t mean that you have to

change you. You will probably only have to make a few

adjustments,” Nothnagel reminds. “An easy way to change i s

to look at what alternatives you have to fulll your potential

and ambition. Bing bv o cougous cn b lnd!”

Having an optimistic outlook together with an attitude

that invites solution building is the type of courage we need

to succeed. “Those of us that are really present in our day-

to-day activities are more aware of the challenges that we are

faced with and of the possibilities and solutions available.

Being present takes courage, but is absolutely vital.”

Courage starts with you evaluating if your behavior is

contributing to the life you want to live, feels Nothnagel. If

the answer is no, then you have to be brave and create newpathways that will provide you with the attitude, competence or

behavior that will support who you are or want to be. “Having

the courage to re-invent yourself to meet the personal and

professional demands of a changing world almost always has

the additional payo of contributing to your enjoyment of life!”

“TH ABILITY to know what is fair and to apply this knowledge

despite erce opposition and possible harm is certainly a quality

that ts the denition of courage,” says Ben Nothnagel, a lawyer

and lecturer in global executive education programs. “Courage

has dierent faces. There’s the courage that Nelson Mandela

clearly has, the courage that requires great personal strength to

ght injustice. There is also the type of courage that is required

from us to understand, face and overcome the challenges in our

personal and professional lives.”

Fast changing business practices around the world clearly

require a new set of business skills and possibly a dierent

mindset that includes deeper insight into cultures and business

models. “Facing the challenges to remain relevant in this

fast-changing business environment requires a new mindsetof courage,” Nothnagel says. “A mindset that will allow you to

evaluate your existing competencies and acquire or develop the

competencies required to remain relevant in the market place.”

Nothnagel believes that one big challenge many of us will face

is to remain employed in a world that probably will require very

   T   e   x   T  :   m   i   n   n   a

   v   a   l   T   a   r   i

After hitting on a brilliant new life plan, our rst

instinct is to tell someone, but Derek Sivers say

it’s better to keep goals secret. He presents

research stretching as far back as the 1920s to

show why people who talk about their ambition

may be less likely to achieve them.

This idea can be adapted into a practical

example. If you have a good business idea, you

should rst share it with people you trust who

come from dierent backgrounds but support

your idea. In this way, the idea can be develope

further before it is presented. If you start

presenting your idea too early and others put

it down, you won’t be able to develop it further,

since the idea is already doomed.

4

Kp

ougoals toouslf

See re ahttp://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html

Ben Nothnagel, a visiting trainer at

Aalto , gives a handful of advice for

young managers. He sees courage

as a combination of the following:

• discipline to turn

knowledge into insight 

• ability to turn insight into

goals or visions

• condence to communicate

the vision to decision makers• commitment to drive the acceptance

of their ideas in their organizations

How tob

boldoung 

mng

“I say this becauseit takes greatcourage to face a changing, complexworld with littleexperience.Turning knowledgeinto insight bynetworking withother professionalsoften requires us to

leave our comfortzones.”

8/7/2019 Profile Toolbox

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/profile-toolbox 2/2

What trulymotivates us?And how wecan use thatknowledge towork smarterand live better?

Way too often external rewards, like money, are seen asthe best way to motiate people, bt that is not tre, claims

Dnil H. Pink. His proocatie and persasie book Drive

concldes that the secret to high performance and satisfaction

is the deeply hman need to direct or own lies, to learn and

create new things, and to do better by orseles and or world.

The mismatch between what science knows and what

bsiness does is exposed openly by Pink. He demonstrates

that while carrots and sticks worked sccessflly in the twentieth

centry, this is precisely the wrong way to motiate people

for today’s challenges.

Psonl

“I HA ALAYS BN interested in what happens in the world

and it has lead me to work with several projects that deal with

the changes in urban life,” says Asko Ahokas, a consultant based

in New York City who provides visionary trend forecasting, media

and communications services. “e forecast how

the world will change in short term, in the next

season, or in longer term, say in ten years.”

Ahokas admits that it takes courage, especially

when you are new in the eld, to forecast the

future when your work will highly aect your

client. As a well-known and inspirational lecturer

for more than ten years, he is able to translate

emerging trends in the consumer market into

an insightful and value-adding vision.

“I consider it important to get closer to the

fear and the uncertainty because the topics that

are uncertain and that increase fear are usually

related to new developments and future trends,”

Ahokas comments. “e often learn a lot when we

approach new topics and

are able to gain vision and

insight into the future.”

He says that being

courageous often feels like

you were jumping into the

dark. “Going abroad can be a moment when you

learn the most of yourself because a lot of things

might change when you see them from a dierent

point of view. Learning more about the unknown

is interesting. Forecasting future is not easy

but when you gain experience, you begin to

notice the changes.”

Cougto sunctin

issues out loud 

Sudhanshu Palsule, an award-winning

educator, consultant and leadership coach,

regarded as one of the leading thinkers in

the eld of Transformative Leadership.

“If you don’t know whoyou are and where you

are going, running fasterwon’t get you there.

Moreover, you’ll ndyourself running alone.”

   S   T   u   D   I   O    P

   e   T   T   e   R   I   K   I   T   T   I

How to maximize yourchance of nding insightsthat can solve seemingly

insurmountableproblems?

6

David Rock: Your Brain at Work:Strategies for OvercomingDistraction, Regaining Focus,and Working Smarter All Day Long(HarperBusiness, 2009)

DaD rCK’S BK 

  yr Bra a

WrK Pv

W T TH

quT:

Why does yourbrain feel so

taxed?

How to maximizeyour mentalresources?

 W h y  is  i t 

d i c u l t  to 

 f oc us ?How to keep your coolin any situation so thatyou can make the best

decisions possible?

 H o w  t o  c o

 l l a b o r a t e 

 m o r e  e f e c

 t i v e l y ?

Why providingfeedback is so dicult

and how to make iteasier?

7

DRI: TH SRPRISING TRTH ABOT HAT MOTIATS S (RIRHAD HARDCOR, 2009) BY DANIL H. PIN

WWW.aSKaHKaS.C

Based in New York, Asko Ahokasprovides trend forecasting andcommunications services to acontinuously expanding roster ofinternational clients.