Wade through this and you'll find some gemmy tidbits:
http://www.eagleschoolmovie.com/
19.2.08
Go With What You've Got
There are some fabulous tidbits appearing in my inbox from the newsletters I've signed up for. This one echoes a big learning from the book Individualized Corporation, further cemented at a leadership camp last summer: effective people don't wait for things to be 100% perfect. They go with 70%. The last three paragraphs below hit that idea right out of the park for me. Read on....
Do What You Can With What You've Got
Written by Bud Bilanich
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Outstanding performers do the best with what they’ve got. If they don’t have what they want or need, they get it. If they can’t get it, they do the best they can without it. Outstanding performers don’t make excuses, they deliver.
Last week I did a post where I mentioned Margaret Wheatley’s great little book Turning to One Another. The very last page of that book has a great story. It comes from the Aztec people of Mexico.
“It is said by our Grandparents that a long time ago there was a great fire in the forests that covered our Earth. People and animals started to run, trying to escape the fire. Our brother owl, Tecolotl, was running away also when he noticed a small bird hurrying back and forth between the nearest river and the fire. He headed towards this small bird.
“He noticed that it was our brother the Quetzal bird, Quetzaltototl, running to the river, picking up small drops of water in his beak, then returning to the fire to throw that tiny bit of water on the flame. Owl approached Quetzal bird and yelled at him: ‘What are you doing, brother? Are you stupid? You are not going to achieve anything by doing this. What are you trying to do? You must run for your life!’
“Quetzal bird stopped for a moment and looked at owl and then answered, ‘I am doing the best I can with what I have’.
“It is remembered by our Grandparents that a long time ago the forests that covered our Earth were saved from a great fire by a small Quetzal bird, an owl and many other animals and people who got together to put out the flames.”
I love this story. It illustrates one of my favorite beliefs, the power of one. It also makes a great point about becoming an outstanding performer – do what you can with what you have. Many people will miss deadlines and say, “I didn’t have all of the information I needed.” Outstanding performers either make sure they get the information, or do the job the best they can in spite of the missing information.
When I was an undergraduate at Penn State, I studied journalism. Bob Farson was one of my favorite professors. One of his favorite sayings was “Go with what you’ve got.” He always told us that we would probably never have all the information we needed or wanted to write a story, but the deadline was more important that a complete story – “You can’t print a blank newspaper, or go on the air at 6:00 and say ‘give us five minutes to finish getting ready’.” He was right.
The common sense point here is simple. Outstanding performers do the best with what they’ve got. If they don’t have what they want or need, they get it. If they can’t get it, they do the best they can without it. Outstanding performers don’t make excuses, they deliver.
Do What You Can With What You've Got
Written by Bud Bilanich
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Outstanding performers do the best with what they’ve got. If they don’t have what they want or need, they get it. If they can’t get it, they do the best they can without it. Outstanding performers don’t make excuses, they deliver.
Last week I did a post where I mentioned Margaret Wheatley’s great little book Turning to One Another. The very last page of that book has a great story. It comes from the Aztec people of Mexico.
“It is said by our Grandparents that a long time ago there was a great fire in the forests that covered our Earth. People and animals started to run, trying to escape the fire. Our brother owl, Tecolotl, was running away also when he noticed a small bird hurrying back and forth between the nearest river and the fire. He headed towards this small bird.
“He noticed that it was our brother the Quetzal bird, Quetzaltototl, running to the river, picking up small drops of water in his beak, then returning to the fire to throw that tiny bit of water on the flame. Owl approached Quetzal bird and yelled at him: ‘What are you doing, brother? Are you stupid? You are not going to achieve anything by doing this. What are you trying to do? You must run for your life!’
“Quetzal bird stopped for a moment and looked at owl and then answered, ‘I am doing the best I can with what I have’.
“It is remembered by our Grandparents that a long time ago the forests that covered our Earth were saved from a great fire by a small Quetzal bird, an owl and many other animals and people who got together to put out the flames.”
I love this story. It illustrates one of my favorite beliefs, the power of one. It also makes a great point about becoming an outstanding performer – do what you can with what you have. Many people will miss deadlines and say, “I didn’t have all of the information I needed.” Outstanding performers either make sure they get the information, or do the job the best they can in spite of the missing information.
When I was an undergraduate at Penn State, I studied journalism. Bob Farson was one of my favorite professors. One of his favorite sayings was “Go with what you’ve got.” He always told us that we would probably never have all the information we needed or wanted to write a story, but the deadline was more important that a complete story – “You can’t print a blank newspaper, or go on the air at 6:00 and say ‘give us five minutes to finish getting ready’.” He was right.
The common sense point here is simple. Outstanding performers do the best with what they’ve got. If they don’t have what they want or need, they get it. If they can’t get it, they do the best they can without it. Outstanding performers don’t make excuses, they deliver.
Mistake Quote
This came my way from a daily motivation provided by walkthetalk.com. It was too great not to go un-blogged:
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
-- John Powell
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
-- John Powell
6.2.08
Better than Ice Cream - more manifestos!
It's already time for more fabulous manifestos (confession: I haven't read the January ones yet!). Here's the list of treats:
An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.”
SITE: http://changethis.com/43.01.EatersManifesto
The Power of Intuition: And Why It’s the Biggest Myth in Business Todayby Kevin J. Clancy and Peter C. Krieg “The real issue is how many times do pure hunches alone lead to legendary success? The answer upon closer inspection: pretty rarely.”
SITE: http://changethis.com/43.02.PowerIntuition
Questionating by Corinne Miller “Those who ask ‘why’ are typically more holistic or whole-brained thinkers, those who ask ‘how’ are typically more box thinkers, and those who ask ‘why not’ are typically the challenging thinkers. All types, of course, are equally valuable and equally required for innovation!” SITE: http://changethis.com/43.03.Questionating
Let’s Make a Deal: Deal Making Process Improvement Principles by Noric Dilanchian “Deal making should be led by process, as well as practical and commercial considerations, not purely legal considerations. It is helpful to think of deals as blueprints for living outcomes, not just glue to bind relationships.” SITE: http://changethis.com/43.04.DealMaking
100 Ways to Help You Succeed/Make Money: Part II by Tom Peters We published the beginning to a very empowering list three years ago—Tom Peters’ 100 Ways to Help You Succeed/Make Money. That list was finished recently, and we now update it here with success tips #51-100 (&1). SITE: http://changethis.com/43.05.100Ways2 --> To start with Part I: http://changethis.com/14.100Ways
Indexing a Career: A Career Path in Pictures by Jessica Hagy Jessica Hagy has a unique and irreverent sense of humor, and has the ability to capture complex realities in a 3” by 5” frame. Here she has organized a series of twenty index cards she has created throughout the years, plotting the trajectory of an imagined, but possibly recognizable, career path. SITE: http://changethis.com/43.06.IndexingCareer
Mange!
An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.”
SITE: http://changethis.com/43.01.EatersManifesto
The Power of Intuition: And Why It’s the Biggest Myth in Business Todayby Kevin J. Clancy and Peter C. Krieg “The real issue is how many times do pure hunches alone lead to legendary success? The answer upon closer inspection: pretty rarely.”
SITE: http://changethis.com/43.02.PowerIntuition
Questionating by Corinne Miller “Those who ask ‘why’ are typically more holistic or whole-brained thinkers, those who ask ‘how’ are typically more box thinkers, and those who ask ‘why not’ are typically the challenging thinkers. All types, of course, are equally valuable and equally required for innovation!” SITE: http://changethis.com/43.03.Questionating
Let’s Make a Deal: Deal Making Process Improvement Principles by Noric Dilanchian “Deal making should be led by process, as well as practical and commercial considerations, not purely legal considerations. It is helpful to think of deals as blueprints for living outcomes, not just glue to bind relationships.” SITE: http://changethis.com/43.04.DealMaking
100 Ways to Help You Succeed/Make Money: Part II by Tom Peters We published the beginning to a very empowering list three years ago—Tom Peters’ 100 Ways to Help You Succeed/Make Money. That list was finished recently, and we now update it here with success tips #51-100 (&1). SITE: http://changethis.com/43.05.100Ways2 --> To start with Part I: http://changethis.com/14.100Ways
Indexing a Career: A Career Path in Pictures by Jessica Hagy Jessica Hagy has a unique and irreverent sense of humor, and has the ability to capture complex realities in a 3” by 5” frame. Here she has organized a series of twenty index cards she has created throughout the years, plotting the trajectory of an imagined, but possibly recognizable, career path. SITE: http://changethis.com/43.06.IndexingCareer
Mange!
Making Talent A Strategic Priority
From the McKinseyQuarterly...
"The War for Talent never ended. Executives must constantly rethink the way their companies plan to attract, motivate, and retain employees. "
by Matthew Guthridge, Asmus B. Komm, and Emily Lawson
I'm loving all the newsletters I'm now receiving - my morning oatmeal has never been so interesting. This article sparked some big questions for me... here's the gist:
Exhibit 1: Business and HR leaders identify many reasons for an inability to deliver value through talent-management practices, and seven obstacles stand out.
Exhibit 2: The suitability of job candidates varies across countries as a result of language problems, educational systems, and cultural issues.
Exhibit 3: Executives do not see the HR function as having the influence and capabilities to shape effective talent-management strategies.
Exhibit 4: Organizations cannot afford to neglect the contributions of all but the highest-ranking employees.
Of particular interest to me was this excerpt:
Bolster HR
Ten years ago, HR specialists were preoccupied largely with formulating and managing standard processes—notably, recruitment, training, compensation, and performance management. We believed then, as we do now, that human resources should assert its influence over business strategy and provide credible and proactive counsel and support for the chiefs and line managers of individual business units. Only HR can translate a business strategy into a detailed talent strategy: for instance, how many people does the company need in order to execute its business strategy, where does it need them, and what skills should they have?
Unfortunately, the credibility and influence of HR executives have declined over the past decade, and the function has failed to develop many critical capabilities. According to our research, 58 percent of all line managers believe that the HR function lacks the wherewithal to develop talent strategies in line with a company’s business objectives, though only 25 percent of the HR professionals in our interviews agreed.
HR leaders need to widen their focus beyond senior management and better address the needs of the front line. “HR serves only the top layers,” complained one global HR director recently. “My head of HR in North America works only with the CEO—nobody knows her, and she doesn’t know where the talent lies in the business.”
In the same spirit, HR departments need to get a better feel for segmentation and internal marketing in order to create and define a number of different employee value propositions. HR managers at Southwest Airlines, for example, use such skills to treat its frontline contact employees as internal customers by researching their needs and preferences as energetically as the company’s marketers investigate those of its external customers.
Finally, HR directors should acquire deeper business knowledge. At Procter & Gamble, for instance, an aspiring HR manager is expected either to take a job in a plant or to work alongside a key-account executive to learn about a business unit and win the confidence of its managers. Coca-Cola Enterprises rotates top-performing line managers into HR positions for two or three years to build the business skills of its HR professionals and to make the function more credible to the business units.
As an HR professional, I agree with the need to ask and answer these questions: how many people does the company need in order to execute its business strategy, where does it need them, and what skills should they have? Also, the part about creating different employee value propositions, being able to effectively serve the front line, and acquiring deeper business knowledge are wonderful 'main things' to consider (and begs the bigger question of how do I acheive this?). Definitely a garden of rich learnings here!
"The War for Talent never ended. Executives must constantly rethink the way their companies plan to attract, motivate, and retain employees. "
by Matthew Guthridge, Asmus B. Komm, and Emily Lawson
I'm loving all the newsletters I'm now receiving - my morning oatmeal has never been so interesting. This article sparked some big questions for me... here's the gist:
Exhibit 1: Business and HR leaders identify many reasons for an inability to deliver value through talent-management practices, and seven obstacles stand out.
Exhibit 2: The suitability of job candidates varies across countries as a result of language problems, educational systems, and cultural issues.
Exhibit 3: Executives do not see the HR function as having the influence and capabilities to shape effective talent-management strategies.
Exhibit 4: Organizations cannot afford to neglect the contributions of all but the highest-ranking employees.
Of particular interest to me was this excerpt:
Bolster HR
Ten years ago, HR specialists were preoccupied largely with formulating and managing standard processes—notably, recruitment, training, compensation, and performance management. We believed then, as we do now, that human resources should assert its influence over business strategy and provide credible and proactive counsel and support for the chiefs and line managers of individual business units. Only HR can translate a business strategy into a detailed talent strategy: for instance, how many people does the company need in order to execute its business strategy, where does it need them, and what skills should they have?
Unfortunately, the credibility and influence of HR executives have declined over the past decade, and the function has failed to develop many critical capabilities. According to our research, 58 percent of all line managers believe that the HR function lacks the wherewithal to develop talent strategies in line with a company’s business objectives, though only 25 percent of the HR professionals in our interviews agreed.
HR leaders need to widen their focus beyond senior management and better address the needs of the front line. “HR serves only the top layers,” complained one global HR director recently. “My head of HR in North America works only with the CEO—nobody knows her, and she doesn’t know where the talent lies in the business.”
In the same spirit, HR departments need to get a better feel for segmentation and internal marketing in order to create and define a number of different employee value propositions. HR managers at Southwest Airlines, for example, use such skills to treat its frontline contact employees as internal customers by researching their needs and preferences as energetically as the company’s marketers investigate those of its external customers.
Finally, HR directors should acquire deeper business knowledge. At Procter & Gamble, for instance, an aspiring HR manager is expected either to take a job in a plant or to work alongside a key-account executive to learn about a business unit and win the confidence of its managers. Coca-Cola Enterprises rotates top-performing line managers into HR positions for two or three years to build the business skills of its HR professionals and to make the function more credible to the business units.
As an HR professional, I agree with the need to ask and answer these questions: how many people does the company need in order to execute its business strategy, where does it need them, and what skills should they have? Also, the part about creating different employee value propositions, being able to effectively serve the front line, and acquiring deeper business knowledge are wonderful 'main things' to consider (and begs the bigger question of how do I acheive this?). Definitely a garden of rich learnings here!
4.2.08
Unleashed! Coaching ebook
This is an amazing find passed along to me by a colleague: en ebook titled "Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and other secrets of coaching for exceptional performance", by Gregg Thompson with Susanne Biro.
I loved the 60 Big Coaching Questions (one idea for the colleague is to pick some of the areas and have your employee choose two questions that speak to them the most, then form your coaching sessions around the two questions - pwerful stuff!) as well as The 10 Big Acknowledgements.
And how about this amazing paragraph on page 4:
"Why Coaching? Why Now? Management futurists are fond of predicting a War for Talent. They foresee atime in the near future when organizations will be battling for their very survival in thearena of top performers.I agree; however, I also believe that this war can be fought and won primarilywithin the organization itself.Look around your organization right now –in its cubicles and inside its hallways, in itsmeeting rooms and labs, on its factory floor. Any place where people work you will findenormous, untapped potential waiting to be developed. No need for headhunters orexpensive recruitment campaigns.Talent is everywhere. Coaching is the key to unleashing it!"
View the ebook here: http://www.unleashedthecoachingbook.com/unleashed%20ebook%20-%20FINAL.pdf
I loved the 60 Big Coaching Questions (one idea for the colleague is to pick some of the areas and have your employee choose two questions that speak to them the most, then form your coaching sessions around the two questions - pwerful stuff!) as well as The 10 Big Acknowledgements.
And how about this amazing paragraph on page 4:
"Why Coaching? Why Now? Management futurists are fond of predicting a War for Talent. They foresee atime in the near future when organizations will be battling for their very survival in thearena of top performers.I agree; however, I also believe that this war can be fought and won primarilywithin the organization itself.Look around your organization right now –in its cubicles and inside its hallways, in itsmeeting rooms and labs, on its factory floor. Any place where people work you will findenormous, untapped potential waiting to be developed. No need for headhunters orexpensive recruitment campaigns.Talent is everywhere. Coaching is the key to unleashing it!"
View the ebook here: http://www.unleashedthecoachingbook.com/unleashed%20ebook%20-%20FINAL.pdf
A Poem - Be the Best of Whatever You Are
This was shared with me by a colleague. What wonderful inspiring words for us all...
Be The Best of Whatever You Are
If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley-but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.
If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass-
But the liveliest bass in the lake!
We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here,
There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.
If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail-
Be the best of whatever you are!
- Douglas Malloch
Be The Best of Whatever You Are
If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley-but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.
If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass-
But the liveliest bass in the lake!
We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here,
There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.
If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail-
Be the best of whatever you are!
- Douglas Malloch
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