Intro
Hello my dear readers,
Greetings from Rome! Once it was the centre of the world and this is where we decided to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday. Although the weather was a bit rainy, coming from the Netherlands we were well prepared and enjoyed the weekend. It is a great time to visit Rome once the tourists crowds are smaller.
As usual I have prepared a short list on my readings and writings over the last month.
My Monthly Fail Story
Taxi ride in Gothenburg
In 2021 I decided to commit sharing more failure stories on social media and less of “Look, my dear network how well I am doing!”
So here is my 11th story containing even two failure moments in one situation. A couple of weeks ago I finally managed to visit my sister in her new home - Gothenburg. Since I arrived late in the evening and being new to the city, I thought I would grab a taxi this time. I was a bit tired and it will for sure be faster.
Well, it turned out to be quite different than I planned. Apparently, "Stortagan" is a very common street name thus the taxi driver brought me to the Gothenburg city centre. However, my sister actually lives in another part of the city which also has the same street name...
So, I ended up arriving way later than planned, paying more money and contributing to more CO2 impact if I chose to use public transport. Shame on me!
My key learnings are:
- Always choose public transport when feasible. Often it turns out faster and cheaper.
- Details matter! Follow your route on maps and be extra sure you give clear destination details.
I would love to hear your failure stories too! Please share it by replying to this email.
Find Your Purpose
Impact of "Bracelets with a story"
We are slowly moving towards the end of the year which is a natural time to reflect and look back to your created impact.
This year I am mostly proud of the “Bracelets with a story” initiative which was launched as a small experiment to generate extra income in funding new business ideas for disadvantaged women in rural Uganda.
Are you curious to hear how it all started and works? Even more, are you interested to see what impact it is generating to women in rural Uganda?
👉 check out this blog post which also includes three videos of women running their new business.
If you too would like to empower women entrepreneurship in rural Uganda, check out the e-shop to purchase a bracelet for yourself or for your friends and loved ones.
Personal Growth
My never ending journey towards more self-awareness
This month I felt lots of gratitude 🙏 to Schuberg Philis who sent me on a four day Tuffleadership training last month.
What did I learn there? This time a lot more about myself - my way of being, which can have such an impact to my leadership style and most importantly people around me.
There is a huge "advice monster" living inside me who likes to give advice when it's rather more appropriate to listen and ask questions.
"Advice monster" comes up a lot when I start doubting myself - is it really enough to just listen and ask questions? 🧐
Although I never considered myself, neither had an ambition to become a coach, I learnt that when I manage to calm down my "advice monster", I can be a good coach.
It's not enough to be just smart! You need to have different types of intelligence
Often I talk to bright young people who are frustrated of not getting enough responsibilities and promotion at their work.
Why does it take so long? I have been working in this role for one/ two years already and my boss tells me I am not ready...
While each case always has its own context, I believe that learning about the contextual intelligence concept helps a lot here.
In fact, understanding the importance of contextual intelligence is important not only for fresh graduates, but also for experienced professionals.
Too often we assume that if it worked at xxx company, it's going to be the same at yyy. This mindset leads to a "missed ball".
Business
Greetings from the most sustainable destination Gothenburg (Sweden)
Tourism and traveling have been widely discussed in the last years over its impact towards environment.
Although we drastically need to reduce the number of flights we take, I don't believe it's possible to stop the traveling completely. In fact, there are many families who live mainly from the income received due to tourism.
On another side, I agree that traveling needs to be become more sustainable. So, it was extremely inspiring to visit Gothenburg city (Sweden) which is ranked as the most sustainable destination in the world for the 5th time.
Did you know that?
- ~95% of hotels in Gothenburg are environmentally friendly?
- The city's public transport is run almost entirely on renewable energy?
- The circular economy is boosting! The city is full of second hand or vintage shops where you can buy or rent clothes.
Books
Human + Machine by Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson
Human + Machine = the new world. No, the robots are not replacing humans. Quite contrary. We are moving into an era where humans work TOGETHER with robots.
The best performing companies will become the ones (or already are) which look to humans and machines as allies instead of competitors.
In the book authors Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson advised executives:
- Adopt the proper mindset of completely reimagining business processes rather than just improving.
- Foster a culture of AI experimentation.
- Exercise proper leadership in promoting responsible AI. This means manage trust, legal and ethical concerns which come with AI usage.
- Recognize the importance of data. It's the essential fuel for AI.
Make An Impact
Greetings from Rome!
Once Rome was literally considered to be the centre of the world! While walking in this fascinating ancient city admiring the beautiful architecture and historical sites, I get reminded of the famous "Rome wasn't built in a day" saying.
This is what I often repeat to myself while working on the "Bracelets with a story" initiative. Because I will be honest, often I do feel slightly hopeless once looking to the revenue figures... :)
However, same as with Rome, I still deeply believe in this initiative and if you would like to support it, check out my e-shop to purchase at least one piece to your friend or relative as a meaningful Christmas gift.