worldwork - ebbf - mindful people, meaningful work

redefining excellence – taking away the competition by Augusto Lopez-Claros

ebbf — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:00:57 +0000

Augusto Lopez-Claros Director of Global Indicators and Analysis at the World Bank

Another of the keynote speakers we will enjoy during the event offers his redefinition of excellence: “Excellence has to do with vertical improvements over time in the pursuit of a particular task, skill or plan. If I feel that I play the piano better today than I did a year ago as a result of disciplined and concerted efforts, long hours of study and patience, independently of any considerations about how others are playing and where they stand in relation to their own efforts, then I am engaged in the pursuit of excellence. My gain is nobody else’s loss and we all benefit when, collectively, we aim for excellence in all things. Competition, on the other hand, is about horizontal comparisons in performance at a given moment in time. Today I won a piano competition because, in the eyes of the jury, I played better than everybody else. This does not mean that I played better today than I did last year and, if I could somehow sabotage other’s efforts so that, today, they play less well than I do then I will come out ahead. The pursuit of excellence is not a zero sum game and is fundamentally well-aligned with spiritual development as the primary engine of life.”
Visit the event in London may 2012. Register here ebbf’s make it meaningful series is the result of over 20 years of experience, evolving its international events. We discovered that people are not just looking for knowledge. They want to participate. And even more important, they want to contribute. Together we redefine the working environment and come up with ways of making our work more meaningful, connecting it to a wider purpose.

redefining excellence – building a values-driven career with Jyoti Munsiff

ebbf — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:16:17 +0000

Jyoti Munsiff former company secretary at Shell

Jyoti Munsiff, who until recently held the most senior female position at Shell, will share the path she embarked on to reach the board of Shell in an unwavering yet wise coherence with her values. Here’s a redefinition of excellence that she offers for the event: “If we wish to be worthy of the station of the most noble of beings then it is not sufficient that we simply acknowledge the need for excellence. Only with our individual and collective commitment to the understanding , acquisition and application of knowledge for the well-being of humankind rather than the pursuit of our own self-serving material purposes will we distinguish ourselves from the animal. Intellectual implementation will never succeed without the reformation of the human spirit.”
Visit the event in London may 2012. Register here ebbf’s make it meaningful series is the result of over 20 years of experience, evolving its international events. We discovered that people are not just looking for knowledge. They want to participate. And even more important, they want to contribute. Together we challenge the working environment and come up with ways of making our work more meaningful, connecting it to a wider purpose.

redefining excellence – ebbf learning event

ebbf — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:05:54 +0000

Helena Hastie executive officer at BASED-UK

“Rejecting the low sights of mediocrity, let them scale the ascending heights of excellence in all they aspire to do. May they resolve to elevate the very atmosphere in which they move, whether it be in the school rooms or halls of higher learning, in their work, their recreation, their Bahá’í activity or social service.” (The Universal House of Justice, A Wider Horizon, Selected Letters 1983-1992, p. 38) Excellence to me is not about being the best of your colleagues or friends. Excellence involves challenging yourself to do the best you possibly can in any task. It is a measure of how you are performing against your potential, rather than how you are performing against others. It involves showing diligence and care in your work life, your home life and your service.
Visit the event in London may 2012. Register here ebbf’s make it meaningful series is the result of over 20 years of experience, evolving its international events. We discovered that people are not just looking for knowledge. They want to participate. And even more important, they want to contribute. Together we challenge the working environment and come up with ways of making our work more meaningful, connecting it to a wider purpose.

social entrepreneurship … without any need to rob the rich

ebbf — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:53:05 +0000

ever thought of creating your dream enterprise?

social entrepreneurship is the protagonist of this week’s “ebbf meaningful work humour” cartoon.

And if you wish to get started and create your own “dream enterprise” to address entrepreneurially a social issue (without robbing anyone),
you are most welcome to join and use ebbf’s most recent tool to assist potential social entrepreneurs in their first steps to move from a dream to reality their “dream enterprise” : http://ebbf.org/meaningful-work/creating-your-dream-enterprise

The next in the series of “ebbf meaningful hangout” online conversations will be dedicated to people wishing to start-up their social enterprise and to mentors wishing to enjoy accompanying people along that path.

May 7th at 20:00 (CET time) – click to see the invitation here

Redefining Excellence: Conversations Around Meaningful Work

kat.holmlund — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:23:56 +0000

Gemma Burford Research Officer in Sustainable Development at University of Brighton

“I think of excellence as ‘being your best’, not just ‘doing your best’ – it’s about striving to live our ethical/spiritual values and make a difference in the world, to the very best of our ability. But beyond subjective individual definitions, I believe that every working group can also create a unique shared (inter-subjective) understanding of excellence, through focused consultation and reflection. By recognising members’ diverse talents, experiences and wisdoms, and facilitating genuine dialogue between them, organizations and companies can redefine excellence in ways that are meaningful within their specific professional context. These definitions guide the envisioning and enactment of individual, organizational and social transformation.“
Visit the event in London may 2012. Register here ebbf’s make it meaningful series is the result of over 20 years of experience, evolving its international events. We discovered that people are not just looking for knowledge. They want to participate. And even more important, they want to contribute. Together we challenge the working environment and come up with ways of making our work more meaningful, connecting it to a wider purpose.

Redefining Excellence: a Conversation with George Starcher

kat.holmlund — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:00:20 +0000

a conversation with George Starcher ebbf president, France

When people talk about “excellence in business” what terms do you believe come immediately to mind for them? Efficiency? Profit? ROI? No, for “great companies,” reputation as values-based companies comes to mind first, living and practicing outstanding stakeholder relationships comes second, living their values and contented staff come next. How do values and ethics play a role in successful business practices? They are simply a “must” in developing and maintaining customer relationships, in recruiting and retaining outstanding talent, in building sound relationships with suppliers and other intermediaries…. i.e. in creating a winning team with all core stakeholders. How has the business world been performing to date in this “excellence” realm? Can you relate any significant milestones or developments in the journey of “excellence” in the business world? There is an increasing number of so-called “great companies” that are building and maintaining excellent relationships with their stakeholders, but the economic crisis we are in results in too many compromises and a short term focus too often. Increasingly, in work satisfaction studies, we hear people talking about a need for their work be more meaningful and connected to a wider purpose. How can this need be met? Who needs to be involved in making this happen? If you cannot convince the CEO of this, as well as the Board of Directors, forget it. He or she must set the tone and policies needed to build a responsible firm, to define and practice relevant core values, and to live these values in all decisions and policies. What are some of the benefits that can be accomplished through more sustainable and ethics driven practices? Can it help the bottom line also? *Ability to recruit, motivate and retain capable staff and loyal customers are on the top of my list. That’s already pretty convincing evidence.*
Visit the event in London may 2012. Register here ebbf’s make it meaningful series is the result of over 20 years of experience, evolving its international events. We discovered that people are not just looking for knowledge. They want to participate. And even more important, they want to contribute. Together we challenge the working environment and come up with ways of making our work more meaningful, connecting it to a wider purpose.

beyond the culture of competition and self interest – ebbf meaningful monday at work humour

ebbf — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:12:30 +0000

reinventing the enterprise – beyond a culture of competition

Funny but often true story shown in this week’s “ebbf meaningful work humour” cartoon, sent by ebbf member Daniel Schaubacher.

Companies, Nations are all too often forgetting the great advantages for all of adapting to world change and moving to the global as opposed to the nationalistic / individualistic view. The recent ebbf keynote by Michael Karlberg shows how we can move “beyond a culture of competition” : http://ebbf.org/blog/ebbf-michael-karlberg-keynote-reinventing-the-corporation/

More opportunities for you to join a conversation on reinventing the corporation on Thursday evening’s “ebbf meaningful hangout” facilitated by Intel’s Sustainability Director Carrie Freeman:

http://ebbf.org/blog/reinventing-the-enterprise-to-co-create-prosperity/

join ebbf meaningful hangout – reinventing the enterprise to co-create prosperity

ebbf — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:03:33 +0000

Carrie Freeman

To celebrate Earth Day, ebbf offers you a free one hour conversation where you can share your ideas with the director of Sustainability at Intel (Carrie Freeman) and an international group of individuals on the topic of:

“re-inventing the enterprise to co-create prosperity”

As Carrie mentions “For corporations to prosper in the next generation, they must fundamentally rethink their value proposition. From one that is focused solely on profits to one that is generates real wealth for people, communities and societies.”

During this free one-hour long “ebbf meaningful hangout” that will take place on Thursday 26th of April at 20:00 (Paris – Central European Time) you will be sharing ideas and opinions on questions such as :
What is prosperity and real wealth?
What is required of companies to co-create prosperity?
What are examples of companies that are generating real wealth?
From here to there, what can each of us do to assist in this reinventing?

Click here for more information and to sign up to the few places available for this next “ebbf meaningful hangout”.

Unfortunately the other very “Earth Day” related “ebbf meaningful hangout” taking place tonight on the topic of “eliminating extremes of wealth and poverty in a green economy context” quickly sold out so no places left for that conversation.

Redefining Excellence: Conversations Around Meaningful Work

kat.holmlund — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:00:43 +0000

Françoise Le Goff head of administration at (IFRC) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

“Excellence is a talent or quality which surpasses ordinary standards. It is the extra mile that makes the task or the work more than just good. It creates happiness, fulfilment and pride. It is the achievement after persistent effort to get a job done or to attain a goal. It is when someone refuses to quit under adverse conditions, take corrective action when needed and effectively recognize others for outstanding accomplishment. Excellence strives for personal commitment and sacrifice to attain a higher purpose in life, with joy and detached involvement. Excellence is reaching your dreams.“
Visit the event in London may 2012. Register here ebbf’s make it meaningful series is the result of over 20 years of experience, evolving its international events. We discovered that people are not just looking for knowledge. They want to participate. And even more important, they want to contribute. Together we challenge the working environment and come up with ways of making our work more meaningful, connecting it to a wider purpose.

redefining excellence: conversations around meaningful work

Sjoerd — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:00:31 +0000

Daniel Truran ebbf director general, Spain

“Excellence is what we strive for, aiming for excellence implies that we are doing our utmost to develop the unlimited potential and the talents we have been given. If you link our God-given skills and talents with the contribution to a higher purpose, then excellence becomes something natural that we deeply wish to achieve, aware that the higher the quality of our actions and work, the more likely we are to contribute towards that higher purpose.“
Visit the event in London may 2012. Register here ebbf’s make it meaningful series is the result of over 20 years of experience, evolving its international events. We discovered that people are not just looking for knowledge. They want to participate. And even more important, they want to contribute. Together we challenge the working environment and come up with ways of making our work more meaningful, connecting it to a wider purpose.