John's Blog

Walking along a desolate sandbar on the shores of an Indian river, Payeng's heart broke as he wept aloud for the death he witnessed.  All forms of reptiles and birds had died of exposure to a terrible storm on the river banks just days before. The cruel sandbank offered the animals no protection from the elements.    Fourteen year old Payeng went home and devised a plan. It was simple, he would plant and nurture saplings on the desolate sandbank until there was enough habitat to offer protection to all the animals. This plan would also prevent soil erosion on the largest river island, Majuli.  Thirty years later, Mr. Payeng has planted enough trees to create a forest covering 550 hectors, the equivalent of fifteen football stadiums. The Molai forest, created by Payeng, is now home to deer, tigers, rabbits, birds and more. How is this possible?  The dedication of one person to do something each day that may only make a small difference in the moment,...

It takes three elements to make a fire; heat, oxygen and fuel.   These three elements make up what’s known as the Fire Triangle.   It’s a common strategy to remove just one of the three elements, breaking the triangle, to extinguish a fire successfully.   The Leadership Triangle also has three elements essential to its existence; vision, a leader and a team.   Removing one of these elements would break the Leadership Triangle and extinguish any hope for success.  

Sitting in a meeting about culture, the Logistics Manager blurted out: I hate it when employees say ‘The Company should’, or ‘you should’, never taking ownership of their jobs or showing loyalty towards the company.   The manager had moved herself up in a medium sized pharmaceutical company, a family business, from receptionist to Logistics Manager in a few short years. She didn’t get the sympathetic and understanding response she was hoping for.

An ‘Us’ vs. ‘Them’ culture is more than just a un-resourceful state for a team to be in, it is a team culture that can leave a trail of failed goals and broken dreams in its wake. The ‘we’ team appears greater than the sum of its individual parts, producing results that are bigger than the collective effort. The individual’s sense of belonging to the team is the culture every leader should strive to accomplish.

Authentic Culture Authentic Brand Those entrepreneurs that neglect company culture and company brand do so at their own peril. Culture and brand are two sides of the same coin. Culture is the attitudes, expectations expressed through policies and procedures that boil out into action through service. Brand is the culture of your organisation from the customers’ perspective. Brand is how your customers see and experience your company’s culture when they buy your products or use your services.