Reflect on 2020 to be All-In in 2021

Happy 2021 All-In Leaders!

A few folks requested guidance about how to reflect on the end of 2020, so here is what I provided. 

In just 13 questions you can ponder last year and move forward into 2021. The general idea is not to get bogged down in the past but to reflect honestly and start building momentum toward 2021.

In addition to these questions, I list the good and bad things that happened during the year. Just a bulleted list without details (not re-living the emo of them all). My lists mix personal and business because they get listed in the order items come up, but some people prefer to do the exercises separately.

It is helpful to reflect on last year to fully grasp the lessons and loves to bring into the new year.

I have been doing this, and studying it, since it was a sixth grade assignment. 

High-performance is not an accident, and neither is living a fulfilling life.

I am excited to share more with you soon so you can take the reflection further into 2021! Let's make 2021 our most All-In year yet!

Happy Achievers are All-In!

A few months ago, a publisher invited me to contribute to a book about habits that helped me in life. Steven Samblis, CEO/ Founder of Envision Media Partners, had a vision for his book to include 100 people he wanted to share for others. What an honor to be included! The one I wanted to include came to me immediately and I sent it along.

The way Steven spoke of his book reminded me of the way I spoke about the All-In book when it was in the works. Remember it? If you've been around here for a while, you remember it, and we probably met at a conference or corporate event when I spoke about The 5 All-In Strategies of High Performance.

The Happy Achievers mindset is similar to the All-In one. If you're here, you'll like the new book too.

The new book, 1 Habit™, is filled with 100 Habits from the World's Happiest Achievers™. 

As Steven says, "Pick just 1 Habit™ from the book, and it will change your life forever. Pick 5, and you may just change the world."

Buy 1 Habit™ today for yourself, your family, your kids, co-workers, and all the people in your life that you truly care about. 

You can learn more about it at www.1Habit.com and purchase it via Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2U0owmo

Let me know if you agree the Happy Achievers are All-In!

Kelly

The worst opening sentence for an email

Exploring Twitter early this morning, I was jolted to attention by this headline:
  

We Need to Ban ‘Sorry For the Delay’ From Our Email Vocabulary
Don’t apologize for not being glued to your inbox.

Guilty! I admit to opening emails that way two or three times a day. Apparently, many others do too, and it turns out we are sabotaging ourselves.

The Twitter post led me to a brief post by Shelby Lorman on Trive Global. Lorman’s insights were gleaned from a post on The Science of Us by Melissa Dahl. Dahl quotes others, which led me down the rabbit hole of research on the topic.

The bottom line is that our well-intended apology sets us up for failure later because it tells senders to expect immediate action in the future. We are inadvertently damaging relationships, sabotaging productivity, and depleting morale.

One study Dahl quoted said people open emails within six seconds of arrival. Imagine the effect of that on productivity and performance for someone who receives just 25 emails a day. How many do you receive? Neuroscientists and psychologists can explain why we open emails upon arrival—something about endorphins and connecting with people—but, let’s focus today on understanding the impact of the bad habit and what we can do to stop it.

In addition to setting unrealistic expectations, we sabotage our own productivity by reacting to every email with urgency. A study in Fast Company said it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to re-focus on what we were doing before we opened the email or handled any other interruption. No wonder people are stressed out by the end of the work day!

Obviously, the impact of over-promising unrealistic expectations to others is two-fold. First, we prompt them to wait for our responses, which may reduce their productivity. When our response cannot be immediate, we will have let them down. Second, we stress over the prospect of letting others down.

A second impact of reacting to every email with urgency is sabotage to our own productivity. It takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to re-focus on what we were doing before we opened the email or handled any other interruption. No wonder people are stressed out by the end of the work day!

All that over-promising and under-performing means we are not living All-In. 

I think this morning's tweet shook me because I try to live All-In by staying focused. Luckily, there are relatively simple things to do to improve. If you are ready to stop the bad habit and get back to living All-In, join me in taking these actions:

1. Stick to your plan for the day. Don’t let projects take longer than required by accepting email interruptions as urgent demands on your time.
2. Identify which emails need immediate action, some action soon, or no action at all. Try to read emails one time only, and after that one time, delete, file, assign a date, or forward to someone else to handle. Make it easy by setting up email rules so prioritizing is automated.  
3. Set a schedule for reading emails at work. Would every two hours suffice? Set aside time upon arrival at work, mid-morning, before lunch, mid-afternoon, end of day. Unless you are in the middle of an emergency, discipline yourself to wait.
4. Stop apologizing for reasonable response times. If necessary, consider replying to advise of your expected action and completion date when needed, but do not begin emails with an apology for not being at someone’s beck-and-call every minute.

What do you think?

If you have additional ideas to help break the bad habit, please share. The more, the better!

Happiness is over-rated

“Cut the happiness crap, Tyler!”

That’s what a coworker used to holler at me when I was cheerful at the water cooler at 7:00am each work day. He said it with a smile and proclaimed he was teasing, but it stuck with me. Twenty-five years later, I think that guy was on to something.

There is a lot written about happiness these days. Amazon has 22,329 books on the subject right now. A Google search found 46 million articles, with most promising to tell us how to be happier and why we should seek happiness. I have read a few articles about happiness, and I agree with much of what is researched and written about it. However, there is something missing.

There are three perspectives overlooked in the highly publicized search for happiness millions seem to be conducting, and they are worth pondering. 

1. The expectation to be happy. If we expect to be happy all the time, we will be thrown off when life takes an unavoidable turn. The fact is, life’s journey includes some detours once in a while. People get sick, companies close down, children become teenagers. Life happens, and it’s not always full of skipping through sunflowers whistling Zippity Doo Dah. When we expect to be happy every day, we either shove the sadness deep inside to hide it or we are overwhelmed by the bad stuff and get stuck in misery.
2. The pressure to be happy. The peer pressure to be happy causes stress and can damage relationships. When you’re struggling with one of life’s obstacles, and you turn to a friend for support, do you love it when the friend says, “You shouldn’t be disappointed by your manager leaving the company. The new one will be even better.” We don’t really enjoy someone else pressuring us to “get over it.” We all have feelings we need to grapple with, and we will do so in good time. Pressure not to feel the sadness is not helpful.
3. The lost opportunities caused by happiness. The expectation and pressure to be happy cause us to miss out on the benefits of adversity. In our effort to be happy every minute, we are likely to take fewer risks or deny a challenge facing us. Happiness can prevent us from rising above obstacles, which is unfortunate because there are few feelings better than those experienced after surmounting an obstacle or staring down a challenge. We rob ourselves of those feelings by trying to stay happy all the time. 

When we deny life’s detours or go out of our way to avoid them entirely, we are telling ourselves a few things. We’re saying, “You’re not capable of overcoming that obstacle.” Or, “You’re not good enough to figure out a new way.” Or, “No one cares if you reach the destination.”

Let’s not sabotage ourselves with such negativity. Instead, let’s face the reality of all situations and let’s face challenges head-on. Look forward to the sense of accomplishment, don’t avoid it. We don’t have to “cut the happiness crap” completely. Let’s just keep it in perspective.

The big favor FOMO can do for you

The annual transition between Summer and Fall offers an opportunity for two actions: to reflect on the year and to identify how to spend the last three months of it. Are you pleased with your year so far? Are you well on the way toward accomplishing the goals you had in mind? Or, did you miss out on something you would have liked to do?

If the reflection brings to mind what you missed out on, you might suffer from FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out.

In the five-minute video, Dan Ariely, Duke University Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics, shares what FOMO is and how is causes regret.

He explains so clearly how we are affected when we barely miss our goals versus when we are off by a long shot. You might be surprised which one we prefer, according to the research.


Usually FOMO is discussed in very negative terms. It does spark regret afterall. But, it can do do something great for us too. The big favor FOMO delivers is the opportunity to change. If the only time you ponder what you're missing is when it's too late, you'll miss opportunities to change.

If your Facebook feed is full of friends' posts about their summer vacations to Europe, and you wish you had made time for one, make time now. Can you still take a trip this year? Or, plan one into 2017 before it fills up too. If you can't fit one in this year and you don't want to plan around one next year, then ask yourself if you really want a European trip.

It might turn out that you don't have FOMO. You have NFM instead: Not For Me. I just made that up, and it means you can be glad your friends had those trips but you don't want one. Obviously, there would be no need to tell them that. It's just for you to use to re-frame how you viewed your Facebook feed.

From now on, when you feel FOMO, pay attention to it. You might decide you really do what to do whatever is causing the feeling, so you make it happen. Or, it might turn out that you are content to skip it. Either way, you will decide. And, that is the favor of FOMO.

You may be wasting time at work without even knowing it

We all need a break now and then. We need to call home, write the list of errands to complete on the way home, or email a professor coursework due that night. Taking ten or fifteen minutes once in a while to handle personal business is not wasting time at work.

Of more concern than a few minutes now and then is when time is wasted without awareness.

Here are a few examples:

When entering a division meeting, a colleague within David’s division asks him how a project is going. The colleague, Glenn, is not David’s supervisor but is someone he has worked with on other projects. David happily tells Glenn all about the project as they walk into the meeting and get seated next to each other. Glenn emails David an idea about the project the next day. David replies that the idea is very helpful and will be considered as the project proceeds. He includes something about keeping Glenn informed about the project going forward. Glenn responds that he looks forward to keeping in touch about it.

How could this situation lead to wasting time?

Here’s another one.

A five-person team is working on a project. One teammate, Pauline, writes an article about it for the intranet site at the team’s request. It is an internal article, not an external one or a promotional piece. Pauline sends the article to all teammates for review. One teammate sent the article to his own supervisor to get his input.

How could that lead to wasting time?

Here’s one more.

Peter and Mary were asked to create and deliver a new training course for their division. They have weekly meetings to discuss actions taken thus far and next steps. After the weekly meeting, they divide and conquer with each doing whatever task they named at the meeting. When they get the first draft, they will set a time to meet with the division head about the program and will take it from there.

How could their approach waste time?

Okay, one more.

Jill is working on a proposal due in three days. She just found out one of the most important subcontractors, with unique skills needed for the solution, backed out today. Without a key area of the solution covered, Jill needs to decide how to proceed. She can get a new subcontractor to replace the one that exited the proposal. Or, she could advise her management team that the proposal cannot go forward.

How would either of those options impact Jill’s time? Or, others’ time?

Even with good intentions and the culture of trust at the forefront of our minds, it is not always easy to spot the potential for wasting time. The following ideas can help us avoid spending time ineffectively:

Stop winging it. Nearly all projects need some kind of plan. Whether it is ten pages long with timelines and a team or it’s a list of five bullets, every project needs some thought in advance. Winging it rarely leads to efficiency, and more often causes swirl. At minimum, write a list of tasks needed to be completed and dates for each. Don’t rely on memory for work if you’re trying to be efficient or at the top of your game.

Understand your span of authority. We all have a certain span of authority with our positions. Understand yours and gain input from others as needed. The tendency to gain input for everything can slow teams down. With that said, however, be absolutely certain you have the experience to operate within the span given. If you are attempting something new or making a decision that affects more than one or two people, get support. Seek guidance from colleagues with more experience often; however, do so without relinquishing your responsibility for the decision.

Say “Yes” first. When you work somewhere for a long time, it’s tempting to bring up history along with each new project or idea. Every day people say, “We’ve already tried that here and it didn’t work.” Or, “We have always done it this way.” Keep those historical experiences in mind and share them when ideas develop, not when they are first brought up. They waste time because the conversation ends up being about history, why it did or did not work, or how now is different. Save that battle. It might be unnecessary anyway.

Avoid the weapons of mass distraction. Turn off alerts for Facebook, Snap Chat, and other social platforms. Turn off email pop-up notifications, set a time to check email throughout the day instead of one at a time upon arrival, and create rules to manage incoming email efficiently.

Stop multitasking. Multitasking got trendy for a while, but research is proving it is wasting time. MIT’s Dr. Earl Miller is one of the leading researchers on multitasking, and his studies show there is no such thing. People are not really doing two things at once, they are switching rapidly between two or three things. That is causing errors, duplication of effort, and stress. We all have more than one task on our plates at the same time. Single-tasking, instead of multi-tasking, just means focusing on whatever you are working on at the moment. Work at a quick clip—avoiding distractions and interruptions—and complete the work. Bouncing all over the place wastes time.

Contribute well to meetings. If I had a dollar for every time someone complained about inefficient meetings, I’d be wealthier than last week’s Powerball winners. There is zero excuse for meetings without objectives and agendas. Even if both must be stated at the start of the meeting, state them. Identify the topics needed to discuss, plan an appropriate amount of time for each, and proceed as planned. If deviation from the agenda is needed, advise the participants. Holding people hostage is annoying and rude. Side conversations, being unprepared, and not following the agenda are too. Pay attention so topics do not have to be repeated, especially if you participate via the phone. Whether you are the host or participant, you contribute to whether the meeting is useful or a time-suck.

Be aware of how you spend time each day. They say time is a gift. Each day, we are given the gift of 1,440 minutes. Be selective about how you spend each one and don’t take any one for granted by wasting it without awareness.

What else helps you be efficient at work? Share more tips.

Goldilocks and the new year

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome back from the break. Some folks have said the break was too short. Others said it was too long. A few have said it was just right. The comments so far this week brought Goldilocks to mind.

Remember, Goldilocks and the three bears? One cup of oatmeal was too hot, another too cold, and finally one was just right.

As we embark on a new calendar year, let's think more like Goldilocks.

1. Let's take risks like Goldilocks did. You have to admit, it was pretty risky roaming around unfamiliar territory. But, she didn't just roam, she even tasted the food. Let's put ourselves out there a little further than in the past and be less fearful of the outcome of taking chances.

2. Let's keep trying like Goldilocks did. When the first bowl of oatmeal (what is porridge anyway?) was too hot, she tried again. When the second try didn’t meet her expectations, she tried another time. Let’s be not hesitate to try more than once. Too often, we give up after just one try; however, if we try another time or two, maybe we’ll reap greater rewards.

One example of trying over and over would be with delegation. When you task a colleague with a project and it doesn’t come back perfectly, talk it over, and try again. The next time, it will be better, so try another time. By the time the colleague has done it three times, it will probably be just right.

3. Let’s respond quickly to mistakes like Goldilocks did. At the end of the story, Goldilocks was napping in the “just right” bed when the bears returned home. The baby bear found Goldilocks in his bed and cried out, “Someone has been sleeping in my bed—and here she is!” Goldilocks heard the bear cry out, and she quickly jumped out of the bed and ran away. When we have warnings that something is not going to work out, let’s learn quickly and get out. Oh sure, I just said, let’s try and try again. But, let’s be reasonable about it. There’s a difference between cold oatmeal and a bear in your face. When something major is wrong, it’s time to see the bear and get out.

An example of this one would be when a guest speaker presents and it doesn't go as well as planned. Let's not keep trying with that person, let's move forward quickly to someone else so as not to waste our colleagues' time. Another example would be a project plan. If the plan is not helping the team be efficient, it might be time for a new plan. Or, it might even be time to cancel the project.

As you get back in the swing of work this week, I hope you enjoy seeing friends, working on cool projects, and participating in new year activities.

With so much excitement a new year brings, you might find that the start to the new year is just how Goldilocks would want it: just right. 

The emotional roller coaster of boarding a plane

Their eyes, mouths, and shoulders revealed their emotions. They were a lonely, pitiful-looking bunch. They were the final ten people boarding a flight: the C boarding group.

As the C group (who knew there was one?!) entered the Southwest airplane in Chicago yesterday, everyone seated could see their emotional highs and lows as they looked for a seat.

They entered with bright eyes and high hopes of finding that one last aisle seat for themselves. As their eyes scanned the first dozen rows of the plane, they realized there would be no aisle seat toward the front. As their eagle eyes scanned further back, it became clear that the chance of a window seat was slim too. With high hopes slightly dimmed, they headed down the long, narrow aisle toward the back of the plane.

If you saw The Green Mile, picture the boarding experience of the C group like the walk in that movie.

One of the ten grabbed an open window seat. Aha! Hopes were high again! “Maybe there is another one just for me!” thought the standing nine passengers.

Their fingers were crossed as they headed further down the aisle searching for an aisle or window seat. All hopes were obliterated when the flight attendant announced only middle seats remained. Eighteen shoulders slumped in sadness as if they had practiced a synchronized routine prior to boarding.

In a matter of minutes, those unfortunate C boarders went from hoping for an aisle or window seat to seeking an open middle seat. Three C fliers grabbed the closest middle seats. The rest were out of luck. The flight attendant had another announcement: the only empty middle seats were near the front of the plane.

Six passengers turned around in unison to walk down the aisle toward the front of the plane. I couldn’t see their feet but started humming “Oeo Oeo” from The Wizard of Oz. Remember the song the wicked soldiers sing as they march? (What are they saying anyway?)

With heads and shoulders collapsed as if they had been defeated worse than the Royals, the final six passengers returned toward the front of the plane.

What happened next surprised me: They were happy to find middle seats! As each person took the first open seat they came to, relief came to their faces. When the last person was settled into row two, the plane erupted in applause for them. (Gee, what kind of person would lead a plane of people in a round of applause?)

The emotional highs and lows those lowly C boarders experienced stuck with me. It really stood out once the plane landed in Kansas City and was parked at the gate. As the two-hundred something passengers prepared to deplane, guess who was among the first to depart? Those lowly C boarders!

They didn’t have to wait for hundreds of people to exit. They didn’t have to wait while people fumbled their gigantic carry-ons. They didn’t have to suffer the 90-degree temperature heating up the plane. It turns out, those pitiful C boarders made it to the destination as exactly the same time as everyone else, and they got to exit sooner than most of them. They were the lucky ones!

It just goes to show a few things…that emotions are temporary, life is all in your perspective, sometimes what seems horrendous at first turns out to be miraculous!

 

Dog poo in the living room

Every morning at about 6:00, I get the pleasure of taking Miles, the greatest dog in the world out for his “morning constitution.”

As you might expect, there is a routine involved and it is rarely altered. Miles and I go out the front door, down the front walk, around to the back of the house, along the woods, then into the high field where business is done. Miles leaves “pee mail” at various trees and bushes along the way to keep in touch with the other pups and small animals in the area who have a similar routine.

Yesterday began like any other day. Miles led the way out the front door, down the walk, around to the back, along the woods, but then he froze. He would not go into the field with the high grass. He just looked at me with an expression saying, “I’m not going in there.” Then he turned and walked back to the house the same way we always return.

I knew what threw Miles off his morning routine: deer. A mother deer and her two little ones have been living in the woods behind the house, and they have come out to our yard and into the field back there. Miles had seen them from the deck, so his senses were on high alert.
Miles was calm when we returned to the house. It was 6:30 on Sunday morning, so I went back to bed. About fifteen minutes later, Miles was running through the house. He scampered through each room, up and down the hallway, and all around. Of course, I got up to check on him, but nothing was amiss. He didn’t whimper, there was no thunder, and no one was knocking on the door. I returned to bed for about an hour.

When I got out of bed to start the day, Miles didn’t greet me like he usually does. I knew something was amiss now. When I reached the living room, I could smell something amiss, then I saw the mess. Luckily, the mess was not big and it was easy to clean up. A quick cleaning and the rug was like new. But, Miles felt terrible. He had a guilty look on his face and he clearly felt bad for his unusual behavior.

My husband, Bob, and I spent several minutes reassuring Miles that he was a good boy. We knew he did not need punishment because he had never done this before. He was punishing himself enough. He needed empathy from us. We were happy to offer it. His demeanor returned to normal later in the day, and all was well.

Until this morning.

I awoke around 6:00am to take Miles outside. We followed our traditional routine: out the front door, down the walk, around to the back, along the woods, over to the field. Just like yesterday, Miles stopped. He would not enter the field. I even tried to nudge him in there to take care of business, but he would not go. We had been out for a while, and I had to get ready for work, so we returned back to the house.

But, today, I did not assume Miles was fine. After all, he still had not handled his morning business. Bob took Miles out for a walk in a different area, which is part of their morning routine, and business was handled. When I left for work, the rug was fine. Oh, Miles and Bob were fine too.

What strikes me about the living room poo experience is how routines get altered. Although Miles and I have the same routine each day, we have different experiences in that routine. He was afraid of the deer, I was not. I assumed he would feel the same way I did, and I dismissed his feelings. My assumption contributed to the poo on the rug.

Doesn’t the same thing happen at work? Of course, there’s no poo on the rug here, but there are consequences when we assume things about each other or overlook other’s experiences. Do you ever assume people think the same way you think or feel the same way you do about the same experience? We take each other for granted, then mistakes happen or time-consuming C.Y.A. takes over communication.

One other thought to ponder was the forgiveness for the error. Miles does not poo in the living room all the time, so we did not need to punish him or instill new rules. We needed to learn from the mistake and set him up for success next time. How good are people at doing that for colleagues? Or, are we better at blaming them and holding a grudge?

Pay attention to routines, what alters them, and how others feel about them. And, forgive people when altered routines cause errors. Keep your senses on high alert so you can set people up for success, and you won’t miss the signals that poo is on the way.

Who is driving?

A chauffeur-driven Town Car sped by me on the way to work today. I wondered who was being driven, where they were going, what filled their day’s agenda, and what their lives were like. I also wondered about the driver: who was he, what was on his day’s agenda, what his life was like. The person who directed where the car goes is in the back, but the person who knows the route to get to the desired destination is driving in the front.

Which of those two jobs is harder?

On most days, it is probably more difficult to be the driver, right? The drive has to:

• Know route options
• Anticipate traffic or construction
• Choose which route is best
• Reacting when something unexpected happens
• Keeping the car prepared for the trip
• Keep all passengers safe
• Know and follow the laws
• Be nice to the passengers

The passenger who gives the final location has to:

• Know where the car should end up
• Pay the driver’s fee

So, it looks like the driver has the harder job. But, what does it take to know where the car should end up? There’s more behind the scenes for the passenger than randomly picking a location, right? When you think about it, who is driving whom?

Obviously, both roles are important and both people only succeed when they work together. The driver has nothing to do if no one wants to go somewhere. The passenger has no way to get where they want to go if there is no driver. One is not more important than the other. They are just different. They need to respectfully rely on each other.

None of us likes a backseat driver. When you are the passenger, know your destination and let the driver do his job. Micro-managing will not help the driver or your trip. Likewise, passengers do not like a driver who questions, judges, or doubts our destination. Remember, sometimes each of us is a driver and sometimes each is a passenger. Know your role.

What about those solo trips? Sometimes we travel alone and have to know the destination and how to reach it. If we don’t set our own destination and route, we end up following others or roaming aimlessly, which makes accomplishment and any sense of success unlikely.

Whether you are the driver or the passenger, support everyone who’s along for the trip. The mutual support makes the journey more enjoyable and the destination more meaningful.

Is consensus over-rated?

Consensus is great, right? Building consensus leads to better ideas, work efficiencies, and higher morale. Consensus is so important, there are courses taught on the subject and consultants earn big bucks when they facilitate consensus-building sessions for companies across the globe.

When there’s consensus, everyone is happy with the solution or action. Everyone buys in when they have contributed, which leads to higher productivity. Plus, there is a sense of camaraderie as people work together on the shared goal.

But there is a downside to consensus.

The most significant downside to consensus-building is the time it takes. It takes time in meetings, whether one-on-one or with groups, to build consensus. But, even beyond that, keeping the consensus as solutions are implemented is time-consuming. I wonder if too much time is spent here on reaching consensus.

Who says we have to be 100% happy with every solution we have to implement?

Can’t we implement solutions even when they are not our idea or preference? Is the expectation of joy for every minute of our day too high?

When too much time is spent gaining agreement for too many solutions, consensus can prevent accountability.

For example, let’s say two technical staff members explore an idea for a new product your company could offer. They do the relevant market research, calculate forecasts, and build the prototype that gains approval of their director to proceed. If the product fails or succeeds, the buck stops with the two staff members. Accountability doesn’t mean they get fired if it doesn’t work. It means they need to explain where the research and forecasts erred. They don’t get to say, “Well, it failed but Bob approved it!” On the other hand, if the product is a wild success, accountability means they get rewarded for success.

Consensus is not needed for everything it is used for all the time. Don’t use it to get out of making decisions that are your responsibility. Instead, get ideas and input from others, then make the decision. Also, resist the temptation to insist on consensus when you are invited to give input and ideas. Feel free to share then let our colleague decide.

When consensus leads to lack of accountability and to procrastination, the good part of it is lost.

How to cease the sabotage of emergencies and comfort zones

​Have you noticed the number of Urgent Care centers popping up around town lately? There are thirty listed in the Kansas City phone directory. Although the first Urgent Care center opened in the 1970s, there numbers have grown widly in the past five years.

The National Center for Health found that 48% of people who went to the Emergency Room did not have real emergencies. They went to the ER because their doctor’s office was not open when they needed care. To ensure proper care for urgent matters and emergencies, patients now have the option of going to an Urgent Care center instead of to the ER. Patients don’t have to treat every health matter as if it were an emergency.

Business professionals don’t have to treat every issue as an emergency either. In fact, doing so can make people look like they are not in control of their work, do not know how to prioritize, and are incapable of making wise decisions. When a manager operates in a state of emergency all the time, it demotivates their teams and causes lack of trust. When everything is an emergency, nothing is.

So, if we are not supposed to make everything an emergency, what’s this sense of urgency people have been talking a lot about?

John Kotter, Professor Emeritus, Harvard Business School, authored a book that has become the definitive source on urgency (A Sense of Urgency). Kotter says urgency is thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. “It is the thought that there is opportunity out there, feelings of determination to win, and behavior that is hyper alert and committed to movement that wins.”

In the interview John Kotter did for Harvard Business Press, he explains more about urgency:

Urgent people:

• Pay attention. They are alert and proactive.
• Seek information. They are on the lookout for external information relevant to success.
• See opportunities. They see opportunities in challenges and crisis.
• Move forward. They find ways to launch initiatives, form and motivate teams, and make a difference.

The sense of urgency is not created from feelings of contentment, frustration, anxiety, or anger. It is a sense of determination, strong desire to win. Urgent people realize there are obstacles and challenges—they are not ostriches with their heads in the sand—yet, they are positive and energized by opportunities.

People who live in a constant state of emergency or in their comfort zones tend to focus on trivial issues and on projects with no significant contribution to the organization’s strategy. They are not focused intently on progress but on chaos or status quo.

Kotter explains, “People who are determined to move and win, now, simply do not waste time or add stress by engaging in irrelevant activities. True urgency is not the product of historical successes or current failures but the result of people, up and down the hierarchy, who provide the leadership needed to create and re-create this increasingly important asset.”

The assessment below can help you determine whether complacency or a false sense of urgency are issues for you:

Question	Yes or No
1.Are assignments around critical issues regularly not completed on time or with sufficient quality?
2.Are discussions inward-focused and not about markets, emerging technology, competitors, etc.?
3.Are failures of the past discussed so as not to learn from them, but to stall new initiatives?
4.Are highly selective facts used to shoot down data that suggests there is a big hazard or opportunity?
5.Do meetings on key issues end with no decisions about what must happen immediately (except the scheduling of the next meeting)?
6.Do people have trouble scheduling meetings on important initiatives…
7.Because they are too busy?
8.Do people regularly blame others for problems instead of taking responsibility?
9.Do people run from meeting to meeting exhausting themselves and rarely focusing on the most critical hazards or opportunities?
10.Do people say, “we must act now”, but then don’t act?
11.Do people spend long hours developing power points on almost anything?
12.Is candor lacking in confronting bureaucracy and politics that are slowing things down?

Consider the following nine actions to prevent emergency states or comfort zones from sabotaging your work going forward:

1. Set reasonable deadlines, keep track of them, and honor the commitments.
2. Listen to what external resources like customers, new staff members, partners, and suppliers are saying. Understand the truth and anticipate needs.
3. Listen to external data, in addition to the people.
4. Identify the opportunities in every challenge and crisis.
5. Behave urgently daily. Urgency can be developed but if it’s not used all the time, it will diminish. If you only operate urgently every few months, that’s like the college student who crammed for final exams.
6. Watch out for the No-Nos. The No-Nos kill urgency. They say they are too busy, and they often stretch work out beyond reasonable limits.
7. Encourage risk by not punishing failure. Fear of failure leads to complacency.
8. Pursue winning relentlessly. Not to sound like Charlie Sheen, but prioritize actions based on their preparation for victory.
9. Sustain the sense of urgency with courage. You’ll need courage to ask questions, nudge others forward, and lead the impending changes.

Kotter goes on to say why companies need more urgency, “A real sense of urgency is rare, much rarer than most people seem to think. Yet it is invaluable in a world that will not stand still.”

Are your industry and customers standing still? You cannot afford to function in a state of emergency or in long-held comfort zones. The sense of urgency will propel your organization past this current financial state when you’re all functioning with the same sense.

Signs your team is going to lose

Twelve seconds in to last night’s Super Bowl, the Broncos’ quarterback, Peyton Manning, tried to communicate a change to his teammates. But, they could not hear him, and the center hiked the ball over Manning’s head. The result of the miscommunication was a safety worth two points for the opposing team.

After the play, Manning and a teammate had an exchange that revealed a team out of synch. Manning was saying something, and the teammate turned toward him and said a really bad F word. Did you notice that?

My first thought was that the exchange showed lack of respect and did not bode well for the team. Pretty easy to surmise when the other team scored a safety off their mistake. Whether Manning deserved respect from his teammate, and vice versa, is up for debate; however, what is not debatable is that without respect among teammates, losing is likely. Not guaranteed but likely. Right?

When your mistakes enable another team to score points, or gain favor, you need to consider how teamwork effected the error. Is your ineffective teamwork enabling your competition to score with your customers? It might be easy for outsiders to predict losing, just as it was for people watching the game last night.

Here are eleven indications that a team at work is likely to lose:

1. Fuzzy mission: Teams fail when the mission is unclear, assumed, or overlooked. Teams that rush to do something, and overlook the need for a clear direction, are likely to fail.
2. Weak mission: Some NFL teams say their goal all year was to get to the Super Bowl. Do they want to get there or win it? The teammates must be working toward the same goal.
3. Random changes: Teams fall apart when customer changes are not reasonable, understood, or challenged. A confused customer needs help getting on track, and most teammates want to offer such help. Of course, customers don’t always want it or take it, but the team needs to know it was offered. Frankly, if the customer does not want help getting their mission on track, is that a desirable customer? The answer lies in the difference between being like Burger King (“have it your way, we don’t care what you want, we’ll just give it to you”) and The Capital Grille.
4. Inattentive leadership: When leaders let the roosters rule the barn, chaos ensues.
5. Haphazard team formation: There is a difference between a bunch of individuals performing well and those who perform well together.
6. Ineffective use of the players: Super Bowls can’t be won alone, even when there is a superstar on the field. Teams at work will lose when teammates are not utilized for their strengths, knowledge, and experience.
7. Infighting: Disagreements can lead to creativity; however, everyone must realize there is often more than one right way for a team to win. Explore different ways then pick one and go.
8. Procrastination: See #7. When teams just fight and don’t move forward, losing is likely.
9. Limited resources: They say defense wins football games. If you have the best offense and the best special teams, but a poor defense, your team is not likely to win a Super Bowl. At your workplace, if you have the best program manager and talented teammates but a mediocre project plan, the team is likely to fail.
10. Stodgy solutions: Today’s challenges need creative, innovative solutions. Doing things the way we have always done them will not lead to anything new.
11. Poor communication: As shown in the Super Bowl, opponents will capitalize on communication miscues. Miscommunication wastes time, costs money, and can damage customer relationships.  

This list could help future work teams avoid pitfalls that lead to failure. If you want to hoist the winning trophy, pay attention to what causes teams to lose so yours can be set up for success.

What else do you think could cause a team to lose? The list could be endless.

 

3 simple messages from MLK that apply to the workplace

Today many of us take a day off from work to reflect on the accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr. As I was thinking of him this morning, three thoughts came to mind that I think are relevant to the workplace. They are related to dignity, excellence, and greatness.

Dignity

My first thought was about a famous picture taken in 1964 of MLK with Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, then President of Notre Dame. The picture, called The Picture of Purpose, shows the two arm in arm at a rally in Soldier Field. Fr. Hesburgh told the crowd of 55,000, “We want to strive for dignity with you.” He linked arms with Mr. King to sing the movement’s anthem, “We Shall Overcome.”

No one should have to strive for dignity. But, if someone does, do you strive with them? Back in 1964, they were striving for what most today would consider basic rights. But, today, people are treated without dignity in the workplace sometimes.

When a coworker is gossiping about someone, do you chime in? Sit silently? Or do you speak up on behalf of the absent person? Speaking in a disparaging manner is not treating someone with dignity.

Think about how you treat people who make mistakes. Do you teach them and rebuild their confidence, or do you hold a grudge never to trust them again? Holding a grudge is not treating them with dignity.

Those are just a few examples that hit home to me today. I wonder if we could all treat others with a little more dignity and respect.

Excellence

The other thought I had this morning was about Mr. King’s famous street sweeper speech.

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ Be the best of whatever you are.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Sometimes people get impatient with the pace of their promotions. They want the fancy office and title because they think their current ones are not impressive enough. I understand the impact of titles externally; however, they should have nothing at all to do with one’s self-esteem. Be the best street sweeper, chemist, technician, waiter, writer, manager, accountant, or data entry person because that is who you are, not because someone else labeled you as the best. Excellence comes from within.

As for the pace of promotions, it is often sped up when consistent excellence combines with a positive attitude over time. A street sweeper who did well for a few months but now complains all the time about how messy the job is earns a reputation for misery, not excellence.

Greatness

Mr. King said, “Everybody can be great.” Isn’t that remarkable? Every single person can be great. Really? You don’t have to be highly educated, wealthy, or famous to be great.

On days when you doubt your ability to achieve greatness remember what Mr. King said:

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Greatness is determined by service."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Greatness is not determined by education, title, wealth, or fame. It is attainable by everyone who serves others. The thought can get lost in the midst of our celebrity-centric culture. Charlie Rose called one of the infamous celebutants “the most frivolous person on the planet.” Let’s serve others, and admire those who do the same, so we do not earn a similar moniker.

Three of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s messages remain relevant today in areas beyond what he was fighting for: Treat others with dignity, perform excellently, and achieve greatness through service. Seems simple enough.