Month: November 2008

Deliberate Practice

I’m wrapping up a successful systems implementation.
When I was first hired on,
I didn’t know the software
we were implementing.

This was a stretch project.
I hustled to get up to speed.
I pushed myself to become an overnight expert.
All while facing a high possibility of failure.

I engaged in what researchers call
deliberate practice.

Geoff Colvin gives another example

“Tiger Woods –
intensely applying this principle,
which is no secret among pro golfers –
has been seen to drop golf balls
into a sand trap and step on them,
then practice shots from that near-impossible lie.”

Have you challenged yourself recently?
Have you set stretch goals?

Too Many Commercials

I was a big fan of a certain blog.
I’ve linked to it many times.
Now,
I don’t even read it.

Why?

Because every post is now a pitch for something,
often disguised as a new ‘tool.’

Viewers expect commercials.
They know that is the price of content.
But they also expect the content.
Make them wait too long for that
and they’ll change the channel.

Ensure that you balance the two
or even better,
lean towards more content.

In Case You Didn’t Know

I’m all for self promotion.
I think most people don’t do enough of it.

However…

If you win saleswoman of the year
at your local car dealership,
you don’t need to tell the other salespeople
you won.

If you are number one
on your publisher’s best seller’s list,
there is no need to send an email
to the publisher’s loop
letting the other authors know.

They know
and pointing out that they lost
(what they hear when you say you won)
makes you look like an immature jacka$$.

Put your energy into
telling people who DON’T know.

How To Spot Future Leaders

Ram Charan in
Know-How
outlines how to spot future leaders.

One way?

“They come to the point succinctly,
are clear thinkers,
and have the courage to
state a point-of-view
even though listeners may react adversely.”

Talking a lot does not a future leader make.
Also, the future leader has to have the balls
to put her job or reputation on the line.
She makes the best decisions,
not the most popular.

The Integrity Dividend And Leadership

When I’m working with a new project member,
I first give the person ‘test’ tasks.
I ask them if they can do this by a certain date.
They agree.

And then I wait.

If they accomplish that task on time,
I give them responsibilities.
If they don’t,
I know I can’t depend on them
and assign them ‘busy’ tasks.

As Tony Simons says
in
The Integrity Dividend
“…any leader’s word is his or her most potent tool,
and an effective leader devotes much attention
to developing and preserving the power of that word.
It is not about being nice.
It is not about being ethical.
It is about being more effective by
developing and preserving your credibility.”

Guard your word closely.
It is your most important asset.

Letting Things Go

My auto mechanic uncle
uses the oil spray
WD-40
for his arthritis.
He swears it works.

Is that what it is designed for?
No.
Will it do him any harm to use WD-40 that way?
No.

Not everyone will use your product
the ‘right way.’
Not everyone will interpret your words
the way you want them to.
Not everyone will agree with you.

You can spend your time
correcting them
or trying to convince them

OR

if the answer to
“Does this matter?” is no,
you can simply let it go.

Fight the battles that matter.
Let the petty skirmishes go.

Driving While Looking In The Rearview Mirror

I find it amusing that weeks after
the decision has been made,
the talking heads are still discussing
whether or not the financial bailout
should have happened.

A useless exercise.

As a businessleader,
you are paid to make decisions.

If it is a good decision,
you tuck that knowledge away for later
and move forward.

If it is a bad decision
(and you will make bad decisions,
that is a guarantee),
you take action to recover from it,
tuck that knowledge away for later,
and move forward.

There is no undo button
once a decision has been made and implemented
(even partially).
Keep looking forward.

The Downgrade Blues

Standing behind a well dressed lady
in a busier than usual McDonald’s,
I heard her say
that she hated eating there
but her husband told her
they had to save money.

When she got to the counter,
she treated the employee horribly.
Everything was a special order
and nothing was ‘right.’

No one likes to downgrade.

If you’re supplying the downgraded product,
realize that many of your customers
will be unhappy about the switch.

Treat your employees extra well
so they are able to pass that caring
onto these customers.

Keeping The Ideal Customer In Mind

You see it on
Flip That House
all the time.

A flipper,
instead of thinking of
what her ideal buyer wants,
uses her personal tastes
with the house.
When the house gets put up for sale,
these personal tastes
decrease, rather than increase,
the price.

That is why I like to recruit
people as similar as possible
to my ideal customer
as sounding boards.
I’ll ask them ‘would you like this?’
If they say ‘yes,’
I go ahead.
If they say ‘no,’
I don’t.

It takes most of the guesswork out of decisions.

Aligning Goals

Last week on
Say Yes To The Dress,
a bride came in
with her team.
Her goal was to find a dress
that would make her feel beautiful.

One of her team members
was her mother.
Her mother was quite open
about hating
her daughter’s taste
(in everything).
Her goal was to force her
to dress the way SHE wanted.

Their goals were not aligned.
Every dress the daughter felt beautiful in,
the mother ripped apart.
Finally, the daughter had to ‘fire’ the mom
as an advisor.

It doesn’t matter how talented a team member
or even how much she loves you,
if your goals are not aligned,
she shouldn’t be on your team.