Leadership Solutions

Leadership: Don't Tell Me That

Some of the people who helped me the most were those who told me that I couldn't do something.

I owe them sincere thanks.

They laid out a challenge. They forced me to confront having less. They made me mad.

And as I result, I went to work to prove them wrong.

For example, during my freshman year, a professor told me I'd be lucky to finish college.

Bunk!

I finished college three times earning a bachelors, a masters, and a doctorate in Chemical Engineering. And my grades were good enough that Carnegie Mellon University gave me a fellowship for graduate school, which meant that the school paid for my tuition and gave me a stipend.

Beyond that I've accomplished many other things that people told me were impossible.

So, seek out the nay sayers, doom casters, and failure predictors.

Spend just enough time with them to get mad.

Then prove them wrong. Because the world remembers only those who accomplish things. And we need all of the inspiration that we can find.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
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Leadership: Trauma Recovery

Most people have experienced severe trauma somewhere in their past.

It's important to acknowledge this because the wounds from it remain, even if the trauma occurred decades ago.

You could say, they echo through your system.

As a result, this trauma has left an indelible mark that governs your actions, especially when under stress.

There is no easy fix for this.

But awareness can help.

So, reflect on your past choices, looking for a pattern. Is there a message in there? Are there any recurring dynamics?

If so, then you may be able to use this information as part of an internal warning system. That way you can disconnect from the next push before you lose your balance.

You can even decide now how you will react the next time you are being pushed.

This is an important life strategy. By making critical decisions about how you will act before being challenged, you help yourself do what is best.

It's all part of knowing yourself so that you can stay in control of your choices. And choosing well is the key to living well.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Another Invisible Loss

Your relationships are the key to success in every part of your life. They drive profits in business and they give strength at home.

With successful, positive relationships you have everything.

In contrast, with bad relationships, you spend everything you have on repairs.

All of this relates to how you communicate.

I hope you realize that communication goes way beyond an ability to tell.

It begins with an ability to listen. It extends over ways to help others express their ideas. It travels through showing compassion, interest, and respect.

And then finally, it touches on sending ideas.

This, in turn, determines what people tell you, what they do for you, and how they act when with you.

Now, here's the twist: what would your life be like with effective relationships? What more might you have? Where might you be?

And so consider this: is your communication helping you achieve everything that you could have?

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Two Arguments

You can sort people into two groups based on how they argue. And the difference is critical.

There are:

1) People who argue for what they have.

They believe that they have enough. They may even doubt that they deserve what they do have.

And so, they invent amazing arguments like:

"I like living in a park because the fresh air is healthy."

As a result, they never accomplish anything.

2) People who argue for what they want.

They believe that they deserve good things and thus focus on getting them.

They move beyond the matter of "if they should have something" and seek out "how to achieve it."

As you might expect, the people in the second group are the leaders who move the world forward.

So, what do you argue for?

This matters because you will end up owning your answer.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
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Website

Leadership: Invisible Losses

Success is easy to measure. It appears as profit, cash flow, and wealth.

Failure is more subtle.

In fact, some forms of failure are so indirect that we never know about them.

For example: Consider the business that you could have had.

Most people hold meetings that produce little, if anything. They gather, they talk, they adjourn. Maybe they decide that since they didn't accomplish anything, they need to meet again.

This represents a horrible failure.

Sure, it can be measured in terms of wasted payroll dollars.

And the real cost is much larger.

It's the success that they squandered by not having a result at the end of their meeting. It's the work that they didn't finish while they were sitting in a pointless meeting. It's the future they could have had.

That's why it's not just a meeting.

It's your future.

And you can only know what that is by working toward it.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: It's Really Very Simple

Years ago they were called Medicine Men. They came to town in a curious wagon with a fast pitch and a quick cure.

Today the curious wagon has been replaced by a curious title. Everything else, however, is the same: the fast pitch and quick cure.

For example, there are books on leadership that sell success in terms of imitating ancient warriors, revered prophets, and noble animals.

These may apply if you plan to wage war, start a religion, or live in the woods.

For the rest of us, true leadership is much simpler.

It's a matter of creating success for others in ways that make everything better.

That means true leaders:

1) Put others first

2) Build things that last

3) Tell the truth

4) Obey basic laws

5) Show compassion

This works, too.

Consider history.

Every enduring success was created by leaders who followed these principles. And every problem was caused by those who didn't.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Thank You Gravity

If you have ever fallen, you know that it hurts.

You scuff your ego, bruise your feelings, and maybe crack your confidence.

So, you get up and dust yourself off.

Then what?

Well, you probably reflect upon why you fell. After all, you want to avoid doing that again.

And to help you remember, there's the pain that came with the fall.

This shows how gravity helps us.

First, it makes sure that when we fall, we hit the ground. The higher we are when we stumble, the harder we hit. Whether we like this or not, it's a form of justice.

Second, without gravity, there would be no reason to be careful. People would walk on walls, for example, without worrying about the consequences.

So, be grateful for physics, because gravity always wins in the end.

It's there to keep us honest.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: Long on Ideas, Short on Smarts

Someone sent me this reply recently,

"My management wants us to do outstanding work. But they won't pay for training that shows us how."

This is sad.

It's sad because it shows that this management has taken a short-sighted view on investing in their most expensive resource -- their employees.

Every survey shows that companies that provide extensive training consistently out perform those that neglect training. The reasons are:

1) Better skills help people accomplish more.

2) Top performers stay with companies that help them excel. They leave those that don't.

As a result, companies that provide training keep outstanding performers, spend less on replacing staff, and work with greater efficiency.

3) Learning stirs thinking, resulting in new ideas that help a business improve.

Training, properly done, is more than just an expense. It's the key to your future.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: This Layoff Was a Surprise

Layoffs are so common that no one pays attention to them anymore. In fact, some executives include a layoff in their annual strategy for increasing profitability.

But this one was different.

You see, this time they fired the turtles at our local arboretum.

It certainly wasn't because of their performance.

Turtles excel at their work, floating in the pond and basking in the sun. They meet all of their deadlines, always arrive on time, and get along with everybody.

You could say that they are the ideal employees.

But someone decided that the turtles had to go. So, they were escorted out (given to a turtle adoption agency, actually).

This is bad news because it means that even top performers are at risk.

The turtles were surprised by this layoff because, being turtles, they don't spend much time planning alternative careers.

Fortunately, people are smarter than turtles (right?).

So, what would you do if someone eliminated your job? Do you have an alternate career waiting on the side? Do you have an up-to-date resume? Do you have a list of people whom you could call for help, such as for referrals and job leads?

By the way, this story has a happy ending. The turtles are back, rehired into their former positions.

Maybe the ducks complained.

Which proves another point: It's good to have friends who will make noise on your behalf.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website

Leadership: At Least It Was Funny on TV

Suppose you're watching a sitcom on TV. And it's funny.

Then the next day, you try out the cute lines from that program on someone at work. After all, if the laugh track thought these lines was funny, everyone should enjoy them.

But now no one laughs.

So what happened?

Let's hope everyone reading this realizes that everything on TV is fiction.

And most of the humor in TV sitcoms is based on disrespect.

So, people laugh because it's outrageously wrong.

But they're offended when this humor is aimed at them.

I'm writing this because I think TV has taught a generation how to be disrespectful. As a result, basic communication has suffered.

This matters because it costs you money.

Bad communication causes projects to fail. It misleads people into making mistakes. It obscures the flow of true information that you need to do your job.

And losing money is never funny.

So, turn off the TV.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
blog
Website