Project: Aha! Moment

The end of the year is here and like those that have put holiday shopping off are freaking out, those that have put off their dreams are freaking out as well. Just two weeks until the new year, a few short days, and so many people are saying they haven’t achieved anything. It’s the final countdown and:

They’ve not lost any weight.
They’ve not yet graduated.
They’ve not scored the pot of gold.
They’ve not landed the perfect relationship.
They’ve not made partner.
They’ve surely not acquired the diamond.
They’ve not __________.

What have you not? I’m sure you can fill in the blank above with your own not.

But the aha! moment has no time restrictions. It has no respect for locations.

It comes when and where it pleases. In the middle of your dreams, during the shower. It hits you subtly; it hits you like a grand piano from the skyscraper above in a Looney tunes cartoon. Your feet affixed to the ground, your eyes transfixed to the behemoth coming closer and closer until suddenly what was just a thought, something you were flirting with in the back of your mind becomes a very real decision.

We’ve all failed this year. We all have had an idea. We’ve all had an idea we wanted to pursue, but other problems arose, and we’ve persuaded ourselves these were more prevalent.

Sometimes that decision is taken away from you. Because now you are stuck under a grand piano, under your grand idea.

Maybe 2014 has been a series of delays but writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry reminds us A GOAL WITHOUT A PLAN IS JUST A WISH. Without his plans, his success would not have been discovered.

Our Decembers are not our last chance to fulfill the end of quarter potential. They should, like every other day, be viewed as a first chance. Every day we can reevaluate our goal and put into effect a plan. So no matter what didn’t happen the three-hundred some days behind us, we have still have December 16th, and we still have an Ah ha! moment that needs to be implemented.

This December 16th reinvent the definition of your 2014. Forget about all the “Nots” that took place and start planning for a “Nothing Held Back Attitude.”

Give it all you got. Because you’ve got a lot to gain.

Project: The Green Couch Initiative

We tweet, post messages on Facebook, encounter people in impromptu meetings and set up sessions on The Couch. All with one intentional goal: To inspire people to speak, follow and fulfill their dreams.

We’ve formed an ever-expanding community of entrepreneurs that spill their risk-taking gutsy. Some whom are new to the game, others who are just beginning to pursue their dreams. Some getting their first taste of success, some their first taste of failure.

And so continues our purpose, to create a safe virtual and physical environment in which people - in which you- can,

1.)  Speak [your dream] Sometimes it’s literal – we need to voice it, we need to shout it. It’s like we say around here, “If it’s not a Hell Yeah! it’s a No!” Put some oomph behind your declaration. It may be to yourself, to your family or in your business proposal, but it’s time to speak it.

2.)  Follow [your dream] Follow up and follow through. Now that you’ve spoken up, it’s real. And there are people watching you follow your dream and who might want to follow along. Part of that business proposal can include an addendum that includes, “The Hell Yeah Guide to Making it Happen!”

3.)  Fulfill [your dream] Setting a deadline, meeting it and moving on to the next milestone? That’s called success. But there’s a reason they say reach for the stars. 1. Because they are so high, you’ll always push yourself to work upwards and 2.) Because there are so many you always have another star to reach.

 And when that happens, when you find another star, you have an opportunity to Speak [your dream]…

-The Green Couch

Project: Three E's To Simplify Your Entrepreneur Journey

Anyone who told you it would be easy did not try to simplify. Sometimes making it easier is the hardest thing. When you are too close to the painting it is hard to tell what it is supposed to be, so you need to take ten, twenty - sometimes even thirty steps - back before you can differentiate the smile and the dimple of Mona Lisa. All those brush strokes resemble the details of your life right now. You have 100 tasks going on, and that is just before noon. If only there were a system, some abracadabra Dr. Seuss system that could aid you.

However, it is just you and your team. Or is it? Take another ten steps back and guess what? Those brush strokes blend and voila! A masterpiece. It looks simple, right? It is orchestrated perfectly, and it flows naturally. Every color has it place.

You can only see it because you took a step back.

Moreover, it is time you did the same at work. It is time to simplify things at work. Here are a few ways you can begin so you can see and differentiate the dimple and smile of your Mona Lisa, whatever she may be:

 1) The Einstein:

“If you cannot explain it to a six-year-old, you do not understand it.”

We sarcastically use his name, “Thanks, Einstein,” when someone plays Captain Obvious, but one of the most intelligent men understood the power of a child’s mind and the simplicity of words.

You can tell just from his infamous crazy hair and projected tongue; he never let his ah ha's! stop him from his haha's!

Never sacrifice joy and passion for the pursuit of a successful career.

2) The Etiquette:

There was a time that you only bit into enough food that you could chew with three bites before you could swallow. That way if someone should ask you a question you could easily answer them, without appearing rude or appearing, well, you know stupid.

Apply that today. Break it down. Bullet points. Numbers. Power point. Whatever you have to, don’t be afraid to repeat yourself and highlight so others can digest.

3) The Engagement:

It has been remarked that there are four rings to marriage.

The Promise Ring, The Engagement Ring, The Wedding Ring and The Suffering. When it comes to business, you need to simplify things to ensure that you only ever have three rings. With yourself, your employees and clients. No matter whom you deal with, start with a promise, engage them and marry them. Just make sure they never suffer or regret you. The only way to ensure that is keeping things simple. Just like with any relationship, don’t complicate things. Communicate, and things should be a-oh-kay.

The way we keep it simple here is this: everything about us, is all about you. It is just that easy. Pen, pencil, keyboard; whatever method, your gutsy matters and this is your time, your place and your space. Ready. Set. Spill.

-The Green Couch

Project: It Takes Gutsy To Be A Good Leader, Part II

For every good leader I can reference, you can point out 2.5 misleading pop culture leaders and five poor examples that you have encountered in life. It is true, isn’t it? I mean, you probably have pulled out your trusty finger calculators as we speak trying to configure whether or not that is true. (Which is why I created my statistical number under 10 as, yes, I often find myself resorting to using my fingers.)

For me, these numbers are quite correct – and not just because I generated this statistical factoid off the top of my head. As much as I love you, Michael Gary Scott; The Office, NBC your leadership qualities are unorthodox and sorely lacking.

If you are going to be a leader you might as well do it right, and do it right on the first try right? Unfortunately, it is not always that easy. That is probably one of the first lessons a leader will learn: The lesson of humility. So while you are down there in your humble stance, here are a few other ways your employees are seeking out for you to…

•    Lead By Example, Not By Exclaiming:

Start by being in the presence of your employees. The mentality of being the first one there, the last to leave is an honest approach to setting a standard of showing up to work and investing in a company with heart and soul. A good leader is never too afraid to get their hands "dirty." They never ask of their employee what they would not do. You celebrate the accomplishments; offer constructive criticism when others would offer destructive criticism. In essence, they will show, not tell. That is leading.

•    Lead By Pushing, Not Pulling:

Sometimes you have to get behind your people. There are times your team will not believe in themselves. So if you are pulling them along they cannot see where they are going. You have to get behind them and their dream to help them see and understand their purpose and their power. So sometimes a little kick in the rear is good for the morale!

•    Lead By Logic, Not Leverage:

There are moments when it is easier to speak down to people. You are an authority figure, probably have a higher salary figure (if you are cutting their paycheck you should know this) and in the presence of others it is human nature to want to show your dominance and achievements by exuding the charm of a slightly egotistical superior. It is in all of us. Whether we are taller, older, excel academically or athletically - it is how we cope. However, a leader respects the intelligence of their "inferiors" (and I use that term for illustrative purposes) instead of using their superiority as leverage; as a mechanism; a method of manipulation to “motivate” others into doing what needs doing, they use logic. Sit down, have systematic conversations, have performance reviews and find a way to understand each other.

•    Lead By Confidence, Not Cowardice:

There will be conflict, and there will be rivalry, there will be times you have to downsize, and there will be times you have to fire without the reason of downsizing. Leadership is about short and long term decisions. It is about living the mission statement and trusting yourself and your instincts. Those around you will take their cue from you and as a leader you cannot hide behind the excuse of, “I want to hear what your thoughts are on this," so as not to have to make an executive decision. It is about responsibility, taking a vision and confidently and effectively delegating and putting it into action. 

So will you? Will you put your vision into action?

It takes gutsy to be a good leader. Do you have what it takes?

-The Green Couch

Project: It Takes Gutsy To Be A Good Leader, Part I

Whenever we pose the question to children what they want to be when they grow up we expect the average answer – firefighters, nurses, police officers; all good things. Sometimes we even hear a child responding they want to be an inventor – okay it is indirect mainly due to some kid’s fantasy of owning their own empire of a hybrid Willy Wonka meets Disney World. For all that I’ve been around children (and there have been a lot of sticky, stinky children, yet lovable every one of them; almost) I have never heard a child say, “When I grow up I want to be an entrepreneur.”

The things they do express, nevertheless, illustrate that they want to change the world, and that is a good place to start. The only thing is that the games we grow up playing are misleading. (Yes, another business-oriented blog focused around a game. Why? Because our roots and dreams begin at childhood, and if we can learn from our roots, our fruits will be that much more bountiful.)

To which games do I refer? How about Simon Says and Follow the Leader.

Simon Says implies that we as world-changers, entrepreneurs and leaders can tell our employees when, how, where, why and what to do – no questions asked. Monkey face? Sure, no problem. Jumping up and down too? My pleasure? Oh, I did not follow the exact rules and now I am disqualified? Okay. My pleasure, as well.

Follow The Leader is a game that has given us a misconception of what a leader is. Yes, we follow them, but that does not mean they are always physically in front us. It does not mean that a leader gets to order us like a drill sergeant, and we must mimic their every move. 

So if you thought owning your own business meant that life would be a glorified version of these games; sorry, game over. If you thought you would be in charge of people and it was a means to bossing them around…Well, it means you are responsible for their wellbeing. Are they achieving their personal and work goals? How do you ensure this is happening?

•    Do Not Be The Employee’s Pet

No one likes the teacher’s pet. Also, no one likes the employee’s pet. Singling out an employee beyond the employee of the month is more detrimental than it sounds. You cannot win everyone, and while you win more flies with sugar than with vinegar, you also create a sticky situation if your words are too sugary sweet. False reinforcement is similar if not the same as negative feedback.

Here is how the scenario ends: you have an employee that has false illusions as to what they can and cannot do. Animosity grows within your corporation and lessens the impact your company has internally and externally.

Honest and helpful guidance in a constructive manner tailored to all employees – as best as possible towards their personalities, at least within their divisions – is the best way to create a more united and established front. Take the time to understand them and help them understand one another.

•    Do Not Micromanage

Trust your employees. You gave them guidance. You gave the tools and resources. If you’ve done your part in training them, then you should be able to manage them and allow them to make their own mistakes. That is the only way they can learn. There are two types of typos. One of which is inherit – the one we as responsible adults and employers and employees try to avoid and fix as soon as we recognize in our work. While it should not be a common occurrence or an acceptable common occurrence, it happens.

The other is the kind when we are typing a proposal up, and our manager is leaning over our shoulder for the entire process, and every other letter becomes a stuttering process; a typo. Both wastes valuable time and will devalue the time and talent of the employee/employer relationship and roles.

•    Do Not Be The Water Cooler Topic

Do not complain, do not show up late, do not take sick, personal and vacation days just because you can. Do not attend the Christmas Party already drunk. You undermine your authority and lose your respect and become a boss, not a leader.

We all need someone to follow, not someone to boss us around. We can find individuals like those around everywhere. Just take a peek around the corner, in our own homes, I can even flip on a Fitness Channel and have a health guru yell at me, bossing me into a fit body.

However, we need leaders. We need people that encourage us to change the world. So we can stop playing Simon Says and begin living Simon Inspires.

So what should you do, then, to be a better leader? Do return next week to find out; that is step one.

-The Green Couch