Your Authentic Self

Do you have a "work" self and an "off-work" self?

Do you feel like you need to behave and act one way at work and a different way with family and friends?

Why can't you be your authentic self in the office?

Too many people act the way a boss should act or speak the way a leader should talk ,while losing their team in the process.

Perhaps the culture of your company prevents your authentic self.
The CEO needs you to toe the line, using typical rhetoric in the process.
You, in turn, relay that to your team, knowing too well they'll never buy what you're selling - and you see the team pulling away before your eyes.

When you behave this way, you must think those around you are either dumb, unsophisticated, naive, or worse, not really worth your personal investment.
Most of people that you've invested in to work at your company aren't any of those - so why treat them that way?

Is it because you're scared to show them you don't know all the answers or you may actually need their help?
Vulnerability isn't a weakness, it's a strength, because now your team can empathize with you.

Your authentic self has a place at work.  Your life experience, your successes and failures, and your weird hobbies make you a complete person in the office.  The term "empty suit" is a result of too many bosses blowing hot air without any context or character behind it.

You have many choices in how you behave as a leader.  Let your authentic self be your foundation - that's at least the one thing that can't quit on you.

The Wrong Side of History

It is human nature to protect the status quo when there is no obvious reason to change.  When your work life is comfortable, and you have been rewarded for your past behavior and approach, why take a risk?

You take that risk because you don't want to be on the wrong side of history:  living in past, ripe for disruption by those seeking your job and competitors seeking your customers.

When you continue to use outdated technology and refuse to learn new tricks because "it's always worked before" you are on the wrong side of history.

When you stick with that under-performing or toxic employee, you are on the wrong side of history.

When you continue to throw money at that failing business unit, because it was your "baby" and you don't want to admit failure, you are on the wrong side of history.

When you think that the newer employees are engaged in the story of the company when it had 10 employees, you are on the wrong side of history.

When you allow large, but unprofitable customers to take most of your energy, you are on the wrong side of history.

When you don't speak out against ridiculous, outdated policies, you are on the wrong side of history.

When you think you leadership style still works because it always has, you are on the wrong side of history.

When your approach is to steamroll, manipulate, and take to get what you want, you are on the wrong side of history.

The wrong side of history conjures images of dictators and tyrants that we learned about in history class.
Is that the fate you want associated with your career or company?

A $20 Taco

After hearing that Taco Bell plans add breakfast to their offer, my first thought was why?

Other than the basic business goal of have more opportunities to sell more stuff to more people, is this really in service of their brand? After breakfast, what's next?  Staying open 24 hours?  How about they offer table service with more expensive food to go after Chili's?  When does it end?

The point is that it never ends. 

CEOs aren't often rewarded for making beautiful, scarce products that have a fanatical following.  Instead, they succumb to investors' demand that the company outgrow, conquer, and eclipse their competition.

The customer is now more distracted and has more choices than ever before.  It may work.  The numbers may show a successful business,  but will it be the product that you gush about to your friends?

Suppose that instead of taking all that time, energy, and money required to execute a breakfast offer, Taco Bell invested the resources to create the absolute best taco in the world - a taco that people would gladly pay $20 to eat? 

It's okay to just make the best taco in the world. 
Your customers will reward you for it - and the ones that don't, can go eat at McDonald's.
  

Looking For Love In All The Right Places

I pulled the last page out of my "365 Days of Beer" Calendar the other day and guess what I found?

Nothing: No website, no re-order form, no branding (I had forgotten who even published this), no prompting to re-establish me as a customer.

Thanks to Amazon and their amazing tools to have you find products and drive you to their site, I am able to re-order this.
(You're welcome Adams Media)
This was a failed opportunity for the publisher to tee me up for 2014.
There is even a blank page after December 31st.

As a business, you should always be marketing yourself, especially to captive audience customers.  The pump is primed with a buying customer. Unless you have completely annoyed them or turned them off, they need a specific reason to stop buying from you.

As publisher of that calendar, I would have put an extra page in the last three months of the year that prompted the reader to buy the next year's calendar, in addition to hitting me over the head at the end of the calendar.

Reinforce the love that your customers have for your products by giving them the tools and knowledge to buy more from you AND to tell their friends how much they love your product.

How about in November's and December's section, you are prompted to re-order and give one as a gift?

Give the customers that love your product the tools to continue the relationship and to help you build your tribe.

Which Battle Did You Pick Today?

"Pick your battles." the saying goes. 

I propose a new question: "Which battle did you pick today?"

Not in the sense of being antagonistic for the sake of it, but choosing every day to disrupt, question, and challenge those around you in some way.

You owe it to yourself to seek ways to improve your organization.  If not you, than who? 
We no longer can wait for bosses to lead - that person is often waiting someone else to lead.
Head down is great for preservation, but what story does it create?

By questioning (battling), you show you are invested, engaged, and seeking improvement.  What's the alternative?  Floating through life, just showing up, hoping things will change?

Every day is an opportunity to grow yourself and those around you.  
This is especially true for those in customer-facing positions where the gaps are exposed real-time.
Problems hit you in the face, and you need to own the solution. 
If you don't care enough to own it, why should your superior?

Take it upon yourself to set the expectation that good enough is not good enough and that what got us here won't get us there.

Again, if not you, who?  

Driving in Kansas

We often find our define our careers based on the peaks and valleys, from promotions and new responsibilities to layoffs and missteps.

What about when we're just cruising along?  How long should you be coasting before it becomes a problem?  Do we always need to be striving for something different to be successful?

The challenge is that most of us aren't being challenged every day or pushed towards some new breakthrough.  So how do you make the most of that?

If you're managing a team of people, your responsibility is to them first.  They are looking to you to help them reach those peaks and avoid those valleys.  You need to be okay with the constant of flat land to help you concentrate on them.

If you're managing yourself, maybe this is an opportunity to concentrate on being the best you can be at you do because doing great work matters.

We constantly compare our current career altitude and speed to everyone.  It's also easy with all the information out there to feel inadequate or that we need to make some change.

Consider being okay with where you are and concentrating on what you have -- for now.
You might find yourself becoming an expert at what you do while you just cruise along.

The Art of the Deal

In business, we focus on negotiation constantly.  What can I get for what I have?  If I offer this concession, will the deal close?  What's the least I have to give to get what I want?
You can't give away something without knowing what you're getting, right?

Our initial instinct is to protect what we have and see if we can get more.  More is good;
more customers, more salespeople, more real estate, more power.  Our success often comes at the expense of others.

What if we took a different approach?  What if you base your success on how much you give instead of how much you receive? 

Could you give that customer to a colleague knowing that they would probably be a better fit for each other?
Could you ship that order for free knowing it would help your customer be more profitable - without them asking for it?
Could you mentor salesperson on another team that competes with you?

The business world expects you to want something for the things you give. 

Take a different approach: differentiate yourself or your company by the story of your generosity.  Use your skills as a shining light to accelerate the growth of those around you.  Think long term relationships instead of short term gain.  Be okay with getting taking advantage of by some -- the ones you really want along for the ride will outweigh them.  Have your customers tell others of the great things you did for them because you gave more than expected.  Be indispensable at work because you always help your peers become successful.

The next time you need something, give more than you have to.  You're in it for the long haul, and by creating a culture of giving, you'll get more back than you expect the next time.