Leadership Solutions

Leadership Solutions: Courage

Say "courage" and people think of mythological events.

And that's wrong.

Because real courage, the kind that matters, happens every day without a dragon or a cliff or an army.

It happens with words -- words that tell the truth.

It happens with thoughts -- thoughts that move forward.

It happens with actions -- actions that add value.

And here's the special part: Courage begins inside you without regard for any external event.

So, work on courage.

Key Point: Courage is the source of hope within you.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: Process Thinking

Recently, someone asked a good question:

What is process thinking?

First, a process (or a system) is a reproducible activity that delivers a predictable result.

So, a process thinker will be someone who evaluates events in terms of a) an underlying process as an explanation or b) a useable process as a tool.

This puts their thinking at a higher level than single-event (or reaction) thinking.

For example, a football team practices "plays." Each play is a process designed to move the ball. Then their game becomes a matter of performing the play, rather than figuring out what to do next. In fact, coaches think at an advanced process level by planning sequences of plays that will maximize the effectiveness of the team's entire game.

Process thinking is especially powerful because it raises a person's focus from implementation to perfection.

Key Point: Strive for process thinking.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: Finally, the Answer

For years people have been asking me a good question, which is:

"Why did you leave a career with a Ph.D. in chemical engineering?"

And for years, I responded with a history lesson. I cited key events, such as writing a novel, operating a part-time retail business, and blah, blah, blah so on.

Today, the real answer hit me. And it is:

I became something else. That is, I stopped being an engineer and became a teacher.

So, I began doing what teachers do: conducting workshops that showed people how to be more effective leaders.

It's also important to note that at the edge of the transition (the years before I left my job as an engineer) I experienced significant distress. This happened because there was a conflict between what I was doing and who I was. In fact, I had invented a job in those final years where I could work more as a teacher and facilitator than as an engineer.

So, what does this have to do with you?

Take this as a friendly push to examine who you are. And really go deep in your exploration.

Then compare that with what you're doing.

If everything fits, you have confirmed why you're doing well.

If there is any inconsistency, then this might be a signal to seek changes in what you're expected to do. Such a change could be simple, such as asking for a transfer to different type of assignment, or complex, such as starting a new career.

Key Point: Being happens before doing. So, first know what you are. Then choose a career where you can do what such a person does.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: Mortgage Banking Crisis

Most likely you have heard many explanations for the mortgage banking crisis.

But there is one simple explanation that receives little publicity.

It's this: People lied.

That's it.

Salespeople sold mortgages to millions of home buyers who were unable to make the payments. In order to do that, the salespeople had to lie.

This demonstrates the power of lies.

First, people are easily fooled by them.

Second, no enterprise can sustain continuing success through lies. Truth always has the last word. And when truth speaks, it roars. Then the system collapses.

Key Point: Build your business on truth because it's more durable.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: Early Repairs

Let's suppose that you're driving your car with some friends and suddenly you hear an odd noise from the engine.

You could:

1) Tell your friends that it only sounds like a noise.

2) Drive slower.

3) Give everyone ear plugs.

What do you think? Which one will fix the noise?

Well, all of them sort of do something about the noise.

But we're smarter than that. Most people would stop the car. If something obvious was wrong, they'd fix it and continue driving. If they couldn't fix it easily, then they'd take the car to a mechanic so that an expert could fix it.

And (This Is Important) they would do something to fix the noise before it ruined the car.

So, let's suppose that you're working in your business, and you notice a problem.

You could:

1) Tell everyone that it only seems like a problem.

2) Redecorate the office.

3) Give everyone a pep talk.

What do you think? Which one will fix the problem?

Well, I'll stop here because I hope you get the point.

Too many people work on symptoms instead of on solutions. And they keep at it until something big breaks. Then they have to deal with a much larger problem.

Key Point: That noise you hear is a warning. Find the cause and fix it.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: Strategic Rest

What happens to small children when they become tired?

Answer: they act cranky.

Now, what happens to adults when they become tired?

Answer: they act cranky. But adults are more subtle. So adult crankiness appears in many forms, such as sloppy work, careless decisions, short tempered replies, and other mistakes that cost money.

Wise leaders know this. Thus, they include relaxation in their plans. It appears as a strategic rise and fall of effort.

And of course, wise individuals know this, too. So, they seek balance between their professional and personal lives.

Key point: Manage a blend of work and rest to achieve greater long term progress.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: The Real Options

Sometimes leaders stall when confronted with an important change.

They ponder over doing something or doing nothing. Maybe, they hope, the call for change will go away.

So they wait.

Recognize that this situation really simplifies into two basic options:

1) Doing something

2) Being told to do something

The second case happens when reality arrives. That is, an external condition forces people to take action.

For example, this happens on a small scale when someone neglects to improve career skills, accumulate savings, or develop relationships.

And it happens on a large scale when a company persists with outmoded strategies that ignore market changes, new technologies, or consumer needs.

In either case, reality appears in the form of a disaster.

Then people are told to do something.

Key Point: Leaders control their destiny by acting early.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: Other Side of Old Wisdom

You have heard the quote: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

There's another side to it.

If you give someone a fish, that person will come back for another one. And now you have gained a dependent.

If, however, you teach someone how to fish, you will have set that person free.

This is important for leaders.

Sometimes leaders help others by completing tasks for them. While this may seem like a generous gift, it's actually a handout that keeps someone coming back.

The alternative is delegation.

Now, there is an art to effective delegation. It involves orchestrated success as well as intentional failure. It involves communication, instruction, and feedback. It involves clarity on responsibility, expectations, and consequences.

All of this is difficult.

And yet, that is what leadership is all about.

It's the process of setting people free.

Key Point: Leaders give freedom through delegation.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: Discomfort

We all move away from discomfort toward comfort.

And that defines the importance of discomfort.

But discomfort is useful when it causes movement.

Unfortunately, some people avoid discomfort by covering it with medication. And as a result, they stay where they are, never eliminating the cause of the discomfort.

Medication, by the way, can be anything from pills to clever distractions. And those clever distractions are the most deadly because they're so easy to justify.

For example, someone just has to sign up to be on every possible committee, which requires attending wall-to-wall meetings.

Or, someone just has to spend hours in the car shopping for bargains, giving rides, or inventing errands.

Or, someone just has to stay in the office, reading e-mails, checking the web, sorting papers, checking the web, sorting papers, and so on.

Note that all of these distractions keep a person from having to fix the source of discomfort. That discomfort may, for example, be a job that needs to be done, a decision that needs to be made, or a relationship that needs to be resolved.

And so, without movement, the discomfort continues.

Key Point: Discomfort is telling you that something needs to change.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog

Leadership Solutions: Accepting the Worst

Here's what happened.

Yesterday I changed the text on my home page. The new text seemed like an improvement. Then today, I changed the text again. And hey, I may decide to change the text again tomorrow.

So, what's the point?

I had to 1) believe that the text I posted yesterday was outstanding, and 2) I had to accept that there might be a better way to describe my work.

That is, I had to be willing to accept the possibility of failure in order to move forward.

And that's the key to success.

You have to accept that the worst could happen in order to have the courage to take action. Otherwise, you will stay stuck where you are with what you have.

And I have a request: Could you look at my home page (Link below) and let me know what you think of it. Your suggestions could lead to changes that appear by the end of the week. Thanks!

Key Point: Leaders take action, accepting that their best effort might fail.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Bringing life to dreams

Web Site

blog