“Like ___________ in his second term, ___________ was a “Me” President in the early years of a “We.””

–     Roy H. Williams in his 2012 must-read, Pendulum; How Past Generations Shape Our Present and Predict Our Future

Rather than disclose the book’s total message, let’s look at Williams’ hypothesis, which, under the harsh light of historical facts, seems more like reality than a hypothesis.

Our society, and one could argue, the world exists, grows, thrives, struggles, fails and succeeds in tight correlation to a series of 40-year cycles.  Each cycle is comprised of two, 20-year cycles, identified as “We” cycles and “Me” cycles.  All the way back to Aesop (we’re talking a couple thousand years ago, folks!) we see these cycles borne out, and as the book’s subtitle tells us, the study is both foundational to our present situation and predictive of our future.  As a society.  As a world.

I love story tellers, and Williams is the Wizard when it comes to story telling.  When the stories are based in, and supported by facts, though, is where the magic starts to happen.

So, why leave the names of Presidents blank in the quote above?  Particularly in these times, to call out the names would immediately detract from the significance of the message.  And, it translates to our businesses, too.  If we’re “We” leaders in a “Me” cycle, we won’t be any more successful than a “Me” President in a “We” cycle.  It ain’t politics.  It’s the pendulum.

Stephen Covey says “seek first to understand,” and that is great counsel.

So is Pendulum.  Read it now.  Read it again in twenty years, and (spoiler alert) it will be uncanny in its similarity to today, and striking in its difference.

Required reading for Difference Makers.  Just sayin’…

“Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life.  They are called by a problem and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.”

     –     David Brooks, in a New York Times column from May, 2011 — and as cited in Pendulum, by Roy H. Williams (2012)

Re-reading this really compelling book by Roy Williams (The Wizard of Ads), and it casts a clear perspective for people set on making a difference.  It was my 2012 Christmas gift to clients and associates, and it not only casts perspective for difference makers, it captures and contextualizes the huge majority of what is going on with and around us.

For today, let’s focus on the perspective for difference makers, as Williams captured in Brooks’ words…

First, we ought to form a self and only then lead a life.  Second, but not by much, we ought to seek out a problem that we’re passionate about and committed to solving.  As Brooks so eloquently states in, in doing so, we build out our best self.

More on Pendulum as the Diff rolls through this week.

“If you focus on results, you will never change.  If you focus on change, you will get results.”

     –     attributed to Jack Dixon, via Sue Jenks on Twitter (@sunamii)

2 x 4 moment, courtesy of one of my favorite Tweeters…

We can’t manage results.  Results have already happened.  They’re what is on the scoreboard.  The “plays” that produced the “points” are already in the box score.  What will we do next?

Perhaps the biggest trap business leaders struggle with is focusing almost exclusively on the rear-view-mirror at the expense of the view out the windshield.

“Never” is a powerful word, and one that I avoid, by-and-large.  But Sue and Jack’s use of it in this context is appropriate and powerful.  It’s like Dad and another mentor of mine often said, “If you keep doin’ what you’re doin’, you’ll get more of what you’ve got.”  If you want something else or something more, change is required.

Now, another mentor of mine, Tom Graf, also says, “Change will only occur when the fear of change is overcome by the pain of remaining the same.”

So, close your eyes.  Feel the pain of remaining the same.

Now, quickly:  Write down the two things you’d most like to change about your business.  The first two things that come to mind.

Next, focus on those two things.  Jot ideas.  Identify obstacles.  Imagine the impact of changing those things in descriptive, energizing terms.  But focus on the change, not the results, because we can’t look backwards and forwards at the same time.

Once you get a chance to focus on the change, let us know the results, because I’ll bet they’ll be worth sharing.

P.S.  I’m not sure if it’s Jack Dixon the author or Jack Dixon the rugby player she’s referencing and I don’t care.  He’s right, whichever one it is!

“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.  My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy…in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture.”

–     John Adams, 2nd President of the USA, in a letter to his wife, Abigail

Ahhhh, finally.  Perspective on my belief that I really do sound more like my parents and grandparents every day — it’s been going on forever!

Stephen Hess noted this in last weekend’s Wall Street Journal in a column about the election / state of affairs in the USA today.  The whole thing literally depresses me and I see no positive way forward, so until one presents itself, I’ve chosen to look for the lessons in these times.

We all want better for our kids.  We all want more options for our kids.  We all want our kids to learn from, and therefore not repeat our mistakes.  We all want our kids to be safe, happy and fulfilled.

We all want better for our businesses.  We all want more options for them.  We want to learn from and not repeat mistakes.

So, it looks like we must study to give the next generation a right to continue.  I’m not a huge fan of Brett King‘s overall approach, but his work is extremely compelling.  As Adams cast the difference between generations and options, King, in his new book (due out in June, 2016), Augmented:  Life In The Smart Lane.  He lays out a frightening history lesson that is instructive and predictive for the entire commerce system of the world — and banks had better respond, or their businesses won’t be better, have more options or avoid mistakes of the past.

A bit of a rambling post today — but I’m pretty sure my point is, if we want better for tomorrow (for ourselves and those that come after us), we’d better get better today, and every day.

“The goal of many leaders is to get people to think more highly of the leader.  The goal of a great leader is to help people think more highly of themselves.”

–     J. Carla Northcutt (1943 – 2013), Atlanta-based seminary professor and pastor

As “Super Tuesday” dawns, and I’m faced realizing that there is no “super” outcome possible on either side of the ballot, my attention is drawn to the concept that many have of what it means to be a leader.  I’m gonna need a lot of coffee for the next, oh, generation or so…  But back to “Super” leadership…

Many believe that being a leader means “being in the spotlight,” “being on stage,” “being the boss,” those type of me-centric ideals.  Watch any of the news channels today and you’ll see at least four or five examples, at least four or five hundred times.  “Me!  Me!  Me!  Vote for me!  Look at me!  __________ is bad and I’m brilliant…”  Blech…

I love what Pastor Northcutt does to that perspective.  She blows it up.

A good leader I know often said, “the best way to tell if you’re a leader is to turn around and see if anyone is following you.”  There’s some truth to that.  But great leaders also look ahead, plot a course and then point those who follow toward the destination.  Then, great leaders get out of the way and help people feel really good about getting “there.”

Hayden Fry was a legendary college football coach, first at a couple schools here in Texas, then at The University of Iowa for 20-odd years or so.  Hayden wouldn’t hire an assistant coach that didn’t aspire to be a head coach.  And, once he hired them, he made it his personal quest to grow them in to head coaches.  To not only get them to think more highly of themselves but to help them build a base in fact that led to them thinking more highly of themselves.  Depending on hirings and firings, there are still, almost 20 years later, more than a dozen head coaches who walked the sideline under Coach Fry.  Jack Welch did the same thing with his CEO-producing team at GE.  Abraham Lincoln, too, with his “Team of Rivals.”

Too bad none of them are on the ballot today…

I wish I found some better sounds no one’s ever heard
I wish I had a better voice that sang some better words
I wish I found some chords in an order that is new
I wish I didn’t have to rhyme every time I sang
I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink
But now I’m insecure and I care what people think…
Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep but now we’re stressed out

–     Lyric from “Stress Out” by 21 Pilots

In business, it seems like we spend an awful lot of time trying like crazy to figure out the completely new idea, or, trying to get back to “the good old days.”  In general, it seems like we’re way too stressed out.  And, while the fears of our childhood (remember the monster under the bed?) turned out to be trivial / false (in most cases), why can’t we see that the fears of our later lives (acceptance, approval, things, status) are just as flimsy?

I heard this song for the first time yesterday while trying to find some music that both The Middle and I could listen to in the car.  (I’ll let you know how that works out…)  Not a fan of rap or hip-hop in general, this one really caught my ear, and the second time they repeated the lines above, it hit me.

I wish…

If only…

Remember when…

So, I got to thinkin’….for Difference Makers, we ought to complete those thoughts more like this:

“I wish I could really get a good understanding of what to do next.  Right here.  Right now.”

“If only I had the will power to turn off the e-mail, the phone and close the door to just sit here for :20 and THINK!”  (We do, by the way….have that will power…)

“Remember when we were kids, and we just dreamed up crazy stuff to try?  Remember how we learned that you can jump a bicycle over a sidewalk, but not so much over a tool shed….?  Are we trying to jump a tool shed or a sidewalk here — and once we figure that out, should we raise the ramp, or go around?”

I’m not sure there are many new ideas.  I am sure, however, that there is an unlimited way the ideas we already know can be seen, felt, applied and considered — to address whatever it is that we need to do next.  Right here.  Right now.

“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”

     –     Gever Tulley, founder of the Brightworks School and Tinkering School

Tulley is a somewhat controversial figure, but his point is above controversy.  We’re making some major mistakes with how we educate and manage ourselves.

First, we’re too often taught that there is only one answer to a given problem.  Heck, half the time, the problem isn’t even the problem, so how can there only be one answer?!  Second, we’re taught, early and often that failure is a bad thing.  That’s true only if we quit.

When we get the chance to really sink our teeth into a meaty matter — to face an “unsolvable problem,” — and when we approach it with wide-eyed wonder and an open mind, there is only one outcome that is guaranteed:  growth!

There was a wonderfully compelling article in the February 24, 2016 Wall Street Journal titled, “Why Solve The Unsolvable?”  (That’s a link to the video version of the story…)

In effect — aw, heck, I’ll just quote it:  “The most valuable problems may be the unsolvable ones.”

The article highlights a program for freshmen in the Northwestern University school of engineering.  Tasked with designing and building devices to help individuals with disabilities perform simple tasks, the students work in teams of four with a total budget of $100.  Think “one-handed crocheting” here, and you’re on the right track.  Why would a first-class college ask freshmen to tackle seemingly undoable deeds?  The author, Sue Shellenbarger (who’s really, really good…just sayin’…) writes that working on unsolvable problems is “an important life skill that is applicable to anyone.”

So, I’m thinkin’, if it’s an “important life skill that is applicable to anyone,” hadn’t we oughta get ourselves some of that?  Let’s skip over a couple of the layups, and tackle something that no one else is willing to take on.  I bet we make a difference!

“A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.”
     ―    Frank Lloyd Wright

Building is easier than building well, building right.  A new leader can build momentum and depending how starved for trust the organization is, a new leader can even build trust pretty quickly.  Building confidence can be simple, but it can be really challenging to maintain when headwinds present themselves.  Building something sustainable, though, requires something more than quick feet, decent tools and an “out of the box” repeatable process.

All this to say that building is only part of the picture — and we want to build things that are solid, long-lasting and in need of no vines to cover up flaws.

Particularly in turn-arounds, it can be tempting to come in, plunk down the play-book and begin to hammer through the changes that are obvious.  Pricing.  Contracts.  Marketing.  Compensation plans.  If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, after all.  And just jumping in and hammering can be dangerous unless everyone understands what we’re building.  (“Everyone,” means everyone, too.  Clients.  Shareholders.  Employees.  Partners.  Employees’ spouses.  Etc.)  Even more dangerous is the temptation to just keep-on-hammerin’ when times are good, unless we really understand why they’re good and what the signs of trouble might be.

In other words, it’s all about the plan, man!

Now before you go all “execution” on me, of course execution matters.  A crappy contractor can make even Frank Lloyd Wright look like a hack.  It’s not plan-over-execution, it’s plan before execution.  And that doesn’t mean a full stop to plan, either.  The best plans evolve with the business, so planning while executing matters, too.

A new leader might be tempted to just switch out all the people — start with a clean slate.  While “clean” is a positive word, “blank,” its synonym, is a little less rosy in the business context.  Thus, great “remodelers” know that using the “bones” of an existing structure is the best, least expensive and most effective way of building something new from a sustaining legacy.

The good news, as it pertains to Wright’s quote above, is that we can, in business, bury our mistakes.  As long as we’re not repeating them.  And as long as we’re constantly building — and executing — better plans.

“Those who really love you don’t mean to hurt you and if they do, you can’t see it in their eyes but it hurts them too.”  
     ―    Holly Black (b. 1971), creator of the Spiderwick Chronicles

Some days, the boss is a jerk.  Some days a friend is a jerk.  Some days a child or spouse is a jerk.  And some days, we’re a jerk.

All we can address is reducing the number of days that we’re guilty, but it might also serve us well to have Holly Black’s thought in mind when we think of those whose behavior causes us hurt.  And, it’s easier to consider when we understand that bad behavior, no matter how unintentional it might be and no matter how unaware the offender might be of having exhibited it, hurts the offender, too.

If, that is, their intentions are good.  If they’re not, then we have to ask ourselves are we working for the right person, with the right person, being the right person — you get the drift.

A long-held tenet of the Daily Difference is that “intent matters more than content.”  I believe that is a statement of fact.

Still, if our content is too often in conflict with our intent, then, our methods must need correcting.  If we consistently hurt someone we love, we need to get pretty quickly to an understanding of why we keep offending, or, at the very least what their context is and how it causes them to be hurt, or the realization that we don’t love them, after all.  If we consistently hurt someone that works for us, we need to get to the real source of the frustration, and proactively, directly and with caring address it.

The first four words of today’s quote are the telling part:  “those who really love.”  And there is where our focus must be.  Because anything that follows will ultimately take us to a decent destination

“Curiosity…is insubordination is its purest form.”

–     Vladimir Nabakov, Russian – American author (1899 – 1977), in Brian Grazer’s, A Curious Mind:  The Secret to A Bigger Life

Final post in this series on curiosity, and I like it for one simple fact.

I hate rules.  I get it, I get it, we have to have them, but I’ve believed ever since Moses came down with shiny hair and two big stone tablets, that it will be pretty much impossible to improve on the list.  And, while I’m not a fan of anarchy or open insubordination, I also don’t subscribe to the belief that ________ got promoted to that manager job because he is the smartest SOB ever born.  (Even if he is, would it be so wrong to creatively look for a better way?)  

Back to rules…

I think corporations largely put rules in place to keep smart people from making good decisions.  By doing so, they don’t have to hire the best, brightest and intellectually capable folks.  They can, instead, provide cue cards, policies and lots of commands starting with the word, “Don’t!”

“What if we DID guarantee the outcome?”  “What if we did replace a warranty item that was only two weeks out of warranty?”

Many of you have seen the social media rant about the fast-food clerk that refused to take $5.25 for a $4.25 ticket because, “We don’t do that sort of thing here….”

Nordstroms gets it.  Target, by and large, gets it.  Luxury car companies, by-and-large, get it.  Sparky at Herman’s Service back in The ‘Burg gets it.

Do the right thing, and as often as not, exercising our curiosity is the best first step.

(By the way, in case, for whatever reason, you didn’t click on the better way link above — here’s another chance — and a great moment for the day is yours…..FREE!)