Archive by Author | Atta Hanson

NEW BOOK FROM BCS.

Oct8

BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT has published a new book titled Business Continuity Management Systems – Implementation and Certification to ISO 22301. It was authored by Hilary Estall, a respected authority on management systems standards.

The book is targeted at BCM professionals & teams in the following situations:

  •  Your organisation is seeking formal certification to ISO 22301.
  • Your organisation is seeking alignment to ISO 22301.
  • Your organisation is considering whether to become certified and wishes to understand what is involved before committing resource.
  • Your organisation is working towards, or has already achieved, certification to BS 25999-2 and wishes to understand what is involved in moving from one standard to another.
  • You wish to develop your own understanding of what is required to implement an effective BCMS.
  • You are looking for a practical support mechanism to guide you through the implementation stages of your BCMS.

The book is set out in four parts. Two focus on management systems themselves and the certification process, and the remaining two look at BCM and the requirements of ISO 22301.

If you just want to know more about ISO 22301, I suggest this is the first (and perhaps only) book you need to read. If you are going further and want to become an ISO 22301 certified company then it gives you the route, the dangers, the tips and the confidence to succeed.

…. Lyndon Bird FBCI Technical Development Director at the Business Continuity Institute (www.thebci.org).

Please if you want to know more about the book or browse the contents please log unto BCS site (http://shop.bcs.org/)

Attitude is Everything

Oct4

Your success or failure is not about how you dress how you look or even how you’re educated. It’s all about your Attitude! It’s true, most of us would prefer being around a positive person. It’s as true in our personal lives as it is in our business life.

You have heard Mac Anderson say, “Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?” How true it is. If you have co-workers and friends around you that gossip or complain often, it can bring you down and adversely affect your mood and productivity. In turn, if you are surrounded by upbeat people with a positive attitude, you can’t help but feel better and be more productive.

Positive people stay so upbeat. They brighten rooms just by walking in. No matter what trials may be going on in their lives, they give you the same hospitality you expect to receive while visiting them.  Everybody wants to be around them.

It’s no fun spending time with a person as chilly as an igloo. No! We enjoy warm, cheerful, upbeat folks who believe in us and remind us that tomorrow is ripe with possibility. Most of us want to be positive people. It’s advantageous to possess a sunny outlook.

Doors open to optimists. They make friends, earn respect, and others enjoy and want to be like them. They grin instead of grouch when facing challenge.

Never forget … Attitudes are contagious.

 Always ask … Is mine worth catching?

REMEMBER… ATTITITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Training to be a good communicator

Oct3

People who teach golf, skiing, and tennis have known for years that nothing speeds the learning process like showing someone a tape of themselves trying to perform a test of skills. The subjects of these revealing videos study every move and every nuance with uncommon attentiveness, because they are, after all, watching themselves—and they don’t always like what they see.

The same is true for the role of the camera in helping people (1) see themselves as others see them, (2) spot distracting body movements or gestures, (3) practice for speaking assignments, (4) perfect key elements like pauses and eye contact, and (5) monitor their own progress and improvement as they advance through a training program to develop their own speaking styles.

Even if you have never had even a single minute of professional help or speaker training of any kind, regular use of a camcorder setup with a tripod and TV monitor in your own home or in your office will help make you a more effective talker. The reason is that most people are acutely sensitive to whatever shortcomings may show up on tape. Once you identify the offending elements, it is easy enough to practice until they go away. It is important, though, that you don’t see a swan as an ugly duckling and then proceed to kill the swan. So I suggest that if you undertake to practice with a camcorder, you also undertake to apply the principles you learn in a good presentation book. If you don’t have a camcorder, and can’t afford one, you can practice with a mirror to achieve the same objective.

You may also wish to identify with your favorite speakers in government, business, etc, etc… If you think it can help, borrow whatever attributes you see in them to perfect your own speaking game.

However, if you don’t trust yourself to get it right (because you’re not sure what you’re supposed to be looking for and if you are really serious, you can always hire/get someone to help you..

All of us, like it or not, will eventually see our reputations, careers, and even our social lives determined to some degree by how well we speak. Are we forgettable—or do people remember us and act on what we say? Are we boring—or do we spark interest and get people involved? Do we hide our intelligence and potential by the way we speak—or reveal ourselves in the best possible light?

Leaders lead with their words. If you are a leader or aspiring to be one then investing in communication skill training is an abundantly rewarding investment that makes good sense. For people will judge you —fairly or unfairly—on how you present yourself face-to-face in countless moments of human and business interaction.

Your own words will likely shape your lot in life and business.

A triumph of sheer will

Sep28
On 24th of April 2012, Chelsea played against Lionel Messi and Barcelona – the then best team in the world. Yet somehow, against all the odds, logic, expectation, the form book, the coaching manuals, Chelsea produced a stunning rear guard defensive display to draw 2-2 and made it the Champions League final.

Oh, what a night! It was all stacked against the Blues but they forged a memorable victory.

Chelsea did the impossible: they pulled off something new under the sun, something never seen before, a rearguard action of heroic dimensions.

Stuff purism; this was one of the great nights, simply because it was about more than just beauty and technique. It was about bravery, determination, a refusal to bow, a triumph of sheer will. It was Chelsea’s destiny to leave Catalonia defeated, as most teams do. They changed the narrative; they made this happen, somehow.

Think of the concentration, think of the resolve. It was at the lowest point, two goals and a man down. Then consider that, from there, Chelsea drew the game 2-2.

Sometimes there come some games along that are impervious to common sense.  This is one of them.

Why did Chelsea qualify to reach the finals in Munich? Because they really, really wanted to. This is a testament to an outstanding group with determination to succeed.

We can all learn from Chelsea. When they were 2 goals down, they never complained, nor felt sorry for them selves nor accepted their situation as being the weaker team playing against the best team in the world. They looked forward to the challenge of making things right-jumping over the hurdle of Barcelona and being at Munich for the finals. This they achieved through bravely, determination and a refusal to bow – a triumph of sheer will

Teams can attain phenomenal success in business or achieve great things  if they can choose to view setbacks as ‘body blows’ and not as ‘knocked outs’ or view it is as stepping stones.

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Thinking Like a Champion

Sep26

Champions are born and champions are made. One definition of a champion is someone who shows marked superiority. Another definition is someone who is a winner of first prize or first place in competition. We’ve all seen Olympic champions on television. What comes to mind when I see their amazing ability is the amount of training they have endured, the sacrifices they’ve made, and the courage they’ve had to have to get where they are. Those are some of the attributes of a champion.

Champions also want to achieve something special. Ordinary wouldn’t be enough for someone who has the mindset of a champion. Champions think big. Champions work in a big-time way. Champions are focused. Champions are disciplined. Come to think of it, champions think like champions. A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t. Let’s hope that applies to you.

You can learn a lot from watching the experts, whether you’re interested in sports, the arts, or whatever. One thing they all have in common is the same mindset: They want to win; they want to be the best. Not the runner-up, but the best. That’s a very important thing to consider. I’ve seen very talented people fail because deep down I think they were afraid of winning. Winning comes with a responsibility. Champions rise to that responsibility. Search yourself carefully to make sure you’re ready and capable. If you’re not, do something about it. It’s an important element of success. We win in our daily lives by being careful with every day, by having a champion’s view of each moment.

Why set your goals too low? Did you ever hear a child saying they want to be nothing when they grow up? They are full of dreams and plans, and rarely are they mediocre aspirations. They want to be presidents, doctors, astronauts, scientists, and so on. They’re on the right track and have the right mindset. That’s the first step—and a daily responsibility for a champion.

Champions go the extra mile. We all know when we’ve done just enough and when we’ve really exerted ourselves. Make an effort to exert yourself—every day. Don’t fail because you never allowed yourself to get started! Don’t avoid success because you think the responsibility might be too much—just focus and get going! You’d be surprised at what intelligent effort can produce. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.

Pay attention to these things and you will be on your way to thinking like a champion—and becoming one.

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LESSONS IN FAILURE

Sep25

I believe that there’s a lesson in almost everything that you do and every experience, and getting the lesson is how you move forward. Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it.

Now, failure is not fun. It is that period of your life which is a dark one, and you have no idea what is going to be the next step. You will have no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it will be a hope rather than a reality.

The other side of the coin is failure will give you an inner security that you will never attain by passing examinations. Failure will teach you things about yourself that you could have learned no other way. Failure will let you discover that you have a strong will, and more discipline than you suspected; you will also found out that you have friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies. The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, though it is painfully won is worth more than any qualification you ever earned.

It is no easy situation to experience failure but if you accept your ‘misfortune’ and handle it right, your perceived failure can be a catalyst for profound reinvention. The beautiful thing about learning in failure is that nobody can take that lesson away from you.

The world has so many lessons to teach you. I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school and our life the classrooms. And sometimes here in this Planet Earth School the lessons often come dressed up as detours or roadblocks. And sometimes as full-blown crises. And the secret I’ve learned to getting ahead is being open to the lessons, lessons from the grandest university of all, that is, the universe itself.

It’s being able to walk through life eager and open to self-improvement and that which is going to best help you evolve and grow into more of ourselves.

Mistakes, challenges, obstacles, and set backs all offer opportunities to sharpen skills, focus energies, stir the creative juices, think smarter, act faster and perform better.

Every set back should give you a great lesson and learn from the lesson to become a very educated man/woman in this journey of life.  LETS LEARN FROM OUR FAILURES.

Learning Is a New Beginning

Sep20

Pythagoras interpreted the universe through numbers. He was a philosopher and a mathematician, and he knew the importance of learning. Pythagoras lived a long time ago, but a lot of things have remained the same, like the significance of education for both individuals and society.

Whenever you start something new, you will have a lot to learn. This should not discourage you- in fact it should give you energy. It is similar to the feeling of a new beginning, a fresh start.

 It’s important to remain open to new ideas and new information in this life. Being a know-it-all is like shutting the door to great discoveries and opportunities. Keep your door open every day to something new and energizing.

These days, we don’t have many excuses for having a blind spot. We all have access to information with relatively little effort, and, back to the ancient Greeks, Socrates is famed for having said, “There is only one thing I know, and that is I know nothing.” Pretty tough words coming from an esteemed scholar and philosopher, but it opened him up to more knowledge every day. In other words, start every day with a clean slate. Give yourself a new beginning by opening up your mind.

Don’t start a new business, venture or enter a new field thinking you know everything about the field. Don’t make that mistake. There are a lot of hidden aspects in every industry, and you will find out how complex seemingly simple things can be.

Finally never think of learning as being a burden or studying as being boring. It may require some discipline, but it can be an adventure. It can also prepare you for a new beginning.

Take that first step in learning. Use everything in your power to utilize and develop that capability and ability to learn, and you’ll be in for some great surprises.  Learning opens you to more knowledge. Learning opens up your mind. Learning is a new beginning.

SUN TZU’s LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

Sep19


Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and discipline. Reliance
on intelligence alone results in rebelliousness. Exercise of humaneness alone results in weakness.
Fixation on trust results in folly. Dependence on the strength of courage results in violence. Excessive
discipline and sternness in command result in cruelty. When one has all five virtues together, each appropriate to its function, then one can be a leader.

— Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu’s Art of War originally was intended to be read as a work of military strategy and philosophy.
Yet even today, more than 2,000 years later, Sun Tzu’s description of the traits that characterize a successful leader is valid in any arena—war, politics, business, and any endeavor that requires the ability to inspire and mobilize the efforts of a group in the service of a common goal.

What kind of person is the theoretical ideal leader?

The ideal leader has the intelligence to understand the subtleties and complexity of the leadership
role: It is not sufficient to bear the title and hold the authority of a leader to function as one. The very
concept of leadership is subjective, which is why so many different varieties and degrees of leadership are
evident in society and in business. The perfect leader understands what it means to lead, and to be led.
The ideal leader is aware of the mutual responsibility of the leader and the led: Each relies on and supports the other.

A leader without a sense of humanity is only a leader by virtue of superior power, while a great leader inspires more by force of character and principle than by fear and intimidation.

The ideal leader is also someone who can be trusted. The essence of trust and trustworthiness is the necessity of interdependence. If a leader loses the confidence of those who follow, they will cease to
follow; if a leader fails to trust the skills of those who follow, the result will be disaster. No one can lead
alone; the concept is absurd.

A successful leader is courageous, and not simply in the physical sense. Many decisions must be made
in solitude, even when the leader has numerous counselors. The perfect leader is one who willingly takes on the responsibility for advancing or retreating, and accepts the consequences. If the leader is not seen
to have the courage required to act on behalf of all, the leader will lose the confidence of the group, and
ultimately the position of leadership itself.

Finally, the perfect leader must impose discipline, in the classic sense of teaching followers the correct
path. Discipline is not simply exercising control and punishing those who fail to obey instructions.
Discipline is guidance, structure, training; without it, no one can lead effectively.

Sun Tzu pointed out that each of the qualities he mentions as essential for leadership can lead to excess and abuse. It is only by balancing the proportions of these qualities that the leader can attain
maximum effectiveness.

Learn to Think on Your Feet

Sep18

Complacency can ruin your chances for success. It’s the same as being in a rut and deciding to stay there. People should and must live on the edge—it’s the opposite of complacency, and the same as thinking on your feet.

Ever notice how your senses are heightened when you are in challenging situations? It’s like having an adrenalin rush that gives you extra energy. If you see every day as a challenge, you’d be surprised how efficient you can become and how much can be accomplished. People often say they “hit the street running,” which is another way of saying they did their prep work and were ready.

The basic ingredients for success in business are to learn to think ahead, to be prepared, and to cover your bases.

In business, you must spend a great deal of time researching every detail that might be pertinent to a deal. People often comment on how some business leaders operate with speed. The reason they can move quickly is that they’ve done the background work first, which often no one sees. Just because you don’t see someone working doesn’t mean they haven’t been working in their spare or private time. You must prepare yourself thoroughly, and then when it is time to move ahead, you are ready to sprint.

Being able to think on your feet is the result of training and discipline. You can’t sprint unless you have built up the strength to do so. Building the stamina is up to you. If you don’t work at it, it’s not going to happen by wishful thinking. You have to dedicate yourself to it every day. In other words, set a goal and work toward it. Athletes know that no one else can do the training for them, and business people should have the same discipline. They have to be self-reliant.

Have you ever said to yourself, “I wish I’d thought of that!”? I’ve heard people say that when they come across something very clever or something fantastic. One way to learn to think on your feet is to ask yourself what you should be thinking of this very moment. Do it right now, and then see other people saying, “I wish I’d thought of that—what a great idea!” You’d be surprised how many good ideas you might have if you’d give yourself the opportunity to think about them. Thinking takes time. It’s the preparation for being able to think on your feet. First things first: First we walk, then we run, then we sprint.

It is an encouraging fact that man has the unquestioned ability to elevate his life by conscious endeavour. That is not only an encouraging statement; it is also an empowering one. It means you can accomplish a lot by applying your brainpower and then moving forward with it. Thought without action won’t amount to much in the long run. Those great ideas you have will remain great ideas unless you actively do something with them.

Don’t wait for dire circumstances to test your quick-thinking ability. Test yourself daily. Be on alert at all times. As Napoleon said, “A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised.” See yourself as a leader—starting right now. It will mean you are self-reliant, responsible, and not apt to being unnecessarily surprised by the vicissitudes of life, whether you are in business or not. Being prepared cannot be overestimated, and if you want to hit the big time running, you’d better be able to think on those feet of yours.

Adapted from Think like A champion

Using Your Intuition

Sep17
Harvard business professor Daniel Isenberg studied 16 senior managers in major American corporations. He spent days interviewing them, observing them as they worked and watching them perform various exercises designed to identify what made them successful. He discovered 5 different ways in which successful managers use intuition:

  • To help them sense when a problem exists
  • To rapidly perform well-learned behaviour patterns
  • To synthesise isolated bits of data and experience into an integrated picture
  • To check on the results of rational analysis – they search until they match their ‘gut instinct’ and their intellect
  • To bypass in-depth analysis and generate a quick solution

Charles Merrill of Merrill Lynch once said that if he made decisions fast, he was right 60% of the time. If he took time, analysed a situation and made a decision carefully, he would be right 70% of the time. However, the extra 10% was seldom worth the time.

Intuition is based on everything we already know and have experienced, intellectually and emotionally.

We may not be able to explain the rationale behind our ‘gut instinct’ but it is more than a whim.