INTERNATIONAL BE NICE TO EVERYONE WEEK!

Nobody needs to be reminded about the state of the economy right now, the media is ramming it down our throats every minute of every day! If you live in Canada its still Winter ... its been long, as always, and it has a ways to go yet (-18C in Ottawa tonight).

So ... for most people life right now is just a little tougher, those responsibilities feel a little heavier and problems a little harder. The last thing any of us need right now is more hassle. YOU certainly don't want it ... and neither do the people you deal with.

THE ANSWER ... let's start a new tradition ... the BE NICE TO EVERYONE WEEK!

Why not? We celebrate all kinds of religious, cultural and interest/hobby occasions, why not an INTERNATIONAL event ... BE NICE TO EVERYONE!

Here are some ideas for you from blog entries I have written in the past ...

1. SMILE ... its CONTAGIOUS. I wrote this blog entry in October 2006 about all the reasons why you should smile, even though you don't actually NEED a reason to smile ... its just a good thing to do!
2. I wrote a blog entry in April last suggesting that you CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY, and in fact it is very possible to do just that!
3. In August 2006 I shamelessly plagiarised TEN TACTICS FOR A SUPERB RELATIONSHIP from Robin Sharma. Remarkably its all about being nice to each other!
4. In August of 2007 I talked about the EMOTIONAL BANK ACCOUNT which I learned from Stephen Covey, and the need to make deposits in all of thos accounts ... for this International event you will need joint accounts with everyone!!!
5. Finally, in March 2006 I explained one of my favorite personal sayings WALK FAST and SMILE, which once again focuses on the power of a smile!

Our world will be a better place for at least this week! Help me to celebrate INTERNATIONAL BE NICE TO EVERYONE WEEK ... the first week in MARCH!

Staying "In the Moment"

If you are a student of time management then you will have read at some point that multi-tasking is not a good thing to do. The act of multi-tasking means that you cannot provide the right amount of attention to any one thing and thus you will end up doing a poor job of all tasks.

Personally I'm not sure I buy that ... but it might also just be a question of interpretation.

In my job I always have many tasks on the go at the once ... and certainly there is an opportunity for me to be doing one thing while my mind is processing a different problem, which is a recipe for disaster! I'm just not that good!

For me the problem is not one of multi-tasking, it is one of focus.

You absolutely need to dedicate your focus to the task at hand, to be "in the moment", rather than let your mind wander to other subjects or tasks.

There has been a fair bit of discussion in the media over the last several years about the use of cell phones in cars. I don't think it is the cell phones that are the problem, its the people on them!!! There is no way that you can be focused on the task of driving whilst having any kind of meaningful conversation. If anything out of the ordinary happens in traffic then you are in a world of hurt. You CAN have a conversation IF you remember that your number one priority is driving, but generally people don't do this and the result is that more and more authorities are banning the use of phones in cars. Here are some other activities I see on a regular basis that might be banned in the future ... eating, putting make-up on, sending text messages; and reading ... all while "driving" a couple of tons of metal at speed!

So ... back to focus and multi-tasking. I believe it is not only possible, but absolutely essential for productive people to be able to address multiple tasks at the same time. However the way to do it is to have multiple tasks "on the go" at the same time, but to only being actually be executing on one task at any given moment.

In my world I could be working on many tasks related to my management role at Eagle, my board positions on the industry associations or my volunteer roles with charities. In order to get through those tasks I will have many "on the go" at the same time, but if I am dealing with one of those tasks the others need to be on the back burner. My FOCUS needs to be on the task at hand.

The brain is pretty cool ... it does stuff in the background, whether you want it to or not! You can use that power, because when you come back to a prior task you may well find you have clarity of vision that was not there before, you may have answers, or even questions, that had not occurred when it was your "task of the moment" previously.

Sometimes, particularly when I am "extra busy', have let things pile up, or have been away from the office for a while I will find myself "flitting' from task to task. It sometimes takes a little while to realise I have degenerated into that "flitting" mode. When that happens I have to get myself back in control. I will revisit my "To DO" list ... make sure all of my tasks have been identified. The mere act of writing them all down clears my mind of worrying that I might miss something. I will look at my list and decide what I will work on ... and take that task as far as a I can, or work on it for as long as I am willing to devote time to it. Then I will move on to the next task.

I may have my priorities altered for me as "situations" arise, but I can always come back to my tasks and I can deal with multiple tasks ... but in a controlled manner. My focus is where it needs to be and this way I can be my most productive.

Whether you are driving a car, playing a sport, doing your job or having a conversation with your child ... you will be most effective if the task at hand has your attention. A distracted approach to any of those tasks can lead to disaster, a poor work performance or even a relationship that suffers.

Be in the moment and be your most effective ... and of course it means you won't crash into me on the highway!

Make a Decision

When we avoid a decision the we are by default making a decision ... it is a decision to let life deal you whatever hand it feels like. Only by taking action do you have a chance of getting what you really want!

You will see this every day, in every aspect of your life. We ALL get to the point where we don't want to make another decision today! You could call that "decision overload" ... we can't decide what we want for dinner, what we want to wear, whether we want to make a coffee or not ... its kind of sad, but its human!

The kind of decisions that you cannot put off are the big ones that will change your life.

A decision to pursue a particular career, or a promotion within your current career may spark a bunch of action items that will help you achieve your goal. For many people the thought of all that work is enough for them to be put off making their decision ... and they may end up in the same role years from now.

A married couple might avoid the little arguments over the course of their marriage. Its easier to ignore the bad habits, or the little things that annoy you ... rather than cause a fuss. The problem comes later, because all of those little "niggles" add up and some day they will not feel so small any more. A decision to address the small things might lead to an action plan that builds a relationship for the long term ... no decision might just mean future problems.

It is really easy to avoid the decision to start a health and wellness program. You might say ... hey I still wear the same pants I wore a couple of years ago, I don't look so bad, I'm only a few pounds up on my "fighting weight" ... all great excuses not to do something. A decision to start a plan can lead to a life long habit which keeps you active, feeling good and perhaps even living longer! Not making that decision means it will ultimately be EVEN harder to build the habit AND you will have more weight to lose, you are more out of shape and you are likely not able to play the sport of your youth ... or worse you just keep getting bigger and more out of shape!

You are the architect of your own destiny ... you have the power to make decisions, or not!

Do you really want to reach the end of your life and wish you had done things?

"Every man dies. Not every man truly lives!" ... Mel Gibson, from the movie Braveheart

Resilience

A little more than a year ago I wrote a blog entry about The Need for Stamina and Resilience.

Given the seemingly never ending bad news these day I thought that the topic of resilience was topical enough to give a little more focus.

Last year I talked about these two qualities in the context of the workforce and how one of the tools we use through the hiring process at Eagle looks at these qualities.

Today I thought I would focus in on the how we can all improve our resilience, but perhaps more importantly why we need to do that.

One of the big news stories in Ottawa this week was the "bid rigging scandal" which saw the Competition Bureau laying charges against 7 companies and 14 individuals in relation to some government contracts. These companies operate in the same space that I do, and I know some of the individuals very well. So far charges have been laid, but of course that does not mean they are guilty. I talked to a couple of the people I know about how they were doing and the very common message was that the stress levels are through the roof.

The collapse in the stock market and subsequent impact on economies around the world has seen many individuals wealth wiped out, and for those lucky enough to have a portfolio left it has been hammered and could take years to recover. News stories are surfacing about Boomers now choosing to "put off" retirement while their investments recover. Companies have gone bankrupt, unemployment levels are climbing rapidly ... do you think there is some stress involved?

The causes of stress are all around us, and probably accelerating for many of us. The more common "stressors" such as changing job, moving home, marital issues, new babies etc. are still there, along with the impact of the economy ... business owners wondering if they will remain in business, people wondering if they have a job, retirees wondering if they can survive!

It is a fact that these times will pass ... that the world will get back on an even keel, and its a fair bet that most people will be able to rebuild their "nest eggs", to build back wealth, to rejuvenate their companies etc. There will also be some new opportunities come from this crisis and some companies just won't make it.

At an individual level we all have our different ways to "cope" with stress ... but resilience is an attribute that comes into its own at a time like this. The people with that ability to "get back up" when they take a hit, the people who can keep things in perspective ... are those who will survive and thrive the best.

At the root of resilience is your attitude to adversity ... are you able to rationalise your way through the "noise" of an issue?

- Can you "change the things within your control and ignore the things you can't control?"
- Can you recognise that in every situation there are positives ... things could always be worse?
- Can you take a deep breath or two when confronted with a stressful situation?
- Can you step back and find answers to your problems?

Faced with major stress, it is important to keep things in perspective.

- You need to look after yourself physically as best you can. get a physical, stop drinking, eat healthy, get some moderate exercise, keep active mentally and physically.
- You need to focus on the positive things in your life as much as possible.
- You need strategies to deal with your issues and an action plan that navigates you through to a positive end.
- You need to lean on your friends ... but only the positive ones, keep away from the "doom and gloom" crowd (you know who they are)!

People have an amazing capacity to deal with hardship, both physical and mental ... there is an old saying, "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger". Don't let stress kill you!

A Good Time Management approach

I have written about time management a few times over the course of this blog, and probably mentioned the importance of time management much more than a few times!

One of the blogs that I read relatively regularly is by Jim Estill who is CEO of Synnex Canada, and the primary focus of his blog is time management. This week he introduced the Autofocus Time Management System from Mark Forster … and it’s a very simple, easy to use and practical approach to managing your tasks.

What I like about this system is that you basically assign priority to your tasks as you go … rather than having to assign and re-assign priorities which I have done in the past, OR have such generic priorities (Type A priority) that it doesn’t make much difference. Of course, there will be plenty of people who will not like this system for that same reason!

One thing I can quite safely say is that every job I have had, (and I have had a few), has required a slightly different (or even radically different) approach to time management, which is one reason that I am always receptive to new ideas.

So here is the “short form” description of the Autofocus Time Management System …

The system consists of one long list of everything that you have to do, written in a ruled notebook (25-35 lines to a page ideal). As you think of new items, add them to the end of the list.

You work through the list one page at a time in the following manner:

- Read quickly through all the items on the page without taking action on any of them.
- Go through the page more slowly looking at the items in order until one stands out for you.
- Work on that item for as long as you feel like doing so
- Cross the item off the list, and re-enter it at the end of the list if you haven’t finished it
- Continue going round the same page in the same way. Don’t move onto the next page until you complete a pass of the page without any item standing out
- Move onto the next page and repeat the process
- If you go to a page and no item stands out for you on your first pass through it, then all the outstanding items on that page are dismissed without re-entering them. (N.B. This does not apply to the final page, on which you are still writing items). Use a highlighter to mark dismissed items.
- Once you’ve finished with the final page, re-start at the first page that is still active.

Mark’s website provides more details about using this system. This model fits well with my current system because today I use a ruled notebook to take notes and identify quick tasks to be done. Now I will create my “TO DO” list in the back of the book and capture notes in the front of the book. I still enter notes into our electronic systems when there is information to be captured there … but I am confident I will make good use of this system.

Hope it works for you!

Goal: Develop Healthy Habits!

I have heard about a lot of people my age and younger just recently who have experienced major health issues, including death. That is not cool!

I had my own annual checkup in January and thankfully the major indicators were all good. Having said that i have always been interested in staying fit and over the years have gradually improved on a lot of those bad habits we all have when we are younger.

You need to look after yourself!

Today is February 18th! Approximately 7 weeks ago a lot of people around the world made a New Year's resolution based upon their health ... maybe it was to lose weight, maybe it was to get in better shape, maybe it was just to add some exercise. Seven weeks later the vast majority of those people will have "fallen off the wagon" with those resolutions.

Some of Kevin's beliefs:

1. You only live once ... unless you have differing religious views, but generally speaking even if you are coming back you won't remember this "journey".
2. If you look after yourself, then you can enjoy this journey better ... if you are in shape you can do so much more than if you are out of shape.
3. We all enter this world much the same, so it is what we do thereafter that messes us up.
4. It really doesn't take too much to improve your health ... which usually means you will live longer.

A Basic Action Plan:

Make a February resolution ...

I will develop a plan for my health and will act on it for the next 30 days.

Here is what you will commit to:

1. You will exercise 6 days a week ... exercise just means some kind of physical activity. It will depend on you how much and to what level of intensity. It could be a 20 minute walk at a brisk pace ... or it could be marathon training.
2. You will eat healthier choices every day ... it doesn't mean you'll change your world, just modify it a bit. Eat less fries, burgers, chips and cookies. Eat more fruit, vegetables, grains and non-processed food. (Note: I didn't say remove all bad stuff, just eat less of it)
3. Get a checkup ... blood pressure, cholesterol etc. Understand what shape your body is in.
4. Read about exercise/health etc ... maybe subscribe to Mens/Womens Health.


See how you feel in 30 days!


Around this time last year I wrote a blog entry called Getting Fitter ... check it out if you want some more ideas.

People Give Advice ... YOU make decisions!

As the effect of the economic downturn has been worsening I have a seen a dramatic increase in the number of emails that offer me advice. The ten things you must do in a recession: the top three sales tricks in a downturn; five ways to beat the competition in a tough economy etc. Most of these emails come with the punch line that you just need to subscribe to this webinar, or to that conference or some type of training etc.

These emails are a sign of the times … they remind me of the phone calls I sometimes get … my software will save your company money; or I will make your salespeople four times as productive if you … pick any one of a dozen things they want from me, all of which involve money.

Don’t get me wrong … these people are being more active in selling their solutions and services in a market where there are less buyers. By being proactive they increase their chances of actually hitting someone who is interested at that point in time.

As a CEO of a small business I get lots of advice … sometimes even advice I ask for! The reality is that it is my responsibility to steer my company through the good times and the bad times. I will make mistakes, like everyone else … and I only need to look at some of the big “disaster companies” in the news (like Nortel, GM etc) to know that there are plenty of CEOs making mistakes. I always try to have as much input as possible … sometimes its less than I would like … but the end decision will be mine.

I have been “scolded” several times by over-zealous sales people. Am I nuts! How could I not spend time to hear about how they can improve my profitability! I have had experts insulted that I chose not to follow their recommendations. Lawyers have felt I did not give their “risk analysis” enough consideration … but at the end of the day I have to follow my own counsel.

How many times do you hear people complain about their investment portfolio theses days?
How many people complain about their job?
How many people complain about their personal situation?
How many people didn't like the restaurant, the book, the movie, the house that they live in?

So … whether you are running a business or making any kind of decision. YOU need to make your own call. Gather as much information as possible, take full responsibility for your own destiny and make your own call. Then you have no one to blame but yourself, and if you made the wrong call you are well capable of fixing it with a new decision!

Diversity

Some time back my company (Eagle) made a more formal commitment to diversity, which has naturally been a part of our culture all along. We developed an official policy, I established myself as the champion of the cause, we have diversity champions and we provide ongoing diversity training to our staff.

One of the other "neat ideas" that our HR manager came up with (thank you Breigh) was a regular email to all of our staff explaining different holidays and traditions associated with various cultures ... as they become relevant.

The latest email provides information about Valentines Day, plus a couple of Canada specific holidays ... Louis Riel day and Family Day. I thought I would post that information here for everyone to enjoy.

Every February 14th all across the country and the world, candy, flowers , cards and gifts are exchanged between loved ones all in the name of St. Valentine.

There are many legends of the way that Saint Valentines Day originated. Many date back to as early as 270 A.D. One legend goes like this. the ruler of the time, Emperor Claudius II, thought unmarried soldiers would make better soldiers, and so he forbade them to marry. A bishop named Valentine who was stationed at the Roman Empire at that time took pity on the soldiers and young lovers and began to perform secret marriages. He was soon found out and jailed. Another part of the legend states that while in jail, Valentine fell in love with his jailer's daughter. Just before his death, he sent her a note and signed it "from your Valentine," An expression that is stilled used today.

After his death, Valentine became a Patron Saint. Some considered him the spiritual overseer of an annual festival in which young Romans would distribute cards of affection to those they wished to see. The festival was held each February 14. Some valentine cards can be found in museums that date back to 1415.

Today, Valentines Day has become one of the most popular holidays. After Christmas, it is the largest card-sending holiday of the year. Common symbols of Valentines Day today are hearts, cupid, roses, teddy bears, and bow and arrows. Cupid with bows and arrows represent Roman mythology. Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love. The shot of the arrow would strike the unsuspecting desired person or god, making him fall in love.


Louis Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba and a leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government. He sought to preserve the rights, culture and heritage of the Métis. In the province of Manitoba, Louis Riel Day celebrates Riel's life and achievements and is observed on the third Monday of February.

On September 26, 2007 Manitoba passed a bill establishing the third Monday in February as a statutory holiday; Louis Riel Day. In other areas of Canada, specifically Toronto, Louis Riel Day is observed in November as this was the anniversary month of the execution of Louis Riel in 1885.


Family Day is celebrated in the provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. This holiday falls on the third Monday in February and celebrates the importance of families and family life. It is meant as a day where the whole family can take part in activities together.

In the provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan most people have the day off work and schools are generally closed. Most businesses and organizations are also closed

Family Day was first held in Alberta in 1990. It was supposed to reflect the values of family and home that were important to the pioneers who founded Alberta. It gave the workers an opportunity to spend more time with their families. Family Day was introduced in Saskatchewan in 2007 and Ontario in 2008. One of the main reasons for introducing Family Day was that there was a long period when there were no holidays from New Year's Day until Good Friday.

AROUND THE WORLD

In Australia the first Tuesday of November is known as Family and Community Day and in South Africa, the day after Easter Sunday is Family Day.

Partnership Lessons

This is another blog entry where I am going to "lean on" someone else for content. Pat Katz has a regular newsletter that you can subscribe to at her website ... and she focuses on work/life balance. Her primary message revolves around the notion of taking Pause and taking time to appreciate our lives. In fact her regular newsletter is called Pause.

This latest entry from Pat was an ad hoc message to her readers because she was enjoying a break with her husband, celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary. The lessons she has learned about partnership apply in business as well as with our life partners ... and anyone who has 35 years experience is going to have some nuggets to share.

Here is Pat's article ...

This week's Pause message is a bit of a departure from the usual directions. Dave and I are taking a mid winter break, spending a few days in Vancouver, celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary.( I know! I know! Where did that time go?) Normally, I'd take a break from Pause on an occasion like this, but when I posted last week's message, giving notice slipped my mind. So here we are. You're expecting your regular Wednesday message, and I'm committed to delivering one.

As I walked the seawall around Stanley Park, I pondered what to write about - eventually settling on what we're focused on this weekend - celebrating relationship. 35 years is a long time for any kind of partnership - marriage, business, or otherwise. And, for what it's worth, here are ten of the relationship lessons we've learned so far.

Note disclaimer: opinions are based solely on our experience and observations (a sample of two) - not guaranteed to work for everyone. And, they represent our best intentions - not to say we are perfectly living up to same at every moment.

* A healthy partnership is neither a game nor a war zone. Stop keeping score and tracking who won what battle. Scorekeeping creates winners and losers - not the best way to build a relationship! Being amicably together is more rewarding than being self righteously solo.

* Every relationship takes work, especially at the start. Each day, re-commit to your partner. Once you commit to making this relationship the best ever instead of wondering or dithering about the choice, everything changes for the better.

* Work from your interests and backfill the shortcomings. Dave works in the kitchen and loves it. I work in the garden and love it. Neither one of us cares to vacuum and dust, so somebody else does that for us - and we love it.

* Build an affection (or at least a good-hearted tolerance) for your partner's collection of stories, jokes and anecdotes. You're going to hear a lot of them - again and again and again.

* Appreciate each other's strengths and take advantage of them as a team. I was more patient with the kids when they were little. Dave was much better with them as teenagers. Between us, we made one pretty decent parent.

* Never lose hope. I keep hoping Dave will learn to dance. He keeps hoping I'll enthusiastically embrace every new technology. Talk about springing eternal!

* Speak your mind. Make your wishes clear. It's more of a shortcut to understanding than trying to guess the meaning behind the words or lack thereof. Let your partner finish their say before you shoot your ideas into the air! Some people stop to think between words.

* Travel many roads together but at least a few apart. Solo experiences to toss in the mix make the ongoing conversation that much more interesting.

* Applaud and support each other's enthusiasms - whether you share them or not. Hot rods, fishing, or needlework may not be your passion, but how cool it can be to have a ringside seat for someone else's delight and engagement in learning and creating.

* Forgive and forgive again. Holding grudges just eats you up from the inside out. Besides, (note to self) you're not that perfect either.

Hug an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes ... they are young and old, very educated or with little formal education, they are male or female, they know they are entrepreneurs at an early age or they find out later! They come from all walks of life, geographies, religions and cultures.

Some entrepreneurs are great business people and some not so much, some are great at the "start-up" but not good at growing a business, some are good when they surround themselves with the right people and some are extremely independent and successful.

There are however some characteristics that are common among entrepreneurs.

They will "do what it takes" to make their product/idea/service into a viable business.
They are resilient ... they will battle through adversity.
They are passionate about their "baby".
They will sacrifice to reach their goal.

There are lots of people with ideas. There are lots of people who get an opportunity. There are also lots of people who find reasons not to proceed with their idea or to chase their opportunity. The relative few who chase their dream will have set backs, will encounter road blocks and "nay sayers" and will sow seeds of self-doubt ... but they keep "doing it".

The economy is tough out there. There are a lot of entrepreneurs battling all the usual issues in addition to the tough economy. They are finding it tougher to get financing, their clients are cutting budgets and everyone around them is absorbed with their own woes.

Without entrepreneurs creating new companies this country would be in a bad way ... small and medium sized businesses are the biggest employers in Canada, creating the most new jobs and contributing the most to the health of our economy.

Entrepreneurs can sometimes be crusty, might even be hard on people as they battle towards success ... but we need them!

Hug an entrepreneur ... they may be our best bet to get through the current economic mess!

Kevin's Version of 21st Century Unions

In a couple of blog entries lately I have been rather scathing about the unions. It may however surprise some people to know that I grew up in working class Liverpool, and that my family were all union members so I was raised to believe in the need for unions to protect “the worker”.
The journey I have taken through various careers and life experiences has caused me to modify opinions over time, sometimes more than once! In the case of the unions I have gone from the “believer” to the “non-believer”, but it is based more on the role that the unions play rather than on their existence … or their potential!

I think that there is a place for unions but the current role and “typical” operating model of the unions is not consistent with my vision of the value unions could bring.

So … if I were to side with unions (for at least this blog entry) this is what I would say:

1. Management has not proven itself to be capable of consistently running corporations with a good balance of providing shareholder value and building corporate capability for the future. When a cost has to be paid, it is the “worker” who typically pays it with their job.
2. Government is not responsible for protecting the jobs of workers … they like to think so, but in a global economy they can’t.
3. So … “the worker” needs to look out for himself. This is consistent with everything I blog about, we are ALL responsible for ourselves. The formation of unions has been one way that “the worker” has protected themselves.

OK … so unions COULD be a valuable asset to the worker, BUT in my world they need to be a POSITIVE asset and NOT a NEGATIVE force.

What do I mean by that? Here are some thoughts …

1. What if unions were represented on company boards?
2. What if unions worked hand in glove with management with the goal of helping companies to be successful and profitable … hence creating employment.
3. What if unions recognized when global forces were at play, calling for compromises in order for companies to remain successful? What if management worked with the unions to share any profits?
4. What if unions employed their own resources that could provide independent advice and guidance to companies?
5. What if unions used their resources to provide their members with training that helped them to be more productive and thus help their companies to be more successful.
6. What if management shared the numbers with the union management in an open book format?
7. What if union management was comprised of MBAs, business people and leaders capable of working together with all stakeholders towards a common goal?
8. What if the value brought by unions was so great that companies would seek out unionized labour rather than fight it?

There was another “scouser” who grew up in working class Liverpool, John Lennon … I guess we are both dreamers!

The Weekly Review ... to Harness Your Productivity

Generally speaking I try to post an entry to this blog on most "business days" ... sometimes I miss, but not very often. I guess that more than 650 posts over the last three years means that I have been pretty consistent. I also have developed a habit over the years of working Sunday mornings to get myself organised ... I use the time to clean up administrative "stuff", to catch up on some reading, to clean my desk and on my most productive Sundays I leave the office feeling like I am really ready to tackle the next week!

As it happens, this weekly "review" is one of the tools suggested by David Allen (although he probably wouldn't recommend Sundays ... that's just a dumb business owner thing!), who is a productivity expert and leading light behind the GTD "methodology" of time management.

So ... tying all of these disparate thoughts together ... I am here on Sunday morning catching up on my reading and David's newsletter has a good article about why the GTD discipline is needed, especially when you think you don't have time to do it! So this is a bonus posting ... (I better be careful, I don't want to be setting an expectation that I will be posting 6 times a week!).

Hope you like it ... you can subscribe to David's newsletter at his website.

Critical Behaviors in the Crunch

I often hear from people who have allowed themselves to fall off the GTD (Getting Things Done) wagon that the primary reason was that, "Things really got crazy," and they just couldn't "keep it going." They usually admit it with a kind of sheepish guilt, like: "I know I really should have, and I know it really would have kept things from being so crazy, but..."

It's in the tough times that GTD shines. But, understandably, it is just as likely in those conditions to fall away as a discipline and an approach. It's like the time you most need to plan is when you least think you can afford to, and when you could really use a good Weekly Review is often when you least feel like doing one.

An economic downturn may bring you tough times. All the more reason to hone and sharpen your abilities to regain control and perspective when you happen to lose them. If you feel your financial footing slipping, because your retirement fund's value has plunged or you're facing a layoff, the sense of loss of control can be dramatic. If your company's strategies have been based upon assumptions of a steadily growing market, and that market suddenly goes south, the organizational focus can easily be diffused and confused.

In these cases, the GTD processes for gaining control and clarifying focus can supply critical tools for keeping your ship afloat and pointed in the right direction. It's a perfect time to capture, clarify, organize, and reflect; and to decide what's really important, what you now want to have true, and what you need to maintain. What you really need to do, in other words - now, and next.

Here are a few GTDisms that might be particularly useful in a crunch:

Capture. Get the data. Acknowledge what's true. (We have ____ in the bank. Our expenses are ______ . I feel insecure and apprehensive. There are no debtors' prisons.) And clean up. This is when it's super-important to identify and get a handle on all the open loops pulling on your attention.

Clarify. Identify the outcomes and projects you now need to focus toward, and of course, what actions you need to take. (Re-do personal budget; talk to partner re: asset inventory.) Get all your attention-grabbers processed. And leverage the heck out of the two-minute rule. Being an instant executive is the best cure for transcending a funk.

Organize. Get your lists and systems current and complete. Your psyche needs the freedom that affords to concentrate and direct your thinking.

Reflect. You may need to do Weekly Reviews daily. You must keep situational awareness vital and present to be able to trust your intuitive responses, which you will be calling on frequently. Regularly engage in forest management (instead of tree-hugging), so you can see smoke from a distance.

Engage. Keep moving. Pick an action and do it. Don't get hung up on priorities. It's much easier to control a boat that's got way (momentum through the water) than one simply at the effect of the currents. It's easier to know your priorities by taking an action that's not so important than by stressing about them.

This is where getting control morphs into gaining perspective, and the Horizons of Focus come into play. Obviously goals and plans and job descriptions may need a recalibration. But, in addition, give yourself permission to acknowledge and take advantage of the deeper conversations with yourself and other key people in your life that will undoubtedly come closer to the surface in rough seas. For at least a year after 9/11, everyone I know and every organization I dealt with operated with an increased infusion of 40-50,000-level content in their consciousness. (Why are we really here? What's really important to me/us? What are we really trying to do, and is it worth it?)

I'm not implying that in tough times GTD makes things fun, or comfortable, or easy. The point is to make what you're doing conscious and directed, instead of reactive and contracted. I'm not an advocate of a Pollyanna positive-thinking philosophy. Pretending that life is rosy when that's not your experience is self-delusional and counter-productive. Rather, GTD is a positive-directional approach. Certainly being able to maintain a positive vision amidst the challenging and often messy day-to-day stuff is a wonderful life skill to hone. But you may need to be judicious and pick your battles. Though the storm you're in is probably going to make you stronger and wiser, right now you might not like it. Your choice is how you get through it - as victim, or as captain/commander. In other words: life's a bitch, and what's the next action?

Positive Thinking

I have a motivational picture on my office wall ... the caption reads:

"A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. In the end, leaders are much like eagles (I have to like that bit) ... they don't flock, you find them one at a time".

I like the quote and I believe that we all need to be capable of making decisions, and taking action that is not always "in step" with those around us ... essentially demonstrating leadership qualities.

We are surrounded by lots of people who adopt "the herd mentality". You hear it and see it everywhere:

The economy is "tanking" and therefore there is no business to be had.
Companies are laying off and therefore it is inevitable that I will be laid off.
My soccer/hockey/basketball team is losing and therefore the management/coach/star players have all got to go.
The Prime Minister/President/mayor made "that" decision ... he/she must be stupid!

It is SO easy to stand out from the crowd ... it is easy to be a leader, in the face of that kind of mentality.

All it requires is some independent thinking ... a little bit of thought about the who, what, why and how of the situation. Perhaps some research and some considered debate before joining the herd and "jumping to conclusions".

So ... here are some alternate thoughts for you to ponder.

1. If the economy is poor (and it is) but generally speaking the herd will be panicking doesn't that spell opportunity for the company/salesperson/entrepreneur willing to find the opportunity?
2. If you team is going through a bad time does that mean its all bad? Could there actually be people who know what they are doing and who are working towards solutions. Even more pertinent do you need to be one of the herd "running them down" ... or could you be an independent thinker that looks at all of the other good they do in your community, at the potential for the future, and at the successes of the past?
3. If you feel that some government/institution/company or whatever organization has made a "bonehead move" ... will you join the bandwagon of detractors or will you seek to understand why they chose that path?

It is quite conceivable that this different way of thinking might not in any way change the outcomes of those scenarios. However you can be VERY sure that if you adopt this "positive" way of thinking, it will change you and how you are perceived!

Give that one some thought!

You Can Be Successful in a Downturn!

Every now and then I post comments from Kit Grant ... a speaker, motivator, agitator who I have seen speak a few times. I hired him to speak at one of our company events because he is a very down to earth, to the point, in your face kind of speaker who wants you to take responsibility for yourself.

Just like Kit, I believe that we are responsible for our own destiny. As a business owner nobody else is going to look after the care and feeding of my business ... and nor should they. As an individual I am responsible for my own success, and failures ... nobody, no government and certainly no employer is responsible for that! So ... if you can buy into that philosophy then you are on a journey that will ensure you do whatever is needed to be successful.

Kit is a little critical of the big companies" in his article and I'm probably a little less critical but his point is the same. Where there is disruption, turmoil and unrest there is opportunity. With the current state of the economy many people are losing hope ... Kit's message is that you don't need to be one of "those". Take responsibility for your own success .. make it happen!

Here is Kit's message:


Yikes! It's February already and most of the economic news that permeates the media is still pretty negative. Lay-offs, down-sizing, reduced capacity and profits all being reported by those big lazy companies who thought the "good times" would just continue forever. Maybe you've been on the receiving end of some bad job-related news but that's no reason to just give up. You can be more agile if you choose and if you're running a
small business, you now have many new opportunities caused by the problems being
experienced by the BIG guys. They can't, or won't make quick adjustments but your judging of the economy by their problems is as goofy as making advertising decisions for your enterprise by comparing them to those of Fortune 500 companies. It is urgent that you reorganize your thinking and your business to focus on your customers and
your relationships with them. Hopefully you still want to succeed as much as I want to help you to do that. We all get what we accept from life … from others and from ourselves.

I just came back from a 3 day gathering of 823 entrepreneurs in Orlando. Just being in a room with that many people who are determined not to follow the "doom and gloom" crowd is energizing. I came back with many ideas which I've already started to implement, some of which I already knew but just had not taken action on them. The
majority of the people in the room are no more gifted, intelligent, not even better-looking than you and yet ... they're doing something differently. New opportunities present themselves every day if you're looking for them and if you're WILLING TO TAKE ACTION. One of my favorite sayings is "Doing is easy … deciding is difficult". Most of us (well, me anyway) are not short of ideas but it's a decision to not get infected by others' problems. There is never a time, place, nor industry where everyone is losing and nobody is winning. Don't forget that. Governments bailing out big dumb companies (with
YOUR money) that have made stupid decisions may not be the best solution but you can bet they're not coming around to bail out your business, so you can stop waiting for that to happen.

People still need goods and services. Find out how you can help and then provide that. You can take away my material possessions but you can't remove my optimism. How about you? Avoid the majority going downhill emotionally and reduce your discouragement. Contact a customer (or two) today to re-establish that relationship you once had. You might be pleasantly surprised how little effort it takes to bring about a positive result.

Getting Control of Your Time

I have written a number of blog entries on this subject and there are plenty of experts who make their career focused on helping people to be more productive, or make better use of their time.

It is important to understand that this concept is not just about work … you can increase your “effectiveness” in your personal life by good time management techniques too. How you use that extra time is entirely up to you … you might CHOOSE to “chill” and do nothing but good time management will ensure that you have the maximum “chilling time”.

How does that work?

There are things that you need to get done … and there are plenty of other things that you do. Often those “other things” just happen in the course of your day, they are not conscious choices. Those are the things that eat up your time.
If you can do all the things you need to get done as efficiently as possible then you will have more time to do the other things that you CHOOSE to do.

So … at work if you can be as productive as possible you might end up being the most productive person in your work place, but put in the least number of hours. You would be setting yourself up for success at work (as an excellent producer) AND maximizing your personal time. How many people do you know who “put in long hours” but don’t seem to accomplish much?

The “quest” for productivity is a constant one. It involves continually looking at ways of getting more efficient, which achieve the added benefit of keeping things interesting.

There are many obvious ways to get quick hits in your productivity and the trick is to implement them in a way that you can manage, and keep doing. You need to build new habits and that is not easy.

The following are a number of links to previous blog entries that you can read and gain ideas:

Back in June 2007 I wrote an entry called Making Better Use of Time and it references some Tips and Tricks from David Allen, who is one of those time management gurus.

In March 2008 I wrote my own set of Time Management Tips which tend to work for me.

In May 2007 I wrote a blog entry called First Day Back in the Office, which was written after I was confronted with the aftermath of taking time away from the office. This is particularly good for me as I took a long weekend this past weekend and Tuesday I wondered why!

The final link I will provide just proves that I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to slipping up on time management issues. I do however take time out to correct things when I get a Time Management Hiccup.

So … there are ways to be more productive, but you need to WANT it and the best way to get that desire is to understand how it can help you personally. That will translate into being more efficient, and everyone should be happy!

January IT Industry News

This is my 30,000 foot look at events in the ICT industry for December 2008. What you see here is a precis of the monthly report I produce, which will is available in more detail at the Eagle website. You will also find back issues on the website.

Two years ago in January 2007 there was no talk of recession, and worker confidence was relatively high. The big news was Microsoft's launch of Vista and AOL paid $1 Billion for Tradedoubler. One year ago, in January 2008, there was much talk about an impending recession and the ECRI had its worst growth rating since the 2001 recession. IDC was still bullish that Canada's tech industry would flourish in 2008 and Gartner was predicting huge growth in the Indian IT Services Market. Dell, Palm and Yahoo all announced layoffs, while Oracle paid $8.5 Billion for BEA, Microsoft paid $1.2 Billion for FAST and SUN paid $1 Billion for MySQL. So it wasn't ALL bad a year ago.

Fast forward to January 2009 and we are definitely seeing the affects of the economic meltdown! There are no blockbuster deals to announce, with one of the few sizeable deals being the $775 million purchase of Interwoven by Autonomy. Confidence with IT workers and CEOs alike is at an all time low, and little wonder when you see the long list of companies making significant layoffs. In addition to the layoffs one of India's larger outsourcing companies Satyam, announced a major financial accounting scam, DELL moved a production facility from Ireland to "low cost" Poland and former Canadian "tech star" Nortel, filed for bankruptcy protection.

Layoffs were the news of the month with some of the bigger names making deep cuts, Microsoft (5,000), Intel (6,000), Motorola (4,000), Seagate (5,000), SAP (3,000), Lenovo (2,500), EMC (2,400), AMD (1,100) and Sophos (1,500). IBM also announced layoffs but did not announce numbers but rumours range from as little as 5,000 to as many as 16,000. IBM also offered to relocate employees to more "robust" markets such as India.

Obviously the economy is taking a pounding and many companies are taking the opportunity to trim "fat", make hard decisions and position themselves to survive any worsening in the economy. Economists continue to suggest that we have some way to go yet, but I'm hoping my industry news is not this depressing next month!!

Walk Fast and Smile!


That's what caught my eye over the last month, the full edition is available by clicking here to go to the appropriate part of Eagle's website. Hope this was useful and I’ll be back with the February 2009 news in just about a month’s time.