A Change of Course

Posted on by Scott

swAs a young Star Wars fan, I diligently saved each week’s allowance in order to add to my collection of action figures. I had all of the most popular ones like Han Solo, Princes Leia, and Darth Vader, but my favorites were always the more obscure characters. Many of these were hard to find, and some required special effort to acquire.

Kenner, the original manufacturer of Star Wars action figures, implemented a mail-in program even prior to the first film coming out. As the franchise’s popularity grew, they continued this practice; allowing fans like me to obtain special figures not offered in stores. All you had to do was clip the UPC symbol (Proof of Purchase) from the packaging of a few purchased toys, mail them in with a shipping fee, and then wait for your special-edition figure to arrive.

Not too long ago, I came across one of these in a box of my childhood toys. It’s a figure of Admiral Ackbar, a character introduced in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. The toy was accompanied by a slip of paper with a brief bio and a teaser for the new movie. This piece of paper is actually more unique than the action figure because the film referenced in the text is Revenge of the Jedi.

This wasn’t a typo. The third installment of the Star Wars saga was originally titled Revenge of the Jedi. That title was printed on movie posters and listed in press releases. However, George Lucas decided that revenge wasn’t a very Jedi-esque character trait and changed the title just prior to the film’s release. Items with the original title are hard to find, as the studio attempted to recall anything and everything without the new and improved moniker.

Changing the title of a guaranteed blockbuster at the last minute no doubt required a lot of money and effort. There were plenty of people in Lucas’ inner circle who saw this as a fool’s errand advised him to abandon the idea.

“It’s too late.”

“You can’t take back what’s already been done.”

“There’s no way this will work.”

Ironically, this sounds a lot like the inner voices I struggle with on a regular basis. Despite my desire to leave a positive legacy, I find myself struggling against the mistakes and missteps of my past. At times it seems as if there’s no way to overcome negative perceptions I may have created. Maybe I should just give up and embrace my dark side.

But if there’s anything I’ve learned from my favorite movie franchise, it’s that you can always change your path. The heroes in Star Wars aren’t perfect. They make mistakes. They feel doubt. They struggle with doing the right thing, but ultimately they prevail because they refuse to give in to those negative voices. So every time I slip, I do my best to overcome it and take another step toward the future I desire for myself.

George Lucas resisted the negative voices and his efforts were ultimately successful. Few even recall that Revenge was part of the original movie title. Those that do agree that the change created a more fitting legacy for the franchise and the mythology of Star Wars. Turns out it’s never too late to change your future. The best time to create a positive change is always…right now.

May the Fourth be with you!

What’s Your Next Milestone?

Posted on by Scott

district-3670200_640Depending on which source you look at, between 60 and 80 percent of New Years resolutions fail. By February first, people have either abandoned or forgotten about the goals they set for themselves. For most, it seems, the bar that is set turns out to be a bit too high.

Resolutions aren’t the only goals that cause us to stumble though. We often set goals and fail to meet them. We regularly bite off more than we can chew. While it is admirable to think big, to succeed we must act small.

The key to achieving big goals is to break them down into smaller, easily achievable milestones. As we string more and more of these together, the unattainable goal becomes ever more manageable. In this way, you can stairstep your way to success.

Psychologically, this method provides other benefits:

  • Pursuing small milestones promotes a better work ethic. When the task before you appears difficult or the time required seems overwhelming, there’s a temptation to cut corners. Goal achievement can become a race to the finish or an exercise in “checking the box” just to mark the job complete. Breaking the job into smaller pieces provides you the freedom to perform your best. Without the pressure of getting to the next stage, you transfer that extra effort into better output.
  • Pursuing small milestones leads to greater productivity. Ironically, completing one task propels you into the next. You know the feeling – crossing one item off your to-do list sparks a desire to tackle the next one. In the same way, achieving one milestone on the path to a larger goal gives you a boost of energy that can be applied to the next. You wind up making more progress than you expected to at the outset.
  • Pursuing small milestones improves the way you think about yourself. Reaching a small milestone sends a positive signal to your brain – “I am a person of action. I get things done.” Each successive step you complete reinforces this positive self-image. The confidence you gain from a track record of success makes it easier to take on larger and more complex goals.

Make 2020 the year you get more done. Learn to chase milestones instead of goals.

Big Plans

Posted on by Scott

new-years-eve-1953253_640Do you have big plans to ring in the New Year? Maybe a party to attend, with friends and a band and confetti at midnight? Maybe you prefer something quieter – staying home with family to watch the ball drop on television. Or perhaps you plan to be in bed long before the celebration begins, sleeping your way into 2020. All seem like perfectly acceptable options to me.

I’m more interested in what your plans are starting January first. Once the party’s over, will it be just another slog through the next 365 days, or will there be something different about it? What will be new about this new year? Here are a few ideas for you to consider.

Collaborate with NEW people.
Listen to NEW ideas.
Try a NEW perspective.
Develop a NEW relationship.
Strengthen an old one in NEW ways.

Set a NEW goal.
Learn a NEW skill.
Accept a NEW challenge.
Stretch yourself in a NEW direction.
Reach a NEW level of performance.

Adopt a NEW attitude toward the task in front of you.
Approach your work as if you were NEW to the job.
Greet your customers with a NEW spirit of service.
Treat your coworkers to a NEW level of teamwork.
Go about each NEW day with intention.

Why does the party have to stop when the sun comes up Wednesday morning? It should really just be getting started. Let’s approach 2020 as the year of NEW, and keep the celebration going all year long.

Happy New Year!

Last Minute

Posted on by Scott

stress-3390404_640It’s a week before Christmas and there is so much to do. There are gifts to buy, parties to attend, and preparations for holiday guests that must be seen to. On top of that, I still have my regular household chores and work responsibilities to complete. It seems there just isn’t enough time to get it all done.

And yet, I will get it all done. Despite the volume of work before me, and the brief window in which I have to act, I will persevere – just as I have done in the past. And admit it, you too have experienced this phenomenon.

How is it that we manage to get so much accomplished when time is short? When the vacation starts tomorrow…when company arrives in an hour…when the deadline is imminent – we somehow come up big. But how?

Coach Pam Solberg-Tapper says it’s because we take advantage of a system that structures our success:

  1. We plan. We make a list of the things we need or want to accomplish. Either mentally or on paper, we define the problem in terms of specific actions steps.
  2. We defer. In other words, we evaluate the tasks before us and assign priorities. We then use this hierarchy to eliminate or postpone those activities that don’t move us closer to the goal.
  3. We delegate. We find ways to get assistance we need to accomplish what’s left on the list.
  4. We focus. With a firm grasp on the tasks that must be completed – tasks that only we can perform – we eliminate distractions and get to work.

As a result of this system, which each of us instinctively employ, we magically become super-productive. We knock out more work than we would given twice the time. Which leads me to another question…

Why don’t I do this all year long?

Crushing It

Posted on by Scott

person-1245959_640Over the past few days, I’ve had several conversations with friends working on their New Year’s resolutions. There’s something about the idea of a fresh start that makes people want to set goals for improvement. However, we know that hastily made resolutions just don’t last. Within weeks, if not days, the majority of resolutions will have been broken, abandoned, or forgotten.

I stopped making resolutions several years ago. I found that I was falling into the same trap that causes most of these effort to fail – the goals being set are either too lofty or poorly defined. I was tired of disappointing myself. Falling short, sometimes just days into January, wasn’t doing my self-esteem any good. So I adopted a different approach.

Now each year, I give myself one or two personal challenges. By framing my intentions as a challenge, I recognize the fact that reaching my goal isn’t going to be easy and a perfect record of success may not be achievable. Because I’m working on a challenge rather than a resolution, I give myself permission to occasionally mess up. I just can’t let myself give up. Falling short is understandable. Abandoning the effort isn’t.

To help make sure I set realistic challenges for myself, I don’t approach the task lightly. There are five steps I follow to give myself the best chance of success with my annual challenges.

  1. I get specific. Resolutions often fail because they are simply too vague. Eat better. Exercise more. Be a better husband/wife. These types of goals don’t provide any measure of success. To succeed at the game, you have to know what specifically is required. So I try to get as specific as possible when setting my personal challenges.
  2. I target behaviors. The best way to get specific is to define the behaviors you want to engage in. Instead of “eating better,” try “eat a piece of fruit instead of a candy bar for my afternoon snack.” Nothing changes until our actions do, so by defining the actions we want to change, we set ourselves up for success.
  3. I start small. I believe that small victories lead to huge wins. I know that targeting a huge shift in behavior such as “join a gym and work out for an hour every day” is likely to fail. But starting small, “walk around the block three times a week,” has a higher chance of success. Furthermore, small victories provide a morale boost that alters the way you see yourself and propels you into other small changes in behavior.
  4. I go public. Nothing motivates like accountability, so sharing your goals is important. When others know what you are trying to accomplish, they will support you. They may even try to help you. They will almost certainly ask you about your progress from time to time. I’ve told a few trusted insiders what I plan to be working on. Knowing that people I respect are watching compels me to act when my inner drive falters.
  5. I track my progress. I’ve created a tracking sheet to record my progress against each of my personal goals for 2020. I get motivated when I see a track record of success starting to form. I don’t like to break the streak once I get going. This year, I’ve added space to record my thoughts as I progress through the year. I think it will be neat to look back at my journey next December and see how I’ve grown throughout the year.

I still have goals to accomplish by the end of this year. With a little over two weeks left, I’m working hard to ensure I end 2019 on a high note. But I’m also taking a little time to create my plan for the next 12 months. I want to show 2020 who’s the boss right out of the gate!

Don’t Stop Now

Posted on by Scott

ad-1238450_640It happens every year at about this time. With Thanksgiving over, and the weather turning colder, people start looking toward Christmas and the start of a new year. The goals that were set for the current year are set aside as if time has run out. They assume nothing of significance can be accomplished in the time that’s left, so they take their foot off of the gas and decide to just coast through December.

Author Jason Selk calls this the “Holiday Slack-Off.” We choose to downshift because we figure everyone else has checked out for the year. Customers aren’t buying right now. Coworkers are focused on tidying up loose ends. Management is busy planning for the next 12 month cycle. Even the most productive have a tendency to sit back and ease their way into the holidays.

But there’s still an entire month of 2019 left. There are still four full weeks we can put to use. Why let this valuable time go to waste when we can close out the year on a high note? Selk offers this three step process for resisting the Holiday Slack-Off.

  1. Pick one goal to focus on over the next month. Don’t try to address everything that’s been left unfinished. Rather, pour your energy into a single project; a single goal and attack it with everything you’ve got.
  2. Create a daily plan to maximize the time that’s left. Selk recommends asking yourself “What is one thing I can do each day to have a positive effect on the most important influencer of my success?” Figure out the small action steps you need to take and map out a plan to tackle them over the next four weeks.
  3. Put these actions into your calendar. Create dedicated time to focus your mind and energy on these identified steps. Don’t assume it will happen just because you want it to. Block out the time to eliminate distractions and excuses.

We often hear sports figures – athletes, coaches, and analysts – talk about playing through the end of the game. As fans, we bemoan teams who seemingly give up as the clock runs down. We know that so many games are won in the final minutes, so we expect our heroes to fight until the end.

Why should we be any different?

Drive On

Posted on by Scott

rocket-launch-67643_640Almost two years ago, a Tesla convertible was launched into space by Elon Musk and Space X. At the time, I remarked that the experiment/stunt served as an object lesson in how to approach goal achievement. The logistics of getting a car into space represented new ways of thinking and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

Despite the uniqueness of this event, the story soon faded from the headlines. People forgot about the Heavy Falcon rocket and the empty spacesuit listening to David Bowie. Life resumed its normal course and we all went about our daily lives without giving another thought to the launch.

But Rocketman is still up there. That convertible is still moving; having traveled far enough to drive all of the world’s roads almost 40 times. Currently, the car is just under 202,627,000 miles from Earth, and is raveling at a speed of 13,150 miles an hour. While the rest of us returned to business as usual, Starman has stayed true to his intended course and shows no sign of stopping.

Think about the plans you had last February. What if you had stayed true to achieving those goals? What if life hadn’t intervened, pulling you back down to Earth with all of its worries and distractions? Just how far could you have gone?

I think Rocketman and his Tesla convertible still have something to teach us. I believe that the circumstances that have allowed him to stay on course could also help us stay on track to reach our goals.

  • A simple mission increases the chances of success. Starman isn’t collecting any data. He isn’t broadcasting any message or mapping the solar system. None of that was art of the plan. Sticking to a simple mission (launching the payload into a sustained orbit around the sun) helped reduce the variables that had to be managed in order for the mission to succeed. Although simple, the launch in and of itself was risky. The rocket was untested and odds of a successful orbit were placed at 50-50. Without the burden of additional goals, the team could focus on the core mission.
  • Getting off the ground is the hardest part. The Falcon heavy rocket that propelled the Tesla roadster into space was the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Over 57 metric tons of lift were used to escape Earth’s atmosphere and start the journey toward Mars. But once the pull of gravity was overcome, there has been no need for additional power. There’s no resistance in open space and the car speeds along unencumbered. It took a lot of effort to get started, but once the ship was off the ground, moving forward became automatic.
  • A goal achieved leads to new goals. The successful launch of Starman and his Tesla wasn’t the end of the road. Data from the launch has led to new innovations in rocket technology, including the further advancement of reusable fuel cells. Starman’s tenure in orbit led Space X to announce new goals for heavier, more important cargo placements into space. And I have no doubt that as Rocketman continues his journey, we’ll benefit from new lessons learned in the years to come.

If you’d like to track Rocketman’s trajectory around the sun, visit whereisroadster.com.

Just Keep Running

Posted on by Scott

jogging-2343558_640On September 21st, nine year old Kade Lovell was entered into the St. Frances Franny Flyer 5k race in Sartell, Minnesota. Kade loves to run and had competed in other races, including cross country since the age of six. This particular 5k was part of his training for the upcoming Junior Olympics in Wisconsin.

Things didn’t go as planned for Kade, however. He started the race well, and had the lead as he approached the turnaround point. He saw the sign, but a spectator urged him to keep going. He did and inadvertently the 10k race which shared the same route. He later admitted “I was a little confused.”

Kade’s mother Heather was waiting on the sidelines near the finish line. When Kade failed to appear at his anticipated time, she wasn’t worried. Everyone has an off day and perhaps he just wasn’t running his best this time. But as the minutes ticked by, she grew frantic. When driving the race route failed to turn up any signs of Kade, she enlisted help to search for her son.

Sometimes, the small tasks turn into big ones. What we thought was a short, relatively easy run turns out to be much longer than anticipated. Maybe we took a wrong turn. Maybe we got some bad advice along the way. Maybe we just weren’t paying attention and forgot to stop running. And then suddenly we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory.

I don’t know about you, but my first instinct is usually to stop. I get a little confused because things are a little harder than I thought they would be. The road seems longer than I anticipated. I’m all alone and thinking “what went wrong?” Everything in my brain is screaming “This isn’t right. Bail out now before you go too far.”

But what if we didn’t stop at the first sign of adversity? What if we simply accepted the larger challenge that’s been presented to us and just kept going? Would we surprise ourselves? Could we accomplish something even bigger than what we’d set our sights on initially?

Kade’s uncle, a participant in the 10k event, heard from a spectator that a young boy was running the same race, and doing “really well.” It was Kade, running like the wind – spurred on by a combination of panic and fear that his mother would be angry with him for the mistake. As it turns out, Kade ran so well he won the 10k race. He finished with a time of 48 minutes, more than a minute faster than the closest competition.

Cracking the Code

Posted on by Scott

letters-3403152_640In November of 1990, a new sculpture titled “Kryptos” was installed on the grounds of CIA headquarters in Langley. Created by artist Jim Sanborn, the 12 block of copper is covered with 1,800 characters carved in four sections. Each section is written in a different code and, together, they form a riddle. It took eight years for the first three section to be decoded. Despite attempts by the CIA, NSA, and others around the world – not to mention a handful of clues provided by the artist – the fourth code has yet to be cracked. And it’s only 97 characters long.

I guess some puzzles are just really hard to solve.

Most of us aren’t analysts with the government, nor do we have sophisticated computer systems at our fingertips that can run decryption algorithms; but we still have riddles to solve. We wrestle with personal puzzles like “How do I lose weight?” or “Why can’t I seem to get motivated?” In the workplace we struggle to crack the codes of leadership, performance, and growth strategy.

And we struggle with these things despite the abundance of clues at our disposal. Type the word leadership into Google’s search engine for example, and you’ll find:

178,000,000 news articles

1,160,000,000 videos

4,210,000,000 total results

Shouldn’t we have cracked the leadership code by now? (For what it’s worth, I asked Google that exact question and got 10,800,000 answers.) Maybe some codes just aren’t meant to be cracked. Perhaps in some cases, the struggle is the point.

What if the fight to become a better leader is what actually makes you better?

What if the struggle to improve my performance is what causes my performance to improve?

What if wrestling with growing the business is what actually results in sustained growth?

I was talking with a friend about the issues he was having some members of his team. He threw up his hands and asked “Why does it all have to be so difficult?” (Google has 1,110,000,000 answers to that question by the way.) I think the real answer is “because it has to be.” The struggle is what makes us better. If “it” – whatever your “it” is – was easy, everyone would be doing it.

So keep fighting. Keep working on the puzzle. Keep trying to crack the code. Know that the attempt itself is what matters. Google doesn’t have the answer because the question is the answer.

Jim Sanborn says the answer to his sculpture/code/riddle is on a piece of paper locked in a safe deposit box. Should someone claim to have figured it out, he stands ready to open the box and verify that their work has paid off. I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything written on that piece of paper at all.

What Time is It?

Posted on by Scott

pocket-watch-3156771_640What if you could do away with deadlines, appointments, and alarms? What if you could do what you want, when you want to do it? Would you be more productive since you’d be able to focus energy on the truly important things? Or would your output plummet, giving way to procrastination?

That’s the question facing the 350 residents of Sommaroy. The Norwegian island, located within the Arctic Circle experiences constant daylight between May 18th and July 26th. Locals have petitioned for the abolishment of time during this period – and it looks like the local parliament may actually go for it.

The campaign’s leader, Kjell Ove Hveding feels a resolution would only formalize what most of the islanders already practice. They work when they want, and rest as needed. If the sun is out at 4 am and the grass needs to be cut, why wait? “All over the world,” he said “people are characterized by stress and depression. In many cases this can be linked to the feeling of being trapped by the clock.”

While throwing away our clocks and watches may seem like a beautiful dream, it’s one most of us can ill afford. We live in a society ruled by deadlines – most of them externally imposed. The work we engage in at any given moment is determined by someone else’s priorities. That may be our boss, a customer, or even a coworker who is dependent on receiving something from us before their own work can be completed.

We’re engaged in a constant struggle between the work that should get done and the work that must get done. We keep to-do lists that only seem to get longer and work extra hours in an attempt to keep our heads above water. We promise ourselves that “tomorrow” we’ll get organized and figure out how to get everything done without losing our sanity. In the meantime, we turn away from more desirable and more meaningful projects because we “don’t have time.”

The thing is, we do have time. That is, we all have the same amount of time. No one has more than 24 hours in a day, so how is it that some people seem to get so much more accomplished? How can a coworker, someone who logs the same number of hours in the office, manage to get so much more done?

That’s the question time management gurus have been trying to answer for years. There’s no end to the number of calendars and apps and methodologies that profess to tell you how best to manage your time. In the end though, cracking the time management code is pretty easy. It comes down to two basic decisions: what to work on, and how best to get it done.

How you prioritize your workload is a function of urgency and impact. The more urgent a task, as a result of a deadline or demand from a superior, the sooner it must be attended to. The greater the impact, on performance, reputation, or the bottom line, the sooner it should be attended to.

How the work is performed then becomes the issue. Do you delegate the task? Do you outsource it? Or do you tackle it yourself? Leaders understand that it’s impossible to be effective and handle everything on their own. They seek a balance; handing off what can effectively be done by others while keeping only what they must carry.

Prioritization and delegation: two of the most important tools in a leader’s toolkit. Eliminating the clock is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Maybe it’s time we learned to master it.