Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Do you know how to control your emotional energy? Todd Smith says the Little Things Matter! (They Do!)
This is a great read - great reminder - and great blog to subscribe to! www.littlethingsmatter.com
Have you ever noticed that when you are focused on something that is exciting, you can get by with less sleep and feel great? At the same time, have you noticed that when you are discouraged and depressed, you feel worn out and can sleep forever?
It’s real simple. When you think about positive things, your energy levels rise and your attitude improves. When you think about negative things, your energy levels drop and your attitude deteriorates.
As if your energy levels and attitude aren’t enough of a reason to focus on positive things, there are many other benefits including being happier, experiencing less stress and anxiety, enjoying greater success, being more enjoyable to be around and living a longer, healthier life.
While there will be times when bad things happen and controlling our emotions will be difficult, 99% of the negative things we experience on a daily basis are trivial and not worth the emotional drain that we allow ourselves to feel.
As an example, how do you feel…
- When you open the refrigerator door and something falls out and dumps all over the ground?
- When you call a company with a problem and none of their voicemail options address your problem and you can’t get to an operator?
- When a car behind you gets right up on your butt?
- When the child sitting at the table next to you won’t stop whining?
- When animals get into your trash and spread it all over the ground?
- When someone does not respond to your important email or text?
- When the airport security line is 45 minutes long?
- When the car in front of you suddenly puts on the breaks to turn and never uses its turn signal?
- When the shopper in front of you is laughing and talking to the store clerk and no one seems to care that you are waiting?
- When people throw trash out their car window?
- When someone cuts you off while you are driving.
- When your food is delivered to your table cold and your waiter is nowhere to be found?
- When you notice a small tear in the new shirt you just purchased?
- When people talk obnoxiously loud on their cell phone in public places?
- When you see parents screaming at their kids?
Do I need to go on?
It’s inevitable. These types of things happen. When they do, we have a choice to make. We can either shrug them off or we can focus on them.
If you want to start taking control of your emotions, here are my top three tips.
1. Be aware of your emotions. For most of my life I would allow these types of things to aggravate me, and it all happened at the subconscious level. Now I am keenly aware of all the little things that impact my emotions throughout the day, and by being aware of them and understanding them, I am beginning to successfully control my emotional energy.
2. Take control of how you respond. When things happen that frustrate or aggravate you, remind yourself that you, and you alone, are in control of your emotions. You can choose to allow what’s happened to negatively impact you or you can choose not to.
When something starts to raise my blood pressure, I remind myself that how I feel is my choice. While these types of things still affect me, the intensity of my reaction is far less severe. I find that within 15 seconds I can usually shrug off the things that used aggravate me. Often, I will say to myself, “Don’t let this upset you. What’s the right solution?” If the solution is just cleaning up the glass of juice I just spilled on the floor, then I just clean it up without any negative self-talk.
3. Change what you think about. One of the most important things to remember as you go through life is, where your attention goes, so goes your emotional energy. If I’m behind a car going 10 MPH under the speed limit, I will say, “Todd there is nothing you can do to change the driver in front of you, so back off, relax, take a deep breathe and wait patiently.” I will then immediately change my thoughts to something productive like a call I need to make or a project that needs my attention.
The next time you start to get frustrated about your co-worker who has a bad attitude, be grateful that it is not you that has the bad attitude and then, turn your attention to something more useful.
I realize I just touched the tip of the iceberg on this important subject. What types of things have worked for you in controlling your attitude and emotional energy? Please share your insights in the comments section below this post.
Often times it’s the small trivial things that we can’t do anything about that kills our attitude and zaps our emotional energy. Take control of how you feel, by taking control of what you think about.
Click here to visit the site and/or comment on this post.
About the Author: Todd Smith is a successful entrepreneur of 29 years and founder of Little Things Matter. To receive Todd’s lessons, subscribe here. All Todd’s lessons are also available on iTunes as downloadable podcasts. (Todd’s podcasts are listed #34 in America’s top 100 podcasts.)
Harvard Business Review: 4 Tips for Managing Your Energy - Not Your Time
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Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
LittleThingsMatter: Quiet Time is Critical for Decision Making | Todd Smith - So true!
In to today’s fast paced electronic world, the need for quiet time has never been more crucial. The number of interruptions and resulting stress coming from texts, calls, emails, and social sites has increased. And, of course, as if we don’t all have enough already going on, we have an endless supply of addictive options at our fingertip to fill our heads with chatter.
If you want to advance your life forward, it’s absolutely critical that you block out time when you turn off the noise so you can think and process information in silence.
The Value of Quiet Time
You’ve heard it before, but it’s a quote worth memorizing. Jim Rohn said, “Success comes from a series of good decisions made over time while failure comes from a series of poor decisions made over time.” After more than 15 years of thinking about this statement and watching it play out in the lives of people I know, I am convinced that our lives are a mirror image of our decisions.
If you want to make sensible life-planning decisions, the kind of decisions that allow you to move ahead in life, you need quiet time to think and process the things going on in your life.
I assume that you want to build a stronger relationship with your spouse or significant other, that you want to be an understanding parent, that you want to enjoy a successful career, and that you want to make enough money to stay out of debt and enjoy the good things life has to offer. Am I right?
If these things really are important, then ask yourself: How much time have I spent in the last month quietly thinking about these issues?
- How can I manage my money more efficiently
- How can I increase my market value
- What would I like to accomplish over the next year
- How can I fulfill the needs and desires of my spouse or significant other
- How can I improve the connection with my children or friends
Was the time you spent thinking about each of these congruent with their level of importance in your life? Yes or No? If your answer is no, then think about how much time you have spent in the last month with each of these activities:
- Listening to music or the radio
- Watching TV
- Checking out the social sites
- Reading books unrelated to your goals
- Surfing the Web
How can you say something is important, but yet not allocate time to think about it and make thoughtful decisions as to how you can improve that area of your life?
If achieving your goals is really important, then you must make it a priority to block out time to sit in silence and process what’s going on in your life and make good course-correcting decisions.
Let me offer you a few suggestions:
1. Start your mornings by sitting in silence. Rather than watching the news, reading the morning paper, or opening your computer, find a quiet place to just sit and think.
2. While driving alone turn off the music and talk shows. Turn your car into a think tank where you process life and make good decisions.
3. Go for a daily walk and leave the music at home. Pick a topic to concentrate on. Almost all of my major decisions are made on my walks. Here are my three favorite questions I ask myself when choosing to think about a specific subject:
- What’s going on? Think about the subject you have selected.
- What are my options? Consider all available options.
- What’s my plan? Make a decision on what you will do.
4. If you have a major decision to make, block out a day, get out of your home, and go somewhere where you can think in peace and quiet. As you do, consider all aspects of yourdecisions: options, pros, cons, risks, rewards, and possible outcomes.
When you make it a priority to block out time in your busy schedule to just sit in silence and think about your life and where you are going, you will immediately begin to see the benefits of quiet time.
Will you agree to test this lesson by finding 15 minutes TODAY to sit in silence and think about an important decision you need to make?
If you agree with the importance of taking quiet time, please share what you do during your quiet time and how it helps you make better decisions?
If you want to make life-guiding decisions that will help you achieve the things that are truly important to you, you must turn off the noise, surround yourself with silence, and think.
Click here to visit the site and/or comment on this post.
About the Author: Todd Smith is a successful entrepreneur of 29 years and founder of Little Things Matter. To receive Todd’s lessons, subscribe here. All Todd’s lessons are also available on iTunes asdownloadable podcasts. (Todd’s podcasts are listed #35 in America’s top 100 podcasts.)
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Harvard Business Review: Big Hairy Goals Can Get Hairy | Robert I. Sutton
Hey Boss — Enough with the Big, Hairy Goals
Managers often think their job is to inspire their people with "stretch goals" — clear objectives that will be hard to meet, but that would have a dramatic impact on the organization's success. That this kind of ambitious goal-setting is a hallmark of effective leaders, and of high-performance organizations, is an old theme in behavioral science. Edwin Locke and Gary Latham in particular have produced a brilliant and compelling stream of research over the past 35 years demonstrating that difficult, specific goals lead to better task performance. In a more popular mode, Jim Collins has convinced thousands of managers of the value of "BHAG's" — big, hairy, audacious goals.
There's no denying that ambitious goals are essential to motivation. But my view is that the best bosses don't spend much time thinking or talking about them. There are a few reasons for this:- They are strategically obvious. What if I asked you to guess at the stretch goals of various teams, ranging from the grizzled sailors on the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, to the U.S. Soccer team now competing for the World Cup in South Africa, to a giant retailer like Target Stores? You wouldn't know the exact numbers to name, but you'd know the nature of their goals: the captains are trying to catch x tons of crab, the soccer team is trying to win ynumber of games (culminating with the championship), and Target is trying for a z percent gain in market share, or profit margin, or stock price. Even if a goal is a more noble, relating to employee retention, for example, or carbon footprint reduction, it will not be surprising. For most organizations in most industries, success is measured on well known and accepted yardsticks. Sure, there are differences and they do matter, but ambitious goals rarely send people in directions they didn't realize they needed to go.
- They're too blunt to provide daily guidance — or satisfaction. Tell a division that it needs to double its revenues in the next five years and people will not likely see what they should individually do differently to achieve that. A good boss lays out the path to a big goal, and works with people to break it down into objectives that more clearly imply the necessary actions. Focusing attention on the little steps not only clarifies what people need to accomplish on a daily basis, it also allows people to enjoy Small Wins, as Karl Weick called them in his wonderful 1984 article in The American Psychologist. (Here is the pdf.)
- They're too daunting. Weick also points out that organizations tend to be stymied by big goals that have not been broken into bite-size pieces. Faced with seemingly huge and overwhelmingly difficult challenges, people freeze up or even freak out. So the best bosses not only outline the steps, they talk and act like each is not overly difficult — which quells people's fears and enhances their confidence that, if they just keep moving, everything will turn out fine.
In Good Boss, Bad Boss, I share a story from a CEO I know who set a monumental revenue target for his organization. The number he named was so high that it would take the most successful sales campaign the company had ever run to make it. Adding to the pressure, the business was on the ropes. It had lost some key accounts, and nothing less than the revenues he targeted could save it from large-scale layoffs.
Few on his team were inspired by the audacity of the goal. Immediately fears were expressed that it could never be realized given the severe time pressure, limited resources on hand, and tough market conditions. But rather than simply repeat the do-or-die imperative, the CEO led a discussion of what it would realistically take to make the campaign a big success. Before long, the list of "to do's" had stretched to over 100 tasks, causing even more doubts to be vocalized. The turning point came when the CEO asked the group to sort that list into "hard" and "easy" tasks. When a task was declared easy, he asked who could do it and by what date. Within 15 minutes, the group realized that they could accomplish over half the tasks in just a few days. The anxiety level dropped, and stage was set for a succession of small wins.
How did it all turn out? The company did run the most successful sales campaign of its history. This was in 2009. Better yet, the power of the CEO's approach carried over to the next year. The senior team (with much less guidance from him this time) used a similar small-wins strategy for a 2010 campaign that generated even more business than 2009's — thanks in part to their higher confidence level and in part to the skills they'd gained at breaking down tasks. They knew how to get the myriad easy ones out of the way so they could focus on the harder (but still manageable) ones.
I'm eager to hear if all this is consistent with your own experience. For the moment, here's my conclusion: great bosses do set very challenging goals and communicate them to their followers. But you're a bad boss if, once those goals are known and accepted, you keep mindlessly invoking them. Rather than continually drawing people's attention to that distant horizon, help them see what they can and must accomplish right now. Let them proceed calmly, with confidence, and with the motivation that comes from taking clear little steps — and they may just accomplish those big hairy goals.
Robert Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He studies and writes about management, innovation, and the nitty-gritty of organizational life. His new book is Good Boss, Bad Boss, forthcoming from Business Plus.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
LjjSpeaks Blog Post: Crossing The Line On Facebook. Where Work and Life Collide.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Great Quote! Still Holds True Today: Be a Leader in the introduction of change!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Marketing Charts | Pew Internet Research | Who is texting more? Teens or Adults? Who is using cell phones more? Men or Women?
Teens Text 5x More than Adults
Teens ages 12-17 send and receive a median of five times more texts per day than adult texters,according to new data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Most Adults Send 1-10 Texts Per Day
Slightly more than half (51%) of adults who text send one to 10 texts per day, compared to 22% of teens. The percentages of texting adults and teens who send 11-20 and 21-50 average daily texts are fairly similar. Where teens begin to outpace adults is in the percentage who send 51-100 average texts daily (18% to 7%), and more notably in the percentage who send 101-plus average texts daily (29% to 8%).
Ultimately, adults who text typically send and receive a median of 10 texts a day; teens who text send and receive a median of 50 texts per day.
Men Make More Cell Calls than Women
Women tend to make slightly fewer calls with their cell phones than men, despite stereotypes of women enjoying talking on the phone more. While 53% of women make and receive five calls or fewer per day, 43% of men say the same.
Men are a bit more likely to make slightly more phone calls in a day; 26% of men send and receive six to 10 calls a day, while 20% of women exchange that many calls. Men and women are equally likely to be represented at the extreme high end of callers, however, with 8% of men and 6% of women making and taking more than 30 calls a day.
The average adult cell phone owner (across genders) makes and receives around five voice calls a day.
Cell Phones Provide Security, Annoyance
Americans especially appreciate that their cell phones make them feel safer (91% of cell owners say this) and help them connect to friends and family to arrange plans (88% agree). Still, some users express irritation with their phone for the disruptions it creates, though the heaviest users of the phone are no more likely to express irritation with their phone than lower level users. Two-in-five (42%) cell phone owners say they feel irritated when a call or text message interrupts them.
In a further sign of cell phone-related annoyance, 57% of adults with cell phones have received unwanted or spam text messages on their phone.
Minorities Use Cell Phones More than Whites
African-American and Hispanic cell phone users are more intense and frequent users of all cell phone capabilities than whites. Minorities send more text messages and make more calls on average than their white counterparts. For example:
- African-American and English-speaking Hispanic adults are slightly more likely than whites to own a cell phone, with 87% of African-Americans and English-speaking Hispanics owning a phone, compared with 80% of whites.
- African-American and English-speaking Hispanic cell phone owners are more likely than whites to initiate and receive large numbers of calls each day. One-in-eight (12%) African- American phone owners and 14% of Hispanic cell phone users make and receive more than 30 calls on a typical day, while just 4% of white cell phone users make and receive the same number of calls.
- African-American and Hispanic texters typically text more on average than white texters, with a median of 10 texts a day for African Americans and Hispanics and 5 texts a day for whites. White adults are a bit more likely than English-speaking Hispanic adults to say they do not send or receive any texts on a typical day (10% vs. 4%).
Other Findings
- 5% of all adult texters send more than 200 text messages a day or more than 6,000 texts a month. Fully 15% of teens ages 12-17, and 18% of adults ages 18 to 24 text message more than 200 messages a day, while just 3% of adults ages 25 to 29 do the same.
- Heavy adult texters, those who send and receive more than 50 texts a day, also tend to be heavy users of voice calling. Light texters, who exchange one to 10 texts a day, do not make up for less texting by calling more. Instead, they are light users of both calling and texting.
- Parents (90%) are more likely to have a cell phone than adults without children under 18 at home (78%).
Minors Text 90x as Much as Seniors
The number of messages juveniles younger than 18 text in an average month is about 90 times the total of seniors 65 and up, according to new data from The Nielsen Company. In an average month, an under-18 American will send 2,779 text messages. This dwarfs even the average total of those 18-24 (1,299). It is also 86.7 times the monthly total of 32 text messages the average American 65 and older sends in the same period. The number of text messages sent in an average month steadily declines with each successive age bracket.
About the Data: The re¬sults in this report are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International between April 29 and May 30, 2010, among a sample of 2,252 adults, age 18 and older.
, Text Ads, Telecom, Research, Women, Youth,Mobile Content Usuage, Mobile, Online, Online Networks, New Tech, Demographics, Behavioral Marketing, Interactive, E-Commerce, Integrated/Cross-Media/Convergence, Men, Media Department, Measurement/Analytics, Direct,Thursday, September 2, 2010
Little Things Matter: If your words are a mirror - do you need some Windex® ??
| Your Words Reflect Your Character |
Your Words Are a Mirror What we say about others reflects on our own character. Specifically, when we speak unfavorably of others, it not only hurts the person our words are aimed at, but it also damages our credibility and reputation in the process. Richard Carlson put it this way: “ When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.” When we speak negatively about someone else, others often perceive it as a ploy for our own personal gain. When our words persuade others to our point of view as to the faults and shortcomings of someone who is not present, we are taking unfair advantage of that person. This holds true whether we’re talking about an individual, a group, or a business. The Critical Cashier For example, last week, I was in my local supermarket picking up a bag of ice. I took a shortcut through one of the empty lanes to get to the service desk since I was only purchasing one item. A cashier happened to be in that lane and said he could help me. I told him I didn’t realize his lane was open because he was standing off to the side. He proceeded to tell me about the “stupid policies” of the store. He ranted about various things during my purchase and spoke nothing but ill of his employer. All the time he was unloading his personal dissatisfaction, I was questioning his motives and forming my impression of him—and it wasn’t a good one! I immediately summed him up as an inconsiderate employee who failed to see himself as a store representative with an obligation to act and speak accordingly. Positivity Is Good for Your Reputation It is also important to keep in mind that where your attention goes, so goes you’re your emotional energy. Focus on positive things and your life will be positive; focus on negative things and your life will be negative. When you say destructive things about others, your emotional energy is also negatively affected. On the other hand, when you brand yourself as someone who refrains from speaking disapprovingly of others, not only will people’s respect for you grow, but you will also be happier. When you hold back saying something negative about someone else—especially when given the opportunity—you exemplify self-control and concern for others. “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” Dale Carnegie Do not, however, confuse speaking of someone in a derogatory way with participating in a formal critique, such as job performance reviews or when you are asked to point out deficiencies for the purpose of helping someone improve in certain areas. In these instances, use tact and diplomacy to focus on performance issues and always avoid personal attacks. Tips for Avoiding Negative Conversations
Sometimes figuratively (and sometimes literally) I bite my tongue when I am on the verge of saying something negative. I do so knowing that quelling the urge to speak my mind on impulse helps me show consideration for others, uphold my values, and maintain my reputation. You can build a reputation that commands respect by refusing to speak negatively of others in all circumstances—regardless of who is or isn’t present. About the Author: Todd Smith is a successful entrepreneur of 29 years and founder of Little Things Matter. To receive Todd’s lessons, subscribe here. All Todd’s lessons are also available on iTunes as downloadable podcasts. (Todd’s podcasts are listed #42 in America’s top 100 podcasts.) |
