新书连载 | The Growth Coaching Book 企业增长指南 08

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第五章

突破自我与未来布局：成长导师的双重策略

CHAPTER 5

THE GAME- THE GROWTHCOACHING PROGRAM

Fifth Trait: Fanatically Inspiring; Intense Work Ethic

In the 1980s, I was working with a client company from Denmark. One of my roles was to keep the team abreast of the global competition and to help them come up with competitive strategy for product designs. I was always pushing them to move faster and work harder because the Americans and Japanese were developing similar instruments in half the time. To that, my Danish colleagues remarked, “Oh! He's a Typist Americansk (Typical American)!" It was their response to pretty much anything ! said. To them, being faster than others wasn't the priority. They believed that their success was guaranteed as long as they were able to develop a great product. As for lagging in terms of time, they said that great engineers could get their work done in 40 hours per week. Alas! only the world worked as per their beliefs! To their merit, those guys were amazing engineers, but global competition destroyed their company. In the end, they were too slow and it was too expensive for them to keep the company going.

I have often wondered if having an intense work Ethic and being fanatically inspiring might have saved that lot. For that matter, look at Bill Gates as a prime example of a Fanatically Inspiring leader. He is known for having relentlessly long work hours and rigorous work schedules. During the early days of Microsoft, Gates was so engrossed in his work that he did not even take a break to eat his meals, let alone take a vacation, He even recalled a time when we would just lick Tanga sugary powdered orange drink mix, from his hand to get energy so that he would not have to step away from his workspace to eat. Adding water to the powder, he would jokingly say, wasn't necessary because the human body already has water inside it. But skipping lunches doesn't even make for a small fraction of the Intense Work Ethic that he had. In 1981, Bill Gates and his partners Charles O'Rear and Steve Ballmer signed a contract with IBM to produce their first ever software: Disk Operating System (DOS).IBM, being a leading computer producer at the time, was highly concerned about security matters and so Gates and his team worked in a tiny, stuffy, windowless room that measured only 10 feet by 6 feet. With computers generating heat, the temperature would rise to 100 degrees Fahrenheit and frequently cause hardware glitches. Despite such odds, the team recollects working relentlessly7 days a week, regularly pulling all-nighters. Gates did not leave the office for several days at a time over the 1-year duration of the project. That DOS was a success story and allowed Microsoft to monopolize the operating system market, Mind you, it wouldn't have been the success it was with just Bill Gates having an Intense Work Ethic. The company became what it became because Gates inspired the same fanaticism in his colleagues that he had toward his work.

Just like Gates, Mark Zuckerberg is yet another Fanatically Inspiring leader who managed to build a successful company through fanatical work place practices. Meta, previously known as Facebook, frequently holds hackathons among its workers, where engineers pull all-nighters to develop new features, Zuckerberg himself participates in these sessions coding and creating all night. The people with the highest votes get to present their ideas in front of Zuckerberg and the rest of the executive team, 'These hackathons have given birth to some of the most interesting features we see on Facebook, such as offline messaging, GlFs on Facebook comments, and its first video player.

During the early stage of Flipkart (2007), Sachin and Binny Bansal would pull all-nighters for months and months agonised over the decision of first attempting to build an online shopping comparison engine, before turning their attention to ecommerce and Flipkart. It started off as a two-man operation, with the proprietors working out of their own two-bedroom flat in Bengaluru's Kormangala neighborhood. They worked or everything themselves for the first half of 2007, including building the website's code, collecting rare books from suppliers, branding, marketing and making deliveries on scooters while visiting book stores to distribute flyers for their business. The Bansals recounted delivering their first book order, going above and beyond to make sure the customer received the merchandise, and spending the entire day looking for the book in Bangalore bookstores because they did not have it in their warehouse. The staff at Flipkart, known as Flipsters, take pride in working many all-nighters before the company's first Big Billion Day (BBD) sale, which began in 2014, to make sure customers can access the best deals without any problems. Pursuit of excellence is one of the company's core values, and when someone joins Flipkart, the culture is to give them a lot of responsibilities. Instead of telling people how to do things, they are told what needs to be done, and they are then expected to use their analytical skills to figure out how to accomplish it.

Competitive intensity continues to increase as we live and breathe. Itis driven by transparency, technology integration, and a flattening global economy. In such a world, if you are an entrepreneur or have a company with a new product or a company simply wanting to thrive, you and your teammates will have to have this particular trait-as we have called it in this session-Fanatically Inspiring or Intense Work Ethic. This trait is key to inspiring the team and getting big things done efficiently, In all of the really great entrepreneurial stories of Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg, jack Ma, and Mayer, we fairly figured out what they had in common, did we not? They have all been Fanatically Inspiring about their product, mission, and company. They were more intense, they went above and beyond everyone else; put in more effort; and moved as fast as they could in every discipline.

As long as you are able to be agile, efficient, and productive, your company will survive, succeed, and grow in today's hypercompetitive business landscape. Remember that if you do not push yourself hard enough and put in the extra effort to achieve success, someone else will. So, don't let someone else beat you in a game you feel like you can win.

Sixth Trait: Old Must Give Way to New; Awe of Spirituality

This is one of my favourite life stories to share. The story is about a well-known individual whom I loved and admired deeply for both her work and her intense connection to her spiritual side: Jane Goodall.

Anyways, this is a story from a time when Jane Goodall sat on my left and Peter Coyote on my right. It was during a lunch and learn session with leaders from around the world, Peter said hello to me and positioned himself on the chair to my right. Right about then, I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard a very soft, gentle voice say, “May I sit next to you for lunch?" Without having a chance to turn around I said, “Sure!" and stood up to meet this person. Holy moly! It was Jane Goodall herself! She was there! Right next to me! In person! Wow! She was someone I had watched on 'TV for years and years. And then, over time I had gone on to admire her tireless work on environmental issues. She was and still is my hero! So, there I was, completely in awe of the person that she is. I had a billion questions that raced around in my head and a billion more things that I wanted to tell her, But, in the 60 minutes that we sat there, she gave me not a single chance to tick off questions from my billion-questions list. in fact, it was she who asked me questions one after the other. She wanted to know why I had come to the lunch, what I expected, and how it would impact my life, Then, she asked me about how I spent my time. what my career was, what I saw in my future, why l had the conclusions that I had. She asked me about this and that and everything in between, she was so genuinely curious about me, my life, and my aspirations that l didn't even get to ask her one question about herself. She made a powerful connection with me that day. it was instant, Her deep penetrating eyes, her gentle voice and her soft touch-this powerful spiritual connection left me mesmerized. Never had I met anyone of that stature who was so charismatic, so beautiful, and so perfect in every possible way, Might add, had she asked, I would have followed her to the end of the world.

Who then was Peter Coyote, you ask? Well, who cares? We all love Jane Goodall, don't we? And meeting her and connecting with her was the only story I wanted to tell. Like Jane did for me, a powerful connection with your soul and spirituality will give you a great life worth living. I guarantee it. This is so fundamentally important to your Future Growth Potential that I cannot emphasize or sell this enough. Spiritual awakening is not easy to talk about because I am just a beginner here, but it is always changing and improving my life and I love to see it unfold. Many of the leaders I have personally coached get very uncomfortable at this point and start saying things like, “This is not me, I am not spiritual, I hate religion, hate religious people, this is nonsense, and it's not a part of me" Okay, let's take a deep breath, As a coach, l understand that I need to unbundle quite a cluster of perceptions, wounds, misunderstandings, and stories. Don't fret, though! I had to do this for myself as well. So, let's start undoing the knots, shall we?

I will begin with myself. My childhood was shaped by my parents who during the 1950s, worked hard to live up to the societal expectations of how a family should live, connect, love, and support, During those times, a father was expected to work hard and earn the living, He was not expected to connect with the kids, help raise them, or really love them in any demonstrable matter other than providing for their financial needs. So, as a family, we never expressed any feeling other than some anger every now and then. It was functional, cold, normal, and, in retrospect, not a rewarding experience for any of us. My extended family had a strong influence of the Scandinavian culture, which did not add much color or warmth to life. But thanks to me embracing spirituality, there has been a profound shift in who I am and how I relate to the world. it has had a very positive impact on my leadership skills and my Future Crouth potential. in some ways l have only just started this journey and am not qualified at all to talk toothers about it. My goal here is to only open the door and give you a shove through it. I have mastered nothing other than having experienced the awe.

My slowly developing spiritual journey has been incredibly difficult and painful, but it has also been the most rewarding journey of my life-the highs and lows are all treasured. Along my spiritual journey, I have learned to connect through stories and understood the power of narrative; I have been able to witness the impact and joy of being vulnerable, I have periodically been a powerful listener and have experienced the amazing environment that it can create. I love to describe to my colleagues that being truly charismatic means you are both interested and interesting, Being interesting alone actually makes you rather dull, This, by the way, was my experience with Peter Coyote. He asked no questions. He had a great career but had no interest in anybody else at the table that afternoon.

I have been blessed to be exposed to great friends, leaders, teachers, gurus, and family who have brought to my life the Awe of Spirituality. Few people in my life would describe me as a spiritual person or even one who reflects spirituality, l am only a beginner and am taking a bold step to coach you in this direction, As a coach my intention is to expose you to the power of spirituality and the importance of integrating spirituality into your team and career. I can help you save 40 years.

I have sensed how my stories and wounds continue to harm my future; I have felt the importance of touch and eye contact in relationships; and have spiritual balance sheets with my friends and others. You can see that there is a lot to learn and experience when you start at zero. This trait is one that is not covered much in MBA school or any formal educational track, lt is one you must pioneer and plot for yourself. In my case, I had a brilliant coach who kept me focused: my wife, Carole. But if you wish to start on a journey like mine, here are a few things you could apply practice daily gratitude, invest more to develop true empathy for the other side: learn to accept imperfection, connect with the nature ever single day; develop powerful listening skills, and make sure there are moments of silence when you can reflect. If you love your mother, if you love anybody in your family, or if you even love yourself then you have a spiritual connection. These connections must be nurtured and given space to grow, It's not about religion, or yoga, or meditation. You can see this revealed in so many non-threatening ways that will ultimately greatly improve your Future Growth Potential. To be a great leader, to be a great team player, and to move the world you must be connected to your soul. Life will be easier and much more rewarding, But you cannot do this alone, you must have a community, a village, a team, a family to be part of the future and to move the future.

Having said all that, yet again, let us get back to using Steve Jobs as an example. He was deeply in Awe of Spirituality. Most of his life and work were based on philosophies of Zen Buddhism, His mantra of “Focus and Simplicity,” derived from Zen Buddhism, was a consistent feature in all Apple products, which were few in number but were clean and simple. The same was also reflected in Steve's minimalistic way of being, In numerous books written about him and in movies based on him, you might have read about or seen an actor portray him walking barefoot around his office or the neighbourhood in his trademark blue jeans, brainstorming ideas or having serious conversations, These walks were a way to generate new ideas and enabled him to achieve mindfulness and clarity, Steve was also accepting of death and subscribed to the Buddhist philosophy of impermanence. During his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford, he talked about death being a motivating factor for him. After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, he realized that being so close to death gave him freedom from all external expectations, all fear, all pride, and embarrassment of failure. He was able to see what was of utmost importance following one's heart.

Being able to innovate in a competitive world is a tiring and tedious process-one that is filled with challenges and hardships. Spirituality is often seen as a key to overcoming such hardships. Being in Awe of Spirituality helps leaders be more purpose-driven and pushes employees to persevere. It is only when people feel their spiritual connections that they are able to develop trust and respect for themselves and their colleagues. It also fosters creativity, And when that happens, it has significant impact on the enhancement of organizational innovations. This is what I need you to understand-find something that your heart desires, connect to it at the innermost of your being, and give it all. But also remember that it evolves and matures. Be vulnerable, listen to others, connect through stories, feel the human touch, be able to let go, inspire and be inspired find your spiritual base and remember, it doesn't have to be the same as what Steve or Bill had. It just has to work for you.

● The Growth Coaching Book 企业增长指南 01

● The Growth Coaching Book 企业增长指南 02

● The Growth Coaching Book 企业增长指南 03

● The Growth Coaching Book 企业增长指南 04

● The Growth Coaching Book 企业增长指南 05

● The Growth Coaching Book 企业增长指南 06

● The Growth Coaching Book 企业增长指南 07