Teach to learn

If you think you know something that is important to your business’s success, then teach it to others.  

Teaching is a great way of learning and taking your understanding to the next level.  When you teach, you really have to know your stuff, and be able to express it well.  

Don’t wait until you are perfect.  The idea is that you won’t be UNTIL you teach, and teach again.

As a leader, teaching is an important part of your job – for the advancement of your team, and your own.

"Active Pursuit"

If we wait to be happy until we accomplish our goal, then we’ll be unhappy most of the time.  The race, the journey, often takes years and crossing the finish line a mere moment.  Will we stop and be happy after we achieve our goal?  No.  We’ll find something else to achieve and chase.

Being successful is not about having achieved a goal, although that is part of it.  Being successful is the daily routine of being in active pursuit of a worthy ideal or goal.  If you are working toward something worthy each day, you are a success now.

Enjoy the journey, because that’s all it is.

Graduate of UHK?

Do you have a degree from the University of Hard Knocks? Or worse, are you still in it?  Maybe in your 14th year?

Funny thing about this school – they’ll never kick you out, and you can stay as long as you don’t learn anything.  Graduation happens when you finally stop making the same mistakes with the same patterns of thinking, and become the person you weren’t before.

UHK Class of ________?

"Installing Success"

What systems need to be in place in your business that mere mortal employees can use to get great results with every customer?

It’s the leaders job to implement systems that are simple, elegant, beautiful, friendly, usable and that work to get the results you are looking for.

What systems or processes need to be changed in your business?

Learn less, study more

While learning about new things that are peripheral to our industry, job or mission it is important to expand our thinking and understanding, it’s not a lack of information that is our problem.

More often it’s learning fewer things better.  What are the key skills you need to advance your career or business?  Learn how to do these things well from the right sources, and re-learn them, and repeat and practice and study them again – and be sure to implement.

Success is not about doing 100 things well.  It’s about executing a few things REALLY well.

What is it for you? 

Your work environment

How things look around you and your employees affects how they think.  Our work environment tells our employees and customers what kind of company this is, what our standards are, how they are expected to behave and what quality we expect.  It also affects the daily productivity of each team member.

If groups of employees work out of your faciity during the day, they take these standards with them to customers homes or workplaces.

Look around you.  Is it time to make some changes? 

Why do you want to succeed?

Sure, we have physical goals, but the human and emotional reasons are more powerful motivators for us.

Why do you want to succeed?  Maybe you want to move away from a situation or condition; or maybe you want to “show them” (him/her), or prove something to yourself.

What are your emotional reasons?

Lean into conflict

When there is trouble in your business, jump into it.  Find out why, get all sides of the story, and fix it.

That’s part of the leader’s job – making things better by fixing what is broken.  

If you avoid conflict, it will come back or grow bigger.

What do you need to jump on today?

Double standard?

If we pay someone $25,000 a year, should we expect the same performance or value production as someone we pay $50,000 a year to?  Or $100,000 a year?

Abusing Power

A leader abusing his power will kill the loyalty of the team members quickly, and cause friction and rebellion.  

When team members see that you wield the power of your position responsibly and carefully, it builds trust and loyalty.

What would your team say about your use of position power?