Musings at Altitude

I walked into the fitness center this morning at 4:50.  Three others beat me in, one being on the elliptical, one being on a stationary bike, and the third being on the treadmill.  All of them were older than me, and I’m half dead at 50.

As I climbed onto the second treadmill in the room, I quickly scanned the others and they were all intently staring at the TV up in the corner near the door.  It was a Time Life advertisement for “Midnight Train”, “only available on TV”, “restored and remastered”, “never before released”….you get the picture!

I quickly put on my headphones, cranked up the iPod, and blasted my favorite tunes.  But I kept looking up at the TV, drawn to the groups flashing across the screen in 10 second or less increments.  Sadly, I knew all of them, and the more I watched (even though I couldn’t hear), the more I wanted the collection!

As I scanned the room again, I realized we were all the obvious target audience for that particular set, playing at that particular time, on that particular channel, to entice each of us to be one of the discount induced “first 100 callers” to order exactly at that moment.

Sadly, none of us stopped our workouts and rushed to our phones to take advantage of that “very special offer”.

But I certainly wanted too!

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It’s warm today…feels a lot like spring…yet it’s still winter.

Many businesses are that way right now too…it feels a lot like a new season has begun and that gloom of the past season has been put behind them.

I believe that business cycles do match the seasons, with vibrancy and optimism during spring, maturity and sustained growth during summer, plateau and a chilling effect during the fall, and then confined and constrained during winter.

There’s one big difference though.

The emergence of spring in a business does not happen in a natural cycle.  There has to be a trigger.  There has to be a change from things of the past and a focus on the youth, vigor, and energy of a new year, with new growth and new crops to be harvested.

In business, new cycles require new people, new ideas, new intensity, and new optimism.

Without the new, the business stays mired in the old.

And most people don’t want winter to last forever!

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Faith and doubt are opposite ends of the same spectrum, both responses to things unseen.

Faith manifests itself in eternal optimism, with an individual fully believing in the true potential of something yet to come.

Doubt manifests itself in unusual pessimism, with an individual typically expecting the worst rather than the best and preparing themselves for things not happening or not being achieved.

To succeed you need both, because the doubters sharpen those with faith, and those with faith are on an eternal quest to convert those with doubt.

Both are right at various times.

Those with faith smile when the results end up as predicted.

Those with doubt say “I told you so” when things don’t happen that those with faith feel so powerfully they will.

A history of not achieving against projected results will drive the numbers of doubters much higher in an organization than those with faith…though there will always be a remnant of those eternally optimistic.

Delivering against aggressive expectations time and time again will greatly increase the numbers of believers in an organization, potentially even at times creating more believers than doubters.

Since faith, belief and trust are all intimately tied together, it’s critically important that every organization create an imbalance on their team in the favor of believers over doubters.

Those with faith are typically quiet, fully expecting great things to happen, but patiently and quietly waiting for those expected results.

Those with doubts are typically much more subtle, starting with the whispers at the water fountains and then crescendoing to a chorus of “you got to be kidding me’s” that drown out any voices of optimism when the results repetitively over time fall way short of the aggressive expectations.

Leadership is all about creating and growing believers.

Not cult-like believers that follow you over that cliff into a perilous death below.

Instead, well founded, historically proven, trust-based believers that join together with you on that incredible quest.

What’s the right ratio of those with faith and those with doubt?

I don’t know.

But when those with grave doubts far outweigh those with great faith, the organization is at risk.

When those with well-justified faith outnumber those with perennial doubts, phenomenal things indeed occur.

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I walked into the fitness center this morning at 4:50.  Three others beat me in, one being on the elliptical, one being on a stationary bike, and the third being on the treadmill.  All of them were older than me, and I’m half dead at 50.  In the previous four days, I had been the first in the room, so I was somewhat stunned to see so many folks of any age in the room.

As I climbed onto the second treadmill, I quickly scanned the others in the room and they were all intently staring at the TV up in the corner near the door.  It was a Time Life advertisement for “a very special collection of hits”, “only available on TV”, “restored and remastered”, “never before released”…or so they said!

I quickly put on my headphones, cranked up the iPod, and blasted my favorite tunes.  But I kept looking up at the TV as well, drawn to the groups flashing on the screen in 10 second increments.  Sadly, I knew all of them, and the more I watched (even though I couldn’t hear), the more I wanted the collection!  Based on the stares from the others in the room, they too were tortured by the lure and allure of this particular CD collection.

All of us were the very customers Time Life was looking for when they picked that particular time slot and that particular channel for this particular collection!  And worse yet, in those last precious minutes of merciless taunting, they flash the kicker – “if you buy now, we’ll give you the incredible low price of $149.95”.  It had to be incredible, otherwise they wouldn’t have said it!

That iced it.

I want it.

More importantly, I want it now.

I certainly don’t need it now.

We live in a world that lives on impulse and wants immediate satisfaction.

Sometimes it works out ok; but more often than not, it doesn’t.

As one who has knee-jerked his way through life till now, here are some simple suggestions for handling this particular situation:

   (1) use that much needed time on the treadmill to ponder hard as to whether or not you need that “special collection” that was obviously pulled together just for you

   (2) if for some reason you do decide you need it, make sure you don’t try and order while you’re walking fairly fast on the treadmill

   (3) if you decide to order that must have item from the TV, right before you call, realize you can most likely get the songs you want almost immediately from iTunes

   (4) if you still decide to order that “none like it”, “only for a limited time” collection, realize that though they say “only on TV”, it’s very possible that it is indeed available at one of your favorite stores, so you probably could get it much quicker by visiting that venue

   (5) if after all that thinking (I know that’s hard if you too are over 50), you still want this “never before and never again” set of songs, then go for it, have it delivered overnight, and put that particular set of “timeless hits” picked “specially for you” on the CD rack with the hundreds or thousands of other CD’s that you also have that are rarely listened to anymore.

After all, our economy needs you, just like they need me!  In fact, we’re fueling the optimism that supposedly exists today!

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I was watching the race yesterday and for some particular reason began staring at the smallest of names on the cars and the uniforms of the drivers.  Some of the companies that were named I had heard of before, but many I had not.

I’m assuming that each of those named companies paid some money or provided some parts or services to the race teams.  I’m also assuming that they get something more than their name put in a position that you have to really care in order to see it. 

But that got me thinking.

In our lives, in our jobs, in our pursuits, we have sponsors too.  We have our name (most of us anyway) plastered across our fronts, with everyone in the world able to see it based on who we are, the things we say, the things we do (the things we don’t do, too), the way we act, the things we wear.  We have smaller names written in places folks can see but they have to look just a bit harder, like the names of our parents, the names of our companies, the names of very significant people in our lives that may be references, champions or mentors for us.  And then somewhere all around us are names of the many, many, many others who have impacted our lives in subtle but not necessarily big ways (good or bad), like our bosses, our teachers, our pastors, our friends, etc.

When we run our race every day, we carry the names of those who are our sponsors around with us, and everything we do reflects those sponsors.

What do your sponsors think of you?

Have they signed up for another year?

Have you signed up for another year?

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Time.

It’s fixed.

It’s limited.

It’s passing.

It’s precious.

So how much of your time is spent on things that aren’t something you’re passionate about?

If, indeed, time is fixed, limited, passing, and precious, how can you maximize the amount of time that you spend on those things that amp your passion and thus maximize fulfillment in the time that you do have?

Some suggestions:

(1) Commit to quality time every day on all phases of your life – personal, spiritual, professional

(2) Filter constantly, weeding out those things that take lots of time but add little value so you can focus on those things that bring lots of value

(3) Approach everything with a sense of urgency, because there really isn’t enough time

(4) Cherish small successes and celebrate the big ones, and use the celebrations to build momentum for bigger and better things

(5) Surround yourself with those who build you up and move you forward

(6) Give more than you receive, and give without expectation of any return

(7) Embrace each moment, and look for those special things that will pry that moment out of your memory many years from now when your number of days are waning

(8) Pray and praise constantly, in full acknowledgement of the blessings you have received and the grace that you have been given

Most of these you completely control. 

Very little is required from others.

Though it certainly helps to be surrounded by supportive, nurturing, encouraging people.

Good luck!

The clock is ticking!

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We often hear that 90% of our time is spent on the least important 10% of issues in an organization.  Or maybe it was 80% of our time spent on the least important 20%.  I can’t remember.  We’re spending too much time on the things that don’t really matter!

But I’d like to add another one to this list — 80% of the things we focus on are driven by the 20% of the organization that have the least chance of truly advancing the company.  Or in other words, we spend way to much time focusing on those people in the organization that have the least chance of driving us to that next level of business success.

Nirvana is when the things we focus on are critical to business success.  But nirvana is also when we focus on the people that are critical to business success.

In reality, we rarely focus on issues.  Instead we focus on people.  It’s the people that execute.  It’s the people that create chaos.  It’s the people that buy our products and services.  It’s the people that drive us nuts — either good or bad.

Those who maximize their focus on the people most critical to business success win.

Those who let their time be dominated by those who have no impact on business progress end up losing.

Every time.

Sadly so.

In today’s incredibly tense business environment, being the best people person means focusing on those who will advance the business and thus drive benefits to everyone else in the business. 

Others are certainly important.

But they can’t command the majority of your time.

Who do you spend most of your time focusing on?

I hope it’s those that are pushing the organization forward.

If not, in your own way, you too are a massive headwind to business success.

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After reading my “Humility” post, Warren wisely reminded me that I should have gone to him to build my shelf.  Warren has made two beautiful pieces for me over the years – my desk and my credenza.  Here’s the credenza:

And here’s the shelf I bought instead of asking Warren to build me a new one:

Being the incredibly smart guy that I am when reminded of the path I should have taken, I asked Warren if he could build me a shelf to match the beautiful desk and credenza he made.

He said yes.

Now I’m smiling.

Here’s his website – www.snowwoodworks.com.

And here’s my desk – http://www.snowwoodworks.com/flemingofficedesk.htm.

Warren has talent!

Not bad for an Air Force Academy grad with an unsquelchable passion for creating things with his hands!

If you want something special, reach out to Warren and let him stun you with his inspiration and talent!

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The buzz over the Super Bowl commercials was enormous.

Yet folks seemed to be disappointed with those commercials.

So, what would you “sell” if you too had 30 seconds to lay it out so folks would see you as you are?

Here are some suggestions:

• thank those who got you to where you are today
• smile in knowing that wherever you are today is only a very small step to where you want to be tomorrow
• laugh in knowing that life was meant to be joyful and each of us have that very funny bone in our body
• cry in knowing that in life we will ultimately come up one day short of something spectacular yet spectacular isn’t what’s needed to make a huge impact on thos on the journey of life with each of us
• then tell folks like it is…who you are…what you stand for…what you can do in service to others
• and most importantly, commit to something, and then deliver on those commitments

I’d say this:

(1) I’m someone special, which we all are in our own rights

(2) I’m here to help in whatever situation, whatever partnership, whatever solution is possible to addrees the toughest problems we face in today’s society

(3) I don’t do anything alone, but bring a team of many others with me to this battle

(4) I’m not selling you on me; I’m here to help, but the needs are staggering across our great country; if you need me, you’ll have to find me out solving those needs 

Let me know if I can help you!

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My wife and I found the perfect shelf for my home office a week or so ago.  It was the exact dimensions to squeeze between my two CD towers at a height that came up just high enough to snuggly fit right under the window sill.  AND, its shelf space was exactly what I needed to take everything off the floor behind my desk.

So we bought it.

But they wouldn’t let us take the one off the floor.

And they couldn’t find the two that the system said were in the store warehouse.

So we had to wait.

Till this past Friday.

Then we picked it up.

In a box.

So we had to put it together.

The next day, I popped open the box, removed the packaging, laid out all the parts (3 shelves, 2 sides, and 12 screws), and tried (seriously) to read the directions.

The pictures and the letters couldn’t have been any smaller.

Step one was to lay one side down on the floor, and mate the middle shelf to that side.

Step two was to place the other side on top and then put the bottom shelf in place.

Step three was to screw in the 4 large screws.

Step four was to screw in the 4 small screws.

After step one, I called my wife over because I needed extra hands to hold everything together.

After step two, I read the directions two or three more times to make sure I was going to do things right.

After step three and four, my wife took over because, as always seems to happen, it wasn’t going together right.

She kept asking, “Are you sure you got the screws right”?

I said, “Absolutely”.

She’d ask again, “Are you sure”?

I said, “It’s not that hard”.

Yet I had to admit that it wasn’t going together right.

She said, “I think the screws are too short”.

I said, “They’re in the right place”.

And then I looked again.

And sure enough, I had put the screws in the wrong holes.

So my wife took all the screws out and put them back in the right places.

In fact, she then put it all together pretty much by herself.

Which was a smart thing.

Because we may have been there all day otherwise.

None of this would have happened if they just let me take the one off the floor.

But no.

Guys like me with no ability to assemble don’t get that lucky.

We’re destined to struggle and fail.

Regardless of what it is.

Regardless of how clear the directions are.

That’s sad.

But reality.

What are the three most humbling words in the English language?

Some assembly required.

Those magic three words that define those who can and condemn those who cannot.

I’m a cannot.

Always have been.

Always will be.

Even with good directions.

Thank goodness for unconditional love.

And a sense of humor.

And a loving wife who knows when it says “some assembly required”, she needs to get the tools and complete the task at hand.

But only after getting her jabs in and chuckling about my ineptness.

Glad I can make her smile.

Just wish I could put a simple bookshelf together.

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