Be Abundant

Attribute Filter: How Do You Do?

201227 Apr
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Posted inBe Abundant

Key point:

Organizations are taking skill, education and experience as just the key to get in the door. Attributes are the distinguishing factors. Whether you get invited to the party is a matter of the attributes you demonstrate and your “story” is the evidence needed to prove you genuinely have them embedded.

Let me give you an example. You want a top-notch sales person. Does he/she have an MBA? Top 25 percent of the graduating class? (Check). Does the person get results (i.e. top 10 percent of sales performance, and always above target?). (Check). Has she/he worked in an industry where customer relevance matters to this role? (Check). OK, now you get to compete against the other finalists who rate about the same on skill, education, and results. The big tiebreaker is their attributes.

No organization really wants to invest in core attribute development. Ideally, we want people with the desired characteristics in place and then we will heavily invest to improve speed to significant contribution. My argument is that the values in The Character Triangle are clear qualities that will prove to distinguish you from others.

As an example, the interviewer may ask for the following: Can you outline examples where you faced adversity but acted with self-accountability to thrive? Here is a scenario on your Facebook wall where you seem to contradict a belief in respect for others? Please explain. Identify seven or more things you have done in the last two weeks to confirm a deep belief in abundance. Can you describe the benefits to yourself? Others?

Character move:

Recognize that companies are seriously dedicated to filtering based on attributes.
Research whether your core attributes match the organization you want to join.
Develop an evidence-based story to validate how your desired attributes come to life.
Keep developing the stories of how you have applied the desired attributes and the opportunity.

The pie expands dramatically!

P.S. I recently did a radio interview with highly respected business blogger, Wayne Hurlbert, of Blog Business World.

This is a relevant comment that Hurlbert says about The CT in his book review:

“People are naturally drawn to and inspired by people of character. This book will ensure that you are one of those people who make a real difference in the world and in the lives of others.”

Leadership attributes in The Triangle,

Lorne

Can You See Through Muddy Water?

201213 Apr
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Posted inBe Abundant

Key point: Meditation is becoming a mainstream practice among business leaders. What happens in meditation is that the speedy mind begins to slow down and things begin to settle, like the mud sinking to the bottom of a puddle of water when it is left undisturbed. When this settling has occurred, a clear understanding of the way things work in the mind takes place. Make time to meditate. It is a proven and vital aspect for personal development.

My web site manager, John King at Highwaters Media, emphasized the importance of meditation in his life and he tipped me to the muddy water metaphor. I think it’s a very powerful way of describing the benefits of meditation. Some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs/public figures, like Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, the late Steve Jobs, have publicly discussed the importance of meditation in their daily routine. The Huffington Post recently reported that 32 percent of entrepreneurs are now meditating for introspection and goal seeking to set up personal and business improvement.

In 2007, Fortune magazine reported about a crowd of Harvard Business School alums gathered at their reunion to hear networking expert Keith Ferrazzi speak about the importance of meditation. It was rather avant-garde for mainstream, western business leaders to focus on the value of meditation. The irony of that presentation was the man whose book is Never Eat Alone credited much of his success to alone time. He spends ten days every year at a silent meditation retreat. Nowadays every executive seems to have a career coach and my understanding is that many of the most successful coaches insist on their clients making some form of meditation a daily ritual.

Character move:

Where are you on applying the principle of stillness to allow the muddy water to settle?
If you like the idea of it but aren’t enacting some form of daily meditation, even for a few minutes, you are missing the benefits that have been widely used in many cultures for thousands of years. I know that I have much room for improvement here. Not having time is an unacceptable excuse.
Explore what mediation principles and techniques are used by people you admire. Try what would work for you.
Like most things we practice regarding The Character Triangle, start slowly and bit by bit it becomes a habit and part of our development process. (I have been using Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Wishes Fulfilled meditation CD and I like it). It is pretty elementary by zen master standards but it works for me at this point in my meditation practice.
Read the following sample and practical guide from Leo Babauta’s popular blog zenhabits, “How to Meditate Daily.”

Meditation in The Triangle,

Lorne

Creative Destruction and You

20126 Apr
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Posted inBe Abundant

Key point: Each of us must determine the benefit and desire to reinvent ourselves through a process of creative destruction. We benefit and thrive from being relentless at finding ways of providing more value and evolving as personal contributors at work. This does not mean we can’t be content. However I believe we must be content by having a mind set of continuous individual growth and improvement. I personally believe our purpose in life is to evolve and make a positive contribution. This involves creatively destructing and reconstructing what we do and who we are becoming. Where are you on this challenge? Do you embrace the idea or does it scare you?

MIT economist Daron Acemoglu and Harvard political scientist James Robinson have a fascinating new book out entitled Why Nations Fail. In it they highlight the value of creative destruction in thriving nations. One element that has historically allowed America, Canada and other nations to excel is an environment where new models of providing better value are encouraged. That concept made me think about creative destruction at an individual and personal level. If I get lazy or pedestrian about my personal growth and value, then I should not be surprised when I’m replaced. Frankly, I’m amazed when I hear people talk about permitting technology to pass them by, (“Twitter is stupid,” “Who cares about Social Media?”). I’m also struck by comments like “why read any new business books? There is nothing new anyway.” To me these views are signals inviting replacement and likely not in a self-driven, creative or even desirable way. And if that’s what you want, ok… As long as you accept the consequences.

Character move:

What are you doing to creatively destruct and reconstruct yourself in your career (life)? Are you proactive or just hoping everything turns out well? Are you hoping somebody or group will protect you or are you challenged and excited about continuous creative reconstruction?
How will you be able to provide more value to your organization? Family? Self? At the end of 2012 from where you are today?
Are you invigorated by or scared of change? Recognize when you are consciously stepping off the value track at work, versus unceremoniously being replaced by a better way. To me that is the definition of retirement, whether you are 25 or 65 years of age.

Creative reconstruction in The Triangle,

Lorne

Do Your People Trust You?

201220 Mar
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Posted inBe Abundant

Key point: Leadership effectiveness and trust are two sides of a mirror. Establishing trust requires conscious attention and practice. In order to establish trust, we have to work on both our character and competence simultaneously. Are you trusted as a leader? Team member? How do you know? How would you be rated on the competence and character scale?

Upon recently leaving the company I was CEO at for almost eight years, I wrote a farewell note to all team members and thanked them for trusting me at the helm. Trust was their gift to me. They were always there to encourage me in success and pick me up when I failed. It is a privilege to be in a leadership position and one can’t be optimally effective without having the trust of the entire team. To develop additional insight on the trust challenge read the following Harvard Business Review blog by Linda Hill and Kent Lineback, authors of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader.

Their HBR blog focuses on two significant components of trust; competence and character.

“For people to trust you as a boss, they must believe in your competence to know what to do as a boss. At one time or another, we’ve all had bosses whom people said, “he doesn’t know the business” or “she doesn’t understand what we do.” No one would trust you to do brain surgery because you’re incompetent in that context…

Character is equally important. It refers to your intentions, what you’re trying to do, your goals and values as a boss. If, for example, people think you’re only out for yourself, driven by blind ambition, and don’t care about them, the group, or the work, they will distrust your character, no matter how much you know.”

Character move:

Be aware and present regarding your competence and character “score” as it relates to trust.
To reinforce competence fully engage the expertise around you. People don’t expect you to know everything, but understanding how and why you make decisions and the extent to which you make that clear to all parts of the organization is a vital trust element.
Work on and continue to develop your character. This is what The Character Triangle is all about. However, we’re not perfect. People know we will make mistakes. They will help us be true to our values if we truly care about them in the most genuine way. Remember that you live in a fish bowl and every act, big or small, connects to define our character.

Trust in the Triangle,

Lorne

Character Triangle

Our character is exclusively ours. We define it by how we think and what we do. I believe that acting with Character is driven by what I call the Character Triangle.

What, exactly, is the Character Triangle (CT)?

The CT describes and emphasizes three distinct but interdependent values:

Be Accountable: first person action to make things better, avoiding blame.
Be Respectful: being present, listening, looking again, focusing on the process.
Be Abundant: generous in spirit, moving forward, minimizing the lack of.