2Weeks2aBreakthrough

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.

Colorful Boots - What's Your Personal Style (Guys Too!)??

I am heading home from a conference in San Francisco and I am wearing Turquoise Lucchese boots. Lots of people have commented on the boots, including a lady sitting next to me in the Alaska Airlines Boardroom. This attention has me thinking - how does our choice of footwear - or choice of clothing - impact our walk?

I walk differently in my exotic boots. With a bit more spring in my step. Not just because I like the boots, but because they are saturated with color.

We all have aspects of our personal style that are unique and important. For me it is color. I love rich colors. Even when I have to wear a gray business suit, I try to sneak in a splash of color. I feel good in color.

What's your personal style and do you know the circumstances under which you feel your best? The butterfly effect tells us that tiny changes can matter - tiny changes can reverberate and make others things change.

I was writing an email to a friend a few minutes ago and the topic was Feng Shui - she realized that she had an old TV in her love corner and this is bad. Feng Shui involves making several small but significant changes to optimize your context - to give the place a good vibe.

Shoes, ties, eyeglasses, scarves, watches..... we each gravitate to certain trademarks of our style. Have you discovered yours? And do you take the time and care to dress your best and with your personal style in mind? If not, it might be like having an old TV in your love corner - not good.

The psychology of breakthroughs is fickle and magical. We are such wonderfully flawed individuals and we respond to the strangest little things. Listen to your inner voice. It might be telling you,

"Lisa, those boots are you."

Optimism During Tough Times

I was talking with a friend of mine today. He did not sound like himself on the phone. He seemed run down, beat down, and sad. He is a leader in an organization that has been faced with layoffs and consolidations. And although his job is safe, he is the one having to let go talented professionals - people who he recruited and people who he cares for. And this is heart breaking for him.

This friend has always been a ray of sunshine - even in tough times. Today, he seemed unlike himself.

These are days that will test many of us - even the glass is half full types. Here are a few thoughts that might help (while not asking you to dishonor the tough times):

• It is always from darkness that opportunity comes. We are able to create from nothing and often, we need setbacks to force ourselves away from safe and usual practices.
• We have much to be thankful for. We continue to live in an overall prosperous society. This is not your grandfather's depression. We have people who love us and an ability to pursue our dreams.
• Like other tough periods - this one shall pass. And the new habits we learn today (conservation, saving more of our earnings, focusing on relationships versus stuff) will serve us in better times, too.

Optimism is so important because when we see a bright future, we create solutions and pathways. When we see doom and gloom, we lengthen  and reinforce troubled experiences.

Let's find a way to honor what's happening while staying focused on our dreams and intentions.

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?

Reflections on a Year of Breakthroughs

Earlier in the year I declared 2007 the Year of the Breakthrough. This was my inspiration for driving 9,400 miles on my motorcycle to meet and talk to people about breakthroughs and my book about generating breakthroughs came out.

I have not posted on this blog for a while, so I thought I would take the time to reflect a bit about the last eight months and write about how I would like to close out the year.

First, I would like to thank everyone I met - either in person or virtually - during this great adventure. I can think of no more satisfying thing than having someone tell me that in some small way, my work has made a difference in his or her life. I have had several people tell me this and I consider myself a very lucky person.

I have seen amazing things happen - many with lightening speed and a thrust of passion and focus. My notions about how to generate breakthroughs are not entirely new and they are not rocket science (more like quantum science) but I know - with all my heart and conviction - that the system works. I have seen it again and again.

And I can look at my successes and failures and see evidence that reinforces this approach to generating breakthroughs.

As a practitioner, I am both rewarded and frustrated by breakthrough science every day. Rewarded, because when I flap, flap, flap, in a focused manner, things happen. And frustrated because when I don't, things don't happen.

I have not posted much on this blog because I find that I am repeating myself. I don't want to create NEW messages, the old ones really work. The information found in these 300 posts and my book, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough are simple and effective. I hesitate to gunk things up. After all, most breakthroughs are elegantly simple, too.

Instead of letting this blog languish, I an going to put it on sabbatical. I won't post here unless there is something new that must be written. I invite you to keep in touch with my movements on my main blog, Management Craft.

There are still 2 1/2 months to this Year of the Breakthrough and amazing things can happen in this time. Heck, amazing things can happen by Thanksgiving. If you want to make something big happen, read through the archives of this blog or pick up a copy of the book and get into focused action.

I will continue to do live talks about how to generate breakthroughs. Just send me an email if you want me to talk to your company or group.

Make the most of the next 2 1/2 months. Of course, one thing you can count on - 2008 will be the Year of the Breakthrough, too, if you make it so.

Flap, flap, flap.

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.

Into the Wild

In my previous post, I told you about my struggle to read. On my reading list this week was the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I wanted to get the book read before all the media exposure about the upcoming movie (directed by Sean Penn) affected my reading the story fresh.

I think you should read the book before seeing the movie. And then see the movie.

It's a great story that is both provocative and evocative. Into the Wild tells the true story of Chris McCandless, a college educated young man from a well-to-do family who shed most of his possessions to choose the life of a drifter. He hitchhiked, camped, canoed, and lived like a vagabond for two years. After spending four months in the Alaskan wilderness, he died of starvation.

You might remember this story from the news in the early 90s.

I like this book because it will make us take an inventory of how we are living our lives and the degree we are actually LIVING it.

It's a short and easy read but packs a punch and could catalyze breakthroughs. The true life story is compelling.

Turning a Turd into a Candy Bar

OK, no jokes about the pool gag where you throw a candy bar in the water and then yell, "turd!" What I'm suggesting goes the other way.

I am a big fan of redefinition - I don't mean in a slimy "being sold something I don't need" kind of way. I mean redefinition that makes your life work better.

Reality is socially constructed. Change your definition - change reality.

Here's a small tangible example.

I struggle with reading. I have had adult ADD and find it hard to sit and read for more than 15 minutes and I find most books boring. I know, a book writer ought not say these things.....

I have struggled with this for years, but I need to lick this problem for two reasons:

1. There is a strong correlation between writing skill and reading. Writers need to be readers.
2. I am enrolled in an MFA program that requires me to read and annotate (report on) one book per week minimum. Yikes - that's about 1000% more than my normal reading pace.

I did a few practical things:

1. I got my eyes checked and got new glasses.
2. I got a good reading lamp and chair.

But I still struggled, why? Because reading for me has always been a turd. As long as it remains a turd, there will be no breakthroughs forthcoming. I need to turn reading into a Candy Bar. How do I do this?

1. Change my view of what reading means. This is important. Reading for 15 minutes is reading. It's like a wee spa treatment for my brain. It's like a 3pm soy latte. It's like a quick walk around the block. Reading in bits and bites is my success formula (not how I fail) and if I do this 3-4 times a day, my life will be blessed and transformed. Candy Bar.

2. Create anticipation and excitement by planning for my reading spa Candy Bar sessions. Today, for example, I got all the little things in order - made tea, selected the book, collected my highlighter, went to the little girl's room (TMI?), put on my office space heater (yes, already, Fall has arrived in Seattle), and cleaned my glasses, face, and pulled my hair back. Like a lover might prepare for a hot rendezvous, I prepped for my reading. Candy Bar.

3. Increase opportunity. I have put books everywhere (I have many to read), so it is very easy to do a bit a spontaneous reading. Candy Bar.

4. Pair reading with other pleasurable events. In my case, my cat loves it when I read because I recline just enough to make my lap a cozy place for her to lie. Having a reading lap cat makes the experience more enjoyable and I read longer because I don't want to disturb her. Candy Bar.

You might be asking, What if a turd is just a turd? That's a great question. If a turd is just a turd, then flush it, for heaven's sake. Get rid of it. But if you want to reinvent your love for some ritual or habit (exercise anyone?), then you can turn that turd into a low calorie high taste Candy Bar.

What will you transform this week?