"Trillion is the new billion"

It's a key message in my book Navigating the Winds of Change: Staying on Course in Business & in Life: Perspective matters.

It's so easy to lose perspective. Whether you're trying to convince a boss to make a change or trying to evaluate if a government reform idea is a good deal or not, getting a sense of perspective can make all the difference.

Frankly, I have trouble visualizing a trillion of anything. As reported this last week, the White House predicts a deficit of $1.841 trillion dollars for the current fiscal year.

Seems like a really big number. To get some perspective, how does that compare to some previous years? The biggest deficit for any fiscal year on record is $454.8 billion, rung up in fiscal 2008. So we're predicting to be $1.4 trillion dollars worse than the worst year on record. Yet as bad as that sounds, I still find it difficult to get my arms around how big a trillion really is.

Often a picture can serve up perspective more effectively. Here are a couple examples that illustrate a trillion dollars:

• From PageTutor.com
• From YouTube

This posting is not about whether health care reform or stimulus spending is a good idea or not. It's not about left vs. right or Republicans vs. Democrats.

Here's my point: when you hear any leader (whether in government or in business) throwing around numbers that are difficult to comprehend, try to get perspective using a picture. It will help you better evaluate the long-term implications of their statements.

Labels: accountability, communication, culture, illusion, integrity, managing change

posted by Andy at 4:51 PM  

Leadership Lessons from Howard Tullman

Crain's Chicago Business recently posted a short video from Howard Tullman that I recommend you take the time to watch. I appreciate the clarity in which he communicates the essence of what it means to lead. Though his lessons are tuned for entrepreneurs, they can easily apply to anyone who leads, whether a team, a department, or an entire company.

Key lessons to highlight include:

• Mistakes are inevitable. Admit, fix, and forget them. One of the great frustrations as an executive coach is to work with someone that tries to be so perfect that they won't make a mistake. Clearly that's impossible. We regularly work with our kids on this: when you make a mistake, admit it. Fix it. Then get past it. Learn from them, for sure, but you can't obsess over them or you will not lead.
• It's about winning, not being right. In our e-learning workshop "Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place: How to Deal with Conflict More Effectively", we talk about the difference between positions and interests. Too often people get wrapped up into their positions, having to be "right." I like how Tullman states "It's about winning, not being right."
• Tell a simple story: who are we, where are we going, and why. I find many aspiring leaders who are "how" people: they want to cut to the To-Do's and tasks right away, without first figuring out the "what". In our customized leadership workshops we coach leaders to first answer "Where?", "Why?" and "What?". Once leaders answer those questions, then you can get to the "How?", "Who?" and "When?". Click here for more information about how our customized leadership workshops can help your organization develop leaders.
• Keep raising the bar. Keep getting better. Celebrate successes but don't get complacent.
• Don't wait until it's perfect. Start with what you have.
• Look for people who want to build a career, not just a job. Presenteeism (employees who are at the worksite regularly, but for a variety of reasons, are not producing as they should) reportedly accounts for 80% of lost productivity. One of my biggest staffing fears is not those who leave, but those who have left but are still with us.
• Surround yourself with people who are different from you. It took me too many years to figure this one out. Now I cherish the principle, which helps me from driving over a cliff in business.
• Having to fire people comes with the job. It can be done respectfully, but if your desire is to be popular, it will get in your way.
• Part of a leader's job is to be an absorber of uncertainty and anxiety. Things can be ambiguous, but as a leader, we must continue telling the story, keeping people focused on the vision and direction. If we are freaking out when things get tough, it will simply spread the anxiety and be a distraction. In my book Navigating the Winds of Change: Staying on Course in Business & in Life I talk about the concept of keeping your eyes on the horizon when the wind and waves are raging. It's not only good advice for sailors: it works for leaders as well.

I commend Mr. Tullman's video for your viewing pleasure and personal development.

Labels: anxiety, Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place, conflict, crisis, executives, leadership, managing change, mistakes, recommended sites, strategy, teams, uncertainty

posted by Andy at 2:34 PM  

Mind Over Water

In a recent newsletter I shared the story of my five year old daughter getting victory over her fear of swimming. If you haven't read it yet, click here to take two minutes to read the story. Then return here to learn more.

So, what is your story? What made the difference?

Chances are you have stories yet to be told. I’m guessing there are some areas that haven’t clicked yet for you—that are holding you back, that still have you bound by the chains of “Well, I’m just not very good at that.”

What is it that, if you actually did it, would give you a similarly joyous, “I can do this!” “I did it!” “I am a ___________!”

Here are a couple strategies I share as a coach, to help you cross the line.

A clear principle of change is that if you want different results, you must take different actions. Sounds obvious, but it’s a principle that is often ignored. Have you actually tried taking different actions? In my executive coaching practice I find too many people that have checked out on their dreams or ambitions, choosing the rut of complacency to actually changing areas of their life that would add meaning and satisfaction.

Yet let’s face it… Doing things differently is difficult. That’s why another critical principle is that if you’re having trouble doing different things, maybe what you need to do is start looking at the problem in a different way.

Click here to learn more about my book,
Navigating the Winds of Change:
Staying on Course in Business & in Life.

For example, you might really want to exercise more faithfully but always find good excuses to skip it. You’ve tried “doing different things” (creating a museum of useless exercise equipment in your closets and basement), but the excuses always win.

I have a friend who was diagnosed with diabetes. Suddenly his perspective on exercising changed from “a good idea” to a necessity. It was a different way of seeing the problem.

How could you look at your issue differently? It’s not about losing pounds—it’s about being healthier 20 years from now so you can better enjoy those you love. It’s not about being less nervous when you deliver presentations. It’s about gaining one of the critical skills required for the senior leadership position you want some day.

A wise friend and mentor, James MacDonald, teaches: “Name the lie, insert the truth.” Reframing the way we think often means we have to slay the lies that hold us captive. I’ve found those dragons are apt to reappear unless I replace them with something else: the truth.

Could there be some lies that you’ve been clinging onto, not realizing they are the fetters that are holding you back from victory?

My little daughter found a way to reframe swimming in her mind. It wasn’t a matter of sneaky mind altering techniques from daddy’s coaching practice—it came from inside, and the result will be years of fun and fitness.

I invite you to click "Post a Comment" below and share your story....

May you experience the joy that our little five year old did this last weekend. We are here to help.

Labels: leadership, managing change, reality

posted by Andy at 12:17 AM