Archive for the ‘Stay Focused’ Category

In Crisis, There’s No Time for Nonsense

Monday, October 21st, 2024

In difficult times, there’s no time for nonsense. Forgive yourselves everything from the past, but right now there is no time for excuses. There is no time for whining and complaining about what doesn’t work. There’s no time for gossip, whether you spread it or are receiving it. In fact, that should be a non-negotiable at all times, because that makes for an unsafe work environment.

Instead, this is the time to bring your highest and best self to work every single day, to also find ways to do things that you never thought that you could. Listen, everything that someone’s a master at, they didn’t use to be a master at it. So why would you be different? If you’re not good at grammar and spelling, use these challenging times to go home at night, read a couple of books, get online, take some testing, learn grammar and spelling, become a master. If you’re not good at marketing copy, go figure that piece out. If you’re not good at sales processes, go decide to be a master of it. Whatever it is that is your profession, step in, get good at it, and allow no-nonsense from yourself or from anyone else in your organization.

These are the times where everyone wants to be a leader, and if you’re waiting for someone else to say, no, we don’t do things like that around here, let me assure you that that nonsense will be the reason that layoffs will happen and that your salaries will be frozen. So step in and be a shepherd of your culture right now.

Love on Wheels

Monday, February 12th, 2024

The Dalai Lama says that happiness is a habit.

What if you could be “love on wheels”? What if you could be the person who is always happy, regardless of the circumstances?

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In Crisis, There’s No Time For Nonsense

Monday, October 30th, 2023

In difficult times, there’s no time for nonsense. Forgive yourselves everything from the past, but right now there is no time for excuses. There is no time for whining and complaining about what doesn’t work. There’s no time for gossip, whether you spread it or are receiving it. In fact, that should be a non-negotiable at all times, because that makes for an unsafe work environment.

Instead, this is the time to bring your highest and best self to work every single day, to also find ways to do things that you never thought that you could. Listen, everything that someone’s a master at, they didn’t use to be a master at it. So why would you be different? If you’re not good at grammar and spelling, use these challenging times to go home at night, read a couple of books, get online, take some testing, learn grammar and spelling, become a master. If you’re not good at marketing copy, go figure that piece out. If you’re not good at sales processes, go decide to be a master of it. Whatever it is that is your profession, step in, get good at it, and allow no-nonsense from yourself or from anyone else in your organization.

These are the times where everyone wants to be a leader, and if you’re waiting for someone else to say, no, we don’t do things like that around here, let me assure you that that nonsense will be the reason that layoffs will happen and that your salaries will be frozen. So step in and be a shepherd of your culture right now.

“What does ‘done’ really look like?”

Monday, February 27th, 2023
 

Before you start the next project, think about the conditions of satisfaction.

What does that mean? That means that whoever it was that gave you a project probably has some idea about what they want to have done with it; they have an outcome in mind.

They also know what procedures have been followed in the past.

They know where things can go wrong, what you should be managing around, when this thing is due, and what “done” looks like.

By getting the conditions of satisfaction before starting a project, your likelihood of having to do it only once AND having somebody give you a high-five at the end goes up substantially.

Sadly, here’s how it works for most people:

  1. They hear there’s something to be done
  2. They start running wildly toward that direction, not understanding…
    1. the when
    2. the how
    3. the goal, what the outcome is supposed to look like

And then, when they deliver something to their boss—or worse yet, have it sitting on their desk or in a folder on their computer, that is NOT a recipe for getting things done.

When we don’t find out the conditions of satisfaction first and then come back afterward and ask, “Did this meet the conditions of satisfaction?” What we’re doing is creating chaos in the workplace.

Listen, nobody needs to be working nights and weekends doing rework—not you and especially not your boss, because if they keep having to do your work over again, likely that does not bode well for your career. So, every time you’re given instructions about what to do, first just stop.

Ask a lot of questions to get the conditions of satisfaction before moving ahead.

But move quickly once you have them and bring it back and ask if the work you’ve done meets the conditions of satisfaction.

Your Circumstances Do Not Define Your Destiny

Monday, February 20th, 2023

My dad gave me $20 to go to college. I was 17 years old. I didn’t have a backup plan. I didn’t have somebody I could call home to and say, “Send the check.” At that point, I knew I had to figure it out.

I had three jobs while going full-time to college, it was just what I did because it was an opportunity. I realized that my past circumstances were no indication of my destiny.

I got to choose my destiny of what’s next based upon the fact that I was not going to accept what I had, but I wanted to have something better to move forward.

The same opportunity is there for every one of us, every day. Our past circumstances are not necessarily going to drive the trajectory of the rest of our lives.

We simply have to intervene and decide what we want and decide to roll up our sleeves, get busy, make that happen, and develop ourselves in such a way that people will give us the chance to make those things happen.

Your past circumstances are simply that. They are not your destiny.