Purposeful Discussions

Copyright © 2020 Geoff Hudson-Searle

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ISBN 978 1838597 931

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Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

I would like to thank my wonderful wife Mary-Ann, and wonderful friends Mark and Jackie, and Sophie, who allowed me to dream and never stopped believing in this book. Without their love, support and constant belief, Purposeful Discussions would not have been possible.

Contents

Preface

‘The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives’ – life coach

Anthony Robbins

This book has been written about very passionate subjects in business today – communication, strategy, and business development and life growth – which are essential for success and profitability in the business process.

In February 2014 I set out to write a weekly blog across a variety of subjects, especially people in business, opinions, research and tips, as well as some revelations that occurred to me. This is the second book I have written based on those blogs and themes, and it demonstrates the relationship between strategy, business development and life growth. It is important to understand that a number of the ideas, developments and techniques employed at the beginning as well as the top of business can be applied all across a company or life situation.

Purposeful Discussions provides a holistic overview of the essential leading methods in these areas, and can be viewed as a hands-on guide. Readers will gain insights into topical subjects, including a wide range of tips, models and techniques that will help to build strong and effective solutions in today’s business world. One Amazon reviewer said of one of my previous publications, Meaningful Conversations, which worked in a similar way: What makes a book remarkable, useful and meaningful for professionals? Well, read (not only once) Geoff’s masterpiece and you will understand. This book is my ‘win book’ from so many aspects.

The terms ‘communication’, ‘strategy’, and ‘business development and growth’ have been overused during the last decade and devalued as a result. In this book, I aim to simplify these terms and to re-value management and leadership by addressing topics and subjects in each chapter. The book is divided into three key areas to make it easy to find the material you need. Each component can be located by the titles at the top of the pages. The sections within the three components relate strongly to each other and are interrelated to all the other sections. You can start with your particular area of interest, or you can read the book from the first page to the end; there really is a topic for everyone.

Business professionals and individuals dealing with the great challenges of today’s business world have renewed responsibility for what business does best: innovate, invest and grow. Many people wait until circumstances force change and transformation, which can be radical and painful; this book will arm you with tips, advice and techniques to provide fresh thinking about your everyday environment and inspire innovation within your circumstances to create a better environment. We are all extraordinary people and have the ability to share and provide wealth creation and richness to our surroundings. The question is, how much do we want to be extraordinary?

Purposeful Discussions has been written not just for people in a company or organisation. It aims to support understanding across a wide variety of subjects for all kinds of people: students, budding entrepreneurs, business people and anyone who aspires to do better.

PART ONE

Communication

Chapter One

Leadership in the digital world

‘Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence and inspiration. Impact involves getting results, influence is about spreading the passion you have for your work, and you have to inspire teammates and customers’

– lawyer and writer Robin S Sharma

The Christmas holiday period is always a good time for reflection. Last year I spent it in Arizona, in the United States, and, once my dreaded cold had calmed down, I started to reflect on some of the most influential push buttons of business, and ‘leadership’ firmly came to mind.

I had decided to go for a hike and picked Sabino Canyon, a significant canyon located in the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson. Sabino Canyon is a popular recreation area for residents of and visitors to Southern Arizona, providing a place to walk, hike or ride. Minutes away from the desert are large waterfalls along Sabino Creek, with minor bridges constructed over them. Wildlife in the canyon includes deer, pig-like javelina, skunks, tortoises, rattlesnakes and mountain lions.

As I started to climb this magnificent caynon, I thought about the new millennium and the Information Age that is setting the stage for a changing world. Social scientist Thalia Wheatley states that information is a dynamic element that gives way to order, growth and defines what is alive. It is from this fluid movement of information that we get change. "This is the world of Darwin, where we have to change to survive; where we have to develop to thrive; and paradoxically, where the very act of change increases the risk that we will not survive.

Ours is now a world of mergers, downsizing, reorganisation, diversity and more women in the workplace.

My understanding of leadership is that it is the ability to motivate groups of people towards a common goal, an incredibly important skill in the business world. Without strong leadership, many otherwise good businesses fail. Understanding the characteristics of strong leaders and cultivating those skills is paramount for those pursing a career in business.

Many of the world’s most respected leaders have several personality traits in common. Some of the most recognisable traits are the ability to initiate change and inspire a shared vision, as well as knowing how to ‘encourage the heart’ and model the skills and behaviours that are necessary to achieve the stated objectives. Good leaders must also be confident enough in themselves to enable others to contribute and succeed.

Let’s look at some of the most recognised model leaders from the past:

Franklin D Roosevelt – the ability to initiate change

Good leaders are never satisfied with the status quo and usually take action to change it.

In addition, strong leaders bring about change for the common good by involving others in the process. Roosevelt sought practical ways to help struggling men and women make a better world for themselves and their children. His philosophy involved bold, persistent experimentation. Take a method and try it, he said. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. Being willing to take risks by trying new ideas and involving others in the process of change is a key quality of strong leaders.

Martin Luther King – inspiring a shared vision

Leaders, through their words and actions, must have the ability to draw others in to a common vision by telling others where they intend to go and urging them to join in that vision. Martin Luther King’s vision of a country free from racial segregation and discrimination, so poignantly expressed in his famous I have a dream speech, exemplifies this critical leadership trait. He had a vision of a better America, and his ability to bring both whites and blacks together to march against segregation changed America profoundly.

Strong leaders not only need to have a vision and the ability to initiate change, they must model the values, actions and behaviours necessary to make the vision reality.

Mohandas K Ghandi – model leadership

Ghandi not only created and espoused the philosophies of passive resistance and constructive non-violence, he lived by these principles. According to former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, More than his words, his life was his message. By choosing to consistently live and work in a manner that epitomised the values he believed in, Ghandi engendered trust, becoming a role model for others looking to effect change without resorting to violence.

Winston Churchill – encouraging the heart

On December 29, 1940, London was hit by one of the largest aerial attacks of the Second World War. Somehow, St Paul’s Cathedral survived. Two days later a photo showing a silhouette of the dome of St Paul’s surrounded by smoke and flames ran in the newspaper with a caption that read, It symbolises the steadiness of London’s stand against the enemy: the firmness of right against wrong. Prime minister Winston Churchill was a leader who encouraged the heart. He recognised the importance of St Paul’s as a morale booster. His instructions were clear on that December night: At all costs, St Paul’s must be saved. Leaders must be able to encourage the hearts of those who share their vision, providing a sense of confident optimism even in the face of enormous difficulties.

These traditional leadership skills are still relevant today, but now, in this Information Age, they must co-exist with a mix of new factors.

First of all, digital leadership can be defined by the contribution a leader makes to a knowledge society or community and people’s knowledge of technology. A knowledge society is one in which digital leaders have an obligation to keep up with the ongoing global revolution. They must understand technology, not merely as an enabler but also for its revolutionary force.

Leadership must be driven by an attitude of openness and a genuine hunger for knowledge. Of course, no rule dictates that leaders must be literate in coding, or that they should graduate in machine learning, but there is an imperative to understand the impact of breakthrough or revolutionary technologies.

Today’s leaders must have the ability to identify technological trends across different sectors, such as big data, cloud computing, automation, and robotics. However, they must possess sufficient knowledge and the vision to be able to use these resources most effectively.

Secondly, in a knowledge society, what we do not know is as important as what we do know. Leaders should know their limits and know how to acquire missing knowledge. A leader of the future is more like a community manager rather than an authoritarian.

These days, we are seeing the decline of traditional hierarchical models of organisation. Take a look at how the organisation of governments has changed across Western societies in recent years. A number have introduced or reinforced public consultation processes as well as opened up public data for the benefit of their citizens.

These processes, by and large, will continue to grow. As a result, the hierarchical model tends to be suppressed and replaced by horizontal structures among executives, leaders from different sectors, researchers, and representatives from civic society.

Hierarchy fails in the digital age because it is slow and bureaucratic, whereas the new world is constantly changing and requires immediate responses.

As I descended from this amazing hike through the Canyon I started to think about the importance of information. In today’s world, power is not gained by expanding new territories or areas of influence, but by deepening and widening networks and connections. But what is the role of the individual or leader, or of qualities that distinguish one grain of sand from another?

Having acknowledged that digital technology will play a decisive role our future, leaders cannot afford to show fear or reluctance in implementing it. Instead, they must embrace technology with a clear view of its potential. We must set sail for new, ambitious