Find the reason to smile in every lesson and opportunity that you encounter in 2012 and you will have a more successful and joyful year.
PRESS RELEASE The SAC® Release January 3, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Crysta Ames 401-884-2778 The Society for the Advancement of Consulting® East Greenwich, RI – The Society for the Advancement of Consulting® has asked its global members to highlight the wisdom (or lack thereof) of turning to external, expert resources. “We, as consultants, are often those resources,” says SAC® CEO Alan Weiss, PhD. “but even we believe that there are times to use us and times not to.” “If you don’t know whether you need outside help, you probably do,” says Ann Latham, president of Uncommon Clarity, Inc. (https://www.uncommonclarity.com), a consulting firm in Massachusetts. “As soon as you step outside your core strengths, you are experimenting. If you have the time to play around, or the matter is quite unimportant, external resources may not be worth the investment. On the flip side, there is no substitute for knowing what you are doing. Most companies cannot afford to play around, take the slow route, or waste time heading down the wrong path.”
Your priorities and desires for the new year likely require a combination of completing tasks and changing behaviors. The former is easy compared to the latter. Our behaviors and habits are so ingrained that they often defy our best and strongest intentions. Our environment and routines are largely to blame. When I was a child, my lunch bag typically contained a sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a cookie. I was into my thirties before I realized that fruit at lunch made me crave cookies. I broke the cookies-at-lunch habit simply by changing the pattern, eating the fruit first, and finishing with the sandwich, salad, or yogurt.
“There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.” Warren Buffett
Skill, knowledge, insight, brains, experience – these are all important, however: “He or she wins who gets more done, and he or she gets more done who passionately wants to get to the next level of accomplishment.” David H. Maister from Strategy and the Fat Smoker Decide what is important, set priorities, and learn how to master yourself to accomplish those priorities.
If you are interrupted too often, figure out why. Are you: Too slow to close your door, forward your phone, and turn off email? Withholding information from others? Failing to develop and empower others? Inserting yourself into too many processes? Insisting on perfection? Discouraging the decisions and initiative of others? Unclear in establishing objectives and priorities? Sloppy in delegation? Letting others interrupt repeatedly without thinking first? Unsure of your own priorities? Biting off more than you can chew? Afraid you may be extraneous? You are not indispensable. So why are others acting as if you are? What are you doing to cause your own interruptions?
We had a Japanese student staying with us during her Thanksgiving school break. She was endlessly curious, but unsure how we might react to some of her questions. Rather than refrain from asking, she has developed the incredibly effective practice of prefacing her questions with: “I don’t know if I can ask this question.” This line accomplished four things: It gave us permission not to answer. It expressed her sincere desire to learn. It warned us that we may be in for a startling question. It made us eager to help her understand and learn. We can all learn a lesson from Midori. She is not the only one who can benefit from understanding others or a situation better. Too often we shy away from asking important questions. Personally, I would rather others asked my thoughts than have them try to guess. When we guess, we usually guess wrong. Asking permission shows interest and respect. Don’t just “let it drop” next time. Try these variations of Midori’s approach to learn what you need to learn: “It may be none of my business, but I’d really like to know …” “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” If you are told it is none of your business, at least you’ve learned something!
“Once upon a midnight dreary” – actually, let’s make that a December afternoon. Might have been dreary; I can’t remember. Almost a year ago. That is when I swore to utter two phrases nevermore! Too much to do Not enough time These are victim words. “Poor me!” Of course there is too much to do! How could there not be? And we all have 24 hours in a day. Period. Bemoaning the fact accomplishes nothing. Furthermore, these are cop out words. To utter them is to abdicate responsibility for making the tough decisions about priorities. Since consciously dropping them from my vocabulary, I have been happier, less frustrated, and more productive. I have also felt less guilt about the things I can’t get to. In the meantime, my business has soared.
Do you value best practices as a means of attracting and retaining customers while also improving the bottom line? If yes, you are not alone. Many companies devote tremendous time, effort, and money in search of the holy grail of best practices. However, most organizations have employees who are already producing great results. Whether selling, managing customers, or delivering the goods, you likely have pockets of excellence scattered throughout your organization. These employees have figured out how to: Excel in your environment, Deal with your products, Manage your customers, and Put up with your management short-comings
If 2012 is approaching faster than you ever thought possible, now is a good time to look around and see if your plane is still soaring, stalled on the runway, or out of sight in a hangar. Ask yourself these three questions: Are we adapting to changes around us, especially changes in our customers’ wants and needs? Are we becoming something new, smarter, and more capable than we were at the beginning of the year? Are we continuing to eliminate the tasks that contribute least to our profits and the value for which customers are willing to pay? If you answered any of these questions with no, not sure, or luckily, now would be a good time to embark on a stronger, more intentional approach to better results in 2012!