Monthly Archives: January 2018

When is the right time to have a vision?

Success is accelerated in every situation when you’re operating with a vision of where you want to go.

Let’s talk about setting a vision and achieving that vision:

Setting the vision.  Whether you acknowledge it or not, you are heading in a direction.  When you arrive, is it where you want to be? This is why you have a vision  – Decide where you want to go before you start.

“You have to know where you are going. If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll never know if you’ve arrived.”– Denis G. McLaughlin

How do you know what direction to head in?   No one can tell you what direction to head in – that decision is yours to make.  Whether you are thinking of your personal life, your professional career, your team or your company this is on you.  Jack Welch held nothing back when he said this about vision, “Good leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”

You are the leader of your success.  You are the leader of your team and company’s success.  This is why you must have a vision for what success looks like.

Achieving the vision.  Setting the vision is an important step, but it is only one step.  Once you decide what success looks like and have a clear picture in your mind, and on the minds of everyone involved with the vision, you need a plan for how to achieve this vision.

“Achieving your vision will be the culmination of many small achievements.” – Denis G. McLaughlin

The best way to build your plan is from the vision backward.  Start with what you want to accomplish and settle on the big successes that need to occur in order for that to happen.  Then move to closer to today and more granular goals.  Finally boil it down to what you should be doing on Monday morning. Then do it.

Recognize that the farther away from today you get, the more likely that your plan will change.  That’s ok.  Stay focused on the vision and adjust and adapt your plan based on the current circumstances.

“One of the best paradoxes of leadership is a leader’s need to be both stubborn and open-minded. A leader must insist on sticking to the vision and stay on course to the destination. But he must be open-minded during the process.” –  Simon Sinek

Let success be your calling card

If you want to make a difference in the world, you will need to set yourself apart, and be known and admired by the people you intend to help.  The best way to do that is to let success be your calling card.

During the 18th and 19th Centuries, calling cards were routinely used in social settings. These could be used for an introduction, or to communicate congratulations or condolences. There was strict etiquette on their use and format.  Cards were delivered to the recipient by placing the card on a tray at the entrance of the home. The purpose of the card could be indicated by folding the card at a corner and by writing certain initials on the card. These could also indicate the type of response that was requested.

At this time calling cards were very specific and meant to provide clarity for the recipient to introduce the deliverer, communicate the purpose of the visit, and set any expectations for a response. Today we might use the personal greeting card or the business card, but we are more likely to use email, text, or other electronic forms of calling cards. While these are important methods to connect with people, they do not alone set apart the sender

If you want to make a difference in the world, you will need to set yourself apart, and be known and admired by the people you intend to help.  The best way to do that is to let success be your calling card.

Introduction. We have all been at events where someone is brought up on stage with words that include “here is someone who needs no introduction.”  That only happens when your success precedes the introduction and people already know you from your accomplishments.  You should strive for success which gives you that kind of name recognition. When your name is seen in an email, you want people to open it up just because it’s you.  This can be right where you are at work, in the community, and for some on the broader stage of recognition.  This will happen when you consistently achieve success.

Communication.  Name recognition is powerful, but even better is to communicate what you have successfully accomplished. Then not only do the very people want to help know your name, but they admire and respect you for your achievements.  They want to be connected with you and be part of your success.  

Expectation.  This is where it all comes together. It’s time to set expectations for what it takes to achieve what you have.  This is how you make a difference in the world, by helping others make full use of their abilities and achieve their success.  Through mentoring, coaching, training, speaking, and others means you have at your disposal, you share your story of success with everyone you can.

If you want to make a difference in the world, you will need to set yourself apart, and be known and admired by the people you intend to help.  The best way to do that is to let success be your calling card.

Why don’t we ask?

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  The same holds true for receiving what you need.  You will not receive what you don’t persistently ask for.

What is stopping us from obtaining the very things that will make us successful? 

We might get advice that will be different than what we want to hear. “There is nothing which we receive with so much reluctance as advice.” – Joseph Addison

We believe we already know all we need to know. “Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.” – Og Mandino

There are many ways to ask. The most obvious is literally just asking someone who you believe has what you need.  But have you considered that if the goal of asking is to obtain what you need, then we could define asking in much broader terms.  If you need information then asking is reading a book.  If you need experience then asking is trying something new.  If you need to be more physically fit then asking is starting an exercise regimen. The act of asking is merely that which will bring you what you need.    

Don’t skimp – Ask for everything. You might as well ask for it all.  What is the ultimate you would like to receive? Ask for that.  You may not get everything you ask for, but why start with anything less than everything? Define all you need, then using our new definition of asking, find an action that can potentially deliver it.  Read books written by the best in the industry. Take on roles that will stretch you to your maximum.  Plan an exercise program that becomes part of your daily life, not just a short-term effort.

“Asking is the beginning of receiving.  Make sure you don’t go to the ocean with a spoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won’t laugh at you.” – Jim Rohn

Be persistent – keep asking.  You may not receive everything you need.  In fact, you may not receive anything you need – when you first ask.  That doesn’t matter.  If what you need is important to you, then ask again.  Ask differently.  But don’t give up.

“Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal.  My strength lies solely in my tenacity.” – Louis Pasteur

The power of thinking

It’s not what you know, it’s what you do with what you know that drives success.
Thinking, more than skill, drives what you can accomplish. Certainly, talent gives a person an advantage.  But that is just the start of the equation.  Talent alone will not drive consistent results.  That comes from knowing how to use the talent that you have.

There are only five golf players who have won all four of the modern majors during their career, called a career grand slam.  Gary Player is one of those.  Along with success in playing the game, he designed 325 golf courses around the world, and authored 36 books on golf.  His thought on what it takes to be successful in golf is summed up this way, “We create success or failure on the course primarily by our thoughts.”

Two of the other four players to win the career grand slam are Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan. They share similar views on the importance of thinking over only skill.

“A lot of guys can go out and hit a golf ball, but they have no idea how to manage what they do with the ball.  I’ve won as many tournaments hitting the ball badly as I have hitting the ball well.” – Jack Nicklaus

“Golf is 20 percent talent and 80 percent management.” – Ben Hogan

It’s not just what you learn, it’s how you make it part of what you do that matters.  Reading a book, attending a conference, completing a course are all great ways to learn new material.  Unless you take away specific action items that you implement right away, these were just enjoyable past times.

Those that are the most successful decide on a small number of changes or enhancements to make in their process while the learning is fresh in their mind.

“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” – John Locke

Be willing to change your thinking.  Not all learning is planned.  Sometimes you will learn the most during a time when things are not going right and your prior thoughts did not bring you success.  While your main focus will be on getting back on track, never waste an opportunity to gather new information and make it part of how you proceed the next time.

“Difficult times disrupt your conventional ways of thinking and push you to forge better habits of thought.” – Robin S. Sharma
 

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