Leadership Solutions

How to Predict the Future

I know what's going to happen tomorrow.

And I know what's going to happen the day after that.

How?

I did it.

In this case, I'm referring to blogs that I wrote.

Right now, it's August 24 when I'm writing this. I will schedule this article to appear on August 31. And since I've already posted blogs for the next four days, I also know what they are.

There's an important point in this.

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

And the process is quite simple:

Begin with a vision of what you want, set goals as achievement milestones, and define the tasks that will accomplish the goals.

Then apply the effort to complete the tasks.

If you do this, you will be able to predict the future that you can control.

In fact, if you don't do this, you will still predict the future. It will be an extension of what you have right now, which is most likely based upon what others decide for you.

So imagine the possibilities.

You could predict a comfortable retirement, an admirable career, or other commendable achievement.

Today's Task: Take the first step toward predicting the future.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

PS: My workshop on Time Management shows people how to predict the future.

How to Be Human

We're losing touch with this.

It's the simple practice of being human rather than being an extension of some machine.

Here are five ways to be human. Try them. You'll be amazed by what happens.

1) Write a letter.

Use your words, your paper, and your handwriting. Mail the letter to someone who matters, such as your parents, best friends, or relatives.

2) Talk to someone.

Ask questions. Show interest in what the person says. Encourage the other person to tell more. Convey acceptance. Offer praise. Acknowledge effort. Share feelings. Listen.

3) Walk outside.

Walk anywhere: up and down the street, to a store, or in a park. Then look at the trees, admire the flowers, breathe the air.

4) Think.

Ask yourself questions. Answer them. Find out who you are. Challenge what you're doing. Make plans. Prepare solutions. Consider alternatives. Dream.

5) Help someone.

Offer encouragement. Do a favor. Share something. Let them go first. Let them have more. Let them be special.

Today's Task: Be a human. Note: If this feels good, you may want to continue tomorrow.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

PS: My workshops are for people who want to be human.

What Walls Have You Built?

Every wall serves two purposes:

1) It keeps the builder on one side.

2) It keeps others on the other side.

So here are questions to consider:

• What walls have you built?

• Are you inside or outside of the walls that you built?

• How have these walls affected your freedom?

Consider: Every wall removes access to something, and thereby reduces everyone's freedom.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

PS: My workshops show how to get results without having to build walls.

How to Finish a Big Project

It's a huge project.

In this case, I'm referring to scanning photos.

Last week my wife began converting our old prints into digital files. Since we have 14 albums plus a few shoes boxes filled with thousands of photos, this could take a long time.

It might take a year, or more.

And yet she started.

Why?

Because she knows that eventually she will finish.

What's the point?

Sometimes people will tell me that they don't want to start a project because the work will take too long to complete.

So, they avoid doing something that might make a huge difference in their lives.

You must know that you will be a year older a year from now, regardless how you spend the time.

So what's your dream? A new career? A novel? A personal project?

Start now.

It's the first step toward finishing.

Consider: The sooner you start, the sooner you finish.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

PS: My workshops show how to realize your dreams.

Happy Mother's Day

Sure, this is August.

And we can still be nice to our mother.

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Hey Mom! You were the greatest.

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So what can you do today to thank your mother?

Take a moment to leave a memory that lasts forever.

Today's Task: Do something special for your mother.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

How to Make a Problem Worse - Part 2

Recall a conflict that you had with someone else.

It may have been a disagreement, an argument, or something like that.

There are two choices.

1) Act like a lizard: Make it worse.

Engage in fear-based fiction. For example, you  might:

• Invent evil motives.

• Create a demonic personality for the other person.

• Fantasize about another, dramatically worse conflict.

This approach guarantees that more conflicts will occur.

If both sides scare themselves with such horrific fiction, then they will act defensively the next time that they meet. And all defensive behavior is offensive.

Thus, each will affirm the other's bad expectations, and then the conflict becomes worse.

2) Act like a human: Make it better

Accept that the conflict resulted from different priorities, a mistake, or different assumptions. Then recognize that:

• The other person is another human being, like you.

• The other person feels badly about what happened.

• The other person wants to find a solution.

This approach leaves open the possibility that a mature conversation can occur where the conflict is resolved.

Today's Task: Discard fear-based fiction.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

PS: My workshops show people how to get results without causing damage.

How to Hold Better Staff Meetings

No one can afford to waste time on bad meetings.

Here are five things that you can do to make your staff meetings a valuable part of running your business.

1) Be Efficient

Prepare an agenda driven by questions that lead people to the results you want. Recognize that people work best when they focus on single issues for brief lengths of time.

2) Be Equitable

Design staff meetings so that everyone participates. Maintain a safe, positive environment that facilitates candid, creative thinking. Avoid criticism, ridicule, or other aggressive nonsense that causes some to withdraw. Insist on respect for all.

3) Be Generous

Delegate the planning and conduct of these meetings to members of your staff. This frees you to work on other tasks. It also allows you to participate in the meeting. Then you can observe the leadership skills of the person in charge and the team dynamics of your staff.

4) Be Brief

If you must convey news: a) Send the news in an e-mail before the meeting, b) Summarize the news briefly (e.g., less than a minute) in the meeting, and c) Have each person report on how they will respond to the news.

5) Be Educational

Have members of your group deliver brief tutorials on topics that benefit the group. Or, invite a guest expert to give a short (e.g., 10 minute) presentation on some skill or technology that benefits your group. Make this a rotating assignment and include one such session in each staff meeting.

Today's Task: Design staff meetings that earn a profit on the time spent in them.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of One Great Meeting

714-528-1300

PS: Want more ideas? Find them at July Newsletter.

What Lens Do You Use

If you're a photographer, you know this.

The lens on your camera influences how you see.

For example, with a macro lens, you would look for small things.

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And with a telephoto, you would look for far things.

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This also applies to business and life.

Your view of the world influences what you see, what you notice, and what you find. Then these influence what you do.

This can work in reverse. Your results will reveal the lens that you used to obtain them.

Today's Question: Are the results that you want consistent with your view of the world?

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

PS: My workshops expand your view.www.stevekaye.com/workshop-topics.html

Decision Map

Most leaders have a list of important decisions.

Trying to keep them in mind can be stressful and distracting.

So, here is a technique that may help you.

Prepare a Decision Map. This involves two steps:

1) Schedule

Put the decisions on a calendar according to the time frame when they will be due.

2) Prepare

Identify the data, conditions, and resources that will influence each decision. Where appropriate, make plans to obtain these so that you will have them when the decisions are due.

The advantages of this process are:

1) This allows you to defer having to think about major decisions until they are due. Now your mind is clear to focus on more immediate issues.

2) This organizes your decision making into manageable tasks.

Today's Task: Prepare a Decision Map.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

PS: My workshop on Time Management shows many planning techniques.

How to Respond

This will happen to everyone.

Someday, you will receive bad news about someone special.

It might sound like, "Dad just . . . ." or something like that.

Recognize that this is traumatic for the person conveying the news. So, here's how to help:

1) Listen

Just listen to the news. Pay careful attention. And say as little as possible.

2) Agree

Simply acknowledge what happened. You might say, "That's terrible."

3) Sympathize

Express sorrow. You might say, "I'm sorry to hear this."

4) Support

Offer to help. So you might say, "Call if you need anything."

Notice that all of these are very simple, brief, mild responses.

Here's a list of what NOT to do:

1) Do not become angry. Recognize that the caller is in an especially vulnerable state. Any anger will add to that person's trauma.

2) Do not give advice. In general, no wants advice; and this is an especially bad time to tell someone what to do. Now the other person has to fend off the invasive criticism inherent in advice.

3) Do not cross examine. Accept that the other person is telling you everything that's known.

4) Do not teach a lesson. Do not attempt to connect the news with your pet peeve or personal campaign for social change.

5) Do not make the news worse. Do not talk about lost opportunities, possible hardships, or other complications.

Today's Task: Be prepared to master respect under extraordinary circumstances.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Results Specialist

Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Author of Create Success

714-528-1300

PS: My workshop on Communication Skills emphasizes respectful communication.