At the end of last week I was frustrated by my inability to make progress on a few key fronts in my business. On Saturday morning I sat down to reflect on my state of mind - how I'd gotten into it and how I could get out. On the top of a pad of paper I wrote a simple question - What am I forgetting? Looking through an old journal, the Pacino quote at the bottom of this post caught my eye. I proceeded to dig up the full clip on You Tube and it really hit home. I was spending so much time looking for "big plays" that I wasn't doing many of the small things needed to move the flags down the field. I wasn't fighting for the inches - even though I know that's the secret to success, especially in this market.
Consider This:
The inches we need are everywhere around us. We miss them because we don't think they'll be enough - they won't get us to where we want to go. So we don't fight for them. Somehow it's easy to forget that they add up over time and make all the difference in the world. The worst part is that we lose our edge when we stop fighting for them. And we need that edge. It's what keeps us sharp enough to make the big plays when the opportunities arise.
Try This:
Are you fighting for the "inches" in what you're doing right now?
If not, where are you letting small wins slip through the cracks and possibly losing momentum?
Can you identify 1 or 2 areas where you can make progress immediately even if it's not a "big play"?
Dive in a make progress this week
You'll notice increased energy and focus as a result
"Life's a game of inches - and the inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch - we claw with our fingernails for that inch - because we know when we add up all those inches, that's what's going to make the difference between winning and losing - between living and dying."
-- Al Pacino as coach Tony D'Amato in Any Given Sunday
At a recent dinner with a long standing client he reflected on the pride he felt for what his team had been able to achieve over the last year. Under his stewardship they had realized a market leading position in a very competitive niche. Never wanting to miss an opportunity to glean wisdom from success, I asked him what he felt drove their strong performance. I loved his answer. He said, "I've come to realize that success doesn't inspire people. Doing something meaningful does. The two are so closely related that people get them mixed up. We didn't create something successful here. We created something meaningful - and success was a natural outgrowth."
Consider This:
Deeply rewarding success cannot be pursued directly. It's the byproduct of a genuine & relentless pursuit to bring about something good in the world. This isn't a moral position. It's merely what works. Chasing success directly (i.e. because you want to be successful) doesn't work because it's like chasing a mirage. There's no substance behind it. When you get close to what you thought you wanted, it isn't what you'd imagined. So you start the pursuit again, but the same thing keeps happening. However, when you work for something because it's good - not just because it stands a chance to succeed - you short-circuit this dance. You don't wait to find fulfillment somewhere in the distance, you swim in it every day. And lo and behold success shows up on its own.
Try This:
Think about the places in your life where you spend the most time and effort.
Do you feel engaged in bringing about something truly good in these areas?
If not, what feels missing?
What steps have you taken in the past to close that gap?
Where more can you do now?
"Work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed." -- Vaclav Havel (1936 - ) Former President of Czechoslovakia & the Czech Republic
Over the years, I've run a program with clients called Seeds of the Future. It's a one day brainstorming/presencing process designed to identify the "signals" that people are seeing on the horizon, but not necessarily discussing in a structured way. One of the things that makes the process successful is that ideas don't need to be fully baked in order to bring them up for discussion. And once on the table, participants can only build on an idea, not tear it down. "I was skeptical at first," a client recently commented, "but as the day progressed it became clear just how many conversations we weren't having - about interesting and important topics. And furthermore how we can unwittingly and easily squash ideas in ourselves and others when they're still fragile. We lose a lot of creativity that way."
Consider This:
You've got wonderful thoughts in your head - big thoughts, passionate thoughts, thoughts that make you come alive when you think about them. We all do. These are our lifeblood - where we find meaning and purpose. One of the challenges we all face is bringing these thoughts to the light of day. Letting them leave the womb of our mind to face a world that can demand clarity that we don't yet have. This threat of exposure can give us pause. Suddenly, our big ideas shrink towards mediocrity. We begin to question. "Does this even make sense?" "Am I delusional?" In reality, the answer to both is - maybe. But that doesn't matter. What matters is your conviction in the pursuit of your ideas. That's always more valuable than the ideas themselves. New thinking, by definition, is a little delusional at the outset. Don't let that scare you from exploring and sharing it with others - that's what makes it better.
Try This:
Take a piece of paper and finish this sentence with 5-10 different answers - Something I'd like to explore further is ______.
Pick one thing on the list and devise a plan for exploring it. Perhaps alone at first. This could include reading, reflecting, writing
Share it with others to refine your thinking in the friction of dialogue
Stay mindful of the fact that your first attempts to "go public" with new ideas can feel awkward - and push through it.
"The very minute a thought is threatened with publicity it seems to shrink towards mediocrity." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935) US Supreme Court Justice
In a recent conversation with a client, she mentioned that she and her team were in a "wait-and-see" mindset as it pertained to budgets and projects for next year. Given the current market, I could understand where she was coming from. However, I sensed a certain lethargy that I knew would put them in a bad spot in the months and year to come if not addressed. As I probed deeper, it became clear that the current environment had zapped their energy. "I'm embarrassed," she said, "I've never been one to sit on my hands, but that's exactly what I feel I've been doing. I feel the fear in my team and I'm not sure how to get us back to a more productive mindset." I said, "Let's start with what's on your plate today."
Consider This:
What you do today lays the foundation for what you do tomorrow, next week, next year, and the rest of your life. It's not an issue of results. It's an issue of momentum. When you believe you can have a positive impact, others believe it too. Everyone's inspired to action. And you build momentum. When you vacillate in that belief, others vacillate too. Action starts and stops. Momentum never comes. And you get resignation and exhaustion instead. In this way, delivering your best is not something you can turn off and on depending on circumstances. It must be a daily habit. It must be a manner of traveling.
Try This:
Look at what's on your plate today or this week.
How do you feel about it? Does it inspire you, bore you, depress you? Be honest with yourself.
If it's not a productive mindset, find a way to shift it. Projects themselves are rarely boring or depressing, it's usually the approach to them that is.
If you work with other people engage them in the process of shifting this mindset together.
Remember, you can always have a positive impact on yourself and the world around you - it's merely a state of mind.
"Now is the only time. What we do everyday accumulates and creates the future." -- Paraphrased from Pema Chodron, (1936 - ) American Buddhist Nun
A few weeks ago, a client, the President of a financial services firm, shared that he was struggling with the feeling of paralysis at his company. "It's as if, in this tough economic environment, the team's got a built-in excuse for poor results," he said, "So they throw their creative thinking out the window - just when we need it most. I understand it's tough, but we've got to change the energy around here." Last week, we held a half-day meeting to begin to re-engage the executive team's creative thinking. The session revolved around 3 questions - (1) If we assume the economic environment stays bad for 2 more years, who will fare the best in our industry? Why? (2) What are the implications for our firm? (3) What should we do next? "The questions weren't rocket science," my client noted, "but it's the conversation we needed to get our thinking started. When you're trapped in a mindset of fear you miss the opportunities around you."
Consider This:
Uncertainty is uncomfortable - sometimes painfully so. When you can't see the road ahead it's stressful for a lot of reasons. However, uncertainty also has an upside. It's the fertile ground that's needed to foster creativity, growth, and ultimately progress. Simply put, not being able to see the road ahead means you've got an opportunity to CREATE it. Uncertainty gives you a choice - to be paralyzed by fear or to be inspired to action. The more often you're able to choose the latter in the face of doubt - to do something to get out of the gates - to do something to build momentum, the better positioned you'll be for long term success.
Try This:
If you're feeling a level of paralysis with your team or organization, hold a similar session to the one above.
Use the same questions or some variation - you want get people thinking about the unique opportunities that exist in the market RIGHT NOW for you.
You may have to "clear the decks" first to let people vent frustration so it doesn't get in the way.
Make these "mini planning sessions" a regular occurrence to shift energy and build momentum.
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." -- Ursula K. Le Guin (1929 - ) American science fiction novelist
Browsing through some photographs at a street fair this weekend I came across a simple image of a field and a forest. For a moment, I was transported there. It looked like a place I used to play as a kid. A sense of freedom came over me. I wanted to stay there. As I walked away, the quote below by Camus came to mind. I was left with a deep appreciation of the power of art to reconnect us to the beauty that's buried in our hearts and minds.
Consider this:
There was a time in your life when your heart first opened. Something beautiful struck you. A sight, a sound, a person, a feeling. In that moment, you caught a glimpse of the notion that everything was right with the world. Some are lucky - they never lose it. But many of us do. We forget about our brushes with beauty. We get caught up in the everydayness of life. Then at some point they hit us again.
Try This:
1. Rediscover the images, sounds, & smells that open your heart
2. Revisit the places you love
3. Reopen your heart frequently
"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."
-- Albert Camus (1913 -1960) French Novelist
Doug Sundheim is an executive coach & consultant based in NYC - www.dougsundheim.com
Recently, I worked with a client who was having a tough time managing a complex set of projects. He was sharp at the technical aspects of his job, but in over his head as a leader. He knew it, it was also apparent to others, but he had a difficult time admitting it. As a result, he had very little access to the knowledge and wisdom he needed to get past it. He couldn't actively seek help for something he couldn't acknowledge - moreover no one really wanted to help (or could help) a guy who didn't want it. Then he finally got honest with himself (and others) about his struggle - and went through a rapid transformation in a matter of 6 months. He reflected some months later, "Everything I needed was right in front of me, I just needed to let it in. Paradoxically, humility was my access to power."
Consider This:
Whenever you feel a loss of power and effectiveness if your life - a.k.a. stuck - there's a good chance it's because you're not being honest with yourself. Meaning there's a good chance you're not acknowledging your true feelings - your fears, struggles, confusion, hopes & dreams. Now you're probably not doing it for a lot of good reasons. That sort of honesty can be uncomfortable. Even worse, it can feel like it will lead to a total loss of control - and become a big mess. So you avoid it. But you lose something important in the process - you.
Try This:
1. Recognize when you're feeling a loss of power in your life (it often feels like a vague sense of anxiety you can't get past). 2. Finish the following sentences 10 times. I fear that... 3. Try to cut deeper each time, uncovering your uncomfortable thoughts/feelings. 4. Don't judge the feelings - just feel them - and accept them as "what so" for you. 5. Repeat this whenever you feel the anxiety. 6. Fairly quickly, you'll notice your capacity for being truly honest with yourself will improve - and so will your experience of life.
"Almost any difficulty will move in the face
of honesty. When I am honest with myself, I never feel stupid. And when
I am honest with myself, I am automatically humble."
-- Hugh Prather (1938- ) American writer, from his book Standing on My Head.
Doug Sundheim is an executive coach & consultant based in NYC - www.dougsundheim.com
"If you put fences around people, you get sheep."
— William L. McKnight, (1887-1978) Former 3M CEO
Consider This:
McKnight's quote is powerful. If you take away people's freedom you kill their creative spirit. Yet, it doesn't goes far enough in describing what great leaders do. There should be a second sentence. "If you don't help people TEAR DOWN fences, regardless of how they got there, you also get sheep." The truth is, fences pop up everywhere in organizations - whether a leader puts them there or not. They're defense and control mechanisms - built by everyone. Sure, leaders have to stop building fences themselves, but more importantly they've got to create a culture that discourages building them at all.
In his HBR article, Good Communication that Blocks Learning, Chris Argyris tells a great story about a client who wanted to improve operations. He worked with 40 managers who identified 9 target areas to cut costs. They successfully implemented the changes with better-than-planned cost savings. Over months of interviews with these managers, 2 things struck Argyris: (1) They told him how easy it had been to identify the 9 target areas and (2) they complained that fixing them had been long overdue. The 9 target areas, it turns out, weren't the real problem - everyone knew about them! The real problem was deeper. It was whatever dynamic was going on at this company that prevented the managers from questioning inefficiencies and getting them corrected or eliminated earlier. That's where a leader has to dig in.
Try This:
1. Take 10 minutes with your team - have everyone answer this question: The one thing I think we could be doing better, that I've never mentioned to the team is _____________.
2. Take another 10 minutes - have them answer this question (this one is more interesting than the first): The reason I've never mentioned it is ______________.
3. If you're the leader, model both answers first. Don't play small - make yourself vulnerable.
4. If you start knocking down fences, the people around you will follow.
