As I was sitting in the office reading different news reports, I focused on a report that I saw yesterday that made me sit up and take notice. It said that QWERTY, which is the keyboard that we use on our smart phones and computers and has been for the past 143 years since Christopher Sholes invented it, is getting ready to be replaced. The writer went on to say that the new keyboard called KALQ is in the process of being developed for android applications and should be available by May. The whole thrust of the article was that with a QWERTY keyboard on your smartphone, you need only use your thumbs to type. The average number of words that you can type is 20 words. With the new KALQ keyboard, they have found that two-thumb typing allows you to do almost 36 words in a minute, which is way higher. So I believe that's going to be the new change that is coming.
This morning, as I was looking at my QWERTY keyboard and thought that something that has been iconic for so many years, from the typewriter days of Remington in 1878, is suddenly going to disappear. It's no longer going to be sacrosanct for the typing that we do. So in that frame of mind, I began to look at other things and realized that there are many changes that are taking place around us that are slowly changing the way we think and view a lot of things.
A news article this morning says, "Samsung is developing some kind of a smartphone watch" and the person who was giving this news said that it seems that they were trying to flush out Apple to make a statement, because Apple has reportedly had about 100 people who have been working on the iWatch, which they are planning to release by the end of the year. Samsung itself has been working on the 'flexible display' called YOUM brand – a bracelet that you can use on your wrist or put flat. Google has been working on the Google Glass. All kinds of things that you never thought were possible are suddenly in the realm of possibility.
Change is happening all around us and we need to be aware of these changes or we are going to be left behind, using archaic things or language or thought in a world where information is being thrown out at such a fast pace.
I was reminded of Alfred Tennyson's beautiful poem, "The Idylls of a King."
The old order changeth yielding place to new,
And God fulfills Himself in many ways
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
That's happening very frequently these days. How do you keep track of all these changes? How does it affect you? Do you need to do something about it?
This past week we were at the Universal Business School in Karjat where we did a one-day seminar for the business students. The focus of this seminar was 'Developing Your Personal Brand'. There were 4 lectures: Handling Pressure, Loyalty, Integrity, Communication. Yet it seems like in the middle of all of these changes we tend to look at what we can hold on to. What are some things that don't change?
Another thing that caught my attention was the way we look at criticism. Normally when we give a negative feedback to colleagues or direct reports, we use 'The Sandwich Approach'. It means that you put something good on top, something good underneath and then the negative part of the speech in the middle. That has worked for so long because it tempers down what you are trying to say. Now current thinking is saying that doesn't work, because in the midst of 2 positives, the negative gets lost.
I came across 2 beautiful articles by Roger Schwarz which I would encourage you to read from the links that will be put up in the transcript later. Look at Unilateral Control Mindset and how that begins to play into the way we give feedback. The Sandwich Approach is designed to influence others without telling them what you are doing. Roger Schwarz says, "It's what we call the Unilaterally Controlling Strategy. But even that strategy is changing to a Mutual Learning approach where both people learn – the one who gives the feedback and the one who takes the negative feedback."
So in this quickly evolving scenario, what do you and I need to do? How do we keep up? What do we need to do about our own brands?
I was on the Forbes.com site today and Dorie Clark, who is just about to publish a book titled, 'Reinventing You' says, "How do you enhance your Personal Brand. He says, "There are 4 things that you can do to enhance your personal brand and to keep up with the changing times.
1. Secure your domain name. Have a personal domain name so that as you begin to develop other things, you can develop your own website where people can get to know about you.
2. Create a very robust LinkedIn profile, so that all the people you are connected with will have a really good understanding of who you are, what your skills and competencies are.
3. Be clear about what you want to be known for. I want to be the 'go-to' person for x or I want to be the leader for y. But you need to be very clear in your own mind, what you want to be known for.
4. Get on Twitter. Now this I've had trouble doing. This forces you to communicate with 140 characters, but it's great ad value and it also makes you disciplined.
In this currently fast-moving world where everything seems to be changing, what is it that we need to do to be relevant with our times.
Leo Tolstoy said, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." So true! When we think of changing ourselves, then the world gets changed. But sometimes this can be a scary concept; everything is changing and there is nothing solid. It's like being in the sea with its storms and waves and then being able to see the lighthouse and realize that that is stable. In the midst of all of this, for me, God is stable. He's the one who gives us our stability.
I love a song that was written many years ago that says:
Be still my soul, the Lord is on your side,
Leave to your God to order and to provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
So friends, as you look at your lives and see the changes around and think, "What do I need to do to enhance my brand?" remember that the one who is stable, unmoving, same yesterday, today and forever, the God of all creation, is the one who says, "I can help you. Don't worry about the changes. Don't let it make you fearful. If you keep your eyes on Me, I'll be like the lighthouse in your life."
So, see what you need to do and yet know what is constant and stable in the midst of all these changes.
Let me pray with you. Almighty God. Bless everyone on this call. Give us all wisdom to know what we need to do to enhance our own personal brands. Give us the confidence to embrace change that is happening all around us and allow us to realize that You bring that stability into a world that is so quickly changing in so many ways. Help us to be confident in that thought that you are our lighthouse. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Katharina A. von Sclhegel, "Be Still My Soul."
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