Posted on by Max Herrera

Innovation: A Path to Personal Growth

Herman Melville said: “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation“. I totally agree. Let’s try. Let’s pursue innovation and originality. Most of time, our inner fears lie in failure… the fear to fail. In itself, fear is not that bad. It reminds us of dangers and the possibility of losses, and motivates us to think our actions carefully. But fear should be controlled. Fear should not paralyze us. I’ll try that idea in which I believe. I believe in myself, in my ideas, and thereby, I’ll pursue my goals, my projects. The process of trying is, already, our first reward. Let’s enjoy it.

At the core of innovation lies the courage to challenge the status quo, to question established norms, and to push the boundaries of what is deemed possible. It is a mindset that embraces experimentation, embraces risk-taking, and embraces the unknown, recognizing that true progress is often born out of stepping beyond the confines of familiarity. When individuals embrace innovation in their lives, they open themselves up to a world of endless possibilities, where creativity flourishes and new horizons beckon.

One of the greatest obstacles to innovation is the fear of failure. Our inner fears often manifest as doubts and hesitations, whispering cautionary tales of potential setbacks and disappointments. However, it is essential to understand that failure is not the end but rather a stepping stone on the path to success. Embracing failure as a natural part of the innovation process allows individuals to learn, adapt, and grow, gaining valuable insights that pave the way for future breakthroughs.

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Posted on by Max Herrera

Building a Network of Contacts

There are plenty of available jobs in the market, and there also are a lot companies recruiting right now, but it is possible that those job openings are never advertised or published in newspapers or on the Internet. Further, important or high-rank job openings are rarely advertised. How to approach this hidden job market? Certainly, it’s not enough to investigate listings of job openings. The key is word-of-mouth or networking.

Networking means building a list of contacts. Contacts are people you’ve met during your business or social activities. More often than not, such friends and acquaintances will provide you information about job openings, companies and industry leads. Moreover, they’ll introduce you to other so that you can grow your network. Therefore, it is important not only to inform them about your job search, but also give them some résumés.

This list will provide some hints about the people and organizations we should include in our network:

  • Relatives
  • Friends
  • Recruiters
  • Former Employers
  • Neighbors
  • Professional Organizations
  • Other Job Seekers
  • Academic Contacts (School, University)
  • Business Associations
  • Merchants

Organizing your Network of Contacts

Please, organize your network. Save information about your contacts in a spreadsheet or a database. Include their names, titles, company, address, phone and fax numbers, and email. It’s also important to register a few notes about the way in which any of your contacts is valuable, for instance, what do they know?, who can they refer you to?, and so on. Further, organize their business cards.

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Posted on by Max Herrera

The Winners’ Mind

What is your relation with your money? Money is a necessary thing, and to have and to win money is not a sin (rhyme intended 🙂 ). On the other hand, to live for money is not only a sin but a stupidity. We, as integral human beings, are of much more value than any material concept. This is something I insist a lot in my business seminars: look for money, but never lend your heart to money. In other words, win money, but don’t let money to win you.

Who are the Winners?

Winners are fortunate people, indeed. But except for rare cases, most of their fortune stems from hard work, and more importantly, from a sound and clear mindset. Winners have no time (nor wish) to be moaning about the “harshness of life.” Winners don’t complain about such things, because they understand that life, like a river, exhibits turbulent episodes in some parts, but caress and nourish the surrounding nature, all the way.

Positive Attitude in The Winners’ Mind

Nevertheless, all these years I’ve known a lot of people who are frequently bitching about their lack of money or general misfortune, but what they are indeed lacking is a positive attitude toward their money. Now, what does this “positive attitude” notion mean? Let’s start by answering a few questions:

  • What really are the kind of thoughts that flood our minds when we think of our money?
  • Which are the words we utter when speaking about our money and related things (such as mortgage, bank, expenses, etc.)?
  • In the past, how much success have we attained by spending and investing our money?

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Posted on by Max Herrera

What can I say in a motivational speech for a small group of people?

Here are some ideas for a motivational speech for a small group of people:

Start with an inspirational story: Begin your speech with a personal or someone else’s story that inspires and motivates your audience. The story should be relevant to the topic you are addressing.

Be authentic: Speak from the heart and be authentic in your speech. Convey your enthusiasm and passion for your topic.

Set goals: Help your audience set achievable and realistic goals. Encourage them to take concrete steps to achieve their goals and not give up in the face of difficulties.

Encourage collaboration: Encourage your audience to work together and support each other. Emphasize the importance of collaboration and building positive relationships.

End on a positive note: End your speech on a positive note, focusing on the accomplishments they can achieve if they work together and stay motivated.

Remember that your speech should be personalized and tailored to the group you are addressing. Talk about your specific challenges and goals, and provide concrete examples to help your audience visualize your success.

You may also want to take a look at my post The 7 Attributes of Leadership, to delve into the characteristics of a true leader, and get a powerful insight about leadership and some cool ideas for a motivational speech.

Posted on by Max Herrera

The 7 Attributes of Leadership

The 7 Attributes of Leadership
The 7 Attributes of Leadership

When I have to hire someone for any position in my company, I always pay close attention to the below discussed 7 attributes of leadership, because I always strive to hire people with leadership traits (even when the job is not a key managerial position.) I always want the best people, no matter the size, complexity or responsibility of the job. I know that, as time goes by, groups of workers with leadership traits perform and coordinate a lot better than simple people. And the today new assistant may hopefully become a very important director in a few years.

Furthermore, I prefer the democratic (also referred to as participative) leadership style: in this case, the leader offers guidance to the group, but also participates in the group, and promotes feedback from other members. Note that this style is not inconsistent with the view of everyone in a group acting as a leader! The democratic style is also suitable for the modern dynamic environments because it allows dealing with fast-changing circumstances. Other styles, such as authoritarian or delegative leaderships, are very harmful and obsolete.

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Posted on by Max Herrera

Working in Groups: 10 Keys for Success

Working in Groups
Working in Groups

In the following, I’ll briefly expand on the key points for achieving success when working in groups. As a result of the complex and dynamic nature of human interactions, you may find working in groups a challenging issue. In fact, the coordination and agreement required by groups is a research topic by itself (see, for instance, this research about the effectiveness of work groups in mathematics.) But the powerful rationale behind groups is the divide-and-conquer approach: a bigger workforce may lead to bigger results (but not always, and in some fields, such as software engineering, it may easily be the opposite.) In this respect, I’ll propose 10 aspects we should strive for when working with other people. You may find this discussion useful for the college, the office or life in general.

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