Our team’s only as good as each one of us

Watched a road crew at work the morning while walking to school. The team leader was having a bad day. A bus driver was hitting her horn because a traffic barricade was slowing her down. The team leader yelled, threw a fist into the air and then kicked over the barricade. One angry man.

Then he started yelling at his crew. Mocking them. Spitting out his venom. Ranting like a madman. They looked down at the ground and kept on working. I sense they felt humiliated by the public spectacle. But their leader continued. Pouring his toxic waste out onto the busy street for all to see. Tonight he’ll blame his crew for a low-performance day. And probably scream at his kids.

Our team will never be greater than “each one of us”. Each one of us set standard to which each one of us can rise. Each finger affects the strength of the hand. When organizations bring me in to help their people get to world class performance, I gently remind everyone in the room that “everything begins with you”. I suggest that’s mission critical idea. Forget blaming others – that’s just excusing yourself. And it all starts with your inner world. “External leadership begins with internal mastery” You can’t help in building an excellent organization until you commit to becoming an excellent person.

That team leader I saw out on the street might want to look in the mirror. Might want to cleanup his own messes. Deal with character. Open his own heart. “Soft stuff, Robin” you say? No, I really don’t think so. It’s hard stuff. (How many people have the courage to do it?) The stuff that ultimately drives better business results. Boosts profits. Gets organizations to greatness. And did I mention that it all starts with you? Because it really does.

“You set the standard to which you all can rise. Each finger affects the strength of the hand”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Get Excited or Get Upset

The most important of all of our human traits is the power we have to choose. To choose how we live. To choose what we will do. To choose how we will view and consider a circumstance.

I’m up here in the mountains on a quick ski trip with my kids. Yesterday it rained. We could have grumbled. We could have complained. We could have got frustrated. Instead, we stepped back, decided to make a better choice and then viewed the whole thing as a giant adventure. We got excited versus upset. We donned the plastic covers that the resort provided. Suited up. And Skied like there was no tomorrow. Guess what? The skiing was actually amazing. Soft snow. No crowds. Clean runs. It’s going to take me a week to wipe the smile off my face. Each day we have the opportunity to make choices. And the way we choose shapes our destiny. So don’t get upset. Get excited. As author Paul Theroux once observed, “only a floor flames his bad vacation on the rain”.

“Each day we have the opportunity to make choices. And the way we choose shapes our destiny”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

What Is Success?

To me, success is all about being in the process of joyfully creating a life that reflects your highest values, your deepest beliefs and your greatest dreams. There’s a lot in that statement and I invite you to break it down and reflect on it. There’s the part about the “process” of creating life on your terms (the journey really is better than the end). There’s the part about “joyfully” journeying through life because life is meant to be fun. There’s the element of living by your values and beliefs, which is all about being more true to yourself and live life on your terms. And there’s that aspect of chasing your dreams, as these are what get us out of bed each day and fill our hearts with hope.

This reminds me of the words of Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. “. That’s true success.

“To me success is all about being in the process of joyfully creating a life that reflects your highest values, your deepest beliefs and your greatest dreams”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Believe in Others

I took my kids to see Hilary Swamk’s move Freedom Writers. It inspired me deeply. Brought tears to my eyes. Made me want to be and do and give more. Made me want to improve things. Profoundly.

One of the things I took away from the film is that the leadership is all about believing in others (and yourself) when no one else does. The kids in the movie were gang members. Tough lives. Hard hearts. But their teacher saw them for what they truly were: smart/good/caring human beings who’d been knocked down and had given up. The school wouldn’t even give them new books – didn’t think they were worth it. But their teacher did. Treated them with respect. Bought the books herself (worked two extra jobs to do it). She challenged them. Celebrated them. Believed in them. And they transformed. Because when you see the best in the people, they’ll give you their best.

I’ve seen it happen in organizations around the world. Develop, honor and inspire people, and they will fly. As the wonderful teacher Leo Buscaglia once said, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind world, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring – all of which have the potential to turn a life around”.

“Leadership is all about believing in others (and yourself) when no one else does”

Make Your Mark

In an issue of Best life, I came across a line from George Clooney: “ you only have a short period of time in your life to make your mark”. Obvious? May be . Yet so true.

It’s easy to get so caught up in the daily administrivia that you forget about building your legacy. Easy to become so focused on your problems that you neglect to chase your ideals. Easy to get so pulled into the ordinary pursuits of life that you lose sight of the Extraordinary. Yet, life spins by at an alarmingly fast rate. And if you don’t use each day to do even one thing to make your mark and to advance your vision and to become your brilliance, you may miss what truly counts. Makes me think of the words of consultant Richard, who observed, “ People over 65 were asked ‘ if you could live your life over, what would you do differently?. They said three things – I’d take time to stop and ask the big questions. I’d be more courageous and take more risks in work and love. I’d try to live with purpose – to make a difference”. That says it all.

“If you don’t use each day to do even one thing to make your mark and to advance your vision and to become your brilliance, you may miss what truly counts”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Create Your Body of Work

It is early afternoon as I write this and reflecting – about leadership & life.

Just read a little piece in an issue of Vanity fair on Art Buchwald, the writer, who is not 80 and battling kidney failure. Coming close to death brings a human nearer to what’s most important in life. Brings tremendous clarity. Strips away all the accessories that we think are so essential when we are younger. Connects us with the Truth (and the truth sets us free, doesn’t it?)

He was asked, “what is your idea of perfect happiness?” “Being healthy” was the reply. He was asked, “Which talent would you most like to have?” ‘Living” was the reply. Then he was asked, “what is your most treasured possession?” “All of my writing – my 32 books and all of my columns”. The point of wisdom that you and I take away? Greatness comes when you create something with your life that is not only bigger than you but outlasts you. Legitimacy and recognition and prestige and material things are all fine and are all very human pursuits. But there’s something far more important: Legacy. Making a difference. Having an impact. Creating something special. And meaningful.

What body of work will you create over your life so that the generations who follow will know that you’ve been here? What bold acts and brave moves will you make This Very Moment to let the greatness that slumbers within you come out and visit the light of This Very day? What will your “ most treasured passion” look like? And, at the end, what will you have done with all that talent with which you’ve been blessed? Just wondering.

“Greatness comes when you create something with your life that is not only bigger than you but outlasts you”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Go Perpendicular

In Italy on vacation with the kids. Yesterday afternoon the kids and I rented a little boat and headed down the Amalfi Coast. We hugged the shoreline, stayed close to land, never strayed far from home. This got me thinking about Christopher Columbus and about taking smart risks.

Every explorer before him feared losing sight of the shore. They clung to the known. They opted for security, They didn’t dare. Columbus did something different. He was brave. Went straight out to sea. Went perpendicular to the shore line. And found a new world. Good on him.

Of course I needed to be safe with my kids. I am just trying to make a point: Greatness, as a leader and as a human, sometimes requires that you leave the constraints of safety. Sometimes you just have to let go of the known. And sail out into the unknown. To try a new way. To think a new thought. To behave in a new way. And to go perpendicular when the rest of the world hugs the shoreline and clings to safety. Yes – I get it’s so human to feel frightened as we experience the Blue Ocean of Change, transition and growth. But as Lord Chesterfiled said, “ it is not possible to discover new oceans unless one is willing to lose sight of the shore”.

“It is not possible to discover new oceans unless one is willing to lose sight of the shore”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)