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Success

Are you happy with your career?

by Ron Potter June 4, 2020

During this time of lock-down when we have the opportunity for some deep thoughts, now may be the best time to ask yourself if you’re happy with your career choices or happy in the career you find yourself in.

People can get stuck in jobs that reflect what they’re good at rather than what they’re happy with.

One of the Best

I was working with a client that was very good at what they were doing. They worked in the finance department and were constantly noticed by bosses and peers as one of the best. Because of this deserved reputation, they had been promoted on a regular basis and were making a salary that was beyond what they dreamed they would be making at this point in their career.

We were having a one-on-one session when they said something almost shocking. “I hate what I’m doing!” They knew they had been treated fairly, were compensated well for what they did, and even experienced satisfaction when they accomplished the tasks that were expected of them. But this is not what they wanted to be doing! Given their preference they would be much happier working with people instead of numbers. They wished that had made different career choices earlier. Now they felt trapped by the position and salary.

One Career may not last

I worked in three very different industries—engineering/construction, computers, consulting—over my career. I enjoyed working in each of the three but found myself searching for something new and different in each assignment. When I got to the point where I needed to change, I often found that I had been working toward the new industry for about ten years. At that point, it was a matter of pulling the trigger to move on. I don’t want to give the idea that any of those changes were easy. I’ve gone broke a couple of times. I’ve spent several years on the bottom rung of a new position before feeling proficient at what I was doing. It always impacted my family every time I changed!

But I did it! It wasn’t easy but I did it.

Adam Kurtz in his book Things are What you Make of Them lists 7 steps you can take to be happier with your career.

Don’t look back in anger
Check your pulse
Do your research
Update your skillset
Hold yourself accountable
Step away and take a moment for yourself
Just go for it

Don’t Look Back in Anger

The client I mentioned earlier seemed angry at the career they found themselves “trapped” in. We all make decisions with the best information we have at the time. That information may even include personal and family needs; college tuition, aging parents, single provider, debts, etc. Don’t second guess. Make the best decision at the time. Now may or may not be the best time to make a new decision.

Check your Pulse

A high pulse is NOT a good thing. If your work is providing you with a high pulse on a regular base, make a new decision.

Do Your Research

After I wrote my book Trust Me a family member told me they had read the book. After thanking them, I asked if it provided any insight. Their response was “Yes, I quit my job!” That wasn’t quite what I expected so I asked them what triggered that response.

Reading your book helped me realize that the company I had joined had changed over the years and I hadn’t noticed. All the aspects of good leadership written about in the book were why I had gone to work for the company in the first place. But, over the years that had all disappeared and I hadn’t noticed. I didn’t want to work there anymore. I wanted to work someplace where I would be happy.

Update Your Skillset

Every position requires a slightly different skillset. Find out what the new ones are. Learn about them. Read. Educate. Practice. Get better.

Hold Yourself Accountable

If you’re not happy with your career, there is only one person responsible. You!

This goes along with the first piece of advice about not looking back in anger. You’re responsible. Make the decision that’s right for you. Don’t look back. Especially don’t look back with anger. It was your decision. Do you need to make a new one? As the last point recognizes, make it.

Step Away and Take a Moment for Yourself

This is being forced on us by this lock-down portion of the pandemic we’re dealing with. Use the time wisely

Just Go for It

I’m not a big Nike fan but just do it. It means your happiness and likely your health. If it’s right for you, just go for it.

Go for Happiness

The world tells us to go for the big bucks. Be in a position of power. Be seen as possessing the best skill set. However, if you talk with people (and you should) who are at the end of their career or even approaching the end of their life, they’ll tell you to go for happiness.

When people are approaching the end of their life, their best memories are of the relationships they developed over the years.

When I was recovering from open-heart surgery and subsequent infection a few years ago, different friends would visit me almost every day. Finally, the day nurse asked if I was part of a large family. When I said no, she was surprised because she thought that my “brothers” had been visiting me every day. I explained to her that “yes, they were my brothers” but they were not family. She was envious. They all seemed so close and concerned about me, she thought they were family.

Each of my “brothers” had been a part of the different careers. I had chosen happiness. It made me happy.

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Open vs Closed Minded

by Ron Potter May 28, 2020

Why is it that some people seem to make constant progress in their professional and personal lives, while others appear to be doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over?

While the answer isn’t cut and dry, I’ve noticed an interesting mindset difference between these two groups: they approach obstacles and challenges very differently. It comes down to mindset.

Successful people tend to approach life with an open mindset — an eagerness to learn and a willingness to be wrong. The other group digs their heels in at the first sign of disagreement and would rather die than be wrong.

—Shane Parrish, Farnam Street Blog

Business journalist and television personality, Suzy Welch talks about two qualities necessary to get ahead:

1. Grit
Inevitably you’re going to receive some tedious assignments. Completing them with a positive attitude, Welch says, is something your boss will notice.

“Grit is getting the job done without complaint,” Welch says, “especially in challenging situations.”

To show grit, don’t give up when the simplest solution isn’t an option. Be creative and show resolve in completing the assignments you’re given. Welch says a boss can identify grit in an employee who demonstrates “perseverance, resolve, creativity, and the ability to just figure it out.”

“Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty.” was the definition given to us in last week’s blog by author, Heidi Grant Halvorson.

2. Gravitas
The second trait, gravitas, is all about presence and the way you carry yourself.

Welch describes this elusive characteristic as a mixture of “seriousness, maturity, thoughtfulness, wisdom” — traits that are tough to fake, and that will lead your boss and colleagues to respect you and give your perspective greater consideration.

You can also cultivate gravitas, Welch says, through the behaviors you avoid, like gossiping, being unprepared for meetings, interrupting others, or improvising important presentations.

Grit

Of the two, grit seems to be the one that can be developed over time.

Getting the job done without complaint.
Don’t go with the simplest solution.
Commit to long-term goals
Creativity

The attribute that is more difficult to learn over time is creativity.

Some personality types are more prone to “doing it by the book”. Others feel that creativity requires coming up with complex and completed solutions that no one has thought of. Both are wrong!

Creative Types

One exercise I’ve run with teams has been about creativity. Unbeknownst to the team, I divided them into the personality types that naturally tend to be more by the book and those who tend to be more creative. I give them the same exercise that requires creativity and measure the results. The “creative team”

Shows the most creativity in the first round.
On the second round there may be some creativity but at a much lower scale.
By the third round, the “creative’ types are generally out of ideas.

By the book types

This type performs at a much different cadence.

In the first round, these types often complain that the creative types somehow “broke” the rules. Although most of the rules are in their head.
In round two, once they realize that the rules are more flexible than they imagined, the come up with a substantial about of creativity. However, it is usually less creativity than the other team achieved in the first round.
By round three, the creativity continues at a pace similar to the last round.
And for several subsequent rounds, the pace of creativity continues.

The other issue I see with the “By the Book” types is feeling that a creative solution should be complex and complete. The best and most creative solutions are simple.

“Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful” – John Maeda

Both types are Creative

It’s simply a matter of pace. Creativity types seem to exhibit the most gain early. But burn out quickly.

“By the Book” types may demonstrate more creativity over time. It just takes more time.

Gravitas

Too me this seems to be the trait that’s harder to develop over time.

It’s dependent on the mindset of Creative vs Victim. I’ve written a few blogs on this concept and it seems to strike a chord with many of my readers.

If you’ve adopted the Victim mindset, there is no way to project Gravitas. Remember that Welch describes these as “seriousness, maturity, thoughtfulness, wisdom.” Being a victim projects none of these traits.

If you’re serious about developing this trait of Gravitas, then it requires a trusted, truthful mentor. This type of mentor tells you the truth, both good and bad. This type of mentor also helps you get to the root of the victim issue rather than simply adjusting the traits that look like gravitas.

Open vs Closed mindset will make all the difference in your career and life. Grit and Gavitas: develop them for your own well being. Others will also notice.

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Blog

Unlucky Loser

by Ron Potter May 21, 2020

Are you a winner or loser or do you consider your lucky or unlucky?

I remember a car commercial from a couple of years ago where a dad was walking his son back to the car after a soccer match. The father was proudly examining the trophy his son had just earned when he saw the title on the trophy. The label on the trophy said “Participant.” The son had just been given a trophy for participating. Winning or losing made no difference. Participating was what counted.

Even Video Games

I have a game on my phone and tablet I have used to kill time. About a year ago I noticed a change in the game. The game had always declared me as a winner or a loser depending on whether I beat the computer during the game. But all of a sudden I noticed that it no longer declared me as a “loser” if the computer won. It declared me as being “unlucky”. Now I was either a winner or unlucky, not a winner or loser.

How do you view the world? Do you think of winning and losing or does your mind go to unlucky vs lucky? I believe this can be critical in how you face the world.

Controlling Luck

The winner/loser thinker doesn’t like to lose. If they find themselves on the losing end, they will begin to think about how they can work differently, think differently or use a different frame of reference to cope with losing.

Those lucky/unlucky thinkers don’t like to be unlucky either. But if they are, there doesn’t seem to be much they can do about it. At least that’s their mindset. They can’t control luck, they can only be the recipients or victims of luck.

If the lucky/unlucky mindset rules your life than you can only be a victim. Someone or something beyond yourself is to be blamed or thanked for your plight in life.

One of the more powerful and well-researched instruments in the market place is Life Style Inventory by Human Synergistics.

Passive/Defensive

One of the sections they measure (for individuals, teams, and cultures) is titled Passive/Defensive. This section includes four styles. One, in particular, Dependent, speaks to this issue. Here are the words that Human Synergistics uses to describe the section:

Passive/Defensive styles lead people to subordinate themselves to the organization, stifle creativity and initiative, and allow the organization to stagnate.

Why would a person subordinate themselves to the organization? It’s easy to understand if you live in the lucky/unlucky framework. In this world, it’s not your fault, it’s fate, it’s beyond your control. There’s nothing you can do about it. You’re just unlucky.

If the winner/loser framework is what rules your life, then you don’t subordinate yourself to the organization. You’re a creative human being. You have control. You can make choices.

Don’t misunderstand, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a subordinate in a large organization. People often talk to me about a particular leader or boss that was wonderful. They have high regard for that person and often the teams they were allowed to work with and be a part of. The difference is that they felt they were in those positions because of choices they made and the free will they exercised. They were not victims of being unlucky.

Don’t be a Victim

Being a victim is a terrible way to go through life. Figure out who you are and where you want to go and be responsible for getting there. It may not happen overnight. A person said to me once that they had always viewed me as knowing what I wanted and simply deciding to go that way. I explained that on average it took me about ten years to be prepared and shaft gears with each major life change. And, along the way, I won some and lost some. It was difficult and took a lot of sacrifices. The person who made that observation was a little taken back. They assumed that I simply made a decision, made the change, and got on with my new life.

My observation is that neither framework is without difficulties and challenges. The interesting part to me is while you may face even more difficult situations in the winner/loser framework approach to life, it always leads to a happier life than living in the lucky/unlucky framework.

Be responsible for your own situation. Don’t blame others or the “roll of the dice” assuming it’s random luckiness that separated people in the end. It’s actually your framework and outlook on life that makes the difference.

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Blog Leadership

Optimism Leads to Success

by Ron Potter March 5, 2020

A recent quote about Warren Buffet said:

Your success didn’t lead to optimism, your optimism lead to your success.”

Optimism

Wikipedia defines optimism as “A mental attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcomes of some specific endeavor will be positive, favorable, and desirable.”

Notice that it says a mental attitude. In simple terms, pilots are interested in altitude and attitude. Altitude refers to how high you are. How much you have achieved. Some measure of success (money, position, title).

Attitude is a reference to the natural horizon. Are you pointed up, down, left-leaning or right-leaning?

Success to Optimism

If your optimism depends on success, you’ll soon realize that success is fickle. One change regardless of the cause can change your success overnight.

Markets change – talk to Polaroid or VHS producers.
Appetites change – ask package food companies
Fashion changes – ask Henry Ford about auto colors. He is reported to have said, “They can have any color they want as long as it’s black.”
Disruption– ask companies about competitors coming out with new products that eat into margins of successful products

The point here is that “success” can change very rapidly and have nothing to do with your actions. If your optimism depends on success, it will change as rapidly.

Optimism to Success

On the other hand, if you tend to be an optimistic person, that seems to withstand external success and failure. I’ve had three different successful careers. Upon graduation from engineering school, I had a “successful” career working with wonderful teams building large projects. Some of them approaching a billion dollars in their construction budget.

Then one day I was introduced to my first pc. This was before Microsoft, IBM, and Apple. And yet I felt that this little box was about to change our lives. I spent the next ten years with a “successful” career in the software development business.

Then I took on the career that I felt I had been headed for all my life. I became an external coach focused on Teams, Leadership and Culture. I spent nearly thirty wonderful years in that career.

You were just lucky

Along the way, many people would tell me that I was just lucky. I guess they just chose to ignore those times when I went broke pursuing those careers. They seem to ignore the hard work and difficulties that I overcame to achieve my “success.” But there were those few that understood the hard work and heartaches that I was going through during those tough times. One colleague whom I had not seen in person for many years asked me how I was doing. When I answered with a simple “OK”, his reaction was that I must be really down. He explained that I had always been one of the most optimistic persons he had ever known so if I was simply doing “OK” I must really be down.

Your success didn’t lead to optimism, your optimism lead to your success

Times were indeed difficult. But I was always optimistic. It may just be me but I’ve noticed through the years that I don’t even care to be around people who are pessimistic. They’re just downers in my mind. Times were always difficult in one way or another. But being optimistic vs pessimistic is a choice. Chose Optimistic. It makes life much easier along the way.

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Blog Culture Leadership Team

Team Leadership Culture

by Ron Potter February 13, 2020

Over this last year, we’ve spent time and detail defining the Team and Culture sections of Team, Leadership, and Culture.

Our Monday blogs have spent a great deal of time over the last couple of years looking at the Leadership elements from my book Trust Me. Let’s wrap up this section with a summary of the three elements.

Team First (Sort of)

As I’ve said in the past, I believe Teams should be worked on first followed by Leadership than Culture.

However, the overlap between Team and Leadership makes it very difficult to do them in order.

You’ll notice from the matrix above that there is a great deal of overlap between the Team and Leadership columns. It seems as if you can’t accomplish one without the other. I believe this is true!

The first element of the Team list includes “Truth”. However, you won’t have the reputation of a “truthful” person if there is no humility, compassion or integrity.

Respect requires humility, development, and commitment from the Leadership list. Neither one of these overlapping issues is restricted to the three that I mentioned for each one. There are elements in all eight of the Leadership outline that are required in one or more of the Team outline. Essentially, you can’t have one without the other.

Next Steps

Start by focusing on each of the first two outlines, Team and Leadership.

With the Leadership list, become much more self-aware and get some straight feedback from a trusted advisor, coach, or partner.

For the Team list, it will require the entire team to be made aware of the four elements and do some honest grading in each of the categories. In our next blog, I’m going to introduce you to an app called GPS4Teams that will help you accomplish this goal.

Culture

The Culture section follows work on Team and Leadership. Until you’ve improved to a very high level on the Team and Leadership aspects, any efforts at improving Culture tends to fall on deaf ears.

A friend and I were discussing why some cultures last (the Mayo brothers died decades ago but the culture at the Mayo Clinic seems to continue). In identifying those companies where the culture doesn’t last, we always came back to elements of Team and Leadership that either changed or were lacking over the years. You can’t build a great culture without first building great teams and leaders.

Emotional Quotient

Many people feel a high IQ is sufficient for solving problems. The interesting thing is that there has never been any correlation found between high IQ and success.

What has been well documented is the correlation between high EQ and success.

Emotional Quotient can be divided into two components, Personal Competence and Social Competence. You’ll see the Personal Competence of self-awareness, self-regulation and self-motivation relating to Leadership. The Social Competence of social awareness and social skills relate to building Team.

Team and Leadership = Success

This correlation tells us that success requires great teams, great leadership leading to great culture.

Get started on your success today. There’s nothing mysterious about the process.

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Short Book Reviews

Wisdom at Work

by Ron Potter June 1, 2019

Ron’s Short Review: Because you are older doesn’t necessarily mean you’re wiser. But, research does find that many people who do cultivate wisdom, gather wisdom at every age. Daniel Pink in his book “Whole New Mind” noted that pattern recognition is the only cognative ability that correlates to success. Older people who have cultivated wisdom are much better at pattern recognition because of their longer experiences.

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Blog Leadership

Enduring Leadership

by Ron Potter May 20, 2019

A.B. Meldrum once said,

Bear in mind, if you are going to amount to anything, that your success does not depend upon the brilliancy and the impetuosity with which you take hold, but upon the ever lasting and sanctified bull-doggedness with which you hang on after you have taken hold.”

Most of my clients would probably never hire me if I told them it was going to take five years to complete the major changes we talk about at the beginning of many of my consulting assignments. At one high-tech company, after three years of intensive effort to develop a new leadership style and corporate culture, the leadership team asked me to evaluate how they were doing. I asked them to rank their “completeness” in each of several major change categories. Overall, they ranked themselves at about 60 percent. I admitted that if they had asked me at the beginning of the process how long it was going to take, I would have estimated five years—so 60 percent after three years was just about right.

One strong leader whom I’m working with now took over an assignment three years ago in one of America’s largest corporations. When he was hired he was actually identified as the “change agent” that the company needed. Needed, maybe, but certainly not wanted. After three years of struggling with the internal practices of the company, he has finally assembled a leadership team that should be able to carry out the many changes that are needed to meet the firm’s looming challenges. I can recall many one-on-one conversations with him over the last three years when he wondered if he had the energy to keep going and whether it would be worth it in the end. But he has endured. I believe he will pick the fruit of an enduring company.

A leader needs to understand that he or she may quite naturally have an easy time focusing on the future or on how the future will look when certain projects, tasks, or goals are completed. Others within their teams may not be able to clearly or easily see the future, or they may be naturally pessimistic about anything involving the future. A leader needs the persistence to bring these people along—they are valuable to the team’s overall balance. They may simply need the leader to either ask them questions to propel them into the future or help them visualize steps to the future outcome.

Bringing an organization along also involves being particularly effective during times of change. Many on the team will naturally resist change, so leaders need to humbly and calmly coax people along to the new direction or vision.

Throughout the history of man, the greatest achievements have been accomplished by leaders having an against-all-odds tenacity. The unshakable convictions of the rightness of their causes have kept adventurers, explorers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries going despite overwhelming difficulty and fierce competition. They were and continue to be persistent, holding fast to their beliefs and moving the idea or the organization forward.

That’s the path to building an enduring organization.

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Blog Culture

Ancient and Modern Philosophers

by Ron Potter April 11, 2019

I’m a big fan of Biblical teachings, ancient philosophers and adages. All for the same general reason, they each speak of truth and frameworks. Most of my ancient philosopher exposure is through Aristotle. To me, he provides frameworks that help me view the world from a certain perspective.

Frameworks are important to our brain because it is either lazy or doesn’t have enough capacity to process all the information it’s receiving every day—probably some of both.

By using frameworks, we can help ourselves and others gain a perspective on the world around us that helps us cope and move forward.

Aristotle was a student of Plato and Socrates. But these guys lived around 2,500 years ago. I began to wonder, where have all the philosophers gone or why have we not had one in 2,500 years?

But then I was listening to a Billy Joel song and realized that I had not been looking in the right places for philosophers.

Now with the wisdom of years, I try to reason things out
and the only people I fear are those who never have doubts.
Save us all from arrogant men, and all the causes they’re for.
I won’t be righteous again.
I’m not that sure anymore.

“Shades of Gray”

And take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while
It’s all right; you can afford to lose a day or two
And you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get half through

“Vienna”

Let’s take a line from each of these songs and think about what Billy is saying:

“The only people I fear are those who never have doubts.”
“You can get what you want, or you can just get old.”

Why would a person never have doubts? They must be so sure of they’re view of the world (or situation) that doubt never creeps into their thinking, evaluation or decision making. As Billy says, that’s someone to fear! They just can’t accept that someone would have a different perspective that might be valid. Jordan Peterson’s Rule No. 9 from his book, “12 Rules of Life” says “Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t.” Someone who has no doubts is not likely to assume someone else knows what they’re talking about unless that someone else agrees with them. That’s scary!

In the second song, Billy is not talking about being selfish. In fact quite the opposite. He was writing words about being useful, doing meaningful work, maintaining dignity instead of just growing old and doing nothing. What state is your life today? Are you just growing old or are you doing meaningful things? This is not about being old, it’s about growing old. Everyone one of us is growing old from the start. Do something meaningful. It’s a lot more fun.

And then there is my favorite modern day philosopher, George Carlin. During one of his comedy routines, he said,

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

If people are not going at the same speed as you, they’re either an idiot or a maniac. If you think about that a minute you realize two things:

You’re either an idiot or a maniac to everyone else around you.
You’ll only be exposed to idiots and maniac because you never see the person going at the same pace as you. You’ll never pass them, and they’ll never pass you. You’ll never be exposed to “normal.”

Pay attention to philosophers, both ancient and modern. They have a wonderful way of observing the world.

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Blog Team

Teamwork is Hard

by Ron Potter October 4, 2018

I’ve shared in the past that the name of my company, Team Leadership Culture, is in that order for a reason. I firmly believe that building great teams is the key to success for any enterprise. I’ve never really had anyone disagree with me on that issue.

Yes, there have been the hard-driving bosses (notice I didn’t refer to them as leaders) who tell me that “The difference between success and failure it’s about getting people to do what they’re told to do.” There’s really nothing I can say or do in those circumstances. I usually just wait and then help pick up the pieces. Believe me, great teams make the difference.

So why is it so hard and requires a continual process to build great teams?

One of the main reasons is that:

It takes everyone to make teams work and be great—build teamwork
It only takes one person to cause team failure—breakdown teamwork

The tricky part is that it’s not always the same person at any given point in time.

Sometimes the team will enter a high-risk situation. One that will require a decision when there are still a lot of moving parts or there is still a great deal of ambiguity. It might be the most risk-averse team member that causes the delay that brings about failure.

Sometimes it happens in times of great success when one person feels they didn’t get enough credit for the success or their contributions were not appreciated. This can create a smoldering resentment that will cause failure in the near future.

Successful teams are constantly “sharpening the saw.” You might recognize that statement as number seven of Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His point is that even though you build in the other 6 habits, you need to constantly sharpen the saw. You need to constantly review your effectiveness then learn, grow, and get better. Teams need to do the same.

Truth

Teams need to speak the truth to each other. This attribute falls away quickly by the error of omission. Not saying something when something needs saying.

Respect

Teams need to hold each other in high regard. This disappears almost instantly when someone feels slighted or under-appreciated.

Elegance

Teams need to constantly work the friction out of the systems. As soon as the lack of clarity or ambiguity creeps into the system, friction is created.

Commitment

Teams need to reach unity and reinforce commitment. Without either you haven’t really accomplished team!

Teamwork is hard, but teams are the most important aspect of success. Work hard and constantly on building team.

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Blog Trust Me

Leading Others By Putting Them First – Part II

by Ron Potter October 1, 2018

The “you-first” leader is the man or woman whose focus is on responding to the needs of employees, customers, and community before his or her own needs. Last week, we discussed the first three characteristics that help put those you lead first. This week we’ll continue with the last three.

Empathy

This is identifying with and understanding another’s situation, feelings, and motives. People need to know they are accepted and recognized for their special gifts and talents.

John was the head of a large entertainment company. He was concerned about everything but his employees and their needs. He lacked many of the qualifications of a great leader, but one of his most glaring deficiencies was empathy. Whenever an employee (executive, manager, or worker) expressed some personal problem or work-related difficulty, John would immediately take that as a cue to either go into his own personal problems or tell the employee, manager, or executive how deficient the person was in his or her job. John made a lot of money, so most employees could not imagine that he could have any of the same problems they experienced. That didn’t matter to John. He just went right into his monologue. Over time, he lost all of his good employees and leaders. The company, now a shadow of its former self, is simply “getting by.”

Healing

One of the greatest characteristics of a “you-first” leader is the ability to approach another person as a healer in a spirit of help and compassion.

When she first came to work, Diana was hardly a candidate for employee of the year. In fact, because she had made some terrible choices as a teenager, she was in pain and carrying a load of personal baggage. But the “you-first” manager she reported to sensed that beyond Diana’s broken spirit was a person loaded with raw talent and drive. But first some negatives needed attention. Diana had gaps in her formal training. So the manager worked with Diana on a plan to bring her to a place of peak performance. As she experienced some modest success early on and began getting rid of self-doubts and limiting habits, Diana blossomed. Soon her progress was exponential. Her manager tailored a bonus plan for Diana. She did so well that she outran the plan, creating a financial strain on the manager’s budget!

To this day Diana continues to thrive in both her professional and personal life. All of that started with a manager who could look beyond his own needs and place another person first. His commitment to healing opened the door for Diana to walk through and enjoy her job and her life.

Persuasion over power

Many times when a job is hard to do, poor leaders rely on sheer power rather than persuasion. The compassionate leader seeks to engage others rather than force compliance. There’s a desire to build consensus rather than use authoritarian power. Jesus told compelling stories called parables to help people see that what he was saying was not only different but also better for them. His disciples were confused. Why didn’t he just use his power and “force” people to believe? Jesus knew that he was much better off helping people understand through non-coercive means. With their consensus came the real power to accomplish something great. Power trips and plays deflate people and do not allow them to think for themselves.

This list of six characteristics of a “you-first” leader is by no means exhaustive, but each quality is fundamental if you want compassion to be a key component of your leadership style.

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Blog Culture

by Ron Potter September 27, 2018

What will you do next? This one question may be the key to success.

Our lives are filled with events. This list is long and complex, especially when you add personal experiences, but I’ll just stick with corporate issues in this blog post.

Events can include issues such as:

A competitor surprises you with a new product or strategy in the marketplace.
A disruptive new technology catches you off guard.
You fail at an assignment.
A teammate seems to be cutting you down behind your back.
Your boss seems to be showing favorites on the team.
You just experienced great corporate, team or personal success.

As you can see these events can range from outside your control, to personal experiences, failures, successes and everything in between.

With each of these, we will experience emotions. These emotions will vary as wildly at the events themselves and range from good to bad. We may experience:

A desire to retaliate.
Feelings of failure.
Wanting to react immediately.
Being a victim.

Again, our reaction, emotions, and immediate feelings will be all over the board. They’re natural and they will happen. Don’t assume that “as an adult” you should keep your emotions under control and feel bad about your reactions. They’re human. They will happen.

But, what you do next will determine your success or failure now and throughout life. Having the initial reaction is involuntary. What you do next is a choice.

If you’re part of a team or maybe even the team leader, you should intentionally talk about what you do next to deal with the issue.

If you’re dealing with a failure:

don’t stick your head in the sand
don’t ignore the truth
don’t hang on to some false or out of date view of the world
don’t write it off as bad luck

If you’re dealing with success:

Don’t let it go to your head
Don’t assume you’ve got everything figured out
Don’t assume your success will last more than a day
Don’t stop figuring out how to get better every day

Whatever the circumstances, figure out what to do next.

Great individuals and teams are constantly learning and growing. They’re figuring out what to do next.

Enjoy your success. Mourn your failures. But in all circumstances constantly be asking “What should we (I) being doing next?”

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Rocky: Steps Vs. Success

by Ron Potter September 6, 2018

If you’ve ever seen the old movie Rocky you probably remember him climbing the steps of the Art Museum in Philadelphia to finish with a very powerful victory stance. It’s a very moving scene with very powerful music. What we remember is the success.

But, did you know that Rocky climbed 72 steps after running 30.6 miles?

Heidi Grant Halvorson in her book Nine Things Successful People Do Differently says, “Don’t visualize success, visualize the steps you will take in order to make success happen.”

Let me come at this issue from two different sides. One side is what I call “Dave the Dreamer” and the other side is called “It’s easy for you.”

Dave the Dreamer

I have a friend, I’ll call him Dave the Dreamer. Dave is one of the most advanced technical minds that I know. When Dave is talking about technical issues, I feel like I’m barely hanging on by my fingernails. I sort of grasp the concepts, but I don’t really understand the details (which he spends a great deal of time talking about).

Dave really is a friend and I do enjoy being around him and listening to these incredible stories. But Dave is a dreamer. He always assumes that the next big thing is going to happen to him. He visualizes the success.

With each new story and concept, I think (and say to him), “Dave, that’s fantastic. Go for it. Create it. Get it into the world. And Dave is sure it’s going to happen because he knows the “right people” and the concept just can’t fail. Dave visualizes the success.

The next time I talk with Dave, it’s all about the next new thing. What happened to the last idea I ask.

Oh, it ran into a snag.
We couldn’t come up with the funding.
Someone didn’t follow through on their promise.
This idea is so much bigger and better

Dave never visualized the steps that it was going to take to get there. He only visualized the success.

Success is fun. Steps are hard. Success is at the end of a straight line. Steps are long and winding roads. Success exists in your mind. Steps are real, hard and filled with setbacks.

It’s easy for you

I also see the other side of this story. Those who have visualized the steps. They faced each step and each setback. They overcame difficult issues, failed, got up and tried again. When they experience success, the crowd looks at them and often says.

It was easy for you.
You were smarter.
You had a better opportunity.
You were in the right place at the right time.

This reflects the crowd’s belief in visualizing success rather than visualizing the steps. Visualize the steps. They’re difficult. They are not stable. They’ll shift with time and circumstances. They’re long and arduous. But keep going. The success that others only visualize is much more enjoyable after you’ve climbed the steps.

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