As the Pod Group team is an international melting pot, we came up with something a little out of the ordinary to change our company culture. Our philosophy is called WEIRD (Wisdom, Emotional Intelligence, Initiative, Responsibility and Development) and puts the responsibility in the hands of the employees, bearing in mind three important points:
- People are assumed to be good (reliable, intelligent, motivated)
- We spend a third of our day at work, so we should enjoy it
- Value is created by maximising what we can do collectively
“We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day.” Gayle Forman
Despite the fact that life is simple, we humans tend to make things more complicated in our minds using our ability to think. And the more you think, the more obstacles you raise in order not to act. It is ironic: life means movement, action and reaction. Though we are alive and we need to move, we tend to find ways to avoid movement due to our risk aversion based on the fear of failure.
All people have dreams that want to fulfill one day: buy a house, have children, find a dream job, travel to…
The meaning of true leadership
One of the biggest headlines these days is the death of Nelson Mandela. Without a doubt, he is one of the biggest personalities of the 20th century. A spirit of hope for peace and determination who became a true leader for his nation.
People like Mandela do not seek to be famous. They just do their duty to themselves and to their ideals. They have high standards and truly stand for excellence. They inspire and motivate others. Through their attitude they teach, they set goals and give examples of confidence while at the same time provide the spirit on how…
The multi-experience of each journey
My parents love travelling and since I was a little boy we used to visit different places and meet lots of people. This triggered my curiosity and helped me get out of my shell. I soon started to enjoy discovering new environments and becoming more social. This changed me since progressively I lost fear of being out of my comfort zone.
Gradually, I started focusing more on people and their reactions than the places they lived. Their languages and their habits, in some cases so different from mine, were a whole new world. …
Let’s be honest about our social media activity
In our days, technology has helped us to create a digital entity, to live a parallel life in the net. Who doesn’t use today a mobile, a tablet or a pc in order to state where he is, what he does or what he thinks? Only few resist the temptation and they are considered as being out of fashion — “socially retarded”.
No one doubts the great opportunities it presents for communicating and connecting with each other no matter where we are located. It is amazing that our spectrum of attention has expanded to levels not experienced before. We are…
When actions should speak louder than words
Once a professor in the university told me that teaching is the best way of learning and consolidating your knowledge. Since I became a father I often remember these words. In a way I am a professor now, I have the responsibility to educate my son the values I consider will make him a good person. I am his first teacher and apart from answering all his questions, I have to show him the way to face different situations and overcome difficulties. But do I act according to my instructions and words? Do my arguments coincide with my reasoning?
I…
“ I know that each one of us travels to love alone,alone to glory and to death.” from Giannis Ritso’s poem Moonlight Sonata
There is a moment in life when you just stop and think: What have I done, what will I do? I call it “Inner Evaluation”.
This moment comes suddenly, unexpectedly. You might just open your eyes in the middle of the night and look into the darkness, you might listen to a song that you love while being with your friends or you might be working in the office. There is no warning, it happens when your inner self decides to talk to you.
At that specific moment you feel alive. Time seems to stop, like pressing the pause button…
Tips from the most succesful European coach
Since childhood I have been a great basketball fan. Soon enough I understood that a team’s coach is as important as the players. He is the strategist, the mind behind the scenes, the one who takes decisions. If he is able to bring out the best of each player, teamwork will shine much further than individual skills.
The coach with the greatest number of wins in Euroleague history is none other than Zeljko Obradovic. With 22 years of experience, he currently coaches Fenerbahce (Turkey). He has won titles on European and national levels with different teams in Serbia, Spain, Greece…
Thoughts on human relations in a digital world
10 years ago, the world was so different. Media existed but without the word “social”. The latter was only related to or involved activities in which people spent time together, mostly talking or doing things with each other. This needed the physical presence of individuals.
In our days, so many people self-proclaim to be social media experts. It is ironic if you think that someone boasts of being socially expert in a such individualistic society. Being agile to become famous digitally in terms of numbers of “likes” and “favorites” is sad. We hide behind computers or cell phones, behind our…
Freedom of will means to choose your path. The paradox is that you suffer concrete consequences as a result of your choices. This is life!
So, here we are… An adventure that began years ago is transformed to a way of life. I came for 6 months and I am already here for 13 years… The first decade was amusing, full of fun and joy. Met the woman of my life, travelled together and lived in many places. But once you enter the double digit in counting the years away from your birthplace, everything seems to be more serious. This is not a game anymore, this has become a way of life….
You wake up one day and look yourself in the mirror. It is…
Charidimos Spourdalakis
Fan of #SocialMedia, #Innovation and the (r)evolution of #IoT. Crete is always with me…http://t.co/wEtU3kQbuL
