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.

Made in the Crockpot

I sat in meetings this week with two different organizations. Both are well respected in their marketplace with passions to make lasting impact. One was looking at data from a survey and discussing how to get better and increase customer loyalty. One was looking to the future and how to ensure that its "DNA" is embedded in its strategic initiatives to broaden its impact. Both organizational discussions came back to relationship building as being a core value and difference maker. Both organizational discussions landed on similar threads - how do we build this value into new and changing delivery models or squeeze it into already busy schedules and tight budgets?

The challenge is that bigger, faster, better leans toward a "microwave" mindset in many cases - push the button wait 3-4 minutes and you have success. However, relationship building requires a "crockpot" mindset - a realization that flavor and uniqueness is better when time it given. There might be a quick connection made, but it is the ongoing dialogue and time engagement that enrich the relationship. When changing priorities, workloads, and daily challenges grow in intensity, the microwave time gets the short term win. The net effect is that an important asset necessary to an organization that values relationships slowly fades away at a speed that is not noticeable.

At the 2012 Global Leadership Summit, relationship building came up in almost every presentation. It played into conflict resolution, accountability, succession planning, organizational health, navigating the generations, decision making, and transformed lives. Intentionally strengthening relationships will create a better leader. And as Bill Hybels noted, "everyone wins when the leader gets better".

Grab the crockpot and follow these three steps (plus a bonus 4th) to enhance relationship building:

• MODEL: Include relationship building time into your schedule. Block the time off and protect it. Use it for relationship building practices no matter how tempting to include other things that might seem important.
• ACCOUNTABILITY: Include relationship building reports on your agenda for team or individual meetings. Ask for updates on work that had been done since the last meeting to deepen an important relationship for the organization or agreed success standards.
• PRIORITIZE: If relationship building is a part of the core for your organization, prioritize it at a high level. Determine if there is a trump value to it and if there is, clarify and communicate it in explicit terms. 
• SHARE: Tell stories that highlight the difference relationships have had and the impact it has had for the individual. Share what deepened the relationship and trust. People remember stories and relate to them.