Honestly, there are a lot of good books out there. And unfortunately, there are millions of stinkers out there too.

Today, everyone thinks they can write a book. But most of them suck (hey, it’s my opinion).

Here are the three which have withstood the test of time and to this day influence millions of executives and employees throughout the world:

How to Win Friends & Influence People

By Dale Carnegie.

This is the bible — buy it and live it. This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated.

The Magic of Thinking Big

By David Schwartz.

Long regarded as one of the foremost experts on motivation, Schwartz will help you manage better, earn more money, and — most important of all — find greater happiness and peace of mind. He proves that you don’t need to have an innate talent to attain great success — but you do need to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behaving in ways that will get you there.

Linchpin — Are You Indispensable?

By Seth Godin

Linchpin is a most unusual, well-organized, concise book about what it takes to become indispensable in the workplace – whether you work for someone else (at any level) or are self-employed. It’s about how business has rapidly changed and how treating employees like factory workers (or doing your job like one) doesn’t work any longer. We must make choices and take action to “chart our own paths” and add value that others do not.

We cannot wait for a boss or a job description to tell us what to do, rather we must just take the initiative ourselves. Only then can we become indispensable “linchpins,” rather than replaceable “cogs.” ”You don’t become indispensable merely because you are different. But the only way to become indispensable is to be different. That’s because if you’re the same, so are plenty of other people.

I recommend these three books DAILY to my clients.

Go out and buy them for your iPad or even better, pick up the audiobook and devour it.

Like my blog, it focuses on the trials and tribulations we all face in the business world. My goal is to help you live with more passion, work with greater focus, and lead with extraordinary influence.

My co-host is Margo Meeker, one of the best psychotherapists and life coaches out there. I’ve known Margo for years and have collaborated on many successful workshops with her throughout the U.S..

Why Psycho Career & Career Psycho? First, we wanted to catch people’s attention and imagination with the title. We didn’t want to do “Biz Talk” or “On The Road” or “Marketplace with Mabel” — we wanted a title that caught your imagination and honestly conveyed what’s happening out there in the world right now. It’s crazy! There are psychos out there!

Also, we wanted to cover what Margo is — a psychotherapist/life coach — and me — a business and executive career coach. So it fits!

We hope to make this a fairly regular podcast (hopefully weekly!). But for now, we are testing the waters and seeing where the rapids take us.

Our first podcast topic is ‘Bulletproof Your Career’ – how to keep your job and succeed in these tumultuous times. Margo and I cover the four areas critical for every person out there to keep their wits about them while making their way up the ladder of success.

We would LOVE your feedback – tell us what you think!

So without further ado . . . here’s our podcast (see top of post)!

So here it is: Launch. Declare Victory. Move On. 

Work is made up of a bunch of tasks, activities, projects, initiatives, and deliverables. We work and manage them day in and day out. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget that many of these things we do have a critical half-life. We need to complete them and get them out the door ASAP.

But we don’t do that. We keep working on them, we can make them better. We can push them to do a little bit more. In addition, we are sometimes afraid of releasing our deliverables out into the world for fear of failure. So we procrastinate.

So here’s my prescription for success (taught to me years ago by a valued boss):

Launch.

Get it out. Set a deadline and stick to it. Put plans in place to make sure nothing can stand in the way of launching, releasing, or completing your deliverable. It could be as big as a new product or as small as a simple presentation. Your job is to get it out and DONE.

Declare Victory.

This one is critical. Build into your plan the ability to put a positive spin on everything you accomplish. Why? Because the typical human being tends to do the exact opposite — they criticize, condemn, and complain about what they deliver. How it’s not ready, how you could’ve done better, how you missed the delivery date by a few seconds.

We all do it. So to be successful, do the exact opposite. Declare victory — let everyone know it’s out, it’s a success, build up enthusiasm, get people excited. Let them know about all the great things it will do and how it will change their lives.

Move On.

This is the most important part — once you declare victory, move on to something else. Don’t rest on your laurels — your last deliverable will start to smell after awhile. So many people launch something or complete a huge project and for the next 3-6 months, bask in the glory and slowly move from delivery to on-going maintenance.

Once you declare victory, move on to something new ASAP. Too many people fall into the trap of sticking around too long at the party and they suddenly become the ‘guest that wouldn’t leave’. So move on as soon as you can (if you have a hard time doing this, elect someone to push you out the door, hand you your car keys, and drive home).

Why is this a prescription for success? Because it clearly positions you to deliver quickly, market your success, and move on to another great project. Too many times we let nostalgia, inertia, and pure laziness to keep us back when we need to move forward.

Most people don’t realize how bad meetings reflect on their leadership, management, and reputation. A bad meeting can hurt you for weeks, months, or even years (sometimes FOREVER). With a few simple steps, you can virtually ensure a meeting which will please all attendees.

Here are some tips:

1. Make it short.

I always try to halve my meeting. If I need an hour, can I do it in 30 minutes? Two hours . . . 60 minutes? The shorter the meeting, the faster it will go (duh!) which is a boon for all the attendees. Stick to the topic at hand, don’t try to do too much, keep the blabbers down to a minimum and you can get out of there in record time.

2. Start with the end in mind.

Have a goal. Most meetings stink because they slowly meander through issues, tasks, results, or presentations. Figure out EXACTLY what needs to happen, what are the deliverables, and ensure each attendee is prepared to make decisions quickly. Have an agenda and stick to it. Everyone will thank you profusely.

3. Prepare.

I can’t tell you how many meetings I’ve attended where the organizer had absolutely no idea why we were there. Or they came late, had no agenda, let the meeting go WAY off-course, etc. Sit down and architect the meeting — it should take you no longer than five minutes. Layout how you will start, what you’re going to present, what might happen, and what you want to walk away with.

4. Be visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.

People absorb information in different ways — if you are speaking another language, they won’t get it. So make sure you hit their visual (eyes), auditory (ears), and kinesthetic (touch – hug them!). My modus operandi: Use slides (visual), present by speaking (auditory), and have a backup sheet of paper (kinesthetic).

5. Arrive early.

I hate when the organizer is late to their own meeting. Be there ahead of time to ensure the room is organized, there are enough chairs, the LCD projector and your laptop are ready to roll, the temp is perfect, your agendas are in front of each chair, etc. If there is a problem or emergency, you have time to take care of it. I usually book important meeting rooms 15-30 minutes prior to the meeting to ensure no one is there and I have time to set up.

6. Greet attendees.

Welcome them and get them prepared for the meeting. Most organizers are rushing around doing everything in #5 — stand by the door and welcome people as they arrive — it adds a certain touch of professionalism. Trust me here.

7. Keep it flowing.

You are in the command chair. Stick to the agenda, keep your eye on the time and shut down anyone who tries to make it longer, take over the meeting, or goes way off topic. Ask to take their inquiries off-line and get back on-point.

8. Try to only attempt a few deliverables.

Too many organizers try to stick ten pounds of sugar in a five pound bag. Be realistic about what you can accomplish and focus only on the most important facts, information, and decisions. The more you try to add, you increase the chances of going off-course.

9. End early.

This is my gift to the attendees . . . TIME. Try to end 5-10 minutes early — don’t try to ‘fill-up’ the entire hour. If the meeting is winding down, close it quickly and get people on their way. You will get a favored reputation that you run efficient and on-point meetings. People will like to attend them.

10. Stay after the meeting.

Stick around to thank people for attending, answer any questions people might have, and follow up on any errant requests from the attendees. The more face time you give at the end, the faster the meeting will go.

If you do these simple steps in each of your meetings, you will develop a solid reputation as an accomplished presenter. People will enjoy coming to your meetings and your reputation as a professional will soar.

Image provided by victoriapeckham at Flickr.

So I’ve put together the top ten commandments of leadership to help you anticipate a leadership moment:

1. Think before you speak.

As leaders, we are always trying to help and solve the problem. Or when it’s time to take a team member out to the woodshed. We tend to speak and act first, and take prisoners later. Stop for a second and THINK. What’s the BEST way to go about this?

Instead of solving the problem, how about letting the person suggest some of their own solutions? Instead of getting angry at a team member, ask them what they think they did wrong. Sometimes people are harder on themselves — and in the end, these actions become learning experiences that stick forever.

2. Push your people. Get them to do scary things.

I’ve always had my people push themselves — take on at least one scary project which takes them WAYYY out of their comfort zone. This allows them to grow in their position, deliver the best they can do, and most of all NOT GET BORED.

If you keep them performing at an optimal level on one of their projects, these behaviors will spread to the other activities they execute. If they fail or fall short, you’re there to catch them and then help them at that point on.

3. What’s the right thing to do? Evangelize ethics in everything you do.

People look up to you and see what you do. In everything you do. If you gossip, they will gossip. If you cheat a client, they will too. As a leader, you become the moral mirror image for all of your people.

In addition, try to encourage the right behavior in your people — if they come to a philosophical crossroads, ask them what would be the RIGHT thing to do.

4. Show them the way. Be visionary.

We get too caught up in the politics and tactics of our job. Good leaders consistently keep their eye on the long term benefits and goals. Teach your people to goal-set, plan, monitor, and assess for every project and activity they do.

Give them the long picture — where you want to see the company go, the division, the department and ultimately, them. Give it life, make it visionary, get them involved.

5. Don’t take on any monkeys. You will never lead your team.

First, read this great HBR report (it’s from 1974 and it’s one of their most read reports). It’s the standard to help you lead and manage your team — don’t let them drop monkeys on your desk — help them solve their own problems.

In fact, this commandment should be emblazoned on the wall behind your desk: “Don’t come to me with a problem unless you have one or more solutions.”.

6. Fight the good fight. Take a stand.

Never be wishy-washy on anything important. Your people will see that immediately. Analyze the pros and cons, take the end result into account, and make a decision. If you’re wrong, admit it immediately and change course. But we get so caught up in the decision process — being afraid of making the wrong decision, we make the situation worse.

If someone or something is going after your department or one of your people and they are clearly wrong, defend them to the death. There might be some people who might say you’re committing political suicide, but I feel if you and your team are in the right, it will ultimately surface in your favor.

7. Be strategic, monitor tactical.

Too many leaders try to micromanage. Don’t make this mistake. Focus on the big picture and how all of the pieces fit together. Don’t worry about the day to day, monitor it with your people’s input, but keep them focused on the goalposts.

8. Communicate clearly.

Many leaders mistake intelligence with obfuscation. They use big words, grand designs, and ornate constructs to communicate their goals. BAD IDEA. If your people have to decipher what you are looking for, you exponentially increase the opportunity for them to misunderstand your message and do the wrong thing.

Be clear, concise, and straightforward in ALL of your communications — you’ll find things move that much faster and people get your drift immediately.

9. Be confident, not cocky.

The difference between cockiness and confidence:

• Cockiness – “I know that. We’ve been doing that for years.”
• Confidence – “Wow, I didn’t know that. Tell me more.”

Which person do you like to work with? Most everyone likes to work with a confident person — someone who is comfortable in their own shoes, someone who is not afraid to not know something and is inquisitive to find out more. One of the goals of leadership is to get your people to absorb and display your leadership attributes in their day-to-day work. Who do you want to work with — a confident ally or a cocky jerk?

10. Understand the ‘meta’ in every conversation.

This is a big one — what’s the BIG picture? When you are speaking with someone, giving a presentation, holding a status meeting — give people the 5,000 foot picture and then zoom up to the 50,000 level.

Tell them what really is happening, what is the REAL reason the company is doing something. Most of the time, your people don’t have a clue about what is going on and it’s your job to give them the big picture.

Image provided by @jbtaylor at Flickr.

Telling someone ‘No’ is one of the hardest actions (even for an accomplished leader). Here are some strategies to help you make it easier:

1. Is it right for the company?

This was always my first hurdle with any major (or minor) decision with my colleagues or clients. Many suggestions or requests usually have a focus — do they ultimately benefit your company or just the person requesting the decision?  You’ll find if you look through that lens, the balance is skewed more towards personal advancement and less towards the company as a whole. One way to send them away is to have them skew the balance much more in favor to the company.

2. Is it right at this time?

You’re not saying ‘Never’, you’re just saying ‘Not now’. As a leader, things come at you fast and furious.Many people, many decisions — some requests are good, some are not so good. Your people are energized and built to deliver instantaneous decisions to problems they see in their universe. Their solutions might take on additional cost, resources, and people. Sometimes you just have to say ‘Not now’. By putting it off for future consideration, it allows the problem to sometimes fix itself or go away and allows you to teach an important lesson to your colleague — not everything needs fixing immediately.

3. Acknowledge their request.

Sometimes, people just want acknoledgement. They want to feel listened to and special. So give them the stage. You can ask questions and have them walk you through their thinking — understand what is involved, and the who, where, when, and how. As they broaden your understanding of the strategy, it makes it easier for you to either accept it (because it’s a good idea) or pick it apart (because it’s a bad one).

4. Don’t take on too much responsibility.

You do not want another monkey on your back (check out this great HBR article I recommend to all of my clients). Many times, when colleagues are asking you to say ‘Yes’, it usually entails some added responsibility on your end. Some deliverable, some oversight, some action which adds to your workload. When this happens, try to turn it around and never let the monkey get on your back in the first place. Most of the time, when you don’t accept any responsibility for the decision, the idea goes away of it’s own accord.

Or sometimes you just have to come out and say NO.

POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW

P.S. Do you have a hard time saying NO? Let’s talk. I’ve coached thousands of executives who need to change the dynamic — call or email me to schedule a complimentary session.

When executives coach, they commonly make the mistake of downplaying their role as the boss. Confusion occurs with the associate and coaching fails.

To be clear, a boss is the one who holds people accountable for results. A coach helps people increase their skills to achieve the results. 

When executives coach, they usually downplay their team’s accountability for results because as a coach, they want to develop their skills. They use coaching to get them to do what they want. That’s wrong.

Coaching is not a substitute for performance management. You have to do both and develop clarity with each endeavor. Ensure each team member understands their performance expectations AND coach them to accomplish those performance expectations. It’s a dual role — don’t mix them up.

Communicate your expectations and ensure you get full commitment.

1. Make sure they understand their goals. Get them to break down each goal and to identify the Who, What, Where, When and Why. This process will allow the How to appear. Steer them when they go off-course and ensure they will deliver EXACTLY what you expect. 

2. Get them to mentally commit to their goals. Ownership is key — if they see these goals as yours and not theirs, all will fail. Impart clear accountability — if goals fail, it’s their head, If the goals succeed, they get the accolades. It’s that simple. If they are stuck or don’t know how to do this, I show them how I do it.

3. Give them space to take initiative to reach their goals. Now be a good boss, step back, and give them space. This is a critical time where bosses tend to crowd their team members — give them adequate real estate to reach their goal.

Coach to keep them focused, on track, and to increase their performance.

1. Put yourself in their place and understand their challenges. Each team member has their own strengths and weaknesses. It’s your job to understand what they are and where the possible road hazards might occur along the process. Once this is done, you will know approximately where each tipping point will occur and be available to coach them through it.

2. Work with the associate so they can plan all their steps. Get each associate to come up with a process comfortable to them to easily track their progress. The process of planning together allows you to step out of your ‘boss’ role and to help guide their progress as a coach. Remember it’s their plan, not yours.

3. Actively coach them through the process. Develop regular meetings to discuss issues, concerns and opportunities along the way. If they are getting frustrated, help them solve each obstacle by asking questions. Do not attempt to help — this will only move the responsibility from the associate to you. Provide regular tracking to measure where they are and how much farther they have to go. Finally, help break bad behavior patterns along the way — this will help them accelerate and grow during the process.

How do you coach your team?

“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.” 
— Warren Buffett

If you don’t know Warren, he’s an American industrialist and philanthropist widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often called the “Oracle of Omaha”, he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world’s wealthiest people (third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011).

So he knows what he is talking about.

It’s interesting Warren places integrity first. In today’s work- and marketplace, the focus is centered on intelligence and energy. How much do you know? What experience do you have? What have you done? Are you willing to spend 10-12 hours a day (and more) knocking it out of the park for me?

But we always forget about integrity. A definition of integrity — ”Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.”

Let’s be honest — how many times do you experience a concerted effort by management to adhere to moral and ethical principles? Where everyone displays a powerful moral character? Where people don’t lie and endeavor to tell the truth in their business dealings?

I’m not saying the marketplace or workplace is totally devoid of integrity. But it does take a back seat to profits, targets, stock price and power. Not even a back seat . . . it’s in the trunk with the spare tire.

In the wake of all the turmoil with Wall Street, Washington, and many boardrooms, (and even on Twitter lately) we all need to begin to make harder choices based on integrity. Who we invest in, who we purchase from, who we do business with. 

And sometimes we need to look within for our anchor to integrity — because sometimes we fall short. We need to also pay attention to our own actions and decisions and how they impact others. 

Whatever we do, we will continue to face ethical challenges. It’s how we react to them that counts.

What do you do to stay ethically anchored?

Take a moment and reflect about the each person on your team and the skills and strengths they exhibit.

Where do they excel? What do they like doing?

How can you as their manager, provide additional opportunities to excel and do the things they love to do?

I’d like you to take a piece of paper and draw three equally spaced vertical lines (or you can use the attached template – click HERE).

In the first column, write each person’s name with their title.

In the second column, list their strengths — what do they do well?

In the third column, brainstorm opportunities how to leverage their strengths.

That’s it. If you do this on a regular basis (every 3-6 months), you’ll find your team more approachable about taking on more work, higher visibility projects, and having fun at the same time.

Why? Because you are taking advantage of their strengths and interests.

What is your #1 strength or interest? How do you leverage it every day?

Everyone who works so hard to make us look good to our clients and management.

So here’s a old tool to help you remember. It’s called R E W A R D S.

R = Results
Only reward results to encourage behavior.

E = Explainable
Able to explain to everyone else.

W = When it happens
Reward someone as close to when it occurs, it’s stronger, more powerful that way.

A = Available
Available to everyone on your team. Don’t play favorites.

R = Repeatable
Other people on your team can do the same thing and the same result will occur.

D = Designed
Specifically for the person, personalize it. It makes it special.

S = Share publicly
Make an announcement, encourage new behaviors.

Try it this week — you will begin to see it slowly change your team’s efforts.

What do you do to reward your staff?

Today I just hit 400 posts on my site. It’s especially momentous when it happens on Friday the 13th. (Oh my!)

Here are some of my most popular posts over the past three years:

3 Powerful Tips To Energize Your Team

It’s Friday. It’s been a hard week and you’re looking forward to the weekend. Doesn’t your team feel the same way? Here are some quick leadership tips to energize your troops and make them feel like a million bucks.

3 Critical Skills of Effective Leaders

Great leaders translate vision into decisive action — a skill that’s especially vital in tough times. But what are those skills? Do you have a blind spot? Should you be doing more?

Micromanagement Is Bad For You

If you’re a micromanager and want to change, you need to understand why you’re micromanaging and develop skills to allow your team to produce while you focus on leading.

Leadership Blind Spot: Recognizing Your Team

We all forget to do it. You focus on work, meetings, reports, etc. and ignore the most powerful leadership tool you have in our arsenal – recognition and acknowledgment.

10 Simple Tips To Attract The Best Clients

Getting clients is easy, hard, fun, frustrating, energizing and enervating. Most of all, you never know what to expect — one day no one is saying yes and the next, you close five clients. Here are my ten top strategies I use every day to make clients knock on my door.

I saw my colleagues consistently fail in just one area — when someone on their team gave their notice to leave. So I have some tips on how to handle it and make it a win-win-win for you, your soon-to-be leaving colleague, and the company.

Trust me — if you deviate from any of these tips, things might get messy:

• If you surreptitiously find out ahead of time, don’t approach the person. Let them come to you. It ensures that you handle the interaction formally and allows the person to do it on their time.
• When the person meets with you they will probably want to do the talking. Many exiting employees sometimes hand you a formal letter to read (and that’s fine). Let them talk and get it out — this is very hard for people to do. Shut up and let them speak.
• When it’s your turn to reply — this might be hard — I want you to effuse positivity. Why? Positivity changes the whole situation from a fight, disagreement, bad situation instantly into a plus for you.
• They’ve already made the decision to leave. Whatever the reason (you, pay, the environment, the work, etc.) there’s usually nothing you can do about it. Don’t fight it — embrace it.
• Be their cheerleader. Turn a possible bad situation (maybe they didn’t like you) into a good one by asking how you can help them. A recommendation letter, a good word, flexibility with the transition — reach out to them.
• Reckon back to when a boy/girlfriend broke up with you. The best way to handle it is to remain positive and agree with their decision. Again, they’ve already made the decision to leave. Your positivity will keep them a little off-kilter and plays well for you.
• Don’t take it personally. 95% of the time it’s not you, it’s something else.
• It’s also important for your reputation. Some people might look at this as a wound to your organization (peers especially take glee in this) — the more positive and planned your response is — the better it will be seen by your team, peers, and management.
• Try to nail down their transition plan — how long they are staying, what will they wrap up, what they are responsible for, who they will instruct on any outlier projects, etc. Even though they agree to a set amount of time (at least two weeks) it’s usually a lot less in reality.
• Come to the conclusion they are gone right after they leave your office — it makes it easier that you have no unreal expectations when they leave early, call in sick, or come in late. Face it — in their mind, they’ve gone. This helps you set a focused mindset on transition immediately.
• Set communication parameters before the meeting ends. They are leaving — you are staying — so it’s best if you immediately communicate to your superior and get a transitional message out to let the rest of the team/organization know.
• Do you have an approved and in-place succession plan for your team? If you do — contact the person immediately to discuss their good fortune ASAP. If you don’t, time to make the donuts — make one, get it approved, and stick it in a drawer for future use. You will thank me. Another tack is to communicate to your team immediately and see who steps up to fill the void. You might be surprised.
• Let your superiors know ASAPbefore they find out from someone else. Let them know you have a plan in place:
  • No replacement – the remaining team absorbs all responsibilities.
  • Reorganization – this is a blessing in disguise — you can change the structure immediately.
  • Internal replacement – someone from the team or organization.
  • External replacement – time to get HR involved and get the resumes flowing in.

• This is a hard one — but it works: When they leave your office, get it in your head — they are already gone. Start making plans immediately and work with your team to fill the vacuum. Start de-listing them from future meetings — candidly, they will not be very important to the future proceedings and sometimes they become an irritant.
• Don’t ever trash-talk them after they give their notice (this happens ALL the time). This is a common and rookie mistake. Talk them up, make it sound like this is planned, and is a good thing. Be professional.
• Make sure HR is involved at all junctures. Some people do weird things when they give their notice. They suddenly try to sabotage projects or down-talk the company since they have a better spot to jump to. If you see this happening, release them immediately. In any event, start the process of disengagement with HR. It’s their job and they’re really good at it.
• Celebrations/Get-Togethers are up to you. Try to have it off-site at a restaurant/bar so you can attend and have the ability to dis-engage when you want/need to. Again, be positive to keep the new momentum going.

Smile — just think — someone better might be right around the corner.

I’ve only touched the surface on this topic – what other tips do you use when people leave your organization?

Today, I promised you HOW they do it.

In the movie Fight Club (a male perennial favorite like ‘The Godfather’), the lead character works for an auto company and spouts out a formula they use for deciding whether to recall a model of their car or just let it go on killing people:

“Take the number of vehicles in the field, (A), and multiply it by the probable rate of failure, (B), then multiply the result by the average out-of-court settlement, (C). A times B times C equals X . . . If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don’t do one.”

It’s a scary formula — but an apt example of how one should look critically at a decision. When I coach my clients, it comes down to three choices:

1. Do nothing.
2. Do something slightly different.
3. Change radically (move or something totally new).

You need to stay ahead of the curve. So if you do nothing, eventually the marketplace is going to catch up to you and pass you pretty quickly. If you do something slightly different, you’re just staving off the inevitable, it’s catching up soon.

If you move or change your model radically, you stay ahead of the curve. Although you might be at the burning edge of the marketplace or your career path, you still are 100% in control of your destiny.

Your career or business needs to follow a Sigmoid Curve (see image above). The secret to constant growth is to start a new sigmoid curve before the first one peters out. The right place to start that second curve is at a point (A) where there is time, as well as the resources and energy, to get the new curve through its initial explorations and floundering before the first curve begins to dip downward (B).

And that’s what it’s all about. Maintaining complete control over what you do, where you go, and what happens to you.

It’s your choice: If you let things happen to you, you are at the whim of management or the marketplace. If you take control and make decisions about your future, you have a little bit more say in the direction of your journey.

“Stop waiting for life to happen to you and begin to direct your life and explore your limits.” – Rich Gee

Extra Credit: Here’s a real-life example:
Years ago, I worked with one of the most energetic, positive, and professional executives I’ve ever met. He was a pleasure to interact with, always moving forward, always getting things done. In fact, both he and I won the organization’s highest award that year. We were going places — and in less than a few months, he was gone, off to another position at another company. In fact, he’s done it successfully throughout his career. Today, he’s the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Fancy that.

Me? I do what I love too. Every single day.

I live in Connecticut. Over the past 24 hours, we received another two feet of snow (I was out shoveling the walk this morning). The highways are closed and most (if not all) people can’t get to work. So many of us will be working at home today.

The kids love it, school is closed, they can watch TV, play Xbox 360, and go outside and play.

Unfortunately, you have to work. You have to deliver a number of items today. You have to be on emergency conference calls. You have to manage your team remotely. You might even have to handle weather-related emergencies.

But it’s tough when you’re in a non-work environment. Everything is beckoning to you — the TV, the couch, the kitchen, the kids, surfing the web, your spouse/partner . . . EVERYTHING.

So here are some tips to help you focus, accelerate, and get more done at home than you do at work:

Sequester yourself. If you don’t have a home office, find a room with a door and close it. Set a rule — if the door is closed, you are “not in the house”. If the door is open, feel free to come in and say hello.

Develop an ‘express’ plan. Get a piece of paper and list all the things you need to do on it in 60 seconds. Then prioritize your list in 60 seconds. Don’t worry, you can add additional things later, but for now, speed is of the essence. Now you have a plan.

Work 50 minute hours. Start at the top of the hour and focus on one (or more) items on your list. At the 50 minute mark, stand up, open the door to your office, and go say hello to the family. Or make a quick cup of tea. Or surf the web. Just separate yourself from your work for 5-10 minutes so you can recharge.

Reach out to your team strategically. You should call you team at three stages of the day — in the morning, at 1 PM and at 5 PM. Since you’re not in close proximity, you still need to give them the sense you are working together and you’re watching. It’s not a vacation day.

Use technology. If you have Skype and a webcam, use it! Leverage email, IM, Outlook, GoToMeeting, etc. to better communicate with your team, your boss, and your clients. Ask your family to stay off the phone (if you only have one line) — and mix communicating with your cell phone — but remember to charge it when not in use.

Have a virtual lunch meeting. Get your client, your vendor or your staff together and all get on a conference call to get a status, charm the client or direct a vendor. But adding the fun of a virtual lunch makes it much more informal and fun.

If you stick to these tips, you’ll find you will be much more productive, stay in touch with your team, and still have time for yourself to practice your snowball throwing technique.

What do you do when you work at home to be more productive?

Image by Jeremy Levine Design at Flickr.

You work hard and so does your team. Sometimes, a mis-alignment of communication, interpretation, or expectations occurs. It happens.

It’s not a bad thing even if it happens once in awhile. But when it becomes a frequent occurrence, you begin to question your team’s ability to execute or your ability to communicate.

Then again, it might be another issue. You haven’t set clear communication, timing, and delivery standards with each of your team members (and in-turn having them matriculate it down to their staff).

It sounds hokey, but a simple contract (formal agreement) between parties makes this all go away. Why?

It gives everyone in your organization the ability to measure themselves against a pre-specified standard. And that’s important. If there is no bar, no ruler, no finish line, some (if not all) your team members will begin to develop their own measures. Or worse, they will aimlessly work without any sense of direction (it happens!).

Establishing a contract is simple. Some areas that might be included:

• How often you will communicate with them and how they should communicate with you.
• Who does what, where, and with whom.
• Clearly communicating the Why of every situation and getting buy-in.
• Clear task, activity, project and initiative deadlines.
• Simple ‘business rules’ to guide a project.

It could be written (a set of simple statements on a wall) or verbally built into your organization’s consciousness — your choice. I know Nordstrom’s has a famous card they distribute to all of their employees — it’s powerful. Check it out. (Also check out The Nordstrom Way)

If you have these in place, you’ll see your organization run more smoothly. If not, a subtle undercurrent will develop of crossed expectations, bad communication and missed deadlines.

I’ve been there and it’s not pretty.

What type of ‘contract’ have you established with your team?