Posts Tagged ‘greatness’

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You Say You Want A Great Company…

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

But you know how it goes. You can’t have a great company without great people.

This past week the NY Times columnist Tom Friedman wrote an OP-ED titled, Americans Want the Greatness Back. He presented some startling statistics that nearly half of the Americans who vote feel that our best days are behind us, not ahead of us. And though his OP-ED is more about what changes may need to happen in our political process, his message is clear. Greatness as a nation can only happen when we each recommit to personal greatness.

So back to my opening line, you can’t have a great company (country, town, organization, family, etc), without people who choose to be great. How do you inspire each employee to choose greatness over just showing up?
Consider these ways:

1. Clearly define what your company believes in and its commitment to greatness in all it does; this attracts like-minded people. You set a standard and belief that guides not only who you hire, but what behaviors are expected once they are hired.

2. Hire the best people for the job; hire based on talent and fit, not just on experience. This way you hire people capable of greatness because their work matches what they are intrinsically good at. Employees who feel capable and competent perform at greater levels.

3. Connect employees emotionally by customizing their jobs around what they love and are interested in. There are few jobs that employees love everything about. But if jobs are sculpted around employees’ interests, passions and values, employees become more emotionally invested in their work. This raises their effort, interest and performance – their greatness.

4. Openly value your employees by building strong personal relationships with each through constant communication and contact, performance feedback and honest interest (see this issue’s Recommended Read). Employees who are personally connected to their managers, team and organization, feel more part of the team and therefore commit greater effort.

Personal greatness must be inspired, encouraged, developed and applauded – this is part of management’s role. And the more personal greatness grows, the more organizational greatness will grow. Great organizations realize that they are great because their employees have chosen to bring their best and to make an impact – they have chosen to be great. And if we can rekindle it in the workplace, we may be able to rekindle it across the nation.

Please share this with someone who can benefit from it and contact me to help you learn how to activate the personal greatness of your employees. More information at www.FireUpYourEmployees.com.

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Seven Things To Do With Your Prosperity

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

“Prosperity-induced padding,” a term used by author Gay Hendricks in his book, The Big Leap, refers those extra 10 or 20 pounds many of us carry around on our frames because we are part of a culture of plenty. There are few places on the planet that have access to the amount and choices of food and resources we have. And though a recession has challenged this for many, we still have more than most.

“Prosperity-induced padding”– how interesting? Prosperity is the thing we work hard to achieve. “Padding” is the thing we work hard not to achieve. What does this tell us about how we use our prosperity? What does this tell us about our choices?

Prosperity brings us:
Time – many have enough resources not to need to work.
Talents – many have the ability to develop their personal greatness.
Treasure – many have great financial resources.

How do you use these to bring something more significant to the world? Consider using your prosperity to:
1. Reorganize and redesign your space to commit to recycling 100% of what can be recycled to tread more lightly on the planet.
2. Donate to and support a charity you find personally valuable and meaningful.
3. Buy healthy food for those who don’t have enough, or any – locally, nationally or internationally.
4. Sponsor a child’s education – locally, nationally or internationally.
5. Mentor a child, peer or someone older in what has helped you achieve your personal or professional prosperity.
6. Invent something new and valuable that advances the quality of life, the respect for the planet, improved health, or something else significant for humanity.
7. Educate about tolerance, acceptance and respect for differences.

Having access to so much doesn’t always make us better. Many times it makes us less healthy, less charitable and less concerned. “Prosperity-induced padding” is what I now call using my “extra” for me instead of for others. And I am committed to ending it – for health and for impact; I know I can’t be just aware of me.

So consider returning some of your prosperity back to your world. A little more time, talent and treasures shared with the world can help others improve their lives. Absolutely celebrate your success and prosperity. But then share this prosperity with others. Another way to say this is, be great, then share this greatness with the world.

Please share this with someone who can benefit from it. And The Greatness Zone is finally here. Starting Monday, October 11, 2010 you will be able to order it at the new and robust www.TheGreatnessZone.com, and at Amazon.com. Learn how to live in your greatness zone; it is the end of average…

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What is Your Masterpiece?

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

When most people think of the word masterpiece, they think of a painting by Degas, Rembrandt or even Warhol. Many think of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Botticelli’s Primavera. But a masterpiece just means an exceptional work. What is your “exceptional work?”

Here is my perspective. Each of us has specific talents and strengths – attributes uniquely hardwired in us. Some are great with details and solving challenges, others are exceptional listeners, relationship builders or have spiritual insight. Some are artistic and some can write. Some can invent and some are extraordinary teachers. Each of us has the ability to create our personal masterpiece – our great work.

When we discover and play to our talents and strengths, we bring our best to our lives and to our world – we access our greatness and use it to impact the world.

o A teacher’s great work can change the life of a student forever.
o An artist’s great work can change a person’s mood with their art, music or writing.
o A builder’s great work can create a safe place for a family to realize their dreams.

The point is you have a masterpiece in you – there is greatness in you. But most people are unfamiliar with how to find and release their masterpiece. It starts by knowing yourself – the talents, strengths and passions you have. Here’s how:

1. List what you are great at. What comes naturally? What do others say you are great at? What do you seem to have great success doing?
2. List what you are passionate about. What gets you excited, energized and fired up? What could you do all day and never look at the clock?
3. Review your lists. Where do they intersect? What are you good at and love doing? These are your masterpiece areas. These are your areas of greatest performance, greatest impact and most significant contribution. What things come to mind? Where are you at your best?

The more connected and self-aware you are, the clearer your masterpiece areas will become. The world needs you as you are. Don’t try to force it or to be what others insist you be; instead, play to the talents, strengths and passions you that are part of the deeper or “true you.” When you understand yourself, you will see your masterpiece emerge.

I’ll talk more about this in my new book, The Greatness Zone; Know Yourself, Find Your Fit, and Transform the World, due out in September 2010. Watch for more information soon.

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Come to Work Stupid

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

I was listening to a Change Nation, an audio interview with host Ariane de BonVoisin of First 30 Days fame. She had as her guest, Polly LaBarre, author of the book,Mavericks at Work; Why The Most Original Minds In Business Win.

Her entire interview (a podcast on ITunes) is great. But the reason to mention it is because she said something that resonated with me – “come to work stupid.”

Now, that doesn’t mean be ill-prepared or come to work without focus. Rather it means come to work without thinking you know (or must know) all the answers. Come to work or to a meeting with an open mind, ready to hear what others think, believe, feel – then build your response. This creates opportunity thinking. This creates the ability to constantly reinvent yourself and your value. This creates the ability to focus on greatness and to allow others to contribute their best.

The reason why this resonates so strongly with me is that I believe each of us have very particular talents and strengths. And a large part of our ability to be great (at home and at work) is based on our ability to know ourselves – to know our talents, passions and strengths – and to direct our lives and work around these strengths.

Mavericks (innovators) know that if they allow others to play to their greatest areas, they will think differently – more dynamically, more originally and more openly. And that our results are based on our ability to inspire maverick and innovative thinking in all our people. Collective genuis. None of us are as smart as all of us.

So back to the theme – “come to work stupid.”

Come to work expecting to learn.

Come to work expecting to invent and go where the discussion pulls you.

Come to work ready to hear what others believe, consider, are passionate about, are great at doing, know and value.

Come to work allowing others to step up – that you don’t have to have all the answers.

Come to work encouraging others to respond in a significant way.

Come to work expecting great things will happen each day because you have assembled a team of talented and passionate employees, committed to your compelling vision and purpose.

Sometimes we feel we have to have all the answers. Most times we need to be the facilitator of the event that allows the answers to come forward.

Core to the maverick or original-thinking mindset is having a team of talented employees and a culture of openness, communication and a focus on greatness. How well does your organization do with this?

It is important to come to work stupid (open, non-judgmental, approachable, sincere, interest, passionate, open-minded), but go home wise.

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