Archive for the ‘Strategy’ Category
The former Vice Chairman of Coca-Cola Brian G. Dyson wrote this. It was used as Georgia Tech’s Commencement Address in 2008. I share it with you today because it is perfectly appropriate for us heading into 2010 (Twenty ten or Two thousand and ten?)
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them Work – Family – Health – Friends – Spirit, and you’re keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that WORK is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – FAMILY, HEALTH, FRIENDS and SPIRIT are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?
- Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.
- Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know Read the rest of this entry »
To marry or not to marry – that is a fairly big question to ask oneself! Now whether you are male or female I certainly feel that it is no small matter to consider.
I found myself in a position about two years ago when I realised I really did want to get married. My partner had not been keen on the idea for the 14 years we had been together. It had never really been an issue until it came to the point when I was naturally considering my options for having babies and getting married. Needles to say, I was approaching my mid thirties, which could be argued to be a certain turning point for many a woman very aware of her “biological clock”.
So there I was, pretty sure I was going to leave the “having the children” job to my friends and sisters, but something was niggling me about the whole marriage thing. I couldn’t put my finger on it. We were happy for so long and didn’t need a piece of paper to prove that. We had been getting on fine up to Read the rest of this entry »
Sleep is good for you!
According to Wikipedia: “Sleep deprivation (having too little sleep), can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight gain. Complete absence of sleep over long periods is impossible to achieve; brief microsleeps (3-14 seconds) cannot be avoided.”
What causes us not to sleep?
I asked around Ireland and was not surprised by Read the rest of this entry »
Happy May Day!
Try this out. If you would like to know how it is achieved, ask anyone logically or mathematically minded, or a 15 year old. Enjoy:
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/games/ma … entral.swf
If you still can’t figure it out, I can out you out of your misery click here
I always wanted to put this up as a blog post so I am doing it now. It is not my own words, but ring so true in our cluttered and overcrowded Civil Service here in Ireland.
Picture a civil servant, called A, who finds himself overworked. Whether this overwork is real or imaginary is immaterial, but we should observe, in passing, that A’s sensation (or illusion) might easily result from his own decreasing energy: a normal symptom of middle age. For this real or imagined overwork there are, broadly speaking, three possible remedies. He may resign; he may ask to halve the work with a colleague called B; he may demand the assistance of two subordinates, to be called C and D. There is probably no instance, however, in history of A choosing any but the third alternative. By resignation he would lose Read the rest of this entry »
For those of you who communicate to audiences of any size, here are some common traps to avoid…
1. Be absorbed in yourself and how interesting you think you are
2. Keep talking long after you’ve communicated your point (otherwise know as waffle)
3. Don’t have a point (otherwise known as BS)
4. Have 14 points (and 7 sub-points and 2 recaps, and then Read the rest of this entry »
First things first – Set your goals
Yes we all know that we need to make lists – but I am talking about something different. Goal setting can be an arduous but profound experience. See my Blog called Goal Setting below on how to set SMART goals.
Once your goals have been set, it’s important to maintain momentum and flair!
Don’t be just normal
Aim high and try to stretch above the norm. Imagine yourself as a strong elastic band (not the type you find around a bunch of scallions), a really strong elastic. Imagine stretching that elastic and watch it grow in size – that’s what we do when we learn and grow. There is no limit to our elasticity, because each time we grow, our elastic band regenerates itself to grow more.
If you do not stretch yourself, then what you have set is not Read the rest of this entry »
This is no Joke!
Perception can be the downfall of all great ideas. So your business is suffering lately. Ask yourself how that has come about? Is your answer something like “Well, because of the Recession, of course! Doh (Homer Simpson style)”
Now ask yourself this question – “Am I doing anything different today than I was two years ago?” – If the answer is No, then you are not adapting and being flexible in your business and your approach to your clients. Do you think their needs have changed over the past 2 years? Of course they have. They are looking for more Read the rest of this entry »
A little field-mouse was lost in a dense wood, unable to find his way out. He came upon a wise old owl sitting in a tree. “Please help me, wise old owl, how can I get out of this wood?” said the field-mouse.
“Easy,” said the owl, “Grow wings and fly out, as I do.”
“But how can I grow wings?” asked the mouse.
The owl looked at him haughtily, sniffed disdainfully, and said, “Don’t bother me with the details, I only advise on strategy”.
No-one can really set OUR path for US, as only we know best what is best for us individually.
Take responsibility for yourself, get out of your own way, and become accountable.
Most of all? Enjoy the journey and the wings will manifest themselves.
Elaine
I was listening to a great Coach speak at the Limerick Bizcamp over the weekend, Anna Presso, and I began thinking about goal setting – something I have let go by the wayside recently, but her words resonated with me and I felt I should tell you about the beauty of Goal Setting.
What is the difference between a goal and a wish?
General Wish: “I would love to write a book some day”
General goal: “I want to write a book.”
Specific goal: “I want to write a book on time management that is at least 200 pages in length and have it done by April 16th. I’ll commit myself to writing at least 2 pages every workday until I reach completion.”
Watch your language. If you are not specific with your wording, then you are giving yourself permission not to succeed. Other goal killers are words like “I’ll try”, “I’d love to, but…”, “I wish I could do that, but…” I am sure you know where I am coming from with this.
Goal Setting is a process, and a skill that can be learned and practiced (so no excuses, right?)
Firstly, you need a SMART goal
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Specific - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:
I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I know):
Who: Who is involved?
What: What do I want to accomplish?
Where: Identify a location.
When: Establish a time frame.
Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
General goal: “Get in shape.” –
Specific Goal: “To lose 7 lbs and tone up, I will join a health club/gym in ****** and workout 3 days a week until Easter. I will take a weekly inventory of my diet to identify problem areas. I will walk 30 mins on good days, and exercise inside when weather is not good. I will enrol my husband to keep me accoutable. I will be fit enough to run the mini marathon in June.”
Measurable / Manageable – if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it. Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as…
How much?
How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?
General goal: “I want to be rich.”
Measurable goal: “I want to generate $100,000 in passive income within 5 years from this date.”
Attainable / Achievable - When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.
Non-Attainable: “I want to lose 12 lbs in the next 2 weeks”
More attainable: “I want to lose 2 lbs in the first week, and then 1 lb a week for 11 weeks”
Realistic / Relevant - To be realistic, a goal must be do-able! It must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
Unrealistic Goal: “Within one year, I want to become a warlord and have many loyal soldiers who will commit acts of terrorism on my behalf.”
Realistic Goal: “By the end of the year, I want to build a philanthropic foundation that helps feed the homeless.”
Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 12 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by Jun 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.
Untimed Goal: “I am going to do this project.”
Timely Goal: “I am going to finish this project by 8pm tonight and I’ll achieve this deadline by spending one hour on each subject.”
T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.
So now your goal is SMART, where do we go from here?
1. A goal gets you from HERE to THERE. Imagine the THERE – picture it, feel it, sense it, use your senses to experience it.
2. Decide what you want to BE, DO, and HAVE with relation to your goal. Some people have a stigma around being great, doing great things or having great things. Let’s talk about money. Some may perceive money as evil – the ruination of many a nation. Money itself is not a bad thing. It’s what you do with money that makes it good or bad. So if your motivation is to earn more or get more money, that is a good thing, and totally up to you what you do with it and how you treat or mistreat it. Anna Presso used the analogy of a knife. A knife in itself is an innocent thing. It’s what we do with the knife that matters – do we butter bread with it or do we stick it in somebody?
3. Ask yourself WHY you set that particular goal.
– Ask yourself what you will gain from achieving this goal – make an extensive list (when you think you are finished, list 5 more)
– Ask yourself what you will lose by not
achieving this goal – again make a list (stretch your imagination again on this one)
4. Internal motivation is the only lasting motivation – ensure this goal belongs to you and you are not setting it to keep or make someone else happy. Ask yourself if this goal is in tune with your reality, your visions, your values and your belief system. Ask yourself will achieving this goal make you happy, will you feel good?
5. TEST your goal – does it stretch you – will you grow as a consequence. Your answer here should be YES, if not refer back to point 4. Read it aloud to yourself and observe your emotions and reactions when you read it. If it gives you butterflies in your tummy, then YES, it is on track with you.
6. Stick to your goal and don’t change it, unless altering a portion the goal will improve the outcome for you. Changing is a consequence of distraction or procrastination, both detrimental to achieving goals.
7. Give your goal time to grow, be patient with it, become it’s friend and advocator. Watch out for shortcuts and shortfalls.
8. Plan your actions – probably the toughest part of goal setting – is acting. ACT now!!! Don’t bother waiting for the perfect time or conditions, because they will never arrive. Waiting for the perfect time is the perfect excuse for doing nothing!
Happy Acting!
Elaine