Calendars and Checkbooks
Filed under: Core Values, Financial Stewardship, Life Balance, Personal Development
We all want to accomplish the things that are really important in life and learn the discipline to walk away from everything else. Most of us have not taken the time to write down specific goals in a life plan that involves everything personal, family, faith, friends and our professional lives.
So how do we know if we are just filling our schedules with things to do without any serious evaluation or if those are the things that should even be done at all? We don’t want to get to the end of our lives and look back realizing that a lot of our time was totally wasted on things that don’t really matter.
A great place to start is to evaluate how we are spending our time and our money. Calendars can tell us a lot about our core values and priorities because they reflect the choices we are making. No doubt some of our time is not our own to schedule but how we are spending a large percentage of it reflects what is really a priority and what is not.
Are you making time for the people and relationships that you care about the most or are they getting the leftovers at best? If you really want to know take the time to track how you are spending your time for at least a month. You will be amazed how much of it is scheduled based on what appears to be urgent at the time but in the end is not really important at all.
The next big indicator of what is a priority in our lives is to look at how we are spending our finances. If we are living beyond our means and accumulating unnecessary debt then we have a major character problem that must be addressed.
More stress is brought into marriage by this one area than almost anything else. The only solution is again to write down a budget that includes all of your expenses and then have the discipline to post all your transactions and make necessary adjustments to live within your income.
You may think this sounds like way too much work to me and I am already busy enough. Trust me you are already using calendars and checkbooks anyway but you may not be gaining any of the benefits of leading your life instead of just letting it happen.
Adding Too Much Value
Every day we have conversations with people who are trying to tell us something we already know. Most of the time we interrupt them in mid sentence and complete their thought so we can move on to something else that we think is more important.
There are sometimes when this is very appropriate especially where timing is extremely important and we must make decisions quickly. However the vast majority of times our stopping them is totally inappropriate for a variety of reasons.
First of all we really do not know for sure all that they were going to say and many times they do know something we need to hear but we are too impatient to wait and listen. We have this need to impress people with our knowledge and experience to the point we come across as rude and insensitive.
In a business environment we feel justified in cutting to the bottom line for productivity sake but we fail as leaders to see the value in allowing other people to participate in the process. If you only see your team as a means to your predetermined end then in reality they are only attending this meeting for their information and not for their involvement.
The willingness to listen to someone regardless of the value of the information communicated is an investment in them as a person. The agenda is no longer what can they do for me but how can I help them.
There is a time to add value and genuinely help someone by what you know but only after they have had their opportunity to shape the conversation first. Nobody likes someone who always thinks they know it all. Let’s be sure we are not that someone.
Teamwork Chemistry
I have probably learned more from Pat MacMillan on this subject than from any other writer. His book The Performance Factor is still a must read if you want to fully understand all the dynamics involved in leading a successful team.
When selecting team members you must have the right combination of competency and character. You really need people who are experts in their area of responsibility that can bring great factual accurate information into the discussion. However, the ultimate success of the team in my opinion will be even more driven by how people interact with each other showing mutual respect and humility.
I want everyone engaged and passionate about their contribution to the discussion but I do not want anyone attacking another person rather than debating their ideas. I have found the following list to be helpful for setting the right tone:
1. Treat each other with dignity and respect
2. Listen for understanding
3. Don’t take things personally; don’t mean things personally
4. Ask, but do not assume motives
5. Avoid degrading language; do not attack each other credibility
6. Everyone has input, regardless of position
7. We will not take ourselves too seriously
There is a big difference in being professional vs. being negatively personal toward another person. We must separate their ideas and comments from who they are and even though we may disagree we always value the individual.
Follow Up Or Fail
Filed under: Leadership Callling, Personal Development, Time Management
I cannot tell you how many people I have worked with over the years that are great at getting something started but totally ineffective in finishing the task with excellence. They get very excited in the creative planning stages of something but when it gets down to execution they lose interest and allow performance to deteriorate.
Keith Ferrazzi in his great book Never Eat Alone says that good follow up alone elevates you above 95% of your peers in every area of your life. In his opinion it is the absolute key to success in any field.
In the area of networking he makes sure that he makes contact with any new person he meets within twelve to twenty-four hours after they have initially met. He says why go to all the trouble of meeting new people if you’re not going to work on making them a part of your life?
This same discipline applies to phone conversations and meetings where commitments have been make for some future action. It is extremely important to get all assignments down in writing and distribution made for all involved giving what is expected, who is responsible and when the project should be completed.
Many times great decisions have been made only to see the idea or project fail not because of poor initial planning but simply not paying attention to all the details involved in implementation. Creativity alone can produce a lot of excitement but follow up alone is what produces sustainable excellence.
Priority Of Personal Development
Filed under: Core Values, Leadership Callling, Personal Development, Servant Leader
I was attending a conference many years ago and heard for the first time this life changing quote, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” I made a commitment on that day to apply this principle in my life.
The people you meet part of this development applies to all of life. There is great wisdom in finding people who know more than you do about your area of expertise or interest and asking them for a meeting so that you can learn all that you can from someone who has already been where you want to go. Every year you should have a list of at least ten new individuals that are successful and willing to invest in your life.
Please do not limit this to your professional life because you can find people everywhere who are great spouses or parents or involved in church and community work. Some of the greatest connections I have ever made were in the normal flow of life because I was always looking for someone who could teach me something.
In the area of reading I have found that for every ten books that I read on a particular subject I will find at least one that will permanently change my life for good. These become the books that you read at least once a year just to remind yourself of all the truths that you need to make sure you are applying in your life.
One of the disciplines I have developed over the years is that I will write the power statements or great quotes on the inside flyleaf of every good book so that I can always go back for a quick review. If you will set a goal of at least one new book a month to start you will be amazed by how much your life will change because as you read your capacity to understand and develop new skills will be exponentially multiplied.
I am sure if this quote were made today it would include some reference to the incredible amount of information on the web. Today you can read blogs and watch videos by some of the greatest communicators on life’s most challenging subjects whenever you want and usually without any cost but your time.
All learning that enhances personal development is an investment in your future that will give you an incredible return on your investment.
First and Lasting Impressions
Filed under: Customer Service, Leadership Callling, Personnel Development
I have had two very bad experiences with customer service this week. Not only was I the recipient of this bad “service” I also saw several other people having the exact same horrible experience.
In both situations the people assigned to dealing with the problem made promises they did not keep. For example setting pickup times and assuring you that if they did not call it would be ready, status updates that did not happen and the approach let’s just try this and I am sure it will work when they really did not have a clue about what to do.
Here is the interesting part at least for my situation. With both companies only because of my pushing I was eventually given to a supervisor to help me resolve hour’s worth of wasted time and finally fix the problems.
When I communicated with these new people they had a much better attitude and brought product knowledge that the front line people did not know. They did simple things like returning my calls on time and then committed to do whatever it took to resolve my issues.
Here is my question? Why not set the bar for all of the front line people in your organization at the same level where the supervisors were operating either in technical training, people skills or the authority to make it happen.
You will never convince me that it is cost effective for any company to pay less than qualified people to take hours of their time and your customers offending people that will probably never come back unless they get the slim chance to talk with their boss.
The front lines of your organization where interaction takes place with the people who are experiencing what you have to offer will always be the place where you want to make the best impression. If you’re weakest and newest team members are given these roles thinking they will grow into the job eventually the problem will solve itself because you will not have any more customers to deal with.
The Danger Of Debt
There is wide agreement among most evangelicals that acquiring debt as a principle is not sinful but the accumulation of it can be devastating. The borrower is indeed servant to the lender and when we use debt instead of living within our means then we have crossed a line that can lead to broken homes and failed businesses.
As someone who has counseled many couples with marriage problems a clear majority of the time financial problems are near top of the list. When couples do not take the time to develop budgets that reflect their mutual priorities in life then they eventually grow emotionally distant because they are trying to find happiness in things rather than relationships.
In a very real sense when we consistently have a lifestyle that is supported by debt rather than income we are living a lie. Whether it’s the clothes we wear, the car we drive or the home we live in, the bottom line is we are trying to meet a real need in the wrong way.
The only way we can maintain our integrity as a believer is to make sure when we have to acquire debt that we clearly have the means to pay it back within a reasonable time period. When we fail to pay our bills on time and in full we damage our testimony as a Christian and lost people see absolutely no difference in our values than the rest of the world.
God tells us clearly in His word that if we cannot be trusted with material things then we surely cannot be trusted with the deeper and more important spiritual truths in life. He promised to meet our basic needs but we must all come to the place of answering the question: How much is enough?
The ability to gain wealth according to scripture comes from God. He expects us to use that ability wisely and yes meet our needs but more than that have plenty left over to share with those who do not have enough food or water to make it another day.
How The Mighty Fall
Jim Collins follows up his all time best selling leadership book Good to Great with this incredible new work on why some of these once great companies now have fallen as well. He writes, “Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you.”
Based on his thorough teams research there are five major stages that lead to failure:
1. Hubris Born of Success: This stage kicks in when people become arrogant, regarding success virtually as an entitlement, and they lose sight of the true underlying factors that created success in the first place.
2. Undisciplined Pursuit of More: Companies in this stage stray from the disciplined creativity that led them to greatness in the first place, making undisciplined leaps into areas where they cannot be great or growing faster than they can achieve with excellence, or both.
3. Denial of Risk and Peril: At this stage leaders discount negative data, amplify positive data and start to blame external factors for setbacks rather than accept responsibility.
4. Grasping for Salvation: The sharp decline now becomes visible to all and the common saviors include a charismatic visionary leader, a bold but untested strategy, a radical transformation, a dramatic cultural revolution, a hoped-for blockbuster product or maybe game changing acquisition.
5. Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death: At this stage accumulated setbacks and expensive false starts erode financial strength and individual spirit to such an extent that leaders abandon all hope of building a great future.
All companies go through ups and downs but if you are willing to admit your mistakes and make the necessary changes early then this death spiral cannot only be overcome it can be avoided entirely.
Role Of Short Term Wins
Filed under: Leadership Callling, Leading Change, Vision Casting
One of the major mistakes we make in major change initiatives is that we oversell the long term goal at the expense of dealing with the short term realities. People do want to know where they are going but they want to know even more what does all this mean for me right now?
Once the new change plan has been implemented it is critical for everyone involved to experience the benefits of short term wins so they can stay motivated for the future and the change that is yet to come. John Kotter list several roles that short term wins play:
1. Provide evidence that sacrifices are worth it: Wins greatly help justify the short term cost involved.
2. Reward change agents: After a lot of hard work, positive feedback builds morale and motivation.
3. Help fine-tune vision and strategies: Short term wins give the guiding coalition concrete data on the viability of their ideas.
4. Undermine cynics and self-serving resisters: Clear improvements in performance make it difficult for people to block needed change.
5. Keep bosses on board: Provides those higher in the hierarchy with evidence that the transformation is on track.
6. Build momentum: Turns neutrals into supporters, reluctant supporters into active helpers.
Therefore it becomes critical in any change planning to build into the strategy several things that can be done within the first six months that may be small in scale but clear wins that everyone can celebrate.
The Right Job
All of us know the price we pay when we find ourselves working with the wrong people in the wrong place. In all the research Jim Collins has done he has come to the conviction that what we do in our work in not as important as who we do it with.
This does not mean that what we do is not extremely important because it needs to be a good fit with our skills and our passion. I found the following list put together by Jack Welch in Winning to be a great framework to help answer the question about the right fit:
1. People—You like the people a lot and you can relate to them, and you genuinely enjoy their company. In fact, they even think and act like you do.
2. Opportunity—The job gives you the opportunity to grow as a person and a professional, and you get the feeling you will learn things there that you did not know you needed to learn.
3. Options—The job gives you a credential you can take with you, and is in a business and industry with a future.
4. Ownership—You are taking the job for yourself, or you know whom you are taking it for, and feel at peace with the bargain.
5. Work Content—The “stuff” of the job turns your crank—you love the work, it feels fun and meaningful to you, and even touches something primal in your soul.
Every job has its own set of fundamentals planning, projects, meetings, goals and execution. However, there is a big difference between just making a profit and really making a difference. The Why and the Who are more important than the What and the How. Please do not forget its ultimately more about the journey than it is about the destination.