Making The Right Choice

What is the right choice to make in any given situation?  How do you know if the choice you are making is right or wrong?

I have been working through exactly this kind of situation.  It is a 'what should I do' situation.  So where should we start when it comes to making choices?

I go back to my annual resolutions, goals and objectives that I set for myself in December of last year.  Those goals are - 1.  Compliance, 2. Excellence and 3.  Teamwork.

So the situation arose where I had to pick between a good option that was mainly for my benefit or an option whereby I would forfeit personal gain in order to be involved with and develop my team.

Okay - so it doesn't sound that bad - but - giving up a financial reward for little effort isn't as easy as it may sound.  I was pretty keen on ensuring I got the best personal reward.  Until I started reflecting on where I am at and what is important to me in 2010.

So I chose to go with the team option.  Giving up a bit of money in the short term I decided was a poor way to get ahead when compared to the benefits and rewards of working with the team to grow the financial benefits and rewards for everyone.

Guess what - after I made the decision to stay true to my goals I had a pair of breakthrough moments.  One - the conflicting appointment was shifted so I can still make a personal gain, and two - I may have a chance to do something I have always dreamed of and may now be able to do.

Moral of the story - stay true to yourself, act and think with integrity and the rewards will come your way.

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/will-lion/3122985108/)

ROI = Return On Investment

In business accountants, shareholders and investors apply a range of different measures to assess how well a company or organisation are progressing. The simplest method for calculating a return = Return On Investment.

The basic formula works like this -

• what gains can I make from investing vs. what is it going to cost me to invest?

Most people apply this formula intuitively when spending monies. Some do not. My recommendation for the day is for you to start applying this formula to everything you do during your work day. Try assessing different situations such as -

• Meetings.
• Telephone calls.
• Professional Development.
• Engaging new clients.
• Hiring employees.

Is it worth the cost of your time to engage doing these things? Will you make any gains or investments by doing these or would you be better off delegating the task or contracting it out?

You are most valuable to your organisation completing tasks that create the highest ROI.

Life Lessons - To Do List

The choice is yours.

"How we spend our days is of course - how we spend our lives" Annie Dillard.

(Thanks to Daphnee Maree for posting the graphic.)

Success - Defined

What is success and how can you measure it? This really short 3 and a half minute presentation will give you some fantastic ideas.

Watch the video - you'll experience the greatest impact within the shortest 3 and a half minutes of your life.

Breakthrough in 2010

Here are four keys to breakthrough that Zig Ziglar has posted on his weekly newsletter -

Insight #1: Integrity makes your mission possible.

Insight #2: Wisdom chooses the right doors at the right time and helps you come up with the right plan.

Insight #3: Strength and discipline give you the fuel to reach your goal.

Insight #4: Hope keeps your boat afloat.

Lets add some application to those keys. Here are my thoughts -

1. Integrity. Choosing to do what is right even when it seems certain doing what isn't right would be so much easier. Trust is everything.

2. Wisdom. Listen to the small voice that speaks to you in your mind. It is called your conscience and it is valuable. Ignore it at your own risk.

3.Discipline. You need to set a goal, focus on it, remind yourself what it is and then work out the small steps you need to take to fulfill it. Then ACT!

4. Hope. Don't let setbacks or disappointments keep you from being happy or acheiving your goals, Rather use setbacks, criticism and negative feedback as markers and signs of areas in your life that still require work.

Make 2010 work for you!

Leadership Interviews - Number 2

Wendy Kopp, CEO of Teach for America - is a great role model. Ms Kopp is listed as having a Bachelors degree. What does that say? You don't have to have a PhD to be a great CEO!

What I find really interesting about Ms Kopp is the fact that when she first finished her study she noticed a need in the community at the low income end and ended up starting a community and social responsibility company that seeks to help under privileged kids.

Here's the lesson - if you follow your heart, use your smarts and open to change then anything is possibe.

Here's another lesson - often times you won't change the system from within, but you can create and provide solutions from the outside in.

Here is a video of an interview done with Ms Kopp.




There is also another great interview with her written up by the NY Times over here.

Talent - what do you do with it?

Every employee you have and person you know has a particular talent and tons of potential. The key is to figure out - what is that talent and how do you make the most of it?

Talented people generally are on the move (either upwards or sideways) and think they know where they are going. What you need as a manager to do is to provide a balance between untried ambition and actual skill. Provide a balance between new challenges and the development of new skills as well as the refinement and strengthening of current skills. Getting the balance between the two is hard - but the results are also very rewarding both for your business and the person concerned.

The other idea is to make every employee a CEO of something. Make them completely responsible for an idea or project. Give them a budget, authority and the right amount of support to make it happen.

Talented employees also need feedback and reflection time. The reviewing of KPI's and goals is a powerful motivator. Keep the KPI's short and aggressive. By doing this you, the manager, keeps close to the talent and you can gauge their growth. Where growth is quick - you can set higher targets and more complex problems. Where growth is slower - this provides a good time for both you and the talent to catch a breather before proceeding.

Note - not all talent is under 30! Some of the most talented people you have are over 30, settled into their jobs and are quite possibly bored. the mission is to identify them, lure them out of their secure place and unleash their hidden skills on the world!

Positivity

I love the message of this video -



Life's too short to spend it walking around looking down. Look up, look up, look up!

Motivation

It is important to understand who you are. One part of knowing who you are is to understand what drives you. Where do you draw your motivation from? Knowing this will help you determine your actions and reactions to different situations. If you are lacking drive, energy or motivation, you may have forgotten -

"why do you do - what you do"

There are motivations such as fear or loss, but these motivations create more anxiety.

For example - "The squeaky wheel gets the sack" - is a tool of fear designed to motivate. But does it? It is more likely to make people anxious, nervous and unwilling to discuss possibilities both positive and negative.

This motivation phrase is much better - "The three great essentials to achieving anything worthwhile are; first, hard work, second, stick-to-it-iveness, and third, common sense." (Thomas Edison).

When you are able to see possibilities and purpose then your motivations change. You are able to be more positive and better able to react to different situations.

Self affirmation is another vital tool. Click here for more on positive affirmations (The Leading Edge Publications.com)