admin – Page 37 – Fast:Forward Farther

December 20, 2018December 8, 2018

Lessons Learned 2018

Part I of II

During the 14 years I wrote a monthly newsletter, the December issue focused on the ’10 Things I Learned’ the previous 12 months. While Fast:Forward ended a year ago, I am inspired to share these 2018 lessons:

Experience Speaking – Last month during an alignment meeting, a boss gave this advice to my client, his high-potential employee: ‘You do a great job interacting with peers and those who report to you. However, always know where the line is, and don’t ever cross it.’ Then, fully transparent, he shared his own story from some 20 years before, when – having had a few soda pops – he climbed on stage at a function, took the microphone and told jokes about the competition. A few weeks later he didn’t get a promotion and learned that while most people laughed and applauded that night, a senior leader watched quietly from the back of the room. That person nixed his opportunity… feeling he wasn’t mature enough for the assignment. ‘It took me two years to overcome that 10 minutes,’ he said.

Long Runway – One of our strategic goals this year was to diversify and add new clients outside of the energy industry. The first action steps were launching a new website and creating a couple of marketing flyers. Next up was contacting several target companies and starting to develop relationships with key decision-makers. While it’s been a slow process, we added three new clients. I also was vetted and approved by another large organization and look forward to having an engagement down the road.

Civil Obedience – The political race for the U.S. Senate in Texas saw incumbent Republican Ted Cruz face a strong challenge from previously unknown U.S. House Rep. Beto O’Rourke. Crisscrossing the Lone Star State by van, Beto energized the electorate and turnout soared. The incumbent held on by a few percentage points, while Beto created a brand and might be a candidate for another office in, say, 2020. Regardless of whether you’re Red or Blue, it’s exciting to see more people heading to the polls and exercising their right to choose.

Go Team – Kathy and I spend fall football Saturdays in Austin for UT home games… tailgating with our kids and good friends. At the TCU game in September, more than 100 people – Horns and Frogs alike – attended ‘Papa’s Tailgate’. We drive from Houston the night before or morning of, depending on kickoff, and assist three other couples cooking the day’s food. It’s a wonderfully joyful experience, especially for those of us who bleed burnt orange. The best part – regardless of whether Texas wins – is having conversation with people we don’t know that well and see at most a half-dozen times a year.

Frozen Tundra – I’ve never liked cold weather. Give me Houston humidity. So, of course, I made three business trips to Canada the past six weeks, including twice to far northwest Alberta… a 75-minute connecting flight beyond Calgary. Of course, I purchased thermal gloves, wool socks and a Patagonia ski jacket that’s good to 10-below in order to survive. (My client who lives in Kansas City jokes that I start wearing a sweatshirt once the temperature dips below 70, while he’s still in shorts when it’s 50. That’s not much of an exaggeration.)

Tomorrow: Web 3.0 is here

November 26, 2018November 20, 2018

Counter Approach

One of the many Cognitive Biases – errors in thinking when interpreting the world around us – is Self-Serving Bias. Defined as ‘the tendency to claim more responsibility for successes than failures,’ it can be summarized as judging myself by my intentions and judging others by their actions.

When I mess up something, my typical reaction is: ‘Yes, but I meant to pick up milk on the way home.’ When my wife fails to do something similar, I say: ‘But you told me you were going to wash my socks.’ Turns out I hold others to a much higher standard than I do myself.

When out to dinner with another couple, I really hope he picks up the check, and if he doesn’t, I’m fine saying, ‘Let’s split it.’ When going to a ballgame, I really want my buddy to say, ‘I’ll drive,’ and if he doesn’t, I’ll ask, ‘So how do you want to get there?’ When my co-facilitator is five minutes late for our departure, I’m really thinking, ‘How can he not be on time?’ although there are plenty of occasions when I’m a few minutes late for things.

Perhaps a restating of the Golden Rule would be: ‘Stop thinking so much about me.’ That one might actually lead to healthier relationships and provide better results than the old adage.

November 23, 2018November 20, 2018

Do Do

Clients often ask me how to be more organized, more productive, more time efficient. Typically, that leads to discussion around their work style: Check email first thing in the morning? Desk messy at the end of the day? Others managing your clock?

When we journey to a deeper level, the conversation turns to an exploration of the bigger picture: their approach to strategy.

There will always be new tasks and new priorities arriving at jet speed. There will always be new people to on-board to the team. There will always be disruptions – professional and personal – that get in the way at the worst possible times.

[Note: I listen to a lot of podcasts when working out, so apologies to the one where I heard this next idea. I really don’t remember the source; however, I love the approach, so I wanted to share it.]

To ensure you and your organization/team focus on strategy and not busy work, place every possibility into one of these four categories: ‘Must Do’ that drive success. ‘Should Do’ when you have time. ‘Could Do’ in a perfect world. ‘Would Do’ when you find that magic wand.

This way you’re sure to keep your eye on the important things and not the easy ones.

November 20, 2018November 20, 2018

Redefined Inspiration

In the 1991 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The Will Rogers Follies, Keith Carradine – in the leading role – delivers a song highlighting the legendary humorist’s most famous line: ‘Never met a man I didn’t like.”

Try the shoes on that are his, Feel what makes him what he is
What’s it like inside his skin, Living in the skin he’s in
Just like me a lump of sod, There but for the grace of God

Coincidentally, I know someone whose last name is Rogers – and while I don’t believe they are even distantly related by ancestry, their philosophy of life is similar.

My Mr. Rogers believes we are all here for a higher purpose. He believes everything we do is to honor God and our fellow humans. He believes there is no goal that he and his business team can’t stretch and achieve. He believes everything is going to work out fine, as long as we see things from many sides.

My Mr. Rogers is a former cross country runner who, even as an adult, competed in long distance running and cycling races… pushing himself to the limits. Until several years ago when a cycling accident left him paralyzed from the chest down.

Despite all of the hardships that come with that, he remains positive and upbeat, believing everything happens for a purpose – and his role now is to set an example that others see and use for motivation.

Never shook a hand I didn’t like, Royal Prince of Wales or working Joe
Though I know life’s one long rocky hike, Never met a man I didn’t like

October 23, 2018October 15, 2018

Herd Mentality

As a boy, I used to read the ‘World Book Encyclopedia,’ and especially looked forward to the annual ‘Yearbook’ arriving each January. I know that sounds nerdy; however, I loved learning about people, places and events – and it made me really good at trivia.

The joy of living today is you’re a click away from a wealth of knowledge. Wikipedia, which once had a ‘don’t use it for research’ reputation with high school teachers, is now considered an excellent source… and after all these years it’s the fifth most visited site on the Internet.

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have captured large audiences – and are responsible for forming opinions on politics, religion and other cultural issues. CNN, MSNBC and Fox News have the same impact. Unfortunately, the ease of access to these creates a herd mentality where folks follow like-thinkers, have their own viewpoints reinforced and seldom consider the other side of issues.

Recently I spoke to someone who said the last book he read was five years ago. I asked why, and he said, “I don’t have time.” I asked how he keeps up with things and he named one of the three cable news leaders. When I said, “So how do you know enough about things to form an opinion?” he said: “I already know what I think.”

In order to address some of the challenges before us and to come, we’re going to have to look at things from different perspectives. That involves dialogue and empathy – and not necessarily a change of opinion, just understanding of the options.

One technique for connecting with another’s perspective on a topic is to make the argument for his/her side. That requires research. Might I suggest starting with a visit to the library? It’s that big building downtown with a lot of books… those hardcover things that were prevalent during my childhood.