12.23.2024

Happy Holidays!



May you and your family have a truly blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year!  

The MMM will take off the next weeks for the holidays and return on Monday, January 6th of 2025. 


12.16.2024

What are you known for?

Cities are known for specific things, like food, culture, and architecture. Celebrities and politicians often become famous (or infamous) for specific good deeds or scandalous stories. Specific years in history are defined by the events that shape them. 

But what about you? What are you known for?

Unfortunately for most of us, this question isn’t considered until after we leave this earth. However, legacies are crafted every single day through our actions, words and choices. Our daily behavior shapes our reputation and builds our legacy, one moment at a time. 

The good news? Legacies aren’t’ set in stone. Who you are now and what you do today can transform how you’ll be remembered. So, what will you be known for? If the answer doesn’t sit well with you, take heart; it’s never too late to change the narrative.

Start today. Shape your legacy. 


12.09.2024

Stress Management

 I once heard a lecturer explaining stress management to an audience.

The lecturer raised a glass of water and asked, how heavy is this glass of water?

Answers called out ranged from eight to twenty ounces. The lecturer replied, the absolute weight doesn't matter.  It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.  If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes and that's the way it is with stress management. 

If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burdens become increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you must put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.  When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down.  Don't carry it home with you. You can always pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, set them down for a moment if you can.  

Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short!


12.02.2024

You Define You

 “It is okay to take “No” for an answer. It is not okay to let that “No” define you.”

- Cody Johnson – Singer/Songwriter

He actually said this between songs, at a recent live performance. His words struck me. The declines, pushbacks and snubs in our life should not define us. We can’t let them. It is more than just the “No’s”, it is other people’s decisions and opinions. We cannot let them define who we are.  

We get to define who we are! Don’t let others take that away from you. Think about it…

By the way, there is another MMM about a Cody Johnson song entitled, “I am still learning to be human”.


11.25.2024

Thankful For Milestones

If you have followed the MMM for some time you have likely read my writings on practicing gratitude year-round, not just during this particular week. For me personally, this year has been a great reminder of that mindset. Milestones are significant. We are blessed to reach them, and should take the time to appreciate and be thankful for them. For me this year I am….


Thankful for a 25-year loving marriage

Blessed to have celebrated my 65th birthday

Healthy after 20 years in remission and almost 5 years for my wife

Excited to celebrate the 20th Montgomery County Light The Night Walk

Thankful that Blanton Advisors celebrated 14 years in business

Proud of our granddaughter who graduated high school and move on to college

Thankful that you all still read, and hopefully appreciate, the MMM after 20 years


Milestones are awesome. So is getting up every day, with loved ones, shelter, food and employment. Be blessed and grateful this Thanksgiving week.


11.18.2024

Twenty Years of the MMM!

The Monday Morning Minute was born on November 21, 2004.  This Thursday will mark the twentieth year of sharing leadership thoughts and challenges with you all on a weekly basis. I hope somewhere along the way you have found something motivating, encouraging or challenging, maybe all three. Below was the first MMM I wrote when I was with Fleetwood. There may even be a few Fleetwood alumni still reading the MMM. 


Thanks for reading and be blessed my friends…   


Good Monday Morning!

Last week was a great week for the Fleetwood team in Houston.  We...  

Received a nice bonus,

Announced the new exiting Business Services concept,

Announced the relocation of the office, and

Had a great Thanksgiving luncheon together!

I thought it was a great week, and I am excited about the weeks ahead.  I felt like there was some excitement in the air after the announcement Thursday.  The office seems to be energized about change.  That is great!  That is what we need.  Positive change is what we will be looking for in the coming weeks and months.  I look forward to working with each and every one of you to implement the new Business Services concept.


11.11.2024

Veterans Day

Today, we honor the courage, sacrifice, and dedication of our veterans. Thank you to all who have served, past and present, for defending our freedoms and keeping us safe. Your bravery and commitment inspire us all. This Veterans Day let’s take a moment to express our gratitude to those who have given so much. Thank you, veterans! 

11.04.2024

Change


One of my favorite sayings about change is…


“The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.”


Over the years the MMM has frequently discussed change, the need for it, and our human reluctance to it. 


This phrase is really meant to encourage change in an environment where people have gotten stuck in a rut. Change happens. The fact is nothing changes if nothing changes.  Our challenge is to be pro-active and positive about change. Don't let your rut turn into a grave. Be prepared for change!


10.28.2024

Voices In Your Head

 


Do you hear voices in your head? Are they always positive and encouraging? If your answer to that is yes, are you being honest? Most of us tend to have trash talk in our heads.

If you have been around the MMM for a long you know I often incorporate musical lyric references. Have you heard the Jelly Roll song entitled “Liar”? Consider these random snippets from the song.

·        I let you drive around my mind

·        You made me feel like I’m nothing

·        Saying…

-          Heaven isn’t real

-          You won’t find nobody to love

·        You try to be my friend, but your blowing smoke

·        You ain’t nothing but a liar

We all have demons and head trash. That is enough to deal with, but the song lyrics seem to be about another person’s whose thoughts and opinions running around his head. Don’t let others get all up into your headspace. Protect your mind from the negative thoughts of others.

We may not be able to train the voices in our minds to always be positive, but we can keep the negative voice of others from camping out in our heads.

Think about it and listen to Jelly Roll.

10.21.2024

I was recently reminded about the lost art of courtesy…

 

 

courteous

adj Characterized by gracious consideration toward others. 1: exhibiting courtesy

and politeness; "a nice gesture" [syn: gracious, nice] 2: characterized by courtesy

and gracious good manners.

 

When was the last time you thought about this word?  More importantly when was the last time you thought about actually being courteous?  Not just with the barista or wait staff, but what about in your daily work and home life?  Being courteous is a really simple behavior that can positively impact relationships in the business world.  It is perhaps even more important at home.  For some reason we can easily forget to be kind and courteous to those we love. Courtesy is free to grant and not time consuming.  Why aren’t we courteous all the time? 

10.14.2024

Never Stop Learning

 

Do you think people really mean it when they say we learn something new every day?  They should.  Too often we treat the learning process as something with a specific end to it.  We tend to say we "went to school" or "received our education".  That sounds like we are done learning!  Often in fact we hardly begin learning about life until we are finished with our formal education.  Perhaps we need to think of our education as an ongoing process not something that we have completed in the past.  We really can learn something new every day, and, we should.  Think about what you will learn today!

10.07.2024

Volume

 

Does it help for anger and frustration to be expressed through increased volume? Do strong leaders become loud to convey important facts? Is yelling truly a better way to communicate urgency? I suggest the answer to all of these questions is no.

 

Yet, despite knowing this, I do not always live that way. It is a very human reaction to “get loud” in certain circumstances. Other than large crowds or great distances, and of course sporting events, what good is loud screaming? The person you are communicating with was probably hearing you just fine before you got emotional and turned up the volume.

 

Sure, voice inflection and some degree of volume change can be used in communicating a message, but outright yelling? Not at all. Communication with excess volume can foster anger and disrespect. It can undermine good leadership. It is demeaning and degrading to the listener. Next time you feel the urge to get loud, pause and ask yourself if it really necessary?

9.30.2024

Fans

 

It is an exciting time of year for sports fans. Baseball is heading to the playoffs, the NFL is building momentum, and college football is in full swing. Fans are sporting their favorite teams gear, yelling at TVs, and sweating their fantasy line-ups. They are passionate, invested, and all bought in.

Are your employees or team members passionate fans of your company or organization? Think about that. Imagine if they felt the same level of excitement about your business as they do for their favorite sports team. What would it be like to have a team full of dedicated, passionate fans?

This is likely easier said than done. I mean it is work, and it does not include cold beer and wings. It is also way more than just branded gear and a company happy hour. True fans are invested. They feel like they have something at stake, and they feel a tie to their team.  We should want employees and team members to feel that way. We want them to be all in on our team winning.

Are your employees rabid fans of your business?

9.23.2024

Tweaking Your Trajectory

 

Where is your current trajectory taking you?  The ongoing process of self-improvement is all about trajectory.  We owe it to ourselves to check our current direction and see if we are headed where we want!  This requires honesty, transparency, and objective self-analysis. Whether this process is pleasant or not, we should take it seriously. Some changes require significant admissions and major life changes.  However, for many of us our trajectory just needs to be tweaked.  We need to slightly increase our positive habits and back off the more negative ones. Just because they are only tweaks does not mean they will be easy.  Change is hard.  Bad habits are hard to break, and good ones are difficult to become routine.  Change is how you alter the direction your life is taking.

 

Think about where you are headed and ask yourself these questions. Are you happy with that direction? Could your trajectory use some adjustments? 

9.16.2024

The Pace of Life

 

Life moves at an incredible pace these days. News is available immediately. Social media is instantaneous. The controls for our lives sit at our fingertips. This is not all bad, but it is not all good either. Connectivity has its benefits, but it can also overwhelm us. Sometimes we need to slow down, tap the brakes. The only way to accomplish that is to disconnect and unplug. It is not easy.

 

I read a lot of fiction, in addition to the business books recommended by my business coach, which I carefully read word for word. Recently, while reading a work of fiction, I came across an interesting line. It was a comment made by a CIA agent in the story.

 

-          Things only slow down if you apply your own brakes and take control of the precious short time allotted to you in life.

 

It is up to you. Think about it.

 

9.09.2024

Out Of Office


Do people notice when you're out of the office? You know those auto-reply messages we set in our email? I recently took a two-week vacation and left my team to manage things on their own. Now I’m not sure they even need me.

How does your team function when you're not immediately available? The answer should be just fine!

9.02.2024

Happy Labor Day

 

It is not just about football season starting…

Labor Day: What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Enjoy your holiday!

8.26.2024

Empathy & Understanding

 

“One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient.”

 

-       Charles M. Blow

 

Just think about it…

8.19.2024

Work like you are going on vacation tomorrow...

Do you know what I mean?  Seriously, don’t you feel like you get really productive before you leave for vacation?  I try to keep my desk at the office pretty neat, but it is never as neat and clean as it is right before I leave town.  Somehow before a vacation I always find a way to get a lot of work done; I become more productive.  Some people that work for me might tell you that I just delegate better before I leave town, maybe so!

 

I really am more focused and accomplish more before I know I am going to be away from the office.  Why can’t we work like that all the time?  Why can’t we always run our lives the way we do the week before we leave the office, making decisions, cleaning off the desk, returning calls, getting stuff done? 

 

By the way, I leave town tomorrow! My desk is spotless…

8.16.2024

Standing Ovation

 

Do you crave recognition and approval from others? Many of us do, and I can relate. However, as leaders, our focus shouldn't be on seeking applause for ourselves. Instead, we should direct the recognition toward our team. Success and achievements are not ours alone to celebrate. Those celebrations are for our teams.

As a breakthrough leader, you should aim for the standing ovation to be for the people you lead.

3.11.2024

Four years ago today…

 

In my mind, today is the four-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic in the United States. On this day in 2020, both the Houston Rodeo and the NBA shut down entirely. Not long after that the entire country was pretty much in a lock down. For some of us it was a few weeks, for others it was much longer. Every single person, business, organization, and activity in our world was impacted. Many are still feeling that impact. Our world is not the same four years later.

 

What have we learned? I will stay away from medical, political, or socio-economic lessons. What have you learned as an individual? I have shared these questions before. They are worth considering again. Actually, they are worth considering frequently, not just in the wake of a pandemic.

 

·         Are you going to have better family relationships?

·         Have you learned a new craft or skill?

·         Are you growing in your faith?

·         Have you discovered new ways to give back in your community?

·         Will you be more serious about saving 2-3 months of living expenses?

·         Has your perspective about work/life balance changed?

·         Do you have new goals and objectives for the balance of the year?

·         Will you bring a new level of commitment and energy to your job or your business?

·         Have you read a business or self-help book you have been putting off?

3.04.2024

People

 

The world is comprised of three types of people…

 

  1. Those who make things happen.
  2. Those who watch and/or follow what happens.
  3. Those who ask what happened.

 

Hopefully we are not always #3!  However, in certain aspects of our life, we likely are the ones who ask, “what happened?”. It is hard to be #1 or #2 regarding every area of our lives, much less to be #1 all the time.  To me the key is which one of these are we regarding things that really matter?  For instance, family, marriage, faith, parenting, or whatever may be of absolute importance to us. What are we in those roles?  It is okay to be #3 about entertainment, sports, fashion, or even current events.  It is not okay to be #3 regarding things of significance. 

 

When it comes to the things that really matter, we all should strive to be one of those who make things happen!

2.26.2024

Leadership and Delegation

 

Great leaders understand the power and importance of delegation. For me, it is something I am still learning. But we cannot delegate everything. As leaders, we do not delegate responsibility. Projects, initiatives, organizations, and businesses are the responsibility of leaders. That responsibility remains ours and it should never be abdicated. We can delegate tasks. We often delegate decisions. Action items and implementation are delegated. Ultimate responsibility remains with the leader.

Delegate tasks, decisions, and action items. Never delegate responsibility.

2.19.2024

Presidents’ Day

 

As we celebrate Presidents’ Day, I find myself thinking about the role of the President as a leader. The President of the United States is the official leader of our country and the ultimate leader of our military. He is also referred to as the leader of the free world.  Those roles are true and fitting. Responsibilities and power come with his elected position. He is a leader by title. However, holding a position in title does not make one a great leader of people.  Regardless of your political affiliation, I think that most will agree that we have had presidents from both parties who were in fact great leaders.  Furthermore, we have had even more who were leaders in title and never mastered the art of truly leading people. Never confuse a title with true quality leadership. Many title holders are great leaders, some are not. On the other hand, many great leaders have no title at all.

 

Happy Presidents’ Day!

2.12.2024

Leadership

 

We are all leaders. Some are formal leaders with titles, others are informal leaders with influence. We lead at home, church, in our community and at work.  We lead our children, our peers, and our employees.  If you do not consider yourself a leader, you are ignoring an opportunity to influence those around you.  Embrace these leadership points and do your absolute best to be a great leader! 

 

·        Hope - Great leaders give people hope for a better tomorrow.

·        Consistency - When followers never know what to expect from a leader, they will stop expecting anything.

·        Influence - People do not respond well when pushed, forced or directed.  They respond best when influenced by leaders they respect. 

·        Honesty & Trust - Trust and honesty are established when words and actions match up.

·        Accountability - Leaders understand that followers need to see leaders who are willing to be accountable. 

·        Humility - As leaders we should be concerned with what is right, not if we are right. 

·        Respect & Caring - People do not care what you know until they know that you care. 

 

2.05.2024

Leadership

 

One of the most critical attributes of a great leader is consistency.  If you know me well, you know how I feel about consistency. This is not the first MMM devoted to the topic.  Steady and consistent leadership develops loyal followers. It maintains calm and stabilizes expectations. Consistency means that when the question is the same, the answer is the same, no matter if the names and places change. The answer is the same no matter the emotional, financial, or legal implications. Dependable answers and consistent responses create a stable environment where expectations are clear. This does not mean that different times may not require different responses. It does not mean that business circumstances can’t dictate changes in policy.  However, it does mean that people know what to expect from their leader. 

 

John Maxwell says, “If people do not know what to expect from a leader, they will come to expect nothing.”  As leaders, we should want people to know what to expect from us. 

 

Great leaders have sound values and convictions. Those things do not change and therefore they are consistent in their leadership. A great leader is the rock of consistency for their team, followers, business or family.

 

1.29.2024

When life gives you lemons…

 

Twenty years ago, this week I finished my last chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The notes in my diary from that day simply state, “This is my final treatment and I thought it would never be finished. I kept watching for the last drop.”

That was a long time ago. Even though my diagnosis is considered treatable but not curable, the longer I remain in remission the lower the odds are of recurrence. That was true at ten and fifteen years. It is especially true, this week at twenty! I am blessed to have had a tolerable treatment regimen and a favorable outcome.

Many of you know that our family took my diagnosis combined with the loss of my father to leukemia and turned it into a passion of raising money for blood cancer research. Over the past nineteen years our family (The Blanton Bunch) has raised and donated over $565,000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Lemons to Lemonade, my friends!  The only answer for blood cancers is funding research for a cure.

I can’t believe it has been twenty years…

1.22.2024

Communicating

 

If you follow the MMM you know I have written a lot on listening. Focused and intentional listening is powerful. But let’s look at the other aspect of communication. That is the role of the communicator. Communication is a two-way street between the communicator and the listener. The real burden is on the communicator. They are the ones delivering a message. They are the ones trying to make a point. It is their job to successfully convey their intended message. All the great listening in the world cannot overcome a poorly delivered concept or idea.

The next time you feel the urge to say, “Would you just listen to what I am saying?”, consider pausing and reviewing your delivery as the communicator. The burden is on the sender of the message. 

Have a blessed week.


1.15.2024

Love & Forgiveness

 

As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today, you will see many of his profound quotes. He is one of the most widely quoted historical figures. Here is one that strikes me as especially poignant.

 

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

 

Consider the relationship between love and forgiveness.

1.08.2024

One Thing

  

Let's make this easy. Make it your goal to do “one thing” different in 2024. Pick one thing that is important for you to change, or improve. Then develop a “one thing” plan to make that change not only happen but stick.

We all know the annual resolutions regarding health and fitness, work goals or personal habit improvements. If we try to fix all of these at one time, we can be overwhelmed. I don’t know about you, but I have a long list of challenges in those areas. I don’t need 15 goals. I need one goal to focus on. One that I can work on in 45-60 days and then I can pick another one.

Pick one thing…

·        Do less of something (Quantify it)

·        Do more of something (Quantify it)

·        Stop something (Specifically how)

·        Create something (Specifically how)

·        Accomplish something (Specifically how)

What is your one thing?