Risk-taking leaders face many different kinds of risk including their own decision-making and they often tend to treat their risks as though they were in a separate silo and weren’t going to affect the team or the organization. As a result some tend to over-manage some risks while not paying enough attention to others. For that reason a clear and well documented management plan is a must, and whatever level of risk management, change management or similar process you have in place, it is your responsibility to:

1. Clearly understand the organization’s appetite for risk and ensure that team objectives reflect that appetite.
2. Identify potential risks both internally and externally and assess the level of risk associated with each risk scenario.
3. Develop and implement a pro-active plan to address the potential risks that incorporates and implements control policies and procedures to manage or mitigate the risk.
4. Gather information and communicate it to the appropriate parties in time for them to fulfill their risk management responsibilities and continually monitor and make adjustments as needed to keep the risk management program current and relevant.

It all comes down to how you manage the decisions you make.

We have all been part of a team that isn’t clicking as well as it could. Here are five suggestions that will help get or keep your team on track:

1. Direct, motivate, educate, monitor and mentor individual team members to gain valuable input and support buy-in through direct communication of the strategic direction and the reasoning behind it.
2. Carefully assess each member’s abilities, make assignments that align with those abilities, avoid putting the wrong person in the wrong place and ensure that they have the tools and resources required.
3. Provide clear direction and expectations on an individual basis and trust them to accomplish the task while monitoring the process and providing support where required.
4. Remove roadblocks and barriers that directly affect a team member’s ability to complete their assignment.
5. Meet frequently to discuss progress and areas where improvement is needed, providing constructive criticism and focusing on feedback on an individual basis.

The following are some elements that will help you to your efficiency:

1. Shared goals and objectives – make sure everyone has an overall understanding of the role of their team in the total organization as well as the responsibilities and goals the team needs to achieve.
2. Effective utilization of resources – to accomplish their tasks effectively the team must be able to utilize all the resources at its disposal and members should understand it’s their responsibility to contribute information and ideas in order to achieve maximum utilization.
3. Trust – in order to build working relationships based on openness and trust and for your team to be efficient you must deal with the emotional needs and interpersonal problems of the members.
4. Control and procedures – you must have clear policies and procedures in place that will guide and regulate the team’s activities, meeting agendas, schedules, etc.
5. Effective communications – make sure you establish open and honest communication between all team members and create an environment in which everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in discussions.
6. Efficient approach to problem solving and decision-making – make sure you utilize an approach that is shared and supported by all members so that you can minimize misunderstandings, frustration and inefficient and ineffective decisions.
7.  Experimentation and creativity – to generate new ways to increase efficiency you must allow the team to experiment with new ways of doing things and move beyond established procedures and processes.

Being really efficient and effective is definitely is one of the most sought after skills any person can have!

Saying “No” is definitely a quick, although not always that stress-free a response. Here are however 10 easy habits anyone can adopt:

1. Ensure each day is scheduled.
2. Ensure every task is prioritized with focus on keeping those priorities by refining to-do lists frequently.
3. Maintain an orderly start up/shut down routine at the beginning and end of each day to help remain focused and utilize peak times more efficiently.
4. Adopt a policy of strict time management.
5. Stay focused on one thing at a time and avoid the tendency to multi-task.
6. Control interruptions, both those that are self-generated and those caused by others.
7. Delegate more and avoid the mindset that says you are the only one that can do it.
8. Don’t try to be perfect as it increases stress and slows you down.
9. Chunk or break your larger projects down into small, easier to manage projects.
10. Know your limits and when you have reached the point of diminishing returns and it’s time to stop for the day.

Stick this list to your bathroom mirror to remind you every day and you will probably get more done!

Twilight of the Giants

Photographer Frans Lanting

“During the year I spent living in the Okavango Delta of Botswana, I worked at night for periods of time, waking up at sunset to follow animals through the hours of darkness,” says photographer Frans Lanting. “I often started the evening at a favorite water hole where I hunkered down by the edge and made myself a fixture in the landscape. Elephants moved around me in the waning light like shadowy forms. One evening a herd of bulls gathered across the water from me, rising above their reflections under an October moon, in a primeval scene of ancient Africa.”

“The existence of huge free-roaming herds of elephants in Botswana is a symbol for both the nature of this landscape and for the human decisions that must be made about the fate of wild places and wildlife both here and elsewhere on earth,” he adds. “How we balance those interests will be the legacy of our time, the path we leave on the land.”

This is but one of many great photos that were published on MSNBC.com celebrating Earth Day 2012. To view the other photos click here.

Yeah I know, it’s hard… but it’s the right thing to do. Make your word mean something.

Cutting corners and trying to get away with something just because no one is looking or because you can isn’t the honorable thing to do.

It’s an often-overlooked skill or strength that is so beautifully demonstrated by the giraffe in my book Surviving Your Serengeti. because doing the right thing always often means being gracious and graceful.

The process of developing grace in one’s life is how we direct our positive energy and focus on shaping the environment to the betterment of others by exhibiting calmness, tranquility, humility, integrity, faith and hope. As a Giraffe you understand that integrity isn’t something you do it’s something you are. Being graceful is not an act; it’s a mindset.

Don’t squander your integrity… don’t color over the lines!

Judy Pitt, a real estate agent with the Wright Kingdom Real Estate in Boulder, Colorado. She knows how much clean water matters. Through her nonprofit Kazi Yake (www.kaziyake.org), which translates from Swahili to mean “His works,” she has spent 10 years trying to bring potable water and hygiene information to rural villages in western Kenya, where children die every day due to remediable ailments such as diarrhea, malaria, typhus and cholera that are brought on by tainted water.

Pitt developed a program based on the principles of Bill and Melinda Foundation and USAID’s WASH for Life (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Life) initiative.

Since her first trip to Kenya in 2003, Pitt has been back 11 times. And she doesn’t go for just a couple of weeks. She spends a month or two at a time and bring along as many as 20 volunteers, who, in addition to providing water and hygiene training, help plant crops, repairs roofs, and build playgrounds. Pitt plans to settle thee permanently after she retires from real estate. Over the years, Kazi Yake has also built 18 churches and trained many widows to run small tailoring or craft businesses.

Recently Judy Pitt was honored by the National Association of Realtors with the Realtor Magazine’s 2011 Good Neighbor Award. Well done Judy! You humble us with your dedication and unconditional love. Thank you for what you do to the children and people of East Africa.

Here’s How:
Click on the link below and then on the Stefan Swanepoel profile page, click on the WRITE REVIEW button(just under Stefan’s name at the top) and write a review. It does not have to be long and can reference Stefan’s Real Estate Trends talks, his Mobile and technology talks, or his latest inspirational talk, Safari of Self Discovery.

You can post the review by signing in with Facebook or Twitter.

The review does not have to be long and will only takes a few minutes. Stefan will really appreciate it your support.

DJ Swanepoel
Marketing Manager
Serengeti Institute

To visit: SpeakersMix Speakers Bureau and Directory

Weekly Wisdom #5

5 Simple Steps to Deal with Risk

Most people don’t enjoy danger and the challenges usually associated with chance, change and risk. But we don’t always have a choice and often life requires us to face our fears head on.

Here are five steps you, whether as an organization or an individual, you can use to effectively deal with risk:

1. Identification – Identify the risks that are most likely to impact achieving your goals and objectives along with their sources and potential impact because any successful risk management strategy must be directed at the sources of the risk. When you have a clear understanding of the risk and where it comes from you will be able to determine the required action.
2. Assessment – The critical first step in risk assessment is to understand the risk as it relates to the established goals. If the goals are not clear and the structure in which the risk is to be taken is not well defined, effective calculation of risk will be difficult at best.
3. Analysis – Analyze the risks in terms of how likely they are to occur and what the consequences might be. This will determine the current level of risk and provide the framework to determine whether the risks are acceptable or unacceptable.
4. Management – Management strategies have the following different alternatives that are the result of the previous three steps. Avoid the risk, Reduce the likelihood of the risk; Reduce the consequences of risk; Transfer the risk; or Accept the risk.
5. Evaluation – The process of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the risk strategy is critical in order to be in a position to make timely and effective changes to the management plan. This involves giving attention to identifying new risks as they arise and treating them accordingly.

I hope this helps you to improve and better manage your comfort level associated with the risks that you face.

It is different from any self discovery book I have ever read. This book can be used by anyone at any stage of their life.  It can be used by teens as well as adults.  The human characters in the book seem to take second place next to the animals and their characteristics.

These are extracts from a great blog post by Connie C on her blog this week. Thank you Connie. We are delighted and grateful that you enjoyed the book so much!

Read her full post here.