Re:Focus

Ask Questions

I used to have a boss a long time ago who never answered a single question I asked. He only replied with questions. And because of it, he got better work out of me, he stayed informed and he taught me self-reliance. No matter what I asked him, he’d always reply: “What do you think we should do?” Sometimes he’d ask if I’d considered certain circumstances or impacts -- but he never gave me an answer -- he always helped me find the answer myself. He was a great leader.

The quality of a leader cannot be judged by the answers he gives, but by the questions he asks. Leadership is not about always being right, it’s about finding the right answers. And finding the right answers can only come when you involve others. The reason is simple: You only know what you know and you don’t know what you don’t know. The reason a leader needs to ask questions -- and lots of them -- is to gain more information, learn more and hear other perspectives. Only then can the best decisions be made.

Knowing how to ask questions is not as easy as it sounds. Many people ask leading questions -- questions designed to elicit the answer they want. “What do you think of option A?” is a leading question. “What do you think is the best option?” is not.

Great leaders all know they don’t know everything and never try to prove they do. They don’t mind if it is their idea or someone else’s idea that gets implemented as long as it is the best idea that moves forward. They stay smart by surrounding themselves with people who are smarter and know more about certain subjects than they do. Again, great leaders don't know all the answers; they are the ones who know how to inspire others to help them find the best answers.

Asking questions is a remarkable tool and it should be used as often as possible, not just when a decision needs to be made.

This was originally posted on Askmen.com from my column, The Logistics of Leadership

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The Left-Siders

The world is a bell curve.  Class room test scores, employee performance in a company or how many people really, really like you. No matter the population you're studying, they always fit neatly across the standard deviations of the famous bell curve. The most important thing about the bell curve is that it is always balanced.  If there are high performers on one side, there are low performers on the other.  It is always balanced.  Which brings me to the topic of this blog: the insane. 

If we look at our population at large, we know that there are some that don't seem to fit well within the majority...in the middle of the curve. On the one side are the ones who end up in jail, in asylums or simply as outcasts.  We know that this population exists, then what's on the other side to balance them off?

There are, in fact, two groups of society's misfits.

The first group, from the right side of the curve, are the socially dysfunctional misfits. These are the groups I just mentioned. They don't seem to live on the same planet as everyone else.  They see things the most others can't. Worse, they lack the ability to interact in normal society. Which is why we push them to the side and point at them.

On the left side of the curve is another group of misfits. Like their brothers and sisters from across the curve, they also seem to live on another planet. They also see things most others can't. However, they are able to live what appear to be normal lives - i.e. they are socially functional.  But don't be fooled. They are still misfits.

If you see things others can't and you're from the right side of the curve, they call you insane.  If you see things others can't and you're from the left side, they call you a visionary.  If you march to the beat of your own drum from the right side, they call you an outcast.  If you march to the beat of your own drum from the left side, they call you unique or authentic.

The left-siders live among us, but they are not always easy to spot. You may have interacted with one at work once or twice. When they are young in their careers, we walk out of meetings with them and think they are weirdos.  When they are advanced in their careers, we walk out of meetings with them and think they are geniuses.

This blog is for the left-siders out there.  You know who you are. The worst part about being a left sider is that it's lonely.  There are not that many out there, the majority - the middle of the bell - don't understand you. They can't see what you see.  They can't imagine the world you can.

I have one word of advice for all of you - don't stop.  Don't quit.  Never give up trying to build the world you can see, even if others can't see it. Listen to your drum and your drum only. It's the one that makes the sweetest sound.  And most importantly, when you meet other left-siders, give them a wink, let them know you know...and help them out when they need it.

The only way the left-siders change the world is when they band together to help each other.

If you suspect you're a left-sider - email me or find another left-sider and tell them the world you imagine. We may know someone who can help you build it.

If you suspect you know someone who is a left-sider, stay close to them, protect them and help them. Often, they are their own worst enemies. They can get in their own way and, if they can't clearly communicate the things they can see, others will fear them or ostracize them. The reason to help them, however, is that they are the ones who lead us into the future. They are the ones who change the world.

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SEX...and other marketing techniques

Good, now that I've got your attention... 

This was a common practice used by budding marketers when I was in college.  There would be a flyer hanging in some hallway of a dorm and at the top of the page, in HUGE letters, was the word "SEX".  When you went to read it, you realized it had nothing to do with sex. It was some poster for a chess club meeting or something; they just used the word SEX to make you read it....and it worked.

But it's not marketing.

It's an example of a gimmick, a trick or a stunt designed to attract your attention away from your daily routine. It's designed to get you to look, but beyond that, it has no marketing value. Sure it's effective for the moment, but that's the problem.

The stress of "standing out from the crowd," "differentiating," or "breaking through the clutter" is so great today that most professional marketers have forgone the long-term value of good marketing in favor of quick-fix tricks designed simply to "break through."  Doing something in the middle of a city center to get on the news, no matter how creative, is not good marketing...it's just a stunt.  This is the reason most guerrilla marketing is not good marketing, most are one-off stunts. In contrast, good marketing can be repeated.  Many marketers are suffering because of their reliance on tricks, gimmicks and stunts, which over time become increasingly expensive and, ironically, do more to add to the problem than solve it.

Good marketing draws your attention not because it interrupts you; good marketing attracts you. It appeals to you on a visceral level.  Good marketing reflects who you are, what you believe and what you love.  It's not about prices or features...or sex.  Good marketing communicates a message, a cause or a belief.

I have a very simple test for good marketing. If your customers want to hang your marketing on their fridge at home or in their cubical at work...congratulations, you've made something that appeals to someone on a visceral level.

People who like high design used to hang Absolut ads on their walls because they were pieces of high design. People who fancy themselves iconoclasts used to hang "Think Different" ads on their walls because the ads told a story about how they saw themselves.  Athletes like to hang "Just Do It" ads in their lockers because the advertising inspires them.

If all you want is to drive a transaction, "sex" on the top of a flyer will serve your purposes.  If you want to lead, then you need good marketing.  The reason is simple: good marketing doesn't last for a moment...it lasts forever.

(You can click on each ad below to see the bigger version.  You may even want to print one out and hang it on your fridge.)

             

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How Starting A Business Is Like The Making Of Star Wars

In 1977, the world was introduced to the epic sci-fi adventure, Star Wars.  That little film (it cost $11 million to make (about $38 million adjusted to today's dollars)) has gone on to gross $2.7 billion worldwide. It was also nominated for 11 Academy Awards that year, winning 7 of them.  The original Star Wars has made more money in the United States than the last three prequel movies combined...and they cost $115 million EACH to produce.  And...not a single one of them won a single Oscar.

How is it possible that with all that money, experience and expertise, the Star Wars prequels weren't even able to come close to the classic original?

The answer is simple.  The original Star Wars movie was like a small business; it was an entrepreneurial venture. Under funded and inexperienced, nothing went right on the set of the original Star Wars. The robots didn't work properly. They had to work quickly because of such a small budget.  But the one thing they had going in their favor - the thing that made it all work - was that everyone involved in the project realized they were a part of something special and they all rallied together to make it work.  Though George Lucas was the visionary, it was the actors and the crew that made Star Wars great.  The success of Star Wars came from the blood, sweat and tears of all those involved...from all those who believed.

In contrast, the prequels functioned more like corporations.  Flush with cash, they hired the best of everything.  Like a corporation, the prequels were enamored with themselves and what they could do and how impressive it all was. In contrast, the first film set out to tell a story and challenge the status quo of how movies were made.  Like a corporation in love with its own technology instead offering value to consumers, special effects were used to support the story in the first film whereas in the prequels they were the story.  In the last three films, there was no vision and no dream.

The similarities don't stop there.

Like a big corporate CEO, in the prequels, the rich and successful George Lucas controlled every detail.  He wrote the scripts, he directed the movies and he oversaw all the special effects...and no one questioned a single decision he made along the way for fear of upsetting the great George Lucas.

But in the first film, Lucas was more like an entrepreneur.  A guy with a big vision, working a little outside of his league, a little over his head.  But his vision inspired those around him.  And they came together to help bring that vision to life. It wasn't George Lucas that made the first Star Wars, it was all those who believed in the vision George Lucas painted.

If you're a small business, let those who believe in your vision help you.  There is plenty of time in the future for you to become big and successful and screw it all up by yourself.  For now, let others help you be successful.

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Live Your Childhood Dream

When I was young, I wanted to be an astronaut.  I had posters from the space program on my wall and I could recite factoids about astronauts and various missions. I remember coming home after school the day Space Shuttle Challenger blew up in 1986 and sitting on the couch watching the footage over and over and just crying my eyes out. I wanted to be an astronaut to badly, I even went to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama when I was in the 7th or 8th grade.  I was so proud, I wore my flight suit to school the first day back. Most people thought I was a dork, but I didn't care...I was going to be an astronaut and I was proud of it.

Recently, someone asked me why I wanted to be an astronaut. Ironically, considering what I do for a living, I'd never actually thought about it. Why I wanted to be an astronaut was simple. I wanted to see the world from a perspective most people don't, then come home and share all the amazing stories with others so they could see what I saw.

As the words came out of my mouth, I caught myself.  And that's when I realized it.  I never went to space, but I am an astronaut.  I am living my childhood dream.

For years, I did as I was told, followed a path others said I should follow. All those years, I wasn't living my childhood dream, I was just making a living. It wasn't until I lost my passion that I was forced to try something new.  It was then that I discovered the concept of WHY. What I do now is different from floating in space, but WHY I do it is exactly the same. This explains the reason I love getting out of bed every morning.  I get to be an astronaut.

Think about what you dreamed of being when you were 10 years old.  Then ask yourself WHY you wanted to be that?  Then the questions is, are you living your childhood dream now?

I strongly recommend being what you wanted to be when you were 10.  It's a lot better than growing up.

I Am A Failure

There is no other way to look at it.  I am a failure.

I started a business 8 years ago but it was far from successful.  We had good clients, we did good work, but we weren't able to scale it in any meaningful way. We basically just kept the doors open.  We never got good at implementing all the systems and processes needed for stability and growth.  And passion alone, as I learned, is not enough to keep a business functioning.

By all standard measurements that society provides and even some I set for myself, I am indeed a failure.  I never made a lot of money. I didn't win any awards. And I seem to fail all the tests "they say" I need to pass - like having a business plan and writing down all my goals every year.

Passion was all I had. But after 4 years of slogging away, I ran out of it. I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning.  Any appearance of success or happiness was an act.  And any energy I  had left went into sustaining that act instead of trying to affect change. I'll never forget it. From September 2005 to December 2005 I was the closest I've ever been to depression.  I may have even been there.

It was then that I learned the most valuable lesson of my life.  Failure you can do alone but success always takes help. I could no longer try to be successful alone.

My closest friends could tell I wasn't my old self.  They knew something was up and they worried. My friend Kendra Coppey, in particular, came to my aid (not so ironically, her WHY is to help people live the life they want to live and she even started a company to help people do it).

It was the people around me who knew me best, who valued me in their lives not for what I had achieved (or hadn't achieved) but for who I was. Kendra was one of the first who told me that I inspired her. That word, the thing she said she valued most about me in her life, in turn, inspired me.  The more people I asked "why are you friends with me?" the more people told me "because you inspire me." And the more people who told me, the more inspired I felt.

My WHY is to inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that together we can have an impact, even change the world. I still haven't completely figured out all the details of how I'll do it.  I still don't know how to build structure, but I do know WHY I'm trying: to inspire.  I may not be successful by the standards of others, but I feel more successful than I've ever felt before. 

I will never fail alone again.  I would rather succeed with the help of others.  I have surrounded myself with people who believe in me and I stay close to those in whom I believe.

Success will come together.

And that's the reason I included a picture of Martin Luther King.  Because it inspires me to share my message. To inspire others. To live my WHY and to work everyday to get that message to as many people as I can.

Join the movement.  Do one thing today before you go home that will inspire someone and together, we will change the world.

Lead A Crusade

A crusade is any vigorous movement to advance an idea, cause or belief.

A crusader is one driven by absolute faith in that idea.

At its founding, a company is a crusade and all the original employees are the crusaders.  They are resource constrained. Everyone tells them they are mad and the odds are overwhelming that they will fail.  But it doesn't matter.  Everyone believes. They believe in the vision. They want to change an industry...maybe even change the world. They don't know how they will succeed, but it doesn't matter...it is their faith that drives them.

With time and stability, however, the reason WHY the company was founded is often forgotten.  Ideals are replaced by goals. Passion replaced by incentives.  Purpose and cause take a backseat to strategies and tactics.  Faith is replaced by structure. The crusade becomes an organization. And the company of crusaders become the managers of infrastructure.

Systems and processes are essential to keep the crusade going, but they should not replace the crusade.  They are the essential supply lines that ensure valuable resources are able to travel from the rear to the front lines. It is the structure that helps keep the vision alive. But it is the structure that must serve the vision and not the other way around.

Senior managers are responsible for managing the organization. 

The role of the leader is to keep the faith alive.

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Lazy Trust

I was one of the 67 recipients on the email.  "Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins University" it said in the title. My well meaning friend sent this email to lots of people he knows for good reason.  According to a study Johns Hopkins recently conducted, putting plastic wrap in the microwave or freezing plastic bottles can increase your chance of getting cancer.

The problem is, it's a hoax.

There are many good things that the internet offers us. Almost unlimited access to unlimited information. We no longer have to go to the library to write a term paper. We no longer have to go to the corner store to buy today's newspaper. We can shop from home, rent movies and find friends from high school on Facebook.

The downside is, it's made us lazy.  Very, very lazy.  As soon as I received the above email, I googled the title of it and the first thing that came up was a link from the actual Johns Hopkins University debunking the story (as well as many others). 

The whole process from receiving the email and learning if it was real or not took me all of 3.7 seconds. I didn't have to call Johns Hopkins. I didn't have to research the properties of dioxins and what happens to them when you freeze them.  Nothing. All thanks to the mighty internet.

But we're lazy. We see things on TV. We hear things from our friends. We get an email from someone and off we go. The rise of blogging hasn't helped any, either. Many newspaper and magazines still maintain journalistic standards (though television news seems to be a little more loose because of the time pressure they face to get news up as soon as someone else reports it -- think Bush-Gore 2000 or rumors of gun violence during Katrina). But most bloggers have no training as journalists and are much more liberal with their fact-checking.

So it's up to us. We need to get better at checking our own facts because our friends, the TV news and bloggers aren't gonna to it for us.

The next time someone sends you something with a bogus claim, go to this site, http://lmgtfy.com, do the search for them and send them back the link. I think you'll make your point.  Click here to see what I mean.

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Play Tennis With Someone Better

When Christina plays tennis, she doesn't always win. She's not a bad player; quite the opposite. The reason she doesn't win all the time is that she prefers to play against someone much better than she is. When she does, it pushes her to play much harder than if she played someone below or even at her level. In fact, she gets mad at herself if she wins too often or too easily...it means that she's not challenging herself enough.

Who we choose to compare ourselves to or compete against significantly impacts our future performance. Lots of people are so afraid of losing, they choose to play against someone they know they can beat or at least compete on a level playing field with.  These people will definitely win more often than Christina. And they may improve somewhat. But they won't advance as far as Christina in the long run. How can they? They are not pushing themselves or learning anything new.

We do the same with our careers. All too often, we compare ourselves to those at our level.  Why not compare ourselves to someone way beyond ourselves? If you own a small company - don't compete against other small companies - compete against the biggest and the best.  If you're a mid-level employee - don't aim for the job just above yours, aim for the top job.

If we compare ourselves to the average, then the average is our benchmark. If we compare ourselves to the best, then that's the bar to beat. We should request to be on the team of people smarter than ourselves, demand to be the junior man on the senior team, plead to be the inexperienced one on the project staffed with all the most experienced people. If we always surround ourselves with people much better than ourselves and openly declare that we're there to learn and to compete and to improve...then we will learn, we will compete and we will improve.

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One Is Not Enough

"If I can help even one of you be more successful," says the speaker standing in front of a crowd of 400 people," then I've done my job."

It's amazing how often people say that.  "If I can help just one..."  That seems like a very low standard.  Just one?  Why not 10? or 100? or 300? Or as many as possible?

How many people would feel confident if their child's third grade teacher said, "if I can help just one student be successful, then I've done my job." What about the other 33 kids in the class?  It's acceptable to aim for everyone and miss a few. There is no great value, however, in aiming for a few and being satisfied when you get them.

Providing value in the world means that the things you say and the things you do have the power to help many more than one person or one company.  If what you do provides value to the vast minority, then you're either talking to the wrong audience or setting your goals too low.  Whatever the cause, something has to change.

I have known many small and medium sized businesses who seem very successful from the outside. They make good money and they have lovely offices. They seem to be riding high and are quite satisfied with what they've built.  Upon closer inspection, however, you'll find that all that fancy Herman Miller furniture is basically being paid for by a single client. If a company has an "anchor" client or a sugar daddy or whatever else we want to call it...then what they have is a client, not a business. A business offers something of value to more than one.

It's totally acceptable to have a big client, even a dominant client, but a company is just not stable if its entire existence depends on one single piece of business. Either the goals need to be raised or a new strategy needs to be employed. Whatever the course of action, an organization only offers value to the world if more than one can say what they do is valuable...and then be willing to pay for it.

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