Ideas, Leadership, and Vision

Put yourself in the place to find the most potential

Creativity is the buzzword of the moment!  But creativity is so very important in many different aspects of each of our lives.  Creativity can help us solve challenges in our professional world as well as our personal life.  Creativity can help us to see the opportunities in front of us as well as help us to capture the moment.   I recently saw a 22 minute training video from DeWitt Jones of National Geographic titled Everyday Creativity.  I have included a video link for you to view a 30 second introduction on what his view of creativity is all about.  Some notes that I took from this training film are...

1. The perspective that you choose is what will change the ordinary into the extraordinary.
2. You need to put yourself in the place to find the most potential or opportunity.
3. There is always more then one right answer

Each of the above is a future post on my blog.  For now, enjoy the article and the clip.

Link:  Everyday Creativity video clip
Link:  Everyday Creativity article

570 KLIF is podcasting

Susquehanna Radio Corp.'s 570 KLIF in Dallas, Texas is now podcasting.   Many of you might remember that KLIF was the original station that Mark Cuban streamed with his original company audionet.

If you are not podcast savvy there is no need to fear.  simply click on the link and there are some easy to read instructions.

Stay tuned...  I expect more and more radio stations to start podcasting.

[link] to 570 KLIF's podcasting page

Staying Focused

There are so many possible distractions, so many different things on the to do list, so many new projects that need attention etc, etc, etc.... So how do you decide what should get your focus.  Many books and courses have been assembled to help people with time management, I have read many of those books and I agree with almost all I read, there are systems that you can put into place that will make you manage your time more effectively.

But this is not what I am talking about, I am talking about focus.  I am talking about "being in the moment"  paying attention to what you are doing, giving all of your attention to what ever it is you are doing.  Much was made about the ability to multi-task, and how brilliant and efficient people that can multi task are, but are they?  Perhaps we would be more effective if we applied real focus to the situation at hand before we just rush on to the next one.

Just a thought........

Riding up hills into the wind

Today I went for a 25 mile bike ride.  What made this ride more challenging then any other ride I have been on in quite some time is that it was very windy and had a ton of hills.  Over the past year or so I have trained a lot in all three sports of swimming, biking and running, I have competed in many triathlons as well as running events and bike rides.  I consider myself a good cyclist and I really love it.  But, toady's ride was a killer.  I normally average around 20 mph and there were times to day that I was doing all I could just to go 12 to 14 mph.  The wind was strong and the hills were steep.  All the while I couldn't stop thinking how great it was to challenge myself in this way.

So, how does this relate to management and leadership?  does it?  I think it does...  I think while most of the time we are simply doing what we love and getting in a good workout every once in a while we reach a spot where it is really windy and we are climbing a big hill.  When you reach those spots, remember that you really love what you do and that this is just a great test of your strength.  It's all those previous rides that make you strong and prepare you for a ride like this one.  Just like with management, you are going to have rough days, and weeks but it is all the work you have done up to that point that has prepared you to succeed when you are challenged.

Good luck on your windy days and climb those hills with confidence.

REINVENTION!!!!

I think it is a good idea to once a day try something new. 

Reinvention is key to growth.  If all you keep doing is the same thing over and over again you will never really grow, in fact you could say that you will get left behind.  Like many of you I have been fascinated by the recent success of the ipod and Tivo.  It seems as though the ipod and tivo craze has exploded in the last 12 months.  What is funny about this is that both of these devices were born from companies that I would not have expected to develop such a product.  Maybe it's just me but wouldn't you have thought a company like Sony would have invented the ipod?  After all they created a 100 or so versions of the Walkman, right?  And what about Tivo?  Why didn't a company that was making DVD players or VHS players create Tivo???

Reinvention.  Try it, there are all sorts of great things that can happen when you give your self a chance to think.

The Comfort ZONE!

Let me suggest that the best thing you can do is to GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!!!!  If you really want to challenge yourself then you need to take on new challenges.  If you are interested in experiencing new results then you have to try new things.  If you want to grow then you need to stretch.  Complacency is a killer and too often I see people fall into the comfort zone. It is amazing, but all the things that they did that got them to where they are today somehow stop happening and they begin to settle in.

Getting out of your comfort zone does not mean you need to abandon your core beliefs or disregard your values.  Getting out of your comfort zone simply means to do something that you might not normally do, to push a bit harder and longer then you might have thought you could.  To  look at something in a completely different way than you usually do.  Ask different questions and you will get different answers.  Here is a quick easy way for you to experiment with the idea of getting out of your comfort zone. 

Tomorrow, drive to work using a new route.  Trust me it will seem uncomfortable, but take the time to look around and make some new observations and new connections.  If you're in outside sales, you might actually see some new prospects.

Good Luck!!

Empowerment is such a great word!

Empowerment.  The word empower means:    To equip or supply with an ability; enable: “Computers... empower students to become intellectual explorers”.  So how do you empower the people that work for you? 

Terry Storch comments this morning on his blog about the importance of Empowering your team. He lists some very easy to follow steps that if taken will certainly get you going in the right direction.

Leaders must empower.
    =>Simple.
        =>Pass the torch.
             =>Set the expectation.
                =>Assist if you are asked
            =>Guide as you see fit.
        =>Critique and coach along the way.
    =>Repeat