Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Accountability Sucks...

You'll hear this term thrown about in seminars and workshops - usually linked with Responsibility and Ownership...

But what does it actually mean...?

If I am gong to be held accountable for my actions, results and behavior; I am going to be really careful what I do...

For example - and you can try this...

When you are driving next - just check on these few points...
  1. Do you ever exceed the speed limit - especially when entering a built up area or on transitioning between zones...?
  2. Do you let the wheel spin through your hands rather than slide it through from hand to hand...?
  3. Have you ever eaten a sandwich, had a drink from a can or bottle, or lit a cigarette whilst driving...?
  4. Have you ever followed a car closer than recommended in the Highway Code...?
  5. Ever exited a roundabout without indicating...?
And so on - if we are honest, we all make small transgressions when we drive; and if you are one of the perfect ones, just look around I'm sure "others" are doing them all the time...
If we had a Police Officer in the car with us - sometimes we would probably lose our licence in a single journey with accumulated points...

OK - so it's not a picture of a Police Officer but they used to have Panda Cars...!

Now, imagine having said Police Officer with you; how would your behaviour, mood and style change; how much better would your lane discipline, speed control and awareness be...?
You would likely drive just below the speed limit - "It's a limit not a target..." - be attentive, courteous and aware - you'd drive safer and more economically, and you'd keep your licence...

So where is the Problem...?

Simply put we are not perfect and cannot be held accountable to perfection - we are human and flawed accordingly...

The same principle applies to activities outside of a vehicle...
In order to be successful in business and life, of course we need to play by the rules; legal , moral and ethical..

AND...

We need to try new things, take some risks, have some fun and innovate in order to create something amazing...

We can't do that if we are "accountable" for every action we take - we'd never do anything new if that was the case...

Fear of making mistakes, getting it wrong or looking silly is are all ways that creativity, risk taking and success are achieved.
Accountability is all well and good - but so is getting it wrong, so is making a hash of something new and picking yourself up and having another go...

The business world and personal development world has gone crazy for Accountability; we have entered the "blame" culture, the "no win no fee" mindset where we want everyone to be accountable for everything - except ourselves of course...

How about if we encouraged some risk taking, allowed people to get it wrong and still not get fired, fined or shouted at...?

How much more would your team produce if they had some freedom to explore the possibilities - how about if they were accountable for outcomes and not just processes, for added value not check-sheets, and relationships not scripts...?
If we want to get the best  from our "Human Resources" - we should probably stop referring to them as "resources" and start calling them individuals and people...

We should also allow them to behave as humans do - imperfect and unpredictable, emotional rather than logical and flawed not perfect.
It's why pencils have rubbers, Word has spell-check, and cars have airbags - because we are not machines...
So build your team around a set of principles and values that of course include rules, processes and procedures - but also give them degrees of freedom to experiment, fall over and get things wrong...

Nothing great was ever created that was perfect from the start - except of course the very humans that 100% accountability attempts to harness...

About David Holland 
MInstPkg Dip, HNC, DMS, MBA (Dist), Underwater Welding Dip Hons, CPU Dr14...

I work with Business Owners, Executives and their Teams to:
✔ Make more Money in their Business...
✔ Build Effective and Productive Teams...
✔ Work Less Hours and enjoy the Journey...
✔ Grow Sales, Profit and Cash...
✔ Achieve more than they think is possible...
To find out more about how I can help you, send me a connection request on LinkedIn, or send me a message if we are already connected
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Saturday, 11 April 2015

Snatching Success from the Jaws of Defeat...

Sometimes it feels like our world is collapsing, nothing is working and we begin to lose hope...
"sometimes the message to change has to be so powerful that we have no choice but to take notice...

 If something is working - don't fix it...

The danger here is that complacency and "comfort" sets in, and that's when we become vulnerable.
In the town of Enterprise, Alabama, USA there is a monument to an insect - the Boll Weevil...
Picture Credit - www.animal-kid.com
The Boll Weevil appeared in Alabama around 1915, and by 1918 local farmers were losing whole crops of cotton the the voracious creature..
Businesses were being wiped out. During this time, in 1916 to be precise, Mr H.M Sessions realised that something needed to be done.
So instead of giving in to what was destined to be the end of prosperity in the area, he decided to plant a peanut crop instead.
The project worked, in fact it worked so well that increased income and prosperity was brought to the town of Enterprise; more than was experienced through the growing of cotton..
In 1919, in recognition of the cause of this prosperity, Bon Fleming commissioned a monument; not to H.M Sessions - but to the small Beetle that had created the chaos in the first place and been the catalyst for change and improved prosperity...
Recognising and rewarding those that challenge us and "force" us to be the best versions of ourselves we can be is one of the best ways of accepting, accommodating and adjusting to life's twists and turns. 
When we are grateful not only for our success, but the challenging opportunities that come our way from time to time; only then are we truly abundant...

Who do you need to build a monument to...?

The Chinese word for Crisis is made up of two parts - Danger and Opportunity. When a crisis arrives - there is always an opportunity that can be derived out of the danger that may be more apparent...
Instead of dreading a crisis, or panicking in the face of adversity, look for the opportunity for change, growth and development that it also brings. Don't resent or hate those that impose change upon you, or bring challenges to your life and business.
Instead treat them as teachers and bringers of gifts; thank them and reward them, build a monument to them and recognise that sometimes, although the lesson is painful; it is equally beneficial too...

I have a few people that I could build monuments to; I didn't feel gratitude and warmth toward them at the time, but in reality some of the best lessons are bitter to the taste...

Here's one of mine...

As a young Operations Manager, I refused to sign a set of accounts because I believed them to be incorrect - so the Chairman fired me for insubordination.
I thought that my life and career was over - but what happened was that I changed direction, found a new job with another company in a different sector and that single change was pivotal in bringing me to my current place in life - one which I am truly happy and content with...

So my Statue will be of that Chairman - he is my Boll Weevil...

 

About David Holland MBA - Underwater Welding Dip...

I work with Business Owners, Executives and their Teams to:
✔ Make more Money in their Business...
✔ Build Effective and Productive Teams...
✔ Work Less Hours and enjoy the Journey...
✔ Grow Sales, Profit and Cash...
✔ Achieve more than they think is possible...
To find out more about how I can help you, send me a connection request on LinkedIn, or send me a message if we are already connected

Next Business Growth Workshops;

UK - Friday 17th April ... ( 3 places left...)

Luxembourg - Friday 8th May... ( 5 places left...)
Click on the LINK to find out more and reserve your places...
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With the Benefit of Hindsight...

How did we get here...?

The photo above was taken on Saturday 4th October 1986, outside the Church in Merevale Hall, Warwickshire...

As you can see - we had just got married. We chose fancy dress as the "theme" with me dressed as a Penguin and Lynn going as a Shuttlecock...

I remember travelling in the Rolls Royce a few minutes later on the way to the reception - it was the only time during the day that we would be alone - and we wondered where we'd be in 25 years time...
Two things have happened...
  1. We have had and continue to have an amazing journey...
  2. It's a lot better and brighter than we expected...
Looking back over the last 28 years - it is easy to understand the journey; the key opportunities, decisions and forks in the road are obvious looking back...
When we started the journey we didn't have the same clarity - it all seemed so uncertain, scary and distant...
And here is the challenge with planning and setting goals - when we start out we don't know what the real possibilities are or have any real ideas about the opportunities that will become available to us...
"We don't know what we don't know...

Lesson 1 - there a multitude of possible outcomes...

The future cannot be predicted with any certainty; the further out we look the less accurate our predictions will be.
As we experience our journey there will be opportunities, decisions and situations that are either imposed upon us or that we seek out and create; how we respond to them affects our trajectory, maybe only slightly at the time, but the compound effect of a minor shift in direction at the beginning can lead to a huge difference at the end..
"Otherwise known as "The Butterfly Effect"...

Lesson 2 - we make mistakes; or do we...?

With the benefit of hindsight we can see where we went wrong - and of course where we got it right too...

We can plot our course in hindsight, the key decisions, relationships and turning points; they all conspire to lead us to our current position. 

If we are happy with our current position and course then nothing was a mistake; there may have been a few lessons but whether good, seemingly bad or indifferent, every dot has joined to bring us to where we are now...

As we look back we can see the better alternatives - the GREEN DOTS - on the journey, that we "should" have taken, but these are not points of regret, just points of learning; sometimes it takes longer to get the lesson...
If we are not where we want to be, then remember that the journey is not over yet, and we all have the opportunity to make different, better or more informed choices as we go forward...

Lesson 3 - we can change at any time...

The real benefit of hindsight is the realisation that small changes result in big effects and that what we do today that may on the face of it seem insignificant, will have dramatic, amplified effects in our future...
There are an infinite number of paths we can take and an equally infinite number of outcomes, the responsibility for the outcome has to rest with us; as do the dots that we choose to join up on the journey...

A chance meeting, conversation or kind word to a stranger can be all it takes to change the path; this is why our behaviour, integrity and personality are so important, they define how we respond on a micro level that has a dramatic effect on the macro level over time...

Changing a behaviour, making a different decision, building or letting go of a relationship; all may not make sense in the here and now, but they will make sense in the future.
"You can have any outcome you want; just choose different dots to give you a different outcome..

Lesson 4 - we don't know what we are doing...

I see people with detailed plans, goals and visions; dream boards, vision boards and purpose statements; way too much detail in my opinion...
"We have to learn trust our instincts, intuition and gut...
Setting our future Intention is key - we need to know what the end destination looks like, however, what we can't predict is the path we will take to get there...
Years ago while on holiday in France we decided that we would move and live there - at the time we had two young children, big mortgage jobs and career all happening.
We had no idea "how" to get to France and build a life - the path we took included buying a business, living in Las Vegas, working in Luxembourg and writing 48 books - the result was we now live in the Moselle Valley in France just as we predicted...
We have to trust ourselves to make the right, if difficult choices. The dots we need to choose may not seem sensible or logical; they may actually take us further away from our destination in the short term; but in order to arrive we need to take the risk of trust...
We all have our own GPS system - call it instinct, intuition or the Law of Attraction, but we have to trust the guidance it gives us...
To use a GPS all we need to know are three things;
  1. Where are we now...
  2. Where do we want to go..
  3. When do we want to arrive...
Programme that into your car and you don't need to question the route, turns or detours it takes you on - you don't need a constant image of your destination on front of you, it's programmed in...
Once you choose your destination your subconscious mind will guide you and give you "instructions" - they will appear as opportunities, people and situations, they will appear as instinct, intuition and fear; but once you trust the instructions and are prepared to go on the journey - you'll arrive at your destination...
Your Intention should be long term, but your Attention should be short term, and in the here and now...

Long Term Intention + Short Term Attention = Results

"If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting and set out on a truth-seeking journey, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face some very difficult realities about yourself... then truth will not be withheld from you...
Elizabeth Gilbert

About David Holland MBA - Underwater Welding Dip...

I work with Business Owners, Executives and their Teams to:
✔ Make more Money in their Business...
✔ Build Effective and Productive Teams...
✔ Work Less Hours and enjoy the Journey...
✔ Grow Sales, Profit and Cash...
✔ Achieve more than they think is possible...
To find out more about how I can help you, send me a connection request on LinkedIn, or send me a message if we are already connected

Next Business Growth Workshops;

UK - Friday 17th April ... ( 3 places left...)

Luxembourg - Friday 8th May... ( 5 places left...)
Click on the LINK to find out more and reserve your places...
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Sunday, 5 April 2015

Passion, Talent & Skill - the Success Formula...

In business and in life we are told to follow our dreams, have a vision and never quit...

Is this a recipe for success or is it just an idea thought up on the spot by a guru on stage in front of a willing audience...?
Having a "dream" and following it cannot be the way to achieve success; if it was no one would read personal development books, walk over hot embers in car parks or snap arrows on their throats as a show of belief..
If it were true - everyone would just do it, be successful and have a nice life without all the drama; so something else is going on...
I have read over 875 books, and written and published 48 of my own; and one of the things that I have come to understand about just about all business and personal development books - and I have to confess, mine included...
Is that there is a common formula that they all promote, and it goes something like this..

Business Development.

  1. Figure out WHY you want to be in business, create a product or service that you can sell that will support it, then get good at Marketing, Sales and Service until you make enough to achieve it...

Personal Development.

  1. Have a dream, overcome all the negative voices in your head, think positive, associate with like minded people and the universe will provide you with your outcomes...
Sounds easy doesn't it - but the more books I read, the more I realise that there is nothing very new out there. There are different styles, flavours and shades; but the underlying principles are the same.

And they are NOT working...

At a recent seminar at the NH Hotel in Luxembourg, I had been invited to deliver a Key Note presentation on Motivation and Goal Setting...

The audience included around 45 people, including Entrepreneurs, Senior Executives and Business Owners...
At the end of my presentation I invited questions - usually no one says a word, and everyone dutifully smiles and applauds when instructed; but today was different...
A trusted and respected Entrepreneur asked me a question...
Lots of people have a dream, but still go bankrupt; why...?
He is right, if Personal Development worked, there would be no need for Personal Development...
Just like there are very few books, CD sets or workshops on how to breathe, keep your heart pumping while you're asleep or that when it'd cold outside - you should really put a coat on..

There is a difference between Passion and Ability...

As a youngster I had a passion for music - I bought a drum kit and played in a band all over the UK, did recording work and even a few bookings as a session drummer...
But sadly I came to realise that although my passion was strong, unfortunately my talent didn't match it....

My drum heroes include Gene Krupa, Rick Buckler, Neil Peart, Joey Jordison and Travis Barker; it was my "dream" to be an international rock star...
So what went wrong...?
Nothing went wrong, I just had to realise early on that the Success Formula was against me...

The Success Formula.

(Passion x Talent) + Skill = Success %

Let's use my Drumming Career as a case study...

On scales of 1 to 10, here is how I scored.

Passion - 9

Talent - 4

Skill - 8

Result - ( 9 x 4 ) + 8 = 44

On this basis I had a 44% chance of success...
The problem was not my Passion or my Skill - I had spent hours being taught how to play all 40 rudiments; I knew what I was doing..
The missing ingredient was Talent - I studied other drummers at the top of their game, I could play what they played, I can even do the intro to Toto's Roseanna..
But they had real Talent - and I didn't...
No amount of Skills will compensate for low Talent; anyone can learn how to play the drums, but without Talent and Passion it just doesn't work...
What this means, however, is that Talent and Passion always beat Skill; Skill can be learned and developed over time and experience, but Passion and Talent are inside us and are much more powerful...

So what...

We shouldn't just follow our Passions, we need to find something we are both Talented and Passionate about...
I have a Talent for Engineering; I am a qualified Production Engineer with certificates for Design, Metrology and even Underwater Welding...

I spent 5 years as an Apprentice within Royal Ordnance gaining skills and being trained in all aspects of Mechanical Engineering...

Here's how my Success Formula looked for Engineering...

Passion - 2

Talent - 8

Skill - 9

Result - ( 2 x 8 ) + 9 = 25%

I would make a worse Engineer than I would a Drummer...
I have no Passion for it - I can do it, and I am actually quite good; but without Passion, it means virtually nothing...
So the message should not be follow your Passion, it should be modified to;

Follow the Passion for which you have a Talentfor; then learn the Skills you'll need on the journey...

I see so many people who are trapped unhappily in either jobs or businesses that they don't enjoy or believe in; the Success Formula is out of balance...
Being qualified as a Lawyer, Accountant or MBA may tick the Skill part of the equation, but real success is not dependent upon Skill; its the Passion and Talent that determines success...
So remember when you are chanting your affirmations, tapping into your vortex or challenging your limiting beliefs - if you don't have a Talent for what you think you are Passionate about, it's a tough world...

About David Holland MBA - Underwater Welding Dip...

I work with Business Owners, Executives and their Teams to:
✔ Make more Money in their Business...
✔ Build Effective and Productive Teams...
✔ Work Less Hours and enjoy the Journey...
✔ Grow Sales, Profit and Cash...
✔ Achieve more than they think is possible...
To find out more about how I can help you, send me a connection request on LinkedIn, or send me a message if we are already connected

Next Business Growth Workshops;

UK - Friday 17th April ... ( 3 places left...)

Luxembourg - Friday 8th May... ( 5 places left...)
Click on the LINK to find out more and reserve your places...

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