The power of WOW….. #FOW – my first personal blog
With this blog I kick off of my website and my facebook page
We all lead busy lives with our jobs, families, hobbies, sports and friends all fighting for attention.
Next to that a lot of business people, like myself, try to keep up the good habit of reading business book to Sharpen the Saw (as Covey called it). So was I, although I intellectually got it sometimes I lacked the time or urgency to use or implement what I read.
And maybe the true urgency was lacking. I had a successful career, was a senior leader in a multinational, I had good career perspectives, a great family and a good health. Next to the intellectual challenges I ran a marathon, was an active triathlon participant and felt great…
In search for meaning….
But I learned a hard lesson that “results from the past will give no guarantees for the future”. Out of the blue I ran into neurological health problems and I did what I always did; continue with hard work as I assumed it would automatically go away. But how wrong was I during this tough period. I worsened my physical problems continuing my workload, while not listening to my body. Until I took a step back.
And during that recovery everything came together… When I was recovering I decided to invest a week in the UK going through the Hoffman process. One week without a phone and no contact with home. Fully working on myself and my aspirations and sharpening my vision for the future.
And while stepping back also some great inspirational books came to mind. Most importantly “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” from Stephen Covey. And inspirational it was…. I could truly suddenly relate to the theory by not only understanding it but also applying the habits more to my life. I will describe a few of the habits that came together for me.
Covey Habit: Begin with the End in Mind
Effectiveness is not just a matter of reaching a goal but rather of achieving the right goal. Take hold of your life. Implement “personal leadership.”Begin by drafting a personal mission statement that outlines your goals and describes the kind of person you want to be. I love my work, leading people through transformation and accomplishing goals in an inspiring environment. But there was also an area that I realized was missing. I love to gather information, do inspirational speeches (almost as a “missionary” selling my ideas), write articles and share my knowledge and experience inside my company but also outside it. Furthermore I am worried about the quality of the information and ownership around the future of work. We need to act now if we want automation to augment our lives instead of take over our lives.
Future of work
The topic of the future of work asks us to consider the biggest questions of our age. What influence will the continuing march of technology, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have on where we work and how we work? Will we need to work at all? What is our place in an automated world? Many purely focus on technology and the role that automation is predicted to have on jobs and the workplace. Contrary I believe the real story is far more complicated. This is not only about technological innovation, but merely about the manner in which humans decide to use that technology.
To my opinion the unique qualities of people and strong and purposeful leadership will be key differentiatiors in an age where the customer experience is of great value. I am optimistic, but the future cannot be created based on blind optimism or paralyzing fear! My purpose is therefor to inspire leaders and game changers to create a future where technology improves the quality of our society, our lives and our work and not to disrupt it. With my movement I want to provide information and fuel the debate about how to ensure that we guide, harness, and control science and technology developments so that they fulfill their primary purpose, which should be serving humanity and furthering human flourishing.
Humanity on top of technology
The organisations that succeed in this will put “Humanity on top of technology”. The challenge during the technological disruption lies in sorting hype from reality, and in designing the right strategy to thrive in a sustainable way. Through my writing and speaking I want to inspire people to use new technologies in a proper way and build human organizations where people purposefully love to work under mindful and inspiring leadership in good harmony with technology.
I strongly embrace the philosophy that the future is not something that just happens through us. We create our future every single day, based on our beliefs, ethics and actions. We always have choices, but we should discover them early!
Next to the information on this site I will provide an UP2US information exchange platform on Facebook. On this platform Digital disruption will be discussed in conjunction with the Future of Work and Leadership in the Digital Age. Entrepreneurs and executives from different industries and policy makers can find and exchange information to assess and discuss ways in which technology is beneficial for the business and our society, while providing fulfilling jobs for the employees. I embrace a positive view as with conscious leadership through the proper innovations we can make the world better on a broader scale by curing diseases, save the environment for our children and create more equal opportunities for everyone on this planet.
Covey Habit : Be Proactive
Highly effective people take the initiative. I was always very energetic but never had taken the step to augment my career with writing and speaking on a topic that is very close to my heart. Proactive people operate in the realm of the possible. They see what they can do and do it. By taking responsibility and acting, they expand the realm of the possible. Stepping back made me realize I had to step forward. I have the knowledge, the skills and the drive so the only thing was to start doing it next to my existing responsibilities.
Covey Habit: Think Win/Win
Highly effective people strive for win/win transactions, which make it profitable for everyone to cooperate because all the parties are better off in the end. Instead of seeing the limitations of my aspiration on speaking and writing I realized this was good for all stakeholders. It gave me extra energy next to my existing drive. It was also good for the company I worked as I would bring in new knowledge and experience and build a broader network.
Covey Habit: Sharpen the Saw
Effective people take care of their bodies with a program of exercise that combines endurance, flexibility and strength. Effective people furthermore take care for their souls for instance with meditation by reading great literature or listening to great music. I realized I had come to a period in my life where I needed to broaden myself instead of continuously 200% going after 1 area. I try to focus my attention now on multiple areas. This means leading, sporting, drumming, family and writing, which fuel me all in different areas.
RESULT:
So here I am, after a life changing experience and a very inspiring personal retreat. As a consequence I am recovered and fully energized to continue my leadership role. Next to that I will augment that with writing and speaking on the future of work in this digital age.
Eventually I learned that knowledge that you build comes at a moment when you step back and do not expect it. It was there but apparently needed to come out.
The heart refers to emotions, which depend greatly on others. Work to develop your heart, your emotional connections and your engagement with other people. Communicate, listen and be undemanding.
Social media is more important than ever in getting coverage. Therefor I reach out to my network to also support me in this. Please share topics in the future that are relevant for your network (#sharingiscaring).
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CIAO, Carlo
Carlo Schreurs is business group CIO and digital officer, trendviewer, speaker and regularly writes on digital and technology, the future of work and leadership in the digital age. Through short 5 minute blogs he provides busy people with key insights. You can follow Carlo on Twitter and Facebook.
Follow Carlo on Twitter: @Carloschreurs
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website Carlo: www.carloschreurs.com
