Taking It Up a Notch

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I try to post, well, regularly.  But it's time to take it up a notch...or two.

So be on the look out for more posts...and more videos.  You can follow my Youtube Channel here for the videos.  Please do. 

I am also going to put content out in different formats in different times and locations.  I post to Linkedin (like this one where I tell you why Mark Cuban is wrong).  And I also post to Medium (like this one where I talk about your Digital Legacy). 

In addition, I post articles and videos (often by others) to Twitter. 

Long story short...it's time to turn up the Hustle.  I hope you join me on the ride!

Say It Out Loud

One thing my team hears me say a lot is “This is a ‘Say it out loud’ moment.”

This usually follows a situation that seems absurd.  I want everyone in the room to say what is happening—out loud—and see if it sounds right ringing in their ears.

It might be, “So, we made a mistake and we are charging the client to ship it back.”  Hmmm.

 Or, “So you don’t want to pay for ‘x’ but you want to keep it and use it anyway.”  Hmmm.

Often simply saying it out loud helps to clarify what is being suggested…and sometimes helps to underscore why there is hesitation. 

Try it yourself.  The next time you are not sure if you are being silly, say it out loud.

Body Language Matters

The gym was full of people.  There was an air of intensity and pride.  The air had a smell of sweat and voices and whistles rang out in a chaotic intensity.  I was at a local wrestling match featuring 21 high school teams. 

I was focused on the finals of the 120 pound division. 

Both wrestlers were quick.  Both were clearly skilled and strong.  But one thing jumped out at me.  After the first period, one of the wrestlers carried himself with a clear air of confidence and purpose.  On breaks in the action, he jumped up and hurried to the spot on the mat where the action would take place.  His face showed very little.  The other wrestler looked frustrated.  His shoulders slumped.  He “looked defeated.” 

It’s worth noting that the score was tied. 

But I knew who would win…based on their body language. 

This is not just a lesson for individual sports.  When you are going for a sales call, interview, meeting or presentation, be mindful of your body language.  Be conscious to exude confidence.  It’s amazing how others feed off of that energy. 

So head up.  Shoulders back.  Look people in the eye.  Smile.

Your body language tells others how you really feel.  Make sure it is communicating what you want them to see.

Everyone Looks Good When Things Are Great

Sports can really teach us a lot about life and business.  (Non-sports people…wait!  Don’t roll your eyes.  It’s true.) 

You learn how to work as a team.  You learn to compete in a productive way.  You learn to work with a larger group to move toward a big goal. 

But one of the most important lessons sports teaches us is about crisis. 

The fact is, when you are the best and your team is winning, it is easy to be a team player.  Most of us are willing to pass and share credit and pat each other on the back.  There is plenty of all of that to go around.  There are accolades and parties.  The world is your oyster (or Crab Legs.  Sorry...that was a cheap shot FSU fans).    It’s easy when you are winning.

But how do you react when things go sideways?  How does your team do when things get tight?  How do you, as a leader react, when things seem to spiral out of control?  Can you re-group?  Can you rise up?  Can you be calm?  Or do you implode?

It’s not just a cute metaphor.  The fact is, there are going to be times in your business, sales or even parenthood, where things will not go according to plan.  As Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

How will you and your team react when you get punched in the mouth?  Everyone is good when they are winning.   But great teams can shake it off…and calmly…get back off the mat.

How Do You Treat the Waitress?

This story starts with me being out to dinner with a colleague.  Everything was going swimmingly until the waitress came out.  As she took our drink order (the very beginning of dinner), he was rude.  

Maybe I was being overly sensitive, I thought, so I let it go.  But when she came back to take our order for dinner, he did it again.  I can’t really even remember what he did.  But it’s just like your mom said, “It’s not what you say but HOW you say it.” 

When she walked away, I asked him, “What was that?”  He didn’t even know he was doing it.  And maybe that’s the problem.  He was being rude because she didn't matter.

Everyone is nice to his or her boss (they have to be).  Most people are nice to their peers.  But if you REALLY want to know the integrity of a person, watch how they treat people they don’t HAVE to be nice too.

If you are a jerk to the waitress, you are probably a jerk.

3 Tips For Making Mistakes

Here’s a dirty little secret that you might not want to hear...you are going to screw up.  We all are.  Whether it’s in friendships, relationships, business, school, or life…we all get off the tracks sometimes. 

Sometimes we know it’s a mistake heading in.  We know we are making a mistake (or have a pretty good idea) and make it anyway.  But every once in a while, we do something with the very best of intentions and it turns out to be a mistake too.  I think those are the most painful.  We find ourselves at the end of that road saying “Hey!  I was just trying to help.  Look at what happened.” 

Either way, it was a mistake.  So what happens now?  If you want to get over it (and you do), here are three quick steps to moving on.

1)   Own it:  This is the hardest step for most people.  Because if you want to do it right, you REALLY have to own it.  You can’t say “I am sorry that THEY screwed up.”  It can’t be someone else’s fault.  If it’s someone else’s fault, you can’t truly be sure you won’t do it again.  You have to take full responsibility for it.   You have to OWN it.  Here is where you apologize (sincerely) if anyone else was affected.  That’s a BIG part of owning it.  Hard, yes.  Important, yes.  

2)   Learn From it:  Once you really own it, you can look at how you can avoid that same mistake in the future.  But it has to be your mistake to learn.  You have to exercise the control in order to keep from doing it again.

3)   Move On:  You made a mistake.  You owned it.  You learned from it.  But keep in mind, all of those statements were in past tense.  You can’t turn back time.  Now you need to take a step forward…and move on.

Do these three things every time you make a mistake (yes it will happen more than once) and you will be surprised how fast you get better. 

Remember, life’s a journey.  This was just one speed bump on the road.

Lessons from Heartbreak Ridge

In 1986, Clint Eastwood starred in, produced and directed a war movie called “Heartbreak Ridge.”  In it, Eastwood stars as an aging Gunnery Sargent Tom Highway, who goes back to his old unit to lead them.  There he takes over a rag-tag group of losers and is forced to “break” them and then build them up into a real fighting platoon. 

I loved that movie growing up.  It’s Eastwood at his gruff and meanest.  But it occurs to me that there are some real lessons we can take from the film and apply to business today. 

1.     Every Group Can Improve:  As I mentioned, Gunny Highway takes over the “Recon” platoon in disarray.  They are lazy, unorganized and uninspired.  But with Highway at the helm, they slowly start to gel as a group.  No matter where you are starting (as an individual or as a team) you can improve.  

2.     You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks:  When he returns to his old unit, Highway also comes back to find his ex-wife.  You come to know that he still loves her and knows that he messed things up.  In order to improve and understand women better, he reads Cosmo magazines through out the film.  It’s funny, but it reminds us that everyone can grow and learn…if we want too!

3.     Working Hard is the Key:  In order to mold the “recon” group into a fighting unit, Highway has the group up and running early every morning.  He works them long and hard each day.  They run drills.  They learn to fight.  The same is true for your team.  Want to get better?  There is no magic pill.  The best way to do it is to work hard.

4.     Improvise, Adapt, Overcome:  One of the key statements Highway parrots throughout the movie is that his team needs to “Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome.”  The fact is, no matter how hard you train and prepare, things will sometimes go sideways.  In those situations, you need to have the wherewithal to (intelligently) change.  You need to look at the challenge ahead and Improvise, Adapt and Overcome.

So the next time you are flipping through the channels and see Heartbreak Ridge on cable, stop and take a watch.  It’s a fun movie and you might just learn something!