Think of people you consider historically brilliant. People who created dramatic impact on the course of history. How many asked for permission? Not many. Why? Brilliance breaks through ... Conventional Wisdom Expertise Reactionary Thinking Bureaucracies Stagnant markets Mediocrity Reasons it "won't work" No No No way No Brilliance doesn't ask. It becomes. What are you becoming? … [Read more...]
Is It Time To Overcome This Guilty Pleasure?
May 2, 2013 by
If they say no, you're justifiably frustrated... It's not your fault we're not doing it. They didn't give permission. You tried, right?Seeking permission can just be an escape. An abdication of responsibility. A guilty pleasure. If they say "yes" and it goes wrong, they own the decision. They should have seen it would not work. What were they thinking!? If they say "yes" and it does work ... You're brilliant! And it's a good thing they … [Read more...]
Can you afford ‘No’?
April 29, 2013 by
Hierarchical leadership is a permission machine. The machine is primed to respond with "No". People's work becomes figuring out how to override the default response ... moving the machine to "Yes". And then doing it again. And again. Working with the mysterious machine to get permission to move things forward. Managers might exist simply to push at the levers ... trying for the right combination to produce a "Yes". Other managers might exist simply to increase the volume … [Read more...]
Do You Inspire Others? And Why It Matters.
April 22, 2013 by
The opposite of inspiring is uninspiring. Brilliant observation, I know. What does being inspiring look like? Passion, commitment, perseverance. What does being inspiring create in others? Engaged emotions Provoking new thought Motivated behavior What does being uninspiring look like? Indifferent, undecided, yielding. What does being uninspiring create in others? One of three things: Nothing ... if we're lucky. Being uninspiring becomes … [Read more...]
What We Frequent Becomes Our Frequency
March 28, 2013 by
George, a rebel pastor I know talks about how we talk in terms of, "When I have X (Money, House, Car, Spouse) , then I'll do Y (Start a business, go to school, have a baby) and then I'll be happy." He turns it on its head. "When I am happy, then I'll do Y, then I will have X." What we frequent becomes our frequency. A tuning fork vibrates when it is struck by the frequency its tuned to. We are like adaptive tuning forks. We vibrate at the frequency of what we are surrounded … [Read more...]
Want More Success? You’ll Have To Do This 1 Thing
March 14, 2013 by
Will said, "They won't do it! Have you read Sven's email. He said 'No.'" I asked Will, "Have you spoken to them?" "No." I Instant Message Sven. I bring up the situation, apologize for any way we miscommunicated in the past, and ask when there'd be a good time to chat. Sven sent his phone number. We had a quick conversation and set up a meeting with a couple of other folks from his team. Sven's "No" turned to "Maybe." Two more conversations and we got to "Yes." We … [Read more...]
How do you know if it’s too late?
March 4, 2013 by
To ... Take more risks. Begin to exercise. Eat healthier. Spend a night together with your family. Have a beer with a friend. Ask her out. Say I'm sorry. Say I love you. Buy her flowers. Cook him a steak. Buy him flowers. Cook her a steak. Manage your boss. Manage your boss's boss. Write a thank you note. Quit your job. Start a business. Say hello to strangers. Throw clay to make a lopsided bowl. Sing karaoke. Eat something you don't recognize. Skydive. Start a blog. … [Read more...]
Want This Year to Be Easier? Read This.
January 3, 2013 by
We scurried out of the house. We just scored an hour with Jen's parents watching the girls. A huge sigh of relief for both of us. It was in the 30s outside. I said, "Let's walk." Jen said, "It's too cold. I'll need to get a hat and gloves if we walk." I shrugged it off. We hopped in the car and started driving. I got to the light. I realized how silly the objection of getting a hat and gloves was. Walking 20 feet to get hat and gloves wouldn't have been a … [Read more...]
Messy love
December 31, 2012 by
I like order in my home. Clutter drives me crazy. Especially other people's clutter. I'm not great at maintaining a clutter free world. But I do my best. Well, that's wrong. If what I do is my best. My best sucks. Let's say I make an effort. I am great at being a hypocrite though. When the little order that exists in my home is disrupted, my boxers get bunched. Last week, I walked out of the bedroom. Went past the sleeping girls. Walked past the guest room. Then to … [Read more...]
Is this the most powerful wealth multiplier?
December 27, 2012 by
It's been a long time since I let my fingers feel the keyboard. Not including emails, status reports and other organizational pink slime ... my fingers haven't roamed freely in a while. The longer my fingers went without furling words into the world, the more reasons I came with for why they could not do so. Standard stuff ... not enough time, no space for peaceful thought, not the right time, etc. All the excuses were bullshit. They always are. Don't believe me - let's … [Read more...]
