Outside the Lines

It is pretty interesting how we attempt to raise and educate our children. We want them to be obedient, polite, studious, and above all…to color inside the lines. By and large, we want them to be like every other “good” kid.

Without challenging the conventional wisdom of the above, I would like to point out a few things. Some of these things I have observed by a cursory study of history and some from personal experience. First, the great leaders of our society have not colored inside the lines. Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Ronald Reagan all were almost totally oblivious to the “lines” they needed to stay within. They led by their own sense of right and adventure. They were not encumbered by the thoughts of “fitting in”. They did not feel the need to “just go along” and be like the stereotypical good guy. I am sure you could name other leaders with the same internal compass.

The most successful business leaders that I have had the privilege to work with or have read about are much the same. In most cases, lines are ignored, or they are there only for people like me (those that have attempted to stay within the lines) to worry about on their behalf. Their thought, though they may not verbalize it, is… “I have the ideas, fortitude, and am willing to take the entrepreneurial risk…I pay you to keep me out of trouble”. And, by the way, trouble usually does not bother them. We, color within the line guys, will walk a mile out of our way to avoid it. The risk takers, the achievers, the real leaders don’t mind rubbing shoulders with trouble (maybe I should define trouble here as adversity or risk)…in fact, I think they get a thrill out of it. The closer to the edge the better! Apple’s Steve Jobs is a great example of someone to which lines mean very little. He has succeeded in creating products that the market didn’t even know it wanted. I wonder how he behaved in the classroom? I bet I can guess.

Now, back to our kids. In the movie “The Sandlot” (one of my all time favorites) one of the moms tells her, “color inside the lines” kid to “get dirty, go out and get into trouble”. She was simply trying to gently push him toward a more rich life, full of worthwhile experiences. I know this thought is very counter-intuitive, but isn’t that what we want for our children, a rich life full of worthwhile experiences?

I truly believe that the people who color outside of the lines are the ones that make the world a more interesting and better place. They also probably talk a little too loud, drive a little too fast, and certainly make us within the lines folks a little uncomfortable.

God bless them!!

Just for Grins: Things Yogi Said

1. A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
2. Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.
3. If you come to a fork in the road, take it.
4. If you don’t know where you are going, you may end up some place else.
5. It gets late early out there.
6. Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.
7. We made too many wrong mistakes.
8. You can observe a lot just by watching.
9. I really didn’t say everything I said.

Just how cool is this?

Happy 4th of July everyone. It is great to live in the USA.

What We Think

If what we think determines who we are.

And who we are determines what we do.

Then we should really think about what we think about.

Life is so simple.

Yeah…right….

What Do We Do When We Don't HAVE To?

In working with lots of different businesses in lots of different industries and professions over the years I have observed that the most successful share 2 characteristics.

1. They pay attention to detail and assure that what the business does… it does well.
2. In the “down” times they work on improvement or new ideas/concepts.

Sounds pretty simple. Sometimes simple is hard.

Number 1 is obvious. Number 2 is much less so. Number 1 is usually related to working IN the business and Number 2 is usually related to working ON the business.

Using a hairdresser as an example, styling and cutting hair is an IN the business activity and it must be done skillfully and to the customer’s expectations or the customer may not come back. But what about the time that the hairdresser does not have a customer in his/her chair? What are they doing? Maybe they read a magazine, talk on the phone to a friend, or simply explore the events of the day with co-workers or other customers. Others may study the latest in hair technology, new styles and cuts, or develop new marketing ideas to lessen the actual down time. In other words, they work ON their business. Who do you think will be the most successful? Easy answer, right?

I believe that most of us approach our jobs and careers in a very reactive mindset. We simply react to what is set before us. Maybe it is showing up and styling the hair of the customer who made an appointment, maybe it is returning a client phone call, or assembling the parts to a manufactured item... all reactive activities.

Characteristic Number 2 begs the question, “What do we do when we don’t have to be doing anything?” The more successful person is much more proactive and spends the time working ON his/her business. They ask themselves questions like, “How can I be more efficient and effective?” “How can I attract more customers?” They then develop plans and strategies to achieve their desired results. And then they actually put the plans and strategies into action.

Simple yet difficult. Success takes intentionality. It doesn’t just happen!

How do you utilize your time when you don’t have to be doing anything? What type of person are you…reactive or proactive?

What's Your Standard?

In discussing systems and processes with various business owners we often ask, “What are the standards?” What we mean is, “What level of service or performance excellence do you consider the norm for a particular action or for the business as a whole?”

You may be surprised that some operators have never considered the question. We sometimes get, “Well, as long as it sells, or as long as it works…then we are satisfied” or “We’ve never discussed with our team what we really expect.”

The members of our teams are not mind readers…if they do not know the standard that you, the business leader, expect, how can they meet or exceed it? Does your team know your expectations of them? Do you know what your customers expect of you and your business?

Maybe the first standard to work on is communication. When? How often? In what manner? Through what channel? How do we measure success? These are just a few of the questions that great business leaders answer and refine over time.

High standards bring high results!

When we begin to allow our standards to slip, what we are really saying is that we don’t have to be this good all the time…and if this happens effort, pride, and results begin to disappear. We must constantly evaluate our standards and our desire to consistently meet them.

What’s your standard?

Discombobulate

How can discombobulate be a word?

I have heard this word twice in the past week. Once by a very well educated person whom I respect. It gave me great pause.

I think this accumulation of letters is one of those “made up” words. I know it was not in the big unabridged dictionary in the Centreville (Mississippi) Academy library when I was in high school in the late seventies. I know this for our world class English teachers, Mrs. Germany, Mrs. Smith, or Mrs. Walters would certainly have made us use it in a sentence, just as they did with the likes of ogre, buffoon, and raucous. Discombobulate is just too cool a word for them to just skip over and not insist upon its daily usage. Therefor the word must be “new” or simply invented by someone with too much time on their hands.

For the record, discombobulate means to confuse or disconcert, to upset or frustrate. The actual act of discombobulating is called discombobulation. Not to be confused, of course, with discombobulated, which is what you are after the discombobulation has occurred.

I am acquainted with several persons after which spoken to for a short time, I feel totally confused and disconcerted…sometimes even upset and frustrated. I now know these folks to be discombobulators. And they should be avoided at all costs.

If I were a betting man, which I am not, but if I were, I would bet that you know some discombobulators also.

One of them may have the given name of Tim. Sorry… sometimes it just happens...it is simply unexplainable. I am thinking of marketing a new bumper sticker…

Discombobulation Happens!

It has obviously been a slow morning for me in the thought department.

Another Paradox

Last week I was talking with an attorney friend about a mutual client that had made a multi-million dollar investment in a project. The client is in his late 60’s. The attorney commented that if he had that much money his investment would be in him and his family’s stability and security.

I initially agreed with my friend but have thought much about the comment since the initial conversation. It comes to me that most of us, me included, yearn for security and stability, but we also want improvement. I don’t think we can improve our lot in life AND stay the same. Therefore, in order to grow we must challenge the status quo. Growth means change. For that matter, failure means change also. In order to attempt to grow and improve, we must change…we must risk.

I don’t think we can have it both ways…security/stability and possibility for improvement/growth. If we want greater possibilities we can’t settle for just what we have now.

I guess it is a matter of degree… but sometimes we must let go of the figurative dime to pick up the figurative dollar. Achievers challenge the status quo always. Our client is an achiever…he looks at the same things we all see…but he sees possibilities. He sees growth and improvement.

Status quo is never good enough.

I think I am still learning.

I hope I don’t stop.