by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Illusions of agreement
— From REWORK: Change the way you work forever by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been involved in putting together a report that is still sitting on a shelf somewhere accumulating dust… Oh, geez, both of my hands are raised!
Fried and Hansson in their excellent book Rework, say, “The business world is littered with dead documents that do nothing but waste people’s time. Reports no one reads, diagrams no one looks at, and specs that never resemble the finished product. These things take forever to make but only seconds to forget.” So true.
What they suggest is removing layers of abstraction and “getting real.” But what does this mean?
“Instead of describing what something looks like, draw it. Instead of explaining what something sounds like, hum it. […] The problem with abstractions (like reports and documents) is that they create illusions of agreement. A hundred people can read the same words, but in their heads, they’re imagining a hundred different things.” That’s why this famous cartoon about a tree swing is so funny and so on point!
It is similar to when you and your friends read a book: you all have different ideas of what the characters look like in your heads. And when you all go see the movie, you know exactly what each character looks like. “That’s when you get true understanding” and only then, everyone is on the same page.
The authors go on to cite the case of Alaska Airlines building up the Airport of the Future. “They didn’t rely on blueprints and sketches, they got a warehouse and built mockups using cardboard boxes… The team then built a small prototype in Anchorage to test systems with real passengers and employees.” The result was a success, as it increased efficiency by decreasing wait times and passenger frustration.
But this doesn’t apply just to large projects. The book quotes renowned furniture craftsman Sam Maloof who “felt is was impossible to make a working drawing to show all the intricate and fine details that go into a chair or stool.” He would simply get out the appropriate tool for that job and start working on it.
What project are you working on now where you could take out your proverbial chisel? Let’s avoid the illusions of agreement and have something real that we can indeed agree on!
ACTION
TODAY: Take some time to think about the many projects you are working on. Which ones are being handled under illusions of agreement? Don’t feel bad, it’s natural to work that way as we’ve all been conditioned to think it’s the best way. But now that you now the benefits of getting real you can speed up your goal by avoiding the distractions that come with abstractions. (Ha! I’m a poet and don’t know it…)
FUTURE: Keep in mind the distractions and the time spent on illusions of agreement. Share this info with your team and clients. For each project that you start, big or small, get in the habit of asking yourself and those involved, How can we make this real? That will push you to find better ways to accomplish your goals.
Know someone who needs to get real? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Productivity, Resolutions, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 33 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Leaders and limitations
— From Common Sense Leadership: A Handbook for Success as a Leader by Roger Fulton
As I was going about finding an idea for today, I came across this one that I loved: it’s what leaders do when faced with limitations. Normally, I intertwine my thoughts and takeaways with the idea from the book. Yet, on this occasion, the idea is so brief, so concise and so perfectly written, that I’m taking the liberty of sharing it in its entirety here. Since we are all leaders, whether formal or informal, paid or voluntary, of large corporations or of our households… I think the thoughts apply beautifully to all. Enjoy!
“Leaders understand their own limitations, but they are not necessarily limited by them.
As an example, budgets can limit available resources, but a true leader will find a way to get the job done with the resources available. Staffing three shifts can’t be done with only two people, but a true leader will make the most efficient use of those two people to cover the shifts.
Time is always a limitation. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Yet a true leader will make the most efficient use of time available. Luckily there are some things that know no limits:
Dreams.
Human ingenuity.
Love.
Even though you may not be able to conquer the whole world, you can comfortably conquer a small part of it, even taking into account many of your limitations.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of some limitations or constraints that you are facing in business or life, and put them to work for you. What are some creative ways in which you can deal with them? How can you make the most out of them? Fortunately there’s no limit to human ingenuity: set some time to brainwrite, and remember that there’s no such thing as a shortage of ideas.
FUTURE: Let’s turn limitations upside down and use them to our advantage. Try imposing a few limitations on yourself or your work to see if you become more efficient and effective. For instance, try to answer most emails in less than 3 minutes (the email game). Or try to finish a particular project or chore in 25 minutes. Need more time? Add another chunk of 25 minutes as opposed to giving it all your morning. How about cutting down meeting time from the calendar’s default of 1 hour to 30 minutes instead, and do it standing up to further keep it short? Cut your daily cooking time in half and devote the other half to playing a game with your family or to start working on a personal project. You can be as adventurous or as traditional as you can with this. Create some limitations and put them to the test, see if they work for you and if you become more efficient as a result of them. Then you can decide whether to keep them or not, or tweak and keep testing until you find the ones that work really well for you.
Know someone who would benefit from reading this post? Please share it via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 51 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The truth about multitasking
— From The ONE Thing: The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan (watch the book trailer)
Much has ben said about multitasking, both for and against it. In The One Thing, Gary Keller and Jay Papasan finally bust the myth: multitasking is a lie.
The book cites Clifford Nass, a professor a Stanford University, who set out to study multitaskers as he realized he did not possess the skill. “I was sure they had some secret ability,” he said, but at the end of the study, multitaskers “were outperformed on every measure. Although they’d convinced themselves and the world that they were great at it, there was just one problem… multitaskers were just lousy at everything.”
“The truth is multitasking is neither efficient nor effective.”
There is no doubt that we can indeed “do two or more things at once, such as walk and talk, or chew gum and read a map; but… what we can’t do is focus on two things at once. Our attention bounces back and forth [‘task switching’]… Switching between two simple tasks—like watching television and folding clothes—is quick and relatively painless. However, if you’re working on a spreadsheet and a co-worker pops into your office to discuss a business problem, the relative complexity of those tasks makes it impossible to easily jump back and forth. It always takes some time to start a new task and restart the one you quit… [and] the cost in terms of extra time from having to task switch depends on how complex or simple the tasks are.”
So, let’s set the record straight: we can do two things at once, but we cannot focus effectively on two things at once. Need more proof? Here’s a fun little game (you’ll need a stopwatch):
Say the alphabet out loud and time how long it takes you: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, etc.…
Now count to 26 out loud and time how long it takes you: 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, etc…
I assume you had no problem doing both tasks, and that those are two things that you can do masterfully well, right?
Now intertwine them out loud and time how long it takes you: A, 1, B, 2, C, 3, etc…
What happened? Did you slow down at some point to figure out which letter corresponded with a number? Yep, that’s normal. Did you eventually give up before you finished because it was harder than you expected? Most people do. If you did go through the whole thing, I bet it took you much longer to do this letter-number combination than to say the alphabet followed by counting to 26 the first time.
This is exactly what happens when we are trying to switch from task to task, “[it] exacts a cost few realize [we’re] even paying.”
The book mentions that people who work with computers change windows, check email or switch programs close to 37 times per hour. This means less than 2 minutes devoted per task, and that is further reduced by the time that it takes to switch and (re)focus from one to the other. It’s no wonder we feel stretched to thin and squeezed for time when we are taking more time to get things done because of the lies we’ve been told about multitasking.
“Multitasking is merely the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time.” – Steve Uzzell
The authors then ask: if we wouldn’t allow a pilot or a surgeon to multitask, and instead demand full focus from them, “Why are we living another standard? Do we not value our own job or take it as seriously? Why would we ever tolerate multitasking when we’re doing our most important work? Just because our day job doesn’t involve bypass surgery shouldn’t make focus any less critical to our success or the success of others. Your work deserves no less respect.”
Eye opening, isn’t it?
ACTION
TODAY: Don’t feel bad if you get distracted, we all do. Simply bring your focus back to the task at hand and focus solely on that until you get it done, or until which point you are done with what you needed to do (say, now you have to wait for a coworker to give you his part of the slide deck). Repeat with your other tasks.
FUTURE: Build the habit of focusing and not switching from task to task. Remember the alphabet-number game: combining tasks or switching from one to another takes additional time that you may not realize. Here are 11 Exercises That Will Strengthen Your Attention.
Know someone who needs to stop multitasking? Tell them to focus on this post by sharing it via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Celebration, Collaboration, Creativity, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 38 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Make it a Honey Day
— From The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want by Dave Kerpen
Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Hope it’s a joy-filled holiday with your family if you celebrate it.
Growing up, I remember loving Easter because my mom made it very special: when we were little she decided that the Easter Bunny would bring us presents, above and beyond the traditional Easter eggs. So, in the Escalante household, besides Santa Claus coming in December and the Three Kings bringing presents in early January (yes, we Mexican kids have it so good in the holiday presents department!), the Easter Bunny would show up a few months later bearing gifts. One of my favorites was a fluffy, stuffed rabbit toy I called Ynnub (bunny spelled backwards… lots of neurons went into crafting that name…). To this day, decades later, the Easter Bunny continues to bring gifts and now includes my husband and our dog. (I love you so much, Mom, thank you! I know you’re laughing out loud reading this.)
I share this because it’s a perfect example of the topic that I want to talk about today: lovely, made up celebrations that delight and create beautiful memories. How can we make it special for our loved ones, our coworkers, our clients, etc? What kind of holiday or special gift can we come up with to recognize or celebrate an accomplishment, something special, or just because?
One of the best ones that I have come across was “Honey Day” as described in Dave Kerpen’s book The Art of People. Dave is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Likeable, a digital agency (with a great story behind it). He found himself at the office one day thinking it was another regular day… until Brian Murray, the Director of talent and recruitment announced: “Today is Honey Day. The entire day will be dedicated to appreciating the amazing work that Honey does for us.” Out came the balloons and ribbons and even a cake in Honey’s honor: surprise! Honey Comer-Cantrell is the VP of Client Services at Likeable today, yet back then, in Dave’s words, “From the little I know, Honey is a terrific employee. But she wasn’t a manager and hadn’t accomplished anything remarkable. That was the whole point… Just by recognizing someone who worked hard and represented the Likeable core values well, Brian sent a message not only to Honey but to the rest of the team and to would-be team members that this was a group that celebrated hard work and loved to surprise and delight. [… And while no one can] afford to surprise and delight everyone all the time, by surprising and delighting some people at random and unexpected times, you get everyone thinking that she could be the recipient of that special something… the next time.” (Meet Dave, Brian and Honey here.)
When was the last time you had a holiday created just for you? When was the last time you did something to make someone feel i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-y special? Keep in mind that causing delight doesn’t have to cost any money. “It’s all about making people feel special and doing things a little differently to accomplish that.” Also, you don’t have to throw a big party or celebration, you can delight people on a daily basis in small ways too: a kind word, a nice email, a heartfelt compliment, a handwritten thank you note, a piece of candy, a magazine or newspaper clipping (or link via email) of something you saw that reminded you of them… any thoughtful gesture… they all go a long way to brighten up someone’s day.
ACTION
TODAY: Put your creativity hat on and make a list of the various ways—big and small—in which you can delight your family, clients, coworkers, etc.
FUTURE: From the list that you made, select the first way in which you will delight someone. Plan it and make it happen. Depending on what that is, you can schedule a few of these actions in your calendar to make them happen throughout the year. You can choose recurring dates, or at random—such as Honey Day—or you can even go as far as to create a unique tradition—such as the Easter Bunny presents. Enjoy!!
Happy delighting, and cheers to you for creating beautiful, indelible memories!
Know someone who’d be delighted to read this? Please share via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 5 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Active listening
— From Dynamic Communication: 27 Strategies to Grow, Lead, and Manage Your Business by Jill Schiefelbein
The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” Wise words back then that still ring true today.
But in a world where we have little time, and a myriad devices clamoring for our attention, what can we do to truly listen, understand, and take action (if needed) based on what we just listened to? Active listening is the answer that Jill Schiefelbein recommends in her book Dynamic Communication.
“With active listening, you listen to someone and then repeat what you comprehended in your own words back to them. Essentially, you’re paraphrasing. The idea is that you create mutual understanding so that there are no ambiguities in interpretation. […] The true magic of active listening lies in your ability to understand the conversation from the perspective of your communication partner and your willingness to genuinely invest time in listening to their full story.”
“[Active listening] means that you listen without formulating your response.”
The story behind how active listening was born provides greater depth of understanding as to why this method—which sounds so simple—is so relevant and effective. “In the 1980s, two researchers… studied communication between emergency medical services (EMS) [paramedics] and patients. After many observations and experimental situations, what resulted was the need for a listening strategy that would ensure that the patient was not only heard, but also understood, so the best care could be provided as quickly as possible.”
With this in mind, and wanting to provide the best possible, uninterrupted listening experience to our conversation partner(s), the author provides the following strategies for being a better listener:
“Check your ego—you cannot truly listen if you’re more worried about your own personal outcome in a conversation than creating a positive outcome for all involved.”
“Stop thinking about your response—if you’re formulating your response in your head while the other person is speaking, you’re not listening!”
“Acknowledge feelings—you don’t always have to agree with what the other person says or feels, but good listeners and strong communicators acknowledge that those feelings were heard.”
“Nonverbally show engagement—a slight tilt of the head, a forward lean of the body, head nods, small ‘uh-huh’ utterances, maintaining eye contact…all these things encourage engagement in a conversation and are indicators of listening.”
“Admit when you didn’t listen—or at least ask someone to repeat themselves. ‘I didn’t quite catch that. Could you please repeat?’ It’s better to have the full picture in a conversation than to make a judgment call or decision on something without all the puzzle pieces in play.”
“Use active listening—make sure you heard what the person intended. So many conflicts could be avoided in the workplace and so many teams would run more smoothly if people would just check for mutual understanding. Do it. You’ll see a difference in the productivity, the relationships and the outcomes.”
ACTION
TODAY: Start practicing active listening at work and at home to the extent possible. Notice how your communications and your interactions change for the better. Share the secret of active listening as a strategy that works, even in life-or-death situations!
FUTURE: Make a point of practicing active listening as much as possible in the situations that call for it (“pass the gravy” hardly qualifies). Be especially aware of when your mind is racing to give an answer before the other person has finished talking. Bring your mind back into the conversation. Pause when the other person finishes so that you can take it all in, and then respond. If the silence feels awkward, just tell the other person, “I’m thinking about my response based on all you’ve said, give me a second.” Very likely they will say yes and be patient and grateful that you are giving so much thought and attention to what they are saying.
Know someone who could use some active listening skills? Please listen first to what they’ve got to say and in your response include a mention to today’s post. Or forward via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
P.S. – Want to instill the love of books in children? My friend Ryan Jennings, is launching today the first 3 of his children’s books. They’re awesome because children can pick the adventure path they want to follow: fun, fun fun! Learn more about the books and if you want to download them, Ryan has generously made them available for free for us Gurupies* for a limited time—thanks, Ryan! Here are the links: The Kiwi and The Boy, The Electric Eel and The Girl, and The Polar Bear and The Boy. If you do download them for free, please be kind and leave a review on Amazon, as that way more people will learn about the books and how cool they are for the children in our lives.
*Gurupie = blend of guru and groupie = how I fondly refer to the EntreGurus’ community, because we all follow the ideas of the gurus.
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Creativity, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes.
TODAY’S IDEA: Win-Win or No Deal
— From The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success by Brian Tracy
Following along the same path as yesterday’s post on Thinking “both,” I wanted to focus on its application in business by looking at Bryan Tracy’s Law of Win-Win or No Deal from his book The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success. This law states that:
“In a successful negotiation, both parties should be fully satisfied with the result and feel that they have each ‘won’ or no deal should be made at all.”
Tracy says, “Remember, you always reap what you sow. Any settlement or agreement that leaves one party dissatisfied will come back to hurt you later, sometimes in ways that you cannot predict.” And he goes on to tell a story of a tough negotiator who was boasting “about a hard deal he had wrung out of a [distributor] of his company’s products. He had demanded and threatened and negotiated an agreement that paid him considerably more, both in up-front payments and in percentages of sales, than any of the other clients for which this company distributed.”
The author happened to know the people on the other side of the negotiation well, so he asked them to tell the story from their angle. They confirmed the discomfort and toughness of the negotiation and said “they had agreed to pay higher prices and royalties on everything they sold, but they had not agreed to sell any.”
The deal backfired: “the businessman had negotiated a ‘win-lose’ with him winning and the others losing. But those on the losing side had no incentive to fulfill the implied commitment to market the products. They had no incentive to go forward with this person, and no reason to ever want to do business with him again.”
In a zero-sum game, someone always loses. In business it does not have to be that way: aim always for a win-win or no deal. Be clear in your intentions that what you want is the best for both parties. Now, “this doesn’t mean that you [or the other party] have to accept any arrangement that you consider second best.” On the contrary, “when you are determined to achieve a win-win solution to a negotiation, and you are open, receptive, and flexible in your discussions, you will often discover a third alternative that neither party had considered initially but that is superior to what either of you might have thought of on your own.”
ACTION
TODAY: If you are negotiating something today—even if its’ the smallest thing—that’s great! Think win-win, communicate it to the other party, and find out what it is that each of you wants/needs from the deal to consider it successful. Work together to make it happen. If you don’t have any negotiations on your plate now, think about one in the past where you experienced a win-lose (no matter which side you were on). The good thing about hindsight is that it’s always 20/20 and, with that view, you can reconstruct the deal (at least in your mind) to make it a win-win. Learn from it: what would you have changed for the better? How would you have structured the deal differently? Think creatively.
FUTURE: Think win-win from now on professionally and personally. Commit to doing deals where the Law of Win-Win or No Deal applies. Actively seek to find ways to achieve what each party needs and wants out of the situation in a satisfactory way and without feeling that you have to settle for less.
Know someone who could benefit from reading today’s post? Please share it via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 1 second.
TODAY’S IDEA: Think “both”
— From: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker (read a sample)
Why does it seem that some people live in a world of abundance and plenty and some others live in a world of scarcity and limitations? While we all live in this physical world, the difference, according to T. Harv Eker, is perspective. He says, “although you may not be able to have ‘everything’ as in all the things in the world, I do think that you can certainly have ‘everything you really want’.”
“Do you want a successful career or a close relationship with your family? Both!
Do you want to focus on business or have fun and play? Both!
Do you want money or meaning in your life? Both!
Do you want to earn a fortune or do the work you love? Both!”
People with a scarcity mindset feel as if they must choose one because they can’t have both. However, people with an abundance mindset think both, and understand that “with a little creativity you can almost always figure out a way to have the best of both worlds.”
And the beauty of both is that it not only applies to the things you want, but also to all areas of life. It’s a win-win for all involved. For example, when you are discussing outcomes with a client or coworker, think in terms of both of you getting what you want, as opposed to a zero sum game. Or, when you are negotiating the sale of your home, think of you as the seller, the buyer, and the real estate agents involved (if any) getting what each one wants. It is indeed possible.
For those that are still skeptical, Eker asks, “what is more important, your arm or your leg? Could it be that both are important?” Let’s go back to perspective: yes, both are important because each—in its own way—plays an important role. Why chose either/or when you can find a way to have both? It may not always be easy, and it may take a while before you get to have both, but keeping your goal in mind will help you get there.
Another very important area to which both applies is money and happiness. They are NOT mutually exclusive. “People who are rich in every sense of the word understand that you have to have both. Just as you have to have both of your arms and your legs, you have to have money and happiness.”
“From now on, when confronted with an either/or alternative, the quintessential question to ask yourself is ‘How can I have both?’ This question will change your life… it will take you to a universe of possibilities and abundance.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of a way to get both from a project you have to get done or from a situation that you are going through. What can you do? How can you plan for it? Who is involved and who can help you?
TOMORROW: Make a point of thinking both from now on. Be creative and think of ways in which you and all involved in your projects can have what each of you wants/needs. A simple but effective technique is to take a piece of paper and draw 2 vertical lines to have 3 columns. On the left column, write what you want/need. On the right column write the second thing you want/need or what someone else wants/needs. In the middle column write the path that will enable you to get both. Remember that there is no shortage of ideas.
Know someone who could benefit from both reading this and using both in his/her life? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 29 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: How to be wrong
— From: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
The weather forecast is wrong a lot of times, yet we listen to it every single day. Isaac Newton was completely wrong about alchemy, yet he’s regarded as one the most successful physicists. Steve Jobs was wrong about his NEXT computer, and Apple is now one of the most successful companies in the world. And we can find countless other instances where the people and companies are wrong many times, yet they are successful.
Why?
Because, according to Seth Godin in his excellent book Tribes:
“The secret of being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong!
The secret is being willing to be wrong.
The secret is realizing that wrong isn’t fatal.
The only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way. The desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret to success.”
“The truth is that they appear to risk everything, but in fact, the risk isn’t so bad. The downsides are pretty small because few of us are likely to get burned at the stake.”
Most of us battle an invisible jury in our minds that paralyzes us at the very first thought of a less-than-perfect outcome. If we let this fear stop us, we won’t be able to move forward. There isn’t an easy, failure-free way to move forward, but here are a series of steps that’ll enable you to do so:
- Become aware of your fear of being wrong.
- Recognize that it’s natural for it to appear.
- Thank the fear for trying to protect you.
- Set aside the fear and move forward to your goal, despite the fear.
- Be willing to go wrong and, when it happens, learn, learn, learn and apply those learnings towards the future.
- Rectify, clean up, set up a new path (now you know where NOT to go).
- Keep your goal in mind and keep going.
“The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
ACTION
TODAY: Is there a project that you’d love to take back on because you stopped cold for fear of going wrong? Think of the worst possible outcome and how to mitigate it. Give it a shot and realize that failure is a natural part of moving forward. Every lesson gets you closer to your goal. Every NO gets you closer to a YES.
FUTURE: Next time you’re about to start a new project, allow additional time for the expected wrong ways that you will find. If you are open and cognizant that being wrong at times is part of any project, you will have less of a hard time recognizing the lessons to be learned and moving forward. Keep in mind that being wrong is simply a detour that opens up a myriad possibilities; it is not a dead end and, never, a final state.
Know someone who needs to be ok with being wrong? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Habits, Mindset
Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 54 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Start at the epicenter
— From REWORK: Change the way you work forever by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
When we’re starting a new business or a new project, we sometimes get muddled in the details and forget to focus on the core, or what Fried and Hansson call the epicenter. “There are forces pulling you in a variety of directions. There’s the stuff you could do, the stuff you want to do, and the stuff you have to do. The stuff you have to do is where you should begin. Start at the epicenter.”
Focusing on what’s important is always at stake, yet this is such a simple idea that sometimes we forget about it and we need someone to point out the obvious. The authors give the example of a hot dog stand: “you could worry about the condiments, the cart, the name, the decoration. But the first thing you should worry about is the hot dog. The hot dogs are the epicenter… a hot dog stand isn’t a hot dog stand without the hot dogs.” You could take away the toppings and still have a hot dog stand (despite many people not liking your plain hot dogs), but you cannot take away the hot dogs.
“Which part of your equation can’t be removed?”
The best way to find out your epicenter is to ask “If I took this away, would what I’m selling [or working on] still exist?” Keep asking and removing things (figuratively) until you cannot remove anymore. “When you find [the epicenter] you’ll know. Then focus all your energy on making it the best it can be. Everything else you do depends on that foundation.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of a project you are starting or have recently started. Where have you gone off on a rabbit trail? Get yourself back on track: figure out your epicenter and focus on strengthening it, as everything else depends on it.
FUTURE: Whenever you start new projects add “search for the epicenter” during your initial phases to your checklist. Review it often as your project grows and expands. Focus always on the epicenter as the basis: always keep your epicenter strong, and—very important—share the epicenter with your team(s) so that they can focus on it and contribute to strengthen it.
Help someone find their epicenter by sharing this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Collaboration, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 49 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: No bad teams, only bad leaders
— From Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Leaders make all the difference. That is why we see companies and organizations get in trouble or get out of it when a new leader comes in. And it runs the gamut from the leader of a nation to the leader of a children’s game. Whoever is at the helm sets the stage to foster radical change or fully preserving the status quo, and everything in between of such a wide spectrum.
Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, former U.S. Navy SEALs and experts in leadership, say that there are no bad teams, only bad leaders. “Leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance. Whether a team succeeds or fails is all up to the leader. The leader’s attitude sets the tone for the entire team. The leader drives performance—or doesn’t. And this applies not just to the most senior leader of an overall team, but to the junior leaders of teams within the team.”
In Extreme Ownership, Willink and Babin emphasize that “leaders must accept total responsibility, own problems that inhibit performance, and develop solutions to those problems.” Only in this way will the team members see that the role they play and the efforts they contribute can improve the team’s work and bring about the highest performance.
Further, the leaders must be aware that in terms of setting and enforcing standards and expectations, “it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.” This is important because “no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted, and no one is held accountable—if there are no consequences—that poor performance becomes the new standard.”
By accepting total responsibility and accountability, leaders set an example of excellence, high standards and performance that leads the team to become the best version of itself.
Likewise, at a personal level, you have what you tolerate. If you tolerate lateness or being out of shape, then that is what you have. If you tolerate love and good will that is what you have. The way you lead yourself is also the way you lead the various teams in your life. Take extreme ownership of your personal and professional life and lead yourself to becoming the very best YOU that you can be.
ACTION
TODAY: Think of the two most important projects that you lead right now: one at a professional level and one at a personal level. What are you tolerating? What can you improve as a leader? How can you take extreme ownership of both projects? Take at least one step today towards improving your leadership (even if that step is just writing down your thoughts to put them into action later).
FUTURE: Make a list of all the projects that you lead in your life (both personal and professional). What are you tolerating in each? Count both the good and the not-so-good standards and behaviors you tolerate. How can you take extreme ownership and improve your various teams so that they can reach their goals and excel at what they do? Share the concepts of extreme ownership and the importance of being a good leader who sets and enforces standards with them, so that they can be empowered by those principles as well!
Know someone who should enforce better standards in the team he/she leads? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter!
