What Can We Learn from NCAA Basketball About Adding Value?

As I write this, four teams remain in the Tournament (and I picked only one of the four to be there).  As always, March Madness gets me to marvel at how strategic coaches can be in the final minute or two of a game, especially in how they use substitutions.  Sometimes it is only for one trip down the court in order to rotate in their best rebounder or to get one more three-point shooter on the floor.  It's not just that they try different things to win, but that they make specific choices based on value and timing.  "Who is going to bring what the team needs right now?"  That's the question they keep answering over and over again.

You see, the best thing that your competitor does is force you to find ways to add value.

The problem is that far too often nowadays, people try to gain the edge with a discount mentality by trying to offer more for less.  It's like the store that keeps trying to gain customers by slashing prices or the non-profit that scoffs at budgeting any money for much-needed marketing.  Not only is there a limit to the cutbacks that you can make, but the process of always removing instead of adding eventually brings the quality of products, services, events, employees, and volunteers down.

A highly competitive arena causes the players not just to play hard, but to bring to the game their special part--a part that they can only discover in the crucible-like heat of that competitive push.  All of a sudden, in that moment, everyone is better off than before because something is added to the equation, not removed.  That something is called value.  It's a new idea, a different path, a better method, a novel approach, and it makes the world better, not cheaper.

So my challenge to you is to ask yourself, "What value am I on this earth to add today--to my family, to the team, to the organization, to society, to the world?"  And here is one more secret, this kind of thinking finds its sweet spot when it no longer has to be driven by competition, but when it is simply about the pure joy and contentment of making a positive contribution to the cosmic ledger of life!

Use Your Words To Create An Atmosphere That Will Let People Thrive

What types of words and phrases tend to come out of your mouth?

Do you tend to paint a darker picture with your language or is it brighter?  Is it one of challenge or apathy, encouragement or discouragement, hope or despair, optimism or pessimism, abundance or scarcity, courage or fear, generosity or greed, love or hate?  

Very simply, I am asking you to decide to use your words to create an atmosphere that will allow you and the people around you to thrive!

Find Your Inner Sherpa: Help Others and Celebrate Together at the Top!

If you ever get a chance, take some time and read about Tenzing Norgay.  His name is probably not immediately familiar to you unless you are a serious climbing enthusiast or a student of Mount Everest.  Norgay, a Nepali Sherpa mountaineer, was one of the first two known individuals to reach the summit of that great mountain, the highest place on earth, on May 29, 1953.  The man with him was Edmund Hillary of New Zealand.[1][2] 

Climbing expeditions in the Himalayas included Sherpa mountaineers as a rule.  They knew the terrain better than anyone else and they could weather high altitudes with great stamina.  Though many people confuse the word Sherpa to mean any mountain guide in the Himalayan region, it actually refers to an ethnic people group to which Norgay belonged.[3] 

The point is that Norgay, perhaps as much as anyone in the world, was born to climb Everest.  With all the planning, funding, and manpower behind the 1953 expedition that included those two record-breaking climbers, Norgay, the native guide, was an indispensable part of the success. 

Why not consider making your role like that of Norgay?  Way too often we become so self-focused and consumed by our personal goals that we miss the amazing rewards associated with working together toward a common goal.  When the time comes for your spouse, colleague, friend, boss, mentor, student, or child to climb their next mountain, perhaps it is your role to be there and guide them along the way.

And here is the amazing beauty of it all.  Once you begin giving yourself away, you will find that your own productivity increases and that you more easily achieve your own dreams.  It might not seem like it makes sense, but just try it and watch what happens.  And then there is the really fun part.  You get to be there at the top of the mountain celebrating with the other person.  Let me tell you, it is so worth the climb!

________________

[1] "1953: First Footsteps - Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay," Excerpted From "50 Years on Everest," by Contributing Editor David Roberts, National Geographic Adventure, April 2003, National Geographic, accessed on 3/27/2014, http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/everest/sir-edmund-hillary-tenzing-norgay-1953/#page=2.

[2] "Profile of Tenzing Norgay," Scholastic, accessed on 3/27/2014, http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hillary/archive/norgay.htm.

[3] "Sherpa," Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed on 3/27/2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540142/Sherpa.

A RIDDLE: Though All I Can Promise is Mediocrity, Millions Keep Running to Me ...

I certainly am not always right.

I definitely am not always safe.

I don't operate in your best interests because I don't care about any one person.

I am fueled by large numbers--very large numbers.

I live out my existence by staying very close to what is average and if you roll with me, that's what I will absolutely promise to you.

And I can be exciting, really exciting, but it only lasts for a short time.

You see, I have an inherent problem.

I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but there is nothing unique or special about me.

When people get close to me, they quickly begin to look elsewhere and I become yesterday's news.

So, to look out for myself, I developed a plan.

I simply keep changing.

And the people keep coming back for no good reason.

One simply follows the next until millions have gathered, and the crazy, empty cycle starts all over again.

Who am I?

I am what's popular!

Brains Don't Dream Well During Storms … Give Yourself Time to Imagine

Our highly-connected culture has come to demand immediacy and brevity so much, that we often lack the time-proven benefits associated with soaking in thought.  We have become much more comfortable going wider in terms of information and ideas instead of going deeper.  Now be honest with yourself, how much of your schedule is carved out so you can mentally go places that you have not gone before?

The best things out there are not instantly downloaded, but grown as kernels of creativity developed over time and through process.

It was Einstein who said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”  He also said, “Logic will get you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere.”  And he said this too, “Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”[1]  I absolutely love that last quote.  Do you think that you can let your mind go places and paint a picture that will, one day, become a wonderful reality for you and your kids to enjoy and remember?

You might be thinking, “I am definitely not an Einstein.”  Well that’s perfect!  If you were Einstein, you wouldn’t have the ability to create and invent as only you can.  You need to lock into the fact that you bring something to the table that others don’t have.  You bring “you” along for the ride with your miraculous mind in tow.

And please remember that the creative brain probably enjoys a sustained gentle breeze on a sunny day over an intense stormy interlude.  Innovation happens when you can linger over the less obvious and almost-out-reach fringes that quietly move around on the edges of your thoughts.[2]

Now put that brilliantly-designed, bountifully-capable, ultra-super-computer in your head to work and give your creative self an abundance of time to think!

---

[1] “Albert Einstein Quotes,” ThinkExist.com, accessed January 5, 2013, http://thinkexist.com/quotes/albert_einstein.

[2] David Rock, "Leadership on the Brain," Harvard Business Review Blog Network, April 28, 2010, http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/04/leadership-on-the-brain/.

15 Summer Idea-Starters for Teens to Break Boredom and Learn About Life

• Invent something and try to market it.
• Find a need that someone has and help meet that need; then go find the next need.
• Start a business.
• Write a book—fiction or non-fiction.
• Find a really big problem in your community and fix it.
• Research an emerging field and become an expert.
• Shadow a professional.
• Volunteer at a local mission.
• Learn to play an instrument.
• Develop a marketing campaign for your favorite brand and offer it to them for free.
• Form and lead a group of people around a common cause.
• Begin an internet radio talk show.
• Offer to intern for the nearest professional sports program.
• Invest a small amount in stocks or mutual funds and experience the process.
• Create a blog for students about ways to re-think the limits of their free time.

What Does Your Isolationometer Read? Your Life is Way Too Valuable to Spend It Alone!

When I was in the sixth grade, our class engaged in a social experiment whereby certain students were selected by the teacher to be intentionally ignored by the rest of the class.  This lasted for a few days and I was chosen as one of the outcasts.  Being banished from the the normal rhythms of relationship, if only for an experiment, was horrible to say the least.

What is worse is the fact that we sometimes banish ourselves from others for all the wrong reasons.  Self-induced isolation (the kind that becomes more than a healthy break away from it all) should be a clear indicator that something needs to change.  Even introverts need adequate time with others in order to color their world.

So what does your isolationometer read?  If it is too high, then spend time with some friends today.  Your life is way to valuable to spend it alone!

Don't Be The Guy Who Is Always Fixing His Car And Never Driving Anywhere

Were your contracts made to support good business or was your business made to develop good contracts?

Do your policies help keep your people protected or do your people help keep your policies protected?

I think you get it.

When you are grappling with some of the small stuff (like I am today), it helps to step back for a minute, take a look at the problem like an outsider (or even like a child), and ask yourself, "What is the vehicle and what is the destination?"  Don't end up like the guy who works on his car all the time and never drives it anywhere!

Reminded of the Power of New

There they sit (my amazing daughters), the next generation of would-be drivers longing for the day when the sun will rise on their 16th birthday and, with birds singing, the world smiling, and some sort of theme music playing, they will legally navigate an automobile on one of the nation's 3.9 million miles of public roadways.1  Driving is certainly part of the American dream (okay, okay, ... I know young people all over the world dream of driving as well), and attending the auto show with my family in Columbus, Ohio this weekend made me realize that fact all over again.

I think even more so, I was reminded that people are powerfully drawn to that which is new.  I watched my family and thousands of other people in the Convention Center hall and, like bees around a sweet-smelling flower, they seemed to make a greater "buzz" around the new things.  Think about it, the whole event is based on showcasing the newest cars and still, it was those makes and models with innovative highlights and creative displays which captured people's attention the most.

So, what's new about you or your organization?  I am not talking about something gimmicky, but new with a purpose.  What is improved and re-imagined for this calendar year?  What is going to thrill the anticipations of those who are already enthusiasts, who believe in your ability to give them an eye-opening moment, who can't wait to reaffirm their commitment to your brand, and who would be confused and bothered if they did not have at least one reason to cheer you on?  If you are having trouble answering these questions, perhaps it's time to mobilize your right-brained team, engage your own gray cells, and rediscover the power of new!

__________

1.  "Transportation of the United States," NationalAtlas.gov, accessed on 3/17/2014, http://nationalatlas.gov/transportation.html.

852 Work Days: Teaching Students to Rethink the Limits in Using Free Time

Consider the norm.  The average high school student in the United States spends 6.75 hours in school per day with an average school-year length of 180 days.1  That represents an average of 1215 hours in the school each year.  Then, if you conservatively subtract ten hours a day for sleep, you end up consuming 3650 hours in bed during the year.  Add sleep and school together and subtract that total from the hours available in one year and you end up with 3895 hours of free time while your child is awake.

That’s the gold!  Even if you subtract six more hours each day for things like eating, getting dressed, traveling to and from school, and so on, you still end up with 1705 hours, or an average of about 4.7 hours each day.  Throughout four years of high school, the average student will have a grand total of 6820 hours to use outside the classroom and free from the incidentals of life.  That’s more than the equivalent of 852 eight-hour work days!  That is what after school, weekends, and summers can amount to for a student throughout their high school years.  Imagine what you could do with that much time if you had it available to you while most, if not all, of your needs and expenses were covered.

Now I realize that many high school students have to work to help their families and others have bona fide responsibilities that cannot be compromised.  I also understand that the amount of homework given to the average student seems to require a significant amount of their free time.  But please do not miss the point.  A lot of time gets wasted.  However, it’s not just that many young people sit around doing nothing.  I cannot believe how much ambition the younger generation has.  The problem seems to be that most students never take the time to re-think the opportunities available to them and they choose from a small list of possibilities—a list that is about as limited in creativity as the average teen-channel sitcom.

What does that list look like?  Well, it contains things like social networking, texting, online gaming, television (a lot of that), movies, more texting, listening to music, online chatting, more social networking, more television and on and on.  Then it also includes concert band, football, a job at McDonald’s, cross country, marching band, volleyball, soccer, 4H club, a job at the grocery store, basketball, a job at the mall, baseball, track, National Honor Society, wrestling, science club, and on and on again.

Our children learn to do what other children do.  They tend to stick to the script and, though I am not suggesting that the items on the typical teen list are bad, the script is limited—really limited!  Most children will never think outside of the box and the choices they will make regarding their free time will follow patterns set by their peers.

Please understand, that’s not a problem in and of itself, but it can be a fantastic opportunity.  It’s your privilege to help your kids rethink the limits and recognize how creatively they can use the time that they do have.  I think this represents one of the most exciting propositions of parenting (or mentoring) because it involves exploration and risk-taking.  The fun that it generates for you will pale in comparison to what begins to happen in and through your children.  If you can begin to remove the limits to their thinking and get them dreaming on a plane of big possibilities, you have done your job.  Do not try and tell them what to do once they begin to dream, but simply give them permission, open a few mental doors, and watch what happens.

---

1.  Stephanie Summers, “It’s Not the Time Spent in School, It’s How It’s Used,” University of Connecticut, Neag School of Education Spotlight, July 2011, found at <http://spotlight.education.uconn.edu/2011/its-not-the-time-spent-in-school-its-how-its-used/>, found on August 31, 2012.

Tribesmen, iPhones, and Leveraging Your Technology

State-of-the-art tools are great to have, but they do not always equal success.  Take the South American tribesman who comes across an iPhone® 6 on the rain forest floor.  A prototype dropped by a visitor from the U.S. a few days earlier.  In the world of the tribesman, it might be nothing more than a mediocre tool to dig up a few grub worms.  And really, that's not a shame at all, for someone living deep in a jungle.

But what a shame it is indeed when you leave technology unused simply because you haven't taken the time to do your homework and leverage what you have in your hands (or in your office, or in your IT department, or on the web, or anywhere else).

In a world where over 2,000 iOS and Android apps are collectively added to their respective stores each day, the temptation exists to start looking at new technology before you even begin to maximize the current option.1  The technology buzz can sometimes make you numb to the common sense it takes to make the best business decisions.

So take a day or two every now and then and evaluate how you are using your technology assets.  Though it is fun to get a new present, sometimes you need to finish unwrapping the one from yesterday to realize just what you have.

________

1.  "App Store Metrics," 148apps.biz, last updated March 10, 2014, accessed on March 13, 2014, http://148apps.biz/app-store-metrics/?mpage=submission and "AppBrain Stats," AppBrain, last updated March 13, 2014, accessed on March 13, 2014, http://www.appbrain.com/stats/number-of-android-apps.

Who Cares? An Ounce of Care on a Team is Worth a Thousand Pounds of Everything Else

"Who Cares?"

I have heard those two words used together innumerable times throughout my life, but to my recollection, only as rhetoric to convey the negative message that nobody cares about the topic being discussed.

"So," you might wonder, "who cares about this topic?"  I didn't until a couple of years ago when I was frustrated and wrote some notes down for myself in regard to building the right team.  You see, the typical approach was good and it involved building teams on the basis of many parameters--skill, experience, willingness, character, chemistry, even geographic location--but something was missing.

To build sustainable teams that can overcome considerable obstacles and reach the goal time and time again, start by finding out who really cares.  It is a simple approach that can transform your efforts.  Just remember that an ounce of true care on a team is worth a thousand pounds of everything else.

And the Winner Is ...

I marvel at actors and actresses who master their art to the degree that, as I watch them, I forget they are performing and my mind believes them to be the characters they portray.  Perhaps you have had the same experience.  Recently, the Academy Awards recognized the film industry’s very best and among the Oscar recipients were those who possess this jaw-dropping skill.

You see, acting is absolutely necessary if you act, but it can severely limit you in real life.

For instance, if your career has you serving people in any capacity, then you do not just want to act like you intend to serve.  People can see right through that.  Somewhere, deep down inside, you will do your best if you truly have a heart for those you are serving.  It is at the intersection of activity and purpose that we move from merely looking the part to living the part.  If you sell for a living, then you will want to dig beneath your well-polished pitch to find the place that has you truly believing in the benefits you are providing through sales.  I think you get the picture.

You have to fight the tendency to view life as a performance in which you are merely playing a part.  When you live by delivering a script, you are left with the empty feeling at the end of the day that you are not really who you were claiming to be.  Much better than any Academy Award is the knowledge that you walked with an integrity and purpose—an authenticity—that transcends any performance (as reality always does).  You did not just act like a [insert your role, position, or title here], but you lived it with flesh and blood reality.

And the winner is, … everyone!

A RIDDLE: I can be your greatest asset or your biggest enemy...

I can be your greatest asset or your biggest enemy
When I am bad, I can ruin a day, and if you keep me around, I can ruin your life
But when I am good, I can bless an entire city and rally during the darkest day
When I am good, employers look hard to find me; Even kings long for my company
I can make marriages healthy or bring them down
I am the key to promotion, but I can also get you fired
I can make you friends or easily create some enemies
Those who control me find that many seek their advice
But those who I control wind up frustrated and looking for someone to blame
But there is no one to blame when I am bad--no one but you
And if you let me have my way, I will comfort you with bad thoughts about the ones you love and I will torment you with the mistakes you have made
I will push everyone close to you further away when I am bad
But I don’t have to be bad because I always listen to you
And when I am good there is no one to reward
No one but you
And if you make me behave, and I will if you make me, I will calm you with pleasant thoughts and you will find brightness in each day
You will sleep in peace so often that you will forget what it was like before you finally decided to keep me in line
Friends will find it hard to speak ill of you; Yes, they will refuse to do so
And they will pour into your lap bounty and goodness and gather themselves around you because that is where they find they desire to be
This I can bring, if you will only let me
If you will only make me be good
Who am I?
I am your attitude!

Reaching the World the Smart [Phone] Way (a post for my tech friends)

Actually, if you are still deciding whether or not you should pursue a mobile solution, you are asking questions that the market has loudly and clearly answered already.  Perhaps the questions you should be asking revolve around which mobile solutions are the best for you.

One destination that should be considered a “given” in terms of business strategy (or any strategy that needs to connect to real live people) is the smart phone.  The transition to smarter mobile devices is at the top of CISCO’s list in terms of trends contributing to the growth of mobile data traffic around the world.  They report, “526 million mobile devices and connections were added in 2013, and smartphones accounted for 77 percent of that growth at 406 million net adds.”  Additionally, North America, which now has 65% of its mobile connections and devices in the smart category, can expect to see that percentage rise to 93% by 2018.4   The point is that mobile solutions in development today must maximize the smart mobile device technology and the largest segment of that technology is the smart phone.  As a matter of fact, two-thirds of Americans now have one.5

Furthermore, smart phones are the portal to the next generation.  According to Nielsen, 49% of those aged 18 to 24 plan on upgrading their smart phones in the next six months.6   Smart phones are also the way to connect with a diverse nation.  Again Nielsen found that “Hispanics are adopting smart phones at a higher rate than any other demographic group [with] nearly three in four Latinos [owning] smartphones (72%).”7 

_____________

1  “Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2013–2018,” Cisco, accessed February 20, 2014, http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/white_paper_c11-520862.html.

2  Jon Fingas, “Two-thirds of Americans now have smartphones,” Engadget, February 11, 2014, accessed on February 21, 2014, http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/11/two-thirds-of-americans-now-have-smartphones/?ncid=rss_truncated.

3  “The Digital Consumer,” Nielsen, February 2014, downloaded on February 21, 2014, 7, http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/reports/2014/the-us-digital-consumer-report.html.

4  Ibid, 12.

Which Do You Want More: Great Crowds or Great Leaders?

It's Tuesday morning and the big event is just days away.  You think back over the last three months and realize just how much time and hard work the team has invested.  You then reflect a little on the personal focus it has required--working late nights away from the family, getting past a few run-ins with your closest leaders, pushing everyone to meet deadlines, keeping your public face optimistic, and then garnering the awareness and interest of the outside world.  "Wow," you slowly whisper to yourself, "This is going to be huge!"

But should you be spending your energy building great crowds or great leaders?  Though you can do both, it's really tough, almost impossible, to do both well, because they both require too much of you.  One has you at center stage and the other has you helping others get to their center stage.

Perhaps the greatest crowds can be impacted when you step back and teach a handful of others what you know.  It's not that you give up on the great crowds, but that you spend more of yourself on the great leaders!

Why Mobile? Or is That the Wrong Question?

With 345 million mobile subscriptions, the US has more devices traveling around the nation than people and we are the largest country that can currently make that claim.1   You might say that we are the most mobile-connected market in the world right now.  Furthermore, 25% of the mobile web users in the US are mobile-only in that they do not (or very rarely) access the web via any other means, be it laptop, desktop, or tablet.2 

And mobile is getting bigger every day!  Global mobile data traffic grew 81 percent in 2013.3 

Though there is a lot more data that could emphasize the importance of a well-positioned mobile strategy for your business or organization, it's past time to be thinking about it.  The more you think about the wrong questions, the less you have left for the right ones!

_________________

1  “Global mobile statistics 2013 Part A: Mobile subscribers; handset market share; mobile operators, Section 2: Top mobile markets: The 100 million club,” mobiThinking, accessed February 20, 2014, http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats/a#topmobilemarkets.

2  “Global mobile statistics 2013 Part B: Mobile Web; mobile broadband penetration; 3G/4G subscribers and networks, Section 6: Mobile-only Web users,” mobiThinking, accessed February 20, 2014, http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats/b#mobilebrowser.

3  “Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2013–2018,” Cisco, accessed February 20, 2014, http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/white_paper_c11-520862.html.