Open Loops

How to Manage Your Boss: Making Sure Your Boss Sees the Best in You!

In my quest to go completely online and avoid installed programs, I started with Outlook, the ubiquitous email/calendar/to do list/contact list program.  This has forced me to get to know my Gmail intimately.  During my migration to web mail at work, I created a small hack with Gmail that looks very promising for those of us who, along with managing others, still have a boss to whom we answer.  The goal of it is to help our supervisor see the best in us so that the information is fresh and available when evaluation time comes around.

Use Personal Marketing to Set Yourself Apart

There are many singers, but only one Elvis Presley.  There are many dancers, but only one Fred Astaire.  There are many talk show hosts, but people still talk about Johnny Carson.  There are many time management experts, but only one David Allen.  I’ll bet that in your profession, there are many competent people who do their jobs very well.  But, I’ll also bet that there are only a few who are called by the company president or CEO to perform certain tasks over and over.  What makes these individuals stand out from the rest of us?  Why can David Allen command ticket prices for seminars that top $500 and others still have to count their pennies.  Why do some public speakers command speaking fees in the thousands of dollars, while others have to speak for nominal fees?  What propels some of us to “expert” status in the minds of others?

Use Time and Compound Interest to Grow in Personal Effectiveness

We live in a world of instant gratification.  We want everything now.  We don’t have time to wait.  Our world has changed to accommodate our unreasonable desire get what we want immediately.  Our automobile loans are approved within minutes while we are still sitting in the show room.  If you can’t wait for a letter to be delivered, you can use FedEx.  Better yet, use a fax machine and that letter can zip to its recipient in seconds.  My bank can monitor my sons’ bank accounts while they are at college and let me know when they reach a designated trigger point, at which, I simply turn on the computer and transfer money into their accounts to make sure they have it when they need it.  When are the funds available?  It just takes a matter of seconds and they can withdraw the funds for their purchases.  If I want to watch a movie and don’t have the time to run to Blockbuster or I don’t want to wait until the time that HBO has designated to show it, I always have pay-per-view on-demand.  I can watch it now.  Our progress is amazing!

What Happens When High Achievers Fail?

So, to whom does one give a job when the job has to get done?  The answer, if you listen to the old adage, is to give it to a busy person.  Reg Adkins, over at Elemental Truths, adds to this adage by saying that the busy person gets it done and gets rewarded by getting more work:

"If you easily manage that caseload, of twenty, you will soon be managing twenty five. If you have “turned around” one marginal person, you will soon be asked to take on even more people who, although have potential, are also marginal. You will soon hear the whispered vestiges of “give me your tired, your poor, your down trodden,” rambling about in your head.

The unfortunate result is more responsibility and more challenges bring greater opportunities for error as well as success. Eventually, you will have a problem.

What should you do when the inevitable problem arises?"

So, according to Reg, a competent person who has the reputation of being able to get things done, has embarked on an increasing spiral of additional tasks and accomplishments, which lead to additional tasks and accomplishments.  Eventually, this spiral leads to failure.  It’s a forgone conclusion.

So how does a high achiever handle that first taste of failure?  Not well.  Reg, however, has a few steps that may help them claw themselves out of that emotional pit in which they find themselves and will help prepare them to achieve once again, even at a higher level.  For me, the first two strategies are the most important.  Taking responsibility includes more than just acknowledging what happened.  It includes admitting our involvement in the failure, and then fixing it.  Most people today will say I’m sorry, but can’t bring themselves to ask the question, “What do I need to do to fix this?”

Reg is a behavior specialist who routinely works with others to change negative, unproductive, and self-defeating attitudes and behaviors.  He also has a knack for taking complex philosophies and strategies  and making them very easy to implement.  His new blog, with his insider information on how to make substantive changes in behavior, is sure to make a great read.

Intuition is a Part of the Process

Seth Godin posted about the differences between intuition and process, as they relate to business and personal innovation and improvement.  Taking each one in turn, he explores our acceptance and enthrallment with intuition.  We are infatuated with the person who never has to wonder what to do to perform well or to improve.  They just seem to know.  If we ask them to explain their choices, they would be hard pressed to provide explanations that we could understand.  He goes on to explain that although intuition has its place, it is process that provides us growth and improvement that is documentable, dependable, and repeatable.

I see intuition and process, however, as two parts of the same concept.  Each provides a different benefit, much like different instruments contribute to make beautiful music.  Another analogy would be they are like the human brain with intuition being the right, more creative half, and process being the left, more analytical half.  Put them together and a synergistic effect takes place that helps them perform better than the sum of their two halves.

Intuition provides the impetus of an idea.  It shows the possibilities that exist.  Being a personal attribute, the benefits accrue only to the person who has the intuition.  Process, with its procedures, analysis, experimentation, and documentation takes the idea, enhances the benefits, makes them available for everyone who follows the process, and makes them repeatable.

Intuition and process are simply two different components of the same thing:  Improvement. 

.Tags: Success

Public Speaking, Steve Jobs, and Professionalism

Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Behind the magic curtain

I am a public speaker.  It’s not that way by my design, however.  If I had my way, I’d slink off to the back of the crowd and be happy to blend in.  However, despite my introverted tendencies, my employment position requires that I spend time in front of various audiences.  From students, to classroom teachers, other administrators, parents, citizens of our city, and government officials, I often find myself in front of audiences. 

Although I’m a perfectionist, it is interesting to note that I’m not that way in front of a crowd.  While others will spend too much of time preparing for a speech, I’m often happy to map out the major points I want to make and then speak without the benefit of notes.  Most times, I’m happy with the outcome.  I know, though, that more preparation time provides me more confidence during the speech and a better quality “product”.  That is why I joined Toastmasters International after talking by email to Steve Pavlina about his experiences in Toastmasters.  I wanted the discipline and structure I would gain in Toastmasters to support my public speaking efforts.  Toastmasters has given me this and so much more.  I spend more time in preparation and, as a result, my message is more clear, my timing is improving, my arguments more compelling, and my presentation skills improved.

Say Yes More

With those three words of, "Say yes more," Danny Wallace began an exciting adventure that a few of us who often find ourselves in ruts often envy.  In fact, Danny's story is so wild that one would think it was pure fiction, yet, every part is true!  It all began when, depressed for a number of reasons, he had a chance meeting with stranger on a bus who advised him to say "yes" more.

Strategies for Creativity Breakthroughs

Book Review:  Bumped Into The Wall

As someone who publishes his ideas and opinions on a regular basis, I also value the opinion of my peers on the quality of my ideas.  So, it’s not surprising to me that, from time to time, I am approached by authors to review their books, articles, or other written works.  This is something that I’m happy to do.  Some time ago, Amyn Lalji, an author in Lisbon, Portugal, asked me to review his book, Bumped Into The Wall, a book on overcoming creativity blockages. 

Amyn is an educator, management consultant, and leadership coach.  He is also the founder of YouPerform, a Lisbon-based company that conducts seminars and workshops on creativity and leadership development.

Do What You Are Paid To Do

During the workday, we often find ourselves doing a myriad of tasks, from taking part in meetings, talking on the telephone, dealing with clients and helping co-workers. However, many times, we find ourselves performing tasks that are not our responsibility and have no impact on what our supervisors will hold us accountable for. When we perform tasks that have no benefit for us or fail to help us carry out our responsibilities, we are ineffective.

You Are Who You Associate With

When I was a young teenager, I went to a church that was very strict in how it wanted its members to behave.  There was no dancing, no movies, no NASCAR, no rock music, and no long hair.  Another proscription was a “believer” being married to an “unbeliever”.  The rationale was that the “unbeliever” would cause the “believer” to backslide and lose their religion.

When I was in training to be a teacher, one rule of thumb I was advised to follow was to not pair a well-behaved student with one who had behavior issues.  The poorly behaving student, it was advised, would pull the well-behaving student down rather than the other way around.

When I became a teacher, administrators recommended that I not associate with those teachers who stayed in the teachers’ lounge and complained.  Instead, I was advised to associate with the more successful teachers.