2009 is here. Will it be a year of sorrow and loss? Or a year of joy and success? Nearly everyone reading this knows that it’s not what happens in the New Year that determines what sort of year it will be – but rather how we respond to what happens that makes the difference.

Standing between knowing this and living this understanding is one, big hairy elephant.

Take the current financial meltdown, for example. Does anyone know how long it will last? Can someone say with certainty what actions are necessary to ensure security? Of course not. Which means only one thing: It’s you. In 2009 you get to decide how you will live and play out each moment. Only you will create the excellence you get to experience.

Is it possible that we make excellence more difficult to achieve than necessary? M. Morgan once said, “Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality; the other a matter of time.”

Whether or not you adopt resolutions in the New Year, Morgan’s counsel may hold a key to your success. Imagine if you created a plan over the next twelve months that assisted you in:

A) Being the highest QUALITY person possible in 24-hour stretches, and then
B) PERSISTENTLY living the discipline of demonstrating that quality.

Quality and persistence – your company promises these qualities to its customers. They also ask you to deliver the same in the workplace. What would 2009 look like if YOU were to require the same of yourself? What would happen if each day you woke up and committed to making the highest quality decisions you could make – and then did the same thing the next day and the next?

Do you care to make any predictions about the New Year? With this ‘quality and persistence’ formula, objectives can become certainties.

Best wishes to you and yours in the exciting year ahead!

In the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, three ghosts visit Ebenezer Scrooge. The ghost from Christmas past takes him on a tour of what once was; the ghost from Christmas future, hooded and carrying a scythe, provides a horrific glimpse of what will be (if Scrooge continues his miserly and cantakerous ways); and then the ghost of Christmas present pays a visit. With him, Scrooge is provided a perspective of what currently is. It is on this tour where Scrooge realizes the endless opportunities with which he’s being presented to reclaim the person he once was and who he always wanted to be: someone who makes a difference.

As you gather with friends and family over the holidays, there will certainly be stories told of what once was: of simpler times, when life seemed much easier, and joy was abundant. And, undoubtedly, conversations will turn to the future; with the economy in shambles. Dark shadows may grow as speculation gives way to “certainties.” People will shake their heads in dismay. Some may wonder, “What is to become of us?”

In this moment that you can be a guide and save your holidays – and perhaps more. The ghosts of the future aren’t a certainty. If the conversation turns to doom and gloom, interrupt and tell your family that the ghost they’re talking about don’t get a free pass. Then, ask questions like the ones below to ensure your loved ones aren’t sending invitations to the very ghost they despise.

• What are we most grateful for right now?
• What do we love and appreciate about each member of our family? 
• What are things that don’t cost money which we have in abundance?
• What qualities do we possess as a family that gives us the confidence we’ll always be secure?
• No matter what happens in the year to come, what are we determined to gain?

The future is not a nightmare and holds nothing to fear – especially when we can seize the opportunities of today to be the person we always knew we would be.

Warm wishes to you and your family during this special Holiday Season! Thank you for the abundance you continue to create.

ELEPHANT ALERT!

The American auto industry has been told by the U.S. government that, in order to receive financial assistance, they must prove they can “reinvent themselves.” This is easier said than done.

Here’s the elephant in the office: There’s abundant research proving that as most people expand their careers, their ability to try new methods and expand their knowledge grinds to a halt. They begin to rely on the tired skills and behaviors that brought them early successes – even when those skills and behaviors won’t deliver successes tomorrow.

This creates a dark future with one of two things happening: 1) The death of a career, or 2) The need to make dramatic “inventions” just to survive.

It doesn’t have to be this difficult.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Some of the finest, most effective leaders we know work for auto companies. Yet, the overall culture of an organization will always dwarf the efforts of those in the minority. Thus, the consensus – or at least perception – persists: The US auto companies didn’t change as fast as the marketplace.

What can we learn from this? Answer: The most effective leaders and organizations reinvent themselves every day.

Most organizations fall short when reinventing themselves because:

1. They focus on their failures, which creates a culture of blame and defensiveness – which means they’re unable to generate the creative solutions needed. And,
2. They see reinventing themselves as an event, which means it won’t happen often enough to ensure success.

Use this proven formula to ensure that “reinvention” becomes a process, a way of life:

1. Focus on what’s working.
2. Consistently ask, “What can we do even better, more of, or differently to create greater results?”
3. Celebrate even the small advances.

This formula will deliver your most important invention: a “you” that succeeds.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

ELEPHANT ALERT!

A friend, Steve, shared a simple – but important – observation: “My daughter spilled her glass of milk, and then sat and cried. Later, I reflected on the friends I have who are crying over their spilled milk. What good does the crying do? You can’t scrape up the milk and put it back in the glass.”

When something bad happens – when milk is spilled – our response can be distilled to two choices:

1. We can cry over it, or
2. We can leverage the incident to make us stronger

Here’s the elephant in the office: Steve, from the story above, knows people who are crying over spilled milk. Their 401K bucket has a hole in it; their company’s market share is dwindling; or, perhaps a colleague or friend “did them wrong” months ago. Regardless, these people become paralyzed as they bemoan their losses.

Consider that the events of today will reveal much about your character, much about how you respond to spilled milk.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Are you seizing the opportunities to make you stronger that are imbedded in the “despair” of today?

“As I listened to my daughter cry, I understood something,” says Steve. “This was a ‘blueprint-for-life’ moment. I could admonish her for being clumsy; I could dismiss the event as being trivial; or, I could use the incident as an invitation to build a stronger bond of trust between the two of us. Once I saw the possibilities, I knew what I had to do.”

What possibilities do you see? Are you leveraging today by ensuring you’re stronger tomorrow?

Spilled milk doesn’t mean we have to cry. A poor economy doesn’t mean you can’t succeed. Opportunities will always exist – and it’s up to you whether or not they seep away.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

ELEPHANT ALERT!

Getting older often means “more aches and pains.” A friend, Jay, in his 40’s, regularly plays basketball. “It’s disappointing. The knees are swollen. My shoulder hurts. And the ankles are giving me fits.” 

And he keeps playing.

In many ways, today’s market is creating pains. Budgets, organizational confidence, 401K’s – they were once bulging as if on steroids. Now, perhaps because they were over-stretched, they spasm and cause sharp pain. 

What do most people do when they’re sore?

Here’s the elephant in the office: People everywhere are grabbing their ice-packs, aspirin, and heading to the sidelines. They show up each day with a “wait and see” attitude. Of course, because they’re unwilling to fully commit to the cause in front of them, they only ensure their team is less likely to win when the score is tallied.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

The answer is in Jay’s approach. “Once you get the ball, nothing hurts anymore,” he says. “When you are determined to make a play, it’s all you can focus on.” And the aches and pains go away.

It’s a trite saying, but perhaps – at this crucial moment – it’s more relevant than ever: Get in the game. 

It’s a fact: If we stop exercising because of aches and pains – we exacerbate and give power to the very thing that’s knocked us down. The same goes in business. Just because things have gotten difficult doesn’t mean we should stop playing the game. We just need to play the game differently. 

Ask you team:

1. How can we flex our awareness and take greater action?
2. What questions can we ask to create greater focus?
3. In what ways are we getting stronger?

Pain may be a reality. What you do with your focus is up to you.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

ELEPHANT ALERT!

I have an acquaintance prone to treating other people poorly. Yet, it’s not uncommon to hear him say, “I respect people who have traditional values. I use my values to guide my actions.” And “Our society needs to get back to living out of its values.”

Values are a hot topic. They are beliefs people hold, and as so many have experienced, they are beliefs to which people can become emotionally attached. Because belief systems are powerful in creating certain results, the values someone has can make or break that person.

Values can create a quandary for organizations; as people from across the community come together under one roof to work, they ensure the values will be multiple and diverse.

Here’s the elephant in the office: Too often ‘values’ become value-less: a wedge, a tool that hurts results. Few would ever claim, “I value hurting other people, diminishing the efforts of others, and making sure people know I’m right.” Yet, when people pass judgment, when their values and communication isolate people, they dismantle trust, collaboration and energy – ingredients necessary for success.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

When utilized effectively, values can be the component that gives organizations a competitive edge. Values need not put teams in a predicament; instead, they should be leveraged.

To do so requires that you talk about them. Rather than focusing on what divides you, ask:

1. What values does our team stand for?
2. Collectively, where do we consistently live out of our common values? 
3. How do our values serve us and make a difference?
4. What values could we embrace more of – and why?

Ensure values add value. Get to the core of why your team does what it does by addressing values today.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

ELEPHANT ALERT!

In the 1999 movie, The Sixth Sense, a main character says, “I see dead people.”  Indeed, he has the remarkable ability to see and communicate with spirits who don’t know they’re dead.

Do you have such extra-sensory perceptions? Can you tell if people are showing up for work in a lifeless state? These people are often uninspired, engaged only when it’s time to CYA, and seem to have given up on the idea that life is about more than just “getting by.”

Here’s the elephant in the office: Sadly, some workplaces perpetuate this zombie-like environment. When some people come to life – with ideas, hope, and determination – they quickly receive the message: “Don’t bother. Get back to work and leave the thinking to us.”

Ineffective managers try to control and limit creativity because they see it as distracting and a threat to their own ideas. They don’t want counter-points to their arguments. Thus, they create dead people around them.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

You are not in the business of creating psychological thrillers. You are in the business of delivering better results – and enjoying the journey in doing so. Today, distinguish yourself as a leader by demonstrating your own mystical powers: bring dead people back to life.

Three steps to bringing people to life:

1. Find and acknowledge the moments when these individuals are alive.
2. Be a model for them; refuse to be a ‘victim’ to the circumstances around you.
3. Honor them; ask them for their ideas; identify what motivates them. And listen for greater understanding.

Not surprisingly, the more you bring people to life around you, the more you come alive.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?