Are You a Cliche?
I just spent about an hour looking for a picture for the header on this blog. Every picture I found that I liked because of the metaphor it represented on second look seemed cliché. I started to feel like everything has become so cliché. We seem to have exploited and over used so many images in business. It’s almost like metaphors themselves are cliché.
In this world where so many ideas flow through our inbox and twitter feeds every day it is easy to start feeling like there is nothing new to add to the conversation. Maybe the solution is to narrow our focus. Stop worrying about reaching thousands of people and really just take care of our own little part of the world. It’s rare that we feel the people we love and know deeply are played out.
Like this:
Back to Beta
Why not? Product launches are common in beta and some products remain in beta for a long time. I’ve decided to go back to beta. I’m rethinking my focus after 15 years in this business. I think I’ve learned something about leadership and organizational development.
I know what works and what leads to transformation. For the next few months I’m back to beta. Rebuilding my business plan and looking forward to some exciting new partnerships in 2011.
Is it time for you to go back to beta?
Competition
Have you ever held back from doing something because you felt like there are a lot of people doing it already? Maybe you would like to start your own business but the competition scares you off.
I’ve heard people speak about abundance v scarcity. The idea is that there is lots to go around. I agree with that and try to keep it in mind. On the other hand though you will have competition. You will find yourself pitted against other people with a similar product.
I am putting a lot of energy into Leadership ON PURPOSE in the next few months. I’ve got some exciting things coming up. I’m working hard on a new business model and hoping to expand my business in 2011. I’ve made some changes and left some things behind.
I think there is an abundance of work and I hope the competition is ready!
Ownership
I’ve been looking through some books and moving some on to new homes where they will be read and enjoyed. 
I noticed a quote I had highlighted in Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood:
…Do you know the quote by Michael Porter from Harvard Business School?” Bill and Jenny nodded no. “He points out that in the entire history of the travel industry, nobody has ever washed a rental car. If they don’t feel ownership, they won’t do any long-term maintenance. That’s the way I feel about our projects.
Ownership is so important for all of us. How much ownership are you sharing in your organization? What business has made a campaign about their employees being owners? What can you learn from them?
ROWE Your Boat
Daniel Pink has written an interesting book about what motivates us. Drive looks at three key areas: autonomy, mastery and purp
ose. Of course, I’ll be writing about purpose on here but the section on autonomy speaks to why I love being an entrepreneur.
ROWE stands for results-only work environment. It is a work place where people don’t have schedules. Interesting, I just had a conversation as I was writing this with my son. He worked until 2 a.m. on a video he is editing. He commented about looking at the time and being surprised at how late it was. The team he was working with were so focused on the results they didn’t wrap it up because the work day was over.
In a ROWE workplace people don’t have schedules. They know what they need to do and are responsible to get it done. That might be frightening to some people.
One obstacle might be that some people aren’t clear on the expected results. It’s easy to be on a treadmill without specific goals just keeping things going – maintaining the status quo.
If you want to motivate people tell them what needs to be done and then trust them to get it done. Autonomy is motivating.
Convergence
At a certain point, when you’ve read enough leadership books, you realize that there are some common truths that apply in most situations. Some authors do a great job taking these truths and pulling them together. Chip Heath and Dan Heath do that in Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. I recommend this book for anyone who has ever wanted to change. I think that includes everyone.
Happy Holidays
What a year it has been. Thank you for your business, friendship and support. Together we have been successful in communicating our message. We look forward to sharing more of our insight, information and inspiration with you in 2010!
Remotely Speaking
Have you ever found yourself on a conference call or webinar and realize you haven’t heard a word that’s been said for the last five minutes? Maybe you got distracted with your email or filing your nails. I know I’m not alone! You may even be reading this while on a call. Nancy Duarte has put together an informative presentation with Six Tips to design and deliver a powerful remote presentation. I love her line “pump up the perky”.
Let me know what you think of it. I’m doing a lot of work in this area and I would be happy to talk to you about what I am learning.
Some Good Questions
Have you ever agreed to speak somewhere only to arrive and find out it isn’t quite what you imagined? I’ve had that happen on more than one occassion. I think the event that stood out most in my mind was being invited to speak to a group who were hosting their event in a restaurant. Somehow I didn’t imagine I would be standing in front of the entrance to the kitchen with a steady stream of waiters pouring in and out of a flapping door. And don’t get me started on dinner being served while I spoke. Clearly, I didn’t ask some key questions!
Next time you are invited to speak somewhere you might want to refer to this list from Nick Morgan who supplies a speaker’s checklist of questions to ask meeting planners.
Learn from my mistakes!
