What are you Missing?

Motivation creates the opportunity to lead. Over the years, I have noticed people who have worked for the same corporation for years and years, yet remained in the same position. They are very knowledgeable and they produce consistently but there is little to no growth in their status. If you are one of those people and you want to advance, pay close attention and examine your motives. Ask yourself the question, "Why am I stagnant?"  I don’t know your answer, however, I can almost guarantee you that you have the wrong motive. 

Workers, as characterized above, are bound in their ability to move mountains, solve problems, and meet deadlines. They are good on the team but seldom leaders. They tend to have this, “if it's going to be done right then I have to do it” mindset and they don’t trust “it” to anyone else. This sounds good, however something even more important than results is missing. People.

People should be your motivation. Certainly, people can be lazy and shifty; they may even talk all the time and never get anything done. Still these same people eventually leave the job or leave you behind. My advice. Get out of your own way.  If you already have the know-how, teach someone else to do what you do. Take your eyes off of self and turn this into an opportunity for improvement. This shows initiative and the ability to lead others to success. Inevitably, someone in authority over you will notice that you are more than a one-trick-pony, who gets their work done and to heck with the rest, and in the end you will be rewarded.

Adding Value

Adding value is a term commonly used in business. A company may set itself apart from its competitors by boasting that they have intentionally added value to their product or service that cannot be gotten elsewhere. BMW is a value added car manufacturer.  Sure you could drive a non-luxury car and still get to grandmother’s house on time, however, BMW boasts that it is “the ultimate driving machine.” They have in essence, added value to the quality of the ride to grandmother’s home when they equipped their vehicles with smooth suspension, high-grade leather, and features not normally found in the basic car.

More importantly, adding value has much less to do with earning profits or increasing sales and much more to do with providing benefits that are intrinsically in sync with the values.  The result, however, of adding value, often times does lead to an increase in profits. So what do you value? Is it an essential part of the product or service you provide?

If you believe in customer service, does that value consistently show up in how you and your employees treat patrons? If you like believe that work should be fun, is that reflected in your company culture? If you value family first, does your company have a policy that encourages employees to take annual vacations with their family? These are only examples.  Whatever the case, lead with your values in mind and those with similar values will follow.
  

Citizen Diplomacy

Long ago, I came across a mission statement, and I have never forgotten it.

It has stuck in my mind and I have shared it with many. Once in a while you come across a powerful statement and you feel like you own it. What do you think it’s about? Here it is:

In a democracy, the ultimate responsibility for a nation’s actions rests with its citizens. The top rung of government – the entity with the ultimate power of governance – is the asserted will of the people. Therefore, in any democracy, it is essential that its citizens be fully and accurately informed.

In the United States, currently the most powerful nation on earth, it is even more essential that its citizens receive complete and undistorted information on topics of importance, so that they may wield their extraordinary power with wisdom and intelligence.

Unfortunately, such information is not always forthcoming.

The mission of If Americans Knew is to inform and educate the American public on issues of major significance that are unreported, underreported, or misreported in the American media.

It is our belief that when Americans know the facts on a subject, they will, in the final analysis, act in accordance with morality, justice, and the best interests of their nation, and of the world. With insufficient information, or distorted information, they may do the precise opposite.

Several years ago I was fortunate to be introduced to two Jewish attorneys from Gainesville that had a broad history with Sister City International and the twinning process. They had paired 100 U.S. and Russian cities together. I have heard one of them say, “we are not going to take credit for ending the Cold War, but soon after it ended, President Reagan came on national TV and said we need to have more sister city relationships.”

Incidentally, they also have a trilateral city relationship between Gainesville

- Qalqilya, Palestine and - Kfar Saba, Israel. This leads me to Sister Cities

What is Sister Cities International?

Sister Cities International was created at President Eisenhower’s 1956

White House conference on citizen diplomacy, where he envisioned an organization that could be a champion for peace and prosperity by fostering bonds between people from different communities around the world. By forming these relationships, President Eisenhower reasoned that people of different cultures could celebrate and appreciate their differences and build partnerships that would lessen the chance of new conflicts. Since its inception Sister Cities International has played a key role in renewing and strengthening important global relationships.

I have shared all of this with you, to share a recent visit our city had from a delegate from Ramallah, Palestine. Ramallah is a small city (population, approximately 57,000) in the Palestinian Territories, located within the West Bank region, approximately 10 miles north of Jerusalem. Ramallah is known for its relaxed atmosphere with many cafes along its main streets.

Ramallah is considered the cultural capital of the West Bank, with a highly educated and fashionable population. This young gentleman, Wajdy Hussain, was a wonderful ambassador and won the hearts of all who met him. When asked what he thought about Ocala, he replied with “America is a wonderful place and there are many, many nice people that are going to like you if you share with them a real smile".  

“I went into north central Florida, in a region known as "horse country,"

Ocala, what a beautiful city!  Everything attracted me, from the oak trees and dangling trellises of Spanish moss, to the rolling hills. And I had the opportunity to explore miles of unblemished nature.”

“I visited the beautiful Rainbow Springs, but missed the opportunity to canoe on that day.”

“And last but not least, the people in Ocala. I mean all the people I met in my visit, they are so kind and great people. All what you need there just a smile and you will find yourself between many people respecting you.”

I believe his expression captured it well. Ocala, a city well-known for its warm-hospitality, philanthropy and natural beauty. May we all embrace citizen diplomacy and make this a better universe.

See you next time on a Moment with Manal.

The Power of Influence!

Influence is power, directly or indirectly used to create a desired effect. Leaders most

definitely have “influence.” Some have it naturally, for instance, world and religious

leaders have a certain type of charisma that engages others and makes constituents and

congregations want to follow them. Others have learned how to develop the skill. In fact,

many books have been written on the subject. The most successful, “How to Win Friends

and Influence People,” was first published in 1936 and is still relevant today. !

At the foundation of influence, whether nature or nurture is “credibility.” In general,

those who appear to believe and practice their own message excite the masses. Leaders

with influence are deemed as trustworthy. They seem to walk the walk, and not just talk

the talk. Again, they epitomize credibility. They are consistent and have proven

themselves to accomplish their goals and to keep their word. If they say they are going to

do something, they usually do, and because of their actions and consistency over time,

they have earned the respect of others.

Innovation via Reinvention

A popular term these days as that of reinventing yourself. If you were to pose the question, “Would you like to reinvent yourself?” You may get a 90% affirmative response. Many of the greatest companies continue to do this. Some good examples of companies that had the intention to do one thing, but found the greater opportunity in going a different direction include some of the most well known companies.

Did you know Flicker started out as an on-line game start up? One of the engineers started a picture saving feature that moved it into it’s current state and scraped the game idea. How about Twitter? Twitter was started as a small group internal SMS company and communication tool. When it went public, it’s success far exceeded it’s expectations and it became it’s own company. 

Another great example of a company that continues to reinvent itself is the powerhouse, Nike! It went from shoe distribution to a lifestyle company. More recently it became more community focused through it’s Nike plus, where you can track your training, connect with others, and share your progress. What Nike did, was continue to evolve, stay current and significant by incorporating athletic activity, mobile technology, and social networking. When the economy was down, Nike continued to show growth and now owns as much as 50% of the athletic shoe market.

The message today is to inspire you to continue to reinvent your company or to dedicate time to your personal reinvention. Personal development and investment in oneself ranks so high in my world, that it helped me reinvent myself as a success coach, thus launching Fakhoury Leadership International. A company dedicated to personal development and growth through training, coaching and consulting. The

simple idea of tiding a small percentage of 5 or 10% to help others and to help yourself will be the fuel for your continued success. In the business arena, a well-known term is ROI (Return on Investment); industry leaders in the area of personal development will tell you that for every dollar you invest in developing yourself, you will receive a return X30. That is what you will add to your bottom line. Invest in the best knowledge, the best mentoring and the best programs.

Reinventing oneself begins with identifying your unique strengths. We all have them! Ask yourself, what do you do better than anyone else? What excites and exhilarates you? What are you willing to fight for? You may find your passion in the fight. If you are not familiar with the mirror principle, it’s a good principle to adopt. Examine yourself first. The first person I must know is myself. Human nature is that it’s easier to

see someone else’s problems or weaknesses. It is much better to know yourself. The lid on people’s relationships is with their own self image. Self honesty is powerful and is the key to moving forward. Your life will continue to unfold, if you want bigger outcomes and bigger results, I recommend you continue to invest in yourself and it may mean reinvent yourself.

All change begins with you, not with circumstances. Again, all change begins with you!

See you next time on a Moment with Manal.

My Next Thought:

The simplest of messages can carry such great meaning. These messages can have great impact in your professional and personal world.

When asked, how do you define leadership, I say “Influence”, leadership is influence. Leadership, a word that commands millions of articles, hundreds of characteristics, and a topic with much research and theory, I have distilled to one word. However, the “influence” comes with a large price tag in terms or responsibility, deliverability, recordability (new word), accountability and action. There are many characteristics and

appendages to this fine term, that we can all work on continuously.

My next thought, “Little Things Matter”. Grasp that thought and you increase your awareness to do the small things that set you apart. From increasing your participation, to showing up on time, to writing the thank you note, to becoming a better listener, to delivering great service, to the hundreds of small items that if ignored make you ordinary and when applied make you extraordinary.

My next thought, “Live With Gratitude”. If we study energy and emotions, we learn that gratitude is the highest vibration. There is no better place to live than to live with gratitude. One of my highest ranking recommendations, start each day with a grateful heart.

My next thought, “Deliver Value”. When you give, you are giving to the universe; you are not just giving to a cause, an organization or to a person. Don’t worry about the immediate payback. Decide to give without expectations and return. The universe will pay you big dividends.

My next though, “Practice kindness”. Recall the last time someone showed you an act of kindness and how it made you feel. Recall the last time you showed someone an act of kindness and how it made you feel. This is one of the best win-wins. I grew up in a home with a wonderful mother that repeatedly would say to us “it’s nice to be nice”.

My next thought, “Remember appreciation”. It is said that more than a raise, more than money, employees, want to feel valued and appreciated. Psychologist William James said, “The deepest craving in human beings is the need to be appreciated”. Everyone, no matter how educated, sophisticated, or mature wants respect and recognition. Good leaders know this and recognize team members for their efforts and accomplishments.

Lack of appreciation is one of the highest reasons people will leave a job or a relationship. On the flip side, always show real appreciation for a gift or compliment. Don’t downplay or sidestep expressions of affection or honor from others. The ability to accept or receive is a universal mark of an individual with solid self-esteem.

My next thought, “Don’t Underestimate the Team”. No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you're playing a solo game, you'll always lose out to a team. Collaboration is more important than ever. You may want to read the book, “Collaborate or Perish!”, by Bratton and Tumin. Collaboration is the game changer.

My next thought, “Live in the Flow”. I recently attended a wonderful workshop on this topic. Synchronicity is a meaningful coincidence that cannot be explained by cause and effect. The question of “how much synchronicity do you have in your life”, allowed me to find that I am a flow master (a lot of synchronicity - meaningful coincidence going on in my life). Great attributes include fortuitous events, gratitude, dwell in possibility, integrity, faith, take action, think positive and living your life with intention.

My final thought for now “Invest in You”. This is the quickest and simplest way that I can share one of my most important principles and has defined my life. Add new skills and knowledge to your portfolio. Attend seminars, subscribe to great magazines, volunteer, work with a mentor, listen and read from thought leaders. In the end more skills equals more opportunities personally and professionally.

See you next time on a Moment with Manal.

The Best of Character - A Spiritual Journey

I am sharing a very personal and magnificent journey with all of you. I am writing this column from Makkah or Mecca as I am currently performing the Hajj or Pilgrimage. It is incumbent on a Muslim to perform this trip once in a lifetime if they are able physically and financially.

The Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. It's a spiritual journey from within the person. It's essence is sincerity, love and hope. As we perform this act of worship, we ask that this trip is made easy and meaningful for us. This trip is an inspiration to have the best of character.

I am one of two million Muslims, from 70 different countries, that have traveled to Makkah and Medina with the purpose of undertaking the great journey of Hajj.

This is a time of complete selflessness. Think of the idea of serving each other and serving other people . Think about making sacrifices for other people. Imagine the beauty of a community that is truly able to practice selflessness. It takes constancy in work and purpose to do this. This sacred journey will test our patience, steadfastness and faith. It requires much sacrifice. Selflessness is not our natural state of being.

If we think about humanity as one creation, and the blessings we receive when we help others, we behave differently. We are generally concerned with our own needs, it's a huge shift to put others ahead of you. It takes special effort to behave this way. The best of us, make the intention to control our thoughts which controls our behavior.

Every pillar and ritual in Islam has purpose. The Hajj is an event of great spiritual, moral, and worldly significance. It is an opportunity for purification and for strengthening our relationship with our Lord. During this act of formal worship and devotion with prescribed rites to be carried out, we begin the transformation. At the same time, carrying out those rites along with a huge crowd teaches us the virtues of patience, good conduct, and love in how we relate to our fellow pilgrims. We are reminded from the moment we make the intention to perform Hajj, we must practice patience and humility to avoid negating the acceptance of Hajj. And one reminder is never enough.

Watching the pilgrims perform the Hajj, is exemplary of equality and unity. Muslims who belong to different nations, cultures, social and economical status are dressed in simple white garments, all performing the same rites. It's a reminder, there is no difference between rich and poor, as they all stand in front of their Lord in submission and humility.

Hajj is a purification of the soul from sins and a means to gain the Mercy of God. It requires a financial, physical, and emotional commitment. Hajj is not a vacation, or a business trip. Hajj has values, manners, virtues and rewards. It requires a great deal of physical exertion and tolerance. During the pilgrimage we are presenting ourselves to God. This is an opportunity to detach ourselves from our worldly needs, and devote

ourselves completely to God.

This was a two week experience of devotion to prayer, spirituality, and the remembrance of God. Dressed in simple garments, offering the five daily prayers and reciting passages for forgiveness, and blessings in this life, and the hereafter.

The most beautiful moment happens when you make the intention to go to Hajj. The second most beautiful moment happens towards the end of the trip when you begin to see the transformation of sharing, people caring, more smiling, less pushing and more unity.

The women are addressed as "sister" and the men are addressed as "brother". Other special moments include ordinary people that will buy cases of water, juices, tissues, fruits, and pass them out to the pilgrims as they are walking by, for the purpose of doing good and hydration.

Through history we have had many large gatherings for a purpose. Sporting, entertainment, cultural and political events have gathered large crowds, but no gathering has had the same significance for me, as the Hajj. I am grateful to have had this unique spiritual experience. May God accept our Hajj. Our goal in performing the Hajj and Worshiping God, is not to fulfill an obligation but to improve our character and our community.

See you next time at a Moment with Manal.