Competition "versus" your peers

If you are competing "against" your peers because you feel like there is a finite "pie" and you have to get your piece, a big piece before anyone else gets their piece....if you feel like you must guard ideas, you must beat them, better them, you must take credit where you can, you must be the "recognized" leader, you must be the one to get that promotion in these tougher economic times, and they will not....something will happen:

Your actions will make that a reality and you will create an environment where others will feel the same way.

However, if you feel the pie's size is not limited, and it can be made much bigger by people like you working together with others, giving other people credit where you can, allowing others to use your ideas, recognizing and reinforcing the greatness in others, and creating infinite promotion opportunities through a collaborative environment....something else will happen:

YOU WILL BE RIGHT ALSO!

Want to achieve a goal? Here is some perspective, maybe inspiration

If you have not already seen it, this video is inspiring, and it tells us something about achieving goals, maybe an AMAZING goal, and believing in yourself in the face of major obstacles. It is about DJ Gregory who was born with cerebral palsy and was told he would be never walk in his life.

Warning: The video in the link below on ESPN is 12 minutes 22 seconds long. When you have the time, watch it. Even if you are not a golf fan, I bet you will enjoy it.

http://vodpod.com/watch/1165857-walk-on-espn-video

Taking charge - be a problem OWNER

I was at a dealership on Tuesday night trying to get our car fixed .... once again. Basically there is a glitch in the computer system that tells us we have low air in our tire basically all the time. I was mad this time because we DID have a low tire and the tire was almost flat. We had taken the car in before and they fixed the signal only to have it turn right back on the next day.

This time I pressed them a little bit on it. Now they told me it was an issue with the model in general. Their answer for me ... call the car company or send them a letter and they will then ensure it gets fixed. This had me more mad because I was wondering ... Don't you work for an authorized dealer of the same company?!

I am sure we have all been through this before ... someone at a company telling you they cannot get something resolved because it is either not their "department", they are not "authorized", or their company is set up where they are "just a contractor" or something like that.

All we want in these situations is COMFORT that our situation will be resolved. We want ownership of the problem. We do not want to know it is not "their problem" because we believe "our problem" is always their problem.

Remember this when dealing with your teams. Encourage "problem ownership". If you work with outside and/or inside "clients", empower younger staff to be problem owners when they arise at clients. They do not have to be "problem solvers"... maybe only someone else can do that. But the client wants to know someone will take charge for them and own the problem.

Relationships during "Busy Times"

So maybe you have just finished a "busy season" recently? You have been working hard, pushing others, and pushing yourself to make deadlines. Those types of times can test your communication, priority management, and other skills. They also test your .... RELATIONSHIPS.

Maybe now is a good time to review your relationships and get feedback on them from the source - those with who you have important relationships ... those with whom you really rely on when you are busy.

So what can be done to improve those relationships? How are the communication protocols? Are you interrupting each other more than you should? Are you helping each other RELIEVE STRESS or are you helping each other CREATE more stress? How is the team work?

What can be done to take your relationships to a new, better level? Don't just come up with questions and ideas on your own ---- ASK THEM.

Busy Season? Try slowing down like an NBA commercial

I know many of the readers on here might not be NBA basketball fans and those same readers might be going through one of the busiest times of the year. This week's theme. Slow down. Take a few minutes each day just to observe life and those around you. Slow down and listen to the person you are fortunate enough to be talking to...not just what they say but HOW they say it. Be comfortable in the moment. You can only act and live in the present. You can only see what life is in the present. You can only appreciate it in the present and you only have one life, which is a series of "moments."

There is an NBA commercial going around which will probably win some awards. It shows one play in slow motion. It is beautiful and set off to a great new classic song called "Fly" by Ludovico Einaudi. What makes it memorable? We are brought into the world of a basketball player. We are there. We see them. We see them in slow motion. We feel the game.

So, what is your music? Who are you slowing down for?

Link to commerical on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eIMPyAFD0o