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« October 2008 | Main | December 2008 »
Here's a friendly reminder to continue the Thanksgiving celebration of being grateful every day.
I'll be back on Monday with a business tip.
Key Point: An outlook of gratitude is essential for living well.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
Happy Thanksgiving.
Enjoy the holiday.
Key Point: Take time to be grateful.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
A family of four walked into a restaurant.
The two children, being children, were asking many questions, "What's this?" and "What's that?"
The parents responded with sharp commands, “Be still!” or “Stop it!”
So the children sat quietly, while the parents ignored them.
Now, let's leave this story to change the cast.
Suppose these were four adults. And suppose two of these adults behaved like the parents. That is, they ignored the other two adults.
How would the two neglected adults feel? And how would they react? What if you were one of the neglected adults?
Of course, no one would treat other adults this way. Right?
Or would they?
Consider: Someone is talking on a cell phone while making a purchase. In this case, the sales clerk is being treated like a thing (instead of a person).
Consider: Someone is paging through e-mail while talking with someone on the phone. In this case the other person is being given partial attention.
Consider: Someone ignores phone messages. In this case, the people who left the messages are being ignored.
In all of these cases, the other person is being ignored, either partially or fully. And that is rude.
The sad note here is that rudeness always damages a relationship. Consider, for example, how those children will regard their parents after years of being ignored.
Key Point: Communication is a full focus activity. Give everybody the gift of your attention when talking with them.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
You have seen this happen if you live with a cat.
The cat walks up to a table, glances upward, and jumps. In an instant, the cat now stands on the table.
This is remarkable because the cat jumps just high enough -- not too high nor too low, but just enough for a perfect landing.
Why?
The cat knows that it can.
Now, suppose this were a person.
A human would glance up and consider things like, "Can I really do this?", "What if I fail?", "Do I deserve to be on that table?"
And if that jump were related to a business activity, the human would organize a committee to work on it.
Then the jump would disappear in a quagmire of pointless discussion.
And nothing would happen.
Of course, humans are supposed to be more intelligent than cats.
If that's true, then why are some of you are thinking, "But we need committees," and things like that.
Actually, we could learn an important lesson here.
Cats don't get in their way of doing things. They simply live up to their potential -- without hesitation, excuses, or committees.
Key Point: The biggest obstacle to achievement is doubting that you can.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
What do you do when times are bad?
Some people hide in a cave with doom and gloom, waiting for things to improve. And when they emerge, they often find that they're in a worse position than they were before the economy dropped.
So, here is a better approach:
1) Build expertise.
Attend workshops to learn new skills. Teach your staff better ways of doing their jobs. Increase your reading.
2) Set directions.
Hold meetings to: a) Revise goals and plans b) Identify opportunities, c)Achieve clarity of purpose, d) Revise strategies, and e) Improve the cultural engine that drives the business. (Note: these meetings will be more productive when led by an expert facilitator.)
Regard a slow economy as a gift. Use it as an opportunity to become stronger so that you can move aggressively into the future.
Key Point: Wise leaders are always learning, and more so when business is slow.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
Some years ago, a group of employees got fed up.
So, as a group, they found jobs with a New company.
Then they made a mistake.
They spent their final days with the Old company insulting the management. In fact, they were uncommonly enthusiastic with their complaints and ridicule. Then they marched out in a triumphant parade to their glorious future with the New company.
Six months later, the Old company bought the New company. And within days, the Old company's management fired this group.
It's a small world.
We're in a difficult economic time right now.
As a result, some of you may be on the losing side of cutbacks and reorganizations.
Yes, being fired is terrible. It's scary. It's the worst type of rejection.
And regardless how you feel, make sure that you leave gracefully. Your goal, is to make your management wish they could keep you (rather than feel glad that your going).
Key Point: Always leave as if you were going to return tomorrow.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
It's a good question: Why do some people fail?
The answer is really very simple: They deserve to.
First, they use bad techniques, impossible strategies, or terrible systems. And second, (the important part) they refuse to change.
In fact, some people hold onto these disastrous approaches with an evangelical zeal. They defend them. They brag about them. They even teach them to others.
At least they do this until something horrible happens.
Of course, there is an easier way.
It's this: make changes early.
Specifically, seek out experts to learn better techniques. Work with coaches to facilitate inner growth. Read books on achieving excellence.
By the way, everyone can benefit from seeking early improvements. In fact, the sooner that you identify a bad practice, the easier (less expensive) it is to fix it.
This is why I frequently attend workshops, conferences, and seminars to learn better ways to run my business and manage my life. It's why I'm working with a coach to continue improving my inner self. And it's why I buy almost $1,000 worth of books every year.
My strategy behind all of this investment is: I want to improve things long before they become problems.
Key Point: Leaders who invest in solutions seldom have to work on problems.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
I could think of many reasons to wait.
But I did it anyhow.
The task: I posted my old MacBook Pro for sale on ebay. It's only two years old, so (if you live in the US) you can bid on a really nice machine at:
My hesitation came from the risk involved in any ebay posting: that is, someone could buy it for the starting bid. And I still need to transfer some files from this machine to the new MacBook Pro that I bought last week. Then add to this the chore of posting an item for sale on ebay.
So, I had some personal inertia to overcome.
But I did it.
And I'm writing this to illustrate that sometimes we have to make ourselves do things so that we can move on.
So, pause here to consider those tasks that you're been postponing and then ask yourself, are you going to do them or not?
If your answer is yes, then when?
If not, then take these things off of your list of things to do because unmet needs slow you down by nagging you for attention.
Key Point: Leaders achieve success by being decisive. Either do it or drop it.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
It's unlikely that any of you will ever have to do this.
As you know from the news, fires are destroying wooded areas and homes in Southern California. And this time, the fires are about three miles from our home.
So, just to be safe, we packed for an emergency evacuation.
If such occurs, there is little warning. Police bang on your door, and you are expected to leave immediately.
Thus, we parked our cars in the driveway, facing the street. And we collected those things that we would want to keep.
Admittedly, it's fortunate to have any warning for a disaster. Earthquakes, for example, don't call to schedule an appointment.
Suppose you had to do this. What would you pack? Recognize that whatever you take must fit in your car. Thus, you can't take everything.
And (here's the hard part) what would you leave? Recognize that if the worst happened, you would lose everything that you left behind.
This forces you to confront basic priorities about the things that really matter in your life.
And that leads to the important question: how much of your life are you devoting to the things that you would take compared to the things you would leave behind?
Key Point: Disasters happen to remind us of our priorities. Make sure you focus on those that matter.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
Business is competitive.
Thus, no one wants to be tagged as incompetent. As a result, no one wants to admit that their performance needs to be improved.
This presents a real dilemma.
Because when bad practices continue, the business suffers.
So, here's a solution: Tell the truth before anyone else discovers it.
For example, during your next meeting, stand up and say,
"This is terrible. We're wasting our time. So, I just called Steve Kaye to schedule a workshop on how to hold effective meetings."
Suddenly, you become part of the solution.
Now meetings improve, the business prospers, and you're rewarded with a promotion for demonstrating leadership.
Key Point: Effective leaders lead change.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator