Interesting information from an MSNBC article by Abigail W. Leonard of LiveScience:

People have a harder time coming up with alternative solutions to a problem when they are part of a group, new research suggests.

“When a group gets together, they can miss out on good options,” study team member H. Shanker Krishnan told LiveScience. This could mean ordering from a pizza place advertised on television even if there’s a better option, or making a poor decision in the boardroom. “Whether it’s with family or a group of co-workers, we could very quickly fixate on things and all come up with the same options.”

This is one reason why I recommend that you do some thorough research before sharing your ideas on major decisions with members of your work group or your family.  The key is to be prepared for the feedback people offer and always reflect upon the FACTS before finalizing any major decision. 

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Do you ever feel sluggish late in the day? 

The answer may not just be in what you eat.  It may also be in what you drink.  Here are some facts about water and your body.

• The average 150 lb. adult body contains 40 to 50 quarts of water.
• Almost 2/3 of our body weight is “water weight”:
• Blood is 83% water
• Muscles are 75% water
• The brain is 74% water
• Bone is 22% water

The guidance we have all received is that drinking 8 glasses of water per day is essential for good health.  But many people do not know that caffeine can rob your body of the essential water necessary to help you function at your peak. 

You should add at least another 8 oz glass of water per day for every cup of coffee or soda you consume. 

What will happen if you make certain that you are drinking enough water? You will find that you have more energy and you will be more mentally alert.

Try it for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference to you.   
 

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One Year Ago:

Successful people approach their every interaction in a manner that’s different than everyone else. People who are successful enter into each interaction with a desired outcome. They have an idea of what they want from each meeting, each phone call, and each email. The most successful individuals have internalized this behavior; they don’t even realize that they are doing it. There is also a flip side to this coin. Successful people are incredibly appreciative when other people are focused on achieving an outcome from a meeting or interaction. This helps them cut through clutter and enables them to be almost twice as productive as everyone else.

Many people ask me if, by outcome-driven, I mean communicating in a frank or direct way. Although direct communication is often helpful and appreciated, that is not my specific focus. In this case, I am referring to the thought process that occurs prior to an interaction, such as scheduling a meeting, accepting an invitation to a meeting, picking up the phone, writing an email, or even going to the store. Most people take these things for granted. You will sit in a meeting for an hour or more and then leave the room wondering why you just wasted an hour of your life. You go to the mall with no clear purpose and end up just killing time.

Outcome-driven thinking is about being in the moment. What you do right now will create your past and it will have an impact on your future. Your life is a collection of these finite opportunities. You do not know when they will run out, so you owe it to yourself to make the most out of each and every moment. Entertainers say that, when you go up onstage, you have to “be in the room.” You need to be in tune with everything that is going on around you and act in harmony with those events. You have to be present in order to make a difference. In business, use these moments to advance toward the outcome you seek. Take advantage of the fact that you have that critical person on the phone, or that they read email at the beginning of the day. Use these tools to your advantage.

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Success doesn’t come easy. Behind every lasting success are hours of hard work and unflagging determination. While successful people often appear to be moving ahead effortlessly, this is because they are passionate in their pursuits and derive great satisfaction from doing the hard work it takes to make things happen for themselves. Their positive energy and enthusiasm create a glow of energy and happiness around them.

To ramp up to devoting more and more of your time and energy to goal attainment, you have to develop a mental training regime. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to engage in individual activities through which you can focus inward and develop your best qualities. Time to yourself, working independently on your goals, uncovers your unique thoughts and vision. Education is a great example of something that is challenging, that you must do alone, and that helps you create value. Committing to time-intensive and solitary endeavors teaches you how to handle the difficult tasks that are required in developing Career Intensity.

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Strategy and creativity are inseparable. As a strategic thinker, you must be able to come up with solutions that other people can’t see or may have overlooked. Many people worry that they aren’t creative, but the truth is that most of us are—we simply may not exercise the creative part of ourselves often. Here are a few methods top performers use to stimulate their strategic creativity:

1. Release Stress. I believe in working hard and playing hard. Don’t overwork yourself. All that will do in the long run is prevent you from being highly productive. Have you ever noticed how successful people’s victories often appear to be almost effortless? This is because they have figured out how to make the most of their working time, and they know that they have to take time for themselves, to exercise, meditate, rest, and relax—whatever rejuvenates them and gives them the energy to come back to their work fresh and ready to generate value. Whatever it is that eases tension for you, make time for it as often as you can.

2. Embrace Boredom. If you’re feeling bored and uninspired, that’s fine. Let your mind wander wherever it wants to go. Watch a silly movie. Take a long walk. Do a crossword puzzle. Sit around and do nothing. Periods of great inspiration and energy tend to follow lulls. The most unlikely activities and events can motivate you in discovering and reaching your goals. Think of your boredom as the calm before the creative storm.

3. Take a Walk. I always get great ideas during long walks. I carry a pen and pad of paper with me and write down thoughts that come to me. Other people do their best thinking in the shower, or while taking a jog or raking the yard. It seems that routine activities such as these free up the mind to explore possibilities.

4. Tap Into Your Subconscious. There are various ways of getting at your underlying thoughts, the kinds of thoughts that often come out only in your dreams. You can sit down and free write for half an hour, keeping the pen moving, brainstorming on anything and everything that comes to mind. The key here is to keep writing. Don’t allow yourself to stop and think or edit what you’re writing. Just write. Many people, after doing this daily for several weeks, find the heart of a problem, hope, or plan of attack. Another way is to draw pictures associated with your life and goals. These don’t need to be worthy of framing. Just as with the writing, you should avoid censoring and editing yourself. Draw yourself in the context of your world, your problems, fears, hopes, career. Diagram your obstacles, your past, the present, and future. Hang up these images, these reflections of your subconscious, around the house, and let them circulate through your mind.

All these activities can lead to increased awareness and performance. The upcoming weekend is a great time to work on exercising your creativity.

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However far along you are on your path to success, I encourage you to behave as though you have already achieved your goals. Imagination is a powerful tool that you can use to propel yourself into action and success.

A woman I know, Nadine, had always wanted to run an art gallery. She had worked in several moderately creative capacities but had not found an opening at a gallery. A couple of years ago, she decided to volunteer at one to get some experience and make connections. In her mind, she assumed the role of gallery director, helping out in any way she could, making herself available whenever extra help and expertise were needed, learning as much as she could about the field and artists showcased at the gallery. Though she was not being paid, she was learning and meeting key people.

After a few months of volunteering, a part-time position opened up at the gallery. Nadine applied and was hired. She decided to quit her day job, cut back on expenses, and throw herself into the gallery work. She conceived and organized exciting new shows and had a large role in several sell-out events. Though she was not the director, she imagined herself in that role. She behaved and dressed the part, and even filled in for the director when she was not able to be there.

Eventually, the director was offered an opportunity elsewhere, which she took. Nadine was promoted to director, and she is happy and joyful in that position today. Had Nadine not envisioned herself in that role and behaved as if it were hers, she probably wouldn’t have achieved her goal. Most anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Acting as if you are there gets you there all the more quickly.

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The March issue of Harvard Management Update outlines eight skills that great leaders possess: observing, reasoning, imagining, challenging, deciding, learning, enabling, and reflecting. I would like to spend today and tomorrow talking about some of these. Let’s start with observing.

“Actively look for warning signs that you business may be at risk, such as low inventory turns, high employee turnover, and repetitive customer complaints.”

The signs are everywhere—all you have to do is listen and observe. If you want to know how your supervisor, colleagues, or customers feel, just pay attention to their feedback. If someone complains about your work, don’t take it personally. Think of it as an opportunity to respond and make a favorable impression. Turning the experience around and giving business partners what they want earns you trust and respect. Be aware of patterns and recurring problems. Make it your job to solve them, one at a time.

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Write down your goals. I always like to have a notebook in which I can jot down ideas, brainstorm, write about problems, file inspiring materials, complain, document.

Something I like to do when I’m stuck on a problem is take half an hour and sit down and write about it. I don’t let the pen stop moving. This ensures that I’m not censoring myself, that the thoughts are flowing freely in an uninterrupted stream. It works kind of like dreaming—it loosens up the consciousness, reveals trouble spots, and obliterates blocks. I’ve solved some of my biggest problems with nothing more than a pen and notebook. Try it.

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I encourage you to take a little time to daydream. We have so much input these days (TV, Internet, radio, mp3 players, traffic, noise) that many of us never take a moment to be idle and let our minds meander. When was the last time you took a vacation day just to relax? Sure, we all want to be productive and accomplish as much as we can, but allowing yourself to be lazy and ruminate over your options can expedite the process. Leave some breathing room in your life. Take a long weekend and spend some time alone. These brief pauses can totally rejuvenate you.

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Three easy tips for cultivating leadership in yourself:

1. Know the result you want.
2. Maintain high standards.
3. Challenge people.

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Your imagination is a powerful tool that you should leverage in mapping out your future. As previously discussed, your mind does not differentiate between what is real and what is imagined. There are three ways you can use your imagination as you begin your program of continuous improvement.

• Consciously shaping your daily activities to move you closer toward your goals.
• Making changes in your environment that will influence you – on conscious and unconscious levels – to focus on your goals.
• Behaving as though you have already achieved your goals.

While fear embedded in the unconscious mind can sabotage our success, the reverse is also true. You can use your unconscious mind to influence your thinking in order to achieve your goals. This is an incredibly powerful process that all successful individuals have mastered. Many of these people were unaware that they had actually “programmed” themselves for success, but in reality they had shaped their destiny deep within their unconscious minds long before reaping their rewards.

The first step in changing your mindset and moving toward a new position, or a new career, is to understand what is involved in the new role. For example, if you want to start a business, you should interview people who have started businesses that are similar. You will gain an understanding of their thought processes and behaviors. Observe them in action. See what they do and how they do it. Spend as much time in that environment as possible. Think about what you would do differently.

For example, let’s say that you want to become the owner of a McDonald’s franchise. Stop in your local McDonald’s and talk with the manager. Ask her what she likes about working there. Ask her what she thinks could be improved. Ask if you can contact the owner and speak with him. Ask him to tell you his success story. More often than not, people are happy to share their stories with you. Not only are you gaining information to prepare for an ownership role in the future, but you are also programming your unconscious mind to believe that you are already in that position.

Next, you should surround yourself with items that symbolize what you hope to become. If you want to become a McDonald’s franchise owner, cut out some photos of a McDonald’s restaurant and tape them to your wall. Read books about McDonald’s. Imagine your success in this role. If owning several of these restaurants will make you rich enough to buy a boat, put some pictures of boats up on your wall, too.

Finally, before you go to sleep at night and immediately upon waking in the morning, think about what your day would be like if you achieved this new position. As you fall asleep, imagine yourself counting your money with the manager who works for you. Imagine, in vivid detail, taking the briefcase full of money to the marina and purchasing your boat. Then, when you wake up the next day, imagine how your day would start if you owned that restaurant. Imagine pulling into the parking lot and seeing it full of cars. Imagine a counter packed with a line of happy customers being served by employees who smile and nod as you walk into the building.

The more you practice this process of acting as if you are in the role you seek, the more natural your transition into that role will become. You should not limit yourself to small dreams. Successful people acted in ways appropriate to the roles they would assume years before they achieved their success. When they got there, they felt and behaved as if they had been doing it all their lives.

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Successful people approach their every interaction in a manner that’s different than everyone else. People who are successful enter into each interaction with a desired outcome. They have an idea of what they want from each meeting, each phone call, and each email. The most successful individuals have internalized this behavior; they don’t even realize that they are doing it. There is also a flip side to this coin. Successful people are incredibly appreciative when other people are focused on achieving an outcome from a meeting or interaction. This helps them cut through clutter and enables them to be almost twice as productive as everyone else.

Many people ask me if, by outcome-driven, I mean communicating in a frank or direct way. Although direct communication is often helpful and appreciated, that is not my specific focus. In this case, I am referring to the thought process that occurs prior to an interaction, such as scheduling a meeting, accepting an invitation to a meeting, picking up the phone, writing an email, or even going to the store. Most people take these things for granted. You will sit in a meeting for an hour or more and then leave the room wondering why you just wasted an hour of your life. You go to the mall with no clear purpose and end up just killing time.

Outcome-driven thinking is about being in the moment. What you do right now will create your past and it will have an impact on your future. Your life is a collection of these finite opportunities. You do not know when they will run out, so you owe it to yourself to make the most out of each and every moment. Entertainers say that, when you go up onstage, you have to “be in the room.” You need to be in tune with everything that is going on around you and act in harmony with those events. You have to be present in order to make a difference. In business, use these moments to advance toward the outcome you seek. Take advantage of the fact that you have that critical person on the phone, or that they read email at the beginning of the day. Use these tools to your advantage.

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The Occupational Adventure tells us how to know when we might be in a rut:

1. …you can’t remember the last time you tried something for the first time.

2. …you compare yourself to others more than to your former self.

3. …you’ve become comfortable living a life filled with goals mostly unrealized.

4. …you find yourself playing the victim.

5. …you haven’t made a big mistake lately.

Check out Dave Anderson’s article by clicking here.

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I work with many people who are associated with some fantastic accomplishments. They would be considered successful by almost any standard imaginable. When I meet new people or begin work with new clients, I am often asked for the “recipe” for success. They want the success formula – so to speak.

Consultants love formulas or equations. We also like shapes, charts and graphs, but we think formulas make us look smart (in the “king of the nerds- Mr. Wizard- way”). Below is my current best thinking on the success equation:

Talent + Training x Passion = Success

Now let me break it down for you:

Talent
Talent is innate ability. You are born with it. For example: Some people are naturally competitive. Others may be naturally good at seeing patterns in complexity. Still others may be gifted in breaking complex topics down in a brief conversation so that their colleagues can also understand them.

Everyone has natural talent in some area. You can tell when you are performing a task or activity that is using your innate talent because the task seems easy. It feels effortless and the actual steps involved in the task energize and invigorate you.

Training
I use training to describe the many different learning experiences available to all of us. School, work experience and adversity all offer us the opportunity to learn and grow. When you add Talent to Training, you have a powerful combination.

Passion
Talent and Training are the engine that can propel us toward success but passion is the high-octane fuel that hurls us forward and sustains our drive over time. An abundance of passion can help get us through the difficult times during our success journey. It is an accelerant and a catalyst.

We often hear athletes say; “I just wanted it more than he did”. They are describing the difference in passion between them and their rival.

Notice that Passion is a multiplier. Passion helps increase Talent and Training exponentially. It enhances what Talent and Training bring to the equation. I have seen individuals with limited Talent and Training succeed by applying whatever they had in these areas with great Passion.

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The Coyote has an interesting post on Serendipity and Insight. Here is the money quote:

“When you’re too attentive to the claims of what you ought to think or do — because it’s management orthodoxy, like annual budgets and mission statements; or demanded by trying to be professional and dignified; or based on some preprogrammed mental tape — you not only suck the joy and fun out of life. You saddle yourself and your business with a great deal of useless baggage.”

We’ve all heard the expression “don’t bring your personal problems to work”. You can replace that with “don’t bring irrelevant issues to this task”.

Performers have a saying that has a great deal of relevance in this discussion. A good performer must be “in the room” when delivering a performance. This means that she must be mentally focused on the task at hand and nothing else. A good performer literally becomes the character they are portraying during that performance. They think of nothing else. They are focused on the audience’s perception of them as that character.

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