Leadership Solutions

Leadership Solutions: Morning Grumble

Sometimes you pause.

It may be a day when everything seems to be going wrong.

At least that's how I felt yesterday morning. The day before ended with a tangle of unresolved issues -- an unpaid invoice, unreturned phone calls, unfinished articles . . . all sorts of things that were in some state of "un-".

Then I realized two things.

1) Perspective. None of this is that bad. I'll resolve most of these issues today.

2) Responsibility. If I don't like how things are going, there is only one question: what am I going to do about it?

You see, this is real life.

We're here without a script. There was no rehearsal. We don't even have background music.

And sometimes nothing seems to work the way that we want it to.

So, we may begin the day with a grumble.

That's fine.

Enjoy the grumble.

Then, go to the next step, finding solutions and acting on them.

Key Point: Life without obstacles would be dull.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Was This a Waste of Time?

Aw nuts!

The other day, I spent more than an hour writing three pages of absolute drivel.

Really.

All of it was a rambling tangle of useless mind dump. Thanks to interruptions by my cat, the sound of leaf blowers outside, and other activities in my office, I was unable to concentrate on any one thought long enough to write a sentence about it.

And yet, that's good.

Why?

1) Habit. If I gave up every time a task became difficult, I'd accomplish nothing. So, this was reinforcement of a personal commitment to keep going even when progress seems impossible.

2) Muse. Creativity happens on its schedule, not mine. For example, I have found wonderful ideas after writing four pages of ordinary thoughts. So, the next great idea might have been lurking around the next paragraph.

3) Enough. After three pages I decided to stop. I had flexed my writing muscles and it was time to work on other things. While stubborn persistence can be commendable, there comes a time when it makes sense to let go.

4) Change. Sometimes a change in environment leads to a breakthrough. In this case, a three mile walk provided a useful disconnect from being stuck. 

5) Opportunity. There is always something useful that can be gained from every experience. While walking, I recognized that I could write this blog.

Key Point: We can find lessons in every experience.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: The Real Problem

Most people know what to do.

For example, consider meetings.

Every executive knows that a meeting must have a clear goal supported by a complete agenda. Otherwise, it's not even a meeting. It's a party where people talk about everything and anything.

And yet, many executives hold meetings without a goal or an agenda.

Why?

They are experts at presiding over unstructured conversations.

So, they choose the safety of a familiar (and bad) practice over a less familiar (and good) practice.

The key element in this is safety.

Given a choice most people will avoid risk by choosing something they know. And they will do this even when they know that the familiar option is bad.

Unfortunately, success works differently.

The path to success always involves risk.

You have to leave home. You have to venture into new markets. You have to apply new skills.

Otherwise, your competition who does do these things will leave you far behind.

And thus, effective leaders demonstrate courage.

This is the courage to make decisions, to take risks, to apply new skills. In fact, exceptional leaders seek out new frontiers that involve greater risks because these contain greater rewards.

Key Point: Make smart courage your daily proirity.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: The One Thing

Everything in life is a matter of one thing.

Your choices.

And so everything that you have is the result of the choices that you have made.

This then identifies the key to improvement. (I'm sure we are all working on something that we could do better. At least, I am.)

So, if you want better results, make better choices.

The easiest way to learn how to make better choices is to find people who have done things that you want to accomplish.

Then spend time with them.

From these relationships, learn 1) the types of choices that they make, and b) how them make these choices.

By the way, this works.

When I was a junior at the University of Illinois, studying chemical engineering, I was assigned to an honors physics class.

I remember thinking, "If I'm in an honors class, then I'd better act like an honors students. This means attend class, complete homework, and study for exams."

That semester my grades improved by a full letter (from B to A).

Why?

Because I made the type of choices that successful students make.

You can do the same thing.

Find people who are more successful than you are, and then learn from them.

Key Point: If you want different results, make different choices.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Invincible?

Sometimes you wonder why things like this happen.

Recent news has contained tragedies about people who seemed to have everything. Instead, they lost everything.

I think there's a critical mistake being made.

They assume that they're invincible.

That is, they fool themselves into thinking that the ordinary rules somehow don't apply to them. And so, they walk off the edge of life, sadly to discover that gravity applies to everyone.

The rules of life apply regardless how rich you are, how strong you are, or how nice you are.

This reminds us that we need to follow the rules, too.

Use this as an opportunity to check on your connection with reality. Are doing anything that could lead to a disaster? Or, are you ignoring a problem that could become a disaster?

The fact that you might be enjoying small successes now does not guarantee long term success. In fact, such successes are horribly evil in that they lure people into taking bigger risks or ignoring critical decisions.

Eventually, the rules of life speak up. They always do.

So, make sure that when they speak, they speak in your favor.

Key Point: Reality applies to everyone.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Special Note

I fixed a problem with my e-mail service yesterday that may have prevented some e-mails from reaching my Inbox. This problem has existed at least since May.

If you have sent me an e-mail without receiving a response, please call or send the e-mail again.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: 1st Leadership Test

Before you step forward to lead a company, department, or group, there is a test.

And you must pass this test before you can legitimately claim to be a leader.

The test is self leadership.

Here's what to expect:

1) Do you have a vision for your future? Have you set goals? Do you have a plan for achieving those goals?

Leaders find destinations.

2) Do you complete tasks? Are you able to follow your own instructions? Do you apply discipline to meet agreements? Are your actions consistent with your values?

Leaders set examples.

3) Do you communicate? Can you explain what you want clearly,

concisely, and briefly? Can you resolve conflicts and disagreements without starting new ones?

Leaders communicate.

4) Do people trust you? Are you consistently honest? Are you predictably approachable? Do you honor agreements, complete assignments, and arrive on time?

Leaders earn trust.

5) Do you manage resources? Do you spend wisely and save routinely? Do you avoid debt? Are you generous when appropriate? Do you have more wealth now than when you started?

Leaders build wealth.

Key Point: Leaders are the type of people that others want to become.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Universal Solution for Blame

People are always seeking simple answers.

So, after considerable thought, I have found the universal solution for blame.

Right now, blame is complex.

People have to spend valuable creativity finding (and sometimes inventing) blame. They blame the dog who ate their report. Or they blame the traffic for getting lost. Or they blame last night's dinner for being cranky.

And so on.

This becomes confusing because some forms of blame contradict each other. And sometimes people forget who to blame because they have too many choices. Or, they use one form of blame one day and then a different one the next.

Well, here is good news!

I propose a Universal Target for all blame. It is:

The hamster on 47th Street.

Now, when people are asked, "Why didn't you prepare an agenda for the meeting?" they can reply, "The hamster on 47th Street."

Or, if they are asked, "Why were you late?" they can say, "The hamster on 47th Street."

And so on.

I hope this helps.

For those who prefer to avoid blame, I have another solution.

It's one of my workshops.

My goal is to make leaders more effective. And my workshops show people how to achieve that.

Key Point: Responsible leaders don't need blame. They just do the job.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Key to Personal Growth

Few people do this deliberately.

Yet, it's the key to personal growth.

It is: Do something scary every day.

Of course, this varies for each person. Something that makes you yawn might send someone else running.

So, here is a generous list of possibilities. You might consider:

• Work on a difficult task first.

• Apply a new skill.

• Take a smart risk.

• Tell the truth to someone (and make sure that it's the real truth).

• Apologize.

• Discard clutter.

• Spend a moment in silence.

• Let a child talk to you (while you listen).

• Make a decision that is overdue.

• Acknowledge your feelings.

• Tell someone how you feel.

• Ask for something that you need.

• Decline a request that someone else can manage.

• Read a book.

• Leave the TV off for an evening.

• Write a list of things that you want to accomplish this year.

• Show this list to someone else.

• Find your own personal challenge and just do it.

Key Point: Every significant achievement occurs gradually. Make gradual success a daily priority.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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Leadership Solutions: Assorted Questions

How long does it take to photograph a bird?

Answer: it depends.

In this case, I spent an hour waiting for this bird to wake up and lift its head from its chest..

- - -

- - -

I suppose I could have waited longer, but it was past lunchtime and I was getting hungry.

While waiting, I thought of questions, such as:

Where did this bird come from? (This was an unusual bird to find in the Fullerton Arboretum.)

Does it have a second leg? (I know that birds will stand on one foot while they rest the other one, but this bird had stood like this for over an hour.)

Where will this bird go next? (That is, will it stay here, or is it on the way to somewhere?)

How old is the bird?

And so on.

Now, notice what I'm doing here.

By being curious, I'm enlarging the story about the bird. And that makes the bird more interesting.

I'm also paying attention, seeking details and differences.

You can do the same thing when you meet people. Be curious, pay attention, and ask good (polite) questions.

You'll find that this makes the story better, while leading to a richer conversation.

Key Point: Create interest by being curious and paying attention.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

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