New Year Reflection: Who AreYou, Really?

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” Lao Tzu

New year day is every human’s birthday, it’s also the time for self-reflection: who are you really? Are you getting wiser since you are getting older? Are you getting happier if you are getting wiser? Are you getting healthier if you are getting happier? Are you getting more fulfilled since you are happier?

At the emerging era of information abundance, no matter you are individual or business, you may also need explore the blueprint at the open space of data constellation or the deep sea of digitization: Who are you really?

1.    You are What They Read

Besides your physical identity: the gender, the race, the age, or the social identity: a parent or a child, a professional or a retiree, if you can ever trace back to the nature: who are you really? Are you the flowing cloud or the running river, the hidden hill or the crouching valley, the growing tree or the blossom flower? Who are you really?

 (1) Social Ladder vs. Social Flywheel

• For individuals: at the age of digitization,  you may climb the other ladder: the social ladder: you start to share the content, then may criticize or comment it, after that, you climb to the higher level to create or co-create the content by writing  blogs or producing a website, compared to traditional career ladder with ceilings or bias, the social ladder could be more open, transparent and fluid, you are what they read, and you are what you are pursuing and what your are creating!

• For Businesses:  your social footprint becomes your social flywheel: you are not just the purple cow to serve your own stakeholders, you are also the voice to delight your customer, the super-linear entity to support your community and society, you could turn the social flywheel via collective wisdom, create social momentum by building the brand and the reputation, you are what we read!

(2) Compete for Uniqueness

• For Individuals: you digital blueprint may reflect your purpose, your vision, your uniqueness and your six sense: Who are you really? At era of social computing, each one of us can become the leader at the favorite domain: the thought leader, the domain expert, the talent master, or the culture evangelist,  you can grow and flow both horizontally and vertically, you don’t compete for the best for anything, you may just need discover your true authentication, and you are competing for uniqueness.

• For Businesses: your uniqueness is not just your size or your specialization, it’s more about your culture and your social value, your entity is no longer the hierarchy of products or staff, it’s more about the network of relationship and capability, and your uniqueness is about your diversified leadership, the dynamic workforce and he distinctive capability.

2.    The Power of Convergence

We’ve also been living in the time with the power of convergence: the convergence of real word and virtual space; the convergence of  machine thinking with human mind; the convergence of enterprise technology with consumerization of IT, and the convergence of world with full spectrum of color: who are you, really, at such a wonderful hybrid world:  

(1) Power of Positive Thinking

• For individuals: positive thinking can move the mountain, it will decide your attitude and maybe also your destiny: “Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.” -Og Mandino   

• For Businesses: at this hyper-complex world, are you part of problems or the solutions?  positive thinking can change the world . the business’s positive thinking may shape your talent strategy: The world is not lack of ambitious talent, it’s the lack of  insightful eyes that recognize them; or the systematic process to cultivate them.

(2) Power of Pull

• For individuals: the power of push may come from our heart or our head, the power of pull at age of digitization may help us bridge the weakest link: to access the right people and resource at the right time, it also the ability to pull from within ourselves the wisdom and the motivation required to more proactively achieve our potentials;

• For Businesses: the power of push is the traditional sales channel to push your products and service to your customers or partners, the power of pull at social business will attract the customers’ participation or employees’ engagement and form the virtuous cycle  to amplify customers’ voice or employees’ feedback, to predict the trend and optimize your business.

Individual or business, what’s your self-reflection at 2012, before you embrace your new year resolution?

Posted in: Future of Leadership