I’m a big thinker. I like to glide at high altitudes and gaze in all directions. I’m intrigued by possibility, potential and innovation. Unconditioned, independent thinking feels like my natural attitude. All of this tends to serve me well and I deeply appreciate the insight and awareness it generates. There are, however, distinct habits that are required in order to actually land the big thinking. For me, these critical habits are: Connect to the desire…it fuels the result! Get clear on the desired result Chunk down the action into small steps Take small consistent action steps Course correct as needed Bring it to completion & celebrate For big thinkers, this is not necessarily an inherent skill set. In my case, this is a down and dirty, disciplined, continuously practiced, ongoing behavior. There is nothing particularly fascinating about it, except of course, it’s the actual earthly materializer of the big thinking. Without it, big thinking is pie in the sky. Landing, grounding, manifesting ideas is a creative process. It’s messy and wondrous, heart-expanding and, at times, heart-breaking. It’s unpredictable, only partly controllable and worth every ounce of energy in most cases. Starting a company, running a company, growing a company are all acts of creation. All require an ability to open wide to possibility and then bring the focus to the small consistent completed action needed to bring it into being. Like breathing in and breathing out, the process gives the imagination its living form and substance. Thinking BIG is great. Landing the big thinking, however, requires clarity, focus and lots of action. If you could use some help in either area or both, we’re here to help. Discover more...

  A friend of mine who is a long time territory rep recently had a first meeting with his newly assigned sales manager. The new manager opened up the conversation with these words “My goal this year is to keep you from quitting your job.” After years of corporate-speak from leadership, this statement about knocked him off his seat. As a top producer who has been largely irritated with the way the company has been managed for many years, this statement felt like fresh air. I was amazed by the potency of that one line. My friend has become cynical over the years, his tolerance for BS is low. There was something about the candor and concern of that statement that broke through. Believe me, those protective walls had become mighty thick and mighty tall. This new guy, in an unabashed and sincere way successfully scaled them. Once he was in, they were able to put their heads together and collaboratively create ways to generate more business. That is the power of true leadership. True leaders honor their followers. They don’t have a need to win ego battles, outsmart, outshine or outmaneuver. Their primary goal is to serve the aims of the company. And, what best serves the company, are people that are engaged and want to work for the company. Not because they are afraid not to, but because it matters to them that they do. They’re in. Lack of engagement is not a productivity issue. It’s not a lazy, indifferent worker issue. It’s not a generation/age issue. It’s not an HR issue. It’s a leadership issue. The buck stops there. If people are not engaged, if the right people aren’t in place, if people are leaving in droves…the responsibility lies squarely with leadership. Projecting the problem elsewhere may ease minds, but it won’t change a damn thing. The title could not be more clear…LEADER. Leadership is first and foremost a way of being. Action follows. Be a better leader. 5 Straightforward Tips to Become a Better...

There’s a lot of talk about the character type ‘bully’ these days. If you are American and have working eyes and/or ears, it’s likely you’ve seen and/or heard references to that word of late. Because we all marinate in a cultural stewpot to some degree, aspects of one area of life tend to infuse into others. And so it is with this word ‘bully.’ I’m going to be frank, I don’t care for the word bully or what it stands for. In business, I’ve seen and worked with bully types. Never did I find the experience to be constructive or productive. Those of us who were interacting with the ‘bully’ spent way too much time reacting, posturing, cowering, pushing back—and way too little time actually working the task at hand. More than anything else, I noticed this trait jazzed up the energy, but primarily in response to the trait. Rarely, if ever, in service to a goal. Here’s the other thing…I have at times acted like a bully myself. I’m not proud of it by any means and I am watchful of it re-occurring. These days, it’s rare that it happens, but I remain vigilant. What I know about this characteristic is that it does not emerge from a place of true personal strength. Quite the opposite. It rears its rather ugly head from a place of weakness and fear. Bully behavior is an aspect or persona people pull out because they feel cornered in some way. It’s a big show to scare off the threat they consciously or unconsciously perceive. Behind the curtain, of course, it’s a much different story. To me, the bully persona has always felt like a child’s unhealthy reaction to things they believed were beyond their control—even when displayed by adults. Regardless of age, I believe it is always an undeveloped child’s reaction. I’m going on the record and saying I want to evolve beyond any inner bully. Instead, I want to show up open, understanding, curious, compassionate. Yes, I have a voice and a point of view, but I also want to stay open to perspectives of others. The truth is, I have no real idea of what the experience of life is like for other people. It’s important to me that I remember this and not get swamped by my own vantage point. Bottom line, we are in this life and work together. Everyday there are more folks on the bus. This is the time to connect, collaborate and evolve the inner bully. Bottom line—bully behavior is an effective way to generate (re)action, but a weak way to catalyze constructive action. Ego’s work best when they’re secure. Discover more here. 7 Ways...

Last Wednesday it was my great good fortune to attend a truly enjoyable networking event. As you may have read in an earlier blog, I have harbored a distaste for what I would call starchy or shark-tank-esque networking experiences. Yes, I’ve held unseemly judgment there and I’m not proud of that. This recent event, however, reframed the whole networking experience for me and pointed to a potential I hadn’t ever imagined—networking that’s fun, friendly, sincere, thought-provoking, collaborative and also, geared for business building and revenue generation. Who knew?! While there, I had a refreshing conversation with the event’s organizer and we got to talking about the word ‘success.’ As we both live and breathe the world of transformational leadership and business, success is a word we hear a lot. A lot. And, yes, it’s the big ‘go to’ word for companies and their leadership. Success this, success that. Or, in the case of individuals ’I want to be successful.’ But, here’s the thing about that word, it’s really more of a desire holder than an actual desire. It’s the suitcase that holds the clothes you want to wear. It wouldn’t make any sense to wear the suitcase. So, I say we demystify the word. Snap open the suitcase and look at the amazing contents inside. Your DESIRES. I’m not talking about the old programmed ‘go to’ crap. I’m talking about the gems that lie in our heart, in our inner dreamer’s dreams. All the stuff we’ve jammed in the suitcase throughout our life and then stoically, pragmatically, rationally shoved up in the attic to gather dust. That’s where the juice lies. If you want ‘success,’ grab the suitcase, pry open the lock and look inside. That is where you will learn what success actually means…to you. Success is an outcome. Before success comes action. The best and easiest action is fueled by desire. Desire greases wheels, generates flow, adds energy. Draft off of desire. Discover more...

Everyone has a different purpose for doing business. For some the mission that fuels the work is to launch an invention or new concept. For others it is about producing or supplying a needed product or service. For others it is strictly about making money. The list goes on and on. For many, it’s a combination of several factors. It all depends on the person, their experience, motivation, philosophy, desire. The truth is that we all possess our own lens and perception…about everything. There are no two people that see eye-to-eye right down the line. How could we? Not one of us share the same DNA and life experiences with any other person on the planet. We are each completely unique. The idea that we look at the world differently is no big surprise. The fact that there is so much alignment between folks is the more interesting piece for me. When you’re able to remove the chaff from the core, the ego from the heart, it’s amazing how closely we come together. There is some blueprint in we humans that seems to be shared on the deepest level. Getting there, however, can be tricky. Regardless of where you fall on the mission side of business, the truth is you can’t be and remain in business without generating revenue. How much one needs or wants to generate varies from person to person, but that revenue is being generated is absolutely required. For me, my number one business priority is to achieve my annual revenue goal. However, achieving my annual revenue goal is not my mission, nor the primary reason I started my business. That said, my primary business priority and mission, though distinct, are synergistic—they feed each other. Not only am I able to live and work with purpose, the money I generate in doing so allows me to extend and expand that work. Now, that’s what I call win-win. Regarding your business, do you have a ‘why’ that’s bigger than generating revenue? Discovering it could make all the difference to you and your company. The discovery starts here!...

My family is mostly a very mind-based group. We’re thinkers, debaters, studiers, researchers, contemplators, and analyzers. The brain is perceived by the gang as a highly touted bodily instrument, prized for its capacity and used a lot. Mental acuity is also employed as a kind of measuring stick—academic achievement praised, advanced degrees lauded. Likely due to this intellectual adoration, being right and having the right answer is not only a source of deep pride, but at times it can feel like a necessity for one’s ego. It was quite a shock to me when I learned that we were such a mind-based tribe. Moreover, that a good deal of our intellectual bluster tends to be connected to unrecognized fear and the need for control. Suddenly, I began to look at our head-oriented behavior in a very new way. Of course, I still have great regard for the instrument itself. But, now more clearly recognize its limitations, how it can be a go-to ego-survival tool, a way to posture oneself against this vast world of mystery. Moving down a foot or so from the brain lies another great center—the heart. Simply shifting my attention to that area helps me to feel a greater sense of calm. I don’t lose any of my intelligence when I reorient, but I increase my overall understanding on a deeper level. Moving down a foot lower and placing my attention in my gut, the grounding effect is even more powerful. Connecting up all three and you have the super trifecta. Business, too, tends to be primarily mind-based. No question it is immensely useful and necessary in that arena. But, there too it has its limitations. The mind lacks heart. It’s a recorder of data and a processer of reason and rationality—both of which are needed. However, what it doesn’t do well is connect deeply to human beings. Humans connect most powerfully by means of the heart and gut. Why does this matter? Because inspiration, desire, innovation, creation and high-level performance are often products of the heart and gut. It does not take a highly architected change to shift a business to become more heart and gut inclusive. In fact, a leader can set it in motion with nothing more than will and sincerity. How do they do it? They show up real and are authentic. They let themselves connect, they choose to trust, they communicate with their guard down, they ask for support. And through it all, minds are held safe and sound, ready for a task. Nothing is lost, much is gained. As in horse racing, the human trifecta is a big win. Head, heart and gut—a powerful trio in business. To balance out...