A Leaders Enemy

“Good is the enemy of great.”  Jim Collins

Greatness is hard to find because it is comfortable and alluring to be simply good.  Once we become good we often feel good about being better than mediocre or bad so we settle and sometimes enjoy it too much.  Truth be told, good to most of us is good enough.  And this is why good is the enemy of the best. 

Pushing for greatness requires a relentless drive that isn’t common.  Greatness involves desire and a high-level of consistency and discipline.  It is hard to be great, it requires the very best of us. 

One thing about being great is we have to be willing to make mistakes and not be perfect.  This is hard, especially for people who are good.  Good makes us feel like we need to protect what we have and not lose hold of the good thing we have going.  When this happens, when we begin to feel this way, our chances of becoming great are limited.    

Though short and sweet today, my challenge is for all of us to strive to be great, to not be ok with good, to push through the place so many get stuck in.  Good is the enemy of great so let’s not let it hold us back!  Let it be for us that good is not good enough when we know we can be great!    

Time Management like You've Never Considered Before

“You multiple your time by giving yourself the emotional permission to spend time on things today that will give you more time tomorrow.”  Rory Vaden

I recently listened to a TED talk by Rory Vaden about time management.  At the heart of his message was the idea of multiplication or multiplying our time and how this is different than what most time management experts or theories teach.    

Two of the most commonly used theories for time management over the years have to do with efficiency and prioritization both of which are good but are ineffective in “creating” more time.  Unlike many time management strategies, time multipliers factor in the “significance” of what they are doing which in essence, creates more time.  In doing this, they change the time allocation question from ‘what is the most important thing I can do right now’ to ‘what can I do today that will make tomorrow better?’ 

With this in mind, when it comes to deciding how to utilize our time, rather than asking ourselves ‘how much does it matter’ we should be asking ‘how long will it matter?’  Vaden calls this the significance calculation and he implies this is how a multiplier “creates” time.  So, time multipliers focus on what tasks will make the future better by doing these three things. 

#1 Eliminate

Time multipliers eliminate things that won’t matter long-term.  There are many things we can eliminate from our life that aren’t really worth doing or at least won’t have a lasting impact.  Elimination of unhelpful or short lived activities will help us free up more time. 

#2 Automate

Again the question for time multipliers is what can we do now that helps create more time tomorrow?  Spending 3 hours to automate something today may not be the most important thing right at that moment or what matters most to you at that moment but it potentially saves you hours and hours of time in the future.  In a way, whenever we are able to automate, it takes our time and makes it in to more time. 

#3 Delegate

Those who multiple their time delegate.  They realize that since they’ve mastered a task others can as well.  And although there may be a little bit of extra time invested up front, in the long run it saves a multiplier a ton of time.    

What time management strategies will you use?  I suggest we think like a multiplier and improve our ability to “manage our time” through elimination, automation, and delegation.  

The Essence of Happiness

“The essence of true happiness is subordinating what we want now for what we want eventually.”  Stephen R. Covey 

I enjoy basketball and have been playing the sport since I was very young and one of my favorite times of the year is during the NBA Championship.  Watching the two best basketball teams with some of the greatest athletes in the world compete for the title of Champion is exhilarating.   

This year while watching the championship series I noticed I was not only anticipatory of the games but also down right impatient.  After one game would end, I was ready to watch another!  And having to wait several days in between them was torturous—so much so that by the time the game would finally arrive I was almost angry by the wait, which caused me to not enjoy the game as much. 

I think this level of impatience is pretty common in our society today.  We see it all the time.  Rather than wait and work and put in the effort before we get something, we just want it right now!  Often times we see others with what we want so we just click a few buttons and then voila, we have it.    Waiting has become almost nonexistent in our world with modern technology and the World Wide Web that I fear we may be missing out.  Rather than giving up what we want now for a better good or a higher cause, we take what we can get and refuse to wait.          

I believe those that are happiest in life are patient.  They have a vision for the future and put in the work and wait to get what they eventually want most in life.  They don’t expect instant results and supplant their everyday wants with a focus toward their ultimate goal.  They understand that waiting is an important part of the process.  Normally in life, the most personal satisfaction comes from those things that take time, effort, and energy before we earn them.  And this is the “essence of happiness.” 

Vision for Life

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage, non-apologetically, to say “no” to other things.  And the way to do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside.”  Stephen R. Covey

 

Having a vision for our life is so important.  Without a vision we surely will never become what we ought to become or do what we ought to do.  There are too many distractions in our world today, too many voices pulling us one way or another.  Without a vision we will be like a wave in the ocean, driven by the wind and tossed around without direction. 

The ability to say “no” when something is not aligned with our vision is an important leadership trait.  Establishing a vision and living true to it is not easy.  There are so many enticing and alluring things thrown at us all of the time that can easily derail us and distract us from what we want most in life.  Having the discipline to say “no” when others are saying “yes” is difficult for all of us.

Having a vision for our life, an ultimate destiny and desire, is so critical though.  When properly created and properly held in our mind, our vision can guide our actions, help us establish and align our goals, and lead us on a path that is focused and disciplined.  Having a vision will allow us to become our best selves.

So what is your highest priority in life?  What do you hope to accomplish more than anything else?  What or who do you want to become?  If you aren’t sure, decide today what is most important, create a clear vision of what that looks like in your mind, let it burn within you, and then move toward it minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. 

Inevitably there will be slip ups, wrong roads we will take, and time wasted along the way but don’t get discouraged and don’t give up.  Keep focused on who you really are and what you really want!      

Accepting Self

“I find that when we really love and accept and approve of ourselves exactly as we are, then everything in life works.”  Louise Hay

Our success in life is often determined by our view of self.  When we have a negative outlook on ourselves, our faults and short comings, our weaknesses and mistakes, it can derail us from what we are capable of accomplishing.  Poor self-image is plaguing people’s lives throughout the world and limiting our happiness and success in life.   

Often a poor view of self comes from comparison.  Too often we compare ourselves to others wondering why we aren’t more like someone else; someone who is seemingly happy, or successful, or without blemish.  The reality is that all of us struggle in one way or another, that’s what being human is all about, and no one is perfect or without faults or challenges. 

Unfortunately social media has created a false sense of reality where we have the opportunity to post and brag about only the good, easy, fun parts of life.  Rather than portraying truth, what we see on social media is a skewed and biased view on life.  We have to remember that social media is a very small part of someone’s complete story. 

So what do we do if we have a poor image of self and want to improve?  First, I’d stop comparing.  We don’t need to or can we accurately and thoroughly compare ourselves to others—we just don’t have the full picture.  Comparisons are a waste of time and lead to unnecessary worry and stress.  Second, I’d stay away from social media completely.  If you just can’t stomach that idea, at the very least, limit your consumption of it to a very minimal amount of time. 

Finally, our view of self typically starts with our mind and thoughts.  Changing and controlling our thoughts will help us improve our view of self.  When you have negative thought, don’t dwell on it or beat yourself up because of it but recognize it, label it (that’s a negative thought) and push it out and replace it with something positive and new. 

Improving our self-image will help us improve our success in life.  Find ways to accept yourself including your flaws and warts and believe that everyone has them.  As we improve our self-image our ability to reach our potential, influence others, and find success will grow.   

The Strongest Way to Lead

"I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself." Robert E. Lee

Being a leader is never easy.  In fact, I believe in today’s world it is becoming more difficult than before to influence and motivate others to follow because of all the distractions that constantly surround us.  There are many impactful leadership methods, strategizes, and personal traits however one thing continues to be the most important in my mind and separates “real” leaders for those who are leaders in name or perhaps position only.

Great leaders set a great personal example.  Studies have shown that this is the number one way to influence and impact those you lead, through your personal example.  Too often leaders rely on other methods, strategies, or perhaps even personality traits to influences others and though these may help, our personal examples as leaders is what will truly inspire and earn the trust of our team.

One reason why personal example is so impactful is because it is hard to do and so few follow through with it.  Many leaders fail to live up to their own standards or at least those standards and expectations they profess to others.  More and more we see leaders who claim one thing but do another.  A leader who is able to not only talk but also act will inspire others to follow.  For this reason, those who may not have the “title” or the formal position of authority can be, and sometimes are, the best leaders.  Their power and influence of their examples cannot be denied.     

So you want to be a great leader, then set a great example!  A leader leads by example whether he intends to or not.  Our personal example will have the greatest influence on those we lead and will permit us to be the kind of leaders we ought to be.     

The No Complaining Rule

“The measure of our success will not be determined by how we act during the great times in our life but rather by how we think and respond to the challenges of our most difficult moments.”  Jon Gordon

I hate it when people complain (though I’m sure I do my fair share) so I thought I’d enjoy the book The No Complaining Rule by Jon Gordon. Though the substance of the book was not as full and complete as I had hoped, there were a few concepts which I enjoyed. 

Number one was the idea of our organizations (whether our businesses, community, or even our family etc.) being likened to a tree.  Too often we focus only on the fruit and we neglect the roots.  The author points out that the people of an organization are the roots and if we focus on them first and most often, we will be pleased with the fruits.  Unfortunately the fruit can be so enticing that it is all we focus on and we often neglect the roots.  And when we neglect the roots, our fruit is not very good.  I love this idea and emphasis on focusing on our people in any organization because the people are really what matter.  When we have great people who are engaged and excited about what we are doing, good things happen.  Smart leaders invest their time and energy in to their people!  Rather than focusing only on the results, we must focus on those who produce them. 

Number two is the idea that we need to give three times as much praise as criticism.  Unfortunately I believe I am bad at this and tend to focus on things that need to be fixed rather than things that are going right.  I believe however there is power in being positive and pointing out the good often.  When we point out the good and focus on it, it tends to grow and the same can be true of the bad.  In order to be better leaders and better people, we must strive to focus more on praise. 

Number three is the idea that it is all up to us.  When we complain and are negative it is our choice.  No one can force us to complain or be negative.  The power is within us to be positive and focus on the good no matter what life may bring our way.  We can be in the most difficult of circumstances and maintain a positive attitude or we can be in the best of circumstances and still choose to complain about something.  The choice is always ours and those who avoid complaining bring positive energy to themselves and others which helps create positive results. 

No complaining is hard but worth the effort.  If we could wipe negativity out of our life and replace it with positive energy, we’d be much happier and successful in life and become better people and leaders.  And the same can be said for our organizations.  So, let’s do this, here is to No Complaining!  

The Road Less Traveled

“The road to success is dotted with many attractive parking lots.”

Unknown

Now more than ever in the history of man is the road to success littered with many attractive parking spots that wish to pull us off the road and limit our ability to succeed.  The challenge of our day is to stay focused on our goals and long-term hopes and dreams in order to avoid the short term gains or temporary satisfactions that constantly surround us. 

Many seemingly talented, capable, and success-bound individuals are lured away to things that add little value in life.  Instead of pressing on they decide to take a detour and before long, they miss out on opportunities that could have and should have been theirs.  Too many tempting parking lots rob us of our will and desire to continue down the road.      

Having a clear vision of what we want in life, what we hope to become, and what we ultimately want to achieve can help keep us on the road to success.  Becoming the person we ought to be by staying disciplined will help us experience the joy, satisfaction, and success this life has to offer. 

I would encourage all to not follow the masses and get caught up in the temporary joys in life but instead to steadily move down the road of success.  This is not easy and will require great conscious effort on our part.  Attractive as they may be, we must have the discipline to avoid the thrills in life that never last and keep us from our ultimate goals.  Happy driving!    

Our Biggest Obstacle Each of Us Face this Year

“People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves.  They therefore remain bound.”  James Allen

There are very few people I know who wouldn’t like to improve their circumstance this year and the best way to do that is by focusing on ourselves.   Unfortunately, most of us look at this backwards.  We tell ourselves that if we fix our circumstance first, then we will be able to improve ourselves.  We blame our poor performance in life on our circumstance rather than blaming our circumstance on our poor performance.  This is sad because the truth is we can improve ourselves regardless of circumstance and when we do, we naturally improve our circumstance. 

Recently I had to meet with someone to let them know the feedback from their peers at work on their performance wasn’t great and that we would need to make some adjustments to their duties and responsibilities.  I worried about the conversation and the reaction the individual would have.  I knew she was talented and capable and could contribute a lot to the team but I also knew about her struggles in working with the team.  As probably most of us would, her immediate reaction was anger and blame.  As I tried to help her take ownership and control of the situation, and essentially her future, she refused to put blame aside and made the determination that others’ perceptions were the problem and not her.  She gave up her control and ultimately her destiny by not seeing herself as at least part of the problem and someone who should share the bulk of the blame.  Though I’m hopeful, I’m also still afraid that things won’t end well for this individual.    

We are our own worse enemies.  No matter what others say or do, or the circumstances we find ourselves in, our biggest obstacle will always be ourselves. 

With this in mind, I hope in this new year each of has made commitments to improve ourselves.  As we focus on ourselves we take control of our fate and the circumstances we find ourselves in.  Here is to overcoming our biggest obstacle this year!