Filed under: Communication, Leadership, Life, Optimism, Relationships, Teamwork
There are always some wonderful lessons, I think, from sports. I remember back watching the L. A. Lakers playoff run. It was interesting because the Lakers were really down and out several times—they were losing by 12 at halftime, then they came back, then they got behind again. Right at the buzzer with four seconds to go, Derek Fisher throws in this long three-pointer to tie the score and send it into overtime. Then in the overtime he hit another really crucial three-pointer, and he had missed five in a row and hadn’t been playing very well in the other games. One of the things he said at the end was that Coach Jackson just kept on having confidence in him—because he’s a veteran. He and Kobe were playing together for years. And he said, “I believe in you, you get in there.” It just makes such a difference in people’s lives when you believe in them, even when they’re down. And then Derek came through when he needed to and he was so thrilled to help. But he said he wouldn’t have done it if the coach hadn’t continued to have confidence in him even when he was down. It’s an interesting thing—you just need to keep on pumping people up. So remember—keep on encouraging each other, even when things might not be going well.
Filed under: Change, Communication, Corporate Governance, Economy, Life, Optimism, Technology
I got up really early a few times in the last month to do TV shows with Garry Ridge about our book Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy called “Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A. I was also up early doing radio shows all over the country for Who Killed Change?
You might say, well, what is this all doing besides selling books? I think the two big areas where we can really start to help our companies in tough times is, first, how they can get the best kind of performance out of their people. The whole concept of Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A is so helpful in these times so people know what an “A” looks like and what they need to do to help their company. We’re going to be putting in a whole version of that system in our company so we can all get a clearer sense of what an “A” is for us. I think we can make some real interventions in that and help change the way performance evaluations are done. In terms of Who Killed Change? I think one of the biggest issues for companies is how to implement change in a way that sticks and makes a difference—because we are in a constant flux of change. I don’t think these two things are just about books; I think they are really about opportunities for companies to survive and thrive in tough times.
I got a wonderful quote in the mail the other day from Paul Kreider, who has been with Hershey’s Chocolate for thirty years: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anybody can start today and make a new ending.” That’s really interesting, you know. You can’t redo the past, but starting today, you can say, “What am I going to do differently today to get a different ending at the end of this week, the end of the year, the end of my life?” I just love that quote. So today’s the beginning of the rest of your life. How are you going to get a new ending for what you’re doing now?
Laura Berman Fortgang, a friend of my son Scott and his wife Madeleine, wrote a book recently called The Little Book of Meaning that really made me think. I think it’s really an interesting topic, because I think one of the gnawing questions people have is: What’s the meaning of life? What’s our reason for being here? I think it’s so important that we not just go through the motions in life. You know—you come to work, you do your job, you go home, you do this and you do that. Where do you make the difference? What is meaning for you? In my opinion, it’s all tied into relationships—relationships with yourself, with others, and with something greater than yourself. And I think we can create meaning for ourselves. We can create it by the attitudes we bring and the desire to have meaning in our life. If you feel like you’re getting hum-drummy about life, step back and quiet yourself and say, “Why am I doing this? What is the meaning of this? Why am I here?” Just raising these questions will enlighten you and lift you up to a different level. So keep asking the questions around meaning—because we all have a real purpose. Don’t forget it.
In my weekly men’s group we recently were studying anger. Anger is a really interesting thing, you know. I think we can all get angry for a cause—you know, something that upsets us. But the really interesting question is: How do you express your anger? Do you attack other people? Are you completely out of control?
One of my beliefs that I know you all have heard is that one way to get out of a company quickly is to be someone who is angry all the time, and yelling at people and putting people down. I think if there’s a problem you’re upset about, you need to confront the person in a very civil and calm way and problem solve. What often happens when you lose your temper and get upset with somebody is that, when you walk away, their energy is focused on you and how you treated them rather than what might have been the problem that ignited you. I have also said a number of times that we seem to be nicer to strangers very often than we are to people we love and care about. We sometimes take license with people around us, and those are the people we should really reach out and appreciate. So it was interesting—we had forty men today talking about anger, how they deal with anger and where anger comes from. There’s a wonderful story from George Sweeney: A student said, “I lose my temper, but it’s all over in a minute,” And the professor replied, “So was the hydrogen bomb, but think of the damage it produced.”
So take a look at yourself and how you deal with anger. Do you strike out or do you deal with it in a way that can express your feelings so the problem can be resolved?
Today I came across a wonderful quote from Winston Churchill, who I always felt was quite a guy. He said, “An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity. A pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.” I guess I’m an optimist. I’m always looking for the lemonade from the lemons. That’s the way my mom always was. She said I laughed before I cried, I danced before I walked and I smiled before I frowned. So what are you? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? I think optimists live life a little bit differently and, I hope, more joyously. So be an optimist today, no matter what’s bothering you. See if you can see the opportunity in the problem rather than seeing everything as a problem. Have a great day.
I recently had an interesting experience—I spoke to the Better Business Bureau of the whole Phoenix valley. Normally, you know, the BBB is a group that deals with whether businesses are doing the best practices. They started this night a number of years ago where they recognize companies in the area who are leading in an ethical, values-driven way. It’s become quite a prestigious thing. I got a chance to talk to them about The Power of Ethical Management, the book I did with Norman Vincent Peale. What I particularly like is catching people doing things right.
My own sense is that there are many good things happening in business that just don’t get publicized. You may think everybody is self-serving and doing everything for themselves—but that’s not really true. I think the number of people who are unethical and running businesses just for themselves is just a small percentage in comparison to the people who are doing it right. It was a real joy to be there and also to share with them our ethics check: Is it legal? Is it fair to all involved? How does it make you feel about yourself? Concepts like that. Being successful in business isn’t about perspective; it’s about both results and people, and that is so important to us. So it was an interesting night.
So you take care of yourself. Life is a very special occasion. Make sure you don’t miss it. You’re missing it if you think life’s all about you.
Filed under: Education, Ethics, Leadership, One Minute Manager, Optimism, Servant Leadership, Teamwork, Trust, Workplace Culture
Filed under: Education, Leadership, Optimism, Relationships, Servant Leadership, Teamwork, Trust
I did a recent interview with Dan Schawbel for his blog, Personal Branding. Read the interview at http://personalbrandingblog.com/personal-branding-interview-ken-blanchard/ and let me know what you think.
I love Mac Anderson’s and BJ Gallagher’s new book, Learning to Dance in the Rain: The Power of Gratitude. They say, “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…..it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” In these tough economic times there is certainly a lot of rain, so I think we are going to have plenty of chances to dance before the storm passes. There is also a wonderful quote by Nancy J. Carmody: “I am thankful for lawns that need mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home……….I’m thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.” My feeling is it is hard to get through tough times if you don’t appreciate the good times.
Another great book to read during these time is Spencer Johnson’s Peaks and Valleys. He makes a clear point that peaks are not forever and neither are valleys. When we are experiencing a peak we need to prepare for when that might end. When we are in a valley it is a great time to build up strength so we can prepare for the next peak. Life is a very special occasion with its peaks and valleys.
Norman Vincent Peale said, “We have a choice every morning when we get up. We can feel good about ourselves, or we can feel bad.” The choice seems obvious to me. Good on you all.
Filed under: 2008 Presidential Race
Filed under: Corporate Governance
In thinking about the election I came up with three leadership tips for President-Elect Obama, and they all focus on in him modeling servant leadership. The country is in desperate need of a servant leader as President. This is a President who thinks of the country first and himself second.
The first tip has to do with the leadership part of servant leadership. Leadership is about going somewhere. If people don’t know where they are headed, leadership doesn’t matter and becomes bogged down in politics and self interest. What President-Elect Obama needs to do is develop a compelling vision that helps us as a nation know who we are (our purpose), where we are going (our picture of the future), and what will guide our journey (our values).
Once there is clear direction, my second tip has to do with the servant part of servant leadership. Now President-Elect Obama has to move to the bottom of the hierarchy and become the cheerleader, supporter, and encourager of everyone in Washington and around the country by working on making that vision a reality. Now it is not about him, it is about the vision.
My third tip for President-Elect Obama makes servant leadership come alive. He has to lead with his ears. As Abraham Lincoln did, he needs to gather around him a team of rivals who are the best thinkers; a team who can help us solve the major problems that confront us today. We know President-Elect Obama is a great speaker, but if God wanted him to speak more than listen, he would have given him two mouths. I hope the theme of his presidency is to listen, listen, and listen some more, and then make the best decisions possible.
Filed under: Leadership
It is interesting to note that the title of Ken’s blog is “How WE lead,” instead of “How THEY lead.” This clearly sends the message that we share a responsibility in leadership.
My name is Francisco Gomez and I am this month’s guest blogger. In previous posts, Ken has mentioned how important is the leadership that the new president and his team will need to exercise for positive change to occur and last, starting with the VISION that he should set for all of us. But once that vision is clear for all, it is our turn to contribute our share, it is our turn to act. President Obama also thinks this way, as can see when he said “we are the ones we have been waiting for.”
It is an important responsibility for each of us to realize that the change we want will require that WE act differently as well. We will need to unlearn some things we have adopted as habits, learn new attitudes and behaviors, and relearn some fundamentals that we forgot along the way.
I want to invite you to contribute to this discussion by selecting one change you want to see happen over the next couple of years, and then providing your responses for the following questions:
· What will I need to START DOING to help this change happen?
· What will I need to STOP DOING to help this change happen?
· What will I need to CONTINUE DOING?
To kick off the discussion, one change I would like to see is a new kind of relationship between the United States and the rest of the world, based on what is good for the world at large, not just what is good for America. This means that sometimes we would be willing to do things that are not solely in the best interest of our country, but are desirable for the greater global good.
To help make this change happen, I will:
· Get better informed about the world and the issues different countries face
· Become more tolerant of different points of view
· Accept that we, as a nation, are not immune from making mistakes
· Have renewed faith in our political leadership
· Express my views and participate in the political decision making process
What is one change YOU would like to see? How will you contribute to it? Let’s share our visions and inspire others to do the same.
With the way things are right now, I hope we’re all wishing the best for President Obama, whether we voted for him or not, because we have so many problems and we really need a leader who can deal with them. You might have seen that two of his top cabinet appointments resigned because of tax problems. I love what Obama did on NBC News and on CNN — he said, “I screwed up.” He said that part of the era of responsibility is not never making mistakes, it’s owning up to them. This is really all about The One Minute Apology. He said, “I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics. I don’t want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards—one for powerful people and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes.” I admire that.
I’ve talked with some of my friends recently about the idea of serving two masters or two kingdoms or two worlds—the two worlds are really ourselves and others – Ourselves and the highest good – Ourselves and leading at a higher level. It’s a constant battle, because that little ego is waiting there to kind of snap us up periodically and make us think that the world really centers around us, rather than saying, “Gee, I wonder how I can help. I wonder how I can support. I wonder how I can reach out to make a difference to somebody else.” I think we need to recognize that there are these two worlds and these two focuses. How do we balance those two, or at least be aware when our self is in charge? And then watch it—so that more often than not, we can be serving others and making a difference in other people’s lives. It’s a constant battle—a constant conflict between serving ourselves and serving others. You have to recognize that it’s not always an easy task. So my thought for you today is: Watch out. Get out of your own way as much as you can, and recognize that you really, finally, become an adult when you realize you’re here to serve rather than be served, and to give rather than get. But also recognize that little “self” that sneaks up once in a while.
We did a pretty good webinar recently. Twenty-five hundred people signed up for it. Do you know what the title was? “Leading in Uncertain Times.” Of course, we don’t have any uncertain times here, do we? Ha! Let me tell you three points I shared in the webinar, because maybe it could help us, because we’re all hitting times that are interesting.
The first point is: You have to be a bearer of hope. Some of you might think, “Blanchard, will you stop this? These are hard times.” Hey—I’m going to be a bearer of hope. I thought you could be a bearer of hope, too. Is that always tied into reality? No. But what difference does it make—if you don’t hope, then why don’t you just lie down and we’ll throw some dirt over you.
The second point is that you have to make people your business partners. I want to tell you—in our company in this kind of economic situation we’re going to keep on asking our people whether they have any suggestions. Where can we cut costs? Where can we increase revenue? Our people are our partners. We need everyone’s input. That is so important now.
The final one is to be a servant leader. This is not the time to be self-serving and say that it’s all about me, even though you’re concerned and you have some fears and all. But if you realize that life is about how to serve, not be served, in the process of reaching out to help others and maybe forgetting your own problems for a minute, you know what? Your own problems might be helped. It’s a real simple fact, but I have found it true.
A couple of friends of mine were saying how you can’t deal with hard times if you don’t embrace the good times, and the laughs. Good times are an example of hope. A lot of people are saying how things are really rough. A friend of mine says, “Don’t waste a crisis!” This is a time to change our attitude even when people around us aren’t having the same feeling. Another friend of mine said, “If you can see the future, then what’s the use of faith?” I think that’s really so true. In my locker room in high school, my coach said, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” And he also said, “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” So what we really need to do is remember that we have the capability to do anything. Together, together, together! And that’s what we’re going to do this time, okay?
So put your chins up—put your smiles on. Go out and make a difference in people’s lives. And in the process I think we can all continue to make a difference in our own lives. To be bearers of hope, we have to catch people doing things right and celebrate when people go beyond the moment, beyond the circumstances. You know, sometimes in life, you get “in the zone,” where positive things are happening and you can’t explain it. So I was just wondering—how can we encourage each other to get into the zone? How do we help each other go beyond where we ever thought we might be in what we do? Every job is important, whether you’re a visiting professor, or director of first impressions, or shipping, or doing sales, or whatever. Get in the zone. Think about it. How can you get yourself in the zone?
Filed under: Corporate Governance, Economy, Leadership, Servant Leadership, Trust
How do you maintain trust in uncertain times? Trust has been an important concept since the beginning of our country. On our dollar bills, we have said In God We Trust. Yet today it’s hard for us to trust people—particularly our business leaders, whose greed and self serving leadership seem to have been a major cause of our economic crisis. Yet, if we are going to pull out of this present situation, we have to realize that none of us is as smart as all of us. There are companies that realize this simple truth and have maintained trust before, during, and I’m sure after this economic downturn. All these companies seem to have two characteristics in common.
First of all, they have a higher purpose than making money. As an example, Southwest Airlines, from its beginning, has been convinced that it is in the freedom business. The freedom of all Americans to be with friends and relatives during good times and bad times—thus their low price structure. Chick-fil-A’s purpose is to glorify God by having a positive influence on everyone who comes in contact with Chick-fil-A. They aren’t open on Sundays, even though that is often the busiest day in the fast food industry.
Secondly, they value both people and results. The way that plays out is that their leaders and their people respect and trust each other by celebrating good times together and working out tough times together.
I first realized the importance of trust and respect going together by listening to Ichak Adizes, a long-time consultant and professor at UCLA. He argues that respect and trust have both nonverbal and verbal messages. If you respect someone, you face them, because you are interested and want to hear their opinions. If you don’t respect someone, you turn your back on them, because you couldn’t care less what they think. If you trust people, you will turn your back on them because you are convinced they mean you no harm. If you don’t trust them, you watch their every move. How does that work at Chick-fil-A and Southwest Airlines? In both cases, they respect their people and therefore share information with them about the performance of the company in both good times and bad times. In good times, they celebrate together, and in bad times, they are problem-solving partners. Does that work? You’d better believe it. Unlike many companies today where the top managers are locked behind closed doors, cutting costs and having everybody’s fate in their hands, these two great companies open their books to everyone so they know what’s happening and immediately go to work to cut costs as well as increase revenue.
This is exactly what our company, The Ken Blanchard Companies, did after 9/11 when we lost $1.5 million in sales that month, and what we are doing today with sales and operating income going down. We believe that none of us is as smart as all of us, and we are convinced we will pull out of this together.
What are you doing? Are you betting on the brain power of your top managers or on the brain power of everyone in your organization? What’s at stake? The future of your company, trust, and respect.
In the last couple of weeks at our company, we’ve had our own special March Madness going on down on the basketball court at lunchtime. Next week, we’re going to start to get into the semifinals of this great tournament. One of the things I was thinking about was how, in basketball, the team that really wins is the one where all the players are really contributing. One star can’t be enough, and we saw that even in our own games. When there were two people who were both playing well, they tended to win. If you depend on one person, you can’t win. It applies to basketball and everything in life. I remember when Michael Jordan was the big star in Chicago. They never really got winning when it was just Michael scoring 30 or 40 points, but then he got some other teammates who contributed and made a difference. We need everyone to contribute. This is the way it is as we work together through this tough economic time. It’s not going to do us any good if a few people are putting in 150 or 200 percent and other people are only giving 60 or 70 percent. We need everybody giving 100 percent if we’re all going to really be a winning team in this effort.
I was talking to a friend who is in the automobile industry through advertising, and they are a big user of Gung Ho! with us. They have shared with their customers the whole Gung Ho! framework and he thinks it’s a perfect message as we manage through these tough times. It’s really interesting if you look at it:
The Spirit of the Squirrel is about worthwhile work, and the first thing that all of us have to recognize is that what we do is really important. We make a difference with our clients. Those who can’t work with us are really sad because they recognize what we do.
The Way of the Beaver is to be in control of achieving the goals. One of the things that we need to do in our organization, and every organization, is that everybody has to take responsibility for asking, “How can we help? Who can I help? What can we do?” The Way of the Beaver has got to be an operation.
And the last one, which is what we all ought to be doing with each other, is The Gift of the Goose, which is to cheer each other on and applaud each other and catch each other doing things right.
Let’s keep on pulling together and knowing that no matter what happens, we can get through tough times because we’ve done it before.
Filed under: Corporate Governance, Leadership, Servant Leadership, Teamwork, Trust, Workplace Culture
Wanted to let you know about this recent article that was published in Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/23/trust-respect-employees-leadership-managing-blanchard.html
Leadership
Make Sure Your Employees Trust You–Or Else
03.23.09, 5:48 PM ET
How do you keep people trusting you at a time like this? Trust is essential in our lives, and it has been since the beginning of our country. Our dollar bills say In God We Trust. Yet today trust is all but vanishing, especially trust in our business leaders, whose greed and short-term selfishness seem to have been a major cause of our economic crisis. With negativity running amok, it is no small wonder that trust within the organizational context is slipping.
Yet that need not be the case. “Managed properly, trust can actually grow in such adverse conditions,” says Shawna O’Grady, associate professor of management at Queens School of Business, in Kingston, Ontario. “Taking this point to the extreme, consider the bonds forged between comrades-in-arms in a theater of war.”
The key to building trust in both good and bad times is to realize that none of us is as smart as all of us. There are companies that have embraced this simple truth and used it to maintain trust before, during and, we’re sure, after this economic downturn. All these companies seem to have two characteristics in common.
First, they have a higher purpose than simply making money. Let me give you a couple of examples.
Southwest Airlines, from its beginning, has expressed the conviction that it is in the freedom business. The freedom of all Americans to be with friends and relatives during good times and bad times–thus, their low price structure. Herb Kelleher, who co-founded Southwest, not only wanted to give his customers the lowest possible price, he also wanted to give them the best possible service.
As a result, Southwest is set up to empower everyone, right down to its frontline employees–to make decisions, use their brains and be customer maniacs so they can create raving fan customers.
Chick-fil-A’s purpose is to glorify God by having a positive influence on everyone who comes in contact with its stores and foods. The stores aren’t open on Sundays, even though that is often the busiest day in the fast food industry. S. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, first did this for religious reasons as a devout Southern Baptist and lifelong Sunday school teacher, because Sunday is the day of rest. But it has turned out to be a good business decision. Chick-fil-A attracts many of its employees, including managers, because they know they will be able to be with their families and friends every Sunday. Has it paid off? The chain has by far the lowest turnover of restaurant managers and frontline employees in the quick-service business.
Second, companies that engender trust democratize the decision-making process by soliciting input and sharing the decision-making itself with as many people as possible. In his primetime address to Congress in February, President Barack Obama acknowledged “difficult and trying times” but sought to rally the nation with an upbeat vow that by working together “we will rebuild, we will recover.” How do you do that in business organizations?
It isn’t complicated. When leaders treat their people as their business partners and involve them in making important decisions, those people feel respected, and respect leads to trust. If you respect your people and they trust you as a leader, they will give their all to get the best results they can for your organization.
Ichak Adizes, a longtime consultant and professor at UCLA, observes how respect and trust are conveyed by both nonverbal and verbal messages. If you respect someone, you face them when you speak to them, because you are interested and want to hear their opinions. If you don’t respect them, you turn your back, because you couldn’t care less what they think. If you trust people, on the other hand, you can turn your back on them, because you feel certain they mean you no harm. If you don’t trust them, you watch their every move.
How does that work at Chick-fil-A and Southwest Airlines? In both cases, they respect their people and therefore share information with them about the performance of the company in both good times and bad. In good times, they celebrate together; in bad times, they are problem-solving partners. Does that work? You’d better believe it.
Unlike many companies today, where the top managers are locked behind closed doors, cutting costs while holding everybody’s fate in their hands, these two great businesses open their books to everyone so they can know what’s happening and go right to work cutting costs and increasing revenue.
Many leaders are afraid to share negative information with their people, because they fear appearing vulnerable and therefore weak. We have found the contrary to be true. Everyone knows leaders are not perfect. When leaders admit problems and involve their people in problem solving, respect and trust rise.
Corporate leaders may also fear Wall Street’s reaction to their trusting moves, but that’s like playing tennis with your eye on the scoreboard and not on the ball. The ball in business is results and people. If the focus is only on results, you’ll never be able to maintain or build trust in a time like this.
What are you doing? Are you betting on the brainpower of your top managers, or on the brainpower of everyone in your organization?
What’s at stake? The future of your company, based much more than you may realize on trust and respect.
Ken Blanchard is co-author of many New York Times bestsellers, including The One Minute Manager and The One Minute Entrepreneur. He serves as chairman and chief spiritual officer of the Ken Blanchard Companies.
Terry Waghorn is an adviser to senior executives in companies ranging from small to Fortune 500. He is co-author of Mission Possible and author of The System.
You know, I was thinking the other day about how in the news they are saying that we’ve got this problem and that problem… I’ll never forget when I worked with Norman Vincent Peale and he told this story. He was walking down the street one day and he saw his old friend, George. He said to George, “How are you doing?” Norman said he meant it as a casual greeting, but George took it as an opportunity. Twenty minutes later, Norman said, George dropped his last problem at Norman’s feet. Then George said, “Norman, it’s problems, problems, problems. If you could only solve all my problems, I would write a check right this moment for $5,000 for your church.”
Norman said he could never turn down such an opportunity and a challenge, so he meditated and cogitated and agitated. Then he said, “George, I was just at an organization yesterday where no one there has a problem. Would you like to go there?” And George said, “Absolutely! That’s where I want to be, Norman.” And Norman said, “Well good, George, tomorrow we’ll go to Woodlawn Cemetery. Because people who are dead don’t have problems.” Norman always said that if you don’t have any problems, race home, run into the house, run into the bedroom, get on your knees, and say, “Good Lord, send me some problems! What’s going on? Don’t you like me anymore?”
So you know, there’s always a different perspective on things. And remember, problems are a way of life, and if we hang in there together, maybe we can solve them.
You know, there’s a big movement in Europe, and we’re way behind here, on sustainable leadership. The talk there is about people, prosperity, and the planet. When they talk about prosperity they mean of all people, not just financial, but plenty of food and water and a place to sleep and things like that—the importance of people and also of saving the planet. I think it’s really an important thing for us to take into consideration. We have a partner in Holland who is really doing good work in this area. So sustainable leadership—people, prosperity, and the planet. It all starts with taking a look at yourself. How do you treat people? Do you help people? How do you look at prosperity? How do you treat the planet? It’s an important, wonderful day. So have a great one and remember, life is a very special occasion. Don’t miss it!
I’ve also partnered with 2LEAD4US on a sustainable leadership project. Find out more details at http://howwelead.org/planet/.
Margie and I wrote a wonderful book with Dee Edington years ago called The One Minute Manager Gets Fit. And then we reissued it as The One Minute Manager Balances Life and Work. The whole concept was that we need to take care of our health. We need to take care of our bodies. We had a wonderful little saying in there about how, early in life, you give up your health to gain wealth—in other words, we work hard. We want to accomplish goals. We want to take care of our families and all, and we don’t exercise, and we overeat, and we drink too much, and all. And then later in life—you know, health costs at the end of people’s lives are amazing—people give up their wealth to regain their health. They’re trying to patch things up and all that. So one of the things I’ve really decided is that we have a lot of good wellness activities in the company and I really want to start getting involved in those. We have our room where we can go on the treadmill and exercise and things like that, and I’m sure your company is the same way. We really need to take care of ourselves—particularly in these tough times. You need to think about your health and what you can do to take care of it.
So my thought today is to take a look in the mirror and be honest with yourself—are you eating right? Are you drinking right? Are you exercising? Are you taking care of yourself? Because you owe it not only to yourself, but to your family and to your company.
You know, I was thinking today about the San Diego Padres. They’re 7 and 2 now and it’s interesting to hear the analysts. At one point they were 1 and 2, and they were down by 3 runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning, and somehow they rallied and won the game and made 2-2 and split with a team that’s supposed to win the championship in our league outright, and suddenly the team started to belief in itself. And they started saying, “Well, we really hang together,” and all that kind of thing. And suddenly they’ve just pulled off all these wins in a row. So what would have happened if they had lost and they had been 1 and 3? Would they have been able to hold their heads up?
So often how you feel about yourself is completely a choice. One of our problems is that how we feel about ourselves is usually related to our performance. So if we don’t have such a good day, or if we lose an account, or think we did something wrong, all that kind of thing—what we have to recognize is that performance will go up and down. People’s opinion of us will go up and down. You have to believe in yourself. You have to choose that we’re doing good things and you’re doing good things. So let’s just see what happens to the Padres – if they keep it up, or if they suddenly lose a couple of games and start staying, “Maybe we’re not as good as we thought,” and all of a sudden their attitude changes. Life is really a series of choices. Norman Vincent Peale used to say, “When you wake up in the morning, you have two choices in life: You can feel good about yourself or you can feel lousy. Why would you choose the latter one?” So today, make the choice to feel good about yourself!
You know, in these tough economic times, I’ve been thinking about what’s the best financial advice I’ve heard. I was once talking with the great financial advisor Sir John Templeton. Somebody asked him about the best financial advice he had ever given anybody, and he said, “Tithing.” He said, “I’ve never known anybody who has tithed (given away) at least ten percent of their income to good causes who didn’t have it coming back tenfold. Just reaching out and helping others brings that energy back to you.” And I firmly believe that. Templeton said, “Don’t wait until you have a lot of money. Reach out and help somebody now.” I think we all know people who are hurting, and maybe you could do something special for them—maybe even pay the rent for them or get them some meals or do something like that. Tithing is not necessarily giving to a church. It’s really the whole process of sharing what you have with others. I know some people are pretty tight at this time financially and all. But you know, my belief is that this is the time—maybe more than ever—to really reach out and see if you can help somebody else. I love the whole concept that we’ve talked about, “Each One Help One.”
Filed under: Love
We came back home from Tucson recently, and it was a joy to get here. Why? Because Joy was waiting for us—our fuzzy little dog. And you know, more and more I just believe that dogs, particularly puppies and all kinds of other pets, teach about unconditional love. They want a lot of attention but they give you back that unconditional love. She was just so excited to see us. It just kind of lifted up our spirits. I hope this week you will reach out and really hug some people and just tell them how important they are and make them feel like you are really excited to see them. You can even behave a little bit like a dog if you want to. It’s just so wonderful when you get a sense that people really care about you and that you can make a difference in their lives that way. Dogs know how to do that. It’s great to be home.
This morning I sat down and wrote a personal note to someone who recently helped me. You know, I have this personal stationery that was specially made and it’s just beautiful. And I thought, you know, I have to learn to use this more. Because just writing this personal note made me feel so good, and I think it’s going to make her feel good to get it. You know, everything is so instant around us nowadays. Everything is done in a fast-forward mode. There’s the EasyPass for our tolls, fast food for our stomach, ATMs and online banking for our finances. There are instant messages and all kinds of other stuff. But I tell you, I still think it’s important to reach out personally to other people. A handwritten note nowadays, when you get one, is just so special. I know when I was recovering from recent surgery what a difference it made for me to get cards from people I work with, with little personal notes on them, that people went out of their way to write. What a special thing. So my thought for today is this: If there are people in your lives that really make a difference to you, reach out to them in a special way. Don’t just email them or telephone them—those are nice and all—but sit down and write them a note to tell them how much you care and appreciate them. I think that would be a wonderful thing for you to do.
Last week I had lots of festivities set up around my birthday. It’s really kind of funny—why did I do all this? I invited all my coauthors, as many as could come, to come to our house for a little reception on Tuesday night. Then for the next couple of days we all talked about celebrating simple truths and what we’ve all done together. We talked about our body of work—what it was all about and where was it going in the future. Margie probably summed it up the best when she said it was really about being champions of self worth and individual dignity, and that everything we’ve done is to try to help make people feel important and cared for. And when people feel good about themselves, they produce good results. I think that’s probably a really good message for you as you continue to interact with each other and people at home and work. Every chance you get, ask, “How can I make the world a better place by the moment-to-moment decisions I make as I interact with other human beings, and build up their own sense of self worth?”
I’m really still amazed that the company Margie and I started with some of our friends is 30 years old, and that I’ve been able to do some of the things that I had never thought about before. People told me I couldn’t write—that I should be a college administrator. Zig Ziglar has a wonderful quote: “Regardless of your lot in life, you can build something beautiful on it.” And you know, I didn’t do it all by myself. I think that’s one of the reasons I wanted to invite everybody—because you know, my mother always said, “Why don’t you write a book by yourself?” and I would say, “Mom, I already know what I know.” So I built a wonderful life with the help of tons of people. I love another quote by Woodrow Wilson: “Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” So we not only celebrated what we’ve accomplished together, but also our friendship. It was a special time and I really enjoyed it. Seventy is not a huge number. I have always thought that I wanted to be like Norman Vincent Peale. He died quietly in his sleep at 95. So that means I have another 25 years to go! I just feel great. I was glad I was able to put a bookmark there and take a look at what we’ve done over the years. We also got a chance to get our first copies of Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy called “Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A” that Garry Ridge, president of WD-40 Company, and I wrote. And then the first copies of Who Killed Change? which is the book that John Britt wrote with Judd Hoekstra and Pat Zigarmi and me. Everybody was excited to see those.
Somebody once said, “Many things will catch your eye but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue those.” I really always tried to pursue things in my heart. Maybe I didn’t always make the best decisions. I could have probably done better writing fewer books and focusing more; we could have done things a little differently, but what’s happened has happened. So my 70th birthday, I think, has just been a celebration of life. We had a wonderful time; it was way beyond my expectations, and fun. I think life, as I’ve said for a long time, is a special occasion. And I don’t intend to miss any of it and I hope you don’t either.
Filed under: Health, Leadership, Making Mistakes, One Minute Manager, Servant Leadership
I have been working with two top guys from a radio program to prepare some “One Minute Advice” radio spots. I tell you, it’s really interesting in life—you have certain things you learn how to do and you get confidence, and all of a sudden you’re asked to do something that you’re not used to. In this case for me, it’s to say something in just a minute. Even though I’m called the One Minute Manager, you know, I usually have more to say than what takes a minute!
But it’s been a good learning process. I’ve thought a number of times about John Maxwell’s saying: “A winner is big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” So as I’ve been going through this process, I would do one of the spots and then laugh and say, “Of course, we need to do that one over again!” and try to profit from what didn’t go well and see if I could correct it the next time. So I’ve been dealing with my own image of myself—what I’m good at and what I’m not good at. But I’m learning! I’m getting better all the time. It’s been an interesting process.
I think that’s good advice for all of us, to be big enough to admit when you’ve made a mistake, smart enough to profit from a mistake, and strong enough to correct it. Otherwise you would do the same thing wrong over and over again. That would get a little boring and it could be career damaging.
Take care of yourself—have a great day. Life is a very special occasion even though some days are more learning days than others.
