Time - the Great Equalizer

It seems that every day I keep getting reminded that time is our most valuable commodity. It is imperative to our success that we use the time we are given wisely. All of us have an equal amount of time to achieve success and that becomes the great equalizer in life. The simple rules of health demand that we spend 7 - 8 hours a day in sleep. Many of us spend another 8 - 12 hours a day in the pursuit of earning at least enough to live on. That doesn't leave a lot of time for all the other things that are important to us and that we desire to achieve.

This "free" time is probably the most significant to us as it will determine whether we achieve our life's goal or not. How much time do you spend investing in yourself? When was the last time you set aside enough time to learn something new or to evaluate where you are in life and develop a plan for success? Most of us don't take the time to do this because we are so consumed with everything else going on in our life.

What are you turning a deaf ear to in your life right now? When you look at your business or your career do you see the success you expected and are you content with the results you are getting? How about when you look at your personal life? Are your relationships as strong as you want and are you spending enough time with the people you love? Are you able to pursue the leisure activities you enjoy? Take some time today to self-reflect and examine how you are using your time and are you "spending" your time or "investing" your time? Make a commitment to yourself to change those things you are not getting a positive return on. Set a goal to invest in yourself. Decide what you want from life and what you need to do in order to attain it, then go do it. Attend a workshop, take a course, find a book on the subject and read it, or find a mentor to help you. Determine what you need to do and make a commitment to yourself not to quit until you have achieved success.

If you are a business owner or executive looking for ways to improve the quality of your life send me an email at denniskelley@actioncoach.com and let me know what you are struggling with and what you need to improve. Our mission at ActionCOACH is to help others achieve success in life and we offer many programs to help. If we can't help then I'll point you in the right direction. Have a wonderful day and make sure to invest some time in YOU today!

Are You Grateful for your Team?

I had an interesting experience over the weekend...

I was visiting a very busy restaurant with the family when my daughter noticed how the managers made it a point to thank the team behind the counter for their hard work and gave them encouragement in what was certainly a stressful situation (the food smelled REALLY good and the patrons were all hungry - a recipe for stress!)


Lauren poked me in the ribs and said, "Did you hear those managers? They're really encouraging the employees - just like you talk about all the time..."

First of all I'm thrilled that she notices the stuff I talk about relating to businesses and what I do when I work with business owners. Beyond that I thought about how as leaders in our companies it is too easy to see all the things that go wrong and therefore focus on the negative. But how much better do we all feel when our efforts are recognized and we are given encouragement during the difficult times in our workday? Without that encouragement our Team will begin to feel unappreciated and assume (rightfully) that we aren't grateful for their efforts. Of course not every day is going to go perfectly and there are going to be mistakes. Yet by focusing on LEARNING from mistakes rather than finding mistakes our Team gains confidence, they know we are supporting them and they sense our appreciation for their efforts AND the results.

Do customers and clients of your business see and hear the appreciation you have for your Team? Could one of your customers hear your grateful comments as my daughter did at the restaurant? Remember, your Team takes on your persona so if you are not grateful for your team will your Team be grateful for your customers...?

Hmmmmmmm......

P.S. Lauren was so taken by the managers' work with the Team that she introduced herself to the restaurant manager, was asked to fill out an application - and then was interviewed, given orientation and hired that afternoon!

Slow Down to Speed Up...

While watching the Indians/Red Sox series I heard Eric Wedge, the Indians' manager, speak about how the great performers in baseball "slow down the game." Now I'm not a professional baseball player but I think I know what Wedge was talking about.

So many times in sports and in business we get so caught up in the stress and angst of our activities that the game - or the business - starts to get away from us. Wedge advises his players to focus on each pitch, each at-bat, each ball that comes their way and not worry about what happened in the past or what might happen in the future. He tells the players to go into each game with a plan and then focus on executing that plan. And that's true in business as well.

Business owners should take care of business by focusing first on creating a plan for success and then execute the plan - 'planning the work and working the plan.' When we do that the game of business slows down and yet the results come faster; in other words, we "slow down to speed up."

Slow your game down; create a plan for your success and then follow the plan in order to achieve the results you want - only faster.

Unfortunately the sign held up by the fan won't happen for the Tribe in 2007...

You Are What People Think You Are (Perception Is Reality)

Here's one that's been on my mind for a few weeks. See if this rings true for you. Have you ever had a customer, job applicant or even a friend commit to something and then not follow through? Doesn't it really frustrate you?

So, now look at it from the perspective of the person who didn't follow through. Let's say you get a call from someone and they ask you to come to an event. It could be a seminar, a party or maybe a business celebration. You say yes, I'll be there. Then, fifty-million things come up, and you don't show. What do you do now?

There are several ways to respond. One is to call the person and give your regrets. If this is your response, just a word of caution - nobody wants to hear excuses, because that's below the line. If "by way of explanation" you need to explain, or you feel your host would like an explanation, just be sure to stay above the line. Remember, when we are above the line, we take ownership, accountability and responsibility, when we are below the line, we make excuses, we blame others/circumstances, or we simply deny any responsibility.To simply say, the next time you happen to see the person, "oh yeah, I couldn't make it because something came up," does not help.

You see, whether it's a personal or business event, you will be judged on all levels based on your response. How you respond, even if it's a personal event, will reflect on you and your business. People don't separate these - you are what people think you are. Their perception of you is their reality. You may be thinking, it was just a personal commitment or a simple business function. To the person who invited you, it reflects on you and your business.

People will transfer lack of commitment to your business and think "wonder if that's the way they run their business too?"So, next time you make a commitment, follow through. It'll do wonders for both your personal life and your business.

Learning the Fundamentals

In sports as in business it is important to learn the fundamentals and become great at them. I was reminded of this recently while reading an article on the most successful athletes and their training habits. The article talked about how top performing athletes and the teams they compete on, work routinely on the fundamentals of their game. Whether it is baseball, basketball, football, soccer, a golfer, or any other sport there are basics that have to be mastered. The most successful are those who understand that and make it a habit to focus on perfecting the basic fundamentals of their game.

Take golf as an example. There are basic things that must occur in the swing of a golfer to make sure they will have solid contact with the ball and are able to control its flight. The way the golfer addresses the ball, rotates the arms, shoulders and hips and then follows through on the swing. Golfers spend hours upon hours practicing these moves. They hire coaches who can't swing the club nearly as well as they can but know the fundamentals and can point them out and correct them. The golfer can't see everything going into the swing because they are too busy executing the swing so the coach observes, teaches and corrects. The athlete is never finished working on the basics and even as they get to be the best in their field they still need to use the basic moves to be successful.

The same is true in your business. You have to learn the fundamentals of running a successful business and then use them consistently. It's not enough to be an expert on the production and delivery of the product or service you sell. You need to understand how to make a business work effectively. Coaches can do the same thing for you as they can for a professional athlete. As coaches, we are trained to teach you the fundamentals of running a business and helping you become masters of it. Everyone needs a good coach to guide them, train them and help them see things in their "swing" they can't see themselves. When you are ready to take your business to the next level send me a note. We'll get started on building the business you want to support the life you deserve.

Sometimes the Underdog Wins

I've been a Cleveland Browns fan for as long as I knew what a football was. The last several years (ok many years) its been difficult to be a Browns fan. The team has under performed each year and the fans just keep getting more restless all the time. I have to admit that includes me. I find myself expecting the Browns to lose before a game even starts. The start of this season certainly didn't give me much hope things were going to change. They lost the first game in a bad way and they had just made a big quarterback change after the first game of the season. More changes were sure to follow.

Yesterday, the Browns played the in-state rival Cincinnati Bengals. Before the game I told my wife I wasn't even sure I should watch as I EXPECTED the Browns would lose and lose badly. But, as any true fan does, I turned on the game and settled in to watch. It was an offensive battle the whole game and the two teams racked up a total of 95 points - one of the highest scoring games in recent NFL history. Much to my surprise the Browns won the game - 51 to 44. Going in they were the underdogs that very few people expected would win.

After the game it hit me that sometimes the underdog does win, in football and in life. If you ever get to the point were you feel your business is the underdog and you have been struggling to get ahead lately, don't give up hope. Maybe you are the underdog today, but if you are open to making some changes in the business and focus on a positive outcome you too can come out the victor. There's no reason you can't have a winning streak that takes you to new levels of success if you believe you can, are open to change and stay focused.

Who knows maybe even the Browns are going to start a winning streak for all us fans! Hey, a guy can dream can't he? Stay focused, stay positive and work on a plan of change and good things will happen.

Any Benefits of 9-11?

This morning as I was driving to the office there were a number of tributes to the memory of those who lost their lives on 9-11-01 - and who continue to fight against terrorism today. Frankly it was difficult to listen to a lot of the audio sound bites from New York City, the flight controllers who were attempting to contact the pilots of the ill-fated planes, and relatives remembering their loved ones. And I got to thinking...Have there been any benefits to the events of 9-11?

There has certainly been a lot of negative fallout from that day, especially the loss of life in Iraq (both our military and the Iraqi civilians) and in Afghanistan, to say nothing of the political division in the U.S. And yet I believe that there have been positives as well...

For one, we can say with certainty that the American economic system is the most robust, dynamic and healthy in the world. Our ability to say - individually and as a country - that there is nothing that will stop us from doing what we are fully capable of doing. How many business owners wondered if their company would survive in the immediate aftermath of that horrible day? How many of us were tempted to simply crawl into a hole (as Saddam did...) and hide from the world hoping this would all just go away?

And yet, not only did most businesses impacted by the attacks survive - they thrived. Instead of crawling into holes we reached out and helped the victims in New York, Washington and in our neighborhoods. We gave MORE to charities rather than keeping it for ourselves. We learned that we are a UNITED country with incredible talents and intestinal fortitude. We chose to continue to live and thrive and prove to our detractors that even though we were attacked successfully in the short term, through the long term we will win in the end.

Are you living that way today? Do you feel as though you are under attack? If so, remember the famous quote from Henry Ford:

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't...

Either way is right."