Creating Tomorrow

Dear Friends,

Some of you are probably familiar with the American phrase “walk the walk like you talk the talk”. It refers to the necessity we have in all areas of our lives to actually take action in order to reach our goals, and not only talk about what we plan to do.

What are the areas where you find it hardest to avoid the gap between what you know and what you actually do about it?

Are you substituting talk for action?

When I first started out in advertising, our group often got together after work at a little Italian place across the street. That gave us all a chance to unwind in a relaxing atmosphere, talk about challenges we were facing with our clients and brands, and get insightful feedback from our peers. These were all people who understood where we were coming from, but still saw things from a slightly different perspective. We solved the marketing problems of the world around that table some nights, let me tell you! Soon it became obvious to me, however, which people in the group were using these impromptu sessions as their own informal ‘think tank’, and which people just welcomed the opportunity to bellyache or pontificate about their situations.

The former acted upon the input they received from their colleagues, integrating it - where appropriate - into their actions. They utilized the additional viewpoints they received to either confirm and bolster their own strategies or as a basis upon which to expand their existing problem-solving repertoire.

The latter may have brainstormed aloud, but little of the new input found entrance into the way they actually approached their client-related challenges. They never seemed to implement any of the innovative ideas developed around that table, and a few weeks later they could be counted on to be facing a different version of the same challenge all over again.

Question from the Coach

Look at the top 3 professional issues that seem to be coming up in your conversations with colleagues and business contacts recently.

1. What measurable thing have you done TODAY to make a positive change or tangible progress in any of these areas?
2. On a scale of 1 - 5, how successful was the OUTCOME of each of these actions?
3. What do you plan to do TOMORROW to continue the chain?

Trina

Dear Friends,

Nelson Mandela is arguably one of the most inspirational world leaders of both the 20th and 21st centuries. An ardent fighter for his country’s freedom from the self-imposed shackles of apartheid, Mandela endured 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa’s notorious prison on Robben Island , and stepped back out into the world to both preach and practice forgiveness, responsibility and progress.

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“The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.”

(Source: Warren Bennis)

Dear Friends,

“Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a civilization work”

- Vince Lombardi (legendary NFL coach)

An effective manager knows how to attract the best talent to her team. With her enthusiasm for a tangible vision, she awakens in them a consciousness for the importance of their specific contribution when it comes to achieving a common goal. She also opens their eyes to the importance of the contributions made by all the other members of the team, fostering an atmosphere of cooperative and respectful teamwork.

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Dear Friends,

Aah! The hazy, lazy days of summer are upon us. Whether you are enjoying the warmer temperatures on the beach, at a sidewalk cafe, or simply be allowing yourself the luxury of a more leisurely pace in the office, give yourself a much-needed opportunity in the coming weeks to relax, re-energize and re-evaluate where you are in your business or career versus where you (soon) want to be!

Before I switched gears to enjoy my personal version of a ’summer schedule’ I completed my schedule for upcoming open workshops and teleseminars, which is now online.

You can access this schedule either here or here.

Trina 

Dear Friends,

My personal main motivation for delving more deeply into the theoretical and practical implications of what is - or isn’t - good leadership is based on my own experience in the service industry. Being very client-focussed, I often experienced situations of what I felt to be an externalized follow-the-client form of (non-)leadership. That’s why I was especially curious about Corey Blake’s article called “The Absence of Leadership“ on EDGE! A Leadership Story.

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“Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path … and leave a trail.”

(Source: Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Dear Friends,

During a particularly passionate brainstorming session in my last open workshop - “Some Quit and Leave…Others Quit and Stay‘ - our topic of discussion was the reason employees change jobs and what individual managers can do about it.

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Dear Friends,

If you’re like I used to be, you look at people and organizations you consider role models and see (mostly) their successes. Then you look at your own career or business and wonder what you’re doing wrong.

As paradoxical as it may sound, our road to success is paved with the mistakes we make.

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