Jan 31, 2025
You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation.
I’ve found this time of year is not just about making resolutions. For organizations, it’s also about engaging in initiatives. Maybe some brand-new idea taking shape into action or executing existing stuff in more efficient and effective ways. Regardless, executing initiatives requires that an organization has a firm foundation upon which to build its future success.
This is not just an organizational reality or team dynamic; I challenge each of us to embrace our own individual initiatives – the things we want to achieve personally this year – and then consider if we have a firm foundation before executing our plan.
What makes up a firm foundation?
In a recent leadership forum in Miami, I got to hear from a trusted colleague and friend, Richard Fagerlin. Richard is the President of Peak Solutions, Inc., a company focusing on leadership and culture development. In our time together, he shared his thoughts about cultivating three foundational facets when implementing initiatives. They are Clarity, Cohesion and Execution.
Clarity represents a degree of understanding; specifically, regarding the depth of understanding to ensure all parties involved know precisely the what, why, how and to what extent. “We know what to do”.
Cohesion represents the state or action of working together; specifically, regarding how all necessary people and actions operate as valuable parts of a united whole. “We’re doing it together.”
Execution represents the act of getting the initiative done; specifically, regarding the energy and effort required every day to accomplish targeted goals, actions and behaviors. “We’re getting it done”.
When all three of these facets are defined, understood, and fully engaged with passion and purpose, initiatives seem to move forward in a healthy way. It’s when one or more are absent or fall short, that’s when we have challenges and maybe even difficulties. For instance:
Having cohesion and execution, but no clarity, causes reckless behavior. Which can end up having a frustrated team wondering what, why, how and to what extent. If you have clarity and cohesion, and lack execution, you can end up getting stuck in analysis paralysis and never really getting it or anything else off the ground. If you have clarity and execution, and lack cohesion, it can feel right except all parties can end up doing their own thing and inconsistency becomes an acceptable norm.
So, what’s the goal? It would seem striking a balance and ensuring all three are in check is a healthy place to start.
“Organizational health is the single greatest competitive advantage in any business.”
This Patrick Lencioni quote suggests culture and its relative firm foundation is much more than just a three-element alignment for an organization. If you zoom out, I believe you can see all sorts of ways and means to ensure that one or many have access to professional and personal development. Consider the opportunities like systems, processes and programs designed to elevate success, learning, connectedness, awareness, mindfulness, health and well-being.
Co-Founder Kym Russell has always stressed that our greatest resource at Russell Cellular is people – every single team member that makes up our RC Family. And when we can support one another in our pursuit of the mission, priorities, objectives and calls to action, whatever our job function, we are not only successful…we are also healthy – operationally, organizationally and culturally.
When we all aim for the next right thing and we do it often as second nature behavior even and when no one else is watching, that is what is healthy can look like when flowing downstream from culture. It’s an upstream pursuit of caring for every person and providing the best wireless experience to every customer, every time… and best employee experience to every employee, every time.
Adoption & Maintenance of a Firm Foundation
Let’s say the vision and all the elements are in place, now what? Well, to be fair, that is the age-old question. Most organizations are rarely short on vision, although they are not always crystal clear. They aren’t short on ideas, although many still lack wisdom. They are never short on intention, despite feeling the pain of slow results and not deviating from the plan when necessary. All of that to say, starting is hard, following through and sticking with it is harder.
Paying attention to and sticking with the three elements above is a great place to start. I would also, as either a leader or follower, evaluate and consider some of the following components that make up a foundation; like leadership, communication, self-discovery – team discovery, learning, goal setting, expectations, standards, coaching, feedback, measurement, performance reviews, support, conflict resolution, and surveys. Each lends perspective and attention to the levels and depth of any foundation.
Stating the obvious, build the foundation before you build the house. A house will only ever be as good as its foundation…so, make it solid, make it strong before you make anything.
As you contemplate what makes and maintains a firm foundation – organizationally or personally – consider the following questions.
Foundational Questions for Lasting Success
- What’s the ‘root’ why behind your initiative?
- What is the ‘truth’ for this to move forward?
- What’s the difference about ‘this’ time?
- What’s the ‘wise’ first thing to do?
- What’s the ‘one’ thing that needs to happen and keep happening throughout?
- What could go ‘wrong’?
- What’s the ‘best’ measurement?
- Who really ‘benefits’?
- During implementation…What’s ‘right’, ‘wrong’, ‘missing’ and ‘confusing’?
- How will we know we ‘won’?
Want to learn more perspectives about building a firm foundation? Visit our podcast or visit one of our locations.
Jan 2, 2025
It’s that time of year again when we promise ourselves some desired improvement or change to an aspect of our life in the coming New Year.
New Year’s resolutions essentially mark the start of a new year as an opportunity to set goals for personal growth. Committing to new habits or behaviors is a way of reflecting on the past and actively striving for a better future.
On or about every January first, we all seem to engage in this ubiquitous act. Said another way, resolutions are an act engaged everywhere by everyone done at about the same time. It is omnipresent. And to the surprise of no one, in 2024, the most common resolutions were improving health and well-being. Specifically eating healthier, reducing stress, exercising, spending time with family and friends, reducing time on social media, and saving money.
“I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the years’ (resolution).”
There are two challenges in making resolutions. One is conceptual and the other is about implementation. The first can be found in our definition of what we’re trying to accomplish; call it defining the why…the true why. It is about uncovering the physical, emotional, mental, and/or spiritual reason for inspiring us into the resolution.
The quote above by Henry Moore is a tremendous way for each of us to contemplate and go deep into what we want to accomplish. Very rarely do we measure the impact on our year, but rather in our day-to-day living. Resolutions, when vetted then and adequately engaged with a defined why in place, become daily aspirations towards specific actions with immediate outcomes. The goal is to reduce our vision into a reality of daily inputs with daily outputs.
“Making New Year resolutions is one thing. Remaining resolute and seeing them through is quite another.”
Alex Morritt is hitting the nail on the head. This is the second challenge, and it represents the biggest tripping point, which is staying committed to the resolution. It’s all about the follow through, even when and especially when it’s hard, inconvenient, disruptive, or it becomes boring and repetitive.
Lack of follow-up and follow through cause the majority of all initiatives to fall short. We can become disillusioned when what we thought we’d be doing doesn’t align with what we’re actually doing. We can get upset when things don’t happen fast enough. We can get agitated when the plan falls short. We can get bored with the same thing repeatedly being done. We can drift off course when other things take precedence. There are so many viable reasons why we should stop, which means our reason why we’re doing this, whatever it is, must always supersede and be bigger than any reason why we stop.
Effective New Year’s Resolutions have Parts.
As with any goal or objective with a clearly defined purpose, comes a requirement to have an equally clearly defined plan. Each element critical to the other like the one piece of the puzzle that is uniquely designed to fit in an exact place to reveal the finished puzzle.
Even though that ‘puzzle’ analogy may make complete sense, is not the way I would advise constructing a plan for a resolution. Resolutions need to be less concrete and unyielding, and more flexible and able to adapt to change. Maybe a better analogy is a game plan in sports. Games plans can be and, most often, are fluid by design. They have options and built-in contingencies based on probabilities, trends and unknowns. Call it, being proactive in being reactive.
Having said all that, there are some constants and best practices to consider in the midst of the unexpectedness, uncertainty, and disruption during resolution implementation.
New Year’s Best Practices
Figure out your why: Be willing, honest and open to defining the true root cause of wanting to improve or change a behavior or behaviors.
Make your resolution behaviorally specific: Be clear about what you want to accomplish. For example, instead of just “exercise more,” you could say “go walking for 30 minutes three times a week”.
Come up with a plan (not the plan): Determine how, when, where, who, and to what extent you want to accomplish your resolution.
Plan for tripping points and excuses: Consider what might derail you from your efforts and how you’ll deal with it. Create contingencies.
Get an accountability partner: Let a friend, family member, mentor, or peer know what you’re doing and why, and then ask them to check in with you regularly to hold you accountable.
Track and reward your progress: Keep a journal or diary to stay focused and recover from setbacks. Celebrate your progress with a treat or something special.
Mix it up and stay flexible: Keep things interesting by adding new activities, changing up some methods and inputs, or be sure to improvise when needed with your resolution.
No matter what, stay positive: Remind yourself of the desired outcome of your resolution to stay focused and motivated. If there are setbacks or failure…accept, learn and keep moving.
Resolutions come and go. The ones that stick and bear fruit are the ones that are designed on purpose-for purpose, done one step at a time-one day at a time and measured by progress not perfection.
What’s this year going to bring?
New Year’s Challenge Questions
I challenge you with the following questions as you reflect backwards to project forwards.
- Why even do a resolution?
- What have you done in the past?
- Pick a resolution and ask why this/why now?
- Can you define a clear expectation and all necessary/specific behaviors?
- What’s the plan…what, how, when, how often, by when?
- How will you acknowledge effort in failure, obstacles, achievement, partnerships, support?
- Which criteria will effectively measure your success?
Want to learn more perspectives about Reflection? Visit our podcast or visit one of our locations.
Dec 3, 2024
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards”
Soren Kierkegaard was definitely onto something when he shared this idea. While you and I reflect on what’s happened and what has been, we bring that understanding and what we’ve learned into our next steps. In a way, we reflect backward to project forward.
At this time of year, one cannot help but reflect. With all the stuff that’s made up our day-to-day work life and home life outcomes, we naturally end up reviewing all that’s happened throughout the year. We contemplate the impact and influence it has had in us, through us and around us.
Then comes a change of perspective.
Imagine looking behind. And then, to re-orient our gaze, we turn our head towards what lies ahead. In the turn, it’s there, right dab in the middle, where we find a precious space. It’s what Viktor Frankl identified long ago,
“Between stimulus and response lies a space. In that space lie our freedom and power to choose a response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness.”
This represents a pause between what has been and what may be. We leverage our outcomes to temper our future choices.
This means stepping out of an old year into a new and uncertain one with faith and hope. Which can be hard for many of us to do. It’s challenging because we don’t know what lies ahead, and it’s difficult to fully realize because what got us to this point may not get us to the next one. I am reminded of a pivotal quote by leadership guru Marshall Goldsmith.
“What got you here won’t get you there”
It’s acknowledging the behaviors, strategies, or habits that led to the outcomes in our past may not be sufficient to the thinking and doing for our future. Essentially, we will need to adapt and evolve as we step into the possibilities of our new year.
This may very well involve the process of ‘start, stop or continue’. For me, I’ve always done my very best to ‘abandon all hope for a better yesterday’, and acknowledge, accept, and then let go. I stay fully aware in that pause after reflecting to recognize that all the successes, failures, wins and losses…they’re historical. They’re in the past. The only thing with distinct clarity in this moment is the two inches right in front of me. Clarity is found in the middle of reflecting and projecting. I am here. Now what?
What, Why, How, To What Extent
Here’s the thing, we cannot just move forward because it sounds good. We need to avoid some blind statement like Do Better or Follow my Passion. It should be “Follow my passion…” and then add to it the specific aspect or aspects as to what that means, how it will be seen and give it some tangible measure. All too often, when we make decisions in the new year, we say something without rigorously defining it. We have to be honest with ourselves and avoid empty promises and platitudes.
We have to know WHAT we’re striving for, WHY that, HOW to make it happen, and TO WHAT EXTENT we will execute it and live it…each and every day. One must own the true understanding, by both believing and committing that this will impact ourselves and those around us. I know plenty of people who say it, and don’t live it or follow through with it. That has been me in past seasons.
Now layer this with what Tony Robbins says…set goals, not resolutions. And then create a plan and act. In fact, it’s not the goal we’re going after as much as it is becoming the person who can accomplish the goal. This creates a posture of grace to live it out, with the flexibility in being real and doing this the best way we can. Perfectly imperfect. Our mission and vision within the goal doesn’t change. The way and means to achieve it, can and will change. And that is OK.
Bottom line, now is the perfect time to reflect backwards to project forwards. We end well so that we may begin well; moving forward, unburdened by what has been.
I challenge you with the following questions as you reflect backwards to project forwards.
- Can you describe what happened… what did I achieved?
- What did I notice…what did I learn?
- Where did you encounter challenges… what held me back?
- Which habit defines me…what habit requiring change will help me the most?
- How will I respond…what is my focus as I move forward?
Want to learn more perspectives about Reflection? Visit our podcast or visit one of our locations.
Nov 18, 2024
Opportunity does not waste time with those who are unprepared
“We have so much to rush for, so many things to fix and problems to solve, with all of that happening I’m trying to remind myself of self-care every day…” – Jonathan Van Ness
The idiom of “The calm before the storm” represents the quiet time or lull before a period of great activity or trouble. It is a time when one prepares for what is to come.
October may very well represent a veritable calm before line-ups, inventory flux, and staffing headaches combined with traffic, transactions, and tedious hours. Not to mention the polarity of grumpy customers (and team members) with all of their holiday cheer in tow.
It typically becomes a month of preparing efficiencies. The challenge can arise from multiple reasons, not just one. It represents an ideal time to pre-check or pulse-check oneself, the team, and the business for the potentially crazy times that lie ahead.
The thing is, inevitability comes into play when there is a reality shift. Preparedness gets tested—not just the structure, responsibilities, and behaviors but also the mindset. We experience the whirlwind.
Self-Care: The calm before quickly becomes the calm during
Fourth quarter challenges each of us. In almost every way possible, we will see our mettle from a hectic time’s perspective. It also defines the limits one will be willing to accomplish any and all things that need to get done. Each of us during this time will be stretched and formed by all the possible things that could happen, might happen, and will happen. There is absolutely no one-size fits all formula to navigate the tumultuous time from the days leading up to Black Friday and beyond.
If we had to identify the things that must be done without fail and those things that must be done to drive the business within the whirlwind of holiday craziness, what would they be? Here is a tip…pick up a handful of gravel and throw it all up in the air. Then, decide which rocks need to be caught.
Self-Care: Keep calm and carry on
This phrase originated as a motivational poster produced by the Government of the United Kingdom in 1939 in preparation for World War II. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public. In our current scene, it now enjoys general currency as an expression of resilience. And that is an exceptionally critical characteristic during Q4 in retail and living out the whirlwind of holiday selling.
We can be in the midst of a storm; the storm does not have to be in midst of us.
Hurricanes are very real example of a storm. A true whirlwind. Did you know that even in the middle of a hurricane, the bottom of the sea is calm? As the storm rages and the winds howl, the deep waters beneath sway in gentle rhythm. Below there is no storm. It’s calm beneath the waves. How do we emulate that calm within?
If I had one bit of advice, it would be self-care
Every year about this time I explore how we take care of ourselves during the holidays – a time when things can get crazy busy and overwhelming. Call it health and well-being when we’re busy being busy. Consider the following components of heart, mind, body and soul as a starting point.
Heart
What represents our outlook? Evaluate your passion and purpose. Set reasonable expectations and goals for holiday activities. Invest in establishing routines and keep things simple. Look for progress. not perfection. Remember that the whirlwind is short-term, so be patient and take things week by week, day by day, moment by moment.
Mind
Our mind is essential during this time. I will always believe the quality of my thinking determines the quality of my life. Of my circumstances and the pathway for success…and failure. Our choices direct the outcome. Control your control-ables.
Body
Let’s be real, there’s no perfect way to take of our self. We do the best we can, when we can. Maybe the best we can do is being aware that if we’re low energy or motivation, if we feel stressed, if we’re run down…we have to do something to take care of our body. Pay attention to eating, sleeping, exercising, and rely on our source for resting and replenishment.
Soul
Starve our ego. Feed our soul. How can we ensure we are feeding our soul? Believing in and paying attention to what really matters like doing the next right thing in the service of others. Maybe the best and most significant way is about our belief. To believe in our self and take care of our self.
Each of these traditionally represent a way of understanding ourselves as a whole person. Each interconnecting – the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual components not only influencing our actions as one offs, but also creating a broader consideration when they all become a collective mass of consideration during a whirlwind.
I bring all of this up because we are coming into a time when speed, volume, frequency, and unexpectedness will be elements of our reality. It will be the varying degrees of the whirlwind encountered during the intense phrenetic busyness of both the holidays and Q4 retail selling season that will test our calm during the storm. Go deep and find your rhythm.
I challenge you with the following questions to consider how you embrace self-care in the whirlwind.
- Define self-care?
- What are you prepared to do to balance your heart, mind, body and soul?
- How are you orienting your heart, mind, body, and soul?
- Give an example of what you can do to take care of your heart, mind, body and soul?
- In what ways do you understand your heart, mind, body and soul?
- Are you squared away…emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually for what lies ahead and what lies within?
Want to learn more perspectives about Self-Care? Visit our podcast or visit one of our locations.
Oct 1, 2024
Opportunity does not waste time with those who are unprepared
That statement from Idowu Koyenikan, organizational consultant and author of Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability, it challenges me. It is challenging because I believe every new day presents a new opportunity. I also believe that there is opportunity in all adversity and every hardship. Therefore, if I am to believe what I believe, it suggests that I must be prepared for the unknown, like what lies within a new day, adversity, and hardship.
Is that what Koyenikan is suggesting?
I contend, not completely. Opportunity lies in wait, ready to be captured by those who acknowledge it by wholeheartedly and intentionally stepping into it. It’s not the opportunity that wastes time with unpreparedness; we do.
“Talent alone won’t make you a success. Neither will being in the right place at the right time, unless you are ready. The most important question is: ‘Are you ready?” – Johnny Carson
I say all of this to set up what lies ahead. We are coming into one of the busiest times of the year in retail – fourth quarter selling. For most organizations, this period of time represents the biggest chunk of the business they will do in their year. Not only is it a profitable time of year, it is a highly chaotic time of year. The organizations that thrive during this time of year, spend time, energy, effort, and even enthusiasm in preparing for the whirlwind. They plan for the disruption.
What is at the heart of preparation?
To paraphrase and adapt a George Washington quote about the preparation for war, “A robust preparation of war influences lasting peace.” As hard as that might sound, preparation builds for the future. It cultivates potential opportunities in all possibilities before they come to pass.
One might surmise, we prepare for our success. We prepare for the best outcome. More than that, I think, we get really good when we prepare for the failures. When we prepare for the mishaps, disruptions, obstacles and doubts, we expand our mindset and skillset. It may very be in the hypotheticals and ‘what if’s’, we build our capacity to successfully deal with and work through chaos.
Yes, it is difficult to know the unknown, unexpected and uncertain. Yes, things we decide ahead of time represent only potential contingencies that we won’t really know till we face what we are given. It’s a posture whereby preparation does help to orient our processes and our choices.
What’s the plan?
The central call to action is what I mentioned in my first book, What If; The Improvisational Guide To Management, get proactive to be reactive. Said another way, we map out all the things that make up this time of year – all elements of what do and how we do it – and we put as much as we can into place so that we are better at response. This is about adaptation and flexibility in all of our efforts to react accordingly to the circumstances that we are given.
This can be about preparing our systems. Maybe, producing checklists and escalation trees to handle a variety of actions required and the ubiquitous “if this, then this and what to do when.” It can be getting a handle on staffing and hours, setting clear expectations, defining specific standards and operational efficiencies, identifying real-time, on-the-fly coaching best practices, or ensuring people have what they need to do their best. It is not about planning to be perfect. It’s preparing to make progress, no matter what.
Prepare to fail or failed to prepare, pick a side, it’s that time of year again.
I challenge you with the following questions to consider how you see “preparation”.
- How do you define preparation?
- What’s the purpose of what you do? What’s the motive?
- What’s the current scene and what do you need?
- What do the people around you need and how can you provide that support?
- What has traditionally tripped you up and what are some of the potential tripping points?
- How do you deal with stress and anxiety in the whirlwind?
Want to learn more perspectives about opportunity and preparation? Visit our podcast or visit one of our locations.
Sep 3, 2024
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
We find what we need in the service of others
Ever felt out of sorts and lost in what to do next? Maybe you’re stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, and unsure about the next right thing. Perhaps you’re feeling stuck in the past regarding what was and wasn’t done or should or shouldn’t have happened. You’re in fear of moving forward because the uncertainty seems to involve a significant risk. Additionally, while you’re in some adversity and hardship, you’re remembering the time or two you fell short.
The Power of Serving Others
Given these challenges, my advice to leaders, team members, mentees, cohorts, and friends, when they are in the midst of any of these mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual perspectives, is to use this default behavior…serve and help someone else. Doing so for nothing in return, and for no other reason than a genuine desire to put someone else’s needs ahead of your own, to simply serve others. Nothing will ever be guaranteed, except maybe taking the focus off ourselves and placing it on someone else. A self-less posture where we get what we give away. In fact, I love what Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Self-Centeredness vs. Service
We all have an ego, and with that comes degrees of self-centeredness, self-will, self-concern, and overall selfishness. It is not that hard to be driven by self-seeking motives. It’s a pretty natural drive. For some, it can be excessive to the point that what they need supersedes any aspect of the needs of others. For example, how many of you can immediately think of “that manager” whose only concern was how everything needed to benefit them? Typically followed by how that would be best achieved regardless of who got in the way or whoever was obliged to deliver.
Contrasting Leadership Styles
Consider “that one leader” who made us the focus and center of their attention. Most, if not all, of their energy, effort, and enthusiasm were focused squarely on us – on how we win, succeed, move forward, grow, and come out ahead. How do the two differ? Examining the behaviors, what stands out in each approach?
What does service look like?
It starts first with a mindset, not just a heart for serving someone else. It’s a wholehearted belief that it matters, followed by a full-fledged intentionality to act. Some of the considerations may be an awareness of others, like looking for specific moments in the day to check in with others to see how they’re doing and ask if they need anything. It’s actively seeking ways and means to help people do what they do. It’s the cultivation of an others-first mentality.
Thinking it is one thing, doing it is another. The second aspect represents the hands and feet, or the action of living it out. Considerations for this can be seeing someone who needs some help, support, or a specific “helping hand” and then providing it. It’s delivering whatever is required or requested. I found it is best served without a need for reciprocity or “this for that” reward or validation. Serving is simply the right thing to do, and that’s enough.
I have also found importance and purpose in the third part, which is the follow-up. To check back in and see how it’s going. This demonstrates true and authentic concern, dedication, and even empathy. To be fair, not all situations flow into a follow up opportunity. Sometimes, it was a moment that just happened. I contend that if you are able and it makes sense, re-engage the other person and see how things worked out. Show them that the encouragement and support were genuine by celebrating what they did and how they did it.
Where do I apply it?
Two professional perspectives immediately come to mind. One is leadership, specifically servant leadership, where a leader prioritizes the growth, development, well-being, and empowerment of the team they represent. It is a commitment and stewardship of putting others first and ensuring the needs of others, as best captured in the book title by Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last. Ultimately, it is a belief that the success of the leader is intrinsically tied to the success of those who they lead, so put them first.
Another is serving one another within a team dynamic. Call it peer-to-peer or cohort service. This represents a side-by-side mentality, where teams are not only in “this” together but are naturally better together when they serve one another. They provide aid, collaboration, and encouragement…from one team member to another where all within the group can be and are typically unified in a mission to do something specific. Like-minded people are unified in purpose and help one another get it done.
Every day allows us to focus on and give of ourselves for the benefit of someone else. These include things like opening the door, lending a helping hand, or donating time and treasure to another person, family, or community. Whether it’s the ear that listens, a shoulder to cry on, or arms that can carry a load, we have a choice in how we are present in the lives of the people around us. So, which choices will you make today?
Muhammad Ali said it best…” Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
I challenge you in how you see and experience service in answering the questions below.
Questions to take away and consider:
- In what way do you define service or serving others?
- Consider How is service or serving others present in your professional and personal life?
- What are some ways you have seen others being served?
- Why would someone not have a mindset for service or to serve the people around them?
- Reflect on the real motives you have when serving others?
- How would you describe the best kind of service?
- What is a way you can serve someone else today?
Want to learn more perspectives about growth and leadership? Visit our podcast or visit one of our locations.
