Dr. Blue Man

Personal Test - Do You Put Yourself Down?

When you disregard your positive qualities by telling yourself, “I’m too fat, I’m no good, I never do anything right, I can’t talk to people, people don’t like me…” you’ll always find verification of what you’re looking for.

Dr. Richard Carlson says: “Putting yourself down reinforces rather than corrects your imperfections by placing unnecessary attention and energy on everything that’s wrong, rather than what’s right with you. Why would you do this knowing the only possible result is a negative outlook, more negative feelings and less appreciation for the gift of life? People who regularly put themselves down are often seen as complainers, not to mention the example they set. Everyone has aspects of themselves they’d like to improve, but this doesn’t mean you should beat yourself up. Here on earth none of us is ever going to be perfect, but putting yourself down isn’t the answer.”

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. That doesn’t mean that you are perfect or that you wake up tomorrow being almost perfect.  I believe that leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent AND helping those people reach THEIR potential.  What’s important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective.   I believe leadership is a skill that is developed and built NOT a talent or a gift that is something you are born with.  Here are some specifics:

1)    Learn to be strong but not impolite.

John Wooden is one of the strongest yet most polite men I have ever met and he always seems to take this extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It’s not even a good substitute.

2)  Learn to develop humor without folly. 

In leadership, we learn that it’s okay to be witty but not silly; fun but not foolish.  Humor is such a magnet.  But we must be very careful to define this properly.  For years, I thought laughter meant something was humorous - not always true.  I learned this lesson years ago on the golf course.  It seems that one of the “normal” behaviors is to laugh at the other guys- for missing putts, for short drives, etc. I have to admit I was one of the biggest contributors until I realized that it wasn’t really funny or uplifting.

3)    Learn to be bold but not a bully.

It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you’ve got to walk in front of your group. You’ve got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, and discover the first sign of trouble. Like the farmer, if you want any rewards at harvest time, you have got to be bold and face the weeds and the rain and the bugs straight on. You’ve got to seize the moment.

4)    Learn to be humble but not timid.

You can’t get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. But humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease. It’s an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem.  Humility is almost a lifelong endeavor. A sense of awe of where you belong in the overall scheme of the universe.  A sense of wonder. An awareness of the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique about you. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we’re part of the stars.

5)    Learn to be proud but not arrogant.

It takes pride to build your ambitions. It takes pride in your community. It takes pride in a cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is to be proud without being arrogant.  I believe ALL have us have egos but we need to learn to manage ours to be better leaders.  I believe I have seen the worst kind of arrogance.  It is arrogance from ignorance. It’s intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that’s just too much to take.

6)    Learn to be kind but not weak.

We must not mistake weakness for kindness. Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a quiet type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell someone the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion and manipulation

7)    Learn to be a chameleon. 

Life is unique. Leadership is unique. The skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. However, the fundamental skills of leadership can be adopted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community and at home. A chameleon changes to reflect his environment- so do good leaders.  If you are meeting someone one on one try to match their mannerisms so that they feel more comfortable. 

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Economics have Changed - Have You?

 

I recently heard the mayor of Detroit report that the unemployment is 30% and “that may be a little low”.  He also reported that the unemployment rate in the US has reached a "27 year high." Worse -- Big companies like Starbucks, AOL, Boeing, Pfizer, Home Depot and thousands of smaller companies are planning massive layoffs in the months ahead.

There are now OVER 11.1 million workers with no paycheck and that number is much higher for those with reduced paychecks.  This is the worst decline in US history and many experts believe that unemployment numbers will "double" in the next 12 - 24 months.

....Yes, "double."

 

So now what?  There are two pieces of advice I have for you.

 

1. REINVENT YOURSELF!

 

If you think of yourself as Joe, manager of “ABC, Inc.”- reinvent yourself.  If you think of yourself as Joe, worker at “XYZ Corp.”- reinvent yourself.  How?  Start thinking of yourself as owner of YOU, Inc. You, Inc. can do multiple things.  “My” You, Inc. owns an internet travel and shopping business, a mortgage company and a sales consulting firm.  What about yours?

 

I am always looking for other peoples’ perspective; one of the best ways I have found to do this is by finding great quotes.  Let me share a couple:

 

"Most people work 40-plus hours a week at jobs they don't like to buy things they don't need." —anti-consumerist Madeline Nelson

"I had one of the best jobs in the world, but there is a world of opportunity." —Chris Sacca, former head of special initiatives at Google

The American Dream has been roughed up lately. There is doubt where there once was direction. There is retrenching instead of renaissance. But there is one place where you can still dirty your hands with hope, display your ingenuity, taste a measure of independence, and feel a bit like your great-granddad must have felt--fresh off the boat, testing your potential.

2. START A BUSINESS

I know you've thought about it, too. Maybe you've been developing an invention in your head for years and now you're considering patenting it. Or maybe you have a special family recipe or an idea for a Web site, or you simply wonder what you could become if you put as much effort into working for yourself as you now do for someone else.

"In an economic downturn, entrepreneurship is usually the savior," says Chad Moutray, Ph. D., the director of economic research for the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration (SBA).  Although you may find it difficult to believe in the government, the economy, and even the future, there's still one thing you can have unwavering faith in: yourself.

 

 

 

Top Ten Tiger Woods Lessons for Success

 

When I say the name Tiger Woods- what is the first word that comes in your head?  Golfer?  Wow?  Winner?  Unbelievable?...

Tiger Woods is arguably the most recognized athlete in the world.  He has elevated his sport to a new level.  He has set new standards for consistentency and excellence.  Newsweek recently asked him what his “secret of success” was.  I found his answers very insightful.  Let me know what you think.

1.     Expect to win. Know in your heart that you are a winner.

2.     Let your expectations show. Express no doubts, let your competitors and your friends know that you have none.

3.     Work, practice, work, and practice some more. At the top of his field, he can still be seen hitting buckets of balls until dark - even if he's just won.

4.     Dress and act like a winner. This is a part of keeping yourself in a winning frame of mind.

5.     Have a sense of drama - don't create it but know it when you see it. You don't have to seek out publicity, but know how to accept and use it when it comes to you.

6.     Know that there is always room to grow. Being the best does not mean you can't be even better.

7.     Hang with the winners. They understand the pressures and situations in which you will find yourself.

8.     Put yourself in situations where you are not known as a success. May be difficult, but this helps you to stay real.

9.     Value and protect your free time and do what you enjoy. The discipline of being a winner needs a safety valve from time to time.

10.   Remember those who need help. Somewhere, someone helped you - be willing to give back.

 

Source: Newsweek.

 

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Thinking of Quitting? Don’t!

George Frideric Handel was a musical prodigy. You probably know him best as the composer of the “Handel’s Messiah”, but perhaps you don’t know how it “happened”.

At twenty-one he was a keyboard virtuoso. When he turned to composing he gained immediate fame and soon was appointed Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover (later King George I of England).

 

When Handel moved to England his fame grew. By the time he was forty he was world famous. But despite his talent and fame he faced considerable adversity - some internal, some external. Rivalry with English composers was fierce. Audiences were fickle; sometimes they didn’t turn out for his performances. He was the victim of the changing political winds. Several times he found himself on the verge of bankruptcy. His problems were compounded by failing health. He suffered a stroke which left his right arm limp and damaged the use of four fingers in his right hand. Although he recovered, it left him battling depression.

 

Finally, at fifty-six, Handel decided it was time to retire. Discouraged, miserable and consumed with debt, he felt certain he’d land in a debtor’s prison. So on April 8, 1741, he gave what he considered his farewell concert. Disappointed and filled with self-pity, he gave up. But that year something incredible happened. A wealthy friend named Charles Jennings encouraged Handel by visiting him and giving him a libretto based on the life of Christ. The work intrigued Handel so he began writing. Immediately the floodgates of inspiration opened. For three weeks he wrote almost nonstop. Then he spent another two days creating the orchestrations. In twenty-four days he had completed the 260-page manuscript of Messiah.

 

Thinking of quitting? Don’t!

 

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Gripped by Fear?

False Evidence Appearing Real.  Ben Franklin once said that 90% of what we fear never happens - not a very efficient or effective use of time or energy is it?

Have you ever felt the grip of fear? Like the feeling you get when you’re already short of funds for the month and an unexpected bill arrives... the fear of rejection you feel before you pick up the phone to make certain calls... the fear of speaking up in a meeting when you know you’ve got the solution to the problem?

Has the fear of failure (or the fear of success) kept you from starting that business you’ve always wanted . . . or going after that job that you’ve secretly coveted for such a long time?

Especially in our current economic environment, the biggest barrier that most people have to overcome is fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of making decisions. Fear of change. Fear of confrontation. Fear of loss. Fear of failure. And of course the big one–fear of success!

I see it when I speak to groups.  I see it when I meet with people one on one.  I hear it when I talk to people on the phone.  It is everywhere.  I have two solutions. 

The first is to conquer fear with action.  Next time fear strikes - move in THAT direction.  To quote Nike - “just do it”.  Afraid to pick up the phone- just do it!  Afraid to address the group - just do it! 

The second is to pick up a book called Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado.  In my opinion, it is a great book and easy read - the ultimate result though is what YOU will do with it.

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Leadership Lesson from the Blue Man Group

 

I have seen the Blue Man Group on numerous occasions and obviously have a great affinity for their ‘blueness”.  One of the reasons for this is what I would like to call their leadership lesson.

 

As you may or may not know- there are multiple Blue Man Groups.  They don’t fly from NYC to Chicago to Las Vegas in one day to do a show.  They were formed in 1988 with three members and performed the first three years of the New York theatrical run without understudies. They continue to perform, but the company has expanded to include close to 60 Blue Men and over 50 musicians, all of whom rotate into the shows and work on other projects in various combinations. Blue Men are performers of either gender who meet specific physical requirements (athletic build, height between 5'10"-6'1"), specific performing talents (percussion, acting, non-verbal communication), and certain personality traits (openness, charisma, willingness to collaborate), among other qualifications. 

 

The leadership lesson is this: it is ALL about the team.  There are no names.  There are no individual accomplishments.  There are no awards.  Part of the selection process is the ability to work in a team environment- personal glory is not accepted.  The upside is that if someone is sick or unable to perform- the show goes on.  Let’s build a team like that!

 

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