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	Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku Overcoming Buffaloes in Our Lives WWW.KITUKU.COM 1-888 685-1621 or (208) 376-8724 ========================================================================== Informative and captivating FREE electronic newsletter that brings you timely information designed to equip you with powerful tools to achieve new heights in your professional and personal life. Issue Number: Volume 1 No. 7 Publisher: Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku Date of Issue: June 28, 2002 © 2002 Overcoming Buffaloes in Our Lives. All Rights Reserved. WWW.KITUKU.COM ============================================================================== Privacy Statement: Kituku & Associates will not distribute your address to anyone in anyway. Period. To unsubscribe (and Dr. Kituku is sorry to see you go) just type remove on the subject line. SPECIAL NOTE: If you had requested to not receive this newsletter and your e-mail has not been removed, please be patient. Our system has had strange behavior. =========================================================================== What others are saying about Dr. Kituku works: “We have received many positive comments and “Thank You” from our employees for bringing you to campus and I wanted very much to pass this along to you. Your presentation was successful in not only motivating our employees but also empowering them to address our cultural differences at TVCC in a positive manner, Thank you.” Judy K. Tiffany, Director of Human Resources, Treasure Valley Community College I just wanted to thank you for posting your inspirational articles up on the web. I subscribe to Creative Training Techniques and the September edition included one of your articles. After reading it, I was inspired to visit your web site and am so very glad I did. I found articles to share with my family, which, I pray, will help them shed some light on "their storms". Nan ============================================================================== For your upcoming Business or Association Conference, work with Dr. Kituku. You are guaranteed a memorable customized keynote speech and/or breakout training programs. CALL TODAY and book Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku. You will not regret it! Call Vincent at (208) 376-8724, or visit Kituku & Associates website at www.KITUKU.com IN THIS ISSUE 1. Dr. Kituku Commentary: Overcoming Buffaloes in the Workplace 2. 8 Top Leadership Actions that Are a Must in Changing Times 3. What’s New? 4. Presentation Skills Boot Camp 5. Top 10 Must Know Life Lessons For High Achievers by Dr. Kituku 6. Featured Turning Point Experience Piece: Blessed Embarrassment =========================================================================== Overcoming Buffaloes in the Workplace Near Kangundo, Kenya were mountains that had a game reserve. Once in a while, a water buffalo would go astray. The buffalo came to the villages without warning. When there was a buffalo in the village, life changed completely. The water buffalo is a very clever animal. Traditional stories indicate that buffaloes can spot somebody, hide and then attack. There were times when people tried to run away from the buffalo. However, how you ran away was very important. If you ran uphill, you were dead meat and if you ran down hill, you were just delaying the inevitable. From the stories I learned in my upbringing, some people tried to climb trees to escape the buffalo. But, when you climbed a tree, the buffalo would come and graze beneath the tree, waiting for you to climb down. If you took long, the buffalo would urinate on its tail and splash the urine on you. The urine caused an itching effect on your body. You scratched and scratched yourself until you let go of the branch you were holding and fall down from the tree to where the buffalo was grazing. You could not escape the from buffalo! In life, there are “social buffaloes.” Those aspects that destabilize progress, be it professional development or personal—it’s a buffalo. Like water buffalo in the villages, change in the workplace is coming fast without warning; devastating social structures; uprooting the harmonious livelihood in our “modern villages” and leaving many employees feeling insecure and stressed out. The question people are asking is, “What can I do, not only to survive but thrive the turbulence of unexpected changes?” This is a valid question since organizations won’t revert to the old womb-to-tomb job security known by our parents. Job availability and longevity will continue to be dictated by factors beyond the average employee’s control. And as things are, the resume that gets you a job today probably won’t keep you in it until retirement. Adjusting your thought processes and doing what is needed to update your marketable skills before you are forced to will help you feel secure, less stressed out and able to thrive in these trying times and beyond. Here are five easy-to apply suggestions: 1. Become multi-functional. What did you do in the past that you can revert to if your position is not available? What are the skills, knowledge and abilities that you are using now and you can transfer to another market if need be? What skills, knowledge and abilities are you planning to have in the next six months, one, two and five years from now that will keep you abreast with your area of specialization? Keep these things in focus. Dig your water well long before you’re thirsty. 2. Assume nothing. Flexibility must become a necessary survival tool. I learned from a fortune cookie that, “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape!” Let go of perceptions, habits and projects that curtail your chances of facing the future with enthusiasm. 3. Use network and teamwork skills. Master the fabrics for team-building and success. These include commitment, interpersonal communication skills, unselfish contributions, a willingness to learn from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds, cooperation, conflict and change management. Let others, in addition to your boss and employer know what you are good at. Volunteer and Community Services are great places to spread yourself around and make your talents and interests known. 4. Stay in school. Helen Hayes said, “When books are opened, we discover our wings.” Ear phones and automobile’s cassette players are mobile colleges at your fingertips. Experts say one has to read a book/week to be up to date in his/her specialty. Keep yourself marketable by continuously improving your skills, knowledge and abilities. In the jungle, whether you are a lion or gazelle, when the sun is up, you better be running for survival. 5 Bear in mind, a job alone cannot provide long-term security. There must be a balancing and blending of relationships (with God, family, and community), recreation, personal and professional growth. By putting suggestions into practice, you will have the necessary tools to combat “buffaloes in the workplace” that threaten your job security and peace of mind. ============================================================================== 8 Top Leadership Actions that Are a Must in Changing Times M.B.W.A in business is Managing By Walking Around. Funny, but MBWA in Swahili means dog. A dog knows its environment. In leading, your understanding of your employees’ strengths and challenges is what will give your organization or department cutting edge advantage. It boils down to a simple factor: motivating individuals to prepare, stay focused and produce results as a team. What you need to do as a leader is: . 1. Stay in touch with your people. Show up when they are doing what is expected or better, and acknowledge their performance immediately 2. Accept the fact that you are their role model. They look up to you. You set the example and the standards to be followed. 3. Build their confidence by letting them know that their contribution matters. 4. Stay positive consistently to keep everyone focused on your organization’s vision. Your enthusiasm is transferable and so is the lack thereof. 5. Small talk won’t get you anywhere. When negative issues arise, address them immediately and layout, from a positive perspective what must be done, when it must be done and by whom. Have a follow up plan. 6. Don’t be afraid of slow progress. Break each project into easy-to-understand and undertake steps. Chinese wisdom has it that, “…the only thing to be afraid of is standing still.” 7. Small successes are the bedrock upon which to build great success. 8. Make these practices predictable. =========================================================================== Presentation Skills Boot Camp Date: July 31, 2002 Time: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Double Tree—Riverside, Boise, Idaho In today’s unpredictable business climate, you can’t afford the luxury of developing and delivering mediocre presentations. The ability to research and give a presentation that gets results must be the key to your success. If the results of your next presentation are important to you, you need this presentation skills boot camp. You will get ahead of the presentation curve by learning from the Master—International Award Winning Presenter/Storyteller and Author Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku Come prepared to be equipped and inspired with tools on:  How to turn your fear of being a presenter into your steppingstone  5 top styles to capture and own audiences and leaving them wanting more  9 secrets you, the presenter must know about adult audiences  How to research, develop and present the proposal that gets accepted by decision makers  Organize and put your points across like a professional  3 must know strategies to make your presentation authentic  5 ways to include each participant in your presentation  How to use visual aids and props to your advantage  39 interactive review tips Registration and networking opportunities will start at 8:15 a.m. Rate information: Includes program fees, workbooks, networking lunch and refreshments Early bird discount: $10.00 off, if registered before or on July 10th $129.00 per person $119.00 per person in groups of 3 or more 2-Easy and Secure Ways to Register: 1. Call toll free 1-888-685 1621 or (208) 376-8724 and register using Visa, Master Card or Discover 2. Mail the filled form with a check or money order to: KITUKU & ASSOCIATES P.O box 7152, Boise, ID 83707 Please note that this boot camp is open ONLY to those serious about delivering presentations with impact. Who should attend: Corporate trainers; Sales representatives; Business owners; Community leaders; self-employed trainers; Non-profit organization leaders; Managers; Team leaders; Public Relation Officers; Supervisors; Pastors; Camp leaders; Facilitators; Lawyers; Speech and Drama Teachers; Professional speakers and those who want to increase their profits with persuasion techniques Dr. Kituku will equip you with the tools you need to hear your audience say things like: “Vincent…Your presentations on leadership and team building were exactly what we needed and right on the mark. Even though you never played football your understanding of how a team must function as one to be successful is amazingly accurate…” Dirk Koetter, Head Football Coach, Arizona State University “Vincent…I was exceptionally pleased with your efforts to customize your presentation to the needs of our audience…Your singularly distinctive efforts brought great credit to yourself and the Pacific Coast Gas Association.” Mike McGrath, Director Marketing Services and Regulatory Affairs, Intermountain Gas Company =========================================================================== Top 10 Must Know Life Lessons For High Achievers by Dr. Kituku 1. Take risks to grow as a person and in your professional life. 2. Always know that you are the CEO of all you do. 3. Count your riches not by things you can see and/or touch, but the feeling in your heart. 4. Never think you work for someone else. Do what you would if the success of the project depended entirely on you. 5. Learning to learn is the skill that will keep you doing what you enjoy most. 6. Assume every person you talk with is the one who will tell the whole world about you. 7. Self-initiative will propel you above any competition. 8. Climb career and social ladders cautiously while holding tight family ties. 9. What you get will help you make a living. What you give to others will give you life. 10. Give children the best gift, being a good example. These are selected from a list of 45 which you can down load from WWW.KITUKU.COM What’s New? Many readers e-mailed requesting the whole list of the 99 Top Tips to Get and Keep Customers. We tried to e-mail everybody but the number was overwhelming. The rest are in WWW.KITUKU.COM. =========================================================================== In April’s newsletter, I promised to share what I have learned in different areas of life/business. Every month there will be a Featured Turning Point Experience piece that reflects a unique circumstance either in speaking or writing arenas. Here is this month’s piece: Blessed embarrassment Have you ever panicked or felt like running away after an action that you did in public? It is not pleasant. The fact is that we can meet life opportunities in places we do not want to be. Opportunities open up…whether we are ready or not. In the spring of 1997, “The Idaho Statesman” advertised that there was a poetry reading at the Log Cabin Literary Center. I had never been to a poetry reading event or written a poem. I attended out of curiosity. There was a table with a paper and pen at the entry of the room. The two people ahead of me wrote their names on the paper before sitting down. I followed their example. I chose to sit next to the door so that I could leave if I got bored. More people came, and only some wrote their names on the paper. The reading started, and I became fascinated listening as the participants’ engaged my soul, body and mind. After each reader, the person conducting the event called a name from the paper which I had signed and someone went to the front to read his or her poems. I became nervous as the names of people who were on the list ahead of mine were called. I couldn’t listen. I was thinking of the mistake I had made. Sure enough, my name was eventually called. I stood up with dignity, but without a poem. I told the audience that I didn’t have a poem, but I had some folktales I learned from my mother. After two short stories, the audience was captivated. I told them one more and left the room for the night. This event inspired me so much that I wrote my first poem on Mother’s Day. It has been printed in several books and numerous newspapers. Another piece was published by the national Library of Poetry. Two years later, I was invited and paid to read my poetry at the Log Cabin. Blessings came from many angles. The emcee of the event that night happened to be the Director of Idaho Humanities. He learned about African folktales and their relevancy in young people’s education. Through his organization, I was invited and presented at more than 180 schools in Idaho within three years. Share your uniqueness. You have what you need to get started on your dreams and to enrich others wherever you are. As humans, we want the fruit of humility (blessings) without humiliation. Sometimes we find hidden talents in places we least expect. © By Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku, Author, Motivational Speaker and Trainer. P.O Box 7152. Boise, Idaho 83707. Phone (208) 376-8724, www.Kituku.Com Stay Tuned With Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku Stay Tuned With Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku, host of “Buffaloes in Our Lives" a TWO hour weekly radio program, aired in the Northwest area on KBOI 670 AM, Saturdays at 7:00 a.m. Read Dr. Kituku’s newest articles in, Zidaho.com, Idahopress.com, Idahostatesman.com, Argusobserver.com, Times-News Magic Valley. =========================================================================== You can order Dr. Kituku’s books and tapes in any of the following methods: Call Toll Free 1-888 685 1621 or (208) 376-8724 (orders are mailed within 24 hours) (Visa, Master and Discover cards accepted) Mail order: Send check or money order to: KITUKU & ASSOCIATES, P.O Box 7152, Boise, Idaho 83707. Electronic Order: Order directly while you are here. Your information is confidential. Orders mailed within 24 hours after your information has been processed. You can also order from Amazon.com (Note: not all books and tapes are sold at Amazon.com).