Leadership on Speed

keeping the pedal to the metal eventually takes its toll

The April issue of Harvard Business Review had an interesting article entitled The Acceleration Trap which highlights a challenge faced by so many of my clients (if not all) particularly in the current economic environment.  Organizations have simultaneously downsized personnel while trying to increase production which means that the associates left behind who were once operating at 80-90% production are now functioning at 125%+ on a daily basis.  Every organization goes through periods of increased productivity but The Acceleration Trap occurs when organizations rev up to 125%+ and instead of revving down after the project or mission is complete, leaders expect the employees to continually operate at the new higher level.  In other words, that higher pace becomes the new normal.

As you might imagine, the article goes on to point out the potentially negative impact of consistently operating in high gear and outlines some strategies for decelerating such as stopping the action and deciding how to make decisions but as a strategic planning consultant, it was the suggestion surrounding strategic planning that most caught my attention:

Be clear about strategy and more importantly, ask the question, "What should we stop doing?"  When working with clients, it is always one of my favorite questions and ultimately one of the most thought-provoking questions we can ask as business leaders.

No strategic planning discussion is complete without also discussing actions and activities that need to stop.  Otherwise, we're only perpetuating the trap by piling more on an already overfull plate.  But you don't need a strategic planning session to begin to notice the superflous activities that occur needlessly in your organization.  Here's an activity for you:

Pull your team together.  Get an assessment of where they spend most of their time and ask this question:  What activities are you currently engaged in that if you stopped doing would have absolutely no negative impact on accomplishing your goals?

You may be surprised by what you hear.

Continue to be great!

mr. toads wild ride

Some days it seems I wildly scramble from one task to another.  Despite my plans for the day, unexpected phone calls, emails or otherwise "quick" tasks seem to scuttle my intentions faster than you can say "Titanic".  

I'm pretty good at having these kinds of days be the exception and not the rule but in today's fast paced world, I am realizing that it is easier and easier to spend time spinning in the urgent while putting off time for what's important.  At least some portion of almost every client call or consult is spent supporting clients to understand the difference.

You see, urgent tasks "feel" good.  Urgent things tend to be the reactive, fire-fighting stuff that has us come to the end of the day saying, "Where did the day go?" Urgent tasks involve more short-term energy.  They make us feel valued and give the illusion that we're getting important work done. I often think of the old adage, "If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it."  On some level, I agree...

....but only if you're getting paid to be busy and not strategic.

If your job or company requires you to be strategic, then I think you would agree that it might behoove you to actually get something strategic (ie important) done instead of just being the fire-fighting king/queen (trust me when I tell you that no matter how good your fire-fighting skills are, someone will eventually notice that you aren't contributing at the level you're getting paid for).  The problem with getting to the important stuff is that it isn't as "sexy" as the urgent (and for most of us, it's usually a lot less fun).  In fact, more often than not, important work tends to be downright tedious and boring.  Working on and evaluating my business plan is not much fun for me but I also know that if I don't "plan my work and work my plan" and spend time evaluating what's working and what isn't, the distance for my company between thriving and "life-support" will be quite short.

So how do you actually stave-off the urgent to get to what's important?  Here are just a few tips that work for me:

1.  Rule number one: Notice when your day is full of urgent activity.  This is critical because if you aren't conscious of the fact that you're getting sucked into a life of urgency, you'll actually think you're getting something done!

2.  Schedule time to check email and voicemail.  Instead of letting these tools run you, take control of them.  There's nothing that says we MUST answer the phone every time it rings or we MUST respond to email every time the chime dings.  Decide on a protocol and a schedule (for example, I commit to respond to email and voicemail within 24 hours and my guideline is to check email 3 times per day - usually around 10am, 1pm and 4pm).  I have seen some individuals go so far as to set an email auto-responder message that notifies the sender of when they will checking email.  It certainly makes one "appear" busy but isn't always the most user-friendly model of time management. 

3.  Decide on no less than 3 and no more than 5 important tasks to complete each day.  Make your list the day prior so that when you get to your office, you're ready to go.  Note: This list is not the same as your task list.  We have become task list crazy often filling it with tons of urgent tasks that just keep us busy.  Here I'm asking that you create a list of 3-5 IMPORTANT tasks - things that advance your business, your career and your goals. 

If you have other tips or tricks that help you stay focused and get to what's important, please share them.  I know other readers would benefit!

You were born to be great!

YES, you can!

tech tuesday

Unbelievable!  Not more than three months ago I said to my husband...

"I wish there was an app that would allow me to print from my crackberry."

And voila! The crackberry gods have spoken.  If you ever wished you had that kind of flexibility from your phone check out this Blackberry app from Cortado that allows you to wirelessly print e-mails, appointments, contacts, tasks and memos from your phone.  No file atttachments yet, but it has to be coming.

You also get to test it out for free.  If you like it, you'll end up paying $39.95.(via BusinessHacks)

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

have more fun with voicemail

 

I must admit that I'm a techno geek.  I LOVE technology and I'm especially fascinated by anything that will help me organize, manage or otherwise help me create greater efficiencies in my work day.  The amount of "stuff" out there just amazes me.

I recently came across something called YouMail.  It's a visual voicemail app (apparently similar to something available on the iPhone) that allows you to do a whole host of voice mail related fun stuff, like:

• Record different voicemail greetings for different callers.  You can have different greetings for your mom, dad, spouse, siblings, work colleagues, best friend, etc.  Theoretically, you can have a different message for every person that phones you! How cool is that?
• You can "see" voicemail on your computer!  It provides an online listing of all your calls and provides more information on those "hang-ups" that you can't get through regular voicemail.  The online feature also allows you to listen to voicemail in the order you choose.  If your boss calls and it's call number 5, you can check that call first and get back to the others when it suits your schedule.
• You can actually block and "reject" callers
• It's free and you can be up and running in less than 5 minutes

It seems to have a whole list of neat features but here's one that isn't so neat - especially if you are a Sprint user like me.  In order to use YouMail, you have to forward your calls to the YouMail system.  Since Sprint charges $0.20/minute for call-forwarding (where many companies forward for free) you'll incur extra charges on an otherwise free service. 

Otherwise, it looks pretty cool.  Click here to check it out.

If you're already using YouMail, I would love to hear your thoughts.  Do you think it's worthwhile?

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

why reinvent the wheel?

A friend of mine contacted me the other day.  She has been at home with the kids for a while and the time has come for her to get back into the job market.  She and her husband have some household objectives and the extra income would make things easier....

As we spoke, she mentioned that she was not getting many nibbles on her resume so I offered to take a look (why did I do that?).  She sends me the resume and needless to say the format was a bit antiquated and the content was weak.  I have had great success in helping my clients develop winning resumes and since she is a friend, I sent her a template that I thought would work well for her along with a list of recommendations to make the resume more appealing and adequately convey her information...

Now, I don't make it a habit to give templates but when I do, I invariably tell the recipient that they should utilize the template exactly as it is.  Why?  Simple.  Because it works. 

I'm sure you can guess what happened, right?

Yes, that's right.  She decided to be creative..to make it her own. 

I have nothing against a little well-placed creativity but sometimes you just need to follow the formula...

What she sent back to me was in some ways worse than the original resume!

By then of course, I was feeling responsible for her resume success and wanted her to get it right (which we did) but here's the point of my telling you this story...

When you utilize a professional to review your work or give you input on a project, take the advice. 

Why reinvent the wheel especially when what you are doing isn't working?

One of the basic tenants of growing a new business is finding a successful working model and then following it!

If you decided to purchase a franchise because they have a blueprint for success, chances are you wouldn't suddenly try to change the model two days into ownership.

Do what works.

You get to have more fun and focus you're energy on effective creativity!

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

Make booking your services easier!

Pretty soon coaching clients will have the ability to book consults with me online...

Most of us have experience with on-line scheduling services especially in the lab arena, right?  You go to a website, enter some basic information and then view a calendar of available appointments.  It's a great time saving tool for both the client and the office.

Now the same type of service is available to you (and me)......affordably.

There are a couple that I recommend:

Genbook has a free service but if you want credit card capture, calendar synchronization or want to create a customer database, you'll have to pay $39.95/month.  For the extra fee, your customers can also book appointments up to a year in advance instead of the 6 weeks lead time with the free product.

The other is Appointment Plus.  There's no free product so you'll pay $39/month after a brief 15 day trial but it has some really robust features that Genbook lacks depending on what type of business you have and a pretty impressive client list.

Another nice thing about these on-line scheduling systems is that you can use them internally or externally.  Meaning that if you want to give the public the opportunity to book their own appointments, you can but if you have an assistant and need a centralized, on-line calendar, this fits the bill as well.  A potential/current client can phone your assistant, they can set-up the appointment and you can go on-line and check the calendar so you're always in sync!

As usual, I'd love to get your feedback if you give one of them a try!

You were born to be great!

YES, you can!

if you aren't in the mood, DO something

How often have you said (or heard others say), "I don't feel like it."?  As human beings, we tend to be run by our emotions instead of our commitments.  Have you ever canceled a commitment because you didn't feel like it? Didn't work on a project you know you needed to complete or postponed something with your family because you didn't feel like it?  You aren't alone.  All of us have done it at one time or another.  Here's one way to break old habits and re-train yourself to fulfill your commitments even when you aren't in the mood:

The minute your feelings begin to take control, make the decision to be more powerful than your emotions and DO something.  Success results from applying consistent action to your goals despite other things that may be going on, including the days you don't feel like it.

The funny thing is, it almost always feels better after we just get it done!  No wonder Nike has been so successful with the slogan JUST DO IT!

YES, you can!

new year. new you?

I was speaking with a client today and I remembered why I enjoy Stephen Covey's work so much.  The beginning of the year is a time of renewal - of fresh starts and new beginnings.  Who we were last year no longer exists because January 1st is a day that many declare themselves to be something, someone different than they were.  I have to interject here that that is a choice we can make everyday but I'll save that for another day....  SO, as I was saying, the new year = a new start and with it, a way to attack (or embrace) our priorities in a new manner.  Many of us utilize a ready, aim, fire approach to getting things done and then wonder where our life has gone.  We spend the days doing, doing, doing but we don't have more money, better relationships, fun (now THAT's an f word we could use more of), greater energy...  Why?  Because we aren't balancing our time to include what matters most.  Covey proposes that when working on priorities, the first step is to "begin with the end in mind".  I have been exposed to that concept in many different variations since first reading the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (www.FranklinCovey.com) years and years ago but Covey's sticks with me - perhaps because his work first invited me into the concept.  If one begins with the end in mind then our priorities shift.  Along with seeking work that is fulfilling and financially rewarding, we also get the opportunity to "pencil in" our spouses for date nights and the kids for family night.  We might also "pencil in" some time to give back to the community or mentor a teenager.  You see, we often talk about all the time we don't have but the truth is, we have plenty.  We just choose to allocate it in ways that don't fulfill us.  Practice makes perfect but if this is a new year and there can be a new you, why not really go for it and look back on 2008 as the busiest, craziest, givingest (is that a Coach V-ism?), funnest, greatest, happiest, lovingest, most successful year of your life?  Not just because you say so but because those around you SEE so.