Establish A Personal Contract With Your Team.

You work hard and so does your team. Sometimes, a mis-alignment of communication, interpretation, or expectations occurs. It happens. It’s not a bad thing even if it happens once in awhile. But when it becomes a frequent occurrence, you begin to question your team’s ability to execute or your ability to communicate.

Then again, it might be another issue. You haven’t set clear communication, timing, and delivery standards with each of your team members (and in-turn having them matriculate it down to their staff).

It sounds hokey, but a simple contract (formal agreement) between parties makes this all go away. Why?

It gives everyone in your organization the ability to measure themselves against a pre-specified standard. And that’s important. If there is no bar, no ruler, no finish line, some (if not all) your team members will begin to develop their own measures. Or worse, they will aimlessly work without any sense of direction (it happens!).

Establishing a contract is simple. Some areas that might be included:

• How often you will communicate with them and how they should communicate with you.
• Who does what, where, and with whom.
• Clearly communicating the Why of every situation and getting buy-in.
• Clear task, activity, project and initiative deadlines.
• Simple ‘business rules’ to guide a project.

It could be written (a set of simple statements on a wall) or verbally built into your organization’s consciousness — your choice. I know Nordstrom's has a famous card they distribute to all of their employees — it's powerful. Check it out. (Also check out The Nordstrom Way)

If you have these in place, you’ll see your organization run more smoothly. If not, a subtle undercurrent will develop of crossed expectations, bad communication and missed deadlines.

I’ve been there and it’s not pretty.

What type of ‘contract’ have you established with your team?

Set Your 2012 Goals In Two Steps.

It's December. Many people are scrambling to get their end of the year targets complete. Many are trying to reach out to prospects and recalcitrant clients to make that sale. Some are lining up their teams for that final push. A select few are slowly winding down their work for the eventual hibernation during the last two weeks of the month. They all should be taking just a little bit of December to begin laying the foundation for January. And February. And March. And the rest of 2012.

Some people have no time to do it. Some dread doing it. Some are downright afraid to do it. But you and I know it has to get done.

So today, let's get it done together - I will help you do it. Nothing fancy — actually a simple process that I take all of my clients through. So here goes:

STEP ONE - Plan The Big Picture.

Take a sheet of paper (or use my template) and list three (3) things you would like to accomplish in 2012. They can be personal (better time management) or linked to your position (increase my sales by 12%). To the right, list when you'd like to get each one done (I hate the term deadline).

Don't make them too big (increase sales by 112%) or too broad (change the world). Why? The odds are stacked against you that you'll never accomplish them. Keep them small, attainable, and reasonable. If you hit them early, you can always move the target up a bit.

STEP TWO - Break It Into Quarters.

Take a sheet of paper (or use my template) and draw a horizontal and vertical line to produce four equal quadrants. In each quadrant, I want you to place a number 1, 2, & 3 (they correspond to each of Step One's accomplishments).

For each number in each quadrant, I want you to write down two things:

1. What are you going to do?
2. When will you get it done?

That's it. This is your map for 2012. It might change, but you'll feel a whole lot better if you have guideposts, activities, and accomplishments to help you along the way. You can even make it more granular by planning out each month (and each week within the month). If you feel so inclined — go for it!

Finally, this might look too simple or too basic. I agree. But I would rather have someone tackle these simple steps than do nothing.

How To Think Creatively.

What once was a decaying NYC eyesore is now a hugely successful financial engine. The High Line, an old elevated rail-bed turned world-class park, has generated $2 billion in private investment and 12,000 new jobs in the area, including 8,000 new construction jobs.

Who would have thought?

A simple idea, mixed with enthusiastic support equals powerful change.

So how do you think creatively? Here's how I do it:

Step One - Eliminate Distractions

Turn off your email. Set your phone to voicemail. Go to an area where there are no home or work distractions. Sit in a comfortable chair with a clean table (a dining room table works best - dining rooms are BORING). Tell everyone to leave you alone for one hour.

Step Two - Get A Clean Piece Of Paper

If you can get an 11" x 17" sheet, great! Or regular size is fine too. Just make it white and clean. Get your favorite pen, pencil, or marker - we are going for broad-brush ideas. No erasers  - allowed mistakes and changed directions are encouraged!

Step Three - Don't Second Guess . . . Brainstorm

Now start laying out your idea. What are the basic elements? Don't write sentences . . . keep it to bold words or short phrases. Circle them. Cross stuff out (don't worry about making a mess). Fill the page with all the disparate ideas, tasks, activities, people, things, etc. you can think of.

Step Four - Step Back . . . Look For Connections

Now step back and look for ways to connect ideas together. Connect the What to the When to the Who to the Where. Forget about Why and How for now. Just focus on connecting, building, modifying, editing, and forming your creative vision.

Step Five - Build An Idea . . . Develop Activities . . . Set Dates

Now take a clean sheet and begin to move over the salient elements to coalesce your vision. Start to priortize each step, which one should come first, then second, then third. Start assigning how long each will take (ballpark) and who needs to be involved. Then align them all and develop a schedule.

Try it. This is how I develop new ideas for my business. It's worked for me for over 30 years. 

Now it's your turn.

If you're interested in The High Line, click here.