Pottery and Leadership

It starts with a shapeless chunk of earth. Dry and rough, devoid of beauty nor refinement but not without potential. The potter prepares the materials with a detailed picture of the end product in mind. He adds just enough water and other materials. He lets his hands dirty as he tries to get the right consistency. When the batter is ready, he waits some more for the water to rise and the clay is ready for the next step.

The potter puts the clay on the pottery wheel and starts working on the shape. The shaping of the clay depends on the skill and creativity of the potter. The success and failure to acquire the right shape is on his hands. After the shape is acquired, the material is solidified by putting it through intense heat. The pot is beautified further by painting it and putting more design. The final product once complete is vastly different from when the process started.

Such is the work of a potter and such is the work of a leader.

She starts with a little more than potential. She prepares the team for the shaping process by giving them a sense of purpose and other basic information they need that will motivate them to accept the bigger information they will get as they go through the process of building their skills – the shaping process. The newly acquired skills is put through the intense heat of testing to solidify it. The leader adds on to what has already been acquired by letting them use their own creativity to adjust to the daily challenge of their work. The finished product is vastly improve from when the shaping process started.

Vision, creativity patience, discipline and willingness to get one’s hands dirty are necessary to succeed in both

Traffic Lights

Stop, ready, go! In that order. I believe that successful pursuit of success require that we keep a mental traffic light. We should stop to think about what we want to achieve for our selves. Stop to plan. Get ready by acquiring the resources that we need in terms of knowledge,skills and attitude. It would also be good to have a healthy dose of support from the people who are close to us. Go and pursue your dreams relentlessly. traverse this life using the knowledge and experience that you get along the way.

Enjoy the trip!

The Resilience of Grass

The funny thing about grass is, when left on their own, they are likely to conquer even the pavement. They can grow at the least likely place and despite many odds, perhaps because they don’t know their limitation. I think it pays to be like them.

Makikiusog (Please move a bit)

That’s what the bus conductor said… “Makikiusog.” The passenger pretended he didn’t hear anything. Truth is he didn’t want to move to the back end of the bus. Other passengers did not want to move as well, so they just endured squeezing against each other for the rest of the trip when it was perfectly comfortable at the back. Isn’t it stupid? This is a micro version of our inability to make little sacrifices for the betterment of many. That’s why a lot of us are stuck!