Congratulations to Tiger Woods for winning the U.S. Open today-with great drama.
But more importantly, here's what Tiger Woods teaches us:
I dig Lois Kelly's insights, so no surprise that I would link here. Her Bloghound blog brings some thought around beliefs-specific to an organization. The post's title; Beliefs more useful than mission statements, says it all.
Take notice of the list from Google. Their number one is so easy to write and say, but very difficult to live out. I see Google doing a good job at thinking of me, the user, first.
Found this post from Rebel Stance on Execution: Mystery Entrepreneur. It reminds me of why even great ideas can go south without execution.
I like their thought on who you surround yourself with. In other words, it's important to stay away from non-believers. Those are the people who always see things "not working out." That said, it is important to have coaches who will tell you the ugly truth.
When the next great idea comes don't forget the execution (air in the beautiful red balloon).
Social networks are not new. The explosive growth of external social networks is rather breathtaking. There's more going on than a business plan though. Social networks reveal a lot about an organizations employee base.
It's smart business to do what Bank of America and Whole Foods have done with their customers by creating an online community specific to their brand. But more should do it internally. Losing a customer because you were not connecting through a blog is one thing (loss of revenue, cost of acquiring a new customer). It's even more frightening when it's an employee.
The alarming part, for some organizations is when the discovery is made around their own social network. I mean the employee base. There are a number of companies that think social networking is translated into LinkedIn, Twitter or Digg. But as great as those tools are, they're not as powerful as your organization's own internal social network.
Some might say; "we don't need to have an intranet site for social netowking." You have a community and it's ebbing and flowing before your very eyes, whether you know it or not. Could be organizaed or could be fragmented. My friends over at Webbed Marketing specialize in building online communities, but they can't create what your leadership can't see-vision.
The take-away is; your people crave community. And they'll find a way to connect. The question is whether you (the organization) want to be out front in providing the path.
Ryan pointed me to this site. Ryan Bettencourt is the co-founder of Learn From My Life, a place to grow for sure. Their concept is to assemble leaders, authors, and entrepreneurs from many different walks. Then allow them to dispense their wisdom via teleconference. You even get to vote for certain questions to ask during the events. You'll also find people like Lois Kelly and Daniel Pink presenting this month.
What I like most about this idea is basing it on life experience. I am an experiential focused blogger, author, coach and speaker, so it would not be surprise for me to dig what Ryan and his partners are doing
I won't give everything away, but you'll gain much Learn From My Life.
Friday's Epic Living Hour radio show will feature a conversation with Matthew Scott of The Life's Work Group. Matthew will give some needed insight into "Boomer" men and their career challenges. He will also provide Gen Y workers some surprising advice.
Hope you can tune-in on Friday.
The happiness you're looking for is always in front of you, wherever you go. It's kind of like your shadow.
Happiness is a choice only you can make.
When I was much younger (a time when I thought I was invincible) I had one significant incongruent value. That was the value around my physical health. At barbecues or off-site business meetings I would tell the world that my physical health was important. However, I lived a different paradigm. I was all talk and no behavior. It wasn't until about two years ago that my mouth, mind and heart came together. I won't bore you with my routines for physical health, but I am in the best shape of my life.
Keep in-mind that incongruent values don't make you a bad person, but they do reveal that something is "off" in your life. The choice to do something about it is totally up to you. I took action when the storm clouds started to gather. Funny how time and reality conspire to move us.
When I wrote Waking Up In Corporate America, my urgency around doing what I say increased dramatically. I wanted to make sure that I was living up to the coaching I was dispensing. We all need mechanisms in our lives to drive accountability.
Marshall Goldsmith has a great post on Why We Don't Do What We Say. Marshall's perspectives are spot on. The ideas are not new, but give a needed reminder of how important our actions are.
Remember, life is a limited time offer. You won't get a do-over.
Many management and career consultants have said that the idea of safety and security in the workplace is pure fantasy now. I would say their a little late to the party. Life/work today, and a hundred years ago, is not safe or secure. It was never supposed to be.
Somewhere, we began to see the organization (specifically the place we worked) as "mommy and daddy." This made total sense since as humans in a prosperous age our desire for safety and security far outweighed our desire for risk and adventure. With organizations making many promises (pensions, health-care, etc.), many people thought that all would be well until that magical age of sixty-five.
Then things changed, as they often do. And like the addict who realizes that their "stuff" has been taken away, people began seeing change as the enemy. The idea of safety and security started to ebb. All of a sudden (or so it seemed) the mirror reflected the responsible party. The person who would need to toughen up and grow.
Far too many organizational leaders are soft. I know this, because I was one of them. I went to bed at night, during my time in corporate America, hoping and believing that my great future was set. I found time to revel in my impressive numbers (sales, money, prestige, power) and I relied heavily on my own logic. The logic that convinces you that you're loved by the organization and that you're invincible. I didn't toughen up and grow until I was escorted out.
Image how life would look if we didn't see things as safe and secure: