Weedin 360

Confidence.

This is one of my favorite times of year. March Madness is filled with drama, excitement, and upsets. This year is no different. On Friday, #15 seeds Lehigh and Norfolk State broke everyone’s brackets by defeating #2 teams, Duke and Missouri respectively. Prior to Friday, this had only happened 4 times in history (in over 100 games played between those seeds). The last time was 10 years ago, and it had never happened on the same day. In reality, though, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is annually filled with David whooping up on Goliath stories. This phenomenon is not limited to college basketball. It does happen in business all the time for those who believe they can win.

Small retail stores battle “big boxes;” solo consultants battle large consulting firms; and Main Street USA battles Corporate America all the time. Small can always be as competitive, and often better, than big. Small can be more nimble, more innovative, and quicker to make decisions. The key attribute that all “smalls” must have is confidence. Many times, the “Smalls”" have an inferiority complex that they can’t compete against the Goliaths in their world. If they believe that, they are right. However, if they have the genuine confidence that they offer tremendous value, can do it better, and get the right slingshot, then they can defeat their larger opponent.

Lehigh and Norfolk State believed when nobody else outside their programs did. Do you believe in yourself?

This week’s quote – “Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person.” Dr. David Burns

Team.

Don Draper on Mad Men portrayed by Jon Hamm

I’ve been watching AMC’s hit television show, Mad Men on Netflix. I just finished Year 3 (two years ago so consider this your spoiler alert) where Don Draper leads a group of people from the firm, including two partners, to form their own agency. They take drastic and covert action when they find out that their old agency was being sold and they didn’t want to play along. At the end of the episode (and season), you see Draper standing in the hotel room being used as the new office. He is gazing at the 7-8 people hand picked to go to war with the new agency. These were “his people.” The ones he wanted to move forward. He had a choice to pick the best and he chose them.

Four years ago, as I was preparing to take the presidency of my 130 member Rotary Club, one of the speakers asked a compelling question – “If you’re club had to whittle itself down to only 25 members, would you be one of them?’ Very thought-provoking.

If you had to choose 5 people to move forward with a new organization, who would you choose? Why? Would you be one of them? Not everyone in your organization work and perform at the same level of excellence. Are you spending too much time trying to “fix” them at the expense of enhancing your best performers? Unfortunately, many executives and business owners spend too much time with the squeaky wheel. The same thing happens in schools. In the end, it only hurts the organizations. The best path is to work on your strengths, not your weaknesses.

Bottom line. Who would you go to war with if you only had 4 people to choose. What makes them your choice? Take those answers and instill those values in your strongest performers and watch your organization prosper.

This week’s quote - “Don’t let negative and toxic people rent space in your head. Raise the rent and kick ‘em out!” Robert Tew

35,000 feet.

Flying back to Seattle on Saturday held a unique joy for me. Not only was I coming home from several days in Providence, RI, but I was flying over the Rocky Mountains on a glorious day. It caused me to put down my book, turn on my iPod, and take in the Rockies to the tunes of Glen Campbell, Lynard Skynard, and Sinatra. As what often seems to happen in the inner solitude at 35,000 or so feet, you get thoughtful. In between the gazing out at the snow-capped peaks, I actually came up with some great ideas for my business (including this post) and my life. Sometimes you need to get to “35,000 feet” to be creative and strategic.

How many of us hang around 6 feet most of our days?

Think about it. The 6 foot and under level means we are dealing with things in the moment, emergencies and “fires” that arise, in crisis mode, or maybe even in the dreaded “same old, same old” mode. Stuck answering phone calls and responding to emails. Going home and feeling like nothing was accomplished. Sound familiar?

When I work with my coaching clients, I encourage them to find time to get to 35,000 feet to work on their business, rather than at their business. This is when you can become singularly focused on the future, on planning, on strategy, and most importantly, on being creative and having fun. Your “work” should be fin or else you might need to find another line of “work.” By the way, this goes for your personal life as well. Never forget you only have one life, not multiple lives.

Find sometime this week to get to 35,000 feet. You don’t need to board a plane to do it. Just find space and time and quiet and you will get there. And by the way, a little Sweet Home Alabama never hurts…

This week’s quote – “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live which he had imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau

Making an Impression.
On Saturday, my fellow school board members and I interviewed six semi-finalists for our Superintendent position. This is basically the CEO of our $60M organization. As you can imagine, all six candidates spent the hour doing their best to effectively answer our questions with personality, knowledge, and style. This was their first opportunity to make a personal impression on us. The three finalists get another shot to make an impression next week.

In business, we get plenty of opportunities to make impressions. Yes, we only get one “first” impression, but that rarely is the only one you get to make. Are you paying attention to your “impressions?”

You get to make impressions on personal meetings, lunch and dinner dates, networking events, and social media platforms. You need to be aware of your manners, your grammar, your language, your appearance, and your body language. You never know who is watching and evaluating you. My applicants on Saturday knew for that one hour period who was watching. Now, as the process continues for three of them, the view will be broadened. You need to always be aware. If you make sure you’re consistent, honest, and genuine all the time, it makes it that much easier. Because in the end, business and personal relationships are built on trust. Make all your “impressions” trustworthy!

This week’s quote – “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar

Barking Up a Tree.

My dogs have two very different world views on their fellow canines. Bella (on the left) could care less about dogs that happen to appear on the television. But get her out in the real world, and she becomes crazy. She knows where every dog on our walk lives; thinks there’s a dog in every car that drives by (based on seeing one once); and makes it her quest to bark maniacally at them. Captain Jack on the other hand doesn’t seem to be overly concerned with other dogs on his walk. He can pretty much take them or leave them. But, if he spies them on TV, he goes crazy. He attacks the television, searches behind it for those dastardly dogs, and now even recognizes the tunes in commercials where they pop up. Bella doesn’t care. In the end, neither cares about the others difference of opinion.

We all have different world views. Our own personal experiences and biases lead us to form political, religious, and economic notions. That doesn’t mean the other person with a different opinion is damaged.

During this political season leading up to a presidential election in November, social media has fueled the firestorm of conjecture and opinion. Everywhere I read, people are voicing their opinions louder and with more gusto than Captain Jack assailing my TV. Unfortunately, with it often comes boorish behavior. It’s not enough to have one’s opinion, but castigating those who think differently has become not only commonplace, but encouraged.

Don’t do this in business or you won’t last long. In fact, if you choose to do this in your social media platforms beware. You never know who is reading. Having an opinion is terrific and applauded. Tacking on foul language, degradation, and inappropriate humor may lose you business and friends. Always remember that the cyberspace curtain we hide behind is pretty transparent. Next time you bark, know that the entire neighborhood is listening…

This week’s quote – “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.” Muhammad Ali

The Journey.

Whitney Houston

I went into my iTunes Store on Sunday to purchase a couple of songs by Whitney Houston. I’ve always loved her voice, and with her tragic death on Saturday, I figured it was about time to add her to my library.

Back when I was a kid, I remember buying records in music stores. This was when vinyl was still in style and cassettes were cutting edge. I loved taking my time strolling along the aisles and flipping through LPs and reading the jackets. (I’m certain my daughters think of something completely different when they read jacket). The purchasing of my music was more expensive, took more time, and quite frankly was more enjoyable. Today, it took me a total of about 3 minutes to locate two Whitney Houston songs, pay less than $2 for them, and download them into my phone. (just as foreign language to someone living in 1975, right?)

The journey is almost always more fun than finally hitting that destination. My journey in the music store about 40 years ago was an event, normally done with friends, that I still hold as a fond memory. I can’t remember all the records I bought, but I do remember the journey.

That’s a lot like your life. Don’t blast through each day like you’re downloading music into your iPhone. Enjoy the journey. It’s what you’ll remember anyway…

This week’s quote – “Things that hurt, instruct.” Benjamin Franklin

Decision Making.

Saturday at about 3 pm Pacific. I’m driving home with my wife and our daughter Mindy is on the speakerphone with us. The radio is tuned to ESPN and we are listening live to the NFL Hall of Fame announcement of the 2012 class. We are collectively holding our breath for former Seattle Seahawks legend, Cortez Kennedy. The announcement is made…Tez is in! We all let out a big yell of joy. Fifteen minutes later, through a variety of texts and calls, I’m logged on to the Hall of Fame web site and ready to click on “Buy Tickets” for August 4 enshrinement. Click.

This wasn’t a small or grand decision. It was just a decision to gather our family together and make the trek to Canton to cheer on our hero. Four people involved; a fair chunk of change for the entire weekend; and commitments to be made. The decision took 15 minutes, not 15 hours or days.

Successful people are decisive. Yes, there are bigger and more important decisions in business and life. But too often, I see executives and business owners fall into analysis paralysis. It impacts organizations and families; it wastes time; and quite frankly it’s dysfunctional. Once you’re 80% there, jump. The remaining 20% is just wasting time, energy, and money.

Make the call and commit to it. More often that not, it was the right one!

This week’s quote – “Be miserable, or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” Wayne Dyer

Change Management.

On Saturday, I hurt my right hand when I was moving some things out of my parent’s home. A pick axe fell on the back of my hand and I think just bruised it. The pain only lasted a short time and I forgot about it. Until Sunday morning. At church, I shook the hand of a friend who is easily 6’7 and has one of the strongest grips I’ve ever felt. Especially on Sunday! Even though I think I hid it well, I thought I was going to start crying. The pain was worse than the original. Then it subsided again. I went that afternoon to a legislative meeting in my role as school board director. A plethora of hands to shake. Of course, I again forgot and OUCH on the first shake. I had to make a quick adjustment to the left-hand shake for the rest of the meeting! I escaped unscathed from any further pain…

Life and business often sneak up and causes you pain, and forces you to make sudden changes. Things go along swimmingly and then you run into an episode that forces you to adjust quickly to avoid further “pain.” Unfortunately, many of us wait too long before shifting because we push back on “change.” What happens is you keep shaking hands and getting “squeezed.” Life and business is all about being nimble; shrewd, creative, and able to make decisions quickly. Sometimes (like with a hurt hand), it’s a simple shift. More often, it’s harder to see and the decisions are tougher. Those that are slow to change miss the boat; those that are decisive and savvy, find other opportunities.

Which one are you?

This week’s quote – “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes; one of his greatest surprises; is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.” Henry Ford

Perspective on Life.

Joe Paterno

Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno passed away over the weekend at the age of 85. Paterno was the head man at Penn State for over 40 years and built a legacy of greatness on and off the football field at Happy Valley over the years.

For many, especially without a lot of football history, they know Paterno as the coach fired abruptly in disgrace last November when it was revealed that a former assistant coach had allegedly abused children. There are still questions on what Paterno knew, when he knew, and what actions he took. On one of his final interviews, he acknowledges he felt he did the right thing, but in retrospect, he should have done more.

There are many ways people will view the life and legend of Paterno. I think I will choose to remember him as a man who had great impact on the lives of countless young men. Yes, I believe he made mistakes in the Jerry Sandusky situation. Yes, he should have done more. But in the end, when you take a look at the entire body of work, the final few pages of the last chapter should be viewed in perspective of the whole book.

How often do we judge people or issues based on a small sample set, rather than the entire body of work? The next time you have to, I hope you consider perspective in your decision.

This week’s quote – “Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy.”  Joe Paterno

© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

Next Play.

I coach freshman boys basketball. One of the tendencies of 14-year old boys is when they make a mistake, they drop their shoulders,  throw a pity party, and stop playing. Unfortunately for them, the game goes on. It’s one thing to make a mental mistake and throw away the ball, or miss a lay-up. It only exacerbates the problem if you allow that mistake to continue on for multiple plays.

The key to sports is that you have a short memory. You make a mistake, but then you go to the next play. Doing this keeps you focused, positive, and successful.

This “tendency” isn’t unique to 14-year old boys. Many of us in business can on occasion fall victim to pouting and pity parties. In the business game (just like in a basketball game), momentum an good fortune ebbs and flows. You have to be able to take a “punch in the mouth” and move on to the next play. Otherwise, that bad play becomes toxic to success. Make sure you have a short memory, keep fighting through adversity, and keep your eyes focused on the next play!

This week’s quote:

“Fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me.” Michael Jordan