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Goal Setting Principles and How to Apply Them

Goals need to…

Be written. Writing crystallizes thought and crystallized thought motivates action. Also, a short pencil is better than a long memory. When your goals are written, you can refer to them, communicate them, and create a front-of-the-mind awareness.

Be specific. The mind can focus on the concrete better than it can the abstract.

Be personal. You are more likely to take action on your own goals than you are someone else’s goals. When setting business goals, make sure you tie your “ownership” to each goal.

Be positive. Set goals on what you want to happen rather than what you don’t want. Focus on growth rather than just survival; retention rather than turnover; quality rather than defects; and safety rather than accidents.

Be measurable and contain a method for keeping score. Imagine that your goals are a sporting event. What will you put on the scoreboard during the contest or in the box scores the next day?

Be tangible and intangible. Whenever possible tie a tangible goal to each of your intangible goals and an intangible goal to each of your tangible goals. For example, if your tangible goal is to increase sales and/or profit by a specific amount, your supporting intangible goal might be to become a better coach so your people will perform better. The intangible goal to be a better coach can be supported by tangible goals that let you know that you are a better coach – for example, giving more positive feedback and less criticism or negative feedback.

Be long-range and short-range. Long-range goals give you direction and purpose. Short-range goals provide ongoing motivation and, many times, are steps toward long-range goals.

Have some stretch. If goals are too easy, they won’t motivate you and you may get bored. If goals are too difficult, they could cause stress and discouragement. For example, during a ring toss game, those who stood close and made almost every toss, soon got bored and quit. Those who stood too far away and missed almost every time, soon got discouraged and quit. Those who stood at a challenging distance were the most motivated and played the longest. Your reach should exceed your grasp for optimum motivation.

Contain action steps. Action steps become short-range or bite-sized goals and create motivation and momentum. The completion of each action step can be cause for celebration.

Have a timetable, including deadlines. Deadlines increase focus, concentration, and stick-to-it-tiveness. Use them to your advantage.

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Comments Off on Thoughts on Motivation

Thoughts on Motivation

  1. People do things for their reasons, not ours. Find out what they want and why they want it.
  2. All motivation is self-motivation. Before you can motivate someone else, you need to motivate yourself.
  3. People do things to gain a benefit or avoid a loss. People won’t change their behavior unless it makes a difference to them to do so. Common motivators are: Pride, Profit, Pleasure, and Protection (pain avoidance).
  4. The strongest human force for motivation is goal setting.       Paul J. Meyer
  5. Attitude is everything; it impacts everything you do. It determines your performance.
  6. When your attitude improves, so do your circumstances.         Keith Harrell
  7. We are where we are, and what we are, because of the dominating thoughts that occupy our mind. W. Clement Stone
  8. Try agreeing with people instead of disagreeing with them. See how right you can make others instead of how wrong.
  9. Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.   Jim Ryun
  10. When people believe in themselves, it is amazing what they can accomplish. Sam Walton
  11. People will sit up and take notice of you when you sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up and take notice.   Frank Romer
  12. Know your people; know their goals; know their activity; know their results.   Rex Houze
  13. Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. Lou Holtz
  14. Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger. Franklin P. Jones
  15. Recognition is an energizing action which can go up, down, and sideways. Just say, “Thank you;” “Good job;” “You’re the best;” and positive energy flows between, to, and from both people. Paula Gavin
  16. Treat people as though they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being.   Goethe
  17. The best way to inspire people to superior performance is to convince them by everything you do and your everyday attitude that you are wholeheartedly supporting them.   Harold Geneen
  18. Don’t wait until people do things exactly right before you praise them.   The One Minute Manager®
  19. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.   John Wooden
  20. People flourish with praise and acceptance and diminish with criticism and rejection.

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Comments Off on YOUR DAILY CHECKLIST

YOUR DAILY CHECKLIST

  1. Decide what is really important to you and focus all your energy on achieving it.
  1. Invest your time wisely. Give top priority to activities that you enjoy and that will help you achieve your goals.
  1. Don’t be afraid to say no to requests which might distract you from what’s important to you.
  1. Keep track of how much time you spend on various activities. This will help you avoid time-wasters and focus on your goals.
  1. Don’t dwell on past failures or future problems. Take things one day at a time. Whenever possible, finish one task before beginning another.
  1. When you do fail, learn from the experience.
  1. Do it now. Procrastination can become a bad habit.
  1. Each evening, prepare a general schedule for the next day; approach each day in a relaxed way, letting things evolve naturally.
  1. Find your own solutions for handling stress.
  1. Don’t worry about “having a relationship” with another person. Find a common goal or activity and your relationship will grow naturally.
  1. Ultimately, what you accomplish results from your willingness to be true to yourself. Stick to what you find most rewarding and your life will be more rewarding

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Comments Off on 7 Day PMA DIET

7 Day PMA DIET

Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) = Success, and Negative Mental Attitude (NMA) = Failure. Just as we gain weight when we consume more calories than we burn, our attitude can move from positive to negative as we are exposed to negatives in our environment. Fortunately, our attitude is one of the few things we have 100% control over. Other people and circumstances can only “mess with” our attitude if we let them.

The 7 Day PMA Diet is designed to help you stay in control of your PMA. Follow the 4 steps for 7 days and, if you like the results, repeat them for as many 7 day increments as you need to develop PMA.

Step One:    Think only positive thoughts. When a negative thoughts creep in, and they will, push them out with a positive thought.

Step Two:     Associate only with positive people. When confronted with negative people you can either change them or leave. If you can’t leave physically, leave mentally so you won’t buy into their negativity.

Step Three:    Do something each day, no pay involved (random acts of kindness). No pay involved includes not telling anyone that you did it.

Step Four:     Use your “Focus Card” daily. You can create your own “Focus Card” by using a standard 3 x 5 card. On one side, write one short-term, 7 day goal in each of the six areas of your life, e.g. family, financial, mental physical, social, and spiritual. These are goals you might not have done otherwise and they are something you can accomplish in seven days.

On the top half of the other side, list several things you are thankful for and on the bottom half list some of your accomplishments.

Then, fold the card in half several times and carry it in your pocket or somewhere else where you’ll have easy access to it. When you feel your PMA being challenged, touching the card will be a reminder of what you wrote and will help you focus on what you want to accomplish (7 day goals), what you are thankful for, and what you have accomplished in the past. At least once a day, read the entire card. Good luck.

 

7 Day Goals
Write one goal for each area that you can and will complete in 7 days.

Family –

Financial –

Mental –

Physical –

Social –

Spiritual –

Count My Blessings
List several things you are thankful for.

 

Accomplishments
List several things you have accomplished.

 

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Comments Off on Thoughts on Communication

Thoughts on Communication

  1. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate. Gerald Ford
  1. Communication is the glue that holds relationships together. It is the chief means by which people relate to one another.
  1. Communication, like nature, abhors a vacuum. In the absence of communication, people will create their own messages, typically in the form of rumor, innuendo, and gossip.
  1. The void created by the failure to communicate is soon filled with poison, drivel, and misrepresentation. Northcote Parkinson
  1. People get used to poor communication and accept it as a natural part of life.
  1. Most, if not all, people think they are better communicators than they really are.
  1. The biggest miscommunication is to assume communication has taken place.
  1. When communication is done correctly, people will be inspired to follow, and in the process will achieve inspired results for themselves, for the leader, and for the organization.
  1. Most conflicts and controversies are caused by people not understanding one another.
  1. The moment people see that they are being understood, they become motivated to understand your point of view.
  1. Everybody wants to feel important. Everybody can feel important when somebody understands and believes them. It doesn’t take much effort to help people feel important. Little things, done deliberately, at the right time, can make a big difference.
  1. Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk. Doug Larson
  1. One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears — by listening to them. Dean Rusk
  1. The answers are in the questions.
  1. People’s opinions, thoughts, and desires are often molded by the questions they are asked. Kevin Hogan
  1. I’d rather know some of the questions than all of the answers. James Thurber
  1. When you talk you only say something that you already know. When you listen, you learn what someone else knows.
  1. One of the key principles of business management is that words of encouragement or discouragement affect production. Leaders have great power to encourage and build up or destroy, discourage, and debilitate their followers with words.
  1. If you want to change what people are doing, you have to change what they are thinking. To change what they are thinking, you have to change what you are saying and, perhaps, how you are saying it.

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Comments Off on THE PROPER USE OF AUTHORITY AND POWER

THE PROPER USE OF AUTHORITY AND POWER

A common misconception is that authority is bestowed. To the contrary, authority must be earned. Titles are bestowed and it is usually assumed that control and power come with the title. As a result, most managers overestimate the amount of control or power they have and tend to underestimate how much they can influence outcomes.

Authority is the right to decide no and the right to say yes. If someone has the right to decide either yes or no, but not both, they do not have authority. They have the illusion of authority. Empowering someone in an organization to decide no, but not yes, can limit performance and productivity. Authority (the ability to say yes or no) can and must be delegated. In addition, the limits of authority must be clearly defined. Freedom is greatest when boundaries are clearly defined. When people know exactly what their authority entails, they will be more confident to make correct decisions.

Power is the capacity to grant and withhold cooperation. You are a manager because there is a job to get done that you cannot do alone. If you cannot do it alone, you will need the cooperation of others. Therefore, anyone whose cooperation is needed has power. If a manager had both authority and power, everyone would cooperate automatically to get the job done.

A management problem arises when those with power (employees) refuse to cooperate. This lack of cooperation can be manifested in not getting work done at all or correctly, through slowness and delays, and poor quality. Attempts to gain cooperation with authority usually result in bribery or intimidation. If either of these methods worked consistently, most managers would not be needed.

The best way to deal with power (cooperation) is influence. Influence is the ability to get people to cooperate because it is in their best interest to do so. In order to influence people, you need to know what motivates them. To know what motivates them, you need to get to know them as a person because it’s hard to motivate a stranger.

To get to know the people on your team, observe them, talk with them, listen to them and find out:

  • What they are interested in
  • What’s important to them
  • What they are proud of/what gives them a sense of pride
  • What they do for pleasure
  • What benefits they want to gain
  • What pain they want to avoid
  • What motivates them (it’s ok to ask them)
  • What type of feedback or recognition they prefer

Taking the time to get to know your team members will pay big dividends through better cooperation, improved motivation and morale, and improved performance and results.

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Comments Off on HAVING FUN HELPS YOU WIN

HAVING FUN HELPS YOU WIN

Twenty years ago I volunteered to coach my daughter’s fourth grade basketball team. That experience was so much fun I volunteered the next five years as well. It was a tremendous bonding experience with my daughter and I learned a lot about leadership, communication, motivation, time management and many other things that have served me well in my business and personal life.

The first day of practice I told those young girls that we only had four rules on our team:

1. Have fun
2. Do your best
3. Learn & Improve
4. Win

They enthusiastically agreed that having fun was our most important goal. They also agreed that doing their best would give them a sense of pride, which is a form of having fun, and that learning and improving was also important for having fun. I concluded this first “pep” talk by saying that from my experience it was always a whole lot more fun to win than it was to lose.

Years later it occurred to me that these same principles applied to business. When a friend of mine was promoted to president of a large employee-owned company many of his speeches included how important it was to have fun at work. One employee gave him a bumper sticker that asked the question “ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?” My friend had that bumper sticker prominently displayed near the door to his office. Through employee-ownership his company has enjoyed a ten fold increase in revenue and has been very successful in many other ways also. This is a great example of having fun and winning in the process.

Having fun isn’t about frivolous activity, it’s about having a passion and enthusiasm about your work in the same way you do about your hobbies or recreational pursuits. Be enthusiastic about and have a passion for your work and it will be more fun. Instill the same kind of “having fun” mentality in your team members and you’ll have even more fun.

Doing your best is more about excellence than perfection. When you do your best and you know it, energy is generated that allows you to do even more in the future. When you accept less than the best from yourself and those you lead, you and your team members miss out on this energy rush.

The legendary college basketball coach, John Wooden, said it best, “It’s what we learn after we know it all that really matters.” To be great at anything requires that you want to improve, set a goal to improve, get feedback on your performance, and practice purposely to improve. What do you want to improve about yourself and your leadership ability? What books are you reading? What CD’s are you listening to? What seminars are you attending? What skills are you purposely practicing? What talents are you developing – in yourself and those you direct?

And, finally, have you defined “winning” for yourself and your team in specific terms that can be put on a scoreboard? Is there a tracking system in place that gives you feedback on your performance and that of your team? If not, do whatever it takes to define winning and start keeping score.

ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET?

ARE THE MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM HAVING FUN YET?

When you encourage team members to do their best, help them learn and improve, and show them how to win individually and as a team, they will have more fun – and you will too.

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Comments Off on IT’S HARD TO GET AWAY FROM A GOOD LISTENER

IT’S HARD TO GET AWAY FROM A GOOD LISTENER

Listening involves more than your ears. It involves your eyes and any other senses you can put into play. When you see what a person pays attention to, you can tell what their intentions are. Listen to the words they use. Watch their facial expressions and body language. What is important to them? Are they using contradictory terms or phrases? Are they avoiding answering certain questions or skirting certain issues? Are they making eye contact? All of these are signals you can interpret to help you communicate. This is called active listening. Think of listening as a precious gift you are giving the other person. Even in the most difficult situations, people appreciate it when you listen.

Some of the Benefits of Active Listening Include:

  • Prevent misunderstandings
  • Improve insight into people’s wants and needs
  • Enhance relationships
  • Increase opportunities to learn
  • Reduce friction and resolve conflicts
  • Enlist support and favorable responses
  • Encourage a more honest and sincere exchange

People Fail to Hear Because They Are:

  • Too busy preparing what they are going to say
  • Letting their mind wander (We listen at least four times faster than we speak.)
  • Lazy (It takes effort to listen effectively.)
  • Faking attention
  • Egotistical or mentally set (They lack interest in what other people are saying.)
  • Impatient

To Encourage Others to Talk So We Can Listen:

  • Will Rogers said, “Never miss a good opportunity to shut up.” Most people have a favorite topic – themselves. Keep in mind that it is hard to get away from a good listener. People will think you are brilliant when you let them talk about themselves.
  • Be sincerely interested in what other people are saying. People can sense insincerity and they will stop sending.
  • Encourage people with supportive nods and phrases.
  • Guide the conversation with questions. Remember, the question mark is mightier than the exclamation point.
  • Avoid interrupting other people.
  • Concentrate on what other people are trying to say – their words, ideas, and feelings related to the subject.
  • Make eye contact.
  • Stay in the moment. Compartmentalize any other issues that might distract you.
  • Get rid of distractions. Put down papers or pencils, unless you are taking notes. Turn off your cell phone or put it on silent mode. Turn your computer monitor off and/or shutdown your computer or laptop.
  • Ask for clarification if you do not understand a point or idea.

GIVE PEOPLE THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF LISTENING

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Comments Off on WINNING WITH PEOPLE

WINNING WITH PEOPLE

  1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
  2. Smile.
  3. Remember a person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
  4. Be a good listener; encourage others to talk about themselves.
  5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interest.
  6. Make other people feel important – and do it sincerely.

WINNING PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING

  1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it (you don’t have to attend every fight you’re invited to).
  2. Begin in a friendly way.
  3. Get the other person saying “Yes” immediately.
  4. Find areas of mutual agreement.
  5. Let the other person do a majority of the talking.
  6. Let the other person feel the idea is theirs.
  7. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.
  8. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.
  9. Appeal to the nobler motives.
  10. Dramatize your ideas.
  11. Throw down a challenge.
  12. Show respect for others’ opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong!”
  13. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

COACHING A WINNING TEAM

  1. Be generous with encouragement.
  2. Give positive feedback regarding outstanding, improved, and consistent performance.
  3. Help people set and achieve personal, business, and professional development goals.
  4. Communicate your expectations clearly (preferably in writing).
  5. Help people clarify their thinking.
  6. Reinforce the behaviors you want repeated.
  7. Focus on specific issues or behaviors the person can control.
  8. Avoid personal attacks, sarcasm, or innuendos.
  9. Avoid inflammatory words such as should have, ought to, have to, always, and never.
  10. Believe in your people.
  11. Be a positive role model.
  12. Stay in the moment. Give the other person your complete time and attention.

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Comments Off on HUMAN ASSETS OF SUCCESSFUL MANAGERS*

HUMAN ASSETS OF SUCCESSFUL MANAGERS*

  • Steps up and can make tough decisions; pulls the trigger.
  • Good communicator, good listener, and likes the interaction with people.
  • Offers innovative ideas and effective solutions to critical operational problems.
  • Understands his/her personal weaknesses and build a complimentary team to fulfill the tasks at hand, covering individual weaknesses.
  • Knows how to build trust among the people around him/her; very credible.
  • “Vision” seems to be his/her forte; their thought process just seems right for the organization and its future success.
  • Has good timing. Seems to know what is right for the organization at the right time; asks penetrating questions and exercises good judgment.
  • Has the “Arnold Palmer” factor; the magnetism. Exercises “people skills;” people just want to be around this person as a mentor and as a leader.
  • Has a deep understanding of how the company makes money and appreciates the contribution of each individual department to that end.
  • Demonstrates “marketing skills” and helps create a “customer focus” in the organization.
  • “High energy” person who is results oriented. And, knows how “to keep many balls in the air” but has an excellent sense of priority.
  • Is open to new ideas and is willing to change his/her point of view.
  • Smart person in terms of I.Q. but, more so, has “street smarts;” intuitively perceives patterns of external change and can adapt “vision” to these changes.
  • Has “quick study” characteristics. Is always curious, an observer, who acts rather than reacts.
  • Has a track record of personal success. Strong record of extra-curricular activities in college and in career, helping to make her/him a well-rounded individual.
  • Understands the concept of “value creation” and the relationship to the top line and bottom line.
  • Has high moral/ethical standards and brings a sense of integrity to the company.
  • Has a track record of removing “barriers to change” and is not content with the “status quo.” In most cases believes that “sacred cows make the best hamburger.”
  • Loves interaction with “stakeholders.” Loves the job, the people, and loves spreading the word.
  • Has a ‘life,” not just the work place. Is well read, knows how to get educated well beyond formal education. Is up on current events. Has a handle on what’s happening out there.
  • Knows how to balance work life and personal life.

*Excerpted with permission from “Return of the Body Snatchers” by Cary Blair & Ron Watt

Available from www.amazon.com or www.bn.com

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