The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.

The subject of this email is the end of a quote by Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, which in total reads:

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus. “

We often confuse working on multiple goals with working on multiple goals at once. This is a huge wasted opportunity. Imagine trying to push five small boxes in five similar directions with each finger at one time. Compare that to how much quicker you can push one box with your whole hand.

That is what we can do when we focus. We can put all of our (and our team’s) energy towards a goal we can get progress towards that goal much quicker. Then we can pull back set our focus on the next goal and go forth again. Note here that we are not saying that you should only have one goal at a time. That is neither realistic nor desirable. But by focus your team on a singular goal you can really move something forward. Then use that same coordinated power to move the next goal forward. We often let our impact and power splinter and do not stop to re-gather ourselves and focus back on the goal at hand.

I recognize there are times when we have to divide our attention. Our aim is to recognize what we have to do and then get the team focused again. You will also see that when you focus on this one goal that somehow, all of the other areas seem to improve as well.

There is a power in focus and we should all look around us and make sure that we have ourselves and our people focused on a single goal and then see what we can do.

You will be amazed. Like the rays of the sun in our quote above, our energy can go everywhere and some impact or we can focus it on one goal as a team and then that’s when things will really start to catch fire. (pun intended)

Feedback is the breakfast of champions*

In talking about addressing issues up front and immediately in the last two weeks there is one area that I wanted to discuss. And that is the idea of immediate and direct response to what happens when we see something good. When we do not give immediate feedback we miss an opportunity. We miss the opportunity to reinforce whether something that someone did is good or bad in our eyes.

If we do not comment when we see some do something that is not up to expectations we have said “this behavior is not an issue please continue”.

If we do not comment when we see someone doing something good we have missed the chance to say “that behavior was great I would love to see more!”.

Both of these are missed opportunities. As managers and leaders we must be feedback machines. But we must look to balance the negative and the positive. Take a moment and pay attention to the feedback you are giving your people. Is it immediate? Is it constant? Is it balanced? If we give both positive and negative feedback it makes both more powerful. If you give both types people believe you when you tell them. And that is what we want because that reinforces the positives that we see and helps people correct the negatives. And that is coaching, and that is managing.

So take a moment and look at yourself and ask how much feedback have I been giving? How much more can I give? And if you give it in the right way, the right balance and the right time (which is right now) you will get much, much more back in positive returns than you give.

* ”Feedback is the breakfast of champions” – Ken Blanchard

Behavior is a mirror

Last week when we talked about giving feedback early and often before a small situation becomes a big problem. And it is was discussed from a management and behavior point of view. However there is one other issue that this gets at – albeit in a more subtle way. And that is integrity.

If we see something that we need to correct because it is not what we said we do and we do not correct it we have not only sent a message about behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable but we have also told everyone our values that we discuss are not truly important to us. Our actions are how we relate our beliefs and values to the rest of the world. When we choose to not address an issue we are making a statement of values as well.

Think about what you are doing (or what you are not doing) and think about the values that you are relating to your people. We have an opportunity to express our values with every action – we should look at that as a great opportunity. A challenging one to be sure, and not an easy one, but a wonderful opportunity to make these statements about who we are by what we do. Our people will never forget it so neither should we.

Never put off tomorrow what you can do today

It happens all of the time. We see one of our people doing something they should not be doing. Nothing criminal mind you, maybe they are bickering, stirring the pot or doing something that is not acceptable behavior but it is more a misdemeanor than a felony.

So what do you do?

Often we will walk by thinking “this is not a big deal… I do not want to make a ‘thing’ about this…hopefully it will go away.” And invariably, not far down the line, this issue has continued on and has become not a minor issue but a repetitive, chronic problem. Our misdemeanor has turned into a felony. This happens to us all of the time. Why?

When you as the leader of the group walk by someone not behaving up to standards and you do not give direct feedback we forget that we are sending a clear message. A message that says “what you are doing is OK, it is not a problem, go ahead and keep on doing it”. So instead of helping it disappear you have reinforced that the behavior will continue. And it does not stop there, you have now made it that much harder to correct anyone else who is exhibiting the same behavior. (“Why are you picking on me? You let others get away with it…”)

I know it is not always easy to be correcting and coaching. No of us like to hear that we are not doing well, or doing something we are not supposed, and no one likes to give that feedback. But let’s think of it this way. Would you rather get a vaccine for a disease have the small discomfort upfront or ignore it and deal with the disease itself? It is cheaper and hurts much less…

If when you see that early behavior that is out of line, and out of standard, and grab that as an opportunity for easy improvement and immunization. Take the person aside and explain why that behavior is not what we do, and you know that they want to follow the standards and be a part of the team. We are going to have the conversation with the person at some point. If you do it early it will make them better and your whole team better. If you ignore it will be a part of the separation conversation. I prefer a vaccine that works to a disease that hurts. Early intervention is the difference between success and failure here. And we all want to succeed.

So let’s keep our eyes out for behaviors that we have let slide and start coaching our people as to how we should be doing things. The way we make sure it “get’s better” or “goes away” is by doing something about it.

Falling back to leap forward

Last week we talked about making errors. There is second part to the equation. If we say the right kind of mistakes (and most importantly recognizing all kinds of mistakes) is not a bad thing but can be good then there is a second question that we must ask ourselves which is “what next?”.

Acknowledging that mistakes can be good is important for two reasons:

1) They are going to happen so it is better to recognize and accept that and look for the positive.
2) You can plan for how to recover from mistakes once you have allowed for the reality that they will happen.

And that second point is a key point for world class execution. Why do we practice how to handle an upset customer? We know it will happen so we need a recovery system. Be aware enough to spot a mistake is great; the next step is to try to think through how to respond as quickly as possible. Is there a mistake that you see could happen that you may not be ready for? Whether it is an issue with utilities (think flooding), power outages or good old fashioned equipment issues there are many things that can happen. The more we are ready to respond the higher our performance will be.

While perfection is an ideal goal if our whole operating mindset is based on us being perfect we will be flawed. Because things do go wrong so we must see it, own that it happens and jump on solving these issues. And the more thought we have into these responses before the better. Think about areas where your people can and should be ready to recover and see how you can help them execute this recovery the best way possible.

Flawless execution includes the possibility (and inevitability) or errors but also allows us, and should force us, to plan for these moments and practice our recovery and response. That is one of the keys to excellence and something we should embrace. So it’s OK for us to recognize we will fall back as long as we use it as a chance to plan to leap forward.

To err is human

Last week I mentioned the power of Action steps.

One of the big impediments is the fear of messing up. There are two types of mistakes

1) Doing something that we have done regularly. And this is usually caused by not paying attention.

2) Doing something that we have not really done before. These errors come as part of the learning process.

Of course we want to avoid the first type of mistake. But I want you to seek out the second. We should always be trying something a little new and different to improve. Which means we should always be finding little mistakes to improve on. A new idea that has a mistake may be our best opportunity for learning and finding that next level of excellence. So it is key to seek these moments out.

In order to do this you must pay attention and have a keen eye to which type of errors you are seeing. Most of instinctively know the difference but we do not categorize them differently. A mistake is a mistake. This fear is one of the biggest road blocks you can run into in any situation. There are mistakes to be avoided and those that we should embrace.

Let’s look at these two types of mistakes as two separate functions. The first type of error (of a regular task that comes … #1 above) should be avoided and minimized. The second type of error (from trying something new …#2 above) should not only not be minimized; they should be sought out. Because there is learning there and something good going on. Something you learn, something you can build on and something you can share. Looking at it that way I am sure you will agree that it is not even right to think of it as a mistake anymore.

We all know that everything we try will not work – but make sure that we classify our mistakes correctly because one is a good thing. If it has been a while since you have had a mistake go seek one out. Just make sure it is the right kind of mistake. Then you will be onto something.

Light's, camera....

Action… simple and powerful.

“What next step should I be taking to make my goals happen? “

This one question is crucial. It is a game changing attitude. It takes two key thoughts and makes the go…

1) It is a reminder that we have the ability and authority to act and take control.
2) It forces us to be in a state of doing instead of not doing (or remember as my football coach used to say “don’t-ing”)

Imagine what next week would look like if we all asked ourselves this questions and answered it at every possible moment…

“What next step should I be taking to make my goals happen?”

Yes at times we have to deal with the emergent issue at hand, we all have to put out fires, but imagine a week where every time we got pass those issue we asked the question above and then made sure we started to work on that next step.

We all get caught up in each day and this is a great question to focus us back on running our day instead of our day running us. And whether you are good at running your day or need some improvement we all know we can always get better.

So remember take at least one moment over the next few days and ask yourself the question

“What next step should I be taking to make my goals happen?”

And the stage will be set and then it is time for Action. Sounds pretty good to me.

If you are in the path of the ice storms that never end stay warm and safe and for those of us in the south getting snow enjoy the moment.

Thanks