When YOU get better, your business gets better

By | November 23, 2011 | Leadership

Last month I heard Michael Allosso speak and as part of his presentation, “You on You Best Day”, he gave us a checklist of daily activities to make it your best day everyday.  Here is a list of great questions to ask yourself daily:

1.  Have I really been “present” at every meeting?

2.  Have I contributed?

3.  Did I help someone do their job better?

4.  Did I do some sort of physical warm-up today?

5.  Did I like my physical appearance today?

6.  Did I arrive to work early?

7.  Did I state my objectives for the day?

8.  Did I try a variety of tactics to win at my objective?

9.  Did I greet people as I passed by them today?

10.  Did I include a smile when I passed by them?

11.  Did I listen before I spoke?

12.  Did I offer a concrete suggestion to someone to upgrade their performance?

13.  Did I “check in” with someone on a personal basis?

14.  Did I take one break today?

15.  Did I raise the stakes a little higher than I normally would?

16.  Did I have fun today?

17.  Was everyone with whom I came in contact today a little better afterwards?

Learning, Leading and Lasting

By | November 1, 2011 | Leadership
training

I wanted to give everyone a preview of my new webinar series, “Strategy Execution”.  In researching high-performance organizations I’ve found 3 attributes:

1.  Top Performance Organizations are Learning

Learning is the pathway to continual mastery in any endeavor.  It’s only through learning that we continually re-create ourselves.  A learning organization is one that continually expands it’s capacity to create the future.

What are you learning?

2.  Top Performance Organizations are Leading

One of the most difficult decisions a leader has to make is choosing what they can be great at.  This is a question of focus.  Focus is hard because it eliminates options and holds us responsible.

What can you truely be great at?

3.  Top Performance Organizations are Lasting

As an organization grows it becomes more complex.  The ability to build structure to handle complexity and predict the future is a major attribute of lasting organizations.  Your capacity to grow is directly related to your pain tolerance because no organization can rise above the constraints of it’s leadership.

How much pain are you willing to endure?

Keep Learning, Keep Leading, and Last!  The prize is worth the price!

Staying out of the Drama Triangle

By | October 17, 2011 | Productivity, Relationships
DramaTriangle

Last Thursday I spoke at the Cleveland County Chamber of Commerce.  Many of the participants told me that one of their major take-aways was an understanding of how not to enter the The Drama Triangle.  I think it works with people, the way the Bermuda Triangle works with planes.  We’ve heard of planes entering the Bermuda Triangle then never being heard from again.  I’ve seen the same with the Drama Triangle.  Sometimes when people enter into it, they can never get out.  Here are 2 quick ideas of how to keep yourself “drama-free”.

1.  Increase your level of Awareness

The drama triangle can be very subtle.  It’s key to have relationships that will speak into your life when they see you entering into the “drama zone”.  Who do you have to give you the feedback you need for high performance?  When was the last time you asked for feedback?

2.  Increase your level of Responsibility

Only when you realize that you are 100% responsibility for your life, will you begin to grow and change.  As long as you operate in the role of blamer, victim or persecutor you never make a difference.  Once of the best definitions I’ve heard of responsibility is the ability to be response-able.  When you’re responsible, you’re able to respond positively to anything life throws at you.  Don’t be reactive but increase your ability to respond.  What area of your life (spiritual, financial, health, relationships or career) do you need to increase your ability to respond?  Who can help hold you accountable to increase your responsibility?

The difference between winners and losers is that winners do habitually what losers do only occasionally.  Stay out of the drama and make a difference!

 

Why Don’t People Grow?

By | October 1, 2011 | Productivity
grow-2

One of the fundamental rules in problem solving is that you rarely come up with a solution until you understand the cause.  Whenever I’m working with people I try to get to the root before I change the fruit.  There is a reason why and discovering it, is half the battle!  After decades of working with achievers I’ve discovered 5 fundamental reasons why people don’t grow:

  • They don’t “think” they need to grow:  When you know it all, you disqualify yourself for further information. What area of expertise do you need more knowledge in?
  • They don’t see their future clearly:  Your future is something that you grow into.  What is your end game?
  • They fear the changes they will have to make:  If you’re unwilling to change you cannot grow.  What are you willing to give up?
  • They refuse to get input from outside sources:  You can learn alot by studying those around you.  Who knows what you need to know?
  • They are never shown the areas they need to grow in.  You can’t change what you can’t see.  Who can give you the feedback you need?

Asking yourself these 5 key questions keeps you in a “growth zone”.  It focuses your mind to keep expanding and pushing the walls of your “comfort zone”.  I’ve seen that comfort many times is the enemy to growth.  Always remember:  You cannot become what you need to be by remaining who you are!

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