Leadership Solutions

Leadership: Why Today?

Why did you come to work today?

Sure, you had to.

Or maybe you'd feel awkward staying home.

Or the carpool woke you up.

But really, why did you come to work today?

That is, what vision are you working toward? Do you have a personal mission that's larger than your job? What do you want to have in exchange for this day of your life?

Take a moment to answer these questions so that you'll have a powerful reason to show up tomorrow.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
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Leadership: False Confessions

There's a speaker on the stage who just said, "I don't mean to be rude, but . . . ." And then he made a rude remark.

Oops.

First, we know that the word "but" deletes the idea preceding it.

Second, confessing a bad action before performing it does not excuse doing it.

For today: Pay attention to what you're saying. Listen for words that diminish your impact.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
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Website

Leadership: Text Messaging Away Time

It was with some pride that he told me, "I've been text messaging through the entire conference."

Ouch.

That makes me wonder: Why not stay home?

The amount of value we derive from a communication depends upon how fully we immerse ourselves in it. Partial attention means less mental interaction. And less interaction produces fewer solutions.

Bottom line: Inattention wastes your time.

Skilled listeners do more than hear words with half a brain. Instead, they focus their minds on adsorbing every thought, nuance, and possibility coming from the speaker. They explore possible interpretations, applications, and directions. They jot down notes of key ideas, both the speaker's and their own.

For example, I came home from a recent conference with 5 pages of key ideas and 55 actions -- all extracted from over 50 pages of notes.

I wonder if this fellow came home with more than sore thumbs.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
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Website

Leadership: What Do You Put in Your Presentations?

Some speakers enrich their presentations with quotes.

This is good.

It shows that they read.

Other speakers enrich their presentations with original ideas that are quotable.

This is better.

It shows that they think.

What to do: As a leader, take the time to think so that you are quotable. This will make your presentations memorable.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Professional Ornament?

Suppose you had an employee who spent all day standing in the hallway talking to people?

Or suppose you had someone on your staff who worked only half of the time?

What would you do?

Most bosses would hold a "coaching" session with the employee. Some might even fire the person.

Now what if you had an employee who spent all day in meetings talking to people, working at 50% efficiency? What would you do?

In some organizations, these people are promoted so that they can attend more meetings.

My surveys have shown that businesses waste on average 20% of their professional payroll on bad meetings. That is, on average, business professional spend 40% of their time in meetings that they rate as being 50% efficient.

Fixing this represents the greatest productivity improvement possible.

Consider, what is 20% of your professional payroll?

Call me. I can show you how to earn a profit from your meetings.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Ready, Set, Go!

14.17 seconds a very short time.

That's how long it took Ryan Patricio to win the 2007 U.S. Open Rubik's Cube Championship in Chicago.

Most people couldn't solve this cube if they had 14.17 years.

So how did he do it?

He used a system.

Systems are powerful because they deliver predictable, reproducible results.

This contains an important reminder about holding effective meetings.

Most people use a random process. No goal, no agenda, no results.

Some go half way -- they have a goal with an agenda -- and then they just talk about it.

Conversation is also a random process. It's great for building relationships and having fun at parties.

And conversation is a waste of time in meetings.

The key to obtaining results in a meeting is to use team decision-making systems. Then you can solve mind-boggling puzzles in record time.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Another What?

So here we go with another Monday.

Ho hum.

Except this is the most important Monday that you have ever had.

Why?

Because it's this Monday. Today. The day when you can make a difference by building a legacy of significance.

How?

One decision at a time.

So meet each choice by asking yourself, "How does this add to the memories I want to have?"

In fact, pay attention to your choices. This includes the very small choices that most people take for granted because these small ones lead to larger ones.

Small choices include things such as the comment you could make during a meeting, whether you proofread an e-mail, or what you think about while walking to lunch.

Then notice how paying attention to your choices shapes your day.

And if you'd like to, send me a note about what you did to make today special.

After all, it's a Monday. And we get only so many of them.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: It's a Jungle and the Lion Is Being Led by Monkeys

Business Week, July 23, 2007, page 66, features an article on "You Are Where You Sit" in a meeting.

It seems that different seats represent different degrees of power.

No news there.

But inside this article you will find descriptions of how different players manipulate the boss.

If you (the boss) are holding good old fashioned meetings based on discussion, you are at risk.

Sure, it feels grand to sit in the power seat while the subjects grovel below you.

But actually, they're pulling your strings. All of them. And the result is that your meetings last too long and accomplish too little.

In fact, the results may be useless or even destructive.

For example, false agreements may fool you into proceeding with a flawed idea.

And that self aggrandizing argument at the far end of the room could contain important warnings mixed with better ideas.

So, what do you do?

Answer: Use group process tools that make it impossible to manipulate the boss.

That, by the way, is what I teach in my workshop on Effective Meetings.

Call me if you want to know more.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Do It Yourself?

When holding a meeting, more often than not, you would want to ask a facilitator to help.

Why?

1) This frees you to participate in the meeting. If the issue is important, your participation could be critical.

2) It guarantees that you will have a proper agenda, which leads directly to a useful result.

3) Skilled facilitators will obtain a result in less time than you could. So, you save time for yourself and for your team.

4) Attempting to lead and participate in a meeting could prevent others from contributing. Thus, you will end up being responsible for the results that you created. In the worst case, no one else may support these results.

5) A facilitator (who is not an employee) can take care of issues and say things that you (or an employee) would be normally avoid.

Bottom Line: A facilitator will help you hold a more productive meeting that ends sooner with a better result.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Priceless Harvest

What do you bring home from a conference?

Receipts?

Business cards?

Laundry?

So does everyone else.

I’ll bet that you went to gain something useful, such as ideas that will make your business more profitable.

Most people take notes (which is good) and then (unfortunately) they bury them in their stack of stuff to read, where they languish forever. As a result, their ideas never change anything.

The same applies to seminars, workshops, and any presentation. The event was enjoyable, and that’s all.

Here’s a tip: Collect your ideas by going through your notes each evening of the conference. If that’s not possible, then make this list on the day after you return.

Then convert each idea into a specific action (or goal) that will help you.

I just returned from four days at the 2007 annual convention for the National Speakers Association. And I have a list of 55 things to do that will improve my business.

I can also report that as of July 17 (five days after returning) I have completed a third of the tasks on this list.

This means it was a worthwhile convention.

What about you? That is, what valuable ideas have you learned from a recent conference.

And yes, in case you were wondering, I also brought home receipts, business cards, and laundry.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website