Posted: January 12, 2013 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

 Time management expert Charles Hobbs spent his whole career studying high achievers. As a result of his research, he found what he believed to be their most important characteristic: “They have the ability to focus on vital priorities and cause those priorities to happen”

In coaching my clients, the most common enemy of effectiveness is distraction. We live in a world where there are more and more distractions. Texting, emails, Twitter, iPods,  Facebook and Linkedin have greatly fragmented our time. In addition, the ease of distraction is much higher. It has been estimated that managers and sales professionals are interrupted an average of once every three minutes. Time studies have also shown that it can take as much as 20 minutes to regain our focus on a vital project to the level of concentration before the interruption.

We frequently hear that Americans are working more hours than they used to. I don’t believe this is true. I do believe that we are spending more hours at work than we used to.

When I work with clients in the area of time management, the first thing we do is a time log. We keep track of every task or activity performed for a 2-3 day period. The results are almost always shocking:  Most folks discover they are spending more than 50% of their time doing things that do not pertain to their top priorities. So how do we combat distraction and get a better focus? Here are some suggestions.

•  Plan your week in advance. How much discretionary time do you have? How are you going to divide that time up so that you stay focused on your priorities and keep in balance?
• Plan your day the night before: List all of the things you could do. Put an “A” next to those items most critical. For those that are important, but not critical, put a “B” next to them. Finally, put a “C” next to those items that have some or little importance. In other words, if we don’t do them, we don’t suffer or miss an important opportunity.

Once you have done this, look at your list again and ask these three questions:

1.  What can I combine?
2. What can I eliminate?
3. What can I delegate?

The next day you will be ready to begin. Start with your highest priority and stay with it until it is complete. Then go on to your next priority. If you do this with an absolute commitment to avoid distractions, you will get more done and end each day with success. As stress management consultant Dr. Hans Seyle once said, “A successful life is a series of successful days”

Posted: November 13, 2012 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

Have you ever had a project or task on your checklist that just doesn’t seem to get done?  On your “to-do” list today, did you notice an item that was on your list for the 3^rd or 4^th time?  This can be demoralizing.  How do we break the pattern, set a new stride, and gain control?

Break it down

If we have carried a “to-do” item on our list for several days, we can ask ourselves, “How can I break this down into bite-size chunks?  For example, if our action item is to write a follow up report for the design meeting, we may want to lay it out in pieces like:

1. Write title for report
2. Outline key points
3. Write cover page summary
4. Write point #1

These steps we can usually swallow, and doing them can help us overcome inertia and move forward.

 The power of planning and blocking time

My wife and I had been planning to clean out the garage for several weeks.  We would say something like, “Yeah, let’s try to get that done this weekend”.  How well do you think that worked?  You’re right …Not so well

After bumping the project for all that time, we decided to get things under control.  We had a sit-down meeting and talked about the project supplies we would need and when we could do the project.  Soon, we had a list of supplies and also specific steps involved.  We blocked out our entire weekend for the project.  We promised ourselves that if we completed the project by the weekend, we would treat ourselves to dinner out.  Now how do you think the project went?  We completed the project, did a spectacular job, and enjoyed dinner out.  We made the project fun and we also put enough control on it so that it did not become a procrastination victim.

Think about something you need to do that isn’t done yet.  Ask yourself:

1. Why is this important?
2. How much will I benefit if I do it?
3. How much will I suffer if I don’t?
4. When can I do this?
5. What steps will be required?
6. Who else do I need to discuss this with?
7. What resources will I need to successfully complete the project?

Categorize, prioritize, set specific action steps and deadlines, follow through, and enjoy the benefits of a completed effort.  Get on control!

Posted: October 10, 2012 | Categories: Self-Improvement

It is no secret that we live in a world of boundless instant information and countless distractions.  Kenneth Blanchard tells us that we are exposed to more information in 30 days than our grandparents were in their lifetime.  No wonder we all struggle so hard to maintain our focus.

We need focus.  Today I was reminded of this principle when I received a phone call from a client who was frantic.  His office manager had suddenly resigned and the timing couldn’t have been worse.  Bill was on the verge of closing three major business deals and he knew he must stay with these opportunities until they were officially in the “win” column.  At the same time, he needed to get the invoicing done so that his business could maintain their steady cash flow.

As we talked through the problem, Bill came up with the following action steps:

1. Take a full-size legal pad and write down all the tasks and activities swarming in his head.
2. Go through the list and prioritize by asking these two questions:
   1. How much will I benefit if I do this task?
   2. How much will I suffer if I don’t?
3. Select the top five

After Bill went through these steps, here is what happened:

In writing down all the things in his mind, he was able to relax just knowing he had transferred everything on paper.  Writing can be a very powerful control mechanism.  If you doubt that, consider all the great achievers:  Almost all work from written goals.

By prioritizing, he did come up with his top five.  He then numbered them from one to five in order of their importance. I thought it was interesting that four of the five were related to direct sales.  Without going through this exercise, Bill freely admitted that he would have probably spent the majority of his time doing office stuff, just because of all that was surrounding him

So how did Bill feel after working through these steps?  “I feel energized, focused, and balanced, and I am ready to dive in”.  He did.

Imagine if Bill had not taken a time out to work through these steps.  He would probably still be frazzled, unfocused, and inefficient with his time.  The problems would have just compounded.

When we find ourselves thrown off track or scrambling, let’s remember to take a time out and do what Bill did.  Write it all down.  Determine the top five.  Put them in order of their importance.  Act!

Posted: September 27, 2012 | Categories: Sales, Self-Improvement

In the early 50’s, a young fellow named Sydney Poitier came from Jamaica to New York City.  His goal was to be a great actor.  Over the next 20 years, he achieved that goal.  Getting there wasn’t a cinch.

As Mr. Poitier approached agents, directors, and producers, he was consistently met with scorn and ridicule.  He now claims that one of his key secrets of success came every time he got knocked down and humiliated:  When these things happened, he got tougher.

In his book, “The Happiness Advantage”, psychologist Shawn Achor talked about the habit of “Falling up”.  Like Sydney Poitier, this means that whenever we encounter setbacks and crises, we pick ourselves up and get back in the ring with even more gusto.  All high achievers have this quality.

In 1995, Met Life hired behavioral psychologist Martin Seligman to help them with their sales staff.  Reps were underperforming and the turnover was high and costly.  Dr. Seligman decided to make the key hiring criteria be the candidate’s strength and resilience in attitude.  As a result of this experiment, they discovered that the optimist outsold the pessimist by 40%!

When we are planning to succeed, we need the right mental programming.  Here are some questions we can ask ourselves when we hit these “bumps in the road”.

1. What happened?
2. What is my interpretation of what happened?  Is it positive?  If not, what are some positives I can learn from this?
3. Is this event part of a pattern, or is this an isolated event?
4. What is the problem (No Blame, and make sure you are not just giving a symptom)
5. What are some possible solutions?
6. What is the best solution?
7. How can I begin implementation?

These questions can lead us to a winning attitude and better ego strength.  We can do this, or we can be a victim.  In the words of the late Steven Covey, “Act or be acted upon”

Posted: July 23, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement

Remembering Steven Covey…

Last week brought the sad news of the passing of Steven R. Covey, world-renowned leadership and management expert.  In hearing of Covey’s death, thoughts of all his contributions came to mind.  His work was transformational for those companies and individuals who took the time to understand and apply his timeless, common-sense principles for joyous and abundant living.  I want to share a three of his principles that were especially important to me.  Here they are:

Begin with the end in mind.  This sounds so simple, doesn’t it?  Why wouldn’t we begin with the end in mind?  According to the late billionaire, Bunker Hunt, “Most people don’t take the time in life to determine exactly what they want.  Success comes in two steps:  Knowing exactly what you want, and being willing to pay the price to achieve it.”  To illustrate, just imagine trying to put together a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle without a picture on the box!

Balance your Q2 and Q1 ratio.  In his classic book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, Covey had a quadrant that included these four categories:

1. Important and urgent
2. Important, but not urgent
3. Urgent, but not important
4. Not urgent or important.

It is easy to get caught in the world of “tantalizing trivialities”.  There is such a temptation to spend time in the 3^rd and 4^th categories.  We allow ourselves to be distracted by low priority interruptions.  We spend too long on our lunch hour and spend production time talking about sports.  When I coach teams, many of them are constantly in the “important and urgent” category”.  Covey taught us to put a sense of urgency on the important by planning and delegating well, and using and respecting deadlines.  If we don’t put a sense of urgency on what is “important but not urgent”, it will eventually become urgent.  Example:  Having a conversation with your teenager today.  It is important, but not urgent.  If you keep putting it off, the conversation may become urgent!

 Synergistic Communication

Covey says  there are three levels of communication.

1. Win-lose:  No trust is needed in this mode.  It is a zero sum game.  As a result of our conversation, I win, and you lose.
2.  Compromise:  Some trust is involved here.  Each side must be willing to give and take.  The result is coming up with a plan that everyone can “live with”
3.  Synergistic communication:  This was Covey’s favorite.  At this level the sum is greater than the total of its parts.  We have a problem.  I have an idea.  Instead of disagreeing with me, you look for common ground and say, “I like what you are saying about_______.  How about if we added_______”   The other person responds, “OK.  If we add that, how about if we included this also?”  The conversation goes back and forth, and in each exchange, your thinking is at a higher level.  When you finally come up with your action plan, it is better than either of the original individual ideas. When we can reach this state of communication and problem solving, great things can happen.  I have personally witnessed this.

Thank you, Mr. Covey for these nuggets of wisdom that have helped form my career today.  You have left a legacy, and we will miss you.