Quoted: Hannah Arendt on Promise Keeping

“Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible.” – Hannah Arendt

A promise is a powerful way of speaking the future into existence. In other words, when you honor your word as yourself, you keep your promises. Your word becomes who you are. A promise then becomes a form of action instead of just talking. 

When people know you for honoring your word, your future is created by you instead of you waiting to see what the future will be.

When you think about it, all we really own is our word. People identify us by the words we use and whether or not we keep our word. Make a bold promise that empowers you and those around you and keep it, no matter what. With that, your words become reliable and so will your actions.  

Being True to Yourself

We live in a world where most people conduct their lives by following the leader. In fact, too often corrupt behavior is justified in an individual’s mind because they saw someone else do it.

For example, Richard Nixon stated emphatically, ‘I am not a crook.’ In fact, however, he had engaged in wrong doing. Some psychologists believe children who were around 10 years old during Watergate were influenced. Perhaps many of those 10 year olds are making decisions on Wall Street now. Bill Clinton said, ‘I did not have sexual relations with that woman’. We all know how that turned out. What will happen to the people who were 10 at that time?

Do You Have Hidden Power?

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” – Joseph Chilton Pearce

Being wrong is one of the deepest fears amongst the entire human race. People will give up success, happiness and love to avoid being wrong. Being wrong does one thing: it makes you look bad. It’s amazing what people will give up to look good or avoid looking bad. 

If we peel these thoughts another layer, perhaps the deep dark secret of the human race is that most of us already believe we are not worthy or that something is wrong with us. When we are made wrong, it conjures up the feeling that we have been found out and others know that we have been hiding the fact that we are unworthy and we have spent our lives trying to prove we are not unworthy.

Yet, once you let go of these fears, and allow yourself to explore possibilities that are beyond your current knowledge, skills and competencies, you wander into the messy world of not getting it right. At the same time, you get to learn about yourself from an entirely new perspective where you discover skills and competencies that you thought were impossible for you.  You reveal your very own individual creativity. It only takes the desire to walk through the chaos of uncertainty and the commitment to come out on the other side as the person you always wanted to be. You create or invent that person. 

What do you think? I would love your feedback. And I’m open to ideas. Or if you want to write me about a specific topic, connect through my blog www.turnaroundip.blogspot.com.

Hope You Did Not Make That New Year's Resolution

Now that the traditional western New Year and the Chinese New Year has passed what’s next? Will it be another year as usual? Will you be tossed around by economic, social and political events? Some people try to add excitement to their lives by making a New Year’s resolution. However, most people never keep them. It’s apparent in many areas of life. Look at the gyms that are full in January. By Valentines Day, most of the people with a resolution are gone. Not to be seen until next January.

Since there was nothing new I have said so far, what will be new for you this year? Can you commit to something new this year? While you are at it, commit to something you have always wanted to do, except, it never seemed like the right time. Or your money was not right. Why not this year? You get one life and this is not a dress rehearsal.

Quoted: Pearl Buck on Excellence

"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence.  To know how to do something well is to enjoy it" – Pearl Buck

Most people believe they have to find what they are passionate about in order to do it well. According to this quote it is the reverse. Become the best at something and you will surely be very passionate about it.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, he searched for the common link between people who were masters at something. What he discovered was that each of them had practiced their craft for a minimum of 10,000 hours. He found this to be the case for athletes, musicians, computer programmers or attorneys. There are no short cuts and that dispels the myth of overnight success. Those who practiced less than 10,000 hours were good, however, not excellent.    

When everyone is asleep, the best are practicing and putting in their 10,000 hours. That requires a very special commitment and the ability persevere. What will you master?  

What do you think? I would love to hear your feedback. And I’m open to ideas. Or if you want to write me about a specific topic, connect through my blog www.turnaroundip.blogspot.com.

They Did What!?

RIM (Research in Motion) is the maker of the highly successful Blackberry smart phone. The past couple of years, however, have been turbulent for the company and that all came to a head on Sunday when the Co-Chairmen & CEOs, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, resigned. Starting Monday, January 23^rd, COO, Thorsten Heins will take over the reins of the organization. 

While many speculate why the RIM fell behind in a market they once led, the fact is they continued promising investors that their next big breakthrough was just around the corner. Except, after weeks, months and years there were still no results. The hope is Thorsten will lead them back to the leading edge they once held.

It’s clear that RIM is walking the plank. Over the past couple of years, Apple and Google have been eating RIM’s lunch, and there has been much speculation about their being acquired by a competitor. Yet, the tech company continues to say ‘give us more time’. Thorsten may possess the leadership and marketing skills to move them to the next level. At the same time, he was part of a failing enterprise. The only thing RIM may have succeeded in doing is playing the shell game. Perhaps, once again, they are buying time.

RIM isn’t the only business having this problem. In the early 80s, Xerox was the inventor of the first mouse we use for computers. They also invented the first laptop and had a number of other R&D breakthroughs. Except, they were poor at commercializing their innovations. When Steve Jobs visited Xerox, he saw the many innovations and took them back to Apple. The rest is history.

Perhaps RIM’s precarious future is reminiscent of IBM in the late 80s. When IBM was in trouble, they brought in Lou Gerstner.  He was an outsider for the technology industry. He brought to the table leadership and a fresh perspective. RIM needs the same.

RIM has tough decisions to make. They are being rather nice to people who have caused the stock price to drop 75%. From my perspective, they are taking a huge risk by keeping Thorsten who was COO and keeping the Co-CEOs in the organization as Vice Chair and Director.

Right now RIM needs to bring in an entirely new leadership team and distance themselves from the Co-CEOs. If they still have value, they can be leveraged as consultants with no decision-making authority. 

Second they need to stop seeing RIM as a device company. They need to look at themselves as, let’s say, an entertainment company or an information network. That way they can create service offerings to differentiate themselves. Their devices become a way to get services to the public. If they view themselves from another perspective, it would completely change their marketing strategies. Additionally, they would have to build organizational structures like an entertainment or information network company.   

Such a move would take guts. It would require tough decisions and someone with a bold vision to execute it. They would also need to make a leap in how quickly they go to market. If they structure themselves as a different kind of industry, outsourcing may be a more cost efficient way to produce devices as well as intellectual property.

From the way it appears, the board seems to have great hope for Thorsten. However, everyone knows that hope is a poor strategy.

What do you think? 

Do Circumstances Really Matter?

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." – George Bernard  Shaw

If you have no idea about what you want from life, it is easy to use circumstances as an excuse. If that is the case, get clear about what kind of life you want. Then choose what you will be responsible for to make it happen.

On the other hand, many people give up on their dreams because they think they were born at the wrong time or in the wrong gender or race. There is no power in that kind of life. 

There is power in taking a stand for something regardless of what others believe. If the people in your environment are unable to support your stand, shape the environment around the new conversations you create. For sure, the environment will respond. If necessary, go create a new environment that can support you. It’s your life. What do you want out of it? Forget what others believe is right for you. Only you get to decide who you will be in this world. And this is no dress rehearsal. 

What do you think? I would love to hear your feedback. And I’m open to ideas. Or if you want to write me about a specific topic, connect through my blog www.turnaroundip.blogspot.com.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

We are taught to believe that a relationship is made up of 2 personalities coming together. We even think certain personalities are more compatible than others. I say that is a myth and I would like to dispel that myth and offer a new perspective on relationships.

When you and I wake up in the morning, our mind is listening to something that I will call a

Claude Bernard on Presuppositions

“It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning.” Claude Bernard, French Physiologist

The Chinese demonstrate this by over filling a cup with tea. It says that when the mind is full, it is very difficult for anything new to enter. When people already know the facts without real proof, it is a flat world syndrome. Over 600 years ago, most people in Europe knew the world was flat. It was their point of view.  Even in today’s knowledge society, we believe in something that is analogous to believing the world is flat.   

What perspective do you have about what is possible in your life as well as those around you? Allow yourself to explore like a novice instead of being the expert who already knows everything.  

What do you think? I’m open to ideas. Or if you want to write me about a specific topic, let me know. 

Dark Secret of our Latest Financial Crisis

At the risk of being politically incorrect, I would like to address the US economy from a rarely discussed perspective. The stock market had more responsibility for the economic crisis than you may think. 

While the latest mortgage fiasco was very damaging to the US economy, it is only part of the story told by the media. An equally dangerous practice was taking its toll on businesses: publicly traded companies buying back shares of their own stock in excess to drive stock appreciation.

A Quote That Will Change Your Mind About Change

“He who rejects change is the architect of decay.”

Harold Wilson 

By virtue of telling people that change is difficult, we teach people to avoid change. However, everything in our existence depends on change. We change our clothes every day without complaint. We change years every 365 days. We change cars every few years and our biological make up requires our cells to die and be replaced throughout our lives.

Why do we not see how our lives are steeped in change? 

Those who live without changing the above mentioned would surely experience decay.  Perhaps it is only our perspective on change that has decayed. Yet, we hold on to outdated perceptions as though they will save us. It’s a new year. What will you allow to change? 

Why CEOs Fail

There are few who acquire the title CEO. Those who do are capable of making a huge commitment and have an abundance of talent and ambition. However, CEOs who lack effective succession plans find themselves overwhelmed and missing opportunities to build thriving enterprises.

Succession plans impact so many aspects of a business that this article will not allow me to do the subject justice. However, some of the benefits it provides are: it supports CEOs who want to drive innovation, it creates a learning organization, it develops leaders throughout the enterprise and it allows the company to exploit new and profitable opportunities. Unfortunately, everyone feels it is a simple process and assumes they are doing it correctly.

Succession planning has a few basic fundamentals. The best CEOs surround themselves with people smarter than they are and give them room to run with huge responsibilities. The worst try to prove they are smarter by handling everything and trusting no one.   

Leaders who do it well use delegation in a thoughtful and strategic manner. Delegation is a powerful strategy to create a learning organization and it develops the next 2-3 generations of future CEOs. It also builds an underrated quality: trust. When the CEO delegates to her direct reports, it empowers the direct reports to learn new skills and competencies. In turn, they will have to delegate to their direct reports with the same results. At that point, the CEO is freed up to learn new skills and competencies as well as explore untapped opportunities that may require new skills. 

When he does not delegate, there is a chance the CEO’s plate will become too full for him to learn new skills and competencies. As a result, he becomes mired in the same challenges year after year and no plan to get beyond them. This inescapable trap causes far too many companies to miss opportunities. Lack of delegation also sends a message down the organization that the CEO does not trust his people with larger responsibilities. And the culture of mistrust is created.  

Worst of all, when the CEO retires, poor succession planning and delegation leaves a void in the organization. The company is forced to pay a search firm to find a successor or a qualified board member has to step in. Lee Iacocca, who was CEO of Chrysler from 1978 to 1992, was seen as exceptional for his time. Except, when he retired, Chrysler fell on its face. Iacocca was known for having yes men while he took care of the most important matters himself. 

Furthermore, the best succession plans do not seek out the right person for today. They are looking for the CEO who is right for the next several years. Training and development must take that into account.

Succession planning is difficult, and often, CEOs are in a position where it’s lonely at the top and there are few people with whom to discuss the most pressing challenges. Without someone to speak openly about everything, a leader could find himself or herself in a difficult fight for survival. Although many executives and board members try to overcome their problems by working harder and being smarter, the tenure for CEOs decreases every decade.

From the day you become CEO, preparing the company for the moment when you leave is one of the most instrumental steps, and the benefits are clear. Look at Steve Jobs who demonstrated great succession planning, which has allowed Apple to create new and profitable revenue streams through innovation even after he left.

I welcome any of your comments and suggestions below.

The Henry Ford Model for Success

"I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know
what can't be done." Henry Ford

At the age of 15, Henry Ford dropped out of school to help on his father¹s
farm. Yet, his tinkering with watches and other machines earned him a
position as an engineer for Thomas Edison¹s company. Somehow it seems Ford
lived by this quote. When you look at his accomplishments, it is clear he
pursued what he wanted instead of viewing a lesser education as a
limitation. And then he surrounded himself with people who could commit to
what seemed impossible.

In every human being¹s life, there are circumstances that give the
appearance of impossible. However, impossible is determined in how you view
yourself. It almost never has anything to do with what is in front of you.
With that thought, get clear on the conversations you have with yourself and
others about what can and cannot be done.

If you are surrounded by friends who try to convince you of your
limitations, it may be time to find new friends. People who are committed to
accomplishing what they want instead of doing what is acceptable according
to friends, family and society live a life with many self-imposed limits.
Those who don¹t know or don¹t care about what can¹t be done seem to reap the
greatest rewards in life. When you choose your friends, choose wisely.

North Korea After King Jong-Il

After the unexpected death of North Korea’s ruler, Kim Jong-Il, what will be the fate of the isolated country? Kim Jong-Il died December 17^th, 2011 at the age of 69. His death has sparked widespread rumors and speculation.

North Korea has a reputation for instilling fear. While the society is closed to the rest of the world and holds many secrets, they are known for ambitious pursuits to develop atomic weapons as well as their attacks on South Korea. And now the rest of the world holds with abated breath and uncertainty over how the successor, Kim Jong-Il’s son, Jong-un will lead the country.

With 2012 Around the Corner, It May Be Time for a Mental Makeover

Businesses invest enormous amounts of time and money in 3-year plans and strategies with the hope for certainty.  Yet, the environment changes so rapidly that the 3-year plan becomes obsolete after the year one leaving many businesses to run on an obsolete model. 

Even the most ambitious plans and strategies expire and have an expiration date. New capital and employees have a way of conforming to the existing culture rather than generating long term change.

That cultural mindset is often the product of the founder who has gotten to where he is because of specific skill sets, knowledge base and belief system, which unfortunately all come with inherent limits.  Why?  Skills, knowledge… come from what he or she already knows or has experienced.  In other words, it comes from the past.  We (people) make our future decisions based on what we’ve experienced.  However, just because something worked in the past, doesn’t mean it is appropriate for the future.

5 Things to Avoid If You Want to Do Well

In last week’s article, I talked about how leaders are different from managers.  Leaders intentionally create problems to drive innovation and accelerate revenue growth.  Managers solve problems.  This time I will give 5 tips on strategies that can give you unwanted problems.

As a rule, it is rare to hear me discuss what you should not do.  There is more power pursuing what you do want, rather than focusing on what you don’t want.  This week I am making an exception. 

The Difference Between Management and Leadership

Most of what is taught in business school has a focus on steady, incremental improvement.  I don’t want to throw that out.  I do, however, suggest that businesses can create quantum leaps.  And the difference between the two processes is what defines leadership.

So, where do I start?  I ask:  What’s the difference between a manager and a leader?  Managers become managers because they were great at solving problems.  Those that make the transformation become senior managers.  Senior leaders transform from problem solvers to problem creators.  If a President or CEO spends more than 5%-10% of their time solving problems, they need to devise a plan to change that. 

Why Do Americans Hate Smart People?

There is a saying: If you make people think they are thinking, they will love you. If you make people really think, they will hate you.

In Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat, he talks about how people stand in long lines and buy tickets from scalpers to see Britney Spears. Yet, in China, they stand in long lines and scalp tickets to hear Bill Gates speak. Friedman makes this point to question American values and priorities.

Britney helps us escape reality. Great innovators such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Frederick Douglas, Henry Ford and, for those of you who want to think, Nikola Tesla, helped us invent new realities.

Why do we, at first, condemn those who give us new realities?

The Problem Isn't a Shortage of Talent, It's How You Hire

Over the decades, many corporations complain about the trouble of finding talent.  However, I question whether that’s true.  Most businesses look for someone who is experienced at doing exactly what the company needs. This is a poor strategy for recruiting. Because skills and competencies become obsolete in a relatively short time period, companies need talent for tomorrow, not today. In fact, organizations constrain their ability to find very talented individuals because they are seeking people who have the exact experience for today. That is just laziness on the part of businesses. Every enterprise needs to have a commitment to train people for tomorrow. If they did, unemployment would be a lot lower.

There is a report from McKinsey which underscores the amount of staff who do not provide sufficient value to the enterprise. Those people will be part of the next round of layoffs we experience in the US. Corporations need to rethink training. People need to be trained to add value to the enterprise. This would increase innovation.

Watch out! Don't Be Your Own Worst Enemy

Everyone has moments of self-reflection where they question what makes them who they are. While the answer to that is complicated and depends on the person, I would like to propose that who you are was predetermined before you were born. Each of us was given an identity based on race, social economics, gender, height, weigh, etc. Those factors informed us as to whether or not we could be cool, smart, beautiful, tough… While the very characteristics that we were given from birth create our identity, they also stand in the way of creating breakthroughs.

To put it bluntly, what got you to your current level of success is not what will take you to the next level. As a rule, you will have to become someone else and acquire new skills and competencies to rise to the next level of success. However, most of us lack the process for achieving that or the imagination to conceive of new mental models. Others lack the courage in some cases to invalidate who they were. If you observe your life, you will see that your environment and network supports who you have been. Anything that disagrees with who you are makes you uncomfortable, and you avoid it.

Is There a More Effective Method for Hiring Talent?

With companies like Google, Facebook and Apple aggressively seeking top talent, you have to wonder if there is a method to their success. Are the employees at those companies the reason for their success? Or is it the vision? Author and management consultant Peter Drucker said that too many companies focus on “who” to hire. He emphasized that businesses should focus first on “what” has to be done before you ever decide to choose “who”. 

Drucker disdains traditional hiring practices. He has dubbed them “creeping credentialism”, whereby employers focus on how applicants look on paper. He felt we have gotten ourselves into a trap when it comes to recruiting talent. In Managing in a Time of Great Change, he stated, “It’s easy to fall into the trap, because degrees are black-and-white. But it takes judgment to weigh a person’s contribution.”

When you look at the social dynamics in the US, you have to wonder if we (human beings) are as good at judging people as we think. While the fact that over 50% of marriages end in divorce is a sign of incorrect judgment is another article, it has some relevance in the conversation about poor judgment in the workforce. Most of us have little or no training in judging people. And we have very few tools that can judge future performance of an individual. Perhaps we need better tools instead of relying solely on the perspectives of human resources. 

Are Breakthroughs a Matter of Luck? Part I

Introduction

This article presents a dilemma for me. My commitment here is to give you a new perspective on problems and disruptions. In many respects, America is a country that is dedicated to finding ways around problems and avoiding inconveniences, and that culture affects our lives and business. We accept the way we are or how we interact with our environment primarily because it’s convenient, and change requires risk. For this moment, I encourage you to forget this way of thinking. I invite you to completely alter your relationship with problems and see them as empowering.

My message here has nothing to do with simply turning your problems into opportunities. Instead, I am asking you to intentionally create problems in your life or organization in a way that gives you a new way to dramatically change status quo. Whether you want to build the next I-pod or simply be a healthier person, consider that you have to go through a significant disruption before you can envision a breakthrough or new way of thinking. Over the course of this series, I will show you how to create the right problems.

As a caveat, these problems should and will be big enough that you require support from others. With the right foundation, however, you are more likely to keep your focus on the outcome and less likely to be derailed from accomplishing the breakthrough. 

Are Breakthroughs a Matter of Luck? Part II

To distinguish the method for creating breakthroughs on purpose, it will be important to look at the pieces of the puzzle.  However, first let’s understand why it is called disruptive.

Most breakthroughs are initially destructive or counter-intuitive to the normal functioning of the organization.  It requires people to think and do things differently.  Perhaps that is the reason most companies avoid breakthroughs.  Disruptions are problems if you are not skilled at managing yourself and others.  It is the reason they are not a matter of luck.  Without structures to support breakthroughs, they just look like problems.  And most people just want to get rid of problems.  Therefore, there is a certain mindset needed to effectively manage breakthroughs. 

Throughout my 20 years as an international traveler, C-Level executive, sales trainer, trusted advisor to C-Level executives, and record-breaking performance as an athlete, I have distinguished patterns in my performance as well as the extraordinary performance of others.

Are Breakthroughs a Matter of Luck? Part III

As you move through the Disruptive Leadership Model™, it becomes clear that the process quickly shapes mental models in the direction of high performance. It allows you to more effectively gain insight into what you really are committed to accomplishing as well as what stops you from getting it done.

From experience, the vast majority of business leaders have a vision that they would like to pursue. Except, they feel it is not the right time; the economy is wrong; their people are not ready; they don’t have resources…etc.  When people or companies are able to get clear about what they are committed to accomplishing and become comfortable declaring a future that currently does not exist, it is easier to develop plans and strategies. 

The empowering part of this method is that it allows for people and organizations to be comfortable with the breakdown that declarations create.  The moment you declare a future that has never existed and stand for it to happen, you have created a problem, and it is likely that you do not immediately have all the answers that will help take you to where you want to be.

Is This a Repeat?

(via The Guardian)

Some people say Occupy Wall Street is similar to the protests in Egypt. That’s unfortunate. At one time, the US was known as the country of pioneers. We were first and the best at everything. Does this mean we have been converted to “me too?”

When I hear the interviews of the people protesting Wall Street, I see similarities to the protests of the 1960s. While the ‘60s represent a significant time period in US history, the revolution lacked responsibility. It was almost an excuse for being promiscuous and experimental with narcotics. It was all done in the name of being against the system.

So are the Wall Street protests a remake of the ‘60s? Or are they a copy of Egypt and Great Britain? 

The movement, if it can be called one, is revolutionary in many ways. As our social and cultural values change as a nation, it is undeniable that the entities governing them must change, as well. The question remains, however, as to what changes are these protestors seeking and what changes will be in the best interest of the country.

Unless a clearer mission evolves, protestors may not receive anything for their actions.  If a common pattern amongst them does not emerge for whom they have distinguished as the perpetrators – government or corporate America, they may eventually be ignored.

It is rare to find individuals with the laser focus to fulfill their goals. Politics aside, it seems the so-called 1% has the laser focus to get what they want.  If you observe and listen to the protestors, that lack of clarity is apparent in their demonstrations.  What do they want?  The fact that they are protesting shows that there is a personal unhappiness with their lives or careers, and this lack of clarity is a possible cause for this dissatisfaction. It’s reactive, rather than proactive. At the same time, I cannot deny that the fact they are taking action to develop the laser focus for what they want has power. Except, it will be a challenge – they will certainly have to make a commitment, negotiate, and compromise in order to find a new way of thinking that can address everyone’s needs.

There is clearly an opportunity for something unprecedented. However, people have to present what they are committed to and take actions to manifest it.  If they only talk and take actions to support what they don’t want, they will have more of the same.

I know transformation requires responsibility.  Without it, people resort to blame. Once those “Occupiers” can articulate what they stand for and the new future they are declaring, and organize the means to achieve it, we will see the potential for breakthrough change and disruption of the modern corporate world.

This can happen in the same way we saw Dr. Martin Luther King. He stood for something. In Egypt, they also made demands and stood for something. If the Wall Street protestors do not get clear about what they would like to see happen that is not happening, they will follow the fate of the protestors of the ‘60s. If you look closely, some of those people are now part of the 1% on Wall Street.