Leadership Solutions

Leadership: Monday Check Up

Are you getting enough of this?

Because it's one of the healthiest things that you can get.

It's laughter.

(Pause for a long chorus of groans.)

Sure, you were expecting something else, such as applesauce, but this article is about laughter.

Recognize that laughter is good for you because it's an essential part of living well, being creative, and feeling good.

So, here is a friendly reminder to find a way to laugh today.

I realize that some people out there will find this to be a challenge. They haven't even smiled since they were two (give or take a few years).

Let's recognize that funny things can be found everywhere. For example, look around the office. All those people actually think they know what they're doing. If you doubt this, ask them.

For example, that manager who holds long meetings actually believes others are impressed by having to endure hours sitting in a conference room listening to aimless chit chat.

That clerk who multitasks on nine different projects at the same time actually believes this is the secret to being productive.

That executive who's too busy to talk to anyone actually believes that being unapproachable is the mark of great leadership.

That supervisor who uses teeny weenie type with 9,600 words on each slide actually believes others are impressed by text they can't read.

Are you laughing yet?

If not, here is a quick laugh start. Read the following out loud:

"Ha ha ha ha ho ho hee hee ho ho ha ha snork ha ha ha ho ho hee ho ho ha ha ha snork snork snork ha ha ha ha ha ha."

Okay, are you laughing now?

If not, I'm sure everyone who heard you is.

Key Point: Business is too goofy to be taken seriously.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

PS: Be sure to read the special announcement for today, which appears below.

Special Announcement

If you live in Orange County, CA, here is a rare opportunity to escape from those miserable Saturday chores.

First, mark you calendar for January 23, 2010.

Second, plan to attend this incredible event. Tell others. Invite friends. Rent a bus.

Here are the details:

Topic: Time Management Uncovered.

Description: We'll dismantle popular myths about Time Management. Then we'll give you practical tools that you can use to make your life a masterpiece.

Testimonial: "This is a extraordinary program. I have attended every workshop given by Steve Kaye. And they have changed my life." by Steve Kaye, One Great Meeting

Time: January 23, 2010 from 10:00 AM until noon.

Location: The Road Less Traveled Store [  Link  ]

Address: 2204 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706
  [  Map  ]

Reservations: Call 714-836-8727

Cost: $25 ( a genuine bargain ). Call before Thursday, Jan. 21

Bonus: You can visit the Road Less Traveled Store, which features an unusual collection of Fair Trade and Organic products. You'll be amazed!

Key Point: This is a rare public program by Steve Kaye. Be sure to attend.

Call if you have questions. 

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Leadership: Before You Say Yes

Here are five questions to ask before agreeing to attend a meeting.

1) Where is the agenda?

A meeting without an agenda is like a journey without a map; it will always waste your time. And agendas consisting of a list of topics, tell little. The agenda should describe the issue, the approach for resolving it, and a time budget.

2) What is the goal?

Is the chair seeking an agreement, a solution, or a plan? Knowing the goal helps you prepare for effective participation. Be cautious of meetings held just “to talk about something,” because these seldom accomplish anything.

3) What is my role?

Make sure your participation adds value to the meeting. Avoid meetings where you have a superficial role, such as to find out what’s happening. If that's the intent, ask for the minutes. If you’re needed to work on only part of the agenda, ask if you can attend only that part of the meeting.

4) How should I prepare?

Make sure that you know about any work required to participate. Ask about expectations for the other participants because this could influence your preparation. Attend only if you can prepare adequately or suggest another time for the meeting.

5) What should I bring?

Should you bring a laptop? Will you be asked to give a presentation? Should you bring reports, data, or other information? Make sure you have enough time to obtain the tools and materials needed for effective participation.

In total, protect yourself from people who fail to plan. Their meetings will either waste your time or set you up for an embarrassment.

Key Point: Agree to attend meetings only when you know that you can add value to the effort.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Leadership: What Do People Say?

Do you receive informal testimonials?

For example, these might be comments that people make about your work. If so, then I recommend saving them in a Victory File.
 

You can jot them down, or ask people to send you a note.
 

Then use these comments to support your work in performance reviews or in promotional materials.

I've been encouraging people to keep a Victory File for many years. It's part of diligent career management.

Recently, I was reminded of how important this can be. After speaking at a dinner meeting, the program chair told me:

"You are the first speaker in two years who has come early and didn't ask for something."

I like this because it validates my approach to working with a client. I strive to:

1) Make the client's job easy.

2) Make the client look good.
 

So I added this comment to my database of testimonials.

If you collect enough testimonials, you may want to set up a database, too. Then you can can catalog the comments (or other good news) that you collect by relevant areas, such as topic, project, department, and so on.

Key Point: Save the good comments that people make about your work.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

PS: Call me if you'd like to work with someone who makes your job easy.

Leadership: The Other Half of Blame

Blame would be okay if it weren't for the other half.

That is, many people blame someone else.

They blame their parents, their bothers, their sisters, their relatives, their teachers, their bosses, their clients, their neighbors, and . . . the list goes on.

This is sad because blaming someone else sacrifices one's freedom.

When people blame someone else, they transfer responsibility to the other person. And that leaves them powerless to fix anything.

Actually, there is only one person any of us can correctly blame for anything that happens in our lives.

It's ourselves.

Well okay, there is one exception: we can blame our parents for our age, but that's all. After that, everything else belongs to us.

There's another problem with blame. It's the word itself. Blame sounds negative and implies weakness.

So if we decide to "blame" ourselves, we need to change the word to "accept responsibility."

Once we do that, we gain the power of owning our choices. Then we can make different choices. We can unpack the lessons left from setbacks. We can make changes that lead to better results.

So, how about you?

What role does blame have in your life?

If your answer is none, then good. You're in charge of your choices.

If however, your answer includes the names of other people, then you're stuck in the past with them. And that means some work is needed to break free so that you can move forward into a future that you control.

Key Point: Blame hinders progress. Toss it out so you can gain control of your future.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Leadership: Common Insult

Can you imagine talking to someone who wasn't paying attention to what you were saying?

Pointless, right?

For example, they might be surfing the net, putting away dishes, or working on some task.

You can tell that they're not paying attention because you hear keystrokes, or clatter, or activity. You can also tell that they're mentally absent. For example they don't seem to understand what you're saying. Their responses ramble. And so on.

All of this conveys that they don't care about you.

That's an insult, right?

Yet, this type of insult is becoming common practice because people think they can multitask during conversations.

There are two important issues here.

First, multitasking is a myth. It does not work.

The human brain is unable to switch instantly back and forth between different tasks. The net effect is inefficiency, confusion, and mistakes.

Second, even if we could, there is one area where we should not multitask. That's with our relationships. Conversation is a human connection in which we exchange respect for one another.

We show that respect by putting the other person above anything else, such as e-mail, daily chores, or shopping. Then we pay complete attention to everything that person is saying.

Key Point: Successful conversation requires two people paying attention to each other.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Leadership: Remarkable Strategy

Here we are in the January doldrums.

Business is down. Stores are empty. Everyone is nervous.

Except at the Apple Store. If you visit one, you'll find a crowded, vital marketplace. It almost looks like the famous Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving when stores are packed with shoppers.

So why is this?

Of course, Apple makes extraordinary products. Experts judge them to be at least a year or two ahead of their competition. So, people want to own them.

And there's another reason.

Apple's retail strategy is very simple: Make people feel glad to be in our stores. Thus, you'll find a cheerful staff of bright people who are having fun working. That fun transfers to the customers.

When customers feel good in a store, they come back. And when they come back they buy things.

There's a notable message here.

Do you make people feel glad to be with you?

That is, do your employees look forward to being in your office (or where you conduct business)? Do people enjoy working with you? Do people feel glad to be part of your organization?

Your answers to these questions will explain the results that you're getting.

Key Point: Would you want to work for yourself?

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Leadership: Novel Idea for Meetings

This could revolutionize your business meetings.

I heard about this while in the lobby at a local theater (we saw The Blind Side, which is a delightful feel-good story). The theater announced this over their public address system.

In fact, this idea is so incredible, we need a drum roll to introduce it.

(Imagine the sound of an epic Hollywood fan fare . . . . )

The idea: Hold your next meeting at your local movie theater.

Here are seven benefits that show why this merits consideration.

1) No agenda is needed. The theater will provide a selection of options listed on their marquee.

2) Watching a movie may be a better use of everyone's time than sitting in a conference room engaging in chit chat.

3) No one will be put on the spot to entertain everyone with jokes, stories, or such nonsense. The movie will take care of that for you.

4) Some movies can be inspirational because they have happy endings. This can leave the attendees in a better mood than exists after meetings that wasted everyone's time.

5) Sitting in a movie theater will protect your staff from having to interact with each other. Since they must remain silent, they won't be able to insult, attack, or ridicule anyone.

6) No one will be disappointed by the lack of results because none were expected. After all, does anyone expect to leave a movie with an agreement, solution, or plan?

7) The people in your office who want to work will be able to use the conference room for meetings based on goals and an agenda.

Key Point: Some new ideas are too good to be true. Really.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

PS: My workshop on meetings shows how to obtain results that last.

Leadership: Thank the NFL for This One

Now it's over.

If you're a football fan, you know that the regular NFL season ended this past weekend. And now you know which teams will be in the playoffs.

Even if you aren't a football fan, there's an important lesson here.

It's the same lesson that can be found at the end of any season, whether in sports, business, or life.

It's the lesson that explains who won and who lost.

Certainly, the top teams won more games. Yet, there's a deeper message here.

They won those games by winning more plays.

Sure, they made mistakes. Runs were stopped, balls were dropped, and so on. Yet, the winning teams won the plays that mattered.

And the point is this: everything works this way.

We win at life one day at a time, one choice at a time.

So pay attention to the little things. They add up to become the big thing that matters.

Key Point: Make good choices. They add up to become your life.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

PS: My workshop on Life Mastery shows you how to make better choices.

Leadership: The Real Secret to Success

The last two blogs stressed the importance of planning. Now, here is the key to success.

Admittedly, it's a simple idea.

Implementation, however, will take considerable thought and deliberate action.

This idea is: Small things done consistently over long time produce huge results.

So life is a matter of investing time.

Note that this works both ways. People who invest their time, build a legacy. Those who waste their time, waste a life.

This is powerful because every real success comes from the deliberate accumulation of small successes.

For example, people who read become knowledgeable. People who save become wealthy. People who help become popular. And so on.

Thus, make investment the foundation of your planning.

Of course, in order to do this you will need a vision of what you want to achieve. Then you will need goals and strategies for achieving that vision.

By the way, see Monday's blog for three questions that can help you make plans.

Key Point: Small things done consistently over long time produce huge results.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator