Category leading

Entries 30 Total

The dropped appointment

Feb 6, ’12 3:20 PM

Several days ago, I awoke about 4 a.m. with a gnawing feeling that I’d missed a client appointment. I got up, went to my electronic calendar, and discovered I HAD missed an appointment. The client  requested a schedule change, I said okay, and then didn’t make the change on the calendar. I felt terrible about it, and sent a note of apology to the client.

That evening, I told my partner Duff about it. “That’s why I always use a good, old-fashioned paper-and-pencil calendar,” he said. “Nothing drops through the cracks.” I was quick with a comeback.

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Keeping score

Jan 25, ’12 12:11 PM

Every week, I join several dozen people for a 90-minute tennis workout. We have five players per court, five courts, and a pro on each court. Rather than play regular games, we do drills: baseline shots on one court, overheads on the next, then one-up-one-back or volleys, through all five courts. The pros typically run the drills as fast-paced games: the first team to 5 or 7 points wins.

This week, a pro named Shelly was running us through a drill. After a long point, she called out, “Three-two.”

I said, “I thought it was four-one.”

“No,” another player said, “The score’s three-two.”

Shelly jumped into the air and yelled, “Yes! Yes! I’m right! I can’t believe it! I

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Look for the Leonardos

Nov 30, ’11 5:16 PM

One of a leader’s primary jobs is to translate potential into performance. And while most leaders understand the concept, many have trouble translating it into action, not because they lack the skill but because they lack the mental mindset.

In my experience, the potential at the front lines is tremendous. Until leaders operate from a deep belief in the inherent greatness of their people, that potential stays latent. I’m not talking about encouraging people to work harder, faster, better. I’m talking about discovering and inviting into the workplace what brings meaning and fulfillment to their lives.

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Control your attention redux …

Oct 14, ’11 8:11 PM

Last Friday, one of my clients had a meeting with several of her direct reports that left her feeling “absolutely giddy” afterwards. Her words were music to my ears. She’d been feeling overwhelmed and out of control for months. And here she was, excited and confident and energized.

What made the difference?

I have lots of stories about that. Here’s the one I like best: she got control by giving up control.

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Control your attention …

Oct 12, ’11 5:44 PM

When I start coaching engagements, new clients almost always have a short list of problems to fix. It’s a normal response. We’re wired [both biological and psychological] to sort for the negative.

And every time our mind attends to the negative, we do something else: we strengthen the brain’s tendency to sort for the negative!

Researchers call it neuroplasticity: the brain’s capacity to change and adapt its

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Forget forever

Aug 30, ’11 5:52 PM

Near the end of the Top 10 Mistakes in Behavior Change list is #9: seeking to change a behavior forever, not for a short time. As you might expect, Fogg & gang suggest that a fixed period works better than “forever.”

Number 9 takes us back to now, the only time frame we have. As soon as we think we can change behavior tomorrow, we’re out of the world of action and into the world of fiction. We can only change behavior right now.

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Chunking change

Aug 26, ’11 5:26 PM

Top mistake #8 at the Persuasive Tech Lab is focusing on abstract goals more than concrete behaviors.  Here’s their example. Abstract: get in shape. Concrete: walk 15 min. today.

This is a “yes and” provision. We need big abstract goals to provide direction and meaning: get in shape, write the Great American Novel, create and implement

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Triggers

Aug 25, ’11 10:40 PM

Top mistake #6 is underestimating the power of triggers. Fogg and company don’t offer a solution; they just offer an observation: no behavior happens without a trigger.

To which I say, “Yes, ditto.” Even if you’re unaware of them, triggers are setting your behavior in motion. Befriend them and you might find change a tad easier.

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On the edge

Aug 25, ’11 10:10 PM

Top Mistake #5 is blaming failures on lack of motivation. The tech lab’s solution? Make the behavior easier to do.

My solution? Make the behavior challenging and meaningful. And while you’re at it, think seriously about what ‘failure’ means to you.

Ever watch world-class athletes? Or gotten so engaged in something that you’ve lost all track of time? Then you’re familiar with what psychologists call

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Getting to the future

Aug 24, ’11 7:02 PM

Here’s #4 on the Top 10 Mistakes in Behavior Change list: trying to stop old behaviors instead of creating new ones.

And Fogg’s solution? Focus on action, not avoidance.

This cries for more detail.

Action can be a form of avoidance, so action isn’t enough. It has to be action that moves us toward what we want. And that means

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