Your Mindset Matters!

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We all know someone who had big dreams that unfortunately did not come to fruition. There is nothing wrong with dreaming, in fact, it’s good to dream. But dreaming without action doesn’t make a dream come true. Behind every award, published book, completed marathon, and CEO, is a lot of old-fashioned, hard work and positive mindset.

Writer, marketer, and entrepreneur Matthew Royse believes a positive mindset is paramount to success. He emphasizes this simple, yet critical factor in his article, “50 One-Sentence Life Lessons.” These succinct, yet impactful, lessons are powerful reminders amidst the chaos of life. (I recommend keeping a copy close by to re-read often.)

10 favorites from the 50 Royse lessons:

  1. You are responsible for your own happiness.
  2. Life isn’t as long as you think.
  3. What you do today reflects who you’ll become tomorrow.
  4. Befriend fear, don’t fight it.
  5. Your life is a reflection of your perspective.
  6. There will always be skeptics of what you do.
  7. The difference between success and failure is persistence.
  8. You can’t say “yes” to everyone.
  9. The biggest risk is not taking one.
  10. Failure is your greatest teacher.

The good news is it’s not too late to change the way you think. It takes motivation and practice. There are endless methods and tools to help you transform your thought process. Meditation, mindfulness, exercise, vitamin D, nutritious eating, and support from others (both formal and informal) are all touted by people who thrive. There are also specific programs that teach people to recognize negative thoughts, stop, and rethink from a new perspective.

Minds are malleable, and are made to be used and improved. It’s never too late to change your mindset, embrace your challenges, and shift your outlook on life.

3 Tips To Being A Successful Entrepreneur

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Entrepreneurs and businesspeople are constantly on the go and one of the keys to our success often gets neglected- exercise.  Its important to invest in ourselves and exercise is not only good for our body it really helps our brain development too.  Even only 20 minutes of exercise a day makes a huge impact on our well being and outlook.  Here are some tips.

  • Get adequate sleep.  Sleep deprivation suppresses your brain’s ability to filter distractions and limits your focus.
  • Disconnect from our wired 24/7 world.  Unwinding in nature can dramatically improve your cognitive levels.  I really enjoy hiking or even walking in my neighborhood green spaces.
  • Look at your food intake and make a 2% change.  One of the presentations at my Vistage meeting was a nutritionist.  The one take away that has stuck with me was his mantra of saying find the one thing that you can do to change your diet.  I choose to make sure when I look at labels in the store to limit my sugar intake which converts to fatty carbs.  If I make a 2% change in my diet every year, then after 10 years I have may 20% change in my habits.  That’s much easier than the New Year’s resolution to change everything.

So take a break, get the sleep you deserve, and find a 2% change in your diet that can make a difference in the long run. Here’s to adopting the traits of a successful entreprenuer!

Mike

7 Habits That Make Great Leaders

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I recently completed the book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”  There were so many great points for both personal and professional development.  The author, Stephen Covey, also provided a list of behaviors that he (and me) believes show in high trust leaders.

1. Give straight talk.  Integrity starts with giving an honest opinion, the truth.

2. Show respect in all that you do, including compassion

3. Right any wrongs, and then apologize to demonstrate humility. Covering up only makes it worse.

4. Get better at it.  Try to continuously learn about new skills and methods.  I read books and magazines on a regular basis with goals of completing a number of books each year.

5. See reality for what it is and take it head on.  Addressing the tough issues shows courageous leadership.

6. Listen first which is one of Covey’s 7 habits of “see first to understand before being understood.”

7. Keep commitments.  Once you state your intentions, keep them to build confidence and trust.

Here’s to creating your 7 habits as a great leader!

Mike

Servant Leadership

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Servant leader- what is it?  In a business movement introduced in the early 70’s is the idea of servant leader.  These leaders put their company or organization before themselves.  They don’t view employees as the means to the end but rather the employee’s satisfaction is the end.  This can be a big shift in thinking for an entrepreneur.  Some points on leaders adopting this style.

  • Treat employees like customers, and where reasonable do their bidding
  • Ask the question “how can I help you?”
  • Fill in for an employee and do their job to lift a burden from the employee’s colleagues
  • Lead like you are leading a group of volunteers and ask, “what problems do you have?”  Volunteers don’t have to listen to autocratic leaders.

Servant leadership does not necessarily say you are a great boss, but rather its realizing that being a boss and leading are not the same.

Here’s to adopting servant leadership traits to build a better company!

Mike

What Drives Innovation?

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We hear a lot about how companies need to innovate to stay relevant in their market.  Innovation can have a different meaning for each of us, however, it is helpful to understand what is the characteristics that can cause a leader to have the “innovation gene”.  Researchers at the Harvard Business School (Gregersen and Christensen) surveyed over 3,000 executives who had not started a business vs. responses from over 500 people who had created thriving companies.

What are the characteristics of an innovator?

  • They ask a lot of questions and challenge the status quo
  • Spend at least 15 minutes writing down what questions would challenge the current state of the company
  • Study other people and cultures.  Live in another country for a period.
  • Be an observer.  Watching how people do their activities, however mundane can inspire ideas to improve the activity.
  • They network well to connect themselves to resources that will test their ideas and get feedback.

What’s your innovation DNA?  While some of it is hard wired in people and others must work at it intentionally.  However, knowing what concepts could help you down this road can be half the battle to win the war of innovation for your company.

Here’s to innovating!

Mike

10 Signs of Owner Burnout

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As busy leaders and owners of a business time is a precious commodity that is not renewable.  I sometimes hear owners and leaders say phrases like “I have to stay on top of everyone to make sure it gets done”, “it’s crazy busy around here and I can’t seem to come up for air.”

These are phrases that tend to point toward a business owner and leader headed for burn out.  Are you headed that way?  Here are some signs.

  • Feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.  Each time you look at a “to do” list a mountain of dread flows over you.
  • You don’t think clearly.  You find yourself not able to focus on one thing for long before the next “fire” erupts from someone else.
  • You are frustrated and don’t feel things will get better any time soon.
  • Your performance is waning so you make it up by working longer hours after everyone has gone home and it often spills over to the weekend too.
  • You are always “at work” even when you are away from it.  You can’t seem to disconnect from it and your mind is always racing through issues that you want to solve at work.
  • Are people avoiding you?
  • Nothings seems to be going right.  You head towards the negative instead of the positive, and can’t seem to find the good in most situations.
  • You don’t socialize outside of work in part because you don’t disconnect from it.
  • You are experiencing health issues and fail to exercise or eat right, and you know it.
  • You are finding sleep harder to come by.  Studies have shown a lack of sleep over a period reduces your cognitive ability.

If you see any or a number of these symptoms, you could be headed for burnout.  Make sure to avoid it by:

  • Eating healthy
  • Get adequate sleep…7 to 8 hours each night
  • Delegate
  • Implement operating systems that are simple and proven that help with accountability and drive results

Here is to make sure we understand what burnout looks like and making the changes necessary to avoid it.

Mike

Leadership and Sleep

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In this age of instant access via phone, text message, LinkedIn, twitter, and other social media platforms, we find ourselves in a 24/7 inundation of information and time constraints.  It leaves less time for ourselves.  How we sometimes get around it is by sleeping less.  A Harvard Business Review study showed that 43% of business leaders indicated that they don’t get enough sleep.  A lack of sleep has shown decreases on executive function capabilities.  This is the area where we process problem solving, reasoning and organizing.

Sleep deprivation has been proven to impair our ability to focus attentively on issues or problems that we want to solve.  A study showed that a person who only slept 4 to 5 hours a night had the same performance as someone with a blood alcohol level of 0.1% which is the definition of drunk in the U.S.

Some of our brightest and best minds of the past century (Churchill, Da Vinci, Franklin…) maintained how it important it was for them to get adequate sleep.  In fact, some had a routine of taking a nap in the afternoon from anywhere between 20 minutes to 45 minutes.

Getting adequate sleep each night, some say between 7 to 8 hours, can be the difference between effective leadership and your cognitive ability to make the right decisions for your organization.

To your health!

Mike

Leadership Through Journaling

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It was suggested to me that I begin a practice of journaling daily.  At first I thought what for?  What would I write about?  How would it help me?  My colleague kept up the pressure for me to start so I thought, okay I will humor them and do it just to say I tried it.

Well over a year later, I am still doing it.  Why?  Because I have found it to be very helpful to write down ideas, situations, or feelings that later I can work on or at least have on paper and not forget.  It also allowed me to start a practice of gratitude that has helped keep me on the positive side of the coin and driving my business and relationships forward.

I was skeptical at first, but as I progressed I became more of a believer in the power of the written word even when it comes directly from me.  I could look back at some of the writing which included goals or plans that I wanted to happen.  And guess what, a lot of if did happen.

It has helped me stay focused on my vision and goals for both business and family.  My moods are boosted by the simple act of writing why I am grateful.  Give it a try.  You have nothing to lose.  At the end of each day take your journal write down anything that comes to mind and finish it up with three things that you are grateful for.  Then you can count your blessings.

Mike

Leadership: Time Management for Decisions

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Studies have been conducted on when its best to make important decisions.  In general, it’s best not to make critical decisions late in the day.  Typically, morning is best.  Our mental resources are put to the test during the day, and as the day wears on, we are getting fatigued.  Sustained engagement commonly leads to cognitive fatigue over the course of the day.  It seems reasonable and yet we still can find ourselves making critical decisions late in the day.

Scientists Shai Daziger and Liora Avnaim-Pesso studied 1,112 bench rulings in parole court and plotted the results throughout the course of the day.  They found judges more likely to deny a request and accept status quo vs a new ruling.  Favorable rulings started high in the early part of a day by fell off precipitously later in the day.

Cognitive fatigue has also been documented with clinical decisions.  Prescriptions increased as the day wore on for physicians.  A study done on Danish student standardized test scores the students performed worse later in the day.  More breaks in the afternoon helped improve performance.

As we tackle our “to do list” we should attend to those items that need focused decision making to be earlier in the day.  And make sure to take breaks through out your day to keep your performance up.

Here’s to making great decisions!

Mike

Leadership

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I recently read a short article that addressed 5 interesting metrics to measure as you build your leadership skills.  The author, Verne Harnish, who wrote the book “Scaling Up” has these key measures that will help you grow the impact of your leadership.

  1. Initially when a business owner is starting out, it pays to say “yes” to a lot of opportunities to network and gain experiences.  However, as you get clear on your strategy, Verne recommends turning this upside down and aim for a ratio of 20-to-1 “no”.  Why?  So you can get laser focus on getting to the results that you want.
  2.  A “meet and greet” strategy with other influencers in your industry.  Set a goal of how many coffees, breakfasts or lunches to have so that you will gain knowledge from other leaders in your field
  3. Spend uninterrupted time “in the flow” for at least 90 minutes a day.  Put this on the calendar for every day.  If you don’t focus on your high priority items, they will not get done.
  4. Get input from lots of other brains that can help propel your company forward.  Get a brain trust or advisory team who have experience and wisdom that you want to obtain.
  5. Spend time thinking to let your best ideas incubate.  Even Ben Franklin took time devoted to learning each day.  Reading and thinking are a must for a leader.  As its been said “leaders are readers”.

Measure these leadership metrics on a regular basis and give yourself a chance to take your leadership skills to the next level.

Mike

Simple but Powerful Rules for Business

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Charles “Red” Scott was a President and CEO of several public companies over his career, including Intermark and then Fuqua Industries.  His business philosophy for success in running a business resonates with me, seems timeless, and cuts across all industries.  While simple on the surface, these rules and principles remind us as business leaders of what is important. 

Below are some of Red Scott’s “rules” that I think you will also find are key to business success:

  • Don’t run out of cash. . . no matter what!
  • No surprises: Give fair warning when you hear bad news
  • Never compromise quality for price
  • Plan strategy and set objectives before fixing structure
  • Be careful of a “quick fix”
  • “About right” now is better than “exactly wrong” later
  • Creativity is great. . . but not in accounting
  • Always ask “What if?”
  • Hire smart rather than manage tough
  • Do the “right thing” rather than do “things right”
  • Invest in business with a low cost to exit
  • Hire for attitude, train for skills
  • Be careful: A little success can create a whole lot of overhead
  • “I will” beats IQ every time!

These are just a few business tips that can help you pull through all your circumstances.

To your business health!
Mike

5 Ideas for Becoming a Better Leader

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I recently read a short article that addressed 5 interesting metrics to measure as you build your leadership skills.  The author, Verne Harnish, who wrote the book “Scaling Up” has these key measures that will help you grow the impact of your leadership.

1. Just say “No”. Initially when a business owner is starting out, it pays to say “yes” to a lot of opportunities to network and gain experiences.  However, as you get clear on your strategy, Verne recommends turning this upside down and aim for a ratio of 20-to-1 “No”.  Why?  So you can     get laser focused on getting to the results that you want.

2. Spend time with other leaders. Develop a “meet and greet” strategy with other     influencers in your industry.  Set a goal of how many coffees, breakfasts or lunches to have so that you will gain knowledge from other leaders in your field.

3. Put the highest priorities first. Spend uninterrupted time “in the flow” for at least 90 minutes a day.  Put this on the calendar for every day.  If you don’t focus on your high priority items, they will not
get done.

4. Use a sounding board. Get input from lots of other brains that can help propel your company forward.  Get a brain trust or advisory team who have experience and wisdom that you want to obtain.

5. Make space for thinking. Spend time thinking to let your best ideas incubate. Even Ben Franklin spent time devoted to learning each day.  Reading and thinking are a must for a leader.  As it’s been said “leaders are readers.”

Measure these leadership metrics on a regular basis and you’ll give yourself a chance to take your leadership skills to the next level.
  
Here’s to becoming great leaders! Mike