Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

I attended a conference earlier this week where I heard one speaker, an engineer, say “You’ve heard me say this before…I don’t even like people, let alone getting up and talking to them.” That’s how he opened the talk. The number of people who laughed, and the way they laughed, was the best part. It was an awkward chuckle but not loud enough to demonstrate that anyone had a recognizable sense of humor. Such is the life of a bunch of numbers oriented folks; ultra-conservative, ultra-literal, conflict avoidant, introverted and awkward.

During a break I learned one friend introduced another friend to an acquaintance in the industry who started describing his wife’s colonoscopy procedure. Now I understand why this group is normally so introverted. When they do open up, it’s highly inappropriate.

I was able to catch up with a number of colleagues in the industry.
•coworkers
•competitors
•clients
•former coworkers
•former coworkers turned coworkers
•former coworkers turned competitors
•former coworkers turned clients
•former coworker turned supplier turned coworker turned client turned coworker turned client who now wants to be a competitor
(It’s a small world…and I’m getting old)
all trying to be more social than their natural inclination.

One conversation in particular was very reflective between three of us who have held at least 14 significant, career path altering and life changing transitions in the electric power industry since college. The stories of experience, potential and lost opportunities, economic impact, project failures, growth and leadership demonstrated we have seen some of the world. There was little mention of compensation or lifestyle affected. It was genuinely about the variety of life experiences gained on the journey. Jim said “Eric, I remember you told me, ‘You have to get past the stigma attached to changing jobs.’”
Gary said ”I never expected to change jobs half as many times as I have already.”
I stated that I reached the point of understanding I won’t be able to control my career path if it requires I keep my opinion to myself. I want to work where I am provided the opportunity to learn and gain wisdom then the ability to share it with others who value what I have to say.

Have a blessed weekend.

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

I was reminded this week how too many words and too deep of a thought might lose some readers so I shortened it up and  referenced a word problem I find value in.

I am reading a new book;

Stick with it! By Lee and Julie Davis-Colan, an update to Stick to it.

In it they contend that world class companies:

1. Do the basics exceptionally well:
•Strategy
•Structure
•People
•Leadership

2. Execute their strategy masterfully

I really like the formula:
Focus x Competence x Passion =Adherence

Basic?

Yup

But if you think it’s that simple, try it out for yourself.

When making an initial assessment of how well you, your team, business unit or company perform, the elements of the formula start to reveal where the weaknesses are or room for improvement might be.

Scoring for a benchmark might disappoint at first but it will also help point out where you need to emphasize in order to improve performance and increase adherence.

You cannot manage what you do not measure.
It’s important to measure the degree of adherence to know how much stress it will endure.
Adherence is the most critical step to fulfilling your strategy and achieving the success you so diligently planned for.

Don’t make a typical New Year’s Resolution style commitment to your company’s future.

Get sticky.

Now get to it!

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

On my travels this week, I met with an old industry friend and colleague for dinner. Given his country of origin, he used the blog title to describe both a religious and philosophical reference to (higher) Self, also referred to as Universal consciousness. He pointed to his chest several times and even with his strong accent and wobbly neck, I knew how deep this conversation had quickly become. With an ample amount of humor, we poked fun at each other’s short comings as a reminder we are works in progress.

We talked about a lot of things; current occupation, joy, pain, how much gas is left in the tank, where to “ride” with the gas left, passion, roles and responsibilities, students, mentors and mentees but most of what we focused on was influence. Shaping minds, institutions, organizations, and cultures. He said, “Eric, we cannot control anything or anyone. We can paint a picture, point in a direction, or whet an appetite but we can’t force anyone to do anything they don’t want to.”

Amen.

As people increase their own awareness, their higher self (Atma) will provide them with the limitations as well as the possibilities.

Maslow refers to it as self actualization and implies the highest form of self mastery is helping others achieve self actualization, a form of leading leaders. Interestingly enough, the motive for genuine development is not monetary. The biggest payback is an indescribable feeling, a welling up inside of pride, joy, ultimate purpose that you helped one, two, ten, twenty or more dig down inside of themselves to become the best damn version of themselves.

How does this look?
How does one help others find…Atma?

Perhaps

•Cutting the people free who are caught up in their own safety net after trying to fly, lost confidence, dropped out of the sky and there they are, stuck, contorted wings, bruised ego and frustrated disposition.
Set them free!

•Demonstrating a belief in someone’s abilities that exceeds their own. Based on what you’ve seen, heard, and experienced, you can instill a new found confidence for what they could, nay should, accomplish with the gifts God blessed them with.
Prop them up!

•Gaining trust and delivering tough messages for those who suffer hubris. Like, “Hey Joe, you’re not that special. You’re shit does stink. You haven’t earned the respect you’re demanding. You haven’t paid your dues and you can’t declare yourself the victor.
{Feedback should be direct, respectful but not mean. I only added the shit comment for effect and to make you smile. I’m exercising literary license … or something like that.}
Set them straight!

If you’re on mile 18 of a marathon, you’ve got a headset connected to a similarly equipped runner just starting out or maybe they are at mile 4, 6, or 8…what could you share with them to make their journey more tolerable, more purposeful, more satisfying?

Challenge: List ten people who have helped you become self aware. Not just the ones that made you feel good but provide a balanced list of good cops and bad cops.

Now list ten people you are helping to achieve their higher Self. If this list is hard to scribe, don’t start grabbing people off the street and pointing out their flaws. Think about who you can effectively influence, then go do it. Once you finish ten, find ten more.

Have a blessed weekend.

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

I’m at ACEC in Orlando this week. The conference usually has some high quality speakers and this year was no different.

Robert O’Neill, the Navy Seal who reportedly pulled the trigger to remove the threat that was Osama Bin Laden provided the crowd of 800+ some inspiration and national pride.

As we learned, the term “boys across the street” was used within the seals to describe the most elite. Plain vanilla seals have an 8 month vetting program where only 20% even pass. Seal Team VI was another grueling program, an additional 9 months. As his psychiatrist said after one of the battery of tests, we’re not checking to see if you’re crazy, we’re just trying to figure out what flavor you are.

He was engaging, very well spoken and provided some lessons on how we can behave more like a Team:

•When morale is high, people work better together
•Nobody wants to work for a jerk
•Take emotion out of the decision making process
•Don’t react, Do respond
•No matter how bad it gets, don’t quit
•Little victories!
•Tomorrow is a clean slate, don’t quit now, quit tomorrow
•Stress is a choice, lay it down by your bed at night and decide if you’re going to pick it up in the morning
•Bravery is not the absence of fear, it’s about acknowledging it and choosing to take action anyway
•It’s OK to be afraid
•Panic is contagious
•Complacency kills
•Success breeds complacency
•A great learning tool is failure-own it
•Be prepared to fight
•Perform under fire
•Trust your people
•Never quit

Advice he received from his first commander:
“You’re about to go to war for the first time and the enemy is your doubts, your fears and everyone back home who said you’d never make it…keep your head down, keep moving forward, never quit and you’ll be fine.”

Robert’s theater was war.
My theater is business.
There are a number of unmistakeable parallels.

The good new is you don’t have to kill terrorists today.  You just need to influence your workers not to act like one.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders!  It’s Friday!

Over the past week, Carole and I were blessed to travel to California to experience our young, talented and well adjusted grandson sing, swim, ride bike, play soccer and eat ice cream…all (mostly) unassisted. He’s 5.

Flying back and heading into a challenging week at work, it hit me. My aspirations for each and every team member I’ve ever been associated with fell into the same category as Dylan. I only wanted to see them reach their full potential. My job was to articulate the vast world of possibilities, get them to open their eyes to what they were good at and share some of my aspirations for them until …
they became their aspirations.

This has taken on many forms in many settings over the years:
•Hiring interns
•Hiring new grads
•Hiring experienced staff
•Partnering with vendors, consultants and industry experts
•Entering into an established work place requiring … adjustments
•Releasing talent to be more successful elsewhere

Cradle to grave, a leader never stops trying to cultivate talent.

How do you nurture aspirations in your team members?

•Do you build an environment where they can thrive?
•Do you set goals where they know when they’re winning and when they’re not?
•Do you give them all of the right equipment?
•Do they have consistent support?
•Do you monitor and nurture their confidence levels?
•Do you paint a picture, that tells a story, like charting a course through a potential career path?

It could start like this:
Hi!
I’ve been watching you and I think you have genuine talent.
If you’d like to continue to improve, I’d like to work with you.
I see (here comes the leadership Vision component) you playing at a much higher level with the right coaching, equipment, training, opportunities, exposure and Team.
We will focus on [fill in the critical details here] as we navigate the challenges and opportunities made available through a mutually agreed upon journey.
Are you ready to become the best version of you?

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

In the wake of multiple natural disasters, exacerbated by some evil idiot with too much time and money compared with his morals, values and sound judgement, we just witnessed our President spending time in Puerto Rico and Las Vegas. Both locations devastated for entirely different reasons.

Sometimes a leader simply needs to be present. You know they care when they show up. If you were to put a meter on each side of a Leader’s head (maybe attached to their earlobes ?) to measure how much their time is worth (in terms of dollars on one side and improvement to humanity on the other) you might gain a better understanding of why they do what they do and how hard it is to balance it all.

Presence can be measured by physical, mental, emotional and spiritual metrics. The media seems to believe they themselves are the appointed hall monitor when someone shows up or when they don’t. So-and-so didn’t show up fast enough at this hurricane landfall or…not at all… Presence is implied to measure the amount that some one or some entity cares. I think there are limits to this theory and hesitate to believe the media has the general public’s interest in mind. They exist to sell papers, advertisements and clicks. To mix human interest and commerce creates a variety of results but I will never believe media exists solely to do the right thing for each and every one of us. Call it fake news, biased opinions or total crap (found in the grocery store checkout lines)…we have lost a single, reliable source of information. Instead we are left to sort out questionably motivated conjecture from facts.

No wonder we put so much weight on presence. With every other mixed-value source of data, the importance of taking the time to show up, make eye contact, press the flesh, be seen, heard, felt…and inspired… is genuine. No filters, false lighting, photoshop or editing or spinning the words already spoken. Just presence.

Consider this a note to self that you may or may not identify with – presence at work is important, presence at home is essential. For instance, Angelica, the 9 year old singer, from the recently completed America’s Got Talent season sat next to us on our plane ride to LA. tonight. Her Dad was pleasant to talk with and as a (now 10 year old) tiny girl with an enormous and now famous voice, she couldn’t tour, sing or function without Dad being present.

I’ve wrestled mightily with the world’s forces calling me to have purpose outside of home while my family continues to need me to be present. I try to do both. I travel extensively back and forth from home to work and work to home, tending to needs and sleighing dragons. The lessons I’ve learned so far;
•wherever you are, be there (engaged with focus on purpose)
•you can’t please everyone so use discretion and be disciplined and deliberate
•God has called you to where you are and what you are doing right now-you can spend all your energy questioning it or you can be present physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

I recently bought a new toy. The kind that a kid dreams about for months, a Christmas morning toy. Carole calls it my midlife crisis purchase…perhaps.
Yes, I’m feeling my mortality. Friends, colleagues, people you know and hear about are dropping like flies; cancer, heart attack, stroke or car accident.  I’m constantly questioning my purpose in life but still deciding to enjoy the journey.

I tucked it in the garage but all of a sudden I need more space for the accessories. I need to make room. Shoes, boots, spare seats, cover, cleaning products, etc.  Immediately I scan the items taking up space and it becomes obvious I need to purge, donate, reorganize if I’m going to have the appropriate space to store my new stuff.

I see parallels in business.

The question Ray Kroc of McDonalds fame asked was “Are you green and growing or ripe and rotting?”

Are you reinvesting or resting on your laurels because you thought you did such a great job last year? (Guess what…NOBODY cares what you did last year.)
They simply want to know
•Are you relevant?
•Do you add value today?
•Do you produce something or provide a service that helps other people get bigger, stronger, faster?
•Are you reinvesting?
•Are you pushing back on the effects of gravity, age, stress, and poor choices?

•Are you just gonna sit there and take less or are you going to fight for your legacy?

So our daughter stopped by after work last Friday to chat, enjoy dinner with us and organize some furniture. We took the new toy for a spin then Mom thought we should take a picture. I didn’t recognize the old man sitting on my new bike. I was genuinely shocked. He was wearing my clothes and sitting where I thought I was sitting but that wasn’t me…was it?

A former coworker whom I adore sent me a note the other day that read “If it doesn’t bring you joy, get rid of it.”

Another former coworker who I could take or leave, used to pluck his gray hairs to slow down the appearance of aging. We all understood the futility of his effort but enjoyed watching the struggle while we secretly hoped he’d lose all of his hair for discriminating one follicle from another.

We are all humans who seek comfort, familiarity and security. That does not mean that you stop introducing new into your life.

New ideas
New friends
New investments
New information
New business models
New staff
New business partners

New freedom from oppression

New gray hairs

You need to make room. It’s what keeps you feeling young, vibrant, and meaningful.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

In the foreword by Peter M. Senge to Arie De Geus’ book, “The Living Company”, he gets to the heart of the matter, starting on the first page…

•”Like individuals who are unhealthy and can expect an early demise, most large, apparently successful corporations are profoundly unhealthy. The members of these organizations do not experience that their company is suffering from low life expectancy. They experience poor corporate health as work stress, endless struggles for power and control, and the cynicism and resignation that result from a work environment that stifles rather than releases human imagination, energy, and commitment. The day-to-day climate of most organizations is probably more toxic than we care to admit, whether or not these companies are in the midst of obvious decline.”

•”What happens to the life energy of a living being when it is unable to pursue its purpose?”

•”Are struggles over control not the root of most corporate politics and game playing?”

•”…working together can indeed be a deep source of life meaning. Anything less is just a job.”

As mature leaders in companies we are all compelled to make things better at our workplace for our business partners. Continuous learning and evolution leads to sustainability, longevity, and predictability, but the road to get there is treacherous, riddled with timid souls afraid to change because of their pervasive desire to maintain status quo (regardless of financial performance).

I don’t work like my dad did. My adult, educated kids don’t work like I do. My grandkid(s) certainly won’t work like my kids do. In fact, who’s to say that the changes in the workplace have clear demarcation points based on when you, the worker, start and leave the company you are in? It’s constantly evolving!

I remember as one of my previous organizations was experiencing dramatic change, I spoke with someone exiting…an interview of sorts. His misalignment with the direction of the organization was so palpable that he said he’d drive up to work and sit in his pickup right up until he had to walk in in order to be there on time…his stomach twisted in knots. For him, the “day to day climate was toxic” and it was manifesting in his stomach. He made the right call (to exit). The company has continued to thrive.

The company/work environment/place of employment is changing…because it has to. The relationship between employer and employee is changing faster yet…but we don’t seem to know how to. The systems aren’t keeping up with the world. We are well past the industrial age but our educational systems, our vocational systems and basic support systems still reflect an era long gone.

Let’s start living.

Let’s start paying attention to things that affect us most, like:
People
Relationships
Opportunities
Development
Innovation

And put less priority on:
Control
Politics
Profitability
Time constraints
Physical locations

Because when you get the first list right, the second list sorts itself out.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

What are we supposed to do?

Life throws us curve balls and there are times we don’t know how to react.

How many times are we supposed to rally, persevere and move on?

Here’s a hint:

Until-
•It’s over
•It doesn’t hurt any more
•The debt is paid
•The mess is cleaned up
•The papers are signed
•The cows come home
•Faith is restored
•You’ve completely forgiven whomever you’ve identified as the culprit…often times found in the mirror

We are surrounded by tragedy. Hurricane Irma and Harvey are some of the most recent colossal storms filled with stories of loss and despair. The clean up efforts will take years for full restoration. If you are affected directly or indirectly, what will you do? Stand in your driveway and shake your fists at the sky?

Perhaps my three favorite sources said it like this-

Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.
Winston Churchill

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Teddy Roosevelt

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you pass through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; The flames will not consume you.
Isaiah 43:2

Now is the time for conviction. Stay sharp, work hard, learn from your situation so you may apply the lessons going forward. Muster up the energy, patience, tolerance, tenacity, and passion to emerge on the other side of whatever you are currently dealing with stronger and wiser than before.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

If attitude is the rudder, then confidence is the governor and a unique blend of skill, talent and experience is the driving force.

Per Google search
Confidence con·fi·dence
ˈkänfədəns
noun
1-the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.
“we had every confidence in the staff”
synonyms: trust, belief, faith, credence, conviction

2-the state of feeling certain about the truth of something.

3-a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.

What strikes me about confidence is the Goldilocks factor (too soft, too hard, and just right) but in this case it’s excessive humility, hubris and confident!

We live in a country where we typically believe bigger is better. More land to homestead, more opportunities to cultivate and prosper, bigger cars, bigger houses, somehow we equate excess with success. Confidence might be one of the rare exceptions.

Driving fast on the Autobahn in a finely tuned German car is probably loads of fun but outdriving your headlights on a rainy night with weathered wipers on any roadway in any car, is ill advised. High speed under the wrong conditions can be catastrophic.

Taking the driving metaphor one step further, if you’re just putt-putt-putting along at 35 mph on the interstate while cars are screaming past you at more than twice the rate, you’d best speed up or be run over. Being too timid in the wrong environment might be just as deadly.

“Step away from the vehicle (analogies)!”

What does it sound like when leaders lack confidence?

*That’s not my strong suit
* I don’t know what to say
* You should ask someone else
* We better give (them) a raise or (they) might leave
* It’s not my problem
* Don’t talk to my customer
* I don’t agree with the CEO’s Vision
* The dog ate my homework
* It will take a month to get that contract put together
*I’d better stay late because I didn’t get enough done today

What does it sound like when leaders are overly confident?

* I know how to do everything well
* I often speak at conferences and get the highest ratings
* I know the answers so come to me first
* My direct reports love me, they are the best in the company and I make sure they are the highest paid in every category
* I don’t have any problems
* My customers prefer to talk to me exclusively
* I could be the CEO tomorrow (why can’t everybody see that?)
* I don’t need to study/read/prepare for the interview
* You don’t really need that at all, I’d work without a contract
* I’m leaving early because I solved all the problems with time to spare

Confident leaders say:
•I know myself; my strengths, my weaknesses, how to delegate and how to deliver
•I work hard to be articulate, pragmatic and add value
•I prefer to empower my managers but mentor them and provide support so they can learn to solve issues on their own
•I subscribe to the pay for performance philosophy
•Problem solving is a team sport. Frame them properly, build consensus, gain buy-in and execute
•I look forward to working with our customers. It offers the chance to introduce team members/skills and provides growth opportunities for emerging leaders
•I support the direction of the company openly. If I have concerns I voice them privately to resolve any differences. If I cannot find agreement with Mission, Vision and Core Values, I may be best suited to leverage my career assets elsewhere.
•I enjoy learning new things and am always ready to expand my knowledge and wisdom base
•I have a need to expedite my contract agreements quickly. If our internal processes don’t support a quick turnaround, I’ll seek help from our outside legal provider so we comply with the client’s schedule as well as the risk appetite of the organization.
•I work diligently and in day tight compartments. I exercise, pray/meditate, eat well, work hard on important initiatives, decompress, support my loved ones and rest so I’m restored for another day of challenging and purpose-filled work.

Which list best fits your daily responses?  If it’s not where you want to be, what do you plan to do about it?  Will you be starting today?

Have a blessed weekend!