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How To Get Your Team To Work Smarter

By Attitude, Blogpost, excellence, mindset

If you want to truly work smarter instead of harder, and move your business forward, you have to know your own strengths, the strengths of each teammate, and play to those strengths.

A profitable business relies on its people, and the best way to get the best out of everyone is to think about what people COULD be doing instead of just what they SHOULD be doing.

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Curiosity: The Hidden Secret of Great Leadership

By Attitude, Blogpost, Leadership, mindset

“Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.” ~ Arnold Edinborough

Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs has been the subject of much interest among those who study leadership. He was known to be a perfectionist with nearly impossible standards, he never shied away from telling someone what he thought, he thrived on problem solving, and was an insatiably curious man.

Have you considered the importance of curiosity as a leadership trait? Jobs’ interests were incredibly varied and included calligraphy, an interest that lead to the development of the iconic Apple fonts). Jobs said, “If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.”

Jobs became successful because he was curious about everything. He was not a specialist, but a generalist.

As a leader, you can’t be a specialist and expect to thoroughly understand your organisation. You need to be a generalist so you can spot connections between seemingly random things, and let your creative juices flow without inhibition. Curiosity, not the status quo, produces the greatest creative business insights.

Life is a jigsaw puzzle of experiences, knowledge and ideas, and each person’s puzzle is completely unique. You may not always think there’s a relationship between certain pieces, until one day it suddenly hits you… and you discover a practical application. I’m not talking about just product innovation – this also applies to working smarter, not harder, in any industry.

On some level, everything is related to everything. The more knowledge you can acquire, the more connections you can see, and you open your mind to previously unheard-of solutions.

A leader who is stuck in doing things the tried-and-true way is only limiting his or her organisation’s success. Yes, tried-and-true works, but does it adapt? Does it keep up with a rapidly changing world? Is it still relevant?

I encourage you to be exuberantly curious, like you were as a child. Don’t worry if curiosity has been schooled out of you. Some psychologists believe that only 2% of adults can think outside their box, meaning they have given up curiosity in favour of conformity. Give curiosity a chance to come back and you will be shocked at how quickly you will spark creativity.

Here is how curiosity will completely change the way you do business:

  • Curiosity helps you seize the initiative – if only to answer, “I wonder what would happen if…?”
  • Curiosity makes you coachable. Nothing is more career- and revenue-limiting than a know-it-all attitude!
  • Curiosity helps you create jobs or niches to attend to new problems that aren’t within the scope of traditional positions.
  • Curiosity helps you anticipate needs, challenges and solutions, and stay one step ahead of your competition, and even one step ahead of your customers.

The world is your playground. Explore it, in real life and virtually, and let your amazing brain create associations that bring about those powerful life-changing “aha” moments in your personal life and in business.

A Wake-Up Call

By Attitude, Blogpost

There’s an inherent danger in becoming good at what you do.

You get complacent.

We all do this. We master a task, skill or craft, and then we relax because we’re churning out pretty decent work. Or, we get overwhelmed with other stuff and turn our attention elsewhere, believing that we can continue to do what we do so well, practically in our sleep.

And it can be a very rude wake-up call when our work is rejected or criticised. The ego takes a hit, especially when it involves something we are passionate about and know we’re good at.

But instead of taking it as a slap in the face (after all, you are a master at what you do, how dare anyone insult your magnificence!) take it – with a big huge heartfelt thank you. THANK your critics for pointing out that you’ve become complacent, or that your skills aren’t keeping up with the rest of the universe, or that you’ve misdirected your time and energy and you’re overwhelmed trying to do it all and your passion has slipped through the cracks.

Even if you didn’t notice it was happening, others did.

Wow, what a blessing, to be made aware!

Business owners especially have so many hats to wear that we can forget to focus on what we’re really good at. And by focus, I mean practice what we’re good at. Keep learning, keep pushing, keep challenging. Never stand still as still water becomes stagnant very quickly. Don’t let your skills become rusty through neglect. Keep yourself sharp, even if it means a financial hit of having to hire help so you can focus on your passion. In the end, the ROI is far greater if you do what you should be doing versus what you could delegate or outsource.

It’s not easy to swallow your pride when your work is rejected or criticised, but when you look beyond the emotions of the moment and you realise just how much of a blessing it is to be told that you could be doing something better… I hope you can see what a great opportunity you’ve been offered to get your spark back!

Whether you work for someone else or you’re an entrepreneur, never believe yourself “good enough.” Not only do you endanger your position or your business by becoming complacent, but you stagnate, and that’s the worst kind of mental death. How boring, to be good at something you were good at in 1997. Be great at something in 2014! Reach higher!

 

Inspired by a post on: http://lifedev.net/

What To Do When Everything Goes Wrong

By Attitude, Blogpost

“When you find yourself in hell, keep going.”
~ Winston Churchill

“The best way out is always through.”
~ Robert Frost

It’s easy to think of happiness as something we experience when things are going well. And for many people, that’s the way it is. They are happy only when things are good, and miserable the rest of the time.

The fact is, happiness isn’t a product of a problem-free life. It’s a choice that is aided by your ability to deal with problems. So when things go horribly wrong in your business and your life, here’s how to infuse everything with happiness, and come out smiling on the other side:

1. Realise that change is a constant. Things will never remain horrible. They will never remain great. And, if you choose to see things as horrible, they will weigh on your mind much more than if you do your best to laugh them off, learn from the challenges, make the best of the situation and choose to be optimistic and cheerful. That’s not to say you should deny your feelings, or put on a fake happy face! It means choose to see the situation from a different perspective. How can this situation help you grow? How can you be enriched by it?

2. Worrying changes nothing. Complaining changes nothing. In fact, complaining is a pain in the arse for everyone around you, and worrying does nothing to solve the situation. Instead, step back and look at what the situation is teaching you.

3. Don’t be a victim, be a victor. Life will leave you with scars. If you look at your body, you will probably see a few scars. Do you still feel the pain of the injury? No. The scar means that the pain is gone, the wound is healed and you are stronger for the experience. So be thankful for the challenges you’ve gone through, and take ownership for your role in them. Becoming responsible is actually extremely empowering. And it makes you happy. If you created “this” (a problem) then you can create “that” (a solution). Take that power and run with it!

4. As the old saying goes, “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” It’s all in how you choose to look at things. Happiness comes from a conscious choice to see the best in a situation and not focus on the worst.

5. Be grateful. Gratitude eliminates worry, anxiety, anger, frustration and guilt. How is this challenge helping you? Enriching you? It might take time to uncover the hidden blessings, but they are there.

How can this help you when your business is failing? Take the lessons from the situation and apply them. Yes, this business may close its doors but that’s not the end of the world. You can refocus, pick up the pieces and rebuild them in a much more effective and successful way.

As Marc Chernoff says, “You have to stop worrying, wondering, and doubting every step of the way. Laugh at the confusion, live consciously in the moment, and enjoy your life as it unfolds. You might not end up exactly where you intended to go, but you will eventually arrive precisely where you need to be.”

 

Inspired by a blog post by Marc Chernoff on http://www.marcandangel.com/.

Practice Makes Permanent

By Attitude, Blogpost

“Ask the great athlete or the concert pianist or the successful actor if they arrived at the place where they need no further practice. They will tell you that the higher you climb in proficiency and public acceptance, the greater the need for practice.” ~ Eric Butterworth

You’ve probably heard about the 10,000 hour rule: that honing your skills for 10,000 hours makes you a “master.” That’s only partly true.

If you learn a skill the wrong way, practicing it the wrong way will only make it more firmly entrenched and that much harder to correct later. Repeated practice of an error is not going to make you a master.

Florida State University psychologist Anders Ericsson said, “You don’t get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal.”

The secret, then, is “deliberate practice” – with full concentration on improving a technique. You can practice with full concentration for three hours and “get it” – or for 10,000 hours of la-di-da practice and still not master anything.

Neuroplasticity requires concentration. If you’re going to ‘hard-wire’ something into your brain, you have to concentrate. If you’re learning a musical instrument and you’re practicing while watching TV, you’re not going to build those new neural pathways.

So no matter what you’re trying to master, do it only when you can give it your undivided focus. Don’t daydream. Don’t multi-task. Don’t do it when you have a million worries racing around in your head.

And, don’t settle for “good enough” if you really want to master something. Typically, about 50 hours of practice will get you “good-enough” results. Capable, but not exceptional. If you want to excel, approach every practice as having room for improvement and focus on the improvement. Even if it’s a 1% improvement, it’s an improvement. Don’t give in to the brain’s urge to automate a behavior (it loves to make everything a habit).

By focusing intently on improvement, not repetition, you can master anything, and it won’t take you 10,000 hours.

 

Inspired by Maynard Brusman’s blog on: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com/

 

Celebrate Your Goals

By Attitude, Blogpost, Goals

When I talk about celebrating your goals, I’m not talking about the extrinsic rewards of money, fame, medals, etc. Those are wonderful perks but they are not the real reason you devote yourself to them.

The intrinsic approach is more important in the long run. That’s why if you approach your goals as one big celebration, you’ll have a blast along the way.

“One must approach music with a serious rigor and, at the same time, with a great, affectionate joy.” – Nadia Boulanger, composer & pianist

That goes for everything, not just music.

Infuse everything you do with a sense of joy. At some point the honeymoon phase will be over and you’ll be down the hard work and the day-to-day ‘grind.’

So STOP looking at it as a grind. See it as a miracle that is unfolding. After all, you are a creative force and here you are, manifesting what you desire!

1. Set goals that are attainable. Don’t take the joy out of the daily effort by taking on goals that are too big for you. Smaller goals are more fun, and their achievement will fuel you for the bigger ones.

2. Become one with what you are doing. Really be in the moment, totally focused on what you’re doing, and being fascinated with the whole process. Be curious, be enthusiastic, even about the ‘mundane’ stuff. There’s a calming zen in the everyday stuff and if you choose to see the zen in it you won’t forever be looking ahead to “when things get fun.” Make them fun, now.

3. Focus on constant improvement, not on mindless repetition. That keeps things interesting and helps you master your craft.

4. Enjoy the problems. What a fun challenge, for your mind and your body! If you take the attitude that challenges are adventures, and that failures do not exist because they are re-routes or helpful guides, then problems cease to exist too. Every problem becomes just another tool in your personal growth toolbox. You’re so much better, stronger, wiser, faster, etc. after you deal with each of these challenges!

So enjoy the hell out of the process. Celebrate each moment – after all, how cool is it that you get to be on the road to achieving a goal and manifesting what you want!

Inspired by: http://musiciansway.com/blog/2014/02/bringing-joy-to-practice/

What’s Your Story?

By Attitude, Blogpost

What’s the story you tell about your life, your success and your goals?

You have a personal story – a narrative you tell yourself and others about your experiences. This story influences everything in your life.

In fact, your success and goals achievement depend on you telling the right story. It’s as if your past story has taken a hold of your hand, and has scribbled some notes on the chapters that haven’t been written yet.

Things like, “If you failed at this once, you will probably fail again.” “That didn’t work last time but let’s try that way again, just because it’s comfortable and it feels good.”

Do you have to let your past write your future? No! You can stop right here, right now, and take the pen into your control.

Look back at your journey and do a self-assessment. Where are you, in terms of where you want to be? What is your ultimate goal? Where were you stuck for a long time? What shook you loose – and what can you gain from that experience? What did you tell yourself every time you failed in the past? What did you tell yourself every time you succeeded in the past? What story are you telling about your future? What story are you telling about yourself?

Be very, very aware of the immense power of your words. If you use the right words, in the right way, you’ll give very specific commands to your brain to figure out how to achieve your goals. But you can also give up control and hand the pen over to your past, and let it write your future.

To write your new story:

Always think, feel, speak and act in the positive. Imagine that you have already accomplished your goal and now you are just replaying the movie of “how I did it.”

Rehearse and repeat this story (this movie) in your mind every single day, until it feels as natural to ‘tell’ as the stories you tell about your past. Think it, feel it, breathe it, dream it, speak it, do it and live it.

Only then, will you take the right actions at the right time, fueled by a conviction that you can achieve what you want.

Inspired by a post by Steve Ober at: http://managementhelp.org/employeeperformance/goal-setting.htm