2Weeks2aBreakthrough

Practice, Practice, Practice

Check out this podcast of Charlie Rose interviewing Geoff Colvin, author of Talent is Overrated. I like the part where they get into the nitty-grotty about practice - and the practical ways we can build our craft(s) ever day. Almost anything we endeavor to do well is a craft, such as:

• Leadership
• Management
• Partnership
• Motorcycling
• Cooking
• Writing
• Selling
• Facilitation
• Etc...

And we need to practice - stay engaged. If you are a manager and leader, consider this. We should never expect our employees to be any more engaged than we are. We should never expect our employees to feel any more connected to the goals than we are.

Focus in a Mad, Mad World

The impact of major change hits like a tsunami and causes enormous stress on professionals. Many companies are going through extreme change – change that will transform their businesses in profound ways. And changes that will transform lives - for the good and the bad.

How do you - should you even try to - focus on personal development when times are so tough?

You know the answer to this question. Yes. Staying challenged and engaged is even more important now because you will need to be performing at your peak to remain competitive. If you are walking around like a zombie - depressed, or sad, or worried, or OR OR OR... you may miss out on the very opportunities that have the potential to turn things around.

It is tough, I know, to stay focused when times are tough and we (or our friends) are struggling. Here are a few tips:

• Do just a few small things each day that are fun and engaging - intellectually engaging.
• If you find yourself in a position that you are looking for work, make the job search a job, Get up every morning, get dressed and go to work getting work.
• Take the initiative to suggest improvements at work. Being a part of the solution will feel better than if you dwell on the problems.
• Stay engaged with your professional associations and volunteer. Giving back always leaves us richer.
• Don't listen to too much news!

Check out one of the following books:

Making the Impossible Possible
The Art of Possibility

And my book, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough (sorry, I don't mean to self-promote here, but it is a very good book for helping you get jump started and zooming forward again).

And if you need help adjusting to change, check out Transitions.

What’s Your Definition of Success?

We talk to ourselves all the time. Our internal dialogue defines and gives meaning to everything including how we measure accomplishment, failure, and goals. Very powerful messages make up this dialogue and determine our overall definition of success. Our definition of success determines the choices we make and our actions. Imagine if we believed that winning arguments at any cost would make us successful. We would act like obnoxious control freaks and alienate those around us. This would not be a good result. By examining and redefining our definition of success, we can experience an immediate breakthrough and improved results.

What makes up our definition of success?

• Beliefs about what we need to do to be successful.
• Beliefs about what success looks like.
• Beliefs that help us be successful and beliefs that are harmful and counterproductive.
• Comparative assumptions about what has made others successful, and therefore might help us be successful.
• Beliefs that influenced by our role models, positive and negative.
• Beliefs we are not cognizant of.
• Beliefs we may not readily admit to or recognize until we have looked in detail at the cause of our behaviors and results.
• Beliefs that can be changed in an instant.
• Beliefs about what is expected of us.
• Beliefs that transcend behavioral tendencies and preferences.

Common needs:

• Need to be right                       
• Need for title and status
• Need to look good                  
• Need to be a part of the group
• Need to be in control               
• Need to be acknowledged
• Need to get results                   
• Need for accuracy, perfection
• Need for peace and harmony    
• Need to be smart
• Need for excitement           
• Need to be liked
• Need to be proactive           
• Need to do as your are told
• Need to be accountable       
• Need to be “in the know”
• Need to be responsive           
• Need for money
• Need to be important           
• Need to feel accomplishment
• Need to be respected            
• Need to solve problems
• Need for life balance 
• Need to change things
• Need for self-management       
• Need to be helpful
• Need to “save face”           
• Need for safety, low risk

How do you know if your definition of success is serving you?

• If you are getting the results you and your manager (and company) desire, your definition of success is serving you.
• If you are not getting the results you desire, you need to change your definition of success.

Designing a Definition of Success that will support your goals

Create for yourself, a list of goals for 2009. These goals should articulate what you want to accomplish and how you want to be known.

Create Your Definition of Success

Define the beliefs or paradigms that will best support your goals for 2009. Then write down example behaviors that support these beliefs.

• Beliefs that support my 2009 goals    
• Behaviors that will result from this Belief

Give it a shot and let me know how you do. Your definition of success is like a compass because it helps you steer toward your preferred future. It is like a filter because it helps you make choices that will be consistent with your goals.

The Way We Listen to Others Matters

I have teaching  a lot of classes this month, 25 in all! At the end of each class, and as a parting tidbit of inspiration, I share a story about the power of listening. It goes something like this.

Imagine you went to your favorite coffee shop. And imagine that you noticed someone you admire a great deal standing in line. You muster up the courage to walk up to that person and you say:

Hello _____. I am a big fan of your work. Do you have a few minutes to chat?

Imagine that he or she says "yes" and you sit down at a small cafe table. As he or she speaks, you listen with great intent because you think this person is amazing. You notice how their eyes sparkle and how their lips move and you do not get distracted. The rest of the world fades into the background.

Imagine what it must feel like to be listened to in this way - to feel the admiration and undivided attention of another person.

What if every now and then you listened to your employees in a manner that made them feel as though you thought they were amazing. Your employees are amazing, by the way - we are all amazing in some way.

People rise to the level of our expectations and if we listen to people as though they are amazing, they will do amazing things.

We have the power to make a significant difference in how people see and approach their work through how we listen to them. Give it a try. It does not take a lot of time.

And this works at home, too. When was the last time you showed your significant other - by the way to listened to him or her - that you thought he or she was amazing?

Brains Under Pressure

Check out this post on Brain Based Business called, Brains Under Pressure. Here is a snippet:

A fine colleague of mine just resigned from several boards ... and cut back on work hours. His doctor warned that stress has spiked his blood pressure to life threatening levels. Have you seen it happen?

We can do only so many things well and with full engagement. If we spread ourselves too thin, we never get into anything to the degree where we can reach a flow state.

Drop One Thing

I like this post from Zen Habits called, Simple Living Simplified: 10 Things You Can Do Today to Simplify Your Life. I really like this one:

2. Drop 1 commitment. Think about all the things in your life that you’re committed to doing, and try to find one that you dread doing. Something that takes up time but doesn’t give you much value. Perhaps you’re on a team, or coaching something, or on a board or committee, or whatever. Something that you do each day or week or month that you don’t really want to do. Now take action today to drop that commitment. Call someone, send an email, telling the appropriate person or people that you just don’t have the time. You will feel relief. I’d recommend dropping all commitments that don’t contribute to your short list (from Item #1), but for today, just drop 1 commitment.

Simplifying is critical. That said, I think the more accurate word is to streamline, or reduce the clutter or volume. Because we are human and because the most rewarding experiences likely involved other humans, life will not be  and ought not be simple - human systems are chaotic by nature and therefore complex.

That said, if our relationships are gunked up with crud and baggage, they can be more complex than optimal. So you should simplify there.

But the techniques in the Zen Habits post are more about streamlining and reducing, which is very important and beneficial. The more focused your life the better able your are able to deal with and relish in life's inherent complexities.

Try This Clump Grid Exercise to Focus Your Life/Work

Why do we keep doing things that take lots of time and energy and yield little benefit? Why do we ignore or under do those activities that can most enhance our lives.

An age old question with no real answer.....

Sometimes we need a visual to help us make better choices. Check out this simple grid I created:

It's simple to understand, harder to act on, right? I was feeling in a funk today (we had to say goodbye to our 16 year old poodle, Jet, last night). I get reflective about life when I am in a funk. Does that happen to you? It's a good time to take stock in what I am doing and make adjustments.

Click on this link to download and print off this grid in a one page exercise.

Download ClumpGridExercise.pdf

There are two important considerations for the exercise:

1. Include as many activities as possible. Take the time to be thorough.

2. Define "reward" wisely. This is the key, isn't it? We will each define rewards differently, but we need to be clear so we can put activities in the right boxes. And what you find rewarding might change over time. How you define rewards ought to align with your goals and how you define success.

I'm Gonna Wash that Gray Right Outta my Resume..

How many of you are looking for a job? What does your resume look like? What impression does it make?

I think the career books are wrong most of the time with regard to what makes a resume great.

They say: There are three formats......

I say: Don't do any of the formats, they don't stand out.

They say: don't use color.

I say: boring! Don't come across like a three-year-old (unless your are 3), but color is great.

They say: You must use our online submission form.

I say: OK, go ahead and do that, but you need to find another way. Find a human! Connect with a voice. Put paper in hand. Spend 41 cents. Personally, I hate inflexible online submission systems.

Sidebar: Hey HR people! The best candidates won't play games with your mandatory rules. what does this mean? The people who comply are not the ones you want.

They say: The order of information on your resume should be X, Y, Z.

I say: Communicate your essence. Share the reasons they ought to hire you. Do this in any way that makes sense.

Fine print: If you are out of work and need a job to pay the rent and buy Mac and Cheese, don't follow my advice. It will turn some employers off and perhaps you should not do that. If you are employed but curious, give this irreverent approach a try - you never know!

Report back.

Why Worry

Dire Straits - Why Worry

Why worry, there should be laughter after the pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now

The lyrics of this song - especially the chorus - are very wise. Here's a You Tube version of the song.

Why worry?

Dale Carnegie had a nice way of dealing with worry. Here is a snippet from his book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living:

Focus! Haiku Productivity

I love this post from Zen Habits called, Haiku Productivity: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential. The post offers several ways to focus on the most important tasks and includes ways to ensure you don't waste precious time.

One of the suggestions is to limit yourself to 10 RSS feeds. Interestingly, I just went through and unsubscribed to a bunch of feeds last night because my list had gotten too long. I don't check my aggregator when I travel and often come back to hundreds or thousands of unread posts. I did not get to 10, however, I still have over 100. I think I should shoot for 50. Emphasizing this suggestion could well bite me in the tail - I guess I will just have to see if my subscriber numbers go down!

Check out all the suggestions. In the spirit of focus, try just one!