Deliveries

Back when I was pretending to be a football coach, I learned the importance of delivering.

Bert (not his real name) was one of my athletes.  He had better than average athletic ability, better than average intelligence, better than average initiative.

Bert spent endless hours telling me about how he was gonna get stronger, about how many tackles he was gonna make, about how he was gonna improve his speed, about the awards/titles he was gonna win (and help us win).  Bert would espouse these proclamations to me on the field, in my office, on the bus, in the weight room, in the hallway...

Bert spent all his time telling me about what he was going to do, and very little time delivering.  I later observed that same sort of Bert-like behavior as I moved on to work in other organizations.  

My learning?  
Most common:  When the folks delivering the goods are the ones who spend the least time talking about what they're gonna deliver.  
Extremely rare:   When the ones doing the Bert-talk are the ones delivering the goods.

Deliveries matter.

ChatterBlasters

"Talking about it" is a necessary step, but it is best a very brief one.

Endless chatter around an idea, an initiative, a plan almost always foretells its inevitable circling of the drain.  

If the idea/initiative/project meets the following tests, then go for it:

• Does it fit our big, bold goals?
• Is it good for people (both inside and outside our organization)?
• Is it good for the planet (ecologically speaking)?
• Will the world be a better place if we can pull it off?

If it's truly risky, then make it a pilot project.  Just get off the starting line.

But PLEASE, get past the chatter and get to the doing -- and the failing and the fixing and the re-doing and...

The most impactful leaders I know are master chatter blasters.

WellExecuted

What are some common indicators of stellar execution (aka, effective deployment)?

• Clear, and clearly articulated vision - the whole team knows WHERE we're going.
• Heavy lifters - the team is made up of folks who know their job, and get it done, consistently.
• Prioritization - the hard stuff gets tackled first.
• Small-stuff-itis - the little things matter, and everyone on the team knows it.
• Fixation syndrome - everyone has authority (and uses it) to fix the problems they identify.
• Progress focused - judicious movement forward, not haste, is the norm.
• More learning needed - it's simply an assumed state of being.

Sounds like a fun team to work with, huh?

PuzzleParalysis

One of the constants of leading organizations (whether it be our family or a multi-national corporation) is that there is uncertainty on the horizon.

Always at play are changing relationships, unexpected events, shifting markets, disrupted supply chains, unpredictable customers, and innovative moves/products (introduced either by your own folks or those of your competitors).

Making necessary BIG PICTURE decisions (whether as CEO or as a mom) is somewhat like putting together a 10,000 piece puzzle, without the benefit of having the full picture before us OR all the puzzle pieces in our possession.  What to do?

We can either succumb to paralysis and do nothing...
OR
We can make the decisions needed to move us forward for today, understanding that LEARNING will occur which will propel us forward or require subsequent corrective action.

LEARNING rarely happens in a state of paralysis.

Boldly!

When should we be bold?

For your consideration, let us
BOLDLY...

• SERVE, with no expectation of return
• PLAN, pushing for big dreams and remarkable outcomes
• INVITE, offering others some skin in that game
• CORRECT, righting wrongs as soon as possible
• LISTEN, even when it hurts
• FORGIVE, remembering we too are its beneficiaries
• LOVE, for there is nothing more important

 A good start...

SeeingVsObserving

Our brains take in tons of data through the course of a day, or a lifetime.  Our minds then kick into to gear to make sense of the data we take in -- to slice it, dice it, categorize it, assess it, etc.  

Almost all of this data collection, this "seeing," is done on automatic pilot, without our ever consciously knowing it's going on.  It's just like how our brain makes sure the old heart keeps pumping; no conscious effort required on our part.

What makes the minds of those who are particularly adept at influencing others different is that they are in a continuous process of learning, learning to go beyond seeing and getting to the level of observing.

Observing is the realm of the intentional processing of data, the discerning of environmental aspects, the assessing of contextual elements, the gauging of social dynamics, the examination of political antecedents, the evaluating of psychological variables, the forecasting of potentialities.

The most effective leaders are masters at observing.  They know that "seeing" is simply not enough.

EverybodyAlways

I recently read Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People by Bob Goff (2018).  

The book was gifted to me by the wonderful faculty and staff of Throckmorton ISD, with whom I have served for the last 10 months.

In this book (and in his previous) BG reflects openly with us about his struggle to become more Christ-like.  Much of his thinking centers around viewing his (and our) discipleship through the lens of simply loving, as completely and as wholly and as unconditionally, ALL those whom God brings within our life sphere.

BG emphatically makes the point (again and again) that God does not need us.  Rather, God lovingly allows us to grow as we commit ourselves to loving and serving others. 

My favorite quotes:
> “If we’re fortunate, God will surround us with friends who know us so well they’ve stopped trying to control our conduct with endless instructions and instead trust that God is at work in our lives, even if He’s doing things we don’t yet understand.” (p. 137) 

> “His (God's) reason is simple:  He’s more interested in making us grow than having us look finished.” (p. 168)

Thanks for the thoughtful gift, Greyhounds.