This is a true story, but the names have been changed.  I went hiking with my friend Dale this morning.  He is a mid level manager in a medium sized firm.  He mentioned that their long term Chief Operations Officer had recently left the organization.  After a few more steps up the trail, I asked him what difference that had made.  He considered his answer carefully and with a little grin said, “Productivity has gone up in every department by 20% or more.”

 

There is a huge elephant that is limiting productivity in many organizations, and it’s called Frank… or Jim… or Mary… or Cynthia… or whoever it is in your organization that fits the description of Frank below.

 

I asked Dale what happened after Frank left the organization.  Again, he considered his answer carefully.  “It wasn’t what happened after Frank left.  It was mostly what didn’t happen while he was there.”  

 

We stopped hiking and I pulled out my 3×5 card and pen.  

 

“With Frank, we lost interest.  We just did what we had to do to get our paychecks.” 

 

“But why?”

 

Dale frowned and proceeded slowly.  “I got to the point where I didn’t really care anymore.   I was never good enough for him… and it always felt like he was either scolding me or telling me what to do.  In fact, now that I think about it, I didn’t really feel like I was a human being.  I just felt like I was a cog in a machine that he was using to get HIS job done.”

 

“So who has taken his place?”

 

“Well that’s the funny thing.  We don’t have a permanent replacement yet, but I guess we have to credit Jean.   The CEO brought her out of retirement until we hire a new COO.”   Dale started to shake his head.   “No, it’s more than Jean.  It’s really us. It’s like we’re all new again, like we all have a new job.  We no longer have Frank breathing down our back and we’re free to do a good job.”

 

“But surely you still need a boss, someone to direct you.”

 

“Well that’s just it.  Jean doesn’t direct us.   She sort of lets us direct ourselves.”  

 

“Dale, I’d really appreciate it if you’d be specific here.  This might be helpful for us to share with other leaders.”

 

“Ok. You know, the first thing she did really surprised me.  She didn’t seem to need to impress us.  She didn’t pretend that she knew how to do our jobs.   In fact, the first thing she did was ask each of us to tell her about our departments and what is working well.”  A big smile spread across Dale’s face.   “And then she listened – I mean really listened.   Then later she asked us for our vision and how we wanted to upgrade our departments and how we planned on getting that done.”   

 

Dale started to ascend the trail, but then he stopped.  “Here’s the thing.  Jean treated me like I was remarkable, and I don’t know what it is, but when she treats me that way, I’m going to be that way.”

 

It’s true: The people around you are just like you and me.  They simply want to contribute and do a good job.  They truly want to be great. 

 

What will  you do today to allow and help the people around you be great?  Are there any Frank’s that you need to re-assign or re-train today?

What are the top three things your company covets right now? You may have answered: money, money and money. But, of course, these are outcomes; they’re not something you can manifest yourself. So we’ll rephrase the question: What are the top three behaviors or qualities your company covets that will drive better results (which will deliver more money)?

 

In desperate times companies crave 1) forward momentum, 2) employee confidence, and 3) team members with the ability to see, create and seize new opportunities. Yet, despite knowing this wish list, does it surprise you to know that many companies sabotage the elements they need to survive?

 

It’s a huge and smelly elephant sitting in the office: Many managers slip to the “boss mentality” and create an environment of pressure, fear, and anxiety. “Our margins are shrinking – so we’re cutting everything.” “Where are we bleeding the most?” “Who’s made these stupid mistakes?” “This will get worse before it gets better.”

 

How do these messages make you feel? I doubt anyone is jumping up and down with excitement and suddenly feeling super creative and confident.

 

Effective leaders know better. These masters aren’t ignoring the numbers; they’re not using a strategy of hope or being unrealistic about economic conditions. They simply know that emotions determine how people act.

 

Do you want to lead those around you? Ask these and other questions to create a focus that helps your team create what they want most:

 

1)    Forward momentum: What strategies are delivering for us right now?

2)    Employee confidence: What experiences do we have that prove we will succeed?

3)    Create opportunities: How can we deliver even more value today?

 

Success is a result of focus. What questions will you ask your team to ensure they create what they need the most?

 

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

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!

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!

Stop – and ask yourself: How am I doing? Is it just another day of average results? Of uninspired routines? Of thinking about what I hope to achieve someday?

Do you ever think, “If I don’t start taking steps toward my goals, I’ll never get there.”

Here’s the elephant in the office: Too many people are living with the “woulda-shoulda-coulda’s.” You know these people; they’re walking around in a bubble, as if they’re on life-support. The air they breathe is tainted with the bitter odor of “there’s no point in even trying.”

But there is a point in trying – and it can all turn around in 60 seconds.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Would you spare one minute for someone in need of help? Give yourself the gift of one minute to elevate the results you’re getting in life.

We’re serious – and here’s how it works: Right now take 10 seconds to determine the healthy focus you want today that will help you move things forward. Write this focus down and put it in your pocket. Then, tonight, forward this blog to yourself. Before you hit the send button, take 50 seconds to type your answers to these questions:

• Where did my focus serve me?
• Why is this focus important?
• Where will I apply greater focus tomorrow?

That’s a total of 60 seconds. Then, tomorrow, assess at the end of the day, and take 60 seconds again to forward yourself your email, along with your plan of focus.

Forward this document to yourself for 60 days and observe what happens to your results.

Could establishing a discipline with focus change your life? It’s time to find out.

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