2
Dec
Posted on 2009 under Coaching, Needs Analysis, Rob |
I have been surfing a total of one time in my life. Wait, maybe you could call it surfing or you could call it practicing drowning with a large piece of fiberglass tied to my ankle and sticky goop stuck to my sparse chest hair. (if you aren’t familiar with board wax, don’t worry about the goop)
The odd part of my partial drowning was that I enjoyed it. I spent hours trying to stand on a board in the midst of waves and never succeeded beyond kneeling, but I ‘got it’ from a psychological standpoint. I could feel the ‘one-ness’ with the ocean and I could see that given time (and possibly a couple lessons) I could grow addicted to it.
But what would it gain me? Possibly some Zen-like moments. Definitely a feeling of mastery over something. Quite likely some core exercise for my body and stuff. Alone time, which I like sometimes. I’m not sure what else.
What would it cost? Well, easily a great deal of time and some money. Waves are free, but driving back and forth to them and buying a board, etc. Time I don’t really have abundance of. I have lots of temptations, but all things – new things – have me deciding what I am replacing. If I spend four hours a week on X, Y has to go. What can I eliminate?
You might wonder what this is really about. I’ve heard a lot about the ‘newest thing’ from Google, Google wave, and I’m not sure whether I should ride this one or not. I am weighing the pros and cons and asking everyone I know who uses it; what is the cost/benefit of this.
Life is like that. Best bet, if you want to get the most out of anything, get a tutor/coach/mentor/instructor to teach you. Learn the basics, at least, from an expert, and then go from there.
Now, back to surfing the waves on the ocean, maybe I made a mistake trying to learn on my own. Maybe I made a mistake thinking I don’t need any help (definite) and maybe the waves hitting the Texas shore aren’t the best introduction to the sport.
24
Aug
Posted on 2009 under Needs Analysis, Rob |
In today’s economic times businesses are asking themselves the questions they probably should have been asking during the times of milk and honey. What is really necessary around here? How can we trim the fat? Which leads to lean… But “Lean” is often just associated with variation reduction, six sigma, and the like. But drilling down to the basics, lean is “how do we do business without the fluff?”
That really is the tough call. Who is the one deciding what is fluff and what is needed? As we pare down the different functions and people need training to do new tasks or as they move into new positions, again, how do you decide what they really need, and what is the least expensive, most effective option?
Often combined products are purchased and none of the multiple aspects live up to expectations. Other times you are so blown out of the water by the depth and usefulness of a product, you wonder why the price is so attractive. Those latter situations are the ones we really look for, don’t we? And when you find them, do you share them with colleagues? Isn’t that what networking is all about? Suddenly instead of a conversation being about you or your product, you are talking about something that will help their company in many aspects of its business, and will also build your relationship with the person you are networking with.
What seems to be the one thing that is the barrier to growth and/or profitability in many companies? In my mind it is all about relationships and communication. If you can’t communicate clearly the goals and methods to achieve those goals, you might as well close the door. And when relationships start to form - good bad and everything in between, that’s when you either have synergy or conflict.
So the road to synergy has to be in massaging the relationships while growing the business and guiding everyone toward set goals. What does that sound like to you? To me it’s coaching. Effective coaching. But most people haven’t been taught how to be a coach. My degree is in Organizational Behavior and Applied Psychology, and there wasn’t a single course that was about coaching others. It was hinted at, but it was never fully on the table. So it is no wonder that as a leader, I wasn’t the greatest coach in the world. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the general tools, I did. During my time in the military there was lots of ‘on the job’ training, coaching moments, and they helped me grow. I also graduated from the Army’s Non-Commissioned Officer Academy and learned about primary leadership, but still that didn’t give me all the tools that I needed.
Self-education and teleseminars can only take you so far, and beyond that you better have someone that you can lean on and if that is a single person, rather than a department of experts, they need to have the tools and programs to support whatever you get involved with.
Rob Britt
http://www.RobertBritt.com
http://www.ThePeopleAcademyInc.com
December ending marks the traditional time of reflection and consideration; reflecting on the events of the past and considering a (hopefully) learned path to the new. Oh yes there are sins to be atoned and resolutions affirmed. But we are seldom really sorry and less often very resolved; and neither one’s important unless we engage it for today.
(Real) life is engaging. Your power to engage springs from a power to influence what is real; and today is the only day that’s real. One cannot just engage in the past or in the future as though it were real (unless you are under some very specialized care . . .).
So yes, reflect for just a moment and imagine better tomorrows. But remember that tomorrow does not ever come and yesterday will never come again. Today is here today. And the nice thing is – when you wake up tomorrow it will be today.
So be true to yourself and nice to someone else. It’s the holidays.
Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Day! (Every day for days and days to come)
Jim
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimreece