Have you got caught running down a familiar path only to find that, this time, the path was not leading you to the right destination? It is so easy to find yourself in these circumstances letting familiarity cloud your thoughts and hinder your view of the entire map so you can see that you are navigating to the right destination.
I have seen this in responding to customer inquiries. There were times that the Number One Client asked the Contracting Company for a cost benefit analysis for a new idea in the current project. The Contracting Company leaders responded, delivering a cost benefit analysis for that specific new idea. In going through the routine steps they never stopped to look at the big picture, at least see how the new idea fit in the end-to-end project lifecycle and evaluate if the new idea be in-line with the final outcome objective. Rather, they evaluated the new idea for a point in time and how it impacts just the surrounding tasks. So many times following this style the Number One Client would get frustrated when, acting on the Contracting Company’s recommendation, to find that it has moved the project slightly off target.
It is so easy to fall into this trap. There are many forces pushing towards the “right here and now” answer – time, demand, over-worked load, expectations, lack of clear priorities. To combat these forces we must be constantly vigilant of this situation. If you find yourself doing things without thinking, pause and ask yourself if the actions you are about to take are aligned with the big picture. If you are unsure, further investigation is warranted and absolutely necessary. Making a minor course correction now will lead to happy customers down the road when you have reached the planned final destination.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Doubt is a devilish demon...
"Doubt is a devilish demon, always lurking in a dimly lit corner of our minds, that cold thought against which we try to build the bonfire of confidence, hoping against hope to hold indecision at bay." writes Ron Sirak for ESPN about Michelle Wie.
What a great description of how we can sabotage ourselves from the great work we have inside us. Ron Sirak is describing a golf game, but this comment could easily be describing you at your next public speaking event (the big meeting), or delivering that report your client has been waiting for, or that first counseling session now that you were promoted to manager. You started out confident and now that the milestone approaches, doubt creeps in and slowly you have a paralyzing uncertainty gripping you.
At some point we all have this experience and know how frustrating it can be to begin to question yourself and your capabilities. How can we recover? First breathe and relax. You are here because you are capable. You are here because you are the right person for the task. You are here because you know that you are ready for the challenge. Check your list of things that must be done to consider whether your task is complete. Did you do your homework? Did you put your best effort towards completion? If you answered yes, then jump in and you'll be fine. You don't need to be perfect, but you need to be prepared. If you answered no, then go back and do your homework. If you didn't put the background effort in then the people you must perform for will not be as tolerant. It is these unprepared times that it seems like you will never have the right answer.
Confidence comes from hard work and homework towards your objective, sports or work. Building confidence in one area of your life spills over into other areas. The more times you prepare and are successful, the more times you will reach success. Find ways to build your confidence and keep that devilish demon tucked back in the recess of your mind.
What a great description of how we can sabotage ourselves from the great work we have inside us. Ron Sirak is describing a golf game, but this comment could easily be describing you at your next public speaking event (the big meeting), or delivering that report your client has been waiting for, or that first counseling session now that you were promoted to manager. You started out confident and now that the milestone approaches, doubt creeps in and slowly you have a paralyzing uncertainty gripping you.
At some point we all have this experience and know how frustrating it can be to begin to question yourself and your capabilities. How can we recover? First breathe and relax. You are here because you are capable. You are here because you are the right person for the task. You are here because you know that you are ready for the challenge. Check your list of things that must be done to consider whether your task is complete. Did you do your homework? Did you put your best effort towards completion? If you answered yes, then jump in and you'll be fine. You don't need to be perfect, but you need to be prepared. If you answered no, then go back and do your homework. If you didn't put the background effort in then the people you must perform for will not be as tolerant. It is these unprepared times that it seems like you will never have the right answer.
Confidence comes from hard work and homework towards your objective, sports or work. Building confidence in one area of your life spills over into other areas. The more times you prepare and are successful, the more times you will reach success. Find ways to build your confidence and keep that devilish demon tucked back in the recess of your mind.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Motivate your staff!
Maybe you have a staff of one, 30, or more - you are their leader to guide them and in turn they will help your business prosper. What can you do to motivate them to deliver results? Make them relevant.
It is a simple tool, if used properly, will yield exponential results. On any team or organization their is some objective that needs to be accomplished. Does your business develop high-tech equipment to sell to customers or do you run a car dealership? It doesn't matter what your objective is, what matters is telling each employee how they are important to that objective. People want to feel they are relevant, they want to know what they do makes a difference. It's up to you to tell them.
For instance, at our example high-tech company it is easy to figure out how the engineers are relevant but what about the accounting department or other support functions? You have them because business would sink without them - tell them that. Tell them that accounting is important because it keeps track of our vendors payments so we can have a good relationship with the vendors which helps us get our supplies on time so we can manufacture and deliver to our customers. Tell them their importance with conviction and sincerity. You will find wonderful results. Vendor management will become reliable and consistent. You will have better supply chain control. Your production forecasts will be better because of it. Your customers will return because you are reliable. Your business will make more money.
Show you staff that they matter and you will find a staff that becomes more productive.
It is a simple tool, if used properly, will yield exponential results. On any team or organization their is some objective that needs to be accomplished. Does your business develop high-tech equipment to sell to customers or do you run a car dealership? It doesn't matter what your objective is, what matters is telling each employee how they are important to that objective. People want to feel they are relevant, they want to know what they do makes a difference. It's up to you to tell them.
For instance, at our example high-tech company it is easy to figure out how the engineers are relevant but what about the accounting department or other support functions? You have them because business would sink without them - tell them that. Tell them that accounting is important because it keeps track of our vendors payments so we can have a good relationship with the vendors which helps us get our supplies on time so we can manufacture and deliver to our customers. Tell them their importance with conviction and sincerity. You will find wonderful results. Vendor management will become reliable and consistent. You will have better supply chain control. Your production forecasts will be better because of it. Your customers will return because you are reliable. Your business will make more money.
Show you staff that they matter and you will find a staff that becomes more productive.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Making Sense = Making Cents
Business happens at an incredibly fast pace and requires that you have a broad range of knowledge to make rapid decisions. How can you keep up and keep moving in the right direction? Simple common sense.
It seems in our highly technical world we sometimes forget that a simple "gut check" of the situation may be the key to the answer.
I spoke with a retired hardware store owner and he described to me all the things he had to make decisions on every day: cash flow, sales, inventory, customers, staff, vendors, bankers, accountants, etc. His expertise in hardware was way down the list, an important foundation, but no longer a hot topic he got to enjoy every day. So was he an expert in all those other areas - No way! He said what kept him moving towards his business goals was good old fashioned common sense. If something seemed out of place, odd, or caught his attention, he would stop to ask if it made any sense. Why was bulk inventory of widget A being ordered when I see some on the shelf? How do I position my financials to get lines of credit with my vendors? Why did lawn mowers sales drop off? Simple questions but all tied to his business strategy to run a profitable store.
Moral of the story - Remember Common Sense is a very powerful tool to deliver cents - or dollars - to your business.
It seems in our highly technical world we sometimes forget that a simple "gut check" of the situation may be the key to the answer.
I spoke with a retired hardware store owner and he described to me all the things he had to make decisions on every day: cash flow, sales, inventory, customers, staff, vendors, bankers, accountants, etc. His expertise in hardware was way down the list, an important foundation, but no longer a hot topic he got to enjoy every day. So was he an expert in all those other areas - No way! He said what kept him moving towards his business goals was good old fashioned common sense. If something seemed out of place, odd, or caught his attention, he would stop to ask if it made any sense. Why was bulk inventory of widget A being ordered when I see some on the shelf? How do I position my financials to get lines of credit with my vendors? Why did lawn mowers sales drop off? Simple questions but all tied to his business strategy to run a profitable store.
Moral of the story - Remember Common Sense is a very powerful tool to deliver cents - or dollars - to your business.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
What do you do when no one is watching?
A couple directions to go to answer this question, but I'm talking about at work...
When the pressure for results are high...
When you have a lull...
When you are angry or frustrated...
Do you act from your core values and act with integrity?
Why do I ask? Wow, because the professional sports world has really seemed to have a few high profile failures of integrity. Sports are interesting an microcosm of work towards defined performance measures that are routinely evaluated. The pressure to meet those metrics is immense and provides opportunity to measure yourself against your values. It also provides temptation for quick payoffs and recognition.
At work, fortunately, you are not being watched as closely as the professional athlete which means you need to be your own evaluator. When you have choices of which actions to take, check with yourself to see if your action is in line with your core values. Making decisions from your value base will reflect on the quality of your character and, in turn, garner the respect of the people you associate with.
When the pressure for results are high...
When you have a lull...
When you are angry or frustrated...
Do you act from your core values and act with integrity?
Why do I ask? Wow, because the professional sports world has really seemed to have a few high profile failures of integrity. Sports are interesting an microcosm of work towards defined performance measures that are routinely evaluated. The pressure to meet those metrics is immense and provides opportunity to measure yourself against your values. It also provides temptation for quick payoffs and recognition.
At work, fortunately, you are not being watched as closely as the professional athlete which means you need to be your own evaluator. When you have choices of which actions to take, check with yourself to see if your action is in line with your core values. Making decisions from your value base will reflect on the quality of your character and, in turn, garner the respect of the people you associate with.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Things that must be done
We all have our lists of "Things To Do." So how is it that at the end of the day it feels like you missed something? That's because we do not focus and prioritize our list.
We have things on the list because our boss needs it, our staff needs it, our customer needs it, our spouse needs it, I need it. We have things on the list that we enjoy doing, don't mind doing, and "isn't there something else I can do to put this off." So how can you focus and feel more productive?
You have priorities in your life, write those down. It could be that your number one priority is family, number two is work, number three is etc... This action already is helping you see how to focus on the things that must be done.
What are "Things That Must Be Done?" These are the tasks and actions in your day that cannot wait one more day to fulfill your life's priorities. This is not the list of most important things. For instance paying bills is imporant but it doesn't make the "Things That Must Be Done" list until the due date.
ACTION:
1. Prioritize the goals in your life.
2. For each day make a list of the Things That Must Be Done that day to meet your goals.
3. You can add other important things to the list, but at the bottom.
4. Start on the acting on the item at the top - it must be done!
Notice: This does not take into account whether you like the action or not. It simply focuses you on the steps required to meet your goals.
Check it out and see if at the end of the day you feel as if more stuff that mattered got done. Let me know if it helps!
We have things on the list because our boss needs it, our staff needs it, our customer needs it, our spouse needs it, I need it. We have things on the list that we enjoy doing, don't mind doing, and "isn't there something else I can do to put this off." So how can you focus and feel more productive?
You have priorities in your life, write those down. It could be that your number one priority is family, number two is work, number three is etc... This action already is helping you see how to focus on the things that must be done.
What are "Things That Must Be Done?" These are the tasks and actions in your day that cannot wait one more day to fulfill your life's priorities. This is not the list of most important things. For instance paying bills is imporant but it doesn't make the "Things That Must Be Done" list until the due date.
ACTION:
1. Prioritize the goals in your life.
2. For each day make a list of the Things That Must Be Done that day to meet your goals.
3. You can add other important things to the list, but at the bottom.
4. Start on the acting on the item at the top - it must be done!
Notice: This does not take into account whether you like the action or not. It simply focuses you on the steps required to meet your goals.
Check it out and see if at the end of the day you feel as if more stuff that mattered got done. Let me know if it helps!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Leaders walk the unknown path
Are you a leader? What's the toughest part of leading for you? I have noticed that the hardest part is being the first to walk into the unknown. Your staff or your team are looking to you for direction when faced with uncertainty. Your measure as leader will be taken when you brave the unknown to determine which direction to go next.
Will you be right? Not all the time and maybe not often at all. But there are no rules that say you must be right everytime. People expect leaders to try and if they stumble, try again. The more times you try the more times you becomes successful and the easier it gets to take that first step.
And when you step out will have found your measure of leadership to achieve success.
Will you be right? Not all the time and maybe not often at all. But there are no rules that say you must be right everytime. People expect leaders to try and if they stumble, try again. The more times you try the more times you becomes successful and the easier it gets to take that first step.
And when you step out will have found your measure of leadership to achieve success.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Transitions
Just jumped ship from my nice cozy, predictable life inside a Fortune 500 company to begin a brand new adventure! I am now an entrepreneur with all the joys and challenges that fit that title. The roller coaster has been more up and down during week one than I expected. Work gets done slower - no staff to delegate it to...I make all the decisions - what happened to my team??...I have no more routine - what am I supposed to be doing now?
I am so excited to being this new adventure and share the journey with you.
You can visit my website at www.SGSInstitute.com
I am so excited to being this new adventure and share the journey with you.
You can visit my website at www.SGSInstitute.com
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