Archive for April, 2012

Rethinking Time

The characters in Japanese for the word time (時間 jikan) literally mean time-interval, or space of time. This is an interesting perspective, because it joins two concepts that in English are treated as separate things. Einstein spoke of space-time in the context of the Principle of Relativity, but that branch of Physics is still beyond the average person’s comprehension. For most people, time is something more closely associated with the clock and the calendar.

Consequently, when people think about how to get more done in less time, they usually focus on how to work faster or more efficiently, as if productivity against the clock was the ultimate objective measure. The production line mentality still holds sway over the way many people experience time. It is high time that we rethink that proposition.

From one perspective, time matters a lot. You may have noticed that time seems to fly faster as you get older. I remember commenting to a friend on my 16th birthday that the year seemed to have gone by quickly. My friend’s father, who must have been in his 50s, overheard me say that and said to us, “Boys, when you get to be my age, the decades just fly by.” The usual explanation for this is that one year is a smaller fraction of the whole for a 50 year old than for a 5 year old. Nevertheless, as time goes by you tend to appreciate how much it matters. Whether or not time is on your side depends a lot on how well you appreciate and use time. If you look back on what has gone well in your life, you realize that timing is everything.

From another perspective, time doesn’t matter much at all. It isn’t the quantity of time that you spend with people so much as the quality that you remember. The way we experience time is a lot more relative than the way it is measured in minutes and hours. If you are having fun and deeply engaged then 8 hours can pass very quickly, whereas if you are stuck in a boring job the minutes seem like hours.

Synchronicity is the phenomenon in which things occur simultaneously that cannot be explained with any apparent connection. A person suddenly mentions a thing that you were just thinking about. A friend calls you just as you pick up the phone to call them. A discovery or invention is made by two people at the same time living in different countries, despite having no apparent connection or communication between them. We are connected in mysterious ways that are  not bound by time and space.

The art of getting things done

If you want to get more done in less time, a good strategy is actually to do less, but to focus on doing the things that matter most. This is the thinking behind the 80/20 rule, which states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your activities. Manage the things that make a difference, and you will see that small efforts can produce big results.

If you focus too much on perfection your work will never be done. Better to focus on the process, leaving yourself room to breathe. It is not worth sacrificing your days for the sake of filling up all of the time you have with work.

The oriental game of Go has a fascinating strategy that can apply to life as well. Black and white stones are placed on the intersections of vertical and horizontal lines on the Go board, the purpose being to surround territory by surrounding and capturing the opponent’s stones, while maintaining breathing space for your own stones. Go strategy involves playing the whole board and connecting your stone groups across the board. If you play too tightly by concentrating on one of the corners, you end up missing the big picture and losing the game. The connections are not obvious until the mid-game, except to the experienced eye, which sees time in terms of space, not in local logical steps.

In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell refers to the “10,000 hour rule,” which applies in many endeavors from sports to music, whereby world class success seems to depend in part on quantity, not years of practice but the number of hours of deep practice, focused, intentional, quality practice time. Such people not only practice, but also perform more consistently in a Flow state, described in Flow Psychology as a state of full immersion and joy in the task. One of the characteristics of being in Flow is a distortion of the sense of time. Hours can pass like minutes, making you wonder where did the time go? Time can also slow down, in sports when the ball seems to travel in slow motion. It is accompanied by a feeling of spontaneous joy, and freedom from the clock. People in the Flow state are also more likely to be successful, and get better results.

Common sense

Voltaire said that “Common sense is not so common.” It is therefore worth reviewing a few common sense approaches when it comes to getting more done in less time.

• Eliminate. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Shorten your To Do List, and just focus on those things that matter most. Don’t get caught up in trying to do a task more efficiently, without first asking if it is the right task. Free your mind by striving first to be more effective.
• Outsource. Trying to do everything yourself is not only futile, it is downright foolish. Just because you can is not always the best reason that you should do something yourself. Look for ways to free up your time by paying or training someone else to do the task for you. Instead of yielding to the seductive lure of routine, look for shortcuts that can save you time.
• Right Tools. A good craftsperson is very particular about their tools. One of the most effective ways to get more done in less time is to select the right tools, and leverage them to accomplish more. Whatever your trade, tools save you time.

No regrets

A Catholic Priest once commented that of the many last rites he had performed for dying people, most of them expressed far more regret for what they did not do in life, than what they had done. Their primary regret was for a life not fully lived, dreams left unattended, words left unsaid.

If you want to live life with no regrets, it is important to attend to your dreams and work on your chosen goals. Your dream calls to you constantly, if you can just free yourself from the illusions of time which pull you away from it. When you are selecting your tools, be sure to consider GOALSCAPE as the tool of tools, because it helps you gain perspective and focus on those things which matter most.

Download a TIME MANDALA as a reminder of the attitudes and approaches that can help you get more done in less time.

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William Reed specializes in applying practical wisdom from Japanese and Asian culture to solving the problems of modern business and living. He is the author of the Flexible Focus column on Active Garage, the syndicated column Creative Career Path and the book A Zoom Lens for Your life. William is also a Representative Director and Co-Founder of EMC QUEST Corporation, which provides Coaching for Communication and Change, World Class Speaking™, and Accelerated Action with GOALSCAPE™.

Tagged as: active garage, Concept of Time, Flexible Focus, Get more done, japan, mandala charts, Productivity, Rethinking Time, time, Time for a change, william reed

Yoda says “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” Wow! Think about what that would look like in the business world: Letting go of winning, power, promotions and bonuses; letting go of being right and other people being wrong; letting go of complaining, blaming and shaming; letting go of stress and worry and all of the underlying reasons for the stress and worry. What would you have left?

Christopher is a Senior Director for a corporation in Atlanta. He’s been with the company just over two years and is extremely loyal and committed to the company’s mission, to the degree that he had a physical and emotional breakdown after giving his all to the project that will inevitably make or break the company. Now, a couple of months later, he currently faces a similar dilemma – this time consciously and this time he realizes it’s not just his body that’s on the line; it’s his soul that could be taken.

“What options do you have, Christopher?” I asked him after his complaining how things are exactly as they were those many months ago. Matter of factly, Christopher responds with “There are no options!” “Really?” I ask. “There are no options?” “Yes, there are no options,” He said: “except to revert to the old me that yelled and hollered to get people to do what they are supposed to do. That means setting myself up for another emotional and physical breakdown, and that’s not an option!”

“There are other options,” I countered. “Let’s look at them.” What I was attempting was to get Christopher to see that one of his options is to leave the company and go somewhere that may be more in line with maybe a more workable situation for him. He didn’t see leaving as an option, nor did he see that letting go of everything he feared to lose as an option, either. Christopher’s perspective offered no option. He’s in a stalemate.

Yoda also said: “A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind.” What does that mean, in Christopher’s situation? By having the deepest commitment and the most serious mind, it’s easier to fully align with that which you are truly committed to. In Christopher’s case, is it the success of the company, his own personal success and the maintaining of his reputation (He fears that if he leaves the company his reputation will be tarnished.) that’s at stake? One thing other thing he is committed to is keeping himself healthy – it’s not an option to sell himself to the devil again. Yet, through my eyes, it looks very much like this is happening. When someone as brilliant as Christopher has no options, he’s a dead duck. He’s given his soul away if he gives himself no options.

We’ve been trained to see the world a certain way, and it’s essential to our survival in many families, communities and business environment, we think, to maintain that perspective, no matter what? Our minds can’t make sense of our reality if it no longer looks the way it’s supposed to. Much like Christopher, we are then faced with no options and no way to move forward, except to do what we’ve done in the past and we know that’s not going to work.

If we don’t want to lose what we are afraid of losing, our egoic self will bend and twist reality in such a way that we experience stuckness. We can feel lost in the midst of bright lights and lots of people. It’s not uncommon for people to experience mental and emotional exhaustion and breakdowns, inevitably losing more than they were bargaining for. Aren’t we a curious species?

The dilemma Christopher faces is because he has a great deal at stake. On the one hand he has his position, his credibility and all that he’s invested in this company. On the other hand his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health is deteriorating. Attempting to hang on to what he’s got will most likely mean he’ll lose everything.

Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose

Where Christopher sees no option, I see he has no options too, but from a different perspective. Unless he opens himself up to the possibilities he currently doesn’t want to see, he will lose everything. My job as his coach is to gentle guide him towards what now appears to be too frightening to accept. Inevitably, he will have to choose to shift his paradigm and experience a reality that he doesn’t yet believe exists.

Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose

For some this process is a walk in the park; yet for others it can be experienced as a shattering. There’s nothing wrong with a shattering. A shattering is the same as a paradigm shift, it’s just way more painful in every way, you, I’m sure, have imagined. And, generally takes a great deal more time to recover.

What’s right in front of Christopher is right in front of each and every one of us: the opportunity to discover what’s worth losing and what’s not. It all goes away, sooner or later. In this moment, though, it’s just a matter of choosing to choose to choose to be accountable and responsible for the consequence of the choices we make. I hate that part as much as most people do. I want it all good and all easy. When it’s not, I don’t want to look at options I don’t want to take. I’ve learned though that my life isn’t worth living if fear is the only conductor on this train. I’m listening to Yoda and other spiritual teachers in order to create a life worth living. Christopher will make a similar choice, I have no doubt.

Not losing is a no-win game.

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This article is contributed by Dr. Rosie Kuhn, founder of the Paradigm Shifts Coaching Group, author of Self-Empowerment 101, and creator and facilitator of the Transformational Coaching Training Program. She is a life and business coach to individuals, corporations and executives.

Tagged as: active garage, Dilemmas of being in business, Dr. Rosie Kuhn, emotions, Freedom, Mind, Not losing, Spirituality, Spirituality in Business, Thinking, thought, winning, yoda

Alcoholism and substance abuse are quite damaging. Once, I was brought up short dealing with associated issues.

An employee suffered from alcoholism. The signs were there: irritability, other employees having to cover for his erratic performance, etc. Dealing with the issue ended up creating a personal nightmare that taught a lesson that was very well learned.

My partner and I talked and decided to break protocol and bring him in for a discussion since the employee, I’ll call “John,” was a team lead and we lacked a backup in his position. (We broke protocol by bypassing the manager to whom John reported –a telling first sign.) John was contrite. But that wasn’t the problem. I and my partner were; but here, I am going to keep the focus on myself. The desire to be “the understanding boss” swept over me. At the time, it felt adult, the right thing to do. What wasn’t so obvious was wanting to be seen as “the understanding boss.” In short, the situation ended up being a focus on me rather than on the team lead position needing responsible performance. Consequently, I felt all warm inside having shown magnanimous behavior from my ownership position.

What is needed in such situations is analysis of what is required for the position to succeed and then determining if the right person is occupying.  Sounds simple. It isn’t…unless a different focus is established. That focus is one of humility.

In retrospect, I believe John picked up on how the ownership position was abandoned for the sake of personal gratification. It created a blind spot within which John quickly ran to and stood. He promised to rehabilitate, do better, blah, blah, blah. What ended up happening was quite the opposite. Later we found out he had gone back to work and became worse. People couldn’t stand working with him. He let people know he had talked with the owners and we were okay with him and his performance.

This all came to the surface only when we saw costs go up and performance drop off in John’s area. This is when the reality hit – the hammer was dropped squarely on my head. Having used John and the situation for personal aggrandizement the company was hurt. The lesson was learned. Branded into my prefrontal cortex was:

“Before others can be evaluated, I must evaluate myself.”

Looking squarely at the situation the action plan showed itself quickly:

• Admit to my mistakes
• Decide what served the organization and employees best
• Confront John
• Accept that he will feel being treated unfairly

John was called in and the above bullet points were covered. It was difficult and felt good all at the same time. By sticking to the principles relevant to the situation things became simple.

John’s alcoholism came to the surface and he engaged in a series of manipulative behaviors that kept the focus on my partner and I and avoided any ownership of responsibility on his part. When pressed for what he owned, free and clear of anyone to blame, he only got frustrated and angry. The decision to terminate him became easy when he responded to us saying the situation had only gotten worse, “Well, you are the one’s who gave me the extra room.” (If only all dealings with substance abuse were this direct.)

At that point the principles pushed my ego aside and spoke, “John, the position requires X performance. You are consistently choosing Y. We need to respect your desire to do something different and need to let you pursue that path.”

My pulse was at 72. Humility. It works.

Over the years, remembering this situation has helped immensely and a lesson has been learned worth passing along. When dealing with someone I deem difficult and either fly into confusion/anger or feel euphoric with my decisions around him or her, the first, best question to ask is, “Where am I bullsh_ting myself?” My path is inside that question.

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Through his firm, Center for Managing Change, Gary Monti has over 30 years experience providing change- and project management services internationally. He works at the nexus between strategy, business case, project-, process-, and people management. Service modalities include consulting, teaching, mentoring, and speaking. Credentials include PMP number 14 (Project Management Institute^®), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator certification, and accreditation in the Cynefin methodology. Gary can be reached at gwmonti@mac.com or through Twitter at @garymonti

Tagged as: center for change management, Change Management, dropping the hammer, evaluations, gary monti, goals, Leadership, Project Management, project planning, The soul of a project

Good news for authors and marketers: Mindjet’s MindManager mind mapping software, the indispensable writing tool I frequently referred to in my ActiveGarage Author’s Journey series, is now available for iPhones, iPads, and Android mobile devices.

Mindjet’s MindManager app for the iPad has quickly become an important part of my workflow for all types of writing projects…saving me time and helping me get a head start on my projects before I begin to write, no matter where I am.

Mind mapping on an iPad is a liberating writing tool that far exceeded my expectations

Background

Perhaps like you, I was initially doubtful that mind mapping on an iPad. I was happy with the mind maps I created on my home and office computers, plus my laptop. I was comfortable carrying around yellow legal pads and felt tip markers which I’d use to plan my articles, blog posts, and client marketing materials.

I was used to the ritual of deciphering my handwritten notes and recreating my hand-drawn mind maps on my computers when it was time to get down to work. In addition, I couldn’t see how it would be possible to use the iPad’s virtual keyboard to type extended amounts of text.

I also couldn’t imagine how large maps would fit on the iPad’s relatively small screen.

Planning versus writing

What I was overlooking, of course, was the difference between planning and writing.

Although I recognized that the hard work in most writing projects is planning what you’re going to say, I was overlooking the fact that mind maps don’t have to be large and detailed to provide an efficient guide to writing an article, blog post, or book.

Edit Topic screens

Mindjet’s use of Edit Topic screens also played an important role in my transition from yellow legal pads to MindManager on an iPad for planning my writing projects.

The issue of type size and readability on the iPad (or iPhone) screen is not an issue. This is because, when you select a topic or subtopic by tapping it, MindManager opens a large Edit Topic screen that provides all the space you need to enter topic and subtopic text.

The Edit Screen not only is large enough to make it easy to add subtopic and topic information, you can also add Notes—as much text as you want, if sentences and paragraphs occur to you during the planning stage that you want to immediately jot down—as well as links to URLs.

Using MindManager’s Edit Topic screens also allow you to insert icons indicating category and priority, as well as photographs and graphic images. You can also format topics and subtopics to indicate category and importance.

Workflow

Without a doubt, mind mapping on the iPad is a here-and-now reality, one that has saved me well over 100 hours during the past 3 months—and, probably, a heck of a lot more. I now spend less time planning my articles, blog posts, and books, and, I know from my time logs, that I’m spending less time writing them.

There’s no duplication of effort, no wasted time trying to decipher my handwriting, and I can include as many links to blogs and web pages while planning. Using the Notes feature, I can copy and paste text from online resources into my maps, saving me time later on.

Mind mapping on an iPad has given me more freedom than I’ve previously had. I spend less time tethered to my computers than before. As a result, I’m fresher and more relaxed when I sit down at my computer for an extended writing session. I now spend more time planning time in a Barnes & Noble café, at my favorite window table at the Dover Public Library, or riding the Downeaster toBoston.

And, for better or for worse, more blog posts have been planned in bed or in front of a television than ever before.

Where this is all going

My experiences mind mapping on an iPad has not only energized me, but it’s helped me realize just how basically inefficient desktop and laptop computing can be.

I reluctantly came to iPad ownership, but was amazed at how quickly I’ve adapted to using my fingers to select, zoom, and move around a mind map. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to “read” any “documentation” to get things done.

Most of all, I quickly grew to love the freedom from having to worry to save files and go back and forth between programs to share files between computers and send them as email attachments to clients.

The future, of course, is in the cloud, and I’m quickly getting used to backing-up and files using MindJet Connect or Dropbox which eliminate the need to Zip-compress and e-mail mind map templates with clients and webinar attendees.

The future, of course, is “hands-free” syncing of mind maps between computers. Syncing is a fast-approaching reality. Already, I can end my day reading a book on my Amazon.com Kindle, then pick-up my iPad the next day…and it will open to the page I was reading on my Kindle!

Soon, I’ll be able to begin to plan an article on my iPad, edit it on my main computer, finish it on a client’s computer, and all copies will be seamlessly updated.

Getting started

Currently, Mindjet’s MindManager for the iPad is still available for free for Apple iPhones, iPads, and Android mobile devices. This offers a great opportunity for you to discover the power of mind mapping as a writing tool.

• If you’re already using mind maps for writing, downloading one of Mindjet’s mobile apps for the iPhone, iPad, or Android device, will add capabilities and convenience and pave the way for enhanced file sharing and syncing.

• If you’re not yet using mind mapping for writing, the free mobile apps provide an easy way to get started.

Either way, once you get started, I invite you to download my free (no registration) 3-Step Writing Jumpstart Map or 20 Questions to Ask Before You Write a Book mind map templates to explore mind mapping’s contribution to your writing success.

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Roger C. Parker helps others write books that build brands. He’s written over 30 books, offers do-it-yourself resources at Published & Profitable, and shares writing tips each weekday. His latest book is Title Tweet! 140 Bite-Sized Ideas for Article, Book, and Event Titles

Tagged as: active garage, author's journey, authors, business books, mind mapping, publishedandprofitable, roger c parker, Writing for Business, zite

The Curse of Linear Thinking

Goal directed thinking is useful, but can cause problems when pursued in a linear fashion. Linear thinking is easier because it ignores complexity and chaos. The future is seen as a simple extension from the past through the present in the same direction. This is behind our ideas of progress, our system of step by step education ending in graduation, and climbing the ladder of success.

The problem is that life is rarely so simple, people are seldom so cooperative, and even nature itself seems averse to straight lines. Chinese tradition held that demons traveled in straight lines. Curved rooftops were designed to ward off evil, Chinese laborers wildly resisted the laying of railway tracks in straight lines.

A new perspective makes us consider that the shortest distance between two points may in fact not be a straight line.

Big promises and hidden agendas

Have you ever taken on a job or a project that was promised to be a certain way, but turned out to be quite different, and in fact significantly harder or less pleasant than promised? Things promised in a straight line fashion often end up seriously misrepresenting the reality of the situation. Look out for the hidden agenda.

Whether you are choosing a college major, making a career decision, or enrolling in professional training, these programs are often delivered with a promise of a predictable path. Think carefully before you commit to such a path. What assumptions are they making? Do they clearly show where they are taking you? You can get a better idea if you ask what kind of changes they anticipate. Awareness of change ahead implies flexibility in steering. Ignorance of change reveals a one track mind.

Have an exit strategy

It the job does turn out to be other than promised, instead of Career Promised Land, you may find yourself in Career Purgatory, or worse. You may have started out on the straight track, but somewhere along the line someone pulled a railroad switch, and you ended up on a track traveling in another direction altogether. This has happened to me, and perhaps to you as well.

Rather than wasting energy assigning blame, better to have a plan for getting out or moving on. Do you have a safety net and a clear idea of where you want to go? If not, you may find yourself jumping out of the frying pan and right into the fire.

In planning your exit strategy it can be helpful to speak to the veterans who have been there, as well as to those who may have already left. Of course their experience is not the same as yours, but it can help you see the situation more clearly.

Stairway to…?

Beware the lure of linear thinking. Success is not a ladder to climb, but rather finding happiness in the pursuit of goals that really matter to you. It is easy to become persuaded that you need to take intermediate steps first to eventually reach your goal. However, these steps may not lead you where you want to go, but instead on a detour toward something else.

From where you stand now, you may not be able to see very well what is ahead. Rather than gazing hard in one direction, you may find more clarity by getting into in a new environment altogether. A walk in the woods, a conversation in a cafe, a getaway vacation, a change in your routine can give you a different vantage point from which to view your current situation.

Get a fresh perspective

The best cure for linear thinking is 360-degree awareness, taking in the whole rather than looking in a single direction. The character 観 (kan) means vision or perspective. It depicts a stork standing in a state of awareness, not staring but seeing with great clarity. It is this commanding view that gives you a better vantage, an advantage.

This viewing point can take the form of stories, even parallel situations from another time and place. Keep alert and you can learn lessons without getting lost in linear thinking, or ending up on someone else’s track.

An excellent way to step out of linear thinking but remain goal focused is to use GOALSCAPE software, which helps you visualize, track, and achieve your goals with 360-degree awareness.

Download a PERSPECTIVE MANDALA to review these ideas, and free yourself from the trap of linear thinking as you pursue your goals in life.

Editor’s Note: Self-Portrait and Calligraphy by William Reed. 観 (kan) means vision or perspective.

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William Reed specializes in applying practical wisdom from Japanese and Asian culture to solving the problems of modern business and living. He is the author of the Flexible Focus column on Active Garage, the syndicated column Creative Career Path and the book A Zoom Lens for Your life. William is also a Representative Director and Co-Founder of EMC QUEST Corporation, which provides Coaching for Communication and Change, World Class Speaking™, and Accelerated Action with GOALSCAPE™.

Tagged as: active garage, Agendas, Exit strategy, Flexible Focus, Linear Thinking, mandala charts, manga, perspective, promises, Time for a change, william reed

I met with a team of engineers yesterday. Up until now I’ve been meeting with them individually as each was facing dilemma’s that affected their personal and professional life. Over the past couple of months all of them have gained greater degrees of emotional intelligence and greater degrees of clarity of intention and accountability for what’s showing up in their work lives. They all realize that how they are being impacts on them personally and professionally – they can no longer assume they can act on behalf of their own personal desires without negatively influencing the team, the organization as a whole and on their professional aspirations.

An exercise I do with teams is a context exercise, where we explore a specific context, such as team, to reveal  beliefs, assumptions, expectations and judgments – essential what is true – in this case about teams, which has members act the way they do in relation to each other, to the team and a whole and to the organization. In this particular group, we included sport teams and teams in business, seeing the parallels and differences, and then we put together a list of what’s impossible given what’s true about teams. The process unfolded a couple more levels by exploring what needed to shift in order for the impossible to become possible and what needed to be practiced to consistently bring that into the workplace on a day to day basis.

We had consensus regarding trust, collaboration and effectiveness, being three aspects of team work that needs developing. This was all very positive. There was a high degree of exposure as each one spoke, as I hoped would happen. No one deferred, held back or was withdrawn from the conversation. This tells me that there was a degree of trust in the room that brought us to this level of disclosure and sharing.

Pride go-ith before the fall.

Their desire to elevate their own personal standing within the company is still a primary intention. Though, we talked about healthy teamwork they haven’t yet truly bought into the actualization of committing to being a good team player. Most wait until the other proves themselves trustworthy.

Meeting together as a team, with me as their coach meant they stepped into a greater degree of visibility, accountability and hopefully credibility; saying what they mean and meaning what they say. It all sounded good and I was heartened by what I heard from them, as they described the values and practices essential to being the team they see themselves being. It was a good start!

My last comment to the group before ending the session was that they will each witness the others not walking their talk. “You can get mad, disappointed; you can yell at them and blame and shame them for not showing up as they said they would; however, the practice is not how to get the other guy to do what he said he’d do; It’s focusing on you being accountable for walking your talk; looking at your response or reaction to the other’s behavior and communication in the highest good of everyone. That’s the only practice that matters – live into your own highest truth in service to your own highest good and the good of the team.”

I met with each member separately after the team meeting. It was interesting to hear feedback from each member reflecting how so-and-so said this, but doesn’t walk his or her talk – they don’t act in alignment with what they are saying. I had no doubt this was going to be part of the process. Though trust was at the top of the list of priorities for this team to be most effective, little trust has truly been earned by any one member.

Communicating from an objective point of view

Each of us face the dilemma of wanting to look good and say the right thing, yet, at the same time we are invested in having things go the way we want them to. We hope to look like we are in integrity but the fact is, people who know us and know when we are not walking our talk have no business trusting us. They are fools to believe us when they’ve most likely experienced degrees of inconsistencies consistently. How do we break the stalemate for ourselves, and how do we do that for others too.

We can’t change what we can’t acknowledge. Having a thinking partner or coach to empower you to cultivate awareness is almost essential to seeing how you operate and getting clear that the way you operate is either working in your favor to advance your career or it’s not. Pretending to be who you say you are never worked and will never work, so you might has well give it up as a way of growing yourself or your business. You’ve got to be that person you want to work with. It’s no longer possible to hope people will trust you with greater degrees of responsibility and power if you aren’t reliable with the power you have. You will inevitably find that saying yes when you mean no is a pretty unsatisfying way of doing business. You don’t like it in others – why keep believing that they don’t mind it in you?

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This article is contributed by Dr. Rosie Kuhn, founder of the Paradigm Shifts Coaching Group, author of Self-Empowerment 101, and creator and facilitator of the Transformational Coaching Training Program. She is a life and business coach to individuals, corporations and executives.

Tagged as: active garage, Communication, customers, Dilemmas of being in business, Dr. Rosie Kuhn, employees, employers, Spirituality, Spirituality in Business

Ever been tortured by an expert or SME (subject matter expert) who has the ability to help the project? They can create nightmarish situations for the PM by becoming the tail that wags the project dog. It is especially true when senior management needs to bail itself out of a situation and sees the expert as a White Knight.

How can this happen? How can someone who has so much to offer become a black hole whose gravitational force distorts the project in a way that pulls it outside realistic parameters? I’ve seen this with newly minted PMPs^© who want to defend the honor of PMI^® and what the profession stands for. In general, fighting for one’s standards is perfectly fine; in fact I enjoy working with such individuals as long as they are reasonable. The extreme situation brings to mind a PMP who said he would have to turn his PMP credentials back in if he were forced to follow the project plan. The code of ethics demanded it!

Again, I want to repeat. People who are committed to their professional standards and take action accordingly are the ones worth working with. They are to be prized. Think of your own surgery.

But what about those who are over-the-top (which can apply to engineers, programmers, craftsmen, etc., in addition to project managers)? Just what is “over-the-top,” anyway? Psychiatry can help. There is a term, “inflation,” which can be associated with psychosis. Psychosis occurs when there is a split with the outside world. The psychotic is consumed by a universe within himself or herself – a dream world, so to speak. (By the way, I am not a psychiatrist, so if some toes have been stepped on I beg forgiveness and welcome feedback.)

Now, this isn’t all bad. It is what shamans do in a very disciplined way. They split from conventional wisdom to seek alternative and deeper meanings. It is like thinking outside the box only more extreme. Once the shaman gains his/her internal insight and truth they bring it to community and share it with others.

That thinking outside the box sounds pretty good. Could probably use it on a lot of projects.  So, how do things get derailed? Let’s get back to that term, “inflation.”

Inflation involves confusion:

“It is when a person confuses themselves with being the truth rather than a reflection of it.”

You know the type I am referring to. Even when within ethical boundaries there is no negotiation, no shades of gray, and no compromise. This is when they become a danger to the project. Essentially, everyone else is a lesser being. They only work independently for to work interdependently would sully THE TRUTH. People, including the PM, are to report to them. If this doesn’t occur the inflated individual truly believes the earth will start wobbling on its axis and spin into the sun. They can become the PM’s worst nightmare.

So, what to do? The options include:

• Work with them as they are and accept the drop in performance because others have to suffer this individual who is insensitive to their part of the project;
• Get someone else to take the White Knights place. Group wisdom is superior to individual genius. With everyone pulling together they just might craft a realistic solution;
• Delay the project or that phase until a more realistic person can be found.
• (This is the tough one) take the White Knight to task and hold them responsible for integrating others work. Keep them in the pressure cooker until change occurs.
• Hold your ground and let the White Knight quit. Graveyards are full of indispensible people.

I’ve had a client go through the last option. Senior management was Chicken Little running around thinking the sky would fall and wore themselves out trying to placate the White Knight. He’s gone. Work is better. Several humble, good engineers stepped up and shouldered the responsibility. The work improved.

Interestingly, (this is where yours truly comes in to play) senior management was “hooked” on the White Knight. They had to go through withdrawal, withdrawal associated with thinking the White Knight could do magic. They had to be nursed through the process of being realistic and seeing that projects take what they take in order to get accomplished. Last check, things are going well.

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Tagged as: active garage, center for change management, Change Management, gary monti, management, senior management, SME, Subject Matter Expert, The soul of a project, white knight

If you’ve ever attended one of the Dale Carnegie introductory seminars you’ll be familiar with this “trick.”

A facilitator shows participants a list of 20 items – say, a pair of shoes, lampshade, ice cream etc. – and claims that in ten minutes or less they can teach anyone how to recite that list from memory, in the correct order.

And they do. When every participant is let in on the “secret” they discover that the way to instantly recall any number of otherwise disconnected items is to weave them into a story.

We’re all born with the ability to tell stories; it’s how we learn because the brain is an associative device. Storytelling is an essential skill for the novelist, but it’s also a powerful non-fiction tool.

Many writers of case studies could benefit from becoming more familiar with storytelling concepts; so could business book authors. There are three concepts in particular that are very useful in helping make your work more compelling.

ThirdRiver consultants, Ken Jennings and Heather Hyde, exemplify all of them in their business fable The Greater Goal: Connecting Purpose and Performance (Berrett-Koehler, 2012).

First, think of any classic “hero’s journey” movie. To capture the viewer’s attention, something happens fairly quickly that rocks the hero’s ordinary world and sets in motion the character transformation we see at the end. (That’s how you can identify the hero; it’s the person who changes the most.)

For example, in Gladiator, the catalytic event is the murder of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In Star Wars, it’s finding Princess Leia’s message. In The Descendants, it’s the wife’s coma.

In The Greater Goal, the hero Alex Beckley is in a near-fatal car accident. This major, dramatic event helps to completely change Alex’s world, and it happens quickly – on page eight!

When we first meet Alex he’s a failing company president with a laundry list of personal and professional issues that he doesn’t know how to overcome. Cue essential storytelling concept #2.

In addition to moving the story along with a quick, dramatic wake-up call, every hero benefits from a mentor (think Harry Potter and Dumbledore). In Alex’s case, his mentor comes in the form of wise consultant Quinn McDougall.

Why does The Greater Goal work so well, not just as a business fable? Because it immediately gets right to the point. Alex faces a raft of challenges most of us can relate to: poor performance and low morale stemming from an obsession with results; job insecurity; no sense of work-life balance; the notion that what he’s always done isn’t working, but he doesn’t know how to change.

By page 13 Alex does what every hero must do before transformation can take place, he asks for help. Help in the form of mentor Quinn McDougall allows the authors to show the difference that comes from embracing five key practices for leading differently: Commit to the greater goal; Construct shared goals; Cascade greater goal coaching; Reinforce alignment; and Build on success.

Yes, there’s a happy ending (oops…should have said “spoiler alert” but you expected that didn’t you?), but what is handled especially skillfully in The Greater Goal is something often missing in business books and business writing generally – tension (storytelling concept #3). Like all good stories where you know the hero prevails, we don’t want that to be immediately apparent. Which is why it was wise for Jennings and Hyde to include naysayer Nate in their story.

Even if you’re not planning to write a business fable, any business book will benefit by:

• Getting quickly to the challenge (i.e., don’t start out with a lot of “backstory”).
• Ensuring there’s a build up of tension in the narrative.

The author taking the role of mentor (because if you’re playing the hero you’ve missed the point).

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Liz Alexander is a prime example of how childhood passions are the best indicators of future careers. She’s been writing since she could pick up a pencil, was reading newspapers at age two, and Homer’s epic poems by the age of 8. As “Dr Liz” (granted after five years in the educational psychology doctoral program at UT Austin), she draws on 25 years of commercial publishing experience to transform subject matter experts into best-selling thought leaders. Instead of the usual bio blah, blah, you can find an infographic depicting her communications career here, as well as social media links. Liz loves mutually respectful, intelligent arguments; feel free to challenge anything she writes here, or on her website

Tagged as: active garage, authors, business, Dr. Liz Alexander, Leadership, readers, Thought readership, writers, Writing for Business

Is the lifeblood of your project sucked dry by project vampires? You know the type, e.g., belligerent bosses, unreasonable customers, passive-aggressive subject matter experts (SMEs). This is a challenge that a good leader must learn how to handle if any success is to be gained.  There are three solutions for dealing with them. Before getting to those, though, a little background will help. It boils down to one word, “Powerlessness.” You might be wondering, “How does that relate to leadership?” The answer is simple and is based on another word, “Humility.”

Humility is simply knowing where the boundaries are. In this case it means knowing what one can (power) and cannot (powerlessness) do. It is essential in avoiding over-reaching as well as making sure one is reaching as far as possible.

One of the single biggest mistakes Project Managers can make is lacking awareness of where that boundary lies. There is a wimpiness associated with not reaching as far as possible and hubris with reaching too far. The process of seeking that boundary and skirting it can be a source of torture for a Project Manager. So what to do?

Frankly, this is where I meditate. Taking time each day to sit with the torture created by not knowing where the boundary lies. When ego dissolves the line appears. On or around that line the three options sit:

1. Power-based behavior. Look to see which resources have yet to be explored that will stop the vampire, e.g., disciplinary activities for SMEs under-performing, gaining support from powerful stakeholders who can help reel in the unreasonable customer;
2. Powerless-based behaviors (1). Here is were I made up a term call, “The vampiric calculation.” It’s quite simple. The rate at which new energy is created is compared to the rate at which it is being sucked out of the team and myself. I consciously bring this up with the team and we look to see how much we can accomplish skirting the line between power and powerlessness;
3. Powerless-based behaviors (2). This is the really tough one. It’s when exhaustion sets in after manically trying to please the vampire. Working with the team and after all efforts to turn things around have been made we calculate how, exactly we will abandon ship so to speak to keep our sanity. This doesn’t mean responsibilities are abandoned. Rather, it means we pull together to keep each other’s spirits up as the torture from the vampire continues.  Gallows humor is one of the most common forms of pulling together. Being careful is critical. The humor can morph into cynicism very quickly, which increases the rate at which energy is drained.

A better way is finding activities to stay intact. Personally, meditation, exercise, cooking for friends and family along with an occasional Lagavulin scotch and a good cigar help me quite a bit. You probably have your own list. Put it to use. It helps stay in touch with the real powers and supports a realistic attitude displayed by a student I once had. His boss was calling him in for the umpteenth time to chew him out. The student accepted his boss could do this but also skirted the boundary mentioned. He did this by saying, “Could you speed this up. I have to get back to the team, there’s work to do.”

By taking care of oneself and being free of preoccupation something close to a miracle just might occur. A path may start showing that relates to item “1.” mentioned above.  I want to avoid being Pollyannaish.  That path may or may not be there. The only way to see it, though, is to decide what you’ll do in the presence of  a vampire rather than passively let things happen.

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Through his firm, Center for Managing Change, Gary Monti has over 30 years experience providing change- and project management services internationally. He works at the nexus between strategy, business case, project-, process-, and people management. Service modalities include consulting, teaching, mentoring, and speaking. Credentials include PMP number 14 (Project Management Institute^®), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator certification, and accreditation in the Cynefin methodology. Gary can be reached at gwmonti@mac.com or through Twitter at @garymonti

Tagged as: active garage, center for change management, decisions, gary monti, management, Project Management, project planning, Schedule, time

Melodius Beans

The character shown here is the word for Abundance (豊 yutaka), and interestingly is made of two radicals, the upper radical meaning melody (曲) and the lower radical meaning bean (豆).

It may take a stretch of the imagination to connect melodious beans to abundance, wealth, and richness, but it is a happy image, and abundance is different from the scarcity mentality which leads to winner-takes-all competition.

Beans take on a magical quality also in the classic children’s tale Jack and the Beanstalk, in which Jack is first portrayed as a fool giving away the family cow for a set of “magic” beans, which however then grow into a giant beanstalk towering above the clouds, and eventually to great riches stolen from the ogre’s cave. You can probably still recite the ogre’s lines from the tale, “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.” This is a moral tale of trust and courage eventually leading to great reward, lessons that apply as much to adults as to children.

In Japanese there is an expression called mame ni hataraku, which is often understood to mean work like a bean, that is diligently and full focus. Although the word mame does mean bean, in this expression it is written with characters that give it an interesting nuance. 忠実 (chūjitsu, mame) means loyal or fully engaged, being made of the radicals for centered 中 mind 心 and to bear fruit or results 実. This expresses the wisdom that although the bean appears small and humble, it can grow into something great. Although our work may appear to be small and humble, with a centered focused mind it can also produce something great.

Time is Money

Benjamin Franklin is famous for having penned the phrase that Time is Money, though the earliest known appearance of the phrase was in the book Maxim (430 BC), by the Greek orator Antiphon. This is ancient acknowledgement that time is precious, and not to be wasted.

It is not just idleness that wastes time. Dealing with the wrong people and spending your energy on the wrong activities can also waste your time. From another perspective, time wrongly spent can leave a person wasted. This applies of course not just to money and health, but also that if we let time slip by, opportunity can be missed or wasted.

Despite the associations of this phrase with diligence, real opportunities often come in short spaces of time. Opportunity knocks, but doesn’t linger long waiting for a reply. Significant change often comes about in quantum bursts, triggered by decision and action. Perhaps in the broader meaning you could say that time is opportunity.

Wealth Network vs Poverty Network

Roger J. Hamilton, founder of Wealth Dynamics, says that we create wealth by leveraging our value, and this is done largely through the people that we associate with. He further describes the anatomy of our network as consisting of 3 tiers and 12 types of people who ultimately determine how our fortunes rise or fall.

Our Resource Network consists of Advisors, Opportunists, and Financiers; the people who can most significantly lend power, energy, and ideas to our projects, and help launch us to a new level. More closely we are surrounded by our Support Network, consisting of Advocates, Peers, and Supporters; the people who provide us with encouragement, endorsement, and emotional support.

Often not recognized because they may include friends and family, we also have a Poverty Network; consisting of Doomsayers, Doubters, Passengers, and Distractors. They may be friendly and well-meaning, but ultimately they can drag you down or keep you in poverty because they carry  with them a scarcity mentality that is contagious as a cold. Help them if you can, but take care that you do not share in the attitude that you must somehow slave for a living.

Craig Valentine, the founder of World Class Speaking, describes how you can take the lid off of a barrel full of crabs and none will escape. Whenever one crab tries to climb out, it is immediately pulled back down by the other crabs in the barrel. Crabby people do the same, because misery loves company.

We also have a Production Network, consisting of Managers, and our Team. These are the people who help make things happen. In order to generate wealth you need to have products or a service that you can sell. What is your product? Do you have a production process that can help you create and deliver your value to others? Consider who the people in your network are, and what position they occupy in your Wealth Network.

4 C’s in Opportunity

Once you have identified the people in your network, then you can find ways to engage them by clarifying your content, and then connecting with them through communication and collaboration. Here are 4 C’s to help you make the most of your opportunities with other people.

Collect your resources

Find containers to collect your output over time. This can be a blog, a diary, a book, a product, anything which takes a shape that remains over time for other people to recognize its value and potential. And that value will grow over time as the contents become increasingly relevant.

Connect with people

Find networks to connect with people over space. This can be a group or association, online or offline, any group that regularly communicates and trades through a system over the same channels, and one which grows stronger by association. That value too will grow over time as your contribution to the network becomes increasingly evident.

Collaborate on projects

Form partnerships to collaborate with others whose resources and networks complement and enhance your own. This can be a project, a product, a company, or even volunteer venture based on trust, similar values, and mutual merit, a bond which strengthens through action. The value of this too will increase through synergy, as the value of the partnership exceeds the value of the separate partners.

Celebrate by sharing

Make commitments to share the benefits with others who recognize your value and want to share in the process. This can be a social enterprise, donation of money or services, teaching process, or rally of support, one which gains momentum through inspiration and gratitude.

If you can value and use time in this way, you will never lack for ideas or support.

Make a Difference

At the end of the day, and throughout your life, the important question is did you leave the world a better place than you found it? Did you make a positive difference? Your real legacy is the influence that you have and have had on other people.

Ask yourself how you will be remembered, and how you want to be remembered? It is never too late to do something about it.

Carpe Diem: seize the day. This ancient advice still rings true, but it doesn’t contain any instructions  as to how it is done. Each person must find that answer for himself or herself. Whatever your answer you will be more successful if you have clear goals and keep focused.

The 80/20 principle states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the activities, the ones that matter most. For this we recommend a powerful software tool called GOALSCAPE, which can help you visualize, track, and achieve your Goals, and really make a difference in a way that most matters to you and other people.

You can download a WEALTH NETWORK MANDALA which summaries each of these ideas and strategies in key phrases for review and application. Take care the company you keep, and take care of the people you care about. As you feed and provide for your network, it will feed and provide for you.

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William Reed specializes in applying practical wisdom from Japanese and Asian culture to solving the problems of modern business and living. He is the author of the Flexible Focus column on Active Garage, the syndicated column Creative Career Path and the book A Zoom Lens for Your life. William is also a Representative Director and Co-Founder of EMC QUEST Corporation, which provides Coaching for Communication and Change, World Class Speaking™, and Accelerated Action with GOALSCAPE™.

Tagged as: active garage, Flexible Focus, Goalscape, mandala charts, Time for a change, Time is Money, william reed