Posted: July 23, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement

Remembering Steven Covey…

Last week brought the sad news of the passing of Steven R. Covey, world-renowned leadership and management expert.  In hearing of Covey’s death, thoughts of all his contributions came to mind.  His work was transformational for those companies and individuals who took the time to understand and apply his timeless, common-sense principles for joyous and abundant living.  I want to share a three of his principles that were especially important to me.  Here they are:

Begin with the end in mind.  This sounds so simple, doesn’t it?  Why wouldn’t we begin with the end in mind?  According to the late billionaire, Bunker Hunt, “Most people don’t take the time in life to determine exactly what they want.  Success comes in two steps:  Knowing exactly what you want, and being willing to pay the price to achieve it.”  To illustrate, just imagine trying to put together a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle without a picture on the box!

Balance your Q2 and Q1 ratio.  In his classic book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, Covey had a quadrant that included these four categories:

1. Important and urgent
2. Important, but not urgent
3. Urgent, but not important
4. Not urgent or important.

It is easy to get caught in the world of “tantalizing trivialities”.  There is such a temptation to spend time in the 3^rd and 4^th categories.  We allow ourselves to be distracted by low priority interruptions.  We spend too long on our lunch hour and spend production time talking about sports.  When I coach teams, many of them are constantly in the “important and urgent” category”.  Covey taught us to put a sense of urgency on the important by planning and delegating well, and using and respecting deadlines.  If we don’t put a sense of urgency on what is “important but not urgent”, it will eventually become urgent.  Example:  Having a conversation with your teenager today.  It is important, but not urgent.  If you keep putting it off, the conversation may become urgent!

 Synergistic Communication

Covey says  there are three levels of communication.

1. Win-lose:  No trust is needed in this mode.  It is a zero sum game.  As a result of our conversation, I win, and you lose.
2.  Compromise:  Some trust is involved here.  Each side must be willing to give and take.  The result is coming up with a plan that everyone can “live with”
3.  Synergistic communication:  This was Covey’s favorite.  At this level the sum is greater than the total of its parts.  We have a problem.  I have an idea.  Instead of disagreeing with me, you look for common ground and say, “I like what you are saying about_______.  How about if we added_______”   The other person responds, “OK.  If we add that, how about if we included this also?”  The conversation goes back and forth, and in each exchange, your thinking is at a higher level.  When you finally come up with your action plan, it is better than either of the original individual ideas. When we can reach this state of communication and problem solving, great things can happen.  I have personally witnessed this.

Thank you, Mr. Covey for these nuggets of wisdom that have helped form my career today.  You have left a legacy, and we will miss you.

Posted: July 8, 2012 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

Strategy:  The gift that keeps on giving

OK.  You know what you want and you have set specific goals.  It is time for the fun to begin.  We are now ready to develop our strategy.  This is our roadmap to get to our goals.  A strategy is our own special recipe for achieving specific goals, and it should be as unique as our fingerprint (and far more exciting!).  Like any good recipe, there are important ingredients that need to be blended together in just the right portion.

Strengths:  When we look at what we want to achieve, the first thing we do is look at our strengths.  Our strengths are the characteristics and qualities that have gotten us to where we are today.  What are your strengths?  If you need help in answering this question comprehensively, ask a friend or visit helpful websites like strengthfinder.com.  Find your strengths.  We need to know them and use them.

Activity:  Keeping in mind our strengths, we need to look at what mix of tasks and activities we will need to put into play.  Here are some points to consider:

• What activities, if done consistently, have stood the test of time in generating desired results?  This could be networking,  giving programs, participating in golf tournaments,  or attending seminars.
• How can you create synergy by matching your strengths with selected tasks and activities?  If you are strong in one-on-one situations, you will probably look for several networking activites.  If you are good at public speaking, you may seek out organizations, associations, and civic clubs to deliver you valuable message.  How about if you have writing and analytical skills?  How could they be effectively leveraged?
• What new innovative ideas and activities would you like to initiate?
• How will you plan your year, month, week, day?

Habits:  Albert Gray said it over 70 years ago in his essay, “The Common Denominator of Success”:  “People form habits…habits form futures”  What habits are working for you?  What habits are not helping you (see barriers)?  What is the single most important habit you need to work on?  How soon can you get started on it?  How can you ensure you will sustain your momentum?  What results do you expect for your efforts?

Putting it all together, your strategy should consist of your ideal blend of strengths, activities, and habits that come together to drive you towards your specific goals.  The next step…EXECUTE!

Posted: June 22, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement

When I am coaching teams, one of the key components I use is a working agreement.  To maximize ownership, working agreement is built by input from the entire team.  Each team member is asked to write down all key characteristics and qualities of a working environment that enables them to be the most productive.  One word that has been popping up more frequently is “fun”.  In addition to all that good stuff like a sense of belonging, self-fulfillment, and good benefits, they want to have fun!

At first, some seem timid when they suggest “fun” to be on the menu.  Possibly they are afraid that they will be perceived as not taking their work seriously.  Let’s remember what baseball great Harry Caray once said:  “I take my responsibility seriously, but I don’t take myself seriously” Say what you want about Harry Caray…he knew how to have fun.

In his best-selling book, The Happiness Advantage, Harvard Scholar Shawn Achor has concluded that “bosses who discourage fun for their employees are at a double disadvantage, because they tend to be people who are most negative themselves.  In short, sacrificing fun in the name of time management and efficiency actually slows us down”

Southwest Airlines is the only major commercial air carrier that has made a profit every year they have been in business.  Here are their top three priorities in order of importance:

1.  Employees are #1

2.  Having fun

3.  Making the customer happy

If you have ever flown on Southwest Airlines, you probably know what I mean.  They are one zany bunch.  They even went so far as to do a rap song to deliver the standard safety message required before each takeoff.

Here are some ways we can make work more fun:

1. Check your fuel gauge before the day begins.  Thoreau referred to the first hour of the day as the “Golden Hour”.  He believed that our thoughts and attitude in this time frame were critical to our attitude the remainder of the day.  We must do what it takes to get our attitudes on “full”.  Do some inspirational reading, listen to some zesty music, or watch a motivational video.
2. Plan your day well.  Dr. Hans Seyle said, “A successful life is a series of successful days”.  If we want to feel fulfilled at the end of the day, we need to plan it well.  We all know what happens when we don’t plan our day well:  We end up caught in the trap of hurry and indecision.
3. Make a game out of it:  If we have tasks to do, we can set a goal and see if we can beat it.  Occasionally, when I have some tedious work to do, I will use my stop watch on my cell phone, and track my time per item.  Of course, the goal is to keep improving on the time without compromising the quality of my work.
4. Have your favorite video and audio clips available when you need a pick-me-up.  I have mine.  One of them is a famous Three Stooges clip.  Another is the MAD TV Bob Newhart clip called “Stop it”.  It is always good for laughs, and helps get me back on track when I get in to a funk.
5. Take breaks:  A walk around the block or a breath of fresh air can reduce stress and spark creativity.
6. Play a game with co-workers.  This can be anything from dollar-bill poker to video basketball.  It is a complete diversion, and it is fun.

 If none of these appeal to you, just Google, “Ways to have more fun at work”, and you will find scores of additional ideas.  I close with a quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer:  “There is no way to happiness…happiness is the way.”

Posted: May 29, 2012 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

Having more free time is great…but…

What if you awoke tomorrow morning to discover you had been given all the money you needed and could do or own anything your heart desired?  In addition, as a bonus, you have been given all the free time you desired.  Does that sound like a nice picture to be in?  Not so fast.  Studies have shown that people who win big in the lottery do not necessarily become the happiest people.  It has also been noted in the book, “The Millionaire Next Door” that 70% of all millionaires did not get their money from inheritance.

Just having what we wish for does not automatically mean we will manage well.  Managing money and time takes skill and  discipline.

Some of you may have heard of Parkinson’s Law.  It says, “Work expands to fill the amount of time available” I remember one time when I was involved in a weekly evening commitment that lasted once a week for 14 weeks.  Towards the end, I was thinking, “That will be neat with I get that extra day back.  There is so much I could get to”

The end of the commitment came, and what did I find myself doing on that newly re-gained evening?  Yes, I decided to just crash and watch television – for the most part, a passive activity.   There were all these hobbies I had thought about starting, and groups that I wanted to join and courses I wanted to take.   All that stayed in the deep freeze.  I fell victim to Parkinson’s Law.

This taught me a lesson:  If I work on my time management skills to free up extra time, I need to have a plan for what I will do with that time.   I enjoy working on my scrapbook, riding bikes, being involved in Church activities, and spending time in our den engaged in quality conversation with my wife.  So you might be saying, “Hey, that is fine for you.  For me, I just want to lie in the hammock” No problem.  If you have taken time to think of what is important to you, and lying in the hammock is at the top of the list, go for it.  The key here is that you activity is intentional, and not by default.  Who knows, you may dream up the world’s next greatest invention while in the hammock, or figure out a way to communicate better with your kids.

Let’s boil it down to five steps:

1. Decide how much time you want to free up.
2. Take inventory of your time.
3. Ask yourself:  What can I combine, eliminate, or delegate?
4. Compute the amount of free time you will free up.
5. Make a plan for how you will improve the quality of your life with that time

Posted: March 26, 2012 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

One thing I love about coaching is the opportunity to get to what is most important.  In every conversation I have with clients and teams, they all start the same way.  It all boils down to focus and desired outcome.  What my clients are really saying is, “This is my “Here and now” and here is my “then and there”…How I get there?

The outcome of such a conversation always involves one or both of two components:  Building a new competency or skill and forming a new habit.

This morning I was talking to a client who was looking to connect with a person in a key position.  Jim had been thinking about calling the VP for several months.  He kept postponing the phone call.  So what was getting in the way?  Selling skills.  We did some role-playing practicing some key fundamentals, and at the end of the conversation Bill had both a commitment and eagerness to call the prospect.

Jim’s situation is one we can probably all relate to in some way:  When we are avoiding doing something that needs to be done, there is a reason.  If we can identify the reason, we can make the adjustment in our skill or habits to turn it around.  The other option is to keep avoiding the task, and we all know the definition of insanity.  Simply put, “If nothing changes, nothing changes”.

From this point on, as Jim and I continue to work together, he will become more and more competent in his selling skills.  As he does, sales will become easier and more enjoyable.  In time, what was once avoided will become a productive habit.  His skill and attitude will have changed, and making this new activity into a habit will be a natural evolutionary process.

Here is what we can do right now:

Ask ourselves:

1.  Am I where I want to be in my career and life?
2. What new habit or skill do I need to move forward?

Once we have  determined the key action we need to take, remember the 4 rules to build a new habit or skill:

1. Seize the first opportunity
2. Launch the strongest possible initiative
3. Keep the faculty of effort alive with daily practice
4. Never allow an exception to occur

It’s simple! (But not easy)