Change the Way You Act

Posted on by Scott

weary-traveler-1631369_640Welcome back! I hope you had a merry Christmas full of family, friends, and good cheer. I’m actually enjoying a second round of Christmas this week. My parents flew into town last night and are spending the week with us. I anticipate a week of much needed rest before hitting the New Year in stride.

Speaking of the New Year, I promised to share my three personal challenges for 2017. I’ve already laid out the first two – changing the way I think and changing the way I talk, having provided specific ways in which I plan to address each of these goals. Today, I want to explain the third challenge I’ve decided to take on for 2017. It’s to change the way I act.

It’s easy to say you will change the way you think. After all, no one can read your mind and see the actual thoughts swirling around your brain. And it’s only slightly less difficult to change the way you talk. Despite the occasional slip of the tongue, choosing to say “the right thing” comes easy for a lot of us. After all, words are cheap, right?

But changing the way you act is something altogether different. It is through our actions that we are defined. I’ve known plenty of people who acted in ways that seemed remarkably different than the way they spoke. Many of us act in ways that run counter even to what we believe to be best. Actions can betray not only our words, but our thoughts as well. So I’ve chosen some specific ways in which to try and tame my own behavior.

I’m going to try and act with intention. I’m one of those people that like to say “yes.” I like being viewed as a go-to resource, someone who can get the job done. But saying “yes” too often gets a lot of people in trouble. Taking on too much can put you in a position where you’re running behind and trying to please a lot of others people while still trying to get your own work done. In the end, you wind up short-changing everything. No one project gets your best effort and no one, including yourself, is blown away by the result.

To combat this trend, I’m challenging myself to be more purposeful about my actions. When I take something on, I want it to be intentional. It needs to be something I believe in and will commit to owning. I want to execute. It may upset a few people that I have to say “no” to, but then they wouldn’t be happy with a lackluster effort anyway. I’ll be happier with myself having committed to only those projects I believe in.

I’m going to try and act with passion. Having ideally pared down the number of commitments I’ve made, I should be able to approach each one with a lot more gusto. You know that feeling you get when you’re working on something and just know deep down that you’re doing your best work? Time seems to slip away because you get caught up in doing the very best job you can. That’s the feeling I’m going to shoot for. I want work I can be proud of. That means I can’t allow myself to “dial it in.” If I’m in it, I’m in it to win it.

I’m going to try and act with focus. I can’t do my best work with a lot of distraction. Multi-tasking has been scientifically proven to reduce productivity, and I know it’s been killing me. So that’s got to stop. Likewise, interruptions pull me out of “the zone” and make it that much harder to get back in the swing of things. So I’m going to have to block out chunks of time to focus my energy on specific tasks knowing that the end result will be better having done so.

Now, I’ve shared my three personal challenges with you for a couple of reasons. Obviously, I feel this is a good practice and I want to encourage you to identify a couple of challenges for yourself. If I’ve hit a chord with my challenges, feel free to adopt them and join me on this quest. Regardless, write down specific things you want to improve on in 2017. I write mine on sticky notes and post them on my bathroom mirror as a daily reminder.

I also invite you to hold me accountable. Accountability is something of a lost art these days. People didn’t always feel so free to make promises knowing they could ignore them or weasel their way out at some point. I thinks that’s a shame. So, ask me from time to time how I’m holding up against my personal challenges. If you feel so bold, share your 2017 goals with me. I’ll be your accountability partner if you’ll be mine.

Let’s make 2017 the very best it can be. The New Year is blank canvas, just waiting for us to make our mark. What do you say we make it a great one?

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Taking Stock

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chess-1464959_640My oldest son started back to school this morning. It will be his last semester of Nursing School and he’ll be an RN (hopefully) in December. My other two kids will be heading back to high school in a couple of weeks. Like a lot of families, our conversations this weekend periodically morphed into discussion of the various challenges and expectations the new school year will hold. We talked about strengths and weaknesses and bounced around strategies to try and get the most out of the fall semester.

 The transition from one season to another is also a good time to take stock of where your team stands, both individually and collectively. As everyone gears up to take on the stretch into winter, it can be beneficial to circle the troops for a discussion of team dynamics, market conditions, and customer expectations. One tool that’s proven helpful in this regard is the SWOT analysis. Using this framework, teams and individuals can develop a better understanding of the internal and external landscape they will navigate over the coming months. Here are some questions this exercise can help you answer.

[Tweet “I’ve often found that answers are just waiting for the right question to be asked.”]

FOR TEAMS:
S – Strengths. What’s going right? Where does the team excel? What particular talents and abilities do individuals possess that make them an asset to the organization? What are the significant client relationships and areas of differentiation that make your team stand out?

W – Weaknesses. What aspects of your business model put you at a disadvantage? What cultural limitations present hurdles for you? What talents need to be shored up, and where do internal roadblocks impede the team’s ability to excel?

O – Opportunities. What external factors, such as economic conditions or market changes, stand to provide you with an unexpected leg up? What shifts in the competitive landscape will provide you with an open door? What relationships with customers and/or prospects are evolving in ways that could provide windows into new business?

T – Threats. What factors beyond your control stand in your way of success? Are there regulatory issues looming on the horizon? How will the political climate over the next several months impact your business model? How might your growth strategy (you do have one, don’t you?) be thwarted by issues you have no ability to influence?

 

FOR INDIVIDUALS:
S – Strengths. What are you naturally good at? What skills have you developed recently? How strong is your personal network? What positives do others see in you?

W – Weakness. What bad habits hold you back? What training or education do you need to pursue? Have constructive criticism have you received that needs to be heeded? What do others see as your primary flaws?

O – Opportunities. Where can your particular talents be of the most use? What gaps exist in the team or organization that you could help fill? What changes are coming down the road that you need to be prepared to advantage of?

T – Threats. What stands in the way of your growth? What’s keeping you from contributing at the highest possible level? What might be lurking around the corner that could derail your career plans?

 

Effective communication – with the team or with yourself – is about finding answers. I’ve often found that answers are just waiting for the right question to be asked. A SWOT analysis is simply a catalyst for asking those questions. By understanding your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges, you can prepare to make the most of the days ahead.

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Surviving the Storm

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storm-1406218_640On June 1, 1989, four men set sail from New Zealand aboard a trimaran called the Rose Noelle. They were headed for Tonga – a trip that should have taken them just a couple of weeks.  But three days into their voyage, a rogue wave stuck the Rose Noelle, capsizing it and trapping the men inside the main hull. They had little food and a rapidly diminishing water supply. To stay dry, they were forced to share a space no larger than a full-sized bed. They’d managed to salvage the boat’s EPIRB locator beacon, but its batteries ran out on June 13th. The men were now on their own, adrift with nothing but their wits to help them survive. And survive they did – for 119 days.

Catastrophe can strike without warning. Sometimes, it’s an internal failure that slows you down. Sometimes, it’s a change in market conditions that blows you off course. Sometimes, it’s a rogue wave that turns your entire world upside down. Regardless of the circumstances, I think the crew of the Rose Noelle can teach us a few things about recovery from disaster.

Put aside differences and work together. Once the immediate chaos from the capsizing had subsided, the men started trying to figure out what went wrong. As they looked for possible answers, they began to point fingers. Every misstep, real or perceived, caused someone to assign blame for the disaster to someone else. Tempers flared and days went by without anyone actually working on the problem. Finally, they realized that to get out of the ordeal alive, they were going to have to find a way to work together. Suddenly, they began to solve some problems. Teams won’t move forward until they stop blaming and start cooperating.

Focus on small steps. In a true survival situation, priorities are clear. Comfort takes a back seat to food, which is secondary to securing drinking water. For the crew of the Rose Noelle, drinking water was an immediate concern. The holding tanks had emptied when the boat capsized and they knew it only takes days to die of dehydration. Until that problem was solved, nothing else mattered. With all their efforts focused on a single issue, they soon had a workable solution. Now they were hydrated and ready to tackle the next challenge. Use the power of small, incremental achievements to propel the team forward.

Consider everyone (and everything) an asset. The men aboard the Rose Noelle had different degrees of sailing experience. The most seasoned, was John Glennie, the owner and builder of the boat. It was he who first suggested they construct a collection device to capture the rain water. But his idea was flawed and it was a less-experienced man – one who had been discounted as useless on the water – that dreamed up the modification that made it work. That experience led them to look at their surroundings in a whole new light. There are valuable resources all around you. Everyone on the team has value. Everyone. [Tweet “Everyone on the team has value. Everyone.”]

Maintain a positive focus. Despair was rampant in the early days aboard the upturned Rose Noelle, especially after the EPIRB stopped sending out its signal. It would have been all too easy to give in to that despair. Studies have shown that the single most important factor in survival is attitude. How you think is how you act, and what you look for is what you see. If you view the situation is hopeless, then you are doomed from the start. If you look for solutions, you’ll eventually find one. Keep your eyes – and your team – trained on what you have to gain, not on what you’ve lost.

I’ve always been fascinated by survival stories. It’s amazing what people are capable of accomplishing under the most extreme circumstances. And I think stories like this are great metaphors for any aspect of life, including business. It’s easy to lead when the sea is calm and the wind is at your back. It’s in those dark and stormy stretches that true leaders decide to take the wheel.

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How to Dig Yourself Out of a Hole

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cave-555727_640According to a study released last summer, eight percent of patients treated in an emergency room wind up back in the ER within three days. Within 30 days of an ER visit, a full 20% of patients will have returned. To make matters worse, nearly 30% of those revisits resulted in the patient being admitted to the hospital. Their condition had gotten worse.

Researchers, who studied 53 million emergency room cases over a four-year period, say the most common reason for a second trip is a lack of follow-up. In some cases, patients dropped the ball with regard to their at-home care. In others, ER physicians failed to communicate properly – some primary care doctors were never notified that their patients had made an emergency visit. In others, important data, such as lab results and x-rays – information that could materially impact a patient’s treatment plan – was lost.

If there’s ever a need for a solid follow-up plan, it’s in the days following an emergency. While follow-up is obviously a critical component of on-going health-care, you’d think that following an episode involving a trip to the ER, attention to detail would spike. When things look most dire, everyone involved needs to be on high-alert.

The same can be said for the health of your business. Follow-up should be consistent and effective, especially when the team is facing an emergency situation. Sales are down, customers are irate, employees are disengaged, expenses are out of control; all should raise an alarm and command focus. Too often though, managers respond to a crisis by drafting a plan that’s quickly ignored. It’s as if simply identifying and communicating a course of action will solve the problem. But without action, plans are worthless. And without proper follow-up, action is temporary.[Tweet “Without action, plans are worthless. Without follow-up, action is temporary.”]

When you find your team in crisis mode, don’t let a lack of follow-up sabotage your recovery. Use these steps to keep everyone focused and in the game until the emergency is over.

COMMUNICATE

  • Make sure the whole team understands what is going on, why the situation is critical, and what the recovery plan is.
  • Don’t count on a single email to get your message across. Visit with each individual on the team to ensure they understand their role, especially if it differs from the norm during the recovery period.
  • Continue to share information about team and individual performance, using metrics specific to the task at hand.

ACT

  • Take obvious and deliberate steps yourself – as the leader – the show your commitment to the cause. Be an example the team cannot miss.
  • Eliminate extraneous tasks where necessary. Postpone or reprioritize to ensure focus is on the goal of recovery.
  • Hold people accountable for their specific part of the plan. Recognize effort and provide extra support where needed.

LEARN

  • Once the crisis has passed, gather the team for a discussion of the situation. Make sure everyone has an opportunity to share their perspective.
  • Identify triggers or early warning signs that were missed. Tweak your standard operating plan to incorporate early adjustments based on these signals to avoid a crisis recurrence.
  • Make note of particular skills your team needs to shore up with additional training and coaching.

Emergency situations are never fun, but they can be valuable experiences. Handled properly, a crisis can bring people together and better prepare the business for the days ahead. As the leader, make sure you follow-up appropriately to ensure a solid recovery and a stronger team.

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Feet to the Fire: Keys to Personal Accountability

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andrew-mirror-e1452990922179By now, close to a third of all New Year’s resolutions have been abandoned. Think about that. Millions of people announced an intention to make some kind of significant change in 2016; and less than three weeks later have walked away from that commitment. Is it any wonder that more and more people have decided to stop making resolutions altogether?

I guess some figure it’s just too hard to keep their resolutions. Losing weight sounds like a great idea, but when you really think about it, losing weight is not easy. It requires changing the way you think. It requires changing the way you act. It requires developing new habits. And change is very, very difficult.

But isn’t that the point? Aren’t resolutions supposed to be hard? Shouldn’t meaningful change come at a cost? After all, if it was really that easy to make significant changes to your daily life, you’d have already done it, right? There’d be no need to set some kind of goal for improvement.

We make resolutions in good faith. We set goals for ourselves with the most sincere of intentions. So many attempts at change fail though because we just don’t hold ourselves accountable. Starting a new routine tomorrow sounds great, but when tomorrow comes – with all of its unexpected twists and turns – the road isn’t as easy as we thought it would be and we give ourselves permission to back off. How can we hold our feet to the fire so that the meaningful change we desire takes root?

Renew your commitment to yourself.

  • Remind yourself why you set the goal in the first place. There’s a reason you identified this goal. Something happened that caused you to decide things had to be different. Hold on to that thought. Hold on to the emotions that welled up inside you and led you to declare that, going forward, your life would be different. Let those feelings propel you through the toughest parts of your transformation.
  • Give yourself permission to let other things take a back seat. One of the most common reasons for abandoning new routines in our life is lack of time. Guess what? That’s an excuse – nothing more, nothing less. We all have the same amount of time every day. We just choose to allocate it differently. Someone once said “I don’t have time” is another way of saying “That’s not important.” If you want something bad enough, you won’t have to find time for it. You’ll make time. Learn to let lesser things slide in pursuit of your identified priorities.
  • Write it down. Post it. Look at it. Commit to your goal in writing. Tape it to the bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, or the television. Make sure you can’t go a single day without being reminded of the commitment you made to yourself.

Create systems to hold yourself accountable.

  • Schedule it. Remember the SMART Goal filter? Conducted properly, that exercise will provide you with specific action steps to accomplish your goal. Now take those steps and identify exactly when and where you are going to take them. Write them on your desk calendar. Enter them into your smartphone. What gets scheduled gets done.
  • Create reminders. Now go back and set reminders to yourself so appointments don’t sneak up on you and catch you off guard. Set an alarm each night to remind you to pack the gym bag. Put a post-it note on the door to remind you to grab your lunch. Use texts and emails to stay on top off your new commitments.
  • Partner with others. One of the best ways to hold yourself accountable is to hold someone else accountable at the same time. Find someone who shares the same goal and work together. They say misery loves company. I say success is better when shared, and a little competition is good for the soul. Anyone want a Fitbit buddy?

Ask for accountability.

  • Tell others what you are doing. This time next year, people are going to expect Mark Zuckerberg to have delivered on his personal challenge to build an artificial intelligence system for his home. He publicly announced his intentions, essentially asking others to hold him accountable. A goal kept secret is easy to walk away from, but a public declaration invites accountability.
  • Give others permission to ask for updates. Having announced your goal to others, ask them to challenge you. Beg them to do it now, while your resolve is firmest. Share with them why this is important to you and request that they periodically check on your progress.
  • Welcome consequences. I define accountability as the application of both truth and consequences. Define some milestones and associate rewards (positive consequences) with reaching them. Identify some negative consequences with failure. We are naturally drawn to things we want and move away from things we don’t want. Use this basic instinct to your advantage and ask friends to help keep you honest.

Personal accountability is easy when the task is easy. Persevering in the face of obstacles requires discipline. Ultimately, you have to decide how you want to perceive yourself. Are you a champion, or an also-ran? Champions hold themselves accountable. They do what has to be done. If you want to be a champion, then be one. Don’t think about it. Don’t hope for it. Don’t wait for it to happen to you. Just be a champion. Do the things champions do – every day.

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Ready, Set, Goal!

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IMG_0891

This morning, I opened the door to let the dogs outside and was greeted by the brisk air of fall. Cooler temperatures have arrived (finally) and leaves are starting to change color and fall. Halloween is now behind us and the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas are quickly approaching.  It’s that time of year folks …

Goal-setting time!

That’s right, it’s time to start setting goals for 2016. Sure, we still have two months of 2015 left, but your strategies for finishing the year out strong should already be defined and well under way. Regardless of how this year looks to be shaping up for you, now is the time to put pencil to paper and map out a plan for the next one.

Goal-setting can be a tricky business. Set your goals too high and you risk demotivating staff while setting yourself up to fail. Set them too low and you might disappoint your shareholders and create apathy amongst the troops. The key is to find the sweet spot – goals that present a stretch, but are attainable.

If you are responsible for setting goals – whether it be for the business, a particular team, or just yourself – here are a few ideas to guide your thoughts as you zero in on that sweet spot.

  • Take a look at past performance trends. Is there a pattern to your performance over the past couple of years? Do customers tend to follow certain patterns? Where has new business typically come from?
  • Take a look at the marketplace. What factors might influence your existing and potential customer base over the next year? What’s happening in the local economy? Are businesses optimistic about their short-term future? Are conditions emerging that might shape the way consumers view what you have to offer?
  • Take a look at the competition. Who are the major players in your space? What have they been doing that might impact your plans? More importantly, how much of their business would you like to steal next year?
  • Take a look at the industry. Are there changes on the horizon that will impact your ability to grow next year? Are there opportunities or restrictions (personnel, technology, marketing, or strategy-based) on the horizon that need to be considered?
  • Take a look at yourself. Do you have what it takes to perform at a different level next year? Does your team? Are you willing to invest the time, energy, and resources necessary to move things to a new level?

As you and your team start to play with some initial numbers, take stock of the feelings that come over you. A good goal will have the following impacts:

  • It represents significant growth – staying flat or doing what you did this year isn’t growing.
  • It scares you a little bit – but not so much that it makes you want to run away from it.
  • It forces you to think about doing things differently – the same old tactics won’t get you there.
  • It pulls the team together – everyone should be invested in meeting it.
  • It’s attainable – everyone agrees that, while a stretch, we can do this!

Too many leaders approach the goal-setting process as a necessary evil. But don’t shortchange the process. A set of well-though-out, well-defined goals provides the marker everyone should be working toward. Proper goals set everything else in motion – training, coaching, strategy, marketing, accountability, recognition – everything. You can’t afford to approach goal-setting as a check-the-box-and-get-it-done exercise.

Of course, if I can assist in any way as you make your way through the goal-setting process, I’d love to help. I’m here to help you be successful. That’s my goal.

The Power of Small Moves

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shoes

Last week I bought a pair of running shoes.

It’s a small thing really. Many of you may shrug it off as insignificant. But for me it’s huge. I’ve never thought of myself as an athlete, much less a runner. I still don’t. My pursuits generally lean in a more leisurely direction. Running was something I did when one of my children cried out in pain. I’m not a total couch potato. My involvement with the Boy Scouts of America occasionally found me camping, hiking, or canoeing. Other than that though, I was pretty sedentary. And it showed.

I’m one of the millions of Americans who would moan about the unhealthy state of my body, suck in to button my pants, and then reach for a second helping of some greasy, fattening junk food. I regularly promised myself that this would be the week I did something about my health. This would be the week I finally got serious about exercising and eating better. But like so many others, I never did it.

Then a couple of months ago I participated in a Color Run. I walked the event, huffing and puffing the entire way. With each step, I grew more and more frustrated with myself and my lack of discipline. I was surrounded by hundreds of people at least as unhealthy as me, but all I saw were the strong, toned bodies running seemingly effortlessly ahead of me. I thoroughly enjoyed the event, but it made an impression on me. Something clicked and spurred me to action. I decided to stop wishing and start doing.

I began by searching for beginner workout plans. I came across one called “90 Days of Action” that looked fairly easy. It features two or three exercises a day using only your body weight. The total time investment is maybe ten minutes. Surely, I thought, I can commit to ten minutes a day. I’m motivated by seeing clear progress, so I made a chart and started marking off the days.

As promised, the workouts were short and not so difficult that I couldn’t manage them. After a week or so of crossing off the days, I read about the American Heart Association’s recommendation to take 10,000 steps per day. I downloaded an app to my phone and started walking. That led to discussions with a couple of people about the Fitbit bands they were wearing. I ordered one. A recommended companion app got me to tracking my calorie intake. Almost subconsciously, I started adjusting – ever so slightly – what and how much I ate. Then one day last week, in the midst of walking around the park, the thought came to me …

“I think I could run for a little bit.”

 

It’s often said that people are afraid of change. That’s not true. If people feared change we would never buy new clothes, trade in our cars, or rearrange the furniture in our house. No, people don’t fear change. What we fear is transition; the work it takes to move from one state to another. We want the change to take place – we just balk at the act of changing.

I think most transitions fail because we try to take on too much at once. There’s a reason gym membership goes up right after New Year’s Day and falls off less than three months later. There’s a reason most attempts at dieting don’t stick. It’s because those moves are too big. They involve too much change at once. The finish line is too far off and the mountain just seems too high. All it takes is one small slip and we feel like we’ve failed. Game over.

The secret to successful change, I believe, lies in small moves. It requires taking a long-term view as opposed to our typical “I want it now” expectations of instant gratification. It means taking things slow and focusing our energy on the first small step – the first small chunk. That allows us to more easily get back up if we stumble. It also allows us to achieve victory, however small, a lot sooner. And each small victory provides the boost you need to tackle the next step.

Chinese philosopher Laozi once said “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That makes more and more sense to me. Taking the first step is always the hardest, so why not make it a small one – a downhill step if you will. That makes step two easier. Step three becomes easier still. Pretty soon you look back and gaze in wonder at how far you’ve traveled.

I didn’t set out to become a runner. All I did was take the first step. And then last week… I bought a pair of running shoes.

The Music of Mastery

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guitar

My son Alex and I recently started taking guitar lessons. We’ve made attempts at it in the past; but online videos, DVDs, and instruction manuals just didn’t do the trick. We’ve only had two or three lessons to this point and we’re both excited about our progress. Even though we’re just at the beginning of this journey, I’ve already made a few observations that I believe apply to mastering any new skill.

Getting started is the hardest part. The first time you pick up a guitar, it feels awkward. Everything is new. You really have to think about where your fingers should go – and it hurts. In the beginning, your finger tips are sensitive. They aren’t used to the pressure it takes to properly play the notes. But with time, your fingers develop calluses. With regular practice, the movements that felt so foreign start becoming second nature. The thing is though, you have to fight through that initial phase. Mastery is the result of practicing until new becomes normal.

Focus on mastering the fundamentals. There are hundreds of different chords, strumming patterns, and combinations of each that one can play on the guitar. Looking at the volume of techniques that are possible is overwhelming. But most popular songs can be played with four to seven basic chords. It makes sense then to spend time practicing these basics before moving on to more complex skills. Use the 80/20 rule to your advantage. Mastery is the result of perfecting a few key behaviors.

Personal instruction trumps going it alone. Alex and I struggled during our attempts to learn guitar on our own. He didn’t have the discipline to stick to a regular practice schedule and I wasn’t sure if I was using the right technique. Now that we attend lessons with a personal instructor, things are different. We have someone who suggests a course of action, models proper technique, and holds us accountable for sticking to the plan. Mastery is the result of partnership with someone invested in your success.

Mastering a new skill set can be intimidating, frustrating, and exhausting. It can also be very rewarding. I don’t expect to be playing Carnegie Hall any time soon; but that’s ok. Strumming with my son around a campfire is more my style anyway.

What new skill would you like to master?

Get SMART: Turning Great Ideas Into Strategies

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smart

So, you received your goals for the year. And rather than letting the future fall to chance, you decided to take control. You pulled the team together and generated a list of ideas – ideas that you hope will make the difference between meeting your goals and falling short; ideas will guarantee success rather than failure.

But what to do now? How do you take this list of ideas and turn them into workable strategies?

The key is to focus on SMART Goals. The acronym SMART is a method for turning an idea into a well-defined strategy that you can implement. It stands for:

SPECIFIC – Tells us exactly what we’re supposed to do.

MEASUREABLE – Allows us to determine the impact and whether or not the strategy was successful.

ATTAINABLE – Has buy-in from the team. Everyone feels that we can accomplish it.

RELEVANT – Helps achieve the overall goal we’ve set out to accomplish.

TIME-BASED – Has defined start and stopping points. We know when it’s over.

To illustrate the power of SMART goals, let’s use a personal example. Let’s say your family has decided to go to Disney World for vacation this fall. After analyzing your vacation budget and the costs associated with the trip, you set a goal to raise $5,000 in order to make the trip happen. So you have a meeting and brainstorm ideas to come up with the money. Ideas include…

  • Garage sale
  • Cut back on eating out
  • Get a second job
  • Sell blood/plasma
  • Discontinue the cable TV
  • Etc.

After brainstorming your list of ideas, you determine which ones have merit and which ones should be discarded. What’s left is a list of great ideas, but no defined strategy. We need to use the SMART Goal filter to turn the ideas into strategies.

For instance, let’s take the second idea on the list – “Cut back on eating out.” Perhaps your family eats out an average of five times per week. Each meal costs you around $50. Armed with this information, you refine your idea using the SMART goal filter. “Cut back on eating out” becomes “Reduce eating out from five times per week to 3 times per week during the months of April and May, saving $800 ($50/meal x 2/week x 8 weeks).”

Now your idea has been transformed into a workable strategy that moves you closer to the ultimate goal. Complete the same process with each idea from your list that you’ve determined has merit. Make sure to develop enough strategies to meet, or exceed, your goal. After a period of time, assess your progress and make any adjustments necessary to remain on track.

Get the most from your team by tackling those goals together. Use brainstorming and SMART goals to move the team forward. Here’s to your success!

Into the Storm: The Basics of Brainstorming

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brainstormThe word “brainstorm” refers to the process of generating a series of ideas intended to address a specific question. The idea of brainstorming was first introduced in 1942 by Alex Osborn in his book How to Think Up. Osborn was frustrated with the lack of innovative ideas from his team of advertisers.

Since then, the concept of brainstorming has morphed into a myriad of different branches, though most people tend to rely on the base model that Osborn proposed. Traditional brainstorming involves a team of people, from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, working together to solve a problem. The goal is to generate a large quantity of ideas that will later be culled and refined into one or more quality solutions.

As you work to develop strategies for achieving your business goals, brainstorming can play an important role. Rather than attempting to solve the problem in isolation, why not tap into the diverse experience, education, and creative juices of the team? Here are the four general rules of brainstorming as presented by Osborn.

  1. Focus on quantity. The goal of brainstorming is to generate as many ideas as possible. You want a figurative “storm” of ideas. Don’t spend time analyzing any particular thought. Digging into the specifics of an idea will short-circuit the generation of others by slowing things down and shifting the team’s thought process from “big picture” to “small details.”
  2. Withhold criticism. Resist the temptation to pass judgement on a suggestion. You want people to remain open and the flow of ideas to continue unabated until they naturally dry up. Pointing out the problem with any one thought kills the momentum in two ways. The individual that voiced the idea in question is now embarrassed, self-conscious, and unlikely to share again. Others involved now hesitate before offering ideas of their own; wondering if the words they speak will be met with criticism as well.
  3. Welcome unusual ideas. Remember, the purpose of brainstorming is to generate a large quantity of ideas. We’re not concerned with the quality just yet. And sometimes the wackiest, most outlandish ideas prove to be the best. Sure, that idea that someone expressed may be really out there; but it could prove to be just the spark needed to spark a really great – and doable – thought in someone else’s brain.
  4. Combine and improve ideas. Sometimes the best solution to a problem is really a combination of ideas. Look for relationships between ideas; or take two seemingly opposing thoughts and see if they can’t somehow work together. Expanding on someone’s initial thought is a great way to keep the ideas flowing and take brainstorming to a whole new level.

Brainstorming is an effective technique used by leaders seeking to achieve their goals while engaging their team. When employees have a hand in developing the strategies guiding their work, they are infinitely more likely to act on them. As a team, there’s a greater sense of urgency to succeed, leading to increased collaboration and accountability. Those are side effects any leader would welcome.

There are a variety of options to traditional brainstorming, and many resources to help jumpstart the process. If you’d like more information on brainstorming, or assistance in facilitating a brainstorming session, just let me know. I’d be happy to help. Of course, the next step is to refine the best ideas into workable strategies. I’ll provide some thoughts on that process next week.