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The Platform Builders Mastermind Group invested the month of April digesting the Secrets of Dynamic Communication by Ken Davis. Davis, a greatly sought out speaker, breaks down his SCORRE process in putting together a great presentation.
One of key concepts I include in almost everything I speak on, teach on, or write about is CLARITY. Clarity adds power and impact to anything we attempt to do. [Tweet This]
The SCORRE framework that Davis has broken down does exactly that. It provides clarity and impact to any idea you might have, regardless how you will be presenting it.
Davis offers two primary functions of the SCORRE process:
- It serves as a scope to force the speaker to focus on a single objective.
- It serves as a logical grid forcing the speaker to make sense and lead the audience to the objective.
I believe that those two functions can serve us in any kind of presentation, written or spoken. Let’s take a closer look at the SCORRE process.
SUBJECT
Nothing too scary or difficult here – simply pick a subject. It can be anything, but ideally a subject that people are interested in. Remember, the whole idea of putting a presentation together is to add value to the person watching the presentation or reading the content.
CENTRAL THEME
The central theme is going to be a part of the subject that allows you to build to a specific piece of content. Your subject might be the automobile but without a central theme, such as fuel mileage, you will find it difficult to provide the clarity needed to engage your audience.
OBJECTIVE
The objective is simply the purpose of the body of work. When you have clarity on what exactly you are trying to accomplish, you will find it much easier to put together a presentation that makes sense and that the audience can follow and understand.
RATIONALE
The rationale is the logical content of your presentation that will lead the listener to understand the purpose behind it. In short, these are the main points that support the purpose. This is the structure of your work.
RESOURCES
The resources are the added “personal touches” that enhance the rest of the story. This could be through graphics, data, humor, or any number of different additions that take a framework or outline and turn it into an interesting, engaging, and value adding presentation.
EVALUATION
As a speaker an author myself, I understand the idea of “dual purposing” everything I create. It is my work, cradle to grave. The evaluation part of the process allows me to take a look after each time I present it and see what I need to add, subtract or change.
This book is a highly recommended read for anyone who wishes to communicate in a dynamic way that will connect. The SCORRE framework will allow you to put together a competent presentation or body of work that will provide a clear message and add value to the one receiving it.
Davis has done an amazing job putting what he has presented into the way he has presented it. You can see the SCORRE process throughout the book. His wit and wisdom bring the book to life and he has clearly described what has made him a leader in his field.
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In the mail today, I received the author’s complimentary copy of my new book, Leadership by Invitation. I was being interviewed earlier in the week about the book and was asked the question; “What is the one thing you would tell someone who is writing a book to help them reach their goal of actually getting it published?” Great question!
Simple answer. START WRITING.
I spend a lot of time thinking about what I write. I blog multiple times every week, create content on a regular basis, and am already working on my next book project. You might find this hard to believe, but do you know that until I actually start writing, nothing gets written? I can spend all day thinking about it, I might even have a pretty good idea on what to write. But until I start pounding the keyboard, nothing gets done.
You have to Start before you can Finish!
I think there are a lot of similarities between this thought on writing and just about anything else you might want to achieve. We have to START. At some point in time, we need to decide that we are done getting ready and just go for it.
There are also similarities on what happens after you start. I have found that in writing, it is only after you start writing the words that the story really starts to come to life. One thought leads to another and “whaddayaknow” a few months later you have a book.
It’s no different in anything else. You want to lose 30 pounds? Well, you have to lose one before you can lose the other twenty-nine. You want to make a million dollars? You have to make one before you make the other … you get the picture!
The Power of Knowledge comes through Action.
The point is, you have to START. If you are reading this, I will make the assumption that you are fairly well educated and have acquired a significant amount of knowledge over the years. But what are you doing with that knowledge? I used to think knowledge was power. NOT! The power of knowledge does not come from simply possessing it, you must act upon it.
This gap between what we know and what we do is the gap that will lead us not only to success, but to significance. Everyday should be a day of closing that gap. But it takes action. Yoda said it best; “There is no try, there is only do and do not.” [Tweet This] So which is it going to be?
In order to close the gap we need to “DO.” The way we do anything is to START. I have found that it is much easier to start something small as compared to something big. It much less intimidating and much easier to achieve. I have seen so many people take on large tasks and fail because they did not identify the small steps along the way.
Every Great Accomplishment has been Achieved One Step at a Time.
Writing is a great example. The idea of writing a book may seem too much for you to ever accomplish. But how about a chapter, better yet a paragraph and if you still think it’s too much, just write out a sentence. To my knowledge, there are no books out there that were not written “one letter” at a time.
Today’s Challenge: Choose something in your life that you want to do but have been putting off because “it’s just to big” and break it down into small steps and START. That is how you will close the gap between what you know and what you do.
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Have you ever noticed that when you allow yourself to look beyond the obvious, you can learn some cool stuff from the most interesting places. Last weekend we headed across the state of Oregon into Idaho to visit family for the Easter Weekend. I learned a few unexpected lessons while there.
I guess my journey over the last few years has taught me that we miss out on a lot of opportunities and lessons simply because we don’t take the time to look around and really see what’s going on. It’s amazing what you can learn when you start looking!
My brother-in-law, Scott, suggested that he and his son Sam and me and my son Scott go hit a bucket of balls at the local golf course. Spring seems to finally be showing up and it sounded like a great idea.
We picked up our buckets from the clubhouse, filled them up and headed over to the driving range. I have a set of clubs and have been playing golf on and off since High School but the lack of consistent play pretty much leaves me reinventing my game on an annual basis.
As I watched the others hit and began hitting my own bucket, I actually tried to focus on my swing and then it struck me that golf is a lot like most of the challenges we have in life. I may lose some of you here, but golf is only a game, really, it is. Some of us just take it more serious than others.
What I found interesting is that we can use some of the same principles in improving our golf game as we can in improving our life and here are four of them:
WHAT DO I NEED TO START?
Well, if I want to improve my golf game, I better start playing more consistently. Dusting off the clubs two of three times a year does not a golfer make.
If I want to improve my life, I need to follow through more consistently and I’m not referring to my golf swing.
WHAT DO I NEED TO STOP?
Several years of slicing and hooking have centered my focus on trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. I should be focusing on what I need to do right.
In life, I need to move away from deficit based thinking and focus on the assets I have instead of the deficiencies. Making what I already do right better, will eliminate the bad stuff without even thinking about it.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO LESS OF?
Like many golfers, I spend way to much time thinking about the next swing. Too many moving parts and too many options. Limit the things to work on to one or two and take care of them first.
In life, it is no different. Too many things I want to do, which translates to not doing any of them very well at all. Less shiny squirrels and less options reduces the noise and clutter and brings clarity to any situation.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO MORE OF?
Simple – create better habits. Habits come from repetition. Driving range, putting green and chipping from the fringe. Practice, practice and then practice.
Now I realize life is not practice but this I know – the more I do something, the better I will get at it. This goes for good things and bad. What do I need to do more of? The things that really matter. The things that make a difference.
Look at that – a simple bucket of balls at a golf course and look what I learned from it. A couple of questions to leave you with …
What opportunities are you currently missing out on in your life because you are simply not taking the time to notice them? [Tweet This]
Maybe the more important question is what are you going to start, stop, do more of or do less of in order to see them and act on them?
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One of the segments we added to The Platform Builders Mastermind Group this year was a “Leadership Spotlight.” During one segment of our call each week, we feature an author or leader and focus on their current projects or activities.
This week we had a great call and were honored to have Dr. Kathryn Cramer join us who recently released her seventh book, LEAD Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders See, Say and Do.
The latest in Dr. Cramer’s Asset Based Thinking (ABT) series, LEAD Positive pack a tremendous amount of great content on how to be courageous, resilient, and optimistic as we as leaders, can produce significant and lasting change in both our personal and professional lives.
This book is full of concepts and ideas that will no doubt change the way we think, and result in raising our leadership lid. Dr. Cramer suggests that we, by nature, are wired to “avoid harm” and therefore react faster to the negative than we do to the positive. Over time, this creates a negative bias in our thinking. But we have the power to change that!
One of Dr. Cramer’s ABT exercises really caught my attention. The Scan-Snap-Savor exercise, although simple in concept, has the potential to completely change the way we think. See what you think …
SCAN
Dr. Cramer suggests that we look for a positive fact that is either happening right now or in our immediate past. Then focus your attention on one of three areas, self, others, or situation. In Dr. Cramer’s word’s, “The self scan requires you to look for your own leadership strengths, capabilities, efforts, and skills that are showing up in the present moment to move things forward.”
To me, this sounds like “short-term version of the Law of Reflection. Dr. Cramer points out that, “The situation scan leads you to zero in on the emerging dynamics working in your favor.” How cool is that! All we have to do is think positive and the energy pulled from that thinking will produce positive results. The power of positive thinking ring a bell for anyone?
SNAP
I recently heard Dr. Cramer describe this part of the equation as taking a mental picture of that positive fact that you focused on the the scan step. When we develop that positive image in our mind just like downloading pictures onto you computer. They are stored there for your future use.
Again, a pretty straight forward concept – visually snap the picture and download it to your cranial hard-drive. (Tweet This) I see it like this, if you don’t take the picture, you are going to have to recreate the image to access that “positive” memory. In today’s warp speed society, we simply choose not to take the time or energy to do it and default to the negativity bias we already have.
SAVOR
This is the difference maker. Before you store away that mental snapshot, spend 30-60 seconds “savoring” it. Remember a hundred years ago when film had to be developed in a liquid solution? It had to soak in that stuff until it fully developed. Dr. Cramer has brought that concept back to life and you don’t even need a dark room.
Follow her advice and, “Let the full measure of the experience sink deeply into your implicit memory. Savor it. In less than 90 seconds, you have allowed yourself to step outside the hustle and bustle of the day.“
Dr. Wayne Dyer said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Maybe it’s time you trade in that old camera that doesn’t seem to be working for you and pick up a new one that takes the type of pictures that will get you the “POSITIVE” results you have been looking for.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE: Pick up a copy of LEAD Positive and start using your manual focus option. You just might like the increased quality of the pictures you’ve been taking!
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This month in The Platform Builders mastermind group we are working our way through “The Power Of Urgency – Playing to Win with Proactive Urgency” by William Keiper. John Maxwell teaches that the greatest gap is the gap between what we know and what we do. I believe the Proactive Urgency that Keiper is talking about can close that gap.
In Part two of The Power of Urgency, Keiper takes a deep look into the idea of Playing to Win with The Power of Urgency.
“Your current state is a perfect reflection of your prior decisions.” – William Keiper (Tweet This / Post to LinkedIn)
In this, the final of three posts, I want to offer up Keiper’s thought provoking take on the idea of Proactive Urgency. Keiper ends each of the 17 chapters with an “Urgency Rule” and I want to highlight a few to set the frame for Part 2 of the book.
Urgency Rule #12 – A purposeful commitment to acting with pro-urgency is a sustained, continuously renewed promise manifested in your bold actions. This ongoing promise leaves no room for fakery, conformity or false consensus.
I love this quote from Keiper, “The path of least resistance will always be crowded with those who occupy half-numb, half-lived lives.” Commitment never follows the path of least resistance. Commitment will require you to step outside of your comfort zone and do the things you have never done before to become someone you have never been before.
Urgency Rule #14 – An initial decision, no matter how good, immediately becomes a prospect for an adaptive decision based upon new inputs. Be the best challenger of your own decisions.
How often do you challenge your own decisions? Be honest! In almost everything we do, we can do better. There are very few decisions that we make in life that would not benefit from asking these challenging questions:
- What do I need to start?
- What do I need to stop?
- What do I need to do more of?
- What do I need to do less of?
- What am I missing?
If we made better decisions and became just 1% more productive each week, we would increase our productivity by more that 50% every year.
Urgency Rule #17 – Proactive urgency is personal. If pursued with clarity and commitment, it will transform your work, your life and the lives of those around you.
There is that word clarity again. If you have heard me speak, you know how important I believe clarity is in everything we do. Lack of clarity brings confusion and lack of focus. Focus is what keeps you on the right path. Knowing where you are and where you are headed are the keys to getting there.
The question: Have you really committed to reaching your goals or are you still playing small and working through the path of least resistance?
The challenge: Choose a goal you are working towards and fully commit. If you are not struggling, you are not growing.
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Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”
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]]>This month in The Platform Builders mastermind group we are working our way through “The Power Of Urgency – Playing to Win with Proactive Urgency” by William Keiper. John Maxwell teaches that the greatest gap is the gap between what we know and what we do. I believe the Proactive Urgency that Keiper is talking about can close that gap.
As soon as I write and publish this post, I will start on the final chapter of my new book, Leaderhip by Invitation – How to RSVP and Embrace Your Role as a LEADER, that will be available in April. I wish I would have practiced pro-urgency a little sooner in getting by draft completed.
Procrastination, or lack of pro-urgency as I understand more clearly, has plagued me all my life. Start a project and then start a project and then, you guessed it, start another project. But never getting any of them done. My greatest accomplishments always seem to come when I am under the gun.
I used to think that this was a strength, and I guess it can be at times, but the truth is that pro-urgency eliminates a lot of the “unknowns” that can creep up while attempting anything. Life happens fast, and sometimes what happens comes at us so fast we have to go on the defense just to protect our end of the field.
The recent Super Bowl was an example of a great defense resulting in victory. But that defense was calculated, well thought out and well planned. That defense used pro-urgency to prepare and produce.
The lack of pro-urgency results in a defense that is fighting for it’s life. This defense is reacting instead of responding and it shows. My experience has been that although this type of defense can function, and even function well, they forfeit the opportunity to make adjustments for the unknown and unplanned events that happen. Basically, it limits your ability to stay in control and be flexible.
“It is important that you get clear for yourself that your only access to impacting life is action.” – Werner Erhard (Tweet This / Post to LinkedIn)
In this, the second of three posts, I want to offer up Keiper’s thought provoking take on the idea of Proactive Urgency. Keiper ends each of the 17 chapters with an “Urgency Rule” and I want to highlight a few to set the frame for the rest of the book.
Urgency Rule #9 – There is power, clarity and efficiency in creating and consciously attending to distinctions. You can see what you need to see, when you need to see it.
The noise and clutter that we face everyday overwhelms our senses and numbs our ability to focus. Pro-urgency provides the clarity to cut through all that noise because we know what we want before we need it. That way, when the time comes that we need it, we already know what it is.
Urgency Rule #10 – The future of a moment ago has arrived. You bring it your perfection along with your uniqueness. Make it your mission to leverage your uniqueness starting immediately.
You should be using your uniqueness as an advantage over everyone else. The things that make you different are exactly the things that will let you stand out in the crowd. All you need to be is 1% better or faster than the next guy to have an advantage.
Urgency Rule #11 – Security is mainly illusory. Remember Helen Keller’s words: “Avoiding danger is typically no safer in the long run than outright exposure.” Practice leaving your comfort zone.
If you want to do something you’ve never done before, you need to become someone you’ve never been before. The only place you will find that is outside your comfort zone. And the time to leave is now!
The question: What is it that you know you need to do, but haven’t because it will require you to step outside your comfort zone?
The challenge: STEP!
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Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”
Join me on the STOP CHALLENGE CHOOSE 12 week health transformation
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This was one of those blog titles that I plugged in a few weeks ago because I thought it would be a good topic for one of my upcoming posts. As I opened up wordpress to start in on the post I had to laugh. This is a picture of my desk at the exact moment I logged in. Appropriate subject? Ya Think!
I have been very transparent about my “comfort zone” when it comes to my work space. Most of my life, I have had a million things going on, finishing very few of them in a timely manner, but feeling achievement by getting lots done. Right? I guess it’s a matter of perspective. Checking 30 items off your list in one day may appear to be a huge success. But if you had three hundred items when you started the day, maybe not so much.
Being Busy And Productive Is Not Enough
I have learned a lot about the difference between being busy and being productive over the past few years and it has helped. In my defense, I have been working diligently on getting the draft done for my new book, Leadership by Invitation, and earlier today, I was pulling quotes from several different sources (as you can tell) but my desk still ends up like this at least once a week. I guess old habits are hard to break.
For the most part, I have turned being busy into being productive, but with that success (if you can call it that) I have come to realize that there is a new level in achievement. That comes form moving from productivity to effectiveness. Now you might think that these two words mean relatively the same thing. Well, not in my world. And here is why.
Success Comes When We Move From Productive To Effective
As I have focused in on living out my purpose – “building what matters – people!” – I have realized that we can be very productive, while at the same time not be effective at all. Huh? In my book, I talk about strategies and vision that produce results. These results are based upon a specific purpose. Do you see where I’m going with this?
I can be very productive, take out the trash, wood on the fire, shovel the snow off the driveway and so on. All of these are productive, but really don’t connect back to my purpose. Based on my experience, many people out there are lost somewhere in this state of confusion. They get busy with a list, over time that list grows (with many items serving other people’s purpose rather than their own) and they lose sight of what they really want to accomplish.
So what can bring clarity to all of this and help you maintain focus on fulfilling your purpose? In a few months you will be able to read the long version when the book comes out, but here is a snapshot for you that might help you get headed in the right direction.
How To RSVP Your Way To Success
Be clear on your VISION. What do you really want? If you are in a leadership position, and you are, what vision are you casting to those around you? Are you even casting a vision?
Once you identify that vision, you need to determine your role in achieving it. That’s right, your purpose. Identifying and understanding your PURPOSE is what brings additional clarity to the big picture and helps you to stay on task. (Tweet This / Post to LinkedIn)
Now that you have a vision and understand your purpose in fulfilling that vision, you need a strategy to achieve that vision and fulfill your purpose. The right STRATEGY is what keeps your work not just productive, but effective.
Now that the strategy is in place and you are casting your vision and fulfilling your purpose, take a look at the RESULTS you are getting. If they are not what you identified within your strategy, make the necessary course corrections and stay at it.
There is a quick look at what’s coming up in much more detail, but I believe that even taking a little time right now to see how your current condition or circumstance fits into this framework, might just make a difference for you.
The Question: Are you being productive or effective?
The Challenge: Take a look at your activities and find something you are doing in which you can move from being not just productive, but effective.
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Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”
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]]>This month in The Platform Builders mastermind group we are working our way through “The Power Of Urgency – Playing to Win with Proactive Urgency” by William Keiper. John Maxwell teaches that the greatest gap is the gap between what we know and what we do. I believe the Proactive Urgency that Keiper is talking about can close that gap.
I have to admit that, compared to the rest of the world, I have had it pretty easy during my 48+ years on this planet. I have always had my needs met and have had more than my share of wants. I used to take this for granted but after spending a week in Guatemala last June, I realized how blessed I have been.
As much as I appreciate my good fortune, my reflection on my life has helped me to understand that I allowed that blessing to be a crutch at the same time. I never really felt a sense of urgency growing up. I never got into that mental or emotional state of despair that some would consider a place of urgency.
Because of that, I have struggled to apply a sense of urgency to really, much of anything in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I have faced deadlines and situations where the pressure was on, but I always saw a path to the end. I never realized how this was setting me up for failure. Maybe failure is the wrong word here, but I have gone through most of my life assuming that things will simply work out and they usually did.
“We are more ready to try the untried when what we do is inconsequential.” – Eric Hoffer (Tweet This / Post to LinkedIn)
The real impact in this is that complacency and mediocrity, the status quo, became an acceptable outcome for me. If you know me, you know that I have always had a strong work ethic and have accomplished quite a bit in my lifetime. That being said, the idea of “Proactive Urgency” that Keiper describes in great detail was never part of my game plan and I realize now how much more I could have accomplished. Never too late to learn, right!
In this, the first of three posts, I want to offer up Keiper’s thought provoking take on the idea of Proactive Urgency. Keiper ends each of the 17 chapters with an “Urgency Rule” and I want to highlight a few to set the frame for the rest of the book.
Urgency Rule #1 – Proactive urgency is purposeful, insistent, committed action pursued with a passionate edge. It is an activist choice to access your deepest personal power for the creation of almost immediate transformation.
What would be on your list of items that you are purposeful in, insistent upon and committed to? All I can say is I need a bigger list!
Urgency Rule #4 – The world has changed. Our long-trusted external support systems are weakening. Self-reliance in thought and action is critical for reaching your most important objectives.
Based on current statistics, the things that we could once depend on – work, family, education and religion are becoming diluted in today’s cyber-world. Unfortunately, our ability to find strength in those items is becoming more difficult. These were once the foundation of our existence and now they have become, for many, simply things that fit in when we have time.
Urgency Rule #6 – Choosing to act with on-demand urgency yields continuous, incremental advantages. Think of pro-urgency as your edge in a competition – your life where winning by fractions always matters.
It’s true, the difference between winning and losing or success and failure in often found in the minor details. The smallest of details do matter. Just ask an Olympic swimmer or downhill racer. A sense of urgency might just give you the advantage that makes the difference.
The question: Who do you know that displays this “Proactive Urgency” in their life that has resulted in success?
The challenge: Go talk to them and find out how they use it and how you can apply the same principles in your life.
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Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”
Join me on the STOP CHALLENGE CHOOSE 12 week health transformation
Don’t miss a single post from Building What Matters by subscribing at the top left of this page.
Help support us by clicking here and Liking our facebook page
Barry Smith 2/5/14 photo courtesy of amazon © Building What Matters 2014
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It’s funny how life has a way of balancing itself out. I have found that the time when I feel the best and am the most productive are when my life is in balance. I also have noticed that when my friends and clients are in that same zone they experience similar results.
In my new book coming out later this spring, Leadership by Invitation, I explore the concept of answering the call to lead. What will it take to answer that invitation? A new commitment to investing in yourself and in others to create the impact and influence needed to lead.
So if we need to make new investments, we need to be prepared to make the necessary deposits that will result in a positive return on that investment. As I was balancing the checkbook the other day it struck me that our Leadership balance sheet is much a checkbook. You make deposits and you make withdrawals and what you have to work with is represented on the bottom line.
Credit Cards Don’t Work When It Comes To Leadership
I know you understand that if you want to take a withdrawal, at some point in time, you needed to make a deposit in order to make that withdrawal. Let’s take a look at a few things that leaders need to keep in balance to lead.
Look, the day is going to come, if it hasn’t already, that you need to make a withdrawal from your leadership bank and if you don’t have the funds to cash that check, you will lose the opportunity to make a difference is someone else’s life. Credit cards don’t work when it comes to leadership and we can’t ask life to take a time out until we build back up our account.
I have heard more than once that if you want to see where someone is committed, look at their calendar and look at their checkbook. Those two things will show you where you deposits are being made. The question is whether or not they are in something that will allow you to make a withdrawal down the road.
Life Has No “Time Back” Guarantee!
TIME
If there is never enough time, and there never is, how can we expect to make the necessary withdrawals to invest time in others. Leadership is influence, right? Most leaders are consumed by the needs of the people they lead. It’s not intentionally set up that way, but those in authority, the leaders, are typically expected to solve the problems.
So how does a leader make those time deposits? They can start by EMPOWERING others to make their own decisions. Part of being a leader is casting vision, and communicating that vision will allow others to understand the desired outcome and make decisions, on their own or within their team, that will produce that same outcome.
Another great way is to DELEGATE. I love what my mentor John Maxwell told me. If someone else can do something 80% as well as you, let them do it. You don’t have to do it all yourself!
You Can Wear Your Running Shoes In The Boardroom
HEALTH
Most of us live in a culture that is simply moving faster than we like. If you want to live in the age of technology, you need to be prepared to move at light speed like the rest of the world.
I love the quote “Lead, follow, or get left behind.” If we don’t take the lead on leading ourselves to take the necessary steps to show up with physical energy, mental clarity and emotional stability, (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn) how can we be expected to instill that in others?
As a leader, what deposits are you making to allow for those withdrawals? Are your eating, exercising and sleeping habits providing the deposits necessary for you to make those withdrawals when a twelve hour day is needed? I have said it before. The toughest person to lead is me.
What Is Your Disaster Management Plan?
We are usually last on the list and leaders, by nature, put others first. This is a formula for disaster. Look at the most successful leaders. They show up with energy, clarity and for the most part physically fit. Any clues to be found there? Do you think they are making the right deposits?
I have heard more than once that if you want to see where someone is committed, take a look at their calendar and their checkbook. That’s my challenge for you today. Take a look at those two things and see what they are producing for your bottom line.
That leads to an related question of great importance. What adjustment do you need to make today to build up equity in your Leadership Balance Sheet?
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The post Deposits and Withdrawals – What’s On Your Leadership Balance Sheet? appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.
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Someday I think I’ll _________. Go ahead and fill in the blank. Now answer a question for me. How long have you been saying that? If you are like most, there are things that you want to do and as soon as someday gets here, you will do them.
One of my mentors asked once; “Show me someday on the calendar.” If you didn’t know this already, someday is not on the calendar. So what is keeping you from finding your someday?
If whatever it is that filled in your blank is worth doing, it should be worth doing now. If there is preparation that needs to be done in order to do it, when will you start? More importantly, when will you decide that you are done “getting ready” and it’s time to start? I think this is where many of us get stuck. At some point in time, you need to quit getting ready and just start.
I think this is one of the biggest responsibilities there is when it comes to leadership. In my book, Leadership by Invitation, that will be out later this spring, I look at four areas of leadership that we will find ourselves in most of the time. Leading your self, leading at home, leading at work and leading in your community. We will all find ourselves in these situations multiple times every day. Every day we will have to make decisions and the timing of those decisions will make the difference between success and failure.
John Maxwell talks about The Law of Timing in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and gives these factors to use when we prepare for the timing of our actions:
Understanding – Are you clear on what the decision actually is and what will be involved in making that decision? Is there more that you need to learn? What is it?
Maturity – Do you have the correct motives in making this decision? Maturity is typically the result of applying experience based knowledge into a strategic action that will produce an expected outcome.
Confidence – Do you believe that what you are about to do is the right decision? Are you willing to stand behind it even if someone else doesn’t or things don’t go quite as planned?
Decisiveness – Are you going to move forward regardless of the challenges that may come up. Hesitation can kill any momentum that you might be building. Course corrections are alright, but direction needs to remain forward.
Experience – Everything that happens to us in life, good and bad, has the potential to teach us. The key is to actually learn from these experiences. Don’t waste opportunities to learn from your experiences.
Intuition – Make sure you have considered the things that you have not considered. Awareness is huge when it comes to timing. You don’t know what you don’t know. If something doesn’t feel right, find out why.
Preparation – Have you done what is needed to set yourself up for success? A solid plan before you start will produce great results. When you have prepared for the decision – act on it!
Life is busy. You have a full plate. Your “someday” list grows daily. I get it. This is why this is so important to leadership. The next time you use the word someday, challenge yourself to choose a day. It might be tomorrow or two months from now but once you choose a day, you can start to follow the framework above and develop a plan to make someday today.
So if you have been on an extended stay on Someday Isle, it’s time to come back to reality. There is nothing wrong with dreaming but if you want that dream to come true, you need a plan.
Martin Luther King Jr. said “The time is always right to do what is right.” (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)
So my question for you today “Is the time right?” and my challenge – Act on it!
***********************************************************************
Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”
Don’t miss a single post from Building What Matters by subscribing at the top left of this page.
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Barry Smith 1/20/14 photo by author © Building What Matters 2014
The post Have You Ever Been On A Trip To Someday Isle? appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.
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