Another Manifesto

Possible is merely a word in a dictionary. YOU determine your happiness by the emphasis you put upon the occurrences in your life. There will always be risk in taking chances, but the girl at the coffee shop will not go out with you if you do not ask. Regret results from lost opportunities. You will be unhappy if you turn away from new things because you are a prisoner to your comfort zone. Be critical of your life goals not of your personal ability. Listen more than you talk. Seeking validation is a formula for failure. If you do what you do because it is important to you...success is guaranteed. No one is qualified to judge the ability of another. If you find yourself being judged, ignore your accuser. Ignore those who criticize your effort. Positivity is a way of life, negativity is a reaction. You are loved! If you are trying new things, you will have to endure failure. Endure failure. Be aware that failure is a better teacher than success. Be aware that it is more important to celebrate success than to obsess over failure. Stick up for yourself! Know what makes you happy and prioritize accordingly. Put your genuine self in everything you do. Do not stray from the path of genuine fulfillment. Desperate acts result from acting out of character. You act out of character when you allow the expectations of others greater priority than your own. Think of the great achievements in your life, every day! Forget your failures. Remember the first person you kissed, a game your team won, and the band aid your Mom put on your knee. Nothing is resoundingly important. Everything has its place. No one is all-knowing. Everyone has something to teach. Exercise. Have a drink if you need one, but don't drink too much. Meet one new person every day. Smile when you walk down the street. Don't just face your fears, confront them! Take one minute of each day to remember an old friend. Contact an old friend. Tell your parents you love them. Tell your siblings you love them. Tell your children you love them....every day! Life's great certainty is that our time here is fleeting, you will wake up tomorrow and you will be 80 years old. Spend no time worrying. Spend all your time developing bigger and better ideas. Take action. Rest when you have done everything that need be done. Live every moment with enthusiasm. Find opportunity in everything. Concentrate on the good stuff. Ignore the bad stuff. You are the only person who is with You every moment of every day, become your best friend. Be You! Make today magnificent. Make Every Day Magnificent! 

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Easy is Nothing

I have been reading Start With Why by Simon Sinek and have enjoyed the book immensely. Among other great concepts, Simon introduces the difference between Manipulation and Inspiration.
It seems to be common place in the working world that we believe the way to motivate people is through manipulation (carrot and stick). There has been an onslaught of criticism of Generation Y and their unwillingness to conform, yet we keep the carrots and stick at hand. In essence, we know that manipulation is an inelegant approach but we continue the practice. I interviewed Dan Pink a few weeks back and asked why he thought defacto training was replacing education in the workplace. He noted that it was easier and we tend toward the simpler solution.

So there we have it: trade the practice of changing lives in the workplace for a safe and uninventive process. 

Purpose driven companies are acutely aware of their differentiators and use them as their Primary Organizational Mission.

Unfortunately, purpose driven companies are few and far between. At some point, inspiring people in the workplace became too risky. You have to monitor what you say, ask only of your employees what seems reasonable, measure performance by job description...do the safe thing, leave well enough alone and wallow in mediocrity. It's easier that way.

Zappos have created a model for company culture. People are now saying, "we have embraced the Zappos model".....No, you haven't! We are so hung up on manipulation that we are in denial of our inability to inspire. Zappos makes a daily practice of doing the hard thing. This is why their culture is great. They empower employees, put themselves on the social media edge, use 'above and beyond' customer service as their SOP, allow the personal aspects of their team to drive their company brand, and always think a step ahead. Unless you have enough balls to practice the aforementioned engagement mission, don't pretend you have embraced the Zappos model.

By starting with why, Simon Sinek has helped companies rediscover their genuine organizational purpose. They need not concern themselves with appeasing Generation Y or trying to be like Zappos. They simply need to know that people buy not what they do but why they do it.

Remove the dust from over the Core Values on your lobby wall. Remember what made your company great and continue to be great. There are no easy answers or defacto training...every day will be an inventive challenge. If you want to be a great company these are the things that you need to consider. Doesn't that sound easy?

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave    

YOUR Mission

It's the 6th Installment of the Employee Purpose Perspective (EPP). Thus far, we have introduced the following principles:
Collaboration
Purposeful Intent
Personal Relevance
Unique Value Proposition
Embrace Impossible

Today we ask the question: Is it possible to lead a group of individuals within a common system?

Answer: No!

70% of first time Managers fail. The number one reason Managers fall short is because they fail to engage their workforce. This is because Managers are told to throw a blanket over 10 completely different people and expect consistent results.

Work becomes synonymous with boredom because it is not given applicable relevance. You have team meetings twice a week...why? That's what your employees are asking....why are we here, again..? What's the Purpose?

The answer from the Manager's corner is usually....because....(that's it). It is what it is (the worst phrase ever and an insulting misinterpretation of a Buddhist philosophy). Manager's have their marching orders, they are instructed to bestow them upon their teams, and all march together to increase stock points. Rats in a maze without purpose.

We Can Do Better Than That!

The real question is: What separates Leaders from Managers?

Answer: the ability to give every one of their team members a personal mission.

Jason will have different motivations than Jennifer. We need to invest in understanding individual motivations and help the individuals find purpose. You cannot do that by setting group goals. You have to make THEIR goals ~ YOURS.

Relationships matter most. Relationships take personal investment. Work is seldom personal. Therefore, our investment is not in the PEOPLE that make up the system but the SYSTEM itself. Discard the people and plug into the spreadsheet - Cowardly!

Here's how to get to know your people:
Engage
Differentiate
Quantify

Paul Westerberg, where have you been?
We each have our artist of choice. Let's say you are a die hard Mats fan, if your boss sighted a lyric from Paul Westerberg in a sit down meeting - how much would that mean to you?

I get it, you can't pretend to love something you don't, and pretend it's personal. But the effort to genuinely understand means more than you know.

Togetherness
Boss #1 + Employee A = Two people with common frustrations and a need to make better. Why not talk about it?

I once had a boss who taught me how to be a man. He had been through the ringer, his life was difficult, and he spent countless hours listening to me complain. When he left our company, he told me in honest terms that he thought his advice was lost on me....that hurt.

What does it all mean...
Money isn't everything. You get to a point in your career when you come to understand that. Then what...?

What would you be willing to accept more than dollar bills? To some it means freedom to create their own schedule, for others the opportunity for advancement.

Your challenge is to determine what really matters to your employees, to help them make it part of their life, and to incent their courage accordingly.

Our core values speak to:
Integrity
Innovation
Accountability
...these ideals are something different to everyone.

We spend far too much time convincing others of what WE believe in. Why not invest in THEM and fashion your advising from there?

Micro-Management is dead, the rules are changing, and everyone has options.

Everyone is willing to put money aside to be part of something that they believe in.

All you have to do is understand what makes me, me...and incent accordingly.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Believe...

We go through phases in our lives when we are genuinely engaged or completely despondent; on each side of the spectrum. We get incredibly excited, fail and then throw up our hands. Then we are re-inspired by a person, job or environment that reminds us to Believe again.

Just yesterday after a long strategy session I was hit by a realization:
I wish I didn't Care so much...I wish I could let go...

The thought being that I am continually furrowing my brow, looking down at the ground, while the answers are flying over my head. I have to put myself in check at times and ask how much certain professional hurdles will matter a year from now? How much I am appreciating all the good fortune that I have? That sooner rather than later all of the beautiful things around me will have passed.

There are those who find God at the low point in their lives
There are those who find Divine purpose in a cause
There are those whose belief in humanity is revived in the movie house
There are those who remember they can do anything by watching their favorite team

What do you need to get back to the point of belief?

Some of my favorite times were spent at a bar on a random afternoon. All of our friends happened upon the place. This before cell phones - so we got together by word of mouth and celebrated life! Smiling faces, jokes, stories told, hugs and good tiding for where the night (and our lives) might take us. A fleeting moment in the afternoon sun...when all was right with the world.

These things sometimes fall into place but somebody spread the word, somebody started the conversation and someone bought the drinks. This revealing that the true meaning of leadership can often exist in bringing people together and creating a welcoming environment. That the ambiance can come before the brass tact conversation. That you can give people something to believe in and they will do more than expected to be a part of it.

Find something to believe in, make it your mission and carry it out!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave