The choice you don’t know you’re making

Everyday we make choices as leaders–choices about how to spend our time, who to meet with, what to focus on, and the way we engage our teams. We try to make choices that create the outcomes we desire. Yet, the choice with the greatest influence on achieving the future we want is the one we are completely unaware we are making. What is this choice?

Years ago, we lost a number of large oak trees in our yard during a massive storm. I thought we’d use a bit of the wood for firewood and with a wedge and sledge hammer, I quickly split some logs. I remember thinking how it was  much easier to split the wood with a sharp wedge than with the blunt force of a sledgehammer alone, yet how often in life I was content to use a hammer without a wedge.

Results are like the wood I was splitting. They are a lot easier to achieve when we use a sharp wedge–the Wedge of Results. The Wedge is the things we think and do that naturally build on each other in a way that leads to the outcomes we seek. Simply put, the wedge means results flow from action, actions from thoughts, and thoughts from our mindset.

Results < Actions < Thoughts < Mindset < Experiences & Truth

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Posted on June 6, 2011 in Action, Beliefs, Leadership, Strategy, Vision

Is the Mountain You’re Climbing Your Purpose or Your Distraction?

I live near the base of several mountains and am regularly inspired by their beauty and grandeur. I enjoy spending time in them hiking, rock climbing, and camping. Spending time in the mountains quiets my mind and helps me stay focused on what matters most. When I am there, I often think about my purpose, my mission, and my goals.

Mountain Range

Like the photo above, life has many options and opportunities. There are an almost infinite number of summits that we get to choose from. Some are aligned with our purpose and others are simply distractions. Are we climbing the right mountain? Are we on the trail to a place we really want to get to? Does this path represent purpose or a diversion? [Read more...]

Posted on March 7, 2011 in Strategy, Vision

Power of vision

Success almost always starts with a clear vision of your organization’s long term purpose, values, and multiyear goals. Without a meaningful vision, nothing else matters. Here is how the Cheshire Cat explained the importance of vision to Alice in Louis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland:

At the fork in the road Alice asks the Cheshire Cat,
Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
That depends a good deal on where you want to get to, said the Cat.
I don’t much care where – said Alice.
Then it doesn’t matter which way you go, said the Cat.

What are the principles that generate a powerful vision?

  • Believe in big dreams and have challenging, yet clearly defined goals to help motivate efforts and track progress.
  • Foster passion and commitment by making goals visible, never wavering in your commitments, and publicly celebrating people who achieve their goals.

Sam Walton was taught the power of goals by J.C. Penney, who said, “Give me someone with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.” Sam was driven by big dreams and had specific, measurable, actionable time-bound goals for getting there.

Yet, Sam knew that having goals was not enough. People need to be passionate and committed to make them happen. In 1982, Walton wagered with a Wal-Mart executive that if the next year’s pre-tax profits reached eight percent, he would hula down Wall Street. They exceeded the goal and Walton donned the shirt and the skirt and did as he promised. Sam captured the power of celebrating success when he said:

Celebrate your successes. Find some humor in your failures. Have fun. Show enthusiasm – always. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song. Then make everybody else sing with you. Don’t do a hula on Wall Street. It’s been done. Think up your own stunt. All of this is more important, and more fun, than you think, and it really fools the competition.

Feeling more like Louis Carroll’s Alice than Sam right now? Get started by taking fifteen minutes and write about where you want yourself and your company to be five years from now. If that doesn’t get you revved up, keep writing until you do.

 

Posted on July 3, 2009 in Leadership, Vision

Do you have a Sentence?

In a Wall Street Journal (6/27/09) article, Peggy Noonan retold the story of Clare Boothe Luce’s conversation with JFK in 1962


JFK

She told him, she said, that “a great man is one sentence.” His leadership can be so well summed up in a single sentence that you don’t have to hear his name to know who’s being talked about. “He preserved the union and freed the slaves,” or, “He lifted us out of a great depression and helped to win a World War.” You didn’t have to be told “Lincoln” or “FDR.”

She wondered what Kennedy’s sentence would be. She was telling him to concentrate, to know the great themes and demands of his time and focus on them.

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Posted on June 29, 2009 in Leadership, Strategy, Vision

6 Tips for Building Energy and Passion

Without energy we’re nothing but a bunch of dust. The same can be said for teams and organizations.

Here are six favorite tips for building energy and passion in your organization.

  • Most importantly… BE PASSIONATE AND ENERGIZED YOURSELF. Don’t hide it, let it all hang out. Passion and energy are contagious, but they have to feel your passion. It’s not just words, it’s the smile on your face, your open body language, and sincere desire to share your energy with others. Opening up deepens relationships and expands energy.
  • What is your team’s vision? If you don’t have one, there’s nothing to catalyze energy around. Passion and energy start with a vision… and not just a company vision, but a vision for your team and yourself.
  • Help everyone on the team understand how the vision will benefit them. If they don’t see the impact, there’s no motivation. Have team help you establish vision. Participation in the process builds buy-in.
  • Accountability builds commitment and commitment creates energy. Make sure that every member of your team has goals and owns something of meaning for them.
  • Actively listen to people. You’re a coach and a problem solver, not a commander. Find out what’s going on in their lives at work and personally and then make a difference where you can.
  • Frequently and publicly praise solid effort. The carrot is stronger than the stick. An ideal ratio is 10:1. If you need to correct someone, do it in private.

 

Posted on March 30, 2009 in Action, Leadership, Vision