See. Change. Impact.
I just wrote an email of encouragement to my wife, Jen. We started this habit 8 years ago. Once a week, on Wednesday, we email each other encouragement. There’s enough encouragement to make a book. The encouragement is a great way for us to refocus on what we like about each other, love […]
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We pulled into the driveway. We got out of the truck and went to visit with our neighbors, who were in their driveway. Jen said, “The tomato plant is drooping. Looks like it needs water.” I went to the hose, turned it on, dragged it over and started watering. It was the middle of […]
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I walked in the door to the office this morning. Joe, the security guard, waved and smiled. I caught him in the corner of my eye, over my shoulder. I turned and waved back. A smile crossed my face. I realized this was a ritual that started my day with pleasure. It was small. […]
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Donald asked me a question. He’s working on a project scheduled to complete in the next 5 weeks. I started to answer his question. Then I went on. I told him about stuff happening in 8, 10, 16 weeks from now. Don asked a follow-up question … he was confused. Don was thinking only […]
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We are all in sales. Whether it’s selling our idea of a great vacation to our wife or selling a Ford Pinto to a bizarre classic car enthusiast. We are all buying something, too. It can be your 3 year old’s proposal to have a cookie before dinner or the ill-advised, 3,000 calorie loaded […]
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I’ve asked a lot people if they want a more significant and meaningful life. Every person I ask says ‘Yes’. They may be lying. After all, it’s a loaded question. Who really wants to tell someone, “Eh, I really don’t give shit … I’m good enough.” Or they may be answering from the core […]
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We might be deluded in the U.S. We focus on being the best. At everything. And we ignore the results. We aim for exceptionalism … being the outlier, the best, the far right of the bell curve. We practice exceptionalism … choosing exceptions to avoid doing what would make us exceptional. Societies around […]
[Continue reading…]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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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