Archive for March, 2011
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
From June 11 to July 6, 2010, 642 U.S. students (ages 10-18) participated in the Gallup Student Poll. “The students were asked 20 questions meant to gauge their hope, engagement, and wellbeing—and then were classified as “ready for the future” if they scored high in all three dimensions. Gallup’s research suggests that students who do well on all three metrics tend to achieve higher grades, complete more credits, and report fewer health problems than their peers. The research is meant to help leaders and educators improve student performance and in turn the high school graduation rate nationwide.” – Lymari Morales
The Gallup study’s final conclusion: 34% of respondents in grades 5-12 are hopeful, engaged, and thriving—others fall short in at least one of these dimensions.
Part of what facilitates a hopeful, engaged, and thriving attitude is the ability for a student to see a bright future and feel confident it is attainable. Another important statistic from the Gallup poll is that 42% of the students polled said they were energetically pursuing goals. Life is a journey and it is the most important journey we as individuals will ever take. The sooner young people are exposed to the value of goals in all aspects of their life and are taught how to use a proven goal accomplishment model the sooner they will be “ready for the future.”
Seventeen years ago our company developed a youth leadership process entitled Rising Stars. It focuses on helping young people prepare for a bright future and be contributing members of their community, while exposing them to and teaching them how to use a proven goal accomplishment model. In addition to sharing the S.M.A.R.T.Y. criteria, which many people know is important to consider when building goals, we also focus on the six core components of goal setting.
- Listing your dreams. Every purposeful journey aims for a destination. Where do you want to go with your life? What do you want to accomplish? What are your overall objectives? What are your dreams? Listing your dreams allows you to develop a master list of things you want to do and become—as well as things you want to achieve and attain.
- Conducting personal self-evaluations. You can go wherever you choose on your life’s journey, but you can only start from one place. You can only start from where you are today.
- Developing goal categories. Once a springboard is created to clarify your dreams and you’ve identified your current starting point, the next step requires developing the categories of your life that you’d like to change and improve in order to realize your dreams. Goal categories provide an important step between your dreams and your goals, and they help you translate your general ideas and thoughts into action.
- Creating goal statements. Goal categories are then translated into specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time trackable goal statements that are solely yours (S.M.A.R.T.Y.). In our experience the more focused and specific the better.
- Developing specific action steps. The next step is to identify the actions you need to take in order to achieve your goals. Creating specific action steps will provide the daily, weekly, and monthly activity necessary to make your goals a reality.
- Prioritizing of your goals and action steps. Making a conscious decision through a prioritization process which goals or action steps are the most important. It is also a necessary step. The prioritization process will never stop, as you will need to continually evaluate what is important to your success now.
No matter your age, goal accomplishment is a life long process. It is rewarding to see young people embrace the concepts and apply them early for success in all areas of their life: school, home, career, health, and community. Goal accomplishment is the backbone of creating hopeful, engaged, and thriving lives.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 17 years, RAC has specialized in helping young people achieve success through youth leadership development and goal setting. For information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: engaged, Gallup, Goal accomplishment, goal setting, Leadership, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, Rising stars, students, youth leadership
Posted in Goal Planning, Youth Leadership - Rising Stars | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Many people are familiar with Yoda, a very wise Jedi Master from Star Wars, who was charged to train Luke Skywalker in how to use his “force.” This quote is from the scene where Luke was trying to mentally, by using his “force,” pull his plane from the muck of a swamp. Luke told Yoda he would try and he failed.
A very influential mentor of mine used to say time and time again. “There is no A for effort in business.” I grew up like many with the belief that trying my best was good enough. However, I have learned in 25 years of business that there is a strong connection between these two quotes. “There is no A for effort” really means it is all about the results you achieve and it is not about the attempt and to Yoda’s point, trying is merely an attempt.
In order to accomplish results and excel at what you do, you must have the skills but more importantly you need to believe you can do it. Trying is a self-limiting belief. After Luke attempted and failed, Yoda used his “force” to save the plane. Luke watched in amazement and when Yoda was finished, Luke said to Yoda, “I don’t believe it.” and Yoda’s response was, “That is why you fail.”
Belief is powerful. When you believe you can achieve something no matter how challenging, big or small, you will commit to do what is necessary to make it happen. You will learn what you need to learn. You will commit whatever time is necessary and you will seek out qualified assistance when needed. Because your belief is so strong you will access whatever resources are necessary to make it happen and you will cross the finish line victorious.
An attitude of trying will never propel you to take the extra step because your measuring stick of “I tried” gives you permission to walk away based on what is believed to be a good enough effort. People and businesses often fall short due to this simple but powerful belief. I mentioned earlier that belief is powerful. Therefore whether you believe in mediocrity or results, you will achieve what you believe.
Yoda also told Luke to “unlearn what you have learned.” If you are used to “trying” unlearn your way into a new belief of achievement. Here are some ideas that may help you.
- Use positive affirmations and say them multiple times a day.
- Surround yourself with people who will positively reinforce your plan and push you to excel.
- Align with a coach to hold you accountable to your personal development.
- Find a mentor who has accomplished similar results to what you are looking for and become a sponge.
- Become a voracious learner.
- Surround yourself with positive messages.
- Disconnect from the naysayers in your life. Your success has nothing to do with their ‘I tried and can’t’ attitude so don’t let them hold you back.
Luke finally got it. So, when will you?
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: attitude, belief, Coach, failure success, jedi, luke skywalker, Mentor, star wars, Success, yoda
Posted in Attitudes, Coaching | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
“The only difference between a rut and a grave … is in their dimensions.” - Ellen Glasgow
As Director of Research and Professional Development at the Center for Critical Thinking and Chair of the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, Dr. Richard Paul defines critical thinking as thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better. He goes on to say that critical thinking is not just thinking but thinking which entails self-improvement.
People get into ruts personally and professionally. Going through the motions becomes standard operating procedure and yet at the same time people complain about the lack of results, and they wish for more money or different outcomes. The ability to think critically is a powerful human ability and yet many have let their capacity for critical thinking diminish. In order to be the best ‘you’ can be and in order to accomplish everything you wish to accomplish, you need to embrace the process of critical thinking. One of the most powerful ways to improve is to question and rethink everything. Thinking just to think goes nowhere. Developing a skill of critical thinking allows us to ask questions to determine where our thinking goes and what results can be achieved. The field of Physics would not exist if Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein did not continue to ask critical questions on what was possible. Every advancement in cancer treatments has taken place because doctors keep asking the next purposeful question in order to find cures. The world is thinking differently about energy and conservation of the planet because people keep posing questions like ‘what if?’
Improved results, positive progress, and continuous improvement require questions not answers. Questions uncover problems, suggest multiple solutions, and get to the root cause quickly. So, what kind of questions spur critical thinking?
- Deep questions: help us find root cause and complexity
- Purpose questions: help us to understand the objective
- Information questions: help us make sure our source of information and the information are quality
- Interpretation questions: help us to organize information
- Assumptive questions: help us to see what we might be taking for granted
- Implication questions: help us see where our thinking is going
- Point of view questions: help understand our point of view more clearly and be accepting of differing point of view
- Relevance questions: help us to see what is really relevant to the situation
- Accuracy questions: help us make sure we are dealing with information that is correct
- Precision questions: help to have a laser focus
- Consistency questions: help ferret out inconsistencies
- Logic questions: help us consider how all the pieces fit together and everything makes sense
In the pursuit of results and accomplishment we are all too often our biggest enemy. We accept and get very comfortable with status quo. We often accept, without question, what corporations, organizations, and the media tell us. If you want to take your personal and professional results to another level then you need to start thinking about thinking with the objective of creating the best ‘you’ possible. Doing the same things over and over again will not create different or better results. However, by using the process of critical thinking you will uncover solutions and actions that will never be revealed by others or the status quo.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Center for Critical Thinking, Critical Thinking, Dr. Richard Paul, Einstein, Ellen Glasgow, Isaac Newton, questions, results, status quo
Posted in Critical Thinking | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Are you a corporate refugee looking for the next best professional path?
Based on many of the challenges and uncertainty within the corporate world, many corporate refugees are taking matters into their own hands. They are deciding to control their destiny and professional success by creating their own businesses. Many employment-retraining organizations say that the average person experiencing an “inconvenient corporate experience” is between the ages of 45 and 55. These are well-educated professionals who have a great deal of experience and a wealth of knowledge.
In 2009, according to the Kaufman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, 558,000 new businesses were started per month by new and repeat entrepreneurs, representing the highest year on record including 1999 and 2000. It is a bit too early to know what the numbers will be for 2011, but assumptions lead us to believe that the numbers will be consistent. According to the SBA, small firms represent 99.7% of all employee firms, they employ over one half of the private sector, and they have generated 64% of new jobs over the past 15 years. Sustainable small businesses are a significant economic driver in the prosperity of the U.S. economy. This is an exciting time to have the desire to establish your own business.
Do you have what it takes to move from a highly paid employee to a successful and sustainable entrepreneur? The transition is not necessarily difficult if thought through and managed, but it is a transition nonetheless. What can you do to ensure your entrepreneurial success?
- Create a plan. Decide what kind of business you want to pursue, do the research, and then create a plan. Having a plan will allow you to make good decisions because you have a clear vision. Will this plan be an all-encompassing strategic plan? No. It will be a starting guideline to which you can research and make sound initial decisions.
- Know what investments are involved and what cash flow is needed. When partnering with an existing organization like a franchise or business opportunity they will be able to answer your questions. However, it is important you ask the questions.
- How comfortable are you in promoting yourself? The first thing most entrepreneurs have to promote is themselves and their ideas. In the beginning you really are your business. This is where you need to have unwavering confidence in yourself and your business. That unwavering confidence will get noticed and will lead to business.
- Next step is to create a marketing plan. Although you are the primary face of your business, you need to create a marketing plan so you know what activities you need to do to make your business known. Is it best to market your products or services through networking, advertising, speaking, retail, etc? In the beginning you cannot invest your time, efforts, and money into all things marketing. You need to be selective. In order to be selective you need a defined plan and you need to know how your buyers prefer to find you and then use those marketing avenues with purpose.
- Find a solid support team. Align with people who you trust and believe will provide positive as well as constructive feedback. Having an honest, outside perspective is critical. No one said that being an entrepreneur had to be a lonely business.
These five steps are just the beginning. However, it has been our experience in helping and supporting many new businesses in the training and development industry that these five steps provide a strong foundation. Look for more ideas in future blogs.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how by visiting our website or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: entrepreneurship, Kaufman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, prosperity, SBA, small business, unemployment
Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
Realizing a compelling vision often means change, accepting new perspectives, and abandoning old habits and techniques. Many times the necessary changes require doing things differently. Lofty aspirations may involve outsourcing, merging, building strategic alliances, partnering, or acquiring other resources or organizations. It could mean selling off pieces of existing business that no longer fit strategically. It could involve restructuring your organization. What does it mean to you? There are tremendous risks in maintaining the status quo and doing it because “we have always done it that way.” It means that there is no longer validity in the expression, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” The operative phrase today is, “How can we make it better?”
As Margaret Wheatly observed, “I believe that we have only just begun the process of inventing the new organizational forms that will inhabit the 21st century. To be responsible inventors and discoverers, we need the courage to let go of the old world, to relinquish most of what we have cherished, and to abandon our interpretations about what does and doesn’t work. We must learn to see the world anew.”
It is important to erase boundaries between different parts of the organization so that processes, production, and communication flow seamlessly and swiftly. People who are involved in the processes should also be involved in examining how they and the organization can get better and quicker. Improving quality and speed while reducing cost and complexities can create a significant competitive advantage. The objective is to eliminate as many non-value-added, time consuming steps in a process as possible through simplification, elimination, and concurrence. People must be focused on taking the frills out of core business processes in order to focus on the results rather than activities. “Most companies squander 10 to 20 percent of revenue in support of wasteful products or procedures … at Kodak, waste drained an estimated 1.6 billion to 3.2 billion … sharpen their pencils. Cut costs and shorten organizational cycles in everything.” ~ George Fisher, former Chairman and CEO of Eastman Kodak.
This process will quicken responsiveness, show major improvement to the bottom line, and it can be done fast. Competition leaves little choice. An organization must continuously do things better and faster or it will die. If you do the things that you’ve always done and expect different results, you are engaging in institutional insanity. If you want different results, you must do things differently, or you must do different things.
Far too many people make the mistake of believing that you just have to work harder. Remember the first rule of holes: “When you are in one—quit digging.” Sometimes success requires doing things in a dramatically different way or making radical changes.
There may be people who will resist change because it is different or new. Resistance to change is a common and universal malady. Therefore, understanding some of the barriers to change may help in creating and implementing successful growth strategies. Some common barriers to change and innovation are:
- Lack of data makes decision making difficult
- Personal goals conflict with professional goals
- Management behavior discourages implementation
- Employees don’t understand or really want to make the change
- Poor communication of vision, values, and mission
- Recognition and appraisals are inconsistent with attaining goals
- Unwillingness to develop new goals
- Lack of process or structure
Addressing resistance to change becomes a major focus and an integral part of a unified implementation strategy.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how by visiting our website or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Change, Eastman Kodak, Margaret Wheatly, resistance to change, restructuring, results, Vision
Posted in Change, Vision | No Comments »
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