Be Accountable

Tackle the Tough Things First

20123 Feb
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Posted inBe Accountable

Key Point: tackle the tough problems first thing in the morning and you will build a habit of being more self accountable.

I was the worst procrastinator for avoiding the tougher issues until I absolutely had to. After working for a couple of superb leaders who showed me the benefit of taking on difficult problems immediately, I became much more effective, and less stressed out because of it. Like many things, the gnarly problems were often worse in my mind than in reality.

Throughout the day, we exercise our self-control and make decisions, which slowly depletes our willpower. There is an advantage in tackling our most important tasks as soon as we can, and especially in the morning, when our energy level is high and our ability to exercise willpower is at its best. In keeping with this theme experts suggest that when taking a test, do the hardest problems first, and save the easy ones for later. They also suggest we forget that notion about not going to bed angry with your partner —nighttime is the worst time for arguments, when our willpower is low and our capacity for self control is weakened. And as a man who has been married for 40 years, I can strongly attest to this as being right on! It is absolutely amazing what a good night’s sleep will do—problems that felt all-consuming the night before will seem much less important when you get out of bed and have a good breakfast. My wife and I have always found a way to get things going in the right direction in the morning. If I try and force a discussion late at night I usually make things worse.

Character Move:

Commit to taking on the gnarliest problems first thing in the morning.
Have a thoughtful plan but do it earlier rather than later. Don’t let email and the easy, less valuable stuff distract you.
Make the tough things first a habit, and part of your personal management system.

Tough things first in The Triangle,

Lorne

Hey Superstar, Things Have Changed

201231 Jan
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Key Point: regardless of where or what you’re doing, proactively work on your next career move now! I’m not kidding; I don’t care how good or indispensable you think you are superstar.

A friend of mine, Colleen Aylward a nationally renowned recruiter, has written a great book called From Bedlam to the Boardroom. It is about how job search has changed dramatically in the last 24 to 36 months and what you should do about it. Some data points:

A job placed on Career Builder or similar sites can generate 1500 plus resumes in three days. A keyword filter can churn out a short list in minutes, 20 killer qualified candidates!
Over 2.5 million business execs announced themselves unemployed a year ago; it is likely a much higher number based on those too embarrassed to take unemployment checks or who are seriously under-employed. The estimate is 5 to 7 million top execs are looking for work.
With LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media sites employers can target exactly who and what they want and search on referrals alone.
Try this: put your job description in Google, do a search, and note how many applicants come up. That should set your toes a jingling.

Character Move: future employers have the following questions, and you have to have a heck of a fact-based story to tell in answering them:

How have you contributed to increasing revenues and profitability?
How have you contributed to decreasing costs?
What problems have you solved and how?
How creative are you?

Be great at developing personal case studies right now, as you are working, and read Colleen’s book for a lot more insight!

Competing in The Triangle,

Lorne

Closing the Door One Last Time

201224 Jan
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Posted inBe Accountable

Key Point: each of us will walk out of a place of work for the last time. When we close the door and turn to leave, what will we have left inside? What is our mark or legacy? What are we taking with us? What would be yours if you left tomorrow?

You may have seen the art posters showing photographs of many different types and colors of doors. When I look at those doors, I wonder what’s behind each of them. It reminds me that each of us will open and close workplace doors many times in our careers. The current data suggests we will do so 10 to 12 times throughout a working span… perhaps even more in the turbulent work world we currently compete in. Each time we close a door we end a chapter in our personal work story. That storybook is, of course, our resume. Being clear about what we have given and received is vital in writing a story with meaning. I recently had to look at my resume and “paint each door” with a picture to describe what I gave and received, an interesting and reflective exercise. Overall I’m proud of the “art poster” I’ve created, but some doors look better than others. I would like to be able to do a touch up here and there but… Each of us has more doors in front of us. It is better to think about painting with the brush still in hand.

Character Move:

Consciously think about the legacy you have left behind, the work doors you have closed. Identify two to three things of lasting value you have given, two to three things you have received.
How are you doing painting the door of the organization you’re currently with? What can you do to more of, or less of, to have that door become worthy of being on a metaphorical poster of art?

Painting doors in The Triangle,

Lorne

Purposeful Practice …Do it or Lose it!

201220 Jan
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Posted inBe Accountable

Key Point: a winning professional football team puts in 40 hours of practice for a 2 hour game, including going over every possible scenario. Renowned symphony orchestras follow a similar pattern. Great speakers do the same. If you want to be great at anything you need to practice with purpose over and over until you can be fully and consciously competent.

A CEO friend runs a company where a year’s business relationship and contract hinges on about 24 hours of intense activity. He supports inventory services for tier one companies. The “moment of truth,” including all his company brand promises, is focused on this intense period of time. The company delivers or not, all in a real time basis. The only way to stay sane and ensure success is to purposefully practice all the way up to “game time.” This includes covering every situation where something could go wrong and having a contingency. Everything is a process (to get desired results) and the process is everything. People who complain about process like to rely on blind chance (good luck). But even the greatest poker players follow a reliable, practiced process.

Character Move:

Determine what competencies you want to purposefully practice.
Define your “moment of truth” (i.e. where your competencies are exposed and tested)?
Practice, practice, practice doing it right. Develop contingencies.
Then, practice more.

Purposeful Practice 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.