Category: Purposeful Action

In this “Purposeful Action” category of the blog, we discuss how we can improve the quality of life with the four principles of purposeful action.

What is purposeful action? Purposeful action is a series of events motivated by commitment to a mission aimed at serving others beyond self. For action to be purposeful, the mission must be derived from inner conviction. Purposeful action requires belief and faith in the purpose of the action and demands unswerving commitment to the action.

References: Masters of the Game: Reaching Beyond the Nexus to Success and Happiness
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=purposefulaction&view=videos

Is it enough to have purpose?

It is obviously essential for success to be purposeful in your actions in order to stay on track and fulfill the vision. But, what if it is not based on Truth and it’s hard to tell what THE Truth really is?

Is it worth rowing along in personal conviction if it is all based on Faith from within and personal interpretation of one route map to be followed in Life if fellow boaters do not acknowledge it and follow you down the same path?

In other words, is having a vision and pursuing it purposefully make Life whole, or is it more important to have the right vision & how do you discover it?

Explain, using examples and references, and relate your comments to the Four Principles for Purposeful Action.

This post was written by Jimy George, who will lead the discussion for the week starting on March 17.

How would you navigate through this crisis?

Here is a discussion topic on strategy.

Assuming you are the CEO, and leader, of a well-known corporation of your choice, what strategy would you use to lead your company through the current economic crisis?

Explain, using examples and references, and relate your comments to the Four Principles for Purposeful Action.

This post was written by Margaux Ellis-Hall, who will lead the discussion for the week starting on March 10.

Which Leader has inspired you?

Here is a discussion topic on self or personal motivation.

Which inspirational leader, past or present, have you modeled your life after?

Explain, using examples and references, how this leader has helped you improve your personal or professional life, and relate your comments to the Four Principles for Purposeful Action.

This post was written by Margaux Ellis-Hall, who will lead the discussion for the week starting on March 10.

Video Post on Managing Desires

Dear Friends:

This post is a test, as we construct our new Video Channel on Purposeful Action. Real video posts will be in the form of questions, similar to our written blog posts. For example, the video segment embedded below provides the basis for creating several individual discussion videos, opening the way for comments by viewers, either in written or video form. It will take effort and time to create a steady flow for video blogging, as most worthwhile enterprises do…. and, we will get it done. Thanks for your participation and help with this new initiative.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GezRdbx4x-I&feature=channel_page

We welcome your comments, suggestions and questions on improving lives and careers – particularly if they help others. Step into the channel and join the flow!

For more information, please visit the announcement “Video Channel on Purposeful Action – For Practical Self-help Tips” using the link on your right or above the banner.

How does vision foster inspiration?

Consider some prominent leaders and discuss how they inspired others to follow their vision?

Relate the Twelve Steps of Purposeful Action to the ways these leaders inspired others. Provide examples and references to support your comments.

This post was written by Brad Renter, who will lead the blog discussion for the week starting March 3.

Managing your desires.

boat3 There are four basic levels of desire. The second level of desires includes wealth, power, and respect.

How do desires from the the second level specifically relate to corporations under the current economic conditions?

How should corporations manage these desires to remain successful in the current state of the economy?

Discuss these questions in the context of the Four Principles of Purposeful Action, with examples and appropriate links. Please review the accompanying video post on “Managing Desires.”

This post was written by Brad Renter, who will lead the blog discussion for the week starting March 3.

Chopra talks on leadership and ethics to Engineers Club

Here are video clips from a talk on Technology Leadership and Ethics by Prem Chopra at the Chattanooga Engineers Club on Monday, February 9, 2009.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Comments are welcome…

P.S. Venkat, who recorded and edited this talk, is exploring ways to improve the exposure (the lights we dimmed to highlight the slides).

Does purposeful action ever end?

The answer to this question is found in the metaphor of the brook. Just as the brook is the flow of water, so too life is the flow of action. Without the flow of water, there is no brook; without the flow of actions there is no life.

Since flow creates the flow of what is to follow, our actions set the stage for future actions. So, considering the question in the title of the post, if you consider actions as continuing through life – and we mean purposeful action here – then these continue. You might argue or ask, what happens when we die? The answer depends on the nature of the action. For example, Mohandas Gandhi’s action to free a nation from foreign occupation peacefully continues through others, as do Mother Teresa’s acts of service to humanity.

This concept of continuing action works lock-step with the concept of continuous improvement, or Kaizen. How can there be Kaizen if the action ends?

Another aspect of this post relates to the extent or breadth of the action being considered. For example, if we consider the action to be simply walking a mile on a certain day at a certain place, the action in and of itself ends. However, if one considers the walk as part of a healthy living regimen, it continues – through its ups and downs as the case might be …

Now, what do you think… and why?

What can you learn from a book on Leadership?

Dear Team 555:

logolife Please comment on this post, stating the title of the leadership/management book approved for your review assignment and explaining in one paragraph why you selected this book.

Please do this by midnight tomorrow, Monday, February 2 – you should have your proposed titles approved by tonight.

Best wishes,

Which of the Four Principles can you recognize in this sketch of the Navigator of the Whitewaters?

Pursue Goals with Purpose

The following article is excerpted from a lecture by Prem Chopra at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga in September 2006. The text of the entire lecture can be found in Masters of the Game: Reaching Beyond the Nexus to Success and Happiness.

Set and Pursue Goals with Purpose
Set and pursue your goals. Setting and pursuing your goals is a key component of the guidance I have been providing to our students for years—don’t just pay tuition and sign up for classes, expecting to learn and earn a degree while you spend your time playing, working odd-jobs and ignoring your academic commitments. This is like driving towards New Orleans, while wanting to get to the west coast. It is the same as signing up for a course and then not attending classes and not working on your assignments.

You must first define your purpose, commit to it, and then stick with it. If your purpose is to earn a degree in engineering, then that should be the primary focus of your life at the time. Otherwise, you are short-changing yourself. Many individuals have trouble understanding and applying this simple principle for success. Such people are unsuccessful, so they do not rise to the top.