October 15, 2009 - Are You Running On Fumes?

Main Idea

Have you ever watched an Olympic runner who just ran out of gas on the last turn? Are you out of gas? Is your company out of gas? How long can you keep pressure going?

Expansion of Idea

Business is a nonstop adrenaline rush in the current economy. Life comes at you so fast that you frequently are not sure what the next step is. This is when a lot of people and systems break down. They start running at full speed and they can keep up for awhile. Then, they struggle to keep up. They become like the dog in the first Vacation movie. (For those of you who don’t know, the dog was accidentally tied up to the rear bumper and then Chevy Chase took off on the highway.) Most of us are not prepared for the long haul. We do not have sustainability built into our lives and our businesses.

This can impact each of us in different ways. Some of us are just working too much and we cannot keep up the pace. Others have situations where someone in our organization is so critical that we do not have a replacement for them. If that person leaves, we are in trouble. Others of us have systems that worked very well when our organizations were smaller, but as we grew, we outgrew the systems.

We need balance in our lives and our systems. This does not mean we have to go slow. My son, Mark, recently ran in the Columbia, Missouri marathon. (Yes, he is nuts.) His time was right around 10 minutes per mile. I thought that was pretty good. Then, we checked how fast a world class marathoner can run. The time is approximately 4 minutes per mile; almost a world record for a one-mile race. Obviously, the marathoners figured out how to sustain a very quick pace for 26 miles. They know what carbs to eat and what to drink. They figured out the systems to keep their bodies going at optimal conditions for 26 miles. Do you know what is needed for you to sustain your pace? When was the last time you refueled your engine?

Start by Asking Yourself these Questions:

1. Am I keeping a sustainable pace?

2. Are my team members keeping a sustainable pace?

3. Is the pace fast enough to win the race?

4. Are there systems that are vulnerable to breaking down?

5. Do I have backups for all key processes and people?

August 12, 2009 - What Energizes You?

Main Idea

When was the last time you jumped out of bed on a Monday morning right when the alarm clock went off?  Were you excited to go to work?  Why?  Or when was the last time that you were excited to go home so you could attend your son’s monthly cub scout meeting?

Expansion of Idea

Most of us are not brimming with excitement to go to work or attend a child’s function that we know will be boring.  Why is that?  A lot has to do with our energy levels.  We are running so hard and we are so drained and we know that we do not have enough time to get everything done.  And knowing that we can’t get everything done drains us further.  What can we do? 

All of us have to find something that re-energizes us.  For me, the best thing I do all year is go to a conference called the Leadership Summit.  It does the following:

• I take a break from work and spend it with clients, friends and family

• I learn about leadership and management topics that can help me in all aspects of my life.

• I get my priorities back in line.  They can get pretty far from where I want them to be.

This is not necessarily the right thing for you.  The point is everyone needs to find out what is right for them.  And we all need something like this because we are running so hard.  Most small business owners, managers, and employees would say that they do not have time for something like this.  However, if you can become a better leader or manager, you might be able to avoid mishandling an employee situation or a customer situation.  The time savings on maintaining an employee can be huge.  And if you can reenergize yourself, then you effectively re-energize your team members, which then reenergize your customers and your business.  As leaders, everyone else gets their energy from you.  If your energy is zero, guess what the energy level is around you.  Who wants to do business with a company with zero energy????

If you still think this is a waste, think about the last really bad decision that you made.  I will bet that you were worn out and you agreed to something that if you were in a strong energy state you would have said no to.  How much time did that decision cost you?                       

Start by Asking Yourself these Questions:

1. What is my energy level?

2. What am I doing now to re-energize myself?

3. What can I schedule in the future to help myself?

4. If you think Tim was thinking of you when he wrote this send him an e-mail!