While teaching a class on project leadership, one of my students had a great story that reiterated the point that it pays for a leader to be financially sound. While working with an executive recruiter, my student was made a very nice offer to go work for a company she had heard quite a bit about. However during the interview process, something began to nag at her conscience regarding her future employer. She asked the recruiter if there was anything she should be aware of that wasn’t already discussed. The recruiter told her that he always thought it was wise to put aside a bit of her salary every month, and that in the event she ever felt she had to leave a company, she would have the financial security to do so.

Well, my student was thankful that she listened to his advice. A few years later she was put in a compromising position that she felt was unethical. Instead of trying to decide what to do based on her financial stability, she decided to leave the company, knowing that she was doing the right thing, AND knowing she had enough money in the bank to allow her adequate time to find an employer that may be a little more ethical.

To be free to make the right decisions, leaders need to be financially sound. This doesn’t mean that we won’t sometimes make mistakes in our financial decisions. What is true though, is that a leader will be fiscally responsible. Not spending beyond their means and budgeting their finances responsibly.

Being financially sound also allows for less stress at home, more money to give to a charity and also a better nights sleep.

Are you financially sound? How do you know? Do you have someone you can turn to for financial advice? Start taking care of your finances. Create a budget and long term plan for financial success. You won’t regret it.

All the best,
All the time
JT

While I am certainly not a financial guru or any sort, I believe we have a long way to go before the US economy recovers. What does this have to do with leadership? Well, just about everything. As we look at what is happening to our economy today it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how we got into this mess. We got into this mess because managers (I use this word intentionally) in many sectors of the economy made really bad financial decisions.

Who was involved? Well, let’s not go there. Instead. let’s look at what YOU need to do in the future to enable you to be financially successful. A cardinal rule of Leadership is that a leader makes financially sound decisions. While easy to say, what does this mean?

Let me turn to Ben Ingram for some help here. Ben Ingram was a financial guru who passed away in 1976. He was a firm believer in value investing and his advice can be used as a guide for how we should lead financially. In his book “Security Analysis” Ben wrote, “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principle and a satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.”

What helped push our economy over the edge, was too many managers not making financially sound decisions. Too much speculation and not enough concern for safety of assets. All business carries risk to some extent, so does life for that matter. But what are doing to ensure that you are making business decisions that have an acceptable level of risk?

I would like to wave my magic wand and give you the answer… the best practice. But I don’t have one. I can tell you this though – Groupthink and the inability of many leaders to be open and honest with their staffs got in the way.

Your take away – As a leader, you must sit down and openly discuss this with your staff. Look for ways to balance the decision making process so that risks can be properly identified and good business decisions can be made.

Stay tuned… my next posting will be about becoming financially sound yourself.

All the best,
All the time
JT

Have you ever found yourself saying things like: “Boy – my luck sure has to change”, “When will my turn come?” or “When will my ship come in?!” Why do we HOPE for things to get better instead of doing something about it? I once had a friend tell me that people waiting for their ship to come in, often don’t realize that it never left port!

To change our situation, to achieve Great Results, requires that we do some homework and then take action on what we discover. Doing homework requires that we do some W-O-R-K. To some of you, that equates to a four letter word. Well, unless you roll up your sleeves, and change what you’re currently doing, hope will be you’re only option. Don’t just hope… do the work. Here are some examples of problems and solutions…

Poor Finances
Discover why you’re having problems. There are a LOT of ways to make extra money. Do some homework and then GO DO SOMETHING.

Poor Relationships
Get some counselling/coaching. Your relationships CAN be better if you take action and GO DO SOMETHING.

Poor Performance/Missed a promotion
Find out what is holding you back. Talk to your boss, your peers. Take a class/seminar and learn some new techniques about managing time, energy, conflicts, meetings and then GO DO SOMETHING.

Your Team is failing
Get around a good leader. Ask them for tips on how to lead a team. Assess your team (you may have to change team members). Learn new leadership skills by reading, attending a seminar, watching a movie… whatever… and then GO DO SOMETHING.

Don’t just hope – DO!

All the best,
All the time!
JT

As I’ve been making the rounds speaking on Living a Life of Excellence, I’ve spent some time pondering how to define this in a way that it resonates well with just about anyone. I know I recently posted a blog on this topic, but I wanted to add an update by adding a definition that seems to have a ring to it.

Living a Life of Excellence: Using your gifts, as you pursue a lifestyle that you desire, while benefiting the world in a positive way.

Let’s tackle using your gifts. What are gifts exactly? Well, they’re not skills as defined by Napoleon Dynamite. You know, nunchuck skills, computer hacking skills – it’s not these. A gift is not something you typically have to learn. A gift is something that defines you, something that is inherent in who you are. We all have gifts – but many times society has a way of devaluing these, just because it might not fit on a resume properly.

Here are some examples of gifts:

• Compassion
• Oration
• Listening
• Calming influence
• Organizer
• Artistic (Music, Dance, Painting, Drawing etc…)
• Crafty (Build things, Create things)
• Athleticism
• Teaching
• Communicating
• Helping
• Counseling
• The Midas Touch (Good with finances)

The list is probably endless. Your takeaway? Take some time to seriously consider what your gifts are – and then celebrate who you are. It would be really nice for your team/family/organization if you took the time to recognize them for the gifts that they have and how they impact you in a positive way. There are a lot of fun activities for this. If you need some ideas, don’t hesistate to contact me.

Last question – are you using your gifts as you go through life? If not… why not?

All the best!

JT

I believe in a work life balance. Too much work is not healthy and if done over a prolonged period of time, it robs your soul of life, vitality and energy. Yet, sometimes you have to go ‘heads down.’ What is heads down? It is a time when you have to sit down and do some work. Your head bent down as you focus and concentrate on the task at hand. Heads down means getting the job done. Execution. Results. Excellence.

I say this after spending two weeks implementing a project for a client. Back to back 60 hour weeks and giving up the July 4th weekend. Ouch. But… it had to be done. Leaders sometimes have to sacrifice some time to get the results they’re expected to deliver.

Having said that, I am now looking at ramping down a bit for the next few weeks. Allowing my body, mind and spirit the time to recover. To regenerate the peace of mind that can escape from us when we work with intensity.

A few more words on ‘Heads Down’….

As a leader, expect to go Heads Down at times
Don’t live in the Heads Down world all the time
After you go Heads Down, come up for air and take a break

All the best…
All the time
JT

I love America! Where else in the world do so many people have so many opportunities to live a prosperous and happy life. However – the country is clearly at a crossroads. Like every other culture before it, America is changing. Today we clearly have problems that seem daunting. A recession (yes, it’s official), the war on terror, rising unemployment, social security insolvency, housing crisis, global warming and rising healthcare costs. A pretty gloomy picture.

Yet – people still flock to America. People from Mexico, China and Cuba risk their lives to come into our country. Thousands of others from Europe, the Middle East and India are on wait lists for student or work visas in the hopes of getting work here. People are drawn to America. They are drawn to America because of what we stand for. Freedom, Respect and Independence. While we hold to our Constitution, what draws people to our country is its Declaration of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Powerful words. Powerful thoughts. All are created equal. All have rights. All have value. All have opportunity.

My challenge to you…. are you making the most of the freedoms you have been given? Too many of us complain about how bad things are – and it prevents us from obtaining a Life of Excellence. Yes, we have problems. Who doesn’t? What country doesn’t? Yet there are people just like you, who are living the life they dreamed of. Many have come within the past 5 or 10 years, with nothing but a few dollars and some determination. Yet they persevered and acheived their dreams – because they believed. They believed that our country offers everyone a chance. A chance to succeed. A chance to be independent. A chance to thrive.

Take advantage of your freedom. Dream. Strive. Achieve your dreams.

All the best!
All the time!
JT

I may be dating myself here – but one of my favorite movie scenes comes from The Empire Strikes Back. After Luke fails to lift his ship out of the water by using the force, Yoda tells him, “There is no try – either you do or you don’t – there is no try!”

When it comes to Execution and Leadership, there is no “try” -  Try doing something and get ready to fail. Either you will or you won’t – but there is no try. When you tell your boss, I will “try” to finish XYZ on time – you are demonstrating a lack of commitment, or a lack of belief in your ability to get the job done.

Make a mental note of how many times a day you use the word try. If you find yourself using it a LOT, you must eliminate it from your vocabulary. If you want better relationships, better outcomes, better teams, better jobs, more money, more success – eliminate the word “try”. Don’t try to eliminate it. Just Do IT!

All the best,
All the time
JT