Random acts of wow are wonderful. Do them. But that’s not where you’ll win or lose the game. Don’t think that some once-a-year special thing that you do ever takes the place of being the best at what matters most consistently.
I’ve offered observations about the year ahead each year since 2005. Lots of people do this, but unlike others, we grades ourselves on the past year. Here is what we predicted last year at this time and four key ideas we see on the horizon for 2013.
My December 31, 2012 social media post drew a lot of likes and one great question. Here is the post: We shouldn’t fear getting old. We should fear becoming disconnected, unaware, and irrelevant. The response from friends, fans, and followers was great because of the age span represented. I heard from people in their twenties and people in their sixties. Here’s the great question I received: How do you change your mindset to keep from becoming disconnected, unaware, and irrelevant?
This blog was first published in 2010. Considering we are near the end of perhaps the most divisive Presidential elections in recent U.S. history, it is an excellent time for all of us to reflect and ask ourselves - are we leaders or liars?
The American economy needs to grow again. Not the 1.5 – 2.0 percent growth we have seen over the past months. We need real growth in the 3.5 – 4.0 percent range. That is the [...]
The "Weeds" series finale on the Showtime network left a lot of people disappointed. I was one of them until it hit me: The entire ending was about Nancy Botwin’s key question. What is your key question? Embracing your question provides the measuring stick for your success. It lights the path toward the results you need to achieve in order to be fulfilled. And, it defines what it means to be significant and contribute.
Two incidents occurred in the past week that reinforces a critical factor in every leader’s effectiveness: The impact of mistrust. Both incidents prove this truth about the ability to influence others: If they don’t trust you, everything you say will be twisted against you and nothing you say will be given the benefit of the doubt.
Amazing rhetoric makes for interesting water cooler and Facebook conversation. Amazing results makes for legendary leadership. For which would you rather be known?
Most of the people I speak with today describe their life as running as fast and far as they can … and then being asked to run even faster and farther. One of the participants in a leadership boot camp I’m conducting for a client asked for help with time management. It turns out that she didn’t really need time management tips at all. She keeps a calendar with priorities, and she knows all of the time management techniques she needs to be successful. In fact, this leader is widely considered to be very effective by her colleagues. The problem that we face isn’t time management. It is focus and resource allocation to be more effective.
A friend emailed me late last week with a question: Are temporary jobs replacing permanent jobs as the standard in the workplace? The answer is it depends on how you define a temporary job. The use of temporary jobs is definitely increasing as companies work to keep their flexibility. Employers learned a lesson during the past recession: You don’t want to be caught with a huge overhead when the economy starts faltering.
Accountability and the execution that accompanies it explain why the smartest or most talented people don’t always experience the greatest levels of success. If accountability didn’t matter, the company with the best product or service would dominate the marketplace. And, every government agency would deliver amazing value. Talent, time, experience, and resources do matter. As we enter the 2012 Summer Olympics, the country of Monaco is a safe bet to continue its string of 26 Olympiads (both summer and winter) without winning a single medal. So if you are the USA Men’s Basketball Team competing against Monaco go ahead and take the day off from accountability. I am guessing that you will survive. But that’s not your reality. You don’t hire all the smart people while your competitors hire dunces. You aren’t running the most up-to-date computer systems while your competitors are using Commodore 64’s. Accountability is – more times than not – the difference between achieving your goals and getting beat in the marketplace.
Another month, and another weaker than expected jobs report. So what’s up with the economy? Welcome to the new normal: Unemployment that is higher than anything we can remember in decades. Scores jobs are available due to a lack of skilled workers. Slow growth that feels like a recession even though technically it isn’t, and most of all, uncertainty.
We live in an era of unprecedented uncertainty. At least that is what we are led to believe. Yes, the economy is sputtering at best. Jobs are at risk or non-existent. Europe could implode financially. The Middle East could implode politically. Depending on your political views, either the left or the right is about to take the country over a cliff from which there is no return. The challenges we face are certainly more expansive in their scope, but unprecedented uncertainty? Hardly. Do you believe that the level of personal anxiety is any higher today than that which existed during the Cuban Missile Crisis; World War I or II; the Civil War; the Great Depression; or life in the American colonies during the Revolutionary War?
In this era of economic uncertainty and stretched-thin corporate resources, many workers feel the need to practically chain themselves to their desks in order to maximize their productivity and thereby prove their worth. No one really likes the idea, but these days, how can you get everything done in less than sixty hours a week? In her new book, What to Do When There's Too Much to Do: Reduce Tasks, Increase Results, and Save 90 Minutes a Day, Laura Stack says the key is to work less to achieve greater success. She turns time management on its head and debunks the idea that you have to run yourself ragged to be more productive.
Our sins, as we learn from religious teaching, corrupt our character and cloud our sense of what is right and wrong. Most important, they form a habit pattern that leads to our downfall. It works that way for organizations, too. Here are the seven deadly sins for business success today: