Your PEOPLE are your

  most important asset.

Do you think your organization’s product or service inventories are the most valuable assets to protect and nurture? You may want to re-visit where you and your organization/business/professional practice/group/ department/team would be without those who comprise the entity that makes you a leader:  your followers, your people.

Failure to recognize this truism is at your own peril.

Often those who work for and with us can –by virtue of the choices they make– unwittingly draw us into the flames they ignite. And leaders often end up compounding issues that arise by adding more bad choices –like throwing gasoline onto the fire. Victims of circumstance? Rarely.

Victims of failure to nurture and challenge and publically reward and frequently appreciate and reassure is more like it. Laziness and slacking off is more like it. So too is getting too big for one’s leadership britches!

Leadership is a fulltime function and minimizing bad choices is job one.

When leaders fully appreciate and frequently celebrate the performances of those who follow, they are ensuring renewal and continuance of loyalty and perseverance. This is the stuff that has built empires and won wars. The world’s most successful leaders know that the single most important craving that human beings have is for recognition, reassurance, and trust.

Seeking recognition, reassurance and trust is the conscious or unconscious pursuit of practically all human beings in virtually every circumstance of life, and –in addition to employees, associates, staffs, and teammates– this includes the vast majority of all physician and healthcare service patients — even those who go to emergency rooms!

It is our nature as people to look for ongoing approval, reassurance, and trust — a sense that we are performing okay, that we are okay, and that we will be okay.

This does not translate to everyone being neurotic or for leaders having to be shrinks, or having to pat everyone on the head and love every follower. Great leadership is not always transparent!

It translates to the need for leaders to appreciate basic human instincts and directly address them with actions and words by communicating directly, with authenticity and genuineness — instead of ignoring, patronizing or pandering, and beating around the bush. Remember poison ivy often grows around bushes!

 # # #

 SUCCESS IS THE JOURNEY

. . . NOT THE DESTINATION. 

 It’s entrepreneurial leadership, not the goal!

Losers lack it. Winners exude it. Ask the successful people you know. They will tell you that the most sensible route to organizational success is one that engages and focuses on the passionate pursuit of “here and now” present-moment thinking, instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. VOILA! “Entrepreneurial Leadership.”

Do you sometimes wonder what Barnes & Noble is thinking on it’s way to the Borders graveyard by insisting on following an archaic business model that is completely out of touch with today’s technology and marketplace? Do you wonder why the Post Office’s solution to high expenses is to close on Saturdays, lay off employees and pull in pick-up boxes off the sidewalks?

And why does a nonprofit charity mail out fundraiser letters with “2013 Supporter” car magnets that literally fade to invisibility after a day in the sun? What makes the rampant “GOTCHA” greed of so many cable TV, insurance and telephone service providers completely override the wishes and best interests of the customers they serve?

The answer to these –and any other examples you may be prompted to think about– is the same. It is wrapped around societal acceptance of the need to pursue “the end result” at all costs. It is mired deep in the thinking that popularizes “analysis paralysis” as a characterization. It is the antithesis of innovation, and of entrepreneurial thinking and leadership.

“But winning is the American way!,” you may say. Indeed it is. But just because it’s the most desirable mantra for sports and military performances, doesn’t mean it’s the right way for business or life. If anything, it’s probably as far off base as any guideline could be. No business or life flourishes when it is completely devoted to reaching the goal line. None.

Think about it. When you’re running a race and concentrating on the finish line, you stop paying attention to what’s happening at the present moment right in front of you, right under your feet, and -SMASH!- you trip and fall on your face.  Competitors of course will hop over and around you. Winners pay attention to each step AS they take each step.

Entrepreneurial leaders nurture and thrive on the present moment. Something doesn’t work? They don’t analyze the malfunction to death. They simply adjust it and keep moving forward, and adjust it again and again in the process of constantly moving forward (vs. analyzing instant and slow motion replays again and again and going nowhere)!

Entrepreneurial leaders don’t worry about goals. They have goals, but they simply pursue them by staying tuned in to where they are, each step of the way. Like any malfunction, if the goal isn’t being reached as planned or hoped for, they adjust it. Inflexible or unrealistic, or nonspecific goals are as totally meaningless as wishes.

It’s HOW you do what you do each day that determines success. HOW do you handle staying on top of the process and the interactions? Isn’t that hard? Of course it is. The challenge is to be forever on the alert to opportunities, and that’s impossible for those who are thinking or worrying too much about where they’re headed, and for those lost in the clouds of constantly re-hashing where things have been.

Successful entrepreneurial leaders are also HAPPY leaders because they function as much of the time as possible in the present, here-and-now moment. And, like success, happiness is also “The Journey”! Do you make an effort to function each day in the here-and-now present moment as much as possible? Try it. You’ll like it.

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With Volunteers,

Exceptional Leadership

Can Bring Exceptional Success

But working with volunteers demands exceptional leadership. Why? Because anything less can spell exceptional failure and — at the very least– produce exceptional frustration. When a nonprofit, for example, needs to depend on volunteer groups to handle special or ongoing projects, the odds are that one or more of five problem areas will surface.

According to Ed Bancroft, world renown leader in organization and management development, community development, and race relations, the five “Common Problem” areas that emerge in working with volunteer groups consist of:

1) Having too many goals

2) Lack of an adequate contract

3) Lack of leadership and accountability

4) Lack of rewards or recognition

5) Lack of attention to group process

When a volunteer group of any composition attempts to get started, there is a tendency to attempt more than can realistically be accomplished. So the basic tenets of effective goal-setting need to be addressed right from the git-go. Those criteria, together with some other goal-setting thoughts, are here and here and here.

After starting with a Priority Task List, Bancroft suggests charting answers to: WHAT will be done? HOW will it be done? WHO will do it? WHEN will each task be completed? and BY WHAT DATE will the goal be accomplished?

The most successful volunteer groups start with a (very specific) agreement regarding each person’s role and expectations, and in matching each individual’s strengths to the tasks at hand. (Tight agenda) group meetings, (specific) written job descriptions, and a permanent “How Goes It?” focus on ongoing progress are all means to the ends.

A great many volunteer groups stumble along, reluctant to deal directly with leadership accountability. This single shortcoming can undo the best of intentions and efforts. Clear role definition, including having a fulltime volunteer coordinator (or staff member), who links the volunteers with paid staff, helps ensure that volunteer energies are maximized.

Volunteers work for the good of the cause but also for personal recognition, and some form of reward for specific achievements. And, always praise in public! Volunteers should get priority consideration for staff appointments, be offered as much appropriate training as possible.

Remember to appreciate volunteers for what they give up: Besides time and energy, for example, there are often expenses they absorb for baby-sitting, lunches, and transportation. Free or discounted lunches, work time beverages and snacks can go a long way. Some volunteer programs qualify for Federal funds, United Way, or foundation grants to reimburse volunteers.

Most volunteer groups are not tuned into “Process” — how they work together and how they need to work together. They tend to lack awareness of essential communication and decision-making methods. Workshops focused on these skill sets and an appointed (very objective) Process Observer can be designated to provide ongoing feedback on what she or he observes of group dynamics.

 The excitement and enthusiasm levels generated

 in volunteer groups is directly proportionate to

  the attention given to the issues outlined above.

# # #

Innovators: KEEP OUT!!!

I’ve been called an entrepreneurship evangelist. I’ve worked with thousands of doctors, business owners/operators and managers, market innovators and entrepreneurial thinkers. Like most, I’ve spent a lifetime taking (reasonable) risks, rejecting authority, breaking rules, and regularly working long into the night,

And I developed a nothing-is-taboo attitude. [So don’t tell me what to stay away from!]

But — what’s the old saying?– “The truth will (win) out!” And my experience says that the truth is if we are to make a success of  business, professional practice, career, and life pursuits, we need to set success goals that include what to avoid, as leaders, as people.

My top 7 suggestions of what to avoid and why:

KEEP OUT of jail. Let’s face it. There’s not much of anything positive or worthwhile to be had, or add to your resume, by being in jail. Yes, a handful of inmates out of millions might learn a life lesson or two, but jail is hardly a breeding ground for success at any level. So, stay away from it. Question your motives before you act or speak.

KEEP OUT of courtrooms (unless you’re a lawyer). Courtrooms can be just a stress notch away from jail. The attached anxieties alone are enough to topple years of hard work and good intentions. You may think that courtroom appearances are not always your choice, but if you don’t choose to initiate a legal event, you do choose to set yourself up or put yourself in position that could lead you there. No it’s not always avoidable, but much of it is. Bottom line: Can your business afford for you to put business time, energy, and funds into a pursuit that’s not your business?

KEEP OUT of doctors’ and lawyers’ offices (unless you’re a doctor or lawyer). If you are constantly and consciously choosing to live a healthy lifestyle, you can often avoid doctors and minimize  situations beyond routine healthcare.

Remember that once a doctor sends you to another specialist, you are IN THE SYSTEM, and the most tenacious efforts to escape it’s time and money-consuming clutches rarely succeed. For the same high stress reasons to avoid jail and courtrooms, choose to minimize lawyer visits and limit them to essential  occurrences and preventive maintenance.

KEEP OUT of hospitals (unless you work for one). Contrary to the onslaught of misguided hospital marketing that blankets this country, hospitals do NOT spawn good health. They treat those who no longer have good health, and –in many documented cases– actually contribute to the exacerbation of ill health. This is not to question professional dedication or skills. It is simply a reminder to strive for life directions that have the best odds of helping you avoid hospitals.

KEEP OUT of hiding places (unless you’re playing hide-and-go-seek with the kids) when it’s time for family and church and community. These are the times that define you and what you’re all about as a human being.

KEEP OUT of fights (unless you’re a boxer). Disagreements can be healthy, but disagreements require self-vigilance to prevent them from accelerating to the point of getting out of control. Anger, mean-spiritedness and grudges can ONLY work against you and quickly become the undoing of all you’ve worked so hard at to put together.

KEEP OUT of nonproductive relationships (unless you’re a shrink or a cop and your career calls for engagement). In other words, stay around positive-minded people as much as possible and pursue opportunities to surround yourself with others who consistently demonstrate positive, upbeat attitudes. This: will come back to help you!

# # #

LIFE & LEADERSHIP SUCCESS

IS ALL ABOUT TIMING!

I am a business and professional practice development specialist –many years, thousands of problems, projects, and people– proof beyond the shadow of a doubt that life and leadership success catapult out of having a highly defined sense of TIMING. Period. Yes, PASSION and ATTITUDE. Yes, INTEGRITY. But without TIMING, there’s no success! None.

This doesn’t mean running around like a headless chicken trying to squeeze twenty-five hours out of every day. It means having enough experience, instinct and sense of direction to know exactly when it’s the right time to say and do, when it’s the right time to back off, when it’s the right time to charge forward, and the right time to take steady steps toward target goals.

Think baseball here, imagine you have the world’s greatest bat swing. But if your bat is too early or too late or at the wrong height to meet the pitch, it means nothing. Wrong words–even right words–at the wrong times cost sales, cost relationships, cost court cases, cost lives. The best, most well-intentioned offers and behaviors made at the wrong times can spell disaster.

So doing and saying the right things may get us through life and look like leadership to others, but if the timing is off, even the best words and behaviors will not produce success. The world’s most successful leaders are those who possess a keenly developed sense of timing–knowing WHEN to speak and WHEN to listen, knowing WHEN to act and WHEN to wait.

Okay, so how do we develop this skill, this sense of awareness about WHEN to do and WHEN to say? Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any quick-fix approach beyond practice, practice, practice. But being aware of the distinctions between having a full arsenal of life and leadership tools, and knowing when to use them, is half the battle.

The thing is are we truly serious about making a difference with our lives? Are we truly serious about building a track-record for effective leadership that teaches by example and that rallies and inspires others to get things done? Then we need to be realistic enough to recognize that gaining the skills and tools is like getting great medical training. It just sets the stage.

Knowing how to say and use what we have at the time that it’s needed to be said and used is what separates leaders from followers. It is what separates those whose lives make a difference, from those who plod aimlessly along the path of least resistance and accomplish little of value in their families, friend and spiritual circles, or the communities they draw from.

Is it time to reassess where we’re headed, and to 

work harder at cultivating our sense of timing?

Good timing is not an accident.   

# # #

STOP

“Thinking

   Like A Leader”!

“Thinking like a leader” may get you some pats on the back. Perhaps a few “Hey, Man, he really thinks like a leader!” comments. But leaders who are serious about the pursuit of their missions and the exercising of leadership to motivate others to get where they’re going, are those who are completely invested in BEING leaders.

BEING a leader means getting results through others instead of thinking or talking about getting results.

Of course leaders need to plan. But having a plan is like getting your foot in the door. Worrying about which way to go once you’re inside, doesn’t make the mission happen. Taking steps does. And as a true entrepreneur would respond, if the first few steps aren’t working, take steps in a different direction . . . and then again.

You will almost always get where you’re going faster by moving than if you were to sit still and analyze each direction because the momentum alone will fuel your pursuit. Not happy with that, huh? You don’t like thrashing your way through the jungle just to find out you missed the path? You need your analytical fix?

Okay, go for it, but limit it and target it to make the most of where you’ve been. After all:

HOW ARE YOU GOING

TO GET WHERE YOU’RE GOING

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU’VE BEEN? 

Make it a quick review (not analysis paralysis!). The relevant past is useful to every leader because it can be an invaluable tool for learning from past mistakes and past success, true? So do it. Review it. Then take it –like a football game handoff– and run! The past is over and will not change. And dwelling on the past is a waste of the present.

What’s the rush? Motivating others takes momentum which requires timely and accurate communications. Timely and accurate communications dissolve rapidly when too much time and attention is devoted to past and future thinking. But both gather speed as the leader sparks and ignites. BEING an effective leader means taking action and teaching by example.

“Thoughts” I am told by psychologist friends, are “Things.” But “Things” are not “Actions.”

Leaders Act.

 # # #

So, you think you know

who you are, huh? Really?

Entrepreneurial Leaders are responsive (instead of reactive). They take reasonable risks (which means they don’t bet the farm, or even buy lottery tickets!). They are goal-driven, but focus more on the steps to reach the goal. When something doesn’t work, they make adjustments and try again (vs. corporate/government thinking that produces analysis paralysis!)

Guess what the number one ingredient is in entrepreneurial leadership — any kind, any level (from running a company to running a work crew or department, to running a family or sports team)? It’s knowing yourself. Your SELF. Because unless you know what makes YOU tick, you can never know what makes others tick.

When you don’t know what makes others tick, you’ll never be able to communicate clearly with them . . . because they do NOT think like you think even if you think they do. They don’t. You are unique. No one else has your brain. No one else can reach inside your brain and control it because every one of your behaviors is your choice!

So, are you still with me? If that little bit of awareness is true for you, it is equally true for each person who follows you. To be truly effective as an entrepreneurial leader (as opposed to a robotic leader!), doesn’t mean you have to be a shrink. It means you have to accept that everyone does not think like you, and you need to do your best to figure out what makes them tick.

Just because you may think you’ve “been around the block a few times,” that you’ve “been there, done that and got the t-shirt” doesn’t mean you can dismiss the need to keep learning about yourself and others because these are different times. What worked for you before is not likely to work again for you without some kind of adjustment.

The place to start adjusting, then, is with how, when, and where you absorb new information. Just as you and your life are constantly changing (even, and usually, when you least expect it or are aware of it), so too are the lives of those who look to you for guidance. I’m not suggesting you become a Google-aholic psych student. Just keep yourself alert. Observe. Listen.

Keeping up with all of that is challenging. But isn’t that why you took the job or accepted the responsibility in the first place?

# # #

Business and Professional Practice

Collaborations, Partnerships,

and Marriage . . .

When two people in business or professional practice agree all of the time, one of them is not necessary.

Things that function —from engines to entrepreneurial (doctors included) ventures– need friction. But it appears that just as many people seem not to distinguish clearly between assertiveness and aggressiveness, as those who fail to keep friction and arguing or temper tantrums separate. (Yes, I once worked with a short-fused surgeon who threw scalpels!)

This collaborative partnership subject emerged during an invigorating get-acquainted discussion I had this week with fellow LinkedIn contact, Robin Standlee, an organizational transformation specialist whose company, C-Level Consultants, LLC. is a collaborative partnership organization that works with entrepreneurs and nonprofits.

She pointed out that the strength of collaborative partnerships has a great deal to do with the care and attention given to defining relationship parameters. Clearly defining role responsibilities encourages partners to feel freer and function more productively. Leadership is the ultimate product.

Working with many partnership entities over time (and actually being one for 25 years) has allowed me a unique perspective on these kinds of work arrangements. I have seen partners scream, threaten and throw things at one another — even a fistfight once between two brothers! From surgical group practices and hospitals to IT, foodservice, transportation, and HVAC companies, no enterprise is immune.

The bottom line is that partnering courtships and honeymoons may flutter hearts and become engulfed in bird tweets and floating flower petals, but the realities that test every marriage will surely come to the surface once a relationship settles in. Defining clearly what to expect and who will do what and what will be jointly agreed to —the marriage contract— is critical to ensure business and professional growth.

When you’re serious about joining forces with another person or entity, the only way to make certain that everyone involved will stay involved, that healthy assessments are met with healthy counter-assessments (in other words, that honest and straightforward critiquing and constructive alternative thinking is encouraged) is to agree on a strong operating platform.

COLLABORATION ARTICULATION = Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. When the glitter goes away, will your partners still stand tall?

# # #

Fired? Laid Off? Graduating?

It’s All The Same Thing:

CONGRATULATIONS!

“Huh? How can being fired compare to graduating?”

Both set the stage for life change.

“But one is negative and one is positive.”

Yup! Congratulations!

“You can’t be serious.”

Why not? Both situations put great opportunities in your hands. You are finally in complete control of your own destiny. And whatever you decide is 100% your choice!

If you’ve ever dreamed of making your mark on this planet, these are the kinds of circumstances (being fired, being laid off, graduating) that can open the door for you. None of them is problematic unless you choose for it to be.

Some of the world’s greatest success stories have come from those who are in, or returning from, the depths of trauma. Great riches historically land on the shoulders of those who decide in favor of moving forward with themselves instead of choosing to dwell on or wallow in the circumstances that led them into darkness.

Strength of character comes from inside you. And it has more to do with what you decide to do with your life than from outside influences telling you what’s best. No one else can ever know more about you than you know about you. So don’t rely on the judgments of others to make up your mind about what’s best for your present and future.

In sports, when someone screws up, teammates yell: “Shake it off!” because the game continues. And standing around feeling miserable about letting down your team accomplishes nothing except perhaps serves to prompt another screw-up and compound the first incident even further. It’s no different in careers or business or life.

Aaaah, and there is also of course a divine presence that deserves mention here as well because –if you believe in a supreme being– surely every major shift in life status represents the chance to re-examine and re-explore whether the ways you are moving are indeed forward, sideways or backwards . . . and this relates to attitude, not career status.

Do the steps you take today serve the best purposes of your own ambitions? Do they serve or lead you to better serve others? Are you taking steps? Any steps? What’s the roadblock? Have you convinced yourself that any steps are too difficult right now? When will that change? Can you simply choose to change it now? Are you choosing to be resistant?

More often than not, forward progress gets stalled when we get ourselves caught up in our own self-sorrow. The world keeps turning. The clock keeps ticking. Your heart keeps beating. Don’t choose to waste your precious time on earth feeling sorry for yourself. A friend of mine once admonished: “There’s plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead!”

# # #

 WHEN “LEAN” IS FAT!

The buzz word in today’s management circles is “LEAN” — not as against a lamppost, but as trimmed back to basics and making the most of computerized technology to produce a measure of quality efficiency. This is a fantastic concept that works in manufacturing (such as with Swiss Screw precision parts, and with automated equipment operations).

Unquestionably, implementing LEAN can make a difference. The problem is that –as with MBWA and Quality Circles and Theory X and Theory Y and JIT and scores of other management and leadership approaches– too many leaders desperate to make a name for themselves by shaking up their organizations tend to latch on to the latest fad, and expect nirvana.

With LEAN, too many advocates of quality leadership in management are attempting to put this square LEAN peg in a round ultimate consumer hole. The result for many of these forced marriages — especially in healthcare (doctors, hospitals, and facilities of every description)– is that they can end up victimizing themselves by a rush to “leanness.”

It’s not unlike cutting back food consumption to lose weight, then ending up dizzy and disoriented. In other words, too much reliance on streamlining the process can easily overshadow the basic thrust of an organization’s purpose.

Consider for example, what the last few letters (hint: Not “EHR” or “EMR”) in healthcare, are all about. All the cost efficiencies and lightning record retrieval systems in the world cannot come close to the only thing that –in the end– really matters:  care.

Of course a LEAN approach in healthcare can mean more accurate, more efficient, more rapidly delivered patient care. But buying into LEAN as if it were the end-all, be-all, ultimate solution to healthcare is like saying that the process of flying the plane is more important than the pilot. And that may well be the case some day but, for now, reality dictates that computer technology apps are simply tools to afford providers the opportunities to provide better quality patient care.

Use LEAN. But give careful budget and strategic planning consideration to the kinds of staff training and practice development avenues that far override the values of LEAN, such as:

1) Staff, patient and patient family communication. [A world-leading hospital I am intimately familiar with has robots delivering meds to patient rooms, but staff physicians who file endless numbers of computer reports don’t read one another’s reports, or communicate with each other. Few even have direct contact with the nurses dispensing the drugs!]   

2) Staff, patient, and patient family stress management [Did you know that the more relaxed a patient is, the more accurate the diagnosis can be and the better the response will generally be to treatment? The better the odds for reimbursement too, not incidentally! Patients and their families seek trust and  reassurance. LEAN may set that table, but only physicians, nurses and professional staffs can deliver the meal.] 

Target your budget and your process emphasis behind the kinds of communication skills and stress management training that providers and provider support staffs most need and least often get if you really want LEAN to work. Diets are great if you stick to them, and success often reduces itself to maintaining an ongoing dialogue about it with someone who supports your pursuits.

# # #