Daily Thought Archives: December 2009

December 1
BLENDING DIFFERENT TALENT
The very best teams are never made up of people that are very much the same. It is often the differences in people (and their different strengths) that make the solutions they come up with even more successful. As a leader, it is how you blend your talent that drives even greater success for your team.

December 2
SHAPING THE ORGANISATION'S CULTURE
Some leaders watch this happen, while the best are designing it to happen. A company's culture is something that enables their people to succeed or it becomes a barrier to that. It is both the written and unwritten rules of the culture that drives everyone's behaviour, and the best leaders focus on putting the right culture in place.

December 3
WILLING TO DO THE "MUSTS"
In life, there are always things we must do in order to enjoy the results we would like to have. Everyone does what they like to do. However, only the successful and driven person creates the discipline to do what they "must" do. Success comes to the people willing to do the "musts".

December 4
THE RIGHT PEOPLE AROUND THE TABLE
Decision making is a key driver in companies, either moving it forward or the lack off it holding it back. Very often, poor decisions are made or implemented poorly (lack of alignment) because the right people were not around the table to make the decision. Successful leaders get the right people around the table, regardless of title.

December 5
DESIRE TO FIND OUT MORE
There's one attribute in successful leaders that helps them both engage with others and grow faster. They have the desire to find out more. That's finding out more about their people, and also going beyond the "what" to the "why" behind everything. When leaders understand the "why", it makes driving the "what" far easier.

December 6
THE REWARD IS WITHIN YOU
You can see this in many people. They are always looking for that external recognition from others, and without it, they never seem fulfilled. The happiest people are driven not by what others think & feel, but by how they think and feel. When they feel as a winner on the inside, it is only a matter of time to have it on the outside.

December 7
BEGINS WITH BEING SELF AWARE
How well we interact with others, and the success we achieve in life, very often is the result of our self awareness. Understanding who we are is really the foundation of ability to adapt to others and all of life's situations. To improve your people skills, invest in reflection each day to understand yourself better.

December 8
COMMITMENT TO PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH
In leading people, your credibility and integrity are two of the attributes that encourage your people to follow you. Nothing destroys those two faster than telling your people to do something that you are not willing to also do yourself. Successful leaders have the commitment to practice everything they preach.

December 9
CONTROLLING THE MESSAGE
There are a number of managers who are trying to control the messages that their people receive, and are constantly following up their people to maintain that control. On the other hand, very successful leaders understand that their own behaviour drives their most powerful messages, and just focus on being the best leader they can.

December 10
MAKING BETTER CHOICES
Where we are in our lives is the result of the choices we made so far, and where we will be in the future will be the result of the choices we make today. A better life is driven by our actions. However, as our choices determine the direction of those actions, we could all benefit by investing more time in making better choices.

December 11
WITH SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES
We often encounter people in our lives and think, "Why are they acting that way?". For us, it doesn't seem right. However, what if we had similar circumstances in our life? Could it be that we might act the same way? Next time you find yourself in this situation, think about their circumstances before your judge their behaviour.

December 12
DOING THE UNFAMILIAR WELL
Life is all about growth, and growth comes to us faster when we are constantly trying new things. Successful people embrace the new and make the commitment to do the unfamiliar to the best of their ability, while the unsuccessful only make the attempt and tend to make excuses to others that "this is new to me".

December 13
BE THERE BEFORE YOUR PEOPLE
Successful leaders think ahead and focus on the direction they want to take their organisation. Struggling leaders don't invest the time to think ahead, and as a result, their people are setting the direction for them. When you are there (your thinking) before your people, you are in the best position to lead them "there".

December 14
YOUR BEHAVIOURS HELP REINFORCE YOUR MESSAGES
What you say has more power with others when they see your behaviours consistent with what you say. In driving any change efforts, it is important for your "consistent" behaviours to be visible to others, as it will help reinforce the key messages of the change that you are driving.

December 15
FOUNDATION OF YOUR ORGANISATION
In every organisation, the people are really the foundation of the organisation. Sometimes, managers focus on driving key process changes without considering the mindsets and capabilities of the people to carry it out. Successful change starts with having the right foundation, and that's having the "right" people.

December 16
DON'T ABANDON THE VISION
A vision is a future that we are passionate about, and at the time we create it, we don't exactly know how to get there. Therefore, when we face problems along the way, we shouldn't abandon the vision, but just change our strategy & actions to find another way.

December 17
TALK THE LANGUAGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Every organisation has their own "language". It's those key acronyms and ways of expressing things that helps everyone to understand each other faster. When you understand the organisation's "language", you gain faster rapport and better co-operation from others.

December 18
BEING WHO YOU REALLY ARE
Everyone is acting from time to time, and trying to portray someone else in order to fit it. However, the most successful and happiest people do this far less than others. They know that being the "best" themselves will take less energy and be more productive than trying to be anyone else.

December 19
MEASUREMENT DRIVES FOLLOW-UP
The old saying goes "You can't manage what you can't measure". Also, you can't easily follow-up something that hasn't been documented and/or measured. Defining the right measurements drives more productive follow-up, and timely follow-up is one of the leader's most important habits.

December 20
MAKING IT THEIR ANSWER
People always take more ownership of their own solutions versus a solution (the answer) given them by their leader. The very best leaders focus on "making it their people's answer", and to encourage and facilitate their people's thinking to reach their own solutions.

December 21
DREAMS ARE BLUEPRINTS OF YOUR FUTURE
Dreams are what drive us to imagine a future where we can use our potential. When our dreams are clear and very specific, they become the blueprints for actions we need to take in order for us to achieve them. Investing time in our dreams is really investing time in a future that will utilise all of our potential.

December 22
MAKING OTHERS BETTER
Leaders of organisations that have continued success over time have one thing in common. They are all great at making the people around them better. Remember, organisations only stay successful if their people are growing faster than the challenges of the marketplace.

December 23
COUNT ON WHAT YOU SAY
Can others count on what you say? One of the foundations of our credibility and integrity is that we do what we say, that our actions are consistent with our talk. Both our business and personal relationships begin to fall apart when this doesn't happen.

December 24
SUCCESS SOMETIMES STOPS FRESH THINKING
People or organisations that achieve a level of success will often think that they should not try and change what is working so well. This stops the very fresh thinking that enabled their success in the first place, and suddenly their find that they competition (using fresh thinking) is now catching up.

December 25
BEHAVIOURS CONSISTENT WITH OUR VALUES
The foundation of a happy life really begins with our behaviours being consistent with our values. It is often that an inconsistency at this level can cause problems on many other parts of our lives. It is important to live our lives consistent with our values.

December 26
LIVING FOR OTHERS BRINGS LIFE TO YOU
Everyone has a self interest. However, we all get our greatest joy when we do something for others that's really appreciated. It is about making an impact beyond our own lives, and by helping others we are helping ourselves as well.

December 27
DELEGATING INCREASES SPEED
You can often predict the speed of an organisation by the way the leader delegates. Leaders who keep more control will slow down their organisation as more decisions will have to be done at their level. Delegating not only grows people faster, but helps the operations to go faster as well.

December 28
THE DISTRACTIONS YOU ACCEPT
Productivity is often more about keeping your focus on something than it is about how you do it. For us, one of the key factors is the distractions we accept, as they take our time away from what's important. When you decide what distractions you will accept, you say "no" more and keep your focus on the important.

December 29
NOT AFRAID TO ASK THE QUESTION
Many people make their life more difficult because they are always afraid to ask the question when they should. Sometimes, it may seem a too simple question. However, if the lack of an answer is stopping us from taking the right action, then our progress is being slowed down. Don't be afraid to ask the question.

December 30
EMBRACING OUR FEARS
Between where we are now and what we want are always our fears. If we run from our fears, we are always getting further away from what we want. However, if we embrace our fears and find the action through them, we are moving forward and faster to what we really want.

December 31
UNDERSTANDING THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE PROBLEM
Successful people became successful by solving problems for others, and in this way, adding value to them and their lives. Therefore, there are always opportunities in every problem, and by solving problems you create the foundation for your success.