BREAKING INHIBITING HABITS - STAYING COMMITTED

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

As we enter the new year - and by the time i write this article are parts of the world like Australia have already entered into a new year - it is possible that most of you will see this article in 2017. So welcome to this wonderful year - we made it through 2016 so i believe we have what it takes to carry on in 2017.  However, some things have to change - for instance we have to make strong decisions to break any negative habits that hold us back from achieving our dreams.

If you have planned something - thought it through - please go on and implement in 2017 - dont fear nothing but just go ahead. These days i have noticed that life moves so fast - so are the years - indeed procrastinating will surely steal your time. Go ahead and implement - the rewards will be beneficial at the end of 2017 - and that is growth by the way. It is not accidental growth - it is clearly planned growth.

Most of the things that we do and behavior and character we adopt really begins with thinking. In another entitled

"SHAPE YOUR FUTURE AND BUILD CHARACTER THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR PERSONALITY"

I addressed the issue of character and personality. In this article i want to address how these develop. So the root is in our thinking - "As a man thinketh, so he is..." and i add " So he does." 

Thinking differently about yourself and your habits will certainly and i repeat, "certainly" develop  into a deep belief system. 

Belief is not merely a DECISION, nor is it a WISH, but it is a COMMITMENT.  It has to start with your spirituality. In other words, it has to be based on a supernatural ability for you to do what you feel you cannot do naturally. This is recognition of God as your supreme being - provider and custodian of such powers that enable self to transform completely, even gradually towards a desired complete state. 

A FOUR STEP "I - STATEMENTS"  MODEL FOR CHANGING HABITS AND NEGATIVE BELIEF SYSTEMS

1. "I hope"
2. " I believe"
3. "I am confident"
4. "I know"

" I believe God will help me break the negative feelings about myself and my future" Examining this statement you will realise that it actually says  : I know that God has the ability to break this habit".  If that is so - therefore it means that the word BELIEF can be actually defined as "strong conviction that something is true." So from now on check what you say - check your words. Your words have power, they have presence and are prophetic about your future. Words create - but thoughts provide a foundation of such creations. 

Most of these "I" statements listed above have been used in many writings of personal development and spirituality enhancement. The bible uses many methods to describe the word belief - and all these words are concerned with building a strong personal faith. Examining the statements above, we see that "hope" as a word expresses our wishes and desires. On the basis of such desires we get to make plans that we believe will work. As we get convinced of our our plans will work, we get to a state of knowledge that indeed we can actually change. 

The process is not easy though - so step number 2 is critical to take you to where you want. You need to know that there is a higher persona within you that  can outlive the constraints and see you through to where you want to be.

As we get to 2017 - keep declaring through hope, then believe it is doable, get necessary conviction and ultimately envision it even before it occurs.

In that way - i have decided to go back to study yet again - it is never too late - so i am starting a new discipline completely - it is part of my development. If i can do it at my age - you too can still do it - no plan cannot be achieved once your mind is made up. 

            HAVE'NT  YOU BEEN ASKING YOURSELF IF YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR HABITS - THE ANSWER IS A BIG YES

REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESSES IN SOUTH AFRICA - 2016.

CURRENT STATUS OF SMME SECTOR 

This study was commissioned by Small Enterprise Development Agency and was conducted by the Bureau for Economic Research at the University of Stellenbosch and published in 2016. The study compared trends and developments in the sector between periods 2008 and 2016.

This sector (SMME) is seen in the developing countries as a key driver of economic development and job creation.  There has been much talk in South Africa in terms of the recognition of the value that entrepreneurship has on both the country’s economic stability and individual participant’s livelihoods.

The study under discussion  points out that a lot of writings on enterprise development, particularly small businesses focusses mainly on practical issues facing entrepreneurs, primarily focussing on:

·         Effectiveness of measures, policies  and initiatives put in place by the South African government  in an effort to the small business sector.

·         Evaluation of the overall impact made by both  the private and public sector organisations in developing this sector.

·         An evaluation of perceptions and paradigms of entrepreneurship

According to this study, the current estimate of SMMEs in South Africa according to the Department of Small Businesses is 2.2million – made up of formal and informal enterprises. Just less than a million of these operate in the Retail, Wholesale  (domestic trade)  and Accommodation sectors.  The study found  African  people constitute the majority  of SMME owners at 71%, while the white owners constituted only 20%.  Of these SMMEs, Africans further constitute 89% of ownership of informal enterprises.

It is further reported that there was a significant decline of white SMME owners between 2008 and 2015 – with a reported 6% rate.  Within this period – Indians and Africans were the only population groups who increased in ownership. However, the growth of African owners  is not satisfactory at only 5% compared to that of Indians at 47% in the same period.   

As discussed above,  white ownership of formal SMMEs decreased by 6%  between the period 2008 and  2015. It is further reported that the share of the Coloured population declined together with that of white people – while African’s increased from 30% to 34% in 2015. 

It will be interesting to find out why is this so – is it because of:

•  government policy of Black Economic Empowerment?
• prevailing entrepreneurial culture?
• the growth of non-white entrants into his sector

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Commentary on this issues need clear qualification and understanding of the questions. The questions on their own would form a subject of a detailed investigative reporting. The fact is there is something happening here – it is either that Africans are not interested in business (which I don’t agree with) or perhaps the business environment is tough for them to operate (which I agree with).  The large participation of African population will bear witness that indeed many do want to operate businesses – but it is simply hard out there. Fact that their enterprises are not formal is an issue of concern. What makes it hard has been cited in the report as follows:

• access to finance
• poor infrastructure
• low levels of research and development
• lack of capability enhancement
• onerous labor laws
• critical skills shortage
• inefficient government red-tape
• access to markets
• high crime levels
• existential threats

 These challenges could be directly or indirectly responsible for the reported low growth in number of SMMEs from 2008 to 2015 in comparison with economic growth at the same period.  The study also reported that the contribution of the sector to the GDP increased over the same period. This clearly means that a lot of focus should be really directed to formalising and incentivising the sector. Whereas South Africa has quite a number of agencies that seek to do exactly that, perhaps it is important to find out why 89% of the sector is still informal. 

The study further found out that:

• Most SMMEs are found in industries that require low capital outlay
• Mining is still not accessible for small SMMEs
• Whereas white-owned SMMEs are constitute the largest portion of formal enterprises, their share continues to decline

View full report under Reports Section on this blog.

ENTREPRENEURIAL FITNESS TEST

If you want to launch out into business as an entrepreneur this year - or what i call "The Dimensional Entrepreneur" then there are many tools i have for you just to make sure that you enjoy your journey.

As a business coach, i get many questions from many people who wonder if they should be in business or not. Others go into business for different reasons, to make money, or to deal with a current financial situation or perhaps because they dont have a job etc.  Whatever the reason, i want to encourage you to check if you really want to be in business - and further determine your preparedness.

You will need to get yourself a Coach or Mentor - one way or the other - it is important to surround yourself with people who will share their skills with you. Life is a game - and business is part of it, so lets all play - BUT we need to play wise - because we play with a specific intent to win. That is why it is important to assess ourselves even before we start. This test will provide you that opportunity. Whatever the outcome, study the interpretation i put specifically to guide you. Remember, the purpose of this programme is to assist you to make sound decisions - but at the end of the day - you are the one to make that decision - make it wisely then.

Take this test - it is fun to do and wont take much time - but it will certainly bring perspective to you.  Try it here and understand your readiness. Be honest to yourself when  you take this test so as to get the proper feedback. The feedback is automatic, comes at the click of a button, the feedback that can change your life.

However, to get your test report you have to purchase it online by following payment instructions.  - then retake the test.

             TAKE THE TRIAL TEST HERE BY CLICKING THIS LINK
                                   ENTREPRENEURIAL FITNESS TEST

SHAPE YOUR FUTURE AND BUILD CHARACTER THROUGH UNDERSTANDING YOUR PERSONALITY.

                                     CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY

Although they might sometimes be used interchangeably, character and personality are not the same but both are concerned with a person. Whereas personality refers to inborn  traits, and character refers to observable behaviour – temperaments.  Character is concerned with the ability of a person to achieve goals, to relate with others and to respond to law and order.  So, we learn character – we are born with tendencies or personality traits.

Simply put – what we learn from our parents, society and all information coming to our mind forms our character tendencies. Character tendencies are referred to as character traits.  These can be positive or negative depending on circumstances one is exposed to – particularly that which influences environmental learning and coping mechanics.These will ultimately be observable through behavioural attitudes and esteemed values.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KNOWING YOUR CHARACTER STRENGTHS AND PERSONALITY

Knowing your personality and character strengths isn’t just interesting information. Skilful application of the results in your life will actually present significant impact in your life and wellbeing. Studies show that people who made an effort to understand these critical aspects of personhood:

1. ·         Manage problems very well
2. ·         Improve the way they interact with others
3. ·         Improve their self esteem and worldview
4. ·         Enhance their health and longevity
5. ·         Generally cope well with any circumstance or situation faced at any point of their lives.

The best way to think about each of your character strengths is that they operate along a continuum- at one end you underplay your strengths and at the other end you overplay your strengths.  But in the middle you’ll find the ‘golden mean’ of your strengths where you’re able to apply them effectively in different situations to create your desired results.

Here are few questions for you –

·         Are you aware of your personality type?

·         Are you aware of how your type relates with other types?

·         are you aware of your strengths?

·         are you using these strengths to benefit others and yourself?

·         Are u using your strengths to get the desired outcomes?

According to the VIA Institute, there are 24 Characters and Virtues classified into 6 main groups. The following list is a extract from their website. You can take a free survey on this blog by clicking Character Survey link on the right hand of this article. If you are interested in coaching, training or counseling others, register for a course on Personality and Behavior Assessment today.

CHARACTER SURVEY

 CHARACTER STRENGTHS AND VIRTUES

1. Wisdom and Knowledge – Cognitive strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge

§  Creativity [originality, ingenuity]: Thinking of novel and productive ways to conceptualize and do things; includes artistic achievement but is not limited to it

§  Curiosity [interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience]: Taking an interest in ongoing experience for its own sake; finding subjects and topics fascinating; exploring and discovering

§  Judgment [critical thinking]: Thinking things through and examining them from all sides; not jumping to conclusions; being able to change one's mind in light of evidence; weighing all evidence fairly

§  Love of Learning: Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one's own or formally; obviously related to the strength of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one knows

§  Perspective [wisdom]: Being able to provide wise counsel to others; having ways of looking at the world that make sense to oneself and to other people

  2. Courage – Emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition, external or internal

§  Bravery [valor]: Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain; speaking up for what is right even if there is opposition; acting on convictions even if unpopular; includes physical bravery but is not limited to it

§  Perseverance [persistence, industriousness]: Finishing what one starts; persisting in a course of action in spite of obstacles; “getting it out the door”; taking pleasure in completing tasks

§  Honesty [authenticity, integrity]: Speaking the truth but more broadly presenting oneself in a genuine way and acting in a sincere way; being without pretense; taking responsibility for one's feelings and actions

§  Zest [vitality, enthusiasm, vigor, energy]: Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated

  3. Humanity - Interpersonal strengths that involve tending and befriending others

§  Love: Valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated; being close to people

§  Kindness [generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, "niceness"]: Doing favors and good deeds for others; helping them; taking care of them

§  Social Intelligence [emotional intelligence, personal intelligence]: Being aware of the motives and feelings of other people and oneself; knowing what to do to fit into different social situations; knowing what makes other people tick

  4. Justice - Civic strengths that underlie healthy community life

§  Teamwork [citizenship, social responsibility, loyalty]: Working well as a member of a group or team; being loyal to the group; doing one's share

§  Fairness: Treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice; not letting personal feelings bias decisions about others; giving everyone a fair chance.

§  Leadership: Encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done, and at the same time maintaining good relations within the group; organizing group activities and seeing that they happen.

  5. Temperance- Strengths that protect against excess

§  Forgiveness: Forgiving those who have done wrong; accepting the shortcomings of others; giving people a second chance; not being vengeful

§  Humility:  Letting one's accomplishments speak for themselves; not regarding oneself as more special than one is

§  Prudence: Being careful about one's choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted

§  Self-Regulation [self-control]: Regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined; controlling one's appetites and emotions

   6. Transcendence - Strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning

§  Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence [awe,wonder, elevation]: Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in various domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience

§  Gratitude: Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen; taking time to express thanks

§  Hope [optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation]: Expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought about

§  Humor [playfulness]: Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes

MEANING AND PERSONALITY - INSIGHTS FOR LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT ( Part 2)

This is a sequel to an article I published on the 6th on November. 2016 on LinkedIn. In that article we did establish that human beings have three forms personality:

(1) Original Personality - is concerned with how we were as we were born - the personality we were born with.

(2) Available Personality – our remaining freedom to be us

(3) Formed Personality – very mechanical, based on our worldview and the way we operate.

Obviously summing up these leaves us in a world of complexities – “it allows for an idea that on a given day we may be pulled by our original personality in ways that disturbs us and perplex us” Maisel, E. (2014).

This further suggests that when we are faced with life’s ambiguities we often find ourselves falling prey to some form of addicted or compulsion controlled and featured by our formed personality on our quest for relief from such anxieties.

However, this further suggests that our available personality rise up to oppose any form of inherent defensiveness and support mind changing habits about ourselves and the world we live in. 

One thing we need to agree with is that human beings are very complicated and its hard to read into our complex nature. Sometimes you will find yourself struggling just to understand who you are, not to mention other people. In clarifying the complexity of the problem, the book of Romans 7.15 writes “ do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do”. There has always been a quest for humans to understand self and others. This is exacerbated by the alternate use of the three forms of personalities as highlighted in this article. It should be noted that the forms of personality do not refer to types of personalities.

Personality has a huge bearing on all types of relationships. We should seek to understand ourselves and understand personalities of those we relate with. Such understanding will help us communicate even better with understanding, and lead us to productive and healthy relationships. 

A lot of studies have been made into types of personalities, with Carl Jung being the founder of such studies, improved by author Isabel Briggs Myers though the popularly known MBTI. This is an instrument that sought to understand personalities as they are. Its short-comings have since been improved by Dr David Keirsey in his popular book “ Please understand me.”

I have since developed a tool on a simple excel spreadsheet to help you understand your personality, and how you can function better after understanding yourself. This tool can also be used to help in:
Building teams,

• Relationship counselling,
• Career counselling,
• Recruitment and
• Personal development

For those interested in a MasterClass on Personality Coaching, please click on the link below for details.

Course Information

References:

Maisel, E. (2014) Life Purpose Boot Camp. Novato, California: New World Library.

Romans 7- 15, King James Version.

HUMAN METRICS MASTERCLASS

   

                            PROGRAMME OUTCOMES                                                   

• Ability to interpret  and administer Personalty Instrument 
• Your personality type:  Full description and scores
• Your strengths. Knowing and leveraging your personality strengths is a key for career success and thriving relationships. 
• You will get to know distinct features of your personality such as leadership qualities, results orientation, creativity, team  collaboration, and other critical information usually hidden to you. 

• Most favourable work environment. Discover the interesting work environments and areas that will make you thrive and reach your potential and effectiveness and lead a fulfilled work life and flourish.

• Career development methods and tips tailored to the unique traits of your personality. Learn to become a better leader, a more effective communicator, prevent and resolve conflicts, and more.
• Shortcomings. You will discover  some natural personality traits that weaken your efforts to relate well with others or yourself. You will also discover obstacles that stand in your way to career success.  
• You will also learn and gain  some tips to help you manage these impediments.
• Career and job change analysis. Outlines the “symptoms” and conditions when career or job change might be desirable. The report comes with the “job compatibility estimator” that helps you to assess your current job and workplace from personality fit standpoint. You can use the career and job change analysis tool multiple times with no extra charge, to assess compatibility as you move on from your current position or job to your next one.

                                         TARGET AUDIENCE                                       

1. Leaders and Managers, HR Professionals, Educating, Training & Development Practitioners

2. Relationship Coaches, Counselors, EAP Practitioners, Wellness Coaches and Faith-Based Leaders

3. The course is also relevant to any individual interested in understand dynamics of personality

BENEFITS TO THE EMPLOYER

The programme will help managers and business leaders to have a workforce that best understands themselves ultimately leading to better workforce engagements. The organisation will improve team relationships and maximise potential for increased productivity.

Investing in this programme will empower those with responsibility to manage and develop others for better performance. 

Building internal capacity will reduce the cost of external consultants, assessors and recruiters who are often hired for team building and workforce development initiatives.

                            DURATION : 2 DAYS                                                      
                      
                                   INTERESTED IN THE COURSE?

                      SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT HERE TODAY.  

 INHOUSE CORPORATE PROGRAMMES CAN BE ARRANGED UPON REQUEST



                            PROGRAMME COST : R5200  PER PERSON              

MAKE PAYMENT  BY CLICKING THE PAYFAST LOGO ON THE RIGHT                             HAND CORNER OF THIS ARTICLE. 

CLICK HUMAN METRICS PAY NOW BUTTON  ON THE RIGHT COLUMN

           DATES AND VENUE TO BE PROVIDED ON REQUEST             



ABOUT THE FACILITATOR 

Dr King Costa

King Costa practices as a Management Consultant and  Empowerment Coach in areas of Human Capital and Business Intelligence. He holds a Ph.D. in Leadership and Management, his dissertation was entitled "Coaching & Mentoring as a Leadership Strategy at Sephaku Cement". Check his profile on Linkedin by clicking the link on the top right of this blog. 

He focusses on Human Capital & Leadership Development, Coaching and Mentoring, Enterprise Development and Corporate Wellness. He continues to conduct empowerment training programmes for both public and private sector including the NGO sectors both in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Swaziland. 

HEALTH FACILITATORS - IMPALA PLATINUM

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT  - BOTSWANA

HR MASTERCLASS - KENYA

HR METRICS & ANALYTICS - UGANDA