The Twin Towers of Success

Posted on April 06, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

There are two fundamental qualities found in almost everyone who is a self-made success.  These Twin Towers of success are the qualities of Self-Discipline and Self-Control.

1) Self-discipline is “the systematic, willing, and purposeful action taken each day, which leads one toward the completion of their self-assigned goals.”

2) Self-control is “the systematic, willing, and purposeful action taken each day, which leads one to effectively suppress and replace lesser desires for those which reflect the highest virtues of character, integrity, love and service.”

Self-discipline allows a person to exhibit the positive behaviors needed to keep them moving toward their dreams, while Self-Control keeps negative influences from hindering the progress they are making.  Like the positive and negative poles of a magnet, both are needed to enable a person to live a courageous and successful life.

There are a significant number of people who really want to live a healthy and successful life, yet simply do not get it done. 

Why?  For many, the problem lies in their habitual inability to exert self-discipline and self-control in their lives.  They are making choices, and in time developing habits, which make it difficult to control and manage their appetites, moods, and passions.  They find that extra scoop of ice cream too tempting, or the comfort of their bed too enticing to complete their physical fitness routine.

If you are going to live a healthy and successful life, you need to believe that living a life of discipline and control will, in the end, provide more satisfaction than giving into your vices and lusts. Though not easy, exerting self-discipline and self-control sets you free to pursue your dreams, while protecting the areas of life you hold most dear. And don’t kid yourself, there are many people who think they are self disciplined and controlled, yet are fooling themselves.  They are still overweight, spend too little time with their wife and children, feel disconnected from God, are drifting away from their friends, and/or are making only modest (if at all) progress toward their dreams and goals.  Though they think they are exhibiting self-control and personal discipline, the fruit of their life proves otherwise.

Embracing a life of self-discipline and self-control leads to a very large payoff.  But this payoff is never immediate.  Belief and patience through the days, months, and years will be necessary.  Successful people know this – yet are patient for the dividends to pay off.

Challenge: How would you rate your self-discipline and self-control lately?  How would others rate your self-discipline and self-control?  What is one thing you can start doing today to improve in both?

Too Many Clouds

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

Don’t wait for the clouds to part before you choose to act. There will always be more clouds...

 Don't wait - Just get going. 

Creating, innovating and producing is mostly a matter of getting out of the rut, allowing the process to guide you, letting go of perfection, and choosing to step out. Consistently. Daily... Cloudy sky or not.

Chuck Close - renown American photorealist painter and photographer - says that in his work, so much of his "creating work" is embedded in a process of following the path wherever it leads. The important thing is to step out and get going. He said:

"If you wait for clouds to part and be struck in the head with a bolt of lightning, you're likely to be waiting the rest of your life. But if you simply get going something will occur to you."

* What do you need to step out toward?

Who will Win?

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

“Change is inevitable – except from a vending machine” – Robert C. Gallagher

A practical method to help navigate a change process is to consider the various forces affecting a change situation. The “Force-Field Diagram” (see diagram below) is a model created by change specialist, Kurt Lewin, around the idea that forces in an organization are either driving or restraining the need for change.  These forces can include: People, Habits, Culture, Customs, and Attitudes.

**This method helps a leader to:

• Picture the “war” between various forces in a change issue.
• Identify the most important Players, Stakeholders, and Target Groups in a change initiative.
• Identify specific Opponents and Allies.
• Identify how the leader can Influence each target group.

**How to conduct a “Force-Field” analysis:

1. Clarify and describe the current situation.
2. Clarify and describe the desired situation.
3. Identify what will happen if no action is taken at all.
4. List all the forces driving a change toward the desired situation.
5. List all the forces resisting the change.
6. Discuss and interrogate all the forces: Are the valid? Can they be changed? Which are the most critical ones?
7. Allocate a score to each of the forces using a numerical value (e.g. 1 is extremely weak, and 10 is extremely strong.) Chart the forces. List the driving forces on the left and the restraining forces on the right. Show the strength of each force represented by the length of the arrow.
8. Re-examine whether the change is indeed viable, and progress can occur.
9. Discuss how to specifically decrease the strength of restraining forces – and how to increase the strength of the driving forces.
10. Remember that increasing the driving forces (or decreasing the restraining forces) may increase or decrease other forces – or even create new ones.

Remember: “If you don’t create change – Change will create you.”

The Fuel of Sustained Leadership - Your Health

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

10 Useful Tips for Taking Care of Your Health and Weight

One way a Leader can maximize their effectiveness is to make sure their health, energy, and weight are carefully maintained.

The following are a few wise tips: (Revised from: www.global-nutrition-inc.com)

1. Eat 4-6 small meals each day.  Spread your calories out evenly during the day to help keep your metabolism moving and your energy levels naturally high.  Try to target balancing each meal so that they contain roughly the same amount of calories.  Meal replacement and nutrition bars are an easy way to supplement up to 3 meals a day.

2. Balance each meal with protein, carbs and fat.  By providing reasonable amounts of these three essential nutrients at each meal, your body will have the fuel it needs to run at an optimum level.  Balancing the nutritional make-up of your meals also helps prevent the storage of body fat.
• Preferred sources of protein are: fish, lean meat, chicken, eggs, turkey, lean pork, protein powders.
• Preferred sources of carbohydrates are: fruit, vegetables, beans, whole grains.
• Preferred sources of fats are: olive oil, nuts, fish oils, canola oil.

3. Choose the right carbohydrates.  When choosing a meal, select complex carbohydrates that are “colorful” and high in fiber (like fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts).  Try to avoid highly processed carbohydrates like pasta, bagels, crackers, chips, soda and candy.  Highly processed carbs have little nutritional value and can easily be stored as body fat.  If it’s a carbohydrate and it comes in a bag or a box, you should be suspect.

4. Don’t forget completely about the fat. Despite all the hype, fat IS an important part of a diet and is necessary for fat loss.  One benefit is that fat digests slowly and thus makes you feel full so you eat less.  Fat also helps in the proper digestion of carbs and protein; without it your body just cannot process food efficiently.  The key is to select foods that are rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.  These include salmon, mackerel, almonds, walnuts, olive and canola oils.

5. Eat until you are no longer hungry, not until you are stuffed full.  A common mistake people make in their everyday eating habits is they just eat too much.  You do not need to be stuffed at every meal, or eat every bite . . . despite what your mom told you, it is ok to leave food on your plate.  Even better, don’t put so much on your plate in the first place.  Keep your portion sizes under control.  (** If you find yourself eating for no reason, or you just can’t stop, you are probably eating to fill a void in your life.  Taking time to evaluate the areas of your life that are making you unhappy will help.  More food is never answer, and overeating will always result in feeling worse.)

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Flaws

Posted on March 09, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

"You ain't gonna know what you don't want to know." - Jerry Garcia

In the book "The Extraordinary Leader," authors John Zenger and Joseph Folkman discuss potential "fatal flaws" of a leader. Their research identified five fatal flaws that can derail an executive's career:

• Failing to learn from mistakes - "Derailed executives made about the same number of mistakes as those whose careers continued onward and upward - but (because of arrogance, fear, or another reason) derailed executives did not use setbacks or failure as a learning experience."

• A lack of interpersonal skills - "When a leader is consistently abrasive, insensitive, cold, arrogant, and bullying - research shows that (in today's world) this is a pattern that will eventually result in their failure."

• Not being open to new ideas - "When a leader is not open to new ideas, subordinates feel ignored, their ideas unappreciated, and their contribution undervalued."

• Not being accountable - "Should a leader fail to assume a sense of accountability for their entire group, they will eventually fail as the leader."

• A lack of initiative - "When a leader fails to initiate consistent action - a visible lack of producing quantifiable results will result."

Remember, fatal flaws are visible. If a leader has a derailing behavior that is frustrating - and driving other people crazy - everyone who works with that leader is aware of the problem. Leadership is a social and visible act, therefore whatever a leader does well - and whatever they do poorly - is widely known.

** As a leader, do you know your potential "Fatal Flaws"... and what are you doing about them?

Catch The Moment

Posted on March 03, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

"How you arrive matters." - David Avrin

Great leaders are careful how they connect with their employees, customers, and various stakeholders. They are very intentiional to optimize the impact they have on those they come in contact with throughout their day.

In many ways, a leader's reputation is created one moment at a time - momement by moment. As they walk through the various parts of their company, pass others in the hallway, or grab a cup of water at the fountain - a leader's reputation is created through these quick moments in time.

Effective leaders are intentional to use these quick moments to build credibility, connection, and trust. They use these quick moments to connect, and build trust, with the various employees they happen to come in contact with.

As a leader, you are being closely watched and listened to - even when you walk from your office to the parking lot! Fair or not, many of your employees form their opions about you, your leadership, and the company based on these quick moments in time. Are these moments of truth hurting your credibility - or do they make your people feel cared for, honored and respected?

One statement, one smile, one handshake, one moment at a time.

At the core of each moment of truth is the impression you leave with people, and how that makes them feel. This feeling will impact their choices and actions - which inturn will contribute (or not) to the success of the company. These little efforts on your part do make a huge difference!

* What impression are you making in these daily "moments of truth" with your employees, customers and other stakeholdes?

Feeling Lethargic?

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

Embrace Risk

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

Thoughts regarding embracing risk at various points in life:

“Many great ideas have been lost because the people who had them could not stand being laughed at.” ~Author Unknown

“A ship in harbor is safe - but that is not what ships are for.” ~John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic

“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” ~André Gide

“There are those who are so scrupulously afraid of doing wrong that they seldom venture to do anything.” ~Vauvenargues

“Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.” ~Author Unknown

“This nation was built by men who took risks - pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, business men who were not afraid of failure, scientists who were not afraid of the truth, thinkers who were not afraid of progress, dreamers who were not afraid of action.” ~Brooks Atkinson

Helping Others To Win

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

Leaders like to win! 

But in doing so, many times they forget that in order for their organization to win - they need to become experts at helping those around them win - and suceed at higher and higher levels.

Leaders need to remember that they are responsible for making each player on their team better, so that the organization as a whole can win. So what can a leader do to help those around them win?

* Listen to their dreams: Ask someone on your team, “If you could do anything, what would it be?” - and watch them light up as they describe what lies deep within their heart. Listen intently - and try to see their dream as clearly as they see it.

* Resource their ideas: Find ways to resource ideas by helping your people get the training, books, relationships or experiences needed to take their ideas to the next level.

* Network them with others:  A well networked leader will be a growing leader. When you connect people of similar passions and goals - you open up doors for new opportunities, ideas, wisdom and experience that will help them grow at a faster, and in a more complete, manner.

* Develop their strengths: Focusing on weaknesses will only hold your people back from becoming all they were created to be. Help others not only to discover their strengths - but develop their strenghts to the fullest potential. Help them see, and develop, what they naturally do well.

So What Does It Take?

Posted on February 09, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

To fully experience the life you were created to live – and see your dreams become a reality – will require that you embrace and develop three critical elements in your thinking and life. They cannot be neglected, for like a three-legged char, without any one of these, your life will rapidly fall into a mediocre state.

These three pivotal “legs” are: 1) Taking time to clarify and define your Dreams, 2) Developing inner fortitude, or the virtue of Courage, and 3) Exhibiting a compelling Belief (or faith) regarding your future and potential. Other qualities, like wisdom, knowledge, hope, and self-control will be needed, but without the three pillars of Clarity of Focus, Courage, and Belief, these other qualities will be of little use.

No matter how much wisdom, knowledge, or self-control we can muster, if we do not have clarity what our personal dreams and passions are; if we have not developed the virtue of courage in our life, and if we do not have enough belief to compel us to take steps of faith into the unknown – we will not realize our potential and dreams. All around are examples of smart and virtuous people who choose to remain safely tucked away in their comfort zone, letting their potential and dreams pass them by.

** Best selling author, Robert Cooper, PhD, writes about his grandfather, who had just witnessed the death of two of his patients.

He tells the story as follows:

“One summer afternoon when I was nine years old, I was sitting on a wooden bench under a window at the end of a long hallway at Sacred Heart Hospital in Le Mars, Iowa, where my grandfather was chief surgeon… Finally, I saw him walking toward me. I jumped to my feet, then stopped, stunned to see he was still in his surgical gown. His scrubs were soaked with sweat and covered with blood. Something was wrong He sat down on the bench, obviously exhausted. I’ll never forget the look on his face.
    “Are you all right?” was all I could say.
    “Yes,” he said. “Sometimes I learn a lot about life from people who are dying.”
    “Did someone die today?”
    “Yes.”
    “Who?”
    “A man and woman.”
    “What happened?”
    “They were in a car accident,” he said.
    As usual, he talked to me more as if I was grown-up than a child.
    “They made it to the hospital in the ambulance,” he went on, “but I couldn’t stop the bleeding inside them. It was remarkable, though. They talked the whole time we were prepping them for surgery.” He shook his head at the recent memory. “Side by side on the emergency carts, they talked to each other and to us.”
    “Weren’t they afraid of dying.”
    “Yes,” my grandfather nodded. “They could feel the blood flowing from their wounds. But they were fully awake. Hemorrhaging is like that sometimes. But what they talked most about was not being afraid of dying but being afraid they had missed everything that mattered most about living.”
    “They talked about being so busy all the time, distracted by all the things that weren’t the most important, falling into ruts and routines instead of seizing every chance they had to give their best to each other, to their work, to their family…”
    He went on. “Robert, it’s a strange thing. Sometimes people have to be dying before they realize they haven’t been living.”

Because they are too distracted, too scared, or whatever, many people are living unfulfilled lives that are leading them nowhere. Like a ship securely tied up in the harbor, their lives remain stagnant and not fully used for its ultimate purpose. These individuals have never fully experienced the vastness of the “sea,” and the immense and exciting possibilities of where the voyage could lead them. But, when a person combines both belief and courage to their dreams, they will eventually experience the excitement and possibilities of what their lives, and the world, has to offer.

Challenge: Toward what destination is your life headed?