Haleiwa, O'ahu, Hawaii- Have you ever wanted to swim with wild sharks? How about if you could swim with wild sharks without any worry of being attacked or even touching one?
In Haleiwa, Hawaii, there is a company called Hawaii Shark Encounters Inc. This small company of about 5 guys take tourists out on boats about a mile off shore to swim with sharks in a shark cage. The cage is hooked on to the back of the boat and when the destination is reached, they drop it in. But before you reach the destination, make sure to keep your eyes open just in case you are fortunate enough to see dolphins flipping out of the water, doing barrel rolls in the air. After the possibility and excitement of the dolphins, they then begin to teach a little lesson about the sharks including things not to do, one of them being sticking limbs out of the cage. They also show how to attract the sharks in what any fan of Shark Week knows, chumming. They have a bucket full of fish and the fishes blood. They then begin to soil the water with the chum and before you know it, you'll see a shark. After the initial excitement of seeing the first shark, others then begin to arrive almost immediately. Next thing you know, the water is full of 8-10 foot sharks circling about on all sides of the boat. It is nerve racking for anybody deathly afraid of sharks as was a lady on board with us. The lessons have now been taught with safety instructions and now it's time to enter the water.
Said a fellow that goes by the name of Chanceram, "This is truly an experience like no other! And it's not expensive! To see the spectacular cobalt blue color of the water 3 miles out -- it seemed as if I was watching a movie that enhanced the colors to give it an unreal effect. And when you see the sharks swimming towards the boat and swarming, it starts to get even more exciting."
Swimming with the sharks has easily been one of the most exciting tourist experiences I have done in my life. The people running the company do a great job of interacting with the guests and provide the necessary information for safety and for and enjoyable time. They are well versed with the sharks and have plenty of personal experience with not only the sharks but also with boats and the ocean. They handled receiving payment properly and marketed a personalized video of the experience. It was really a remarkable experience.
1. Chanceram. (2008, May 23). Hawaii Shark Encounters: Traveler Reviews.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60647-d291424-r16342171-Hawaii_Shark_Encounters-Haleiwa_Oahu_Hawaii.html.
2. Hawaii Shark Encounters. (2009). Shark Diving. Retreived from Hawaii Shark Encounters website: http://www.hawaiisharkencounters.com/.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
The secret for any business to be successful
Lou Herbert was the president of Zagrum Company when it first opened for business. Lou was a hard nosed character that had to have things done his way or it didn't get done. He had a very powerful and intimidating presence among his coworkers. Even those high executives in the company feared him. The business had the talent and potential from the leaders it contained but the problem was they weren't able to use those talents. Lou wouldn't allow it. And in doing things his way and by his direction, many of these talented individuals went on to succeed at other companies. Lou was in the box.
Leadership and Self-Deception is a powerful book that illustrates the importance of seeing things how they really are and how visualizing things with a closed perspective is really dangerous to any kind of growth. The book is based on actual experiences that took place in a work environment with fictitious names. It details how people in everyday life are stuck in their own box and making life more difficult for not only themselves, but also those that surround that person.
Tom Callum is a new manager hired on at Zagrum. As a new manager, he is given a lot of responsibility over those under his command. Bud Jefferson, the executive vice president, is very careful about the leadership traits of his managers and thus meets with his new managers after a month or so with the company. Kate Stenarude is the president of the company and possesses the same training enthusiasm as Bud does. Bud and Kate, with later the help of Lou, teach Tom the importance of getting out of the box and succeeded in not only his business career, but also in life.
The message of the book emphasizes a few important ideas in order for people to see people as people. The idea of being in the box begins when people see other people as objects. The premise of the book starts with Tom being hired as a manager in a well respected company. He learns that Bud and Kate want to change his management style. As the lessons go on, Tom realizes that self-deception is a problem with every person that he can think of, including himself. Self-deception is the ability to see that one has a problem but that person resists the suggestion that he/she has a problem. This self-deception then turns into self-betrayal which causes a person to enter in the box. There are some interesting principles about self-betrayal. They are listed here: 1) An act contrary to what I feel I should do for another is called "self-betrayal.", 2) When I betray myself, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies my self-betrayal, 3) When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted, 4) So-when I betray myself, I enter the box, 5) Over time, certain boxes become characteristics of me, and I carry them with me, 6) By being in the box, I provoke others to be in the box, 7) In the box, we invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in giving each other reason to stay in the box. These all cause selfish feelings that prohibit growth between individuals.
Tom later learns that trying to get out of the box isn't as easy as it may appear. While in the box, things that seem like they would don't actually lead a person to where he/she might want to go. These things are 1) trying to change others, 2) doing my best to "cope" with others, 3) leaving, 4) communicating, 5) implementing new skills or techniques, and 6) changing my behavior. This may seem strange that they don't work. The only way that does work is to cease resisting other people and treating people as people, not objects.
I have read some good books on leadership and books to enhance managerial skills, but this is the best one that I have read so far. It is easy to read and teaches some deep principles for anybody wanting to be a true leader.
Michael Stapley, President and CEO, DMBA said, " The leadership principles in this book have had a greater impact on the quality of leadership in our company than anything we have ever implemented. They have been extraordinarily important in helping make our company a great place to work while at the same time helping us focus on results and increase productivity as never before."
The Arbinger Institute. (2002). Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box. San Francisco, CA:Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Leadership and Self-Deception is a powerful book that illustrates the importance of seeing things how they really are and how visualizing things with a closed perspective is really dangerous to any kind of growth. The book is based on actual experiences that took place in a work environment with fictitious names. It details how people in everyday life are stuck in their own box and making life more difficult for not only themselves, but also those that surround that person.
Tom Callum is a new manager hired on at Zagrum. As a new manager, he is given a lot of responsibility over those under his command. Bud Jefferson, the executive vice president, is very careful about the leadership traits of his managers and thus meets with his new managers after a month or so with the company. Kate Stenarude is the president of the company and possesses the same training enthusiasm as Bud does. Bud and Kate, with later the help of Lou, teach Tom the importance of getting out of the box and succeeded in not only his business career, but also in life.
The message of the book emphasizes a few important ideas in order for people to see people as people. The idea of being in the box begins when people see other people as objects. The premise of the book starts with Tom being hired as a manager in a well respected company. He learns that Bud and Kate want to change his management style. As the lessons go on, Tom realizes that self-deception is a problem with every person that he can think of, including himself. Self-deception is the ability to see that one has a problem but that person resists the suggestion that he/she has a problem. This self-deception then turns into self-betrayal which causes a person to enter in the box. There are some interesting principles about self-betrayal. They are listed here: 1) An act contrary to what I feel I should do for another is called "self-betrayal.", 2) When I betray myself, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies my self-betrayal, 3) When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted, 4) So-when I betray myself, I enter the box, 5) Over time, certain boxes become characteristics of me, and I carry them with me, 6) By being in the box, I provoke others to be in the box, 7) In the box, we invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in giving each other reason to stay in the box. These all cause selfish feelings that prohibit growth between individuals.
Tom later learns that trying to get out of the box isn't as easy as it may appear. While in the box, things that seem like they would don't actually lead a person to where he/she might want to go. These things are 1) trying to change others, 2) doing my best to "cope" with others, 3) leaving, 4) communicating, 5) implementing new skills or techniques, and 6) changing my behavior. This may seem strange that they don't work. The only way that does work is to cease resisting other people and treating people as people, not objects.
I have read some good books on leadership and books to enhance managerial skills, but this is the best one that I have read so far. It is easy to read and teaches some deep principles for anybody wanting to be a true leader.
Michael Stapley, President and CEO, DMBA said, " The leadership principles in this book have had a greater impact on the quality of leadership in our company than anything we have ever implemented. They have been extraordinarily important in helping make our company a great place to work while at the same time helping us focus on results and increase productivity as never before."
The Arbinger Institute. (2002). Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box. San Francisco, CA:Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
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