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Basics in business: Never out of style

BASICS!

As the marketplace in a state of chaos, your business does not have to follow this craziness. The formula for positive results in the middle of confusion, is to focus relentlessly on the basics.

• Basics get you out of trouble
• Basics clear up all confusion
• Basics deliver predictable positive results
• Basics unite the team
• Basics rock the world
• Basics is the bedrock of great leaders
• Basics = greatness
• Basics are contagious
• Basics love

Lead today by focusing on the basics in business.

Basics in business never go out of style! Try to remember that.

Your Team First

My son Teddy and I are heading off to the Longhorns game today and coming home to watch my college team: The Nebraska Cornhuskers...One of those perfect days for us! There is nothing better for me than spending time with my sons watching football. A ton of bonding! Memories we will cherish and never forget.

But as we are going to this game, I am thinking about the importance of TEAM! Team is in...Team is awesome...Team is essential to success.

And as these football teams work on the opponents, I must point out; first things first. And that critical lesson is this:

• Before an organization concerns themselves with the competition, the first critical element is get to everyone on your team together! Don't worry about the competition until your team is united!

So many times I see teams focused on the competition and all the while, their own team is not on the same page. Their own team is disengaged and not in harmony but yet the focus is on others. Mistake. Huge Mistake.

Get United with your team first. Focus on your team first. Get every single member of your team on the same page and working towards a common goal. Get every member of your team loving each other and caring for the team. Get every member of your team focused on a common objective. Get every member of your team putting TEAM First. And then move on to the competition.

Time Management

You have a choice:

Either you manage your time or others will do it for you! Period.

For me; Since it's my life; since I can't invent any more time or buy any more days...I prefer to manage my own time.

Time is a gift....it's undeserved favor....it's grace. I best be a champion steward of that gift called time. I best manage it myself to the best of my abilities.

I want to invite you today to look at time and really ask yourself this: Who is managing my time, me or somebody else? Really deep down, how much sense does it make to have other manage our time and our life? I think you will agree with me, it makes no sense. But yet many reading this allow others to manage their time.

Make a change today and get over into the drivers seat on YOUR Life's Bus!

Vision First

Increasingly I find so many people worried about "doing stuff"...the busyness in life. Running here and running there. Doing this and doing that. Busy Busy Busy. But really accomplishing nothing. (Homework: Examine your time and what you are doing....What % of your time is spent on vision work and what % of your time is spent on tasks?)

And the core root of this epidemic is a lack of vision. Most folks are consumed with being busy and doing tasks all the while living without a vision. The focus on tasks and missing in significance of deep soul level purpose is happening daily to tons of people.

This makes no sense when you really think about it. For example I ask this: Without a vision, how would I know what tasks to do? How would I know what to work on? The answer of course, is that I wouldn't know what to work on. I would be totally lost and just guessing at life. Well, since I can't buy any more time or invent any more time, I better not guess at life. The stakes are too high for me to be living by a chance that I get things right. I better get a game plan and make my life intentional.

Well, it all starts with having a vision. First step is to figure out in detail what we are called to accomplish on this planet. What is our life and career vision? What is our purpose? What do we need to get done on this earth?

Intentional living: Start with your vision. The great producers on this planet spend 80% of their time on the vision part. Only a small fraction of their time is spent on tasks or the busyness of life. And that is exact opposite of most people running around. There is nothing sweeter in life than finding true purpose.

Pay Attention! Part 2

So much of success lies in simply paying attention. The world is full of awesome, rock-star quality people. The world is full of mountain moving ideas. The world is full of so much good and so much positive. The world is flowing with pure joyful energy.

But here is the key: You have to pay attention. This stuff won't just come to you. In fact, you need to search for it. But it's there. And you can submerse yourself in it by paying attention.

Just pay attention to the good things and surround yourself with THE POSITIVE, and things are simply going to be good.

Example:
I met an awesome person the other day that is just gettin' it done in this world. He is a superstar person and fabulous human being. How did I get a chance to meet him and start a relationship with him? By paying attention. By networking and paying attention to those that get it done in a huge way.

Be alert. Be conscious. Be ready. Simply Pay Attention!

Frosting and Cake

I was asked this question recently: "Chris, what makes a WOW producer; what do those people who really get stuff done in this life actually think about and how to they behave?"

My answer: "They have more cake than frosting!"

But that is so contrary to what most others teach and what the "hip and slick" fads are today. Society today is focused on the frosting only....not caring a bit about the cake. And this is true today in real life. At a birthday party, the person with the "best" piece of cake is determined by who has the most frosting. It's the soundbites. It's the skinny deep subjects that are talked about. It's the focus on superficial. It's the "stuff and things." It's the "cash and flash". That's all fancy dancy frosting.

But that is all just noise.

The real producers...the real mountain movers, focus on depth. They are laser focused on the cake and ignore the frosting. And without question, the best cake is the cake of relationships. WOW people focus on what they are doing relationally. The are consumed with building, maintaining, growing, and seeking healthy hearty relationships.

Focus on the cake. And start and end with the cake of relationships. Sure success's formula right there!

Take your Time

If you don't have time to do it right; you don't have time to do it wrong either.

I see too many short cuts right now as the market tightens up and business is generally down. Too many leaders and organizations are looking for the short cuts and producing sloppy work products. Too much searching for the fountain of youth and not near enough focus on the basics.

Take your time. Put out strong work product. Treat customers extremely well and give them a WOW Experience. Treat employees even better!

Basics!

Do stuff right. No more sloppy work. No more sloppy thinking. Clean up the work and clean up the thinking. Have everyone in the organization focus on the basics. The results will improve and you will be back on track.

Seek Clear Thoughts

One of the most powerful skills one can have and one of the best investments one can make is...Seeking Clarity of Thought!

• Thinking Clearly is an awesome gift
• Thinking Clearly is a wise investment of personal development time
• Thinking Clearly can move mountains
• Thinking Clearly leads to a good life
• Thinking Clearly can help others

But yet so many people today run around in the world busy being busy (without any clear thoughts). The chic and unique hip culture is all about being busy....busy text messaging....busy emailing...busy with activities...busy running around all day and night...busy with NOISE in life.

There are only a hand full of people I know that throw out the "busyness" and actually spend a majority of the time just thinking; just thinking and seeking clear thoughts. A recent article came out about the most successful leaders and how the manage their time. The study said the most successful leaders spend most (70%) of their time just thinking...just dreaming...just seeking clarity of mind.

What about you?

• How much time do you spend just thinking...just seeking clarity of thought?
• How much alone time do you have scheduled right now over the next two weeks?
• How much dream time do you do and do you encourage others to do?

Stop the madness of being busy. Stop the noise. Stop the running around. Just simply stop and seek clear thoughts. Just simply schedule alone time. Just simply think and get deep into your head and soul searching clear thoughts. Then when you do this, email me the results. (by the way, I already know the outcome!)

I can't see the bow on the gift...

• What did any of us do to deserve today?
• What did any of us do to earn today?
• What did any of us do to acquire today?

Nothing!

Today (and all Time) is grace. It's undeserved favor. It's a gift! With all gifts, especially time since we can't buy more of it or invent any more of it, we need to be a good steward. We need to be responsible for that gift called today. We need to be a wise steward of our time. We need to take precious care of that gift called time.

But many times, we want our time to go a certain way. We want to be in control of our time. We want the ball to bounce our way all the time. In real life, that is not always the case. Sometimes we don't get our way. Sometimes we the ball doesn't bounce our way. Sometimes we are not in control. Does that make it bad? Does that make it a flawed plan? Does that mean things shouldn't be happening that are happening? For me, that is real life today. The ball is not bouncing my way; time is not the way I want it; the way I want to control things is not happening.

But that doesn't make it wrong. Sometimes the gift is that OUR plan did not happen. Sometimes the gift is that the ball bounced the opposite way that we wanted. Sometimes us NOT being in control is the best plan.

In other words; I know if I have been given a gift, but I can't see the bow on that gift...And in the end, that may be the best gift of all!

People Questions

Back in the saddle.

Having the right people is 99% of success in the marketplace. To get a WOW Experience, you need WOW people! Period. End of story.

People and people development are the most important jobs of leaders. But yet, in my experience, I find only a very, very small percentage of organizations "get it" in the people process and have a complete strategy for it. And a even smaller percentage of leaders practice and master the people process.

I ask leaders all the time..."tell me what work is more important than working on the people process...what is more important than your people." The answer is obvious...NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PEOPLE!

10 questions you can think about with your people:

1. What is our people strategy? Do we even have one?
2. Who needs development and are we meeting their needs?
3. Who is capable of doing much better and much more? Do we have a plan for them?
4. Do we have people that need go that don't fit our organization?
5. Who are the next leaders and do we have a plan for them?
6. Do we reward the people that get it done? Do we reward the doers?
7. When do we hire? How do we hire? Who do we hire?
8. Do we have an accountability process and a employee review process in place? Do we give meaningful and purposeful review to all employees? Does it work?
9. What positions need to be filled? What positions need to be eliminated?
10. What would my employees or staff say about the organizations people process? Have I sought the team's input? What would my customers say about the organizations people process? Have I sought my customer's input?