1721 Journey

A year ago, my time and energy moved to a new blog called 1721 Journey.  Its purpose is to encourage staff, volunteers, and others who have a passion and interest in seeing the historical mission of the YMCA visible in their lives. You will find thoughts on leadership as well as other competencies needed for success.  Feel free to click on over and see what has been happening over the last year,  You can find it at www.1721Journey.com 

Video Game Success

Do you remember getting that new video game?  It might have been as a kid.  It might have been as an adult.  It might even be that new game on your smart phone.  You play it once and get an embarrassingly low score.  You reset it and try again and an hour later you are feeling pretty good about yourself....You are making progress and telling others about it.

You just experienced failing to success.  Each time our character dies in the game or time expires we have learned one more thing for that next round.  The little bit of success we taste drives us to try again and we keep getting better.  Sometimes it's is the score that motivates us.  Sometimes it's simply improving.  Sometimes it's a little encouragement from a friend.  

Coaching our teams can be a lot like this.  We need to make the environment safe enough to try new things and take risks and challenging enough to help our teams learn through experience and want to do it again.  It's a fine line at times.

Keep encouraging and supporting.  Celebrate the successes, and coach through the failures.  Watch the growth when your team fails to success.  When the high score becomes routine,  a new game or a new level may be just the right thing.

Protecting the Windows

The Desert Monks withdrew from the comforts of life to truly connect with a life of humility.   Thomas Merton tells the story of a monk who was highly thought of by his peers and praised for his humility.   As Abbot Anthony tested him he found he broke when insulted.   Anthony  told him "You are like a house with a big strong gate that is freely entered by robbers through the windows".

All aspects of our person need to be aligned.  When we fail to align just one area, we create windows of opportunity for our behaviors to derail our leadership. When it comes to humility and serving, it is easy to put up the good front and defer to the team when the accolades arrive.  But when the challenges and barbs start to fly,  what is your response? Do you defend, shrink, sulk,  or do you move on extending grace.  We want to be the one that is right,  prove our position, or put someone in their place - but leaders at all levels have too much too lose by going into defense mode. 

A few years ago, a staff member was in a position where he had to turn away some peers that had attended high school with him.  He had gone on to college and was successful - they had not.  Their response was a public verbal assault involving name calling, racial slurs, and insults.  It was hard, but he ignored them and denied the urge to defend himself.  He had everything lose by engaging them, and they had nothing to lose.  

Philippians 2:5 says "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset [attitude] as Christ Jesus." Reading further we see what that looks like and what it means - in a nutshell,  it is humility and servanthood (Philippians 2:5-11). 

Jesus's example is the model for leadership - he finished his mission to save the world with humility and as a servant. Windows were not a liability.   

What are you doing to ensure windows are not a liability to your leadership?

Seeing the Spiders

I am staring out my windshield watching the blacktop and occasional cars and trucks pass by.  Out of the corner of my eye I see something move inside the car.  Glancing again, I see that a yellow spider about the size of a dime crawled out of a crack between the glass and plastic and was crawling down the strip.  

I try to get my wife's attention and she looks once. "Look at that," I say.  She looks away without any expression.  

"Did you see that?" I ask.

"See what?"

"The window."

"What are you looking at?" she asks.

Pointing my finger, I say, "Here - do you have something for it?"

"Oh - I was looking outside and didn't see anything important!"

If my daughter was driving, the spider would have been a major event and disrupted the smooth drive.  For me, it wasn't a big deal - but needed to be dealt with.  The spider was soon outside the vehicle with a flick of the finger toward an open window.

Depth of field is important as we progress to our goals.  You might find things to celebrate along the way. You might find a bigger issue that can derail your goal.  Or you might find an annoyance to take care before it becomes a bigger issue. 

Take time this week to assess the environment needed for success to reach your goals.  Deal with the "spiders" now before they have a chance to cause excitement and distractions.  The trip will be a lot more fun.

In the Woods

She was probably 10 years old wearing a sundress, flip flops, a camelback water system backpack, and riding a child sized mountain bike in the woods – and without a helmet.  She pulled off to the side of the trail to let me go by.  I asked if she was ok.  She said, “I am ok and I know what I am doing”.  Her story was that her dad was coming right behind her.  She was expecting to go to the beach but didn’t know their plans had changed until she was a picked up.   She had been to the park before and knew her way.  I offered to ride with her until her dad caught up to her, but she didn’t want any help.  I told her it might be a good idea to stop a little up the trail at a rest spot and wait until her dad caught up.

I got back on my bike and continued – but still was bothered that she was alone even though it was a popular trail that would loop back to the parking lot.  I talked to a couple of other faster riders were passing me and they had seen her as well.  They were going to make a second loop and check on her and look to see if there was a parent looking for their child. 

It had a happy ending, but not until a couple of riders went back out after finding her puzzled dad at the beginning of the trail.  Talking with the dad I found out the young girl had overestimated her skill and knowledge and assumed support was close.  The father assumed she would stay close and she was prepared (even though he underestimated the importance of a helmet, shoes, and tighter clothing).

Chances are that you have probably seen something similar to this in the workplace.  A new staff member starts, the supervisor makes some assumptions based on their past experiences, and the new person doesn’t want to ask questions or take advice.  Suddenly (or not so suddenly) a preventable situation occurs.  The new person feels embarrassed, the supervisor has a woulda-coulda-shoulda moment, and the ripple effect continues for a while.

How does a leader prevent something like this from happening?

1. Meet often with new team members.  It gives the opportunity to intentionally connect, build a relationship, establish trust, and facilitate conversation.
2. Be clear on objectives what success will look like when the job is done well.
3. Ask open ended questions.  Explore situations with them and have them assess what they see.  Ask them do describe their plans and what they will be doing next.  Ask them to assess the progress and what might need to be adjusted.  Ask questions that will help them sustain success they find.
4. Debrief tasks and projects and celebrate successes.  They need to know what when the target is hit.

REVIEW - Eat, Move, Sleep

While I don’t know Tom Rath, I think he has a passion for helping people be the best version of themselves that they can be.  His books “How Full is Your Bucket”, “”Strengthsfinder 2.0”, “Strengths Based Leadership”, “Vital Friends”, and “Well-Being” all offer challenges to grow and understand ourselves better and maximize who we are.

Tom has a new book coming out in October this year called “Eat, Move, Sleep” to challenge people to make small choices that can lead to big changes in their health.  He has taken his research and writing skills and applied them to a topic that that is front of mind with many people – being healthy. We all want to be able to do the things we are passionate about for as long as we can.  Unfortunately, the choices we make along the way in our eating habits, activity levels, and sleeping habits contribute to the obstacles we encounter along the way.  

"Eat, Move, Sleep" captures the research from the medical, psychology, and nutrition communities and packages it in 30 quick read chapters (think a chapter a day for a month) that each conclude with 3 action steps around eating, moving, and sleeping for you to consider implementing in your own life.  It is about making little changes in our habits and lifestyle that will have a ripple effect across the quality of life we experience as we become healthier. 

Have you heard some pieces of the information before?  Probably.
Have you ignored some of things you have been told?  Most Likely.

So what makes this different?  “Eat, Move, Sleep” will challenge you to rethink what you are doing in small steps rather than overwhelming you.

1. It shows the cause and effect relationship between the three areas of our lives.  Many people focus on just diet or exercise to change their life.
• Did you know that good sleep increases a digestive hormone that keeps you from eating too much and decreases another that boosts appetite?
2. Tom gives you just enough research in plain and simple terms to support his action steps at the end of each chapter.  
• A simple check-in with another person around activity levels nearly doubles a participant’s activity levels over the span of a year.
• A Harvard study with 100,000 people showed the quality of what you eat will influence your health more than calories.
3. Challenges are realistic.  You are challenged to do one of the three action steps each day for a month and try it to see what the result will be for you.  It’s doable.
• Identify a few healthy food options – buy them automatically so good choices are always available at home.
• When your brain is filled with new information to remember or when you need a burst of creativity, go for a walk.
• Eat the healthiest things on your plate first and end with the least healthy.

If you need a little inspiration, a nudge in the right direction, simple steps toward a goal, or some conversation starters to share with friends who you have health concerns for, this will be a great book to read.  Don't overlook this topic - or this book.  You will think differently about what you eat, how you move, and how you sleep – and if you implement just a handful of the action steps, you will be healthier and better prepared to lead. 

You can pre-order the book now at http://www.tomrath.org/exclusive-offer-for-early-adopters/ and get an electronic copy to read ahead of time!

Lead Where You Are…

The 2013 Global Leadership Summit (GLS) was last week.  Facilitated by Willow Creek Church in Illinois, the GLS is a two day leadership conference conducted live at Willow Creek and broadcast to 235 locations in the US with over 75,000 participants, and another 92 countries around the world (some live and some on DVD later in the fall).  It’s an open call to men and women to live out their Christian faith in the workplace and within their church developing and growing their capacity as leaders.

So what were the nuggets this year?  I started my list that is actually much longer, but here are the top 10 that made me pause and are still making me think this week.

Bill Hybels – Pastor

• Be strong and courageous because I am with you -  God to Joshua (Joshua 1:9, the Bible) 

Colin Powell - General

• Great leaders know how to connect the purpose of the organization to the role of each person.

Patrick Lencioni – Business Consultant and Author

• We can’t be Christ like servant leaders if we don’t help people connect the reason they work with how they work. To be relevant is to have a reason for doing what you do, and the job of a leader is to help employees find that reason.  Management is ministry.

Mark Burnett – TV and Movie Producer

• Choose your companions before you choose your road.  Hire the right people,  empower them,  get out of the way

Joseph Grenny – Business Consultant and Author

• If our faith experience isn’t translating into other habits and experiences, we aren’t leading.

Chris Brown – Pastor

• Never get caught up in the great things of leadership if it takes you away from the God things of leadership.

Bob Goff – Attorney and CEO

• What were you made to do?  God created us to do unique things.   Discover it and do it! Lead where you are!

Brene' Brown – Research Professor and Speaker

• “The 2 irreducible needs of men, women and children are love and belonging…In the absence of these, there is always suffering….Fitting in is different than belonging”

Oscar Muriu – Pastor in Kenya

• Reflect Jesus - never do ministry/lead alone. Keep budding leaders around you.   When you lead alone,  there is a missed opportunity for mentorship.  (When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. - Acts 4:13, the Bible)

Dr.  Henry Cloud – Psychologist and Author

• The people who thrive create a list of things they can absolutely do & forget about the things out of their control.

The challenge with any conference take-away is what do you so with them once you get back home. Here are three simple things:

1. Tell someone what you learned or what stuck out 
2. Revisit your notes within a week 
3. Decide on 1-3 things you are going to do and put them on the calendar and make them happen 

Save August 14-15 next year for two great days to blend leadership with your faith. Their website has a list of locations already as well as an early bird registration. 

Disconnected Message

I was driving past a fast food restaurant that has a marquee sign in just the right spot.  It was at a perfect place to attract attention to their best deals, their specialty, their strengths, or what makes them different on a corner with four other food choices surrounding them.  What was their sign promoting (and has been promoting for over a month!)?  Bags of ice only $1.29.

Maybe they are having a contest with the other roast beef places to see who can sell more ice, but I doubt it. However, I think someone forgot what they do well and store leaders forgot about the importance of reminding their team what they do well.  

Their message and identity are disconnected – and missing an opportunity to tell the customer what they do best and why they should choose them for a meal.

·         Do you remember what do well and what you are called to do?
·         Does your team know what you are called to do?
·         Are potential customers attracted to you for what you do best?

Spend time this month reviewing the messages you are sharing.  Do they align with your vision, mission, and priorities?  You can fix them now so you are not just selling ice.

3 Characteristics of Effective Managers

Was working with a group of newer managers last week on the topic of leadership. We were talking about the actions of leadership vs. management and the need for leaders to be effective managers as well.  One of the exercises involved identifying the top characteristics of effective managers.   The top three as determined by the group:

• Good communicator
• Sets a good example 
• Innovative - willing to explore different ways of doing things 

What made these stick out from the list of 25 they reviewed?   The group spent 2 days interacting and discussing ideas around being cause driven,  transitioning to a team leadership role,  hiring the right team, providing feedback,  and coaching for success.   Communication influences each topic and is critical for success in each area.   It involves sharing the cause that drives organization,  delegating tasks effectively,  listening to team members and prospective team members,  an clarifying goals,  expectations, and feedback. 

Setting a good example seems like an obvious "duh" moment.  I think it goes back to the fact that we want to follow and be led by leaders and managers that have their walk and talk align.  Trust develops when we experience this.   Without trust,  the relationship falters - the example we want to model is eroded.   This group recognized this in themselves and identified being a good example as a core competency to aspire. 

The final characteristic,  being innovative and open to new ways of doing things,  highlights the desire to develop people.   Giving our teams step by step instructions and not allowing them to create with the clear outcomes in mind only creates puppets - not future leaders who can think critically through a task.   There is a place and time for complete detail,  but the development of people requires effective managers to be open to new ways of doing things developed by their team. 

I think the group did a great job identifying the competencies for success.  Developing communication skills,  setting a good example  - walking the talk,  and exploring different ways of doing things will make a big difference in their organizations and in their teams.   How are you doing in these areas? 

Decisive – New book by the Heath Brothers

I just read Chip and Dan Heath’s new book “Decisive – How to make better choices in life and work”.  I don’t usually grab a new book as soon as it comes out, but after reading “Switch” I anticipated that it would provide some great ideas and tools for problem solving and decision making - and I am using the tools already personally and professionally.

“Decisive” delivers ideas, a plan, and stories that capture the essence of the acronym WRAP – Widening options, Reality testing assumptions, Attain distance before deciding, and Prepare to be wrong.  At the conclusion of each chapter is a one page summary that serves as a great tool to remember the concepts and key stories for each point made – a helpful tool when you need a quick reminder.

Chip and Dan address the “Villains of Decision Making” - the traps we fall into that cause a poor decision.

1. Narrow framing that results in limiting the options we pursue
2. Having a confirmation bias that leads us to find the information that supports our initial thoughts
3. Short term emotions that deliver a mountain top experience leading the decision making process
4. Overconfidence in our own prediction capabilities – remembering only the times we were right

While I walked away with several ideas from the book, there are five that resonate more than others for me.

• Widening options is about lighting the entire stage.  There is a tendency to let the spotlight be so intense that we only look in the lit area for our options and then miss out on the activity on the remainder of the stage. 
• “Ladder Up” – Climb the ladder for ideas and a broader/higher perspective.  Look for internal brightspots (a reference to Switch) that can be duplicated, look for external successes as benchmarks, and look for broader similar issues – maybe in a different field.
• Pre-mortem review.  Too many times we get to the end of a failure and ask what caused the failure or less than expected success.  Pre-mortem preview looks at the decision and asks, “What will cause this decision to not be wildly successful?” and then follows up with “Can these be overcome?” or “What needs to be done to overcome these?”.
• Enshrining core priorities.  Core values can be aligned with many of the decision we have.  Core priorities clarify what is important.  “Debt free” as a priority will change the type of car to buy for most people.  “Developing our own talent” as a priority may change the resources allocated to an intern program.
• Setting tripwires.  Tripwires provide guidelines to make secondary decisions and can be used to provide a safety net for risk taking.  If we are not at a certain enrollment by a date, we will re-evaluate; if we have hit a certain revenue level, we will add staff; if I haven’t heard anything by a certain date, I will switch vendors.

You may pull other ideas out the book depending where you are at right now personally and professionally.  Regardless, you will find that the Heath brothers have given you additional tools to use in your leadership toolbox – and who doesn’t appreciate a toolbox that is filled with useful and practical tools for their particular trade.

Time to Explore

Time Magazine listed Jesus in their top 100 most influential of all time.  Author Joel Stein stated, “If 3 billion people follow your teachings 2,000 years after you're dead, that's pretty influential.”  As a Christian approaching Easter, I would argue that “after you’re dead” should be substituted with “after you are resurrected and leave earth” but the point is Jesus’s influence is spread through all world..

Beyond his mission of restoring people back to God, he left a blueprint for leadership development  by how he developed his disciples and brought them on a journey with him.  He ushered them through three steps that changed their lives.  Although each one of his team progressed on his own time, he engaged them on a journey that still works today.

• Explore.  Jesus invited them to "come and see".  They followed along to see what Jesus was all about watching, learning, listening, and participating in his ministry.
• Grow and coach.  He challenged them to think and act in new ways. After spending time with him, he challenged them.   In Luke 9, he directs them to go out and minister, and Luke 10 he sends out another 72.  He gave them tasks to grow.  He asked them tough questions.
• Mentor/model.  After his resurrection, Jesus told them to go out and make disciples.  He helped them explore, learn, and grow.  They were told to replicate what he taught them creating even more followers and leaders.

What is overlooked many times is an intentional plan includes the explore stage.  Why?  Exploring takes time.  Impatience wants to move us fast and get straight to where we see more impact – and isn’t it great to delegate a task or feel like we are a mentor?

But exploring is learning. Its necessary. New leaders see what works and doesn’t work.  They see styles and situations without pressure.  They have a chance to think critically about the type of leader they want to be and how they want to make a difference.  Interning, interviewing leaders, career exploration sessions, shadowing, spending time with experienced leaders, and training opportunities all provide opportunities to explore.  It may feel less productive at times.  But it makes a difference and it will uncover the diamonds in the rough and give a foundation for future tasks and roles.

Jesus took common men and invited them to explore.  Empowered by their ongoing relationship with him after  resurrection -  they changed the world after exploring their calling, being challenged to grow, and mentoring others in the faith.  Who will you invite to explore that will be the next generation of leaders?

Blaming King Kong

There are many ways people have used movies to teach leadership.  Thousands of clips are sitting out on YouTube, on our shelves,  and etched in our memories.  They capture leadership truths on a big screen with a creative flair that stays with us.  Movies do more than entertain us.

I was looking for some simple entertainment in Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake to pass the time on the bike for a couple workouts. If you only know King Kong as a giant gorilla, it’s the story of one man’s extreme measures to film and eventually capture a 2 ½ story gorilla legend from an uncharted island and bring it to New York City in 1931.  After experiencing the loss of several crew in the pursuit, this interaction occurred.

Denham (the movie producer): I've risked everything I had on this film.

Captain (of the boat and crew): No Denham, you risked everything I have.

Denham was infected with “teleopathy” – a pursuit of a goal that becomes so strong that all reason, moral perspective, and compassion for people is put aside and justified by the end result.  As no surprise,  the camera and film was lost, most of the crew was lost, and in the end New York City was torn up and more lives lost including King Kong.  In the end, Denham nonchalantly blames  Kong and his pursuit of the blonde actress – “It was beauty killed the beast” and walks away from any responsibility he had as the leader pushing through all obstacles without regard to the risks of everyone else.

When teleopathy infects a leader, it doesn’t just impact the leader.  It impacts all that they have been entrusted.  Leaders, in many ways, are stewards of people, relationships, brand, customers, facilities, money.  Each feels the ripple (and sometimes waves) of decisions infected with teleopathy.

Everyday we enter the day with an allotted number of minutes, a role, a team, relationships, and other tangible goods and services.  Denham played the part of the irresponsible steward on the big screen.  We have the real opportunity every day to be a servant leader to empower and support our teams in our collective work balancing the pursuit of a goals with being a wise steward and leaving things better than when they were given.

Staying Grounded

Hanging in my office is the painting “Christ My Pilot” by Warner Sallman.  It has hung in my office for over 15 years. His most famous painting was “The Head of Christ” in 1941 that has now sold more than 500 million copies. Warner was recognized as the “best-known artist of the century” by the New York Times in 1994.  The goal of his paintings was to “illuminate the mysteries of Christ” so that people would understand what a relationship with him would bring.

What was the mystery it captured for me?  I have made some mistakes along the way in my leadership journey.   I have also had successes that have been a lot of fun, and learned a lot about myself, my faith, and my passions.  The painting came to represent how I feel much of the time leading organizations and working with some very committed volunteers and staff.  I know my success as a leader comes only as much as I am willing to put myself in the picture as the young sailor and commit the tasks to the one who had prepared me for the work ahead.

Psalm 32:8 (ESV) says "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you."  While I don't know if this was the verse Warner had in mind as he painted this picture in 1950 while staying at a YMCA, I do know this is the promise I have as leader when I am willing to let God direct my steps to accomplish his plan.

It’s easy to fall back on past success or get caught up in the stress of the moment and forget that apart from God my efforts fall short. I have to remember that it is through him that I am able to align my head, heart, hands, and habits to accomplish all that he has laid out for me as a leader.  Edging God out – as Ken Blanchard calls it - in even one of these areas will eventually end in a leadership failure and not achieving all that was possible.

So – what is the reminder for you to keep grounded and connected to your values and beliefs?  

Learn, Connect, Grow

One of the reasons I enjoy helping facilitate training and leadership sessions is the opportunity it provides to learn from the participants and be reminded of best practices.  There's always at least one of those “aha" moments that makes me pause and retune what I am doing.

I was on a career panel this weekend answering questions and sharing thoughts on career development.   Two questions put my brain in motion. But the one that challenged me to rethink some things was  a basic question.  "How do I find a mentor and how do I network for success?"  It hit me after the three of us on the panel answered with pretty standard answers.  I realized that we do a lot of gathering together by position type or leadership levels.  We have limited opportunities for young leaders to connect with the perceived leaders of the organization. Both are missing out. Organizational leaders miss out previewing new leaders, hearing new ideas, and learning to understand other generations.   Less experienced staff miss out on the opportunity to create a broader network, share ideas, find mentors, and grow. 

Some of my greatest learnings were from watching and learning from the experienced CEOs and leaders talk and debate issues in the small groups or over lunch - they were more candid with their peers without a microphone or stage, they liked to give an answer when asked, and their true personalities came out.  I remember making mental notes to do certain things and in some cases not to do some things (don’t wear something light colored with pasta served!).  This mixed group of leaders from across the area met monthly or at least bi-monthly.  Eventually, I was invited to be a part of a learning circle of 5 that met regularly to share ideas on a topic.  I was the least experienced at the time and felt privileged to be a part of the group.

Whether we rely too much on technology to network and connect, dismiss the connections in favor of efficiencies, or just plain forget the impact those before us had in our careers - we need mentors and cross generational relationships to happen.  It’s good for all of us.

Do you have venues to network and connect experienced leaders with frontline leaders? What will you do to ensure that those following you have the tools to be successful in the future?

Instill Hope

The drive to Iowa from my home in the Twin Cities passes right by a great message from the highway department.

Hope – 1 Mile

Not sure if it means that you will feel hopeful in one mile after leaving your cares behind while on an excursion or if it means you will feel hopeful returning home to a comfortable place.  Regardless, hope is nearby.

We have a tendency to gravitate toward hope.  We don’t want to be in situations that appear hopeless.    We tend to give of our time and money to organizations and causes that provide hope.  The Gallup Organization says it's one of the top four characteristics of leaders we want to follow.  Having hope provides an entire different perspective.

I am blessed to work for an organization that creates hope on a daily basis.  I am part of a team at the YMCA that facilitates hope in a variety of situations in a variety of ways.

• A student who was told he wouldn’t be successful will become the first in his family to graduate from college because of an encounter with a mentor
• A parent reeling after their child is murdered received encouragement and support from a lifeguard in just the right place at the right time
• A single dad in the midst of a custody battle finding a chance to regroup and connect with his kids while losing weight and lowering health risks
• A young teen girl caught up in cutting having a chance to learn leadership, invest in others, and have fun has her hope restored for a better future.
• A 71 year old woman who loses part of her lung to cancer improves her strength and endurance so that she is able to enjoy life again.

How do you create an organization that instills hope?

• Recruit a team that is cause driven and motivated by making a difference.  Ask for examples of how they made a difference when you are looking for a new team member.  
• Align passions of the organization and team.  Jobs drain life...mission inspires life.
• Tell real life stories of the hope given through purposeful actions.  People remember stories and repeat them.  Tie success to stories.
• Give opportunities to make a difference to all levels of the organization - office staff and front line staff alike. Let them see the faces of those regaining hope.
• Stay connected to hope as a leader.  Know that God’s message in Jeremiah 29:11 is meant to instill hope - “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  Like a previous blog post (HERE) - you have been given a gift to benefit others and instill hope.  Model what you want others to do.

Lighting the Next Candle

Christmas Eve.  The day brings lots of memories, celebrations, and traditions.  Hopefully, it is still fresh with positive memories as we start the year.

A tradition in our church – and many others around the world – involves lighting candles.  Everyone walking into the sanctuary receives an unlit candle as they walk in.  At the close, the room is darkened and several people walk the aisles touching their lit candle to first one in aisle.  They in turn light the candle of the person next to them and the step is repeated numerous times until the entire room is aglow symbolizing what Jesus's birth meant for the world.

The candle that starts it all off doesn’t lose any of it glow.  It didn’t shorten the time it stayed lit. It didn’t go out.  What did happen was that an entire room was lit with other candles capable of igniting another. 

This is also what happens when leaders look outward.  They look to build a sustainable future that it is not dependent on them.  They look to create others capable of igniting the vision and passion of another.  They know the room will be brighter because they shared their vision in a way that inspires others to action and empowers them to bring it to reality.  They share of themselves to make a difference.

As you start the new year, what are the skills, vision, knowledge and expertise you will pass on to key people in your organization?  Who are the people you want to ignite and inspire to make a difference?

Defining Your Organization

“The communication processes incorporated in your organization structure defines your organization”

-unknown

They offered a great deal.  A start up provider of  with a goal of putting a 7 inch tablet in every student’s hands offered a tablet at half price – they wanted to create a strong following and reputation.  The specs were OK.  The promo videos were good.  Tech blogs picked it up.  They were selling pre-orders to ship in 3-4 weeks after what was supposed to be a weekend blitz price point. 

Then it began to crumble.

They left their entry price open longer than the weekend.  A Facebook post – and not a personal email - said there were customs issues on the product.  Another date was set for shipping…shared only on Facebook.  Phone calls went unanswered, the website disappeared and came back, and the Facebook page disappeared…came back…and then disappeared entirely.  Emails to the company went unanswered and then auto answered.  The next self imposed dates were missed with no communication.

None of the communication was sent out directly to the customers.  Voice mail said they were closed (all the time).

This was a case study in what not to do.  Their communication processes (or lack thereof) defined their organization.  They wanted to be defined as a company seeking to enhance the learning process for students of all ages and enhancing business mobility. They became a company that was seen as a scam and out of touch with reality thinking price was entitlement to blind trust.  A deep and wide chasm between definitions.

What was the consequence?  They lost credibility and trust - two things that will be very difficult to gain back.  Google Wallet pulled their vendor relationship for them to use their service.  According to the tablet's website that stopped short of responsibility, all orders are being refunded....and then the entire website disappeared after a short presence. 

What communication messages, tools, and processes are you using?  How are they defining your organization?  In a time when communication tools are plentiful, expectations are higher than ever.  What are you doing to increase connectedness with your key stakeholders?

9 Volt Battery

Sitting in our basement family room is a commercial grade recumbent bike.  While it would be a large and expensive laundry drying rack for some people, it has gotten quite a bit of use from our family over the years we have had it.  While summer use is fairly limited, winter use is heavier for the quick workouts when no one wants to make the journey to the Y or I don’t want to set up the trainer on my road bike.

We all knew the day was coming when it would stop working, and it did.  I tried several things but no avail.  I had an expert look at it who was short of a clear diagnosis but was leaning towards an alternator that was not putting out the voltage that was intended.  But he also noticed that a small compartment to hold a 9 volt battery was empty – and it has always been empty.  I found a 9 volt battery and we snapped it into place.  And the bike began to work again to the delight of at least a couple people in the house.

Sometimes it’s not a big change that is needed to make something work.  It might be a slight tweak to the current environment to make something function.  It might be a small adjustment in the timing or a better clarification of an expectation.  It might be adding just a little more focus to an effort – or just a little more energy.

What is your 9 volt battery that will translate into a more successful effort, product, service, or achievement to close out the year and position you for success in 2013?  Chances are it might be something sitting right there in front of you and you might just miss it looking for the big thing to fix it.

60 Days

It’s here.

There are just 63 days left in 2012 and by the time you are reading this it will be less.  You can look at this as only 60 days left in the year and wonder how you are going to get things done you wanted to get done and make comments about how fast the year has gone.

Or you can take a different approach.

You look forward with enthusiasm and passion knowing you have the gift of 60 days to transform the end of year and cap it off with an intense focus and energy to achieve something special.

Mark today on your calendar.  This can be your 60 day challenge.

• Is there a discipline you want to reconnect with?
• Is there a project you want to jumpstart?
• Is there a book you want to finish?
• Is there a plan you want to write that will change 2013 if executed?

Pick four things you are going to do by the end of 2012.  Do them.  Celebrate your success. 

You will be a valuable asset to your team and energize them with your focus the next 60 days. Make a difference with yourself and those around you. 

"Keep your eyes focused on what is right, and look straight ahead to what is good. Be careful what you do, and always do what is right." (Proverbs 4:25-26, New Century Version)

Saving a "Trillion"

There is a great scene in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy that is not only funny but captures a great truth about new ideas brilliantly.  Arthur, Zaphod, and Ford have landed on planet Vogsphere to go rescue Trillion - Arthur's potential girlfriend.  They have landed without a plan and are in dire need of an idea.  Problem is the planet has been devoid of anything new due to the Shovel Creatures - they live under ground and come up to smack a person in the face whenever they have an idea.  Consequently, the planet's inhabitants are stuck in culture filled with forms, permissions, and meaningless actions.  Watch the video to to see how Arthur and his team are surprised with Shovel Creatures.

New ideas are an important part of creating growth, efficiencies, and meeting heightened expectations.  When teams are given the chance to contribute it builds a sense of connectedness and empowerment.  Ideas are sitting at the front line, in the middle of your leadership structure, at the top of you're leadership structure, and with your customers. 

Where are they bottlenecked on your planet?

• In the history of "always been that way"
• In the present daily "fires" that take priority?
• In the future fears of "that won't work"
• In the complacency of "it works fine the way it is"

How to rid your planet of the Shovel Creatures:

1. Identify your "Trillion" - what might need rescuing on your planet?
2. Ask for ideas
3. Implement a new idea no matter how simple
4. Celebrate the success

Watch the growth happen without the Shovel Creatures tending your planet.