8 hours & a lunch

quiet mode

It happens every year. There are other times it happens too, but it always happens this time of year.  My birthday hits in November and I find myself taking stock of the prior year.  Next, the whole "what do I have left to do in the final six weeks of this year" thing hits.  All while the ideas, the planning, the next steps come into focus for the next year.  This generally lands me in 'quiet mode'.  

I'm thinking.  I'm listening.  I'm determining priorities.  I'm planning and I'm already getting things rolling to hit next year rolling.  (Think of it as a running start.)

What About You?  

So many of us slack off during the holidays.  It seems everyone else is and as you may be calling certain businesses, they may even tell you that they're pretty much on hold until January.  But this is the time you can be establishing contact.  Go ahead and talk to them so that when they come back ready to roll in January, you're the first person they think of.

Or what about those New Year's resolutions?  I'm not a big believer in them myself, but a lot of people make them.  If you do, have you already started thinking about what they'll be?  And if you know what they are, why not start now?  Why wait and put it all off for an entire month, possibly falling a little further behind (holiday weight gain anyone?) before you get to work?  

Don't Waste Time 

I know it's the holidays and there is a lot going on.  I know this is a time to spend with friends and family.  I'm all for that (and will enjoy those things myself).  At the same time, it's a great time to get moving, get busy, and start next year off with a running start.

What do you need to wrap up this month?  What can you get started on now rather than waiting til January?

All the best!

deb

are we waiting for an 'education crisis'?

Watching Bill Gates and Warren Buffett at Columbia University, Bill Gates said the thing that worries him most for the future is the state of our education system.  He’s right.  6.2 million students dropped out of high school in 2007.  Amongst those who do graduate from high school, basic reading comprehension and math skills have been steadily declining.  

Then there’s college.  Even graduate programs don’t teach lessons in leadership, communication, or entrepreneurial skills.  That is slowly beginning to change, if you can afford to go to a private university such as the University of Evansville that has an entrepreneurial studies program beginning.  Of course, the average in-state public university costs around $17,000 each year.  To get into a private university and an entrepreneurial program, you not only need the grades, you also need about $36,000 per year.  

So even those students who get into and through college aren’t being taught what they really need to know, and they’re paying a lot for that. 

Teachers Aren’t Allowed to Teach

With growing usage of standardized testing to determine whether a child passes on to the next grade, more and more teachers are ‘teaching to the test’.  They’re not truly engaging the student.  They aren’t teaching critical thinking skills.  They’re teaching students to learn facts long enough to regurgitate them on a test.  That’s it.  Because, they’re told, that’s their job.   

At the same time, the number of government mandated requirements are increasing while state and government funding is decreasing.  Schools have to meet more specific requirements with less money.   So guess what they’re doing?  They’re cutting teachers, as well as the most basic resources.  

The administration and funding in schools is not conducive to learning, and it’s getting worse.  

Then They Enter The Workforce

These students with decreasing rates of completing school, or those who complete school without basic skills and knowledge they truly need out in the world, eventually enter the workforce.  When they start work, they’re expected to already possess not only these skills, but soft skills like communication.  But they don’t.  They go on to stay in a job long enough to be promoted to management.  And managers are expected to manage, not lead.  They definitely aren’t taught how to coach and develop their people.  They expect HR to do that for them.  Except HR is busy with recruiting, and disciplinary procedures, and negotiating and administering benefits, and maybe a little party-planning on the side.  Besides, many HR people don’t have any background in adult learning or instructional development.  

And They Do It Wrong

Every once in a while, a leader in one of these companies will decide that maybe we should do a little training.  So they find a training group and bring them in for a day to teach something like communication or time management.  And the people play on their blackberry because the training is a typical cookie-cutter program that they’ve been through before, and they’re bored.  

The leader in these organizations is just turning their people over to a training group and saying, “Here they are.  You have one day.  Fix them.”  If they learn and retain anything at all, they typically only retain 20% of what they learn in that session. (That statistic goes up to over 80% when you couple coaching with a well-developed, specific training program.) 

ROI

For many leaders, the prevailing thinking is that you’ll invest in training and developing someone who just might then leave the organization and take that training elsewhere. Or that the problem is in the hiring.  You’re just not hiring good enough people.  (But take a look back up there.  The ‘good people‘ are educated and our education system is failing us.)  

There are companies that are forward-thinking enough to have a specific learning & development group.  But guess what one of the first things that got cut as the financial crisis hit was? 

Waiting for the Crisis

Are we waiting for a crisis?  That’s what we have a tendency to do.  Even recently, we waited for a financial crisis despite warnings that it was coming.  Now we’re talking about the healthcare crisis, despite many seeing the problems with the healthcare system for decades.  Are we waiting for a ‘talent crisis’ before we start fixing the education system and become committed to developing people within our organizations?  

It won’t just be a “Baby-Boomers-are-retiring-and-what-Gen-Y-expects” problem for companies down the road.  It will also be current leadership failing future generations by not educating and preparing them for what’s ahead.  

In the workplace, we need leaders to make the investment and utilize the ideas we’ve got out there right now that work.  But that’s not enough.  We’re not teaching or giving people the resources they need to succeed in schools or in many businesses.  

Do we need new ideas?  We absolutely do.  Could we use new delivery methods in learning/training?  Yes.  And some companies are already beginning to work with this.   We also need smart people from many disciplines, including the business community, to start getting together to come up with solutions.  

So what can we do?  Where do we start?

All the best!

deb   

gratitude, the parent of all virtues

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. - JFK

Many words of wisdom will be written and shared about gratitude and giving thanks today.  I'm certainly grateful.  I could make a list.  I could make a long list.  But first and foremost, I'm grateful for so many wonderful, amazing people in my life.  My friends, family, clients, people who encourage me daily, the people I haven't even met but who teach me. 

Gratitude has been called the parent of all virtues, and it's definitely important for us to recognize what we have.  Let's also be grateful for the things that haven't yet shown up in our lives, but that we have faith will show up soon.   And then, as we express our gratitude with words, let me encourage you to go farther.  Take your gratitude into action and help others.  Nothing will increase your own gratitude and levels of happiness more.  

Focus on all you have to be thankful for today.  Even the small things.  Especially the small things.  And then go out, give a little, and live your gratitude.

All the best!

deb

what bill belichick can teach us about decision-making

Alright, alright.  So Bill Belichick didn't punt against the Colts and it lost the Patriots the game.   Scott Anthony wrote about this over at Harvard Business today, and for those who missed the game, here's his recap:

The New England Patriots led the Indianapolis Colts by six points with two minutes to go. It was fourth down, the ball was on the New England 28 yard line, and the Patriots needed just two yards for a first down that would almost certainly have sealed a victory. Conventional wisdom called for a punt, but Coach Belichick decided to go for it. After the Patriots fell just short of the first down, the Colts marched into the end zone and won the game.

Suddenly, there's a whirlwind of debate amongst the pundits, including how statistically speaking, the Patriots had a better chance of winning the game by 'going for it' and not punting.  It didn't work out that way in this instance, but repeating the same scenario again and again, it would work more often than it wouldn't.

Other Factors

But while some want to break down Belichick's decision into being all about the numbers, there are other variables and human factors to consider.  Decision-making doesn't just come down to stats, in football, in business, or in life.   

1)  You need to know what condition you (and your team) is in (and what they're capable of in that moment) - What was the chance that Manning, who had thrown two interceptions that night, would get the Colts all the way back down the field for a touchdown in two minutes if they punted?  There's probably a stat for that, but the Patriots defense was also tired. On another day, they might have been stronger in the same situation.  But everyone has an off day, so you not only need to know what shape you and your people are in, you need to know when someone's having an off day and what they're capable of in the particular moment.       

2)  Take a moment to consider different possible outcomes -  What if the Patriots had made the two yards?  They'd have likely sealed up the win.  (And Belichick would have been heralded for having the guts to make the play.)  If they punted, would the Colts have made it all the way back down the field?  (It's possible.  We've seen it happen before.)  If they failed to convert, the Colts would have had the ball at about the Patriots 30-yard line, and what would be the possibility of them making it down the field from there?  Any decision we make has more than one possible outcome.  You make the pitch and you make the sale.  Or you don't.  Or someone comes back and wants to negotiate.  What are all the possible outcomes of a decision and which ones are you prepared for? 

3)  Don't forget other factors like time (and pressure) - Especially when we look back on a decision we've made, we tend to underestimate the effects the amount of time we had to make that decision or the pressure we may have felt at the time had on the decision we ultimately made.  Take note and take that under consideration next time.

Second-Guessing Will Drive You Crazy

It's easy to crunch the numbers when you have all day to do it after the decision doesn't bring the desired result.  And sure.  You want to take a look back and learn from your mistakes.  But we do this all the time -- in life and in business.  We have a certain amount of information.  We only know what we know at that moment.  And we make a decision.  Unfortunately, there are times when we make what is a good decision at the time, but it still doesn't turn out the way we want it to. That's just life.  Risk brings reward.  It's also called a 'risk' for a reason.  

 No Guts, No Glory

Do I hope that anytime the Patriots get into that situation again they'll punt?  Nope. I like that they went for it.  But that's me.  It's easy to say 'he should have made the safe choice', but safe choices aren't always the way to go.  You don't get to four Superbowls and win three of them by always playing it safe.  And if you want to live a life half-lived, if you want to keep your business where it is, sure.....play it safe every time.  You'll be guaranteed the same results you've been getting.    

Besides, when it comes down to it, your career, your business, your life is about the long haul.  It's made up of a series of choices, a series of plays.  You win some.  You lose some. You make the best decision based on what you know in the moment.  You deal with the outcome.  And when you lose?  You learn, you get stronger, and you just go on to play another day.  So make the best decision you can and just go for it already.   

All the best!

deb

why you should care about carrots & sticks (your talent is getting restless)

On Monday, I posted Dan Pink's TED talk on motivation.  I'm looking forward to the release of Dan's next book, Drive.  And here's why.  He's right.  But there are a great many businesses out there determined to continue utilizing out-dated methods of motivation and engagement that science tells us don't work.  And the timing, if you want to stay ahead of the game leading your business, couldn't be better.  

Eyes Off the Ball

Last year, most businesses reacted to the recession the same way they always do.  Cutbacks and layoffs started hitting in numbers we haven't seen in close to 30 years.  In the meantime, many leaders also secretly decided that this was a relief.  After all, they could go back to command-and-control management and stop worrying about their people.  They didn't have to waste time talking about things like engagement anymore.  Clearly, people would just be happy to have a job, right?  So why worry about the stress they were going to be going through worrying about the next rounds of cuts?  Why worry about supporting them now that they're doing the jobs of 2 or 3 people?  

Offsite Meetings & Holiday Parties

Some businesses handled layoffs in traditional fashion.  People were in panic mode.  And while I realize what some of those offsite meetings produce and that some people still believe the holiday party is key to employee morale, your people were busy doing the calculations.  They were watching news of AIG continuing to pay big bonuses and they brought that home.  They started wondering why the guy in the cubicle next to him had to be laid off so that the leadership could go meet in the Bahamas.  And leaders who didn't communicate well (or worse, didn't communicate at all), leaders who didn't handle the past year or so well, will start noticing something soon.  

Your Talent is Getting Restless

Stories are already starting to crop up here and there, including over at Harvard Business. 

The story?  Your talent is getting restless.  You know, the people you hung on to through the layoffs because you wanted them to stay.  They're your rockstars.  And they might already be looking to jump ship.  

The first thing you should know about the job market is that while it looks bleak to many, your top talent are starting to see options crop up.  People are still being actively recruited away from their current positions. The second thing you should know is that with job growth projected to be slow, you might have a little bit of time to hang on to your top performers.

Motivation

One thing to begin taking a look at are your carrots and sticks.  Are you still using them?  (How much of your team gave up long ago not believing they truly had a chance at grabbing the carrot in the first place?) The carrots and sticks were never key to keeping your top people motivated to begin with, but after all they've been through the past year, those methods work even less.  They're looking for the autonomy, mastery, and purpose that Dan talks about.  They miss it and they're starting to look for it again.  And your best people will find it.  

If you're a leader in any size organization, and you've been neglecting this while reacting to external events, it's time to start taking a look forward and building the foundation now that will keep your rockstars doing great work and doing that great work for you.

All the best!

deb 

 

where's your sweet spot?

The sweet spot on a tennis racquet is the spot where the ball strikes and creates almost no force on the player's hand.  To the player, hitting the sweet spot feels effortless.  It's easy.  In sound engineering, the sweet spot is where the listener hears the most favorable balance of all the sound elements.  The sweet spot is where it all comes together with ease, and achieves an optimum result.

For me, it happens when I'm facilitating a session, talented, smart people are engaged, and suddenly lightbulbs start going off.  These people start seeing things in a new way.  They become enthusiastic, and we all start collaborating and coming up with solutions.

In photography, it doesn't happen every time I shoot.  Most often, it happens when I'm collaborating with another photographer whose strengths and style are diametrically opposed to my own -- thereby allowing us both to learn and grow as photographers while also allowing us to offer a client more artistic options than they'd have with just one of us alone.  This, combined with shooting pros doing what they do best creates a place where people are doing what they love and striving for excellence, creating the sweetest spot in photography I have yet identified.

I don't hit the sweet spot every day.  All the factors that create the sweet spot for me aren't available everyday.  But knowing what components create that spot means I can seek out more and more opportunities to work in that space and to live there.    

So what about you?  Do you know where your sweet spot is?  Do you know what factors come together and take you beyond just doing what you love to creating a place that feels somewhat magical where work is happening but it feels easy and fun and excellence happens?  Do you work in that space often?  What can you do to get to that place more regularly?

All the best!

deb  

what i know for sure (a birthday post)

Things always happen to me on the 17th.  Married on the 17th, divorced on the 17th.  Got jobs on the 17th.  Moved on the 17th.  Closed on my first house on the 17th. Sold that house for quite the nice little profit on the 17th.  Lost a great love on the 17th.  Started my business on the 17th.  But this particular 17th, in November, happens to be my birthday.  I know that yesterday, I posted a video and said we'd talk about that -- but we'll get to that tomorrow.  Today is my birthday and there's something bigger I want you to know.

I've been around a few years now.  And here's the thing.

Sometimes

Sometimes......sometimes, I get it right.  Sometimes I get it so right that I shock myself.

And sometimes.....sometimes I get it really really wrong.

Sometimes I still open my mouth and have a foot-sandwich for lunch.  And sometimes, I say just the right thing at just the right moment.  

Sometimes, I make seriously awesome decisions.

Sometimes, I make poor ones.

Sometimes, most times, I just make the best decision based on the information I have at the moment and circumstances change and that is what really determines whether it turns out to be a good or bad decision in the long run.  

Sometimes, I regret that one particular move (one of many) that my family made.  I know my life would have been different, and I'm pretty sure -- in a couple of ways -- how it would have been different.  Still, I don't know that that would have been 'better'.  Because my life, overall, has been pretty awesome and I've had experiences I never would have had if we'd stayed.

Sometimes, I regret that I never auditioned for Broadway.  OK.  That is one regret I definitely have.  Not that I never 'made it there' but that I never tried.  So you know what?  I just learned from it and when something comes along that I know I'll regret not trying, I do the sane thing -- and try.  Even when other people think it looks crazy.

What I Know For Sure

And to use Oprah's famous question, what I know for sure?  Is that most of that really doesn't matter.  What I know for sure is that I am loved.  I have been loved, deeply.  And I am loved, deeply.  And I will be in the future.  

I know that sometimes friends come from the most unlikely places.  I know that sometimes someone you've never met reads between the lines and knows you're having a hard time and tells you to 'lean'.  They tell you it's okay to lean when you need to and that's exactly the thing you need to hear right at that moment.  And sometimes, someone picks up a phone and calls when they only have a couple of minutes, just to tell you that you matter and that can make you cry, and give you just the thing you need to stay strong and keep moving forward.  And sometimes, someone says three words like 'don't you even' to remind you to believe in yourself and that's all that needs to be said.

I can tell you that sisters-by-choice is just about the most amazing gift anyone can find in their life.  I've put mine through their paces, I can tell you.  Because my sisters-by-choice?  They've gotten it all!  And they've put up with it all.  And they've stuck by me through it all.  These are the women who will jump on a plane at a moment's notice when needed.  These are the women who will listen....and listen...and listen.  And then will promptly kick my ass when I need to have it kicked. 

But There's More

And what I know for sure is that being loved does not bring me my greatest joy.  Not by a long shot.  What I know for sure is that my greatest joy is not in being loved....but in loving.  It's in what I have to give, what I have to offer.  It's in loving others and being that person who jumps on a plane for them or calls them up when I have a minute or offers words of encouragement at just the right moment.  My greatest joy is in giving.

What I Want You To Know

I hear it all too often.  I hear people questioning if their voice will speak to a wide enough audience or if they're getting it right or doing the right things or saying the right things or.....whatever.  And here's what I want you to know.  You are unique.  You are special.  You have a voice that people need to hear.  You can say something others may say -- but you'll say it in your way, in your time, in your voice, in a way that will touch someone that no one else will.  

Don't sweat it so much.  Just be you.  Be you in all your glory and all your splendor. 

And remember, as you watch this video -- sometimes, we're the one in the boat and sometimes we're the one on the shore.  Love.  Give.  And be loved.  And the rest?  The rest you just take as it comes.  Love with all your heart.  Stay open.  Take the risks you need to take.  Make your life all you can make it.  Do the best you can.  That's all anyone can ask.  And it's all you need to do.

And since it's my birthday and I get a wish?

My wish is....that you call the people you love today and tell them.  It only takes a minute, but it means the world. 

All the best!

deb

Enjoy this video:

Anchored HD from lindsey olivares on Vimeo.

dan pink on carrots & sticks (the truth about motivation)

I'm looking forward to Dan Pink's next book, Drive.  This is a 20 minute video, so I'll let you watch it today - and write more about it tomorrow. 

All the best!

deb

listening and silence

Posting everyday has become more of a challenge than I expected.  Some days, I crave silence.  Today is one of those days.  It's a gray, cloudy Sunday that seems much more suited for silence and for listening for answers that I know will come more than speaking out.  Knowing that the creative process includes a period of stillness before the flash of inspiration adds a tinge of expectation to days like this for me because I know the flashes of inspiration will come.  But today?  It's quiet.  There's stillness and peace.  Today, I'm listening to the silence.

All the best!

deb   

two super-charged words

My friend Ronna Detrick keeps bringing up two words that are super-charged for me.  Those words?  Faith and feminism.  They're two words I tend to shy away from because of the images and associations they bring up for me.  Mostly, it's hard for me to bring them together.

Faith

For those who are long-time readers of this blog, this won't come as a surprise.  For others, it might.  I am a preacher's kid.  I grew up as a preacher's kid in a church that I define as "go to Southern Baptist and take a right."  

After witnessing years of the behind-the-scenes politics that most people who attend services regularly never have any idea going on, and after years of being told who I was wasn't right and didn't work, I walked away. 

My father kept encouraging me not to "let the behaviors of men get in the way of your faith in God."  It may well have been great advice.  I can't really say.  

I didn't take it.

My liberal and intellectual sensibilities, along with my own personal experience, tends to lead me away from it.  And yet, somehow, I'm always drawn back from time to time.  I still question.  I still wonder.  I still seek answers.

Feminism

But that wasn't the only reason I walked away.  The other reason I walked away was the constant stream of being told what a woman 'should' be and exactly how I did not fit in with that.  Who I was, who I am, as a person, it seems, makes me 'wrong'.  I've had the word 'feminist' thrown at me from those 'of faith' in ways that were intended to keep me quiet, make me dress a certain way, think a certain way, live a certain way.  I don't tend to like the word 'feminist' though, as for me, it invokes images of angry women behaving in ways that don't work for me personally any more than the 'good little Christian women' did.  But if being a feminist means that I believe in equal work for equal pay and that a woman can be just as good as a CEO or President as the next guy, or that a woman has the right to choose - in any number of areas, including how she lives her life.  Well then call me a feminist.

Bringing the Two Together

I was fortunate in that the messages I received from 'the church' were negated by my parents, who taught me to think for myself.  They thought me to question.  They believed, it seems, that it didn't do me one bit of good to 'follow the path' if that path wasn't my own and of my own conviction.  And that is where I think much damage gets done.  It's when we grow up and take on beliefs and values that aren't truly our own, they've just been handed to us.

I'm a big proponent for questioning.  I believe in knowing who you are, and asking hard questions that lead you to define your life, define what a successful and fulfilling life means to you, and then live that to it's fullest.  

I think it's time I get back to my own personal questions about faith.  It becomes difficult at the intersection of faith and feminism.  Are we allowed to have faith and be feminists at the same time?  Some people would tell you the answer is no.  

But Ronna is challenging us.  She's challenging us to ask the hard questions and work through them, reinterpreting some of what we may have been told and taught, and come to our own answers that work for us.

That's why I'll be on her Faith and Feminism call on Wednesday, November 18.  It's free - and having talked with Ronna before, I can guarantee you that her unique, powerful voice will inspire you to find your answers and to think in new, more empowered ways.  Go sign up and join us!

All the best!

deb