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Make a Memory

I travel a lot. I am usually gone for at least a day or two every week. Sometimes more and sometimes less. Certainly most of my travel during the week is business travel. So many times, business travelers run with their heads down, get their task done, cram in some bad food and go to bed and then repeat the same process the next day. I am certainly guilty of this very thing. However there is simple value in getting away from this behavior and making small memories during your travel.

In the last few weeks, I have gone a little out of the way to eat delicious Buckeye Chocolates from Winan's Chocolates in Ohio, tried to find a famous banana milkshake in freezing cold Lansing, Michigan and discovered simple fun times laughing about random memories in Rural Pennsylvania. During each of these occasions I would explain our simple journey as "making a memory" to the people I was with or even if I was alone.

Making simple memories can make your biz travels less grueling and....- more memorable! Those that travel with you will enjoy your mindset and it will benefit them as well.

Be a Friend - Enhance BizLife

One of my favorite quotes given to me many years ago when a best friend passed away comes from Robert Louis Stevenson:

"A friend is a gift you give yourself."

I have always agreed with this and tried to live it. Much of what I have learned, done and appreciated in life comes from great friends. Those who do not believe in the power of a friend, often have a splinter somewhere in their soul. Too many people shuck their friends and go into a relational recession that leads to an emergency downfall with very little netting to catch them.

I often tell people that in business it is wise to "be a friend." Think about things friends do and attempt to duplicate those behaviors for your customers and associates. The inspiration from this post comes from this article posted on the BBC's website. After you read it, you will think more deeply about friendships and their influence on your life all the way to your wallet?

Be Fresh With your Easy Catch

The photo with this post is awesome (click on it to zoom it)! I was in a sbux today and while waiting for my drink, I noticed this sliver flyer. I had to take one. Not because I need math help (which I do), but because this is excellent simple marketing. The creative and humorous approach towards a seldom exciting message is great. Not many people are able to make tutoring advertisements exciting. What you often see is a flyer of white paper and boring black font with a phone number. The problem with that is that it gets lost on the pushboard that you stuck it on. This on the other hand stood out clearly above all else.

The best part of this is the actual message once the bright green and the BIG "MaTh" gets your attention. The creator of this chose to use an uplifting play on words (love, romance advice, etc) to quickly connect with their audience. This was clearly not rocket science, but very catchy and there is a biz lesson to learn from this.

This is a "Fresh" Easy Catch. If anyone responds to this, it was an easy catch for Amber. She did not have to labor extensively to get the business that will come from this. What kind of easy catch do you have for your advertising or even employee recruiting messages? Make it fresh and avoid your word play being related to the down economy. People are tired of hearing about the down economy - it is a negative correlation. Romance and Love are generally positive and they even make MATH exciting in this example.

This made me smile and teaches a simple lesson!

PS addition - I called Amber to introduce myself and tell her about this post and praise her creativity. Since notifying her, she let me know that the sliver flyer is actually a bookmark! That just makes it better. It has another use for those who keep it. Check this out, Amber did not even know it was in sbux. Effective messages spread!!

Right on!

Attempt Duplicity

As the headlines progress each new day - we will hear less and less about the incredible achievements of the USAirways flight crewand Captain "Sully." While we may hear less about it from a media standpoint, there will be many aviation experts and National Transportation Safety Board professionals pouring over the happenings of the aircraft and its gorgeous life saving landing. All signs point that flight 1549 will be an ongoing example of study and training for many years to come.

The best thing about the subsequent study and training is that it will be focused on duplicity. Everyone is analyzing and looking for all things that were done right so they can be duplicated should something like this ever happen again. There is a great leadership growth parallel here:

The point is that we need to learn from greatness and attempt to duplicate it. Flight 1549 was saved by a group of highly trained people who operated with greatness and lead over 100 people to a future they thought they would not have.

The tendency for too many leaders is to look at what went wrong and work very hard to never repeat it. While they are working to not repeat what went wrong - other things go wrong somewhere else - so they chase that situation down and the cycle repeats itself. Don't let me discount the importance of learning from our mistakes. However, the focus needs to be on finding what is happening right, study it very closely and duplicate it.

If you want to develop great managers, learn what great managers are doing and duplicate it. If you want to have a great marriage, find someone you know who has a great marriage and ask them questions so you can learn what to duplicate. If you want to lead a great football team - don't study the 2008 Detroit Lions, study the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Arizona Cardinals and see what you can duplicate. If you have pockets of high turnover in your company and pockets of low turnover in your company - go and dig up the ingredients of the low turnover pocket and blend those ingredients in your high turnover pockets.

This approach will bring you to better results and future problem reduction much faster than always trying to learn from a broken model. The dough is in the duplicity of current progress!

Be a Pam

  

This photo is a balloon that was placed in my office a few weeks ago. I came to work carrying a funk that was picked up on by Pam. For a brief moment I was out of my office and when I came back this was tied to a chair in my office. It lifted my spirit and my face looked much like the balloon.

A gesture like this for someone will cause them to stop the funk and think about things in a more smiling light. They will become more effective with their immediate tasks and have a better perspective. This prevented those around me from catching a funk that they had nothing to do with.

Pam also orchestrates monthly birthday celebration forour corporate office staff. She not only orchestrates the celebration, but she bakes the cakes, etc.

We all need to be a Pam for the people we work alongside everyday. What can you do today to be a Pam for someone? Find out someone's birthday and sing to them. If you have a bad voice, it will probably be that much better due to the comedic impact of it.

Connection to a Purpose

As I see video of the millions packed into the National Mall for today's inauguration there is one thing I notice as a detail of the crowd. It is the amount of younger citizens. Across the crowd are next generation Americans and they are from all races, gender and I am sure various faith's as well. Many of these citizens will not be able to audibly hear a single word from today's events. To hear a speech is not what they are there for. They will be able to read it in near real time from their cell phones if they wish.

They are in place and have been in place since 4 or 5am this morning - some of them walking three hours just to get there. They are therebecause they want to be part of something gigantic. Of course I am sure most of them voted for Obama, but it is not as much about the candidate today as it is about being connected to a major purpose and a major event. This purpose connection mindset is part of the next generation's wiring and today is a picture perfect example. This historical day is only going to inspire that mindset in them even more.

This connectivityy to a purpose desire is very important for leaders to be aware of and make a part of their leadership repertoire. If you are leading the dynamics of next generation talent, be sure you are connecting all efforts to a purpose larger than the bottom line. If you are part of the next generation - be sure and seek out or even create companies that have a purpose that people can connect to.

Too many organizations spend too much time on the old PDL - Policies, Disciplines and Legalities vs the new PDL - Purpose Driven Life of the organization and its people. We will see a continued shift towards the new PDL as time progresses and next gen leaders begin to assume roles of management and executive positions.

Senior leaders in organizations should work hard to connect purpose to people's jobs while teaching the many hard skills required to lead and run organizations. If you are a Sr. leader who works with a younger next generation - find out what your next gen leaders are passionate about. You might not be able to link their passions directly to your brand, but your interest in their interests will raise your leadership ability.

Common differences in color, creed, and belief are less and less an issue in the mainstream. A common belief in something large is not prejudice to its possessor - it is part of their wiring. We must keep asking and challenging ourselves how we can reach people that no one else is reaching and serving people that no one else is serving.

This is necessary thinking for businesses, churches or any organization that aspires to be successful for the future personalities.

Humor that speaks laughter and leadership

Obviously by the time frame since the last post, I took a break from blogging. Thanks to those of you who continue to visit everyday. I have missed interacting with you all and have been eager to return with a post or two each week. This recent cartoon was the trigger to come back to you all. I have never been an avid reader of the comic section of newspapers and periodicals, however,I noticed this one last week and it was excellent. I tired to snap a picture of it from my phone. Click on the clipping it to see it clearly. If it is not clear, here is what it portrays:

You have a suit from the auto industry coming to visit Santa Claus. He tells Santa, "I tell'ya what I want. Whatever it is that the Japanese Automakers have." To which Santa replies (this is my favorite part...."No unions, vision,patience, green innovation, smart and nimble leadership and a strong culture of honor and shame."

The suit from the auto industry offers a final thought and request by saying "I'll take cash."

Perhaps we can all learn from Santa's leadership mindset because in this case and all others, it is accurate. The leadership lesson in this little fable is the reality that too many people do not want to do endure the daily disciplines of leadership.

My thought to you however is not in relation to Santa's advice, it is in relation to our sense of humor. I am learning that a sense of humor in leadership is a necessary quality to be had. I am realizing this more and more during my own absence of it. I have fortunately caught myself getting too serious for long periods of time. A mood of staunch seriousness cramps my ability to see the best and lead others to it. Not having a sense of humor and neglecting to laugh out loud at myself ultimately hurts the organization and worse than all - brings a poor mood into my home.

I am finding that the simple act of cracking a joke or finding the funny in a situation has helped me and those around me.

This is not a call to be a joker when it is time to be very serious, but if you look for opportunities to calm yourself or a situation with humor - you will lead yourself and your teams better. You will be more approachable and authentic when you can have a laugh.

The magical leaders are the ones who learn the formula of the perfect balance in this. I am trying....

Stop Reading That Many

I once had someone tell me that they read about 30 blogs/day. The first thought that went through my mind was - "you must be unemployed." I am sure they wanted me to be excited for them, but better yet I was worried for them.

Why should a leader not read 30 blogs a day? Not just that it takes too much time, but that is too many opinions that will lead to conflicting decision making when it is time for you to pull the trigger on an important decision. Your mind will be doing a crazy dance deciding which data to give you based on what you have filled it with.

Be selective in what you read.

What are your strengths? Find a thought leader who is an expert and good communicator in areas of your strength and subscribe to their blog feed.

What business challenges are you facing? Find a thought leader or a blogging periodical where you can get small nuggets of advice and mine them for decision gold.

What are you interested in that just entertains you? There is a blogger out there for it, just search on google for your subject.

This method will leave you with about 3-4 blogs to follow. That is plenty. Get nuggets and then read your own "more simplified" mind for the better growth an more effective use of the advice you have received.

My favorite blogs:

Tim Sanders - Biz Life

Seth Godin  - Marketing Brilliance

Nadira Hira - Next Generation Biz Behavior

Nick Morgan - Public Speaking

If you know of any really good ones, I am interested in seeing what you are reading. 

Pour Into The Hungry

One of the things that always sticks with me after serving down in Colombia is the power of pouring into the hungry. Who are the hungry?

They are people wanting to grow so they can improve the future of their lives and the lives of those around them. Whether it be the leader of a 2 person team or the point person on a national project - those that want to grow are fascinating to help. Not just because they are attentive - not so much at all because they are attentive. It's because they are "Retentive" and Ready.

The Retentive and Ready are the ones who react to what they receive and begin to implement. Certainly void of perfection, but validated by the need for them to lead. When you have these type of people, you have the human resources to mobilize that team and even as we are seeing; an entire nation.

While this excites me and blesses the concept of development, it also disturbs me, but not until I get back to our current environments of talent development. I can promise you that there are millions of people hungry to learn regardless of their class, color, upbringing etc. If you traveled to Colombia with me there would be a part of you to look at the audience and think "this does not appear to be a group full of eager leaders." That thought will remain just until the engagement begins and you notice the fervor of focus and interest in becoming better. You might certainly walk in to this group and say "these people look hungry for something." That is a sure thing that will stay with you. They are hungry for that better future that leaders are required to provide.

What happens to us today is we often get too focused on a narrow issue that we lose sight of the big picture of the people and when we do come up for air we decide to develop the people that "look" ready or are in a position that somehow makes them "ready."

There is a liability to this look and develop approach. We miss the jewels that are hungry and ready to learn. Because of this mine and your biz success is starving. 

When you are looking to develop people, toss your nets out to a broader crowd. Be specific about reaching out to a group of staff that you would not have before. If you are uncomfortable approaching them, chances are they are the ones you need to approach.

How do we get them to be interested? You don't - they already are. You just have to ask them. Do some initial development to a voluntary audience. When they start to participate and absorb what you have to say, watch what they do with it. If they are hungry - they will honor what you are feeding them and your teams and biz's will get healthier as a result of this nourishment. When these same people show consistent interest - they are glowing in the dark.They might as well be jumping up and down with a sign above there heads that says "I am part of your better future."

Your investments during these times needs to be heavy with your time and not so much your treasure. Spend time pouring into the hungry now and watch your biz health improve when the wheel comes back around. You will need people to roll it fast. They are just under your nose waiting for some leadership lunch.

Commitment

 

Sara Grace and I are in Barranquilla Colombia for a few days. We have the opportunity to team up with Equip and Lidere to teach leadership down here. Wehave been coming here for the last 3 years and speaking to a group of super people. The gentlemen you see in this picture is Donaldo Ballestas. Donaldo is a leader in this region of Colombia who is mainly responsible for the large leadership event to begin on Friday.

Donaldo has a commitment to developing people that is simply incredible. In speaking with him upon our arrival last night, we were learning of the depth he goes to in order to mobilize people to come and grow through these events. Donaldo knows that not everyone is going to rally to these events unless he personally goes to remind them. Bear in mind, that many of these people we are developing may not have email or may live in areas where cell phones do not work.

Donaldo has been personally knocking on doors to remind people of the event this weekend. He has traveled far and wide to bring the news.What really blew my mind and revealed such courageous commitment to me was the following:

Not only does Donaldo play the lead role in organizing these bi-annual events, he is mega committed to training leaders himself. We learned last night that Donaldo has a group of leaders he is commited to developing that requires him to travel 24 hours one way by bus just to get to them. I can promise you that this is not an easy bus ride either friends. Donaldo has to be one of the most committed leaders I may ever meet.

Ken Blanchard writes: "When you're interested in something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results." KB is clearly speaking of a man like this.

Not only were we inspired and challenged by this level of commitment, we now have a great story from a great man. From this point forward - I am going to call superior commitment the "Donaldo Affect."

Do you have the "Donaldo Affect" that allows you to overcome many life and leadership obstacles? Do you approach each day knowing that your commitment is going to be tested?

Do you have compliant people on your team or committed people? A compliant person when asked to do something outside their normal job role will tell you, "that's not my job." A committed person will never tell you this.