David Nyeste

The World Is Full Of Problems  This is good news. Actually it is great news. Problems are opportunities for growth - if you are able to find -and successfully apply- the solution to a problem that will help someone in any way, you will inevitably create value. If you can find a solution to a big problem (e.g. cure for cancer) you will create an immense value. If you can find a solution to a not so gargantuan, but widespread problem, you will have created tremendous value. But even if you find a solution to a small problem that will benefit a few people, you might still have the benefit of being able to learn something valuable that you can apply later in the solution of greater problems. Don't let yourself be discouraged by the (lack of) magnitude of problems: keep your eyes open and help people even if they do not approach you proactively - this will invite good things to happen to you in the long run. However not everybody in the workforce seems to have the proclivity to solve pr...

Strategic Considerations To me it has always been of paramount importance to have a vision of my model identity. In order to develop towards that ideal my role models would help me strengthen that vision. One effective strategy to find fitting role models is to pick the right environment. Certain organizations will promote specific types of personalities over others. For example in the military there is a tendency to recruit engaging, clearly structured people who have a natural preference to take decisions and action in the face of danger, i.e. under pressure. Thus firm leadership is a skill that is highly valued in military organizations. Other organizations might promote creativity, diversity, individualism and so on. Ask yourself which values you regard as the most precious and then look out for organizations whose values might match best. How To Be A Role Model The good news: setting the bar for being a role model will entirely be up to you. It is your own mind first that you need...

Being Brave with Big Brutes How do you handle people who have an overlarge ego and a virtually insatiable hunger for status and attention? Managing people or groups of people with some 'challenging individuals' can be tricky, especially if you are in charge of a meeting or a project. Thus you will want to keep the balance and grant everyone their fair share of sunlight. In consulting I learned a funny but accurate term for these types of people: the 'silverback'. Typically silverbacks have a tendency to underline strong convictions with vigorous statements even in case their position is not firmly backed by facts or evidence. Sadly these people can sometimes intimidate peers who don't have an overlarge ego or don't have any bias to bold and brazen behaviour. Here are five ways I found effective to deal with 'silver backs' to everybody's advantage: 1. Avoid confrontation - Don't be confrontational with silver backs. In fact, don't ever be con...

Regardless if you're a young professional or an experienced veteran of the workforce, there will always be areas where you will have plenty of opportunity to earn the respect and the trust of your colleagues and clients. Here are my favorite focus areas for professional excellence that require zero talent whatsoever: 1. Diligence The quality of the work you deliver to your customers on a daily basis is your signature. In the perception of your customers and colleagues the impression of how much you care about delivering value to them is visible in the quality of your output. Hence it is always quality first and quantity second. Always put quality on top of your priorities. That being said this does not mean that you have to get everything right one hundred percent of the time. Often you will have to abide by deadlines and circumstances you can not -fully- influence. Oftentimes 'highest quality' means that you take a caveat of a given deadline into account. As a result a rou...

The Day I Decided To Be Rich On January 1st 2001 I was sitting alone in my room at the University of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg. I had woken up early and studied most of the day when it realized something had changed. I felt slightly depressed - it dawned on me that I was a poor bastard. It was a few days prior to my 24th birthday and I had just spent the entire Christmas holidays and new year's eve alone at the university in order to prepare for the exams of my first trimester. The perspective to also spend my birthday in solitude did not brighten the perspective. Since I had not made any new friends in Hamburg yet I didn't have a lot of tempting distractions that kept me from studying. However none of those facts were the reason why I felt a rupture. The last three months I had spent either in lecture halls or at my desk and was entirely dedicated to passing my first exams. My preparations were running well and I was confident to pass all three tests. But the statistics told a...

Success is like pregnancy  Everybody congratulates you but nobody knows how often you've been screwed. This joke was suggested to me on social media. It strikes me how thoroughly the algorithm must have analyzed my preferences in order to make such an accurate prediction, that I would enjoy it. However I would choose a slightly different analogy: Success is like impregnation: Everyone congratulates you but nobody knows how often you have screwed up. It is in screwing up that you'll learn the valuable lessons of life. You can think and analyze as much as you want. Analysis, planning and preparation are all fine. But only deliberate execution and the mistakes you make along your journey will guide you to success. That's beauty and pain in success at the same time. That is also the reason that success favors people who are passionate and enthusiastic about their journey and have a clear purpose. Enduring the frustration and the drawbacks along the way is much easier if you hav...