The Best Dunce Cap You Can Wear April 2, 2007
Posted by HappyDad in business, change, leadership.add a comment
“You have to hire people with a certain kind of stupidity, who reject or ignore ‘the way things are supposed to be done around here.’ “
– Robert Sutton
Getting the Team to 20/20 Vision February 5, 2007
Posted by HappyDad in business, change, leadership, success, teamwork, vision.add a comment
Thoughts on helping a group rally behind a vision…
Reasons why people fail to adopt a worthy vision:
- They didn’t help create it. Participation increases ownership. When you’re an owner, you see things differently. (How many people have ever waxed a rental car?)
- They don’t understand it. When asked what he thought the leader’s role was in an organization, one man said “You have to act like a 3rd-grade teacher. You have to repeat the vision over and over again until the people get it. And if the leader is really wise, they will communicate it in many ways, in many settings, using many methods.”
- They don’t agree with it.
- They don’t know the vision. Growing businesses often hire new employees but have nothing in place to make sure that they know and ebmrace the vision. Every organization needs a built-in process for passing on the vision.
- They feel unneeded to achieve it. 3 kinds of leaders…1) “We’re going to do this with or without you”, 2) “We sure would like you to help us do this”, 3) “We can’t do this without you”. Guess which one is most successful…
- They aren’t ready for it.
If you can help them overcome each of these challenges, they’ll get behind the vision and start pushing right along.
Lessons from a soup can…”Why settle, when you can select?” February 5, 2007
Posted by HappyDad in change, perspective.1 comment so far
At a recent girls’ game night, one lady mentioned to my wife that her oldest daughter (mid / late twenties) was still single, while her 2nd and 3rd kids were married or engaged. The oldest child was naturally upset, but seems to be unwilling to make significant efforts to changing her situation.
Said the lady to my wife, “I just need to tell my daughter that if she’s not willing to settle for that which she naturally attracts, then something needs to change.”
Now apply that to your personal life, or business or school or family or whatever. If you have ever felt frustrated or malcontent about your situation, you need to take a gentle look in the mirror and more than likely you’ll find both the source of and the solution to your problems. You can either learn to accept that which you naturally attract (poor sales, underperforming employees, hostile behavior from those around you) or you can begin the change process. Either way, you have complete choice over what you receive.
You cannot steer a parked car — if a new direction is needed, then get yourself in gear and start to turn.
