Wonderful, that is, once I arrived.

I will spare you the brunt of my travel woes, but my day involved cancelled planes, standby, and an arrival just 3 hours after the event started. Slightly stressed (or just a bit more than slightly), I made it to the site with just 15 minutes to spare before I was to speak on Coaching Leadership.

It was at this event that I learned about the term “reboundability”. After my presentation, I was talking to a few of our clients and I shared about my day’s mishaps. This is when our friend and client Melanie Nygren shared this idea of reboundabilty.

She said that the ability to rebound after a challenge or mishap is what makes people who they are. Those who have the ability to rebound quickly and completely are the people who enjoy the most success in life. And those who get stuck and cannot move forward have more challenges.

I think Melanie is right. Our ability to rebound after we encounter all that life can throw at us will determine how we live in the days ahead.

So here is to moving forward and through the challenges ahead. To our Reboundability!

Thank you for the insight and great word Melanie,

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A few years ago, I started working with the leadership of a UK based petroleum additives firm. One of their primary initiatives is “organizational excellence.” Last week, I spent time with the leadership of a huge restaurant chain whose first principle of success is “operational excellence.”

Tomorrow I will be with a mortgage banking firm, and “manufacturing quality” is one of their guiding principles. Now, “manufacturing quality” does not have the word excellence in it, but as I read what it means to them the word excellence jumped right out.

As leaders, we must closely examine this trend.

Today’s consumers are experience minded. They like to buy from those they have relationship with and who have the ability to deliver excellence in their buying experience.

I have coached many leaders who have overlooked the need to make organizational, operational, or service excellence the foundation of how they deliver their products or services. They spend all sorts of time and money sending their clients handwritten notes and elaborate Harry and David gift baskets, hoping this will result in raving fans.

What we all must remember is that no matter how much fruit is in the gift basket or how nicely worded our notes are, if we did not deliver our product or service with excellence, the note and basket won’t matter.

Offering excellent services or products is the starting line; it is what allows us to compete in today’s business environment. If we don’t have excellence as a deep conviction tied to clear behaviors, we are likely to have businesses that are very much like leaky buckets. We will work hard to attract new customers today as we lose yesterday’s customers due to mediocrity.

At Building Champions, one of our Convictions is that we exemplify excellence in all we do.

Striving for Excellence,

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The event kicked off last night, with about 3600 of their team members in attendance. It was a powerful opening, with music by Israel Houghton and a great message by Bill Hybels. Bill is the Sr. Pastor of Willow Creek Church in Chicago, and he founded the Leadership Summit which impacts thousands of leaders every year from around the world.

What struck me last night was the theme. I’m not sure whether Israel and Bill had synched up prior to that night, but their message was clear.

Each of us can be used to forever impact the life of one person.

Bill’s message was much broader, but this one point really hit home for me. Israel sang many songs, but the song that really resonated with me was entitled “The Power of One.”

By selflessly investing in one person who has a real need, we can change the trajectory of their life. That person can be a family member, a team member, a customer, a neighbor, or a stranger. They might have a physical need, a financial need, a relational need, or a spiritual need.

We have the ability to stop the busyness of our lives and to come alongside them for their good. So many times we are just too busy to see the need. But if we slow down and look around, we will see opportunities to be true difference makers. We can give of ourselves for the benefit of others.

Now, I know many of you are already doing this, and doing it in abundance. You are making a difference, and lives are already being changed. Keep it up.

As for the rest of us, my question is “Who?”

Who in your life today needs what you have to give? Do they need the phone call, the lunch, the note, the check, the hug, the listening ear? Look for them. They are all around you.

What we have been teaching our kids is true: it really is better to give than to receive. You may be just one person, but you have within you the ability to share something that could forever change someone’s life.

The Power of One,

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When you feel unsure about next quarter, next week, or even tomorrow, fear can take over. It’s easy to lose sight of your larger plan when you feel like you’re scrambling. I’ve found, time and time again, that the best remedy for fear and uncertainly is a healthy dose of vision.

Whether you know it or not, your team is probably feeling the same uncertainty. Will my husband lose his job? How much of a loss will we take if we sell the house now? Can we still afford that vacation if I bring in less commissions?

The urgency of today pulls our eyes downward, and it’s more important than ever that we see there is something better ahead that’s worth fighting for. We all need to know that we’re a part of something bigger.

The 3-B Vision is the best tool I’ve found when coaching my clients on vision. Essentially, this tool helps you answer three questions:

1. To what will my team members BELONG?
2. If they invest their time and effort in this organization, who will they BECOME?
3. Together, what are we going to BUILD?

If you’ve created a vision already, it’s time to dust it off. Walking through this tool can help you see it with new eyes. If you’ve never created a vision before, then 3-B Vision is a great way to get started. I invite you to email us at info@buildingchampions.com to request a copy.

Make the time to lift your eyes up above the uncertainty of today. I know you will be refreshed by seeing the promise of what you belong to, who you can become, and what you are to build.

May this help you to see things more clearly,

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Worst Case Thinking is a process that can aid those of you who find yourselves unable to take healthy risks. This simple thinking model can help you to overcome the negative emotions that are birthed in illogical fear.

Over the years, this type of fear has come up countless times in coaching sessions. I’ve seen Worst Case Thinking help many in their lives and careers to risk more, experience more, impact more and grow more. Here is how it works.

The next time you find yourself not wanting to speak up in a group, or enter into a conversation with your spouse or teenage daughter, ask yourself this question: If I do this, what is the worst case scenario?

Challenge yourself to answer the question as logically as you can. Then test your answer. Could that really happen? Is it likely? And if that does happen, what does it mean for you? What will you learn or experience as a result of taking that risk?

What I have found is that you may need to ask the question multiple times to get to the real worst case. Then once you are there, you can logically assess the probability of that outcome happening. Most of the time, you will realize that the likelihood of that worst case outcome is pretty minuscule.

Now, ask yourself one final question: If the worst case does in fact happen, can you deal with it? If you honestly can’t, then don’t take the risk. If you can, and the risk appears to be wise and worth taking, you are now armed with more courage because you know you are prepared for any outcome.

Practicing Worst Case Thinking increases your discernment and your courage, and I have found it to be very helpful in all aspects of business and life.

Try it. What’s the worst that can happen?

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These were the words of a CEO at a lunch meeting I attended last year.  This CEO was addressing the head of her sales force.  It was a casual comment, but one that caused me some concern.

I wondered what could have produced such a strong negative reaction from this CEO.  Was she thinking of past interactions with salespeople who were way short of professional?  Could it be that her introverted behavioral style makes her fearful of seeming pushy or manipulative?

Regardless of her reasons, I believe my concern is well-founded.  There are too many professionals and leaders who have an unhealthy perspective of what sales is.

Here is my definition of sales:  the act of helping someone to assess whether your products or services can assist them with their needs, wants, challenges, or opportunities.   When it is done professionally and with the right motives, sales is all about helping people.

Everybody in my company understands that they are in sales.  This includes our receptionist, who delivers the first impression to a prospective customer.  It includes our accounting team, who may have to work through a payment situation with a client who is weighing the value of their coaching experience.  It also includes me.  I sell our vision and our services every day, both to my team and the world we serve.  We are all about helping people to see how our services might assist them.

I believe that every CEO must be masterful at selling.  We sell our services or products to our customers, our vendors, the media, and our boards.  We also must sell our vision to our team.  Selling is about helping people around us to see how our products or services — or the pursuit of our vision — can help them in business and in life.

Sell well.  There is an endless supply of needs, wants, challenges, and opportunities out there!

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Last week, I had a day that tested my EQ.  Actually, it began the night before.

I had planned to get to bed early, so I could get plenty of sleep before waking at 4am to catch a 6am flight with my boys.  We were on our way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to join some of our great friends and teammates for four days of snow fun.

My wife and I got to bed early as planned, and then our phones started to ring at about 10:30pm.  Two hours later, we were on our way to see a family member who needed some urgent council.  It’s a blessing for us to be able to help, but my plan for a restful night was now shot.  By the time I got back to bed, I got maybe an hour of sleep before the alarm went off.

I was in a bit of a fog when our car arrived to take us to the airport.  I travel often enough that I figured I had timed the pick-up just right, but we hit a little fog on the drive in, and our driver actually obeyed the speed limit.  Once we arrived at the airport, we headed over to check in our bags.  We were traveling with our snowboards and lots of gear, so we had to reshuffle our bags to meet the weight requirements.

I was so totally sleep deprived that I hadn’t even looked at my watch.

The gal checking our bags asked when we were scheduled to depart.  When I told her, she freaked out, and yelled at me to check in immediately so we would make the 45 minute cut-off.  The boys kept working on the bags while I hurried to the kiosk.  You guessed it:  by the time I entered our information, we were one minute late.  Now the gate agent was frustrated, the bag weigh-in lady was frustrated, and as I watched my sons repacking our bags it dawned on me that all of my plans for the day were about to unravel.

My emotional state began to change.  If only the driver had driven just a bit faster than my great grandmother.….if only the bag weight police lady would have just let us proceed to the counter.….if the airline was not so cold and heartless as to tell me the computer system could not be overridden.

Blame, blame, blame.….and anger.

About that time, the lessons I’ve learned and taught about EQ kicked in.  I realized that the real “IF” was that if I had just paid more attention to the time, we would have made our flight and I would have been snowboarding in knee deep powder instead of sitting on a much later flight.   As soon as I was able to gain perspective and take responsibility for my misfortune, I was able to treat the ticket agent with respect and kindness instead of immature anger.

I find it fascinating how our minds and emotions can cause us to feel that a so-called crisis — no matter how big or small — is the end of the world.  If you find yourself feeling like this, breathe deep, pray if you are inclined, take a step back and change your thinking from pointing blame to finding solutions.  Once you understand the worst case scenario and create a few solutions, you will be in a much better position to treat those around you as they should be treated, and your stress level will drop immeasurably.

The bottom line is that very rarely are your circumstances as bad as they feel.  I know that by improving my EQ, the quality of my life and those around me improves as well.

There are a few resources that have helped me to better understand Emotional Intelligence.  Lindon Crow, President of Productive Learning and Leisure, has taught me a great deal.  Also, Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence:  Why it Can Matter More than IQ is one of the definitive works on the subject.

Here’s to improved perspective,

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Over the years, I spent time with his leadership team and the thousand plus others that he led.  Frequently they would comment on how they loved working with him because, while they may not always like what he had to say, they always knew where they stood.

This leader had all sorts of sayings that went perfectly with his personality.  One of my favorites was “ I am leaning in on this one.”  This meant that he was diving head first into the problem.  He knew that business and life are filled with problems and challenges, which are just waiting to be solved and learned from.

He helped me to see that candor combined with compassion is fuel for a healthy culture.  He is not a leader that ignores the challenges with a hope that over time they will go away.  Instead, he leans in, knowing that he must have the courage to press toward a solution.

This week I am nearly finished with a book by Dr. Henry Cloud called Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality.  In this must-read book, Dr. Cloud talks about leaning in.  He says that great leaders with high levels of integrity don’t ignore the elephant in the room.  They have the courage to lean into the problems that most people shy away from.

Leadership takes courage.  Our teammates, our customers, our spouses, our children and our communities are looking for people with the character and the courage to be the leaders many fear to be.

Take a look in the mirror.  Have you been willing to lean in and work to find the better solution?  Or have you been sitting back hoping that the issue will go away or someone else will take care of the problem?

Lean In!

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Think about a week that you really brought your “A” game to the office. 

You were on time, fully present and prepared for all your meetings.  You closed the deals you were working on.  You executed with excellence.  Not only this, but you had time to think, to plan, to exercise, and you were home in time for dinner!  Did I mention email?  Yes, you were even caught up on all email correspondence.  Not just your work email, but your Linkedin, Facebook, and personal email accounts.

Even as I type this, I am thinking “Yeah, right!”  I was tracking with my own exercise, until I got to that email part.  It’s time for a coaches’ confessional:  I am really struggling to keep up with my email inboxes.  I have to admit that email communication is one of my weaker disciplines.

So if I were coaching me, what questions would I ask?  What direction would I take myself in this situation? 

The first place I would start is with my Perfect Week.  The Perfect Week is an exercise we coach clients through to help them visualize what a week filled with High Payoff Activities from their Life Plans and Business Plans would look like.  We then have them add the Low Payoff Activities which cannot at this time be delegated or dropped.  We also coach them to schedule no more than 70% of their time, leaving room for the unplanned opportunities and challenges that creep into all of our days.

This is just what my assistant Lynne and I did last week.  We went back to my Perfect Week to make sure it is synchronizing with my real schedule. 

In years past I had two times blocked out each day for emails and returning phone calls.  Somehow, I had lost that discipline.  The good news is that, by doing this exercise, we recaptured that discipline, and Lynne is already scheduling these times back into my days.  I am confident this will help me to keep my inboxes managed and my stress level down.

I know this has worked for me, and I believe it could help you as well.  Please feel free to contact us at info@buildingchampions.com if you want a Perfect Week Time Blocking template.

Cheers,

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Daniel Harkavy January 21, 2010 Blog Post from Building Champions on Vimeo.

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