With Regard To Life

Pounce Every Day

I am rereading a book. I grabbed The Welch Way off the bookshelf the other day. It is a book of 24 lessons from former GE CEO Jack Welch. Welch's innovative and unpretentious leadership sparked GE employees to turn the company around in the 1980's and 1990's. Each chapter had a word or a phrase for the title. Each word or title was crossed out and replaced with a different word or phrase, which was The Welch Way. An example was a chapter titled Move Cautiously. That had a line through it and the new title was Pounce Every Day. Business moves at a very fast pace today and it is very competitive. Delay and you might lose business, or even go out of business. Welch said pouncing every day means moving faster than your competitors to win business and take advantage of opportunities. He said the best way to pounce every day is to Live urgency, make decisions faster and work harder. That means do not waste time, don't sit on decisions too long and work hard. At the end of the day do something that will help you get a head start on tomorrow. Doing just a little extra before you end the day might make all the difference in your business, or in your life. Move cautiously, but pounce every day. Today's Winning Thought: "Don't sit still. Anybody sitting still, you can guarantee they're going to get their legs knocked out from under them." -- Jack Welch

Low Hanging Fruit

Every morning, one of the e-mails waiting for me in one entitled Minute With Maxwell. These are short thoughts from Maxwell, about specific words that people have asked him to define from a leadership perspective. Recently he has commented on words like CARING, PROSPERITY, MOMENTUM, and today, RISK. There are certainly times to be conservative, times when you should not take a risk. When you do take a risk, it needs to be a calculated risk, not flippantly or carelessly. It must be well thought out. You will know what risks to take and what to avoid. It will become a little easier as you get older and wiser. Maxwell said you must go out on a limb. Don't stand by the tree hanging on to the trunk. The fruit is out on the limb. The only fruit on the ground is fruit that has fallen, and it is rotten. You have heard the saying, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Have you risked anything lately? Is there something in your life where you need to step out in faith and take a risk? Count the cost. Do your due diligence. Then make a decision and act. Today's Winning Thought: "Without risk there is no opportunity for personal growth." -- Ruth Senter

More Thoughts From The Summit

I wanted to attend an event called the Global Leadership Summit last week in Chicago, but I was not able to do so. I was able to read some notes, quotes and blogs from some of those who spoke at the event. I shared a few yesterday. I have discovered a few more that I believe are worth your time. This is good stuff. I hope you will reflect on them. "We live in a world that is crying out for better leadership." -- Bill Hybels "People are hungry for those who will tell them the kind truth." -- Patrick Lencioni "Your job isn't to look smart. It is to help your team do more, and better." -- Patrick Lencioni "If it is worth doing, why aren't we doing it now?" -- Seth Godin "The world is begging you to lead." -- Seth Godin And one of the best ones . . . Today's Winning Thought: "If the vision is not overwhelming to you, it is probably insulting to God." -- Steven Furtick

Think On These Things

Here are a few things I read a or heard today. "What is present in your life today that is not in line with what you want for your tomorrow?" -- Henry Cloud "We can't build our lives around what might happen tomorrow." -- Zig Ziglar "A store manager's job is not to oversee millions of customer transactions a week, but one transaction a million times a week." -- Howard Schultz, from his book ONWARD. And maybe the best thing I read today . . . Today's Winning Thought: "Your fully exploited strengths are of greater value to your organization than your marginally improved weaknesses." -- Andy Stanley

Don't Take Things For Granted

I have been a little lazy with this blog recently. I took a few days off. I started to sit down and write two nights ago and the electricity went out. I did not feel like typing by candlelight. I kinda like having lights and electricity. I am used to having it. I take it for granted that when I flip the switch the lights will come on. That night I did not have it. I started thinking about other things I (and probably many others) take for granted every day. Water, food, shelter, transportation, sight, hearing, and even life. You may never experience another power outage, a loss of sight or hearing. You might always have everything you need. But some day we will all die. I was playing golf the other day and my playing partner said he is going to start playing more often and take more time off. I had said the same thing to my wife a couple of days earlier on our vacation. Work is very important. It is serious business. But so is rest and renewal and taking time for yourself and your family. I just read a devotion written a few years ago by former major league pitcher Dave Dravecky. His career was shortened when he had his cancer-filled pitching arm amputated 20 years ago. After one season ended, Dravecky waited for the results of a biopsy that would determine his future. He said he would sometimes just sit and stare at his wife and two children and think that they were the most beautiful sight in the universe. Can you say that? Then he wrote this. "Some nights when the kids were asleep I would go into their rooms and just listen to them slowly breathing. I thought of how often I did not have time for them. On so many occasions, when they had asked me to play ball, I'd told them, "I'm busy reading right now, give me ten minutes." Then the phone would ring and I never would get to play with them. During those days of waiting I did play ball with them." Go play catch. Or just watch them sleep and listen to them breathe. Today's Winning Thought: When I am on my deathbed I do not want to have any regrets.

Skills You Must Master

I read an article recently that listed 25 business skills one must master now. They are not just good for business, they are important for life. The first skill people must master, according to the list compiled by Randall Hansen, is communication. You must be able to communicate in today's world. And you need to know how. I know many young people who will not likely reply to your e-mail. And they use their cell phones to text, rather than talk. If you are talking to a young person, your best bet might be to text them a message. The list I read stated that listening is also a skill you need to master. But it was number 23 on the list. I want to be careful about disagreeing with a man who has earned his PhD, but I think he should have moved listening to number two. Listening is a huge part of communication, and much to important to stick at the bottom of the list. There are many important skills we need to master if we are going to be successful in business or in life. These two - communication and listening - have to be at the top of the list. They are vital. Today's Winning Thought: "The most successful people in life are generally those who have the best information." -- Benjamin Disraeli Communication and listening help you get that information.

Time Off

This has been one of those days - one you like to have every once in a while. First, I had to deal with seeing mountains when I looked out my window this morning. Then I was forced back inside because it was a bit too cool to enjoy my coffee on the balcony. It gets better. Later in the morning, I went for a bike ride. There was a stretch when all I could see was pine trees on both sides of me and the asphalt trail in front of me. And if that isn't bad enough, I had to take a nap later in the afternoon. And then go to dinner. All of this one day after I had to play golf. Yes, golf. And I might have to play again tomorrow. I am not complaining. I signed up for this assignment. The toughest thing about it is I know 70 degrees and a gentle breeze will not last much longer. Then it will be back to my routine soon. Today's Winning Thought: I hope all is well in your life. Thanks for reading.

Raise Your Expectations

If you live in or near Wichita, Kansas, you might have read an article in the Wichita Eagle newspaper last weekend. It was a story about a young woman named Alysha Jeans. If you don't live near there and did not see the article, let me tell you about it. This young woman is 23 years old. She has a degree in electrical engineering. She works for the FBI as a forensic audio analyst. She has been skydiving. She has been hiking in Peru. She lives by herself. And she is blind. She has been blind since birth. Now, she is planning to pursue her masters degree while working full time. Don't tell Alysha she can't do something. She will probably do it. She was quoted as saying, "My parents have always been a really positive force in my life, and they expected me to do things and not let blindness stand in my way and be successful. I took it to heart." She does what she wants to do. This young woman said people have low expectations of the blind, which is unfortunate. "No matter what other people expect from me, it is important to maintain high expectations for yourself and demonstrate confidence and demonstrate that you are able to make contributions to the work force," she said. There are a couple of messages that jumped out of that article. The first one, of course, was this amazing young woman's powerful story, and her determination to live her life to the fullest with few limitations. Another thing that struck me was the support Alysha had at home. If you are a parent, raise the bar for your kids. Raise your expectations for them - and raise them for yourself. If Alysha Jeans can live the life she is living, what kind of life can you have? Today's Winning Thought: How does the old saying go? Don't let what you can't do keep you from doing what you can do."

More Questions From Fred

Fred Smith's words were like gold. His words were timeless wisdom. I shared some questions from him yesterday. Here are a few more to think about. When was the last time I let someone else's emotions enslave me? If I lost my job, what would be left to define me? What do equilibrium and balance look like for me? How do I feel inadequate to do God's work? What excuses have I made when God has called me? What creates frustration in me? What is the best choice I have made in the last six months? Who is my mentor, or coach? Who is watching me for life clues? What one fact do I feel has affected my life the most? What is the one thing that I could say that would affect my hearers the most? Do I listen as well as I should? Today's Winning Thought: "How long has it been since I clarified my focus?" -- Fred Smith

Thought-Provoking Questions

I have mentioned Fred Smith numerous times since I started writing this blog. He was a mentor to a generation of leaders, including Zig Ziglar and John Maxwell. I am reading his book, Breakfast With Fred, which is a collection of Mr. Smith's thoughts during his more than 90 years. Each chapter ends with three questions and a thought. Some of these questions - most of them - are so powerful. Here are a few. How do I make sure that I have goals, not just directions? What will it take for me to get out of my own way? What am I seeing that inspires confidence in others? Would others say that I hear them? What am I doing to create community? What concepts am I teaching others? How can I bless my family and friends? How is my faith lived out at work, in my family, among my friends? Today's Winning Thought: Pretty powerful questions. Ponder them this weekend.