In my journey through life I have met some pretty neat people that have overcome obstacles far greater than I can even imagine myself having to face. Three of the most recent include Jenna, Jamison and James.

I met Jamison at a conference I spoke at. Jamison is in his 20s, is bright, intelligent, has a really great smile, and a positive attitude. He also has MS, has little control over his limbs and is bound to a wheelchair. We had some good conversation during lunch and I was reminded how powerful the human spirit is.

Jenna is in the 4th grade. I met Jenna about a month ago when she came to our Children’s group at church. She is fun to be around and just like most of us, is looking for acceptance in this sometimes crazy world. Jenna is nearly 100% blind and has hearing aids to help her hear. She obviously has had to compensate for her physical disabilities and she is sometimes hard to understand. She also needs help because of her visual limitations. Despite these limitations, she is a fun kid who I enjoy being around. Believe it or not, she has great leadership skills in that she tries to take charge of the class and make them “tow the line”… it just irritates her when some of the other kids won’t pay attention or listen to directions. Jenna is awesome.

I met James only once. I was getting a propane tank at the local market, and James was helping me swap my empty tank for a new one. He is a nice kid… probably around 20 years old. When I first saw him, I thought he may have Down’s syndrome… but I wasn’t sure. He was very helpful, courteous and friendly. While we were swapping the cannisters around, James told me that he was so happy to be working at the market and that he was glad to be finished with school. Being naive, I joked around and asked him why he didn’t like to study. He told me that it wasn’t the studying that bothered him. It was getting beat up. He would go to school (this is an area known for its great schools), and get beat up all the time. Elementary, Middle and High School. I can’t imagine having to go through life that way, just because I was different. James reminded me of how important it is to protect those less fortunate than us.

Perspective. My life is great.

Perspective. I am humbled by what others have to go through.

Perspective. I am thankful and will stop complaining about my little challenges.

All the Best!
All the Time!

JT

Have you ever led a project or task that was politically sensitive? To be successful in these kinds of environments, it is vital that you plan your meetings carefully to ensure you maintain control over the outcome. This does not mean you will always prevail in having a decsion go your way – but it will ensure that you are well prepared to answer questions proactively and that you will look crisp, prepared and professional.

A successful meeting starts before the meeting is even scheduled. Here is a quick checklist to ensure your success – regardless of the outcome.

Meeting Checklist

1. Why are you meeting? (If you don’t have an objective/expected outcome… cancel the meeting!)
2. Who needs to be there? (If someone doesn’t have a role… do they really need to be there?)
3. What topics will be covered? (Agenda… Agenda… Agenda)
4. What are the major stakeholders perspectives on the topics?
5. Plan to answer known objections before they are raised (raise them yourself and mitigate them)
6. Ensure the location is appropriate (Try to get a neutral room/site. If not possible, have them come to your territory. Walk into the bear’s den, only as a last resort)
7. Ensure the time is appropriate if you want a good turnout.
8. Call/contact major stakeholders to ensure that they will be there. Reschedule the meeting if needed to ensure a good turnout.
9. Establish rules ahead of time. Conflict Resolution… How decisions are made… Parking Lot for ideas or stalling points… Who takes minutes
10. Capture Action Items

All the best…
All the time!

JT

Ok – Sometimes I wonder what planet I’m on. I like to think I’m infallible, but then reality sinks in. Yesterday, I showed up to speak at a breakfast group – only to find out I was one week early! Now, I could have got upset, but instead I sat down, had some oatmeal and enjoyed the company of the people who I’ll now have the privilege of seeing at least twice… I also had the opportunity to listen to their scheduled speaker, and found tidbits to take away.

The speaker was Harry Dunlop who is well known in baseball circles. He had a wonderful career both as a player and manager and based on his stories, I would guess that Harry is somewhere in his mid 70s. He was gracious in his account of both the good ol’ days and the present. But based on the gleam in his eyes when he recounted the past, I was again reminded of how life should be lived. Harry was fortunate enough to have played baseball, when it was all about the game. It was obvious that he enjoyed his career in baseball. Someone in the audience made a comment about how lucky he was to have worked in a career that he loved.

I’m not sure that luck had much to do with it. Do you love your career? If not – why not? Why do many of us have “settle for” lives. Harry reminded me that it is not always about the money, although certainly it has its place (I would hate to be without it). Life should be a wonderful journey. Using your talents and abilities in a way that fills you with joy. I hope that when I turn 70, that I can recount the good ol’ days with a gleam in my eyes… instead of telling someone about the drudgery of a career. What about you? What will you tell your grandchildren and great grandchildren. If you have a dream… you better get on it!

All the Best!
All the Time!

JT

While getting ready for an engagement my thoughts wandered to what it means to live a life of excellence. A life of excellence does not necessarily mean an excellent life, or excellent accomplishments. A super athlete, movie star or business tycoon may have excellent lives by some standards, but are they truly living a life of excellence? Perhaps.

A life of excellence can take on many forms, but when you get right down to it, it means a life worth living. When all is said and done, will people say that you lived a life worth living? I’m not talking about being blessed. We are all blessed to some extent. I’m not talking about happiness either – as we all have the potential to be happy. I’m talking about excellence!

After I pass on from this world, it would be nice if people could say… “John certainly was happy”, “John was a nice guy” or “John lived a good life” – but what I hope my friends and family say is, “John lived a life of excellence!”

How can you live a life of excellence? Here are some thoughts….

Focus on goals and get things done that help improve the lives of others

Look at the positive – Don’t be the pigpen in your group.

Be kind and courteous – Smile – Be patient

Demand excellence from others – Lift people up without tearing them down

Be a rock! – the calm in a storm – Live your life in a consistent manner

Give generously – Take graciously

What are you doing with your gifts and what positive impact are you making on those around you? Be the leader you were meant to be – and live a life of excellence. Live your life with a purpose that not only includes your well being and happiness, but also those of others.

All the Best!
All the Time!
JT

I had a good relationship with my Dad and have some very fond memories of him. Yet, when my Dad passed away in August 2001, I remember having some feelings of regret – of not having had a deeper relationship with him. But deep is relative isn’t it? If we sat down together over a cup of coffee and I told you about my Dad, I know you would walk away thinking our relationship was great. And it was.

I had a problem during the later years of my Dad’s life though. My problem was that I expected my Dad to want the same things I did and that it was his job to ensure that my needs were met. I wanted a deeper relationship with my Dad and expected that he would view things the same way. Because this never happened, I felt betrayed when he passed away.

Since then I have had seven more years as a father (and now grandfather) and watched my kids move from adolescence into adulthood. Based on my experiences, it is finally sinking in that we are all built differently when it comes to relationships and expectations.

It was wrong of me to expect that my father would have the same desires, wants and needs as my own. I now realize that he gave what he could to our relationship – and that by itself was great. I clouded it all by throwing in my expectations and focusing on all the things I thought I should have, instead of all the things that I did.

I now realize that all I can do is control my part in a relationship, and that it is important to give more than to receive. While this may sound corny – it is true and the sooner you realize it, the sooner you will be at peace in your current relationships.

Some of you may be struggling with your relationship with your dad. Here is a HUGE tip – give… remember… honor your dad – without expecting anything in return. Even if you don’t think so, most dads (including yours) want to do the right things for their kids (even adult kids). Your dad is who he is. He doesn’t have all the answers, he doesn’t always do the right thing, he probably doesn’t give you all the things you need… but so what? He is your dad and he loves you. Spend less time worrying about your needs, and more time giving to meet his.

Honor Thy Father….

All the Best!
All the Time!
JT

When we talk about execution – about getting things done – one of the things leaders run into is the question about quality. How good is good enough? I saw this a long time ago and recently saw it again on the internet (I’d like to give credit to the creator but don’t know who it is).

If 99% were good enough…

Now some of you may think I am going to advocate 100% – and you’d be wrong. As leaders, we need to define what quality means to our organizations and teams. There is a cost to quality. I have seen many projects fail because someone on the team inappropriately strived for perfection. In some cases 100% should be the goal – but not always. How would you define quality?

On a different note – how do you define quality for your life? Are you constantly striving for perfection? While this can be a very good personality trait, if carried too far you can ruin your life. Cut yourself a break. No one is perfect! You can strive for perfection in the hopes of achieving excellence, but if you shoot for the stars and only reach the moon – be sure to celebrate the fact that you’re out of this world!

All the Best,

JT

I was giving a presentation the other week when something unexpected happened, during an exercise where we were playing Jenga. Jenga is a simple game. Three little rectangular blocks of wood are laid side by side with another layer of 3 blocks stacked perpendicularly on top of them until you have a tower of blocks about 10 layers high. The object of the game is to take a block from a lower layer and place it on the top of the tower. As participants came up to try and pick out a block, I would either coach them, yell at them (to illustrate a point of course!) or reward them.

When I rewarded someone, I gave them a ribbon with a positive saying like, “Great Job” or “Outstanding.” The unexpected event came after the seminar was over and I was cleaning up. One of the participants approached me and asked if she could keep the ribbon. I smiled and said “of course!”. We got to chatting, and I realized that this was important to her, because she wasn’t getting any recognition for her real work. I wonder why her boss doesn’t recognize her more often? All I did was give her a simple ribbon during a game, and she was thrilled. Can you imagine the impact of a simple “thank you” or “great job” from her boss would have.

If you want to take your team to a higher level, take the time to let them know how much you appreciate their work and that you’re thankful for their efforts.

All the Best!
All the Time!
JT

It almost seems counterintuitive doesn’t it? But – to focus your efforts, you have to learn to give up control. You cannot control…

• How someone behaves
• What decision is reached
• How someone feels
• The traffic
• The weather
• How your team performs
• The value of your investments
• What someone thinks of you

What you can control…

• Where you focus your energies
• What projects you start
• How you react to situations
• Your attitude
• The directions you give
• The environment you create

Quit worrying about things that you can’t control. Stop making projects of people, and focus your energies on things that will change based on YOUR efforts. Take charge. Be creative. Start something new. Don’t give up. Focus.

We all have a favorite account of someone who did something great with their life after overcoming an obstacle that got in their way. We look at these people sometimes wistfully, wishing we had the same good fortune to overcome our own obstacles. Well – if it was due to good fortune, we probably wouldn’t hold these people in such high esteem. It was their perseverance – their commitment to overcome all odds that holds our attention and fuels our imagination. What if…. what if that could happen to me? Then… I could…

What? What would you overcome? What would you achieve? A better relationship? A better job? Happiness? Financial Security? These things can happen to you – if you persevere. If you believe that you have the power to overcome obstacles. Why don’t more people persevere? Because they look at how they started their race – at how many times they’ve failed.

Failure happens to all of us. Some let failure become their destination, others – just stops along the way. Which one are you? It doesn’t matter how you started, or where you are today. What matters is where you are going tomorrow, and how you finish. Get up. Continue your quest… whatever it may be. And finish strong.

JT