What does managing your life as it were your business mean in day-to-day living ?

“Private and professional life are two sides of the same coin. However, I put the accent in my workshops on the professional side as I do not feel qualified to enter too deeply into the private side of  life. I leave this to the psychologists or psychoanalysts. My background is financial services. Having said that, I realise how much these two sides are intertwined. To take one obvious example : the impact of lack of sleep on the performance of a person ! Reaching a satisfactory, or even better, an outstanding level of performance, requires a state of mind. It would be hard, at least for me, to imagine that you could have one state of mind that characterises you at work and a quite different state of mind in your private life.

Is there an easy step to start?

“I don't think there are a lot of winning propositions, out there, that do not require effort, talent, and tenacity ! We all know nothing is straightforward. Most of our challenges do require much more than a quick fix. Success is seldom easy but it is worth working for it. You have to keep believing that rewards are in the pipeline. I have the impression that everything is more out of  balance, more uncertain. Answering the entrepreneurial key question : ‘Where do I want to be, five years from now ? ’ seems to be more demanding than ever !

Are there specific skills more adapted to such a process?

“Some people, because of their temperament, education, cultural or social background, are more inclined to develop what I would refer to as an entrepreneurial or athlete’s mentality. The biggest skill needed is the capacity to analyse oneself, one’s performance, one’s state of mind with the determination to change whatever needs to be changed or to improve on whatever needs to be improved. Success depends upon a sum of skills. It would be difficult to classify them in order of importance. On top of my head : listening, humility, positive thinking would be in the short list.

Can someone do it without the HR support?

“You can become successful on your own. But look again at the athletes, notice the importance of the coaches. Any challenge which is shared will seem to be more in reach than if you stand alone in the middle of  it all.

Larger corporations have an executive management. We all know this level of executive is far from the daily concerns of the staff. Managers are already closer to the issues facing individuals, but still, their goal is to reach the stated objectives. They know they need teams and performance but have little time to spend on each and every member of the team.”  

ME Inc. & HR

It is possible to achieve and to build a strategy of your own, focusing on key points and personal productivity.

Workshop: May 14 from 8.30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Registration: www.club.paperjam.lu
Speaker: Roger Claessens (R. J. Claessens & Partners)