Matter of the Heart

If you find yourself managing the smartest people in the room, remember this: The universal human need of every knowledge worker is not unlike that of the rest of us. 
It's to perform meaningful work, be respected, collaborate in a tight-knit community of excellence and shared values, and ultimately make an impact for good in the world. 

And the biggest aspiration for their leaders is a matter of the heart: to make their people better workers and better human beings.

Strategic Listening

• Knowledge is powerful.
• Knowledge shared is more powerful.
• Knowledge from the people in the company who touch it every day is the most powerful of all.

Leaders need to be listening to the ideas and insights from people at the lower levels. While that's seems like a no-brainer, Unfortunately the opposite is often true:  The higher you go in the organization, the harder it is to 'lean down' and listen.

Strategic listening is not a natural, common practice among busy senior leaders, because it requires time and patience and a positive belief in the power and capacity of others.

And like all the other great leadership attributes, strategic listening requires the rare leadership combination of confidence and humility that few of us naturally have.

Building a Team

Let me ask you a question: As a leader, how well do you know the people who work closest to you? Do you know the events of their lives that have shaped who they are today? Do you know their dreams and plans for the future? Leaders use relationships and strong bonds to foster great collaboration. 

In supporting a team atmosphere, leaders leverage relationships to make sure there's alignment between their workers' personal goals and the company's business goals. When it's clear that there's misalignment, leaders must find a happy compromise (as long as it doesn't hurt the business).

Supporting and leading teamwork extends to valuing workers' input on things like hiring and promotion decisions. Leaders may even charge the team with new team member performance to show trust in their judgment.

In the end, ensuring a strong team approach comes down to leaders checking their egos at the door and relying on the collective wisdom of the team.

Saying nothing

Saying nothing is sometimes the best choice ...
Especially in the moment and especially if you disagree.
No need to win every time and no need to beat someone over the head thinking they will “see the light” or understand your side.
Saying nothing can be the best choice but it can also be the difficult choice.
We confuse standing up for our believe or our side with bulling or talking louder.
Take it all in and keep your emotions in check so you can successfully make your case and that may even mean approaching the matter and the person on another time or day.
Balance what you say and when you say it and valence rather to just nod and smile and say nothing...
At least until you can emotionally discuss your thoughts.

If it’s Magic

If It's Magic"

If it's magic...
Then why can't it be everlasting
Like the sun that always shines
Like the poets in this rhyme
Like the galaxies in time

If it's pleasing...
Then why can't it be never leaving
Like the day that never fails
Like on seashores there are shells
Like the time that always tells

It holds the key to every heart
Throughout the universe
It fills you up without a bite
And quenches every thirst

So...
If it's special
Then with it why aren't we as careful
As making sure we dress in style
Posing pictures with a smile
Keeping danger from a child

It holds the key to every heart
Throughout the universe
It fills you up without a bite
And quenches every thirst

So...
If it's magic...
Why can't we make it everlasting
Like the lifetime of the sun
It will leave no heart undone
For there's enough for everyone

Reaction

So we all know that things happen every day that are unexpected.
We know that every day someone or something will happen that annoys us -
It is how we react that matters.
Do not over react - take it all in and keep perspective.
Is it really that horrible? Just because it may not have been how you would have done something it does not mean it is completely wrong , take the time to look at it from all angles.
We all have a tendency to over react which is human nature but do not over react and say something that you will regret or just worsen the situation.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, and most everything is small in the picture.

Coo coo

Did you ever think everyone around you is coo coo ? Nuts ? Mean ? Selfish? Liars?
Yes
We all think these things and most times we turn it inwards and think it may ourselves but it probably isn’t, people are nuts, people are selfish, not everyone of course but I see where people can no longer talk out loud or discuss things because they are either worried about their job or worried about being judged or try to avoid arguing - the result is we begin our life in a bubble and our outer circle begins to shrink - not good.
When we cannot talk out loud and discuss our differences we give up and slowly but surely just think “they” are all coo coo or nuts and when we do that we build walls and pick our teams.
We are ALL trying to achieve the same thing - everyone- everywhere , no matter what color, religion or where on this planet you are born - we all want the same dam thing - to love and be loved.
Every animal species and every human want and need family, the problem is humans get distracted with money and power and forget the pure basic pleasures of life.
It is NOT about how much you have people or what “title” you may aspire to in your workplace-
Look up, look around, strip away the nonsense and enjoy the basics.
Live life - love - family - friends !
Yup they are coo coo - create YOUR world - your space - your happiness!
You have the power - you have the choice !

Paths

We are have different paths.
Life is always taking us down paths and most of the time we have very little control.
People will come and go into and out of lives.
Jobs will change and people around us at the workplace will change and many times we are surprised and it all effects your every day.
Here is the crazy thing, each path is for a reason, each person who enters our life is for a reason and remember we learn much more from our struggles.
Our paths lead us to where we are suppose to be and if we are smart we learn along the way.
It starts with our childhood and keeps on throughout our life , many of our lessons come from self reflection and how we could have seen things more around us and how we could have done things differently, Life is an amazing ride - keep your eyes open and keep learning.
Follow your path and do not be afraid of change, change can be good - embrace it !

Pre-Judge

Why do we pre-judge people ?
Some of it is the stuff we hear about them , that is why gossip hurts.
In many cases we never give some people a clean slate because of how others may view them.
The problem is we really do not know why some people are bad mouthing them so we bring their prejudices over to our judgement.
We can also possibly have a bad start with certain people and may cause bad feelings and rather than address it straight on it just festers.
We may even pre- judge some people because they remind us of someone in our past that may have had a bad relationship with.
Continuing working on ourselves and and trying to build bridges with everyone is our true challenge in life and having to admit that just maybe it may even be us and not them is difficult.
Keep soul searching to be better and to forgive, it will lighten your load.

Buck up

Buck up
Shit happens, Life can really suck some days, people can be very spiteful...
Buck up
You can either wallow in the negative or you can pull your pance up and move on.
Either way life will go on, with or without you.
Life will challenge you, people will challenge you, how you handle it is up to you.
Whatever you do not allow the blowhards to win and they win if you lose your patience or if you lash out or if you give up.
Buck up, get in there - you are here - the sky is blue and you have air in your lungs so stay in the game.

Hurt people

Hurt people .... hurt people
It is so very true, people that are hurt normally are the ones that lash out and hurt other people.
In many ways it is a deflection or a cover up or just their way to push their anger out .
Here is the hard thing, even knowing that may be true it is still difficult when that hatred and anger is pointed toward you and if you are normal your reaction is to get angry right back.
So how do you break the chain? How do you help find the root of the anger ?
 It ain’t easy.
First thing is try your best to not react in the moment and for goodness sake watch your words, once harmful words are spoken it can cause for walls to be built that may never be able to be taken down.
As hard as it may be in the moment , let the moment pass.
Try to approach the person another day in a different atmosphere, if you are at work try to catch the person out of work, maybe over a coffee or something. If you are home or at a relative’s house and you find the person being rude or trying to push your buttons walk away.
Hurt people... hurt people.
Why are they hurt ?
Did you or anyone ever take the time to just ask ? It can certainly make for awkward conversation but if the person and the relationship is worth try to find the right time or at least ask someone else that me close to them if they know what might be going on.
Make the effort , it will also lighten your load and who knows you might even learn something.

Enjoy the Ride

I hear the waves
Sun beatin' down on my shoulders
It's a near-perfect day
Wishin' I wouldn't get any older
They say that it's gone 'fore you know it now

Quiet your mind
Soak it all in
It's a game you can't win
Enjoy the ride

I feel the change
Goin' on all around me
It's strange
How I'm taken and guided
Where I end up right I'm needed to be

Quiet your mind
Soak it all in
It's a game you can't win
Enjoy the ride

At the end of the water
A red sun is risin'
And the stars are all goin' away
And if you're too busy talkin'
You're not busy listenin'
To hear what the land has to say

Quiet your mind

I hear the waves
Sun beatin' down on my shoulders
It's a near-perfect day
Wishin' I wouldn't get any older
They say that it's gone 'fore you know it now
Soak it all in
It's a game you can't win
Enjoy the ride

Leadership

Few things are more demotivating than a boss who is bored with his or her life and job my friends. If the boss doesn’t care, why should anybody else that works for him? Unforgettable bosses are the opposite both passionate about what they do and how they coach and mentor. They believe in what they’re trying to accomplish, and they have fun doing it along with others. This makes everyone else want to join the ride and rock out!

They sacrifice themselves for their people. Some bosses will throw their people under the bus without a second thought; great bosses pull their people from the bus’s path before they’re in danger. They coach, mentor and they move obstacles out of the way, even if their people put those obstacles there in the first place. Sometimes, they clean up messes their people never even knew they made. And, if they can’t stop the bus, they’ll jump out in front of it and take the hit themselves. That's leadership my friends!

Chess

Great bosses play chess not checkers. Think about the difference. In checkers, all the pieces are basically the same. That’s a poor model for leadership because nobody wants to feel like a faceless cog in the proverbial wheel. In chess, on the other hand, each piece has a unique role, unique abilities, and unique limitations. Unforgettable bosses are like great chess masters. They recognize what’s unique about each member of their team. They know their strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes, and they use these insights to draw the very best from each individual.

Why

Why do people hate ?
Why do people we care about die too early ?
What are we here on earth to do ?
Why do we sometimes feel like we are being tested ?
Stop wasting time asking Why and understand that is life and we will never have the answers.
We seem angry or confused when we just can’t except the ugliness around us and unfortunately sometimes we allow the bad to start to dominate our day, do not let it.
Life will go on either way, it is up to you as to how you will wake up and approach it, you can smile and look at the positive or you can hate and be angry and keep asking yourself why.
Learn to work within the negative and the bad and appreciate the simple things, or better yet seek out the simple things. Do something for someone less fortunate, volunteer or get involved with a non-profit- don’t complain about the negative-be the positive.
Stop with the always me attitude - everyone has a cross they have to carry and a story they can tell you about their hardships or a loved one they loss too soon or is struggling with a medical issue.
Stop asking Why - ... - Smile - Love

Know your audience

Know your audience
By an audience I do not just mean an audience like in a theatre .
An audience can be just you and one other person, know your audience, know what makes them tick, what drives them and what may work for them.
You can keep your control and your power while working your audience, it will do you no good to “ make a point” or get into an argument, that is not knowing your audience.
Stay in control, do your homework and keep smiling, no one likes an angry person.
Practice what you are going to say ahead of time and be ready for how they may react , never try to look surprised. If they say something you were not ready for or they say something to try get a reaction just go with it - live to fight another day when you can gather the facts and a proper response.
Do your homework- practice - know your audience.

Preparation

A good leader, boss, coach has his team prepared.
It is the job of leadership to give their followers the tools they need to succeed, it is not enough to just demand people to do their job, a leader leads.
In order to develop a process for your team to follow a good leader takes the time to look at all sides and ask questions and then lay out the goal(s).
In the NFL the best coaches look at hundreds of hours of video with their coaches every week to evaluate their opponent and to come up with the best game plan for their team to win the game.
Once they decide on a plan they then need to be able to teach and train just what everyone needs to do and what their role may be.
Before their team hits the field on Sunday every player and coach knows the plan and has practiced hard to achieve their goal so now all they have to do is execute.
Business is the same - give your team what they need to succeed.
Preparation is key !

Choose Wisely

"I started succeeding when I started leaving small fights for small fighters.
 I stopped fighting those who gossiped about me...
 I stopped fighting with my in laws...
 I stopped fighting for attention...
 I stopped fighting to meet peoples expectation of me...
 I stopped fighting for my rights with inconsiderate people..
 I stopped fighting to please everyone...
 I stopped fighting to prove they were wrong about me....
 I left such fights for those who have nothing else to fight...

And I started fighting for
 my vision,
 my dreams,
 my ideas and
 my destiny.

The day I gave up on small fights is the day I started becoming successful & so much more content."

Some fights are not worth your time..... Choose what you fight for wisely.