Should We Embrace Chaos or Fight For Certainty?

Peter Drucker had a profound way of looking at life and its encompassing complexities. He knew that business, government, societal structures, etc. were all intertwined to form a complex system. None of the elements exists independent of the others. Therefore, you cannot effectively provide solutions for one element without addressing them all. He uses weather patterns and quantum physics to demonstrate his point. 

J.C. Penney: Don't Discount the Importance of Setting Goals

“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk.” – J.C. Penney

In 1979, the Harvard MBA program conducted a study. In interviews with the graduating class, they found that 84% had no specific goals at all. Another 13% had goals, however, had not written them on paper. Only 3% had clear written goals and plans to accomplish them.

In 1989, the 13% with goals earned twice as much as the 84% without goals. The 3% earned a staggering 10 times as much as the entire 97%.

Going to Harvard gives you an edge in the job market. Except, without written goals and a plan to fulfill them, you could end up working in the stock room for J. C. Penney.

Your goals and plans are your personal road map for life. Do you have one? Or are you depending on luck?

How To Avoid The One Hit Wonder Trap

I often talk about creating breakthroughs. While it is fulfilling to accomplish a breakthrough, what do you do once the breakthrough is realized? Too often the thought is to do more, better or different of the same thing. This could be a strategy that has a high probability of getting you stuck in a rut.

Can You Let Go of What's Most Important to You?

"The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." - Charles Du Bos

Unfortunately, for most of us, letting go of who we are is like dying. Far too many of us believe we will be nothing if we let go of who we are. Can you step out of the person you have always been and take actions that are uncharacteristic of you?  

One of the most difficult aspects of being a human being is that if you depend solely on what you know, at some point, you will experience tremendous restrictions in life. What we know directly impacts who we are. Why? We develop thought processes and behavioral patterns based on the information we have been given about life. That includes social constructs. In fact, we become attached to what we know and live with certainty that what we know and who we are is good enough. For some, there is the belief that there is nothing better.

At the same time, can any of us be so arrogant to believe that what we know is sufficient enough to handle what we don’t know we don’t know? There are possibilities in your everyday life waiting to be discovered. And what you know may not help you. The only obstacle to those discoveries will be what you know and who you have become.

Can you open your mind to the possibility that you can become a greater you without the you from the past? Be daring. Let go of past behavioral patterns you learned from your environment and explore the richness of the unknown greater you.  

The 90% Rule

If you are committed to working your way up the corporate ladder, you need to clearly demonstrate you have your job handled. However, you also don’t want to be the showboat who has all the answers. To meet that balance, the 90% rule should be part of your strategy. It is an effective way of managing relationships with your direct reports, superiors or board of directors.

Simply stated, it means that 85%-90% of your job is handled by you without input from your boss. In your next meeting with your boss, go into his or her office and say, “I have 90% of my responsibilities handled. I would like some input from you on the remaining 10%.”

Carl Rogers On What It Means To Be Educated

“The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” – Carl Rogers

While information gives you access to what is already known, it in no way guarantees you will know what to do with it. One action may be appropriate given certain information. Yet, the same information in a different situation may require completely different actions.

Unfortunately, many people take information and try to use it the same way in all situations. Take, for example, the notion that all men cheat. How is that information applied to men who do not engage in infidelity?

If a person has not learned how to learn and change, they may never experience the fact that all men do not cheat, even when they are with a man who does not cheat. If you do not develop the skills to learn and change, there are many possibilities in front of you that you may never experience.

Allow yourself to develop a new perspective. Speak openly with people who do not support your point of view and understand theirs instead of yours. Then find the common ground between the 2 of you. Learn subjects that have little interest to you and look for the relationship it has with what you already know. 

Are You This Manager? Don't Shoot the Messenger

Friday evening an elementary school buddy of mine called me.  He runs a branch of a company in the service industry.  He has been named manager of the year several times and he runs one of the most profitable branches. While he never brags about his accomplishments, he lets you know he has worked hard to achieve them and is appreciative for the opportunity to be where he is.

The conversation with my friend went something like this:

Friend:  Ted, I need to ask you a question. In the past, I know I have resisted many things you have said to me. However, I need you to know that I do hear you and have tried some of your ideas.

I have a situation at work. It is not that I think something is wrong with me as a manager. I need to understand what happens with employees. I need to know when does an employee become an adversary?

Quoted: Washington Irving on 'Misfortune'

Washington Irving

"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them."   Washington Irving

At first, it may appear that this is saying misfortune is a blessing in disguise.  However, more to the point, it is saying that whatever occurs is in the eye of the beholder. What we call rising above may have everything to do with an individual’s perspective.

In everyone’s life, something occurs every second of the day. What you see as misfortune and what you see as a great opportunity may have more to do with how you view the world.

Where Do Breakthroughs Come From?

In a time where global economies continue to consolidate, innovation becomes more essential than ever.  More than fifty years ago, the US was by far the dominant force in global trade.  The world depended on our innovation.  Now, other countries compete with us.  While improvements are necessary, going forward, the wealthiest countries will be the creators of breakthroughs, some technology or advancement that hasn’t existed before. Those countries will attract and retain the most brilliant minds and stay one step ahead.  

Most experts in science or business give great explanations for how breakthroughs are created.  However, like Monday morning quarterbacks, they give explanations after the fact.  The biggest problem with an explanation is that it gives people no access to producing breakthroughs.  It’s a description of the dish, but not a recipe.

What Was Einstein Thinking?

"Imagination is more important than knowledge" – Albert Einstein

Why would one of the smartest people in history say something so counterintuitive? We are taught to depend on knowledge.  However, knowledge is based on the past. It’s what has already been discovered and what we already know. The future rests in part on that knowledge, but more importantly, by its very definition, it requires something that does not already exist.

True imagination is conjured up from nothing. If you allow yourself to think from nothing – suspend all knowledge and preconceptions and allow yourself to be with nothing – you will be amazed at the possibilities that enter your mind.

When you allow yourself to enter the world of imagination, you can create knowledge. All the great inventors who have provided us with hypothesis and proofs for us to learn know this. They invented knowledge from nothing. 

What knowledge will you invent today? 

Honey Did You Take Your Implant This Year?

The implants to which I am referring have nothing to do with how you look cosmetically. There is a company called MicroChips, Inc. that has developed an experimental, implantable microchip to deliver drugs in your body. For now, the microchip is designed to replace painful shots. It is said that the microchip will have the ability to deliver medicine in your body more accurately and reliably than administering the injections yourself.

Dr. Seuss on the Importance of the Company You Keep

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss

When you stand for something with integrity, it is a way of saying who you are. If you are surrounded by people who constantly want to prove your stand wrong, let them go. The people who will stand by you and provide the support and guidance you need will be there for you.   

If you really want to know who your friends are, make your stand and commitments known. Those who matter will still be standing there. The others will find a way to disappear. 

A Foul Smell Coming From Avon

Heads have rolled at makeup supplier Avon, Inc. The FBI and US prosecutors are investigating allegations that executives at Avon violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In 2005, while Avon was pursuing a license in China to conduct door-to-door sales, it is alleged that Avon executives bribed government officials in China as well as third party consultants. 

China is known for using bribes as a common business practice. However, in 1977, the US Justice Department enacted FCPA to prevent companies from using bribes while conducting business abroad. Nevertheless, since 1977, prosecutors have uncovered more than 40 cases that violated FCPA which totaled more than $2 billion in criminal penalties. You would think people have gotten the hint by now. 

What is amazing is that in 2005 an internal audit was done at Avon and questioned several hundred thousands of dollars paid to Chinese officials. Yet, it took until 2008 when an Avon employee wrote a letter to its CEO suggesting there may have been inappropriate business practices by Avon executives. Avon, in turn, conducted an internal investigation without reporting it to government officials. Now, there are questions as to whether or not Avon executives concealed the alleged bribes from its board.

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.