When I wrote about Susan Boyle's amazing singing performance, I knew I was influenced by Covey's "Eighth Habit--find your own voice and help others find theirs."

Here is a link to a recent webcast featuring Covey discussing building a proactive 7 habits culture through leadership in a down economy. Much of the talk weaved around the 8th Habit.

Finding one's voice

Millions have seen on YouTube Susan Boyle's inspirational performance in "Britains Got Talent, 2009." What is it about her performance that moves so many people?

The cynic and skeptic in me would raise doubts that we have been setup and been manipulated to have low expectations before she sang. Wasn't her performance just too good to be real?
She just couldn't be an amateur. Her voice was just too stunning, hitting the high notes perfectly right from the start. She was just too confident and comfortable. Her performance was just completely at odds with her otherwise homely appearance that would speak more of someone not belonging to the glamor and the glitz of the performing stage.

It raised in me a red flag ... "Naw, this can't be true. The TV people have set this up to lure me to buy into the performance...to raise the ratings"

That's the trouble of the thinking mind. Its little suspicious instinct caused me to judge, to look around and took me away from the Now. It robbed me to simply enjoy and appreciate the magical.

In our last Enneagram session we have talked about what is the right mix of trust vs suspicion; when to go with your gut, when with your heart and when with your head. We did not come to a clear answer--which was just as well.

But my sense is that however she had been preparing herself and living her life, Susan Boyle found the right answer in that moment she performed on the show. We witnessed it and were inspired.

Toastmasters Table Theme Today

The theme for today's IBM Toastmaster meeting is "How busy are you?" The theme--picked by Mark who took over the Toastmaster MC role when the original member got tied up by something else--has a poignant meaning because at the economic downturn, folks just seem to have so much to do and can't find time for non-essential activities. That reminds me of Covey's Habit 2 and Habit 3.

Habit 2 says Begin with the End In Mind. Habit 3 says Put first things first.

Questions are:

1. What is your End? Where do you want to go? What is really important to you? What is your personal mission? If you were to die tomorrow, what would your tombstone read?

2. Based on your End, what are some of the important but not urgent things you got to find the time to do, that you need to put some priority on?

3. What are some of the really urgent but not important activities that are consuming your time?

4. What are some of the unimportant/un-urgent things you do and that are taking up your spare time?

Come to think of it, the most important and not urgent thing for most of to do is probably to spend some time finding out what our mission statement should be and that will determine what essential really means to us.

Self-examination and Self-mastery

Self-examination requires honesty. Taking the enneagram test by myself on myself is one thing. But, am I answering truthfully is another. Also how do I decipher the results?

How about coming to next LPG meeting, to help me or anyone else to analyze our results?
And bring your results too and let's compare notes.

Uncertain Times Leadership

Got these leadership gems from Ashok:

We live in turbulent times and leaders are not always prepared to lead from a point of uncertainty. So what can leaders do.

PodCast with Marshall Goldsmith

Stretch yourself at the office

Tip from Mayo Clinic how you can stretch yourself - the easy way 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stretching/WL00030