Dinner by Committee

If you have worked a day in your life, it is fairly safe to say you have worked alongside others. In some cases, those experiences have been enjoyable while others have not. You may have had to endure an arrogant selfish boss while other situations have been filled with giving collaborative coworkers.

We seem to enjoy looking at things “on paper” but they get all wobbly when we add the human element and often it’s because we are unclear about the mandate. Often there is a struggle among conflicting agendas or someone comes in and plays the “I’m the boss” card. None of these scenarios are effective, productive, or long lasting business success models. However, sadly they are far too common.

But what happens when you ask a group of people to build a structure out of spaghetti, string, and a bag of marshmallows?


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P is for People

Anyone in marketing can recite the four P's which are product, price, placement, and promotion. But how do the four P's apply to company culture and leadership? 

Practice 

Have you ever been to a sporting event or seen a live play or concert? Have you watched a great movie? Do you have any experience meeting someone else who is successful in business? Do you find motivation from people who show talent and prowess in a particular discipline? In each case, someone spent years honing their skills to make it appear effortless. Yet we are quick to criticize from the comfort of our 20oz beer mug in the 300 level. Now think about your skill set and what you can bring to any situation. Did you learn and execute all you know immediately? 

Patience 

If you enjoy writing, reading a good book may give you more determination to work on your own novel. You may know someone who went back to school and emerged with a whole new career path. Seeing others succeed may give you reason to study their process to improve your business. 

Persistence 

It requires working nights and weekends, writing ideas on scraps of paper you later find in the laundry, networking well, reading incessantly while life blends with work. No successful person in history has gotten it right the first time. And no one does it alone.

Play 

There are many ways to be successful. What's important is to be organized and have a strategic plan. It is equally essential not to settle for good enough - that's what the other guys do. It's critical not to rest on the past or think we have all the answers, that's where danger resides. And it's okay to get a little messy once in a while, take some chances. 

Let's add a fifth – Purpose. __________________________________________________________________

Count the P's

Anyone in marketing can recite the four P's which are product, price, placement, and promotion. But how do the four P's apply to company culture and leadership? 

Practice 

Have you ever been to a sporting event or seen a live play or concert? Have you watched a great movie? Do you have any experience meeting someone else who is successful in business? Do you find motivation from people who show talent and prowess in a particular discipline? In each case, someone spent years honing their skills to make it appear effortless. Yet we are quick to criticize from the comfort of our 20oz beer mug in the 300 level. Now think about your skill set and what you can bring to any situation. Did you learn and execute all you know immediately? 

Patience 

If you enjoy writing, reading a good book may give you more determination to work on your own novel. You may know someone who went back to school and emerged with a whole new career path. Seeing others succeed may give you reason to study their process to improve your business. 

Persistence 

It requires working nights and weekends, writing ideas on scraps of paper you later find in the laundry, networking well, reading incessantly while life blends with work. No successful person in history has gotten it right the first time. And no one does it alone.

Play 

There are many ways to be successful. What's important is to be organized and have a strategic plan. It is equally essential not to settle for good enough - that's what the other guys do. It's critical not to rest on the past or think we have all the answers, that's where danger resides. And it's okay to get a little messy once in a while, take some chances. 

Let's add a fifth – Purpose. __________________________________________________________________

Engineered Pasta

If you have worked a day in your life, it is fairly safe to say you have worked alongside others. In some cases, those experiences have been enjoyable while others have not. You may have had to endure an arrogant selfish boss while other situations have been filled with giving collaborative coworkers.

We seem to enjoy looking at things “on paper” but they get all wobbly when we add the human element and often it’s because we are unclear about the mandate. Often there is a struggle among conflicting agendas or someone comes in and plays the “I’m the boss” card. None of these scenarios are effective, productive, or long lasting business success models. However, sadly they are far too common.

But what happens when you ask a group of people to build a structure out of spaghetti, string, and a marshmallows?


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The Five P's

Anyone in marketing can recite the four P's which are product, price, placement, and promotion. But how do the four P's apply to company culture and leadership? 

Practice 

Have you ever been to a sporting event or seen a live play or concert? Have you watched a great movie? Do you have any experience meeting someone else who is successful in business? Do you find motivation from people who show talent and prowess in a particular discipline? In each case, someone spent years honing their skills to make it appear effortless. Yet we are quick to criticize from the comfort of our 20oz beer mug in the 300 level. Now think about your skill set and what you can bring to any situation. Did you learn and execute all you know immediately? 

Patience 

If you enjoy writing, reading a good book may give you more determination to work on your own novel. You may know someone who went back to school and emerged with a whole new career path. Seeing others succeed may give you reason to study their process to improve your business. 

Persistence 

It requires working nights and weekends, writing ideas on scraps of paper you later find in the laundry, networking well, reading incessantly while life blends with work. No successful person in history has gotten it right the first time. And no one does it alone.

Play 

There are many ways to be successful. What's important is to be organized and have a strategic plan. It is equally essential not to settle for good enough - that's what the other guys do. It's critical not to rest on the past or think we have all the answers, that's where danger resides. And it's okay to get a little messy once in a while, take some chances. 

Let's add a fifth – Purpose. __________________________________________________________________

Spaghetti and Marshmallows

If you have worked a day in your life, it is fairly safe to say you have worked alongside others. In some cases, those experiences have been enjoyable while others have not. You may have had to endure an arrogant selfish boss while other situations have been filled with giving collaborative coworkers.

We seem to enjoy looking at things “on paper” but they get all wobbly when we add the human element and often it’s because we are unclear about the mandate. Often there is a struggle among conflicting agendas or someone comes in and plays the “I’m the boss” card. None of these scenarios are effective, productive, or long lasting business success models. However, sadly they are far too common.

But what happens when you ask a group of people to build a structure out of spaghetti, string, and a marshmallows?


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Collaboration Meal

If you have worked a day in your life, it is fairly safe to say you have worked alongside others. In some cases, those experiences have been enjoyable while others have not. You may have had to endure an arrogant selfish boss while other situations have been filled with giving collaborative coworkers.

We seem to enjoy looking at things “on paper” but they get all wobbly when we add the human element and often it’s because we are unclear about the mandate. Often there is a struggle among conflicting agendas or someone comes in and plays the “I’m the boss” card. None of these scenarios are effective, productive, or long lasting business success models. However, sadly they are far too common.

But what happens when you take a group of people and ask them to build a structure out of spaghetti, string, and a marshmallow?

Tom Wujec explains.


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Emotional Waistline

This is a wonderful parable I should read more often.

The story is about a man and his grandson. He reminds the young boy that we have a battle of two wolves inside of us; one that is filled with anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other wolf is filled with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, compassion and faith. The grandson then asks a simple yet critical question; "Which one wins?"

The wise man replies; "The one you feed.”
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Four P's

Anyone in marketing can recite the four P's which are product, price, placement and promotion. But how do the four P's apply to company culture and leadership?

Practice

Have you ever been to a sporting event or seen a live play or concert? Have you watched a great movie? Do you have any experience meeting someone else who is successful in business? Do you find motivation from people who show talent and prowess in a particular discipline? In each case, someone spent years honing their skills to make it appear effortless. Yet we are quick to criticize from the comfort of our 20oz beer mug in the 300 level. Now think about your skill set and what you can bring to any situation. Did you learn and execute all you know immediately?

Patience

If you enjoy writing, reading a good book may give you more determination to work on your own novel. You may know someone who went back to school and emerged with a whole new career path. Seeing others succeed may give you reason to study their process to improve your business.

Persistence

It requires working nights and weekends, writing ideas on scraps of paper you later find in the laundry, networking well, reading incessantly while life blends with work. No successful person in history has gotten it right the first time. And no one does it alone.

Play

There are many ways to be successful. What's important is to be organized and have a strategic plan. It is equally essential not to settle for good enough - that's what the other guys do. It's critical not to rest on the past or think we have all the answers, that's where danger resides. And it's okay to get a little messy once in a while, take some chances.

Let's add a fifth – Purpose.
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Ch-ch-changes

You have heard the quote “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Some say it was Einstein; some say it was Franklin. The point is the meaning behind it.

Change is awkward and unsure. The ground begins to move beneath us and we crave for things to return to "normal". We are creatures of habit and like to feel safe and comfortable. We may scan the menu but there are usually only a handful if items we order each time we're back to the restaurant.

Rinse Don't Repeat

There are two significant issues going on – the sheer will of stakeholders to keep their status quo and the monumental task of building inspirational leadership.

Change is not this. Change can be exciting. Change is unproven. Change can be scary. Change requires a leap of faith. Change can conquer courage. When the bottom line is the only objective, affecting change can often be an illusive pipe dream.

We can't always predict the outcome of change.
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Lead Don't Boss

Allow others to inspire. Find the how. Get out of their way. Be present even during challenging times. Have clear expectations. Don't expect to ever have all the answers.

Helping others is a privilege. Back your people up. Be bold. Never stop learning. Open door policies are for those who mean it. Don’t hide behind busy. It’s their career too.

Be inquisitive. Invest at least half of your time helping people. Hire passion. A team is more than celebrating victories. Don’t be a boss. Listen.

Don’t hide when your people need you. Grow their strengths. Let them shine. Be fair. Get to know what motivates everyone on your team. Seek guidance from those who are committed to helping you grow.

Customer service begins with you. Never settle. Understand that it will be the most rewarding work you’ll ever have the privilege to do.

And it won't be listed on your business card.
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We are What we Feed

I often go back to this story when I'm struggling with something. I'm facing a decision or a feeling and need some guidance; this powerful lesson helps immensely.

The story is about a man and his grandson. He reminds the young boy that we have a battle of two wolves inside of us - one that is filled with anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other wolf is filled with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, compassion and faith. The grandson then asks a simple yet critical question; "Which one wins?"

The older wiser man replies; "The one you feed.”
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The Revenue Diet Plan

A large cheeseburger with condiments is approximately 600 calories; an hour of high impact aerobics for a 200lb man will burn about 600 calories. A slice of pumpkin pie is about 350 calories; an hour of ice skating for the same man will burn about 340 calories. We know we need to eat better, work out more and take better care of ourselves but (on average) we don’t do that.

Often companies will look at the success of a certain campaign or promotion to get a sense of customer reaction or appetite. This kind of strategy is both flawed and short-lived. Patience is a virtue but rarely a business plan. We love cheeseburgers but don't want to gain weight; we want revenue but know it doesn't happen without effort.

Fries With That?

We want the customers now but can have trouble seeing the long term benefits of a sustained effort throughout the year. We wonder how these available channels can help us without realizing our contribution is critical to the equation. You and I have the collective patience of a three year old.

We are not built for strategy or long-term thinking. If things are bad, we want them to be good, immediately. If money is tight, we want money, right now. If someone promises that this campaign will help us get us out of this slide, we are happy to listen, right now. We want the burger and pie without the growing waistline.

Maybe this year we need more salad?
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18 Random Thoughts

Make time for think time. Help someone without them knowing
Call them back. Make it about them.

Bury the past. Laugh at least once a day
Complaining solves nothing.

Stop comparing yourself to others
Trust your gut. Pick up the phone.
Connect don’t collect.
Say no. Own your decisions.

Balance confidence with competence
Self doubt won’t help. Don’t hesitate this time

Be kind to yourself.
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Three Things

Call three friends. Do three on your to-do list.
Help three ideas grow. Delete three ideas that slow you down.
Select three colleagues and offer a hand.
Identify three personal strengths you will exploit.
Eliminate three unnecessary possessions.
Flush out three thoughts that may a chance.
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Watching Your P's

Anyone in marketing can recite the four P's which are; product, price, placement and promotion. Here are four P's you may want to apply to your business.

Practice – Have you ever been to a sporting event or seen a live play or concert? Have you watched a great movie? Do you have any experience meeting someone else who is successful in business? Do you find motivation from people who show talent and prowess in a particular discipline? In each case, someone spent years honing their skills to make it appear effortless. Yet we are quick to criticize from the comfort of our 20oz beer mug in the 300 level. Now think about your skill set and what you can bring to any situation. Did you learn and execute all you know immediately?

Patience – When I was a kid I couldn't get through an NHL game without calling my buddies to see if any were interested in a little pick up game on the street. We couldn't wait to be the next big star. It wasn't important whether that dream would be realized, the key was to try and emulate our favorite players who had worked their entire lives to get to the highest level in the sport. If you enjoy writing, reading a good book may give you more determination to work on your own novel. You may know someone who went back to school and emerged with a whole new career path. Seeing others succeed may give you reason to study their process to improve your business.

Persistence – It requires working nights and weekends, writing ideas on scraps of paper you later find in the laundry, networking well, reading incessantly while life blends with work. No successful person in history has gotten it right the first time. And we may point to the occasional situation that appears to be an instant win. But once you dig deeper you realize it took a lot of persistence to happen. This is one we all need to remember yet it can be tough on those days, you know, those days. After all, business isn't simply created, that's up to us.

Play – There are many ways to be successful. What's important is to be organized and have a strategic plan. It is equally essential not to settle for good enough; that's what the other guys do. And it's okay to get a little messy once in a while, take some chances, swing at the fence and remember the importance of passion.
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Oh Canada – You're 150!

Today is Canada’s 150th birthday. I was born in this wonderful country and proud to call it my home. Our second official language is French but most of us don’t speak it. Most French speaking Canadians live in areas such as New Brunswick and Quebec though the majority of government jobs require you to be bilingual.

Canada is the most multicultural country on the planet. There are over 150 registered languages in this country; which means fabulous restaurants and culture to sample!

Some other Canada fun facts...

Canada’s name comes from a St. Lawrence Iroquoian word, kanata, which means village or settlement. A sofa is a couch. We have butter tarts, clamato juice, and ketchup chips. This country has the longest coastline in the world, about 243,000 kilometers or about 150,000 miles in length.

Canada has the fourth lowest population density index in the world with just over 36 million people in the second largest country in the world by land mass – 9.9 million square kilometers or 3.8 million square miles.

Silverware is cutlery. Canada is in the top five producing countries of gold, copper, zinc, nickel, aluminum, and natural gas. Soda is referred to as pop.

Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith. No we don't live in igloos and we do have running water and paved roads. When someone says thank-you, we do not reply; uh huh, cheers, or no worries; we simply say you're welcome.

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canucks!
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Watch Your Diet

I often go back to this story when I'm struggling with something. I'm facing a decision or a feeling and need some guidance; this powerful lesson helps immensely.

The story is about a man and his grandson. He reminds the young boy that we have a battle of two wolves inside of us - one that is filled with anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other wolf is filled with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, compassion and faith. The grandson then asks a simple yet critical question; "Which one wins?"

The older wiser man replies; "The one you feed.”
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The Key Ingredient

Our world is overflowing with websites, books, videos, and lessons on business management. This is a science that is almost as impossible to master as parenting.

I'm an executive recruiter and on more than many occasions, people have said; "Oh, so you're in sales?" Ah, no, not even remotely close. I spend all day getting to know people. I need to find out what they enjoy most about their current role, what roles they may look at to advance their careers, their family dynamic, the list is quite long and very important.

You are not in sales.

In my career, I have had a couple of outstanding mentors who taught me the essence of management from a technical and strategic standpoint while continually reminded me the only element that will mark success or failure - people.

It is not enough to devise an over arching business plan, you need to cover each component in such a process. Those include an organizational map, financial preparation, marketing and media strategy and most importantly a people plan. People study human resources for years and still don’t master it. Top sales people crash and burn as sales managers. And right brain thinkers shrivel up and rot under the crushing avalanche of meetings and protocol.

So as you're looking at new markets, products, or strategic plans, please remember the one element that can crush your business faster than any competitive threat or make your company wildly successfully.

Your people.
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Hurry Up!

A large cheeseburger with condiments is approximately 600 calories. An hour of high impact aerobics for a 200lb man will burn about 600 calories. A slice of pumpkin pie is about 350 calories. An hour of ice skating for the same man will burn about 340 calories. We know we need to eat better, work out more and take better care of ourselves but (on average) we don’t do that. We eat the cheeseburgers and the pie then get acquainted with the couch.

After a two decades in corporate life and a bunch of years consulting on my own, earlier this year I was recruited by a recruitment firm to become an executive recruiter. It's fun work. It's frustrating work. It's highs and lows and grinding and disappointments and victories. Oh wait, it's like every job!

We Want it Now!

Often companies will look at the success of a certain campaign or promotion to get a sense of customer reaction or appetite. This kind of strategy is both flawed and short-lived. Patience is a virtue but rarely a business plan.

Unless you won the lottery, mom and dad left you money, or you're independently wealthy, you need new business all the time. It’s admirable to see some who have as many customers as they will ever need but the rest of us need to constantly build our business. Not for a week, not once in a while, every day.

The Downside of Now

We want the customers now but can have trouble seeing the long term benefits of a sustained effort throughout the year. We wonder how these available channels can help us without realizing our contribution is critical to the equation. We want the quick wins to sustain our revenue line forever. You and I have the collective patience of a three year old.

We are not built for strategy or long-term thinking. If things are bad, we want them to be good, immediately. If money is tight, we want money, right now. If someone promises that this campaign will help us get us out of this slide, we are happy to listen, right now. We want the burger and pie without waistline.

Maybe we need to start the new year with a salad.
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