Do you Lead or will you Get Out of the Way?

It's the last of our micro leadership course. So there is a bonus.  This time there are FOUR skills to focus on.

Your four leadership skills are:

Act – Talking and thinking won’t get the results that Action will. Leadership is not a theory, it is an action. So take action and be the leader you want to be.

Authenticity – Be yourself. Get inspiration and ideas from others but be yourself. Adapt the ideas and skills to your style. It will then be natural for you to lead.

Appreciate – Thank the people who support you and your team, regardless of how small their contribution. Words and gestures of appreciation make a far bigger difference that you can imagine.  Even if someone is doing what they are supposed to, showing appreciation makes a big difference.

Share – A leader takes a little more than their fair share of the blame and a little less than their fair share of the accolades. Have some humility.  It will make you more attractive as a leader and will create a massive sense of loyalty in those around you.

Don't forget to measure your progress.  Using the ten simple leadership skills you have received over the last three weeks will make a huge difference in what you can achieve as a team in your personal and professional life.

Go for it!

Are You a Leader?

It's the second part of our micro leadership course.

Last week I was at Band Camp improving my music skills (I got a Bass Guitar for Christmas!!). I was also working on my communication and leadership skills.  Even when jamming, a direction is needed, support of the others is invaluable, and as a bass player sometimes all I do is play a boring two notes over and over (and over and over...) but this lays the foundation for others to build on.

Your work is probably the same. For this week, your three leadership skills are:

Own it – With great responsibility comes great power.  Taking ownership of a situation gives you the power to improve it or get out of it. Sitting around acting helpless keeps you in it.

Listen – We have 2 ears and 1 mouth so use them in that ratio. So often we are busy telling others what we think that we miss out on their valuable input. We also leave them feeling unheard and demotivated.

Decide – Make decisions. Even the wrong decision is better than no decision. A decision leads to movement and action. This will lead to a result.  If it is not the right result, change your decision.

Enjoy

PS The Picture is from www.warwickbass.com  A German company that makes Bass Guitars with my name on them. How cool!

Do You Lead?

To kick of the year I wanted to give you a micro course in Leadership.  Some of you may think you do not have a leadership position, well you would be wrong! You are the leader of your own life.

So even if you work on your own, these points can help you in getting what you want out of life personally and professionally.

I don't overwhelm you with a massive to do list, especially since many of you will be just returning to work after the festive season break and your inbox and to do list is already bulging.  To make it easier to digest I have broken it into a three week course.  Each week you can focus on three things.  

Thinking about these items is not enough.  You need to put these three principles into action. 

For this week, your three skills are:

Focus – Where is your focus?  What you focus on will get achieved. So have some kind of reminder (a picture, statement or symbol) to help you and your team focus on what is really IMPORTANT and not just urgent.

Measure – What gets measured gets improved.  How will you measure your improvement or progress?  Is it numeric, do you need surveys, should you involve your customers?

Delegate – Get more done by doing less.  It is too easy to say "But I can do it quicker."  Work with your team to train them up to do what needs to be done. The effort will bring great returns.

How will you implement these three principles?

Enjoy!

How Long Does It Last?

Merry Christmas!!  For those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, Happy Festivus (Seinfeld's so named Festival for the Rest of Us).


This time of year I see people doing things they usually wouldn't.  Many acts of kindness and niceness are done "because it's Christmas".  Extra donations to charity, letting people cut in line, taking time to talk to people from other departments, there are so many ways I see this sense of charity manifest.


Then January comes, people return to work after some time off and we return to our slightly grumpy and caffeinated way of operating.  Can't we make the festive season last longer?  How long does your sense of goodwill to all men and women last?


I have often thought if I could get the essence of Christmas distilled into a small spray it would come in so handy throughout the year.  A quick spray on those I have to deal with who may have lost perspective or forgotten to smile or the reason we were dealing with each other.


My choice this year is to make Christmas (or Festivus) last all year.  Continue to spread goodwill, tolerance and happiness with all I deal with.  Care to join me?


Thank you for reading my writings this year.  I trust it has brought some value to your life in some manner.  I genuinely wish you, your family and your business a magnificent festive season and a 2011 that blows you away with results, joy and happiness.  If I can help that happen, please contact me.


Merry Christmas - may it last all year long!


Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

Have You Got Gifts?

It is only 12 days until Christmas.  For those of us who celebrate it, now is the time for us to run around like headless chooks searching for the perfect gifts - or not!!  In fact, Jill Chivers (a friend, shopping guru and woman who has just survived a year without buying clothes) has some excellent tips on How to Survive Holiday Shopping.  


As it is only 12 days until Christmas, Wifey and I got to chatting about the 12 Days of Christmas.  Personally, I don't need that many birds.  With all the swans, partridges and even maids a milking, I don't have room in the house for all of those presents.  So we came up with the 12 Days of Christmas challenge.

Technically, the 12 Days of Christmas start on December 26.  I am happy for you to start this challenge any time you want.  Maybe you don't even celebrate Christmas.  You may prefer Ramadan, Hanukah, Festivus, Holy Give Warwick a Present Day - whatever you choose.  But I strongly recommend you choose the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge.  This challenge is not about what you get, but about what you give.

So check out the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge and let me know how you go!

Enjoy


Warwick

PS Speaking of Christmas, I have been able to get some more bonus items from other authors of Agents of Action.  It is now up to over $1,600 worth of value for the price of the book.  Thanks to those of you who have already pre-ordered it - you will get all of the bonuses (and any more I may be able to get!)

Surviving Holiday Shopping

Today’s post is Something Different.  A friend of mine Jill Chivers runs a program and award winning website called Shop Your Wardrobe.  Jill has been on her own year-long challenge, a year without clothes shopping, which finishes on Wednesday, 15 December 2010.  As she is the expert on shopping (and not shopping), I asked her to share with us her guide to Surviving Holiday Shopping.  I hope you find it valuable!

Enjoy!!

Warwick

Surviving Holiday Shopping

I’ve learned a lot about shopping by not doing it for a year.  My own year without shopping taught me a lot about the emotional reasons that we shop, and ways to use my time, money and energy better. Now we’re coming into the holiday crush and many people’s thoughts are turning to shopping.   

Shopping for Christmas gifts, shopping for special holiday food, shopping for one’s self as a treat.  I don’t know about you, but there are certain shopping centres that I actively avoid from about December 10 onward – they are madhouses!  If you found shopping confusing or over-stimulating before, then in the lead up to the end of the year and in the week leading up to the New Year, they are even worse! So here are our top tips for surviving shopping mayhem this

year.

1.    Be prepared.  

      Yes, girl and boy scouts, this oldie but goodie is one worth applying to shopping.  Don’t go out of the house, headed towards the shop without a clear plan of where you’re going and what you’re getting.  Write a list.  Use that list.  Even if you aren’t a list-writer or use one at any other time of the year. This may take some time to create, your list – but consider it a wise investment – the time you spend creating the list will pay off in spades when you’re in the mall.  And remember:
lists are like maps – they can help you stay on track and avoid pitfalls.  If there is any time of year
when pitfalls abound, it’s now.  So do yourself a favour and create your map and take it with you!

2.  
Be in a resourceful state.  

      What this refers to is how you’re feeling, mentally, emotionally and physically.  Do not go  shopping when you are tired, fractious, hungry, upset, angry or frustrated.  It will only get worse  once you are in the shopping mall.  Make sure you are feeling buoyant, well-rested, energetic, well fed and watered, and calm.

3.  
Be focused.  

      Keep your map – your list – in your hand and go to only those places that you said you would.   Don’t meander into this shop or drift into that shop.  Don’t allow yourself to become distracted by spruikers selling their wares at seemingly massive discounts, or enticing window or table  displays.  Keep your focus laser sharp.

4.  
Be aware.  

      Shopping centres are deliberately designed to keep you in them for as long as possible. The way they are designed, lighted and air conditioned is all part of a deliberate strategy to have you lose your sense of time (and sometimes, direction).  Keep your awareness turned to “high” as you shop, by tuning into your surroundings and noticing them.  It’s easy to become in a slightly anaesthetised state in a large enclosed shopping mall (after all, the design of these malls has been scientifically tested, proven and duplicated for many decades) – so offset that by being aware of where you are.

5. 
Be clever (but not cheap).  

      Some of us are bargain hunters – we can sniff out a sale at 100 paces and our homes and wardrobes are stocked with many items purchased for far less than their ticketed price.  I’m all for buying well but I’d caution: just don’t buy something because it’s on sale.  That’s a trap that will have your home and wardrobe overstuffed with “cheap” where no further thought has gone into its purchase than its price tag.  If you wouldn’t buy it full price, put it back – it’s not for you.

6.  
Be deliberate.  

      Last minute shopping often leads to frenzied shopping where you buy the first thing you see without any hesitation.  Stopping and pausing before buying is a great ‘braking’ mechanism that has you interrupting an automatic thought pattern of “ooh I like this, I must purchase it” to “ooh I like this.  Let me consider what it may, or may not, add to my life”.  Never go from ‘high’ to ‘buy’ – insert a step in between so that everything you bring home is consciously chosen.

7.  
Be timely.  

      Set yourself a timeframe by which you will be finished shopping, and heading out the door.  You want to put some flex into this timeframe, because the car park and the mall may be more  congested than usual, making it harder to manoeuvre around.  But it will be possible to give yourself a broad timeframe that you can stick to.  If you say it’s 2 hours, then after that time, do a quick review of your map (your list) and see if you have done enough for today’s session, and start moving toward the exit.

Shopping at holiday times can be a stimulating pastime.  It can also lead to blow-outs in your budget and the feeling of time slipping through your fingers.   Use these strategies to shop consciously and reduce the consumption commotion this holiday period. As the New Year peaks around the corner, consider making 2011 the year that you “shop your wardrobe” instead of the malls. Find out more about my program and join it (with special input from Warwick in Month 6!) by visiting http://www.shopyourwardrobe.com

Have You Got Your Fat Bob?

Have You Got Your Fat Bob?

Before you get too excited, let me tell you that a Fat Bob is a type of Harley Davidson Motorcycle.  This is what one looks like:

Maybe your desire is not for a Fat Bob, maybe it's a BMW or a piece of jewellery or an overseas holiday.  How are you going with your dream?

A client and friend of mine, Paul has always wanted a Brand New Harley.  The picture you see is of him on his brand new bike. But the story is not as simple as: Set Goal, Worked Hard, and Got Goal.

Paul wanted a brand new Harley but along the way settled for second hand ones. In fact, he had 23 of them before he got his Brand New Fat Bob!

But still, it's not that simple.  Earlier this year, on his way to work, a Kangaroo decided to try and knock him off his bike.  This resulted in major leg and back damage, several operations and coming up with an ingenious way to store crutches on the bike as he rode!!

And still, it is not that simple.  When I asked him if I could use this photo for the Get More Goer he said, "Mate, my journey is far from over. At least 2, probably 4 operations are scheduled for 2011 with a whole lot of recovery work"

THAT is what this is about.  Realising that the journey is not over until they lay you in the coffin.  There will always be hiccups and barriers along the way. There will always be more to do.  There will always be reasons to give up. Keep the focus on what you desire and keep working towards it, one step at a time.  Get the support you need and live life enjoying today.  Who knows what tomorrow brings!

For some, tomorrow brings a Fat Bob.  What will your tomorrow bring?

Enjoy

Warwick

PS A huge thanks to those of you who took up the Agents of Action special offer for the first 70 orders.  I have been able to get some more bonuses from the other authors which means that you get over $1,000 worth of value when you pay $29.95 for the book.  The details are on the order page.  Please let those in your network know about it.