I asked him, “Why not?”

“Because they never work.”

Did you catch it? This man is at risk of making a crucial error in judgment – and it may cost him dearly in the year ahead. The error isn’t that he didn’t create a New Year’s resolution; his error is that he doesn’t believe he can change.

Immeasurable human potential will be lost in 2010 because too many people won’t even try to change. How will you ensure that 2010 is not a repeat of 2009 for you? Beware of these three obstacles, and when you encounter them blow through them.

1. The “Mis-Identification” Obstacle: Too many people identify themselves with the results they create. This ensures future paralysis as you eventually will deliver sub-par performance – meaning YOU are sub-par. (Really? - Not.) Dissolve this obstacle by positioning all outcomes as fodder for the hungry person you are.
2. The “I Don’t Really Care” Obstacle: This is a silly game we all play with ourselves. When you try something new and don’t succeed your defense is to fool yourself into believing you don’t care. Dissolve this obstacle by memorizing this question – and answering it frequently: Why do I care?
3. The “Query Quandary” Obstacle: It’s a fact that questions trigger the mind. Yet, when most people trip while attempting to achieve, they ask the wrong question: “What am I doing wrong?” This puts them in a quandary: by answering this question they become experts at failure. (And thus, fail more.) Dissolve this obstacle by asking forward focus questions such as, “What will I do better next time?”

Don’t kill the messenger: A new year is here. Change efforts – be it resolutions or otherwise – do work if the change technology you’re using is effective.

Here’s to blowing through obstacles in the months ahead.

Beware: Radical Thanksgiving Idea (It Could Change Everything)

Vannoy and Ross

Thanksgiving is almost here. This U.S. holiday provides an opportunity to pause and give thanks for the abundance in your life.

As most people know, operating in a state of gratitude is a powerful tool that moves you forward. And, focusing on what you have (such as what’s working, where you have momentum, etc.) significantly increases the chances that you’ll deliver more of the same – because you go toward your focus.

But is it possible too many people are cheating themselves? What happens if “giving thanks” for only the obvious blessings in your life…means you’re only doing the easy part – and denying yourself untapped momentum and energy?

Here’s a radical Thanksgiving idea: This year give thanks to those people and events that are currently making your life difficult. This is not a joke. And, it’s not for the faint of heart; superior living and leading often is the result of being willing and able to do what most others can’t or won’t.

Those gifted leaders reading this know that challenges (also known as problems, issues, etc.) are temporary locks on future growth – and it’s your job to break the code so you can move forward. Consider the possibility that the most important step in breaking the code to going to a new level of living and leading is giving thanks for what’s not working in your life.

Yes, this is a radical idea. (Is it really?)

But if it is true that if you want to change things, you have to change how you do things - then such an unusual twist to your Thanksgiving could change everything moving forward - not because it will immediately change the people and events around you; rather, it will change how you feel about everything “wrong” in your life.

Here’s to feeling different this Thanksgiving – and creating greater results moving forward.

Using Work-Place-Crack has become so common, many business leaders accept the behavior as normal. Consequently, this “elephant in the office” has earned the nickname “The Silent Results Killer.”

Work-Place-Crack is the freebase form of the highly addictive substance with the street name of CTA, or Can’t-Take-Accountability. Initially, employees use the crack approach because of the intense pleasure they derive from avoiding responsibility. But like any addictive substance, increased amounts of the approach or behavior are required to achieve the high.

These are the top three signs you’ve got a crack addict on your team:

1) The person cracks when it’s time to make a decision. Every decision means change. This means risk is involved. The resulting pressure can be too much – thus the employee “cracks” and avoids making decisions.

2) They crack when events or results don’t go their way. Like a child in a candy store who isn’t allowed to put their hands on anything, some employees “crack” when they don’t get their way. Their emotional cracks ensure this person is doomed to a future of failure as their focus will not allow them to see the opportunities that lie in every situation.

3) Employees crack when they misinterpret outcomes as failures. Instead of seeing every outcome as an invitation to learn and move forward, these addicts see failure – and crack and quit.

And now the most horrific fact of all: In an effort to eradicate the use of Work-Place-Crack, most organizations actually perpetuate and increase its use!

In next week’s blog we’ll explore the three steps things bosses are doing to create Work-Place-Crack addicts – and the proven method used to eliminate this elephant in the office, this “silent results killer.”

I saw a man walking down the street with a bulb of garlic hanging around his neck. He smelled terrible, and looked worried. “Dude. Why are you doing this to us – and yourself?”

“There’s no way I’m going to fall victim to the flu pandemic,” he replied. “This garlic will save me.”

As crazy as that seems, do you know people who still lead the way they did prior to the economy becoming afflicted with its version of the flu? As outdated as wearing garlic to save yourself from the pandemic, some leaders are still ‘thinking’ and ‘leading’ like they did before – even though we all know much more effective ways to drive change within organizations.

As an example, consider accountability. “You have to hold people accountable,” is uttered in leadership meetings around the globe. Yet, how do you and your peers respond when you know you’re being forced, told or demanded to do things? It smells as much as garlic – and is as ineffective at driving change, too.

It’s time to end the misconception, the illusion, that you can force others to be accountable. Lack of accountability in an organization is a consequence, a failure of leadership; blaming others for not being accountable is often a confession that a person isn’t able to foster and create the natural accountability that resides in most employees.

Accountability is a mindset – not a task.

What strategy is your organization about to launch? Before pressing the “go” button, ask:

• To what extent are WE driving this change – rather than the people who will be doing most of the work?
• What questions can we ask to co-create ownership of this idea?
• How can we better incorporate participants’ ideas and tap into their motivations?

Are you changing with the times? Of course, you don’t have to take steps to develop accountability. You can always demand it – and wear garlic around your neck.

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

Are there people on your team who are confused because the manner in which they conducted business in the past isn’t working anymore? And, do you know people who are frozen, unsure what to do next, because they’re puzzled about the future?

Welcome to the Era of Confuzzlement.

Confusion and puzzlement reign, leaving too many teams arguing about their past (a complete waste of time) and ridiculously slow to respond to the future. So slow in some cases, that the future becomes the past before they can do anything about it. Which means, of course, these teams then have new (old) material to argue about. And the cycle continues, in some cases leaving entire organizations confuzzled.

Lead by Stepping Out and Up.

“This is a crisis economy,” shares a friend named Rich. “You can’t follow the same rules. You can’t think like you used to. You have to step out and up. You have to lead different.”

Rich should know. He’s part of a team that is guiding an organization through difficult – and successful – changes. Below are some of the reasons why they’re winning. Use these steps with your team to step out and up:

1)    Create a culture where everyone is responsible for leading – everyone is expected to step out and up.

2)    Ask forward focus questions – and lots of them. Rich’s organization knows that the moment they get comfortable with “answers” that in time, people will become confuzzled. Leadership is in the questions – not the answers.

3)    Build a thinking system that responds to new ideas with “how do we make that work?” instead of the confuzzled approach of “here’s why that won’t work.”

If you are approaching business like you did three years ago, your customers will most certainly become confuzzled, too, and take their scarce dollars elsewhere.

You can lead today by clearing up the confuzzlement that grips so many. Today, step out and up.

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

Recently I had a conversation with Sergio, the President of a company in Peru. When asked about what he had to accomplish in 2009 he answered, “We have to do business as usual in a very different way.”

Sergio is a gifted leader who understands something many leaders miss: If you’re going to succeed in 2009, the word “usual” must be synonymous with “different.” The leaders who can effectively develop this wisdom in their teams will win.

Standing in the way of this critical mindset shift is a big, hairy elephant. Most people prefer routines. When elements and variables are constant, it creates the illusion of security. But more than ever, “status quo” means “no go.” Therefore, how does “change” become “business as usual”?

One of the primary reasons your company can have a competitive advantage is because most other organizations will sabotage their best efforts: They’ll push their leaders “to communicate more.” They’ll use the “blah-blah-blah” telling method of preaching why people must shift their paradigms and change how they approach their job.

The only change this creates is an increase in resentment the masses have for their supervisors.

The mindset shift happens when the people doing the work get to experience the need for achieving the shift. You can accomplish this new understanding by:

1. …regularly building confidence in others by celebrating achievements – and asking them why what they’re doing is working.
2. …pushing change out to where it needs to happen: the front line. This is done by asking for people’s ideas on the spot, the moment change is needed.
3. …by tapping into and leveraging motivations. People have strong reasons for wanting to succeed. Give them a chance to satisfy those reasons, and…

…you guarantee that “business as usual” will always different.

There are a lot of people dreaming right now. January marks the point for setting a course in the New Year. What is it you want to achieve? What do you want to do? Become?

Here’s some important advice: Don’t follow your dreams. 

Last year a big, hairy elephant stood in the way of millions of dreams. And he’s ready to trample your dreams for 2009 if you’re not careful. There is a better way.

Don’t follow your dreams – because following anything doesn’t guarantee you’ll get there. How many people set lofty aspirations – only to become sidetracked or disillusioned? “It wasn’t what I really wanted to do anyway,” they rationalized. Or, “That dream was ridiculous. Did you hear what would have been expected of me?”

So they go back to living the life they lived before. And there’s nothing wrong with that…unless you want to improve the life you lived before.

If you’re serious about achieving anything in 2009 don’t follow your dreams – drive your dreams. Bring a level of determination and control and commitment and passion and excitement that leaves little doubt change is what you’re about. 

Drive. Don’t follow.

Following dreams relegates people to never-ending analysis and the search for the perfect plan or method to achieving dreams. And because they follow dreams, they’re susceptible to following the next good idea that comes along. And the next. And the next…which gets them nowhere.

This year, ensure success by: 

1. Setting the vision/dream;
2. Choosing the strategy;
3. Then driving the strategy – consistently.

There is no secret strategy, no hidden code that creates success for some – while others languish in dream purgatory. The difference lies in the execution, in choosing to follow a dream – or drive it. 

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!

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!

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?