Honor the Time

I was honored to just complete a 4 day Teacher/Facilitator Certification. 10 highly motivated professionals coming in from around the country to earn their opportunity to teach others. I am reminded of how important education is each time there is an opportunity. Without the transfer of knowledge from one person to the next it is lost forever. Highly motivated, well educated, passionate professionals will not know the foundation of learning without someone else sharing the information.

Lessons in that:
- We need each other
- We are learning machines with an appetite to "know"
- The transfer of knowledge can never be compromised

Thank you to all spent the time and earned the learning. We are all better for it.

What are you looking for?

"There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after." - JRR Tolkien

I recently received an e-mail from a colleague who had just taken a transfer to a different part of the company. She did this to find a healthy work balance while still managing a significant part of the business and making an impact. This happens all the time yet she had recently e-mailed me and suggested that she just figured that the company HQ had written her off and that connections she had once made were no longer available to her.

This is the same professional that a couple years earlier I had shared a truth. Companies, although many have great missions and do a great good have no soul. A company will not check you at your limit, will not send you home early, will not celebrate an anniversary or birthday. A company, better yet a corporation is meant to do one thing. To sustain and grow and live past the lives fueling it now adding shareholder value and doing what it does forever.

She is a dedicated, talented and driven professional. She had been carrying a torch for a brand in the company for years waiting and working for the benefit of that brand yet becoming frustrated because it was an on gain off again brand for the business. Finally, after a masters degree, two children and a killer commute she decided to look for something different. She decided to look for balance and professional growth.

Here is the good news, she won. Not waiting for the company to some how grow a soul she went looking for something and found something new that she was never quite going after. Balance, professional impact and vital connections in the business that did not get cut off but actually grew stronger because of her journey.

Keith Ferrazzi

"Who's Got Your Back" is the book the Keith is out speaking about right now. I hosted him at Life Time Fitness and the company had a great experience. Keith spoke in the LTF Artistry Auditorium to a focused and inspired group.

His book is summed up this way:

"Disregard the myth of the lone professional "superman" and the rest of our culture's go-it alone mentality. The real path to success in your career and in your personal life is through creating an inner circle of "lifeline relationships" - deep, close relationships with a few key trusted individuals who will offer the encouragement, feedback, and generous mutual support that every one of us needs to reach our full potential. Whether your dream is to lead a company, be a top producer in your field, overcome the self-destructive habits that hold you back, lose weight or make a difference in the larger world, Who's Got Your Back will give you the roadmap you've been looking for to achieve the success you deserve. "

Keith inspired the room to pursue open, vulnerable relationships to allow a break down of silos and starting to build dynamic relationships the create accountability and a better work environment.

His book is a great read. I would encourage you to pick one up and read!

http://http://www.keithferrazzi.com/WGYB/mybook.html

Suburbia

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Suburbia

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Silos, Politics and Turf Wars

Pat Lencioni wrote a book by this title. Reading about the concept and living in an all out turf war is like watching a WW II movie and actually storming the beach! The movie can reflect the emotion and danger of war but when you are really there the full impact, aftermath and repercussions become, shall we say acute.

Real war causes real death, real turf war causes real death too.

Death comes:
- To respect of one division to another
- Productivity
- Agreeing and working toward the common good
- Professional relationships
- The true idea of why we work in the first place

There is also collateral damage. Those not even involved can lose days and have increased frustration because of the bickering, back channel communication, lack of alignment and down right undermining. These symptoms unchecked bring a wider range of impact to the company, people lose respect for those in the battle and secondary casualties start to way heavy on the company itself moving forward. Turf wars are selfish.

I believe that turf wars can start:
- From the ground up when two people or divisions naturally compete and then the competition turns personal and vindictive because the common company goal and mission is forgotten or put in second place behind ego and expectation

- Nurtured from the top down when executives fuel the fire because that is how they motivate someone to work hard or find it exciting/personally advantageous to fan the flames to press their agenda or goal

Either way a turf war unchecked or managed too will lead to hurt feelings, loss of motivation, loss of relationship and eventually may hurt the company in a significant way when the going gets tough and true alignment is needed.

Some cultures in companies are built around fueling the flames. Some companies refuse to allow turf wars to grow and manage and lead to collaboration and cross functional effectiveness.

What type are you?

Keys to Success

I must see 3 minute presentation on success!

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A Qoute for Greatness

"Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends." - WALT DISNEY

I love how this one quote from Walt Disney sums up what I believe to be his belief on customer service. If you make "seeing it again and bringing their friends" happen consistently by hiring right, training right and giving this talented people the right tools then game over, you win.

I know I want to see what Walt Does and I want to often bring my friends. He may be gone yet his company still strives to deliver on this belief.

July 4th!

"The day will be the most memorable in America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival...it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade...bonfires and fireworks from one end of this continent to the other, from this day forward, forevermore." -John Adams

I agree John Adams! Thanks for the great idea. Happy Birthday to the USA

Trajectory Depends On Where You Want To Go

Seth Godin just posted this diagram on his blog. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/07/the-riskreward-confusion.html

Similar is the idea that I have written about around life trajectory. There are times in your life:
- Choosing to go to college
- Choosing a life partner
- Making money doing some work
- Turing 40

All of these passages and many more are times when we evaluate what we want in life and attempt to set the trajectory that will give us purpose, have something to look forward too and surround us with good relationships and work.

What if you find at any of these passages that you are not finding the fulfillment you projected or you realize that you have simply set a poor trajectory because you have new insight on who you are?

Fear (see blog from 7/1/09) can set in and then there is a risk we ignore the voice telling us our trajectory is off and we keep plowing forward without addressing a career choice, a unhealthy relationship or a change in our age.

Another option would be to step through your fear and break down your life trajectory to the point that will allow you to re-build inside your purpose. I am not suggesting you abandon all that you have built or reject all relationships you have built along the way. I am suggesting that you get serious about following your path of purpose and stop worrying about $$ in a job you do not like or regretting an eduction you do not have. Move and build your trajectory back to where you want to be! The only thing you might regret is the time your waste in waiting to move after you see your trajectory needs to be pointing a different way.

In 2000 I was an executive at a fast growth company pulling into a white two story colonial home with a pool, acre of property, 2 great kids and beautiful wife and wondered if this was all there is? All of these things were fine yet I felt there was more. Holding onto my wonderful family, together we jumped, left the home, pool, job and set off on an adventure that led us to start a company, my wife to get her MA in counseling and our kids to understand that stepping through fear and taking risk is a part of life and that it is important to set the right trajectory even if that means you need to step back to move forward.

Seth is right, risk vs reward is the axis, Trajectory is the plan and fear can stop you if you let it. Step on through to the other side.

Fear is Not Real

The only feeling that is an illusion is fear. Fear is a sensation in your body and mind that is felt based on the projection of what could be not what is.

- We bar windows because we fear we will be robbed
- We feel fear when we see we could be hit by a car, projecting how much is could hurt
- We buy insurance to mitigate a fear of what could be lost

At the point any of these fears become a reality fear leaves us and the "Fight or Flight" feelings of anger, confusion, pain, rage, excitement and many others become the real feeling that take fear's place.

If you allow fear to carry into your reality and you do not replace it with a "Fight or Flight Feeling" you become consumed, immobilized and unable to move into a safe position. Fear will not make you move it will only make you aware that you are in danger. Fear is a thin veil that must be passed through or it will bring to pass the very thing you feared and consume you.

Training and Leadership

As the head of training I can sometimes be biased that training is the most important part of work life. This is obviously not true. Being productive in your job so that your company can serve the customer and in turn make the profit it needs to sustain is the most important thing. Training is on means to those ends and in turn is very important.

My training division just rolled out a new front line training tool called Huddle Cards. These cards are easy to use tools so that our front line managers can train their staff no matter what level of trainer or communicator they are. The program was rolled out 10 days ago and it has been interesting to see how each of the retail outlets have reacted.

The reaction is all leadership based. Many of the business units have contacted me and asked questions, reviewed their roll out plan, thanked me for the training and are managing the training schedule and expectations for their 230 staff at a high level because they believe that the training is important.

Leadership who believes that training creates more valuable employees and in turn creates more value for the company. Everyone talks about this and says they believe it. Leaders act on the belief in word and in deed.

Hiring Talent

Everyone who hires people knows it is important to make a good hire but I often find those same people do not know how important hiring a good person is.

Hiring a talented person who is a great job/team fit takes energy. Here are some steps to support you when you make that next great hire:

1. Interrupt your normal work mode. To think that hiring a team mate does not take time and a new focus is crazy. Professional sports teams have a draft season where everything else stops so they can concentrate on next years talent. They take the time to focus on their choices and make the call.

2. Use your recruiter as a partner. Rely on your recruiter internal or external to understand the job scope and find you a good base line of people to hire from. Set the expectation with them that everyone you see you should be able to do the job tasks and you want to be able to make the final decision on team fit. If you don;t have a recruiter, be your own talent scout and do the work of a recruiter.

3. Commit to the time. You need to understand that it take time to hire a great new employee. I once went through 75 applicants only to come back to the first resume I looked at. At that point though I was confident that she was the right hire.

4. Make the hire and then on board your new person with celebration and training. Don't put your new person through the gauntlet. Don't make them "pay their dues". Give them the objectives, expectations and tools needed to jump in right away and add value. You'll be happy you did.

Value the new hire enough to take the time to make the process come together.

You are the New Day

What will you do with you today? Do not live in the past or the future. Both of those destinations do not exist. Yesterday can not be re-done, but learned from. Tomorrow is fiction until the sun rises on that day in the future.

Today is the day that is a firm reality.

In a song called "The New Day" the line goes like this.

"You are the new day. I will love you more then me and more then yesterday. If you can but prove to me, you are the new day. Send the sun in time for morn, let the birds all hail the dawning. Love of life will hear me say, you are the new day."

Take it on and live your NEW DAY!

Managing the Third Shell

As a manager you must have the tools in your arsenal to manage a member of your team out of the Lying Shell. The Lying Shell is destructive for the individual whether they know it or not and destructive to the performance and morale of your team. There is an art and science to the process and often this art and science takes place like a chess game with the consummate 3rd Shell expert.

Here are the steps:
1. Art: Use "I Feel" statements. This allows you to share what you are seeing initially without having to do a ton of research around the lack of performance. It also allows you to state some fairly direct blows on a Lying Shell person without it being an attach. "I Feel" is exactly that. You are not saying it is fact, you are not accusing your employee, you are simply stating what you feel is happening. You want to do this with empathy and tact.

2. Science: You can set SMART objectives and get an agreement from the Third Shell employee so you can measure against a new performance standard to create accountability in the relationship. So often as managers we allow 3rd Shell behavior in people because we get lax in our management to objectives. People that want to move into Shell 2 the Learning Shell will use the objectives to launch their work into a whole new level. Con-Artists (see Shell Game Blog 2) will use objectives as point of contention and confusion and make a manager feel crazy in the process.

All in when you use Art and Science around a Third Shell employee and make your expectations known, that employee will quickly get the picture that they can no longer play the Shell Game in your group and they will opt out and leave town or you will build the case you need, fire the under performer and learn how to better hire Learners and Leaders from now on.

The Third Shell - Who's Wearing the Mask (Part 2)

The Third Shell, the lying shell is the most toxic type of professional. Although a person working on a team that is not carrying their load and wanting compensation for it is destructive the person in that role may not always be toxic themselves.

There are three basic types that live under the lying shell:

1. Self - You can be under the lying shell in specific areas of your work or at different times in your career. If you are a self aware professional with a good support structure the "Self" will typically become aware of the gap or issue and set a plan to step into the Learning Shell. The "Self" will not tolerate being under the lying shell for very long.

2. Ignorant - You have heard the saying "You don't know what you don't know." This is the worst kind of not knowing. When this person is under shell three they typically don't even realize that they are not doing their job. This is usually a young professional who is excited to be in the role or quite possibly may have been promoted to far too fast and is now in a position to complex for their experience. They are not intentionally sitting under the Lying Shell. The best move that can be made here is to make them aware. As soon as you do they become self-aware and their energy moves toward moving away from shell three as quickly as possible. They do not want to be their, they ask for help and step into the learning shell.

3. Con-man - This is the professional third shell resident. They like getting paid for not doing their work and have no intention of carrying the load of their job, learning a new task or working hard. They have one goal, to stay under the lying shell and be paid for work not performed. This person is very good at what is called "crazy making" putting blame on others, the manager, the environment the job tasks anything that is needed to put the focus on something else so they can continue to under perform. This is a managers worst employee and if they are not careful this worker will destroy a team. The tactics to call this person out of their shell is simple Art and Science. Holding them accountable, using "feeling" statements not listening to excuses and monitoring results directly will soon have this person looking for another place to go. They will not like scrutiny, specific goals and leadership.

Review you team and put your group under the shells and see where you end up. Start to make yourself and others aware and based on how they react you will know if you have Lying Shell people willing to move to the Learning Shell and eventually into the Leading Shell where they are doing their work to the best of their ability and supporting your team. That is a great feeling when that happens.

The Three Shells

Last night I had a great privilege of supporting the Grand Open of a brand new Life Time Fitness in Memphis, TN. There was an after party on the pool deck and I was able to sit and have a great conversation with some amazing professionals that were a part of the Grand Open too.

In the conversation one of the managers asked me to talk about my "Three Shells" management philosophy. For the next 40 minutes we talked and laughed about how aligned our experiences are as managers no matter the level in the company.

What is the Three Shells? The Three Shells is a philosophy of management that empowers leaders to take control of the development of great workers while offering a system to "call out" those workers who do not have a desire to learn or lead in their positions.

In the Three Shells there are only 3 positions to be in as a professional. Over the next few blogs I will cover this philosophy in more detail. Here are the Three Shells:

Shell 1 - Leading Shell: I’m doing my job to the best of my ability. I am leading and growing.

Shell 2 - Learning Shell: I have questions in my work, I am asking for help and am learning my job.

Shell 3 - Lying Shell: I am not doing my job. I am covering it up and acting like I know what I am doing. I am lying.

When you see these positions as a manager and leader you then begin to understand your team in a whole new way and can then support all people to move to the Leading Shell so you and your team can better serve your customer and WIN!

The City

This is a stirring look at the landscape of the city and humankind. Enjoy

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At Least Try

Remember when all else fails, TRY. You can not go through life projecting what might happen in a situation, scaring, intimidating, laughing yourself right out of living. Trying rarely costs a great deal. A little research, maybe a small purchase of some equipment and time.

Trying can become scary or intimidating because it often happens around parts of your life you either have little or no skill, you are frustrated and dissatisfied with or you do not believe you are good enough to compete.

Do this:

1. Write a list of 3-4 things that you are dissatisfied with or want to know more about. Name it "Dissatisfied"

2. Write down in short bullet points why you feel the way you do about those items

3. Make another column next to that list and name it "What I can Do"

4. Now list what time, treasure or talent you currently posses that could bring immediate solutions to this list. Challenge yourself to really think hard and truly list all that you can do right now! This is your TRY area. You can TRY these things immediately to bring the dissatisfied column forward into a satisfied level.

5. List those actions that are beyond you. What help, money, or time do you need that you might have to ask for, earn or build toward

6. Give yourself a deadline. A SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely) Goal to move on the list of Dissatisfied and never tried items.

Determine to make a change, the small investment, time or talent and get it done. Once you take the first step out the door the adventure of "TRY" will meet you and teach you that trying only introduces you to a life worth living that you can meet head on.


"The Road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, and I must follow, if I can, pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say.”
- J.R.R. Tolkien

Living with Perception

"Perception is reality" This is a phrase that can mark you quickly and cause you to create a filter to see the world in a way that that may be distorted. I have an acquaintance that whenever they talk about a family member they say, "You know how they are, a lot of talk but not much action." I have been guilty of looking at whole divisions on a business and saying, "The whole group just doesn't care and refuses to change." Or simply moving through traffic and your perception, "IDIOT, SLOW, CLUELESS!" creates a reality.

This is what I have found.

Perception creates a:
- Belief about someone that is usually negative
- Reality in me that may not be true
- Wall that allows me to stay frustrated and not attempt to find a solution
- Belief that I am right and others are very wrong

Perceptions need to be Private and never shared with the individual or group you have them about or you may be confronted with a fact that disrupts your fiction. On the other hand, perceptions can be shared with others all the time to promote your own perception and attract people to wallow with you in your negative feelings.

Blow your perceptions up! Confront them and you may find that a portion can be valid ted with reality but often very little is true and a way forward takes shape and you can become a problem solver not a perception maker.

Break down perceptions by:
- Building a closer relationship with the person or entity to better understand their motivations
- Confronting your own personal objective of why you built the perception in the first place (to feel superior, create a wall so you don't need to build a relationship, insecurity around the person)
- Look for reasons your perception is not correct and begin to break down the perception with fact
- Moving on from the need to set the perception by focusing your energy elsewhere in a positive direction

Being thankful, valuing relationships, being a problem solver and positive force leave very little time to create perceptions that bring you down.

Happiness

Great video worth pondering in our own lives:

Speed of Trust

The Covey consultant group is best known for their "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" book. I would encourage you to expand your reading into one of the newest titles called "The Speed of Trust" The idea is that when trust is high, few hands have to touch a project to get it done and approved. Decisions are taken at face value and trust goes a long way in managing a business at the speed by which it needs to move. Without trust a business slows down, tensions grow and the effectiveness of an organization diminishes.

High Trust = Increased Speed and Lower Cost





The speed of trust is crucial for long term success in a business.

Spaghetti Sauce and You

Malcom Gladwell has authored three books in the last 7 years "The Tipping Point", "Blink" and "Outliers" I think the Tipping Point was his best. Here is a video where MG is up to what he does best, seemingly taking disconnected ideas or moments in time and connecting them to show people how things work together to make something go.

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A Big Continent and Unforseen Blessing

When I was teaching in MN my wife and I were hired to go and teach at a boarding school in Kenya called Rift Valley Academy.( http://www.rva.org/ ) This school has a storied past, Teddy Roosevelt laid the corner stone for the main teaching house. We were going to live in Africa for 2 years and use it as a spring board into seeing the rest of the world!
We quit our jobs, sold our cars, updated passports, were leaving in 3 months so started the round of shots we needed to live in Sub-Sahara Africa. We went into the doctor and proceeded to get 3 shots each. Before the second round of shots that evening my wife had to take a pregnancy test and to our surprise came back with news of an unforseen blessing, she was pregnant which meant she could not take any more shots and would not be able to take any malaria medicine period.
Our trip was in peril, the 5 year plan in question. We were excited yet frustrated as you can imagine. So, like two good maximizing planners we forged ahead with our plans to go. We had a long list of all the reasons it could still work. The school was in a malaria "free" zone. We talked to 6 mothers who gave birth in Africa and on and on the planning went.
One day we had an appointment with my wife's doctor, a wise and well seasoned professional. The check up went great; we reviewed with her our plan to still go. At that point she looked up at us slapped her knees and said, "Kids, here's what I think. You only have one chance to bring an A+ baby into the world. After that, Africa will still be there." She stood up and walked us out of the appointment.
You know what? She was right. We stayed home, found jobs, bought new cars and had an A+ baby who turned 13 this year. Life still continued to happen and opportunities for adventure, for purpose, for wealth creation and using our gifts still presented themselves even though we let go of the big trip to the biggest continent.
By the way, I did go to Africa 5 years ago and you know what? The doctor was right, the continent was still there.

Do you have a big continent that is critical to you and your plan?
Has an unforseen blessing shook your big continent plan to it's foudation?
What will it take to get launch the blessing as an A+?
Will your continent still be there?

Top 100 List

The cover article in Fast Company this month lists the Top 100 Creative People in business. Most of the time these lists are suspect to me based on how many creative people there really are in the world contributing daily to good businesses (too many to guess) and somehow Fast Company has to choose 100. A better way of heading this article would be Top 100 Creative People (with a PR firm or Massive Company behind them) in Business. That could sound negative but it's not. I think tthis list is interesting and Fast Company does a nice job of saying in the article the the job of choosing 100 or anything is very difficult and a lot of randomness is in the list. Click the title Top 100 List to view and Enjoy

If you are in the spot...do the work

If you have the skill to be in the game in a position to make a difference make sure you are ready to play. Being in the game to make a difference is the goal of so many and so few actually get called up to play a position that puts you in the field of play. Can you write? Then write all that is in you. Can you motivate? Then motivate those around you to dig deep and make a difference. Can you plan for the future? Then choose a career that will allow you to make that a core part of what you do. Are you good with numbers? Teach, be strategic or financially support a family, group or company.

Choosing your field of play is important. When you get selected for the game don't forget to show up for every play! Know that you have been selected for such a time as this and you can make the difference.

Dangerous Can Grow Us

Take a look at this great video that reminds us that risk and danger avoided all togetehr can lead to less of life lived and a lack of ability to learn in life.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/gever_tulley_on_5_dangerous_things_for_kids.html

Trapeze Trajectory

When you are going through change there is one sure thing, nothing is sound. I have found going through a Major life change that even the most stable parts of life can feel a bit unstable. The metaphor I like to use is that of a trapeze acrobat. You are up above the floor of the big top tent with no net below you. You are on your stable platform with the bar in your hand looking across a vast empty space. You have a destination on the other side but it seems very far away. You know the only way to get to that next spot is to leave the solid platform and swing way out on the bar in your hands.

Step 1: Stepping off the platform
Step 2: Swinging out looking for the next bar to grab on to. You may have someone on that bar coaching you to let go, the bar may be empty waiting for you to grab on
Step 3: Before you can grab the next bar you have to let go of the bar that is carrying you, a big move
Step 4: You are now in what I call the middle ground. You are hanging in mid air having to let go of what you know before you can grab what will carry you forward. This is the scariest and most uncertain part of change and most people going through change will blink right now and miss the next bar coming to them. This middle ground feels like an eternity but having patience and going through the time in mid-air is crucial to make real change.
Step 5: Grabbing the next bar is a feeling of security and feeling that normalization is coming back. Grabbing the bar or having someone on that bar to catch you are both good because not the new goal comes clearly into view. You see your new spot of greater stability.
Step 6: The landing on the platform on the opposite pole of the big top bring an applause from your own inner voice as you look back at where you came from. You may not have wanted to leave your last platform yet the change you made has brought you to a new place to live your life and a new view to see the world.

Going through all the steps is important. Hanging in the middle place is the place where we can accept that change is happening and that I can move forward. Keep focused and know that there is always another bar to grab, you may not believe it yet that new bar will come.

Asking the right question...

I have been doing a lot of training lately around customer service. We have had group discussions around what kind of question is a good question when taking care of a business problem. When you ask questions starting with:
- Who
- Why
Typically these questions are difficult not to use to accuse or complain rather then fix and support.
When you ask a question starting with:
- What
- How
They create questions that bring you into the situation to own your part to fix and support.

Who did this?
Why does this always happen to me?

-or-

What can I do to stop this?
How can I make sure this doesn't happen to me?

Try the same exercise in your day and see if you don't instantly take control of your work, feel more energized and who knows, you may solve a problem.

Resources vs Resourceful

Most business has been hit with down size language and many (500,000 last month alone) hard working industrious people have lost their jobs. How then do we move forward? We move forward with less resources at work or looking for work we must make due with what we have as we look for more. Less resources most times, (I think all the time) does not feel great. We all want access to more yet we do not have those resources right now and that can lead to a feeling of "less then".

In the midst of that I have been spreading the word on my thought about this. Less resources brings with it a need to be more resourceful. No matter your situation this is a time of de-tox from "much" to "less" and with it a time to move from resources to resourceful. I have found that my team and I have had an amazing run with resourceful. More review and care goes into what we have because we may not be able to throw it away tomorrow and get a new one. A new idea, product or relationship. Resourceful is a word to appreciate. When the resources turn back on I am planning on holding onto resourceful.

Change In Your Life

When I speak on change I always start with the ending. I never read an ending to a book before I start. I don't like spoilers for a movie. Traditionally keeping the ending a suprise or secret is fine with me. I would rather not know the ending because I stay motivated to finish the task.

With change though, give me the ending first. The main reason for this is that with any change there must be an ending before a new beginning can truly start. For instance, you get married to the person of your dreams. Although there is a new beginning as a couple you must end the era of being single. Not making peace with that ending before a new beginning can cause unforeseen impacts on a new beginning. Recognizing the end of one era of your life before you begin a new era is how change can be incorporated into your life successfully.

With every dusk there is a dawn. There must be an ending before a beginning can get under way.

Change in your life is inevitable. How you deal with change can define your life.

The Arena is Yours

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

- Teddy Roosevelt "Citizenship in a Republic,"Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

The Power to Transform

The power to Transform your life, your community and your world come from with in. What is the foundation that you stand on? Is that foundation strong enough to support you as you press into the world to exact the type of impact you want to make in the world?

Transforming the world does not happen on a plan. In a world that is saturated with data, news feeds and video we could feel that if an elaborate plan isn't laid out with a budget, PR people, advertising dollars and political backing then we can not make a difference.

Could it be that the largest difference is made in the world when a person stands strong on a belief that has turned into principle and been drawn up into a mission so in the midst of distress or that moment of truth they stand in the gap and cause change?

Just ask Rosa Parks in 1955 who got on a city bus in Montgomery, AL, tired after a long days work. Ask Chesley Sullenberger the pilot who safely crash landed the US Airways plan into the Hudson river saving all aboard. Ask Ryan White who contracted AIDS from a transfusion was barred from attending school and became a champion for kids with AIDS before his death in 1990.

A seemingly normal day unfolded before all of these people until the event happened and they either had or did not have the foundation under them to press against to stand for what they believed was right. In the midst of a challenge by an unfair law is a hard time to decide what you believe. It is hard to learn the skill you need to survive in the middle of an emergency. It is a hard place to decide that you will support others under the same challenge as you if the will is not forged by who you are. This constitution is built long before so that in the challenge you are ready to stand.

The power to transform is in you, build it for that moment that will make the difference.

Transformation

Spring is a time in the Midwest when the word "transformation" can be seen in the truest sense all around you. Over night the ice scape of winter begins to fade and loses it's grip on the land. Soon water is flowing again, birds begin to call and the slight hint of spring green begins to push into the world from the ground up. Just to be outside to smell and feel spring becomes in itself a transformation to the mind, body and soul.

This morning I am speaking to a large group of insurance professionals in Minneapolis around the topic of transformation and how it relates to leadership. Although the word leadership itself can be tough to define I like adding the word "transformational" because of the power it brings.

Here's my definition:
Transformational Leadership calls for its leaders and their followers do what is good, right and necessary given the tasks, values and vision of the community.

This is not an easy definition to internalize and live. There is a selflessness and call to action that can be hard, scary yet quite possibly ground breaking to pursue. Are you interested to know how transformational you are? Click the link below to download a Transformational Leadership Assessment. Let me know what you think of your outcome.

http://www.ltfpro.com/connectivatenow/TranformLdrshpEvalFINAL2.pdf

I Apologize

"I Apologize, this was my responsibility and I did not handle it well. I will take care of it now" This is a statement we do not hear much. Many people work in a profession but may struggle at times to be a professional. A professional is one who would willingly accept a challenge and the potential failure without excuses, taking responsibility themselves.

Being willing to admit failure or a missed detail is a great first step. With failure or error accepted, you can now blow your boss, your team and your company away with potential solutions to the new opportunity everyone is facing.

You will find your team appreciates when you take responsibility. When you learn from failure, change patterns and find new solutions your team will rely on you. No excuses or "too busy, my bosses fault, I was up all night so..." A professional fights through, takes on the work and finishes with excellence.

An apology goes a long way.

Tripped Up

I had the pleasure of spending most of my week training and evaluating other professionals in Minneapolis. Playing a part in creating a learning environment and seeing life long learners pick up new skills is truly rewarding.

I personally did final evaluations with 16 people and most did a great job, took constructive criticism and received steps to work on to be even better. Being managers from around the country I have confidence that they will go back and spread the impact to hundreds of people.

Out of 16 people there were three that got tripped up. Tripped up by making excuses. Three people after not meeting the expectation in their presentation either blamed a lack of sleep, lack of prep time or not understanding the time limits of the event.

After quietly interrupting their excuses I asked them to explain to me as a professional how lack of sleep, lack of prep time or failure to understand the objective had anything to do with their poor performance?

To their credit, every single person confronted by the emphasized word professional stopped, re-thought their excuse and replied in like manner. Their excuse was no excuse for their poor preparation because as a professional there is a demand to rise to the occasion and produce great results no matter the situation.

Although this was not the specific outcome of the training for the week I feel that sometimes the learning that can take place after a trip up that is unplanned and unseen can be the most productive of all.

Being tripped up is never fun. What you learn in hind sight can sometimes allow you to be thankful for the lesson.

Magic Intro

Today we live in a world where many people are prone to have Disney expectations and Reality Show style. Even young children know when they are getting good service somewhere and we always expect the event, experience or destination to have the class, style and production quality of the best Disney resort. This is the way we live.

When living in this kind of high production culture the introduction you use or the meeting you run has the same expectations. Lets talk about your personal introduction.

Remember that you are not only competing with the other candidates but with the social norms of the culture. Make your introduction in a meeting or any other place something to remember.

Back at It

Traveled to Houston last week on business. Visited 5 of the Life Time Fitness clubs. Had a great time with the team down there. A great town with a great future for the company. Thanks Houston.

Blogging will now continue.

Bouldering in Sabino Canyon

Hiked Sabino Canyon in Tucson, AZ with my family today. The location has been a popular attraction for over 100 years. As a natural oasis the canyon has a running creek for most of the year and it is a great place to hike. In the 1800's a 6.5 earth quake shook the area causing boulders to cascade down from the canyon walls into the creek bed. The road to the top of Sabino and several of the famous bridges over the creek were were badly damaged.

The canyon people had known was changed forever. There were now house sized boulders strewn all across the landscape. The best picnic spots were gone and the routes down the canyon by way of the creek had changed forever. In fact I think that the way down the creek not only changed but became more difficult. 100+ years later on a bright 80 degree day my son and I decided to boulder our way down the creek to challenge ourselves to find the path and see what we could see. 3+ miles, 2 toads, 10 geckos, 75+ fish and a slew of birds later we came out back on the road having successfully found a dry way down the creek jumping boulder to boulder not being able to imagine the creek any other way. Bouldering is what we wanted to do and it was awesome.

What caused devastation a century ago is considered normal now. The earthquake is still worth mentioning but it is simply a footnote to give the canyon context today. My son and I were better men having the canyon what it is. To boulder, we had to watch our feet, help each other, consider different routes, hit dead ends and back track and stop and see the wonders around us. As I said good night to my son his best memory of the day was "bouldering with you Dad." That was great.

We live in a world hit by an economic earthquake. The way through this canyon has changed and may have just got harder. Here's what I say, "Life finds a way and we should trust the process." In a 100 years this era will simply be a footnote to give the new world it helps create context. I am not going to be buried in the rubble, I'm already taking up a new way of thinking. I'm learning how to boulder. Maybe you should learn to boulder too.

Fun after Work

I work or a business and with a team that loves to contribute, solve problems and spend the hours working together to do both. Taking time to have fun and take some time away is a hard fought luxury. Many people on my team have been away in the last few weeks. I am away right now and only a day in having a great time. I would expect that I will come back not only rested but full of energy with renewed creativity to continue to contribute to a business I believe in. After this fun. I'll go back to work.

Burn the Ships

There is a story about the Spanish explorer Cortes that has always intrigued me. Cortes and his 700 men had a difficult crossing of the Atlantic to reach the new world. By the time they had arrived in Mexico his men were in a bad place and longing for home.

Cortes had other plans. He ordered the men to take all the supplies off the 11 ships and then he set them one fire. The men ran to Cortes looking for orders, they were sure they had been attacked. The men were beside themselves. Finally Cortes stands up and says, "I burned the ships, we are here to stay." He knew that the ships presented an option to go back and not go forward. Cortes also knew that the men would be more highly motivated to succeed in the mission if going forward was their only option.

Great story of challenge as we move forward in this economy, in our jobs, hunting for a job or bettering our skills through education. Burn the ships and make your success on your new adventure the only way through.

Lighthouse or Siren Part 2

In Greek mythology the siren is a beautiful water nymph that sang such a captivating song with such an allure that no man could withstand the urge to to follow the song even into great peril and ruin. In fact the siren singer positioned herself in shallow water against the rocks of an island and when lured there the ship and sailor would be wrecked and thrown into the water. The siren had the “Intent” to ruin those who heard her song.

A Siren Goal works in the same way. A Siren Goal is an emotional based objective in your life that leads you to miss opportunities and eventually leads to ruin. As a professional we all have to set goals. We must be cautious that our goals are set with accountability and we are willing to be objective about them. A Siren Goal occurs when we loose all reason and follow emotion to an outcome. In fact the sirens in mythology played to the heart of a man not to his physical desires. Goals can be tricky when emotionally we have our heart set on something that we want. A siren goal is a goal that is set with emotion, does not clearly listen to advice from others and may be a goal that has been outpaced or is not obtainable from where you are yet you are not willing to recalibrate your expectations. The most dangerous part of a siren goal is that the goal itself blinds you from seeing and reaching for other goals that would move you forward and create success.

Example: I met a great guy once who told me his story about his siren goal. In his younger years he had been a baseball phenom. He set his goal to be a pro baseball player and started on that path. The goal at that point was a "Lighthouse Goal" (see 3/31/09 blog) He was drafted and progressed through the farm division. In that process he developed a significant negative and selfish attitude and finally through many injuries his body gave out and he could not compete. His goal of being a pro baseball player was over. In spite of that he did not give up the goal, the emotional desire to be a pro baseball player remained. At that moment not letting go of the old goal and setting a new one sent him into a tail spin that took him a divorce, financial crisis and years to overcome. The siren goal kept calling him to his ruin. He could not see that even though reality had changed. He had become addicted to the turmoil of the water around his Siren Goal and often shunned the calm water of a safe harbor. Eventually after a great soul searching time this young guy was able to re-order his private world and set new goals that introduced him back to life.

To those who are living with siren goals the call to your ruin feels like a call to safety. You can almost feel as though it is a lighthouse. This is just not the case. If you are concerned that you are living under a siren goal ask yourself these questions:

1. Is a trusted advisory giving me feedback about my goals that I get enraged or intolerant over and will not listen?
2. Are the professional managers in my work aligned around their perspective of me yet I do not agree with them at all?

3. Do I feel like my organization “owes” me something?
4. Have I grown accustom to the “chaos” of siren goals around me and will not listen to my own reason or the reason of others?

If you are a “yes” to more then 1 of these questions you may need to sit down with someone you trust and try to break through to a new perspective. In the ancient Greek stories sailors could only hope to escape the siren and their own ruin by tying themselves to the mast of their ship, plugging their ears with wax and turning their heads away. You may find that you need to do the same to an old goal that is destroying the opportunities right in front of you. Turning away from an old goal will face you in a new direction and new opportunities. No to sirens, yes to the lighthouse!

Lighthouse or Siren? Part 1

There are times in your life when your perspective concerning your own direction (professionally or personally) can be compromised by a goal that has grown old or even dangerous for you to achieve. Setting goals are important, but more important still is setting goals that lead your life into the safe harbor of fulfillment rather then keep you in dangerous waters or drifting close to rocks that will inevitably cause a ship wreck. I have met both kinds of people in my life and I have found it sobering at times to see people hold onto a dream or goal so tight that it eventually leads them to ruin. Goals in our life will be a lighthouse or a siren.

A Lighthouse Goal is a well thought out objective in your life that leads you with a beacon of light to a safe harbor of success. This type of goal is built typically by taking advice from trusted resources, evaluating and understanding your strengths, skills and desires, then practicing those traits with hard work and focus long enough that the objective for your life is clear and obtainable.

Example: I had a manager that works for me sit down at her annual review to lay out her plan for the following year. Over lunch she evaluated what she had done the year previous outlining her success yet not overstating what was accomplished. As she moved into reviewing her objectives for the following year I was impressed by her objectivity around her own gaps and her development plan. She set up tough goals asking for support from me in areas she did not have the experience. After making some suggestions on her development plan I agreed with her objectives. She then told me her Lighthouse Goal: "By the end of next year I want to be the manager of the team that I currently work with."

Not only did I support her lighthouse goal, I worked diligently with her all year to navigate her to her destination. She reached that goal and has now set a new Lighthouse goal in her career.

Lighthouse goals not only shine for you as an individual but also allow others around you to follow and learn how to navigate their own waters. Strong, healthy, focused goals are good professionally and personally. Use the lighthouse as a guide. That is why they exist.

Check in tomorrow for the dangers of the Siren Goal

Leading

I just finished reading the new Gallup book "Strengths-Based Leadership" by Tom Rath & Barry Conchie about four weeks ago. I've had a chance to meet and spend time with both men in New York. Not only was I impressed, I became fans of their insight, wit and ability to say tough things and have people agree and want to change.

In reading the book there are many themes like: How to use strengths in leadership, understand the quadrants of leadership that your strengths fit inside and how to use them more effectively. All of these themes make the book worth reading.

There is one more theme that I found fascinating and impactful in my own leadership style. Gallup asked the question, "What makes a good leader?" They asked thousands of regular everyday people this question without a lot of direction. This is what they found. Four main themes came to the surface.

Followers want this from their leaders:
- Trust
- Stability
- Compassion
- Hope
Take a moment, get a piece of paper, and write these four words down. Read each one and picture the leader, teacher, and person of influence in your life that embodies that trait. I think you may find if the person embodies one trait they may embodie them all.
Now ask yourself, "How did I feel under their leadership?" I found that the people I pictured brought security, energy and vision to their environment. There was a foundation to innovate and grow. Are you finding the same feelings?
Finally, if you are in a leadership position, this can be a given position in a work place or an assumed position based on your natural gifts as a leader. Either way, take the four words and fit them across your own shoulders. Think about yourself and the words Trust, Stability, Compassion and Hope. How do these words fit you?
I would like to believe that these four words could be revolutionary to your style of leadership and how you act. Having these four words and truly understanding what they mean to the people following you is like having a map to the success you desire for your team and yourself.
I would suggest you buy the book and read on.

Life

"Life is difficult.
This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. Is is great truth because once we truly see the truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, that fact that life is difficult no longer matters." - M. Scott Peck - "The Road Less Traveled"

M. Scott Peck has sold over 7 million copies of his book. From a business perspective I think there are some great uses for this self help best seller. Well worth the read to be invited on the journey of the road less traveled.

I think the major news channels could benefit from a large dose of Peck's famous first paragraph. The freedom personally received is a journey worth taking.

Blessing or a Curse

In this economy there could be a situation where you are asked to do something completely new to keep your employment with a company. On the surface the new role could look like a demotion or something so far outside your comfort zone that the aversion to embrace becomes very strong.

If you can step far enough away to get objective in your perspective you need to ask yourself:

"Is this situation a blessing or a curse?"

I believe that the way you frame an event up in your mind creates the paradigm that you can use to deal with it. I am not suggesting that you step out or reality, this is a suggestion that if you take a moment to embrace the change on a different level you may find that the event looked at from a different angle may point you on a new path.

Forced into a new role at your business? Look for the new skill you will learn.
Uncomfortable with a new task because it is new? Read up on embracing change in your life
Disappointed that you are not promoted but demoted? Look into expanding your education and earn a new skill.
Feeling like life is throwing you nothing but curve balls? Look into making a life change with the support of a counselor.

In any situation we can ask the question about blessing or curse. Others may want to define this for you and tell you how Bad or Good an event in your life is. Only you can truly define and walk through this event with the perspective you choose. Either way events like job change are going to happen. What will you do with it?

Saying Much

I love the challenge of being brief yet saying much. Take a look at this video clip about Leonardo da Vinci. Using great visuals and sound logic the speaker uncovers a mystery in 5 minutes.