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Leadership

What If We All Loved Our Work?

Who are professionals?

When I was a kid, I used to think that all adults = professionals. The truth is, we aren’t all professionals. Most of us are just getting by, actively disengaged and making money to pass the time.

The Truth is We Don’t Love Our Work (shocker I know)

Lots of people dislike their jobs. Some statistics claim up to 70% of the American workforce.

If they hate or even dislike their jobs, why would they try to get better at them? If you lack passion to continually get better at your craft, you are hardly a professional, you just have a job.

Professional (prəˈfeSHənl) – a person engaged or qualified in a profession.

Qualified, maybe. We have a lot of degrees floating around in this country, in fact, more than ever. But engaged? Not at all. Engagement requires interest. Most of us just show up, a far cry from engagement.

Money and Status come to mind as motivators to get people more engaged. However, those are empty goals if you haven’t already figured that out. It took me a while, but I learned that lesson the hard way.

A Case Study

I hate to see wasted potential. Their organization could have been great, and deep down there is hope. Their company used to have great culture and it used to have actively engaged people throughout the company.

As I spoke about this to a few friends near the top (but not at the top) of this organization, I shared my thoughts after being prompted about their current personal situations within the company.

I told them that the only way to improve – I hesitate to use the word “fix” because there’s no such thing as a “finished product” when it comes to businesses – their situation is for leadership to facilitate connections like never before.

Ideas don’t come from one source or even one office. They come from the field. They come from all over. And if there is constant communication and fellowship than ideas will begin to flow at light speed.

And you need as many ideas as possible because lots are going to be junk. But if you can sift through the junk, you can find the gold.

The short answer, they need to create a better culture to improve their current situation. Fortunately, there is more than enough technology out there today with Skype & Google Hangouts readily available, online forums & blogs as options instead of disengaging/boring email chains, and systems like ONOR that can be used for team member recognition even with a spread out organization.

But if they continue to drift apart, they will not get back to the steep ascent they were on years ago.

Happiness is Possible

There is a documentary called Happy about what makes us tick. In this documentary Dr. Tim Kasser of Knox College talks about about 3 “vanity metrics” (he calls them “extrinsic goals”) that many of us think will bring us happiness:

  • Money – How much we make
  • Status – How we are perceived by others
  • Image – How we physically look

70% of the people in this country dislike their work. And these are the things many of us are looking for to make us happy. Even if we find it in our work- which is highly unlikely – we’re not going to be happy with what we find.

  • “How much money does the position offer?”
  • “How quick will I be eligible for management opportunities?”

But what if we measured how happy we were based on the intrinsic goals Dr. Kasser suggested actually bring us happiness:

  • Personal Growth – Improving our craft and learning new things
  • Relationships – Facebook friends and followers on Twitter DO NOT apply
  • Desire to Help – Selflessly helping others and knowing your work has made a difference in others’ lives

And what if we were able to pursue these intrinsic goals through our work? Would 70% of us still dislike our work? Not 70%, but sure some people are going to be miserable no matter what :).

When employers recognize this, they can begin to change how they run their organizations.

I went to Dig South, a tech/startup conference last week and had the opportunity to hear John Smith, an entrepreneur and company culture expert, speak about how to grow a great culture.

“Some people think I like to sit around and sing Kumbaya all day. NO! I’m a capitalist!

I know that if I have a team of 5 happy people I can outperform a team of 20 miserable people any day of the week. Happy people are more productive at work. That’s the bottom line. Statistics show as much as 9 times happier when it comes to programmers and 8 times happier when it comes to sales people.” – John Smith*

So a happy work environment is key for an engaged workforce. If we can create more connections with our coworkers, give them the opportunities for personal growth, and show them that they are making a difference in the world we are all on our way to happier organizations.

This doesn’t mean you can pay people minimum wage as long as you’re offering these perks. Nice try! You have to be even on all other levels. This is what allows companies to pull away and achieve greatness while some remain stagnant.

So Why The Case Study?

When I spoke to those friends I had the chance to explain how to strengthen their culture. It’s very simple:

Facilitate more of the connections, recognize more people for hard work (not just with money), pay people fairly, recognize accomplishments other than sales, and most importantly get out of the way.

This isn’t just a lesson for that team, it’s a lesson for all business owners. How can you implement those ideas into your company culture?

I heard Noah Kagan, an entrepreneur and self-proclaimed diarist, talk on a podcast a few months back about throwing parties and events. He said he was not the smartest person in the room, far from it. But when he assembled a bunch of great people and a bunch of great things happened at his party, everyone thought he was a genius. He facilitated connections that never would have been made if he didn’t put all those people in the same room at once.

In some ways, he was a genius for having the foresight to see the potential in the situation. How can you bring people together in your company?

Facilitate the connections and let the people in your organization share their ideas. Create a happy work environment by getting your people engaged and your organization will begin to thrive.

 

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What are you thoughts on happiness and how it affects your work? 

I look forward to hearing from you below or on Twitter (@mikemccann3), have a great weekend!

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*I was not able to capture the source of the data while scribbling notes in this presentation but he did cite someone. Also, this quote may be slightly different that what he said in a few places due to sloppy note-taking on my part.

How To Make Hard Decisions

how to make hard decisions
  • Are you hurt or are you injured?
    • Cause if you’re hurt you can still play. Do the hard thing and suck it up.
  • Are you afraid or are you afraid you’ll have to perform?
    • Cause if you are unsure that’s a good thing. Do the hard thing and make the leap. 
  • Do you care or have you just not fired them yet?
    • Cause we all need someone to make us accountable. Do the hard thing and expect their best (and pay them for it).
  • Are you busy or are you working?
    • Cause passing time and being productive are different. Do the hard thing and move your business forward.
  • Is that a feel good decision or is that the right decision?
    • Cause making people feel warm & fuzzy is rarely what they need. Do the hard thing and make the tough decision.

 

How To Make Hard Decisions
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Figure out how to make hard decisions and you’ll move forward faster than you ever dreamed.

Have a great week!

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Baring the Burden of Leadership (& enjoying it’s Luxuries)

Leadership can be a luxury or it can be a burden… depending on who you ask. Some people are wired to be leaders and some aren’t. Some want to be leaders, others don’t.

Some people want to be seen as leaders, but don’t have the apathy for it. Other’s have all the intrinsic tools, but aren’t brave enough for it. And still some, think they are leaders when they are merely dictators.

In order to earn the “luxuries” of leadership, we must first be willing to suffer the burden of it’s hardships. Let’s take a look at what makes great leaders and why they do it.

Burden of Leadership

People don’t want their time wasted by someone selling them the idea of leadership. People want a leader that makes real sacrifices for them. And yes, you read that correctly, people want to be lead.

They want to follow someone that lives their life with character and cares about others’ well being all the times. Not just in front of the camera or when it is convenient for them.

All leaders have to sacrifice. Leadership is difficult and the title of Leader does not just get placed on anyone. It is earned through hard work. These are some of the things great leaders are willing to take on for their people and from their people.

  • Criticism – Their every move will be watched & judged, and it won’t always be nice and pretty
  • Transparency – They will have to be open or people will think they have false motives
  • Character – If they say one thing, but do another, they cannot expect respect
  • Expectations – They are the tip of the spear, they have to set the bar and be the first one to step out into the unknown
  • Tough (moral) Decisions – They are only as good as their last decision, what they stand for will constantly be challenged
  • Serving Others – Taking the focus off of themselves is the hardest thing many of them have to do
  • Giving Respect – To everyone, even the janitor: If they demand it but don’t give it, they will receive is a smile to the face and the bird behind the back
  • Being Selfless – Putting the needs of the group ahead of their own is where many people can’t make the cut
  • Accept the Blame – They accept responsibility for mistakes, even if it was not their fault
  • Deflect the Praise – They put the praise onto their team, they do not accept it for themselves because they know they are nothing without the people around them

It’s Not for Everyone

charles barkley I am not a role model

There is a reason that so many people study leadership, it is uncommon. If everyone had it, there wouldn’t be courses, books, and entire school dedicated to it. Think about it, there are not books on blinking… everyone can blink! It’s hard to lead. For some, that’s all they strive for. For others, they can’t run far enough away from it.

And that’s fine. Not everyone needs to or should lead. If you feel you need to lead out of obligation, you aren’t doing anyone a favor.

Some people think that they have to be leaders in every situation. These are often the ones that confuse control with leadership. Learning to follow is a part of leadership, and it’s one thing that requires putting pride on the shelf. If you cannot do that, you cannot be an effective leader.

If you struggle with that whole ‘pride’ thing, you probably won’t get the whole ‘admitting you are wrong’ thing either. If this is something you can’t do, leadership probably isn’t in the cards for you.

“Luxuries” of Leadership

The “luxuries” I’ve been talking about are not end goals that people look to attain, they are byproducts of leadership.

If you are the type of person on the hunt for these, your motives are petty and this should be your wake-up call. If you want to be a leader, your motivation has to be pure and you have to be self-less.

By definition, “self-less” means having little concern for one’s own interests. And if you want to be a leader for all the things that come with the territory, people are going to see right through you.

Real Payoffs

Yes, there are plenty of things that make leadership hard. In fact, I’d argue that in numbers, there are more things that make leadership difficult than there are payoffs. But that payoff it big and it’s sweet. And that’s what makes them so special to us!

My generation, Y (& X too), doesn’t have the patience that our predecessors do. We are not used to having to wait… for anything. And leadership is not something that produces instant gratification. Hence one of the reasons a lot of young people struggle with leadership, they aren’t willing to put in the time.

Nor does being a leader produce tangible things like awards, plaques, or titles. Sure, you may get some of those things as a byproduct of your leadership, but real leaders aren’t motivated by those. They are driven by the people that surround them.

burden of leadershipThe payoff of being a leader comes back in waves from your people. If you ask anyone that has received these, they will tell you the same thing. This is not what they were in search of, these just came. And they made all the hardships worth it in the end.

  • Earned Respect – Not to be confused with respect from fear or power.
  • Guidance – When people look up to you they will ask you to help them. There is no better feeling than helping someone pull through a tough time or helping them transform themselves.
  • Trust – If you are doing your job well, people will put their lives in your hands. That is all the motivation some of us need to get out of bed in the morning.
  • Serving Others – Leaders help people accomplish their dreams. If that in itself is not a reward, than you have some soul searching to do!
  • Humility – Nothing compares to the sensation of people working hard for you to make you proud. And when you realize what they sacrifice for you, it will bring you down a notch and make you appreciate them even more.

If you are willing to endure the hardships and bare the burden of leadership, you really love your people. Otherwise, those acts are torture and it will be written on your face. People see through false motives, but they also see when someone pours their heart and soul into others and into their work.

What do people see when they look at you?

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Leadership is not a science, it’s an art. Who are some of the great leaders you’ve had the chance to work with or study?

Have a great weekend!

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How to Improve Relationships: Making a Leap of Faith

~ A short story to illustrate my point ~

Top executives are  sitting at a board room table discussing what sort of changes they need to make to implement their employee retention rates. It’s the typical cast: CEO, CFO, COO, and a few other department heads with a management consultant attempting to guide the conversation. 

Consultant: “So the main issue is employee retention, we all agree on that, correct?”

Executive Board: Unanimously nods their heads in agreement (some sarcastically)

Consultant: “From what you’ve shown me, it seems like they are under strict watch at all times and there isn’t much freedom in your employees’ decision making. Nor is there much opportunity for bonuses”

CEO: “That’s because they mess a lot of things up and we always have to check their work, so we just monitor them closely instead of finding mistakes later. We just can’t trust most of our people with a lot of work”

Consultant: “OK… how about their paid vacation days? They seem to get the bare minimum and they have to jump through hoops of fire just to get an unscheduled day off approved. And is there any sort of incentive program in place?”

CFO: “Well we keep our budget very tight, we have a low margin business (which the consultant already knows) so we can’t afford to have people taking frivolous days off. And as far as bonuses, we don’t think that people should get paid extra for doing their jobs.”

This sort of excuse-making banter goes on for another hour or so until the consultant is ready to pull their hair out. They decide to lay it on the line and quit wasting everyone’s time. They executive board needs to hear some harsh truth.

Consultant: “If you are trying to improve your company culture and improve your retention rate, you have to make a leap of faith towards your employees. They are not just going to magically begin to love this company and start to work harder for you overnight. You have to show them real change and you have to step out there first, they are never going to jump out there on their own. Why should they? You haven’t. And you are the one that wants this relationship to improve. If they are fine just getting a paycheck till another job comes, they won’t change a thing.”

COO: “So what are you saying? We should just trust that our people will do better?

Consultant: “You are wanting your people to come to you, but you’re not giving them any real reason to stay. You have to make a leap of faith towards them, and they will come to you. Yes, there will be risk. Yes, there will be some bad eggs that try to take advantage of the system. But ultimately people will respond well and they will see that you are making the first step in improving the workplace for them. It’s not an overnight formula, but your retention rates will improve when you begin to make yourself more open to your people.”

End Scene

how to improve relationships Does this seem like your company? Or worse, do you seem like that group of executives? Wanting your people to stay and work harder for you, but you don’t want to give them much in return. Are you the kind of boss that says, “Your pay is your reward. You have a job, you should feel lucky.”

I hope I’m not stating the obvious here, but that’s not the way to treat people if you want to have a thriving culture and a trust-oriented environment. As an employer, and even a manager, we are in a position of leadership and we often need to put ourselves out there for our people before they can trust that our intentions are good.

It may seem risky. It may seem dangerous. But making that first move shows our people that we have faith in them. When they see that we have faith in them and that we are willing to risk something for them, they will go above and beyond the call of duty for us.

If you’ve ever been in a serious relationship you know this all too well. Most of the time both people don’t just “fall for each other” on one fateful night. Usually one person jumps first and has to hope that the other person wants to jump too. 

It’s the same for any coach and their players. My college coaches would spend 80-100+ hours a week breaking down film, coming up with strategy, making travel plans, and doing their best to win games. This was all in hopes that we, as players, would return the gesture and work as hard as we could to win games alongside them.

When a manager, a coach, a loved one, or an employer puts themselves out there by making a leap of faith, the results they get are amazing. If you want to know how to improve relationships, you have to make the first step. Otherwise you’ll be at that stand-still for quite some time…

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Have you ever made a leap of faith to improve a relationship? How did you feel and what was the result?

Have a great week!

Criticism in Leadership: You’re Doing It Wrong If You’re Not Being Criticized

To be an effective leader, one must put themselves out there far enough to be criticized. If you’re not far enough out, nobody will criticize you, and nobody will follow you.

I noticed this phenomenon a few years ago. Contrasting two people in the same office: the office manager could do anything they wanted (excellent or useless) and they would receive little criticism over it.

On the other hand, one of the same people in the office happened to be a leader of the organization. Their every move was scrutinized, down to the time of their arrival (even if it was early they were “showing off” that day). Not everyone could see this as objectively as I could back then, but I want to shed some light on the reasons for this today. Criticism in leadership go hand in hand, here’s why.

Comfort Zone

First things first, leaders must make a conscious choice to step up and live out of their comfort zone. Think about it, who wants to follow the whimpy person in the corner who isn’t brave enough to stand up for what they believe in?

Living outside of their comfort zone forces leaders to constantly push themselves. Leadership means having to deal with situations that are not pleasant (aka comfortable) such as firing people or asking people to take pay cuts in hard times. Leadership can also be picking up a piece of trash in the parking lot on the way into the building, people notice small acts of character like that.

Under a Microscope

I like to think of a leader as someone who voluntarily walks under a microscope and says, “Here I am, let me have it!” Because their every move will be judged. If you are the leader of a company, your decisions will affect others and how they are doing their jobs so that is expected. Everyone has an opinion on your decisions.

criticism in leadership

If you are not at the top of an organization, many people will look to do their part and humble you when you make a questionable decision. This usually sounds like, “I told you you didn’t have to work that hard on that project,” or, “Why are you picking up trash? That’s gross, we have a janitor for that.”

People want to stay on the same plane with others, it’s hard for most people to see you rise above them. It’s because your peers recognize the leadership in those actions that they will bring criticism your way. It’s hard for many people to encourage others to shine, because they think they will be left in the dark. 

Everyone has a chance to lead, or in this case, shine. That same person that brought criticism on you has the same choice you did, they can stand out or they can fit in. Leaders choose to be under a microscope, it forces us into that uncomfortable place where everyone can see and judge us.

Transparency

With criticism comes accountability, and the good leaders there take that head on. They don’t make excuses and they don’t shy away from the microscope. If you put yourself out there, be prepared to be criticized and then held accountable. 

Since people are watching your every move, they will want to know your motives. The only way to lead effectively and not drive yourself crazy is to operate with full transparency. If people are left to guess at your motives, they will come up with some outlandish things.

This is how many office rumors start, a leader makes choices in the shadows and doesn’t explain to their people the reasons for X, Y, and  Z actions. They will come up with their own ideas that are warped and typically don’t give you the benefit of the doubt. So you spend time diffusing those rumors or soothing upset people on the front lines.

The only thing worse than operating behind a cloak of mystery is to lie to your people. To “throw them off the trail” of what you are doing or your true motives. This is toxic leadership and shows complete lack of trust in one’s own organization. This will kill an organization from within.

Daily Preparation

Leadership doesn’t take a day off. You can have a lack in productivity, you can make a mistake with figures, but you cannot let your character slide. If you operate with transparency, you will be able to bounce back from mistakes on your work, but it is infinitely more difficult to repair your perceived character within an organization when your leadership stumbles.

Expect to take criticism on the chin, it’s going to happen every day. You have to be prepared to be resilient in uncomfortable situations and bounce back with honesty to your people. Nobody trusts or follows a liar, transparency in your daily operations are crucial. And above all else, do not compromise on your character or that criticism will tear you apart from the inside out.

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What is your experience with criticism in leadership? How has it affected your leadership style?

Leave me a comment below or chat with me on Twitter, I’d love to hear from you.

Have a great day!

7 Temptations Leaders Avoid Every Day

As I’ve been pitching myself and my services more often, I keep thinking about what I bring to the table when it comes to leadership. I’ve been telling people I specialize in 3 areas: Marketing | Leadership | Social Media. But the truth is, I feel I’m specialized in a lot more than that.

Great companies let their marketing bleed through their organizations and when I work with someone I want them to know that is my plan for their business. It’s a blend of all three ideas, and then some. I’m selling people on my philosophy. This makes me a sales person (already knew that) and a leader since I’m asking people to believe in me.

Even if that doesn’t make sense to you, I’ve compiled a list of some of the temptations leaders avoid since the subject has been on my mind. I hope you enjoy this, I hope you apply these (if you aren’t already), and I would love to hear what else leaders avoid so leave me a comment below!
temptations leaders avoid

Criticize Someone

The easiest thing to do in this world is criticize someone for their work. It takes guts to get off the bench and into the game. It takes nothing to sit on the sideline and say what that person should have done on the field from the comfort of a padded seat with a mouth full of proverbial popcorn.

Leaders put themselves out there on a stage to be judged by their every action. The great ones know when others are putting themselves out there as well. When they recognize it, they don’t criticize harshly, they praise boldly.

Walk on People 

Leaders are often looked up to in organizations whether they are in a position of power or not. When others look up to you, you have the power to lift them up or crush them simply by your body language.

Real leaders show others they care, even if those people can’t do anything for them. It’s easy to be a jerk, it’s hard to be kind. You may not have time to ask about how the family is doing every day, but things as simple remembering people’s names and being sincere go a long way.

Take the Credit

I love to see this scene in sports (mostly football) game press conferences: A slick reporter asks a star player about the previous win and how great he/she played, setting them up to take credit for the game themselves. No matter how many times this has happened, the great leaders don’t crack. They never take the bait!

what leaders do every day
When leaders receive praise they point the finger outward. Great leaders don’t take the credit for a victory/accomplishment/goal-achieved even if it fell mostly on their shoulders. They say how instrumental their team or their supporting cast was in making this happen. 

Deflect the Blame

Flash back to 4 seconds ago, similar scene: Now the same star player has lost a game and the same reporter asks them about why they lost, looking for a scapegoat and some controversy to print. Again, the seasoned leader takes the blame. They could have played the game of their life, but they’ll say something like, “It wasn’t enough,” or,  “It’s not about me.”

When leaders receive criticism, they point the finger inward. They don’t shift the blame to others, the ones that look up to them. They can handle the attacks and they can handle the judgement, it comes with the territory.

Think Small

Leaders have to be a bit off their rockers. Nobody wants to follow the quite, harmless person that never got out of their comfort zone. People want to follow the person that makes bold moves and achieves great things. Leaders push the envelope with their thinking, it’s rarely small.

Hold Others Back

When small people see that someone below them is doing something to better themselves, they break them down. Poor leadership will hold those around them back, in fear of losing their own position. They will stifle growth, they will criticize, they will humiliate, and they will attempt to “keep them in their place.”

Real leadership invests in it’s people, even after they’ve been surpassed. One of the men I looked up to most in my collegiate football career was Marvin McHellon. At one point in his career he was surpassed by an underclassman who took his starting position. Marvin didn’t whine, he didn’t quit, he didn’t make a scene. He humbly helped teach that younger player learn everything he knew so we could win as many games as possible.

Hold Themselves Back

Leaders realize that they are valuable to their people in some way, even if they don’t go around announcing it to everyone. So they know they cannot just sit back and rest on their laurels.

A leader that doesn’t get better with time and is not a leader, they are person in a position of power. A leader will push themselves to be better, to learn, and to grow.

What else do leaders avoid? I would love to hear your feedback and I would love to add to this list!

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Leave me a comment below or chat with me on Twitter

Have a great day & don’t forget to avoid these 7 Temptations!

Why I’m Going to Dominate 2014

Brief History

If you haven’t figured that out yet, I’m a big advocate of goals. I set them all the time, I achieve them as often as I can, and it brings me clarity to go through the process of setting goals. Just as in life, there is just as much we can take away from the journey to our goals as we can achieving the goal itself.

When making our goals, we have to go through a process instead of haphazardly putting things down for ourselves. If we do that, we might end up chasing vanity metrics in our businesses and waste time pursuing things we don’t actually care about in our personal lives. I hope today’s post in combination with yesterday’s post will give you some insight into how I set goals.

Nuts and Bolts

First, I reflected on a previous portion of my life/work and it just happened to be 2013 as a whole. New Year’s Resolutions are cliche for a reason, it works great to reflect and start a new year fresh after some rest with friends and family. But these are goals, not resolutions.

2014 Goal SettingNext, we need to think about what we want to do next with our lives/work. I suggest this as quite time without technology where you can focus on the future with zero distractions. For me it was an hour walking up and down The Battery with my notebook and my phone turned off. You have to find a place where you are comfortable and have no distractions.

Finally, write down your goals on paper so you can see them and then make them public so you stay accountable. For a more detailed explanation of goal setting and follow through, check out this work from a couple months back.

2014 Goal Setting

Here are a select handful of my personal goals that I want to share with you. I am sharing these for 2 reasons: 1.) I hope you get some very clear examples from how I do these and the planning I’ve already put into them. 2.) I am putting my goals out into the world so that I don’t make myself a liar. When the whole world knows I’m writing a book, they’re going to put the pressure on me to finish it. If you all know my goals, you won’t let me quit, and I won’t let you down.

Here are the reasons why I’m going to crush 2014:

  • Volunteer Once Per Month

    • Date to Completion: Once Per Month
    • Why: I always enjoyed our community service days when I was in college whether it was mentoring, volunteering, or helping with the Special Olympics. I haven’t done much of that in my recent years and I want to start giving back.
    • How: I have my first volunteer day setup on January 25th in Charleston with a friend that gives out clothes and food at the homeless shelter. I’ll find something similar each month and dedicate at least one day to something other than myself.

  • Learn to Speed Read

    • Date to Completion:  3/1/14
    • Why: I’ve always wanted to learn, but never applied myself. Since quitting my job I’ve had to find a lot of things on the internet for myself and I realized how easy it would be to spend a day researching ‘how to’ on the web and YouTube. This also ties into another goal, I’ve become obsessed with reading and I want to do it more but I don’t always have the time.
    • How: I’ll spend a few afternoons/evenings researching and compiling information to go through. I’ll practice as often as I can and test my reading speed from Day 1 (when I do the research) to March 1 (when I want to have this completed). I don’t know how fast I read now, but I’ll test it and set a specific goal to get better once I understand the process.

  • Build a TV Stand

    • Date to Completion:  5/1/14
    • Why: I worked for 6 & 1/2 years in the promotional furniture industry where most furniture was made cheap and looked relatively bland (to me at least). So I have always wanted to scrap the furniture in my living room and completely remake it from hand. I did this with my coffee table already and it was and awesome experience.
    • How: This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but didn’t have the time while I was training for a marathon. And now it’s cold outside… So I’ll wait until Spring. I have sketches of it, but the hard/fun work remains to be done.

  • Write an eBook

    • Date to completion: 6/1/14
    • Why: I need practice before I write MY book, and this is a simple way to start and get some practice. Writing a blog post is a relatively short thought, but a book is more in depth. I’ll be asking for some help, so be on the lookout! This is also practice for monetizing my blog (see below) that I need to work on throughout the year.
    • How: This is much simpler than publishing a book, it can be done on Microsoft Word and saved as a PDF file. When it is complete it will be available through the blog.

  • Complete a Sprint Triathlon

    • Date to Completion: Summer Time
    • Why: I finished a marathon last year and that was an awesome experience that pushed me to my limits physically and mentally. I want a new challenge and for anyone that worked with me at the GPLA, you know swimming was a challenge in and of itself.
    • How: I don’t have a date yet because I have 3 other immediate goals ahead of this one and I’m not going to jump into any water until it’s warmer out. As long as I give myself 4+/- weeks of training I’ll do just fine. I have a bike, I can run anywhere, and there are multiple bodies of water here in Charleston to choose from including an Olympic sized pool 2 blocks from my residence.

  • Monetize my Blog

    • Date to Completion: 10/5/14
    • Why: Why not? I love to write, some of you think I’m half-way decent at it (although I want to improve drastically), and it’s fun for me. So why not try to make some money from it?
    • How: I’m not sure yet, but my decisions will be public when they happen. For example, if I choose to use affiliate products (where I post a link to a product and if any of my readers make a purchase, I get a commission) I will notify you before I post that link. I have always been transparent and I will not compromise that.

  • Read 40 Books

    • Date to Completion: 12/31/14
    • Why: Because I love reading. It strengthens our minds, it opens us up to new worlds, and it gives us time to think, process, and come up with new ideas. Not all great readers are leaders, but all great leaders are readers.
    • How: I am currently reading 2 paperback books and I just finished my first book of the year from Audible.com (yes, I count a ‘listened to’ book as ‘read’). I need to finish approximately 3 per month, I’m already 1 down and well on my way with the other 2 for this month. I spend anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours reading depending on the day and my schedule. Please send me suggestions!

This may seem like a lot, but when it’s all broken down these are spread out evenly across the year. Notice that I don’t have as much at the end of the year due to holiday travels. Some of these tie together to form common these as well, this is very helpful for me. Also notice that these are varied experiences from physical accomplishments to creative projects and philanthropic work. Do the same with your goals, make them varied so you don’t burn yourself out!

Do me a favor and ask me about these when you see me. You don’t have to put me through 21 Questions, although I wouldn’t mind that. I want to accomplish all of these things and more this year and I need your help to do so. It doesn’t have to be the one I’m currently ‘working on’ in the sequence I’ve laid out, just ask me. And yep you guessed it, I’ll be talking about these goals and what I accomplish all year long.

Good luck in 2014, make it the best year yet!

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What are some of your goals for 2014? Leave them below and I promise I’ll help keep YOU accountable as well! Leave a comment below or chat with me on social media, I’d love to hear from you.

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Act and React: Watch Me Predict What You’ll Do Next

An Explanation

Everything we do is a reaction to our previous experiences. When I wrote four long posts about social media, I turned around and wrote a short post about counterbalancing. Sometimes when we win an athletic contest we know how sweet victory tastes and we work hard to duplicate that. And other times when we have a great day at work, we tend to get lazy on the next, it’s hard to be our best every day.

We take into consideration our previous experiences and we move forward with a better understanding of what to do next. In other words; when we learn, we grow. If we never learned, we’ve never grow. The key part of that statement being, we must learn before we grow. 

A Quote

This requires us to consciously look at what we’re doing and asses what has just happened to us. Many of us have been known to keep our heads down and only look forward, but as George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” You are reading my own reaction to the failure to be conscious of my experiences.

I used to do a weekly email to my team at the furniture company recounting the previous week and giving advice about the upcoming one. That wasn’t nearly enough for a growing company, but it was a start. I highly suggest some sort of documentation or timeline of events be written down for growing companies, it will help you remember where you’ve come from and how you got to where you are today. That sort of stuff is much harder to remember once it’s over and done with.

A Musical Case Study

I first heard this idea from the Foo Fighters’ front man Dave Grohl in an interview many years ago. He said that every album the Foo Fighters put out was a reaction to the previous one. This stuck with me because I was intrigued that rock stars took this much into consideration throughout the creative process.

He said one album was very rough & sounded like it had been recorded in a garage. They came back in the next album with a handful of acoustic songs to balance it out. The one after that only had 1 acoustic song because their live shows barely included those acoustic songs, it was mostly loud and fast.

Each album they created was made better in some way from their previous one(s). They learned from each album they recorded and reacted with a better one the next go-round.

An Application

The Foo Fighters example is simpler than most of our everyday work experiences, when an album is finished there are no changes that can be made. However, in our work lives it’s not as clear cut. We can’t always see when a project is finished or when something is ready to be shipped.

I like music too, Mike, what’s this got to do with business? Well it has everything to do with business, with competition, with what to expect out of our co-workers and employees, how to address and react to a crisis, the list goes on. When we are cognizant of our experiences and how our organizations intuitively react to things, we can predict what will happen next. 

This may help us to implement company policies or stop a problem before it starts. On a sports team, if we traditionally see our players get lazy after a win, we head that off as a coach by making the next week of practice intense and fun. If we see that the last time we attempted a company function people asked if they could bring spouses but we didn’t allow it, make room for the spouses this time.

It’s about being present and learning from all of our experiences, not just our mistakes, that make us good leaders. As we act and react, take time to look back on what’s happened so we can make better decisions about what to do next.

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Have a great weekend!