Posts Tagged ‘Leader driven harmony’

It seemed like a small thing but once I finished it, I realized that it was actually a really big deal!  A friend recently left her job in New York City (NYC) and moved to a much smaller city in the southern US.  Today at lunch I saw her file in my Outlook Contacts and when I opened it, noticed that her NYC work address was still there.  As I deleted that address, one character at a time on my Blackberry, I got the most delightful feeling of relief when the last number of the NYC zip code disappeared into the ether!  It was as if I closed a chapter of her life.

I recalled the stress that the City levies on her residents, the constant fear of violent street crime, the challenge of grocery shopping without a car, just the general uneasiness my friend seemed to have whenever I visited her there or we talked on the phone.  She and I watched a drug deal go down across the street from her apartment one summer night.  And the cost of living in Brooklyn was surprisingly high – – -it took almost everything she made to buy the $5 boxes of cereal and the $3 quarts of milk.  And she was always sick.  Sinus infections, a bout of MRSA in a knee that she nicked shaving, a chest cold that wouldn’t go away: There was always something going on with her health.  A physician’s assistant friend told her “Yep, you’ll STAY sick for your first year in NYC because of all the germs that exists there and nowhere else, and the constant influx of immigrants from all over the world – – – nobody has immunity when they first arrive and it takes at least a year to build up a resistance to the bugs”.  We will never know if that would have been true in my friend’s case because she left at the one-year point.

She said the idea of renewing her apartment lease and living another year there was not at all appealing.  She enjoyed the work there as a TV producer and she really liked the company she worked with.  And she liked most of the social life and she loved the restaurants.  But she said the final straw for her was being so tightly packed in a subway car one morning that, with every breath, she inhaled into her mouth the stranger’s hair in front of her.  And she was too tightly sardined to move.  Turning her head helped a little but she apparently made a decision to change jobs (and cities) that morning.  I don’t blame her at all.  I wouldn’t have lasted a month there.  Maybe not a week.

So here’s the deal:

1. Have some respect for people who endure the City.  They put up with a lot.  And if you need them in your business, as a supplier to you for example, or a customer, be thankful they put up with life there.  It isn’t easy.
2. Try it yourself sometime.  If your industry/career values time spent in a major metro area, consider NYC for a 6-18 month stint.  You might even like it.  And lastly, well, I don’t have a third point – – –  I’m just VERY glad my friend is out of there and in a friendlier, slower-paced city in America’s southland.

No place is perfect, there is some crime everywhere and she may have issues what some facets of life in Charlotte in the years ahead but the big cities come with their own challenges, which sometimes, get the best of even the bravest and the most enduring!

In Summary: When you conduct business with what seems to be someone who is a little irate, or cold or unapproachable… be patient; you never know what they have endured just to get to that meeting or to make to that conference call…

Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation

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Tagged as: ActiveGarage, CONOPS, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, mack mckinney, management, solid thinking corporation, solidthinking.org

You are a new college graduate and have just landed your first real job.  You’ll be moving to a large Metropolitan area and you’ll need to find a place to live in the new town.  Looking at the Apartment Finder booklets, the Sunday paper and Craig’s List you find there are thousands of apartments available, across a 100 square mile area!  You don’t know anyone there so you tell your colleagues at the new office you want to rent a two-bedroom apartment and ask their advice on location.  Here’s what they say:

Suzie says “Drive around and look for “apartment for rent” signs and find something within your budget.  Neighborhoods are all pretty much the same here.”

Jan says, “I live in River Estates and they have apartments for everyone’s budget.”

Bob says, “Any place is safe in the metro area if you just stay alert.  Pick a location like I did near the shopping mall.  It’s a longer drive but worth it”

How do you pick the right one?  Here’s a decision tool I’ve used many times when I changed jobs and moved ourselves or our family members:  Think Safety, Security, Proximity and Value, in that order.

• Safety:  Avoid living in high crime areas even if it means you must drive further to work each day.  Go to www.CrimeReports.com  and check the crime statistics for the areas you are considering for apartments.
• Security:  Only seriously consider apartment complexes (or apartments in houses) that are bright and well lit at night.  If you’ll have a car, look for off – street parking in a secure area.  (If without a car, look for easy, well-lit access to public transportation — wide, bright sidewalks for example)
• Proximity:  If driving to work remember you’ll be doing that every workday so pick an area to live that has several routes available to and from work, preferably an interstate-sized highway and another major route.  This gives you options when an accident blocks a route.  And choose a location as close as possible to your work location (biking/walking distance would be ideal for many people).  If you are moving with another person[1], and they will be working at a different site, to be fair try to pick a living location that requires each of you to drive roughly the same time to and from your work.  And, of course, proximity to recreational areas, downtown restaurants and shopping areas will need to be factored into the decision.  Then drive these routes at rush hour and/or the times you’ll be commuting.  An open road at 3 PM can become a rolling parking lot at 5:30.
• Value:  As the list of apartments being considered shrinks, you’ll think about value and amenities — What you’ll get for your money.  A list of pros and cons will help you make the decision:  number of bedrooms, baths, washer and dryer, fitness center, pool, proximity to work and other locations, monthly rent, length of lease, acceptance of pets, amenities fees, etc.

If several apartments are equally desirable, a tie breaker might be the direction (and the times) you’ll be driving to and from work.  If working 9-5 you’ll want to drive generally westward in the morning and eastward in the evening, so the rising/setting sun is always at your back and not in your squinting eyes!  All else being equal for nine-to-fivers, live east of where you’ll be working.  Traffic congestion is often aggravating enough without the added stress of a sun-glare-induced headache twice daily, not to mention the ever-present risk of traffic accidents due to poor visibility (ask Los Angeles – dwellers about this)!

Who knew there was a preferred process for picking your new place?!?

Tagged as: active garage, apartment renting for students, basics of apartment hunting, basics of renting, CONOPS, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, mack mckinney, proximity, renting, renting apartments, renting truths, safety, security, Students

It is so easy when running a business (or office, branch, etc.) to put off doing the crappy little jobs.  You know the ones:  the monthly payroll report to the state revenue office; the weekly income spreadsheet update; the logging of business expenses into a spreadsheet; in short, any minor task you dread but that can BITE if it is NOT done.  Here are four tips for keeping up with the niggling little tasks that you hate to do.

1. Do it first thing, right when you think of it.  Don’t put it off for even an hour.  Just do it and be done.  Then reward yourself with a walk outside, or an apple, or anything else you find pleasant and that takes very little time from your day.
2. Work on it for only an hour and no more.  If it isn’t finished in an hour, set it aside until tomorrow and finish it up.
3. Get help:  If someone could read a list of figures to you, for example, thereby speeding up the job, ask them to.  If the job will be easier with three people, get two others to help you.
4. Set a calendar reminder in Outlook, etc. and when it dings, stop and do the task.  Right then.

When you have something that must get done and you procrastinate, by putting off the inevitable you pay a hidden price – – – WORRY.  You are renting that task some space in your head!  This is not healthy.  It pushes other ideas out and can keep you from fully engaging with others.  You won’t be able to live in the moment because deep in your mind is that little nagging reminder about the task remaining to be done.  You won’t be able to fully relax because that THING is stuck in your brain.

Not getting these things done also adds to your total stress level and ANY amount of stress adversely impacts your heart.  So keeping the small tasks caught up is key to staying healthy.  Who knew that not paying bills on time, or failing to order key office supplies on time could tax your heart?

So in summary, do what your parents taught you: Work before play.  Get the annoying little tasks done when they are due!  Then you can focus your attention on getting the BIG things in your life organized and arranged – – – the family issues and the career training and education you need to schedule; get that book started that you’ve intended to write; call that old friend you haven’t seen in years.  Remember, BIG ROCKS FIRST!  But you cannot focus on those big rocks if an irritating piece of gravel stands in the way.  Keep your mind clear and unencumbered by dealing with the crappy little tasks before they cause bigger problems!

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Tagged as: active garage, big things, business, conps, focus, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, mack mckinney, procrastination, work

ACE stands for Always Control Expectations and we teach it in all our classes.  It means no surprises for your colleagues, friends and family:  If you say you’ll do something, then be certain that you make it happen.  Senior people sometimes use the old saying “Mean what you say and say what you mean”.  Lots of wisdom there.

In buying or selling services or products, treat people like you would like to be treated (the old Golden Rule).  And be sure you understand your organization’s internal processes so you can over deliver (and under-promise).  If you promise a signature or a delivery in one week, do it in 3 days.

In negotiations, don’t strive to win at all costs.  Build the relationship first and subsequent business will go much smoother.  Securing a tough, one-sided deal that costs the other party most of its profit is guaranteed to cause ill feelings and will get the relationship off to a rocky start. It might get you that deal, but won’t get you another from the same customer.

Worldwide, I have found that people do business with people they like, all else being equal.  Or maybe not  even equal . . . heck, I’ll pay a little more for insurance if Eddie Fields at State Farm sells it, because I trust him.  I’ll pay a little more for construction work if Ronnie Cooper does it, because he is fair and detail- oriented.  I’ll pay more for sushi at Sakura’s in Moyock, NC because it is fresh, the staff is super friendly and Wing and Wing Ha are great chefs.

In the end it isn’t about the money.  It’s about the friendships, the trust, and the people whose paths you can make just a little smoother as we all take this trip through life together.

Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation

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Tagged as: active garage, build relationships, businesses, clients, CONOPS, customers, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, mack mckinney, Set expectations, solid thinking corporation, Strategy, Trust

You know the old saying “If there is only one lawyer in a town, he’ll be poor.  But if there are two lawyers in a town, they’ll both be rich!” The insinuation is, of course, that they will convince the people in the town to sue each other.  I’m sure you know a dozen other lawyer jokes.

People say they hate working with lawyers – – – they are expensive, they speak a language few others understand, they are deal-breakers not deal-makers, and . . . did I mention that they are expensive?  But if you are in business, lawyers can be a necessary and valuable part of your team.  And even the most rabid anti-lawyer person changes his tune completely and rapidly when he has a legal issue: He cannot seek out a good lawyer fast enough!

In a company, lawyers will be involved in bidding large jobs, to make sure the proposal team doesn’t inadvertently commit the enterprise (company, service, agency, etc.)  to do something inappropriate or impossible.  They will also be involved in mergers and acquisitions, employment agreements, patent applications, teaming agreements, employee terminations and other such stuff.  But let’s say you are a low level employee in a company, doing your job and staying out of trouble.  When should you, personally, seek the advice of an attorney inside your company?  Anytime one of these events occurs:

• You are asked by ANYONE (even your boss) to do something you know would be illegal.
• You learn that a government person, either in the USA or abroad, might be paid to steer a procurement award toward your company.  (This is Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issue and people can go to jail.)
• You hear a client say anything even hinting at legal action against your organization, even if just a hypothetical discussion.
• You find something wrong (missing, broken, not installed correctly, etc.) on a deliverable and your supervisor won’t listen.  Before that gear gets shipped to a client, talk to your boss and then to his boss, etc. until you get that equipment fixed.  And if nobody will listen to you, talk to a company attorney.
• You see someone being discriminated against because of their race, color, religion, sex, etc. and the reporting chain won’t stop it.
• You see an unsafe condition on the job, where coworkers or customers could be hurt, and nobody in the immediate management chain seems concerned.

There are more examples but certainly in any of the above cases, a company lawyer who must defend the company if sued for improper action, or not taking a required action (known as errors of omission or commission), will be VERY interested in what you have to say.  They will want to head-off any impending legal disaster and will go right to the top of the company if needed.  Yes, you may have some explaining to do with your management chain if you bypassed some of them as you sought out the lawyer but in a decent company, you’ll be rewarded , not disciplined, if you acted in good faith and with the company’s reputation foremost in mind.

Here are some basic do’s and don’ts regarding working with corporate lawyers:

1. Involve them earlier rather than later.  They can sometimes easily fix a problem if told about it early enough.  If you wait too long, problems can cascade, their hands may be tied and very bad things can occur (lost jobs, lawsuits, criminal penalties, etc.)
2. Come completely clean.  Tell them everything about the incident/problem/issue and leave nothing out.  They cannot help you if you lie to them.
3. Get to know them when you aren’t having a crisis. Invite them to proposal-completion parties; ask their advice on almost-routine things just so you can learn how they think; invite them out with customers so they get to know the clients.
4. Don’t “shave” the rules.  If something you are considering would get you in trouble with the legal staff, do not do it.

In short, treat lawyers like you would want to be treated.  The old Golden Rule applies to the legal beagles too.

Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation

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Tagged as: active garage, CONOPS, corporate lawyers, lawyers, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, legal, legal advice, mack mckinney, solid thinking corporation

Remember in Star Wars when Yoda said something to the effect that “There is no ‘Try’, only ‘Do’”?  Well I guess if you have supernatural powers and a light saber then that might be true.  But on THIS planet, there is often a lot more trying then actually doing!  In fact business experts say unless you are failing periodically, you aren’t trying hard enough.  So setting lofty goals is a good thing, right?

Yes but failing a lot may earn you a reputation for not delivering on your promises.  The more I talk with people in business about what qualities they want to see in their employees, the more I hear the phrase “Do what you say you will do”.  From engineering staffs to marketing teams, making things happen – – – key things and minor things – – – seems to be an increasingly important ability when HR departments look at potential hires.  How do you do this?

How do you build a reputation for Reliability?

1. Be very reluctant to agree to do things in the first place.  Since your word is your bond, don’t give your word easily.  Instead of saying “I’ll make so-and-so happen by the end of next month” when you have no idea how you’ll actually make that happen, say instead “I’ll push hard to make that happen and it depends on our ability to get X and Y here parts in time” or just say “That is high risk but we will try it.”
2. Be an ACE – – – Always Control Expectations.  If a task is going to be especially difficult make sure key people know it, for two main reasons:  a) You want them to know that the probability of success is low so they are not automatically counting on your success and are, instead, preparing back-up plans b) you may need resources in order to be successful and they can help you get them.

 Here is how you DON’T build a solid reputation for reliably making things happen:

1. You don’t cherry-pick only those jobs that you know you can do, finding ways to reject/avoid all the others.  This will get you branded as a primadonna interested more in your corporate image than in the work of the enterprise.
2. And you don’t play the blame game, finding ways to blame other people (coworkers, managers, suppliers, etc.) time after time when you are unable to complete assigned tasks on time.

As a boss, if people on your team are signing up for tough jobs and then unable to complete them on time, a process (or several) is probably broken.  Your forecasting process for sales may be unrealistic; your supply chain might be unreliable and impacting your deliverables; your project managers are not properly assessing risks and developing work-around plans.  Whatever is causing the problem, get a Tiger Team to tackle it.  They should dig until they find the root causes, no matter how politically painful, and then provide you with options and a recommendation to fix the problem.  This has the additional benefits of forcing people to adopt a mindset of continuous improvement, helping teams become more self-directed and showing everyone that management wants solutions brought to the table whenever a problem surfaces.  Find a problem?  Good.  Bring some possible solutions (options for management) and a recommendation.  That last point, making a recommendation, forces people to take a stand and suggest a course of action.  Such assertive action, taking a public stand on something, builds character.   Managers always watch to see who does this – – – they are almost always the future managers and leaders for the enterprise.

Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation

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Tagged as: boss, Business Strategy, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, mack mckinney, management, organization, reliability, reporting, Solid Thinking Corp, work ethics, worplace

Our society is based on predictable actions by us and the people around us.  Nowhere is this more important than on our highways.  As we hurtle past each other on our roadways in 2-ton cars, just 4 feet apart, at a relative speed of 120 mph, being predictable is crucial. And with urban sprawl and longer commutes, we are spending more time than ever on the road.  In fact, for many of us the highway IS our office.  Cell phones let us do business from our cars as we travel to the office, the airport or to meetings with clients.

But I am not arriving at meetings as relaxed as I’d like to be, mainly due to an increase in what I call Left Lane Loonies on the interstate highways in the eastern US.  These are people who drive in the left lane at speeds slower than other traffic, creating undue stress and aggravation for other drivers and further slowing traffic on our already-congested highways.  This behavior has nothing to do with their traveling above or below any certain speed limit – – – they just drive in the left lane at a speed LOWER than other drivers behind them would like to drive.  Why is this a problem?  Let me count the ways:

1. FACT: It is absolutely illegal in, I believe, every state of the USA and most foreign countries.  State laws that I have examined always say something like “on multi-lane highways, slower traffic must keep right”.  And that requirement is independent of any speed limits:  if someone wants to pass you and you force them to do so on the right (because you do not quickly yield your left lane), it is a ticketable, moving violation.  In Germany, both drivers will be cited!
2. FACT: It impedes traffic.  Some years ago a friend was driving to the emergency room with an injured child in his car, only to get stuck behind a person driving exactly the speed limit in the left lane and in-formation with two other cars in the right lane.  The driver just wouldn’t move on past the traffic in the right lane so either she could then move right or so my friend could move right and pass her on the right.  It took several minutes to get by her and he finally did so by driving on the left shoulder when it became apparent that she had no intention of moving to the right lane, even when it was clear.  Luckily the child wasn’t critical or those minutes might have been fatal.
3. FACT: It creates unsafe situations: the driver trying to pass may take unwarranted chances to get around, cutting too close to other traffic or, in extreme cases such as my friend above, driving on the shoulder.
4. OPINION: It marks you as either narcissistic (in love with yourself), in La La Land or a frustrated person who wants to control the actions of others (in other words a bully), or some combination of these.  No matter what, it makes you look foolish.

If you are guilty of this behavior, you need to stop it.  But assuming that you don’t do this, what should you do when you encounter someone who does?

1. First, be safe.  Maintain at least 1.5-2.0 car lengths between you and them.
2. Slow down yourself!  Try getting into the right lane, moving at a slower pace and just enjoying the scenery!  Most of us are in too great a hurry anyway.
3. If you don’t want to slow down for whatever reason (that’s your business), politely ask them to move right by signaling them with the quick, international “two flash” of high beams.  If they CAN move right (there is room over there) and if they are traveling at roughly the same speed as the traffic in that right lane, reminding them to move over shouldn’t cause a problem.  (I sometimes get caught in the left lane by faster traffic and I willingly move over when asked.)  Both flashes should only take one second and you should get back on low beams or no-beams.  Then WAIT 10-15 seconds to see if they will move to the right when it is convenient for them and they can do so into traffic that is traveling at roughly their speed.
4. If they don’t move over, even though they could do so safely and the other traffic in that right lane is moving at roughly their speed, then there are three possibilities:

• They are waiting for a bigger “slot’ to move into, maybe among somewhat faster traffic in that right lane than you and they are currently passing, probably moving more closely to their desired, long-term speed.  So if you and they are still passing vehicles in that right lane cool your jets and just wait awhile.
• They haven’t seen your lights flash, asking them to yield. On the chance this is the reason, flash them again, just briefly – – – don’t brighten your lights in anger – – – it marks you as a hotheaded rookie driver.  And stay well back: Unstable people have been known to slam on their brakes when pushed too hard to yield a left lane and this is not worth a collision.
• They saw your light-flashing signal and know what you want but they have no intention of moving over, because a) they are the self-appointed speed police and have decided their speed is the correct speed for everyone or b) they feel they have a right to drive in any lane they want and are unaware they are violating the law or c) they just don’t like YOU.  If they are only an annoyance and I’ll be able to pass them on the right soon, I just bide my time and pass when able.  Then as I get back in front of them, I roll my driver’s window down, extend my left arm and point repeatedly above my roof over to the right, asking them to move right for the string of traffic now formed behind them.  In about 1/3 the cases, they move over to the right lane!  They were in La La Land and didn’t realize they were causing traffic problems.  But sometimes they just shake their head “no”.  I made my point that their controlling behavior did not go unnoticed.  On the other hand, if they are knowingly causing a serious traffic problem by refusing to change lanes when asked, I assume they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  I then dial 9-1-1 on my cell phone and report their strange behavior and tag number in a calm, measured way to local law enforcement.  Hopefully some of these people get pulled off the road and get educated about the importance of keeping traffic flowing.

Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation

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Tagged as: avoid accidents, driving, driving fast, driving slow, highways, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, left lane loonies, mack mckinney, safe driving, solid thinking corporation

I visited the director of a mid-sized aerospace company recently.  His group has over 200 employees and performs major maintenance, repair and overhaul on C-130s and helicopters.  I wanted to meet him and discuss the possibility of collaborating on some projects.  He has only had the job two years and was a career Marine, so I expected a rough, gruff, order-barking guy.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Unlike the guy before him, he is straight forward, but friendly.  One of my friends was just hired there and he says the employees all talk about people smiling and laughing on the job for the first time in years.  The line workers seem to really like him which is a big change for this operation.  Absenteeism is way down and productivity is way up.  When he first came aboard he personally reviewed each contract and renegotiated several of them that seemed unfair to his company.  (These were put in place by the manager before him and were poorly written).  He also personally reviewed every employee’s personnel jacket (record) and called them in to discuss the pay, what he expected from them and to ask what they needed from him.  I’m also told this guy shows no favoritism among the staff or workers.  Everybody gets a fair shake.

I enjoyed talking with him.  His polite straightforwardness was refreshing.  And we may do some work together later this year.  But it was a couple of little things that really impressed me.  His office is not very large, doesn’t have a breath-taking view and is located above a hangar floor.  It takes a good five minutes to walk there from the visitors’ parking spots in front of the building.  This is a controlled area and most execs would simply have sent their secretary out to meet me and escort me to his office.  But this fellow personally fetched me!  He walked all the way from his office, met me at the car and escorted me all the way back in.  (I remember a television journalist saying how impressed he was that King Hussein of Jordon walked him to his car after an interview in Amman and when thanked, the King explained “this is just common manners – – – I do this for visitors all the time.”

But even this was not the most impressive thing I saw that day.  From the parking lot to his office and then back along that same route an hour later we probably passed a dozen people and without exception he called each by their first name and asked them something personal:

• Sarah, how’s your son doing?  Is he out of the hospital yet?
• Jane, I hear you are leaving us?  Are you taking a better job with more money for your family?  (Yes I am)  Well then that is ok and let me know if there is anything I can do to make your transition easier.
• Bobby, how are you doing?  Did your guys find that tool they were looking for?

I suspect this fellow knows the first name of everybody who works there and that is impressive.  Not just that he can memorize them but that he does.  This is old-school leadership behavior and the people who work there will never forget it.  Do you know the first names of all the people who work for you and your colleagues, and their family situations?  Why not?  Even an old Marine does it!

Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation

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Tagged as: active garage, business, Communication, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, mack mckinney, management, Solid Thinking Corp

We all have stress in our lives and a little stress can be a healthy thing.  Stress is caused by stressors, defined by BusinessDictionary  as either 1. A physical, psychological, or social force that puts real or perceived demands on the body, emotions, mind, or spirit of an individual –OR- 2. A biological, chemical, or physical factor that can cause temporary or permanent harm to an ecosystem, environment, or organism.

Stressors are like bullies: We can usually handle one or two but when confronted by too many of them at one time we may lose the ability to overcome them.  Heck, just recognizing stressors can be difficult and sometimes even counter-intuitive. Did you know that pleasant, desirable, rewarding things can also cause stress!?!? In 1967, psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe suspected there was a link between events in your life and your level of stress.  They looked at 43 life events and after thousands of interviews and surveys they ranked each life event for its contribution to stress.  Some of the events that made the list are surprising: A change in health of family member (including an improvement), a change in financial state (including suddenly receiving a lot of money), and even an outstanding personal achievement!  This is because our bodies react automatically and biochemically, way down at the cellular level, not only to bad changes in our life situation but to any changes.

To measure the overall stress using the Holmes-Rahe scale, determine which events/situations in the past year apply to you and take note of the associated number of “Life Change Units”.  Add them up and the resulting total score will give you a rough idea of how much stress you are experiencing.   (The table and explanation shown here is from Wikipedia at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale but the same table is available from multiple locations on the Internet and elsewhere.  Newer lists may also be available as part of more modern studies.).  This first table is for adults:

Score of 300+: Serious risk of illness.

Score of 150-299+: Moderate risk of illness (reduced by 30% from the above risk).

Score 150-: Only a slight risk of illness.

A different scale has been developed for non-adults.

Score of 300+: Serious risk of illness.

Score of 150-299+: Moderate risk of illness (reduced by 30% from the above risk).

Score 150-: Only a slight risk of illness.

The Kent Center has adopted this scale in their stress assessment and treatment practice.  (We found them online and have no affiliation with them.)  Working with mental health professionals is almost always a good idea.  If you perform a self-assessment of stress and the result concerns you, seek professional counseling (in-person and face-to-face if at all possible) because untreated stress can easily lead to physical illness and depression.  And then things can get very serious because depression cannot always be self-diagnosed or self-treated.  Worse yet, severe depression is potentially lethal.

But if you decide that your stress level is sufficiently low, and composed of only a few distinct and easily identified causes/events, you may want to tackle them yourself.  To make this stress-busting effort effective, be methodical.  Spend some time thinking about each stressor in your life.  Here are some tips:

1. Make a Master List of Stressors and list each stress-causing event/situation separately
2. Have a plan to deal with each one, independent of the others
3. The plan for each one should include the following:
   • Identification of what you see as the root cause of the stress (OK all you Mental Health Professionals, don’t email me: I know we mere mortals cannot always determine the root cause of stress but this is a start)
   • A descriptive vision of what your life would be like without this stress (you being worry-free, happy at work, etc.)
   • Who else is involved besides you, and what each person will do to help correct the situation
   • Actions you and the other people involved will take today, this week, this month and this year

The human brain does not come with a user’s manual.  Get professional counseling to help with high stress scores, depression or with any thoughts about harming yourself or others.  Don’t mess with stress!

Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation

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Tagged as: active garage, business, Business Management, Business Strategy, http://activegarage.com, kent center, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, mack mckinney, manage stress, solid thinking corporation, stress

… Yes, You may be doing it, and not even know it!

When airline pilots overfly the airport by 100 miles, it is a big deal.  And when air traffic controllers nod off in the tower it makes international news.  What about when YOU are a little groggy from 8-11 every day?  After all, our society lives on coffee and isn’t everyone somewhat fog-brained every day.  No.  They are not.  And you cannot afford to be either.  Your organization hired you to THINK and you cannot do that when chronically tired.

The brain not only performs poorly at key tasks when deeply fatigued, it also makes-up things, twisting things you experience and inventing entirely new things.  And parts of your brain cannot differentiate between things imagined and things experienced!  So that means you can “see” things happen that didn’t actually happen at all, but you will swear they did.  Driving through Texas in the wee hours of the morning on a deserted road I suddenly saw an infant sitting in the center of my lane.  I locked-up the brakes (which panicked the other driver dozing in the passenger’s seat) and slid right over that child.  We jumped out of the truck and looked behind the truck to see  . . .  nothing.  In the Texas moonlight there was nothing there but my skid marks.  In my fatigue I had imagined the entire thing.  I can assure you that I was “awake” for an hour or so after that, heart thumping and hands shaking, at the motel where we stopped shortly after this episode. But the effect was short lived – – – after the slug of adrenalin had been metabolized, which caused me a little trouble going to sleep, when I did drift off, I slept for about 12 hours.

Sleep Apnea

I have been in business meetings where one person on my team heard one thing and everyone else heard something entirely different.  The odd-man-out was known to be grouchy, irritable and he was very overweight.  In retrospect, I would bet he had sleep apnea and was sleeping poorly.  I predict a time, within 5 years, when sleep apnea is seen as the productivity-robber that it is and is therefore proactively diagnosed and treated.  For instance, here in 2011 sleepy driving is seen as an annoyance to be treated with energy drinks.  (This is in spite of evidence that driving while fatigued (DWF) has been shown to impair decision making and motor skills even more than 3-4 stiff drinks!)

The root cause of most sleepy driving is sleep apnea where the throat closes and the person never enters deep sleep.  Sleep apnea sufferers typically do not know they have the disease (although their sleep partners know they snore and sometimes choke or gasp) and so they never get treated for it.  Treatments range from simple mouth appliances that hold the lower jaw forward during sleep to CPAP machines that force air into the lungs to the ultimate – – – surgery to remove/strengthen the soft palate and throat tissues so they don’t flop around in there.

The bottom line is this:  if you are not well rested at work, you cannot make optimum decisions and your bosses will begin to question your judgment.  You may also be irritable and/or short tempered and your coworkers may try to avoid you.  All this can gave a negative impact on your career.  So if you find that you MUST drink coffee throughout the morning “just to function” , or if your sleep partner says you snore or gasp or choke, or if you don’t wake up bright-eyed and ready to take on the world, you have a problem: you are either not getting enough sleep (quantity) or you are getting poor sleep (quality).  Try to get at least 7-9 hours each night for a week and if you are still tired, see a sleep clinic about a sleep study.  It requires just one night, a nurse monitors your sleep, and it can save your life because undiagnosed sleep apnea can destroy part of your heart in just a few years!  And long before that, it will have destroyed your career.

Copyright: Solid Thinking Corporation

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Tagged as: active garage, amnesia, dangers of sleeping on job, good sleep, Leader driven harmony, Leadership, mack mckinney, sleep apnea, sleep clinic, sleep disorders, sleeping on job, sleeplessness, solid thinking corporation, sound sleep, tiredness