Archive for Decision-making
On priorities: Which ball do you drop?
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In a university commencement address several years ago, Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, spoke of the relationship of work to your other commitments:
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit – and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.
But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same.
I love this! Think about it: A glass ball is not only more fragile than a rubber ball; it’s also more valuable. So why do so many of us devote ourselves to keeping the rubber one from crashing?
Keep your priorities straight. Taking care of your family, your health, your relationships and your spirit is not a selfish act. It’s a sustaining one.
More books … at your request
Posted by: | CommentsIn response to your suggestions for future books, I described in my last post how some questions could actually be answered by already-published books.
Next month, we’re going to talk about my next book (the one that comes out next spring). But before we do, here are some other published books and some of your questions that they answer:
The Difference Maker
Reading it should answer the following questions (and more) from my blog readers:
- How to actually change your mindset.
- Leaders who work in the face of negativity and doubt.
- I think a lot about optismism vs realism vs pessimism. Are both extremes unrealistic? Does optimism = often disappointed?
- Expecting the best when all around you says “no way.” Expecting the best and getting it.
Today Matters
Read this book if you want to get back to basics in managing your life. It will answer:
- Being a mom and business owner/leader and keeping God in the center of both.
- My biggest problem is finding a work-life balance. It seems like no one really has a solution. I could use a book with solutions.
- Managing balance between family focus and business focus. Can they coexist, or is it a case of switching (back and forth) between?
- How do you reach the masses and travel but take care of the most important aspect of life: family? How to balance?
- How to build our lives on solid principle, vs living life based on current culture and trends.
- BALANCE: spiritual, physical, marriage, parenting, business ownership, employing others, networking, extended family and friends.
Failing Forward
Read it to learn how to see mistakes as stepping-stones to success – and apply that to your daily life.
- Coming back from a major setback or failure post-prime. Rebuilding/recovering from loss.
- Feeling washed up at 38 after failing and blowing it.
- How to get unstuck in challenging circumstances.
- Turning failure into success.
- Getting back up after letting down those around you.
As I mentioned earlier, next month I’ll be asking for YOUR help. Through this blog, I want to offer you the opportunity to influence my next book.
The topic? Communication.
Stay tuned.
Crises call for critical choices
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With the economy in its current state, it seems like every time we turn around, a new crisis appears. Bank failures, home foreclosures, business ventures reluctantly abandoned. In times like these, good leadership is especially critical.
I recently addressed this in a session for the Maximum Impact program, which will be available in October. One of the things I talked about was decision-making during a crisis. Here are the top five types of tough choices good leaders make during tough times:
1. Courageous decisions. What must be done?
Crises usually prompt an organization to narrow its focus. Leaders have to make those calls. That requires courage when others have a lot invested in what will be eliminated. A leader has to be willing to stand up to all competing agendas and do what must be done.
2. Priority decisions. What must be done first?
The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto once said, “If you’re Noah, and your ark is about to sink, look for the elephants first, because you can throw over a bunch of cats and dogs and squirrels and everything else that is just a small animal – and your ark will keep sinking. But if you can find one elephant to get overboard, you’re in much better shape.”
If you’re a leader, identify your elephants.
3. Change decisions. What must be done differently?
Even ideas that would have worked well a month earlier may be useless in an emergency. Leaders know when it’s time to make a change. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: When the horse is dead, DISMOUNT.
4. Creative decisions. What are my options?
You probably know how this saying ends:
“If I always do what I’ve always done….” That’s right: “. . . I always get what I’ve always gotten.”
When the old methods aren’t working to solve the crisis, they need to be questioned. Think outside of the box. Get every option out on the table. A good leader will be open-minded and explore all options on the spectrum between “change nothing” and “change everything.” The right choice usually lies somewhere in the middle.
5. Support decisions. Who can help me?
Leaders are responsible for having the right people on the team and making sure they are in the right places. In their book, The Wisdom of Teams, Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith write,
Team leaders genuinely believe that they do not have all the answers-so they do not insist on providing them. They believe they do not need to make all key decisions-so they do not do so. They believe they cannot succeed without the combined contributions of all the other members of the team to a common end-so they avoid any action that might constrain inputs or intimidate anyone on the team. Ego is not their predominant concern.
Leaders are not MADE in a crisis. Leaders are REVEALED in a crisis. It’s easy to steer a ship in calm waters. Only the turbulence of a storm shows a captain’s true skill.
If your organization is facing a storm, take the wheel and make the decisions that only a leader can make.
