It used to be amusing to me, but now I am boarder-line frantic. Watching good (sometimes VERY good) people go past the point of amazing and into the realm of destructive--to themselves.
In my humble opinion, the recent market melt-down was entirely a function, and classic example, of this.
Be confident Yes, have a self-assured posture, Yes. But don't cross over into "I can do no wrong," or "I know better than everyone" That is a slippery slope to both yourself and those who would follow you,.
Recently, I had occasion witness just this. This person and his team were good, perhaps even VERY good, they had even established and published "rules" for how they operate. They had build an expectation and created much confidence and progress as a function of such. People knew what they could count on. The "rule of law" lead to great productivity.
But then... along came a circumstance that would under normal circumstances easily fit into the rule-set, but they chose to ignore that and go a separate way. Loss ensued. Maybe not economic loss at first, but loss of respect (even self respect), loss of confidence in them and loss of ability to "posture up." I am certain economic loss will follow. Such a shame, such a loss, such a waste.
Anyway, life is good, we should be good and do good--even when it is hard or unpopular (and this one wasn't even that)--that is the mark of a fine individual and certain leader. That is who I would choose to be and follow.
So, yes, do your press releases, do them as you normally would. But please, please, please don't believe them--no-one else does!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
I'm Back!
Long time, no post. But I am back on deck now and will post regularly going forward. It's been fun just keeping my head down and working, but it's time to share and simultaneously come up for air.
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sarasota Leadership Training
In a word--Brilliant! Well done Todd Smith for concieving and exceuting such a first-class and very beneficial event. Thank you
You just had to be there. But if you missed it all is not lost. The speeches will be available as recordings (not quite the same as being there, but not too bad), AND you can come to Deer Valley in July for the next iteration-Gotta be there!
We're rolling now. It was great to see so many old faces and catch up as well as get to know new faces and seeing the elevation of the results of many.
Look out world, here we come!
You just had to be there. But if you missed it all is not lost. The speeches will be available as recordings (not quite the same as being there, but not too bad), AND you can come to Deer Valley in July for the next iteration-Gotta be there!
We're rolling now. It was great to see so many old faces and catch up as well as get to know new faces and seeing the elevation of the results of many.
Look out world, here we come!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
What Is Your Secret to success?
This may come as a shock to some, but contrary to popular belief these days, there is no "secret" to success. The answer has been widely available and evident on book shelves in autobiographies, biographies, audio and self help titles and documentaries for generations. There is more information available today than there ever was and yet just as many people as before struggle through life suffering from "the eternal discontent." Of course we know why that is don't we - because the formulae require effort, focus, application and follow through- something that probably more than fifty per cent of people struggle with. Why? This is the question I have asked myself on a number of occasions. The cynical part of me looks at all this "law of attraction stuff" and says, yeah right! The generic "search for success blueprint" is especially unhelpful when people define success differently, and define success differently at different stages in their lives. Don't we? If there is a grand spectrum where at the one end we attract success in life through 'new-age magic' and at the other end we attract things because we "focus" on them, then I sit firmly at the "focus" end.
I have been so burdened by this question of how success really happens that one day in 2006, I got out every relevant book I owned, all the biographies and self-development titles, laid them on the floor and analysed all the contents pages to see what they had in common. From one hundred and twenty books I clustered down what these writers, many of them famous achievers, suggested were crucial to becoming successful. The biggest surprise to me was that they were all saying the same thing, in different ways!
Then I got on with trying to understand this phenomenon in more detail. Here are what I call the "Nine Powers for Success", neatly distilled for your purposes. I'll still interview goalgetters along the way because everyone is different and it's good to learn from different perspectives. I challenge you to pick up any self-development book, audio tape, biography or autobiography of a leader in their field - you'll find most of their strategies are related to these nine factors: The Nine Powers are the following:
1. Taking charge and being conscious of your thoughts and how they impact your life.
2. Acquiring specific self-knowledge, resulting in understanding your BIG purpose in life.
3. Using creativity and imagination to simulate success until it really happens (visualisation and affirmation).
4. Creating actionable steps towards your big purpose every single day. Linking what you are doing now to your big purpose.
5. Using past achievements to help you now, and displaying gratitude for the good things you already have in your life.
6. Being in tune with and understanding what drives other people who help you achieve your goals.
7. Giving value to and getting it from others, and improving things around you, unconditionally.
8. Creating positive habits and eliminating bad ones, making the best of 24 hours.
9. Overcoming the inevitable obstacles - bouncebackability.
How many of these do you aim for regularly? Do you have a few that might be unique- that don't fit into this summary? What I have found interesting is that almost all of the "Inspired People" I have met have an intuitive understanding of all of these powers. While they don't succeed each and every day on all of them, most are constantly striving to utilize these powers to achieve what they want out of life and in business. What is your secret to getting things done in your life and in your career? It is often good to take a second look at your current strategies and assess what is working and what is not. The answers are out there and within your grasp I suspect.
Let's have a fine 2009! It's all up to YOU!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Don't bank on these guys, Bank on YOU
I've been railing against idiot bankers for a while now. Wall Street was driven by greed, dishonesty, and dishonor. The salaries paid were obscene and their arrogance amazing. I don't really care what happens to the bankers. In fact, I'm more than a little ticked-off that so many of them have walked away with fat bonuses over the last three years and we found no way to get that money back.
What depresses me is what happens to the average person. Many employees have seen their 401K retirement funds decimated by the greed, stupidity, and arrogance of these so-called "Masters of the Universe". Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE capitalism and the free-market, but this 3rd standard deviation of it was nothing but an obscene aberration.
And the worst is yet to come. Management around the world are having to take radical cost actions to survive. If you talk or listen to CEOs all over the world and no matter what business they are in or in what geography, when you ask them this question, "What's your most important resource?", they always have one answer - their people. But, at the first hint of trouble, the first thing that many of them do is get rid of them, indiscriminately and usually starting with the innocent in the middle and at the bottom, rather than at the top where in most instances the blame lies.
Last week in the U.S., mass layoffs reached their highest level since the recession month following the September 11 attack. Unemployment hit 6.5 per cent in October, the highest rate since 1994. No industry is immune. Chrysler laid off 6,825 people last month, 25 per cent of their workforce. The once mighty Goldman Sachs laid off 3,250 people, 10 per cent of their workforce. Poster child Yahoo laid off 1,500 people, 10 per cent of their workforce. And Merck, once all-powerful in the pharma world, laid off 7,200 people, or 12 per cent of their workforce.
My view is that one of the roles of business is to make the world a better place for everyone. The way it does this is through innovation and ideas that create jobs, not by high-falutin', fancy-named pseudo technological financial instruments which destroy wealth, hope, and dreams.
That is why our business is GREAT. It’s yours. You’re in control. Its destiny is entirely in your hands—and that’s great. Do it!
What depresses me is what happens to the average person. Many employees have seen their 401K retirement funds decimated by the greed, stupidity, and arrogance of these so-called "Masters of the Universe". Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE capitalism and the free-market, but this 3rd standard deviation of it was nothing but an obscene aberration.
And the worst is yet to come. Management around the world are having to take radical cost actions to survive. If you talk or listen to CEOs all over the world and no matter what business they are in or in what geography, when you ask them this question, "What's your most important resource?", they always have one answer - their people. But, at the first hint of trouble, the first thing that many of them do is get rid of them, indiscriminately and usually starting with the innocent in the middle and at the bottom, rather than at the top where in most instances the blame lies.
Last week in the U.S., mass layoffs reached their highest level since the recession month following the September 11 attack. Unemployment hit 6.5 per cent in October, the highest rate since 1994. No industry is immune. Chrysler laid off 6,825 people last month, 25 per cent of their workforce. The once mighty Goldman Sachs laid off 3,250 people, 10 per cent of their workforce. Poster child Yahoo laid off 1,500 people, 10 per cent of their workforce. And Merck, once all-powerful in the pharma world, laid off 7,200 people, or 12 per cent of their workforce.
My view is that one of the roles of business is to make the world a better place for everyone. The way it does this is through innovation and ideas that create jobs, not by high-falutin', fancy-named pseudo technological financial instruments which destroy wealth, hope, and dreams.
That is why our business is GREAT. It’s yours. You’re in control. Its destiny is entirely in your hands—and that’s great. Do it!
Friday, October 10, 2008
I LOVE Sport(s)...Any sport
I LOVE Sport. The compeition, the effort, the agony, the winners and losers. The collective focus. The TEAM.
Sport touches everyone.
A recent study I read about on sports and happiness says that having a winning NFL football team boosts the wallets of a city's inhabitants by a full $120, making harder workers and bigger spenders, while increasing happiness and self confidence.
Even if your team is not winning, sports fans remain dedicated, sometimes even obsessed. This is because following a team is a pure example of an emotional connection; an experience that is part frustrating and part exquisite pride and happiness.
We all love the feeling of community, the emotional tug on the heart-strings, the hope that maybe, just maybe, this will be the year.
It's a dream of hope that springs eternal! As a fan, what you experience is Loyalty Beyond Reason, and as a sports fan I know exactly what this means! What truly matters in the end is performing, not simply winning.
There is a connection that irrevocably binds fan, team and sponsor, look at how we, as Kevin Roberts would say, inpires Loyalty Beyond Reason around a sports team. These are ideas that can grow value for one and all: fans, brand marketers, sponsors, managers and boards.
1. Share a dream. One Team, One Dream. Sponsor, owner, player and fan. A mission isn't going to light up the ball park. Feel like a family, play like a team.
2. Connect with emotion. Ditch rational-based marketing and move people to your cause.
3. Move from Irreplaceable brands to Irresistible. Lovemarks.
4. Check in with reality. Do you just want to be respected, or loved and respected?
5. Use Mystery, Sensuality and Intimacy--the three secrets.
6. Seal it with Sisomo. Hand your brand over to fans and connect with the family of screens. They'll take good care of it!
7. Perform at Peak. Create the conditions for Flow. Just like the best sports people, find the zone where passion and harmony put you at your best.
Once you've got Loyalty Beyond Reason, you're all fans. The great thing about fans is that they all face the same way and dream the same dream.
Turn that group into a winning team and scientists and economists say it's worth $120 each and bundles of happiness, which is priceless.
Which all confirms what husbands have always known and wives have feared for years.
Watching sport is good for you.
This can apply to any company....or cause.
Sport touches everyone.
A recent study I read about on sports and happiness says that having a winning NFL football team boosts the wallets of a city's inhabitants by a full $120, making harder workers and bigger spenders, while increasing happiness and self confidence.
Even if your team is not winning, sports fans remain dedicated, sometimes even obsessed. This is because following a team is a pure example of an emotional connection; an experience that is part frustrating and part exquisite pride and happiness.
We all love the feeling of community, the emotional tug on the heart-strings, the hope that maybe, just maybe, this will be the year.
It's a dream of hope that springs eternal! As a fan, what you experience is Loyalty Beyond Reason, and as a sports fan I know exactly what this means! What truly matters in the end is performing, not simply winning.
There is a connection that irrevocably binds fan, team and sponsor, look at how we, as Kevin Roberts would say, inpires Loyalty Beyond Reason around a sports team. These are ideas that can grow value for one and all: fans, brand marketers, sponsors, managers and boards.
1. Share a dream. One Team, One Dream. Sponsor, owner, player and fan. A mission isn't going to light up the ball park. Feel like a family, play like a team.
2. Connect with emotion. Ditch rational-based marketing and move people to your cause.
3. Move from Irreplaceable brands to Irresistible. Lovemarks.
4. Check in with reality. Do you just want to be respected, or loved and respected?
5. Use Mystery, Sensuality and Intimacy--the three secrets.
6. Seal it with Sisomo. Hand your brand over to fans and connect with the family of screens. They'll take good care of it!
7. Perform at Peak. Create the conditions for Flow. Just like the best sports people, find the zone where passion and harmony put you at your best.
Once you've got Loyalty Beyond Reason, you're all fans. The great thing about fans is that they all face the same way and dream the same dream.
Turn that group into a winning team and scientists and economists say it's worth $120 each and bundles of happiness, which is priceless.
Which all confirms what husbands have always known and wives have feared for years.
Watching sport is good for you.
This can apply to any company....or cause.
Monday, September 22, 2008
FREDA
Let me introduce you to FREDA. She's smart and knows exactly how to get what she wants. You ask FREDA how to accelerate your business to full throttle and she's right there with the answers. I refer to FREDA every day. Whenever you face a challenge, friends like FREDA are money in the bank.
FREDA, for those of you who haven't met her already, is an acronym. Focus, Re-invention, Execution, Distribution and Accountability. These five inspire a perfect storm of the perfect attitudes and habits. They're exactly what we'll need to make the best of the changes that are heading our way. Complacency and "it'll be OK" are history.
FREDA is the future. Give serious thought to how FREDA works in your Business.
Focus.
It's important for everyone to focus on the special contribution they can make. All of us are better than some of us. Musician, teacher, secretary, nurse, bricklayer, all we need is anyone with a better idea - a world-changing idea - about how to make a difference.
Re-invention.
The twenty-first century truth? To be world-class is no longer enough. To secure our future we have to change from world-class to world-changing. There are more than 190 countries (let alone companies) on our planet and several have recently made the leap to become world-changers. Think of the Dubai/Mumbai/Shanghai nexus.
Execution.
Lovemarks is a big idea that works across all levels. I have seen small businesses and global companies executing Lovemark programs to achieve super-premiums. A great example is Yemen where the leading mobile network MTN has implemented a Lovemarks program. The result? Preference for MTN has grown to 42 per cent of all mobile users, and this despite the fact that its nearest competitor is 40 per cent cheaper! We all need a Lovemarks strategy, and fast.
Distribution.
Steve Jobs of Apple got it right when he said, "Great artists ship". We're in the distribution business, but we have to do it and the rest also--and very well.
Accountability.
The role of business is to make the world a better place for everyone. This means being accountable for the environment, the economy, our social structures and our culture. It's time to shift the focus of accountability from setting limits to embracing possibilities. The conviction that companies can help change the world has to be driven by individuals, not by government or souless big companies.
So Howdy FREDA--get to know and "use" her well.
FREDA, for those of you who haven't met her already, is an acronym. Focus, Re-invention, Execution, Distribution and Accountability. These five inspire a perfect storm of the perfect attitudes and habits. They're exactly what we'll need to make the best of the changes that are heading our way. Complacency and "it'll be OK" are history.
FREDA is the future. Give serious thought to how FREDA works in your Business.
Focus.
It's important for everyone to focus on the special contribution they can make. All of us are better than some of us. Musician, teacher, secretary, nurse, bricklayer, all we need is anyone with a better idea - a world-changing idea - about how to make a difference.
Re-invention.
The twenty-first century truth? To be world-class is no longer enough. To secure our future we have to change from world-class to world-changing. There are more than 190 countries (let alone companies) on our planet and several have recently made the leap to become world-changers. Think of the Dubai/Mumbai/Shanghai nexus.
Execution.
Lovemarks is a big idea that works across all levels. I have seen small businesses and global companies executing Lovemark programs to achieve super-premiums. A great example is Yemen where the leading mobile network MTN has implemented a Lovemarks program. The result? Preference for MTN has grown to 42 per cent of all mobile users, and this despite the fact that its nearest competitor is 40 per cent cheaper! We all need a Lovemarks strategy, and fast.
Distribution.
Steve Jobs of Apple got it right when he said, "Great artists ship". We're in the distribution business, but we have to do it and the rest also--and very well.
Accountability.
The role of business is to make the world a better place for everyone. This means being accountable for the environment, the economy, our social structures and our culture. It's time to shift the focus of accountability from setting limits to embracing possibilities. The conviction that companies can help change the world has to be driven by individuals, not by government or souless big companies.
So Howdy FREDA--get to know and "use" her well.
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