My Little Red Book

May 17, 2013 Leave a comment

A few months ago, I went over to Barnes & Noble and picked up a small red Moleskin notebook. The purpose of my purchase was to use it as a reflective journal for me to jot down thoughts & observations from each day. As a coach, I am in the business of constant improvement and a journal allows me to process and understand what I learned and did each day, so that I can be better the next day.

For the first two months, I left it on my bedside table with the intention of writing in it every night before I went to sleep. While this worked out well in the beginning, soon my recruiting schedule interrupted me. My observations became intermittent and I would write when I could – not the most productive use of my notebook.

For the last month, I have brought my notebook to my office. It sits right next to my mousepad and I write in it every night before I leave the office. As a way to direct my writing more effectively, I have taped a small piece of paper under my mousepad with three questions on it. These questions were pulled from an article about what the top CEO’s do to find continued success.

1. What three things did I do well today? 2. What is my number one most needed improvement for tomorrow? 3. What is the one thing I can do differently to help make the needed improvement?

After I answer these three questions, I write down general thoughts about my day. Finally, on the other side of the page I write down a phrase that I found to be inspiring or pointed towards my area of improvement. A quote, a word, a message, whatever I feel is something I need to remember.

My diligence in keeping this notebook has made me a better coach and a more effective recruiter. It has helped me to understand my strengths and weaknesses and evaluate them every day. The self-discipline and self-accountability it fosters will help me to continue to improve throughout my career.

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Seth Godin: Avoiding Fear

May 7, 2013 Leave a comment

A fantastic post by Seth Godin. We hate fear so much that we avoid situations that will even trigger the thought of fear. Rather than avoid fear, attack it. I believe that we are more likely to be successful in these situations than we think we can be. Attacking fear will build confidence (success in the face of believed failure).

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/05/avoiding-fear.html

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Workout Mindset

May 6, 2013 Leave a comment

When you begin a workout, what is your mentality? What are you thinking about? What are you focusing on?

It’s easy to go through the motions in the gym. You walk in, loosen up, go through the lifts, add/subtract weight, do some abs, stretch and leave. But is that an effective workout? Is that a good use of your time?

When you’re in the gym, fuel yourself with thoughts of beating your opponents. Push yourself to go harder by thinking of your goals and what you will accomplish. Focus on the task ahead of you and use it as motivation to power through every exercise you do.

As coaches, we don’t allow our athletes to simply go through the motions on the ice during practice. Time in the gym is just as important – why should we allow our athletes to go through the motions there? Attack lifts like you would attack a game – squeeze every ounce of benefit out of time in the gym that you can.

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Paradox of the Product Goal

April 22, 2013 Leave a comment

This is from an article by Jason Selk on Forbes.com:

Strategy number two is to help the CEO identify with the process, not the result.  Think about a baseball player in the batter’s box. If all he’s thinking about is, “I gotta get a hit,” he won’t. It’s what’s called the “paradox of the product goal.” What the batter needs to think about are the actions that will get him a hit – tracking the ball, the short swing, and the follow-through.

The same truths apply to CEOs. Instead of dwelling on meeting their numbers, they need to think about the process that will ensure that success. All they need to do is focus on the three most important tasks to get them to their goal. Science tells us that focusing on process is what brings results.

How many players get caught up in the paradox of the product goal? They think “I have to score” or “I have to make a play” and get so focused on doing that one thing that they forget the details that allow them to do that in the first place. They forget about moving their feet, seeing their options, skating hard, making the smart plays and instead try to force things and do it all themselves. Focusing on the process will ultimately lead to a successful result. Doing the little things right leads to big success.

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Time Management

April 22, 2013 2 Comments

Most people think that time management is about compartmentalization and making the most of the time that you have. I have a different argument to make today. I believe an important and overlooked part of time management is using the time of day when you are at your best to get the most done. This will maximize your ability to be productive and put you in a great mindset to continue to be productive for the duration of your day.

Personally, I am a morning person. I am at my best and sharpest first thing in the morning. I know many people that are afternoon or night people – they are at their best at those times of day. It doesn’t make a difference as to what part of the day you are most effective, it does matter what you do with that time. Making the most of the time that you are at your best will help you to be the very best you can be.

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What Is The Win?

April 17, 2013 Leave a comment

More great stuff from Leadership Freak – I love this part about “What is the Win?”.

The question is, “What is the win?” Define success in behavioral and emotional terms.

  1. What does winning look and feel like?
  2. What improved results are we seeking?
  3. How will we act differently?
  4. How will success be measured?
  5. What does implementation look like?
  6. Who are the champions?
  7. How will we celebrate wins and correct failures?

As coaches, we must define wins on a regular basis. What does winning a workout look like? What does winning a practice look like? What does winning a recruiting class look like? Winning a game (that you might have lost on the scoreboard)? Winning a year? Coaching is all about developing people through technique and motivation. You must define winning and how we will change behavior before you can go out and do it.

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Behavior Over Words

April 16, 2013 Leave a comment

Leadership Freak has a great post this morning about how organizations and people reflect their leaders and how leaders can influence those around them with just their behavior. It is not how you see yourself, it is how others see you. If you believe that you care about your people and those around you, show it. A great segment that is fitting for coaches talks about focusing on the present.

“Pressing into the future makes leaders seem ungrateful about the present.

You see yourself as grateful but you don’t recognize achievement without reminding everyone they aren’t there yet.

The team reached goals this week but missed them last. What do you say when they celebrate? “That doesn’t fix last week!” You don’t want people letting down next week so you keep pushing. You’re an ungrateful jerk, even if you don’t feel that way.”

http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/when-your-heart-lets-others-down/

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An Experiment

April 9, 2013 Leave a comment

Today I was inspired to start a behavioral experiment. I have a trait/behavior that I would like to change. My goal is to go 21 consecutive days without engaging in this behavior. Every day that I complete successfully, the band goes/stays on my left wrist. If I fail, the band goes back to my right wrist and I start my streak over from zero.

The common wisdom is that it takes 21 days to create/build a habit. Therefore my goal is 21 consecutive days. The rubber band forces me to be self-aware and acknowledge when I engage in the behavior I am trying to change. Others I’ve heard of found it to be so successful that by the end of 21 days it became second nature. We’ll see how it goes for me…I’ll keep you up to date on the results.

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Gifts From Empty Cups

April 8, 2013 Leave a comment

A great post from Leadership Freak about your ability to do something. No matter your situation, if you are unhappy about the way things are, you can always do something to try to change them. See what you CAN do, instead of what you CANNOT.

Gifts From Empty Cups.

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Content With Good?

April 3, 2013 Leave a comment

So many people in the world today are content with good. They are satisfied with the way things are in life – comfortable, relatively successful, but not quite at their pinnacle. By continuing on this path, they will probably lead happy lives but always wonder “What If?” or “Was there something more?”

People that find the highest levels of success and happiness are those that can push themselves to achieve greatness. Those that are unhappy with just doing things at an average level. Those that are uncomfortable with what they have achieved  knowing there could have been something more. These people also surround themselves with those that will push them to greatness. Coaches, teachers and mentors who show areas of improvement and speak the truth about where things could have been better.

Given the choice between the easy road to mediocrity and the hard road to high level success, the brain will always take the easy way out. It is hard wired into our DNA – a survival instinct. The failures you encounter on the road to success are what causes the brain to want to settle. This is mental toughness. Are you content with good or are you pushing for greatness?

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