Leadership Solutions

Leadership Solutions: Creative Fear

Let's suppose you're at a professional networking mixer and someone asks you, "What are you afraid of?"

Do you have a good answer?

Now, I mean a really good, thought provoking answer that creates awe, admiration, and respect.

Most people cater to ordinary fears, such as failure, success, rejection, acceptance, and the like.

Ho hum.

Boring.

Announce one of these and the conversation is over. Gone.

So, if that's you, then you need to find better fears. Each of them should be a guaranteed conversation expanding fear, such as:

Yellow street sweepers.

Small aspect ratios.

Invisible whoopie cushions.

Hostile Jello.

Radioactive squirrels.

And so on.

Consider this your assignment for the weekend. Write a list of at least 20 new fears. It will stretch your mind. After all, finding many answers to questions (even dumb ones) can expand your creative thinking.

And who knows, this could be your first step toward becoming a best selling author. Just realize that the title, "Street Sweepers in the Attic" has been taken.

Key Point: Sometimes dumb ideas lead to brilliant innovations.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Taking leaders through the experience and discovery of new ideas is my passion. If you value learning, I can help. Call me.

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Refurbished Replies

Here is a list of replies that everyone can use.

All of these are in perfect, like-new condition. Their only defect is that they haven't been used often enough.

You would most likely find them useful them when you hear something odd, such as a verbal manipulation.

They are:

1) You seem upset.

2) Could you say that again?

3) How can I help?

4) I'm sorry.

5) Silence.

Feel free to use these any time that you hear something that seems unusual.

The fifth one, silence, is often the best one.

By the way, what other statements can you recommend? Let me know.

Key Point: When someone says something that seems odd, it's often a test of your ability to rise above odd statements.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: The Far Edge of Being Busy

How busy are you?

Most likely, you are very busy. In fact, right now, almost everyone is in a panic to find business, keep their jobs, and make money.

And yet, it's possible to be too busy.

Here's an example:

About nine years I was in charge of the Fast Track program (eight sessions on how to start a speaking business) at the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Speakers Association. Once I asked the group, "How many of you sent a thank you note to last month's speaker?"

(This, by the way, was one of my three general assignments for the program.)

About a third indicated they had.

So I asked, "What kept the rest of you from doing this?"

And the answer was, "We were too busy."

(Well, gee whiz, it takes only a minute to jot down and mail a brief note.)

Then I told the group, "If you're too busy to be grateful, then you're too busy to make it in this business."

So, let's ask again, how busy are you?

Because you never want to be too busy to be grateful, to be kind, or to be honest.

Why?

Basic ethics is what separates great leaders from the forgettable rest.

Key Point: If you're too busy to be human, then you're too busy to succeed.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Small Half of a Happy Marriage

Most people get half of this right.

But they miss the most important, other half.

The half they work on is this: They try to make their partner happy.

While this is a good and noble strategy, it has it's limitations.

The reason is that one's happiness is a personal and internal matter. People who want to be happy will find ways to be happy. And people who don't want to be happy will find ways to be unhappy.

And so, attempts to make someone happy can go only as far as the other person wants them to go.

Which brings us to the other, important half.

It's this: Don't do anything that could make your partner unhappy.

This matters because people who cause unhappiness always receive unhappiness in return. In fact, in a close relationship, they often get more unhappiness than they caused. Then the relationship falls apart.

In case there's one reader out there who's wondering, "So, what might make someone unhappy?" I'll offer two quick generalizations:

1) People become unhappy when they receive disrespect, punishment, dishonesty, violence, neglect, and domination (just to name a few).

2) People convey that they're unhappy by acting unhappy (e.g., they aren't smiling).

This applies in any relationship, too, such as between spouses, partners, friends, employees, and so on.

Key Point: Not causing harm is the larger half of getting along.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

PS > Let me know if you find a group that wants to improve the way everyone gets along.

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Simple Answers

Simplicity only goes so far.

Certainly, it relates to efficiency. And everyone wants efficiency.

But there's a catch.

You see, there are two types of answers: simple ones and complete ones.

The simple answers basically tell you the rules. The complete answers tell you how to apply the rules.

For example:

Question: What should I charge for this gadget?

Simple Answer: $12

Complete Answer: A tutorial on value perception and pricing strategies so that you can choose a price that's consistent with your business goals.

Notice the difference?

As leaders you work with complexity all of the time. This means you must know both, the simple and the complete answers to every question that's relevant for your business.

And so, make sure that you collect everything that you need: Both the simple and the complete answers to your questions.

Key Point: Wisdom matters if you want to be more effective than a machine.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Black Shoes

He wore black shoes for almost sixty years.

He did this because he was an engineer who worked in an office in downtown Chicago; and everyone assumed engineers were supposed to wear black shoes.

Then, when he was eighty, he bought a pair of white jogging shoes.

He did this because something critical changed (besides the color of his shoes).

He changed his assumption about the type of shoes he should wear.

Notice that this is an example of what can happen when we change a simple assumption.

So, pause a moment to reflect on your assumptions.

These matter because your assumptions govern all of your decisions.

Then consider the possibilities of what you could do if you changed your assumptions.

What if . . . [ Poof! ] . . . . all of your assumptions disappeared?

And you had to start over.

Which assumptions would you keep? Which ones would you discard?

At this point most of you are quickly reassembling exactly what you had.

So, give this some thought.

With new assumptions anything becomes possible.

You might, for example, be able to wear comfortable shoes.

Key Point: Great leaders know their assumptions and how these assumptions drive their decisions.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

PS > Let me know if you find a group that wants a speaker who talks about things like this.

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: It's This Easy

Here is a great question that you can use to make progress at work.

It is: What three things can I do today to [fill in the blank]?

For example, you might ask yourself:

What three things can I do to finish that report?

What three things can I do to gain more business?

What three things can I do to advance my career?

And so on.

Now, here's the bonus idea: Keep a log of the three things that you do each day.

This helps manage personal accountability, keep a record of your progress, and identify opportunities for improvements.

Key Point: Challenge yourself to make significant progress every day.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: More Than Words

Our language has at least two levels.

Of course, there are the words on the surface. These convey the content.

Most often, it's the message that we think (or hope) we are sending.

And then there are the levels of meaning below that. Unfortunately, these contain other information that causes trouble.

Why?

Because this other information consists of clues that reveal what you're really communicating, even though you may not be overtly aware of it.

For example:

1) Negative words.

These complain, insult, and criticize. They sound weak, inadequate, and incompetent. As a result, they raise suspicions or cause arguments.

2) Fancy words.

These brag, confuse, and exclude. These sound arrogant, superior, and aloof. As a result, they scare and bore others.

Certainly there are other words that cause problems.

So, what have you noticed? What word usage has gotten people in trouble. What do you try to avoid?

Let me know. I'll summarize the best ideas in a future blog.

And, by the way, what's the point?

Use the simplest, most common words possible.

Key Point: Clear communication always works best. Use it.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: When to Buy

When is the best time to buy something?

Answer: Before you need it.

Certainly, if you buy something before you absolutely must, then you have more control over the buying process.

This is why wise leaders plan purchases years in advance. They know that a vital piece of equipment will become obsolete or worn out in the future. So, they plan when it will make sense to replace it.

The same thinking also applies to learning.

The best time to learn new skills is before you get in trouble for not having them. Then you can shop for the best resource, test the new skills, and make them a common practice.

Right now most businesses have eliminated their training program.

And right now may be the best time to be different.

Just imagine: What if you used this time to gain a jump on your competition by becoming more effective. You might be able to run your business more efficiently during this recession. And you might be able to start up faster once it ends.

Interested?

Call me. I can help.

Key Point: Learning is a ongoing process that must occur regardless of the economy.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Working Through Yuck

Let's be candid here.

Sometimes work feels like Yuck. You don't want to do it. Or maybe you don't know where to start.

For example, this morning (Friday, the 13th) I had on my list: 1) Send an article to an association for their newsletter, 2) Respond to questions developed during a committee meeting that I attended, 3) Prepare a program description for an event in March, 4) Write a couple of letters, and 5) write blogs for this week.

And I'll admit that when I stood at the outside of these tasks they all seemed more difficult than easy.

You could say, they were all Yuck.

Each of these tasks involves creating something new. And the finished work must be good because the outcome is important. For example, thousands of people will read that article.

Well, it's a couple of hours later and I can report that I completed all of these tasks.

How?

I just started working on them. And once I started working, all of the creativity that I needed appeared. So, they're done and now I'm writing this blog, which I'll post to appear on Monday.

You can do the same.

If you have a task that needs to be done, the best approach is to just start working on it.

Then you can cross that Yuck off of your list.

Key Point: "Just do it" is a very effective personal strategy.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

PS > After posting this blog, I came back and revised it. This shows the power of starting. Once you have something completed, you can always return to improve it.

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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