As we come to the end of 2011, here are some lessons that I have learnt.
- Life is short. Live your dream and wear your passion.
- No one is indispensible. Everyone has a replacement. According to Seth Godin, “to be indispensable is to do work your boss couldn’t imagine. It means that you’re human, an independent actor, an artist, someone who connects and makes a difference. These people have genuine job security, because what they do is scarce”. But you have to keep being remarkable to maintain your competitive advantage.
- People will dislike you, judge you and try to break you but how strong you stand is what makes you. Life is full of challenges. Being happy should not be one of them.
- In 2012, marketers will allocate a larger share of their advertising budget to digital marketing.
- It’s better to end something and start another than to imprison yourself in hoping for the impossible.
- More companies will jump on the Facebook bandwagon and create Facebook pages just to have one.
- If you don’t like your job quit. Start doing things you love. A valuable lesson from Dr. Anthony N. Sabga, Chairman Emeritus of ANSA McAL is “Find the job that you like and you never have to work one day in your life. Do something that you enjoy. My whole life was a pleasure. Honesty, integrity and determination to succeed – these values have served me very well. I was never afraid to make any decision, whether right or wrong. Very often, however, a decision is made and it has to be shaped into success. So the determination to succeed is the main factor.”
- Be careful of who you trust.
- You can’t please all the people all the time. People complain about crime, the government implements a curfew and SOE, people complain more. Want more than a 5% wage increase? Show productivity! We should introduce a pay for performance system in the public sector. Your boss wants you to go beyond your job description and you do but then you are guilty of overstepping.
- Write fewer emails.
- The Serenity Prayer works.
What have you learnt?
