Saber de Economia...

A Política do Não-Intervencionismo Positivo

Hong Kong era muito pobre, até que um escocês, John Cowperthwaite, em 1961, mandatado pelos ingleses para continuar uma política de controlo e de impostos, introduziu alterações na Economia, contrárias às indicações que tinha. E construiu um sistema altamente rentável.

Os impostos cobrados pelo Estado seriam até aos 15%, sim, isso mesmo, quinze por cento. Para os mais ricos, apenas 20%. Foi criada uma política de não interferência positiva absoluta do Estado na vida das empresas, das pessoas e da Economia, e acordado um compromisso de manutenção de um Estado reduzido.

A ideia subjacente é de que «os impostos servem para punir as pessoas. Para punir o sucesso». Por isso Hong Kong tornou-se mais rica do que Inglaterra, em 1999, em rendimento per capita. De cada vez que o Governo aumenta os impostos, está a roubar empregos e produção. Para cada emprego criado no Estado, pelo menos um emprego no sector privado é destruído. Os serviços não se exportam. Só produtos, por conseguinte, como o Estado é um reprodutor de serviços, nada há a ganhar com o crescimento deste.

À luz do modelo de Cowperthwaite, a crise actual em Portugal deriva da prosperidade dos que nunca produzem, nem utilidade, e do empobrecimento dos que produzem no privado.

The magic of communication

Metaphors are really the best way to learn and understand life. Our brain picks better stories than rational explanations. Usually, stories are rich and complex, and open to a wide range of meanings. It’s the reader who decide what the story means, according his life experience.

The fact is, if you want to be a leader, you’d better use this kind of effective communication. Is the best way to build rapport with a person or a group. Without this, hardly you lead whatever is. When you build rapport, people will follow you.
With small stories, is possible to pace energy, hope, motivation, etc. This is a powerfull tool of effective communication.

The Magic of Metaphor book is a group of 77 stories, divided in six sections, each one addressing different topics. Is a must-read book that will help you to communicate your message in a effective way, with satisfactory results.

The Dark Side of Reputation

The title is the name of my first book, The Dark Side Of Reputation. Dark Side is something that lives together with our Light Side. But the problem is when the Dark Side pretends to be the Light Side.

The book addresses the topic of how can we be two in one. Is a recipe of how a crook can enjoy a reputation and be protected by state institutions. It is a kind of magic.
There are many people with apparent reputation, but already lost it long time ago. When they are caught in their dishonesty, usually they recourse to the courts in order to recover something they don’t have but want to keep.

In Portugal, Justice restores or maintains reputation to many people that don’t deserve it. Justice doesn’t do anything. Just delay justice itself. Justice is not apparently involved directly, but it helps criminals to achieve impunity. What is seen in Portugal as a heroic act.In the work field, this is a gold rule...
Honesty is seen as stupidity, Integrity is a kind of human imperfection, Morality is a silly thing, Sincerity is dangerous and Ethics doesn’t pay the bills. How can we deal with this reality?

Most of us think everything is lost, society, the world. But, believe it, that a new era is coming now, better. The opportunities will be much more in number. This is a new reality, great to release your potential. Dark will be illuminated.

Stealing energy effectively (II)

As I promised in the previous post, here you are five more ways of stealing energy from others. When there is something incongruent inside us, we tend to steal. Check below if you are a energy thief or not, and then think about what you can do.

Chainchatting
-Speaking incessantly without listening to others
-Demanding attention incessantly without letting others have their turn

Yes, I know, but…
-Asking for suggestions and advice
-Responding to the suggestion or advice by expressing that the suggestion or advice is not what we are looking for
-Purpose is not to solve the problem tut to receive attention

Passive Aggression
-Doing things primarily to cau8se an emotional reaction (concern, annoyance, anger) in someone else
-Subtle types of behaviors to receive attention from others

One-upmanship
-Making the other person feel inadequate by stating that we are better than the other person in some way

Avoidance
-Avoiding others who we feel are likely to steal our energy
-Not a method of stealing energy but rather a method to protect the energy that we have

From Toru Sato work

Protect your state of mind by being aware of all the sources that steal energy from you. This is for sure the first step to deal with the event.

Stealing energy effectively (I)

There are several ways of stealing energy from others. Usually, energy burglars have problems of insecurity, fear, anxiety, avoidance syndrome, scary feelings, defensiveness behavior, agressivity, and they easy become angry. Being like that, they tend to steal energy from others in order to «survive» and to feel better. Take a look on the list below and see the most common general patterns of stealing energy.

High maintenance / High expectations
-Being overly demanding of others
-Expecting other to be the way we want them to be regardless of how that person feels

Interrogation / Criticism
-Making others seem inadequate by being critical of them (by interrogating or criticizing
-Makes the self feel better than others

Intimidation / Anger
-Making others fear the self with intimidation and/or expressing anger

Self-pity / guilt trip
-Making others feel sorry for the self or feel guilty for not being compassionate

Buttering up (the Boss)
-Making people do things that we do not want to do by telling them that we are not good at it and they are better at it

Allofness / charisma
-Making others interested in the self by holding out information

From the work of Toru Sato

In the next post I’ll tell you more 5 ways of stealing energy. For now, thing about this and be aware if you are a victim of energy thieves or if you are a thief yourself. Being a victim you can solve the problem quickly, by changing your behavior, by interpreting differently or by moving away from the source. Being a thief, you have serious internal problems and would be convenient if you take some time thinking what is happening. Why are you so insecure and so scared?

Adversity is a fuel of success

The extraordinary life story of Bobbi Kahler, a successful speaker, that could not make herself understand at the age of six. Nobody was able to do it. A speech pathologist evaluated her speech, phoned her mom and told Bobbi’s «problem was catastrophic and nothing could be done. Your daughter is destined to suffer a lifelong disability, he said».
After that, Bobbi’s mom told her daughter: «We are not going to listen to him (the pathologist). Never let someone else tell you what you can or cannot do.»

The fact is, after using «adversity as fuel», Bobbi turned obstacles in greatest opportunities for growth. It took her «several years to overcome the barriers to clear speech». Meanwhile, even when she won, she didn’t consider herself a good speaker because she had so afraid of she hadn’t cured the problem.
Later, she understood that «the way we approach an obstacle is simply in our state of mind. Will the obstacle defeat us? Will we rise above it? Believing in the outcome determines the outcome». Bobbi had a new problem: despite her high school achievements as a debater and her later success in college, she had stopped believing in herself. For sure, she wasn’t letting other people limit her success. She really didn’t need to. She was doing it all on her own.

Currently, Bobbi is the director of training and development for a marketing franchise company and a professional speaker. An example being followed.

O clima começa na nossa mente

O que é o clima organizacional? Um conjunto de climas, que começam dentro da sua mente e se alarga ao seu ambiente mais directo e finalmente ao todo...

1 - O diálogo Interno - Muito humano, dispomos de grande variedade de opções e escolhas, de pensamentos e de linguagem. Esta voz interior é como se tivéssemos uma agenda extra dentro de nós e que estabelece expectativas e nos tenta guiar por comandos e ordens como se fosse o nosso patrão.
Esta voz mina a nossa autonomia pela introdução da dúvida, do medo, dos julgamentos, do controlo exagerado, dos conflitos internos. E esta voz vinda do Self 1 assume-se quase como um pai, um professor, um patrão.

2 - O diálogo Exterior - A nossa envolvente mais directa, os nossos colegas, as pessoas que colaboram connosco. Se introduzimos dúvidas acerca de um colega, por exemplo, reforçamos a interferência do Self 1 e cria-se uma espécie de profecia em que toda a gente procura as deficiências uns dos outros. O contrário é reforçar o respeito mútuo, o encorajamento para aceitar riscos e a valorização das capacidades individuais e de grupo.

3 - O diálogo cultural - Muitas organizações apostam numa cultura de medo, outras estão mais assentes no poder e controlo (ambas culturas reptilianas), pela existência da punição. Nos ambientes baseados no medo ou na perspectiva punitiva, impera o desejo do parecer bem, mais do que alcançar os objectivos empresariais.
A cultura regula o tipo de comunicação implícita numa organização. Numa cultura de medo e de punição, de poder e controlo, as conversas entre colaboradores baseiam-se em «quem manda», as consequências, etc. E isto também regula a produtividade, a tendência para a mudança e a satisfação no local de trabalho.