Saturday 30 June 2012

Islam


I found a religion that blended scientific reason with spiritual reality in a unifying faith far removed from the headlines of violence, destruction and terrorism.
Yusuf Islam (formally Cat Stevens) (1948 CE -     )

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Gog and Magog?

As mentioned in the AlQuran, Surah 21 The Prophets Ayat 96: "Until the Gog and Magog (people) are let through (their barrier), and they swiftly swarm from every hill".

If the article by Justin Mitchell is true, then could be it's Gog and Magog he's talking about...   read on

Derro found living under the earth
By JUSTIN MITCHELL

WASHINGTON -- Weekly World News has uncovered the shocking discovery
of a race of underground Mole People living 20 miles beneath the Earth,
using secret tunnels to enter the United States!

This discovery was made not by archaeologists, but by NASA scientists
tunneling deep inside the Earth -- and they're trying to keep the existence of this race covered up!

A NASA insider has leaked exclusive photos and information about these "cave people" under the condition of anonymity. "This story has to be told," says the source. "It's just too big to keep under wraps."

Thursday 14 June 2012

4 ways great leaders use the 4-Drive Model to impact employee's motivation

by Kurt Nelson



How leaders can impact employee's motivation using the 4-Drive Theory

The 4-Drive Theory of Employee Motivation states that there are four main drives that motivate employees, these are the drives to: Acquire & Achieve, to Bond & Belong, to be Challenged & Comprehend, and to Define & Defend.

In order to maximize motivation leaders need to provide opportunities for employees to satisfy these four drives.

Leaders can begin to influence and start to fulfill each of these drives by using some of the systems and processes they already have in place. Changes and enhancements to those systems can help the organization become one in which employees can satisfy their drives and become highly motivated!
We attempt to map the connection between each of the four drives and the different organizational systems/processes that impact them.

Drive A: Achieve & Acquire
This drive is primarily satisfied through a company's Reward System. This drive is met when companies have a total reward system that:
  • highly differentiates top performers from average performers and average performers from poor performers;
  • clearly ties rewards to performance;
  • recognition is consistently given for outstanding performance;
  • pay is above the competitive benchmarks in the city/industry;
  • top employees are promoted from within.
Drive B: Bond & Belong
This drive is mostly met through an Organization's Culture. This drive is fulfilled when an organization's culture is one that:
  • embraces teamwork;
  • encourages the development of friendships and bonding;
  • one in which employees can depend on their peers to help them;
  • that values collaboration;
  • that celebrates and shares;
  • a culture that is focused on the "employee first".
Drive C: Challenge & Comprehend
This drive is fulfilled primarily through Job and Organizational Structure. Organizations need to ensure that the various job roles within the company provide employees with stimulation that challenges them or allows them to grow. Job roles that satisfy this drive should:
  • be seen as important in the organization;
  • jobs should provide personal meaning and fulfillment;
  • roles should engender a feeling of contribution to the organization;
  • organizational structures that provide growth opportunities within the company;
  • learning offerings (training, seminars, etc) that provide employees with new skills and knowledge;
  • job sharing/rotational opportunities that can provide new challenges.
Drive D: Define & Defend
This drive is met mostly through an employee feeling alignment and connection to the organization. This can be done through a company's Vision/Reputation and their Performance Management System. Organizations that have a strong vision or positive reputation in the marketplace can help create that alignment with employees. The company should be perceived to be:
  • fair;
  • ethical;
  • providing a valued service or good;
  • cutting edge
  • good stewards.
Organization' performance management systems can also help through giving insight into the company's vision. Performance management system should be one that is:
  • open and transparent;
  • perceived to be fair to all employees;
  • provides direction;
  • trusted by employees.
What great leaders do!

Rightfully or not, many employees look to the company to provide them their motivation for work. While many of these motivations are inherently in a company, good leaders know that they have to work at it constantly to ensure that they are satisfying all four drives.

Focus on all 4 Drives:
It is important to understand that all the good work that a company or leader does in these four areas can be ruined if just one of the four drives is a little lacking. Research shows that weakness on fulfilling one of the 4-Drives "castes a negative halo" on how the company or leader performs on all the other 3 drives. If a leader wants to be great, it is important then for a leader to ensure that they are identifying and addressing any issues that they see in any of the four drive areas.

Individualize motivation:
It is also important to know that individual employees each have a unique 4-Drive Motivational profile. Research on this shows that different demographics and personalities respond differently to the four drives. In other words, some employees will respond or require greater satisfaction of the A drive, while others will focus in on the C drive (or B or D). Each employee will perceive how the company or leader is performing on these differently. Great leaders are one's who understand those differences and can focus specific employees on the satisfiers of their specific needs.

Communicate effectively:
Leaders need to be able to effectively communicate how their systems, policies and structure align with the four drives. In other words, they need to be able to map out the connections between what the company is doing or providing and how that would satisfy one or more of the drives. For instance, a leader could discuss the reason that they are sponsoring a community service event is not only to help the community (drive D) but also to provide an opportunity for employees to get to know each other and their families (drive B) and to give them a chance to learn a new skill (drive C). Great leaders create the talking points that get discussed.

Experiment:
Great leaders need to constantly look for ways of enhancing each of the four drives. This is an ongoing commitment that requires leaders to be focused on looking for different ways in which they can provide the opportunities for employees to satisfy their needs. They should implement new structures and processes and see how they work. Add a new twist on an old program (i.e., earn a lunch with the president if you are the top performer this week), do something totally new (i.e., take your team to a Boys and Girls club for an afternoon of mentoring), stop doing something you've always done (i.e., quit giving your poorest performers an annual raise) – just keep experimenting.

Share this article with your friends or leave a comment and let us know your thoughts and ideas on how leaders can use the 4-Drives to create a more motivated work place!

The Author Profile
Kurt is a recognized leader in human motivation, incentive compensation, team development and President of The Lantern Group. For over seventeen years, Kurt has worked on developing and delivering motivational programs, incentive programs, communication campaigns, training sessions, focus groups, team development sessions and strategy initiatives that get people to work more productively and effectively. Over 150,000 people have participated in programs that Kurt has designed and facilitated. 

Monday 11 June 2012

Words of Wisdom / Thoughts to Live By

Nature and wisdom never are at strife.
- Plutarch
It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves.
- Francois De La Rochefoucauld
The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.
- William James
The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.
- Solomon Ibn Gabriol
Years teach us more than books.
- Berthold Auerbach

Thursday 7 June 2012

Sunday 3 June 2012

THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER?

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY
Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins

1.  Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size. 

2.  Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

Saturday 2 June 2012

My Friend - Syed Mohamed Shafeq Syed Mansor AlHabshi

There is something in this guy, that attract me (please, not that kind 'feeling', ya) and make my thought fond of him. It lingers in my memory all the time. I don't know what it is.  I admit that I am not that close to him, as close as to my buddies - Zainudin Buang, Zulfakar Ismail, Abdul Rahman Taha, Aminuddin Yaacob, Mohd Nasir Abdullah, Abdul Shukor Othman, Salahudin Abdul Rahman, Mohd Nor Hussein, Syed Ismail Syed Omar and many others...  but yet memory of him stays more vividly in my brain.


I could feel, during those days, he is a kind of peculiar and an avid observer.  He would observe you, your character, your way of doing things, your speech and whatnot, from his secluded spot.


Most probably, after that, he would sum up his observation of you as... I don't know.  I have a strong urge to talk to him. 


I believe he simply loves to do that and now it has become his hobby, liking and most of all, his career... 


He is now an expert in NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programme, 
Counselling and Psychotherapy

Friday 1 June 2012

Important Lesson

1. First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz.   I  was  a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I  read the last one:

    "What is the first name of the woman who cleans  the  school?"
   
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several  times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her  name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor.

   "In your careers, you will  meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello."
 
    “I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy”.