Daily Thought Archives: July 2010

July 1
READING THE SIGNS OF CHANGE
Successful leaders are always thinking ahead and staying in front of their organisation. They are also good at looking for and responding to the signs of change, and know that fast action vs slow action will always enable their organisation to be in control of the change vs the change being in control of them.

July 2
THE DEFINITION OF "ME"
The way you define yourself is either enabling or limiting your personal growth. How many times have you not done something and said, "That's just not me". The most successful & happiest people have made the decision to being with their values and then define themselves ("ME") as broad as possible.

July 3
APOLOGISING FOR OUR PAST MISTAKES
We all make mistakes, and sometimes they have an impact on others. However, the impact of not apologising for our mistakes often has a greater impact on others than the original mistakes themselves. An apology is free, and it also frees - releasing the burden - in our relationship with others.

July 4
"HOW PEOPLE" KILL IDEAS
Brainstorming is key to using the power of everyone's ideas and building more creative solutions. One of the biggest barriers to getting to those creative solutions are the "How People". There are always those people who are jumping to the "How" before fully discussing the "Whats" and the "Whys".

July 5
MY VOICE WAS HEARD
When changes need to happen, people want to be involved in how those changes occur. It's not that they want to be in the middle of every decision, but that their views have been heard during some part of the process. When people can say "my voice was heard", then they will be more supportive of the changes that get implemented.

July 6
THE CHOICES YOU MAKE, MAKE YOU
Our life is really driven by the choices (decisions) we make, as those choices will determine the opportunities we will experience and those that we will miss. The successful make the choice to do their preparation (grow their strengths), and for when the opportunities come, they are prepared to make the right choices.

July 7
ALWAYS SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT
If we experience life to its fullest, we will always have a little of the bad coming along with the good. In fact, we might even go through some bad parts of our lives, with just a little good then. That little good is important, because the people who get the most out of life always have something in their lives to smile about.

July 8
WHO CAN YOU GET ADVICE FROM?
One thing is for sure, we can't learn enough or experience life fast enough on our own to be successful. Look at any successful person, and you will see someone who is constantly asking the advice of people who have done it before (who gone before them). They are "asking" their way to success.

July 9
NOT IF, BUT WHEN
There are two mindsets within people, with one making things happen, and the other hoping it happens. It's summarised with "if or when". You have the "if" people who hope it happens, but don't take any action. The "when" people know it is only a matter of time, and they take action in order to make it happen sooner rather than later.

July 10
ACCOUNTABILITY ATTRACTS
Have you ever noticed that the people who embrace accountability (take responsibility for their work) always attract more help from their co-workers than others? Accountability (responsibility) is like a magnet, as others will always be willing to help you. Why? Because of your accountability, they see it as a good investment of their time.

July 11
GUESS AND YOU OFTEN GUESS WRONG
Some weak leaders avoid the sensitive discussions with their people, and then try to guess what the issue is. One thing strong leaders have understood well, is that if they guess, they often guess wrong. It is a far better approach to have those sensitive discussions on uncovering the real issue rather than guessing.

July 12
THE WAY YOU RESPOND TO IDEAS
As a leader, it is extremely important how you respond to the ideas brought to you by your people. Showing your interest and listening closely will both help you see their idea's possibilities faster, as well as showing your people respect. This will encourage them to keep those ideas coming to you in the future as well.

July 13
WHEN ACCEPTABLE IS UNACCEPTABLE
Take a look at organisations that are performing well, and producing a high quality product or service; and you will not hear these words "that's acceptable". The people in these organisations know that customers do not want to buy "acceptable" products & services, and they are always keeping the view of their customers in their minds.

July 14
PAIN MEANS YOU ARE IN THE GAME
The experts say that we always look for pleasure and avoid pain. However, avoiding pain can mean that we are not fully in the game of life. To accomplish anything worthwhile, we will always have challenges (& maybe some pain) equal to the size of what we want to accomplish. Remember, pain means we are in the game.

July 15
PREPARED TO FINISH WHEN YOU START
It is often that the emotion of the moment gets us going on something new, and then in just a few weeks time we quit. We had the drive to start, but not the drive to finish. Before starting anything new, invest (do your prep) on how you will keep the motivation and drive to get to the finish. It can be the difference in getting there.

July 16
LEARN FROM YOUR PAST, THEN LET IT GO
We can only live (take action) in the present, but so many people try to live in the past (wishing they did it different). Then there's some who are re-living the good times vs living and creating new good times. The most successful & happiest people learn from their past, let it go, and then really LIVE the present.

July 17
USE "YOU CAN'T" AS A FUEL
There are always people out there who get great enjoyment in telling others "you can't" do that. However, have you ever noticed that these are very the people who aren't really trying anything new (and will never use their potential). If we are ever to use our full potential, we have to stop listening to the "you can't people".

July 18
WITH FRIENDSHIP COMES RESPONSIBILITY
Friends really enrich our lives, and are there for us when we really need them. That's because with friends comes responsibility, and our friends feel that responsibility to help. Some people avoid strong friends, not because they don't want them, but because they don't want the responsibility that comes along with it.

July 19
FOCUS WHERE YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE
What we focus on drives what we accomplish, but not everything we accomplish makes a difference. Everyone is different, with unique strengths and abilities, and we are always our happiest when we are using those strengths and abilities to make a difference.

July 20
SEE IT THROUGH THEIR EYES
Many people can be a part of the same situation and take away just as many interpretations from that same situation. People see through their own eyes, and base their interpretations on their own life experiences and feelings at that time. To understand others, we need to see it through their eyes, as well as our eyes.

July 21
THE GREATEST RISK IS TO RISK NOTHING
Risk is something discussed with a more negative context than a positive context, and as with everything in life, there are two sides to it. How you view risk is whether you look at both sides or solely look at one side. However, everyone would agree that the greatest risk is to risk nothing, as this means you are not really "living".

July 22
REWARDS ALIGNED TO VALUE DELIVERED
The old saying goes, "Tell me how you will measure me, and I'll tell you how I will behave." The measures that are the most successful in driving the right behaviour are those aligned to "value delivered". In business, that means measures aligned to adding value to the customer.

July 23
POWER OF YOUR PERSONAL NETWORK
The real value of a successful person is not in their financial assets, but in the value of their relationships. If you were to take away all their money, they could still use their powerful relationships and their own power of influence to create a business to get it all back again.

July 24
ENCOURAGE CHALLENGING THE NORM
Change doesn't really happen until people are dissatisfied with the way things are being done now. That's why challenging the norm is important. When people do that, they are getting others to question that maybe things could be better, and that gets everyone feeling dissatisfied enough to want to change.

July 25
WE LIVE WELL WITHIN OUR LIMITS
Everyone has the potential inside them do do great things, and it is only by using our potential that we can understand our limits. Since most people are not even considering their potential, that must mean that they are living well within their limits. We need to focus on our potential to live our life to its fullest.

July 26
BLAME IS ALWAYS INAPPROPRIATE
No one really likes to admit their mistakes, and that's why you see so many people blaming others for their own mistakes. Blaming others is a weakness of character and always inappropriate. In fact, blaming others is a character flaw that always raising questions of trust from others.

July 27
STOP PROVING YOU ARE RIGHT
Have your ever noticed that the people who are constantly trying to prove themselves right are wrong the most? People with confidence and a strength of character do not need to prove themselves right. The person they are influences others to listen closely to what they say.

July 28
CHOOSING BETWEEN RIGHT ANSWERS
The business world is very complex these days, and it means that there can be more than one right answer to a problem. Therefore, we have more chances that our choices will be between right and right, versus between right and wrong. This brings even more importance to the value of having a criteria for making our key decisions.

July 29
PASSION PULLS US FORWARD
When people are not passionate about what they are doing, life is a struggle (sort of a push). These people feel like they need to push themselves through each day. However, when we are passionate about what we do, it pulls us to jump out of bed and attack the day, versus the day attacking us.

July 30
MAKING IT IMPORTANT TO OTHERS
If it's important for us, it gets our attention. That's why the most successful leaders focus on communicating the importance of an initiative versus the details (or the how) of the initiative. When people personally feel the importance, they then take personal responsibility to make it happen.

July 31
SETTING YOUR EGO ASIDE
Success breeds success, but it can also breed an ego. Once people experience success, they take two routes to further success, with one achieving more success in the future than the other. One will look for praise of what was accomplished, while the other will achieve more by looking to praise the people who accomplished it.