#Differentiate in a Few Select Areas, #Collaborate in Many Common Areas, You'll Add #Value All the Time

Why put so much energy into distinguishing yourself in so many areas that happen to be common to your breed and outside of your core competency?  If everyone else is doing it anyway, it no longer separates you from the others.  Besides, is it really the reason you are getting out of bed each morning?  Probably not.

For instance, local restaurants have sharp online menus, growing churches serve coffee (goof coffee), and office buildings have inviting entryways.  Be excellent at these things, but don't be blind to the fact that they will not really set you apart.

Instead, what if you practice what I will call Selective Differentiation?  It has two significant benefits.

The first and obvious benefit is that you will focus your core efforts on those inimitable characteristics that will allow you to impact the world unlike anybody else.  You add value to the universe as only you can by differentiating in those few and select areas!

The second, and much less obvious, benefit is that you can collaborate with others in your field (yes, even your competition) in those areas common to everyone.  Though this represents a colossal culture shift for many people, it can result in leveraging combined efforts, saving energy, reducing expenses, increasing output, and lifting up all parties involved.  Again, value is added to the universe, and this time it is because you have worked together to build up and maximize those numerous areas familiar to all.

A Struggle to Find Success Today Might Be the Blessing That Keeps You Moving Toward Your Best Future #perspective #success #failure

Vera Wang tried with everything that was in her, but failed to make the 1968 US Olympic team as a figure skater.  She went on to climb the ladder at Vogue, but could not get the nod as the editor-in-chief and left in 1987.  But Wang went on to create a bridal fashion empire worth more than $1 billion.[1]

I can't tell you how many people I know--many of them I consider friends--who have experienced times of frustration over an apparent lack of success.  These people typically had an idea and timeline of how things would turn out and, for some reason or another, the reality of everything didn't match their vision.  Perhaps you know someone who is living in this kind of situation right now.  You're probably close to them because you wouldn't be aware of their feelings.  Most leaders hide feeling like these.

I want to emphasize two corollaries on success and failure from Wang's experience (and from the experiences of millions who have traveled a similar road).  First, success in one area can keep you from seeing the next mountain you were made to climb.  Second, a struggle to find success today might be the all-important factor that keeps you moving toward your best future.

It is really a matter of perspective to see your current challenges as the blessings that keep you pushing, growing, learning, adjusting, and heading toward the amazing place you are supposed to be!
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[1] Tommye Fitzpatrick, "Vera Wang Says Keep Your Feet on the Ground and Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself," The Business of Fashion, April 30, 2013,  accessed May 27, 2014, http://www.businessoffashion.com/2013/04/first-person-vera-wang.html.

It's Not Only Okay to Start Before You Have All The Answers, It's Imperative! #New #Startup #StartNow #RealExperts

Back in the "day"--before GPS and Google Maps--I remember beginning many road trips without knowing exactly where I was going. All I needed was a general idea to get started--"head south on Interstate 71." Macroscopic directions were often enough to get me 80 to 90% of the way there!  Perhaps you are old enough to remember those days of navigating as you traveled along.

As I began to close in on my destination, there was almost always more than one way to figure out the final streets and turns. I could buy a map, pay close attention to a few helpful signs, or stop and get some directions. Often, the best advice came from people who really knew the territory because they had lived there so long.

Here are three points of learning for any new endeavor you might embark upon.

1. It's okay to start before you have all the answers. As a matter of fact, it's imperative if you want to be successful because if you wait to have all the answers you will never start anything.

2. You will have many opportunities to learn, grow, and figure things out while you are on your way. Also, the specific information you glean as you move closer to your goal is always better than the sparse and questionable stuff you seem to get before you begin.

3. Experts aren't the people who charge the most money, but those whose experience is worth everything. Get advice from the people who live in the place--that unique world--that you want to understand better.

No go start something wonderfully new!

Take the Limitations of Money Out of the Picture As You Gaze Upon Your Future #dream #innovation #vision #start-up

Please, whatever you do, force yourself NOT to build vision and strategy on the basis of how much money you do not have.  If you do, you will fail to dream as big as you should.

And please, whatever you do, keep yourself from making those course-setting decisions on the basis of how much money you do have, even if you have a lot.  If you do, your plans will lack the creative edge that they desperately need.

Rather, take the limitations of money out of the picture as you gaze upon your future and imagine things as they could and should be if you always had exactly what you needed when you needed it.  At that point you begin to see what has not yet been seen, and innovation is born.

Moving From "Have To" to "Want To" With A Little Self Coaching

"Have to" (HT) endeavors are not always fun, but they have to get done or the organization eventually fails or fails to get off the ground.  "Want to" (WT) endeavors are much more exciting and they open up the doors to the future, but they are often cast aside because the HTs demand so much attention.  WTs can also waste a lot of time if they are not tied to purpose in some specific way.

Here are some self-coaching questions to help you with HTs and WTs.

• How does this endeavor--HT or WT--get me closer to my overall goal?  If the answer is unclear, perhaps you should move on to another endeavor.
• Who can adequately address this HT besides me?  If you can think of someone, it's time to delegate.  If no option surfaces, the joy of it is all yours, so please approach it with all the fervor you can muster.
• Who needs to watch me as I do this HT so they can learn to do it in the future?  If at all possible, never do HTs alone.  Always try and model your actions for the next generation.
• How might this HT be changed into a WT?  Re-framing a task can completely transform it ... and you!
• Who is the very best person to excel at this WT and surpass my abilities and creativity in doing so?  If you can think of someone, why not let them shine?
• How are you uniquely fashioned to approach this WT unlike anybody else?  As you consider this question, you are honing in on your value proposition to the world.

Remember, we live in a world where HTs always lay the foundation for WTs, so please don't get frustrated with them, they're essential.  But just approach your days by being intentional so that your HTs can move you toward your WTs.  You will know when you begin arriving at your destination because the differences between the two become blurred and you can hardly tell them apart.  As a matter of fact, they are no longer distinguishable as HTs or WTs, but they appear to you more as GTs, because these are now the things that you are overjoyed that you "get to" do!

The Reason You Can't Get To The Right Results Is That You Have No Order of Operations

Do you remember the order of operations from your childhood math?  You multiply before you add, but expressions in parentheses take precedence. The order you use definitely makes a difference in the final result. For example:

1+1x2=3

(1+1)x2=4

There is more to the mathematics, but the question is whether you have an order of operations for your daily schedule--something to help you get to the right results.  Though you cannot find a perfect gold standard when it comes to ordering your day, you can choose to adopt something that works well for you and the type of work you do.  It's less about the specific steps and more about the discipline of choosing to have them.  There are hundreds and even thousands of excellent resources to consider online, but here are a few ideas I have picked up on my journey that you can remember with the word "ORDER."

O - Quickly organize your work area, schedule, and major goals for the morning. 

R - Tackle a few rapid items or quick hits--tasks that you can complete within one or two minutes.

D - Dare to dream, build, grow, invent, learn, innovate, plan, create, and spend time on those things you want to be doing and should be doing while your brain cells are still fresh.

E - Address emails, phone calls, letters, communications, connections with people, and other tasks after your dreaming time is finished.

R - Then, review your morning to wrap up any items that are within five minutes of completion and start the cycle again at the organization step after you have had the time for lunch.

Now, go and order up some great results!