Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 15 of the Virtual Blog Tour for Healing the Corporate World by author Maria Gamb.
Written by former Fortune 500 executive, Maria Gamb, who spent more than 20 years trailblazing businesses valued at upwards of $100 million, Healing the Corporate World is a cutting-edge book examining the deep, and usually unspoken, ailment of the modern corporate world, offering solutions for healing at a personal, financial and even spiritual level. By showing the reader “the four cycles of transformational leadership”, Maria provides business leaders, from solo entrepreneurs to corporate senior executives, practical answers on how to transform their organizations from the inside out, and become “Change Agents”, consciously creating their own reality.
Yesterday, Maria visited Charly Leetham at www.AskCharlyLeetham.com.
For today’s stop on the tour, I decided to ask Maria some questions about the universal laws and principles of business growth, and how this applies to solo entrepreneurs.
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Tomar: How do you define the new role of “leaders” in the world today?
Maria: Somewhere along the way I believe that some, not all, have lost their way and understanding of what being a leader means in the world. In the book I offer 4 key distinctions of leaders today: …
a) To be of service to those around you. Which means, give those you lead the tools and opportunities to succeed. Because when they do, it creates more flow of cash and opportunities for others.
b) Be a guardian of your own thoughts, which are your motivating factors as well as others’. This leads to integrity, trust and transparency.
c) Give to others generously without keeping an IOU slip in your pocket. Being a go-giver is infinitely more effective in building those that follow you and want to support you in your own work.
d) Consider the needs of the entire group. Rather than focusing solely on “me,” look at the “we’ and how it affects everyone.
These are basic ground rules or “how to” become a leader others will respect, want to follow and aspire to be in the world.
Tomar: What are the Universal Laws you find most important in business? What is the Law of Reflection? And why is the Law of Attraction not enough? (I definitely agree with you.)
Maria: This may be a surprise, but I believe the law of receiving is most important. The law of receiving is simply that what you give to others you will also receive in the same like measure. If you give poor customer service, chances are you’ll get that same disrespect and/or less than thoroughness in all your relationships. So it’s important to always give your very best in everything you do, from how you engage others right down to the products and services you offer. Everything we receive in our life is an example of the measure we give out to others.
The law of reflection is a teaching tool that I have always found fascinating. It says that what you see in others – sometimes it’s an annoyance or impatience – is actually a reflection of a similar issue that you need to resolve. You may have your own special way of delivering it, but it’s the same core issue that may need to be addressed. Likewise, the law of reflections provides us an opportunity to celebrate what is inside of us that we see in others. When you admire someone who is kind and caring, you are actually viewing those attributes in yourself.
The law of attraction means that you bring things in from outside yourself to you. You attract what you want. But the challenge is in realizing that sometimes we bring things into our lives that we may not want. Acknowledging this is often part of the misconception about this law. However, when you couple it with the law of reflection they become complementary. And, it helps to make sense of all situations, “good” or “bad,” because then you’re viewing all interactions as a way to get insight and learn important lessons for your development and success.
Tomar: What are the principles you use of personal and business growth based on the cycles of the seasons? That sounds very rich.
Maria: Business is no different than nature. There is a constant, predictable flow to it that is cyclical and can be termed as seasonal in its phases. This cycle is constant, not linear or chaotic. For example, Fall naturally flows into Winter. Winter naturally flows into Spring etc. Of course there are times when Fall lasts longer than one thought or winter can quickly segue into spring. But the cycle is the same and it doesn’t ever end, because it’s an evolutionary process.
So it is with professional dealings as well as personal ones. We all go through the same cycle to facilitate any shift in our perception and circumstances. We evaluate our results by looking at what we harvested based on prior activities (fall), we take a more introspective approach and decide what’s worth keeping and what needs to go (winter).
This portion means letting go of systems, practices and potentially even relationships that no longer work. In order to get to planting new seeds (spring) you’ve got to decide what’s really important to you – how you want to operate, live, have balance, happiness and connection with others, so that when your new flowers or ideas start to blossom (summer) they are truly what you want.
The system laid out in the book outlines the lesson of each season, the challenges within that part of the process and an antidote when you get stuck in one part so you can transition more easily to the next. The amazing thing is that this system applies not just to business but to your personal life as well. Every time I teach this system, the very first comment participants make is “Hey, this sounds like my home life too!” How much easier would it be if we all had this road map so we know where we are on the journey?! It would eliminate a lot of guess work and frustration for sure!
Tomar: What is the simple system of self-inquiry you teach? I believe self-inquiry is essential.
Maria: Every issue that we face that causes us unhappiness is rooted in the ego-mind. To make it crystal clear to the readers I’ve constructed 5 checkpoints for them to go back to in assessing ANY and ALL of their behaviors, so they can identify when they are in an ego-behavior of fear, lack and insecurity, and when they are in their higher consciousness of love, acceptance and compassion. It makes it so easy to see the behavior and know exactly where it comes from. When you see it so clearly, then you can make the choice to keep it or leave it. Most of all, the self inquiry process helps you to see that you have to start with yourself first. it’s not your job to change other people. Your job is to take control of your own life, power and influence.
Tomar: My readers tend to be solopreneurs, not in corporations. What message do you have specifically for them?
Maria: Ahhh I love this question!
Entrepreneurs are an extremely powerful group of people in the world today. They WILL be responsible for the creation of new jobs, entire new industries and advancements in technology and medicine. Not to mention government! So my specific message to them is 3 fold:
a) Own your power and realize that the idea you have is an important part of an overall solution.
b) You don’t have to know how that will happen, Trust that it will.
c) This book provides solid tools with which to build loyal staffers, vendors that will want to work with you and show you how to build influence and affluence, no matter your niche market. Being an entrepreneur is all about being courageous and bringing newness into the marketplace. These elements help you build that movement!
One more thing…We need you to do what you’re doing!
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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Maria Gamb and that you’ll check out her new book Healing the Corporate World, which is coming to Amazon on Tuesday October 12, 2010.
You can receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts when you buy the book on the day of its launch, including one from me, my 27-page report, “Creating the Change You Want.”
To find out how to buy Maria’s BOOK and receive these gifts, go to:
http://www.healingthecorporateworld.com
Be sure to follow Maria tomorrow when the next stop on her Virtual Blog Tour is Tom King’s blog at www.growitforward.com.
As usual, please do feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
