For best performance on your project –

Put your phone away – out of sight. Focus and be present without interruption or the temptation on your part to be interrupted.  

It will be there when you are done. Put it where you can’t hear it, see it or feel it. (Airplane mode AND put it out of sight.)

The right challenge to skill ratio

When we have too big of a challenge in front of us, we get overwhelmed and discouraged. When we have too little of a challenge, we get bored and disengage. When we have the right amount of challenge we are turned on and do our best work.

It’s the same for your employees. Too much and they are overwhelmed and give up. Too little and they get bored and stray. And each employee has different abilities in different areas. What overwhelms one is a good challenge for another. As leaders, we need to keep our people engaged by assigning the “goldilocks challenge” for them.  

Freedom is the precondition of wealth.

Before the emergence of free market capitalism, most people with material wealth were rich because they stole from others. They lived from taxation, confiscation, pillaging and forced labor. For most of human history, only the top .01% – mostly rulers, were wealthy. When humans finally began to live free from tyrannical governments, and at last began to enjoy limited government and free enterprise with the invention of America, wealth exploded.

The more free enterprise, the less people languishing in poverty. Thank you for being part of it.

The Juicemaker

It’s been a long time since you decided to start your business. The excitement of the first few months has waned now and given way to the work. Now you are doing it – every day; probably the same way as you have done it before. The thrill is gone – or at least ground down to routine and maybe boredom.

But does it have to be this way? Time to remind yourself that it’s entirely up to you.

I don’t talk about my businesses directly in Think Daily too often. After 36 years of being in business, I have seven businesses – but they are all related, one having been born from another. I think of them as one business offering multiple services. We have 380 fantastic diverse employees and nine buildings on our campus. Let me tell you a story.

One of my companies is a local service business – Connecticut Basement Systems/Dr. Energy Saver Connecticut. The employees of the company are doing new installations in 23 homes a day, doing service in 50 homes a day, and giving new estimates to 50 prospects each day. There’s a lot going on here in year 30.  

After 30 years (or five) it can get pretty stale. How do we keep it fresh, and keep up the momentum and energy? We’ve done a lot over the years, but three years ago we broke ground on an incredible new facility that opened in June. It was a big investment on my part, but hell – it’s fun! To go to work in this beautiful state-of-the-art modern facility with everything designed for maximum employee engagement, productivity and satisfaction – I think we all felt a rebirth to our enterprise.

Further, a facility tells the world what the leader’s vision and optimism for the future is – and our employees see we are here to stay – still.  

There are lots of ways to get the juice back. It’s up to the leader.

What being crazy busy does to us

When we have so much packed into our days because we have not defined our own leadership job correctly, we haven’t delegated or built a team to delegate to, or we simply have taken on too much, it hurts us in several ways.

How? First, our sense of ambition can be dimmed. We have so much going on we just don’t want anymore. Sounds like the right thing. But not wanting anymore work for ourselves and not wanting anymore growth and improvement for our organization get caught up together. One is valid and the other is swept along as collateral damage.

Second, our sense of courage gets dinged when we are overwhelmed. We don’t have the time and energy to fight for any one important issue, as we divide and spread our determination and resolve among the myriad of things we have going on.

Delegate, and focus on fewer things that are most important to your organization’s future.

Respect can't be faked

You’re the leader.  Do you really respect your people?  

They know.

Loyalty

When people stick with you and remember the good things you did for them or the great experiences you had together, it feels good. When they keep their promises and support you even when things get rough or go wrong for a while, they are an important person in your life. When you are loyal to others it feels good to them too.

This Thanksgiving, reach out to a few employees and tell them you appreciate their loyalty over the years. Speak from the heart. It will mean a lot.

Self-restraint and kindness

Leaders wield power. When you walk into your business you aren’t an average guy or gal anymore – you’re the boss. What you say to your team members and how you treat them when they are doing well or not well means a lot to them.

Having the power to crush someone with your words and NOT doing that is real power.

Be kind. People will remember the way you made them feel. 

Fear stops people

You are the boss – you’re not afraid of anything!  Well, we know that’s not true.

What are you afraid of that is stopping you from doing something that may move your organization forward?

Make decisions

In Baja and in business, there are a thousand crossroads where you must decide.

Make decisions.  Successful people don’t get stuck at the crossroads.

Are there decisions you need to make to get your foot off the brake?