Clusters

In building his organizational mission, Tony Hsieh was wise enough to ask all his employees one question...Why? He evolved Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs into the Happiness model. The questions Tony asked of those he interviewed got to the core of what they really wanted. He believed one's professional goals, aspirations for personal entertainment, and mission to serve those they loved were central to one purpose...

To Be Happy!

In his book, Start With Why, Simon Sinek introduced the golden circle. The general premise, "people don't buy what you do they buy why you do it". You may have a great product...it may help people toggle their social platforms more effectively, but WHY are you in business? What is the center of your circle?

What is YOUR WHY?

You exist in a Cluster.....your work, family and hobbies are interconnected by one thing: YOUR WHY

In order to find synergy among the seemingly unrelated things that make up your cluster, you have to find your WHY. These are the elements of your life....the petals to your flower....Your WHY is at the center of it all.

Are You Present in the Moments In-Between?
We work hard to develop opportunities to experience happiness. We are in search of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We put in long hours to afford family vacations, a gift for the wife, and/or the newest gadget for the kids.....none of it matters! We find happiness not in the things we pursue but in the things that remind us to stop chasing what is not there. Moments in the park on a Tuesday afternoon bring us greater meaning than the sweet 16 party that cost us half of our bonus. To recognize and to be present in the moments in-between is the true path to discovering what is genuinely important.

You might sell a data management tool (that is the 'what'). You may have an uncanny knack for developing efficient and cost effective data management processes for your clients (that is the 'how'). Your mission for being in business is your WHY. It's not about the products you make or how you bring them to market. It's your purpose on this earth and how it relates to your business persona that matters most.

If your purpose is clearly defined and you are passionate about your mission; profits come naturally. If you are passionate in your purpose you need not force solutions where they do not exist or to act out of character. If you are engaged in what you do you can connect humans instead of grinding numbers.

Find Your Tribe
Align yourself with your boss - the person for whom you work wants you to succeed! If it seems otherwise, look in the mirror. Are you being forced to do something you wish not to do or are you making it difficult for your leader to lead? Hiding from your professional superior will not make him/her go away. Develop a plan that will help you mutually succeed and devote yourself to it. Communication built on trust drives high level relationships. If you fail without asking for help you cut your safety net.

Connect with your support staff - there are people in other departments with whom you will need to work. The people with whom you work may be less intelligent than you, they may not work as hard as you do and they may be less motivated than you are.....that is not an excuse to berate them. Instead of passing tasks and asking for accountability, you should empower and help others find purpose in what they do. At the very least - always say please and thank you!

3 Friends - find 3 friends at work. These need not be people in your department or division. Consult third party observers with whom you can share your professional experiences and gain insight. A variety of viewpoints helps you form a grander perspective. Without a formalized relationship in place people are more forthcoming and candid in their advice.

What are the Metrics of the Space Between?
How much is your free time worth?

We often devalue ourselves by allowing the things we do not want to do to drain our focus and energy. We neglect to imagine that the most important time is not spent on the clock but off it. Your most profound inspiration will happen not within your cubicle but on a path in the park.

How are you spending your free time?

You must choose between what you want to do and what you have to do (and prioritize accordingly). Stress is a result of inelegant goal setting. If you are only driven by the mandatory directives of others, you will never be happy. The discovery of what is important to you comes from making time to escape your professional structure. Break the mold and elevate your mind. Put your energy into what you want to do. Find inspiration in every task by relating it to your WHY.

Sunset....
:) Success is the discovery of happiness.
:) Your WHY is your true mission - it should be at the center of every decision you make.
:) The moments in-between are far more important than grandiose events.
:) Developing multi-tiered relationships will give you a more fully formed workplace perspective.
:) Your free time is as important to your success as your time on the clock.

Homework: Develop a cluster that relates the subjects above. Prioritize your time/energy toward what is genuinely important. Identify your WHY and remind yourself of it every day.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Manifesto

I was intrigued by a recent Inc Magazine feature that introduced me to the Holstee Manifesto. Holstee is a clothing company based in Brooklyn, NY. Their products and services are not the story. In recent years companies like Zappos and TOMS have emerged as attractive companies for whom to work. Not because they sell shoes but because they have created extraordinary company cultures. Zappos' in-office parades brought exposure to their company culture. TOMS devotion to philanthropy inspired millions. In Holstee's case, their organizational exposure was created by a well written manifesto. It inspired me to write my own....enjoy!

When you were 12 did you have a plan to be who you are today? If not, is there something you can do to change your path? Are your dreams your own? What would it take to get you to the part in the movie where everything changes? It is not enough to talk under your breath, you have to dream big and act! Positivity involves a type of thinking that is actionable. It is much easier to criticize while others take action. You will never regret putting yourself out there. You cannot pretend you do not want more. There is never an ideal time to do anything. You have to will yourself to the impossible and make it the new standard. Everyone will celebrate when you reach the mountain top, but the climb is your own. We are all prisoners to the qualification of possible that has been set before us by people who care less than we do. It is hard to erase the line and paint it in a new spot. There are millions of people in the stands with their arms folded and only a few on the field. The privilege of excellence starts with volunteerism. You have to be willing to fall down in front of a whole bunch of people. You have to be willing to take the field with your head up. No achievement has ever come from passive observance. This is your invitation to change everything. Those whose head's are on Mt. Rushmore were willing to fall on their face. Most people will pass on their opportunity, others will never even see it coming...and the very few will decide to be Heroes by the very practice of trying. Your dreams are readily available. Everything you always wanted is yours. Your greatest opposition is yourself and that opponent is consistently surprised when you push back.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Culture Shift

A few years back, I adopted the practice of waking up ridiculously early. I found I was unable to manage my busy life so I decided to do something about it. Where many start their day in traffic jams, I speed through empty streets. I spend the first 2 hours of my day alone in a coffee shop. By the time the others are arriving, I am gone, on to start my day ahead of everyone else. I put the headphones on, fire up the lap top and hyper-focus. One day, someone interrupted me....

If you understand the "calm before the storm" logic behind my morning mission, you can guess I cherish the time alone and wish not to be engaged in disruptions. But, one morning the Manager of the coffee shop asked me to remove my headphones. He told me he wanted to buy me a cup of coffee for my loyalty to his shop. I accepted. He then told me it would cost me one conversation a week - "I want to bounce a few ideas off you, I'll buy you a cup of coffee every time I do". He didn't know the nature of my degree or my profession, he just needed someone to listen (when no other customers were around). I accepted.

A week became a month and a month a year. We became friends. We connected really well. Like a good bartender, he knew how to ignite my trust. Like a good patron, I knew how to listen. He was hell bent on succeeding, so was I. We was full of ideas, so was I. Neither of us had any apprehension about sharing our thoughts with one another. There was no judgement or formality between us...it was 2 people drinking coffee while everyone else was asleep.

Over time, I came to discover that this guy was having conversations with a lot of his customers. He was also engaging his employees. He didn't seem to care about posting promotional materials, he didn't worry about his new hires industry experience, he wasn't hung up on quick fix rebates. He was creating a culture. I could have chosen 10 different coffee shops, his felt like home.

When he quit so did the staff of extraordinary people he had hired. The promotional material went up and the regulars kept to themselves - the culture was dead.

We talk a lot about culture in today's work world. It can be cultivated by one person. Some times one person makes a difference. That person who inspires others to work hard with positive intent, that person that is inviting of your input of how to make things better, that person that is willing to step away from their work to understand what it means to his/her customers.

We get so caught up in systematic efficiency, marketing strategy, and the right way to manage our employees; that we forget that we are people among people. Some times you have to use your I-phone to actually call someone. Some times you have to stop pretending you know everything and ask for input from others. Some times you have to buy someone a cup of coffee, step away from the lap top and share your experience.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Follow

What makes a great Leader? We often think of the traits of strong personality, public speaking prominence, and convicted commitment. Vocal, Prominent, Confident, and Ever Present.

Can it be said, however, that those who are truly admirable do not need to be in the public eye?

The question we pose today: What if You Didn't Need to be Validated?

Is our need to step out in front of a group and gather applause a characteristic of confidence or insecurity?

It is evident that Leadership is sorely lacking in today's professional world. I equate this to the fact that the task of Management has overwhelmed the Vision of Leadership. In many organizations the true visionaries choose to stay in individual contributor roles, start their own companies, or leave for different opportunities. In reality, those who are passionate in their conviction are just not willing to 'play the game'. Office politics, meetings about meetings, and the need to restrain genuine thought are management traits that tend to appal true leaders. So, the defacto Managers accept leadership roles as the 'safe bet' and the truly inspired become uninspired.

How Can We Take the Power Back?
* Create your own job description
* Recreate yourself every day
* Ignore the unimportant

The Goals of Self
Reports are homework to document effort. They are also meaningless. The need for metrics to prove professional existence makes people...numbers.

Developing the ability to find personal significance in each task is mastery of your professional existence. You don't need to quit your job. You need to understand what every task means to you, how you can adjust each chore to your vision, and to prioritize accordingly.

Ask Yourself:
1. Who Am I
2. Who Do I Want To Be?
3. What Does This Mean to the Rest of the World?

Stagnation is Damnation
When you stop moving forward, you start falling back. This doesn't mean you have to leap into every mundane task. It means you should recommit and adjust your vision every day. The best way to embrace change is to create it for yourself.

Ask yourself:
Is it better to master one thing or experience many things?

The Best Advice...
From time to time, I get caught up in the unimportant. I let personality differences get in the way of larger goals, I get hung up on passing comments, or mundane detail derails genuine intent.

I once asked my boss...how do you stay level headed in the midst of all these personality clashes?

He said: I ignore them!

Have we come to accept less because we expect less? Are we victims of circumstance? Are we products of our environment? Is our energy wasted on other people's goals?

Kick the peddles out of you way and climb mountains!

Life is far too short to get hung up in the mundane defacto chores of personal validation.

You Are Great Because You Know You Are Great!

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"
- Albert Einstein

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Collaborate

Welcome to the first installment of the Employee Purpose Perspective. This is a 7 part blog series that will challenge you to breath the winds of change into your organization.

Salesforce.com has become one of the most profitable companies in the world over the last five years. The interesting thing about Salesforce.com is that they have developed camaraderie in the cloud. First, they developed a world class CRM tool, then they invited potential competitors to create apps to compliment their service suite.

Imagine that...an industry leader focused on collaboration not competition...?

In the advent of social media we have seen a shift from company logos to personal brands. We have found ways to share ideas instead of locking them away. An individual (who may not have a leadership position within the walls of their company) has an opportunity to reach far more people through their blog, twitter or facebook page.

We drive ourselves nuts worrying about the competition. What if that didn't matter? What if we could work freely without paranoia of giving away secrets? What if we could look our competitors in the eye and say, "this is what we do, try to stop us". What if we could coexist in an industry space without having blood money circumstance? My contention is that the transparency of open business practices forces us to have better customer service, better relationships and tailored solutions. We are not fighting for the same customers, we are developing lifelong partnerships. There is no blood in the water because we are all sailing in our own direction.

Companies like LinkedIn and Zappos have created a space on Twitter to address customer issues. Completely out in the open. It would seem that you would have to have great confidence in your customer service to open a complaint file for millions to view. Either that, or you are willing to share the hiccups and your ability to cure them. Honesty driving business efficiency....another shocking development!

There are 3 Principles to Collaboration:
1. Shared Vision
2. Profitability
3. Rewarded Resource Allocation

Vision
Everyone wants to work with the Fortune 500. If you run a 5 employee start up, you may not have the bandwidth to service GE. 'Tis better to understand your limitations than to drain the bucket pretending it can contain a big fish.

Profits
Would you rather spend all day trying to please one customer or service 100 customers with organic efficiency?

Our most difficult customers are difficult because we bent over backward pretending we could please them...and have been performing back flips ever since.

Rewards
Thank You is a great thing to hear. Great expectations and their according challenges are any customer's right to business elevation. But, this has to be an empowered process. If you are always asking for more by the entitlement of a paid invoice, you are missing the point of partnership. Say Thank You after every challenge is over come....and learn to forgive if the effort is there and human error wins over once in a while.

The first step in making the career you want out of the job you have is finding the right customers. If you force partnerships you will....drain your resources, piss off your co-workers, spend your days checking your phone and spend your nights awake.

Define your target market and utilize your time accordingly!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

The Employee Purpose Perspective

The catch phrase "employee engagement" has already become an over-used commodity. That's what we do. We grab on to a catch phrase and seek to wish it into existence. We buy a worn out strategy and hope for unique results.

Everyone wants employee benefits like Google. Everyone wants a corporate culture like Zappos. So they invite a team of consultants in, pay them a ton of money and say, "make my company like Google".

Newsflash: Google, Zappos and all great organizations got that way by taking chances. They did not ask for 'best practices', they created their own. They did not seek to copy a company culture, they took time to understand their employees and create relevance for them.

In the book Linchpin, Seth Godin challenges us to create an indispensable personal value by utilizing our irreplaceable skill. The Blue Ocean Strategy focuses not on bloodying the water in a competitive shark fight but to eliminate competition by charting new waters. Students go to Harvard to 'create careers' not to qualify themselves for a top paying 'job'.

There are no easy answers, there are no expert consultants, and there is no such thing as best practices. I cannot put a 'one size fits all' business plan on your desk and expect to change your organization. You have to try harder. You have to put aside perceived standards and roll up your sleeves. You have to challenge yourself to get up from your desk, get out into your hallways, and find the "IT" that exists there like no where else.

If you are not willing to do the emotional work....your company will never change. Stop wasting your money by paying an outsider to create the next soon-to-be irrelevant catch phrase. Stop paying people to energize your team with temporary motivation. Stop telling your employees to read a book in hope of creating a common organizational purpose.

Over the next several weeks we will review the roadmap for The Employee Purpose Perspective. A challenging 7 step self-analysis that any organization must invest themselves in to create a purpose driven culture. While the execution will be difficult, the premise is simple:
1. Collaboration not competition
2. Purposeful intent creates cultural perspective
3. Organizational initiatives must have personal relevance
4. Every directive must have a unique value proposition
5. Reward the willingness to embrace the impossible
6. Extend a personal mission to each employee
7. Professional purpose is a willingness to fulfill personal desire

Sound Impossible? Good! Let's start thinking about what is impossible and use the aforementioned 7 step process to make it reality.

If you are not ready to dedicate yourself to investigating what today seems completely unachievable, you cannot change your organizational culture.

The only way to enhance employee engagement is to do a deep dive into your culture and enhance daily.

There are no perfect metrics, no case studies, no benchmarking, no references, no best practices and a finish line does not exist. You will have to throw down your crutches and sprint through this process, every day!

If you are willing to change your organization, the lives of your employees, and the world for the better; stay tuned to this blog. If you are looking for easy answers, unsubscribe.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

The Art of Being Selfless

How is it possible to be giving and self-motivated at the same time?

To support others while focusing on personal directives may categorically be competing ideologies. We strive to convince ourselves that there are two types of people in this world:

1. Those who focus, win, and allow no one to deter their forward motion
2. Those who are passive, ability free, and weak

Today we are going to explore how these seemingly competing ideologies may just be part of the same emotional package. I will do this by examining 3 simple principles:
* The will to win is an act of Love
* To compete only for validation is an act of insecurity
* Giving with the expectation of recognition is an act of cowardice

The Heart is on the Inside
You see the person who wins a football game and thanks God. His faith in himself being just as important. What drove him to win was the total confidence that he had in his ability and his willingness to recreate possible as it happened. His faith in god may have given him the extra inch but the other 10,000 inches came from preparation, self discipline, and creativity.

To win is not in effort to see others lose but rather an offering to lift them up. It is hard to be the best - everyone is always gunning for you while you have reached your highest point of potential. The great ones find an art in the game. They win for the sake of redefining themselves in an effort to create a different landscape; every day. Art is an act of creativity. Creativity is powered by the human condition of Love. Those who find new landscapes win and therefore; Winning is an Act of Love.

In order to be truly great, one must be ignorant of their competition not driven to best them.

Look At Me!!!!!!!!!
You can detect those who are full of sh*t pretty easily:
They talk too much
They consistently tout their achievements
They make an effort to point out their selfless nature

To speak without intent is to babble like a fool. There is never a need for explanation. People get hung up on re-iterating their greatness. They think that by consistently mentioning how awesome they are, we are going to have an Epiphany, and bow to their excellence. Don't flatter yourself and don't insult our intelligence.

The big mouths only act so because they want to beat you to the punch. They would not dare sit down and reveal themselves...they need to be represented by the bravado of their self marketing. They are not shouting for joy, they are crying for help.

No Reciept Necessary
No one ever sees the richest people in the world. Those who are truly charitable send an envelope, they don't require a red carpet. People who are genuinely dedicated to helping in the workplace do not need anything in return for evolving others: they do it because they care about their company and it's legacy.

Halls of Corporations are filled with so-called do-gooders who mask their goals for personal development in the positioning of helping others.

The test is simple: if you wait to pick up that piece of paper in the hall until the boss walks by you are masking your selfishness in pseudo-community service. If you have to have 4 vodka tonics before voicing your professional opinion, your thoughts will never be respected.

It's OK to care and show that you do. It's OK to shelf the facade and speak your mind. You have to help those around you without expecting a pat on the back.

No deed goes unnoticed and the pretenders are always exposed!!!!!!! Trust me on that one!

You need to validate those that are busting their tail for the sake of contributing to the success of your organization (and expect nothing in return). The moment you pull your hand back and put your head down, everything you were grabbing for will come to you. Helping others is the only way to help yourself. Do unto others without worrying about how it will advance you!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Creating Culture

More often than not when people see my last name I get one of the following responses:
Where are you from?
What Nationality are you?
Is that Russian?

To which I respond: I'm from California, the nation I represent is America and I'm not Russian but I love Vodka (being that we're playing the stereotype game).

Frankly, I found my culture on La Pera circle in the early 80's. Karen Hunter, Gabe Rowland and the Walker Brothers were my countrymen. We started playing ball on our block and when we were old enough we ventured a few blocks over to challenge those kids in a game of touch football. We banned together, we looked out for one another, we took pride in our block and no one was f-ing with us. We didn't need a flag to fly or a discernible physical commonality; it was in the air. If you came on our block you had to get through the guard to play kick ball.

The culture I subscribed to was created by me and my friends and it meant more to me than the songs of my forefathers or the meals my Grandmother made. So, It stands to reason that in evolution from our names, skin colors or gender; there is a climate to our lives that focuses on now not then. In example, it can be said that the place you work is a culture in-and-of-itself.

A lot has been said about organizational culture of late and this is one HR trend that I believe in. Without question, if you can create an engaging environment between the four walls of any office, satisfaction is guaranteed.

So what do you need to do to create an Engaging Organizational Culture:
* Core Values
* Metrics for Success that Reflect the Population
* Action Oriented Leadership

How Do You Spell Integrity?
Recite your organization's core values...How many people can actually do it? My guess is not many and that is a shame. Take away departmental goals, rank, tenure & the Core Values of any organization are what level the playing field.

Core Values fail to engage for two reasons:
They are too broad
Middle Managers have failed to interpret them to in a meaningful way

I would bet that 80% of organizations have Integrity and/or Accountability as a core value. The extended definition is honesty, the most important professional characteristic any one can possess, why don't we understand that? If as a Manager you cannot explain to your team why honesty is important you are mis-cast. Traditionally, what you will hear from Middle Managers is, "its a core value, its important to our Chairman, know the definition". What a waste!

The definition of engagement is knowing the significance organizational core values have to YOUR role in the company.
* If you can differentiate the company mission to your own success you are guaranteed to find personal significance in every day....within the goals of the organization.

Know Your People
As a consultant people ask me, "as an expert, what would you recommend to improve our culture?". How should I know, it's YOUR company. If you don't know what the people who work for you want, how can I help you? If I offer industry best practices that are not applicable to the people who walk your halls, you are simply re-manufacturing more mediocrity...that's what got you into this mess in the first place:
- Don't worry about being safe
- Make it meaningful
- Make it fun

Detachment is not a Strategy
How often do our Leaders work from a 10,000 foot view? Of course, our CEO cannot be in Kansas every month to opinion poll the Transportation Supervisor. But, there are a few ways to get the real facts:
- Use your Open Door Policy as a means for improvement not to judge who is un-coachable
- Engage real conversation with people at all levels to get 'real' feedback
- Take the formality out of Organizational Input

Surveys are tough because I know that even though they are framed as 'confidential', someone above me will be looking at my feedback and judging me accordingly. This is not the fault of the CEO or the individual contributor but rather an affect of insecure Middle Managers. (see a trend developing here?)

You have to develop a culture of trust! To know that I can give you feedback and you can discern if I am bitching or actually interested in evolving organizational objectives. How can we do this?
- Look for hard facts to accompany the (sob) story
- Ask how the 'problem' effects the Organizational Mission
- Share feedback instead of burying it
- Help redirect instead of judging

In Summation (without assuming):
It doesn't matter what you look like, how you talk or what your life goals might be. If I can ask everyone to find the pot of gold on the same treasure map, our goals are laid out for us. Different teams may take different routes but in the end we all find the treasure.

Create a Mission and help each of us understand it's significance to our own lives. Stop asking for feedback if you are not going to use it to evolve organizational goals! Create team goals that reflect our input and strategize accordingly.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

A Proposal of Personal Purpose

The world of business communication is evolving. More employees are working remote, more conference calls less office gatherings, and more webinars with less classroom training. There are those who say we have lost our human connection but ask yourself one simple question:


Where is the Revenue?

How much more productive have you become? It seems a little silly to admit we are so mistrusting of our employees that we require them to commute an hour in both directions and sit in a cage for 10 hours. This to ensure their work time is maximized. If you waste two hours driving and sit in a cubicle will you be more productive?

A company cannot determine personal purpose but they can use it to fuel their success:
* If you trust me to invest myself in the company vision I will determine my own prodution - and that's a good thing!

* To the contrary, if a 40 year old still has to be baby sat, he/she will do just enough to stay off the radar.

Don't you want your people On The Radar? Out in the open, in front of initiatives, excited to participate, engaged in the company culture...?

Yes, there certainly is such a thing as EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. Call it what you will to avoid stigmatizing your company culture but if you create a company culture that mirrors personal purpose your company will double it's revenue.

Here's How:
Trust
Pay more for better people
Replace Performance Reviews with consistent dialogue
Say Thank You - every day
Create a Path that starts and ends where you are

A Big Boy Job
Maybe you love filling out spread sheets. Maybe you enjoy reporting, maybe your favorite thing is to defend your work to your boss. Or maybe you have had a series of jobs that have justified your employment through on-paper production. Anyone can count blips in a system and justify your effort. But, let's not confuse effort with results.

You may have gotten so used to taking a task list and checking boxes that you have lost your personal purpose. You need to find a way to give meaning to the numbers, categories and columns. If no one is challenging you to put you into your work, do it yourself.

An Inconsistent Environment
How can you keep winning if your team always turns over.
#Fact - It takes at least 6 months to train a new employee
#Fact - Time lost over six months costs your company dearly

Stop going the cheap labor route. Pay more for better people and avoid turnover. The incremental back filling is a default for a poor company culture due to terrible middle management.

Performance Review Suck!
There I said it...if you only have a dialogue with your employee once a year through a 1 - 5 job saving evaluation, you suck at managing people!

Believe it or not you can help people MAKE PROGRESS every day by examining their extended personal purpose in the organization. NO, you don't have to ask about TPS Report status but you can ask about their input regarding cost saving initiatives in their department.

Say Thank You!
Basketball Analogy: You can motivate by the bench or the basket. If every day I pull you aside and tell you if you screw up I will bench you - you will do just enough to stay in the game. If I empower you to score by instilling confidence in your ability, you will have the balls to take a last second shot.

THINK ABOUT IT!

Be Present
I used to think I wanted a promotion. It seemed that climbing the corporate ladder was a validation of my effort. That is an irrelevant measure of success.

Tell me WHY I am where I am today. Help me find my extended personal purpose in the organization. If you can do this I will work harder, stop asking for more money and stay focused on the task at hand.

In a floundering economy, one thing is always prevalent: OPPORTUNITY!

Most companies avoid opportunity by allowing perception and opinion to steer them toward the 'safe thing'. As an affect of this; poor management rules the nest, purpose is lost and employees can't wait for happy hour...A waste of money, a loss of production, countless opportunities ignored, a cog turning existence without personal purpose...A company that sucks the life out of people and drives them to the grave having gained nothing!

WAKE UP & MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Help us find our purpose!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Dance

Is there any better sociological study than that of dance. More so, the cumulative reaction to dancing. In past blog entries we have talked about The Ripple Effect and the Creation of Culture. Both of these elements so relevant in the practice of dance.



Dancing takes two things:
* A Leader
* A Vibe
(rhythm would be nice but is not mandatory)

Every great dance sequence starts with our story's hero, possibly inebriated, throwing an old favorite into the stereo. This is followed by he/she busting out a few pre-choreographed moves and the phrase: come on people!

The initial reaction to such behavior are furrowed brows, raised eye brows and under breath chuckles. Inevitably a person or two joins the fun, then a few more and before you know it we have 50 people expressing themselves in mutual celebration.

Is there anything better than to let yourself go...to let others know everything is going to be OK...to let smiles and hip shakes define us for a while...to put judgement aside, to put our differences aside and to get down to the business of 'fun'!

In this world there are performers and observers...which one are you? Of course, it is easier to cross arms, stand on the wall and mock he/she who is brave enough to display their emotion for all to see. Yes, it may be damaging to your reputation to make a 'fool' of yourself on the dance floor at a company gig. But, if you love to dance, why can't you. Why not be who you are, embrace that and let others share it...for all it is worth.

Leaders don't hide or wait for others to set the rules. They crank up the stereo, grab a friend and let us know it's OK to celebrate...for whatever reason we can think up. Yes, life is a celebration...at all times. We need to learn to focus on what we are good at, display it genuinely and share it with others.

Culture is driven by a Leader's willingness to put their guard down. Formality interrupts growth by ignoring genuine value sharing. We live in a time when dress, tenure and status matter less than ever. We live in a time when you can be at work who you are at a company party and there need not be a divide. Our profession is a celebration of our products, services, company and team.

Celebrate...Be Yourself...Dance!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Finding Peace

I find myself getting in my own way lately. I don't mean tripping over my own feet but creating hurdles that really don't need to be there. In essence, the time and effort I put into unnecessary frustration seems to be increasing. These things have a way of snow balling.


How about you?
* Do you find yourself sidetracked by mundane detail?
* Do you say to yourself "it's not a big deal, it's the principle of the matter"?
* Do you cast stupidity upon others without knowing their plight?

Our days are a series of events that formulate our motivation (or lack thereof). If you wake up, look at your email and delineate worst case scenario....odds are your commute will be filled with 'this week is gonna suck' thoughts of distraction.

I once asked a trusted advisor how he dealt with incompetence and he said: "I choose to ignore it". At the time it seemed like a cop out....how can we help people improve if we do not hold them accountable? Answer: it's not a competition, it's a collaboration & people would rather help than to be held accountable. Indeed frustration builds up like a tornado that never leaves our own state of being. We let our emotions get the best of us, act out of character and cast ourselves into no-fun-to-be-around-ville!

Some times the best thing to do is take a breath, assess all angles and find a solution (instead of passing blame). Here are a few tips:
1. Wait before you reply.
2. Propose a solution instead of pointing a finger and passing blame.
3. Ask yourself what the ultimate conclusion might be.
4. Put something good in front of each frustration.
5. Don't cast yourself into un-fun-ville!


Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

The Ripple Effect - part 2

John assists Jennifer with an order and she sends him a friendly note along with a link to buy his favorite MP3. John's accomplishment is then broadcast to the company in a newsletter. He receives 22 emails from his colleagues extending further congratulations. He goes home happy for the weekend. So much so, that he asks his girlfriend to pick the movie tonight. She is so surprised and elated that she decides not to dump him.

Bill thinks the Sales guys get all the credit for his hard work; driving a truck picking up boxes of highly sensitive documents. After a long shift his boss asks him to come into the distribution office. He fires up his computer, asks him to read a heartfelt note from the guy with the tie and then tells him to select a piece of jewelry to give to his daughter to wear at the spring dance this weekend. Bill gives his daughter the necklace. She decides that her Dad is still the only guy for her and tells Travis that she will only be his dance partner that evening. Bill and his daughter spend a Sunday in the park like they used to. On Monday, Bill sees a full route on his itinerary and sprints to his truck to complete the orders on time.

Pauline has been passed over for a promotion for the 3rd time. Her job is effecting her marriage, she is always stressed and she really does not feel that all her hard work has had any impact. She walks into the office ready to quit and move to Nebraska with her husband. There, her whole team waits for her. Each tells her a brief story of how she has helped them. Pauline realizes that leadership is not about climbing the corporate ladder or making more money but the legacy you pass on to those who you touch every day.

Dear Reader,

This is the Ripple Effect! It is real. It makes companies better. It carries human interaction into the workplace and makes your office the best place to work in the world.

The Ripple Effect limits turnover, saves the company money, drives revenue, limits entitlement, and creates a community.

The Ripple Effect saves marriages, prevents teenage pregnancy and prohibits people from making wrong life decisions.

Your office is full of HUMAN BEINGS with Human Interest Stories. Celebrate Them!

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

How was work today?

The inevitable questions that is posed to us at day’s end when we are at the dinner table with our family, on the back porch with Grandpa, or in the gym with our friends is…how was work today?

The key to opening a positive dialogue in these ‘end of the day’ conversations is…The Ripple Effect.

The differentiating element in making any company great is our people…If we are celebrated we are inspired and if we are inspired we are engaged.

So if we spend most of our waking hours at work…and we love what we do…the world can be a better place!

BELIEVE!

Don't Forget to Remember,

Dave

references:

http://twitter.com/davidkovacovich