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.

Your Five

 

There is a concept out there that states, “We tend to become like the five people we spend most of our time around”. Makes you think about who you are hanging out with. Consider that for a minute regarding your work world.

 

It’s easy to think of this concept in regards to our good friends that we hang out with after hours and on weekends, or even more so our family and others whom we consider close. But, we spend eight hours a day in our work environment. Annually, that is 2080 hours. That is more time than we spend with most other people in our lives. How are those that you work with influencing you? What good or bad habits might you adopt from the people that you spend eight hours a day with? 

 

We should work someplace where the people we work with make us better. Think about that for a minute. Are the people you work with daily making you a better person? Are you learning and growing because of the people that you hang out with between 8:00 and 5:00 every single workday? The concept of who our five closest friends are is a powerful one, but it needs to be viewed within the context of our work environment. You may not be great friends with the people that you work with every single day, but you do spend at least eight hours a day with them. That’s a lot of time. Their habits, their behaviors, their responses, cannot be ignored.

 

Do you work with people who make you better?

Starve Your Distractions, Feed Your Focus

 

I am not good at this. I am so easily distracted. This is not easy to do in our social media, text message, internet world. How much more productive would we be if we could do this? Even if we could just do it during work hours. How much would our productivity go up?

 

It is a simple concept, not so easy to put into practice.

 

How are you at this?

White Space

 

There is a design concept called white space. It refers to not overcrowding a design and allowing space between components. The concept is used by artists and graphic designers to create more comfortable and pleasing designs that avoid clutter. Think of a wall with a group of pictures or a magazine photo layout. Too little white space can feel uncomfortable, making the content difficult to absorb or understand. Visually, we need white space.

We should apply the concept of white space to our calendars. I manage my days, and my life for that matter, in an Outlook calendar. I don’t like having a day that is back-to-back appointments booked all day long, or a week with little or no open time. We need white space in our schedule. We need blocks of time to be productive and blocks to recharge. All jobs and schedules are different, but we all need some open time in our lives.

At the end of the day, it is your calendar. Design your calendar like an artist, create your white space!

PS: TJ – Please note above!

Experiences

 

Two weeks ago, the MMM talked about how life experiences make us who we are. Another aspect of that concept is how we use those experiences to help others.

We all have a story. We all have experiences. Don’t waste your story. Someone needs to hear that story. They may benefit from hearing how you made it through. We have overcome challenges. We have significant accomplishments and lesson learning failures. We have conquered, learned, persevered and grown. Those experiences make up our story. Don’t waste the opportunity to share your story.

“One day my story will become some else’s survival guide”

-         Unknown

 

*Portions of today’s MMM come from Rick Torrison of Right Now Leadership, LLC

Your Word?

 
We often talk of being able to take someone for their word.  A common compliment is, “He is a man of his word.”  Think about that concept by looking in the mirror today.  Are you a person of your word?  Can others take you at your word?  More importantly would you trust your own words?  Do you communicate with integrity and the intention to stand behind your word?

Words are powerful tools Trust is built on words supported by honesty and integrity, but trust can be destroyed by words of deceit and misrepresentation.  Our word is one of the few things we can totally control, can’t be taken from us, and will always play a role in how we impact the lives of those around us.  Enjoy the quote below…    

 “I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond; that character — not wealth or power or position — is of supreme worth.”

 ― J.D. Rockefeller

Life is a journey

Have you ever heard the saying, "Life is a journey not a destination"?  It is a great concept to keep in mind every day.  All too often we want things to be all finished, resolved, and complete.  More often the events of our lives, including our business lives, are a part of ongoing change that makes us who we are and leads us where we are going.   It is in fact a journey, not a destination.  Sometimes we need to be reminded to enjoy the journey!

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon—instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."

-       Dale Carnegie

Lesson from the Geese

We have all seen a flock of geese flying overhead in their “V” formation.  There is a lesson to be learned from them.  Did you know that as each goose flaps its wing, it creates "uplift" for the birds that follow?  By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.  Pretty interesting fact!  I am not sure how someone actually calculated the 71% but the concept make sense.  The same is true of people who work together.  People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

Are the teams you work on flying in the same direction and in formation?