The simplest things in life are free ... and sometimes, it's the simple things that make so much sense. Here is the simple creed that John Wooden, famed UCLA basketball coach whose winning record is unlikely to ever be surpassed, received from his father and carried in his wallet throughout…
Fast Company recently published a blog post called 10 Rules for Effective Conference Calls, which sounds about right … and I think you’ll agree that you’ve heard … or did … or thought … these same things yourself.
OK, now let’s move to slide 5. Can everyone see this slide?
(Slide with 12 rows of text appears. Jill proceeds to read all 12 lines of text.)
(Dead silence – everyone is on mute, reading mail, playing Solitaire or checking news, sports, and weather…)
How about this one? (more…)
Many of you have seen articles about this general theme recently – in part a function of "The No A**hole Rule" published last year by Dr. Robert Sutton of Stanford University. Lars Dalgaard, President of Success Factors, a company with whom I have an affiliate relationship, spoke recently about his…
Last time, we discussed how to create a responsible culture where each individual accepts accountability for their actions and decisions.
In our discussion of this subject, we’ve ranged from the baseline of personal accountability to a broader organizational culture, to the battle-tested power of after action reviews.
So, if the power of an accountable organization is so obvious, why aren’t we all doing it?
In “The Oz Principle,” a book by Craig Hickman (recently reissued in a revised and updated edition 10 years after its original publication), the overgrown roots of a victimization mentality is chronicled as one of the most corrosive forces in American business.
[pullquote]The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it.~ Lou Holtz[/pullquote]
Mr. Hickman pulls no punches in deriding the plight of victimization that he believes has a stranglehold on American industry.
How many of these lines have you heard during your business career?
* “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”
* “That’s not my department.”
* “Someone should have told me not to do that.”
* “Why didn’t you ask me?”
* “Nobody’s followed up on this. It can’t be that important.”
[pullquote]Victimization is a corrosive force in American business[/pullquote]
It’s fodder for a Saturday Night Live skit, isn’t it? (more…)
“When is it no longer my responsibility to get people to complete their assignments … and where does their responsibility to perform begin?” a North Bay CEO asked me recently.
“Your responsibility never ends … and neither does theirs,” I said.
“Your job is to work tirelessly to build accountability into the organization so that your team understands that being held accountable is the cornerstone of a strong, successful organization. It is not punitive.”
In this column recently, we’ve discussed personal accountability as the “singular touchstone of professional success over which we have the greatest control.”
We’ve also discussed the After Action Report, a valuable teaching tool that reinforces accountability and inspires a culture of continuous improvement.
An organization focused on accountability might be seen as the thread that connects our personal accountability – walking the talk – and the After Action Report – talking the walk. But what is it, really?
In simple terms, accountability is a willingness to accept responsibility for our actions.
It’s being reliable and making certain that the commitments we make, from the perspective of others, have been kept. For a responsible culture to prevail, each of us must make certain that those commitments are honest – and honored. (more…)
Checklists? Those lists I prepare each day and don’t help me get everything done – don’t really need to know more about them … or do you mean those checklists that airline pilots use to keep me from getting killed? Now, those I like.
Some of you will remember an earlier post in the GTD context about the value of checklists. Now comes the book, The Checklist Manifesto, inspired by issues found in operating rooms but expanded to the many areas where simple checklists are invaluable.
Checklists couldn’t be simpler. (more…)
“The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong questions.”– Peter Drucker
I have been working recently with a young CEO-in-waiting who is eager to move into the top spot. He recognizes, however, that his struggle to “think strategically” may be keeping him back. On a tactical level, he is very efficient, discharging the assignments given to him, working his way through his daily action list and dispatching players to their intended destinations. He’s proud of his accomplishments, as he should be, but he “can’t see the lawn for the blades of grass,” and is constantly wrestling with how to develop a strategic perspective.
Ironically, many executives bear a subconscious fear about actually getting to that strategic level. After all, it’s a little harder to figure out what to do than to simply — do. It’s more demanding to establish the flight plan than to follow it. Creating the plan also demands more personal accountability, the conundrum that befuddles so many executives in the first place.
What does it mean to “think strategically?” (more…)
The Power of One concept is not new — it’s the bedrock of everything from motivational speeches to Army One.
There’s an entire industry devoted to the power we have over our destiny.
In the context of Building a Business, we can view the Power of One as a series of concentric circles that ripple outward from the center … from where we stand as business leaders.
[pullquote]“God grant me the courage to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I can’t and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Nieburh[/pullquote]
With a stagnant economy that has brought many businesses to their knees, we’ve been inundated with economic data, shards of doubt and glimmers of hope. While we can’t ignore these external forces, we can’t allow them to deter our commitment to reclaiming control of our agenda.
As a result, there’s no better topic with which to start than personal accountability, the singular touchstone of professional success over which we have the greatest control. (more…)
Seth Godin, blogger extraordinaire, has compiled an interesting and FREE PDF download from 70 diverse thinkers in which each person provides ONE WORD to identify an important concept for 2010 ... and then writes a single page to describe why they chose that word. From GENEROSITY to DIGNITY to POKER…