One of the things we are taught as children is how to button up. It is always wiser to start from the bottom up. Starting from the top down usually leads to misalignment, causing you to either redo the buttoning or be embarrassed in public.
The same concept applies in almost everything worthwhile that is built. It is better to start from the bottom up.
– Osasu Oviawe
Trained to study and improve others. An expert in improving others.
Untrained to study and improve self. A novice at improving self.
The good news is that the same tools you use in improving others also work on you. You just need to reprioritise.
A friend meets me to ask for advice on a personal challenge. I ask her to tell me about an improvement team she has successfully led on the job. Her eyes light up as she shares a fantastic improvement journey on a key performance indicator. I ask her to tell me more about the logic behind her improvement activity. She goes on to explain the unified problem solving tool (UPS). The logic of UPS goes through 5 stages – Problem Description; Understand and Restore Basic Conditions; Root Cause Analysis; Generate Countermeasures & Follow up; Standardisation & Roll out. I asked if she had considered applying the same tool to her personal life. She said no. I asked if she was open to applying it to her personal life. She laughed in disbelief at what she was hearing. I had a hard time explaining to her that since she has seen that tool work through her hands in her work, it is the best tool to use in cracking her challenge, and that I will be open to working through the UPS steps with her. She left distraught, because she came for a prescription and I told her she already has the solution.
I have friends that consult for companies, teaching them about the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, the High Performance Organisation (HPO) model, and various change management models, but never apply same to their personal lives.
I have benefitted by allowing people apply what they know on me, but I am shocked when I find they do not apply same in their lives. It is like a doctor that advises her patients about the dangers of smoking, but smokes immediately she drops her white coat.
I do not apply all that I know in my personal life, but I am conscious when asking for prescriptions from others, because before a problem arrives, the solution is already present. Problems just get a disproportionate amount of our attention. And our attention helps whatever it is focussed on to grow.
Reprioritise self.
Apply to your own life, the solutions you already know and teach to others. You have seen it work. Apply it to self.
– Osasu Oviawe
Matthew 16:13-19
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare’a Philip’pi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli’jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Homily:
First, know thyself.
“Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am – and what I need – is something I have to find out myself.” – Chinua Achebe
Then, build your circle around those that acknowledge who you are.
Waste no time convincing the world about who you are. We are each built for a niche. Find your niche and thrive within. Your niche will expand to all hues of the earth, as you grow.
Real recognise real.
