Igniting Possibility!

“You can download the free audio version of the Tribal Leadership book online. It’s sponsored by Zappos,” said John King, the presenter and co-author of the book.

“How generous,” I thought.

And that was the first time I had heard of Zappos. It was the 2008 International Coach Federation’s conference in Los Angeles and King had shown us a video clip of the Zappos office, depicting their unique corporate culture and the essence of a tribe that thrives.

The fun, creative, laid back environment we witnessed reminded me of the Internet start-up culture that captured young adults’ imagination during the dot com years. But unlike those start-ups that evaporated into oblivion, Zappos has survived and flourished over the last decade, resulting in Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos for $1.2 billion in 2009.

How did an online shoe retailer go from being on the verge of closure to being a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon? How did it dominate the $2 billion online shoe market when there are still people who haven’t bought a single pair of shoes online?

In Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ CEO, answers these questions in a no-holds-barred manner. Even though Hsieh states upfront that it is “not meant to be a complete autobiography”, readers are treated to Hsieh’s first entrepreneurial inklings as a child, his college years at Harvard, his first job at Oracle, and his first major business success at LinkExchange.

As an Asian, I was tickled by Hsieh’s “three categories of accomplishments that mattered to Asian parents” and his ingenious way of dealing with having to learn three musical instruments.

As a business coach, there are two significant business lessons from Zappos’ experience that I hope more entrepreneurs and businesses would heed.

The first one is Zappos’ clarity about their business’s potential market share – the $2 billion online slice of the $40 billion shoe retail market. This clarity seems to have driven several of their decisions, especially those crucial ones about whether to close the business or soldier on.

In Hsieh’s words, “In business, one of the most important decisions for an entrepreneur or a CEO to make is what business to be in. It doesn’t matter how flawlessly a business is executed if it’s the wrong business or if it’s too small a market”.

Many entrepreneurs, on the other hand, start and struggle in businesses because they lack this clarity. Instead they believe, to their detriment, the adage “If you build it, they’ll come”.

Another intriguing lesson learned is Hsieh’s experience at LinkExchange that centers around culture: “How did we go from an “all-for-one, one-for-all” team environment to one that was now all about politics, positioning and rumors?”

Even though Hsieh could not pinpoint the precise causes of this dysfunctional culture, what came out of it was his resolve to design a culture at Zappos that was the opposite, where their goal is for their employees to “think of their work not as a job or career, but as a calling”.

And Hsieh fills the book with details of how Zappos’ fun yet sustainable culture was built, from their 10 Core Values, their Culture Book to the strategy of Brand, Culture, Pipeline.

As a business coach, I’ve always believed in the power of a company’s culture to sustain its growth. It is one of the core pillars of any successful business and a significant competitive advantage. So it’s heartening to read about a culture’s evolution in Delivering Happiness, to see a “tribe’s” journey, and the many facets that go into generating a connectedness and sense of belonging in the context of a business.

Hsieh states that his purpose in writing Delivering Happiness is to help people avoid making many of the same mistakes that he has made, and for the book to “to serve as encouragement to established businesses as well as entrepreneurs who want to defy conventional wisdom and create their own paths to success”.

If you are one such entrepreneur, Delivering Happiness is the book for you.

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A few of my favorite quotes from the book

• “There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path” – Morpheus, The Matrix

• “The Zappos Mission: To live and deliver WOW.”

• “Zappos is about delivering happiness to the world.”

• “We are all human at the core, and it can be easy to lose sight of that in a world ruled by business, politics, and social status.”

• “No matter what your past has been, you have a spotless future.” – Author unknown

• “It’s more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long difficult words but rather short easy words like “What about lunch?” – Winnie-the-Pooh

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* P.S. A free advanced copy of the Delivering Happiness book was sent to us by Zappos to review.

In 2004, i visited my friend Georgia in Perth, Australia, where she ran “Herb Circle” a store filled with books and lots of heart-centered gifts. i bought this little book, titled “Desiderata, a survival guide for life”, in part as remembrance of Georgia and our unforgettable experiences in Perth. It contains the poem by Max Ehrmann, written in 1972, that is enhanced by a series of beautiful, resonant photos.

In today’s current climate of uncertainty, this poem reminds us of the big picture of life. Hope you like it.

“Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and author of the bestseller “The Art of Possibility” is what I would call a Master Coach.

Here are 2 videos that show Zander artfully BEing possibility. Enjoy!

Here, he’s speaking at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Here’s a very funny clip from The David Letterman Show about life coaches.

Here’s an article from South Africa that gives clear ideas and examples about what coaching is, and how it works.

Over the years, many prospective clients have asked me questions that this article would answer beautifully.

Glad to have finally found it!

I stumbled upon this interview of Dr. John DeMartini that was done in — surprise, surprise — Singapore! (my original hometown)

And you know, the beauty of YouTube is that gurus and teachers have to express their wisdom as succinctly as possible. In this video, Dr DeMartini does it eloquently and beautifully.

One of my favorite nuggets that he said is, “When the voice and vision on the inside is louder and more profound than all the opinions on the outside, you begin to master your life”. Wow!

And he actually shares the small things we can each do to reinforce our voice and vision on the inside. Enjoy!

“Great coaching is not really about coaching skills, competencies or even proficiencies. It’s about being a great person. Great people make great coaches.” – Thomas Leonard, founder of personal professional coaching

Wow, i wonder what the certified coaches, coaching schools and coaching businesses will make of the above quote.

And since this is my blog, i’ll come right out and say that i agree with Thomas. There are coaches out there who have not done enough personal development work themselves; and having them as coaches has a different flavor from having a coach who is a “great person”.

What is a “great person”? That is a conversation that might lead us down rabbit holes if we choose to be positional about it. But, to me, a great person is someone who has integrity, generosity of spirit, and takes responsibility for his/her thoughts, feelings and actions. A great person is someone who continually stands in possibility.

It would have worked, of course, if we could ask Thomas what he meant. But since his death in 2004, the coaching landscape has evolved, and to be honest, i’m not sure what i think of where we are today.

There is much hype — there are many folks calling themselves coaches even though they have not gone through any coach training, or experienced working with a coach themselves. There are many who draw conclusions from sports coaching and think that what we do is give people advice as to how to live their lives and/or run their businesses.

None of these developments help the evolution of the coaching profession, except to give it some visibility.

There are also many coaches who have been trained, who abide by the ethics of the International Coach Federation (for instance), who are doing good work, and making a positive impact on their clients, communities and world at large. And the potential and possibilities for positive change remain in every corner of the globe.

It is useful to remember that coaching exists because of the imperfections of other systems like consulting and training. Consultants and trainers realized that their clients and students were not following through with the new information they had paid for, learned and obtained. They realized that a kind of partnership where trainer and learner would meet regularly and tackle the obstacles that got in the way of making change would work. This, naturally, evolved into coaching. It was not because of one person, such as Thomas Leonard, although he was a significant catalyst. It was a perfect storm of several factors, and i’m sure someone somewhere has studied coaching’s history and published something somewhere…

For now, Thomas, i really wonder what you would think if you were with us today. Would you like what you see…?

Willie Crawford, a friend of mine, tweeted about this video and I love it!

Its message is so aligned with what Igniting Possibility Coaching stands for .

I wonder what would happen if we watched this everyday so that its images become part of our subconscious.

Snow is rare in the southern part of America, so we were thrilled when it graced us last Friday. Here are some photos of my backyard for you to enjoy:

From left to right:

1. Our backyard

2. A neighbor

3. A baby snowman that my son made

Meet Dr Mani, a heart surgeon based in India, who has dedicated his heart’s work to providing heart surgeries to children in India who cannot afford to do so.

A heart surgeon by day, an Internet Marketer by night, Dr Mani is a social entrepreneur who funnels the profits he makes from internet marketing to his heart surgery foundation. It costs US$2500 for a surgery in India. Todate, Dr Mani has performed about 50 such surgeries.

If you are inspired by Dr Mani’s cause, here’s your chance to make a difference. Buy his book “47 Hearts”. All proceeds go towards funding more heart surgeries for the children.

Go to http://47hearts.com this Valentine’s Day. Your heart will thank you.