365QOD- Day1425

Fire Yourself

"At the end of the year, fire yourself."- drastic advice

We often make decisions on our lives that become permanent.  Once we land a great job we start thinking and breathing the company culture and can never see ourselves leaving it.  We become one of "them".

What is wrong with this typical scenario is we become entrenched.  We get stuck.  It takes a serious nudge to move on to something that is even better.

This being the last day of the year, it is a wonderful time to ask yourself a question, "Is what you are working on the best use of your life?"  Fire yourself and ask if you would rehire yourself for the same job or is something else a better fit.

Today's question is:
"Would you fire yourself from the job you are doing?"

365QOD- Day1424

Mindful Stupidity

"Measles are making a comeback."- a news report

There is a group of very "intelligent" people in this country.  They believe that what they believe is completely true and that the rest of us are just stupid.  This is very dangerous.

Measles is an illness that has a proven vaccine.  These "intelligent" people without any proof have decided not to immunize their children.  They have the right to refuse giving their children the vaccine but they do not have the right to endanger other people's kids.  

So what is the big lesson?

The question that needs to be asked is whether the children need to be allowed to go to school and be among vaccinated children?  My answer is no.  Since you make a choice that endangers the lives of others you lose the privilege to be among others.  It is simple.

I know that this post is harsh.  To me there is no middle ground.  If there is a vaccine that prevents an illness that could lead to an epidemic then we should not have a choice about whether we take it to remove the greater evil.

Today's question is:
"Do you  benefits of many outweigh the choice of one?"

365QOD- Day1423

Temporary Social Networks

"You can talk to people near you or you can text them."- a silly choice

I recently read an article which described an interesting concept.  The concept was a temporary local social network.  It made me curious enough to read on.

A hotel chain is experimenting with having a local social network for their guests so that they can learn about each other.   They are hoping to get people to interact and meet each other.  The network also ties the guests to the local businesses and activities.  This way guests can meet and hopefully sample local restaurants and activities.

I thought that this was interesting in that the hotel is trying to get people to meet.  What happened to just opening yourself to meeting others in teh lobby of a hotel?  I guess with smart phones it is a lost art.

Today's question is:
"Are you open to meeting people while out and about?"

365QOD- Day1422

Learning from Questions

"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer"- Bruce Lee

I love this quote.  It teaches us a great lesson.  

The lesson it teaches is to be aware and open to learning.  The source for the lesson could be a foolish question.  I know my many students believed that there is no such thing.  Let me tell you a story of the importance of a question.  Even one that seemed foolish.

It was one Saturday morning and I was teaching a special session for a statistics course.  I was trying to explain how to develop a risk profile for investments by dividing a 100 dollar bill into buckets.  One of the students said that she just dd not know how to split it up and asked if it could be done automatically.

My initial reaction was that she was too lazy in her thought process.  BUT when that instant passed I opened myself to the wisdom in her question.  She helped me create a whole new way of looking at risk by looking for consistency. 

Yes I learned from what I perceived a foolish question.  I learned a lot.

Today's question is:
"Are you open to learning from a foolish question?"

365QOD- Day1421

A Single Day is a Lifetime

"...live each day as if it is your last day"- a zen belief

I hope that I live my life as if it could come to an end today.  It is an ideal that I strive towards but seldom reach.  That does not mean that I stop.

This quote teaches a slightly different version of this concept.  It is to see each day as having a beginning, middle, and eventually comes to an end.  The quote teaches for us to live it as if it is a lifetime.

I believe that a perfect day would start with being grateful to even be given the opportunity to begin it.  It is not guaranteed.  Following this short prayer, focus on making each moment meaningful and full of your attention.  By simply being in the "now" you will live the best day.  And lastly at the end of the day, close your eyes and say your thanks for the "present" that was given to you.

Tomorrow, get excited about the next present...if it comes.

Today's question is:
"Do you live your day as if it is a lifetime?"

365QOD- Day1420

Creativity vs. Creating

"There is no difference between them."- a silly belief

I believe that one of the highest forms of thought is to create something new.  It is by definition being creative.  It is when you conceive a new idea, product, etc.  The end product of this process is in your mind.  And this is where the danger is: it could stay there.

Creating is something different.  It is the action version of creativity.  You had to create the idea BUT in addition you took action to build it.  It is the extra step of taking action that makes Creating a higher form of Creativity.

Today's question is:
"Do you create of are you just creative?"

365QOD- Day1419

For all  the Nevers in Life

"I will never do that."- harsh words

I believe that being adaptive is very important.  Unfortunately we often don't behave as if we can adapt.

Many times in my life I have used the word never.  It usually had the format of "I will never do X."  And for most times I stuck to it.  But not always.

One time I remember using that sentence is when I said I will never work in the power industry when I was leaving college.  But guess what?  After 9 months being out of school I joined a power and utilities group inside of a steel mill.  And guess what.. it was a great experience.

The title of this post is based on a commercial I heard the other day.  In the commercial the guy talks about all the things he did not want to do.  Almost immediately he is seen doing what he said that he would never do.  In the end he shown with all of his never choices and he basically is content to have done all of them.

Today's question is:
"Do you break your NEVERs often?"

365QOD- Day1418

Dead on Arrival

"Too easy to kill."- my thought

I was reading an article about a company called Jet.com.  It is an idea that a successful entrepreneur came up with to challange Amazon.

So what is the idea?  Well, if you are going to buy online you usually have to pay shipping.  What if you could get a great price and save on shipping by delaying it or sourcing it locally.  You could combine items you purchase and save on shipping.

These ideas at first seem great except they are too easy to kill.  Amazon could always match the price that this company offers and even undercut it.  Amazon who has many shipping centers could automatically bundle the purchase and offer a pleasant surprise by reducing the price when it can do it.  So the idea is good but can be quickly emulated by existing players and it is not a gamechanger.

Today's question is:
"How do you know when your ideas can be killed by others quickly?"

365QOD- Day1417

Improving Energy

"What are you doing to improve your PEMS muscles?"- my question to myself

I manage energy instead of time.  What does this mean?

At minimum I need to monitor my Physical, Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual energies.  Each day I need to provide myself with opportunities to stretch those muscles.

Do I? Not always and that causes an imbalance and I have to spend time to correct each dimension. If I do not give the people in my life the time that they need emotionally then I will pend time arguing with them.  In the end the time spent arguing is the same as the time I invest every day BUT the effect is negative vs. positive.

These energies are like muscles.  The more you exercise them the stronger you get and the more your life becomes balanced.

Today's question is:
"What are you doing to exercise your PEMS muscles?"

365QOD- Day1416

Being Ungrateful

"You can be unhappy but not ungrateful."- Good words

We happen to be living during the most profitable times in human existence.  Even  the poorest of us are living more abundantly than even kings lived during the last few hundred years.  

We need to look at the level of abundance that we are enjoying.  We are lucky to have more food than we need.  We are lucky to be connected to so much information in the palm of our hand. We are...

I can go on for a while.  BUT the idea is that we need to appreciate the abundance that has been placed before us and simply say THANKS.

Today's question is:
"How do you show appreciate the abundance in your life?"

365QOD- Day1415

Taking Things Away

"If I say yes it is partly because life keeps taking things away from me and I am never sure when it is the last chance I will have to do something, to do it fully, and if it is, I do not want to miss it."- words from the movie Words and Pictures

In the movie Words and Pictures on of the main characters is stricken with severe arthurithus.  She is an artist and struggles to paint because of it.  Painting is her life passion.

The words are so powerful.  So powerful that they made me pause the movie and capture them.

The character is wise enough and in enough pain to realize that life is slowly taking things away from her and that any opportunity should not be wasted.  She does not want to look back and realize that even if she could do it she might not be able to do something to her fullest.

Unfortunately the rest of us do not make the same connections.  Most of us do not have a severe medical issue that takes things away from us.  We are blessed with bodies that, even though we abuse them, continue to perform.

Time however is cruel.  It ticks away and our bodies slowly change and our abilities, even though it is not severe, reduce over time. It does not pick favorites and slowly squeezes out life out of all of us.

Fight back and do the things in front of you while you can do them to your fullest ability.

Today's question is:
"What is life taking away from you?"

365QOD- Day1414

Success of  Women

"There are 6 characteristics of women who are successful."- a lead in

This morning I watched a show in which the reporter sited a study which showed that successful women bosses have these six characteristics:
1. Assertion
2. Aggression
3. Empathy towards employees
4. Strong ego
5. Total focus
6. Vitality

When I heard these I was not surprised.  These same characteristics can be easily observed in successful men bosses.

So what is new about this?

To me it is interesting that someone thought it was worthwhile to spend time researching this topic.  It is as if women are not human beings.  To me it is obvious that maybe they have slightly different levels of these characteristics than do men but they have them.  And as individuals they might even have more of them than a man.

Today's question is:
"Are men and women leaders that different?"

365QOD- Day1413

Significance

"The highest human need is significance"- my observation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Most of us are striving to be successful.   But is that good enough?

It does not take a lot of research to see stories of successful people that self-distruct. Unfortunately, their examples can be found on TV daily.  They often lead the news.

So maybe success is just not good enough of a level to strive for.  Maybe we need to shoot for significance and settle for success?

What do I mean?  Well, instead of worrying about our own success figure out ways of making others successful.  Maybe by improving the level of others we will automatically raise our own.

Today's question is:
"How do you elevate your significance?"

365QOD- Day1412

Full Potential

"See what you can do with all you got."- advice

I have written about this idea before.  

Research has shown that often we do not fully give of ourselves because we might conclude that our best was not enough.  That has to be a crushing thought that if you gave it your all and you do not succeed that you just were not good enough. This is just an internal conflict.

The same can be said about competing against others.  What if you play tennis and do not succeed against another player.  Well the easiest thing to say is that you did not give it your all.  That takes away the greatness of others and replaces it with us not giving it our all.

Both scenarios expose the idea of how we make excuses in order not to give our all.  But what if did give it our all?  We would get a result that we might or might not like.  With that result we can always decide if it is good enough or we can improve it.  BUT we have to be true to ourselves and give it our all and not hold back.

Today's question is:
"Would you be willing to truly give it your all if it means tat it is not good enough?"

365QOD- Day1411

 A Few Steps Down the Road

"I've learned that fear limits you and your vision.  It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you.  The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path.  transforming fear into freedom- how great is that"- Soledad O'Brian

How true!

We tend to see our obstacles as 100 foot tall walls.  Their size inflated by our belief.  Even when the obstacle in reality could be one foot tall we inflate it.

Soledad gives us the answer in the words "just a few steps down the road for you."  By believing that we are only a few steps away from overcoming might be enough of a belief to overcome it.

I practice yoga several times a week.  It is a great way to relax and improve my flexibility.  But no matter how much I practice certain poses are difficult.  One in particular requires me to perform a "bind".  My arms are just not that long.  BUT I keep twisting myself enough that now I can touch my fingertips.

As Soledad advises I am a few more steps to conquering that pose.

Today's question is:

"Do you make the effort towards those few steps?"

365QOD- Day1410

Looking Deep Inside

"The truth's not lost on me, it's just on a part of me where you probably don't want to look."- Unknown

I believe that the hardest thing to do is to self examine ourselves.  It is difficult because it requires us to confront our failures and the resons for them.

What about looking deep inside others?  We fail there also.

In most instances we form our opinions of others too quick and retain them for the length of the relationship.  Even at times when those beliefs ashould be challenged we tend to stick with them.  

The quote above is the reason we fail to look inside our selves and others.  It is because we just might not like what we seen inside.  The truth can sometimes be very ugly to look at.

But ignorance is not bliss.  I believe that most of my mistakes are due to a lack of self examination.  If I make a mistake and do not take the pause to refelct on it then I will blindly make that same mistake again.  There is no chance of making a better mistake.

Today's question is:

"Do you look deep inside yourself and others?"

365QOD- Day1409

Business Failure

"Driving your business into the ground"- an idea

I believe that no one intentionally drives their business into the ground.   Most business owners see their businesses like their kids.   Intentionally killing them is not the way most normal parents think.

Recently I worked with a small company that I worked hard to build up.  I was one of two key employees that were tasked with growing the office.  We both worked hard because the intent was for both of us to purchase the business from the owner in the future.

After several months of success I was told that it is not working out.   We were growing and needed poople to satisfy our growing list of clients.   So it was interesting to hear the words that it was not working out.

After I left the company had lost several other employees.   The company is on a downward cycle into the ground.   That is sad since it had a lot of potential.

So what happened?

The owner did not do his own thinking.   He listened to only one of the key employers( hint it was not me).  That particular employee overestimated his importance and his knowledge.   The owner bought into his view.

Today's question is:

"How long would you follow the advice of an employee that is killing your business?"

365QOD- Day1408

One with the Source

"I can't imagine the world without you."- t-shirt words

This tshirt slogan was unlike any I have read before. It made me pause and feel a warmth.

This person did not know me.   Why would they care if I existed or not?

And that is its power.

I believe that we are all spirits. All of us are spirits and we are one. We are here to evolve.  What?

So how do I explain evil spirits?   These are spirits that have not evolved.  Maybe they ate even here top help the test of us evolve.

Today's questing is:

"Can you imagine a world without me?"

365QOD- Day1407

Critical Question

"What important truth do very few people agree with you?"- Peter Thiel Question

This would be a very tough question for most people to answer.  Why?   Because most people apt to group think too well.  It is safer to agree than to do your own thinking.

I often do my own thinking.   It is not that I do not eventually apt to the belief of the group but it is not automatic.   I am willing to be looked upon add being difficult if what I believe is critical for the group to learn and company to adopt.

It is not rare for me to ask during interviews of the company is looking for a yes man.  I am not that and would rather walk away from an opportunity than to fit in just to make a paycheck.   It is just not me.

The truth for me that I suspect many people would not agree with its that a person can fit in and contribute by being an independent thinker.

Today's question is:

"Are you a yes man/woman?"

365QOD- Day1406

Ambiguity and Comfort

"Comfort with ambiguity is among the most sought after quality in job candidates"- Yahoo story

I love ambiguity.   I do not expect things to be clearly laid out to proceed. The messier the better.

Why?

When there is a lack of clarity there exist a lot of room of interpretation and creativity.  Because of the ambiguity I can create something better quickly and easily. quickly

For most people this causes stress.   They want the cookbook.  I just want the ingredients and freedom.

Interesting that most companies are recognizing the need for puerile like myself that fell very comfortable with that ambiguity.  They must be undergoing a lot of change.

Today's question is:

"How comfortable are you with ambiguity ?"

365QOD- Day1405

Slogans

"Imagine invest improve" kidinc.org t-shirt slogan

The other day I was in a grocery store when a lady wearing a t-shirt walked towards me.   I love reading t-shirt slogans so I could not resist.   Immediately it captured me enough to look at the back to see the organization's name.

I love this slogan.   In the little words it teaches a great business lesson.   Notice that the process starts off internal.  You must imagine a better way.

But that is not enough and you must invest next.  This could be your time,  your money,  your sweat. 

Lastly,  you must observe the result and your customer in order to be able to improve it.   This could be a small change or lathe step change.   But you must improve because your competitors are improving their offering.

Today's questing is:

"What slogan had taught you a lesson?"

365QOD- Day1404

Becoming More Valuable

"It is not what I am but what I can become that makes me valuable."- my thoughts

I believe that most people go to work and try to do a great job for their employers.   However this quote gives us a slightly different perspective.

It urges us not to only work hard but to become more valuable.  How?

I believe that the best way to become more valuable is yup full your company's gaps.  If you see that none is in charge of quality then offer top learn and improve the product quality.

If there is a gap in management offer to step in and fill the role until a new replacement cam be found.   Managing people might not be your first choice but it might be your employers urgent need.

Bottom line is to look for gaps and full them.   This will make you streams out add a problem solver.

Today's question is:

"Do you offer to fill gaps?"

365QOD- Day1403

Highs and Lows

"God is greater than the highs and lows."- great wisdom

Don't take things personally. It is not about you.  Of course as human beings we tend to do the opposite.

We tend to believe that our lows last too long and are a lot lower.   On the other hand our highs are to quick and not high enough.

I believe that the moment we learn to enjoy both we become released from this cycle. It no longer becomes about us but the experience. I am not saying that it is easy but I believe it is worthwhile to pursue.  It brings freedom.

Today's question is:

"Do you savor the highs and lows?"

365QOD- Day1402

Deliberate practice approach

"What should I give up this year"- my question to myself

Two years ago I started giving things up.   Every year I give up foods that control me.   Two years ago I have up sugar.  I now do not miss adding sugar at all.

This year I have up chocolate.  It was hard and I expect that my daily cravings are not going to return. Just like sugar I will be able to control my desire for sugar and chocolates instead of them controlling me.

That is self a victory of the self in my eyes.

The other day a person suggested that I give up dairy for a year.  I immediately noted it and have not been able to get it out of my mind. I believe that it will be even harder that the other two challenges.

So for 2015 I will not drink milk, eat ice cream, eat cheese, drink yogurt, or drink kefir. I am giving up five things instead of one.

I expect that this will test me unlike the other two.   The other two were tough but these five will really push my eating habits.  I suspect that in the end I will prevail.  I also expect that these will have minimal effect on my health.

Today's question is:

"What food controls you?"

365QOD- Day1401

Ignoring All the Rules

"Shock the system and ignore all the rules"- A rebel call to action

This is hard to do. To shock the system you have to be willing to do something that you would never normally do.  You not only have to get out of the box but to completely destroy the box in order to not be able to get back into it.

We think that by living on the edge of our life box that this is all there is to do and achieve.   That is naive.  It is only true if we accept it to be true.

To truly change anything you have to sometimes believe the opposite to be true.  Again this is very hard to do because human beings like being in an equilibrium state. We might slightly nudge ourselves but we won't shove ourselves out until we have to. Often this is some to us instead of us doing it to ourselves.

Today's question is:

"Are you willing to ignore all of the rules?"

365QOD- Day1400

Fuzzy Random Inputs

"Fuzzing applying random inputs and looking for some unexpected outcomes"- Unknown

We tend to follow known rules often in our lives.   Once we figure out that given input A well result in output B, we can predict the output

  It becomes predictable and we move on learning another rule.

But there is a difference between predictable and optimal. In order to get to optimal level we must introduce a random fuzzy input A*.  Then we look for some unexpected result.   It could be B* or even Z*.  This randomness will nudge you towards that optimal that you will never get to by using predictable inputs.

A great example of this idea is when software is tested by people who would not normally use it.  They could introduce inputs that the normal user might not because they know better.   This is important to find bugs that traditional testers would not catch.

Today's question is:

"Do you test your ideas with fuzzy random?"

365QOD- Day1399

Bad Data

"What happens when we get flooded with false alarms and bad data?

We ignore all data."- Unknown

We are all drowning in data.  I do not  believe the quality of most data I consume. I have seen through the ignorance of those that report it.

But the quote provides an interesting twist on the bad data idea. The quote teaches us that it is ignored. You don't believe it?it

For a moment ask yourself when was the last time you ran towards a car whose alarm wad going off? Never.  Why? Because you know that most often cat alarms are false and it would be a waste of your time to bother.

Do you know that thieves also know this?   So if they want to to steal a cat they are Beyer off in seeing of a bunch of alarms at once.   Most of us would dance this to be a false alarm and not even bother while they steal what they want.

The lesson is that we still have to pay attention to false data otherwise  we could be ripped off.   But just because we pay attention to it does not mean that we accept it and act on it.

Today's question is:

"Do you ignore false alarms?"

365QOD- Day1398

Differentiating signal

"Some examples of differentiating signals are Simon Cowell and car alarms"- my words

One of the things that we do poorly add parents is praise our kids too much. Even when what they do is average we praise them add having done a super job.   This leads to a false sense of accomplishment.

When we grow up and get a job that level of false praise does not exist.   Often times company yearly review are designed to be negative.   The company feels that they hired ten Einstein and that one of them is a dud.

So what is the solution?

When Simon Cowell was on American Idol he offered a brutal review of the talent performance.  He had no fear of letting someone know that they ducked or that they need to improve. His advice was not only valuable to the contestant but to the audience as well.   By being a Differentiating signal he allowed us the audience to truly evaluate the talent.

I believe that we need to enviable or kids to improve but if they do not truly have a talent to be honest and let them know that they should try something else.

Similarly,  we have to risk being perceived as being difficult by providing that differentiating signal to our team.  This would allow the company to make better decisions.  Be careful! It could lead to your demise of used too often.

Today's question is:

"Can you be a differentiating signal ?"

365QOD- Day1397

Living Forever

"We all die. The goal is not to live forever.  The goal is to make something that will."-Unknown

I started writing this blog almost four years ago with the quote, "The key to immortality is to live a life worth remembering." It is still my guiding light.

Once in a while I sit and ask myself whether I am moving towards that light.  Sadly often times I realize that the light is behind me. As

As the quote advises it is not the longevity of the person that is important.  In the end the person turns to dust and returns to the earth.  

The work and deeds that the person achieves last forever.   A piece of you survives.  The more meaningful the work the longer it will survive.

Today's question is:

"Are you moving towards your light?"

365QOD- Day1396

Four Elements of Leadership- Openness

"Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent."- Bertrand Russell

 

The areas of congruence and acceptance are improved by openness.   As I have already mentioned you have to be open to your team's ideas in order for them to offer them.  They have to feel that they can trust you and that you will be willing to accept them if they are valuable.

But openness does not always mean acceptance of a truly naff idea.   If you can build on it then maybe it is worthwhile.   But sometimes saying that an idea is not the best choice and providing logic as to why can be seen as being open.   But it can not be your normal mode of operation.  Being a killer of ideas is ok once in a while but when done too often it can lead to the team not offering them in the future.

Add you can see these for areas of teluability, congruence, acceptance,  and openness  go together to improve your leadership potential.   You have to ask yourself each day whether you nudged the ball forward with your team in each of these areas.   forward The gain in each one could be small but your overall leadership could be undergoing a step change in improvement.

Today's question is:

"How open are you to your team's ideas?"

365QOD- Day1395

Four Elements of Leadership- Acceptance

"The first step toward change is awareness.  The second step is acceptance"- Nathaniel Braden

 

As the leader your reliability and congruence are just a start to building yourself as a leader. You must also develop acceptance.

As I mentioned in congruence you have to be open to your team selling you on their ideas.   If you feel that your ideas are the only ones that count than the team will shut down and no offer any new ideas to you.

Sometimes accepting an inferior team idea might seem like a loss to you add the leader but it could be used as a teachable moment for both you and the team.   Acceptance of their idea and then guiding the team to improve the idea is priceless.   But you have to have the patience to pull it off.

Acceptance of the ideas of others as superior to yours is difficult.   It takes effort to not win the battle in order to win the war.

Today's question is:

"How do you improve your acceptance?"

 

365QOD- Day1394

Four Elements of Leadership- Congruence

"A certain harmony should be kept between actions and ideas if we want to fully develop the effects they can produce"- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Recently I had a boss with whom I was not congruent.   He was incompetent and full of himself.   So we lacked congruence.

As a must build congruence.  Your followers do not have to agree with every decision you make but they have to be a part of the process.   As the leader you can not operate in a vacuum and expect people to follow you.   to

Congruence is built by getting buy in from the team that your ideas are the best.   In that same light you have to be willing to let the team improve upon your ideas.   You have to realize that the team might have a lot better ideas than you.   You might know what the corporate vision is and have to find a path that fits both the vision and the needs of the team.

That is how you build congruence. Not by being a bull in a China shop.   But by being willing to sell your ideas and being open to being sold to by your team.

Today's question is:

"How congruent are you with your team ?"

365QOD- Day1393

Four Elements of Leadership- Reliability

Trust in leadership can be distilled down to four basic elements.

"Trust in others (and their trust in us) depends on four elements: reliability, congruence, acceptance, and openness."-Joanna Barsh and Johanne Lavoie in their book Centered Leadership: Leading with Purpose, Clarity, and Impact

In order for a leader to be trusted,  a leader had to be reliable.   It is one of the four basic elements.

So what do we mean by being reliable?   Being a reliable a leader can be thought of as someone who has your back. Not once but all the time.

As a follower you must get the sense that the leader will come in and clean up any problems with external people and issues that are beyond your level. A leader must be present and aware of the issues that a team has in order to be able to help.

The messages that a leader gives to his team can not change 180 degrees and expect not to lose the belief the team will have in you as being reliable. Consistency in how you nurture the team and protect them leads to you as the leader being perceived as reliable.

Today's question is:

"How reliable are you to your team?"