Main Idea
Do you know what the common refrain was from the CEO’s of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers in 2008? This was also the common refrain from most of our government and business leaders. I DID NOT SEE IT COMING!!!
Expansion of Idea
Alertness is one of the most critical attributes of success that we need. If we are not engaged and alert and looking for new opportunities or for new ways to serve our existing customers and coworkers, then we are ultimately going to fail.
When I used to coach grade school basketball, one of the drills that we focused on was dribbling the basketball and keeping our heads up. I occasionally had the team read posters on the gym wall while dribbling. I would do whatever I could to get them used to dribbling the basketball without looking at it. The main reason is that if they are looking at the basketball, they cannot see the rest of the court. If they cannot see the rest of the court, then it is only a matter of time before they lose the basketball.
The same is true of business. We always have to keep our heads up. We have to be paying attention to our customers, to our employees, to our systems, to our vendors, to our financials and key performance indicators. We must constantly look to improve our services and to determine if there is anything new that we need to do.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Have I been keeping my head up?
Can I learn two new things about my co-workers?
Is there an industry publication that I receive but don’t read?
Have I done anything to improve my skills, attitude or performance in the last month?