Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The Nobel Error: How One Mistake Redefined History!
Alfred Nobel was one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the nineteenth century. In 1867 he patented his new explosive – ‘dynamite’. Soon he had patents in every industrialized country. By 1880 he was head of the largest dynamite-producing cartel in the world. Royalties, dividends and profits grew. And then one day a simple mistake changed his life forever.
A French newspaper confused the death of Nobel’s brother, Ludvig, with his own. Alfred got the opportunity to do what many of us would love to do – he sat down with a cup of coffee, read his own obituary and saw what people had made of his life. But he read phrases like ‘merchant of death’, and ‘his fortune was amassed finding new ways to mutilate and kill’. As Nobel held the newspaper in his hands, he vowed that this was not how he would be remembered, and he decided that, from that very day, his life would be not just successful but significant.
He began using his vast wealth to encourage the arts, science and above all peace. Few who watched as Nelson Mandela walked up to the podium in 1995 to collect the Nobel Peace Prize realized that the event was due to the error of a Swedish journalist who, by his simple mistake, changed another man’s life forever and thus introduced into the world a prize that continues to affect generations all over the world.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The power of WE
As a leader, do you honour and appreciate the power of WE? Do you stop to thank and recognise the members of your team? Do you consistently show an attitude of gratitude?
The story of Charles Plumb is inspiring and emphasises the value of each individual of a team. Captain Charles Plumb, a graduate of the Naval Academy, whose plane, after 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam, was shot down. He parachuted to safety, but was captured, tortured and spent 2,103 days in a small box-like cell.
After surviving the ordeal, Captain Plumb received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit and two Purple Hearts, and returned to America and spoke to many groups about his experience and how it compared to the challenges of everyday life.
Shortly after coming home, Charlie and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. A man rose from a nearby table, walked over and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"
Surprised that he was recognised, Charlie responded, "How in the world did you know that?" The man replied, "I packed your parachute." Charlie looked up with surprise. The man pumped his hand, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "I guess it worked!"
Charlie stood to shake the man's hand, and assured him, "It most certainly did work. If it had not worked, I would not be here today."
Charlie could not sleep that night, thinking about the man. He wondered if he might have seen him and not even said, "Good morning, how are you?" He thought of the many hours the sailor had spent bending over a long wooden table in the bottom of the ship, carefully folding the silks and weaving the shrouds of each chute, each time holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn't know.
Plumb then began to realize that along with the physical parachute, he needed mental, emotional and spiritual parachutes. He had called on all these supports during his long and painful ordeal.
As a leader, how many times a day, a week, a month, do we pass up the opportunity to thank those people in our organisation who are "packing our parachutes?"
I am Akinnusi Olaoluwa, a team member of a thoughts and idea-based business solution consulting firm made up of expert thinkers and unusual idea-people.
A reverencer of God (my very own father); I love to be seen as self-taught, a simple and grateful creature of the almighty.
Blessed to be surrounded by the best family anyone can have, a choice I didn’t even have a chance of making myself.
I love wisdom and creativity; I daily seek to discover purpose and achieve fulfilment, having fun while at it.
I’m keen at graphics, photography, games, gadgets, conceptual arts, project management and I love to write/compose.
I love creative thinking sessions (brainstorming), and engaging in deep intellectual conversations from time to time. I am a conceptual thinker.
I work at 25 Seven Consulting.
And at 25 Seven Consulting, we have great passion for what we do.
...I promise a continuation of this soon
Thinking of setting out on your own? Think again!
Thinking of setting out on your own? You might find these short piece more relevant to your eventual business success than you actually think. Yes I said so.
Read on...
Employees are number 1. The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers/clients (as the case may be).
Think small to grow big.
Manage in the good times for the bad times.
Irreverence is ok. You are the boss, remember!
It’s ok to be yourself. More like, it's a must.
Have fun at work. Make your vocation your vacation.
Take the competition seriously, but not yourself.
Think of the company as a service organisation that happens to be in the airline business.
Do whatever it takes. Result is key.
Always practise the Golden Rule, internally and externally.
I wish you exceptional success in your pursuit.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The poem I love
The poem I love!! (though I didn't compose)
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Get inspired, make a difference; the Erin Brockovich story
The Erin Brockovich Biography
Gaining inspiration from past real life events wont hurt no one, on the contrary, it helps to attach some 'real-lifeness' to the inspiration and results in a stronger push to action than will be experienced from a fiction-inspired inspiration.
My point is, I strongly do hope the story you are about to read will produce in you a strong urge to (at all times) seek to make a success out of all your endeavors, no matter how unimportant they might seem. Read on.
Say the name Erin Brockovich and you think, strong, tough, stubborn and sexy. Erin is all that and definitely more.
She is a modern-day “David” who loves a good brawl with today’s “Goliaths”.
She thrives on being the voice for those who don’t know how to yell.
She is a rebel. She is a fighter. She is a mother. She is a woman. She is you and me.
It’s been 10 years since Julia Roberts starred in the Oscar-winning tour de force “Erin Brockovich”. The film turned an unknown legal researcher into a 20th century icon by showcasing how her dogged persistence was the impelling force behind the largest medical settlement lawsuit in history. Since then, Erin hasn’t been resting on her laurels… she continues to fight hard and win big!
This gutsy broad doesn’t apologize for who she is. She has always loved going head to head with the big boys and was never intimated by their bravado. She learned how to come out on top from her tight-knit mid-western family in Lawrence, Kansas. Erin was the youngest child of an industrial engineer father and journalist mother. Her parents always believed that she could do anything she set her mind to if she learned to focus her amazing energy.
After a few years roaming around at various colleges, Erin decided that she wanted to be a California girl. She first landed a job as a management trainee for K-Mart but when that didn’t make her swagger, she decided to study electrical engineering. But that wasn’t enough for the Kansas beauty… on a fluke, she entered the Miss Pacific Coast beauty pageant… and, not surprising, won the title.
When she realized that beauty pageants weren’t her thing, Erin, her husband and two children settled in Reno, Nevada. After divorcing, the single mother became a secretary at a brokerage firm where she met and married her second husband. But that marriage was short lived and the now mother of three was solo again.
Up until this point, Erin was the average divorced single mother trying to make a living… until she crossed paths with lawyer, Ed Masry, and changed the course of both their lives.
After being seriously injured in a traffic accident in Reno, Erin moved back to California’s San Fernando Valley, and hired Masry & Vititoe to represent her. They won a small settlement but she still needed work so she got a job at their law firm as a file clerk, it was while organizing papers on a pro bono real estate case that Erin first found medical records that would explode into the largest direct action lawsuit in US history.
Erin’s exhaustive investigation uncovered that Pacific Gas & Electric had been poisoning the small town of Hinkley’s Water for over 30 years. It was because of Erin’s unwavering tenacity that PG & E had been exposed for leaking toxic Chromium 6 into the ground water. This poison affected the health of the population of Hinkley. In 1996, as a result of the largest direct action lawsuit of its kind, spear-headed by Erin and Ed Masry, the utility giant was forced to pay out the largest toxic tort injury settlement in US history: $333 million in damages to more than 600 Hinkley residents.
The story and eventual film helped make the “Erin Brockovich” a household name. Over time, Erin realized that she could use her notoriety to spread positive messages of personal empowerment and to encourage others to stand up and make a difference.
Erin Brockovich has conquered all forms of media… Her first TV project was ABC’s 2001 special “Challenge America With Erin Brockovich” where she helped motivate and organize the rebuilding of a dilapidated park in downtown Manhattan. This show is best described as “Extreme Make-Over Home Edition” on steroids.
Then, for three seasons, Erin hosted the Lifetime series, “Final Justice With Erin Brockovich”. The show celebrated everyday women who triumphed when faced with overwhelming adversity.
Erin then dominated the world of publishing with her New York Times Business best-seller, “Take It From Me. Life’s A Struggle, But You Can Win”.
Because of her fighting spirit, Erin has become the champion of countless women and men. She is this generations, “Dear Abby” and in fact receives thousands of “Dear Erin” letters and emails each year from people who are begging for help and support in their own personal struggles. Erin proudly answers every one of them.
As President of Brockovich Research & Consulting, she is currently involved in numerous environmental projects worldwide.
Erin is one of the most requested speakers on the international lecture circuit and travels the world for personal appearances.
Erin Brockovich is a true American hero who’s icon status and “stick-to-it-iveness” only fuels her determination to expose injustice and lend her voice to those who do not have one.
She has requests for her help in ground water contamination complaints in every state of the US, Australia and other international hot spots. She is currently working on cases in California, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Illinois and Missouri.
Erin lives in Southern California with her husband, three children and 5 Pomeranians and admits to one guilty pleasure… shopping!
Get inspired people, the time to start to make a difference is now!
Gaining inspiration from past real life events wont hurt no one, on the contrary, it helps to attach some 'real-lifeness' to the inspiration and results in a stronger push to action than will be experienced from a fiction-inspired inspiration.
My point is, I strongly do hope the story you are about to read will produce in you a strong urge to (at all times) seek to make a success out of all your endeavors, no matter how unimportant they might seem. Read on.
Say the name Erin Brockovich and you think, strong, tough, stubborn and sexy. Erin is all that and definitely more.
She is a modern-day “David” who loves a good brawl with today’s “Goliaths”.
She thrives on being the voice for those who don’t know how to yell.
She is a rebel. She is a fighter. She is a mother. She is a woman. She is you and me.
It’s been 10 years since Julia Roberts starred in the Oscar-winning tour de force “Erin Brockovich”. The film turned an unknown legal researcher into a 20th century icon by showcasing how her dogged persistence was the impelling force behind the largest medical settlement lawsuit in history. Since then, Erin hasn’t been resting on her laurels… she continues to fight hard and win big!
This gutsy broad doesn’t apologize for who she is. She has always loved going head to head with the big boys and was never intimated by their bravado. She learned how to come out on top from her tight-knit mid-western family in Lawrence, Kansas. Erin was the youngest child of an industrial engineer father and journalist mother. Her parents always believed that she could do anything she set her mind to if she learned to focus her amazing energy.
After a few years roaming around at various colleges, Erin decided that she wanted to be a California girl. She first landed a job as a management trainee for K-Mart but when that didn’t make her swagger, she decided to study electrical engineering. But that wasn’t enough for the Kansas beauty… on a fluke, she entered the Miss Pacific Coast beauty pageant… and, not surprising, won the title.
When she realized that beauty pageants weren’t her thing, Erin, her husband and two children settled in Reno, Nevada. After divorcing, the single mother became a secretary at a brokerage firm where she met and married her second husband. But that marriage was short lived and the now mother of three was solo again.
Up until this point, Erin was the average divorced single mother trying to make a living… until she crossed paths with lawyer, Ed Masry, and changed the course of both their lives.
After being seriously injured in a traffic accident in Reno, Erin moved back to California’s San Fernando Valley, and hired Masry & Vititoe to represent her. They won a small settlement but she still needed work so she got a job at their law firm as a file clerk, it was while organizing papers on a pro bono real estate case that Erin first found medical records that would explode into the largest direct action lawsuit in US history.
Erin’s exhaustive investigation uncovered that Pacific Gas & Electric had been poisoning the small town of Hinkley’s Water for over 30 years. It was because of Erin’s unwavering tenacity that PG & E had been exposed for leaking toxic Chromium 6 into the ground water. This poison affected the health of the population of Hinkley. In 1996, as a result of the largest direct action lawsuit of its kind, spear-headed by Erin and Ed Masry, the utility giant was forced to pay out the largest toxic tort injury settlement in US history: $333 million in damages to more than 600 Hinkley residents.
The story and eventual film helped make the “Erin Brockovich” a household name. Over time, Erin realized that she could use her notoriety to spread positive messages of personal empowerment and to encourage others to stand up and make a difference.
Erin Brockovich has conquered all forms of media… Her first TV project was ABC’s 2001 special “Challenge America With Erin Brockovich” where she helped motivate and organize the rebuilding of a dilapidated park in downtown Manhattan. This show is best described as “Extreme Make-Over Home Edition” on steroids.
Then, for three seasons, Erin hosted the Lifetime series, “Final Justice With Erin Brockovich”. The show celebrated everyday women who triumphed when faced with overwhelming adversity.
Erin then dominated the world of publishing with her New York Times Business best-seller, “Take It From Me. Life’s A Struggle, But You Can Win”.
Because of her fighting spirit, Erin has become the champion of countless women and men. She is this generations, “Dear Abby” and in fact receives thousands of “Dear Erin” letters and emails each year from people who are begging for help and support in their own personal struggles. Erin proudly answers every one of them.
As President of Brockovich Research & Consulting, she is currently involved in numerous environmental projects worldwide.
Erin is one of the most requested speakers on the international lecture circuit and travels the world for personal appearances.
Erin Brockovich is a true American hero who’s icon status and “stick-to-it-iveness” only fuels her determination to expose injustice and lend her voice to those who do not have one.
She has requests for her help in ground water contamination complaints in every state of the US, Australia and other international hot spots. She is currently working on cases in California, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Illinois and Missouri.
Erin lives in Southern California with her husband, three children and 5 Pomeranians and admits to one guilty pleasure… shopping!
Get inspired people, the time to start to make a difference is now!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The making of ME
I am Akinnusi Olaoluwa, a team member of a thoughts and idea-based business solution consulting firm made up of expert thinkers and unusual idea-people.
A reverencer of God (my very own father); I love to be seen as self-taught, a simple and grateful creature of the almighty.
Blessed to be surrounded by the best family anyone can have, a choice I didn’t even have a chance of making myself.
I love wisdom and creativity; I daily seek to discover purpose and achieve fulfilment, having fun while at it.
I’m keen at graphics, photography, games, gadgets, conceptual arts, project management and I love to write/compose.
I love creative thinking sessions (brainstorming), and engaging in deep intellectual conversations from time to time. I am a conceptual thinker.
I work at 25 Seven Consulting.
And at 25 Seven Consulting, we have great passion for what we do.
A reverencer of God (my very own father); I love to be seen as self-taught, a simple and grateful creature of the almighty.
Blessed to be surrounded by the best family anyone can have, a choice I didn’t even have a chance of making myself.
I love wisdom and creativity; I daily seek to discover purpose and achieve fulfilment, having fun while at it.
I’m keen at graphics, photography, games, gadgets, conceptual arts, project management and I love to write/compose.
I love creative thinking sessions (brainstorming), and engaging in deep intellectual conversations from time to time. I am a conceptual thinker.
I work at 25 Seven Consulting.
And at 25 Seven Consulting, we have great passion for what we do.
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