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The Leader's "tips will"

Many years ago I was at a conference in Brussels. A consultant participated there in about 70 years. He had worked in leadership development for most of his life. He was then asked: What is your most important advice to give?

Then he answered

  • good leaders always seek the truth, i.e. regardless of what people and the environment say, they strive to find out the truth, so they get a more secure basis for their navigation
  • too many leaders are just plumbers... Hmmm. Well, they mostly care about how the pipes are drawn - not what flows in them... Sure, the pipes matter, but it's the content that decides

 I often think of that advice...

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Can you marry every year?

Yes, it works... Actually really rewarding, if you want to have a good relationship of course...

I read in 1995 about a sect in Northern Italy, which married in one year at a time. By then, my life partner and I had been together for a year. Since we had going through a divorce, we thought it was an interesting idea... However, we did not follow the sect's plan, but sharpened it a little more. You can see it as a kind of development conversation. We call it the Annual meeting. The first year was exciting. The second year we thought: Should we do it again? It was a yes. Since then, it is a kind of routine. Even a few pairs of friends have done it.They have been very satisfied that they have dared. It has even happened that a couple fell in love again;-)

On the website, under the Free Knowledge tab and the For Private use link, you can download an instruction how to do...

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All in a team should be "World champion" at something

Many teams have more or less "cloned" members. It's not good, but diversity is harder to work well. Are there any tips?

One tip is to strive for everyone in the team to be a world champion at something, i.e. the best in the team at something that the team needs from time to time. Then that member will feel in demand and thus important. This, in turn, makes you inclined to be humble about the competence of others in the team. In addition, if you have a common goal, which everyone has understood and accepted, then you have a good basis for countering destructive conflicts. Healthy conflicts always exist. The trick is to manage the conflicts in a balanced way related to everyone's needs.

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How do you handle your Tamagotchi on the internet?

(NOTE! This article is written by one of my cooperation partners in Brazil – Giselle Welter, PhD and psychologist. She is CTO at the company RH 99 Sistemas Ltda, in Sao Paulo)

Tamagotchi BR 2023 04 04

Do you remember the little electronic toy called Tamagotchi? It was a real fever among children in the 1990s. This toy was a kind of virtual pet , which needed care like a real pet . The pet 's owners , in this case children and adolescents, had to 'feed' it regularly, 'bath it', 'play with it', 'take it for walks etc. so that he could 'grow', 'develop' and, mainly, remain 'alive'.

A fun, seemingly harmless idea, it caused a lot of problems, as children brought their digital pets to school to care for them. There was a risk of 'dying' in less than half a day, which corresponds to the period they stayed at school, if they did not receive adequate care. The death of the Tamagotchi was a very painful event. The children mourned his death as if it were a real, flesh-and-blood loved one. They even went so far as to have his funeral.

As with cell phone access in the classroom, teachers were uncomfortable with the interruption of classes and the distraction of students, represented by the attention devoted to Tamagotchi. Faced with the ban on taking their virtual pet to school with them, as a way of guaranteeing his care, the children began to delegate this care to their own mothers. But what if the mother neglected him? What if he died at her hands? It would be a terrible drama!

What about your Tamagotchi on the internet?

While Tamagotchi was a toy that only affected the lifestyle of children and teenagers – a fad that passed –, the need to take care of our digital existence on a day-to-day basis is now a reality that is here to stay. We become hostages of our digital profiles.

When we create an account on social media, we create a digital profile, which needs to be continuously fed. It is not enough for him to be there to exist, as he needs to exist for others. We have to be seen, recognized. Indifference is digital death, our social death. In order for us to remain alive digitally, we have to feed our profile with new content every day. The daily feeding of our digital profile requires preparation, as it cannot be fed with just anything. It needs to have content. The preparation of this 'food' takes time and requires creativity. Our 'Tamagotchi' grew and enslaved us.

What is the image of your Tamagotchi?

But if taking care of our digital profile on social media already takes a lot of time, how will our avatar management in the Metaverse be? Will we know how to take care of him? What will happen if we neglect it? How to realize this? The solution is to outsource, like the children who delegated the care of their virtual pet to their mothers . Professionals specialized in generating content for social media are now hired just for that.

Our profile on social media is our window to the world and, like any window, it needs to be constantly renewed, so that it continues to attract customers. What will become of us if our digital profile is not fed? Will we cease to exist for an audience, often unknown, eager to 'snoop' our life in the “ Fucabook ” and lacking models to adopt? Will we miss business opportunities? Can't we get a job? Will we be alone?

By creating an avatar in the Metaverse, an idealized representation of ourselves, we acquire an identity in the digital world. The avatar will occupy our space in this parallel reality. At some point, this digital identity, created and nurtured on a daily basis, will compete with our real identity, with our biopsychosocial being, which needs food, physical activity, sleep, in addition to meaningful social relationships to maintain our physical health and mental.

What are the risks of this?

The Internet brought us closer to people, right?

Yes and no!

Although we are connected and we know what people are doing, with the possibility of giving our opinion in the comments, we miss the essential: the quality of interpersonal relationships. The digitization of our existence, the continual creation of content to sustain it, is competing with our real interpersonal relationships. Being connected virtually, digitally, does not meet our need for physical and psychological closeness.

Considering that human needs remain the same, since primordial times, how to meet socio-emotional needs in the midst of the ongoing technological revolution? Will the basic need for contact, expressed by orality, which corresponds to the Contacts factor in HumanGuide, cease to be met? What about the need for bonding and security, which corresponds to the Stability factor?

The dazzle with the infinite possibilities that digital reality can provide can distance us from reality as such. What will our destiny be? What will be the fate of humanity? We get sick, physically and mentally! We will become alienated beings. When we fall into reality, we will be hopelessly out of it.

My comment...

Giselle an interesting point! At first I like that you give it a name Tamagotchi. I like that because it helps your memory to remember it and also talk about it.

It also brings up many thoughts. One important – always – is the Swedish word LAGOM, ie not too much, not to too little – just good enough;-) You need to have in mind: Why are you "profiling" you on internet? If you do it well you gain good relations and gain time, but it could also be a burden... Therefore, you need a strategy, which suits you!

At first you should BE YOU in a good way, because then you attract people, who have a similar personality and interests as you. There you have good guidance from your HumanGuide PersonProfile. That is always important to keep in mind, because if you let it govern your way in life, then you get a high Passionindex and it contributes to a good life.

Your personality (drives) is also important in another way – you should figure out the way you nurture your profile, so it is harmony with your personality, ie you do what you like to do. Don't copy other people. Do it your way. Eg I have a high value on Quality (HG language). This means that I like to help people. That combined with my age 7.6 ;-) means that I have a lot of insights and experiences to share. I do and I enjoy;-) But of course that I need to be observant for feedback, so I get a receipt that what I write is appreciated by the right people. The ones I like to have in my network. Some also around my fire;-)

PS But of course real meetings are the best. The highest level is when you have the feeling that time doesn't exist. You have so-called report. Then your Sensibility (HG) is very happy. But don't forget to write in a personal way on the internet, so you feed Sensibility eg in emails now and then personal photos, etc.

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The hope's importance for people's life

But if you are depressed, what do you do? Try hard to get hope. Make sure you are rested. Do what you enjoy. Meet inspiring people. Do things that you know others appreciate... And the like...

NewDelhi Boras

Imagine getting a bicycle for the first time in your life with the goal of getting to Borås. Why? If you live in New Delhi, it becomes a real challenge. Right? Yesterday I went and listened to a lecture. Then I found out that it was the love for a Swedish woman, which was the driving force... The man came from the indigenous peoples of India, which made him casteless (untouchable). His full name was Jagat Ananda Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia. He is usually called Pikej for the sake of simplicity... To get to Borås, Pikej did not have an easy starting point... It was even the case that Pikej tried to take his own life several times, but failed for various reasons.

But why exactly to Borås in Sweden? Well, when he was born he was given a horoscope. It later turned out that it suited Lotta from Borås. He met her in New Delhi, when he made a partial living as a portrait painter. After an amazing chain of events, they became a couple. But then Lotta needed to go home to Sweden and then...

To me, this story shows that faith can move mountains. Unfortunately, there are many who are driven in their lives by avoiding anxiety. They have more or less strong doomsday prophecies, which guide their path towards the future. When I learned about the benefits of Positive Thinking, I learned about the danger of doomsday prophecies becoming self-fulfilling. But, I thought, if you turn the tables, i.e. instead choose a POSITIVE VISION and that it then becomes self-fulfilling... That would be really smart! Said and done. I started testing and mostly it worked. It's just that miracles take longer;-) Or another way to put it: A vision without a plan remains a dream.

You can also see a vision, as a way of gaining hope. There is always something to hope for in the future. There is an interesting incident here... There was a racer in the US, who was involved in an accident. He got an awl, which penetrated right through his frontal lobe. However, the rally managed to survive. He then got a special handicap: He lost hope, i.e. he destroyed his future memory - he couldn't think about the future, so he became depressed...

What is your vision? If you want help to come up with and manage your vision, you can benefit greatly from the book Powergoals, written by the Swedish consultant Christina Skytt. It's her first book and it became a bestseller in the US!

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Good recruitment determines...

If you recruit wrong, it creates a stream of problems...

In the bestseller book Good to Great by Jim Collins are decribed eleven successful companies in the USA. The companies have passed the criterion from Jim's research, during five years, to be the best in their industry for at least fifteen years, ie not due to "luck". There are some common denominators in why they have succeeded. One is that they are very careful about their recruitment. They even recruit no one, when they feel an insecurity, but can't put their finger on why…

Steve Jobs is said to have said: The first ten people who are employed in a company determine whether it will be a successful company or not...

On the website, under the Free knowledge tab and the For Leaders link, you can download a summary of Jim Collins' four books...

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Does your website build trust?

Skarmavbild 2023 05 07 kl. 22.18.20

Why is this important? Well, good collaboration requires trust. In fact, a Harvard study identifies what characterises the most profitable companies. Long-term relationships. Long-term relationships with customers, employees, suppliers, and partners of various kinds.

In that study, it is stated that there are actually only two things you have to prioritise the most. What are they? Well, trust and commitment, i.e. showing with your commitment that you want to help others.

So how can you build trust and preferably quickly? Well, for example, by keeping your promises and acting according to similar values. However, there is a neglected area of linking personality to your brand. This means that the brand is in tune with the personality, because then you become predictable, which builds trust.

The brand and company culture

When a company is founded, the brand is of course characterised by the founder(s), but not everyone thinks that the website, for example, should be in line with the brand. It may instead be influenced by current fashion, the web consultant, etc. But how do you specify how the website should be designed and with what content? One way is to come up with three value words, for example. If there are several, there is a risk that there will be no distinctive profile. The value words can then provide a good foundation based on the personality of the founder(s), as it is usually very stable over time. It is usually said that the truth is easiest to remember, i.e. it is of course easiest to be yourself.

This is where you can benefit from the HumanGuide concepts with the eight basic dimensions of the test. You can read more about the concepts and their application in the Free Knowledge tab. You can also read on the home page about how you can raise the PassionIndex, i.e. that a good match between your personality and the job and culture creates a high PassionIndex. Then you are committed to what you do!

We as an example

Do I live as I learn? Look at the website and judge for yourself whether you feel it is in line with our three values: Simplicity, Versatile, Solid? These are our brand values. I also have values for the corporate culture: Respect, Smart, Sustainable.

So how does the brand relate to the company culture? The easiest way is to use an analogy - that they are two sides of the same coin. The external and the internal. Branding expert "Dr Stolt" - Ulf Bergman has an even more concrete analogy: Think of it as a sailboat. You should strive to have a nice sailboat, i.e. a nice and attractive sail and a solid hull, so that you can use the sailboat in a good way.

How does this relate to my - the founder's - personality? The values are based on the strengths of my personality, i.e. the dimensions: Imagination, Structure, Quality and Power. With that ranking. Then the connection is like this
- Simplicity, Versatile and Smart are based on all the strengths: i.e. Imagination, Structure, Quality and Power.
- Solid and Sustainable on the strengths of Structure and Quality
- Respect is mainly based on Quality

Do we live as we learn?

Evaluating oneself is of course not as good as when others evaluate... I will concretise with some examples...

Simplicity, Versatile and Smart can be verified with HumanGuide Cards, which consists of a deck of cards and the associated web app cards.humanguide.se. The card deck is the personality test in card deck format. Cards can be used to
- Improve collaboration in a team
- Specify the personality requirements for a job
- Describe a person, job and brand or company culture
- Etc.

Solid and Sustainable can be exemplified by our client since 2003 - u-blox AG in Switzerland, who has been using the HumanGuide test since they were a startup. Now (May 2023) they have over 1,600 employees in 28 locations globally. Last year, they increased their turnover to over CHF 600 million and have conducted 4,290 tests since their inception, which have mainly been used for personal assessment for recruitment and staffing. The company develops and sells GPS chips and the like.

Respect is reasonably credible, having worked with psychologist Giselle Welter (PhD) at RH99 in Sao Paulo, Brazil since 1999 without any destructive conflict. Of course, we have differences of opinion from time to time, but we deal with them constructively. In addition, over the years we have benefited greatly from knowing each other's PersonProfiles á la HumanGuide.

What are other’s opinion? For example, customers and partners sometimes exclaim: How smart;-) Especially when I have been disruptive....

Finally, many people choose fancy and impersonal pictures, i.e. they themselves are not in the pictures but they come from image banks of various kinds. Instead, I believe in being authentic... Not perfect images. Good enough and authentic creates more trust, I think...

I repeat the question - Does your website build trust?

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