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- 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- Day1383

Creating a Time Budget

"Time is more important than money"- my belief

I really believe that time is more valuable than money.  I can convert time into money by working.  Similarly I can never convert money into time by hiring someone else to do something that I need to do instead of me.

But, to me, a loss of money can be replaced by working harder and smarter.  The same analogy does not work for time.  No matter what i do I can not get time back.

With this in mind, I do believe that when we work on an idea we need to create a time budget.  If you have 2 hours per week then in a year(assuming two weeks off) you have 100 hours.  Ten hours a week translate into 500 hours in a year.    And 20 hours per week translates into 1000 hours per year.

The math is simple but there is a big difference to committing to a 1000 hour project vs. a 100 hour project.  The 1000 hour time budget would give you adequate time to "put a dent in the universe" and your idea.

Today's question is:
"Do you create time budgets?

365QOD- Day1362

Expand Your Mind Expand Your Success

"I got lazy.  I stopped doing the things that got me the success"- Matt Morris on why he went broke after becoming a millionaire

This morning I went for a run.  While running I listened to an Eventual Millionaire show featuring Mike Morris.  It was a very good 4.5 mile run and the podcast was very engaging.

What I found interesting about Mike is that he recognized the laziness in himself and others.  He recognized that by using the three piece formula
              Success= Financial Vehicle + Effort+ Skill Set

Financial vehicle is the business you are in.  Are you selling a product?  Are you providing a service?  What is your way to financial freedom?  Is it through working for others? 

The Effort piece has to be ongoing never ending drive to outwork others.  If you are not getting up early working on your business before getting to your office to execute your business you are behind the next guy.  You must work harder than anyone you know.  There has to be a sacrifice in order for you to do that.  You have to be willing to pay the price in other areas of your life.

Skill Set is something that is easiest to pick up.  Initially your skills might not be great.  So it will require incredible amounts of work to build up your skills.  Expending your skills is very easy.  You can read books, attend seminars, listen to podcasts, etc.  Your skill goal is to be within the 1% of the knowledge level for that particular area.   In my opinion, this can be achieved in any area of interest within 2 years of daily effort. 

One thing that Mike mentions is an example of trying to lift a plane on a runway.  He says that one can not get liftoff by having the throttle 50% of the way, 70% of the way.  You must have the throttle 90-100% back in order for liftoff to occur. 

Today's question is:
"What are your vehicle, level of effort, and skill set level on your road to success?"

365QOD- Day1352

Importance

"Just because you can, does not mean you should."- my words of advice

In last two posts I talked about understanding the Issue and Impact of a problem that you are trying to solve for your client.  The two pieces are powerful when combined BUT they are still not enough.

What!

Yes, understanding the problem creates a bond between you and your client.  Providing a visual confirmation assures the client that a solution can be found and that you have invested a bit of time and money.  The impact understanding is the icing on the cake.  It assures the client that you know the value of the problem.

So what is the problem?

Just because you have knowledge of the problem and the impact it might not be enough.  The problem has to be worth solving for you and the client to benefit from it.  If you do not benefit from it then it is a win-loss and you should turn the sale down. Unless you have a win-win and the importance is high for you both to work towards the solution, it is better to walk away and focus on another opportunity.  You can always suggest someone that the client can work with.  Possibly even your competition.

Today's question is:
"How do you evaluate whether a problem is important enough to solve?

365QOD- Day1351

Impact

"I believe that I understand your issue."- A good start

In yesterday's post I talked about taking the time to understand the issue taht your client has.  This is very important to your success.  Without understanding the issue completely you will sound like a salesperson instead of a problem solver with the best of intentions.  

But that is not enough!

I was so proud of knowing the issue.  This by itself sets you apart from others that are bidding for work BUT I never got to the next level of need.  The next level of need is Impact.  

You must understand the impact that the problem is creating for your client.  Yes I did ask for a paragraph or two detailing the Issue.  Yes I did go and see the problem with my own eyes and  create a 3D sketch of the problem.  

Understanding the problem impact is the next level of selling to a client.  By drilling into the why behind the problem you will learn why the client's bosses felt it was necessary to solve this problem.   They might have even generated a business case for the project.

You can think of the ISSUE as the WHAT part of the problem.  The IMPACT is the WHY part of the problem.  By looking at the two pieces as the what and why you get a better understanding of the client and their boss' pain.

Today's question is:
"How do you obtain the IMPACT portion of the problem?"

365QOD- Day1350

Issue

"My company offers this solution."- a misguided sales pitch

Recently I have been working with several companies for which I offer proposals for work to be done by a team of engineers and designers.  One of the things that I learned very quickly is to not sell the client on the offer.  

What?

Yes, I would make an appointment and offer to go out to the field to get a better picture of what the issue the client was having.  I often times asked that my client clearly state the issue in one or two short paragraphs.  This would serve as the basis for the meeting and  my understanding of the issue.

After the initial office meeting and discussion, we would go to the field and see the issue that the client was having in front of us.  Then I would return to the office and have a designer generate a 3D sketch of what I saw and the proposed changes that need to be made.  This sketch would then get sent to the client in order to communicate that I understood their issue.

This system is a wonderful way of understanding the issue before submitting a proposal.  But it is not enough.  Tomorrow I will tell you why.

Today's question is:
"How do you understand your client's issues?"

365QOD- Day1346

Mind vs. Mindset

“What makes millionaire millionaires is their mind.”- Tommy’s belief

This was the opener of a great conversation I had yesterday with Tommy.  I immediately disagreed by pointing out that it was the mindset and not the mind that makes a difference.  Let me explain.

Many years ago I laid on a bed not being able to get up.  My back went out and I felt like a Sumo wrestler was sitting on my back.  I had a ripped stomach and was in the best physical shape of my life BUT I could not get up.  It took me 45 minutes and drenching sweat all over my body to get up. 

While laying there I kept thinking how my brain knew that I was physically in great shape.  It knew that I had no physical problem with my back.  In knew that I had a strong core.  So strong that I used to do up to 750 crunches every other day. 

At that time I recognized that a mind is not the brain.  It is elsewhere in the body.  It could be in the heart, it could be in the stomach, it could be in the brain, etc. 

I concluded that a mind is a terrible master but a wonderful servant.  This began my journey to self-knowledge and growth.  I have read veraciously.  I have attempted to adjust my mindset so that I can control my mind. 

Am I successful at doing it?  I am a lot better than I was eight years ago. 

My conversation with Tommy continued about mindset and the importance of being “preset” and aware.  It was not about having a million experiences but experiencing and understanding this experiences by placing pauses and achieving clarity.

Today’s question is:

“How do you achieve clarity?”

365QOD- Day1340

Getting Things Done

"Getting things done is the inverse of holding things in your head."- David Allan

I recently listened to an interview with the founder of GTD- Getting Things Done on Eventual Millionaire.  In the past I have had a hard time getting excited about this system.  This time it was different.

David believes that in order to be more effective and to get things done you must get the noise out of your head.  This is done by constantly noting things down and filing them in their appropriate place.  Once they have been noted then one must set aside time to prioritize them.

As a formula,

GTD=1/WhatIsInYourHead

Do I agree with it?  I do because it is simple.  I have seen the effects of having too many things in my head on my effectiveness.  The more time I spend thinking on paper the better I am overall.  I do not necessarily follow his system but I believe it could be helpful to get everything down on paper.  And then to make a plan on how you will deal with that information.

Today's question is:
"How often do you get things out of your head?"

365QOD- Day1320

Missed Opportunity is Irresponsibility

"It is better to be prepared for an opportunity an that opportunity not show up than to have an opportunity show up and you not be prepared"- Anonymous

Amen!

This quote is wisdom.  We tend to always focus on looking for opportunities.  That is important BUT once we have found what we believe is the best opportunity that can come our way we need to start preparing.  

Preparation is the key.  What price are you willing to pay to be prepared so that once the opportunity manifests you can step in and perform?  Yes, there is a price.  The price could be one of money or time or effort or all three.  

The title of this post might seem harsh.  It is intended.  If it is something you have self identified as important to you and for you not to make the effort to prepare for is irresponsible.  That means you are not responsible and will eventually fail if the opportunity come to you. 

The world has changed and you will not be given the time to prepare yourself when you start the opportunity.  You will be expected to be prepared before you start the opportunity.

Today' question is:
"What opportunity are you getting yourself ready for?"

365QOD- Day1313

Maverick MBA

"Why not? I can sell it."- powerful words

I used to teach MBA courses so I have a couple of opinions:
1. do not get an MBA unless you get it from a top school 
2. most people have not managed long enough to benefit from getting one

So why do I call this post Maverick MBA?  Because I believe that the group that would best benefit from getting the MBA is is the group least likely to get it.  Why?

People that succeed in business and are identified as fast movers eventually will go get an executive MBA.  Someone has tapped them on the shoulder as a fast mover and this is their ticket to the next level.  But are they the best ones to get an MBA?  No!

The people that would best be suited for the MBA are people who have risen through the organization initially but have stalled at a level.  This means that they are perceived as competent that the company does not want to move them up because they are afraid to lose what they got in that role.  
So these folks need to explore getting the degree as a way to force their company to eventually move them up or have outsiders more interested in them.  Where should they get their degree?  Top school if possible or if not then start picking up courses online from top schools.  This way you get the knowledge and do not get stuck with the bill.

Today's question is:
"Do you fit the bill for a Maverick MBA?"

365QOD- Day1311

Change Your Story

"You either choose your story or someone else does it for you."- My belief

Recently I heard a story about a your guy trying to sell bookmarks.  Selling of the bookmarks was done as a part of a Junior Achievement project.  

Just like girl scouts selling cookies he tried selling them one on one.  He would approach people and ask them if they were interested in buying a bookmark.  Some people bought and others did not.

Then it dawned on him that he needed to change his story.  He decided to go to businesses and offer a young entrepreneur trying to earn money for college story.  The owners bought the story and allowed him to place his bookmarks with the story in their stores.  The result was incredible and he ended up breaking all kinds of Junior Achievement records for sales.  

I love the story because it teaches how just changing the story and audience can get us much better results.  We can not be afraid to make the change to see if we can get an improved result.

Today's question is:
"Do you force yourself to change your story or do you wait for others to change it for you?"

365QOD- Day1310

Rolls and Rolls of Paper

"And why do we have these hundreds of rolls?"- my question to my boss

Many years ago I started my career in a steel mill.  After starting in the company I shared an office with a co-worker.  But fairly quickly, my boss got a new role and he moved to a new office that was bigger and his office became open.  So I asked him and he allowed me to move into his former office.

Well, that might seem like a great move except the office was full of crap.  It literally took me a year to get rid of all of the stuff that was there.  One of the first thing I noticed was that inside my new office was a cabinet full of paper rolls with graphs on them.  These graphs were generated by a machine that determined the speed of a breaker.

Being a newbie I asked the question.  My boss was so proud and took a couple of graphs for a breaker that showed the results from the last two tests spanning a five year period.  He laid the graphs on my desk and said, "Look we can compare the plots by placing them one on top of the other."

I looked enlightened.  But I asked a silly question, "So no one ever converted these graphs into data and mathematically analyzed the data?"  The look on his face was one of confusion.

His team had collected data on probably 50 breakers in outside yards for the last 25 years and all they had to show for it was graphs.  They could not mathematically show whether their opinions were correct by analyzing the graphs and converting it into information.

So I created a procedure and systematically got rid of all of the papers by analyzing them.  I looked like a genius and then I can get rid of the cabinet.

Today's question is:
"Do you question enough?"

365QOD- Day1279

Next Minute Opportunity

“You treat every minute like it is an opportunity to do something”- great advice

In the last six months I have become fascinated by 15 minute increments.  15 minutes makes up 1% of  our day and they are just long enough to do something of significance.  I believe there is great power in  learning how to best think and use our 15 minute increments.

So the quote is a direct challenge to this rule.  It urges that we think in terms of 1 minute instead of the  15 minute block.  If 15 is good then 1 minute must be great.  

I disagree!

15 minutes is long enough to dedicate yourself to a meaningful task.  One minute is too short to do the  same thing.  15 minutes is long enough that we minimize the transition time between tasks.  With one minute the transitions would take as much time as the task.

Today’s question is:

“How do you best optimize your 1% time block?”

365QOD- Day1268

Prisoner of Your Own Choices

"The price of security is insecurity."- Dan Harris’s father’s advice

I am amazed at how many unhappy people are unhappy.  The best way to observe this is to watch people on Monday mornings.  Most people look beaten before the week has even started and it only drags from that point till Friday.

The funny part of this is that where we work is a choice.  We are either chosen by our employer to join that team AND we agree to that choice.  So when things turn bad and you are miserable you always feel that you can not go anywhere else because you were "chosen".  Until one day when the company "chooses" to       un-choose you.   Or you chose to go somewhere else.

I am a firm believer in the third chose- work on your dreams while working for someone else OR simply work for yourself.  Find what you are passionate about and work on it after work.  Work on that invention until you can put it out on the market.  Write that book until you publish it. 

The third choice is to "Choose Yourself" as James Altucher calls it.  Choose to work on yourself, your projects , your ideas, your X, etc.

Today's question is:

"Do you  chose to work on your X, instead of waiting to be chosen by others?"

365QOD- Day1244

Upward and Downward Spirals

“People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can easily become a self fulfilling prophecy.”  Tony Robbins

I love watching basketball games.  It seems at times that a player gets on roll and every time they touch the ball they score.  Everything seems to go in.  Even the worst off-balance shot goes in.

Then there are nights when the player can go 0 for 10.  It makes no difference whether the player is right under the basket they can not score even if their life depended on it.  The ball will just not go in.

As the example shows, it is easy to get on an upward spiral as it is on the downward one.  So success is to minimize the downward spiral.  The key is to recognize you are on one and to say to yourself that nothing last forever and that you just need to keep doing what you have been doing consistently.  Your luck will change and eventually you will start the upward spiral.

Unfortunately, as you can see it in most athletes, most players dwell on the failure so much that they just become the self fulfilling prophecy.  You change the prophecy by believing that soon the upward spiral will start and controlling the next shot.

Today's question is:
"Do you recognize when you are on a downward spiral?"

365QOD- Day1181

Small Solutions

"What is the smallest subset of the problem we can usefully solve?"- Paul Graham, founder Y-combinator

This is a question that I have asked myself many of times in my life.  It eliminates the paralysis of having to do it all in one shot.  It allows for the belief that by solving a smaller problem we will be flexible enough to solve the bigger problem.  Let me give you an example.

While studying for my Masters I had to derive proofs of why a concept was true or false.  I would always look for the initial case and then the next case and lastly extrapolate for the largest case.

For example, lets say I am trying to prove a math theorem for matrix of size n by n.  I can quickly show that for the smallest matrix possible 2 by 2 it holds true.  Then I can show that for 3 by 3 it holds true.  I can then theoretically show that for some number k the matrix k by k the property holds.  Lastly, I can conclude that as k moves towards n the property will hold true.

The same idea can be applied for developing products.  Get the minimum acceptable product out the door and then slowly modify one thing about it and study the feedback from your customer.  Next improve the product and release a better version.

Today's question is:
"Do you try to solve the whole problem or do you aim for the smallest subset?"

365QOD- Day1107

Success Trap

“Failure’s hard, but success is far more dangerous.  If you’re successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in forever.”- Po Bronson author

I believe that people suffer two types of fears when it comes to success: fear of failure and fear or success.   Both can be crippling and eventually bring you back to where you were before you started the journey. 

And what can happen if you succeed? This is where Po’s quote comes in.  You have succeeded and now fall in love with the money.  The success is providing you with an opportunity that can lock you in forever.  You are being praised by all around you as a genius.  You feel as if this job is meant to be yours forever.

But what if you are successful at the wrong thing?  Are you judging success by the money or how your success fulfills you?  If you are judging it by money alone, then this can become dangerous.  Money is easy, and fulfillment and life-rewarding are difficult. 

Today’s question is:

“Are you successful at the wrong thing?”

365QOD- Day1088

Two Mistakes Per Year

“People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes per year.  People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes per year. “- Peter F. Drucker

I happen to work in the chemical industry that is very risk averse.  The potential for loss of life is too great to be accepting of more risk.  So anything we do must go through rigorous process by which the risk level is quantified, understood, mitigated, and eventually accepted. 

 

But most of our lives are made up of things that will not result in a loss of life.  So to be afraid of making mistakes is silly.  I believe that for most adverse things that could occur to me that I could recover to the same state or better in a short time.  Without having this belief, I would be paralyzed.

The interesting advice that Drucker offers is that no matter what our approach is that we will make two big mistakes.  Acceptance of that wisdom should lead us to be free to risk a bit more.  Hopefully, our lives end up being more rewarding once the risk has been accepted and conquered.

Today’s question is:

“What two big mistakes did you make last year?”