March 11, 2016

The Activator® is the Terminator of the Procrastinator.

The Activator® is the Terminator of the Procrastinator.

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Remember that old Camp fire song we used to sing as kids? “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…” Oh yeah I hear ya humming… “hmm..hmmhmm…hmmmmm to get a fire going……hmmm” I always thought it was strange to be singing a song about sparks and fires in a FOREST ! Well in business you need that spark. You might be the creative genius who thought of the first drone hamburger delivery service. You have white boards all over the office filled with ideas how to get the hamburger there faster. Storyboards showing a customer watching his hamburger fly over his neighborhood from the camera mounted on the drone displaying on the customers Apple Watch. Angel investors are lined up like an NFL draft wanting to give you money for your phenomenal new venture. Forbes magazine is already forecasting how much your IPO is going to be worth. 

 

Before the Alarm Clock has a chance to ring your heart starts beating faster and faster you suddenly realize something is missing. What is it? Idea? Check, Money? Check, Marketing? Check, Focus Group? Check, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos approval? Check, What is missing? 2 nano seconds before the alarm goes off it comes to you. “Oh, yeah I gotta start the project” Rinnnnngggggggg Time to wake up !

 

No matter how good the idea or how much money you have for a project nothing happens until something happens. And who is the hero in this scenario? Drum roll please…..the Activator®. The Activator gets things started. They turn thoughts into action. Just like that last four letters  of American is “I Can” the first 3 letters of Activator is ACT ! Just like the five year old after Christmas presents are open. “When can we start daddy?”. The Activators’ creed is “It is better to ask forgiveness than permission“. Amen. 

 

So when you are building your team and you need to get something done you want an Activator to get things Started and an Achiever to get things done. Activators are not so good at finishing and Achievers aren’t all that great at starting things. But they both are the alpha and omega of the project. 

 

The Activator is impatient with inactivity. He will create momentum. He’ll bring a sense of urgency. He needs to be where the action is. He LOVES instigation and initiation. He hates wasting time.

 

Whether you are an arsonist or a drone delivery entrepreneur make sure you have an Activator® on your team to get things started. 

March 7, 2016

Gotta Git’er Dun? You need an Achiever on your Team!

Gotta Git’er Dun? You need an Achiever on your Team !

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When I was a kid they (everyone older than me) told me, “Whatever the mind can Conceive, the body can Achieve.” What a bunch of mind abuse. I can’t believe the number of years I wasted chasing that worthless piece of advice. I ‘conceived’ throwing a football like Joe Namath, singing like Elvis Presley, writing songs like John Lennon, telling jokes like Bob Hope. Nothing. The body was not ‘achieving’ it. And it wasn’t for a lack of trying. I spent hours in the bathroom combing my hair like Elvis, wasted months throwing footballs through a tire hanging from a tree, and memorized volumes of jokes that I would forget the next day. I was a pretty good writer but writing and getting published are as far apart as New York and Ted Cruz.

 

How did this plague poison my future? My number one Strength is Ideation. My mind is an Idea Factory. I am personally responsible for wasting an entire forest of cocktail napkins that have the next best thing written on them. Armed with all these can’t lose brainstorms, I became a serial entrepreneur. Whatever the mind can conceive, the wallet will bereave. It took me YEARS to figure out the body can’t just achieve at will. From that lousy piece of motivational Cyanide came countless spans of frustration. I had killer Ideas. Strategy is my number 2 Strength. I had great business plans. So what was missing? Wasn’t my body supposed to just give birth to achieving these supernaturally thought of, history making innovations? Well, Folks, I’m here to tell ya. It didn’t happen. Why? Turns out this pithy Conceive/Achieve Gobbledygook was just a rhyme that sold millions of books.

 

We were never supposed to be “anything we wanted to be.” Gallup says individuals were never meant to be well rounded. Teams are. We are supposed to be Rock Stars in our own area of expertise and enlist the help of other Gladiators of the Universe to help us get the job done.

 

I realized that my Gold Plated thoughts were pretty much worthless without an Achiever on my team. Whatever your dream team is make sure you have someone with Achiever as one of their top 5 Strengths. Achievers are hard workers. They set the pace for production. They bring intensity and stamina. They LOVE completing tasks. They have very little patience with people that lack diligence. Achievers have an innate sense that screams “I want to get it done.” They take immense satisfaction in being busy and staying productive.

 

Here is a quote that works every time. “Whatever the mind can Consider, the Achiever can Deliver!”

 

March 5, 2016

We are all coaches.

_Tom-Landry

We are all coaches. If you live and breathe around other people you are a coach. The only difference is whether we are intentional in our coaching or not. We all have an audience and as such, we are constantly being watched. What we choose to do under that watch greatly affects the observer. Express an opinion about the latest Presidential candidate you make an impression. Display anger in front of your children you make an impression. Compromise on a business deal you make an impression. 

 

This brings us to the crux of the matter: Are we intentional about how we live our lives? Whether you coach a little league sports team or manage a sales team of fresh millennials or just a dad trying to do the right thing. Being intentional is the difference between investing and spending your life. Investors carefully analyze what they are investing in and are constantly monitoring the value of their efforts. Spenders are like drunk sailors at port on leave. They live for the moment and the only lesson that can be learned from them is what NOT to do. 

 

I don’t believe in happenstance. Every encounter with another human being is a divine appointment. We have two audiences: the casual observer and the direct nose to nose recipient. The CO (casual observer) is touched by our attitude. The DR (Direct Recipient) is touched by our interest in them. When the CO sees you from a distance they immediately judge if they want to be like you or avoid you. The DR judges your intent. Both the CO’s and the DR’s have deep personal concerns. Neither will share with you what those are if they are put off by you. But it all starts with intention. 

 

Determine who you want to be then be that person intentionally. The world needs more coaches. The world needs what you have to offer. Be a good coach.