What Gets Measured Gets Done

What Gets Measured Gets Done

One of my favorite quotes is from Edward Deming, the famous business
consultant who revolutionized management theory. He observed that in the
end, what we measure and hold ourselves accountable for, gets done.

Nobody likes being embarrassed by publicly failing to complete a task, and
for most of us, the personal integrity issue is even more potent. Once
we've committed ourselves to complete a task or reach an objective, we HATE
falling short. I think that actually explains a lot of failure, both in
business and in our personal lives.

We hate failing so much we fear to set objective, measurable expectations.
We have dreams or wishes or fantasies (call them what you will) but we
hesitate to set hard, measurable performance goals.

I see this in talking with people who are interested in coaching. When we
interview each other they tell me they "want" to achieve more than they
have in the past. When I ask them, "What exactly do you want to achieve?",
they often hesitate and give a nice-sounding but vague statement about
being "successful." Success is not a thing to be achieved! Success is the
result, almost a side-benefit of achieving specific, measurable results.
Success is the popular acclaim or nice recognition we enjoy after we
complete far more specific (and less spectacular) tasks.

If you want "success," do the things required to make more sales than ever
before. If you want "success," win some races or publish a best-seller. If
you want "success," do the things that get the results you desire. I
guarantee, "success" will follow, but only AFTER you've achieved those more
mundane, hard, measurable results.

Written by Philip E. Humbert, PhD

The Dreams of Summer

The Dreams of Summer

Summer is the time for baseball, beaches, sun and fun. It's a time to slow
down, to rest, relax and vacation, right? Isn't that what everyone does?

Well, not exactly. In my opinion, summer (and particularly this long
holiday weekend) is the time to design your strategy and develop your plans
for 2009. (Yes, already! The days march on, whether you are ready or not.)

Most of us do our year-end and new-year planning in December, to coincide
with the calendar. That seems logical, but in fact it's an "amateur
mistake." The end of the year is full of holidays. It's full of year-end
tax planning, distractions, busy-ness and stress, and under those
conditions, planning becomes a haphazard, hurried thing.

In contrast, the summer is a time for dreams. It's a time for lazy
afternoons, for watching the kids play at the beach and taking long country
drives. It's the perfect time to design and plan your future.

In my opinion, now is the time to create the year you want in 2009.
Everyone else is lazing away, but not you! Use these long summer days to
plan your next conquest, to detail your next project. Focus on the future
you really want and let the "lazy, hazy days of summer" motivate you to
dream bigger, go further and look higher than ever before.

Just be sure you don't let your summer day dreams end there. As you dream,
take notes! Get a calendar and set some targets. Use your checkbook, profit
and loss statements, and sales data to develop a budget. Talk with
colleagues and share your dreams. Develop action strategies and
implementation plans.

This year, use summer to create the life you truly want. Life will rush at
you in the months and years ahead, whether you are ready or not. Get ready.
Have a plan. Take action. Create the life you truly want and what better
time to prepare than after Independence Day? Use your summer!

Written by Philip E. Humbert, PhD

The Lateness of the Hour

The Lateness of the Hour

Have you noticed that the more tools we have to "help" us, the more it
seems we "must" do? I find it curious and rather troubling that so many
talented people say they are "stressed" or "swamped" or "over-whelmed" and
just can't get their most important projects or priorities done.

How can this be?

Pretty much everyone I know is busy all the time. Our phones ring, we race
from one meeting to the next appointment, then home at the end of the day.
We work so hard! And yet those things we truly desire get pushed aside for
"later." How can we be so busy and yet see so little progress toward our
dreams?

And then last week, Tim Russert died. He died at his desk, recording
voice-overs for last week's broadcast of Meet the Press. Mr. Russert and I
were about the same age. I had the privilege of meeting him briefly while
we waited for a flight a few years ago and he struck me exactly the way he
seemed on television--friendly, relaxed and focused. He wrote a wonderful
book about his father, and based on his memorial service this week, he was
loved and respected by the most famous and powerful people in our country.
He's gone too soon.

My sense is that too many of us have dreams we are "putting off for
someday" or working on far too slowly. We get caught up in the "thick of
thin things" and our priorities are sacrificed on the altar of daily
"have-to's." One of life's great tragedies is to die with your "music still
inside you." Don't let that happen to you!

A friend of mine is an accountant and partner in a local CPA firm. He makes
a good living, has maybe a dozen employees, and I gather he likes his work.
But every time we talk, he tells me about the travel he and his wife want
to do. He's never been outside the U.S. and he dreams of visiting Europe,
the Great Wall of China, and Australia. He talks about this constantly, but
always in the future tense. He has "no time" and "can't afford it this
year." What a shame!

Yet a member of his staff, a dynamo name Rhonda, takes a month off after
tax season each year. She's helped build schools in Honduras and taken
medical supplies to Cuba six times. She's learned Spanish, and her teenage
children have dug wells, taught English and set up internet cafes in
Central America because she has the time. My buddy has "no time" and "no
money" but his employee does! I find that ironic and terribly
thought-provoking.

What are your dreams and priorities? What would you do if you "had the
time" and knew you couldn't fail? What wonderful projects are you working
on slowly or hoping to build "some day?" Start now! Allocate time, energy,
a few dollars or whatever it takes, and make it happen!

Yes, mowing the lawn or cleaning house or volunteering may be important,
too, but not if they get in the way of your most important values! Whether
your dream is running for office, writing a novel or spending more time
with loved ones, make it happen. Tim Russert was only 58 and he
accomplished a lot. I don't know if he accomplished his most important
dreams or not, but his time is up. The hour is late, perhaps later than we
know.

Do not let your time and life "slip by."

Written by Philip E. Humbert, PhD

Learned Anything New?

Learned Anything New?

We constantly hear that what you know and who you know are the twin paths
to success. I believe that, and yet I'm constantly amazed at how little
responsibility people take for up-grading their skills.

This week, I learned that the garage where I take my car requires their
employees to spend more hours (and more dollars) per year on continuing
education than most states require for doctors, lawyers, or other
professionals. Think about that the next time you take your car in for
repairs--or the next time you talk with your physician!

I try to "practice what I preach" and in July I'll flying spend 3 days with
friends and colleagues to learn more about doing business online. We'll
look at best practices for marketing, for attracting traffic to our
websites, and for cross-promoting each other. We'll have plenty of time for
networking and fun, but the key is that twice a year, we are committed to
learning to build our businesses and do our jobs better.

Periodically I hear frightening accounts of how few books the average
person reads, or how few classes they take after they leave school. I
remember once hearing a friend say that if her employer wanted her to get
more education, "they'll have to pay me for it." What a tragic attitude!

The keys to success are being able to do more, quicker and better than your
competition, and most of the time that means KNOWING more than the next
person. It means knowing more about language and culture, knowing more
about your industry and having better contacts. It means knowing HOW to
learn, and using it to your advantage.

As Brian Tracy has said for years, read the books. Attend the seminars.
Take the classes and expand your world. Jim Rohn puts it this way: "Work
harder on yourself than you do on your job."

To "work less and earn more" you've got to know more than your competitors.
This week, sign up for at least one seminar. Check a book out of the
library. Sow the seeds for your future.

Written by Philip E. Humbert, PhD

THE SMART KNOW WHAT TO SAY, THE WISE KNOW WHETHER TO SAY IT.

Words are powerful. The words we use can heal or hurt. They can
arouse enthusiasm, evoke joy, and unleash passion. But they can
also provoke anger, inflict sorrow, and crush with despair. When
speaking to others, we can use our words as daggers to kill their
spirits or we can use them as music to lift their spirits. The
choice is ours, but . . .

The problem is most of us are so wrapped up in building our
career, raising a family, and paying our bills that little or no
thought is given to the power of words. Sadly, unawareness of
this great power results in grave consequences. Marriages fall
apart, friendships dissolve, and happiness eludes some of us.

Can you see how important it is to be mindful of our words? The
Roman emperor Claudius (10 BCE ~ 54 CE) did. For he said, "Say
not always what you know, but always know what you say." Yes, we
need not say everything we know, believe, or feel because our
words can hurt others. Rather than blurting out the first idea
that comes to mind, we should pause and weigh our words carefully
before speaking.

Buddha also understood the power of words. In fact, he considered
it so important that he made it the third step of his "Eightfold
Path." (The "Eightfold Path" is his formula for ending
suffering.) He cajoled his followers to practice RIGHT SPEECH
(step three of the "Eightfold Path"). The "Right" of "Right
Speech" means "that which leads to freedom from suffering." So,
"Right Speech" is speech that does not harm or hurt others; it is
both gentle and kind.

Buddha taught that the practice of "Right Speech" consisted of
avoiding four types of speech. The first type to avoid is HARSH
(unkind, mean, nasty, cruel, irritating). Engaging in unkind
speech causes others to suffer. And when we cause others to
suffer, there are negative consequences that will lead to our own
suffering. For example, if I speak unkindly to everyone I meet,
not only will they suffer, but my actions will cause me to become
alienated, which will lead to my suffering. As a participant in
the web of life, we have a duty to speak kindly. Kindly does not
mean ingratiatingly, hoping to get rewards of any kind. Rather,
kindly means with compassion, supporting others in their desire
to grow.

The second type of speech to avoid is DIVISIVE (partisan,
polarizing). Political parties (such as the Republicans and
Democrats) fight for power in complete disregard for the rights
of those they are sworn to protect. They maintain power by
pitting one group against another. Religious extremists, in
particular, are masters of this type of speech. In their lust for
control, they separate and divide humankind. They oppress,
torture, and kill with impunity those who disagree with them. It
is this kind of speech that is responsible for the greatest
amount of suffering.

The third sort of speech to avoid is FALSE (untruthful,
deceitful, deceptive). Some modern businesses shamelessly reap
huge profits by manufacturing lies. They rip off consumers
without compunction. Ordinary people, at times, destroy
reputations with gossip, fibs, and innuendos. Importantly, as we
stop lying to others, we grow more truthful to ourselves. It's
good to remember that it is impossible to help the world without
helping ourselves. Likewise, it is impossible to harm others
without harming ourselves.

The fourth class of speech to avoid is TRIVIAL (worthless,
useless, idle). Idle chatter may seem harmless enough, but while
engaging in it, opportunities to do good with Right Speech are
squandered. Rather than idle banter, we could engage in kind and
gentle speech, encouraging and uplifting our friends. We could
also improve the world by using words that unite and foster
cooperation. Our family life and work environment will also
improve if we are honest, truthful, candid, and straightforward
in all our dealings. Finally, our companions will appreciate
conversations that are useful, helpful, valuable, practical,
beneficial, and worthwhile.

Part of the practice of Right Speech is knowing when NOT to
speak. Buddha expressed it this way:

If it is not truthful and not helpful, don't say it.
If it is truthful and not helpful, don't say it.
If it is not truthful and helpful, don't say it.
If it is truthful and helpful. . . WAIT for the right time.

Bernard Meltzer, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Law
(University of Chicago), is right at home with these Buddhist
concepts, for he said, "Before you speak ask yourself if what you
are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If
the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left
unsaid."

Also note that we can practice right or wrong speech without
uttering one word. After all, only roughly 7% of communication is
expressed by words. Approximately 34% is expressed by the tone of
our voice, and close to 55% by our body language.

Take a look at this example. Dad is exhausted after a tough day
at the office. He comes home, plops into his favorite easy chair
and starts to read the paper. Suddenly, five-year-old Tommy comes
in, pulls on his Dad's shirt sleeve and says, "Daddy, look at the
picture of a dragonfly I painted at school today." Without
removing his eyes from the newspaper, Dad reaches out with his
arm, gropes around, pats his son on the head and says, "Very nice
job, Tommy. I'm proud of you."

Dad's tone of voice was good and his choice of words was
excellent, but the message Tommy received gets a failing grade.
You see, Tommy could see by Dad's body language that at this
time, the newspaper was MORE IMPORTANT than him. The unspoken
part of the message was the most significant, and regrettably, it
was devastating to Tommy. So, despite Dad's good tone of voice
and excellent choice of words, he did NOT practice Right Speech.

Here's something else Dad could have done. When interrupted by
Tommy, Dad could have put the paper down, stood up, bent down,
scooped up Tommy, lifted him up in the air, hugged and kissed
him, and put him down again without saying a word. No words, yet,
Dad would be practicing Right Speech, for Tommy would get the
message loud and clear: Daddy loves you!

Besides Buddhists, Taoists also refer to and follow the practice
of Right Speech. They believe we must be aware of our words and
use them to promote harmony, while cultivating the wisdom to know
when to speak and when to remain silent.

We don't have to be Buddhists or Taoists to benefit from their
ancient wisdom. If we decide to reflect on what we say, before,
during, and after speaking, we can make our words become
treasured gifts to others.

By Chuck Gallozzi