The brief video below is one of my favorites. Don’t be afraid to be first regardless of how you might be judged. The person who goes first becomes the leader and a leader can start a movement.
[ted id=814]
See It As It Is
January 15, 2014
Photo Courtesy of Carnie Lewis
One of the important lessons I learned from Tony Robbins was to see things as they are but not worse than they are. We tend to take inconveniences and problems and blow them out of proportion to make them larger than life. Some do this to get attention and have significance while others do it to give themselves certainty that they can be a topic of conversation.
Whenever you are affected by any kind of difficult situation ask yourself:
* How bad is it really?
* What is the worst possible outcome that can occur with this situation?
* If that outcome happens, what am I going to do about it?
When you speak to others about your situation keep these things in mind. Tell them how it really is – not what you imagine it is going to be or the story you have told yourself about it. It will lower your stress/anxiety and give you a plan of action should the worst possible outcome actually happen.
Serve Them Well
July 24, 2013
Photo Credit: Found Animals Foundation
Serve others. If you have read self development materials for any length of time you have heard this and for good reason – it is the root to many good things in life.
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar
When you serve other people you are able to release stress and get out of a depressed state. You can do many things to serve: be in the military, donate time to a non-profit, or even creating a product that fills a need and makes you rich is still an example of serving others because you have filled a need and brought it to the marketplace.
Recently our car was totaled in an accident when a vehicle hit ours from behind (nobody was seriously injured). Of course, it is can be a nerve racking experience. Questions are up in the air and you are lost if you have never been through one before on what to do about getting your vehicle repaired, rental cars, etc. However, it was made a lot easier thanks to my agent who took the time to explain things to me and the other person’s insurance adjuster who was there to serve us. They should both feel good about what they do and the help they provide in moments like they deal with.
The more people you serve the better your life and those around you can be. A service animal serves the need of their owner but the owner, in turn, provides for the needs of the animal. Along with that service comes a bonding friendship between the two. This can be achieved with people as well as animals.
Figure out a way to serve many and go do that. Impact millions and make life better for everyone around.
“Service to many leads to greatness-great respect, great satisfaction.” Jim Rohn
Book Review: Boundaries for Leaders
July 1, 2013
Boundaries For Leaders by Dr. Henry Cloud is the second of Dr. Cloud’s books that I have had the pleasure of reading. It is clear, concise and if you take the steps outlined you can make dramatic changes your in your life at home and at work.
From the press release: “In Boundaries for Leaders, clinical psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Henry Cloud leverages his expertise of human behavior, neuroscience, and business leadership to explain how the best leaders set boundaries within their organizations–with their teams and with themselves–to improve performance and increase employee and customer satisfaction.”
I honestly think this book could change an entire company for the better. With over a decade of experience with a 300+ person business location I can tell you that I have seen many of these principles work in person. I do not think it matters whether you have 5 or 500 on your team this book will help you lead better, build culture, and keep the negativity and energy draining annoyances at bay.
I highly recommend reading this book and absorbing what is taught. While it did start out a bit slow for me it quickly picked up in Dr. Cloud’s style. You can’t go wrong here – pick it up and be “ridiculously in charge.”
If you would like to get other points of view or purchase the book you can do so on Amazon.
*Note: I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.*
I Dare You
May 22, 2013
Professional wrestler Jason Kincaid on top of the world doing a handstand overlooking a deep gorge. Photo by Will Trotter. Used with permission.
This week I wanted to share a small piece from the book “I Dare You” by William H. Danforth. I hope it means something to you.
I loved it the first time I heard these lines. We were digging through a bin of books and came across a small leather-bound red one with “I Dare You” in silver ink on the cover. I dare you, after reading this, to go do amazing things for other people.
I DARE YOU!
IT IS DIFFICULT to put a challenge on paper. I would rather look you straight in the eye and say, “I dare you!” In my mind that’s exactly what I am doing. I am on one side of a table. You are on the other. I am looking across and saying “I dare you!”
I Dare You, young man, you who come from a home of poverty—I dare you to have the qualities of a Lincoln.
I Dare You, heir of wealth and proud ancestry, with your generations of worthy stock, your traditions of leadership—I dare you to achieve something that will make the future point to you with even more pride than the present is pointing to those who have gone before you.
I Dare You, young mother, to make your life a masterpiece upon which that little family of yours can build. Strong women bring forth strong men.
I Dare You. boys and girls, to make life obey you, not you it. It is only a shallow dare to do the foolish things. I dare you to do the uplifting, courageous things.
I Dare You, young executive, to shoulder more responsibility joyously, to launch out into the deep, to build magnificently.
I Dare You, young author, to win the Nobel prize.
I Dare You, young researcher, to become a Microbe Hunter.
I Dare You, boy on the farm, to become a Master Farmer—A Hunger Fighter.
I Dare You, man of affairs, to have a “Magnificent Obsession.”
I Dare You, Grandfather, with your roots deep in the soil and your head above the crowd, catching the rays of the sun, to plan a daring program to crown the years of your life.
I Dare You, who think life is humdrum, to become involved. I dare you who are weak to be strong; you who are dull to be sparkling; you who are slaves to be kings.
I Dare You, whoever you are, to share with others the fruits of your daring. Catch a passion for helping others and a richer life will come back to you!
William H Danforth
Go First
May 15, 2013
On a recent EntreLeadership Podcast Jon Acuff mentioned something I really liked and wanted to share. He mentioned that as a leader you need to take the first step and allow everyone else to go second. Why? Because it is easier to go second and more people will follow.
This is something all leaders need to understand. To get people to follow you have to go first (sounds obvious, right?). But so many “leaders” want to tell people where to go instead of leading them where to go. People are more likely to follow your actions.
Imagine working in a fast food business and you see your manager empty the trash every night while you are doing the final cleaning. He doesn’t call attention to it but you notice that he is doing it. One night he is swamped with office work and without considering anything you simply go and take out the trash without being asked. Why did you do this? Some will answer because it is their job. I expect many others will say it is because their LEADER does it all the time they were willing to help him out without being asked.
There was an excellent TED Talk by Derek Sivers on “How to Start a Movement” where one person is in a park and starts dancing (the leader) which made it easier for a second person, then more, and more, and more until they had a group. The hardest thing was not the dancing but being the first one to dance.
If you want to be a leader then do it first.
[ted id=814]
It Is How You Say It
April 24, 2013
Photo Courtesy of Susana Fernandez
My dad always told me “It isn’t what you say but how you say it.” I lost count long ago on how many times I heard this as a child. As an adult I can appreciate what it means.
When you are speaking with anyone whether it is personal or business you must say what you mean and how you mean it. This is conveyed by tone of voice, volume, and, of course, body language.
Be conscience of how you speak to someone. If you can tell that you are loud then make an effort to take your volume down a couple notches.
Speaking, just like all other skills, takes practice. Actively practice and you can become great!
I wanted to share this video with you as well. It shows that the words you use can change everything. Enjoy!
Treat People Well
January 30, 2013
Image Credit: Studio JRU
“You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place on the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.” Walt Disney
You need people. You can call yourself a loner or say you don’t like people but we all need each other. You need someone to hire you for a job or you need someone to buy your product if you are running your own business. We are all connected in one way or another and we should treat each other well.
Next time you are in line at the supermarket during a busy holiday instead of getting frustrated at the lines and people take a minute to thank the clerk. For that matter, thank the people around you in line for the few minutes you spent together – it might seem odd but you can brighten their day and you will be the person they are telling their family about when they get home!
It all comes down to the fact as humans we need interaction and connection. Treat people well.
Overcomplicated
February 19, 2012
One of the worst things you can do for your customers is to make things overcomplicated for them. Take a look at the picture to the right of the school sign in Michigan (source). Do you think this is good “customer service” to the tax payers?
I recently had a problem with my cell carrier. My wife’s phone had a battery problem. Granted, the phone was four years old but all I wanted to do was pay them for a phone and sign a new contract extending my time with them. The problem being we were not eligible for an upgrade on that line for 14 days! When I called customer service they told me they could upgrade me to another phone but not the one she wanted to get. That one would have to wait. So I call one of their stores and am told we can upgrade as long as it is in the same month – GREAT! The upgrade as coming in on the 29th, oh, wait, because it is a leap year they moved us to March 1 meaning we were not in the current month. Hmmmm…
So, I went to Twitter and within ten minutes got a response from someone who was customer friendly and helped us upgrade the phone, pay them for the phone, pay the upgrade fee, and sign a contract. It took three different customer service reps and five phone calls to get approved to upgrade a phone two weeks early. I was literally asking them to allow me to hand them money and it took this many steps to get someone who could take care of it.
This is a simple issue of over complicating an issue in an organization. The first person I spoke with sh0uld have had the authority to make a two week decision. Do your customer service people have the tools and power to take care of your customers? If not, why not? If you can’t trust them then you have the wrong people in that position.
Of course their should be limits and boundaries. I have been involved with customer service for over a decade and some of the requests from customers can be quite outlandish. You must put barriers up somewhere but you have to give enough freedom for your reps to make decisions and exceptions when needed.
Bottom Line: Allow those that have direct contact with your customers be able to serve your customers. You will be rewarded many times over with happier employees and much happier and loyal customers.
Are You A Leader?
January 20, 2012
Are you a leader or a manager? Does your team follow you or do you tell them what direction to go? Check out the video below and get inspired to be a leader!