How many times have you filled out an employee questionnaire at work, dutifully responding to questions ranging from training and development opportunities to communication to teamwork to leadership?
And then what happened in the following months?
Did you and your co-workers see concrete action by management to address your feedback? I’m not talking about such things as communication newsletters, focus groups, town halls or even one-on-one interviews to gather deeper information from employees. I’m talking about behavioral change within the organization.
A favorite strategy within many organizations is to create action–call it busyness–for inaction, the consequence of which is inertia. The deception of being busy produces nothing in the end unless people are integrated into the process of finding effective solutions for workplace problems.
Robert Gerst, a partner with Converge Consulting Group in Calgary, recently wrote a paper entitled Understanding Employee Engagement and Trust: The New Math of Engagement Surveys. The paper appeared in early 2013 in the American Society for Quality’s Journal of Quality and Participation. As the paper states:
“The dirty little secret of employee engagement surveys is that they’re largely junk science – placing the marketing objective of telling and selling a good story above the practical and ethical objective of telling the truth.”
In the process, data gathering methodologies are misused and false conclusions reached based on inaccurate statistical measures. The result is largely meaningless survey results, yet while giving the impression of scientific validity.
It doesn’t take a lot of Googling to discover hundreds–make that thousands–of websites that talk about employee engagement and their solutions. I’ll share below my own personal workplace experience with a large-scale employee survey process that spanned over a decade. But first a couple of observations.
The definition of insanity has been described as expecting a different result while doing the same thing over and over again. This describes employee engagement surveys.
Psychologist (Yale and Harvard) and the creator of Double Loop Learning and many more concepts Chris Argyris talked years ago about the folly of using employee questionnaire surveys as part of organizational change efforts. As he bluntly put it, these surveys place the responsibility for change with management. Employees, having done their part by completing a questionnaire, sit back waiting for management to fix the problems.
When human beings have something done TO them and not WITH them, the consequence is disempowerment. Here’s one concrete example.
During part of my three-decade career with the Government of Canada, I devoted substantial time to managing projects dealing with organizational mergers, downsizing, leadership development for middle managers, and researching and writing concept papers for senior management. I was also involved for a brief time with the Government’s introduction of its employee questionnaire survey, which began in the late nineties and which continued for over a decade.
The survey was sent out every other year to over 200,000 federal public servants spanning dozens of departments and agencies. While the survey findings varied across departments, as well as within them (across work units), the overall results were pretty dismal when viewed through a leadership lens.
Public servants felt disempowered, not listened to by management, training was inadequate, communication poor, etc. One compelling question was: “Do you believe that management will constructively address the issues raised in the survey?” (I’ve paraphrased this question).
The response to this question was consistently negative, i.e., employees didn’t believe that management would deal with the issues raised in the survey.
Canada’s Prime Minister cancelled the latest survey for budget reasons (saving some $220 million). Perhaps that was a good idea, given that the Public Service survey only reinforced the cynical attitude by many employees. Remember Chris Argyris’ viewpoint.
To say that the Public Service survey was an impotent tool devised by the federal government would be too kind a comment. In reality, it has been a decade-long example of how NOT to gather information from employees in the naïve belief that this will somehow produce a more engaged and empowered workforce.
Based on the above definition, one could conclude that insanity prevails in the upper ranks of Canada’s Public Service: management expects a different result despite nothing changing.
Don’t get caught up in the hyperbole of employee engagement. As with past fads (e.g., Business Process Re-engineering, Total Quality Circles, and the Learning Organization), the employee engagement fad is being milked for all its worth by consultants who hope to make a few bucks from it before attention turns to the next fad.
And of special importance is understanding that mouthing the words “employee engagement” by management is typically a tactic to deflect attention, however briefly, from the substantive issues facing organizations.
Creating an “engaged” workforce takes time and is a reciprocal process, in which EVERYONE in the organization must take personal responsibility and demonstrate personal action to make things better.
Take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences.
Free your mind from corporate lexicon, the status quo and bureaucratic inertia, and follow instead your self-empowered creativity to add true value to your organization.
– James Taggart
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Find Your Passion–Then it’s time to Rock!
WARNING! This post is about personal passion. Be prepared to launch yourself off to a new dimension when you finish reading this.
How does he keep doing it? A big head on a spindly body, wild hair and an off-key voice, all the while gyrating to 4/4 time, the basic building block of Rock ‘n Roll.
I well recall watching the Rolling Stones on black and white TV back in 1967 when I was 12 years old. Except for the well-lined craggy face, Mick Jagger looks the same and still gives electrifying performances. Countless big-time singers and musicians have come and gone during Jagger’s tenure as the Stones’ lead singer, whether from drug overdoses, unfortunate accidents or self-destruction due to lack of personal self-discipline.
I like the Stones but not a big fan, so I’m writing this post without any particular bias towards them; indeed, I’m a Jazz aficionado. But I respect those in the music industry who have staying power, whether it’s because they’ve been smart enough to evolve as they’ve aged and music tastes changed, or stayed close to their roots. Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones are the latter case.
Jagger’s disgustingly rich. He doesn’t need to perform. However, when he goes on stage he performs like a guy one third his age. He loves what he’s doing, and he looks like he wouldn’t want to be any other place at the moment except on stage: yelling, singing, thrashing his arms and legs. Not to shabby for a fellow who turns 70 years old on July 26, 2013. Reflect on that for a moment.
Why do some people get totally turned on by their careers, or perhaps a better way to describe it is a “calling.” No, you don’t have to be a multi-millionaire to be happy or fully engrossed in your vocation. I’ve met dozens and dozens of musicians over many years who’ve held down regular jobs to pay the bills. They’ll never earn much dough. However, they’re extremely passionate about what they do and their desire to share with others.
I’ve reflected many times on the joys that musicians and artists bring to the public, yet what we forget is that the vast majority will never make it big. What drives them is that they’re passionate about their calling.
Switch gears to those self-less individuals who volunteer their time to important causes, and in particular those who travel to desperately poor developing countries to offer their skills, whether as a nurse, teacher, physician, engineer or project manager. Often, these folks work in disease-filled environments or highly dangerous regions where terrorism reigns.
If you’re bound to a job that you find uninspiring, then seek out your calling. This may mean a career shift, or perhaps engaging in volunteer work or starting a new past-time. Each of us as human beings, who are here on Planet Earth for mere nano-seconds in time, need to find something, however small, that fills a personal void. I personally believe that every human being needs to leave a personal, positive mark on Earth before departing for another existence.
And no, you don’t have to try to replicate Mick Jagger. He’s obviously one of kind. The mold was broken when he was born. But YOU can find your calling. Be your own Mick Jagger.
And to Stones fans, who I can sense twitching for some tunes, check out this clip of Mick Jagger singing, backed by the legendary Jeff Beck, at the White House in February 2012.
I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn’t get bored anywhere. – Keith Richards (Lead guitarist, Rolling Stones)
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No Soup for You! Tales of Amazing Customer Service
Many, many years ago, when our now four adult kids were wee ones, Sue and I would take the family on adventurous vacations, typically involving tents and sleeping bags. When we look back at those days in the late eighties and early nineties, we scratch our heads and ask whether we were insane. We definitely wouldn’t do it now as older Baby Boomers.
One of the highlights I still recall those decades ago are the wonderful people we met along the way. And some of those experiences were when the six of us paraded into restaurants and campgrounds. If you’re a parent of young kids, or have been down that road, you can relate to what can be either a fun trip to a family restaurant or descending into the bowels of hell.
Sue and I used to be so thankful of the many wonderful people who waited on us in restaurants. Their patience, humor and courtesy were extraordinary. We always left an extra big tip when we had great service. Sue made sure of that, having been a server (waitress in the old days) in high school.
I’ve always wondered why some people self-initiate to show personal leadership in customer service land. The monetary rewards are typically not very significant; more often they’re paltry. However, it’s not always that way when one enters customer service land. Before I share my amazing stories of customer service, check out this clip from the infamous Seinfeld episode of the Soup Nazi. How many of you have experienced similar customer service? And how would you react?
Let’s now look at three companies that have earned well-deserved reputations as having stellar customer service.
L.L. Bean
I don’t have to rely on others’ stories here since I’ve compiled my own from 25 years of shopping at this legendary retailer. Whether it has been using L.L. Bean’s online ordering, its call center or visiting its flagship store in Freeport, Maine, and outlet stores in Maine and New Hampshire, this company’s service is extraordinary. We’ve never had poor service, let alone mediocre service. It has always been excellent.
Indeed, when phoning L.L. Bean’s call center to order merchandise, your call is typically answered on the first ring. And if it isn’t, there’s a short note to say that no recorded music will be played while you wait for a few seconds. Thank heavens for this, when other companies insist on blasting you with obnoxious music.
Then when you’re connected with an agent, it’s like going home. I have no idea where L.L. Bean finds their employees, but it’s like talking to a long lost aunt. I love these people.
I’m a Canadian. It’s great to be a patriotic shopper; however, when you’re trying to find a product locally and cannot, or not satisfied with the quality, locating it at L.L. Bean with superb service is a true gift.
Apple Retail Stores
I’ll state up front that I don’t have any Apple products; I’m not an Apple devotee who’s part of the global tribe. However, I have a lot of respect for what Steve Jobs achieved in not just creating innovative devices using minimalist design, but also the other equally important component–service.
Entering an Apple Store is a totally different experience from shopping at, say, Best Buy, Future Shop or a long line-up of technology retailers. At Apple, you’re greeted warmly and attention is focused on your immediate needs. Indeed, an employee greets you within 10 seconds of entering the store. No frowns or bored expressions–just smiles and lots of enthusiasm.
Apple likes to use hip expressions for their retail staff, like Apple Genius, the person who will meet with you to provide the technical fix for a device that’s not working properly. An appointment is needed to see a Genius, and the Apple employee who greets you takes your photo to make it easier to find you in the store when it’s your turn.
Apple’s approach is focused on finding solutions for its existing customers and potential new ones, whether it’s repairing a device, understanding its features more thoroughly or selling the newest product. Focus on the customer, treat him or her with courtesy and respect, and solve their need or want.
Sound easy? Maybe. But it takes management commitment, leadership and sustained training and refinement to maintain that superior level of customer service.
Nordstrom
Operating in its present name since 1930, this upscale U.S. retailer, which is finally about to come to Canada, has earned for years stories of its insanely fantastic customer service and return policy. Based in Seattle, it may even surpass that of L.L. Bean. Legends abound of the extraordinary lengths to which Nordstrom employees go to exceed customers’ expectations. Note the word “exceed,” not “satisfy.”
Exceeding the expectations of customers consistently, each and every time, is the defining characteristic of Nordstrom.
Employees have been known to take taxis or even airplanes to deliver an item that a customer left at a hotel. They’ve followed up on their own initiative to reassure a hotel guest who had checked out that their keys would be brought to them. Or the bizarre legend–fact depending upon to whom one speaks–of the customer who returned tires to Nordstrom’s Anchorage, Alaska, hotel where an automotive store was once located. The manager on duty eventually agreed to accept the return.
Fact or fiction? You decide. The point is that these stories have enormously helped Nordstrom build its brand into the premier upscale, customer-oriented retailer in North America.
Self-empowerment is the operative word here when it comes to customer service. Yes, Nordstrom management creates the enabling environment from which employees empower themselves. But it is people–employees–who decide to fully engage with all cylinders firing.
Note the subtle distinction on empowerment.
Over 25 years ago I vividly recall management guru Tom Peters writing and talking enthusiastically about Nordstrom. Nothing’s changed; Nordstrom still rocks.
There are plenty of other examples that depict companies that are totally committed to providing outstanding customer service. Unfortunately, most companies fall into either the mediocre category or, worse, dismal customer service (you may wish to replace the word “dismal” with your preferred adjective).
Customer service is not rocket science. It does, however, demand 100% commitment. I like to think of it in similar terms to Toyota’s Lexus division tag line: The pursuit of perfection.
You know darn well that people are human and that they have bad days. In addition to doing contract research and writing, including blogging, I work part-time in frontline customer service in the hardware section of an international home improvement chain. It helps keep me firmly rooted to reality. I have days when I feel a bit off. When I feel my service is slipping I give myself a poke and re-orient my behavior. I’m not perfect. You’re not perfect. No one’s perfect. The world would be really boring if we were perfect.
But if you keep that vision of perfection in sight, you will strive towards it each and every day. And if you’re leading a team, whether it’s directly or indirectly related to serving clients and customers, your number job is to keep just the right leadership tension present as you inspire your followers through your daily actions.
Are you ready to lead?
If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.
– Tom Peters
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I like small; I typically detest big. With the latter come replication, sameness and boredom. Yawn. Just visit a typical North American mall.
Do you prefer to find something unique, which doesn’t exist elsewhere?
Avoid malls as a start. I do–with a passion.
I love entrepreneurs. I’ve watched CBC’s Dragon’s Den from its inception over five years ago, and its replicated American cousin Shark Tank. While you get some weirdos on each episode, especially with Dragon’s Den, I love watching the serious entrepreneurs who have put their heart, sweat, soul and money into their ventures. These are amazing people, and they contribute in a major way to making our lives better.
And then there are bureaucrats.
I spent three stifling decades in the public sector, where the creativity of public servants was squashed as quickly as one would step on a cockroach. Uniformity, compliance to a resistance-to-change culture, and punishing sanctions from speaking truth to power were the embedded norms. Simply change the word “were” to “are” and you have the current state of Canada’s public sector.
Unfortunately, the public sector doesn’t have the monopoly on such monolithic behavior. Enter the not-for-profit scene.
In my volunteer work over three decades, I devoted 15 years to music festivals. The volunteers, as with other similar pursuits, are remarkable–except one must be vigilant for those who wish to hijack a festivals’ vision.
A case in point is the Ottawa Folk Festival, which for almost two decades ran as a true volunteer festival, all the way up to the executive director. To make a long story short the festival encountered financial problems a few years ago and was absorbed by the Ottawa Blues Festival, ranked by Billboard Magazine as the 7th largest music festival in the world. Not too shabby for boring, little Canada.
There are two issues here. First, the “Blues” festival long ago abandoned its roots, increasingly broadening its genre appeal to the masses, resulting in a diluted smorgasbord of artists.
Second, the former Ottawa Folk Festival, a truly humanizing, warm and rich five day event of stellar artists from numerous countries, has become a digital advertisement for a potpourri of artists, many of whom stretch the boundaries of what could be remotely be called “folk” music.
And before any of you conclude that I’m a Boomer hippee, with a private stash of Carole King and hemp (or worse), understand that I love jazz, I play jazz piano and worship jazz. I enjoy folk music.
The late E.F. Schumacher once said: “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”
Examples abound of once innovative companies that made a difference to society and the economy. And then they were bought out by trans-nationals, guided by accountants (the notorious bean-counters) who don’t care except for the bottom line.
What has made the United States the world’s greatest economy is its unlimited capacity for innovation. I’m a Canadian, a citizen of a neighboring country of a mere 34 million people, one that long ago hitched its wagon to the American innovation engine.
Big is NOT where creativity and innovation begin. They’re grassroots, bottom-up processes involving human beings. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in business, government or the no-profit sector (like my music festival example). What does matter is to understand that creativity flourishes when people are not squashed by bureaucracy and when an idea or existing entity is not diluted to a mass audience.
What examples of innovation can you share, both of success and disappointment?
Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.
– Peter Drucker
Photos by J. Taggart (Arrested Development, Ottawa Folk Festival, 2010)
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Are you ready to CHANGE WITH CONFIDENCE?
In this post I’m sharing a book I recently read, along with many of its key highlights and my personal thoughts.
The author, Phil Buckley, has over 20 years of experience working with organizations in many countries on corporate change initiatives. One of his most recent projects involved the $20 billion acquisition of Cadbury by Kraft Foods. This project comprised a team of 40 professionals across 60 countries.
The full title of his book is Change with Confidence: Answers to the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night. Yes, it’s long descriptive title, but at least it’s not some vague shrill for leading change. I’ll return later for a personal thought on a what-could-have-been.
Buckley writes clearly and succinctly, a virtue in my opinion. The entire book is just 242 pages and would fit easily into the side pocket of a laptop. Why is this important?
Because: a) reading time is money, and b) space is a premium, whether you’re jetsetting or just finding space at work or at home. In other words, in the vernacular there’s too much business BS out there, books that are full of redundant padding. Buckley understands this and has written a book–I prefer the term “guide”–to help those managing or involved in projects. And keep in mind, while you may instinctively think of the corporate world, Change with Confidence is very relevant to the public and not-for-profit sectors.
What’s unique about Change with Confidence is that it integrates project management (not the most exciting topic) with leadership and its associated implications for human dynamics within organizational walls. Buckley has successfully produced a book–guide–for project managers who wish to embed leadership into their work.
I alluded to at the beginning that I had a what-could-have-been thought. Having been involved personally in numerous corporate projects over 30 plus-years, and given my passion for the lifelong pursuit of understanding leadership, the title that suddenly emerged for this book is, The Project Manager’s Guide to Achieving Extra-Ordinary Results through Engaged Leadership.
Okay Phil, you’re allowed to shoot me.
So what’s Phil Buckley talking about? Here are some main highlights.
The book is structured around 50 questions that Buckley has been asked frequently over many years. Four main sections make it up:
1) Figuring it out
2) Planning for change
3) Managing change
4) Making change stick
In each of these four sections he discusses a number of issues, each based on one of the 50 questions. For example, question number one in the first section is “what do I bring to the project?” Question number 50 is “How do I know that the project was a success?”
In addition, he uses an interesting approach in providing real life examples in each chapter, called “Thumbs Down, Thumbs Up.” Here, he presents a failure or a difficulty in a corporate project; then a thumbs-up success story as a contrast. This is a big benefit to the book (more on this in a moment).
Buckley hits on some critical issues, such as corporate culture and embedded myths which can derail projects. I would have liked more on corporate culture; however, I’m showing my bias here based on my work background. I’m just pleased that he incorporated at various places organizational dynamics and their effects on project management.
Chapter 21, on how to get leaders to personally commit to a project, contains an opening powerful statement:
“People will emulate leaders’ behaviours, believing they have silent permission to parrot actions demonstrated at the top of the power hierarchy. Leaders’ lack of visible commitment, reluctance to adopt new behaviours, and/or poor attendance at project review meetings will result in similar actions from their teams. Conversely, aligned, energized and fully supportive leaders will motivate and galvanize their teams to adopt new ways of working and endure difficult transitions.”
Go back and read this again. Then take a moment to reflect on it.
My one criticism with this book has to do with the thumbs-up/thumbs-down anecdotes in each chapter. While there is some diversity of examples, too many are oriented towards Cadbury, which reflects the author’s experience. However, don’t let that deter you; there are plenty of other examples from which to draw best or worst practices. I would have liked to see more diversity in examples.
It’s rare that one comes across a book, or article, that integrates project management with leadership. I have project management books, and I can attest that they’re dry as heck to read. Phil Buckley’s book is not a chore to read, and indeed can be easily used as a reference to specific topics. You don’t have to read it in the typical linear fashion.
If you’re involved in project management work at whatever level (essentially a given in today’s organizational world), then I recommend your checking out Change with Confidence. It will be worth your while.
Allocating ample resources is a telltale sign to the organization that the effort is a true priority.
– Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson
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Are You a Leader or a Follower?
Human beings perceive themselves as Planet Earth’s supreme beings.
Just look at what the human race has introduced to the world since the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s: the steam engine, electricity, the telephone, specialization of production, air transportation, efficiency in warfare killing, digital communication, smog and climate warming.
Not much to hang one’s hat on, is there?
Much of recent human (industrialized) history has been predicated on bosses, those with positional authority. Do what I say. Screw up, and you’re toast.
As human beings we’ve achieved a greater level of self-actualization especially since World War Two. Accelerated by the “Me” Baby Boom Generation, people have slowly asserted themselves. They want a say in the action–read today’s Generation Y. The gyrations of the labor market periodically slow this trend (such as currently) in which individuals retrench as worker surplus exceeds employer demand.
But the point is that people want to share in the leadership, whether it’s in the private, public or non-profit sectors.
This brings to mind the idea of what do non-management employees offer in the way of leadership?
To begin with, I’ll remind you that management is a position of appointment. Leadership is a completely different ball of wax. Leaders must earn a followership if they wish to be considered in the ranks of leadership. You may be a hot-shot vice president with 500 people under your command. But if your subordinates aren’t following you, I’m sorry to inform you but you’re NOT a leader.
I’ve worked in the labor force for 35 years. I can count on both hands true managerial leaders I’ve encountered, up to the ranks of CEO equivalents. However, I’ve met and worked with dozens and dozens of true leaders who held no managerial appointment. I respected and trusted these people, and followed them.
Is that weird?
Tell me if I’m wrong. Should I have succumbed to the organizational eroticism of following only those in positions of managerial authority? As political activist Thomas Paine stated over two centuries ago: “Lead, follow or get out of the way.”
Take some time to reflect on your own leadership journey and experiences.
Which people have stood out in your career?
How many were in positions of management, and how many in regular employee positions?
I ask you, are YOU are a leader or a follower?
At many points in our lives we’re all followers, and we’re all leaders.
I recall listening to a CEO speaking in February about leaders and public speaking. He nailed it when he talked about how he sees his administrative assistant in his international firm as a key leader. And he follows her when he knows that she has the knowledge and know-how.
How many CEOs can let go of their egos, however, briefly, to let a subordinate–a non-managerial employees–take the lead on an issue?
One distinguishing trait of a real leader is having the ability to let go of one’s ego and self-perceived brilliance to let others show the way.
Have you encountered people like this?
Please take a moment to share your story.
Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.
– Theodore Roosevelt
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Shoot for the Stars! Meet Rocket Man
Hope drives the human spirit. Without it we are nothing but spiritually impoverished souls. But hope is also a powerful catalyst to innovation and change. It propels individuals to dream, to create what may appear to be fantastic, if not ludicrous, visions of what could be.
Ever hear of the Wright brothers?
How about Alexander Graham Bell?
Or in a more modern context, Steve Jobs?
Dreams and entrepreneurs are intertwined. They imagine the impossible. And we, as citizens of a globally inter-connected society, benefit.
Meet Elon Musk, aka Rocketman.
Born in South Africa, Musk created PayPal and pocketed $1 billion when he sold it to eBay.
A lover of fast cars and a competent pilot of airplanes, including a Soviet-era Aero L-39 trainer and a Dassault Falcon 900 jet, Musk has never been one to sit still. He itches to create, to be bold and to be different.
The 42 year-old inventor bought a former Boeing jumbo jet assembly plant to build rockets. His company SpaceX supplies the international space station, and is paid by NASA which no longer possesses the capability for low Earth orbit.
Musk is also the CEO and a founder of Tesla Motors. The Tesla is a line-up of high-end electric cars which has just turned its first profit (for example, the Roadster has a base price of $109,000 US) after struggling for several few years. Musk’s focus has been on making the Tesla an affordable vehicle for consumers.
Musk is an extra-ordinary visionary who wants to send expeditions to Mars and to retire there himself one day. SpaceX is spending $400 million to redesign its cargo capsule, the Dragon, to carry passengers.
Musk is also concerned with the practice of disposable rockets and is working towards creating reusable ones. Of significance is that SpaceX has more rockets under development than anywhere on the planet, with more than 50 launches scheduled.
Musk has faced derision by those in NASA and from other scientists for his vision and efforts to create a privately funded space flight company. Yet he has persevered in the face of this and a number of engineering and technical challenges. The South African boy who built toy rockets and who made his own blend of jet fuel is beginning to realize his long-held dream.
I recall a CBS interview with Musk when he was just launching (pardon the pun) into commercial production for rockets for low-earth orbit. When asked by the CBS interviewer how former NASA astronauts had reacted to his vision, he teared up. Here was a billionaire, a brilliant entrepreneur and visionary, crying on national TV.
Why?
Because as I indicated earlier, Musk had been fascinated–consumed–with rockets since being a pre-schooler. He adored NASA astronauts. And as an adult he had proven himself as a very successful entrepreneur. All he wanted from his heroes was some form of validation for his efforts. Unfortunately, all re received were condescending comments.
It was devastating to Elon Musk.
However, Musk is an entrepreneur and took the criticism in stride and continued onwards. Fast forward to early 2013 and he’s already in a short time proven the NASA naysayers wrong.
What does this mean to you?
Have people dumped on your dreams?
What is your personal vision?
Don’t ever let anyone convince you that you cannot achieve something.
It’s in your control how you respond and what you decide to do.
“Leaving Earth is our destiny. The moon is only a way-station to Mars. I see millions of people there eventually, arriving in waves every two years when the planets are aligned.”
– Elon Musk (as told to The Sunday Times, London)
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