For those of you (like me) who never heard of Ed Latimore, he is a boxer (12-0 w/7 KOs), who also writes books and is a motivational speaker.
Take a minute to read the whole thing, but here is the most important take-away.
If you have nothing particularly special about your mind or body, you always have hard work. The ability to work your ass off is underrated as a talent because we consider talent something special, unique, and largely unteachable. (…) working your ass off is a talent you can learn.
Along with hard work, you need to develop your initiative.
Initiative is a muscle and you have dozens of opportunities to exercise it every day.
It’s simple.
Anything you notice, large or small, that needs to be done, do it.
That’s all.
Do it and initiative becomes a habit, just like hard work.
And I can pretty much guarantee that those two habits will take you almost anywhere you want to go.
It’s amazing to me, but looking back over more than a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time.
There’s not a lot to add to this post. The cited research is still accurate, as is the results comparison. That said, many managers are still providing too much, too little or, worse, none at all. But their complaints haven’t diminished, nor their solution to shift the responsibility to their people, instead of recognizing that they are the ones who need to change.
Most managers want to do a good job and are looking for ways to improve.
But, as one commented recently, if you do everything recommended by the experts you would use so much of each person’s time that productivity would tumble and even the best coaching would have a negative impact.
Which is why I say that management and coffee are similar.
The right amount of management/coaching is good for the brain in that it provides challenges that foster growth; it also lowers frustration and stress, which enhances mental and physical health.
According to the research, the “right” amount of coffee is around 20 ounces a day, i.e., one venti-size Starbucks.
That equates to the most effective management/coaching, which provides all the information needed to do the job at one time (not more nor less) and then gets out of the way while staying accessible if needed.
Many of the coffee-fueled are more likely to drink three to five ventis a day, which is detrimental to health and longevity.
A comparable amount of management/coaching is detrimental to health, productivity and retention.
…crowdthinking has increased geometrically, while independent thinking, let alone deep thinking, has decreased in proportion. You have only to consider the questions on Quora and the crowd’s actions/reactions at any political rally to see just how bad it’s become.
From failed startups to Tuesday’s election the wisdom of crowds has led down more garden paths than can be counted.
But for the legion of readers who demand hard data to back up common sense I give you the words of Anand Sanwal and the data of CB Insights.
Can we please never utter ‘wisdom of the crowds’?
I know lots of management consultants sold corporations on this “wisdom of crowds” nonsense, but can we now stop?
Here is what the crowd thought of Trump’s chances over time.
Totally, utterly stupid crowd.
Therese Tucker just broke a glass ceiling as the first woman founder/CEO to lead a venture-capital-backed Los Angeles startup to an initial public offering, according to The Los Angeles Times’ Paresh Dave.
Not just a woman, but a woman of a certain age, 55, who built her company, BlackLine, over the last 15 years the hard way.
“I funded the company up until 2013, and there were some very difficult times,” she said. “I ended up putting in everything that I had into it. First the nest egg from my options from my previous company. But then I drained my bank accounts and my 401(k). I told my kids, had I been able to access their college savings funds, I probably would have taken that, too. I second-mortgaged my house. I maxed out my credit cards. I begged from friends to cover payroll.
It was difficult and humiliating and scary. I thought, ‘Oh my god, I’m going to be a woman in my 40s who’s bankrupt and starting over,'” she said of the years through about 2005.
That’s grit — the thing everyone is talking about.
BlackLine went public $2 above the target price and soared from there.
On Friday morning, the shares opened at $24.52, a 44% pop. The stock was trading at around $23.31 midday, giving the company a $1.15 billion market cap.
The result of that $2 increase meant raising $46 million more than than the $100 million planned.
Tucker didn’t build BlackLine by raising round after round of funding in an easy money environment—she bootstrapped it.
She did, however, jump on a still unproven new technology/business model.
The turning point happened in 2007, when the idea of cloud computing was very new. She and her team decided to quit making old-fashioned software and sell the service exclusively through the cloud.
And that was true grit.
Congratulations, Therese Tucker.
One Ceiling Down and a few more to go.
This post is dedicated to every woman of every age who has put herself at risk to follow her dreams — whether as an entrepreneur or something else.
Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership provided Leaders Should Define More Than the Mountain Top, but Less Than the Whole Plan. Dan recaps, “When it comes to defining their vision, leaders tend to fall into two camps. Camp one can clearly articulate a mountain top they want to reach, but create zero clarity on how they’re going to get to that mountain top. Camp two has their mountain top defined and they also have a step-by-step guide to get from where they are today (base camp) to their mountain top. Both camps fail to create sustained motivation in their people. Guest author Hamish Knox explains why.” Locate Dan on Twitter at @greatleadership.
Dana Theus of InPower Coaching contributed Dear Dana Workplace Advice: New To the Team And Dealing With Workplace Bullying By A Colleague. Dana writes, “Dear Dana, I recently joined a new team and one of my colleagues is treating me like the hired help! I’m not sure what to do since I am new on the team and don’t want to get a reputation early on for being difficult or refusing to do work. Help! — Signed, Between a rock and a hard place in Iowa.” Find Dana on Twitter at @DanaTheus.
David Dye of Trailblaze submitted How to Lead When It Looks Impossible. David summarizes, “Every leader faces challenges that look impossible. David offers encouragement and practical next steps based on a recent mountain he and Karin Hurt climbed.” Follow David on Twitter at @davidmdye.
David Grossman of The Grossman Group shared 7 Requirements of a Strategic Messaging Methodology. David writes, “What is a Strategic Messaging Methodology, and what can it do for you, your leaders, and your organization? Simply put, it’s a process that helps you think strategically about how you develop your story, drive alignment, and tell it powerfully—whether it’s a large organizational story or whether you want to communicate change inside your organization. ” Discover David on Twitter at @thoughtpartner.
Jill Malleck of Epiphany at Work contributed They Told You What They Think of You, Now What?. Jill shares, “Getting 360 degree feedback anonymously can be overwhelming and cause anxiety. Jill explains how you can pluck out the meaningful messages and take positive action.” Find Jill on Twitter at @epiphanyatwork.
Jesse Lyn Stoner of the Seapoint Center shared 7 Fail-Safe Steps to Increase Responsibility and Develop Your Team . Jesse Lyn recaps, “If you’re not offering your people the opportunity to grow – to increase their responsibility and learn new skills – you are going to lose them. But increasing responsibility without also delegating authority is a recipe for disaster. And simply delegating is not always the answer either.” Follow Jesse Lyn on Twitter at @JesseLynStoner.
Jim Taggart of Changing Winds provided Samsung’s Failed Executive Leadership. Jim shares, “Being the top leader of an organization, whether in the public or private sphere, is no easy task. What’s more appropriately called executive managerial leadership (as opposed to the overused, feel good term “leadership”), those at the helm of companies or government agencies have huge responsibilities.” Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.
John Hunter of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog shared Bell Labs Designing a New Phone System Using Idealized Design. John summarizes, “The basic idea of idealized design is to create a new design for a product, service or the organization based on what is feasible today (but without being limited by the constraints of the existing state). Then, use that ideal to guide you as you figure out a plan to move from the existing state to that idealized design.” Find John on Twitter at @curiouscat_com.
Julie Winkle-Giulioni of Julie Winkle-Giulioni provided Whoa! What are today’s most common leadership mistakes? Julie recaps, “As counterintuitive as it may seem, well-meaning leaders undermine staff development – and ultimately results – not because they are doing too little but because they are doing too much.” Find Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.
Marcella Bremer of Leadership and Change Magazine provided The Power of Less: Get More Done. Marcella recaps, “I love Leo Babauta’s message from The Power Of Less. It sounds so simple, but it’s easier said than done: Identify the essential and eliminate the rest. If you spread yourself too thin; it dilutes your power and effectiveness. Do you do little of too many things? Or do you focus on just one big goal?” Find Marcella on Twitter at @marcellabremer.
Mary Ila Ward of Horizon Point Consulting contributed Leaders and Runners, Don’t Run the Race Alone. She recaps, “In ‘Leaders and Runners, Don’t Run the Race Alone,’ Mary Ila encourages leaders to arm themselves with a wingman or wingwoman and provides tips on how leaders can gain ‘wing strength,’ emphasizing that ‘All runners, and leaders, especially those out for the long haul, need a wingman.’” Discover Mary Ila on Twitter at @maryilaward.
Paul LaRue of The UPwards Leader contributed How To Lead With A Sandbox Culture. Paul summarizes, “Striking a balance between cultural and operational parameters that allows your employees room to innovate is always a challenge. Thinking of it as a sandbox in a playground will help that balance.” Follow Paul on Twitter at @paul_larue.
Randy Conley of Leading With Trust shared 10 Ways Leaders Can Easily Build Trust with Their New Teams. Randy writes, “Trust doesn’t ‘just happen’ by accident. It takes intentional effort and leaders need to have a specific game plan to establish and nurture trust in relationships. Randy Conley offers advice from the trenches in this post.” Find Randy on Twitter at @randyconley.
Susan Mazza of Random Acts of Leadership provided I Choose to Honor You. Susan explains, “If we truly want to be constructive participants and collaborators in our democracy, we need to bring a better spirit to our conversations with each other. We need to start talking with one another about the things that are hard to talk about, to engage in conversations with people who do not look or think like us, so we can learn. We need to be far more curious and much more discerning about what we believe and what we think we know, and seek truth rather than assume we are being told the truth.” Follow Susan on Twitter at @susanmazza.
“Ownership” is the difference between having employees who care and those who are just along for the ride.
Jim Haskett, Harvard business School professor emeritus, hosts lively conversations around current research he and his colleagues have done. The comment period is roughly two weeks and the ideas/comments are as interesting as Haskett’s original post.
In our work, we found that an “owner”—either a loyal employee or customer who takes responsibility for improving relationships, products, and processes as well as referring new employee candidates or customers—can be worth more than a hundred “renters—”those who are only involved with the organization to complete one or more transactions.
Think about it; why would Uber drivers care about the company — to use Haskett’s terms, they rent the job.
It isn’t just the so-called on-demand jobs that hire renters. There are plenty of them in full-time positions and, surprisingly, even in companies such as Google and Facebook.
In a recent Golden Oldie we considered the truism that “you get what you give” when it comes to respect and that’s true about most things.
Another old saying is also very true — people don’t quit companies, they quit managers.
In companies with “real” jobs, it’s the managers who determine whether employees are owners or renters.
Be sure to click over, read the comments and add your own.
It’s amazing to me, but looking back over more than a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time.
Tomorrow is your last chance to vote. Your last chance in what may be the most important election of your life. Or maybe, like me, you already voted. Either way, here are quotes from and links to political post I wrote in the past. Two are serious and two are just for fun. I hope you enjoy them.
We have no leaders, let alone statesmen, just ideologues, elected by like-minded ideologues, who care only about getting reelected, bringing government money back to their constituency and making lucrative connections in the event they aren’t reelected or are caught by term limits.
Just think what a difference if our national political scene included
more playmakers,
managers who were sharper identifying and keeping talent,
everybody better at cultivating and communicating, instead of scheming, and
better locker-room chemistry.
Notice that the most important is listed last.
What a difference it would make in their ability to find viable solutions, instead of ideological posturing.
Isn’t it funny how the word ‘politics’ is made up of the words ‘poli’ meaning ‘many’ in Latin, and ‘tics’ as in ‘bloodsucking creatures’?
A little girl asked her father, “Daddy? Do all Fairy Tales begin with ‘Once Upon A Time’?”
He replied, “No, there is a whole series of Fairy Tales that begin with ‘If elected I promise’.”
One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’ The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber goes to open his shop the next morning there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.
Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’ The cop is happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.
Later that day, a college professor comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’ The professor is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber opens his shop, there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen different books, such as ‘How to Improve Your Business’ and ‘Becoming More Successful.
Then, a Congressman comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’ The Congressman is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.
And there lies the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the members of our Congress.
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read allIf the Shoe Fits posts here
Startups love to rail against regulations, claiming they stifle innovation.
Uber and Airbnb are two of the most aggressive fighting them, not to mention the loudest.
What do you think?
Do you believe that eliminating/diluting regulations would provide the necessary boost to bring innovations to fruition?
Uber and Airbnb brazenly ignored regulations and, when that didn’t work, took their fight to the court of public opinion, lobbied for legal change and sued.
Would eliminating regulations have made Theranos’ blood tests work and produced a better outcome for its customers?
Autonomous and semi-autonomous cars are another battlefield.
And for all its high-profile supporters, millions of people around the globe are concerned with safety — with good reason.
Obviously, regulations aren’t all bad, especially when when the cost of ignoring or eliminating them could be measured in lives lost.
Regulations are something that startup CEOs need to deal with and most do.
Most, but not George Hotz.
When he received a letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found a third option — turn tail and run.
Comma.AI, a startup run by famous hacker George Hotz, has shut down its project dedicated to building a Tesla-like semi-autonomous driving system after a warning from the federal government. (…) The cancellation was prompted by a letter Comma.AI received from the , which asked the startup to provide information to ensure the product’s safety or face civil penalties of up to $21,000 a day.
Considering the product was a $1000 DIY semi-autonomous kit the market would likely be huge.
It seems reasonable to me to ask for proof it was safe, just as Theranos was asked for proof.
However, unlike Theranos’ CEO, Hotz didn’t dance, blow smoke or wave mirrors — he turned tail and claimed a pivot.
Would much rather spend my life building amazing tech than dealing with regulators and lawyers. It isn’t worth it. -GH 2/3
Maybe when you’re 27 and best known for hacking an iPhone as a teen and a PlayStation 3 a few years later that’s what you do when faced with authority.
Mainly because plans are made and remade over and over again, so why plan at all if it’s going to keep changing?
Because the most valuable part is the act of planning, not the result of it.
Planning forces you to think in depth—an often painful process that most of us would rather avoid.
For example, it is impossible to plan an upcoming product launch without considering all the things that could go wrong simultaneously with defining the steps to take and the results you seek.
The discussion (even if it’s with yourself) engendered by stating that you are going to do A forces you to consider what will happen if A doesn’t accomplish what you want or what to do if doing A becomes impossible for whatever reason (time, money, manpower, etc.)
It is plan-the-verb, as opposed to plan-the-noun, that distinguishes the winners from the also-rans and it is the verb that keeps you ahead of the competition.
Just as importantly, it’s plan-the-verb that should be pushed down throughout your organization.
This is accomplished by giving the goal to the next level down and asking them to plan how they will achieve it.
They, in turn, should create multiple goals from it and pass those down to their direct reports and so on down the organizational ladder all the way to the lowest level.
At each handoff the goal is divided again and again and each person has to plan how to achieve their part with the help of their group.
Always plan in pencil, because plan-the-noun needs to be a living organism that grows and changes, just as a tree bends in the wind to avoid breaking.
The benefits of this process are enormous.
Embedding plan-the-verb in your company’s culture means it to become a core competency.
That gives your company the ability to react far more swiftly as the waves and eddies within your industry and the economy in general constantly change your market.
Plan-the-verb boosts initiative, encourages taking responsibility and speeds professional growth, providing you with a stronger in-house bench from which to grow.
It is always detrimental to value the noun—plan, leader, manager—more than the verb—plan, lead, manage.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
How much management/coaching is too much?
How much do you rely on the so-called “wisdom of crowds” when you’re making decisions?
Anne Perschel of 
It’s amazing to me, but looking back over more than a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written. 
Planning isn’t most founders’ favorite thing.
