Performance Tools

What do you do with motivational quotes?

Here's a great quote:

"Do one thing every day that scares you."

                              -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Now on the surface that sounds like a great quote and we may be inspired by it.  Then, think about this question:  Do we know what we are afraid of?  I mean are we aware when we are stopped by fear.  Most likely not.  That to me is the greatest quest.  To be aware and conscious of what makes us great and what stops us on a daily basis.  I coined the phrase ConsciousSuccess because I think becoming conscious, knowledgeable and aware is the key to success.  The key to make that quote impactful is to think about it every day and be aware of what things might come up when we think about it.  So often we look at quotes and may get inspired for that day but shortly forget about it because of the many things that are commanding our attention on any given day.  What's important is to choose where you want to focus your energies. 

Accessing Hidden Talent

Amy Joyce from the Washington Post wrote an article titled: A Hidden Show of Talent the article talks about the importance of tapping into the potential of your workers.  Since tapping into potential is a passion of mine I thought I would give you my thoughts on this important subject.

Scientist estimate that we are only using 10% of our brain power and I would add 10% of our potential. That makes 90% of our potential and talent untapped!  The question remains how do we tap into that hidden talent and potential and how does an organization harness it.  A person's potential is directly linked to their strengths.  It is through the strengths that we tap into our potential. The challenge with this is people spend most of their time operating out of their weaknesses.  People often don't value their strengths enough and don't know how to utilize them to the fullest.  Simply put this is not changed over night.  Organizations can do things to help employees tap more into their potential, here are just a few:

1.  Cultivate an atmosphere of trust and respect - When we feel trusted and respected we are more likely to share our views, take risk and be fully engaged in our work.

2.  Create an atmosphere of ConsciousSuccess™ - Conscious Success is directly linked to self knowledge, personal responsibility and openness.  When people can openly share their successes as well as challenges, their strengths as well as limitations and work with each other to bridge their weaknesses and leverage their strengths.

3.  No man is an Island - We cannot fully tap into our potential by ourselves.  We all need other people, it is only through being engaged with others that we are able to utilize our strengths.  Cultivate an atmosphere where reaching out to others is part of the norm.

4.  Create an atmosphere of Personal Responsibility - In an organization this has to start at the top.  If you want employees to accept responsibility it has modeled every day from the top down.  Personal Responsibility isn't just words - it's accomplishments.  It's learning from our mistakes and following up with with action to assure we don't repeat them.

5.  Cultivate an atmosphere of critical thinking - In this competitive world we need to start cultivating our thinking.  Which means questioning, being clear on our purpose and goals and challenging the assumptions.

Critical Thinking

Came across a good web site today:  www.criticalthinking.org 

Critical thinking is when we skillfully analyze and assess things that we hear or see. 

Websters Definition:  The mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion

Critical thinking is self-directed and conscious and involves reflecting on input received rather then just accepting it.   How often do we just accept or reject things without really thinking the issue through?  A co-worker may say something and we just agree or disagree.  In politics we may listen to something on the news or someone else talk about an issue and immediately agree or disagree with it.  The question is how much real thought is going into that.  How often do we challenge our
thinking and our assumptions.  Assumptions are those things that we just assume to be true without verification or testing. It is possible to live an unexamined and automated life. However, imagine how different our life and business could be if we became an active practitioner of critical thinking.

I ordered the book shown on their web site, so I'll let you know what I think.

Local Boy Makes National News

My hometown of Rochester, New York has just made national news.   A high school boy with Autism  has been the faithful water-boy for his basketball team for 4 years.  This year, his coach asked him to "suit-up" for the last game.  In the last 4 minutes of the game he got out and played.  Now, what makes this story is that no one expected him to do anything except play.  Surprise, the kid scored 20 points, including six 3 pointers!

What caused this kid to have such success in a short time?  Reasons could be numerous, but what strikes me is potential.  How often do we make judgments and assumptions on ourselves and other people about potential limitations?  Are they really limitations or just limitations in our mind?  How can you tap into the potential of the middle 70% of your workforce?  How can you utilize your own potential more? 

For tips on maximizing your potential - check out the book:  Maximize Your Mind; Peak Your Potential here:  http://www.performanceleadershiptools.com/maxi_ur_mind_pote.htm