2Weeks2aBreakthrough

Motorcycle Maintenance

I took an all day motorcycle maintenance class yesterday. It was fun to touch and examine my bike in new ways. Not that I want to, but I think I could change the brake pads and change the oil - all by myself :-). I took the course to get more comfortable with the bike and perhaps to be able to handle basic problems that one might encounter on a 10,000 mile trip. I also think there is something deeper that applies to many aspects of life - looking under the hood is good. Looking under the hood and touching a few things is better. Looking under the hood and being able to make a few adjustments is awesome. Think about your goal - have you looked under the hood and messed about a bit lately? Get a couple wrenches and dig in - you likely can't hurt anything and you mght be able to improve your performance. Vroom, vroom. Lisa Haneberg www.lisahaneberg.com (Typo warning: Sent via my Blackberry)

Breakthroughs in a Minute

I am writing from Chicago O'Hare.. We spend so much time waiting, don't we? What do you think, several hours per week on average?

How do we keep from getting drained and going crazy?

I think one technique is to get one thing done while waiting. It feels great to use some of the time for good.

How do we set ourselves up for success? We need to carry a few basic tools like a small pad or moleskine and a pen. If you love tech, you can use your bberry for this (I am writing and posting this from my bberry) but I would still suggest having a small pad.

What should we write on the pad?

- Plan for what's coming next.
- Create a list of quick to-dos.
- Write something creativem - Create a blog post or email to be sent later (but why wait, send it now)! - Create a list of people you want to thank. If you are in an airport, get the cards and fill them in.
- Take a restorative walk. Tom Peters does this - walks the airport on purpose! Having the right bags makes this easier.
- Get one thing done.

You can guess the inspiration for this post. I was draggin' around this airport wishing I did not have so long to wait. Then I said to myself, "Snap out of it, you're the breakthrough girl, what would you suggest others do in this situation?"

So I did. When we think about it, we can move things forward in small pockets of time. It's more productive, but it is also energizing. I don't feel nearly as drained.

Happy waiting... Lisa Haneberg www.lisahaneberg.com (Typo warning: Sent via my Blackberry)

Marshall Goldsmith's Sweet Surprise

I love surprises - well nice ones anyway.

I got a note a couple days ago from best selling author and extraordinary executive coach Marshall Goldsmith. He wrote me to tell me he had endorsed Two Weeks to a Breakthrough on Amazon.

What a wonderful surprise! I did not ask Marshall to do this. His endorsement is short but sweet, check it out here.

I was tickled and I smiled.

Surprises are sweet! In what ways can you surprise someone today and make their day? You might catalyze a breakthrough!

Testing Moblogging

As I prepare to blog from the road (my 6 week tour), I am testing  moblogging. What's moblogging? By using this tool, I can post to this  blog right from my Blackberry. This will be made even easier because  I will use a small fold up keyboard that makes it easy to type faster  into the bberry. One downside - no spellcheck. But if it works well,  it will be a breakthrough in easy road blogging. Test done!

Beliefs lead to Actions lead to Results

Self-awareness is critical to us achieving our dreams. If you have a habit that gets in the way (procrastination, getting stalled by overwhelm, resistance to involving others in your plan/goal, etc), there are beliefs that are triggering these responses.

Once you have explored your beliefs underlying the source of resistance, think about an alternative belief that would serve your goal much better. Try adopting that belief for the next week and see what happens. You need to create the beliefs that work for you and then ask yourself what’s one action (to start) that I could take right now and that is consistent with this belief? Do that one thing.

The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates

Here is the Belief-Action Cycle:

This first one shows beliefs that are unhelpful.

This one shows more helpful beliefs.

When was the last time you did this?

Taken several leaps forward, that is....

In his book, Archimedes Bathtub: The Art and Logic of Breakthrough Thinking, David Perkins wrote, “the breakthrough transforms one’s mental or physical world in a generative way.” Breakthroughs are distinct from most continuous improvement efforts and they jump the tracks of sequential thinking to create a step change in results.

Feels great when it happens! I'd love to help and that's what this blog and my book aim to do.

 

Are You On the Court or In the Stands?

A couple of smart colleagues, Laurie and Jeffrey Ford, shared this helpful distinction in a training class years ago. There are two types of conversations - on the court and in the stands. Think of a college basketball game. There are players on the court and spectators in the stands. The conversations that the basketball players are having on the court are much different than those the spectators are having in the stands. On the court conversations are aimed at making a difference. They are active. When we speak on the court we are players.

Example: “I have noticed that we are losing some great people. I’d like to put together a plan for improving the environment and development so we retain our great people and attract the best folks available. Will you participate in a brainstorming session tomorrow?”

In the stands conversations are like water cooler conversations. They are directed outward. 

Example: “Until this company changes their ways and stops treating people like disposable resources, they will continue to lose great folks.”

If you want to make something happen, you need to get on the court. In the stands conversations make no positive difference and may negatively impact the situation.

How does this relate to your goal? Check to make sure that you are on the court with your goal. Get on the court and have helpful conversations. Unhelpful conversations often come from the stands. Notice conversations today. Notice the difference in what follows on the court and in the stands conversations and how they make people feel.

Priming the Pump for a Great Week

Take 15 minutes to do this quick exercise and plan for a great week:

• List five people with whom you can share your goal (a goal that is important to you).
• List five professionals who you may not know but who would be good people to talk to about your goal.
• List five ways you can tweak or adjust your environment to better support your goal.
• List the research you should do to support your goal. What books should you read? Which topics do you need to research? Are there training courses that would help you reach your goal? Do you need to complete a business plan or obtain a business license? Do you need to learn a new skill? Do you need to develop your platform or improve your exposure? Do you need to adopt new habits? Do you need to understand the market or business trends?
• List the planning needed to reach your goal. Are there materials to create? Plans to define? Milestones to execute? List the steps you know you need to take. This list will get much longer and more focused once you begin sharing your goal and making requests.
• List five requests you can make in support of your goal relative to: appointments, feedback - picking someone’s brain, use of someone else’s materials, processes, or systems, training courses, using time more effectively, asking someone to do something for you, subcontracting pieces of work, asking someone to be your mentor/coach, or partnering with others.
• List five ways you can serve others and/or help them facilitate breakthroughs.

Review the list each morning and do a few things each day. POW! You will zoom forward.

Interesting Blog Posts

Here are a few posts I think you will enjoy.

This post comes from Rob over at the Adventure of Strategy and is called Three Unpalatable Truths. Here's a wee snippet:

OK, I’m just going to come right out and say it. Let’s cut to the chase and face up to a few unpalatable truths:

1.   THE FUTURE IS UNKNOWABLE

I know, that's really more of a tease than a quote - go check out the whole post! I like the three truths and I like what Rob has to say at the end about how these truths ought to affect our strategies and goals.

I like this post by Brad on the Achieve-It blog called Starting a Big Goal is Tough...This will Make it Easier. It's a good - right here, right now, lets get on with it - post.

As is often the case, Seth gets us thinking. I love this post called Where do you park? How we approach our work really does matter and this short posts is a great little nudge. Where would you park? What signals do your daily choices send customers, employees, and potential partners?

Ellen, over at Brain Based Business offer this interesting posts called, 5 Things You May Not Know About the Common Rant. Here's a snippet:

While you’re like not surprised at the inflammatory emotions, negativity or attacks of the rant, you may be surprised that from the brain’s perspective, a serious rant ….

1. Wires dendrite brain cells in the human brain for further rants, and against finding alternatives or seeking solutions. Through one rant the brain records more patterns to rant ... as the way to engage others in social settings.

And that's just the first thing. Read Ellen's post! You will want to be nothing but sweetness and light! :-)

Interesting stuff - check it all out.

Review of Two Weeks to a Breakthrough

Feeling great, feels great. We control our happiness, but sometimes we get a little helping hand from someone who tells you that you did a great job. As a writer, it is an emotional experience to hear people talk about or write about my work. I imagine the person with the book in their hands on the bus or subway on the way to work. Or as so many people have said, on an airplane while in between meetings.

It's my words they have chosen to read and this blows my mind. So please know that the following links represent a wow experience for me. And for those of you who choose to read my books, know that I am thrilled - even if you don't ultimately agree with my suggestions (especially!). I know that for even the fastest readers, a book takes hours. I may only get a buck of royalties per book, but you give me hundreds or thousands of dollars of your time. Amazing.

Sorry, enough with the sap, I know. This is why I write.

Dwayne, from Genuine Curiosity posted meaty review of Two Weeks to a Breakthrough over on Rosa's Joyful Jubilant Learning Blog. Here's a wee snippet:

The power of focus

Another very powerful aspect of Lisa's techniques is the way this program helps sharpen your focus on relevant actions. I tend to be interested in everything, which means I can easily become distracted or involved in too many things that were not directly related to my goals. While using the Two Weeks to a Breakthrough methods, I found that it was easier to resist the shiny objects in my path.

Yeah, I got that shiny object problem, too. Thanks, Dwayne, for taking the time to offer up such a wonderful review! And check out all the other great book reviews Rosa is highlighting all month. In just a few days, I will be posting a review of The Zen of Groups there.

Thanks also to the Smart Lemming for recommending Two Weeks to readers.
And Jodee from Fargo - I can't wait to visit Fargo on my tour!
Phil jumped out in front and suggested ordering it before it was available - I love eagerness!

Thanks everyone! For those of you who have bought the book, please drop a comment or an email with your feedback - I'd love to hear it!