Zane Safrit

Face Your Failures

Just like you face your fears, to open new doors or even universes...face your failures. That's another way to open doors and universes. Face your failures. Learn from them. Move forward.



Thank you, DebraWard, for retweeting this.

Thank you, ZurvitaLeader08, for sharing it to start.

Make the mistakes...just make 'em sooner

Ever wonder what you'd do to change your life? Ever wonder if you could go back and undo some of the mistakes? I do. Seems sometimes I wonder about it more than others.

I found this perspective refreshing.



There it is. Mistakes and failures...they seem to be part of lesson plan for Life.  The only option is to hurry through them, make them, but make them sooner. Save more time for enjoying the benefits of learning....

Thank you Glenn Hilton.

Wrestle that Mutha' to the Ground...!

Tha's wha' we're talkin' 'bout. Wrestle that failure mutha' to the ground.

Awright.

Thanks, Sally Hogshead, for the bit of inspiration.

Innovating? 3 Reminders to Help

* Focus on Incremental Innovations. These can be easier and more cost-effective to discover and implement than their bigger, grander, sibling: the disruptive, blue-ocean, innovation.

Note: they're still disruptive. But the disruptions are scaled more for ripples of change, not tidal waves.

* Prepare for the Flood. There's a pentup supply of ideas (and emotions) on how to fix, improve and solve our challenges. Just ask and wait for the floodgates to open and ideas to come spilling forth. Be ready with tools and processes to not only welcome the ideas, but absorb them in a way that maximizes their value. Remember: once you open these floodgates, they won't be closed afterwards.

* Diversity, diversity, diversity. That should describe the makeup of your teams. Include representatives from all the functional areas of your business: sales, marketing, IT, customer service, accounting, operations, shipping, collections...Diversity in thoughts and ideas and backgrounds and skills and values  is the key to generating innovative solutions.

Innovation Tools blog post, 3 Common Innovation Traps, inspired this post.

The middle point, Prepare for the Flood, was a point I discovered as I led innovation at a small company. The firehose of input that was turned on was a surprise, a pleasant surprise but still a surprise. One of the best tools to manage the volume of ideas and their discussions was Basecamp. I highly recommend you use Basecamp to manage your innovation process.

At the heart of innovation? Fantasy

There's a great post by Mitch Ditkoff at the Heart of Innovation blog. The post is titled Blue Sky Thinking for Fun and Profit. He writes:

Few of us, in the workplace, are ever encouraged to fantasize -- a behavior most commonly associated with children, slackers, and flakes.

And yet, fantasizing is exactly how many breakthrough ideas get their start -- the act of some off-the-grid maverick entertaining the seemingly impossible...

I smiled. Yep. Few of, ever, these days are allowed to fantasize, to daydream, to pursue wild imaginings, to ponder what-ifs...to dare to dream. Children's days are so structured now. Their tests are standardized to measure standard performance on memorizing standard bits of data and mastering skill standards. And through no fault of theirs, their performance on science and math and engineering continues to fall behind their peers in other nations.

Our economy, until now has been dominated by standardized jobs producing standardized and unremarkable, sometimes unrecognizable products. Ever seen a Ford Fusion? Could you pick it out from more than 20 feet away? Is it a Volvo, BMW, Honda, Accura....It's why they call it the Fusion. The fused together the rearend of that model, the side panels of another, the front-end of a 3rd...unremarkable, unrecognizable. The company's performance is kindly referred to as unimpressive.

As a nation competing against others for innovation we continue to fall further and further behind.  5-6 years ago we ranked first. Now we rank 7th or 8th.

As we stifle the dreams and fantasies of our children, and weed the wild-eyed mavericks among our co-workers, we see a decline in breakthrough ideas.  We also see a decline in the companies created to market and deliver those wild-eyed ideas to the global marketplace quickly bored with standardized products made from standardized minds. That's created a decline in our economy, a decline in our job growth and quality of current jobs.

Science, math, engineering knowledge and aptitudes remain critical to our nation's success. Communication and collaboration skills are critical, too. The ability to get things done, execute, is a vital component. (Duh, I know.)

But wild-eyed mavericks and relentless dreamers asking what-if...relentlessly...are woefully missing as well as the means to allow them to flourish.

A good start is Mitch's post Blue Sky Thinking for Fun and Profit. He shares a simple 5-step process to unleash your wild-eyed maverick in yourself or your team.

Mark

Mark’s a friend. I’ve known him for 20+ years now.

He showed up in class one day, 1983 or 1984. Quiet, dignified, poised, collected.

I didn’t like him.

I assigned ‘fake’ to him. Or I should say I ‘projected’ fake on to him. He wasn’t. Maybe I was.

As we interacted in small groups and then socially, I saw he genuinely possessed those qualities, but not just those qualities.

He was funny in an understated, intelligent way. I had the feeling over the years that he was silently watching a comedy show all day long. A private showing. And only those closest to him gained admittance to his private theater, shared his reviews of this perpetual comedy played out before him.

I never met his parents. I understand his dad was a corporate exec. I could be wrong.

 Mark played tennis. Played it well, too. I didn’t. I was ok with that. It seemed too much work to learn.  (“Too much work” meant too many losses in hot unbearable weather in a setting where cursing, pushing and shoving your opponent was deemed inappropriate.) And I sensed that his upbringing led in part to his dignified, poised, bearing.

Man, could he give a presentation for a corporate boardroom. Organized, clear, steady, good documentation...way back when before we had PPT.

Looking back, I sense he was bored with it all. Like he realized it’s part of the script in the movie before him. And he was playing a role, but only playing it. And he played it well enough for his audience.

One day I picked him up hitch hiking. He had hitch hiked about 4 hours from his home, mostly on 2 lane roads through rural Iowa. He was dignified that day, too. It was hot, with no shade on the entrance ramp. I have no idea how long he’d been standing there.  A few hours I think he said. That’s when I realized there’s a depth to this guy I’d never seen before.

We picked him up. And he was the real Mark for the 30 minute ride home. He invited us into his theater for that ride home. And while he was wearing the costume of dignified son of corporate exec, he revealed his bohemian life.

Over the years, our paths would cross regularly at Cafe Paradiso here in town. We’d both be topping off our caffeine tank. And we’d share a few insights in to sports, life, our community, our friends. He was always someone I enjoyed seeing. I knew he heard me, was never judgmental or pinched, spoke with me...present. I always came away feeling better for the time spent.

My schedule changed a couple of years ago. I’m impatient, especially early in the morning. Abrupt, sometimes unpleasantly so. Waiting in line for espresso...well, Mark and his composure seemed to handle it with more grace than I. I bought an inexpensive espresso machine. And our paths rarely crossed again.

Mark got married. And I believe from the glow and smile on his face, his animated walk and talk, from how much faster he drove his car around...that he’d met someone who quietly been in the same theater for a long time. And now they could share that movie together and laugh out loud.

Why am I writing this post?

Mark passed away very recently.  It’s still hard for me to accept that.

I hadn’t seen him in awhile. But it wasn’t like he was gone. I never thought we'd never cross paths again. 

And his passing made me think why I genuinely liked Mark, how in his own way, he’d made my life better, showed a bit of balance is a good thing, a quiet humor is a good humor, and now I’ll miss him. I am thankful for Mark. Wherever you are, dude, keep on shining as you did here.

Word-of-Mouth Starts with Kindness

Word-of-mouth starts with kindness. A customer, friend, prospect, employee...someone...is kind enough to recommend you and your business.

Want more word-of-mouth. Generate, inspire, incite, allow...make it to share, more kindness by those you touch with your business. More word-of-mouth is generated when you make it easy for people to be kind.

Kindness is inherent in all of us. Yes, I will state that unequivocally: Kindness is inherent in all of us.  Unfortunately, we encounter too many obstacles of our, individually and collectively, making.

Remove those obstacles, make it easy, inspire people...to share our kindness with each other. Kathy Sierra suggested asking yourself if you allow your customers to celebrate when you’re not around. Do you give them a reason to celebrate themselves, with their peers?

Here's another way to define and answer that question. Do you make it easy for people to celebrate themselves, their higher self, their virtues of kindness and generosity? Do you make it easy to find and celebrate that common good inherent in all of us?

When you make it easy to give a referral, to speak well of your company for what you did to help them reach their goal, to WOW them, to bring a smile to their faces, to lighten their load...you inspire, allow, your customers to be kind. That’s a reason to celebrate themselves. You allow your customers, your employees, the proverbial ...us...to celebrate the good part of ourselves we don’t often find a chance, a reason, to celebrate anywhere else. That's unique. That makes you unique. That allows your customers to share in an unique way, what's shared by us all: kindness with the desire to help, to give. 

I came to write this post from a simple act of kindness. A thank-you Tweet. (And no, I’m not calling it a twank-you.) A good friend of mine recently DM’d me this message on Twitter:

Maybe, he’s right. But, if he's right, it's because he made it easy for me to do. 

How’d he do it?

He started with a great blog post: 5 Ways to Network Like a Pro.

I say it’s great because it’s helpful  for....me and reaching my goals. It’s well-organized, well-written. That’s helpful for...me and the time I need to reach my goals. I can read it quickly, assess its value, utilize the  information immediately...for reaching my goals.

And he wrote this post as an act of generosity. Oh sure, it’s a business blog and the content is closely related to his business. But, it’s a blog post that’s available to anyone and everyone who reads it or who reads about it here. The information is available at no charge from his company. You don’t have to be a client or even a prospect to read and use these tips. You don’t even have to give an email or answer a survey. And anyone can talk about it, share it, critique it, add to it, expand on it.

All of that...is kind. And generous.

And his kindness inspired my very simple act to tweet about it, give a little word-of-mouth referral for people to read it:

  

That’s how word-of-mouth works. His display of kindness (his blog post) allowed, inspired, insiste on...kindness from me. I chose to a means unique to me, a Tweet and now a blog post, to recommend his post. And his Retweet  inspired this post.

Now, we’re having a conversation.  Now, we’re sharing it with you. That’s how word-of-mouth grows and becomes viral.

Ok, maybe not for this blog post. But ultimately, when word-of-mouth ‘goes viral’...it’s because people were inspired and allowed to share their better selves. You’ve allowed them their choice of how to share their inspiration to showcase their better selves to their community.  And their community recognizes they share some of that common good, that higher self. And they get inspired to share some of that with their community, too. And around the world we can go.

Kindness. It's how word-of-mouth is spread. It's only up to you, me, us, to inspire it and allow it to spread.

 Oh. Stephen Lynch is a very kind fellow. He's also COO for Results.com. And you can follow him on twitter at StephenLynch.

6 No-No's on Twitter

No-No = No this? No that.

1. No bio?  No follow
2. No name? No follow
3. No updates? No follow
4. No web? No follow...probably
5. No picture (even an avatar)? No follow...usually
6. No location? No follow

Twitter's a cocktail party. The rules of engagement are the same, in a digital format.

When you meet someone at a party and they introduce themselves to you with a little bit about themselves like:

what their business may be (Bio)
their name, (Name)
what they did today, (Updates)
where you can find out more about them (Web)
 you can see their face  (Picture)
where they're from, where they live, (Location)...

do you stand silently or turn your back to them?

Do you walk up to people at a cocktail party with your back turned to introduce yourself? And remain silent after someone tries to speak to you?

No. So....why do it on Twitter and then ask people to follow you around?

Next week, I'll offer an alternative plan, dip your toe in the water kinda plan, for those shy, uncertain, types who intuitively know there's something wild and fun and productive at this cocktail party...but aren't sure how to join in.

4 Steps (and a Jump) to Better Cash-Flows.

Barry Moltz shared some insights from Joel Comm, Author of the NY Times Best Selling Book, “Twitter Power- How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet At A Time. It's in his post called Like  Me, Know Me, Trust Me, Pay Me.

These are the four steps to building a relationship with your customers. A prospect sees something they like about your business, they get to know you, they trust you to deliver a solution to their needs and they pay you if you can.

1. Like Me
2. Know Me
3. Trust Me
4. Pay Me

Pretty simple. And, a key point they bring out is...allow the prospect to take the steps in order. Don't rush from Step 1, Like Me, to Step 4, Pay Me.

Barry and Joel talk about relationships.

I wanted to be crass and drive the point home for small business. It's about cash-flows for small business.

The stronger relationships that result when your prospects take these steps in order also translate into improved cash-flows.

Cash-flows are maybe the ultimate metric for measuring the success of a business in building strong relationships. 

And when your prospects  become customers taking these 4 steps in sequence then your cash-flows JUMP.

Why?

Those strong relationships built on trust and respect, kindness and generosity, will result in repeat business and word-of-mouth testimonials and referrals. Those results are quantified in these metrics:

• lower marketing/advertising costs
• greater numbers of leads
• higher conversion rates
• lower customer churn
• lower customer debt
• faster customer payments
• lower collection costs

And they all result, or should result, in a jump in, and the followed by a  steady and sustainable rate of increase in, your cash-flows.

Allow your prospects to take those 4 steps in order:

1. Like Me
2. Know Me
3. Trust Me
4. Pay Me

Then watch your cash-flows...JUMP.

Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy

His column, The Sports Guy,  is kinda like the secret stash of dessert, the extra bite of chocolate cake, that you have. It has no content that solves a problem, makes you money or shows you the way to reach your highest self. But I always push back from reading his column like I push back from a full meal, sated, satisfied, content with a new view of the world around me, like all is well now in this mad restaurant we call our world, our life, our country. And the din from the kitchen is quiet for a moment, charming, distant.

He's funny, prolific, accurate, opinionated but supported with good data, pulls data from a lot of sources, takes sides, listens well, holds himself accountable, rarely backs down (but will), and consistently delivers a column worth reading.

Take his most recent example, The NBA Playoff Mailbag, Part 1 and  Part 2. Go ahead. Take it, read it, savor it. Save it for when you can read the whole thing uninterrupted. Bookmark it. It keeps well. Or don't wait. Read it first, like you'd eat your dessert first before your palette's ruined by...vegetables...keep your priorities in your reading as straight and clear as you do your diet.

I do. I'm happy. Thanks, Bill.

Radio Show Guest Highlight: Patti Dragland, CEO and founder of Strategic Sense, Inc.

May 19, 2009

Patti Dragland - Strategist, Leadership Mentor

CEO and founder of Strategic Sense

Patti generously shared an hour of her time with me on my BlogTalk Radio show.  You can listen to our conversation here.

Patti Dragland is a Strategist/Mentor in Leadership Development, Leadership Mentoring, Customer Service, Plans of Action and Facilitation. She is the creator of 14 Weeks of Managers Making the Mark ™ and In The Lead Seat ™ One-on-one leadership training programs for new and existing managers.

Her blog was included in the "101 Women Bloggers to Watch in 2009" by WE Magazine for Women. Her philosophy about leadership is that it exists at every single level, and doesn't only live in the CEO seat. Every individual owns personal responsibility for leadership actions regardless of the spot in the 'hierarchy' to which they are assigned. Patti writes articles for AskNancy.ca, has been a guest blogger for Women On Business, and her blog is also mentioned in All Business a site dedicated to business blogs.

Her company has a division run by her son Addison Dragland called GlobalSWAY, a platform for finding simple everyday action that people can take, when done collectively to create positive change for the planet.

In addition to her very busy work with Strategic Sense, she volunteers as Board Chair for Providence, a Health, Education and Therapy Centre for Preschool Children with disabilities.

What's your current project?

My current project is about affecting a change on relationships on perspectives in the workplace:

* Affecting a change in perspective on relationships within the workplace
* Communication / team development / culture
* It’s ALL about the people, they drive your organization and they ARE your backbone. People forget it is about the people-the customer or who is driving your business.

It is the relationships that make the brand.

How did you come up with the idea that Leadership exists at every single level in an organization, and doesn't only live in the CEO seat?

Every individual owns personal responsibility for leadership actions regardless of the spot in the 'hierarchy' to which they are assigned.

When an organization is looking for their next level of leaders, they are doing so long before that person is any kind of a position or offered the role. They are looking for someone who exhibits the trait in the organization.

They take personal responsibility for their actions. They are not placing blame. They offer solutions to the table, not complaints. They want to see the company succeed, not just their career. They have the ability to support and manage people- to really see the good and the positive. In terms of leadership, they have an opportunity and ability to be a leader within that role.

There comes a point when you are working with someone who is in a position, who is complaining, you just want to tell them that they are an adult, it is their job. Take charge. I am not in charge of your life.

As a leader this can sometimes be frustrating. Somewhere, somehow, employees got the impression that if all they did was their daily tasks, their boss would take care of the rest.

Great leaders certainly try, but they are handcuffed to help employees, but they have to realize that they are ambassadors to the company. If the employee chooses to stay uninvolved as part of the team, the leader becomes frustrated and you want to see a commitment from the employee as a team player. You need to start leadership before you get into that seat. This is the gap in today’s organization where the employee is not taking responsibility.

This negative thought process seems to be prevalent in many companies. We have an idea in our heads that our company will take care of me. They have benefits, perks and programs to assist us. In the boon times, people tend to take advantage of an organization’s benefits and this in turn creates an attitude, an environment that is not very healthy or productive. The business setting has drastically changed in the past year and half and companies don’t have that any more. The message is that the employee is now in charge, they are responsible.

What can people do to honour this wisdom?Let’s say they work in a company whose leadership has not yet embraced what you just said. But this person does. What can they do today to honour this wisdom?

An employee needs to see if he fits within the culture. Organizations aren’t necessarily as broken as we see them. The company itself has the culture and are promoting people within and the person may not be progressing, hence, they may not be a fit within the company.

You need to find a passion to affect as many people as you can. Bring it to the company.

IF you do not fit the culture, you need to have taken charge of your career.

• Ask your boss what is next?
• What is a fit?
• Where are the career paths for me?

If the culture is not a fit, then it is time to take time and effort to discover the next best opportunity, but never quit until you have found something. Remain loyal to your organization first. Your job is your job!!

17:43

Tell us about your business, Strategic Sense. Your slogan is A Common Sense Approach to Strategic Direction. I love that slogan. How did you choose it?

It’s based on the reality that common sense can lead you to the right strategy. We sometimes complicate our lives and we fail to take a step back and ask what makes sense. We can make a huge difference with small things. When you strip things down there is a common sense answer. What makes common sense for people? It is about using common sense strategies with people. Ultimately, we are all the same. You have an opportunity to deal with people in a positive influential way, enabling them to take responsibility for their own lives.

In her book, Being Strategic, Erika Andersen uses the term Reasonable Aspiration or hoped-for goal. What was your reasonable aspiration for starting Strategic Sense?

I came from an IT background and worked in a corporation with a lot of very talented IT and Computer Engineers – she saw many people who were brought up into management via the technical arena. I started to look around; I wanted to see what was missing. The more that I saw leadership, the more I wanted to learn more and take it further and facilitate one on one training, taking the generic lesson and translate it into the everyday.

What lessons in bridging cultural differences did you learn while you worked overseas with engineers?

The work I was doing was with computer engineers and oil and gas engineers. I had a great amount of work to do with this installation. They had never used the software and they still have to manage their jobs.

Changes are not easy to accept. They don’t want change. You have to guide them, using people management while introducing them to the new product. They were not used to adopting “brand new.” As a vendor, I had to be courteous, understanding, and compassionate with this change, acting as a strong leader. It was people management.

35:30

Customer Service: Why is it so important in terms of strategy and leadership?

You are in business for the customer. If people think they are in business for the money, they will not last long. The right answer is about solving something the customer cares about. The customer must be the focus!! What are we doing – who are we doing it for – how to we make them happiest – how do we make them happier than any other company’s customers?

This creates the momentum and innovation.

You must look inside and see who is serving the customer. Think about:

“What can I offer as a leader so my employees can do that kind of work with quality that the customer deserves?”

If you can’t offer this, then why be in business? It is a chain of action. You need that mixture between the customers and the employees that serve them.

Do companies embrace this? Or are companies falling to recognize the importance and value of customer service?

When a company is young and innovative, they really do focus on the customer, but as they get larger and larger, they tend to lose sight of this. This is typical as companies to grow.

At your website you have a page titled “Interpretentions”... and there you share a story titled, “Reaching a Common Goal.” Tell us about that story and why it's so important for you.

That story is about walking into a restaurant shortly after a patron had passed away – ambulance still in the parking lot, table still not cleared, staff shaken by the experience.

I was overcome by the absolute silence, the quiet whispers and tones and yet astonished at the manner in which a group of staff pulled together and it really had a significant impact on me. The people in the restaurant had experienced a tragic occurrence – something that all of us know can make or break any human relationship.

In this case, it brought a group of people together into almost a dance of service – they were professional and subdued, all dealing with the death in their own way and in their own time. It struck me how when there is tragedy, human nature really does lean toward compassion.

Then in the midst of tragedy come the breakouts – the people who begin to make it all settle and come back to a semblance of normalcy, but not without them all being changed and somehow united forever – linked by the tragic event.

42:00

Why as a species do seem to need a tragedy to bring us together? Why do these connections that we develop during this time, eventually disappear?

Tragedy seems to unify us with a common bond. The differences fade away and people begin to draw from their strengths, supporting one another. The purpose within the organization suddenly becomes clear. They step up!

Organizations forget about intrinsic human behaviour when they are dealing with their people. It IS possible to bring people together without a tragedy. I won’t tell you it is easy, but I will tell you that when you give people a reason to rally, when you offer them a chance to step up to the plate with a challenge they can sink their teeth into, they will.

You have to make it relevant, you have to make it resonate with the very reason for why they do their job, make it worth their while and you have something they can really get behind.

Every employee needs some short term targets and if you grab those targets, make them clear and simply stated and powerful, every person will understand them and how they can contribute to that target. Provide progress report and let them know how they contributed to the company. Celebrate it. Give them incentive to continue.

You have to provide short term goals. People need to know what they are doing. They need to know the stage they are at. Keep people united to run a race, not a marathon.

You have two trademarked programs 14 Weeks of Managers Making the Mark ™ and IN THE LEAD SEAT ™. What do your clients learn that helps them create and sustain these threads of connections and purpose?

Some things are contagious! If you don’t work in a company that can rally in the larger organizational sense, you certainly can affect it within the immediate. Every team has short and long term targets. Take that same rally philosophy and bring it into your team, learn to rally small and be the example for other teams. You can manage as a leader to keep your people motivated.

14 Weeks of Managers Making the Mark ™ helps an individual new to management in that first critical 98 days of their leadership where the tone becomes set and the leadership style is developed. It is for the new leader who has never had this type of role. The program is about providing one-on-one help to guide them through their first days with a team to offer immediate techniques and strategies for:

• The discovery of expectations (boss/leader/employee)
• Pulling expectations into alignment
• Building the transparency for feedback on progress

Leadership is not rocket science, but it is a big job filled with lots of responsibilities and stress. Having some tips, tricks and tools at hand to learn how best to serve the employee makes all the difference in the world.

In THE LEAD SEAT ™ is a program similar to 14 weeks, but working with existing leaders who want to kick it up a notch and focus on key areas in their people management – you know areas where they can turn up the dial and really give some attention.

Both the programs are custom and unique and I only work with the leader, every approach with their boss or an employee is up to them!

I work directly with the leader. These are guiding tools to help them discover where they fit in the management role.

Why so important to have presence in so many social networking sites?

She thought she would be working locally, but in terms of Twitter, she has been affording the opportunity to work with many people all over the world, both companies and individuals. She has been working with many executives helping them with personal leadership. LinkedIn has also offered opportunities for business as well.

What are three things a leader can do right now to unite the members of their team or organization and do it in a common-sense way.

* Get to know your employees personally – wife’s name, kids’ names, and sports they play in. Meeting with your staff frequently and informally and ask them about themselves. Take a vested interest in those people. As soon as you do, they take a larger interest in helping you achieve your goals.

* Remember – Leadership is not about the leader – you are there for others, not yourself. Recognize it isn’t all about you. It is about the employees, the company, and the customer. These three things need to be the top focus.

* Celebrate little wins in little ways – small celebrations don’t have to cost very much and make a huge difference – SAY THANK YOU when you do. You have an opportunity to have a party to celebrate the end of project. If you can do this, you will change a lot of dynamics with the team.

Let’s talk about GlobalSWAY. What were your reasonable aspirations with GlobalSWAY?

It is about making a difference in the world in a positive way. Just doing little things in a collective manner, we can change the world. We are all responsible to do these things. Being accountable. It is a social networking site where people can learn to affect change in a positive way.

Let’s talk next year. What will be your coolest and most inspiring reasonable aspiration that you’ll share with me then?

When someone approaches me and says – you changed my whole idea of team. You made a difference and my life is better because of Strategic Sense or Global Sway.

Thanks, Patti!

You can find her on the web at:

Strategic Sense blog

Main Site

Facebook: Strategic Sense Inc

Twitter: StrategicSense

Linkedin: Patti Dragland

Mentsch

A client called me that the other week. He emailed me You are such a mentsch. 

My Yiddish being as weak as it is, I naturally puffed up with ruffled  chest hairs (both of 'em) and asked Who's a mentsch? Huh? And who's calling me a mentsch?

And, then I began the self-diagnosis to discover where I became a mentsch, how to avoid being one in the future and what I needed to do to correct it, and would I need to apologize or rumble?

But first, I made sure I understood its meaning. Every so often I've been prone to...ahem...mishear people. I looked up Mentsch in two places:

* My Jewish Learning

What does Judaism have to say about being an adult? The answer can be summed up by the Yiddish word mentsch, "a decent human being."

Huh. That's cool. That's the first time in a long time anyone has referred to me as an adult.

My wife thought it was nice, but chuckled as she turned away...(Is that a good thing?)

And a decent human being....? Now, I'm getting uncomfortable. Maybe, some readers are too. That's not this guy, they're thinking.

* Wikipedia.

Mensch (Yiddish: מענטש mentsh, German: Mensch, for human being) means "a person of integrity and honor"^[1].

Oy ve, I thought. Now what.

No, seriously. I sat back and thought...Wow. That's nice. That makes my day. Actually it made my day for several days.

I'm not sharing this here to say Hey, cool, I'm a mentsch!  I'm sharing it because I'm so thankful for that brief note from a client that came unexpected and expressed their appreciation in a way far more meaningful and personal than a check (though that has its own meaning, thank you) something I'd done.

And I wanted  to also encourage you to say thanks to a client or consultant or customer or employee or family member...in a way that's personal for you and meaningful for them, a way that puffs their chest out, 2 hairs or not.

Friends and Neighbors

It's not a calling plan. They are one of life's little joys and rewards.

I've just been recently reminded of them in the past month or so. This reminder happens on a regular schedule. Good. Not good is that it's a sign I may overlook, not appreciate and/or leave them unattended.

We'll focus on the good. Not only does the reminder occur on a regular basis, but it's a sign our friends and neighbors...are sincere and genuine in their friendship.  That inspires us in great and many ways to continue to ebb and flow, give and give, over the years.

This isn't profound knowledge here. You may be thinking Well duh. Of course. But that's the point. It's not a duh of course thing we all acknowledge with a head nod, checking it off our mental lists of reality check-points.

√ - Friends - neighbors, ebb and flow, give and give...I concur.

It, they, us, we...are the source for celebrations and connections, conversation and community, support and care, laughter and good food, stories that note our progress and values. And when it happens over the years...SUHWEEET. And when a new friendship is started....SUHWEEET.

Friends and neighbors. I am thankful for you.

Innovation can be...disruptive

The US Copyright Office has implemented an innovative $52 million electronic processing system.

And the result is...processing times have tripled from 6 months to 18 months. And the Inspector General warns it threatens our patent system.

Innovation can be disruptive.

45% of the current applications remain in paper form. There aren't enough staff trained to use the new electronic system. The system crashes too often, even for the trained users.

Key to management's strategy is an assumption that most applicants will eventually switch from paper to electronic filing, allowing the staff to gain control over the paper backlog and reduce it. To that end, the office plans to raise the fees for paper applications from $45 to $65 in August while keeping the fee for electronic filing at $35. - Washington Post

Aha! There's those assumptions.  And they're described with vague terms like...eventually. And, eventually is reached with the help of a $20 fee increase for paper-filers.

 Is that fee increase sufficient to force a behavior change from the known process, paper forms and their completion, into the unknown with the electronic system (that crashes regularly for trained users). Is that the assumption?

Would you trust an unknown processing system with your intellectual property, the gift of your creative genius?

Is saving $30 worth the risk of  the unknown system when you're basing your future on the proper handing of your submission?  

Meaningful incentives, carrots and sticks, are key to inspiring meaningful disruptions in our day, ie, changes in our behavior. Changes in behavior are how we bring innovations to life.

It's disruption when change is dumped on us in ways we don't understand.

It's disruption when changes fail to connect with our lives.

It's disruption when the leaders of this change initiative fail to answer these questions for us:

• What's in it for me?
• Why should I care?
• Why should I believe?

Answering How do I do it helps also.

It's innovation when change is communicated in ways that are meaningful, that inspire us to embrace the need for change and to take the steps needed to make the change real. And show us how to do it.

Granted, I'm riffing based on the story in this article in the Washington Post. I know, you know, we know there is more to their planning for this new system's implementation than described in that story. I assume, anyway.

Improve your leadership: Let your failures catch up to you

Q: How did 3M in one year pass the likes of GE and IBM in leadership development?

A: Infrastructure was already installed when I arrived. But I didn't always agree with Jim (McNerney, now Boeing CEO). He moved senior people around a lot. They hopped from job to job every year or year and a half. I slowed the pace. They have to be in the job long enough, not only for their successes to visit them, but for their failures to visit them. We all have both. When people move too often, there is more thought given to the next place, not to developing people and developing relationships.  3M CEO George Buckley in a recent interview.

Using this and other principles, Mr. Buckley changed 3M's rankings, among its corporate peers like GE and IBM, for developing leaders from 15th to 1st.

Is being a leader worth letting your mistakes catch up with you?

Talking about Doctors at My DocHub

I like this site, My DocHub. I like it for its goal of transparent ratings and reviews for doctors. I love their:

•  their video feed of health care news from around the world.
•  their blog: well-written, well-designed.
• forum: lots of conversations on lots of health topics.

I like the site's overall design, look and feel. 

I definitely like this:











What I'm not settled on is the anonymity of those rating their doctors. 

I understand it's a tradeoff between:

• allowing and encouraging more participants. The shy and reticent may be shy and reticent to share an unpleasant or negative ratings. And the fear of repurcussions is  valid.

• accountability and responsibility.  How does a doctor correct their mistakes, meaningfully and personally, if the person remains anonymous. And why, how, does a doctor's practice view anonymous ratings as meaningful.

The phrase, judged by a jury of your peers, rings in my head. Here it's judged by a jury of your customers...but who are anonymous customers? And are the judgments of anonymous customers, patients in this case, compromised any less than by judgments of anonymous peers?

Isn't anonymous just as self-defeating for us as individuals, consumers, community members in our interactions with corporations and each other as self-defeating for corporations and their policies with us?

I don't have an answer.

Personally, I favor full disclosure. If I'm tempted to leave an anonymous comment on a site...I don't. But, that's my personal standard.

And, here in this application with personal healthcare it may be premature to expect full disclosure.

These are questions that will get answered in the healthcare arena and its use of transparent social media with the leadership and initiative of groups like DocHub.

I love what they've started. And that these questions arise as I visit their site is a sign of how far they've carried this conversation in such a short time. They've carried the conversation to the important issues: our conversations together and with our doctors about our health.

That's a pretty high accomplishment for any brand.

2 Approaches to Twitter

There's Guy Kawasaki's approach:

Get as many followers as you can. I recently explained what I do to get more followers. Ignore people who tell you that it's the quality of your followers not the quantity. They're trying to make friends, not use Twitter as a tool. And, truth be told, there are only two kinds of Twitter users: those that want more followers and those that lie. You can follow me here.

And there's the approach for mere mortals:

Twitter is a conversation, not an arms race; despite what Ashton Kutcher might think the first one to a million (or even a billion) followers doesn't "win." Also, a large following of people who are only there to get more followers is not the kind of "engaged" audience that most of us small business owners want. - Rich Brooks (fellow mere mortal) in his post Why Guy Kawasaki is Wrong.

A. Both approaches are right. Despite Rich's title, Guy's not wrong and Rich says so in his post. Guy's approach is right for Guy, for his purpose, for his business...for Guy's audience or tribe. That's why Guy's successful. May not like him, may love him, may love his work... But Guy's approach is honest, straight forward, consistent, transparent. That's why it works.

B. Rich Brooks is also right. And his approach works for Rich, his business, his purpose, his audience or tribe. May not like him, may love him, may love his work... But Rich's approach is honest, straight forward, consistent, transparent. That's why it works.

Their success is based on the common thread they share with their use of Twitter: honest, straight forward, consistent, transparent.   That's the common thread that works in all social media.

And a little bit of daring, provocation, in their copy. If you're going to say something on social media...say something worth reading.

You can follow these guys on Twitter:

Rich Brooks
Guy Kawasaki

Here's something worth reading: Nuggets in 6.

• Nuggets will hit their free throws
•  AC won't throw the ball away
• Lamar Odom won't show up for the next game either.

Help

I am thankful for help. Susan Poirier, founder of Ace Concierge, and Patti Dragland, founder of Strategic Sense, helped me today. They helped correct a glaring typo in an URL I used to help promote Patti's show with me today on BlogTalk Radio.

And the both helped in a way that made it easy for me to accept, embrace, hear...what they had to say.

Sometimes that's the hardest part. Being passionate, dedicated, attentive to details, recognizing the need, seeing the vision...and having the patience and vision to see how your passion can be communicated in a way that inspires change, not incites reaction.

Those two, jointly, were able to do that. Now, granted it was a typo. But an important typo for Patti's brand and for Susan who's Patti's friend.  And being the great leaders, communicators, in their own right...they reached out to offer help.

Thanks!

You can follow them both on Twitter:

Susan Poirier - Ace Concierge

Patti Dragland - Strategic Sense

3 Steps for Leaders to Create a United Purpose

Patti Dragland, CEO and founder of Strategic Sense, shared her thoughts on leadership today as guest on my BlogTalk Radio show. You can listen here.

She shared these 3 steps for leaders to create a united purpose:

1. Take a vested interest in each member.

Get to the know them personally, their families, their hobbies, their interests outside your organization.

2. Recognize it ain't all about you.

It's about them!

3. Celebrate wins.

Celebrate the little victories, the daily steps of progress, the milestones reached along your path to your goal.

Thanks, Patti!

You can follow her here:

Blog

Website

Twitter

Training your employees: What if you don't and they stay?

Q: In this economy, can companies afford the cost of leadership development?

A: Years ago, when I worked at Brunswick,I was asked, "George, it's a tough time right now. Should we be spending money on training? What if these people leave the company?"

My answer was, "What if we don't, and they stay?"  - Interview in USAToday with George Buckley, CEO for 3M.

Yes. What if you don't train your employees...and they stay?

That leaves you with the untrained, soon-to-be unskilled, employees.

And your competitors are left with the rest: the trained and the skilled.