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I'm in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho at the Little League State Championships. My son, Mitch is on the 9-10 All Star team and is playing in the Finals this weekend. It's been a great trip for our family. Just wanted to let the readership know why the posts have been a little light this week.
I'll be back into the swing of things and pumping out some great leadership nuggets next week. But for now...GO WEST VALLEY!
But they do care about their customers. They care about the atmosphere that they work in. They care about preparing whatever drink you order in a way that makes you feel good about the experience.
Seth Godin posts about his own personal relationship with the world of Starbucks and what he witnessed...
Inside the Starbucks, the first thing I noticed, tucked deep in the corner, not for customer inspection, apparently, was a bulletin board. The bulletin board was jammed with pictures of the staff. The staff on a picnic. The staff at an amusement park. The staff kidding around.
That very same staff was working behind the counter. If it's possible to make an herbal tea with enthusiasm, they were doing it. If it's possible to make a $4 transaction feel joyful, they accomplished it.
That's huge. They enjoyed each other. They enjoyed what they did. And who did it benefit? Everyone.
My advice: If you don't like what you do and you don't like the people you work with - work to change the way you feel about your job and the people OR change your job and the people you work with.
Every time I walk into a Starbucks, I realize it's about more than the coffee. It's the entire experience.
What kind of experience do people have when they encounter you at work?
Self-Discipline
“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not: it is the first lesson that ought to be learned and, however early a person’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he or she learns thoroughly.” - Thomas Huxley
David continually turns work in late. Josh can't seem to find the time to exercise. Stacy keeps maxing out her credit card and paying the high interest rates. Julie dreams of a better future, but keeps putting it off, thinking that tomorrow she'll do what needs to be done.
What do all of these people have in common? In one way or another, they struggle with issues related to self-discipline. Huxley rightly states that one of the most valuable abilities in life is "to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not." A leader understands that there are no shortcuts to achieving their greatest potential. And greatness usually begins with small steps in the right direction.
If you want water, you've got to turn on the faucet.
If you want to overcome your struggle with personal discipline, you've got to start moving in the right direction. For me, the word start means: Steps To Accomplishing Real Things. I know that nothing will happen until I start. The water won't flow until I turn on the faucet. The question is: Where does one start?
I would offer these four areas:
Start With Yourself
There may be lots of reasons that you aren't able to accomplish what you want to accomplish. But the first person you must look at is yourself. You can't change others, you can't predict your circumstances, and you can't live like you only get 23 hours in a day. Take a hard look at how you spend the time given you each day. Find the things that you can change personally.
Start Early
When you start early, you provide yourself with more options than if you started late. Early gives you greater flexibilty. Late gives you stress and little room for excellence. If you constantly put things off until the last minute, you won’t be able to do the things you really want to do. Beginning early gives you breathing room for the unexpected. It also allows you to produce more excellent work and results.
Start Small
We may often become overwhelmed by the goals that we set or the projects that we are assigned. The best way to overcome putting off a big assignment is to break the project down into smaller, more manageable pieces. When we accomplish a small part of the task or project, it actually gives us motivation and energy to move on to the next piece. Break up your work into manageable sizes and tackle them one at a time. Somehow, we've bought into the paralyzing myth that says we have to accomplish it all at once (that is, unless you waited until the last minute!).
Start Now
I've never seen anyone win a race by sitting on the starting line and thinking about what it would take to finish. Every successful race began with a first step. Every task will be accomplished with a first step. Go ahead. Turn the faucet. When you do, water will begin to flow. The key to self-discipline is moving ahead in the midst of feelings, fatigue, and fear of failure.
Lifehacker just pointed me to a great website - PDF Online.
Upload your Word doc, Excel spreadsheet, HTML page, JPG/GIF/TIFF image to PDFOnline and get a PDF back. Or, upload an existing PDF and PDFOnline will email you an HTML version.
This is a great tool! Oh...and did I mention they do it for FREE!
Josh Kaufman has created a great blog called Inside My Bald Head. His latest project is to come up with a list of great business book reads. His goal is to create a Personal MBA. That means, if you were to go through and read all these books, your learning would be comparable to the rigors of getting an MBA through a University.
Ultimately, it's not about bucking the higher education system, as much as it's about personal growth and good resources.
Josh's Personal MBA forum is up and running as well. You should check it out and leave a post if you find something that interests you.
Josh also had a manifesto proposal (for the personal MBA) accepted on ChangeThis.com and is looking for some assistance in getting the final product to print. You might be able to be a part of his team of reviewers. Check it out.
Personal Growth
As soon as you stop growing, you start plateauing. If you don’t invest in your own growth and development, you will soon be unable to invest in anyone else’s. Growth is not automatic in your life. You must determine to daily do the things that will put you on the right kind of growth track in order to develop your leadership skills. I have personally found that there are specific ways that I can invest in my personal growth. You will develop your leadership and life by:
Listening to tapes and CDs that will help you grow.
I listen to tapes and CD's from various leaders and professional speakers while I'm driving. I'll order tapes from conferences that I can't attend. I'll download talks from motivational speakers off of the Internet. What you feed your mind will find it's way out into the way you speak and live your life.
Visiting places that will help you grow.
A few months back I went to a leadership conference with our students in Ohio. One of the places that we visited on that trip was Mansfield State Prison. It was the location where they shot the film, The Shawshank Redemption. When you walk around this facility (which is now closed), you contemplate a lot of questions that are worth asking. I think most places that resonate with history can teach you some important things.
Attending events that will help you grow.
Conferences are important. Seminars as well. While you may not come away with an overwhelming amount of new information, it is important to get in that kind of environment. One great idea is worth it to me. Plus, these types of events can affirm or encourage your own growth in the right direction.
Hanging around people that will help you grow.
If I want to grow in a certain direction or certain aspect of character, I will look for someone else who is a lot better at it than I am. Some people aren't confident enough to be with people who display a greater aptitude than them. Well, that's an ego issue that a leader needs to get over real quick. If I want to be a better tennis player, I don't keep playing people that are easy to beat. I only learn when I have to push myself farther than I have in the past. There are people out there that help me do that.
Reading books that will help you grow.
I already posted (Weeds & Roses) about the value I find in reading. Most of my learning and growth comes from good books. I think the habit and practice of reading also helps one to keep one's mind sharp and open to new information. Like I've said earlier, I want my world to expand, not diminish. Books have a way of widening one's perspective.
Hyrum Smith, President of Franklin-Covey said, “Life’s too short to choose any path that ends in regret.” (Priorities Magazine, Vol. 1, Issue 4, p9)
Invest your time in those efforts that will move you forward. Otherwise, you’ll have to face the disappointment later on that you hadn’t done the work necessary to reach your fullest potential.
I was talking to my friend Carey about my new Treo 650 (which I am loving by the way). He told me that I didn't have any resistance to new gadgets that I'd like to have. I told him that I was an "early adopter" when it came to technology.
"What's an early adopter?" he asked.
I then began to explain the work of Everett M. Rogers (who coined the phrase "early adopter") to him. Everett M. Rogers, before passing away in 2004, was most recently a professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico. In his classic and landmark book entitled, Diffusion of Innovations, he breaks people's response to change into five categories. These groups are divided as follows:
The INNOVATORS - representing approximately 3% of the people
While this is the smallest group represented, these people are the ones who take an idea and run with it. They are risk-takers and adventurers who thrive in a change atmosphere. They are intelligent, quick learners who constantly look for new ways to do things better and more efficiently. They possess a strong, sharp intuition which allows them to accomplish new goals and reach new dreams. Hopefully, these are the type of people that you have in key leadership and staff positions.
The EARLY ADOPTERS - representing approximately 13% of the people
Early adopters are usually those who take an idea from an innovator and run with it. They are able to take these ideas and implement them in ways that allow the idea to flourish. This group is quick to run once they know which direction the organization needs to run in.
The EARLY MAJORITY - representing approximately 24% of the people
In implementing change, this group will be more deliberate than the previous two. They will gauge the opinion leaders within the organization and test the waters to see how effective it will be. They want to make the change, but want to see how it's being done somewhere else as well.
The LATER MAJORITY - representing approximately 44% of the people
This is by far the largest of the groups. These people want to see that everyone else is already doing it and they need specific, point by point instruction as to how to make the change. They don't want to be a part of the implementing and bringing about change and are simply content to follow and adopt the new practices that everyone else has now adopted.
The LAGGARDS - representing approximately 16% of the people
The laggards are determined not to adopt anything new.
As we consider changes that occur around us and within us, which group do we tend to belong to?
I admit that I'm an early adopter when it comes to technology, but I'm more of a later majority when the change centers around what I wear (I'm not necessarily up on the latest fashions :).
Understanding these various groupings has helped me better facilitate change within my organization. I am able to see that some people don't jump on board right away, while others are always excited about the next big idea. The key is knowing how to reach out to and work with each group throughout the change process.
Any thoughts?
One of my favorite stories in the area of change is about a husband and wife who are out shopping for clothes. The husband comes across a shirt that he really likes. He pulls the tag out and reads something that strikes his curiosity.
"Honey," he says, "The tag on this shirt says that it's shrink resistant. What does that mean?" His wife smiles and replies, "It means that the shirt will shrink, but it doesn't want to."
Over the years I've come to realize that many people are like that shirt when it comes to change. Oh, they'll change, but they don't want to. And leaders are just as guilty as those who follow them.
In fact, most leaders seem to drag their feet when it comes to change as much as everyone else, unless, the change happens to be their idea. What are you doing as a leader to overcome your own resistance to change, especially when that change will result in greater productivity and growth for both you and your organization?
One of the books that I'm working through right now is entitled, The Forgotten Half of Change. In this book, author De Brabandere, shares how change must occur twice in order for it to be effective and lasting.
The first type of change is the actual physical change that is necessary. The second type of change is our perception of the situation. For example, if we change our eating habits because we want to lose weight, that is the first type of change. But, if we fail to change our perception about food, portions, exercise, etc. -- our actions will fall back into our previous habits - wiping out the first type of change. It's an interesting book that I'm only a couple of chapters into. More information and review will follow.
In the meantime, here are some of my favorite quotations on change:
"Change itself is not progress, but change is the price that we pay for progress." - Clayton G. Orcutt
"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have of trying to change others." - Jacob M. Braude
"Change is successful when we can look back and call it growth." - Unknown
"Things do not change - we do." - Henry David Thoreau
