Christmas night! Had a big day…lots of gifts, food and drink, visiting with family and friends, text messages, e-mails and phone calls…tired!
My wife, Jodi, gave me a very cool gift this year…a Kindle. It is a wireless electronic reading device. I am now able to download books to the Kindle in a matter of seconds. No more ordering and waiting for a delivery or going to the bookstore and paying full price. The Kindle will even read the book to you, if you like. Way cool. I enjoy books and now I will enjoy the Kindle! (BTW… I gave her a brand new vacuum cleaner…before you think badly of me, that is exactly what she wanted!)
Not only did I get a Kindle… but I received lots of other stuff too. Clothes, shoes, gourmet snacks and cheeses, several bottles of nice wine, a neat wine stopper, etc, etc. All these things I liked.
After a little while, with a full stomach and the Kindle, I have sat back and reflected a little on Christmas 2009. It was a good one. But one thing has bothered me... our older daughter, Sarah, was not able to be with us today. She and her husband, Marvin, drove in to Baton Rouge from Houston on the 22nd and left yesterday, the 24th, in order to be back in Houston for work obligations on Christmas Eve. Jodi, Caroline (daughter # 2), and I have missed her. This is the first Christmas in 24 years that I have not seen Sarah on Christmas day. (I hope this does not start a trend.)
In any event, it sort of hit me that I sure do like the “stuff” I got today. But I propose that as much as we all like the things money can buy, we love the things it can’t.
I would give up my Kindle in a heartbeat to have Sarah and Marvin at home with us a while longer. The things we love… we can’t touch. Things like relationships, conversations, laughter, contentment, a wink, excitement, anticipation, and a shared thought that hits those we love at the exact same time. I hope this makes sense to you.
A business application to the above thoughts? I think there is…it is not about just the money we can make from the delivery of a quality product or service, it is about the satisfaction (or even delight) we can bring others by how we deliver the product or service. Relationships trump stuff every time.
I hope you and your family had a great Christmas. And I hope your loved ones were there to enjoy the day with you. There is not doubt that the true meaning of Christmas also revolves around relationship. HIS was a gift that money sure can’t buy.
2010 is going to be a great year!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Memory/Smart
As those of you who know me well can attest, I generally live my life in a state of confusion about one thing or another.
Take memory for example…it confuses me as to if it is better to have a long one or a short one? If you are studying for a test…maybe a long one is better. If you play cornerback in the NFL maybe a short one is better. If you hold grudges…maybe a short one is called for. If a selling technique you used 25 years ago was successful in a situation similar to the one you are facing now…maybe a long memory is good.
Fortunately or unfortunately I have been blessed/cursed with a good memory (or at least I had one in the past…Has anyone seen my wallet?). In school you were considered smart if you could recall things. I could do that. But experience has taught me that smart is much more than the ability to remember things.
Smart is the ability to reason through a situation. Smart is the ability to see a situation from a different perspective then everyone else. Smart is the ability to act on things that you know are right. Smart is developing relationships with those smarter than you.
A good memory does not equate to smart.
I wonder if you can have a good memory and be smart?
I doubt it.
(BTW… I found the wallet…it was right where I left it.)
Take memory for example…it confuses me as to if it is better to have a long one or a short one? If you are studying for a test…maybe a long one is better. If you play cornerback in the NFL maybe a short one is better. If you hold grudges…maybe a short one is called for. If a selling technique you used 25 years ago was successful in a situation similar to the one you are facing now…maybe a long memory is good.
Fortunately or unfortunately I have been blessed/cursed with a good memory (or at least I had one in the past…Has anyone seen my wallet?). In school you were considered smart if you could recall things. I could do that. But experience has taught me that smart is much more than the ability to remember things.
Smart is the ability to reason through a situation. Smart is the ability to see a situation from a different perspective then everyone else. Smart is the ability to act on things that you know are right. Smart is developing relationships with those smarter than you.
A good memory does not equate to smart.
I wonder if you can have a good memory and be smart?
I doubt it.
(BTW… I found the wallet…it was right where I left it.)
What if?
I am sure we have all heard some sayings in the past that we may have doubted were true.
But what if they weren’t?
What if an apple a day really did keep the doctor away? Would we eat the apple? Sounds pretty simple huh. But do you know what is just as simple as eating an apple?
Not eating an apple.
What if working a little harder really did increase our luck? Would we work a little harder?
What if making a few more sales calls really did increase our sales? Would we make the calls?
What if being bold really did bring mighty forces to our aid, as Johann von Goethe the German philosopher said? Would we be bold?
What if you play like you practice really is true? How would we practice? (Not just in sports…but in business practices as well.)
It is just as easy not to develop a good habit as it is to develop one. Choices, choices!
What if?
But what if they weren’t?
What if an apple a day really did keep the doctor away? Would we eat the apple? Sounds pretty simple huh. But do you know what is just as simple as eating an apple?
Not eating an apple.
What if working a little harder really did increase our luck? Would we work a little harder?
What if making a few more sales calls really did increase our sales? Would we make the calls?
What if being bold really did bring mighty forces to our aid, as Johann von Goethe the German philosopher said? Would we be bold?
What if you play like you practice really is true? How would we practice? (Not just in sports…but in business practices as well.)
It is just as easy not to develop a good habit as it is to develop one. Choices, choices!
What if?
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, I received an email from a friend I had not seen or spoken to since college…that’s about 27 years ago. Quite the shocker. He simply said that something made him think of me. He then went to Facebook and since I was not there, he Googled me and found my business website. From there he got my email.
After catching up a bit via email he chided me for not being on Facebook. What he actually said was “It’s a nice century we live in, you should try it”. That night I did not sleep much thinking about all the rather stupid reasons that I had in my head regarding why I had not signed up on Facebook. Things like… if someone really wants to find me they can, I have enough “friends”, Facebook is for kids, and now my personal favorite…what if I can’t figure out how it works?
For the past 10 years I have done everything in my power to learn the most recent trends in business consulting and management techniques. I have conquered e-mail, the blackberry, Internet, and even keyless entry on my vehicle. Why not Facebook?
How about a silly mental block? During my sleepless night I decided to sign up. The next day I was on in about 5 minutes. It is really pretty cool.
I did not sign up to be cool or try to be younger than I am. I signed up because I could. How could I not, when I preach the value of relationships? Things are just things…but relationships are more than things…they are living, breathing, changing creatures to be valued, nurtured, and cherished. Maybe I will develop a few new relationships, maybe I will stir up some old ones...who knows?
Yeah, I’m on Facebook. Are you? It is a nice century we live in.
After catching up a bit via email he chided me for not being on Facebook. What he actually said was “It’s a nice century we live in, you should try it”. That night I did not sleep much thinking about all the rather stupid reasons that I had in my head regarding why I had not signed up on Facebook. Things like… if someone really wants to find me they can, I have enough “friends”, Facebook is for kids, and now my personal favorite…what if I can’t figure out how it works?
For the past 10 years I have done everything in my power to learn the most recent trends in business consulting and management techniques. I have conquered e-mail, the blackberry, Internet, and even keyless entry on my vehicle. Why not Facebook?
How about a silly mental block? During my sleepless night I decided to sign up. The next day I was on in about 5 minutes. It is really pretty cool.
I did not sign up to be cool or try to be younger than I am. I signed up because I could. How could I not, when I preach the value of relationships? Things are just things…but relationships are more than things…they are living, breathing, changing creatures to be valued, nurtured, and cherished. Maybe I will develop a few new relationships, maybe I will stir up some old ones...who knows?
Yeah, I’m on Facebook. Are you? It is a nice century we live in.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Not in the Box Score
It is the baserunner who makes a hard slide into second to break up the double play, the infielder who dives and turns a sure double into a single, the batter who fouls off 10 pitches before he gets a hit. It is the volleyball player who saves ball after ball from hitting the floor after a wild pass. It is the quarterback who runs down a faster defensive back after an interception to save a sure go ahead touchdown. It is the leader who, when all appears lost, motivates his team to dig deeper, to try harder, to never ever quit.
None of the above will show up in the newspaper box score the next day, but these plays and leadership may have won the game. Box scores only report the highlights, the "so called" important statistics. Box scores don't document heart. Nor can heart be measured in traditional ways. It can be judged however...if we pay attention.
The funny thing about the players who show heart and don't get the press or credit, is that they don't care about the press or credit at all. They care about the score at the end of the game. Did their team win? Did their TEAM win? Not did I win, or did I play well..but did our team win. Stats take care of themselves when you give 100% and do the things that are important but don't show up in the box score.
In the business world egos can take over. Sometimes owners and managers only want to implement ideas that are theirs...even if it is not the best plan. As consultants, we often spend time trying to figure out how to make a good idea from a "lowly" employee seem like the owner/manager's idea. You see, if it is not their idea it may not get the attention it deserves and possibly will not be implemented. Advising would be lots easier if not for those box scores.
Who gets the credit shows up in box scores.
I admit it... sometimes I look at the box scores to see if one of my kids got the credit she deserves in an athletic event. I read books about business owners/managers who have been innovative in thier organizations. But I know in my heart of hearts that wins are made by plays and leadership that never show up in box scores. Wins are made by employees doing what they do to the best of their abilities.
Box scores aren't bad. They just never tell the whole story. We must look past box scores to the important details...always.
None of the above will show up in the newspaper box score the next day, but these plays and leadership may have won the game. Box scores only report the highlights, the "so called" important statistics. Box scores don't document heart. Nor can heart be measured in traditional ways. It can be judged however...if we pay attention.
The funny thing about the players who show heart and don't get the press or credit, is that they don't care about the press or credit at all. They care about the score at the end of the game. Did their team win? Did their TEAM win? Not did I win, or did I play well..but did our team win. Stats take care of themselves when you give 100% and do the things that are important but don't show up in the box score.
In the business world egos can take over. Sometimes owners and managers only want to implement ideas that are theirs...even if it is not the best plan. As consultants, we often spend time trying to figure out how to make a good idea from a "lowly" employee seem like the owner/manager's idea. You see, if it is not their idea it may not get the attention it deserves and possibly will not be implemented. Advising would be lots easier if not for those box scores.
Who gets the credit shows up in box scores.
I admit it... sometimes I look at the box scores to see if one of my kids got the credit she deserves in an athletic event. I read books about business owners/managers who have been innovative in thier organizations. But I know in my heart of hearts that wins are made by plays and leadership that never show up in box scores. Wins are made by employees doing what they do to the best of their abilities.
Box scores aren't bad. They just never tell the whole story. We must look past box scores to the important details...always.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Eating Frogs and Elephants
A wise man once told me that if you have to eat a frog, it’s best not to look at it too long.
For you uneducated, that means if you have a tough job to do, go ahead and do it, it will not get any easier. I generally try to subscribe to this rule but don’t always succeed. It takes intentionality to always get the hard things out of the way first before tackling the easier tasks. Besides, sometimes the hard things are the biggest jobs.
This brings me to the elephant part….How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Last week, while, again, cutting my grass (lots of thinking time there) I realized that I was constantly trimming the edges of my yard and making a pretty large “square” in order to have a clear, relatively large, area to cut. After a few “rounds” on the big area I would unconsciously cut it into smaller squares, and then cut them one at a time. Apparently the larger job was just too much for my mind to handle, so I cut it down to manageable jobs, then completed them one at a time until the entire yard was cut.
Sometimes I think we look at the size of the job and get discouraged, especially if it is a tough, big job. If we could intentionally think in terms of breaking the large job into small tasks they may become more manageable. Just like eating an elephant, your short term activity, multiplied by time, equals your long term accomplishment.
Do the tough ones first, break the job into manageable tasks, and don’t ever, ever quit. There you have Tim’s recipe for success.
Frogs and elephants…breakfast of champions!
For you uneducated, that means if you have a tough job to do, go ahead and do it, it will not get any easier. I generally try to subscribe to this rule but don’t always succeed. It takes intentionality to always get the hard things out of the way first before tackling the easier tasks. Besides, sometimes the hard things are the biggest jobs.
This brings me to the elephant part….How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Last week, while, again, cutting my grass (lots of thinking time there) I realized that I was constantly trimming the edges of my yard and making a pretty large “square” in order to have a clear, relatively large, area to cut. After a few “rounds” on the big area I would unconsciously cut it into smaller squares, and then cut them one at a time. Apparently the larger job was just too much for my mind to handle, so I cut it down to manageable jobs, then completed them one at a time until the entire yard was cut.
Sometimes I think we look at the size of the job and get discouraged, especially if it is a tough, big job. If we could intentionally think in terms of breaking the large job into small tasks they may become more manageable. Just like eating an elephant, your short term activity, multiplied by time, equals your long term accomplishment.
Do the tough ones first, break the job into manageable tasks, and don’t ever, ever quit. There you have Tim’s recipe for success.
Frogs and elephants…breakfast of champions!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Prognostication
I don’t think there is a time in each of our lives when we haven’t wished that we knew what was going to happen in the future. When I was young, I remember wondering how tall I would be. Now I just wonder how big around... how times have changed!
A funny thing about growth is that we generally cannot control how tall we will be…but we generally have some control of how big around. We also have some control regarding our psychological growth. I have known some people that are mentally stuck in the 4th grade. I would bet that you know a few also. Maybe they are the same people!
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones says that we will be the same people we are today in 5 years, but for the people we meet and the books we read. I don’t think Mr. Jones is talking about physically the same. He is talking about mental growth. Learning… in a way that improves our outlook and our potential to make the world, and us, better.
Another of the differences between humans and the rest of the natural world is that we have the ability to think about and ponder “things”. In nature, a tree doesn’t wonder how tall it will be, it does not ponder its future, it just grows as tall as it can. How cool is that?
We humans have a unique ability to be self-limiting. Our growth is sometimes limited by our attitude of pessimism. I wonder what we could really do if we began our career or a project or just our day knowing that we couldn’t fail? What if we could see the future?
I propose to you that we can see the future if we just look. But we have to do more than just look…we have to look in the right places…and we have to take action. The best way to predict the future…is to create it. Knowing what the future will look like is totally dependent upon our vision of it and our effort to affect it. Don’t look where you don’t want to go.
You too are a prognosticator!
A funny thing about growth is that we generally cannot control how tall we will be…but we generally have some control of how big around. We also have some control regarding our psychological growth. I have known some people that are mentally stuck in the 4th grade. I would bet that you know a few also. Maybe they are the same people!
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones says that we will be the same people we are today in 5 years, but for the people we meet and the books we read. I don’t think Mr. Jones is talking about physically the same. He is talking about mental growth. Learning… in a way that improves our outlook and our potential to make the world, and us, better.
Another of the differences between humans and the rest of the natural world is that we have the ability to think about and ponder “things”. In nature, a tree doesn’t wonder how tall it will be, it does not ponder its future, it just grows as tall as it can. How cool is that?
We humans have a unique ability to be self-limiting. Our growth is sometimes limited by our attitude of pessimism. I wonder what we could really do if we began our career or a project or just our day knowing that we couldn’t fail? What if we could see the future?
I propose to you that we can see the future if we just look. But we have to do more than just look…we have to look in the right places…and we have to take action. The best way to predict the future…is to create it. Knowing what the future will look like is totally dependent upon our vision of it and our effort to affect it. Don’t look where you don’t want to go.
You too are a prognosticator!
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