www.REDBIKELEADER.com
It’s the new thing!
When I started this blog less than a year ago, I only had a rough idea of what I wanted to do - very experimental! As the months and posts have passed, I think I have a clue and thus, a brand new website for the articles and content. Check it out and stay connected.
*** This blog will continue to exist, but it will become the home of personal updates in my own leadership life, random thoughts and at times, possibly interesting debates. OR it could die from a lack of interest on my part to maintain it… not that anyone has every done that with their blogs before.
[this blog is soon finding a new home on RED BIKE LEADER.com - http://www.redbikeleader.com ]
how do you get back up after you are knocked down? if you don’t know, you are going to need to figure it out. maybe you won’t know until the situation arises. it has to be a NON-NEGOTIABLE ATTRIBUTE for leaders though. every leader will face at least one situation (probably many) in their lives where they will be knocked down to the mat, and like a fighter in the ring, you may lay there for a moment and seriously contemplate whether you are going to get back up again. you will mull over the possibilities in your life that might be nearly as rewarding without having the risk and pain involved that you are currently feeling. you will need to search deep for what drives you, inspires you, and pushes you to be in the arena you are in. you may need a coach in your corner that believes in you; he might be yelling in your ear. a damsel (or dame) may be just beyond on the ropes believing in you and you can’t let them down. perhaps you are a believer in God and you rely soley on the strength and the promises that he gives in his word. maybe it is a combination. maybe it is in your gut and your experiences to keep on fighting. chances are that you want to undo the past and not replicate other failures you have seen.
we have all witnessed defeat. most of us know people who have lost a business, a house, a relationship, a loved one, a trusting confidant OR we have gone through something ourselves. LEADERS GET UP OFF THE MAT!
let this current, unforgetable story inspire you to get back up: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/10/rescue.at.sea/?iref=mpstoryview
let’s pick the low-hanging fruit first!
man, if i have heard one sentence used with a high rate of recurrence in the last 6 months, than this is it. the concept here is that when you are working on a big project or what looks to be an insurmountable objective than start by going for easy, early and achievable victories. often when the item before us is daunting we have a tendency to lean towards developing crystal clear goals, an extensive project plan, organization of comprehensive teams and a schedule of recycling communication (more meetings to figure it out). these things will definitely get you there, but the next time something REALLY big is facing you, go for the “low-hanging fruit”. find quick, next steps to take that get you headed towards your win. get the easy stuff out of the way and see how far you can get. rally back together to reassess whether you got all of the simple stuff accomplished. BUT the whole time you are doing this you can keep ‘writing the code’ to get the harder stuff figured out too — the quick wins might even point you in the right direction.
young leaders, you don’t have to have the master plan in place to get going. in fact, some people will out think themselves with too comprehensive of a plan when their employer or their followers are really just needing quick and early victories under your watch. so what are these for you? are they able to be done this week? this month? can you get others on board right away? can you show results? go after these things now!
more on the concept:
http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/219-37signals-lingo-low-hanging-fruit
http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/low-hanging+fruit.html
this may not be incredibly original, but it sure is helpful. as i was walking through a recent big decision and unable to decide which way to go, a friend gave me this very helpful advice.
the best thing you can do is make the right decision. the next best thing you can do is make the wrong decision. the worst thing you can do is make no decision!
how many of us face “decision paralysis” in leadership? delaying the inevitable hoping the issue or item will just resolve itself. decisions must be made. not all of them are easy. not all of them will be perfect or right. BUT we are in leadership to make decisions, even if they effect us closely and personally.
laws of physics state that objects at rest stay at rest and objects in motion stay in motion unless met with force or resistance. this was very evident to me this week as i was pulling my rig up a hill into the Rockies. the grades ranged between 6-8%. some were straight, some were windy, some were clear sailing and while others had trucks crowded to the right and speeders flying to the left. a certain grade presented a dilemma that most of you will answer quickly. if you have some momentum and are going faster than the trucks in the right lane, do you get over to left to keep going even if you might frustrate some of the traffic there who end up following?
answer = YOU BET!
if you answered NO, you have never faced the challenge of pulling a load up a steep incline.
Momentum is a critical ally in leadership. building ‘MO’mentum takes hard work, well developed strategies, diligent oversight, lots of cheering, clarification of mission and goals, and the celebration of victories. quite possibly it will take many cycles off these to attain it. you will know that you have MO when as some would say “you feel things begin to click”. victories come easier and more often. goals and objectives are being reached and when your mission is being achieved (in part or whole) right in front of your eyes. then invariably, you will come to a juncture where you and other leaders will face some tough decisions about the continuation of things from the past and opportunities that are presenting themselves for the future. with each of these decisions, you must ask this important question:
WILL THIS KILL OUR MO?
Sometimes the killer of MO will be resistance to growth. Or it could be resistance to change. Or it could be the desire to go faster (throttle down) than your group can keep up with. Or…. i think you get the idea. it could be a lot of things. but know this, once momentum is lost, it is a hard slog back up the hill to where it can be recaptured again.
side note: Momentum and Rhythm are closely related but not the same. you can get into a rhythm but have no momentum. Both are important but momentum is more important.
2nd side note: this nugget easily applies to bike riding, rv pulling, building teams, organizational progress and to leadership.
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