Only 3 Quarters to Go - Are You Making Progress?

Guess what folks - Q1 (or QX if your fiscal year doesn't start January 1) is officially over.

Did you make progress in Q1? Before we get half way through 2008 you should take a few minutes, right now, to reflect on three things you accomplished in helping you move towards achieving your goals, and set your sights on three things you want to accomplish in the next quarter.

For example, the three things I am proud of accomplishing this quarter are:

1. Starting this blog
2. Taking a creative writing class to begin my novel
3. Putting a fork in projects I am no longer passionate about

What's up in Q2 for me?

1. Launching another business concept I'm passionate about
2. Getting another blog up (for the day gig)
3. Completing 30,000 words (half) of my novel

Life's short. Live your dreams. Know when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em.

And lastly, be progress.

So what did you accomplish last quarter and looking to accomplish in the next? Feel free to comment and share to help inspire others who read this blog on focusing on living their dreams.

April 23 - Present Like Steve Jobs Webinar with Carmine Gallo

I thought I would share information on an upcoming webinar you should consider attending:

How to Deliver a Presentation Like Steve Jobs
With Carmine Gallo & James Hilliard
Apr 23, 20081:00 p.m.
Eastern / 10:00 a.m. Pacific

PS - Don't forget to check out my blog rendition of Carmine Gallo's 10 tips to speak like Mr. Jobs.

PPS - This is a wonderful example of leveraging a hot topic for further marketing/promotion.

Manager versus Leader

I read a "what do you think" blog post on the Center for Leader Development blog today about the fine difference between "leader" and "leadership". That got me thinking about the fine difference between "manager" and "leader" and how it relates to effective leadership (and I'll converse more on leader versus leadership on later posts, stay tuned).

People who work with me know that I hate being called, or calling my leaders, managers. Yes, it is probably in the HR book that they have to be called managers because they have subordinates, but, I want people to feel like they are enablers of others that follow them in executing to reach common goals and objectives.

Hence, I avoid using the word "manager" at all costs when I talk about my team and instead use "leader". Wouldn't you rather work with someone known as a leader versus a manager?

So here's the catch on being known as either - to become known for leading the pack and managing the ship operations to get desired results, you need to be good at both leading and managing, no matter what title you have.

Are you a manager or a leader? Or both? Do you see things differently?

I've linked below some more sites and commentary on manager vs. leader to help you further develop your point of view on the difference, if any.

• Mulhauser Consulting on Management versus Leadership Skills


• Changing Minds Leadership versus Management (great table comparison referenced below)

PS - You do not have to be a manager to be a leader. And, I'd love to see all managers be good leaders, but that doesn't always happen.

Rhetoric and Speaking Style - What's Yours?

Since campaign season involves lots of great, and not so great, orations, it's time to take a brief look at speeches this season so to learn some tips to apply to your own speeches.

After reading the article on how Obama changed up his speaking style and rhetoric between different events, and that the "style" had more impact on the listener then the words themself, have you ever paid attention to your style and thought about changing the style of delivery based on who you are talking to?

1. Know Your Audience
Remember, I blogged about figuring out your audience recently, so click here for a refresher. Knowing your audience is key in determining what kind of speaking they will be receptive to.

2. Match Your Speaking Style to Your Purpose
Are you trying to inspire the audience? Tell them you are the person or company they can rely on? Or? The purpose behind the speech will help drive you to "how" you will deliver the words behind the purpose. Dr. Kevin Fleming post a great article that dives into this topic further.

3. Who's Speeches Do You Like?
Do you even know who you like to listen to speak in public? It doesn't have to be someone famous, but could be your boss, your company's CEO, a mentor, etc. What do you like about his or her speaking style? Can you detect changing styles based on who he or she is delivering to? Could you incorporate it into how you deliver? If you have a connection with them maybe you can ask him or her for a few tips to help improve your own delivery.

So how are you going to deliver your next speech differently?

Engaging Presentations = Great Story Telling

You may or may not know that I've embarked on yet another "American Dream" and started to write my first novel.

I typically teach myself new skills, but I decided this time I would seek appropriate advice on how to write a novel (you can learn more about the wonderful program at SMU here - yes, I've lowered my standard in going to the "Harvard of the South" for once, but this program in particular is worth it).

So why am I telling you this? How does this relate to you and presenting? Well, even though one goal of taking the class is to get published, another underlying goal is to apply the tools of novel story telling to something I do on the day job - presenting.

So while we may not have 20 hours, let alone one hour, to captivate the audience with the hero, introduce the mentor, hit a low, find the climax and have a compelling epilogue, there are some basic novel components to think about applying in creating your next award winning presentation:

1. Know Your "Hero"
C'mon, I present on concepts, products or services, right? But do you really know "the hero" behind what you are presenting. Basically, do you have your own "reference" - content, examples, etc. you can reference as background material in talking passionately about what you are presenting?

What are the 12 events that got that concept or product to where it is today? What are the pros, cons? Who are the people behind making the great "thing" you are describing to your audience? You'll never use this content in slideware or talking note, but is good information to have in the back of your mind as you put your presentation together.

2. Deliver In Acts
Most stories are delivered in 3 acts - beginning (setup of location/characters), middle (confrontation with the problem at hand) and end (resolution of the problem). So in your next presentation prep, break your script down into three acts to help develop more intriguing content to engage your audience.

For example, in "act 1" do you tell any compelling industry facts or figures? Trends? Where you or your company has been - the world we have been or are in today? Presenters often forget the criticality of setting up the story to hook in the audience.

In act 2, confront the problem your product, service, concept, whatever, is going to solve, but confront the problem head on. Why is it an issue for your audience? What are the things that could help solve it? I believe many presenters don't engage the audience enough in understanding the problem and root causes up front to keep them interested in hearing the solution 10 to 30 minutes later.

In act 3, solve the problem. But don't just give the answer - unravel it like a story teller. What is all the hard work and effort to reach the solution? How do we get back to our "home base"? How is this going to improve things for the audience listening to us?

3. Tell It From the Heart
Again, it's about being passionate about what you do - steer clear of presentations your not bought into and focus on talking about what you love. It may be the people you represent, a technology you sell or a great concept your pitching. But make sure you love it to convince others to love it with you. Otherwise, don't bother.

You can learn more about the structure of a story via the book I am currently reading, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler.

Since I'm only in Novel 1 expect to learn more on how to apply story telling to your next presentation to "wow" your audience.

Focusing On Getting The "Right" Things Done

I don't know about you, but in today's world of email craziness, crackberries beeping constantly, and immediate, if not 24/7, access to information and people anywhere, it's hard to get tasks accomplished. To boot, we've all become victim of bad habits - from checking email frequently to getting caught off guard surfing the net not just for 10 minutes but for 2 hours.

And, our to do lists keep growing because we don't know when to finally say 'no' to one more thing to pile on top of the list. You mean well, heck I mean well in wanting to help someone or get something done, but when you fail to deliver it doesn't bode well.

So how does anyone stay focused to make progress today? Here are some tips and tricks from what I do and what I've observed my direct reports, peers and managers do:

1. Block That Outlook Calendar
Don't get caught up in meeting hell, especially back to back meeting hell. You know you typically have something to do after a meeting - make sure you plan the time to focus on the follow up from the meeting or get the follow up action carved out in an open time on your calendar. I typically block half my day for "getting things done" leaving the other half for meetings and catching up with colleagues.

2. Set Appropriate Expectations
Can you really turn around something in one hour? In a day? Ensure you are communicating when you can really get something done, and if you need to slip something due to the unexpected, immediately let the other know you are delayed.

3. Start Your Day Listing
Because our to do list is just overwhelming, begin your day planning your to do list, in order of priorities, so that by the end of the day you can feel like a rock star in all the progress you have made that day.

4. Learn to Say No
Do you really need to do what someone just asked you to do? Don't know? Think about if it gets you to any of your end goals for work or life - if it doesn't, then pass or delegate. Remember, you are going to have to give up doing something else to take on that "one more thing" you think you have the time for. Refer to my Opportunity Mojo series for further help in this area.

5. Be Your Own Personal Project Manager
Everything you tackle in life is a project, so, why not leverage project management tools to help you ensure you are balancing what you need to accomplish. This means becoming a good estimator of tasks, scheduler and resource planner. Remember, you can always hire people to do the things you don't like to do without having to own your own company - from maids to dog walkers to virtual personal assistants.

Changing your habits are probably next to impossible, but you can do it if you just incorporate one tip or trick at a time to be more responsive and focused in meeting your end goals.

Remember to prioritize and focus on the tasks to get to your end goals, period.

Presenting Step 1 - Do You Know Your Audience?

In reflecting on my public speaking career, when I heard about the opportunity to either submit a proposal or was asked to present, I often jumped right into documenting "here's what I know and can deliver" and started outlining the overview. In recent years, however, I've realized that my "marketing" hat needs to come on first and foremost before dumping my knowledge into Microsoft.

In a nutshell, I needed to understand my audience - where they are in their career, expectations, why bother coming to see me, etc. - before finalizing a title and description.

Below is a simple questionaire you can use as a tool to research who you are about to meet to help better focus what it is you will present to an audience you have probably never met in your life.

You probably do not have all the answers to the below yourself, so do your homework with event organizers, who asked you to speak, colleagues who have presented to this audience before, a potential attendee or two and internet surfing.

1. Who is the target audience?

• estimate age range
• estimate career level/experience
• particular geographic area
• particular career field
• general title(s) at companies
• general responsibilities at work

2. What are the top three reasons why the audience would attend a presentation like this?

3. What are the top three things the audience is expected to leave with (knowledge, call to action, handouts etc.)?

4. What 10 words related to this presentation would "resonate" with the target audience (this is to encourage them to attend if they saw the word in the title or description of the presentation)?

5. What are 5 words to avoid?

6. What 2-3 things matter most to the target audience in terms of speaker credibility?

7. How will this session be marketed?

8. How good/bad were previous speakers/presentations to this target audience on this or similar topics - did the speaker/conversation meet or surpass expectations?

Have any other questions or thoughts on tuning into your audience? Feel free to email me or add a comment below.

What's Your Opportunity MoJo? Part 4 - Impact!

We've looked at 2 of the three components in helping you decide if "this opportunity's right for you". So, let's look at the third - impact.

First, you are probably wondering "what do you mean by impact?" Great question. This is really an "eye of the beholder" characteristic - YOU need to define what you mean when you think impact.

For example, does "making an impact" mean to you:

• Influencing a person
• Changing a system
• Becoming recognized or remembered for something

Once you pinpoint the number one "what" it is you want to impact, you then need to further define "what" is, such as

• What is it that you want to do to make that impact?
• Is there a target domain/audience?
• What do you want the end results to be?

For example, for a long time I've personally wanted "impact" throughout my lifetime "education". That's a bit too broad to really feel a sense of impact and accomplishment. So I've had to peel back the onion over the years and ask

• Is it the "system" I want to impact, or the "people" in the system?
• Is there a particular domain of education I am more interested in changing then others?

I've finally honed in on 2 areas for impact

• Making the educational process more efficient and effective (which I am lucky to do at the day job)
• Helping motivate girls to get educated so to open their eyes to the world ahead of them (which is part of side projects I work on)

I'm cheating a bit as I have 2 impact areas (remember, overachiever here), but these are at least well defined reference points I have to help determine if the next opportunity that comes my way is something I want to jump on, or not.

What do you want to impact today, tomorrow and in the future?

PS - Small things do matter. Read The Tipping Point on how little things can make a big difference.

What's Your Opportunity MoJo? Part 3 - Passion

So do you do what you love every day? Or, do you love what you do every day?

Better question - do you know what you love to do?

Even better - do you know what you don't love to do?

No matter what you answered above, you need to build a "passion list" you can reference to help you with determining if you want to take on an opportunity or not. Let's start.

1. Write down the 20 actions that come to mind that you do daily/weekly/month to "be productive" (i.e. volunteer, generate income, etc. - we are not talking about brushing your teeth or cleaning house) Examples may be "operating a website", "cold calling", "managing a team", etc.

2. Write down up to 20 more actions that you don't do today but wish you did or could try.

3. Order your list by most passionate activity up top, least passionate on bottom.

4. Review and update your list periodically - either every time a new opportunity comes your way or once every 3-6 months.

Now that you have your list, and a new opportunity, you now need to ask the following:
1. Is that opportunity within the actions on your list? If it is not would it fall above anything on your list? If so, add it.

2. Where on the list does this activity fall - somewhere high or low?

3. If you thought through taking this on, is there an activity lower on the list you can stop doing today so to replace with the new activity?

So, what is number one on your list?

What's Your Opportunity MoJo? Part 2 - MONEY!

Ok, for some (many) you are probably thinking this is about "how much can I make as fast as I can make it"?

Well, no, not really.

First, believe it or not, not everyone wants to be like Donald Trump and focus on making more and more money. However, most people want to be able to make a bit more money then they need to live "comfortably" from their point of view, and thus, buy and do what they please.

So, what do we mean when we analyze an opportunity from the money aspect?

1. What are your true monetary goals in life?
You need to first come to grips on what you realistically want. We all cannot be as fortunate as Bill Gates or Oprah, but there are many people living their dreams on much less. So, what do you need today and in your future, and are you on track? If you don't really know and don't want to do the analysis it may be worth obtaining a financial advisor to help as they can often take the "emotion" out of making financial decisions for you. I recommend Fox & Company as they are not tied to any particular financial institutuion's products to sell.

2. Will your "hourly commitment" to doing X bring you what you believe you are worth today?
Most of the time, if we are looking at new opportunities from a money perspective we try to determine if this opportunity will turn a profit of at least 20% or more of what I get today.

3. Will your "hourly commitment" to doing X bring you what you believe you will be worth in the future?
This is analyzing an educational investment - be it going to school or volunteering to do something or taking a job at a lower pay to get you somewhere bigger in the future.

4. What do I lose hourly by taking this opportunity on?
Say this is not a new job, but a new side project you want to turn into profit some day. What are you losing by taking this project on - time to invest in education? another project? free time? There is monetary value there - figure it out before making your decision.

Quick tip - Do you *really* know your hourly rate today? Most of us work more than 40 hours a week (some lucky people work less). Track the time you work over the next month and determine your real hourly rate - that may open your eyes to being open for a new opportunity.

We all should love what we do, but, if we can time box certain things and still make the same amount of money, or, open up time to have a side project and make more money, wouldn't you do so?

Up Next: Finding Your Underlying Passion

What's Your Opportunity MoJo? Part 1

A few weeks ago I posted a poll posing the question:

"What is the #1 Factor in You Deciding to Seize an Opportunity?"

There were only 3 choices - money, passion, impact - and the results, at a high level, show that we tend to lean on emotional factors versus logic.

This week is a 5 part series on what we mean by analyzing money, passion and impact to seize an opportunity, how each factor needs to be thought through, and then how all 3 pieces fit together to help make a final decision to say "yes", or "no".

The goal of this series is to provide you a quick, high level framework to help you determine if a new opportunity is right for you, right now.

If you are an overachiever or someone who typically over commits themself due to everything sounding "so great to be part of you can't miss it" but lacks saying no to things that come your way or the longer term follow through to the commitment, this week is for you!

Part 1 - Opportunity Knocks, Now What?

You've just been presented with a wonderful opportunity to make a ton of money, or live your passion every day, or, become that rock star you've been dreaming of becoming so you can be in the same lime light as Bill Gates, Oprah, or even, Tony Robbins. Or maybe the opportunity that delivers all three to you - rock stars usually get money too, yes?

The first thing to do is to refer to your current opportunity triangle. You don't have one, you say? Well, let's get started then.

1. Draw a triangle.

2. In the middle put the one word that describes what you enjoy doing every day or would do every day of your life if it achieved for you the money, impact and avenue for passion you do or wish to live. Sample words may be "mentor", "build", "sing", "write" etc.

3. Each point of the triangle represents money, passion and impact, respectively. At each point now put a different word for what you would be willing to do for

• Obtaining money, but not delivering on passion or impact


• Focusing on a passion, but not obtaining money nor delivering impact


• Delivering impact, but not obtaining money nor following a passion

4. Now determine which factor on the "opportunity triangle" do you weight the most today.

Everyone's triangle is unique to themselves. You should find, however that your highest weighted point or what you want to do will change over time. Mine that represents today is below.

Over the next three days we'll further work through what each point is and how to use that point to analyze a yay or nay decision on your current opportunity to evaluate.

Up tomorrow - Gettin dirty with money money money money, money

Is Your Glass Half Full, or, Half Empty?

I don't know about you, but there are days where everything seems to be half empty, or more like, everything I respond to I react with a "half empty" response vs. a "half full" response, like:

"Why did you do this?"
"What were you thinking?"
"Do you not appreciate what I do?"

There could be other matters at hand causing you to not be yourself (bad situation at home, lack of sleep, biological factors). So, how do you get yourself out of the "Half Empty" response mode so to focus on always being "Half Full" (if not completely full!):

1. Run away. Literally. Stop looking at your email, or the office desk, and run out of the office. Go ON a run - at the gym, around the block - do something. If you are at an office where face time is precious, then go run to a coffee break or do something to get your mind off of work for 10-15 minutes.

2. Don't react to anything for the rest of the day. Most like you need to sleep on how you should decide on some issues. You potentially woke up on the wrong side of the bed and just need to give it another day of rest before reacting. Don't let others know the bed gotchya.

3. Do something productive to check a task off your list. Accomplish something to make you feel good for the rest of the day.

4. Run away from others that get "fired up" like you do. A snow ball is waiting to happen - avoid it at all costs.

And remember...

"You have to be positive every single day. You have to put effort into it daily, because no one else is going to do it for you." Donald Trump

Concept MEL

No, MEL is not an ode to one of my great friends of all time (sorry if you are reading Mel, but this isn't about you), but MEL is a simple concept I instilled in my team 8 months ago, in that, no matter what role you play on a team - from individual contributor to manager to executive, that you need to live and do MEL every day to make waves.

So, what is MEL?

Managing the Business
Empowering for Excellence
Leading for Growth

Let's look at each aspect a bit further and how it applies to you no matter where you fit in your organization:

1. Managing the Business
Why are you making that investment? What are the goals you need to manage to achieve over the next 12 months?

• Executives: Have you defined the vision for the next year and communicated the goals you want to set to achieve the vision? How are you tracking to your goals and what tools/dashboards do you provide your team, and yourself, to measure goal attainment so to proactively respond to red flags in achieving the goals.


• Managers: Are you making decisions based on the goals in front of you for the year? Have you broken the higher level goals into your team's action plan? You are the guiding light for your individual contributors - continuously make sure they know what you want out of them.


• Individuals: Do you know what you need to do to help your team achieve the goals for the year? Do you know what you need to know to deliver, and thus, continuously learn? When was the last time you asked your manager "how can I help you achieve our goals"?

2. Empowering for Excellence
Are you carving for yourself or your team ways to deliver excellence? Getting rid of obstacles preventing your team from being excellent? Are you an "excellent" role model?

You need to start by defining what "excellence" means to you and/or your team and live it, no matter where you fit in the organization.

3. Leading for Growth
This comes down to everyone, no matter the level, contributing towards two things

• Continuous business improvement (becoming more efficient)
• Harvesting new opportunities (innovation)

You need to make sure mechanisms are in place to become more efficient and to identity and build on new opportunities.

As you embark on embracing MEL, there is one more think to remember - keep it simple, silly. For example, those above me set 2 goals, yes only 2 goals, for my team to achieve this year - a revenue goal and utilization goal. That's it - bottom line goals.

So what are you waiting for - Manage, Empower and Lead today to achieve your goals for 2008! 2 months are already past you.