Aspiring Leaders’ Forum- Day 2

23 July 2010

In the morning, during the breakfast in parliament house, the delegates to the forum had the pleasure of having Theresa Gattung, ex CEO of Telecom New Zealand, and one of the 50 most powerful women in the world, as a keynote speaker.

Points given from Theresa Gattung
•Passion is a vital essence of the journey to success
•There are no limits, you can be anything you want to be but you must work hard for it
•Real success comes from working hard at passions
•Mastering something requires 10,000 hours of practise
•No matter how bad life gets, looking after one’s health is the most important as you cannot do work if you are physically run down.
•In the corporate world, the job description is just a mere piece of paper, one should take the initiative to go beyond their job and be innovative
•When the door shuts, find a window – don’t let anything stop you doing or pursuing something that you are passionate about
•Make your own path, don’t rely on others’ opinion and make the most of your situation
•In life, nothing is completely good nor completely bad
•Have courage, there is nothing to lose, don’t be scared to pitch “anything can happen”
•Don’t feel intimidated by people better than you, instead accept and receive them, they could become your mentors etc or a good network
•Ask for feedback and act on it, that’s how you learn and improve
•What you do is more important than what you say, be a role model
•Honesty is an asset, allow people to feel okay to be honest
•Acknowledgement is important, celebrate success and achievement
•Be, do, have. Work the dream.
•Greatest responsibility you have is yourself.
•Take Care of physical health.
•The way things are is not necessary things that will be.
•Good is not always absolutely good, and bad is not always absolutely bad.
•Things are not fixed, anything could happen.
•Surround yourself with good people, Make sure that you are replaceable.
•Don’t shout the messenger.
•Don’t suit your agenda to work, suit the work to your agenda.
•Life is a marathon, not sprint. <- Live in the present. <- not worried about the future.
•Sleep.
•Talent, ability, effort.
•Every disappointment is a lesson.
 
During the seminars in the parliament, the delegates had the honour of having Labour Party MP Dr. Rajen Prasad giving a seminar on “Leading across cultures – thoughts and dreams for a nation”. MP Dr. Prasad has spent his entire lifetime working to build a multicultural New Zealand of mutual respect and dignity.
Points given from Dr. Rajen Prasad: Leading across cultures, thoughts and dreams for a nation
•“People will put you onto a pedestal, but you need to remember to get off” one will be on and off stage through life, you take opportunities and also give others opportunity

•Learning comes from failure it is also an opportunity to find out what went wrong
•Particularly in challenges, one should stay true to their values and act consistently
•Do favours for people, but don’t expect: be selfless
•Must have courage to use convictions to help people
•Reflect only afterwards, doing not thinking.
•May things come through to form a leader.
•Grateful for anything in your life.
•1. The opportunities to shine (given by others)
•2. Opportunity to rise to the top that you define. The thirst to find out what was wrong. Kasum = honesty
•3. Seek opportunities.
•Background give tools, using those tools, values give you vision.
•“More I practice, luckier I get.”
•Values are completely consistent, despite faith.
•Learn how to think.
•Saving people as they are.
•Here the courage to change the status quo.
•Using the power that you have efficiently.
•Family as the central value of kiwis.

In the second seminar, Green Party MP Gareth Hughes talked about his passions and staying true to his convictions.

Points given from Gareth Hughes (MP of Green Party): Passionate leadership, staying true to convictions
•Gareth Hughes is the youngest member of parliament (28 years of age), and has only been in politics for 6 months. He is passionate about stopping whaling and is currently improving the public transport infrastructure of Auckland.

•“If you are passionate about something, do whatever it takes to achieve it”, and be courageous. Jason Liu was inspired by the politician’s bravery and sacrifice. MP Hughes was jailed for protesting against the use of Genetically Modified and mistreated animals in MacDonald’s food items. MP Hughes successfully stopped MacDonalds from using meat products derived from unethical meat production methods during his protest.

•Shenghan was inspired by the message of determination and courage MP Hughes passed to the participants. He admired the politician for doing what was right, and for entering politics with the correct intention.

After two days of seminars, the organisers conducted a sports tournament including soccer, touch rugby, netball, lawn bowls and dodge ball to give the participants the opportunity to relax and wind down and nurture teamwork.

After an afternoon of fun and sports, the delegates enjoyed dinner at the hotel, and Warren White was the keynote speaker for the night. Mr White is a very successful real estate agent who is regarded as one of the best in the Southern hemisphere and was First National’s top salesperson for Australasia in 1988. 1998, he has shared his vast knowledge of sales and interaction by serving as a trainer-motivator.

Points given from Warren White: real estate
•When you’re listening, you’re learning. When you’re talking, you already know it. That’s why we should listen.
•Nobody is born with confidence, you develop and build it, you build confidence by pushing boundaries
•“If success was easy, then everyone would be doing it.”
•There is nothing in the world that you can’t have if you work hard enough for it
•“If you don’t give, you can’t receive”
•“Laughter is the best medicine” – happiness comes from within
•Futuristic: leave something for the successor <- legacy
•Rise above adversity and move on
•Live life and embrace
•Love everyone
•The formula for success: Vision – Plan – Action – Result
•Vision without a plan is a daydream, plan without a vision is a nightmare.
•[Vision without action is a daydream, action without vision is just passing the time, vision with action changes the world]

Warren White shared story about two monks and an old complaining women. Old monk ask young monk to carry old women over river. While carrying her, the old lady kept complaining to the young monk. After putting the lady down on the other side of the river, the lady and the two monks went their own way. After half an hour of walking, the young monk asked the old monk, why did you ask me to carry the old lady? The old monk said, I thought you put the lady down when we’ve reached this shore, why are you still carrying her?