Musings at Altitude

A new year brings lots of anticipation, regardless of the good or bad things that may have happened the year before.

2010 is no different…the anticipation is high…but only the best will be rewarded.

Here are some reasons why:

(1) the economy is certainly rebounding; companies are hiring again; friends and former co-workers that are still anxiously seeking jobs will most likely find them early in this new year

(2) people will become mobile again, changing jobs to find new challenges and disrupting (in a good way) the personality and passions of organizations as they take their talents from one team to another; companies will in turn be forced to focus on work environment and compensation in order to recruit and retain the best talent on the market today; bosses will once again need to be as good of motivators as they were cost cutters during the down turn

(3) startups will be desirable again; with VC money being tightly held and jobs in startups being riskier than ever, lots of startup minded people have been in holding patterns in big bureaucracies where they’ve been frustrated and anxious for the turnaround to come; now that it’s coming, the calls to lure them back are coming too

(4) communications will be a primary consideration for hiring executives; it’s fascinating to see how blogs, facebook, twitter and other new media tools have changed the way team members in business communicate and bond with each other; successful leaders now need to embrace and adapt to the new generation of communicators and aggressively communicate with them in ways they communicate today

(5) training and personnel development will become fashionable again; because of all the cash concerns, OJT or no training at all was the norm during the darkest times of the current economic crisis; companies will focus on development across the board and all team members in organizations will benefit from it

(6) profits and income (as a percentage of revenue) will move upward; times of crisis create great opportunities for cost cutting and instilling efficiencies; companies that did that smartly and took advantage of the downturn to improve themselves will benefit tremendously as the economy recovers

(7) folks will fight for the biggest challenges again; during the desperate struggle to survive, many folks hunkered down and did their part to keep companies solvent; with the recovery accelerating, folks will once again position themselves to be the “go to guys” given the biggest challenges of the organization

(8) secrets won’t be so secret anymore; with the emergence of new tools for communication and the viral nature of new media, companies will be held accountable for everything they do and everything they say; honest and effective internal and external communication will become more important than ever and communications departments will be elevated even higher and given a “seat at the table”

(9) the window to act on opportunities will shorten once again; competition will exist for great people, for the right acquisitions, for good investments, and for that perfect client; companies mired in process will miss those opportunities; 2010 will reward the nimble over the lethargic

In tough times, companies find comfort in a stable work force (folks don’t choose to leave with jobs not available elsewhere), cost cutting/deferred spending (it’s easy to set priorities when there is no discretionary spending), and adequate (sometimes ruthless) leadership.  When the good times return though, those creating comfort in the down times as supporters and defenders of the bureaucracy may find themselves out of touch and out of time with the newly revived and more-demanding-than-ever workforce.

And thus the anticipation!

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In looking forward to 2010, today I’m thinking about keys to success (though clearly applicable to me, probably applicable to lots of folks):

— Communicate clearly…the older I get the more I pontificate…time to tighten up the message and communicate it clearly

— Focus intensely…I suffer with a problem of getting on to the next thing before the current thing is done…need to focus intensely through completion this coming year

— Involve broadly…instead of narrowing down those involved in any particular issue, this next year I’ll need to involve more broadly and coordinate more aggressively

— Spew passion…we’ll still have some big challenges and tough times in 2010 and folks need to see optimism and excitement for what’s yet to come

— Accept criticism…not my strong point, but the only way to continue to grow and evolve based on the needs of my team and the organization

— Pray relentlessly…too much clear evidence of God’s work not to acknowledge His presence and yield to Him “to set my paths straight”

— Share success…in the words of a good friend and business leader, “you don’t lead alone”…as a leader, you bear the blame for errors and share the praise for success

— Seek counsel…listen to trusted advisors and accept the fact that I’m nowhere near as smart as I think I am

— Peer forward…keep my eyes on the horizon even while carefully watching each step that I take

— Listen aggressively…so many good ideas coming from all levels of the organization…time to make sure all those voices are heard

— Reward abundantly…lots of great things going on and each person doing a great thing needs to feel appreciated and be rewarded for doing those great things

— Relax appropriately…I can only burn so hard for so long…it’s critical to relax with the same zest that I work

— Smile profusely…regardless of the challenges, or the problems, or the stress, every single day there is an awful lot to smile about

2010 ought to be an awesome year!

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Continuing this trend of a self-assessment in advance of 2010, today I  quickly thought about aversions that I have.

Here’s the list I came up with:

— Driving…if I can con someone else into driving, anywhere and any distance, I’ll do it

— Changes in schedule…though I hate to admit it, I like a routine and get frustrated with last minute changes

— Talkers on airplanes…altitude equals serenity, except when the person sitting next to you wants to talk the entire flight

— Excessive process…certainly seems to stifle progress

— Red beets…can’t think of any food I dislike more

— Shopping…seems like an incredible waste of time, especially when you know exactly what you like and what you need and still visit other places and look at other things

— Pills…definitely prefer liquid or chewables…too hard to swallow pills

In 2010, I don’t see any of these as things I’m going to focus on changing.  In fact, I don’t think I want to change any of them!

Maybe it is true, “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks”!

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As I look towards 2010, I’m doing some self-assessment, and I’m starting with my addictions.

Here’s my list:

— Blackberry…can’t live without it

— Starbucks…can’t pass by one without an incredibly strong magnetic pull that lures me right into their drive through

— SportsCenter…can’t go to sleep without watching it

— Facebook…can’t wait to see the latest from family and friends

— Blogs…several I read religiously; a couple of which I’m anxious to get to each day

— Community Coffee…nothing better for a home brew

— Business Books…buy way to many of them and only finish a select few

— Remotes…when I’m in front of the TV, I start shaking if I don’t have the remote

I can’t think of any others.

And that’s a pretty good list.

None of which I’m likely to change.

None of which I really want to change.

So maybe I’ll work on something else in 2010!

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Is this true?

Strategists are half full and analysts are half empty.

Business development guys are half full and client services guys are half empty.

Sales guys are half full and corporate back office guys are half empty.

Lawyers “by law” must be half empty.

Risk management folks are half empty.

Several awesome events in a row can pull half empty people towards the half full view, but only one adverse event will immediately snap them back to their normal half empty view.

Several adverse events in a row will never pull half full people into a half empty mentality.  They aren’t mentally equipped to lean in that direction.

In a successful business, there is a constant tension between the half full and half empty people.  The greater the risk, the greater the anchoring of those that are half empty and the tougher the stretch for those that are half full.

If a business is completely dominated by half empty people, growth could be sufficient but certainly not excessive.

If a business is completely dominated by half full people, growth could be excessive but certainly quite risky.

There has to be a perfect mix of both to get perfect growth.

Do you agree?

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The older I get, the more questions I seem to have.  I always assumed that with age I’d become the answerer rather than the questioner, but that’s far from what has happened.  I think I’m asking smarter questions…about life…about faith…about stuff that when I was younger I either took for granted or was too naive to really ponder on.  Now that I’m older, the questions are constant and the thirst for answers is extreme!

I’m fortunate to have a very wise man to bounce things off of…my father…who patiently listens to my questions and bluntly gives me his answers.  I’m also fortunate that he patiently lets me vent about life, about work, about things that are burdening or bothering me, and then he gives me his always prescient feedback…sometimes telling me things I don’t want to hear, and other times confirming what I already feel is right.

When I was young, I had all the answers and got indignant when others tried to weigh in on those things that I was so confident I knew.  Now that I’m older, I have all the questions, and I cherish the limited time I can spend getting answers now in a very non-judgmental way.

 I’m thankful that I learned this early in life how little I know, and I’m even more thankful that those that I know who can answer my questions are still available to patiently give me those answers.

Hopefully I will find more time to ask and they’ll have more time to answer.

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Is it possible for leaders at any level of an organization to get overwhelmed by information and thus lethargic in their decision making?

Of course it is.

Is it possible that the fault for such lethargy may lay with the subordinates under that leader and not necessarily with that leader at all?

Yeah maybe.

Is it possible that good leaders can be driven to lethargy by the actions, inactions, or selfishness of their teams and thus otherwise decisive leaders become very indecisive in their resulting actions?

Ouch, that hurts!

Decisive leaders are surrounded by very good staffs that filter and package information specifically to allow decisiveness to occur.

Leadership lethargy occurs when risks are high and the flow and packaging of needed information is inadequate to get to a timely and informed decision.  Because of this, I’m never surprised when business leaders (at any level) bring in trusted lieutenants to act as “chiefs of staff” to manage pace and packaging of information.

If you’re a leader, are you lethargic?

Do you have the right staff?

Maybe not.

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I’m learning (ever so slowly) that most of the things I’m working on are not getting done in a perfect fashion.  In fact, I think it’s not much of a stretch to say that absolutely nothing I’m doing is being done perfectly today.

So I have two choices:

(1) Focus intently on those things that aren’t getting done perfectly trying to make them perfect and then get nothing done

or

(2) Accept that things will be imperfect, and allow things to get done in an imperfect way

I personally have found awe and wonder in imperfection.

It’s that contract that doesn’t go right that opens up a door for something very different and very amazing to get done.

It’s that relationship that seems awkward that opens our minds up for new ways of communicating and new acceptance of our differences.

It’s that meeting that starts out wrong and in the quest to get it back on track something magical happens that leads to a new epiphany and a new harmony with the team.

It’s that project plan that goes desperately off track and in seeking those course corrections a new and faster and cheaper way of reaching the milestones is discovered.

Imperfection is only a bad thing if we desperately and dogmatically seek perfection.

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If there are things that you need to do, why not do them now?

If there are changes that you need to make, why not make them now?

If there is someone you really need to talk to, why not call them now?

If there is someone you need to hug, why not hug them now?

If there is someone that you need to spend time with, why not make that time now?

If there is someone you need to say “I’m sorry” to, why not do it now?

If there is something you should stop doing, why not stop it now?

If there is someone asking you to focus on them, why not focus on them now?

If someone needs your help, why not help them now?

If you have a dream, why not chase it now?

We make so many excuses, and we delay so many things that need to be done.

Why not do them now?

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And it’s really not a puzzle.

It’s more like a transformer.

Different things come together in different ways.

And then those different things connect in an even bigger way.

And rarely does what emerges at the end look anything like what you envisioned at the beginning!

And maybe that’s the fun.

New events create new pieces that drive new shapes with new connections providing new transformations.

Some people are still trying to shove old pieces into new connections.

It just doesn’t work.

Transformation requires adaptation, and adaptation requires mental agility.

It reminds me of those pictures that change as you move in front of them.

This puzzle is changing too.

It’s not for the weak hearted.

It’s not for the dogmatic.

It’s not for the perfectionist.

But oh the joy to the puzzle builder when that beautiful transformation emerges.

Then it’s off to the next one.

There’s no fun in staring too long at something so beautiful!

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