by Helena Escalante | Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Resources, Time
TODAY’S IDEA: 12 Books of Greatness – Day 3
The 12 days of Christmas refers to the period of celebration (secular and religious) from December 25 through January 5. And because it coincides with the period of time that I’m going to be out on vacation visiting my family, I thought I’d make a miniseries for you during this time with posts from 12 Books of Greatness.
I strongly believe that greatness starts within us, so all of the posts that I chose for these 12 days come from books that are tremendously insightful. My hope is that reading these posts will give you plenty of ideas and “a-ha!” moments to end 2018 strong and start 2019 on a high note!
12 Books of Greatness – Day 3
The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want
By Dave Kerpen
Links to other posts in this miniseries: Day 1, Day 2.
Know someone who would like this book or this miniseries on 12 Books of Greatness? Please share it with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Resources
TODAY’S IDEA: 12 Books of Greatness – Day 2
The 12 days of Christmas refers to the period of celebration (secular and religious) from December 25 through January 5. And because it coincides with the period of time that I’m going to be out on vacation visiting my family, I thought I’d make a miniseries for you during this time with posts from 12 Books of Greatness.
I strongly believe that greatness starts within us, so all of the posts that I chose for these 12 days come from books that are tremendously insightful. My hope is that reading these posts will give you plenty of ideas and “a-ha!” moments to end 2018 strong and start 2019 on a high note!
12 Books of Greatness – Day 2
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
By Greg McKeown
Links to other posts in this miniseries: Day 1.
Know someone who would like this book or this miniseries on 12 Books of Greatness? Please share it with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Resources
TODAY’S IDEA: 12 Books of Greatness – Day 1
I’m sure you’re familiar with the song Twelve Days of Christmas—here’s a lovely rendition interpreted by The Muppets. (Note: the image is not great, but it’s still very cute and funny!)
The 12 days of Christmas refers to the period of celebration (secular and religious) from December 25 through January 5. And because it coincides with the period of time that I’m going to be out on vacation visiting my family, I thought I’d make a miniseries for you during this time with posts from 12 Books of Greatness.
I strongly believe that greatness starts within us, so all of the posts that I chose for these 12 days come from books that are tremendously insightful. My hope is that reading these posts will give you plenty of ideas and “a-ha!” moments to end 2018 strong and start 2019 on a high note!
Happy holidays and happy reading!! 🙂
Helena
Your Chief Bookworm Officer
12 Books of Greatness – Day 1
The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
By Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.
Know someone who would like this book or this miniseries on 12 Books of Greatness? Please share it with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Celebration, Collaboration, Creativity, Mindset, Wellbeing
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 21 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Santa Claus and his millions of helpers
— From Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey by A.J. Jacobs
Happy holidays!!
Today is Christmas Eve: the evening in which Santa Claus delivers millions of presents to the kids all around the world.
And today’s post is dedicated—with a BIG and heartfelt thanks—to all of the millions of helpers that make this incredible feat of happiness and toyness happen year after year.
In his book Thanks a Thousand, gratitude guru and best-selling author A.J. Jacobs went halfway around the world thanking everyone who made his morning cup of coffee possible. Along the way, he met Ed Kaufmann, head of buying at Joe Coffee (where Jacobs purchases his coffee every morning).
Jacobs recalls the conversation with Kaufmann, as the latter was surprised to hear that the author would be writing about him. “It’s kind of odd that you’re featuring me in your book,” Kaufmann said. “I’m usually more of a background guy. I’m a bassist.”
In his spare time, Kaufmann plays bass guitar in a rock band, so he meant that literally and figuratively: “I like being the bassist… Everyone wants to be the lead guitarist or lead singer, and we need those. But we also need bassists. I’m necessary, but I’m background.”
This concept struck the author and prompted him to dive deeply into it. Jacobs says, “In our society, we fetishize the lead singers. And not just in music. The front people in every field—art, engineering, sports, food—get way too much attention. The cult of celebrity has spread into every corner. We overemphasize individual achievement when, in fact, almost everything good in the world is the result of teamwork.”
And I would add to this that sometimes—as was the case in the book—some team members don’t know of each other’s existence. For example, the designer of the coffee cup lid, possibly didn’t know of the existence of the pest control people who make sure that the bags of coffee are not infested by moths in the warehouse; and these folks, in turn, had no clue about the existence of the people at the water reservoir who pick up animal droppings to prevent water contamination so that the water can be safely used in making coffee.
Yet, for those that do know who is in their team but fail to thank and acknowledge, psychologists have coined the term responsibility bias. Jacobs points out that, “For one thing, it causes a lot of pain and resentment among the billions of unacknowledged bass players in our world. But its long-term consequences might be even worse. By elevating individual achievement over cooperation, we’re creating a glut of wannabe superstars who don’t have time for collaboration. We desperately need more bassists in the world… The idea of the lone (person achieving success on his or her own) warps reality.”
And that is why I don’t want to warp reality and, instead, I want to thank ALL of you who help Santa Claus year after year. Millions of kids rejoice because of you. While Santa is indeed the lead singer, and his elves and reindeer are the lead guitarists, the rest of you are the bassists who help make it happen.
We would need Jacobs to write another book to figure out all the ways in which people help Santa Claus all over the world, but from:
- The farmers who take care of the cows that produce the milk in the glass left for Santa
- To the cookie makers whose cookies are left in a plate for Santa next to the milk above
- To the schoolteachers who teach and help kids how to write a letter
- To the paper mills that produce the paper in which the letters are written
- To the postal service with Operation Santa
- To the employees at Google who bring us the awesome Santa’s Village and the Santa Tracker
- To the camera makers for making memories of opening the gifts on Christmas Day…
Every one of us plays a role, especially, the parents: thanks for taking care and raising good kids so that Santa can bring them gifts at the end of the year. The world is a beautiful and better place because of all that you do for your children.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you for making this beautiful tradition happen. 🙂
A very merry Christmas to you and yours with much love and gratitude!
ACTION
TODAY: Think about the enormity of the effort—individual and collective—that represents bringing toys to all children in the world… No wonder there are so many big and small roles that people play to make this happen! Santa indeed has millions of helpers.
FUTURE: As you gather with your family to enjoy Santa’s gifts tomorrow, play the gratitude competition that A.J. Jacobs plays with his family (see Today’s Action here). In this case, modify it to suit Christmas and Santa Claus: think of the most obscure and furthest-removed role that you can think of in terms of helping Santa Claus. How about the mill workers who produce steel to make the nuts and bolts that hold together the sleigh? Or how about the rig workers in the North Sea who drill for oil which is then used to make the synthetic hair on a doll? Or the cotton farmer whose fabric was used for Santa’s clothes? You can spend hours having fun and being grateful! And for more on gratitude check out the series of videos where I interview A.J. Jacobs.
Please help me spread the holiday cheer by sharing this post with other Santa’s helpers via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 52 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: 30 Questions to Ask Before Setting Business Goals
— From Marketing: A Love Story: How to Matter to Your Customers, by Bernadette Jiwa
As this year comes to an end and we think of what new and wonderful things await for us in the New Year, it’s only natural to plan ahead. However, when setting business goals—or general goals—for something completely new, the limitations of knowing “how-to” do something, tend to scare us, or even stop us on our tracks, as the uncertainty befuddles us. Yet these limitations are actually a gift, even though we may not see it at the time.
“There is no one right answer” when starting something new, says marketing guru Bernadette Jiwa in her wonderful book Marketing: A Love Story. Whether you’re setting a goal of starting a business or creating something new for your business, “There is no one way to get to where you want to go, and that’s a GREAT thing. If there were a how-to guide, then everyone would have the formula and nothing we created would be unique.”
“Nobody told Jobs and Wozniak how to build a computer company [Apple], let alone how to make it one of the most loved brands in the world; and Howard Schultz didn’t get the Starbucks’ magic from a manual. Nobody can tell you what to stand for or how your values, wants and needs should intersect with those of your customers and then manifest as a business, an idea, or an experience. Figuring out the destination is hard, but recognizing it is more valuable than knowing exactly how you’re going to get there.”
Jiwa says, “Until you do the hard work of understanding the why? and the who for? every tactical how-to has the potential to take you down the wrong track. The most useful answers are the ones we take time to figure out by ourselves, not the ones everyone can find in a handbook.” And to figure this out, she shares 30 questions to ask before setting business goals: the answers will bring much clarity and will turn into a roadmap to follow. While she geared these questions to startups and entrepreneurs, I believe they are also helpful for any businessperson who is setting a goal of starting a new project that hasn’t been done before.
30 Questions:
- Why are we doing this?
- Why are we the people to do it?
- Why is now the time to start?
- What will happen because this idea exists?
- How will this change how people feel about x?
- Who is it for?
- Why will they care?
- What do the people we hope to serve want?
- What do they believe?
- How do they feel about the problem we solve?
- What do they do—where, when, why and with whom?
- What will customers say to their friends to recommend this product or service?
- How can we make customers feel good because they recommend it?
- What are we really selling beyond the utility of the product or service?
- How can we add more value?
- What happens because our business or project exists?
- How will people find us?
- Where are they already looking, or not looking?
- What’s our greatest strength?
- What weakness might get in the way if we don’t address it?
- What does success look like, today, this year, next and five years from now?
- What do we value?
- What do we want to change?
- What promises do we want to make and keep?
- What matters most right now?
- What’s going to matter more three, six or eighteen months from now?
- What’s our difference?
- What do we need to do today, to make sure that we can keep doing the things we want to do tomorrow?
- If we could do anything today would this be it?
- If not this then what?
Jiwa points out that “Having your own map is more powerful than having someone else’s directions. Once you have the map, you’ll always have a way to get from where you are to where you want to go.” It’s worth putting in the time and effort to answer these questions before setting your goals: the answers will turn into the actual goals and help you draw your own map to accomplish them.
Cheers to you finding your own path!
ACTION
TODAY: As you are setting business goals for the New Year, and especially if you are starting something new, make some time in your calendar whether today or over the next few days to answer these questions. Create your proverbial roadmap so that it can take you to your desired destination.
FUTURE: Even if it’s not for the New Year, whenever you are setting business goals and/or starting something new, come back to this list and go over it again to paint a clear path for your success.
Know someone who would like these 30 questions? Please share them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 35 seconds
TODAY’S IDEA: Commitment: Failure vs. Fallure
— From The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington; and “Leadership Lessons of a Rock Climber,” post on Fast Company by Jim Collins on December 1, 2003.
One of the ways to guarantee that we will accomplish a goal—any goal—is by making a commitment. Easier said than done.
Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, authors of The 12 Week Year say, “The first key to effective commitment is a strong desire.” So true. However, life happens, and sometimes the initial desire may wear off when faced with the actual hard work of making the goal happen.
“Because commitments will require you to sacrifice, in addition to learning to say no, you will need to train yourself to think about and connect with the longer-term benefits versus the short-term inconvenience and discomfort.”
In other words, delayed gratification is the mindset to adopt.
Further, the authors advise, “With commitments, and anything you are serious about for that matter, don’t give yourself a psychological out.” And they point to a great article that Jim Collins (renowned author of books such as Good to Great and Built to Last) wrote for Fast Company called “Leadership Lessons of a Rock Climber,” where he talks about failure vs. “fallure” a new term he coined.
Here’s an excerpt of the article as it appears in the book:
Failure and fallure. The difference is subtle, but it is all the difference in the world. In fallure, you still do not get up the route, but you never let go. In fallure you fall; in failure you let go. Going to fallure means full commitment to go up–even if the odds of success are less than 20%, 10%, or even 5%. You leave nothing in reserve, no mental or physical resource untapped. In fallure, you never give yourself a psychological out: “Well, I didn’t really give it everything. … I might have made it with my best effort.” In fallure, you always give your full best–despite the fear, pain, lactic acid, and uncertainty. To the outside observer, failure and fallure look similar (you fly through the air in both cases), but the inner experience of fallure is totally different from that of failure.
You’ll only find your true limit when you go to fallure, not failure.
Moran and Lennington then conclude, “Commitments by definition demand you ‘go to fallure, not failure.’ Set it in your mind right now that the process is more important than the result. You don’t control the result; what you control are your actions.”
In thinking about the New Year, what are you committing to? Let me know in the comments here.
ACTION
TODAY: Take some time to think about the commitments that you will undertake next year. Are you willing to go to fallure and then start “climbing” again if need be?
FUTURE: As you are working towards your goals, remember failure vs. fallure. Sometimes that may be the push you need to get through that one uncomfortable action that you need to take.
Know someone who would like to read this? Please share this post via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
