tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53573875268646644172024-03-05T06:23:01.900-08:00WorkWorthyBecause work should be done excellently and work should be "ensouling"Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-43840142371369963222013-11-25T08:22:00.001-08:002013-11-25T16:55:50.263-08:00Let's Start the "Generosity Revolution"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3P55nRSZk8EPACIDO3Po88-RCuo9fmj0IpFYLBKZLrqIl1MqoJw9qQCI9R3D334xj0VPocX2b8l97Nru26KLP9DJUzoPnY8H2O5fNGqSU3xJvqNtGXIx_blnLt_da4qmFQRqDt9YAps/s1600/photo+(4).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3P55nRSZk8EPACIDO3Po88-RCuo9fmj0IpFYLBKZLrqIl1MqoJw9qQCI9R3D334xj0VPocX2b8l97Nru26KLP9DJUzoPnY8H2O5fNGqSU3xJvqNtGXIx_blnLt_da4qmFQRqDt9YAps/s320/photo+(4).png" width="213" /></a>We think that when we show generosity, the person that gets the benefit is the person whose need we are meeting. Someone moves forward because we give them our money, time or words of encouragement. But generosity works as much (if not more) in the heart of the giver as it does in the life of the receiver. It shares this unique capability to take the momentum of good and then flip that momentum back at the originating person with other expressions of love. For example, when we forgive someone else, we think we are letting them off the hook, but what happens when we forgive another person is that our own hands are removed from our own throats. When we show generosity, we think we are providing resources to a life of scarcity, but what really happens is that our own hearts broaden and grow in abundance.<br />
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Recently I shared 12 thoughts on generosity in a talk entitled,<a href="http://www.warehouse242.org/media/audio/20131124_KG_generosity_one.mp3" target="_blank"><b><i> <span style="color: blue;">"Let's Start the Generosity Revolution."</span></i></b></a><span style="color: blue;"> </span>The goal of that talk was to radicalize the audience towards generous lives. Don't listen to this talk unless you want to be radicalized yourself.<br />
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But I wonder, who would you become if you became your most fully generous self?<br />
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Here are the bullet points from that talk, some that might surprise you.<br />
<ul>
<li>Generosity cannot be crammed onto your To Do List. The opportunity to show generosity lies within every item on your To Do List.</li>
<li>Generosity implies heart-spaciousness or soul-bandwidth.</li>
<li>Generosity is attention.</li>
<li>Generosity is inconvenient.</li>
<li>Generosity is going to pinch your rock and roll lifestyle. </li>
<li>Generosity is not a doing, but a way of being. </li>
<li>Generosity is not a doing BUT, it is ridiculous to say you ARE something if you are not doing it.</li>
<li>Generosity is surprisingly intentional. </li>
<li>You don’t do generosity, generosity does you. </li>
<li>Generosity is subversive.</li>
<li>When done as a crowd, the impact of generosity is unfathomable. </li>
<li>To become most fully generous, you must first receive it fully yourself. </li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Let’s start a generosity revolution. </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Right here. Right now. With you. With me. </i></b></div>
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<b><i>At work and everywhere else.</i></b></div>
Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-56370298594711936012013-10-31T14:48:00.002-07:002013-10-31T15:20:59.270-07:00If You Wait To Address A Need Until You Have The Need, You've Likely Waited Too Late<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i>"Nobody has to tell the ant what to do.</i></span></span><br />
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YKcd586Rqdf-_Nxp0vHYc0_f-o2vgSO5VGsZc1BiJZXSHT4yCciqnYKPbuY7QzcnTDkTLHaiysW9lS2maa8_AnGRC8wXdWGYWlZPFwSOuYDGJzVkUygLP3k2i4QYf67r2j3z7ElfcBE/s1600/new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YKcd586Rqdf-_Nxp0vHYc0_f-o2vgSO5VGsZc1BiJZXSHT4yCciqnYKPbuY7QzcnTDkTLHaiysW9lS2maa8_AnGRC8wXdWGYWlZPFwSOuYDGJzVkUygLP3k2i4QYf67r2j3z7ElfcBE/s320/new.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Prov-6-6-Prov-6-11" style="position: relative;">All summer it stores up food;</span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Prov-6-6-Prov-6-11" style="position: relative;">at harvest it stockpiles provisions.</span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="text Prov-6-6-Prov-6-11" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?"</span></span></i><br />
<span class="text Prov-6-6-Prov-6-11" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; position: relative;"><i> - Proverbs 6</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="text Prov-6-6-Prov-6-11" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; position: relative;"><i><br /></i></span>
Over Memorial Day Weekend of this year I had a routine appendectomy performed. That routine appendectomy ended-up being anything but routine and led to a series of infections. Ultimately in September I had a MRSA-laden abscess the size of two softballs removed from my chest cavity. The illness cost me a lot of hours, emotions and dollars and was a tremendous drain on several relationships. </span><br />
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The surgery to remove the abscess from the chest, what is called a "thoracotomy/decortication," is a major surgery, with plenty of subsequent pain, surgical risks and a long recovery period. Yet in the first hours after my surgery, doctors were clear that I had an advantage. I was not going to be the run-of-the-mill patient because years of physical condition and a solid diet would greatly improve my outcome compared to my peers. Additionally, the discipline I've learned as a CrossFit athlete and marathoner had taught me how to suffer and endure and still maintain a positive and realistic outlook during difficult moments, something you need to have in place before your chest is opened-up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5BvR6HQuJ0" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: blue;">In a recent video I posted on YouTube, I covered some of my insights. A main insight is this: If we wait until we have a need to address the need, then we have waited too late</span></i><b>.</b></a> The best time to prepare for difficulties is in times of abundance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The time to get a loan for your business is when your business is operating profitably, not during a downturn.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The time to right size and close unprofitable activities is when an organization as a whole is profiting.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The time to align your activities to your life's values is when you are flourishing and not when you are struggling.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The time to invest in your marriage is when it is going well.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The time to tell and show your kids your love is often and early and not when they get into tight straights.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The time to change your diet is before you are diagnosed with conditions and illnesses that could sideline for long periods of time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The time to start a new exercise program is likely right now and not later.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You get the idea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, pretend you are an ant. Where is the area of your life where you can begin storing up your provisions you'll need in the future?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is my YouTube Video</span><br />
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Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-6317013616712825752013-10-28T09:28:00.001-07:002018-01-26T07:45:49.847-08:00Write Your Own Obituary<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Begin with the
end in mind.” – Steven Covey.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJEFaj4-DSmLRm04CQnYqffaAtOB7SFt7hg45MVAaF8y3lpSj8294E5tDI73rKBvir2ivdcgE8pN-Z1Rx5tYTxsuE00KnbN5CkEi_jDVStbsd6P1J3uuPSELkYFd9qogXUNJTV-I9Hvo/s1600/obit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJEFaj4-DSmLRm04CQnYqffaAtOB7SFt7hg45MVAaF8y3lpSj8294E5tDI73rKBvir2ivdcgE8pN-Z1Rx5tYTxsuE00KnbN5CkEi_jDVStbsd6P1J3uuPSELkYFd9qogXUNJTV-I9Hvo/s200/obit.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This exercise is the ultimate expression of that mindset.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Real personal significance and achievement is unlocked
when we envision a desired future and then move forward. Priorities take hold.
We learn to stop giving time to what is urgent and focus on what is important. How
will you be remembered? What do you really want to achieve? What relationships
will you invest in with the limited time you have in this life? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Without further ado then, complete this “self-written
obituary” exercise below. Your focus should be aspirational...</span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">how do you want your obituary to
be written when you die?</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Take 30 minutes to answer the questions, then read your obituary from end-to-end and ask
yourself, “Is this really how I want my life summarized?” Make the changes based on your review. Next,
share the document with someone you trust and who is close to you and let them
ask you questions about it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i>Don’t
be surprised if the exercise rearranges your priorities and becomes a driving
force to align your daily activities with your ultimate goals!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><b>________________________________________________________________________________________</b></i></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">___________________________________________</b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(your full name)</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 12px;">OBITUARY</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">_________________ </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(your full name)</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">was born in _________________
</span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(town/city)</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">on ___________________
</span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(date
of birth), </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">the child of _________________
</span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(Mother’s
full name) </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">and _________________ </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(Father’s full name).</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Those friends and family closest to _________________ </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(your first name), </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">described her/him as</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(describe or list here the most
important personal characteristics for which you want to be remembered).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">_________________ </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(your first name)</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">was proudest of
several significant achievements in their life</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">________________________________________________________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">______________________________________________________________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><sub><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></sub><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(list here whatever
you consider to be significant: college degrees, military service, contributions
made to community, businesses you founded, children, grandchildren, etc.).</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">_________________ </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(your first name), </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">enjoyed spending time ________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">________________________________________________________________________</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(describe here how you want to use your
time, not how you are using your time presently).</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The one thing that they always wanted to do, but never found
time or energy to do was ________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">________________________________________________________________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><sub><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></sub><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(describe here something
that you would love to experience in life, but have been delaying to do).<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">_________________ </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(your first name), </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">loved to ___________________________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(list here things you
love or would love to do, things that
bring you to life such as hobbies, leisure activities like travel, visiting the mountains, raising
kids, serving others, etc.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">_________________ </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(your first name)</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">leaves behind many
family and friends who loved them. They are survived by________________________________________________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">________________________________________________________________________</span><sub><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></sub><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(list who would
survive and miss you today, their names and their relationship to you, eg “wife” or “daughter.”</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">_________________ </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(your first name)</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">In lieu of flowers,
the family requests that you consider a donation to _____________________________________________________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(the charitable organization that</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;"> most resonates with your life purpose).</span></div>
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Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-8095091979914026952013-10-04T13:30:00.000-07:002013-10-04T13:30:04.083-07:00What Do I Want at The End of This Day?Recently life has dealt me a difficult hand to play. A simple and routine appendectomy back over Memorial Day weekend took a lot of odd twists and turns, resulting months later in a large MRSA abscess in my right lung cavity. Major surgery, IV antibiotics and lots of rest and <b><i>down time</i></b> are required to restore my health.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjke_Lefh68gzuDElRKp0Wq-01VTbuLX4MUNgub-j9fxolOIkQAIehXucIQUOinJWPzPgH5urD8D5hzZaVsFGKyzOWe8qO_oY_J-zh2BK-g8KTn0S3oC6dd77sg5uA_RCkK9p0d33As97U/s1600/Staph+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjke_Lefh68gzuDElRKp0Wq-01VTbuLX4MUNgub-j9fxolOIkQAIehXucIQUOinJWPzPgH5urD8D5hzZaVsFGKyzOWe8qO_oY_J-zh2BK-g8KTn0S3oC6dd77sg5uA_RCkK9p0d33As97U/s320/Staph+Man.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My confession: I am not good at <b><i>"Down Time."</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
There are many things that are frustrating about illness, but a major frustration for me is the sense of anxiety I have that 'nothing will get done while I am sick.' What does not get done is not just business or making a dollar, other things suffer: Relationships suffer because I am isolated, my sense of satisfaction that I get from doing work-worthily is lost because I am not working, the exhaustion that accompanies acute pain dulls my critical thinking and leaves me confused. Early in my illness, I found myself very frustrated at night, having not accomplished near enough, swearing to do better the next day and then failing the next day because my basic capability to work was unchanged. It was a very bad loop down with no real sense of how to get out, except by working harder, something I could not do.<br />
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Asking myself a question relieved me of a lot of anxiety and also has helped me to be much more effective in the midst of this difficulty. <b><i> I ask myself at the beginning of every day, "What do I want at the end of this day?" </i></b><br />
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This question is so powerful that Kathi, my wife, has started asking me this in the morning too. As I answer her out loud, I find my thinking about what is important to me. I think about what will really make me happy, what will get me closer to my big goals and what is enough. My thinking gets clearer and a lot of unnecessary daily activities that would normally be assumed as needing to be done, simply get ruled out of the day.<br />
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<b><u>Thought Experiment</u></b>: Ask yourself the question: <b><i>"What do I want at the end of this day?"</i></b> Now as you ponder the question, consider what your priorities should be, what activities should you drop, what are you doing that is unnecessary, what are you really capable of doing in terms of time and energy?<br />
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In my own case, I found that when I first asked the question, I had 11 hours of priorities and activities. However, as a person who was fighting with a serious health issue, I had only 3 hours of energy to work in a day. So then I would ask myself, "What does a '3 Hour Kurt' do in order to get what he wants at the end of the day?" More often than not, I have found that I can achieve many of my goals with much less work than I previously imagined and the sense of accomplishing the most important things lets me put my head down on the pillow at night content, which incidentally is going to speed my recovery.<br />
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Don't wait for a serious illness to start asking this enlightening question every morning.<br />
<br />
<b><i>What do you want at the end of this day?</i></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A conversation with someone close to you about something important?</li>
<li>To get the shopping and laundry done? </li>
<li>To make a decision that you have been procrastinating on?</li>
</ul>
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Forget doing everything on your list of daily "To Do's." Forget doing all the stuff you dutifully believe you must do. Tomorrow, just do the few things that are going to bring you the most satisfaction at the end of the day. <b><i>What do you want at the end of the day?</i></b></div>
Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-20154913169828387052013-06-07T09:13:00.002-07:002013-06-07T09:33:46.800-07:00All The People Matter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lj1XAzBR1ZWV2GIFmpT9bUyPnLCz0rHWzp7U7e11hXzoNM2Pl3qYtLzeG1h-kKj91V2kkHoR-4cdmGVB9Rqbevhm__5mggPtBeL1PxKyMQYhWxpZFZawDNI_XEd3su2pKOzRW0Oiyvk/s1600/IMG_4629+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lj1XAzBR1ZWV2GIFmpT9bUyPnLCz0rHWzp7U7e11hXzoNM2Pl3qYtLzeG1h-kKj91V2kkHoR-4cdmGVB9Rqbevhm__5mggPtBeL1PxKyMQYhWxpZFZawDNI_XEd3su2pKOzRW0Oiyvk/s320/IMG_4629+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My contention is that "All The People Matter" in an organization and I will argue long and hard for that position. But a picture may be "worth a thousand words." An old rock fortress of dry-stacked, unhewn stones I saw along the Incan Trail in Atacama, Chile is my metaphor for two insights into WorkWorthy workplaces:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nothing is more important for managers to do than to select the right people every time / all the time.</span></li>
<li>Each person in the workplace needs to realize the importance of their position to every other stone.</li>
</ul>
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Whoever built the fortress considered the unique shape of each stone to perfect the fit with the other stones in the wall. All the stones matter in this fortress because all of them depend on every other individual stone for their strength and durability. If one stone fails, the entire structure is compromised. The Incan fortress challenges leaders to select the right people for their workplace every time, all the time. Selecting the right person for a job is the most important thing managers do; if you plan to build something that is going to last, you need to select people that can last. This week I saw a statistic that said that 40% of executives fail in new companies within 18 months. Get real. That is abysmal performance. Get even more real, is your percentage better than that? Get still more real. That number does not even include the number of execs that stay in their new jobs that are sub-performing. </div>
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When I first saw the fortress, I asked my guide, "Wow, where is the fence to keep people away that would pull out one of those stones at the bottom and send the entire thing tumbling?" He answered, more or less, "What sort of person would do that?" Honestly, I thought of myself as an 8 year-old boy and could imagine someone who <i>could</i> do something like that. Are you an employee that jumps from job to job, because the problem is with your bosses and not with the person you see in the mirror? Don't think that your job-hopping doesn't damage a lot of other people that are depending on you, because likely it does.</div>
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Probably the most challenging thing the fortress has to say about workplaces is our individual responsibility to the community in which we are set. I have heard people say that in battle, soldiers do not fight for their country, that they fight for the person on their left and right. For sure a lot of workplaces are sub-par, soul-killing places, but what kind of stone are you in that workplace? How are you showing up in the workplace? Are you a person upon which every other person can depend? When the people to your left and right think of you, are they glad it is you who is there?</div>
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"All the people matter." Go out and make that real today!</div>
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<br />Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-77780272903594208822013-01-03T07:02:00.001-08:002013-01-03T08:19:26.496-08:00How to Succeed: Kryptonite, Games Standard & Perseverance<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZeotYaeh9GCrnxDemTaRnOWINTUrJRQdK8RqGC48FTFoL-wFb3NBIoZfnBqdxS4QFN-I_FyWGZ4-ry9sZjt73K5pbIFMKQilmCGBByYFzmwO-jOF_75_wquat7Zza6_OLUi1aXIdmn4/s1600/IMG_5325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZeotYaeh9GCrnxDemTaRnOWINTUrJRQdK8RqGC48FTFoL-wFb3NBIoZfnBqdxS4QFN-I_FyWGZ4-ry9sZjt73K5pbIFMKQilmCGBByYFzmwO-jOF_75_wquat7Zza6_OLUi1aXIdmn4/s320/IMG_5325.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seeing the world from an inverted position in Patagonia!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am a lifelong devotee to athletics and physical fitness. For the last 2 years, I have been a "CrossFit Athlete." <i><span style="color: blue;"><b><a href="http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Trial_04_2012.pdf" target="_blank">(What is CrossFit?)</a>.</b></span></i> CrossFit aims to improve people's ability to live life to the full, by providing a regimen for developing 10 general physical skills (Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Agility, Balance, Accuracy, Coordination, Power and Speed). The CrossFit program has been a challenging one for me, even though I have been a successful lifelong competitor in distance running. <br />
<br />
Like anyone that is beginning CrossFit, 2 years ago there were few things in the program that I could do well. And to this day there are many elements of the program that I am no where near mastering. <br />
<br />
Today I did a <b><i><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.crossfiteternal.com/2013/01/03/132012-2/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">workout</span></a> </span></i></b>that included 30 Handstand Push-Ups. The beauty of CrossFit is that it allows for "scaling" movements, so that elite athletes and new athletes alike can capture the essence of a movement and benefit from the effort while accommodating the differences in abilities. For 2 years I have been unable to complete a workout that included "Games Standard" Handstand Push-Ups and have instead needed to scale the movements. "Games Standard" requires strict adherence of the movement without any mercy. This morning, I completed the workout, but only moments before time ran out to complete the workout. But for me, it was a real breakthrough and now I have a real sense of accomplishment!<br />
<br />
In order to achieve my seemingly silly personal accomplishment I had to do three things and these three things are metaphors for the journey to success:<br />
<ol>
<li>I am one of just a few "old-timers" in a gym that is full of strong, vibrant 20 and 30-somethings. Sometimes us old-timers jokingly say things like, "Just wait until they get to be our age, then they will know how tough this is!" But the truth is, early on I rejected that kind of thinking as "excuse making." No one becomes a better athlete by making excuses. I had to give up on excuses early in my CrossFit start-up and embrace who I was and work with the raw material that I was: an arthritic joint, tight hips and shoulders, various weaknesses and still I was a potentially very powerful and strong person. No excuses, just hug your kryptonite instead of making excuses about it.</li>
<li>I had to decide with just 6 repetitions completed in my workout today if I would continue the effort to do the movements according to Games Standard or go back to scaling. I actually began the process of scaling the movement, then caught myself giving up and said to myself, "No way." Those 30 Handstand Push-Ups took me 17 minutes to complete. By comparison it would take someone that has mastered that movement just a few minutes to do the same. My point here is that there was a moment of real doubt, and it took only one other moment of decision to overcome that self-limiting thinking.</li>
<li>The other way to see this is to say, "It did not take me 17 minutes to do 30 Handstand Push-ups. It took me 2 years of training to achieve 30 Games Standard Handstand Push-Ups." It was perseverance and consistency that brought me to the moment of doubt, decision AND accomplishment.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<b>The Metaphor to Work:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>What excuses are you using that are keeping you from getting started on some challenging, but necessary work? <b>What part of the issue you face has your name on it?</b> Are you ready to admit how flawed you are? Are you ready to see how much greater is your potential power than the flaws you carry? <b>Hug your kryptonite</b> today instead of leaning on your strengths, covering your doubts and guarding your vulnerabilities.</li>
<li><b>What uncomfortable thing will you do today that will give you real doubt? </b>The kind of doubt that in the past has made you into a "quitter." No one wants to be a quitter. Is it a phone call you have to make to an unhappy customer? A conversation that is needed with a non-performing employee? Is it a boss that needs to be confronted about their arrogance? Do you start to work on a critical long-term project, but become anxious and instead work on your email? Decide before you start to do something hard that when the moment of doubt comes, you will be prepared to make the decision to continue according to "Games Standard." </li>
<li><b>Consistently Persevere</b>. There is no substitute for hard work done regularly and done as well as you can possibly do it. The idea of an "overnight success" is ludicrous; a lie with which we anesthetize ourselves. Have nothing to do with such nonsense and weak thinking. Without persistence and consistency you have no hope of making large impacts in your company's profits or in your desire to lead a life of significance. With them you will flourish during the journey and arrive with joy in a place of success. </li>
</ul>
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<div>
<b><i>Hug your kryptonite.</i></b></div>
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<div>
<b><i>Decide to perform Games Standard when the moment of doubt arrives (and it will arrive).</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Consistently persevere.</i></b></div>
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<br />Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-26262947108109036872012-12-07T11:31:00.000-08:002012-12-07T11:31:34.369-08:00Taking Responsibility<i><b>“What piece of this issue or opportunity has your name written on it.” - Susan Long, author of 'Fierce Conversations'</b></i><br />
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Here is a thought experiment. Consider the common situations below, for which people very often think they have no responsibility :</div>
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<ol>
<li>One of your employees is performing well below expectations...</li>
<li>A new customer onboarding process was botched...</li>
<li>You don't have time for a quarterly strategic summit with your key leaders...</li>
<li>15 minutes after scheduling a golf game this Saturday you learned that your kid has a baseball game at that same time..</li>
<li>It is 5:15PM. Everyone else has left the office, but you'll be there until 8:30PM (and this is nothing new)...</li>
<li>Your largest customer ran a promotion on your best-selling product and just wiped-out your entire inventory...</li>
</ol>
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<div>
Now consider the completion of the scenarios above:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>...and you have not completed a performance review in 2 years for any of your direct reports.</li>
<li>...and you have known for some time that there is no regular interdepartmental coordination meeting for this process.</li>
<li>...because your calendar is full of 'urgent' fires that have to be fought day-to-day.</li>
<li>...but you never share your calendar with your spouse or significant other because you don't like being 'checked-on.'</li>
<li>...you've never asked yourself, "why am I so busy and the people that work for me are not?"</li>
<li>...and your operational staff does not interact with customers</li>
</ol>
<div>
It's easy to chalk up shoddy performance and missed opportunities to 'things that just happen in life', but the truth is that we have more control over those things than we are comfortable admitting. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Consider writing down 2 or 3 things that went wrong in the last couple of weeks and ask yourself <a href="http://www.fierceinc.com/blog/tag/susan-scott" target="_blank">Susan Scott's</a> question, <b>"What piece of this issue/opportunity has my name on it?"</b></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.fierceinc.com/blog/tag/susan-scott" target="_blank">You can access Susan Scott's blog here.</a> Take the time to do so, you'll be glad you did.</i></div>
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Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-75510950263242901672012-11-04T14:29:00.000-08:002012-11-04T14:40:36.089-08:00Act Like A Horse. Be Dumb. Just Run.<br />
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<i><b>“Act like a horse. Be dumb.
Just run.” - Jumbo Elliott, Hall
of Fame, Villanova Track and Field Coach</b><o:p></o:p></i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing kick, with Dad watching on.</td></tr>
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While you
are overthinking your next move, your competitor is getting stronger, faster
and smarter. While you are putting
together more rationale for a plan you are late to launch, your boss is losing
confidence in you. While you are procrastinating on a decision, your employees
are losing passion for their jobs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Learning
requires three activities: Insight ->
Decision -> Action. And it has been
said that the most critical phase of learning takes place in the “Action”
stage, where you can tell who has learned the most by counting who has the most
bumps on their foreheads from running into walls.</div>
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So tomorrow
do something radical:</div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Start your day with a decision.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Take a substantial action before your second cup
of coffee.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Announce your intention to launch a pilot on
that idea you’ve been toying with for a month.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Assemble your team and ask them where they think
you’ve been a wimp on a decision and then make the decision on the top 3 items
before they leave your office.</span></li>
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People love being part of an organization that is moving forward, even if it means bumping
into some walls. You’ll love leading one too!<o:p></o:p></div>
Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-56369000716356281512012-10-11T20:03:00.001-07:002012-10-12T06:17:01.709-07:00Embrace Disappointment, Embrace Silence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
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<b><i>“There are
insights and emotions that can find you in no other way than through silence
and within silence.” - Susan Scott,
“Fierce Conversations”</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwhvSD85j9WcpiPiVg8B4WZYAOK9Mphhv5UyBVlVjP7-9qB0Ets4mcHJmToWO4ArfkR2bOFilNPnQ8FcED5Dzss1V-u_LGf08eoYX1ZsUn9bjpYAMraBFo578pQxOYnmEI92D5NKzK2Y/s1600/IMG_5143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwhvSD85j9WcpiPiVg8B4WZYAOK9Mphhv5UyBVlVjP7-9qB0Ets4mcHJmToWO4ArfkR2bOFilNPnQ8FcED5Dzss1V-u_LGf08eoYX1ZsUn9bjpYAMraBFo578pQxOYnmEI92D5NKzK2Y/s400/IMG_5143.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atacama, Chile. A place of solitude where I have embraced that fierce,<br />
internal conversation in life's disappointments.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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If you take
risks, you will endure disappointment. Perhaps you will fail yourself or fail someone else. Maybe someone
will fail to keep a commitment to you. The timing of your new venture
will be wrong. Your new product launch won't catch fire.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
When
disappointment comes, you won’t like what you feel. When it comes, you likely
will be more than a bit inconsolable. When it arrives, you likely won’t be
proud of your behavior. You may sulk. You may withdraw initially. You may play the role of a victim.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Is there a
way to avoid disappointment? Absolutely not. Not if you intend to make an
impact or achieve some work that is really worthwhile.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
So buck it
up. When disappointment comes, take Susan Scott’s advice and move into what
feels like an even more dangerous place than disappointment – silence. Sit with
your questions. Refuse to self-medicate your unease. Allow for a pause. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Why?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Because in
silence will come a new way of accepting your part in your failures. In quiet
you will gain clarity and find new direction. In the pause of life you will
find a recommitment to your vision, purpose and desire to make an impact. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What choice
is there for you anyway? You won’t
settle for failure and you won’t settle for no impact in life. At your very core, you sense you must make a
significant, positive impact in life. So embrace disappointment and move on
with renewed knowledge and intensity!<o:p></o:p></div>
Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-43963474930750767632012-07-10T11:27:00.001-07:002012-07-10T12:21:04.370-07:00Antidote: Living Robustly In Transition<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLewQqzf2ughDtqk8FaXCqxsQmACfYyE4vjUCh3gI-ZqvuskzfKgc61_8H3Vj0S-TTJoQuFh5XQqTEB_M0ElZ_qp-ezo-k7zA0GO-Rfm_Xs0TD4Lj8PCaD3aNtYKVw-hu6tOSgU4bq740/s1600/IMG_7165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLewQqzf2ughDtqk8FaXCqxsQmACfYyE4vjUCh3gI-ZqvuskzfKgc61_8H3Vj0S-TTJoQuFh5XQqTEB_M0ElZ_qp-ezo-k7zA0GO-Rfm_Xs0TD4Lj8PCaD3aNtYKVw-hu6tOSgU4bq740/s400/IMG_7165.JPG" width="326" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My faith community is presently in a time of transition. The Lead Pastor
has left and the next one hasn’t yet arrived.
Typically such times of transition last between 1 and 2 years. And while
this type of transition may be common for churches, it is also a long time for
any organization to be without a top leader.
Common organizational wisdom in the business world would tell you that
such a long time of being “leaderless” is perilous. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So why isn’t my community panicking?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I heard someone say recently, “There are only 3 kinds of people; those
that are going into transition, those that are currently in transition and
those that are coming out of transition.” The question then is how to make life
in transitional times as profound and robust as the times when expansion is
more visible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Faith communities navigate transition successfully, sometimes more so
than businesses, because they embrace transition readily. They understand
inherently that there are times of “going out” and times of “coming in” and
they embrace both equally. During times of “coming in,” businesses tend to
focus on things like cost reductions, improved processes and finding new
markets. Churches and synagogues
however, focus first on the tending of souls (their people) during such times.
You see, it’s a simple matter of understanding and prioritizing: If you focus
on people first, you may also get the desired results in reductions, processes
and new markets. But if you focus most
intently on reductions, processes and new markets, particularly while excluding
attention to souls, you may end up with nothing. Why? Because people (souls) do
<i>everything</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An example of this is happening right now at Warehouse 242, where the
Teaching Team is focusing its weekly Sunday service teaching on the concept of
“Antidote.” Steve Whitby, Pastor of Creativity there, puts it this way, <b><span style="color: #073763;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_634380426">“</a><i><a href="http://www.warehouse242.org/?p=230186" target="_blank">The term “Antidote” ultimately derives fromthe Greek word “antididonal,” which means “given against.” It’s not just a cure, it is the implementation of something created to act against our darkest enemies.”</a> </i></span></b>During times of transition, people and communities experience all
kinds of negative emotions and behaviors, these being the “darkest enemies.”
This community chose to first normalize those enemies by identifying the most
likely and destructive ones. Then secondly, to grow strengths into the
community by building the natural antidote to those soul sicknesses, so when
the community emerges from their transition they will have expanded profoundly
and robustly and will be prepared for a new stage of visible growth that they
were not ready to handle before the transition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What are some of the Enemies / Antidotes that are common in transition? Here’s
a starting list:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Navel Gazing / Opening Up</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Gossip / Contentedness</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Despair / Faith</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Impatience / Humility</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Disengagement / Remembrance</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Unhealthy Conflict / Fellowship of the Team</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Anxiety / Meditation & Prayer</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Anger / Gratitude</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, why don’t you make your own list?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Over the next few weeks, I'll blog through some of these couplets
in hopes of learning more myself. Why
don’t you email me and give me your own insights so that they can be shared?
Together we’ll make transitions in the workplace ensouling.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-25332487108579771192012-06-06T10:49:00.001-07:002012-06-06T18:26:11.452-07:00Private Huntsman & General Eisenhower, A D-Day Reflection on Work<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirmBUg5vnV4R-1-ugcZFBFdm7VKDqrVnpiC4BLi_KP6m1rcTlDExTa7RBHblGXgwZFFk1N0KbY7eSdPhIvhvulj9Rc8o_1oAAejYZ1diX126K-Y3uFKzxehY0MSgPtDX2M0H8urrwEx0/s1600/Private+Ken+Huntsman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirmBUg5vnV4R-1-ugcZFBFdm7VKDqrVnpiC4BLi_KP6m1rcTlDExTa7RBHblGXgwZFFk1N0KbY7eSdPhIvhvulj9Rc8o_1oAAejYZ1diX126K-Y3uFKzxehY0MSgPtDX2M0H8urrwEx0/s320/Private+Ken+Huntsman.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Private Ken Huntsman upon graduation from basic training. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">68 years ago
my father-in-law, Ken Huntsman, landed on a hostile beach in Normandy along with
150,000 other members of the Allied Forces. Their mission was
to establish multiple beach heads on the French coast from which the eventual
march to Germany and the ultimate freedom of Europe would be secured. Planners
of the assault expected deaths, casualties and captures amongst the landing
force to exceed 50%, but the potential outcome was deemed to be workworthy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">General
Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces transmitted a
message to all members of the force just prior to the invasion, “You are about
to embark upon the great crusade, toward which we have striven these many
months.” What no one knew then was that General “Ike” carried another note in
his pocket, to be used if the outcome were disastrous and it read, “Our
landings have failed and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at
this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops,
the air and the Navy, did all that bravery could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the
attempt, it is mine alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is impossible
to know who showed greater valor on D-Day; the men who went ashore under
heavy machine gun fire and bombardment, scrambling around obstacles and barb
wire or General Eisenhower who sent the soldiers ashore knowing that many of
those men were going to a certain personal apocalypse. Privates and Generals all did
their parts to secure a single success at great hazard to themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And while
the freedom of Europe does not hang on the outcome of the work you do today,
the same lessons are true; work is ensouling and creates dignity when:</span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our
contribution is critical.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our contribution is appreciated.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We must muster our bravery to storm our "work beach head."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You believe you are fighting for the benefit of the person on your right and on your left.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You understand how your contribution fits into the very big, epic
picture.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No person is deemed to be unimportant, based on their rank. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every person counts.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ken marched
from Normandy to Germany. When he returned to the US, to his young bride Lucille and
toddler son Ron in Missouri, he bore scars on his soul from his sacrificial service. They were
not physical, but they were substantial and they were lifelong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My wife
Kathi likes to share this favorite childhood memory: One afternoon she walked through the bedroom where her father was taking a nap. He was obviously fast asleep when he spoke these words loudly and clearly, “Hi, I’m Ken Huntsman, Man of the Year!” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Indeed he
was. Oh that we could all awake proclaiming the same of ourselves!</span><o:p></o:p></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-83315652854032592742012-05-30T07:50:00.001-07:002012-05-30T18:15:22.156-07:00What Mickey Drexler Could Have Taught General Lee<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the third day of the Battle of
Gettysburg, after Confederate attacks on the two previous days had failed,
General Lee ordered a strike at the center of the Union troops’ lines. In order to make that strike, troops under
the command of Major General George Pickett and two other commanders had to
cross an open field at a quick walking pace for nearly one mile, all of it unprotected from enemy fire. That march is now infamously known as
“Pickett’s Charge.” The soldiers and their commanders knew from their first
steps that they were likely going to their graves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pickett’s Charge is a good
metaphor for what I recently heard from a friend about her workplace. Her company had rushed a promising new
product to market, but in the opening deliveries it became clear there were
problems with the product’s performance.
The company dutifully promised to credit customers for any losses
incurred, began addressing the manufacturing issues and continued to put
pressure on the sales team to reach the quarterly sales objective. The company succeeded in the first and third
goals, but failed in the second. So now
they have a mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With thousands of defective
widgets sold and delivered, the company will get to write lots and lots of
credit memos, but some of the company’s managers will still collect their
quarterly compensation because they made their revenue figures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What won’t show up on the income
statement are the pieces of sales people’s back ends that have been chewed-off
by unhappy customers. Or the sense of betrayal some sales reps feel, knowing
none of the company’s senior managers actually visited customers during the
crisis to see the situation for themselves.
Sales people will be well aware long into the future that they work for
managers who will send them into certain doom when there is money to be made by
their leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A story like that one is
completely unnecessary, because mistakes are going to be made. Mistakes don’t have to lead to soul-killing
work experiences. They should lead to
future success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently I watched the bio of CEO
Mickey Drexler on CNBC’s “J. Crew: The Man Who Dressed America.” <b><i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lfC38NY4-E&feature=related" target="_blank">In one scene they showed how Drexler on occasion personally responds to customer complaints. Showing real wisdom, the point was made that Drexler attempts to learn from even the smallest errors and often makesadjustments to the next season’s fashion lines based on information he gathers at the battle line.</a></i></b><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxARh7YG08LBMVeleVttT1WfKMjIB90vS3IgUOR1ailLw9NK9DuTcNf0akS7-apTn688BLdsqyRWkFX29xRf0mgNTTSl2nkreFK1xlCCdsLBaQfQHiRQ9VdZW7W8zt10XWrw-sI36BHI/s1600/JCrew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxARh7YG08LBMVeleVttT1WfKMjIB90vS3IgUOR1ailLw9NK9DuTcNf0akS7-apTn688BLdsqyRWkFX29xRf0mgNTTSl2nkreFK1xlCCdsLBaQfQHiRQ9VdZW7W8zt10XWrw-sI36BHI/s1600/JCrew.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J Crew window at a store near my home. <br />The brand features great quality, modern versions of classic fashion in terrific colors. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Drexler’s doing two things well: He’s
willing to take a bullet himself for the bad decisions he or his company makes;
and he makes mid-game corrections based on complaints he receives, turning them
into success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What’s the lesson here? It’s okay to make mistakes, but when a big
one occurs, be willing to take the heat yourself, learn on the fly and make
corrections quickly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What's keeping you from running to the battle lines (and a potential success) right now?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-41641136114727006562012-05-23T05:37:00.000-07:002012-05-25T11:19:01.651-07:00Gratitude Always Looks Good On You<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">What did you wear to work today? A
uniform? Business casual? A suit and tie? Jeans and a t-shirt? A blouse and
skirt? </span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Whatever you wear, wear gratitude. Gratitude
always looks good on you! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Gratefulness is one of the most subtle yet
infectious-for-good attitudes we can possess. It can change our own outlook of
challenges we face, giving us courage to embrace them. It can infect our
co-workers as well, becoming appreciation and respect for others. Gratitude
transforms our perceptions of most everything, providing peace and new
ways of seeing old tired situations and problems. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Start showing and saying "Thanks"
to the people around you right now. Folks are going to find you more
attractive. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">When you meet today to talk about some seemingly
intractable issue today with your team, start by saying, "I'm glad I'm not
alone in this. I'm glad we face it together!". You will instantly be a
more effective manager. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wear gratitude. Gratitude always looks good
on you.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-31193333200521636292012-05-17T06:45:00.003-07:002012-05-17T08:21:33.800-07:00Work Like Today Is The Worst Day of Your Life<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">If you lived along the coastline of
Louisiana the day Katrina roared ashore back in August of 2005, you could
easily have called it the worst day of your life. But it can also be said that
the events that followed proved we are often at our best when the climate is at
its worst.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Orchid Ceramics had a small facility
in New Orleans when Katrina hit and all of the employees there suffered
personal trauma and huge personal losses. All of them faced unimaginable emotional
shock in the first days after the storm and then ongoing stress set in later as
the days went by, when they realized that the landscape of their lives had been
changed forever. All of them suffered loss of property and faced months of restoring,
repairing or rebuilding their homes. Some had lost everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">In the aftermath, Maurizio Francescon, the manager of the
New Orleans facility, chose to do something surprising and ensouling. He chose to reopen his
retail store just days after Katrina hit, even though there was no power, no
air conditioning, no lights and no customers. He set a required “return to
work” date that was well out in the future. But employees could also opt to return
to work on an earlier date, if they chose to do so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">How many employees do you think returned
to work before the mandatory “return to work” date?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">All of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">In the days after Katrina, the team members
found work ensouling. Work was a place to go and engage head and heart, a place
to forget some of their personal drama, a place to draw support from others who
were facing common challenges, and a place to rebuild a business together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCII8k7ZWA7SjNlrO4D_pTNzAAgiwAIoEu5vTvVvtMMIC2WH45VgR1WwSXDoGXtq0mUdUVYxNiKKUKTybW5l0ah0Zn1WDXEw66Nx-KjtkKnJiy918vjuAn4TZE2AKp2qXihUv5Pi4MauM/s1600/NOLA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCII8k7ZWA7SjNlrO4D_pTNzAAgiwAIoEu5vTvVvtMMIC2WH45VgR1WwSXDoGXtq0mUdUVYxNiKKUKTybW5l0ah0Zn1WDXEw66Nx-KjtkKnJiy918vjuAn4TZE2AKp2qXihUv5Pi4MauM/s640/NOLA.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manager of New Orleans, Maurizio Francescon (L) rebuilds a business and the lives of his employees.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Other employees around the globe
immediately joined in with offers to help in any way possible. In the end, it
was decided the best thing they could do was to pass the hat and offer to cover
the property losses of their fellow employees. And they did just that. Their
fellow employees raised enough money to “make whole” all of the property losses
of the individuals in New Orleans, some of whom had lost literally everything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The worst day in the lives of the team
in New Orleans brought out the very best of each person in that company: both
in those that were directly impacted by the storm and those that had the
opportunity to come alongside to help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Work can bring out so many good things
in us. Don’t wait until a Katrina-size storm hits your business to learn that
lesson. Use the challenges you face today to unite your employees and ensoul
your workplace!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i>Work like today is the worst day of
your life and you will be ensouled.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-35324045097991224822012-05-15T12:20:00.001-07:002012-05-16T06:55:16.797-07:00A Singular, Yet Personal View of Reality<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt;">"Come together, right now!" - John Lennon</span></i></b><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Alignment is more than just corporate speak. It is at the
core of credibility and, therefore, a big part of workplace ensoulment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Some years ago, the company I worked for at that time took our key customers to visit our manufacturing and logistics facilities in South America. During the visit
our customers got the opportunity to do more than hear “dog-and-pony scripted
presentations.” They got to meet people in our organization at all levels of
the company and shoot from the hip in real conversations: equipment operators,
customer service staff, logistics managers, our CEO, members of our Board of
Directors and some of our key shareholders. We didn’t script any of the
meetings, we simply told our employees to use the opportunity with customers
to learn something for themselves and to candidly answer whatever questions our
customers might have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f6rdYctkhvy_LtcTEm3_m7Z6-M8DQugT6RABLBfOXt4kcpPL2h3zgsrdfqrptWtesbpwLVpQGZJ9wybtHm9fMKfZt3H3sHP8nv0lGvjE4ZkqxAwJl2KBmqC11YBXSLGqlWqWvJO4c1Q/s1600/SP1+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f6rdYctkhvy_LtcTEm3_m7Z6-M8DQugT6RABLBfOXt4kcpPL2h3zgsrdfqrptWtesbpwLVpQGZJ9wybtHm9fMKfZt3H3sHP8nv0lGvjE4ZkqxAwJl2KBmqC11YBXSLGqlWqWvJO4c1Q/s640/SP1+(2).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cartegena de Indias, Colombia</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">On the last night of the trip during an informal gathering, our
customers surrounded one of our board members and peppered him with
questions. Anything went and the questions were direct and often tough;
the kind that are meant to show cracks and rattle the best salespeople. He
handled it with great aplomb. And then when he had finished listening
carefully to their questions and answering them in as much detail as they needed,
he began to ask his own of questions; all of them incisive and all of them
strangely similar to what they had heard from other team members that week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">At the end of the give and take one of our customers remarked to
our director, “Wow, here’s the thing: YOU are saying exactly what our sales
manager from your company tells us, which is the same thing we heard in your
factory, which is the same thing we hear from the logistics and customer
service teams, which is the same thing we heard from your CEO. You are ALL
sending the same message.” All the other customers standing with him
nodded in satisfied agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">When everyone in your organization shares just one view of
reality, it does two wonderful things: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt;">It creates astounding credibility with your
customers. Customers can smell a “pat answer” or </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 13.5pt; text-indent: 0in;">“corporate speak” from a
mile away. They regard true alignment as credibility because it is
authentic, personal (every person can tell it as part of their own story), and
it’s not orchestrated. Something like this can’t be purchased for any amount of
money. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt;">It builds confidence within your team. I watched another
group of people that night as the final conversation went down. I watched
my sales and service managers stand a little taller and saw smiles break out
across their faces as our board member engaged their
customers. These are the folks that are at the front of the battle
lines every day and they take the biggest bruising in the execution of
strategy. When they realize the alignment of the forces behind them,
they’ll tackle their jobs with renewed vigor!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Do you want to start working to create a singular, personal
reality in your organization? Try some small things first. Pay close attention
to what is being said about your business in every single conversation. Be
ready to ask penetrating questions and challenge inaccuracies. Quiz your
top management every time you get the chance, to tell you in their own words
what is going well and what needs repair. Embed some part of the company's
goals into every individual's development plan. Be ruthlessly honest yourself
about your organization's challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before long, everyone will possess a singular, but personal,
view of reality. Now THAT’s ensouling!</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-21659034039255782832012-05-10T06:13:00.002-07:002012-05-10T13:08:58.085-07:00Mistaking Busy-ness For Purpose<br />
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I remarked recently to my friend Tom Lane about how many of my newly retired
friends struggle to find direction in their lives. Tom is a guy that is something of an expert in helping people find direction, he is a partner and is one of the primary consultants at <i><b><a href="http://www.centerforintentionalleadership.com/" target="_blank">The Center For Intentional Leadership</a>. </b></i> I told Tom my observation; how for 30 or 40 years people run
the “hamster wheel” in the workplace or at home; making decisions, porting kids
from one activity to another, rushing from meeting to meeting, fielding
complaints from customers, making sure that orders got out the door on time; and
then suddenly, it was over. One day they pass magically into the ranks of the
“retired” and emails stop arriving, the phone stops ringing, kids leave the
nest and now nobody looks to them for any decisions, big or small. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I heard a story years ago about a recent retiree that began
micro-managing his wife’s every decision, treating her as he had treated his direct
reports in the workplace. After about a month of this behavior, it became
insufferable for her and as he was giving her a tip on how to do some job she
had done daily for their entire marriage she broke and exclaimed, “You
know we did just fine without you here for 40 years! Don’t you have something
better to do?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgu8N1lCiB3DthylSOAUlow0u5LcdSZ-SljHcw7UNdAUtdR8RApfSpxdeagjRqZYBtMFRPBfQlz7HrHYPdipgbHYA_teoBmdKLfxwb5GX9YON5RUWVOcAeHmBDDOs1i7FAxgt7lw7QHU/s1600/for+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgu8N1lCiB3DthylSOAUlow0u5LcdSZ-SljHcw7UNdAUtdR8RApfSpxdeagjRqZYBtMFRPBfQlz7HrHYPdipgbHYA_teoBmdKLfxwb5GX9YON5RUWVOcAeHmBDDOs1i7FAxgt7lw7QHU/s320/for+blog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Recently I became aware of the fact that many retirees unwittingly
fall into alcohol addiction. A 2004 article in the <b><i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/18/health/when-retirement-leaves-an-emptiness-some-fill-it-with-alcohol.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm" target="_blank">New York Times</a></i></b> quoted one
recent retiree as saying, “There was nothing to do except read and drink and
gradually the drinking took precedence over the reading. I got completely out
of control.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
I was relating all of this to Tom and told him I thought this
pointed-up how important it was to live with purpose in life. “All these people
had purpose when they were working, but when they left the workplace or when
the kids left the home, they lost their purpose.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
With insight, Tom corrected me. Wagging an index finger in a knowing and friendly way he said,
<b><i>“Nah,
they never had purpose. They were just busy. They were just busy from the time
they were in their 20’s and 30’s and they mistook busy-ness for purpose.”</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
When someone makes a stunning observation like Tom did, there is
only one rational thing you can do: let it sink deeply into the cracks of your
own life by asking a few tough questions of yourself. Here are a few you can ask, but also take
time to think of your own:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Am I masking a lack of purpose in my life with
busy-ness?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Why am I busy? Does it provide a false sense of
security? Does it make me feel important?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">What lessons am I teaching my children by
scheduling every minute of their young lives and then serving as a frantic
porter who moves them from activity to activity?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If I removed 60% of the activities in my life,
would I experience a sense of loss or confusion? With what would I most likely anesthetize
that sense of loss or confusion?</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">What will I leave and who will truly be grieved
when I am gone? How much of my time is given to that legacy and to those people
in my calendar this w</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">eek?</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Lose some busy-ness and find some purpose in your life!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<i>“Being successful and fulfilling
your life’s purpose are not necessarily the same thing. You can reach all your
personal goals, become a raving success by the world’s standard and still miss
your purpose in this life.” – Rick Warren<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-51756367286664716192012-05-06T11:34:00.001-07:002012-05-09T08:24:41.769-07:00Broken Robin's Egg<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Q7O_e32rBJFfwjyt1HIBIZRaMJDgQ3EM6Afq9tnYTiku5v7YtFcX0_n8v5NI-R23d7dxJw9Tu6zYkFDTVVkueiOBrOAPoi1V98Qd55ck0hAl30DqPTx-IWrqNsxHZyJlTrkQZNccmWA/s1600/IMG_2157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Q7O_e32rBJFfwjyt1HIBIZRaMJDgQ3EM6Afq9tnYTiku5v7YtFcX0_n8v5NI-R23d7dxJw9Tu6zYkFDTVVkueiOBrOAPoi1V98Qd55ck0hAl30DqPTx-IWrqNsxHZyJlTrkQZNccmWA/s320/IMG_2157.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
Life is at
the same moment both beautiful and tragic.
A broken robin’s egg that I spotted during my run today reminded me of
that truth.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
I spent a
portion of my professional life with a great team of people who courageously
joined together to launch a new company, then nurtured and grew it
spectacularly, then struggled to keep it going during cataclysmic market changes
and then ultimately shuttered it. And
while there might be tendency to see any shuttered company as a failed
experience, the truth is that it was 8+ years of both beauty and tragedy. It was an experience that those of us who shared it together would not trade for anything, because it was incredibly meaningful. Together, we built an ensouled workplace.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
Meaning is
found when we bring together the beauty and tragedy of life, refusing to
artificially bifurcate the two and instead view them together in oneness. Because beauty and tragedy reside together in our work experience, work can be incredibly meaningful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
What does
the robin feel when she returns to the nest to find her eggs gone? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
When you
announce the shuttering of a company, people experience tremendous
anguish. Of course tears are shed, some
people nearly hyperventilate and others almost stop breathing and confusion reigns in every head in those first few moments
after the bomb is dropped. And if you have
created an ensouled company as we did, the tragedy will seem even greater because
what is lost is not merely a paycheck, but also lost are friendships, common
vision and you fear, “I will never be lucky enough to work for a company
like this again.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
Next
year, the robin will carefully build yet another nest. She will lay her eggs and defend her young
from her enemies. And what encourages me
most is to know that she will not have lost her song. As she stands guard over the new nest, she
will sing full-throated above her new joy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
One of my
ex-workmates, a senior manager, posted on our Facebook alumni site recently, “I hope I can infuse all the great qualities of our old workplace
into my new company.” Like the robin,
the song of ensoulment continues to be sung in new places as our employees build new nests in new workplaces.
Once heard, the song of ensoulment cannot be forgotten. It continues to be sung
full-throated by those who have learned it and they will teach it to others.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-20161312415538551042012-04-15T18:18:00.001-07:002012-04-15T18:38:14.619-07:00Duck, Regrets & Judo Masters: How Regret Can Be Good<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The face of the elderly woman on my TV screen is moving in
painful contortions as she repeats a single phrase over and over, “If only…if
only…if only…” It is gut-wrenching to
watch. She is a prisoner to the regrets
of her childhood past, which she spent as an orphan. Her life is little more than a cautionary
tale for us: left unchecked, regret will
embitter our hearts and choke the joy out of our lives completely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But you <b><i>can</i></b> transform regret into a powerful
tool for good. In order to do that, you’ve got to become a judo master in the
way you handle it. Take the energy of regret when it comes rushing into your head
and hurtle it into the future. Simply
ask, “If I continue on my current path in life without any changes, what
regrets will I have in my last days?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If you allow that question to percolate deeply, it is bound
to change how and why you work today. For
some people, answering the question will help them choose to work fewer hours. For others it will have the opposite effect,
it will motivate them to work much harder.
It might make you more willing to take risks with your career. It might give you the courage to forgive someone
that brutally put you down. It might empower you to confront someone that has
been taking advantage of you. For sure it will make lasting impacts on anyone
who is willing to ask it and then let it plumb their soul.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This last week, "Duck", a college friend of mine from 30 years ago
died with no warning, leaving behind a wife, children and many friends to
stumble through the sudden loss. He
never reached the age when most people struggle with accumulated regrets. And it has reminded me that there is no
better time than today to perform judo on my own potential regrets, allowing
them to be a powerful catalyst for change in my life today.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>“For us to get real
results in the real world, we must be in touch with what is, not what we wish
things were or think things should be or are led by others to believe they
are. The only thing that is going to be
real in the end is what is.” - Dr. Henry
Cloud</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpZtj3DJv-I_jsoHYSNRmGZE_imGAwPK6cqn2aznVssUeKWqDUXGRKaOEDupuwJO61TPAbdCFeNqGqKVMVDkWYfkRbSByryj97h353jMSPaUspcozscZOsnm78FWNYnR_OAFm2itR4PQ/s1600/580509_10150682712408499_746348498_9529868_540981415_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpZtj3DJv-I_jsoHYSNRmGZE_imGAwPK6cqn2aznVssUeKWqDUXGRKaOEDupuwJO61TPAbdCFeNqGqKVMVDkWYfkRbSByryj97h353jMSPaUspcozscZOsnm78FWNYnR_OAFm2itR4PQ/s400/580509_10150682712408499_746348498_9529868_540981415_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: Mike "Duck" Taylor, me, my wife Kathi and Michael Hairston after a road race in Mulvane, Kansas in 1982.<br />
To quote Neil Young, "Long may you run."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-2489072508365502722012-04-11T06:55:00.001-07:002012-05-10T07:41:00.197-07:00Volunteers, Mercenaries, Drones & Indentured Servants<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Marc Dickmann is a
pastor. Like most pastors, he depends on volunteers to complete the bulk of
the work for which he is responsible. I<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">t’s not “church as
usual” where Marc leads. Marc’s volunteers
lead innovative and critical ministries like “LiveBirds,” a growing business
that creates jobs for people impacted by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe; “Christmas
Village Toy Store", a pop-up Christmas store that empowers at-risk families to
provide affordable new toys for their families at discounted prices; “Family
Promise,” which uses the church facilities as a week-long shelter for families
that are working towards getting back on their feet.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Can you imagine
entrusting the most critical and complex portions of your strategy to volunteers? How on earth do you keep workers motivated
when you have no compensation to offer, no real authority to control their
calendars or power to simply direct them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5RQDQkCyw6GeUw674BnrcA8c1ibnXXBCVDLRtO7Iwvudb-MDswGQnb5wF-R1_UWLkHzySAx6T4CSxm68kMOtbhsCOd6CIckL3cKnReW2BawdlpZW1l1JVE6sh7KJFLJVOpoZ7FfWW7c/s1600/Thanks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5RQDQkCyw6GeUw674BnrcA8c1ibnXXBCVDLRtO7Iwvudb-MDswGQnb5wF-R1_UWLkHzySAx6T4CSxm68kMOtbhsCOd6CIckL3cKnReW2BawdlpZW1l1JVE6sh7KJFLJVOpoZ7FfWW7c/s400/Thanks.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saying "thanks" and defining reality...the note amidst my desk reading.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Max DePree said, <i><b><span style="color: #073763;">“The first </span></b></i></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 13.5pt;"><b><span style="color: #073763;">responsibility of a leader is to
define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the leader is a
servant.”</span></b></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 13.5pt;"> One reason Marc is such a
smashing success with his all-volunteer workforce is the consistency with which
he defines reality, then says thank you and serves people in between. When you have a meeting with Marc to cover
the details of the work you are doing with him, you can expect a card to show
up in your mailbox a few days later. The
card will say “Thank you for making a contribution by ---.” Then he goes on to
detail what contribution you are making and why that contribution is so
important, thereby defining reality. When you get that letter, you feel
indescribably warm inside.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Marc motivates
volunteers by tapping into people’s deep-seated desire to make a lasting
contribution that is appreciated by others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You’d be much more
effective and your workplace would be much more ensouled if you regarded your
employees as volunteers; people over whom you have no authority or power, but who
will accomplish remarkable things when they see the contribution they can make
and sense gratitude from you for making it.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The notion of an “employee" is illusion anyway. Workers are either volunteers or they are something completely different. If
your “employees” are only working for the almighty dollar, then they are really
mercenaries. If you are directing t<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 13.5pt;">he
whole show, then they are just drones. If you are micro-managing temp/contract workers, then
they are indentured servants. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 13.5pt;">The difference between a volunteer and all the others is that the volunteer does the work because they want to, all the others do it because they have to. Question is, who do you think is going to do the best job of the work before them? Someone that wants to do it or someone that has to do it?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ensoul lives and advance
the organization’s mission by showing your “volunteers” that you understand the
contribution they are making and that you are grateful for their efforts. How will you follow Marc's lead today?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #990000;">To find out how a chicken is changing the face of HIV/AIDS in Africa, read on here <a href="http://livebirdsprogress.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Live Birds.</a></span></i></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-22282019594293242852012-04-06T13:20:00.000-07:002012-04-06T13:20:03.220-07:00Good Friday Work<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It’s Good Friday and I am willing to take the risk of mixing
religion and work, which makes a lot of people uncomfortable. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Why Christians call this Friday, “Good Friday” seems
odd. This is the day when they remember
the arrest, torture and execution of the founder of their faith, Jesus of
Nazareth. Some Christians refer to events
of that day as ‘the work Christ did on behalf of others.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
From Jesus’ example we see that work has a spiritual reality. Jesus is still one of the most highly-respected
spiritual leaders today. He did not
exempt himself from the heaviest and most difficult work that needed to be done. Instead, he embraced the work before him,
even to the point of his own suffering and death. He did that work humbly and he did it for
others, in order to “ensoul” them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
No one really knows how this day came to be called “Good”
and maybe that is a good thing in and of itself. The lack of a certain explanation allows each
of us to consider the story of Jesus’ work. Whatever our individual traditions,
we can ask ourselves, “What good is there in such selfless work? What good, if any, was there in His work for me?”<o:p></o:p></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-69626111335203614432012-03-28T17:14:00.000-07:002012-03-28T17:16:30.078-07:00"Password please...."<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">There’s
lots of noise these days about prospective employers asking job applicants for
their Facebook passwords during interviews. Expect an escalation of these sorts of privacy issues in the
future, because the stakes are high and the social contracts that bound employers and employees in the past are extinct. Folks are going to be lining-up on privacy issues in the workplace in smash-mouth
fashion, like opposing NFL offensive and defensive lines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Hint to
prospective employees: If a potential employer asks you for a Facebook password
or for other information that is very close to ‘the line’ during the hiring
process, you can expect the same behavior and attitude to continue once you are
an employee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">One objective
in a job interview is to determine the ‘fit’ of the candidate to the company
and the job. Determining that fit is a
two-way street. The candidate must also
decide if the company is right for them.
If you feel uncomfortable being asked for your password, refuse to give
it. And if that ends the interview, then
so be it. There is no fit. Better to make this determination early on
than years later, when you realize you’ve given a piece of your life to a soul-killing
company in exchange for ‘a living.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
enough great job applicants say ‘no thanks’ to companies that are trust-busting
in the opening stages of the employer/employee relationship, those companies
will stop saying, “password please” during interviews.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-81301315212020103962012-03-27T07:05:00.001-07:002012-03-27T07:05:31.797-07:00Where's the (roast) beef?<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">My friend Dave Munger is known to be
a smart, gentle and reasonable guy. Recently, he was stupefied by an event at
his local deli. When he asked for 0.6 lbs. of roast beef, he received a
confused stare back from the attendant.</span><span style="text-align: justify;">
</span><span style="text-align: justify;">After a bit of silence, Dave pointed to the digital scale and told her
that she simply needed to put meat on it until it read 0.6. </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“But people usually just ask for a ½ lb. or a
¼ lb.,” she replied. My friend, by his own description, foolishly persisted.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">“A ½ lb. is 0.5, right?</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">So just keep putting meat on until it reads
0.6.”</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
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She dutifully loaded the meat
on the scale, “That isn’t even going to get you one slice, sir.” He saw that
the scale read <b>0.08</b> and thought,
“These folks work with a decimal scale all day long and still have no
understanding of how the decimal system actually works.”</div>
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At first glance, this appears
to be just another story of shoddy customer service. But it is also a human
story, if you put yourself in the shoes of the person behind the counter.
Working with a digital scale you don’t understand results in one embarrassing
customer interaction after another. Now that’s what I call soul-killing work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As a supervisor, manager or
leader, your job is to identify and draw out the good that is in most every person. Do you believe that people actually <i>want</i> to fail? Do you believe that they <i>want</i> to feel embarrassment in front of a customer? Or do you
believe that they really want to do a good job and deliver value to their teammates
and customers? <o:p></o:p></div>
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If you agree that most people
have the desire to do well, then you’ll make the personal commitment to invest
in them and in their success. It might
be as easy as following up on Dave’s insight. In this case, a rudimentary
exercise in the basics of the decimal system might just unlock more potential
in someone than you could imagine. You
might ensoul someone by improving their skills and lowering the number of hard
customer interactions they face daily.<o:p></o:p></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-40064003437866701792012-03-23T06:33:00.001-07:002012-04-13T11:54:45.371-07:00How to sail faster than the wind<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Imagine that you and the other members of your team are in a sailboat and you want to sail as fast as possible to a finish line downwind. The best strategy would be to set your sails to catch the wind, allowing it to simply push you straight downwind to the destination, right? Traveling as fast as the wind itself seems like a pretty smart plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the smartest sailors will be celebrating their arrival long before you do and in a world of competition, that could mean trouble for you. What do they know that you don’t know? <a href="http://vimeo.com/20618288" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">In her Tedx Talk, communication guru Nancy Duarte explained it this way</span></b></a>, “You have to actually capture the resistance coming against you when you sail, but if you do it just right, your ship will actually sail <b><i>faster</i> </b>than the wind itself.” But, how? By actually setting two asymmetrical sails at small angles against the apparent wind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what is the big idea here?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We constantly address life as a series of ‘either/or’ choices, when in reality ‘both/and’ solutions may harness more power and get us to the goal on time. Some examples of seeming opposites that can be set as paired sails? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ambition and Humility</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Results and Relationships</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Strength and Vulnerability</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Endurance and Speed</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Permanence and Transience</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your Idea and My Idea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Service and Price</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Price and Quality</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Visionary and Operational</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Creative and Disciplined</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Give up the either/or thinking and start finding ways to set two sails at once. Your whole team is in the boat and they’ll win the race or lose it together. Start linking seemingly opposing things and you just might find a faster way to the finish line! And won’t it be sweet to have your celebration in full swing when your competition arrives at the finish line<b><i> after</i></b> you? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(You can view Nancy Duarte's Tedx Talk where she uses her concept of sailing faster than the wind to explain how great communicators create transformative presentations below or at the link in the body of this blog).</i></span></div>
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</span></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-52470415106517698192012-03-14T13:19:00.002-07:002012-03-14T13:31:09.242-07:00Unconscionable Workload Costs Banks $25 Billion<div style="text-align: justify;">If you think the problem of workload is simply a matter of life balance, think again. Reports from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General that accompany this week’s filing of the $25 Billion settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servers show that some executives are willing to commit gross ethical failures in order to get their jobs done. In this case, that work was mortgage foreclosure and modification.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">According to a <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/03/13/3094408/bofa-wells-leaders-knew-of-foreclosure.html" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Charlotte Observer article</span></i></b></a> the failures were stunning. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></div><ul><li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“Employees confirmed they routinely signed documents without checking their accuracy.”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“One notary at the bank reported workload going from 60 to 200 documents per day to more than 20,000.”</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“Another employee described signing 18-inch stacks of documents at a time.”</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“A manager’s notes revealed that benchmarks for signing documents were about 50 per hour.”</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“One was hired as vice president of loan documentation after working at a pizza restaurant and as a bank teller and wasn’t given training.”</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“Wells employees told upper level management that they couldn’t handle the workload.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Management, in turn, shortened the turnaround time for document signatures, forcing employees to sign more per day.”</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“A mid-level manager at Wells told HUD inspectors that she started a two-week study in her department to see how much time it would take if her employee fully reviewed documents before signing them.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The documents piled up, and when her bosses got wind of it, they ordered her to stop.”</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“Both banks hindered its (HUD) investigation by being reluctant to make employees available for interviews.”</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“Bank of America also did not fully comply with subpoenas, and when the bank did allow inspectors to interview employees, Bank of America had attorneys present who directed employees not to answer certain questions.”</span></li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Some customers undoubtedly lost their homes unfairly. Workers deceptively put their names on documents they never reviewed. Managers built and managed the machinations of the process. Executives set the strategy and then turned deaf ears to reports from their employees of the soul-killing that was occurring. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Can one $25 billion fine ever redeem one of those souls? The problem with a purely financial penalty is that although it can be used for some amount of restitution, it never fully removes the blemish it leaves on a heart. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">A penalty that is purely financial also lacks the kind of accountability that is created when someone or some persons that are responsible for legal infractions face legal consequences. When that happens, the persons who were wronged receive validation of their suffering far beyond the validation created by a fine on a corporation. What a pity that validation of this sort won't happen in a $25 billion settlement.<br />
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And who really is going to pay that $25 Billion? It won't be the execs and it won't be managers and it won't be the shareholders and it won't be the employees. It will be the consumer. How many $5 ATM charges does it take to recover $25 Billion on a bottom-line?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">What is the cost of your workload?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
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</div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5357387526864664417.post-41859049363100710832012-03-13T06:08:00.001-07:002012-03-13T06:10:37.354-07:00Get It Done Even When You Are Exhausted<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It’s 4:45PM and your boss has just given you this news: the company has landed an important new account and the onboarding process must happen in double time in order to lock out the competition’s response. “We should be glad, you know. New customers are tough to come by these days. The Sales team is depending on us. And besides, this is job security for all of us, right?” This is the encouragement you hear as you sit there feeling the emotions drain out of your body right on to the floor.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">You know what you have to do. So do it. Take the project off of your boss’s desk. Make a commitment to get it done. Walk your exhausted body out the door.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Fact is, your company’s business has been strengthening for a year now and while workloads have been increasing (and fatigue as well), resources to get the increasing work done are frozen. You’re already anticipating the chorus of groans from your team when you break the news to them in the morning.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">A thousand anxious thoughts are running through your head at that moment, but this isn’t the right time to discuss any of them. First of all, everything your boss said about new customers, the sales team, and job security are true. Secondly, people are emotionally drained at the end of the day so difficult discussions and conflicts are likely to go sideways and be much less productive.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Here, from the safety of your own desk, take time to journal all of your swirling thoughts. By doing this, you can come back fresh tomorrow and get your job done.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">I’m not arguing that you sweep the issue of work overload under the rug or that you avoid an uncomfortable and necessary conversation. I am suggesting that you need two successes. Everyone needs the customer onboarded in a timely manner. And everyone needs the issue of workplace fatigue addressed. You need time to gather your thoughts and arguments before you can succeed in the conversation with your boss about workplace fatigue. Then, when you have that conversation your arguments will carry the benefits that accrued to the kind of team player who gets things done.<o:p></o:p></div>Kurt Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04409359931547259123noreply@blogger.com0